Ukraine says it may restrict Russian gas supplies to Europe if Gazprom goes ahead with further cuts. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:09 pm
Opec's president says it is unlikely to raise production on Wednesday, as oil prices remain near record levels. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:02 pm
Microsoft signs a deal with Nokia to bring its Silverlight platform to millions of mobile phones. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Mar 2008 | 11:57 am
Tony Hayward earned about three times as much in 2007 as BP's chief executive than in his previous role as head of exploration and production, the company said Tuesday.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Worried euro zone policymakers
pressured on Washington on Tuesday to do more to halt the
dollar's decline, a day after the U.S. currency hit a record
low against Europe's single currency.
Reuters - Ambac Financial Group Inc , the
second biggest U.S. bond insurer, has decided against splitting
in two as part of a $2 billion to $3 billion recapitalization,
the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing insiders. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 11:46 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ambac Financial Group Inc , the second biggest U.S. bond insurer, has decided against splitting in two as part of a $2 billion to $3 billion recapitalization, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing insiders.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Shares in Bayer slumped as much as 5.6 percent on Tuesday after a U.S. court voided a key patent on its Yasmin oral contraceptive drug, prompting the German group to tweak its healthcare margin goal.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - France's Societe Generale , which holds a controlling stake in Russia's bank Rosbank , has offered to buy the stakes of minority shareholders at 194.09 roubles per share, Rosbank said on Tuesday.
LONDON (Reuters) - BP's compensation bill for an explosion at its Texas City refinery in 2005 which killed 15 workers has passed $2 billion, a spokesman for the oil giant said on Tuesday.
Twice I have asked Alan Greenspan what he considers the greatest threat to the U.S. economy, and both times he has answered immediately with a single word: Medicare. He isn't so worried about the trade deficit and the housing crash; he figures market forces will sort them out. But Medicare is something else - a multitrillion-dollar problem that's about to get dramatically worse, and one that nobody wants to talk about. You'd think that the greatest threat to America's economy would be Topic A for the presidential candidates. But it's actually a topic they hate to touch.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Gulf investment agency Dubai International Capital (DIC) said on Tuesday it would take "a lot more money" to rescue Citigroup Inc following investments from Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed.
If your company offers both a Roth 401(k) and a regular 401(k), investing in both may be your best option, says Money Magazine's Walter Updegrave. But how much should you put into each?
The U.S. dollar fell against other major currencies in European trading Tuesday morning. Gold fell in London The euro traded at $1.5206, up from $1.5192 late Monday in New York. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 11:21 am
Oil prices held steady Tuesday in Asia after blasting overnight to a new record near $104 a barrel and then falling back. Oil futures _ propelled by the weak U.S. dollar _ climbed past... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 11:16 am
Cash-strapped British consumers being spurned by mainstream bank lenders are
flocking to doorstep financiers and sub-prime credit card providers such as
Provident Financial, which today reported booming annual profits fuelled by
the economic downturn. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Mar 2008 | 11:10 am
Reuters - Stocks were set to open lower on
Tuesday, with investors wary of any more signs of trouble for
the economy and the banking system, though diaried events were
thin on the ground.
Reuters - Stocks were set to open lower on
Tuesday, with investors wary of any more signs of trouble for
the economy and the banking system, though diaried events were
thin on the ground.
LONDON (Reuters) - Stocks were set to open lower on Tuesday, with investors wary of any more signs of trouble for the economy and the banking system, though diaried events were thin on the ground.
Global Radio increases its proposed offer for GCap, the owner of Classic FM and Xfm. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Mar 2008 | 11:04 am
European shares moved higher on Tuesday morning, supported by gains from the mining sector as gold prices stayed firm, although losses from Bayer kept a lid on enthusiasm, at least in Germany.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ambac Financial Group Inc , the second biggest U.S. bond insurer, has decided against splitting in two as part of a $2 billion to $3 billion recapitalization, the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 10:52 am
Ideas that official Australian interest rates have stabilized sparks selling in the Australian dollar overnight and in early European trading after the central bank there announced a widely expected quarter-point hike in its key lending rate.
