pulling oversize loads like crane booms, railroad ties and air conditioning ducts. One of his biggest worries: How he'll find the money to buy his daughter a prom dress. As the cost of
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 9:53 am
At Colonial Auto Center in Charlottesville, Va., President Kip Rowe says sales in February were about even with the same month last year. What saved him from a decline, he says, is that
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 9:52 am
Loosening the regulatory reins around Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac gives them the freedom to play a bigger role in trying to stabilize a worsening housing market. The danger, some...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 9:49 am
AP - Consumer spending is threatening to stall out while consumer confidence, battered by soaring energy costs and falling home prices, has taken a steep nosedive.
Source:
Yahoo! News: Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 9:44 am
The Air Force decision is a blow to Boeing's prestige. The deal ultimately could be worth $100 billion. ...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
Federal watchdogs have asked courts to sanction Countrywide Financial Corp. for "sustained bad faith" in allegedly levying unjustified fees on consumers in bankruptcy and failing to return overpayments...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
The state added just under 15,000 positions in 2007 and January saw another shrink in employers' payrolls. Training programs and other initiatives will be pursued, officials say. ...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said Friday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 18%, hurt by lower earnings from insurance underwriting and a decrease in investment gains.
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
Workers at the Chinese Daily News were said to put in 12-hour days without breaks or overtime amid a culture of fear. ...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
Workers at the Chinese Daily News were said to put in 12-hour days without breaks or overtime amid a culture of fear.
One of the nation's largest Chinese-language newspapers was slapped with a federal court order to pay $5.2 million to past and current employees who were forced to work 12-hour days without breaks or overtime pay.
Source:
L.A. Times - Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said Friday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 18%, hurt by lower earnings from insurance underwriting and a decrease in investment gains.
Source:
L.A. Times - Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
The prized Mustang in 'Gone in 60 Seconds' stars in a legal battle between the director's wife and icon Carroll Shelby. ...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
It's a great time to be a buyer of high-quality tax-free municipal bonds.
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
The cuts only affect copies sold in boxes directly to consumers. Microsoft Corp., the...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
The Air Force decision is a blow to Boeing's prestige. The deal ultimately could be worth $100 billion.
In a stunning upset that could reshape the nation's aerospace industry, Northrop Grumman Corp. and European partner Airbus were tapped Friday for a $40-billion Pentagon contract to build 179 aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force.
Source:
L.A. Times - Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
Federal watchdogs have asked courts to sanction Countrywide Financial Corp. for "sustained bad faith" in allegedly levying unjustified fees on consumers in bankruptcy and failing to return overpayments.
Source:
L.A. Times - Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
The prized Mustang in 'Gone in 60 Seconds' stars in a legal battle between the director's wife and icon Carroll Shelby.
Almost 35 years have passed since a Ford Mustang named Eleanor tore up the streets of the South Bay in the cinematic crash-fest "Gone in 60 Seconds."
Source:
L.A. Times - Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
A report from Swiss Bank UBS predicting more severe sub-prime mortgage losses also sends shivers across Wall Street.
The stock market suffered its worst drubbing in almost a month Friday as new troubles in the financial sector suggested that damage from the sub-prime crisis still had a long way to go.
Source:
L.A. Times - Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
The lingerie retailer charts a new course after saying its wares have gotten too racy for their own good. ...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
The state added just under 15,000 positions in 2007 and January saw another shrink in employers' payrolls. Training programs and other initiatives will be pursued, officials say.
Here's more evidence that California is losing its struggle against recession: The state shed 20,300 jobs in January, more than the other 49 states combined for the month, a government report showed Friday.
Source:
L.A. Times - Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
It's a great time to be a buyer of high-quality tax-free municipal bonds.
Source:
L.A. Times - Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
Stocks fell sharply Friday after a series of depressing economic and corporate reports as well as high oil prices stoked concerns about the health of the economy. The major stock indexes...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 7:48 am
US stocks tumbled, capping the market's fourth-straight monthly drop, after a report showed business activity fell to the lowest level since 2001 and UBS said losses in credit markets may top $600 billion...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 7:31 am
Boeing's loss of a $40bn US military contract to a group including Europe's Airbus draws angry protests.
Source:
BBC News | Business | World Edition | 1 Mar 2008 | 4:45 am
Read full story for latest details.
Source:
Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 1 Mar 2008 | 4:35 am
Enron Corp. shareholders and investors hoping to get their cut of more than $7.2 billion recovered as part of a lawsuit they filed in connection with the company's collapse are going to...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 4:25 am
Beijing is considering transferring shares from state-owned companies to the national pension fund to help fill a gaping shortfall
Source:
FT.com - US homepage | 1 Mar 2008 | 4:06 am
Is your car a rolling embarrassment? Or maybe it won't even roll anymore. If a fresh set of wheels is on your shopping list but your wallet's feeling wafer-thin, take heart. There may be no better time to buy a used vehicle.
Source:
L.A. Times - Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 3:43 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said on Friday quarterly profit fell 18 percent, hurt by lower earnings from insurance underwriting and a decrease in investment gains.
Source:
Reuters: Business News | 1 Mar 2008 | 3:40 am
Hillary Clinton was accused of scaremongering when she launched a stark television advertisement that urged voters to consider their children's security when choosing who should be the Democratic presidential nominee
Source:
FT.com - US homepage | 1 Mar 2008 | 3:16 am
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Boeing Inc. shares fell more than 3% late Friday after Northrop Grumman Corp. won a key military tanker contract, and Ambac Financial Inc. slipped after the bond insurer said that it would cut its dividend in an effort to maintain its crucial triple-A credit rating.
Source:
MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 1 Mar 2008 | 2:58 am
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Major Latin American markets dropped Friday as weak U.S. economic data, continuing credit concerns, poor bank earnings, and lower commodity prices battered investor confidence.
Source:
MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 1 Mar 2008 | 2:54 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled on Friday as another round of weak economic data added to U.S. recession fears and a record loss at insurer AIG underscored worries about more write-downs in the financial sector.
Source:
Reuters: Business News | 1 Mar 2008 | 2:48 am
Five months after the Serious Fraud Office got its death sentence, there is still no word on the future of white collar crime investigation in this country. Meanwhile, the technical specialists that will be needed if a new organisation...
Source:
New Zealand Herald - Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 2:39 am
Reuters - Northrop Grumman and Airbus parent
EADS won a $35 billion U.S. Air Force refueling plane deal on
Friday in a surprise blow to Boeing, until now the Pentagon's
sole supplier of aerial tankers.
Source:
Yahoo! News: Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 2:23 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman and Airbus parent EADS won a $35 billion U.S. Air Force refueling plane deal on Friday in a surprise blow to Boeing, until now the Pentagon's sole supplier of aerial tankers.
Source:
Reuters: Business News | 1 Mar 2008 | 2:23 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire Wilbur Ross has agreed to invest up to $1 billion in Assured Guaranty Ltd , bypassing big bond insurers such as Ambac Financial Group Inc in favor of a rival that has largely avoided the credit problems plaguing the industry.
