You might not know it, but as of January it became illegal in California for companies to require workers to have devices implanted under their skin that would reveal their whereabouts at all times. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 16 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
You might not know it, but as of January it became illegal in California for companies to require workers to have devices implanted under their skin that would reveal their whereabouts at all times.
Cellphone bill larger than you expected? Regulation is urged to increase disclosure and curb added charges.
Raul Martinez's cellphone plan offered free roaming for calls to anywhere in the United States and Canada. So when the 50-year-old resident of East Hollywood took a two-week vacation north of the border last summer, he assumed he had nothing to worry about. ¶ He didn't read the fine print. ¶ Martinez said he was astounded when about $400 in roaming fees appeared on his next Verizon Wireless bill. The free roaming included calls made to Canada, but not from Canada. ¶ "You just have to be careful that you really read your bill," said Martinez, who works for a real estate firm. "Some of it's a little sneaky." ¶ Pressure is mounting on wireless companies to stop the sneakiness. Consumer advocates and lawmakers are trying to get providers to make cellphone bills easier to understand and lower some charges, such as the termination fees for canceling service before your contract ends.
You might not know it, but as of January it became illegal in California for companies to require workers to have devices implanted under their skin that would reveal their whereabouts at all times. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 16 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
Reuters - The UK government has approached energy
suppliers to see if they are interested in its 35.2 percent
stake in nuclear power company British Energy Group Plc
, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
LONDON (Reuters) - The UK government has approached energy suppliers to see if they are interested in its 35.2 percent stake in nuclear power company British Energy Group Plc , the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The emergency rescue of Bear Stearns Co Inc on Friday left observers from all quarters wondering who would be the last man standing at the Wall Street bank.
More Americans than ever before are being audited, as the Internal Revenue Service is working hard to collect every single greenback it can. The total number of individual returns audited last year increased 7% from 2006, shooting up from 1.29 million to 1.38 million audits in 2007.
The two widely accepted facts about the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting Tuesday is that the central bank is worried about the country falling into a recession and that it will again slash interest rates sharply.
CHRIS Hohn, the combative London-based hedge fund manager, has asked Peter
Mandelson, the European trade commissioner, to intervene in his ongoing
dispute with the Japanese government. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:02 pm
U.S. stocks are hammered for a third session this week after Bear Stearns Cos. says it is in need of a bailout from the Federal Reserve and J.P. Morgan Chase, with shares of the investment bank plunging 55%.
DAMASCUS, MD (MarketWatch) -- People like the Dodge Nitro. They turn their heads, and they watch it go by, with that big semi lookin' grille up front and the "Inferno Red" paint job all around.
LONDON (Reuters) - The government has approached energy suppliers to see if they are interested in its 35.2 percent stake in nuclear power company British Energy Group Plc , the Financial... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 11:14 am
HBOS has raised £750m of new capital at a staggering interest rate of almost
9.5%, in a clear sign of the funding crisis facing the world’s banks. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Mar 2008 | 10:42 am
Beijing sets Monday midnight deadline for protestors to surrender or face harsh treatment after Washington and Brussels call on government to act with restraint Source: FT.com - US homepage | 15 Mar 2008 | 10:38 am
LLOYD'S List owner Informa is losing its chief executive David Gilbertson to
the lure of private equity riches. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Mar 2008 | 10:20 am
The Federal Reserves unusual decision to provide emergency assistance to Bear Stearns underscores a long-building concern that one failure could spread across the financial system. Wall Street firms like... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 9:35 am
Ex-New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso's "outlandish" compensation may have led him to be lax in regulating brokers and member firms, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in an appeals... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 9:26 am
Jimmy Cayne doesn't seem to have very good timing. While Bear Stearns crumbled amid a mounting crisis of confidence, the Wall Street firm's non-executive chairman has been in Detroit playing in the North... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 9:26 am
WaMu downWashington Mutual, the largest US savings and loan, had its senior unsecured credit rating cut to one notch above junk status by Moody's Investors Service as housing markets weak ened. The stock... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 9:26 am
Richard Scruggs, the lawyer made famous by his $206 billion settlement of state lawsuits against tobacco companies, admitted to trying to bribe a judge in a bid to defeat a suit by a colleague claiming... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 9:26 am
Two weeks. That's how long Barry Diller has before a Delaware judge rules on whether Liberty Media can remove him from his perch at IAC/InterActiveCorp for violating the rights granted to him under the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 9:26 am
JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon is now in the prime position to acquire the beleaguered Wall Street icon Bear Stearns, but a takeover is still far from certain, sources familiar with the situation said... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 9:26 am
AP - Consumer inflation, after pushing relentlessly higher, posted its mildest reading in six months in February thanks to energy and food costs moderating. The relief, however, was expected to be short-lived, given that energy prices have resumed their upward climb.