Loyd Blankfain worries. True, as CEO of Goldman Sachs, he stands at the summit of the financial world. He just led his firm to its best year ever. He was paid $68.7 million in 2007 - record for a Wall Street chief - and recently bought a $26.5 million apartment at 15 Central Park West, the Robert A.M. Stern-designed building that also houses Sting and Sandy (Weill). But still, Lloyd Blankfein worries. "If you're really poor at what you do, maybe there's a 9% chance that you'll have a problem," he frequently says. "If you're really, really good, maybe there's a 3% chance." Or he says, "If you're on a beach and a tsunami hits, you'll drown whether you're a small child or an Olympic swimmer." Or he says simply, "Some things will go bad no matter how good you are."
Sportingbet, the online betting service, has announced that it is back in
profit in the first half of this year and expects a strong full year on the
back of Euro 2008. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Mar 2008 | 10:39 am
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve's 2 1/4 point cut in the federal funds rate since the middle of September may be doing more harm than good -- if it is doing any good at all.
Premier Foods, which owns Hovis, slashes its dividend as it struggles to cope with soaring costs. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Mar 2008 | 10:33 am
U.S. stock futures pointed to another lackluster session Tuesday, with Intel Corp.’s warning on memory-chip prices serving as a reminder of a sputtering economy.
U.K. shares stage a bit of a rebound as banks and miners manage to recoup some lost ground and earnings from asset manager Schroders help to reassure investors nervous about profit trends for financials.
Investment Corporation of Dubai, the sovereign wealth fund, on Tuesday pulled out of a 3bn ($4.6bn) plus cash-and-bond offer for Inmobiliaria Colonial, sending the shares in the Spanish property firm sharply... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 10:06 am
OPEC has all but ruled out pumping more oil to ease record-high prices, key oil ministers signaled Tuesday on the eve of a key meeting. Chakib Khelil, president of the Organization of... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 10:05 am
Encouraged by record crop prices in Alabama's farm forecast, growers must find the money to start planting while at the same time avoid being hit with rocketing costs for fuel,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 9:59 am
LONDON (Reuters) - A potent rally in commodity markets showed no sign of slowing on Tuesday with resources from platinum to rice at or near record highs, while oil held near $102 a barrel, helping stock markets halt recent falls.
Asian markets ended lower after a choppy Tuesday trading session, sent into retreat after timid morning gains by persisting concerns over the health of the US economy and global credit markets after Monday's... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 9:51 am
Tata is an odd mixture of very large, and very, very little. India's oldest and best-known industrial house is the biggest software exporter via its Tata Consultancy Services, the largest private-sector steelmaker thanks to Tata Steel and the leading hotelier with its Indian Hotels Co. It's also turning heads with its minicar the Nano. But the size of that vehicle belies the conglomerates global ambitions.
Schroders, the fund manager, added its voice to the industry's grim predictions for 2008, despite a 35 per cent rise in pre-tax profits last year.The company said the subprime crisis is taking its toll... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 9:47 am
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Shares in Bayer slumped as much as 5.6 percent on Tuesday after a U.S. court voided the patent on its Yasmin oral contraceptive drug, prompting the German group to... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 9:41 am
Shares in Premier Foods rose on Tuesday as the group said it had renegotiated its banking covenants and agreed additional working capital facilities.The company also proposed to nearly halve its full-year... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 9:31 am
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has vowed to continue its battle to buy a 40 per cent stake in Auckland International Airport despite the New Zealand government's decision to amend its... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 9:16 am
StatoilHydro on Tuesday said it’s paying at least $1.8 billion to Anadarko Petroleum for stakes in heavy-oil and deep-water projects in Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico, part of a strategy at the Norwegian firm to compensate for difficulties from gas pipelines closer to home.