Source:
Reuters: Business News | 1 Mar 2008 | 2:16 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The alarm bells of U.S. recession rang louder on Friday as reports showed business activity in the U.S. Midwest plummeted in February and consumer sentiment slumped to...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 2:16 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The alarm bells of U.S. recession rang louder on Friday as reports showed business activity in the U.S. Midwest plummeted in February and consumer sentiment slumped to a 16-year low.
Source:
Reuters: Business News | 1 Mar 2008 | 2:16 am
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – U.S.-listed shares of overseas companies dropped Friday in the wake of a massive write-down by insurance giant American International Group Inc. and a report that showed consumer sentiment tumbled in February.
Source:
MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 1 Mar 2008 | 2:06 am
EADS and US company Northrop Grumman beat Boeing to win a $40bn US Air Force contract.
Source:
BBC News | Business | World Edition | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:57 am
Berkshire Hathaway said Friday that its net worth rose by $12.3 billion in 2007, as the company's insurance operations benefited from a year free of major catastrophes, and its 66 non-insurance businesses, as a whole, gained in profits.
Source:
Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:32 am
Buffett says the party's over, at least for insurers. Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett predicts a big drop in profits for the insurance industry this year as the conglomerate he runs reports an 18% decline in fourth-quarter net income.
Source:
MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:20 am
Warren Buffett has hit out at rising US opposition to investments by sovereign wealth funds, saying their recent buying spree was a function of misguided trade policies and not "some nefarious plot by foreign governments"
Source:
FT.com - US homepage | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:15 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled on Friday as another round of weak economic data added to U.S. recession fears and a record loss at insurer AIG underscored worries about more...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:11 am
Wilbur Ross, the US financier, is to invest up to $1bn in Assured Guaranty to enable the bond insurer to take advantage of troubles plaguing bigger rivals such as MBIA and Ambac
Source:
FT.com - US homepage | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:10 am
Ferro (FOE), the industrial materials maker, swung to a Q4 loss of $2.58 a share. Analysts were expecting a 13-cent profit. Revenue gained 15% to...
Source:
Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:09 am
Banks are top target for ID theft
Source:
Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:09 am
Google's paid click dip clarified
Source:
Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:09 am
If you bought a carton of eggs recently, you may have been bowled over by sticker shock.
Source:
Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:09 am
By 2009, wireless phone users worldwide will outnumber landline customers 3-to-1 .
Source:
Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:09 am
Foreign phone companies are searching for a passage to India, angling for a slice of its fast-growing cell phone market. But with stiff local...
Source:
Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 1 Mar 2008 | 1:09 am
U.S. stocks will enter March on uncertain footing next week, with a sell-off Friday marking the fourth consecutive month of declines for a market that remains plagued by the credit crisis and an uncertain economic outlook.
Source:
MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:51 am
EADS, the European defence company, scored a stunning victory in its campaign to penetrate the US defence market by winning a $35bn contract to supply the US air force with refuelling tankers
Source:
FT.com - US homepage | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:49 am
The government keeps trying solutions to the mortgage mess, but maybe some homes can't be saved. Tess talks to Lou Barnes about the homeowners who can't be rescued.
Source:
Marketplace Money | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:40 am
LONDON (Reuters) - Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA told a
UK court on Friday that a $12 billion freeze on its assets
should not have been granted to Exxon Mobil as the oil
major's arguments were "sheer fantasy land."
Source:
Reuters: Business News | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:36 am
Reuters - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway
Inc said on Friday quarterly profit fell 18 percent, hurt by
lower earnings from insurance underwriting and a decrease in
investment gains.
Source:
Yahoo! News: Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:34 am
The clock is ticking on a compromise Farm Bill in Congress. Lawmakers might learn a lesson about the political power of agriculture from India, where poor farmers are getting a much-needed break. Jeremy Hobson reports.
Source:
Marketplace | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:33 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force said on Friday it had picked a transatlantic team led by Northrop Grumman, instead of Boeing, to start building a new aerial refueling fleet
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:31 am
Life is hard enough without having to decipher everything. This week's Buzzword is brought to you by the letter "V" and the number 18,000,000,000.
Source:
Marketplace Money | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:18 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire Wilbur Ross has agreed to invest up to $1 billion in Assured Guaranty Ltd , bypassing big bond insurers such as Ambac Financial Group Inc in favor of a...
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:13 am
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The New York Attorney General has subpoenaed Sallie Mae seeking information about a direct-to-consumer lending product, the student loan company said on Friday.
Source:
Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:05 am
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The New York Attorney General has subpoenaed Sallie Mae seeking information about a direct-to-consumer lending product, the student loan company said on Friday.
Source:
Reuters: Business News | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:05 am
Stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson chats with host Kai Ryssdal about what happened on Wall Street this week and what may lie ahead.
Source:
Marketplace | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:04 am
Shares in Helphire Group collapsed 40pc after the company, which supplies rental cars for motorists involved in accidents, missed profit forecasts and announced a jump in debt.
Source:
Telegraph Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Michael Grade's triumphal appointment as ITV's executive chairman late in 2006 is now the stuff of media industry legend: crowds of cheering staff at the company's Gray's Inn Road headquarters, big cigars and big words about restoring the once-mighty channel's creative swagger. Upstairs, though, senior executives were fearing for their jobs.
Source:
Telegraph Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Ireland's C&C Group has signed a distribution deal with Coors in the UK that will see it sell draught Magners cider for the first time as it looks to reverse the brand's 28pc decline in sales.
Source:
Telegraph Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Rank, the bingo and casino operator, has removed a major stumbling block to a potential takeover with the transfer of its £700m pension scheme to Rothesay Life, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs.
Source:
Telegraph Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Britain's banks have been forced to write off a record chunk of household debt in the past year in the latest sign that families are struggling to keep up their repayments.
Source:
Telegraph Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The boss of the world's second biggest advertising agency has predicted faster growth this year - despite fears of a consumer slowdown - before the credit crisis takes its toll next year.
Source:
Telegraph Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Opposition to the tax changes hardened yesterday as business leaders took aim at the Treasury's proposals on Capital Gains Tax and the treatment of non-domiciles.
Source:
Telegraph Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Radar Networks' Nova Spivack unveils his plans to revolutionise cyberspace to Dominic White
Source:
Telegraph Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The chief executive of GCap Media rejected an improved £330m bid approach from predator Global Radio and claimed her shareholders had expressed their full support.
Source:
Telegraph Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The chief executive of Vale, the Brazilian mining giant, has threatened to walk away from talks about a $76bn (£38.9bn) bid for Xstrata.
Source:
Telegraph Business | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Peloton Partners was close to concluding a deeply discounted firesale of its
stricken mortgage-backed hedge fund last night in a move that will see $2
billion ($£1 billion) of equity wiped out.
Source:
Latest Business News from Times Online | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Charles Allen, the chairman of Global Radio, was considering whether to
sweeten his offer for GCap Media last night after the Classic FM owners
rejected a revised offer that valued Britain's biggest commercial radio
broadcaster at £333 million.