If you think the cost of gassing up your car is outrageous, wait until you need to restock your pantry. The price of wheat has more than tripled during the past 10 months, making... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 8:46 am
The rally in energy prices gained momentum Friday, with retail gas prices rising further into record territory and diesel and heating oil futures setting records of their own amid... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 8:44 am
In the Rocky Mountains, the energy crisis has mostly been a crisis for natural gas producers and a boon for consumers. Last fall, gas suppliers competing to stuff excess production into Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 8:37 am
Faten Saad knew she wasn't in a typical Wal-Mart when she saw an end- of-the-aisle display featuring Mamool. Boxes of the date-filled, whole wheat cookie from the Middle East welcomed... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 8:34 am
Consumer inflation, after pushing relentlessly higher, posted its mildest reading in six months in February thanks to energy and food costs moderating. The relief, however, was expected... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 8:04 am
Investors worry the brokerage may not be the last victim of ongoing turmoil. The Dow falls 194 points.
News that the Federal Reserve had stepped in to help prop up faltering investment bank Bear Stearns sent a shudder through Wall Street on Friday, slamming stock prices and fanning expectations for a potentially dramatic interest rate cut by the Fed next week.
Bear Stearns, squeezed by the sub-prime crisis, needs an emergency loan. Its stock plunges, and wariness grows.
The battered global financial system looked a lot more fragile Friday as one of Wall Street's biggest investment houses was forced to get an emergency loan from the Federal Reserve, raising the specter of more giant securities firms laid low by the global credit crisis.
You think the movie tickets are high? At the ShoWest convention in Vegas, the talk is of global warming fueling a rate hike for cineplex popcorn.
LAS VEGAS -- Global warming has had a strange effect on Hollywood, such as stars trading in their sports cars for hybrids and Al Gore hoisting an Oscar. But its latest impact may also be its corniest.
The president says the already-passed stimulus package will soon begin having an effect.
At the end of a week filled with dire economic signals and the near collapse of a major Wall Street bank, President Bush on Friday sought to reassure Americans that the right policies were in place and it was only a matter of time before the economy would rebound "better and stronger than before."
Investors nursing whiplash symptoms after watching the market's recent wild swings may find that Wall Street will deliver some relief in the coming weeks. While volatility isn't going... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 5:18 am
Japanese companies plan to cut off the Internet connection of anyone who illegally downloads files in one of the world's toughest measures against online piracy, a report said Saturday. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 4:55 am
Pontiac wants to beef up its performance credentials with two new rear-wheel-drive vehicles that will debut at next week's New York International Auto Show, but the timing couldn't be... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 15 Mar 2008 | 4:02 am
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lawyers for Countrywide Financial Corp and its directors asked a federal judge in Los Angeles to postpone discovery in an investor lawsuit for several weeks in what opposing attorneys say is a "blatant attempt" to shield company directors from investor claims.
U.S. stocks next week will turn to the Federal Reserve, hoping it will deliver hefty cuts in interest rates after concerns about the possible collapse of investment firm Bear Stearns on Friday dashed investors' hopes that the end of the credit crisis gripping global markets was in sight.
Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday’s session are Bear Stearns Cos., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Conseco Inc.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. radio operator Clear Channel Communications Inc said on Friday it completed the sale of its television assets to Newport Television LLC, a company set up by Providence Equity Partners to make the acquisition, for $1.1 billion.
Reuters - The emergency rescue of Bear
Stearns Co Inc on Friday left observers from all
quarters wondering who would be the last man standing at the
Wall Street bank.
