Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Wednesday’s session are Autodesk, Digital Realty Trust, R.R. Donnelley, DreamWorks, Kendle, Nortel, SPX, Toll and Warnaco.
The European Commission on Wednesday announced $1.35 billion in fines against Microsoft Corp., stemming from a years-long struggle with the software giant over allowing rivals access to its technology.
The UK economy grew by 0.6% in the last three months of 2007, figures confirm, but consumer spending slowed. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:15 pm
Reuters - The dollar slid to an all-time low
versus a basket of currencies on Wednesday after weak U.S. data
and comments from a top Federal Reserve official cemented views
for more U.S. rate cuts. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:14 pm
LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar slid to an all-time low versus a basket of currencies on Wednesday after weak U.S. data and comments from a top Federal Reserve official cemented views for more U.S. rate cuts.
BASEL (Reuters) - UBS Chairman Marcel Ospel, braving investor fury over huge subprime losses, said it was "absolutely necessary" for shareholders to back a 13 billion Swiss franc ($11.94 billion) capital injection from Singapore and an unidentified Middle East investor.
LONDON (Reuters) - Stocks are expected to open down on Wednesday, tracking a fall in European shares, as investors await housing and manufacturing data and testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Stocks were poised to move lower at Wednesday's open as the weak dollar soured the mood ahead of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on Capitol Hill.
Financial targets at SAP AG, the world's largest market of business software, could be overly ambitious, several analysts caution, as they eye the first signs of delayed orders.
Nortel Networks on Tuesday announced a plan to cut 2,100 jobs and shift another 1,000 to low-cost destinations as the Toronto telecom-equipment maker reported an $844 million fourth-quarter loss.
Shares in Halifax-owner HBOS crashed 9.5pc by late morning after the high street bank was hit by the higher funding costs of the credit crunch and warned of an "uncertain" outlook for 2008. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:01 pm
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Mortgage applications filed last week dropped a seasonally adjusted 19.2% compared with the previous week, reflecting a plunge in homeowners pursuing refinancings, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday.
Oil prices hit a record level of $102 a barrel, a day after breaking the previous record of $101.43. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:58 am
The European Commission fined Microsoft a record €899m for defying sanctions imposed on the software giant for antitrust violations, far exceeding the original penalty Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:50 am
European antitrust regulators fined Microsoft $1.3 billion for failing to comply with a 2004 judgment that the company had abused its market dominance. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:47 am
ZURICH (Reuters) - Petroplus Holdings AG has agreed a $2 billion deal with private equity firms Blackstone Group and First Reserve to acquire crude oil refineries in the United States.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc , isn't ruling out going hostile with its $2 billion bid for rival video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc , the New York Post reported on Wednesday.
The euro broke new records above $1.50 against the dollar on Wednesday, pushing oil and precious metals to fresh peaks, while weighing on equity markets Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:39 am
AstraZeneca has dropped a clinical trial of its lung cancer medicine Recentin
after a mid-stage trial failed to fulfil its objectives. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:29 am
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission fined Microsoft a record 899 million euros ($1.35 billion) on Wednesday for defying sanctions imposed on the software giant for antitrust violations, far exceeding the original penalty.
The UK economy grew at its slowest rate for more than a year during the final
three months of last year as consumers tightened their belts. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:24 am
The chief executive of airports operator BAA, Stephen Nelson, is to step down, the company says. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:22 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Toll Brothers Inc , the largest
U.S. luxury home builder, reported a quarterly loss after
recording heavy writedowns during its fiscal first quarter.
Question: I have invested in no-load mutual funds for 20 years, but I'm looking at a fund with a 4.5% load. If I plan to hold it for a very long time, investing periodically, does it make sense to pay the load? --Tom Kushner, New Canaan, Conn.
Reuters - Norway's StatoilHydro posted a
smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter profit due to hefty merger
costs and other one-offs but its shares rose on strong
underlying oil and gas production and a fat dividend. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:19 am
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's StatoilHydro posted a smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter profit due to hefty merger costs and other one-offs but its shares rose on strong underlying oil and gas production and a fat dividend.
The European Union fines Microsoft for defying sanctions imposed on it for anti-competitive behaviour. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:15 am
Stephen Nelson is to step down as chief executive of BAA in what will be the biggest management change since Ferrovial took charge of the airport operator two years ago. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:00 am
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest mortgage lender, HBOS Plc, posted a 3 percent rise in annual profit, just short of analysts' expectations, as margins in its core retail business were hit, sending its shares lower.