Source:
Latest Business News from Times Online | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC's February sales are trending below 2007 levels, an early sign of weakness in a year the automaker expects will be marked by a continued downturn, Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press said on Friday.
Source:
Reuters: Business News | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Rizwan Hussein's sub-post office in Battersea, South London, is brimming with
things to buy - Mother's Day gifts, Easter eggs, greeting cards, stationery,
household goods, newspapers and magazines. It has a cash machine, supplies
foreign currency and is a lottery outlet. On a weekday morning it is
brimming with people, most of whom are using the postal services, some of
whom have used them for 40 years.
Source:
Latest Business News from Times Online | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The chance of America’s hardest-hit bond insurers receiving the cash
injections that they desperately need receded yesterday, in developments
that helped to drag down shares of companies throughout the United States.<br/>
<br/>
The Dow Jones industrial average was down by 315.80 points at 12,266.40 at the
close as Wilbur Ross, a potential saviour of the ailing bond insurance
industry, opted to inject money into a healthy, rather than a struggling,
securities underwriter.<br/>
<br/>
Furthermore, in a move that is sure to rattle the markets when they reopen on
Monday, Ambac, the struggling bond insurer, announced late last night that
it would become the first securities underwriter to cut its dividend, from 7
cents to 1 cent, and would cease writing new business for six months, as it
sought to conserve cash. Ambac's announcement came only hours after it
emerged that a key attempt to rescue Ambac, in which Mr Ross had considered
investing, could be far from being finalised and may fall through altogether.<br/>
<br/>
Mr Ross, the billionaire investor, yesterday agreed to inject up to $1 billion
in Assured Guaranty, one of only two bond insurers that has not only kept
its key AAA credit rating from all three mainstream ratings agencies, but
also not even had that rating questioned. The other is Financial Security.<br/>
<br/>
Assured Guaranty has much less exposure to high-risk sub-prime mortgage bonds
than its rivals and will have no problem meeting the claims it faces. Mr
Ross$’s capital injection represents an opportunistic move, helping it to win
a larger share of new underwriting business as its rivals founder.<br/>
<br/>
Although he did not rule out further investments in insurance, Mr Ross made
clear that Assured Guaranty is to be his main bond underwriting vehicle. He
had been seen as a potential source of rescue funding for struggling bond
insurers, such as MBIA and Ambac, and his investment in Assured cut the
chance that he will finance them. Ambac shares fell 66 cents, or 5.6 per
cent, to close at $11.14. MBIA ended down 7.75 per cent at $12.97.<br/>
<br/>
Separately, it is understood that the consortium of banks involved in the
Ambac rescue is questioning whether the proposed $3 billion injection will
suffice. They are trying to establish how much capital they are prepared to
risk to keep the underwriter afloat.<br/>
<br/>
It is in the interest of the banks in the Ambac rescue consortium, which
includes Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland, to keep the underwriter afloat
because it insures many of the bonds that they own. Even the fear that a
bond underwriter cannot meet a potential insurance payout is enough to send
a bond$’s value tumbling. However, there is a limit to how much the
consortium is prepared to invest in the rescue. The chances of the talks
failing are mounting as the continued deterioration in the bond market
pushes up Ambac’s likely claims bill, which some analyst believe could top
$8 billion.<br/>
<br/>
US stocks were also hit by a fall in the National Association of Purchasing
Management-Chicago$’s business barometer, which showed that US business
activity fell to its lowest level in seven years in February. The barometer
fell to 44.5, from January’s 51.5.
Source:
Latest Business News from Times Online | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
In the race to be the world’s biggest carmaker Toyota has just been pipped at
the post by General Motors, which, unexpectedly, has clung to the industry’s
top spot by a tiny margin. No matter: observers expect the Japanese company
to claim first place this year, even if they do not expect the sort of
champagne-spraying high spirits that usually accompany motoring triumphs.
It’s not Toyota’s style. It plays the long game, with a reputation built on
steady growth and high-quality products.<br/>
<br/>
Looking ahead is paying off richly at present. Toyota stole a march on many of
its competitors by launching the increasingly popular Prius, the hybrid car,
which has been around for ten years. When it hit the market, environmental
issues were not high on the industry’s agenda, but now, like Toyota, the
Prius’s time seems to have come. It has become the most recognisable symbol
of carmakers’ attempts to embrace green concerns, even if some rivals have
been sceptical about the technology.<br/>
<br/>
Environmental issues will dominate next week’s Geneva motor show, the
industry’s leading European event, and Toyota will be in the spotlight. It
is planning to field the Prius, along with its new small urban car, iQ.<br/>
<br/>
Tadashi Arashima, president of European operations and based in Brussels, was
surprised at how often he saw a Prius during a recent visit to London. Yet
the car seems well-suited to the capital and to urban living: it escapes
London’s congestion charge and gets off very lightly, sometimes completely,
in local authority parking schemes that are designed to punish high
emissions.<br/>
<br/>
If Toyota could build more of the models, it surely would. It cannot build as
many as it could sell because of constraints with the production of
batteries. This year it hopes to sell 450,000 Prius and Lexus hybrids
worldwide and 550,000 the following year.<br/>
<br/>
The United States is the biggest market and Mr Arashima, who worked in America
for several years, says: “The US is quite a diverse market. There are many
people who like the trucks with the big V8 engines, but there are also
people who like the environmentally friendly vehicles and so the Prius is
quite a big statement.”<br/>
<br/>
Toyota is wedded to the hybrid concept. At the Detroit show this year, it
unveiled a plug-in vehicle that it plans to manufacture by 2010. The plug-in
is a hybrid, but it can do about 18km on one charge from a household socket
alone.<br/>
<br/>
Some manufacturers, such as General Motors, are researching biofuels, but
Toyota is not keen. Mr Arashima says: “There is a lot of controversy over
biofuels. In general it is a good way to reduce CO2, no question about it,
but there are still many people on this Earth starving and is it ethically
right to convert corn and whatever you can eat into fuel? So we need to come
up with different ways.”<br/>
<br/>
Carmakers have other concerns, such as cost-cutting, making cars more
affordable and moving into emerging markets. Tata, the Indian conglomerate
that is poised to buy Land Rover and Jaguar, stunned many when it produced
the Nano, a small car costing about £1,300. With echoes of Volkswagen’s
Beetle, the Nano was designed to be a people’s car for India.<br/>
<br/>
Mr Arashima says that Toyota is not aiming to build a comparable car: “No way
for us. Tata Nano is an incredible idea. This is what should be, what
customers need and what can be offered. If we had to do this kind of thing,
it would be a major different way of thinking and we are not going there. We
are looking at environmental performance, comfort, safety, those sort of
things. Those are where we concentrate our efforts. We are going into
emerging markets, but with a $10,000-$13,000 car, not $2,500.$”<br/>
<br/>
Toyota’s latest venture in emerging markets is a new factory in Russia, where
Mr Arashima believes there is the potential for enormous growth. The St
Petersburg plant is ramping up its production line to begin manufacturing
20,000 cars a year from this spring. Growth in Russia – which has a small
proportion of car owners among the 140 million population, an emerging
middle class and a relatively old vehicle fleet – and Eastern Europe will
balance any stagnation in Western Europe, Mr Arashima says.<br/>
<br/>
Like all carmakers, Toyota has to struggle with fluctuating currencies.