President Bush acknowledged Friday the country was facing challenges both in the housing and financial markets, but said that the strength of the underlying economy would help it maneuver through this difficult period.
The fallout from the collapse of City broker Global Trader Europe (GTE) has claimed another casualty, with Gibraltar spread-betting firm FuturesBetting.com (FBC) forced to cease trading. Source: Telegraph Business | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Prudential, the UK insurance giant, has posted a 47pc drop in pre-tax profit after its life fund failed to perform as well as last year and it wrote off credit risks in the US following the sub-prime collapse. Source: Telegraph Business | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Brokerage Collins Stewart is looking forward to what it sees as an impending economic "bloodbath" to take advantage of the distressed markets. Source: Telegraph Business | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
So much for stability. The global financial system, to which the UK is inextricably linked, has been rocked by the Bear Stearns rescue. Washington is bailing out Wall Street amid disorder, pure and simple. Source: Telegraph Business | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Millions of British households face soaring mortgage rates and tumbling house prices after the global financial crisis triggered the near-collapse of one of the world's biggest banks. Source: Telegraph Business | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Fifth largest US investment bank's chief burns the midnight oil in an attempt to save his group' as 'innuendo' drags it down Source: Telegraph Business | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Phil Vickery saunters into the lobby of the Bath Spa Hotel. The England rugby captain, with hands like plates and a neck like my waist, is remarkably relaxed - almost Zen-like. Source: Telegraph Business | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The Federal Reserve could cut interest rates by more than one percentage point in a bid to stabilise financial markets in the wake of Bear Stearns' collapse. Source: Telegraph Business | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
A chocolate maker, a beauty specialist, a newspaper boss and an advertising executive are the four finalists in this year's Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award. Source: Telegraph Business | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The 21st century will overturn many of our basic assumptions about economic
life. The 20th century saw the end of European dominance of global politics
and economics. The 21st century will see the end of American dominance. New
powers, including China, India and Brazil, will continue to grow and will
make their voices heard. Yet the changes will be even deeper than a
rebalancing of economics and politics among different parts of the world. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The chairman of Hugo Boss's supervisory board has resigned after a row with
Permira, the fashion company's private equity owner. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
A closed meeting of big oil companies, Opec and leading commodity exchanges
will discuss the upwards spiral of the crude oil price amid mounting concern
that the recent surge is not reflecting the slowdown in the global economy. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Wealthy investors are increasingly turning to stamps, autographs and other
collectibles as a means of protecting their fortunes. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and JPMorgan Chase yesterday teamed up to
bail out Bear Stearns in a move that saw America’s central bank invoke
emergency loan legislation for the first time in 50 years. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The principal trial of those involved in the collapse of Parmalat, the Italian
food and dairy giant, began in Parma yesterday, but without Calisto Tanzi,
the group's 70-year-old founder, appearing in court. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Allianz has moved closer to selling Dresdner Kleinwort, its underperforming
investment banking unit, after revealing that it plans to divide Dresdner
Bank, its subsidiary, into two legal entities. The split will make it easier
for the German insurer to take part in the consolidation of the country's
retail banking sector. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
NEW YORK -- Bear Stearns Cos., one of Wall Street's biggest investment banks, got an emergency loan from the Federal Reserve today to help it stay in business, a dramatic development that threatens to take the global credit crunch to a dangerous new level.
President Bush attempts to reassure US businessmen that the country's economy is fundamentally strong. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 11:24 pm
Shares in the US investment bank plunged after it said it had arranged for emergency funding from JPMorgan Chase and the New York Fed because its liquidity position had 'significantly deteriorated' Source: FT.com - US homepage | 14 Mar 2008 | 11:21 pm
Expectations that Federal Reserve next week will cut rates by a full percentage point, to 2%, gained traction among economists and traders after a bailout of Bear Stearns reveals more fault lines in the U.S. financial system.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The rocky ride in U.S. stocks looks set to intensify next week with the survival of one of the biggest investment banks in doubt and regulators rapidly burning through options to limit more damage to the financial system.