U.S. stock futures on Wednesday pointed to some profit-taking as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke heads to Congress with the U.S. dollar plumbing record lows against rivals.
UBS confirmed it was looking for senior bankers to join its board of directors, just as Marcel Ospel, the Swiss group's veteran chairman, emphasised he had no plans to stand down. The comments came as... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 10:56 am
Marcel Ospel emphasised he had no plans to step down as chairman of Swiss bank UBS at the start of a marathon extraordinary meeting in Basel Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Feb 2008 | 10:56 am
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil powered to a new record above $102 a barrel on Wednesday, closing in on its inflation-adjusted peak, as a slumping dollar on lacklustre U.S. economic data triggered a surge across commodities markets.
Hong Kong unveils a record financial surplus, but says growth will slow in 2008/09. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 10:36 am
Luxury home builder Toll Brothers swings to a fiscal first-quarter loss. Its CEO says "ceaseless talk" about a recession is dampening the consumer mood.
The euro has crashed through the $1.50 level for the first time since the
eurozone was formed in 1999, with economists predicting that the greenback
could fall further if the US Federal Reserve cuts interest rates again after
yesterday's series of disastrous economic data.$ Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Feb 2008 | 10:28 am
The euro broke new records above $1.50 against the dollar on Wednesday, pushing oil and precious metals to fresh peaks, while weighing on equity markets.The dramatic moves followed weak US data and comments... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 10:11 am
The price of gold surged to a record high point of 964.99 dollars per ounce in morning trading here on Wednesday amid renewed weakness of the dollar. The previous record... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 10:07 am
HBOS bank reports a 4% dip in annual profits and predicts that financial markets will be "uncertain" this year. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 10:03 am
A day after shutting down most of its U.S. shops for three hours to retrain baristas on espresso basics, Starbucks is welcoming customers back Wednesday with a new promise posted in... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:59 am
Asian shares rose for the third day in a row with commodity and energy producers in the lead as oil traded near lifetime highs in New York,and the dollar sagged. Gold hit an all-time high of $957.90 in... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:57 am
The euro's record strength is stoking tension among the 15 countries sharing the currency, with some much more comfortable than others with its ascent on foreign exchange markets. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:56 am
Sintex Industries, a plastics and textiles manufacturer in Gujarat, India, is betting it can find profit in human waste. Its new biogas digester turns human excrement, cow dung, or kitchen garbage into fuel that can be used for cooking or generating electricity, simultaneously addressing two of India's major needs: energy and sanitation.
The rally on London equities markets ended on Wednesday, as HBOS led the banking sector lower after it missed earnings forecasts for 2007. The FTSE 100 fell 1 per cent, or 59 points, to 6,028.7. in a... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:52 am
The dollar falls to a fresh record low against the euro due to renewed fears that the US may be facing recession. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:46 am
Reuters - Britain's biggest mortgage lender, HBOS
Plc, posted a 3 percent rise in annual profit, just short of
analysts' expectations, as margins in its core retail business
were hit, sending its shares lower. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:42 am
The Financial Services Authority has warned banks that the meltdown in the credit markets will force them to fundamentally change the way they do business forever. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:30 am
The Financial Services Authority says the credit crisis will force banks to limit their lending fin the future. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:18 am
HBOS, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, reported broadly flat annual profits
for 2007 as it struggled to maintain margins in its core retail banking
business. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:12 am
European banks gave back some of the gains achieved in the last two sessions after disappointing results from Britain's HBOS and Sweden's Handelsbanken.Losses in the heavily-weighted sector left the FTSE... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:01 am
Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, has denied that US efforts to boost military relations with India were aimed at creating a 'hedge' strategy against the rise of China Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:47 am
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil rallied to new records above $101 on Wednesday, as lackluster U.S. economic data forced the U.S. dollar into a deeper slump, sparking a surge across commodities... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:34 am
A fall in its retail banking and treasury divisions held back profits at HBOS, Britain's fourth largest bank, sending its shares sharply lower in early London trading on Wednesday.The group, which encompasses... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:31 am
Private equity pioneer David Rubenstein said today that it could take three years before banks start lending at the same levels as during the industry's "golden age" but he insisted this was one of the best times to invest he had ever witnessed. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:30 am
Three North Dakota farm couples are hoping to make plenty of dough by turning their whole white wheat flour into bread that even the pickiest young customers seem to enjoy. The owners... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:26 am
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is giving Congress a fresh assessment of the country's economic health, which has been pummeled by a housing bust, a credit crunch and soaring energy Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:24 am
UBS boss Marcel Ospel will face angry shareholders at a meeting later over huge losses on risky investments. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:23 am
German consumers remain wary of spending as a result of price spikes and volatile stock market swings linked to US crises, a survey by the GfK institute showed Wednesday. The Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:18 am
The chief executive of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has called the
end to an era of cheap borrowing by British banks, predicting that lenders
will now avoid complex financial products in favour of old-fashioned
relationship banking. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:12 am
Two of Britain's housebuilders have confirmed the difficult times in the
housing market, noting a shortage of buyers and of mortgage finance. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:09 am
Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton clashed sharply in a high-stakes one-on-one debate, accusing each other of falsely portraying their stances on healthcare, trade and other issues Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:05 am
Just when it was looking like things couldn't get any worse in the housing market, government officials announced Tuesday that home prices had their biggest fourth-quarter drop in 17 years.