Several years ago it was one of the most powerful advocates of Britain
joining the euro. Mr Arashima laughs at the thought of reviving the
campaign. “Well, we don’t say any more about that. Certainly it is much
easier if the UK is part of the euro, but we don’t strongly lobby,” he says.<br/>
<br/>
In the foyer of the Brussels offices a Formula One car symbolises Toyota’s
long-term involvement in all forms of motor sport, helping it to earn a
reputation for technical development. Now that the green flag is being
waved, Mr Arashima sees no conflict with continuing to pursue the chequered
version.<br/>
<br/>
“Day-to-day cars have to be reliable, good-quality and environmentally
friendly. But at the same time there is a huge emotion to driving the cars
and racing. This aspect is undeniable. We like to offer the fun element,” he
says, somewhat sheepishly considering the marque’s Formula One performance
last year, when it often started towards the back of the grid and rarely
finished in the points. “I don’t even want to talk about it. But maybe this
year.” Most would consider the likelihood of Toyota becoming the world’s
largest carmarker a much safer bet.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<b>CV</b><br/>
<br/>
<b>Born:</b> 1949, Ise City, Japan <br/>
<b>Education:</b> Graduated in Political Science from Keio University, 1973 <br/>
<b>Career: </b><br/>
<b>1973:</b> began in the North America division of Toyota, but based in
Tokyo. <br/>
<b>1977:</b> moved to California with Toyota Sales. <br/>
<b>1983 to 1989:</b> helped to launch Lexus in Japan. <br/>
<b>1990:</b> returned to California, in a sales and marketing role. <br/>
<b>1993:</b> vice-president corporate planning in United States. <br/>
<b>1995 to 1997:</b> production control division in Toyota City in Japan. <br/>
<b>1998:</b> general manager of marketing for Europe and Africa. <br/>
<b>2000:</b> vice-president of marketing, Europe. <br/>
<b>2003:</b> president of marketing, Europe. <br/>
<b>2006:</b> president of Toyota Europe <br/>
<b>Family:</b> Married to Sachiko. They have two sons
Source:
Latest Business News from Times Online | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Secretaries, graduate trainees and disgruntled colleagues are being targeted
by the Office of Fair Trading with the promise of £100,000 rewards for
information about illegal cartels.
Source:
Latest Business News from Times Online | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
SCi Entertainment, the home of Lara Croft, was forced to admit yesterday that
its financial problems were worse than expected as it announced an emergency
overhaul that includes dismissing a quarter of its workforce.<br/>
<br/>
The beleaguered computer games group – Britain’s only sizeable competitor in
a global industry – said that it needed to raise between £45 million and £55
million to keep afloat, more than the £30 million it had thought that it
needed as recently as January.<br/>
<br/>
Its financial woes come despite the relative success of <i>Kane & Lynch</i>,
its home-grown shooter starring a flawed mercenary and a medicated
psychopath, which sold 1.4 million copies worldwide over the Christmas
period – sales that SCi’s new management believes could have been greater if
the company had been better run.<br/>
<br/>
Phil Rogers, the group’s new chief executive, said: “It’s clear things have
to change. We recognise the failure to maximise the franchise opportunities
we have had.” He announced plans to abandon 14 games that are in
development, prompting a write-off amounting to £79.6 million.<br/>
<br/>
The company now hopes to raise new equity, although any investment is likely
to leave existing investors – including the American media giant Time Warner
– with a fraction of the rescued business. Yesterday, the shares tumbled 26
per cent to 39p, valuing what remains of the company at £34 million.<br/>
<br/>
SCi parted company with Jane Cavanagh, its chief executive, and two other top
executives in January. The new management made clear where they thought the
fault lay as the business unveiled an interim loss of £83.4 million. It said
that “quality has slipped below acceptable standards” and added that it was
working in an “ineffective operating struture”.<br/>
<br/>
Yesterday SCi indicated that it would consider “any sensible offer for the
company”, although insiders believe that it would be a bad time to sell the
business, because any purchaser would be picking up its intellectual
property on the cheap. Neither is it clear that bids would be forthcoming
after SCi spent the best part of last year in takeover talks that did not
come to fruition.
Source:
Latest Business News from Times Online | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
On the last day of 1958, Cubans, exhausted by the repression of the Fulgencio
Batista regime, welcomed in a new hope, a new beginning, in the form of
Fidel Castro, his brother Raúl and Che Guevara. They hoped that the trio
would generate wealth, stability and freedom.<br/>
<br/>
They did not get it. Fifty years on, the grandchildren of the Cuban
Revolution are awaiting another beginning. Last weekend, Raúl Castro, the
newly appointed President of Cuba, hinted at the unthinkable. In his first
speech to the National Assembly, he hinted that he may draw an end to
rationing and introduce reform into the farming sector – reform that he
introduced in the 1990s to stop Cubans from starving, a move that was
rescinded by his elder brother.<br/>
<br/>
He also reiterated his admiration of the Chinese model of economic reform – a
model that has allowed foreign companies to take minority stakes in
state-owned businesses. His comments sparked speculation that Raúl may
emerge as the leader that the nonsocialist world has been waiting for. His
speech triggered a debate over whether he may be minded to open Cuba to
wider foreign investment.<br/>
<br/>
Mauricio Font, of the City University of New York, said: “The Cuban economy
has no choice. Raúl has acknowledged this. Cuba has exhausted its savings,
and investments have to come from somewhere. They are no longer able to
generate sufficient savings on their own. They have to look to outside.”<br/>
<br/>
It is not only Raúl’s words that have given Cubans cause for hope. He has
already taken steps to decentralise the production and distribution of milk
within an economy that is 97 per cent controlled by the military and
perceived as the most centralised socialist state in the world.<br/>
<br/>
Although Cuban experts broadly agree that economic reform will not happen
overnight, many of them believe that Raúl will head for a short-list that
includes the end of rationing, agricultural reform, incentives for
remittance payments (expatriates sending money home) and, most critically,
opening the door to foreign investment.<br/>
<br/>
Cuba already has a few foreign partners - Venezuela, China, Canada, Spain and
Brazil – which invest in oil and tourism across the island, but for the
country to expand, Raúl will have to coax more funding from its existing
commercial allies and broaden the pool of investors.<br/>
<br/>
One of the world’s leading experts on Cuba, Jorge Castañeda, the former
Foreign Minister of Mexico, said: “Since what they have now doesn’t work,
they have to do something. But what the Chinese do isn’t recessarily an
option for Cuba. China is very big and has conducted its reforms over a long
period.<br/>
<br/>
“Raúl has to widen the pool of countries allowed to invest in Cuba. He must
extract funding from Europe and beyond, not just from Mexico, Brazil and
Spain. Part of the problem is that Raúl would like to implement the economic
reforms of China without the political reforms.”<br/>
<br/>
Raúl needs no reminding of the perils of depending on too few trading and
investment partners. Until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin was
Cuba’s biggest customer, buying 85 per cent of the island’s exports,
principally sugar, in return for cheap oil. In the 1990s, as <i>glasnost</i>
foreshadowed the disintegration of the Soviet empire, Cuba’s foreign market
disappeared and Cubans starved.<br/>
<br/>
Although Venezuela and China took the place of the Soviet Union – Cuba pays
for Venezuelan oil with doctors – and Canada and Spain were allowed to build
hotel resorts along the Cuban coastlines, the foreign investment was too
limited to offset Havana’s sliding economy, principally oil, tourism and
farming. After 2002 the Castro regime stopped using United Nations measures
to calculate GDP, so economists stopped using Cuban numbers.<br/>
<br/>
Critically, Raúl has already said that he will try to remove restrictions
that stifle growth and noted that it was time to revalue the Cuban peso.