In the search for a good soundbite I have decided that every single statement coming from my company will prefaced with the words 'green' or bio-diverse'. Source: Telegraph Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 9:15 am
London equities bounced back on Tuesday, boosted by strong news from the financial sector. The FTSE 100 started the session 0.6 per cent higher at 5,851.9, a rise of 33 points, helped by a late rally overnight... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 9:06 am
Drax, the owner of Europe's biggest coal-fired power station, has hit out at the Government's threat to impose a windfall tax on energy companies at a time when the industry is expected to make long-term investments to help secure Britain's future energy needs. Source: Telegraph Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 9:04 am
John Wood Group, the UK-based oil field services company, on Tuesday highlighted the buoyant conditions in the sector with a 42 per cent jump in full-year profits to $259.9m as revenues rose 28 per cent... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 8:54 am
Global Radio, the radio group chaired by former ITV chief Charles Allen, on Tuesday raised its proposed offer for GCap Media for a second time as it seeks to acquire the UK's largest commercial radio broadcaster... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 8:33 am
Premier Foods, Britain’s largest food manufacturer, has plunged into the red,
halved its dividend and raised £125 million from bankers in the face of
rising raw material prices and increased debt costs. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Mar 2008 | 8:23 am
The mangosteen's curative properties aren't proved, but its juice generates healthy sums for XanGo.
On stage at a sales convention, XanGo founder Joe Morton said that when he first stumbled across mangosteen, a tropical fruit with purported curative powers, "I didn't have to have it confirmed in the New England medical journal before I would listen."
Adjusted for inflation, Monday's top price of $103.95 a barrel eclipses the previous record set during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1980, analysts say.
The gravity-defying price of oil shot through another barrier Monday by briefly touching $103.95 a barrel in New York trading, the highest cost ever for black gold even after adjusting for inflation.
Lawmakers question the national security implications after Northrop and Airbus beat out Boeing's bid.
A Pentagon decision to award a $40-billion tanker contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. and European partner Airbus drew a flurry of outcries from lawmakers and presidential candidates Monday as the contract appeared headed for a protracted battle in Congress.
Beth Comstock, whose naming as digital chief had been resented, will return to marketing.
Beth Comstock, the marketing executive who was dispatched to NBC Universal's headquarters two years ago but never fit into its culture, is returning to its corporate parent, General Electric Co.
But critics question the kind of help offered and its effectiveness.
A banking industry group says lenders helped more than 1 million troubled borrowers from July through January, though critics say the response to the mortgage mess has fallen short.
IndyMac and Countrywide report higher delinquencies.
Shares of Pasadena-based IndyMac Bancorp tumbled 20% on Monday after the mortgage bank reported higher delinquencies in January and a sharp drop in loan production compared to a year earlier.
Australia's central bank raises interest rates to 7.25%, the highest level in 12 years, to combat inflation. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Mar 2008 | 7:55 am
Drax, Britain’s largest coal-fired electricity generator, announced today that
its finance director, Gordon Boyd, has resigned. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Mar 2008 | 7:50 am
Schroders, the FTSE 100 fund manager, sent a chill wind across the investment
industry today as it gave warning that turbulent conditions across stock
markets look set to continue for much of this year. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Mar 2008 | 7:39 am
Global Radio today made a final attempt to acquire GCap Media, sweetening its
proposed offer for Britain's largest commercial radio group to 225p per
share. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Mar 2008 | 7:33 am
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Most major Asian stock indexes dipped on Tuesday, as concern about weaker demand from the United States was compounded by record-high commodity prices, which will send Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 7:30 am
Former ITV boss Charles Allen has put last-minute improved offer for GCap directly to shareholders as the battle for the owner of Classic FM and Capital Radio intensifies. Source: Telegraph Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 7:20 am
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Central Bank Governing Council member Guy Quaden called on Tuesday on U.S. authorities to reaffirm their strong-dollar policy, saying inflation was a big... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 7:16 am
Reuters - Dual-listed mining giant BHP Billiton
is talking to sub-underwriting banks on a
record $55 billion loan backing its hostile bid for rival Rio
Tinto , banking sources said.
LONDON (Reuters) - Dual-listed mining giant BHP Billiton is talking to sub-underwriting banks on a record $55 billion loan backing its hostile bid for rival Rio Tinto , banking sources said.
LONDON (Reuters) - Dual-listed mining giant BHP Billiton is talking to sub-underwriting banks on a record $55 billion loan backing its hostile bid for rival Rio Tinto , banking sources... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 6:52 am
MOSCOW (Reuters) - France's Societe Generale , which holds a controlling stake in Russia's bank Rosbank , has offered to buy the stakes of minority shareholders at 194.09 roubles per share, Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Mar 2008 | 6:48 am
Reuters - U.S. retail gasoline prices rose
closer to record levels last week, up 3.2 cents from the
previous week due to higher crude oil costs, the government
said on Monday.