TV spots featuring the comedian reach out to the young men the venerable brand covets while raising the profile of New Line's upcoming movie 'Semi-Pro.'
The pitchman calls himself Jackie Moon, but he is unmistakably Will Ferrell in character as the 1970s basketball player from his upcoming comedy "Semi-Pro," complete with Afro, headband and short shorts.
Hobbled by the housing slump, Home Depot Inc. posted its first annual sales decline Tuesday and released a fiscal 2008 outlook that was more gloomy than that of its chief rival. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
Suit alleges that Axium executives pillaged the Hollywood payroll company. Their lawyer says its creditor drove it out of business.
John Visconti says he was thinking only of his son's future when he bought him a $220,000 Aston Martin sports car for his birthday -- no matter that the little guy was 3 years old.
Hobbled by the housing slump, Home Depot Inc. posted its first annual sales decline Tuesday and released a fiscal 2008 outlook that was more gloomy than that of its chief rival.
48% of teenagers bought no CDs at all in 2007, up from 38% in 2006. Music downloads continue to grow, though, with iTunes leading the way. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
Media and public interest organizations tell the jurist that his order violates constitutional provisions against prior restraint of free speech.
A coalition of media and public interest organizations went to federal court in San Francisco on Tuesday urging a judge to reconsider his order to shut down a muckraking website that publishes leaked documents from businesses and government agencies worldwide.
Those who attend for-profit institutions are learning that loans are becoming harder to obtain.
Students at Corinthian Colleges and other for-profit learning institutions are getting a painful lesson in credit-crunch economics: Some lenders, including giant Sallie Mae, are turning off the money faucets for less credit-worthy applicants.
OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian energy group StatoilHydro posted a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter operating profit on Wednesday and said merger expenses and increasing oil and gas... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 7:56 am
The euro has soared to a record high after a string of disappointing economic reports in the United States pushed the common currency to $1.5057 in morning trading. That is the highest Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 7:53 am
French carmaker Renault will sign a deal to buy a 25 percent blocking stake in Russian auto giant Avtovaz on Friday, the Kommersant daily reported, citing sources close to the deal. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Feb 2008 | 7:53 am
The New Zealand dollar took a peek at US82c and then eased back as traders took profits.
It hit a new 23-year post-float high against the greenback of US81.83c but closed on US81.46c against US81.15c yesterday.
Against other... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 5:41 am
Oyster Bay Marlborough Vineyards today reported its December half year net loss widened to $707,000 from $299,000 a year earlier.
Revenue from ordinary activities rose 7 per cent to $4.9 million.
Chairman Bill Falconer said... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 5:15 am
Google shares fell 4.6% as investors took fright from signs that growth is stalling at the leading internet company Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Feb 2008 | 3:19 am
Coffee chain Starbucks shut down its US stores Tuesday evening for a mass training session.
The java giant is hoping to give its business a boost as it prepares to battle with new rival McDonald's, which will be serving espresso... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 2:51 am
Earnings from the Tui oilfield have lifted New Zealand Oil and Gas' (NZOG) half year net profit to $41.4 million from $500,000 a year earlier.