Havana operates a debilitating dual-currency system whereby Government
salaries are paid in the almost worthless peso while the administration
restricts the distribution of the convertible peso, which can be exchanged
for foreign currency. The system led to government workers being far worse
off than those who earn the convertible currency, barely able to subsist
even with their monthly ration books.<br/>
<br/>
After Raúl’s speech last weekend, the University of Miami convened a talk to
mull over his succession. Most of the speakers gave warning that although
change was inevitable, it would not happen overnight, as Raúl struggled to
appease hardliners, the leader of whom is his brother. At the conference,
Jaime Suchlicki, the director of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American
Studies at the University of Miami said: “What I expect is that he [Raúl]
will open up the rural areas for more privatisation in the agricultural
[sector], he may open up to some foreign investment, particularly in
offshore petroleum [drilling] and, in limited ways, in the tourist industry.
But we don’t see at this point any move towards a market economy and
certainly no move towards major political changes.”<br/>
<br/>
So is Cuba on the brink of significant economic change? “Cuba is
unpredictable,” Professor Castañeda said. “Normally, you would expect
incremental change, along with a honeymoon period. But it could start
tomorrow morning. Cuba is so closed, we have no way of knowing what the
Cuban people are really thinking. So who knows?”<br/>
<br/>
<b>Life and times</b><br/>
<br/>
<b>Revolution, 1959-89</b> Fidel Castro becomes President in 1959, with his
brother Raúl as deputy. In 1960, all business is nationalised with no
compensation. In 1972, Cuba becomes a full member of Soviet-based Council
for Mutual Economic Assistance <br/>
<br/>
<b>Collapse, 1989-93</b> Cuba’s economy collapses as the Soviet Union –
accounting for 85 per cent of Cuba’s exports - disintegrates. Moscow stops
buying sugar. Cubans starve <br/>
<br/>
<b>“The special period”, 1993-96</b> Raúl Castro starts programme
of modest privatisation in farming. Lets farmers profit from selling
produce, after paying tax to Havana. Raúl allows Spanish and Canadian
tourist companies to develop hotels and resorts. Cubans start modest
enterprises, such as selling fast food on streets. By 1996, GDP estimated to
have grown by 8 per cent <br/>
<br/>
<b>Retrenchment and Decline, 1996 to present</b> Raúl’s reforms stagnate. In
2003, Fidel reverses them. Fidel recentralises decision-making, abolishes
dollar as legal tender and cuts small private sector. Regime becomes more
repressive. Economy slows, but Venezuelan oil and Chinese money help prop it
up
Source:
Latest Business News from Times Online | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Britain accumulated so much gold in its Imperial heyday that the floor of the
Bank of England vault is said to have collapsed beneath the weight. More
than a century later, the boom in oil and mineral prices has led to another
bout of state-driven gold-buying.
Source:
Latest Business News from Times Online | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
A number of years ago - I’m going to be deliberately vague and change details
to prevent anyone from being identified – I attended a session of
Workaholics Anonymous in London, with the intention of observing
proceedings, and then mocking the idea of a counselling group for compulsive
workers.<br/>
<br/>
The very concept of Workaholics Anonymous, which was originally set up in 1983
in New York by a financial planner and a schoolteacher, seemed intrinsically
comic to me. How would workaholics ever find time to attend meetings? And,
once they joined, would they overprepare, and compete to make lengthy
Powerpoint presentations? It was the kind of hilarious piece that was going
to write itself.<br/>
<br/>
But the piece never did write itself. And it has taken me some long time
finally to get around to it. You see, there turned out to be nothing
particularly hilarious about the meeting. I listened to one man explain how
he spent so much time developing his business, to the exclusion of
everything else, including exercise, that he had a heart attack. A woman
blamed her divorce on trying to make it as a management consultant.
Meanwhile, a young City professional said that overwork was making him
suicidal.<br/>
<br/>
Also, I had, at the time, just started dating a workaholic, and the experience
was beginning to alter my views. Before this, I didn’t really consider
workahol a drug, not least because my immigrant family had instilled into me
the importance of hard toil. My grandfather worked in a factory for eight
years after his official retirement. At the age of ten, during school
holidays, I was labouring up to 14 hours a day in a local sewing factory.
And I worked so frantically at university that I ended up in hospital after
my finals. Besides, if you enjoy your work, what’s the problem?<br/>
<br/>
Indeed, this girl’s workaholism – say she was Indian, in her thirties and a
City lawyer – combined with her looks, intelligence and kindness was part of
the attraction. At the time I was working especially hard, and a
relationship where I saw the other person only at weekends seemed ideal.<br/>
<br/>
But things began to unravel when it transpired that our notions of hard work
differed drastically. In comparison to her, I was Bez from the Happy
Mondays. She worked between 8am and 11pm most days, almost never took
weekends off and hadn’t had a holiday in years. Then, after a while, the
little time we did spend together began to be invaded by her work. An
invitation to the theatre turned out to be a corporate outing. A dinner
party with a friend turned out to be a dinner party with a business contact.
A Sunday afternoon movie was postponed to “dinner”, which was postponed to a
“late takeaway”.<br/>
<br/>
Having railed in the past about various partners’ “neediness”, it was
peculiar being on the other side of the fence. And when I began complaining
about late night BlackBerry messaging, early morning client calls and of
being ignored until 11pm, when my messages finally got a response, I began
receiving sporadic daytime texts saying things like, “I’m thinking of you”.