Reuters - Gulf investment agency Dubai
International Capital (DIC) said on Tuesday it would take "a
lot more money" to rescue Citigroup Inc following investments
from Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc and Wachovia Corp
are facing separate lawsuits filed in a U.S. Federal
court in New York by a small fund, the Wall Street Journal
reported on Tuesday.
Reuters - Citigroup Inc and Wachovia Corp
are facing separate lawsuits filed in a U.S. Federal
court in New York by a small fund, the Wall Street Journal
reported on Tuesday.
The New Zealand dollar closed almost a cent higher than yesterday as the US dollar came under renewed pressure on a view US rates would be cut aggressively this month.
US short-term interest rate futures showed about a 75 per... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 5:15 am
Ambac, the troubled bond insurer, has decided against splitting in two as it completes a $2bn-$3bn recapitalisation, insiders said Source: FT.com - US homepage | 4 Mar 2008 | 2:59 am
A Mosgiel man has received an environmentalist award for his efforts to clean up a local eyesore.
Lester Harvey was this week named the first Fonterra Environmentalist of the Year at a ceremony in the Beehive.
The dairy giant... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 2:30 am
Figures released today show the extent to which the brakes have been applied to the housing market in New Zealand.
The research comes from credit monitoring company Veda Advantage.
Their data shows a 27 per cent decrease in... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 2:30 am
About a quarter of the people living in Saudi Arabia are foreign laborers. When they die, as thousands do each year, they are sent home for burial. Kelly McEvers introduces us to one of the workers responsible for the last, long goodbye. Source: Marketplace | 4 Mar 2008 | 1:54 am
The price of oil hit a fresh record high today as the dollar continued to fall against other major currencies and on expectations that Opec will remain stubborn on its output policy.
The dollar tumbled to lifetime lows against... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 1:50 am
Finance Minister Michael Cullen has accused National leader John Key of being "very slippery" on his stance toward the Government's move to protect Auckland Airport from foreign control.
Dr Cullen last night announced new... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 1:00 am
A top executive of the struggling Starbucks empire has quit her post.
Starbucks Corp announced today that Launi Skinner has resigned as president of its US business, a post she held for less than a year.
The reason given was... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:40 am
General Electric is to earn at least $5bn over the next two decades from providing jet engines to the European-led consortium that beat Boeing in the race for a $35bn contract for US Air Force refuelling tankers Source: FT.com - US homepage | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:04 am
Microsoft has launched its most audacious attempt yet to seize the initiative
back from Google in the race to harness the internet as the computing
platform of the future. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Rising food and petrol prices meant that the average UK family was £5 a week worse off in January 2008 than it was the year before, a new survey by the Centre for Economics and Business Research shows. Source: Telegraph Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Close Brothers attempted to put a string of failed takeover talks behind it by saying it is working on a new incentive scheme for staff. Source: Telegraph Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett claims the United States has already fallen into recession and warned that shares prices still may have some way to fall. Source: Telegraph Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Manufacturers forced up prices at the fastest rate on record last month as growth in the sector edged higher and input costs soared at the strongest pace in three years, figures showed yesterday. Source: Telegraph Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The banker who advised Sir Gerry Robinson on his failed tilt at Rentokil Initial has sparked another row with the rat-catching group after claiming its current problems are partly the result of an ill-judged policy on acquisitions and disposals. Source: Telegraph Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Billions of pounds of Government liabilities from the nationalisation of Northern Rock will be kept off the balance sheet in next week's Budget. Source: Telegraph Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Foreign banks offering British savers high interest rates could be riskier than high street institutions, the financial regulator has warned. Source: Telegraph Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Warren Buffett, America’s best-known investor and the world’s third-richest
man, gave warning yesterday that the United States was already in a
recession and a deep and prolonged slowdown could not be ruled out. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Concerns about Chinese restrictions on foreign financial news providers
escalated into a trade dispute yesterday when the European Union and the
United States filed a joint formal complaint at the World Trade Organisation
(WTO). Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Warren Buffett in his latest letter to shareholders says there are three kinds
of acquisitions - The Great, The Good and The Gruesome. HSBC's landmark
purchase of the US sub-prime lender Household International in 2003 now
looks firmly parked in the third category. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is pushing on with its partial takeover bid for Auckland International Airport despite changes to overseas investment rules.