Revenue for the six months to the end of December was $95.5 million from $92,000 in... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 2:30 am
NEW YORK - Oil surged to a record on Tuesday as weakness in the US dollar, following a batch of gloomy economic data, spurred a broad-based rally across the commodities markets.
Strong heating fuel demand in Europe and the United... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 2:30 am
Forestry and biotechnology investor Rubicon has posted a flat interim net loss of US$1m ($1.24m).
Revenue for the six months to December fell 1.5 per cent to US$193m ($240m) and there was no dividend.
In December the company's... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 1:45 am
For the seventh straight month, the number of houses being built has decreased, as the property market slump continues.
The number of building consents authorised in January was down 7.3 per cent on a year earlier, continuing a... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 1:00 am
It may be a few more weeks before it is known whether the Reserve Bank has taken any steps to dampen the soaring New Zealand dollar.
The kiwi has continued its march upwards this morning, reaching US81.7c at 11am.
BNZ currency... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:30 am
Britain's government launched proposals for the creation of 16 large UK casinos on Tuesday and finally axed controversial plans for the country's first Las Vegas-style supercasino.
The supercasino was set to be built in Manchester... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:30 am
Delta Air Lines would not sacrifice its employees' job security and seniority benefits to complete a merger with Northwest Airlines or another rival, the US carrier's top executives told employees on Tuesday via a memo. Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:29 am
A leading Democratic lawmaker called for $20bn in public funds to be made available to the Federal Housing Administration to purchase and refinance pools of subprime mortgages Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:04 am
Sir John Craven, the chairman of Lonmin and a leading City figure, has sold two-thirds of his shares in the platinum miner to avoid the controversial 80pc rise in capital gains tax. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
Fears that the United States faces a period of stagflation grew as a slug of fresh data suggested the economy continues to slow as the cost of living rises. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
Mapeley, the offshore property investment and outsourcing company, has received a bid approach just weeks before it is due to refinance almost £260m of debt. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
London Scottish Bank, which lends to lower income families, is reducing its lending to zero and walking away from two-thirds of its business which it says is not longer sustainable due to the downturn in global markets. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
The European Commission will announce measures today to strip away some of the
secrecy surrounding sovereign wealth funds in a move that could lead to a
voluntary global code of conduct for the billions of pounds of
government-controlled finance. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
It is not the most obvious home for the savings of the West. A country that
routinely sends bombers hurtling towards our air space, that refuses to
extradite a suspected murderer, that harasses British officials with
trumped-up accusations, that challenges the West on countless foreign policy
issues. Oh yes, and one that defaulted on its own debts less than ten years
ago. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
Your greed is not good, say Britain and Germany, pointing accusing fingers at
thousands of very wealthy clients of LGT, the Liechtenstein bank at the
centre of a row over tax havens. But bend your ear and you might just hear,
beneath the cries of moral indignation over alleged tax evasion, a
compromise - sotto voce. Greed is not good, say Europe's finance ministers,
unless we can have 40 per cent. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
President Sarkozy has made a scathing attack on Daniel Bouton, accusing the
embattled chairman and chief executive of Société Générale of failing to
take full responsibility for the €4.9 billion (£3.6 billion) loss made by
Jérôme Kerviel, the French bank's rogue trader. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
Investor's Business Daily - Wholesale costs surged while home prices and consumer confidence tanked, according to separate reports Tuesday, suggesting inflation remains a threat even as the economy sinks. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 26 Feb 2008 | 11:53 pm
Auckland City's mayor John Banks says the "writing is on the wall" for his council's crucial decision on the Canadian bid for a stake of Auckland International Airport.
Shares in the airport yesterday plunged 38c to $2.45 on the... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 26 Feb 2008 | 11:00 pm
Reuters - A top Federal
Reserve official said on Tuesday that a weakened U.S. economy
was a bigger worry than higher inflation, suggesting a
willingness to lower interest rates further as the central bank
tackles "difficult times."
Starbucks shuts all 7,000 of its US branches for several hours to train staff, in an unprecedented move. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 26 Feb 2008 | 10:47 pm
The diversion of water to Beijing for the Olympics and for big hydropower projects threatens the lives of millions of peasant farmers in China's north-western provinces Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Feb 2008 | 10:17 pm
US stocks moved higher when investors weighed disappointing economic data against encouraging corporate news Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Feb 2008 | 9:44 pm
Reuters - The outlook of U.S. consumers sank to
a 17-year low this month as the job market deteriorated, while
costly commodities drove producer price inflation in January to
its highest in more than 26 years, according to reports that
stoked fears of stagflation. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 26 Feb 2008 | 8:31 pm
Shares of Google are down 5 percent today, adding to a slide of more than 35 percent since the stock traded above $700 in early December.