But it’s not enough to be thought about is it? I mean, I think of Sienna
Miller quite often, but it doesn’t mean we have a relationship.<br/>
<br/>
The break-up was difficult because I still adored her in most ways, and,
besides, look at the state of me. Some of us can’t afford to be so
demanding. When I suggested ending it, I did so in the hope it would shock
her into making concessions. But while claiming to be devastated, no
concessions materialised. And as we parted I saw a flicker of something in
her eyes that resembled relief. I know the feeling: you’re sad that yet
another relationship has failed, that you’re another step closer to spending
your life alone, but surreptitiously relieved because it means you can
finally concentrate on your beloved work.<br/>
<br/>
Before someone writes in to point out that she may just have thought I was a
moron, I should state at this point that, yes, she may just have thought I
was a moron. It is always easier to blame someone else for a relationship
failure, than to examine your own faults, of which I evidently have many.
But this was my possibly self-deluded interpretation of events, and in
retrospect I’m glad it happened because it finally made me appreciate that
overwork is not harmless.
Source:
Latest Business News from Times Online | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
In a surprising upset at the expense of Boeing, Northrop reportedly has won a $40 billion contract to build the Air Force 179 next-generation aircraft tankers.
Source:
MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:59 pm
Investor's Business Daily - The mortgage crisis and overall credit crunch will likely cut GDP growth by 1.3 percentage points in the next year, according to a study by several top economists at a Univ. of Chicago forum. Banks are expected to tighten credit further as home loan losses swell to $400 bil -- $250 bil more than previously seen. The report urged banks to cut dividends to preserve capital. Presenters included Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sachs, Anil Kashyap of the Chicago Fed and Hyun Song Shin of Princeton Univ.
Source:
Yahoo! News: Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:49 pm
The City of London Corporation is worried it may be losing the upper hand to the former Colonies when it comes to international finance. But some say the fuss over top-dog status is all hype, an effort to relax government regulations. Jill Barshay reports.
Source:
Marketplace | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:48 pm
Tess gets to know the members, portfolio and unique social events of the Crow River Investment Club in St. Michael, Minnesota.
Source:
Marketplace Money | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:45 pm
The E.P.A. recently struck down a law mandating tougher gas efficiency and emissions standards for cars sold in California. But with gas prices soaring, consumers may force Detroit's hand. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
Source:
Marketplace | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:29 pm
After a brutal year that saw their industry fortunes decimated, the stock market is broadcasting signs of a turnaround in beleaguered home builders. So why aren't CEOs in the business more upbeat?
Source:
MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:24 pm
Overseas capital is increasingly headed elsewhere as the U.S. dollar continues to fall. Future credit will be more expensive, and Americans will have to increasingly rely on their savings. John Dimsdale reports.
Source:
Marketplace | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:18 pm
Hedge funds that trade municipal bonds have been hit by margin calls in recent days and some are having to sell positions to meet those obligations, according to a leading investor in the market.
Source:
MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:14 pm
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks swooned with the broad market Friday as woes about the economy and lower oil prices weighed on the sector, but oil, natural gas and oil services shares still managed to hold on to slim gains for the week.
Source:
MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:11 pm
Read Eva Rosenberg’s TaxWatch today to find out more, plus don’t miss Marshall Loeb’s Daily Money Tip on how to avoid tax scams in your email inbox, and read about the letter the IRS is sending you in March, all on this week’s Tax pages.
Source:
MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:11 pm
Edmund Hilary climbed Everest because it was there, but this week, we meet a polar explorer who visits remote places because they may not be around much longer.
Source:
Marketplace Money | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:10 pm
In this edition of Getting Personal, Chris and Tess talk about investing during a recession, foreign CDs, tax software and establishing an independent credit history.
Source:
Marketplace Money | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:04 pm
Stocks tumbled Friday, in the second worst day of 2008, after AIG's record loss added to worries about the financial sector and more weak economic news intensified fears about a recession.
Source:
Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 10:56 pm
Despite all the pain the U.S. dollar has endured in recent days, the greenback may still have further to fall before seeing any sort of relief, according to currency experts.
Source:
Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 10:46 pm
None of us want that dreaded audit letter from the IRS in the mail, so Tess asks Frank Degan how you can make sure your tax preparer isn't setting you up for trouble.
Source:
Marketplace Money | 29 Feb 2008 | 10:42 pm
Berkshire Hathaway had another excellent year in 2007, posting an 11% gain in net worth, CEO Warren Buffett said in Friday's annual report to shareholders. Berkshire has grown its per-share book value by a remarkable 21% annually since Buffett took the reins 44 years ago.
Source:
Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 10:38 pm
Crippled by decades of war, the government of Afghanistan has little or no power to stop illegal or questionable enterprises. Now a classic investment swindle has entagled thousands of Afghans hoping for a brighter future. Gregory Warner reports.
Source:
Marketplace | 29 Feb 2008 | 10:34 pm
Source:
Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 29 Feb 2008 | 10:27 pm
Eni, the Italian oil and gas group, plans to invest $4bn in Venezuela, making the biggest commitment by a western oil company since President Hugo Chávez began to take control of the country's oil projects in 2005
Source:
FT.com - US homepage | 29 Feb 2008 | 10:14 pm
US stock markets close lower amid continuing concerns about the deteriorating health of the economy.
Source:
BBC News | Business | World Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 10:04 pm
Read full story for latest details.
Source:
Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:59 pm
The price of oil dips at the end of trading in New York, but remains near record levels.
Source:
BBC News | Business | World Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:41 pm
Reuters - American International Group ,
on the heels of reporting its largest-ever loss, said on Friday
the subprime crisis had thrown it into "uncharted waters" that
were likely to remain choppy through 2008.
Source:
Yahoo! News: Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:40 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - American International Group , on the heels of reporting its largest-ever loss, said on Friday the subprime crisis had thrown it into "uncharted waters" that were likely to remain choppy through 2008.
Source:
Reuters: Business News | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:40 pm
Reuters - The Federal Reserve's rapid-fire
interest rate reductions were warranted, but the central bank
must reverse course quickly once calm is restored to financial
markets, Fed officials said on Friday.
Source:
Yahoo! News: Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:36 pm
Some pundits say fundraising success is the best indication of presidential character. Others say it's success in business, or time spent on Capitol Hill. But Dan Drezner thinks it's how well a president performs when blindsided by fate and history.
Source:
Marketplace | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:26 pm
Source:
Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:20 pm
Senate Republicans this week thwarted efforts by their Democratic counterparts to vote on a housing stimulus bill that President Bush said would "bail out lenders and speculators."
Source:
Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:17 pm
Stock prices and bond yields tumbled as fears about the stability of the financial system sent investors scrambling for the safety of government debt
Source:
FT.com - US homepage | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:10 pm
Stocks ended on a down note. But some ETFs still posted decent results this week.
Source:
SmartMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:08 pm
Here are the cars and SUVs with the lowest scores in Consumer Reports' annual auto tests.
Source:
Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 8:54 pm
Silicon Valley is known for innovation and its sometimes unorthodox working environments. But a new trend has baffled correspondent Cash Peters: When is a conference not a conference? Apparently, when no one's in charge...
Source:
Marketplace | 29 Feb 2008 | 8:48 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's rapid-fire interest rate reductions were warranted, but the central bank must reverse course quickly once calm is restored to financial markets, Fed officials said on Friday.