Finance Minister Michael Cullen yesterday moved to tighten... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
US lawmakers will examine the decision to award a huge US Air Force contract to European firm EADS. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:45 pm
General Motors and Ford said they would cut North American vehicle production in response to weakening demand, especially for big sport-utility vehicles and pick-up trucks Source: FT.com - US homepage | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:39 pm
Former press baron Conrad Black surrendered at a Florida prison today to begin serving his 6-1/2 year sentence for fraud and obstructing justice.
Britain's Lord Black of Crossharbour and his wife arrived at the Coleman Federal... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:30 pm
The real estate industry needs to encourage diversity to provide real choice for the public, says a property studies academic and former real estate agent.
Massey University College of Business senior lecturer Susan Flint-Hartle... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:15 pm
Software company Beca Applied Technologies said today they have signed a five year contract with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) to maintain software on six Orion aircraft.
The new agreement with Beca is the first long... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 pm
World's biggest retailer Wal-Mart to overhaul how it gives its money to ensure philanthropic efforts are more closely linked to its brand positioning Source: FT.com - US homepage | 3 Mar 2008 | 10:23 pm
Porsche agrees to take a controlling stake in Volkswagen in a deal worth up to 10bn euros. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 3 Mar 2008 | 10:07 pm
Oil prices surge to a record high on fresh supply fears, and as the US dollar slumps to new lows. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 3 Mar 2008 | 9:57 pm
A third package of sanctions was imposed against the Islamic republic on Monday, targeting individuals most closely involved with its alleged nuclear weapons programme Source: FT.com - US homepage | 3 Mar 2008 | 9:54 pm
The major US equity indices are back near their 52-week lows as persistently weak economic data and renewed worries about credit weighed on investor sentiment Source: FT.com - US homepage | 3 Mar 2008 | 9:46 pm
The US is in recession by 'any common sense definition' of the word, the country's most successful investor said, while the former Fed chief said the rate of growth was 'effectively zero' Source: FT.com - US homepage | 3 Mar 2008 | 9:08 pm
Former media tycoon Conrad Black begins his six-and-a-half-year jail sentence at a Florida prison. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 3 Mar 2008 | 7:44 pm
Sports-car maker Porsche will soon control a €150bn car and trucks empire that would be Europe's largest Source: FT.com - US homepage | 3 Mar 2008 | 7:38 pm
The US dollar fell to an all-time low against the euro, oil surged to new highs and Asian and European shares slipped back on fears of a US recession and further fallout from the global credit crisis Source: FT.com - US homepage | 3 Mar 2008 | 7:20 pm
Russia indicates it will continue its tough approach to opposition and the west under a new president by cutting natural gas supplies to Ukraine and detaining demonstrators Source: FT.com - US homepage | 3 Mar 2008 | 6:42 pm
Commentator Charles Handy says American corporations are run more like totalitarian states than pillars of democracy. He hopes they can restore their reputations as forces of economic good. Last in a series. Source: Marketplace | 3 Mar 2008 | 6:28 pm
A redesigned $5 bill will be issued on March 13 with enhanced security features that make the bill harder to counterfeit and easier to authenticate. Tess Vigeland talks to Professor Stephen Mihm about what the changes will look like. Source: Marketplace | 3 Mar 2008 | 6:27 pm
A new report from the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, finds that bank fees are on the rise and are becoming more hidden. Jeff Tyler reports how consumers can uncover hidden costs before they open new accounts. Source: Marketplace | 3 Mar 2008 | 6:27 pm
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sent troops to the Colombia border in response to the country's killing of a top rebel leader in Ecuador. Dan Grech reports Venezuela's economic dependence on Colombia makes war with the country a costly proposition. Source: Marketplace | 3 Mar 2008 | 6:27 pm
Oil and gold prices reached new records as the dollar sank to its lowest value in 35 years against six other major currencies. With more interest-rate cuts ahead, Bob Moon reports on when commodity prices might reach their peak. Source: Marketplace | 3 Mar 2008 | 6:26 pm
The Pentagon has picked EADS, the parent company of Europe's Airbus, for a massive refueling tanker aircraft contract. The announcement was a blow to the U.S. bidder Boeing, which has been making tankers for the Air Force for 50 years. John Dimsdale reports. Source: Marketplace | 3 Mar 2008 | 6:26 pm
Worries about mounting credit woes and the slowing U.S. economyhave been weighing on investors around the world.