The growing fear is that even the search behemoth, which once could do no wrong as far as investors were concerned, is not immune to fallout from weaker internet spending as the economy slows.
As Sam Gustin reported earlier, that worry was underscored by a note from Ben Schachter, an analyst with UBS, who lowered his expectations for Google's 2008 and 2009 revenue by 1 percent and cut his price target for the stock to $590 from $650.
"We continue to like GOOG longer-term, but believe that a reset of near-term investor expectations, as well as continued bearish sentiment, may mean the ride is bumpy over the next few months," Schachter wrote in a note to clients.
The bearish notes from Schachter and other analysts followed new data from ComScore that showed that Google's paid clicks—the number of times viewers clicked on an ad-sponsored link—fell 7 percent in January, from December, and were flat year over year.
That report follows fourth-quarter results from Google last month that disappointed investors in large part because of its signs of a slowdown in paid clicks.
As Henry Blodget put it on the Silicon Alley Insider blog: "This report is so shocking it bears repeating: ComScore said Google's U.S. revenue units (paid clicks) grew 25 percent last quarter—a quarter that disappointed Wall Street. In January, the same source, ComScore, says the same revenue units were flat."
Justin Post of Merrill Lynch wrote, "Data adds risk to Google's 2008 growth outlook highlighting that a decline in consumer spending could be causing reduced commercial search activity, and will likely drive some weakness in Google stock."
Google's quick U-turn as a Wall Street darling comes as an old-school tech giant is having a banner day. Shares of I.B.M. surged, helping to buoy the overall market, after it announced plans to buy back an additional $15 billion of its shares.
FT.com - US stocks moved higher on Tuesday as investors weighed economic data that showed a stronger-than-expected uptick in January producer prices, a sharp fall in consumer confidence against encouraging corporate news. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 26 Feb 2008 | 7:45 pm
How big are the stakes in the so-called network neutrality debate now raging before Congress and federal regulators?
Consider this: One side in the debate actually went to the trouble of hiring people off the street to pack a Federal Communications Commission meeting yesterday—and effectively keep some of its opponents out of the room.
Broadband giant Comcast—the subject of the F.C.C. hearing on network neutrality at the Harvard Law School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts—acknowledged that it did exactly that.
Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer Khoury said that the company paid some people to arrive early and hold places in the queue for local Comcast employees who wanted to attend the hearing.
Some of those placeholders, however, did more than wait in line: They filled many of the seats at the meeting, according to eyewitnesses. As a result, scores of Comcast critics and other members of the public were denied entry because the room filled up well before the beginning of the hearing.
Khoury said that the company didn't intend to block anyone from attending the hearing. "Comcast informed our local employees about the hearing and invited them to attend," she said. "Some employees did attend, along with many members of the general public."
That was not enough to satisfy Comcast's critics.
Craig Aaron, a spokesman for Free Press, one of the groups that filed the complaint against Comcast, denounced the company's tactics.
"The sad thing about this is that literally hundreds of people who were not paid to stand in line, or paid by their employer to attend, were prevented from even entering the building," Aaron said.
Such tactics are not unheard of at congressional hearings in Washington, D.C., but Comcast's critics said that they were inappropriate for a public hearing on a college campus.
Free Press campaign director Timothy Karr said that he showed up at the hearing 90 minutes early, only to find the room "75 percent full."
"The only reason these people were in the room, it seemed to me, was to keep seats warm and exclude others," Karr said.
Some audience members appeared to sleep through the proceedings, according to photos taken during the hearing. Other applauded enthusiastically when Comcast executive vice president David L. Cohen delivered key points in his presentation.
A number of people in the audience wore yellow highlighter marking pens on their shirts or jackets; Karr said that was to identify them to Comcast employees coordinating the company's appearance at the event. Khoury acknowledged that Comcast coordinated the employees that it brought to the hearing.
The revelation that Comcast paid nonemployees to stand in line at the hearing comes against the backdrop of a bitter public relations war between Comcast and its critics, including the public interest groups Free Press and Public Knowledge.