Source:
Reuters: Business News | 29 Feb 2008 | 8:32 pm
If you want in on opportunities in the Middle East, it might help to learn the language. Jennifer Collins dropped in on an Arabic class to see how people are using the language for work.
Source:
Marketplace Money | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:59 pm
Trying to turn Dell around has been like trying to maneuver a huge SUV through a very narrow alley. The company's fiscal fourth quarter earnings performance was another flop, as profits and sales came up slightly short.
Source:
Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:56 pm
How to lessen the pain of skyrocketing food prices when buying groceries.
Source:
SmartMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:55 pm
One of economics editor Chris Farrell's favorite investments just got a bad rap in the Wall Street Journal. Chris sets the story straight on TIPS and where they belong in your portfolio.
Source:
Marketplace Money | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:52 pm
New Zealand had a monthly trade deficit of $320 million in January, well down on the $825 million a year earlier.
The annual trade deficit was down to $4.8 billion from $6 billion in the year to January 2007, Statistics New Zealand...
Source:
New Zealand Herald - Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:30 pm
Gazprom, Russia's gas monopoly, says it will cut supplies to Ukraine by 25% on Monday.
Source:
BBC News | Business | World Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:29 pm
These funds have posted good returns ever since they opened their doors.
Source:
SmartMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:13 pm
Venture capitalists have been investing millions in a new generation of personal finance Web sites. Tess asks Emmett Higdon what makes these sites worth the green.
Source:
Marketplace Money | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:07 pm
The signs were hidden in the suds.
When executives at Progress Energy lost their company-paid car wash privileges last year, it was a harbinger of widespread perk cleansing at the North Carolina electric utility.
It's no joke. Starting April 1, the company's nine executives will no longer enjoy country club dues, personal travel on corporate jets, or car allowances, according to a filling with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Tickets to events that are unrelated to business will also be shelved.
Progress Energy's move was reported first by the Raleigh News and Observer.
Not all is lost, though. Progress Energy executives will continue to enjoy company-paid tax preparation services, financial planning, and internet and telecomm service.
"There is no doubt there has been an increase in companies disclosing cutbacks in executive perks," said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar, a compensation research firm.
The trend, added Cwirko-Godycki, started last year.
"In 2006, 16 Fortune 100 companies announced compensation cuts, whereas in 2005 only two companies made similar disclosures," said Cwirko-Godycki. "I would expect the number of cuts to increase this year."
The average Wall Street C.E.O. made $15 million in compensation in 2006, according to The Corporate Library, an independent research firm.
But industry experts say publicly traded corporations are increasingly worried about appearances after increased public scrutiny of executive compensation following scores of large compensation packages given to C.E.O.s who have performed poorly in recent years.
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Source:
Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:00 pm
Car-maker Volkswagen announces a record number of cars sold in 2007, sending profits up 40%.
Source:
BBC News | Business | World Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 6:39 pm
Biotechnology company Genesis Research and Development is expecting "milestone achievements" this year after a net loss for the year to December of $800,000.
The company's cash balance at the end of 2007 was $5.8 million, after...
Source:
New Zealand Herald - Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 6:30 pm
There are now at least two dozen eco-friendly investment funds, but as Sarah Gardner reports, environmental investing comes in different shades of green.
Source:
Marketplace Money | 29 Feb 2008 | 6:20 pm
NewsFactor - Microsoft said on Thursday it plans to slash prices on its Windows Vista operating system sold through retail channels. The company wants consumers to upgrade to the latest version of its flagship product.
Source:
Yahoo! News: Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 6:08 pm
Two Federal Reserve officials said Friday that the housing market could damage the economy even more severely than it has already if measures are not taken to correct it.
Source:
Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:52 pm
Northern Rock says its deputy chief executive David Baker is stepping down early.
Source:
BBC News | Business | World Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:41 pm
Shares in healthcare provider Metlifecare plunged 9 per cent, or 49c, to $5.01 after it reported a December half-year net loss of $12.3 million.
Last year under different accounting rules it reported a net profit of $14.6 million....
Source:
New Zealand Herald - Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:30 pm
Reuters - The alarm bells of U.S. recession rang
louder on Friday as reports showed business activity in the
U.S. Midwest plummeted in February and consumer sentiment
slumped to a 16-year low.
Source:
Yahoo! News: Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:21 pm
As long as inflation remains an also-ran to the Fed, gold will continue to soar.
Source:
SmartMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:07 pm
Auckland International Airport's 50,000-plus shareholders have two important decisions to make before the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's (CPPIB) partial offer closes on March 13.
They must first decide whether to vote in...
Source:
New Zealand Herald - Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
Sub -prime crisis, credit crunch - call it what you will - but the problems facing the global banking sector are of such a magnitude that a co-ordinated, multinational response is needed to prevent the world's economy stalling, says...
Source:
New Zealand Herald - Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
Shares in eftpos company Provenco slumped 12 per cent, or 5c, to 36c yesterday after it reported its December half-year net loss widened to $4.6 million from $1.8 million a year earlier.
The company, planning to merge with rival...
Source:
New Zealand Herald - Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
The events of the past few months in global credit and other asset markets show that the world economy must be shielded from the actions of financiers and that bankers, insurers and money managers must be protected from themselves.
Everyone...
Source:
New Zealand Herald - Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
Meat processor PPCS supports a radical concept for industry restructuring but is still focused on a strategy that includes ditching the company name.
Chairman Reese Hart, who failed to be re-elected to the board, said at the company's...
Source:
New Zealand Herald - Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
Telecommunications Minister David Cunliffe has rejected Telecom's plans for separating the telco into three divisions in a standoff over the issue of bonuses to be paid to the head of the wholesale division.
The Government last...
Source:
New Zealand Herald - Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
US consumer spending rises 0.4% in January as pressures grow on household budgets, official data shows.
Source:
BBC News | Business | World Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 4:29 pm
Their expectations for the future also hit a 16-year low while worries about their ability to makes ends meet and the overall economy were as bad as they have been in decades, according to the Reuters
U.S. consumer sentiment slumped to a 16-year low in February, hitting levels that usually sound alarm bells for recession, on worries about inflation, income and unemployment, a survey showed today.
Source:
L.A. Times - Business | 29 Feb 2008 | 3:57 pm
Semiconductor stocks haven't hit bottom yet, but be ready when they do.
Source:
SmartMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 3:18 pm
Source:
Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 29 Feb 2008 | 2:31 pm
The blue chip index took a beating on shaky economic data and renewed concern over inflation.
Source:
SmartMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 2:04 pm
Vallejo, California, postponed a decision on whether to reorganize under Chapter 9 of the federal bankruptcy code after reaching a cost-cutting agreement late Thursday with labor unions representing its police officers and firefighters.
City officials will take up the matter on Monday, after weighing whether the union concessions will be sufficient to keep Vallejo solvent.
The local economy has slumped so badly—particularly the real estate market—that elected officials said that taxes were no longer sufficient to cover the expense of running the city of 117,000 people 27 miles northeast of San Francisco.