But stocks in the United States, after opening sharply lower, have recovered despite fresh signs of economic weakness.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of manufacturing activity declined in February to 48.3 percent from 50.7 percent in January. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction.
The Commerce Department reported that construction spending slumped 1.7 percent, to at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,121.5 billion, the biggest drop since January 1994.
Crude oil prices, meanwhile,climbed, rising as high as $103.95 a barrel, topping the 1980 inflation-adjusted record for oil.
But stocks had a muted reaction, with the Dow Jones industrial down only 30 points in afternoon trading. ,
On Friday, stocks slid sharply in the wake of a $5.3 billion loss from American International Group and an estimate that losses from the global credit crisis could ultimately exceed $600 billion. Asian markets followed suit today, with Tokyo tumbling 4.5 percent.
One of the largest banks in the world, HSBC of Britain, underscored those worries about credit, even while reporting strong earnings. The bank said earnings climbed 10 percent for the year while loan losses grew to $17.2 billion, almost entirely from its U.S. lending business, the former Household Financial.
"The medium term is very difficult to predict as there are a lot of unanswered questions around banks' balance sheets," Thierry Lacraz, a strategist at Swiss bank Pictet, told the BBC.
Today, the leading group of business economists pointed to the risks of rising mortgage defaults and growing debt.
Members of the National Association for Business Economists "are increasingly concerned over the short-term risks associated with subprime mortgages and other forms of indebtedness, while they continue to cast a wary eye on inflation," said Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, the association's president.
While the N.A.B.E., the accepted arbiter of such things, has yet to call the economy in a recession, Warren Buffett has, saying in an interview on CNBC this morning that "by any commonsense definition, we are in a recession."
American investors will be looking closely at this morning's release of the latest survey from the Institute of Supply Management. The manufacturing benchmark is expected to show a contraction for February.
There is the 11-acre estate in Toronto's exclusive Bridle Path, inherited by Lord Conrad Black from his parents.
There is also Black's London home in posh Kensington. And his condo on Park Avenue in Manhattan, both designed by the British decorator David Mlinaric, whose credits include the restoration of the Royal Opera House in London and British embassies in Paris, Brussels, and Washington.
And there is Black's oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, where the Canadian-born press baron has been holed up since he was sentenced by a federal judge in Chicago to serve six and a half years on fraud and obstruction of justice convictions for looting Hollinger International, a newspaper empire that includes the Chicago Sun-Times. An artist who spent months hand-painting the walls of the Palm Beach mansion said he felt like a "court painter living in Versailles," according to Wrong Way: The Fall of Conrad Black, a 2004 book by Jacquie McNish and Sinclair Stewart.
Black now has a new home. He surrendered this afternoon to the Coleman Federal Correctional Institute, a sprawling prison in central Florida, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando. And there, he will be housed in dormitories in two-man cubicles, according to the 2005 edition of the Federal Prison Guidebook, by Alan Ellis, a criminal defense lawyer. On Saturday, the Times of London reported that Black was planning a farewell party for friends and neighbors at the Palm Beach mansion and has been spending time swimming, cycling, and dining at some of the best local restaurants.
Also on Portfolio.com: Corporate Cons Where other prominent white-collar criminals are now spending their time.
Black will be headed to what is known as Coleman-Low, the low security facility in the sprawling Coleman Correctional complex. Built in 1995, according to Ellis's guidebook, it is, he says, "relatively new," and part of the growing number of complexes that house both low, medium facilities as well as United States penitentiaries.
"If he were an American, he would be going to a camp—an open facility, one that he could theoretically walk away from," says Ellis. (Think of the facility in Alderson, West Virginia, where Martha Stewart served her sentence, a place that had no barbed wires or fences.) But Lord Black, a British subject, is a "criminal alien" within the federal prison system, and that status booted him up to a low-security facility.