"For the past week, Free Press has engaged in a much more extensive campaign to lobby people to attend the hearing on its behalf," Khoury said.
The hearing was held to address complaints leveled by Free Press, Public Knowledge, the web-video company Vuze, and others, that Comcast is trying to stifle competition by blocking the delivery of rival video-on-demand services over its cable system.
For weeks, Free Press had been trying to organize supporters to attend the hearing by issuing press releases and circulating flyers advertising the event.
Unlike Comcast, Free Press did not pay anyone to stand in line, Aaron said, nor did it provide transportation to any of its supporters.
Medical schools in Israel aren't graduating enough doctors to replace the large numbers of retiring physicians. So the country is turning to the U.S. tactic of bringing in doctors from overseas. Daniel Estrin reports. Source: Marketplace | 26 Feb 2008 | 6:46 pm
Commentator Jeff Birnbaum says recent legislation pushed in the Senate by bank lobbyists shows just how much political power the nation's richest industries have. Source: Marketplace | 26 Feb 2008 | 6:46 pm
Google has partnered with five Asian telecommunications firms to build a 6,000 mile undersea broadband cable connecting the U.S. with Japan. Jeff Tyler reports on what the Internet giant could be planning. Source: Marketplace | 26 Feb 2008 | 6:46 pm
With oil demand and prices at all-time highs, American oil companies are desperately trying to find more skilled workers. Schools are responding by pumping up programs to increase the flow of technicians. Kate Archer Kent reports. Source: Marketplace | 26 Feb 2008 | 6:46 pm
This year President Bush proposed a federal budget of more than $3 trillion. Kai Ryssdal talks to Scott Bittle, author of "Where Does the Money Go?," about how taking a closer look at the spending of federal dollars could help avoid future deficits. Source: Marketplace | 26 Feb 2008 | 6:46 pm
In anticipation of a surge in bankrupt banks from the credit crisis, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is recruiting retirees experienced in handling insolvent financial institutions. Stacy Vanek-Smith reports. Source: Marketplace | 26 Feb 2008 | 6:46 pm
The United States has joined the European Union in pushing for more transparency and accountability in sovereign wealth funds, which manage state savings for the purposes of investment. John Dimsdale reports on what the U.S. and E.U. are concerned about. Source: Marketplace | 26 Feb 2008 | 6:46 pm
There was a big jump in wholesale prices in January showing inflation is rising faster than it has since 1981. Yet home prices are on a steep decline. Jill Barshay reports on what the conflicting figures say about the economy. Source: Marketplace | 26 Feb 2008 | 6:45 pm
Brushing aside bearish signs of inflation, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn suggested that the central bank stood ready to cut interest rates even further to address a potentially worse problem: recession.
"I do not expect the recent elevated inflation rates to persist," Kohn said in a speech at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. "In my view, the adverse dynamics of the financial markets and the economy have presented the greater threat to economic welfare in the United States."
His speech came just hours after the Labor Department said that producer prices had jumped a full percentage point last month alone. Over the last 12 months, producer prices rose 7.4 percent—the fastest pace in a quarter century.
Kohn acknowledged that recent news on inflation has been "disappointing," but he noted that the rise in prices actually paid by consumers for most goods remains relatively tame. While the consumer price index rose 4.3 percent over the last 12 months, the so-called core rate that strips out volatile food and energy costs climbed only 2.5 percent over that period. That, he noted, was "slightly below the rate one year earlier."
Producers and consumers show no sign that they are raising prices and wage demands in anticipation of even faster inflation in the months and years to come, Kohn said.
"Inflation expectations generally have appeared reasonably well anchored," Kohn said, "giving the [Federal Open Market Committee] room to focus on supporting economic growth."
And there is a clear need to focus on growth, he added.
"The pace of real economic activity stepped down sharply toward the end of last year and has remained sluggish in recent months," Kohn said. Flagging consumer confidence—the Conference Board today said its index of consumer sentiment dropped to 75 from 87.3 a month ago and is at its lowest level in almost five years—and tighter credit markets are primarily to blame, he said.
Judging by the markets, he added, a return to robust growth is not coming soon. "The recovery in financial markets is likely to be a prolonged process," Kohn said.