In Vallejo, tumbling home sales and property values have driven tax revenues down, while payroll expenses have soared. The city's budget deficit is almost $10 million; it is expected to grow beyond $13 million during the fiscal year beginning July 1. At the current pace, Vallejo is expected to run out of cash by the end of March.
Neither the city nor its unions disclosed specifics of the cost-cutting agreement they reached to address the problem.
Chapter 9 bankruptcy is rare, but not unprecedented. A vote to declare bankruptcy on Monday would make Vallejo the first California city to declare bankruptcy because its revenues cannot cover expenses.
In 2001, Desert Hot Springs, a city of 20,000, filed for bankruptcy after it lost a lawsuit; Orange County, a wealthy enclave south of Los Angeles, declared the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history in 1994 after losing $1.6 billion on a bad interest-rate-derivative bet.
Nationwide, 32 municipalities have filed for bankruptcy since 1980, according to
NPR, the most notable of which has been Bridgeport, Connecticut. The city of 140,000 filed for Chapter 9 protection in 1991 after racking up a $17 million deficit.
The specter of failing municipalities—considered some of the most failsafe repositories for investment—is enough to send a subprime shiver through markets already reeling from a mortgage crisis. Will insolvent governments be the latest nightmare to emerge as the credit crisis unfolds?
Amy Doppelt, a managing director at Fitch Ratings, said she doesn’t see a doomsday scenario for governments. She says smaller local governments are most susceptible to the kind of problems seen in Vallejo.
Their less-sophisticated budgeting practices have left them more reliant on volatile revenue streams like property taxes, real-estate-transaction taxes, and developer fees. In Vallejo, all of them contributed heartily to the city's income—and all of them plummeted as home sales slowed.
Further, Doppelt pointed out that Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy and Chapter 11 corporate bankruptcy have differences in terms of the outlook for investors.
"Unlike corporate bankruptcy where there's a possibility that it may shut down and sell off assets, municipalities are in a much different situation because they can't just go out of business," Doppelt said. "Orange County was in bankruptcy and continued to pay obligations to investors."
Local police and fire contracts negotiated during more prosperous times now make up nearly 80 percent of Vallejo's $80 million general fund.
City officials have been negotiating to reduce pay and benefits to firefighters and police officers, as well as considering layoffs—but negotiations with unions broke down earlier in the week.
While municipalities nationwide feel the sting of the economic slowdown, Doppelt said most of the municipalities that Fitch rates—including Los Angeles and L.A. County but not Vallejo—have more conservative budgeting practices that anticipated declining tax revenue.
"Most of the entities we work with will be under financial strain but we don't anticipate the financial strain to be severe," Doppelt said.
She also noted that the level of hardship would differ greatly by region. The most pain will be felt in areas with a lot of speculative real-estate investment—Florida, Nevada, and Southern California—as well as financially challenged states like Ohio and Michigan.
Vallejo is in Solano County, an area heavily hit by the housing slump. Home prices in the county fell almost 20 percent in January from the same month a year earlier.
Whether or not it ends up declaring bankruptcy, Vallejo will probably have to cut services—from library hours to infrastructure improvements—as well as pare back city jobs and police and fire staff.
Filing for bankruptcy protection would allow Vallejo to renegotiate contracts with employees, vendors, and bondholders, and would protect it from lawsuits, but the move would damage its credit rating and lead to costly legal expenses.
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Source:
Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 29 Feb 2008 | 2:00 pm
Wilbur Ross, like Warren Buffett, has been making goo-goo eyes at bond insurers for some time. Ross has now made his move.
One of the smaller bond insurers,
Assured Guaranty, has
announced that Ross, known for making shrewd investments in distressed industries like steel, will invest as much as $1 billion.
There had been speculation that Ross was looking at a much bigger player, Ambac Financial, No. 2 to MBIA.
"The other ones by and large need capital simply to preserve their rating status," Ross said in an
interview on CNBC. "Assured is one of the very few that's ranked as a strong, stable triple-A even without our capital."
Assured, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, said that Ross had agreed to buy $250 million of common shares of Assured and to provide a commitment to purchase up to $750 million of additional common shares "at the option of the company." Assured has a market value of $1.8 billion.
"This flexible capital source will allow us to continue to capitalize on the significant growth opportunities we see and will support our further expansion in both the direct and reinsurance markets," said
Dominic Frederico, Assured's chief executive.
The bond insurers have come under pressure because of their business of guaranteeing credit derivatives whose underlying assets have deteriorated because of the collapse in subprime.
One insurer, Financial Guaranty Insurance, last week announced plans to split into two entities: one company insuring municipal bonds and the other handling a troubled structured-finance portfolio. Ambac is reportedly seeking to raise $2 billion in fresh capital. And MBIA has brought back Joseph Brown as its chief executive, replacing Gary Dunton.
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Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 29 Feb 2008 | 1:00 pm
One of the Middle East's biggest sovereign wealth funds warns against tighter EU regulation.
Source:
BBC News | Business | World Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 12:56 pm
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Source:
SmartMoney.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 12:31 pm
Today is an extra trading day for the year, but it meant only more pain for stock investors.
Investors, already worried about the economy, the weak dollar, record oil prices, and housing, were rattled after insurance giant American International Group reported a $5.3 billion loss late Thursday. The loss heightened worries about additional write-downs by financial companies on credit investments tied to subprime mortgages. And analysts at UBS estimated that losses from the global credit crisis could ultimately exceed $600 billion.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 315.79 points, or 2.5 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index closed down 2.7 percent. February was the fourth consecutive monthly decline for the market.
Today's loss should not have come as complete surprise: Bespoke Investment Group notes that when Leap Day lands on a day when the market is open, the Dow ends with a loss more than 60 percent of the time.
Earlier today, the dollar extended its long slide against the euro, with the common currency of 15 European nations rising as high as $1.52 today. The dollar also fell to 104.2 Japanese yen—the lowest since May 2005.
The dollar has been pressured by the congressional testimony of Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, on Wednesday and Thursday, which pointed to more aggressive cuts in interest rates.
Oil, which has been rising because of expectations that OPEC nations will not increase production when they meet next month, received a fresh boost after Ecuador's state-run oil company halted operations at a major pipeline because of a landslide. Oil reached a new high of $103.05 a barrel in Asian trading.
"The fresh record prices coincide with the flow of investor money into commodities, due to the weak U.S. dollar and the increasing threats of inflation in the U.S.," Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore, told the BBC.
Gold, meanwhile, rose as high as $975 an ounce.
The weakness of the dollar has increased talk about the currency losing its leadership in the world economy.
But as Craig Karmin and Joanna Slater of the Wall Street Journal explain, that's easier said than done. "Shaking the dollar loose from that place would require a vast reworking of the global financial system that few parties seem prepared to confront," they say.
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Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 29 Feb 2008 | 12:30 pm
Swiss Re reports an 87% fall in quarterly profits after it was hit by bad debt insurance payouts.
Source:
BBC News | Business | World Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:57 am