"He's going to a real prison," Ellis says. "It's terrible. Your movement is more controlled."
So what's in store for Lord Black? Here are a few details from Ellis's 2005 guide, a new edition of which is set for release in April. Known for his voracious email and computer habits, Black will be severely constrained. Throughout the federal prison system, there is no internet or email access.
An adult convert to the Roman Catholic faith, Black built a chapel in his Toronto home, described by his friend, the journalist Seth Lipsky, as "spare and elegant" in one of more than 150 letters of support of support for the sentencing. Black is said to attend mass spoken in Latin. Coleman has a staff of three full-time chaplains for religious services, and community volunteers assist with services for most faiths.
There is a law and leisure library at Coleman, open seven days a week, where 10 to 12 electronic typewriters are available to inmates for the preparation of legal documents—hardly a need for Black, given the impressive legal team he has assembled. An author himself, not only of his own life but of biographies of Richard Nixon and Franklin Roosevelt, Black will likely not have the ability to begin an account of his fraud trial while at Coleman.
He might want to sign up for work at a furniture factory at the facility that employs about 300 inmates. Otherwise, his 40-hour work week will likely begin with kitchen duties, such as peeling potatoes or washing dishes, then onto buffing floors, cleaning sinks and toilets, and taking out the trash.
Vocational training in heating and air conditioning, culinary arts, dental assistance, and maintenance mechanics are offered at Coleman, according to Ellis's guide. But somehow, it seems unlikely that Black, now 63, would have the desire to for a career change.
Black is said to be quite fit these days, and there's good news at Coleman on that front: There are aerobics classes, stationary bicycles, a music center with a piano, drums, guitar and accordion, pool tables, boccie ball, shuffleboard, horseshoes, and a ping-pong table. The hobby craft center offers beadwork and leatherwork.
How did it come to this? As Lord Black instructs the domestics to clean up the Palm Beach manse after the farewell party, he is probably wondering the same. On February 28, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit released his co-defendants, Peter Y. Atkinson and John A. Boultbee, on bail pending the challenge of their convictions. In a two-page order, the Seventh Circuit judges noted that a "substantial question" has been raised on whether the jury's guilty finding on charges of depriving Hollinger's shareholders of their "honest services." But Black, who was caught on a security camera's videotape removing boxes of documents from the company's headquarters, was also convicted on a count of obstruction of justice.
Black's appellate lawyer, Andrew Frey of Mayer Brown, says there is absolutely no basis for a jury to have concluded that Black acted with criminal intent when he removed the boxes. Yet, the Seventh Circuit did not flag that count as raising a "substantial question" and it's really for the removing the boxes that Black is heading off to Coleman for six and a half years.
"It looks like it's a pure jury issue," says Peter Henning, a professor at Wayne State University Law School and author of the White Collar Crime Professors Law Blog. "They are not going to get into that fight." But Henning also points out that, for many of the charges against the Hollinger defendants, "It's a close case," charges that he said, "no one ever viewed as a slam dunk."
For his part, Black sounded one last defiant note before entering prison, writing an opinion piece in the New York Sun.
"For persisting in seeking the recognition of my innocence of these charges, I have been portrayed as defiant, or at least in denial," he says. "I defy and deny unjust charges, not the practical difficulties I have faced for the last four years and am facing now."
He concluded his piece with a quote from Thoreau and with an optimistic stand: "I cherish my liberty as all people do, but I am unafraid. I have faith in American justice."
There is, however, one positive in today's news for Black: He got the federal prison of his choosing. Black's lawyers recommended Coleman and the judge signed off on their request. That didn't seal the deal, as the Bureau of Prisons has the final say on where an inmate will serve his or her time. For instance, Andrew Fastow, the former chief financial officer of Enron, is now housed at the federal camp in Oakdale, Louisiana. Fastow, who pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors, had requested to serve his time in a facility in Bastrop, Texas, near the city of Austin.