The Motley Fool - College will cost an arm and a leg (and maybe an ear and an eyeball, too) by the time your little ones graduate from high school. Start saving now, and consider using a 529 investment account to get some great tax advantages. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 26 Feb 2008 | 5:17 pm
Foreclosures rose 57 percent in January, to 233,001, from a year earlier, and up 8 percent from December, reports RealtyTrac, an online real-estate-data company.
More troubling, the number of bank repossessions rose 90 percent, to 45,327 in January. The states with the highest number of foreclosures were again Nevada, California, and Florida.
More gloomy signs on housing were seen in a closely watched measure of home values. The Case-Shiller National Home Price index fell 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, Standard & Poor's reported today.
On the foreclosure data, James J. Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac, noted that "the 8 percent monthly increase in January is not as precipitous as the 19 percent spike we saw in January of 2007, and several key states actually experienced decreasing foreclosure activity from the previous month. It could be that some of the efforts on the part of lenders and the government—both at the state and federal level—are beginning to take effect."
Earlier this month, Treasury secretary Henry Paulson announced a plan as part of the Hope Now Alliance program for the nation's biggest mortgage lenders to send letters to homeowners who are more than 90 days delinquent on payments. The homeowner has 10 days to respond, and in some cases they will get a pause in the foreclosure process so that new terms can be worked out.
That program has been criticized for not doing enough, and more ambitious proposals are being discussed in Congress.
In the meantime, some states and municipalities, such as Massachusetts and Seattle, have been trying to aid troubled homeowners, reports William Yardley of the New York Times.
Some of these efforts, however, "have met resistance from people who consider the assistance undeserved and adamantly oppose anything that resembles a taxpayer bailout," the Times says.
The slide in home prices is swelling the tide of foreclosures. Late last week, Moody's Economy.com estimated that 8.8 million homes, or 10.3 percent of the total, are worth less than the mortgage on them. That percentage is more than double the number a year ago.
The Case/Shiller report found that 17 out of the 20 biggest metropolitan regions in the United States had annual declines in housing prices.
"Wherever you look, things look bleak," said Robert Shiller, professor at Yale University and chief economist at MacroMarkets.
Miami was again the weakest market, reporting a double-digit annual decline of 17.5 percent, followed by Las Vegas and Phoenix, which each had declines of 15.3 percent.
The new data should make a House hearing on compensation to mortgage executives, to be held on Thursday, even more interesting. Angelo Mozilo, the co-founder and chief executive of Countrywide, has been asked to testify.
So it was probably wise that Countrywide Financial, the nation's biggest mortgage lender, canceled plans for a trip to the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch ski resort for about 30 mortgage bankers.
Rooms at the resort in Avon, Colorado, start at $750 for a weekday night.
A number of retailers are reporting quarterly results, and they are expected to confirm a grim outlook for consumer spending this year.
Home Depot, the nation's second-biggest retailer behind Wal-Mart Stores, reported today that fourth-quarter earnings fell 27 percent, as it gave a bleak forecast for the year ahead.
For the year, sales fell 2.1 percent, to $77.3 billion—the first annual sales decline in the company's history.
Home Depot, of course, has been hit especially hard by the slump in housing. But broader retailers, particularly midlevel department stores, are also starting to feel the impact of a general slowdown.
Late Monday, Nordstrom reported fourth-quarter earnings of 92 cents per share, in line with Wall Street estimates.
As Nordstrom disclosed earlier this month, total sales in the quarter ending February 2 fell 4.4 percent, to $2.5 billion, while same-store sales (sales at stores open at least a year) decreased 0.7 percent.
In January, the high-end retailer began to show signs that belt-tightening was moving up the income scale. Same-store sales fell a greater-than-expected 6.6 percent that month and total sales were down 20.3 percent, hurt partially by a shift in the reporting calendar.
According to Nordstrom's forecast, sales will continue to struggle through 2008. Nordstrom expects same-store sales to be flat to 2 percent lower. Earnings are forecast at $2.75 to $2.90, below the average analyst estimate of $3, according to FactSet.
Macy's, which sits above mid-tier stores like Kohl's and J.C. Penney but below high-end ones like Nordstrom and Saks, is also getting stung.
Macy's announced today that same-store sales fell 2 percent in the fourth quarter, with total sales dropping 6.2 percent to $8.6 billion.