According to the website of the federal Bureau of Prisons, Fastow, 46, is scheduled for release in December 2011. Less clear is whether Fastow is able to commune, or exchange notes on off-the-balances deals or accounting fraud, with Bernard Ebbers, also housed at Oakdale. Ebbers, 66, received a 25-year sentence for his role in the $11-billion accounting fraud at WorldCom, and is scheduled for release in July 2028, provided that he lives that long. Fastow is in the camp, while Ebbers resides in the low-security prison—but that seems a better fate than the minimum-security facility he was assigned to at sentencing. The grim difference between the two is that the latter has double fences with electronic detection systems and mostly cell-type housing.
And then there's the rules, should Lady Black visit. That would be the woman otherwise known as Barbara Amiel, the journalist whom Lord Black married in 1992, after the failure of his first marriage, and who is perhaps most famous for announcing, "I have an extravagance that knows no bounds."
Of late, at least according to the Palm Beach Daily News, Lady Black has spent about $250,00 on the new collection of fashion designer Oscar de la Renta. We don't expect Lady Black to be donning these outfits for visits to Coleman. And in case she may get confused, the prison offers some guidelines on dress. Visitors must avoid halter-tops and short skirts.
After Friday's market meltdown, Portfolio.com sought out the advice of Dani Hughes, the president and founder of Divine Capital Markets, a boutique investment firm. Here's her take on what the markets could bring this week and a few spots where investors might actually make some money.
Back in the good old days, bad news could only send the market higher; subprime write-downs, a credit crisis, $200 billion in write-offs would have all been seen as good, healthy stuff.
Not this time. Friday was a wake-up call to the realities of an economic slowdown and looming inflation, and we expect to see the market follow through on that idea this week. The month of March historically starts out strong and loses strength; it's also usually the weakest month of an election year.
This week the market will get a spate of economic reports that will most likely be soft—January construction spending on Monday and weekly jobless claims on Wednesday primary among them—but the bad news they're expected to carry will stick to the market instead of sliding off its back.
The housing sector was poised for a fall for two years before the subprime mess pushed Humpty Dumpty off the wall. The slicing and scrambling of mortgages—both subprime and otherwise—prevented investors from truly understanding the risk those investments presented.
Speculators played "flip this house," banks played "flip this mortgage"—moving money around too quickly for the rest of us to fathom. Finally, Mommy Fed and Catch-Up Congress both stepped in. They advised desperate homeowners to refinance and promised everyone a few hundred dollars to spend at the mall.
What's come out of this crisis is that the market's trading range has narrowed, and participation has decreased. While traders and speculators churn out the last bits of spread waiting for the market to respond, investors have stayed resolutely on the sidelines.
Still, with the global economy still booming, smart market pros are looking to pick their spots. Here are some stocks and exchange-traded funds that I own and my firm recommends:
Despite moderating demand in consumer and computer markets, semiconductor maker Diodes Inc. produced record revenue, expanding gross margins, consolidated operations and a mix of higher margin products.
We expect Corning's financial strength to continue to improve, the debt to recede, the dividend to increase and the credit rating to move from BBB+ to A-. Five of the company's operating segments achieved lowest cost in Southeast Asia. Its net sales could continue to expand 10 percent to 15 percent.
To profit from the real estate bust and credit crunch, watch Ultra Short E.T.F.'s gain momentum with investors; Ultra Short Financialsand Ultra Short Real Estate are two stand-outs. PowerShares DB Agriculture has been a popular E.T.F. with those who believe agricultural prices will continue to rise in this environment.
Reuters - Stocks were set to open lower on
Tuesday, with investors wary of any more signs of trouble for
the economy and the banking system, though diaried events were
thin on the ground.
Reuters - Dual-listed mining giant BHP Billiton
is talking to sub-underwriting banks on a
record $55 billion loan backing its hostile bid for rival Rio
Tinto , banking sources said.
Reuters - U.S. retail gasoline prices rose
closer to record levels last week, up 3.2 cents from the
previous week due to higher crude oil costs, the government
said on Monday.
Reuters - Gulf investment agency Dubai
International Capital (DIC) said on Tuesday it would take "a
lot more money" to rescue Citigroup Inc following investments
from Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed.
Reuters - Citigroup Inc and Wachovia Corp
are facing separate lawsuits filed in a U.S. Federal
court in New York by a small fund, the Wall Street Journal
reported on Tuesday.