Earnings for the quarter were $1.65 per share—when an 18 percent tax benefit is excluded—meeting analyst expectations, but falling short of last year's $1.66 per share in profits.
For the full year 2007, Macy's reported $2.15 in earnings per share, excluding special items, compared with $2.08 per share for the 53 weeks in fiscal 2006.
With the main headline numbers for the quarter having already been disclosed, investors were really looking today for the department store's outlook for 2008.
Macy's reported that it expected same-store sales in fiscal 2008 to range from a decline of 1 percent to a gain of 1.5 percent, with earnings per share of $1.85 to $2.15, excluding onetime costs.
In a move that's likely to displease analysts, Macy's also announced that it would no longer report sales on a monthly basis, adding to the company's earlier decision not to provide quarterly sales or earnings guidance.
Macy's, like so many other retailers, had a punishing January. Same-store sales fell 7.1 percent that month versus an 8.6 percent increase during the same period last year, a bigger drop than analysts—and the retailer itself—were expecting. Same-store sales dropped 7.9 percent in December and rose 13.4 percent in November, helped by a shift in the reporting calendar.
"We are expecting same-store sales at Macy's to remain under pressure over the next few months and modestly recover thereafter," Charles Grom, an analyst with J.P. Morgan, said in a note published on February 7.
Although it's clear that Macy's faces gathering headwinds, analysts are optimistic about the company's continued integration of May Stores (which it acquired in 2005), and believe that Macy's has the largest opportunity among its peers for cost-cutting in the year ahead.
Citigroup's retail analyst, Deborah Weinswig, says that despite a difficult selling environment, she is confident in the ability of Macy's management to turn around same-store sales and operating margins in the coming year.
Macy's has already begun that task with its recent decision to consolidate three of its seven divisions, bleeding some 2,000 jobs; analysts have largely applauded the decision while simultaneously wondering if more could have been done to lower the bottom line.
"Going forward, we are aggressively pursuing our recently announced market localization initiative to drive future sales and earnings," said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president, and C.E.O. of Macy's.
On the other end of the spending spectrum, Target is offering new evidence that discounters are not necessarily immune to economic downturns.
Target reported that profits for the fourth quarter fell to $1.23 per share, from $1.29 per share during the same period last year, but exceeded analyst estimates of $1.22.
Fourth-quarter same-store sales rose 0.2 percent while revenue in the fourth quarter was $19.9 billion, a slight 0.8 percent increase from $19.7 billion in 2006. Shares fell about 4 percent during the quarter.
Same-store sales for the discounter fell 1.1 percent in the January period, after December same-store sales fell 5 percent and rose 10.8 percent in November, short of analyst expectations.
Traffic, rather than ticket total, is the issue right now for Target. As consumers continue to cut back on discretionary spending, Target lost out on same-store sales growth to Wal-Mart, which posted a 1 percent increase, for the first time in 12 quarters.
Wal-Mart's focus on groceries and other fundamentals has made it a one-stop shopping destination, an increasingly attractive proposition as gas prices climb.
For the full year 2007, Target's net earnings were $2.85 billion, compared with $2.79 billion in fiscal 2006, the latter of which included an extra selling week. Earnings per share increased 3.9 percent to $3.33 from $3.21 a year ago.
Total revenue for the year increased 6.5 percent to $63.4 billion, fueled by new store expansion, a 3 percent increase in same-store sales, and contribution from credit-card operations.
"Our sense was that Target expects the challenging environment to persist through the first half of the year followed by a pickup in business next fall as they begin to cycle easier compares," says Peter Benedict, senior analyst for Wachovia. Target did not issue its own guidance for fiscal 2008.
Citigroup's Weinswig downgraded Target to sell on February 20, based on what she believed to be a "less powerful pricing message versus Wal-Mart," as consumers seek to trade down. She also thought it had lost its strength in women's apparel, in addition to suffering from an increased credit risk with its credit-card portfolio.
"While we have been impressed historically with management's disciplined execution of its strategy, we believe the current macro environment, weak credit markets, and lack of focus on women's apparel will weigh on the stock in the next year," says Weinswig in the February 20 note.
AP - In a slowing economy, the more upscale the retailer, it seems, the more they're struggling.
Reuters - A top Federal
Reserve official said on Tuesday that a weakened U.S. economy
was a bigger worry than higher inflation, suggesting a
willingness to lower interest rates further as the central bank
tackles "difficult times."