Investor's Business Daily - Cell phone users have increasingly embraced using the devices for e-commerce, says a new survey by researcher Harris Interactive. Among mobile owners, 16% use their phones for banking, and 25% of cell owners with Internet-enabled devices use them to shop online. People also are more open to on-the-go e-commerce, with 20% of survey respondents interested in eventually using their phones like mobile wallets, where charges are billed to their cell accounts. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:39 pm
Just like teacher said, we use a lot of math in our everyday lives, especially when it comes to finance. Tess asks Jean Chatzky how people can cope with math anxiety. Source: Marketplace Money | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:09 pm
Life is hard enough without having to decipher everything. This week, learn how online scammers are surfing their way onto your cell phone. Source: Marketplace Money | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:05 pm
Ticketmaster has angered fans and musicians with their strict terms and bevy of fees. Ann Dornfeld reports on how some groups are fighting back to drive down ticket costs. Source: Marketplace Money | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:51 pm
Stocks tumbled Friday after news that Bear Stearns needs emergency funding due to a liquidity crisis intensified fears that the credit crunch is spreading.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday as an emergency rescue of Bear Stearns orchestrated by the Federal Reserve revived fears about a deepening global credit crunch, triggering a massive sell-off in shares across the board.
On this week's "A Day in the Work Life," in honor of St. Patrick's Day, we check in with an Irish woodworker in California. Source: Marketplace Money | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:32 pm
In this edition of Getting Personal, Chris and Tess talk about selling stock on margin, the definition of "cash," closed-end funds, lazy investing and an offer too good to be true. Source: Marketplace Money | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:26 pm
Reuters - A high-profile Mississippi lawyer, who
became unpopular on Wall Street for battling powerful
companies, pleaded guilty on Friday in a case in which he was
accused of conspiring to bribe a judge. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:26 pm
ATLANTA (Reuters) - A high-profile Mississippi lawyer, who became unpopular on Wall Street for battling powerful companies, pleaded guilty on Friday in a case in which he was accused of conspiring to bribe a judge.
The best solution is often the easiest one, so Tess asks Lesley Alderman of Real Simple magazine for some simple fixes for common financial problems. Source: Marketplace Money | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:17 pm
Egypt is adding more than a million people a year, which is putting huge strains on its natural resources. Strains that are evident every time some people turn on the tap. Amy Scott reports. Source: Marketplace | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:10 pm
The war in Iraq has brought a building boom to the capital of Jordan, Amman. But the men hanging out on street corners every morning looking for work aren't locals, which has turned a labor shortage into a regional problem. Alisa Roth reports. Source: Marketplace | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:10 pm
In his most recent book, "The War of the World," Harvard historian Niall Ferguson says economic instability leads to conflict but viable market economies can end it -- especially in the Middle East. He spoke with Kai Ryssdal. Source: Marketplace | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:10 pm
Usually when the U.S. economy slides, so slides the rest of the world. Commentator Robert Reich says that's not going to happen this time, thanks to China and the Middle East. Source: Marketplace | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:10 pm
The port of Dubai offers a snapshot of the Middle East's place in the global economy. Goods and capital flowing between countries, with the U.S. rarely in sight. Kai Ryssdal and Scott Tong report from Dubai and the Chinese port city of Qingdao. Source: Marketplace | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:10 pm
We tend to get attached to our cars, but in an economic climate like this, we all have to make sacrifices. Jeff Tyler learns when it makes financial sense to kiss that old car goodbye. Source: Marketplace Money | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:04 pm
US bank Bear Stearns gets emergency funding, raising fears that one of Wall Street's biggest names may collapse. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:59 pm
Everyone's finally starting to agree that we're in a recession. Economics editor Chris Farrell's sets the story straight on how you (and your portfolio) should be reacting. Source: Marketplace Money | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:58 pm
US shares fall sharply on renewed fears about the impact of bad mortgage debt and the wider credit squeeze. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:51 pm
Reuters - U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday as an
emergency rescue of Bear Stearns orchestrated by the Federal
Reserve revived fears about a deepening global credit crunch,
triggering a massive sell-off in shares across the board.
Consumer goods are cheaper than ever as health care and education costs soar. Tess asks Peter Hong how prices now compare to prices in the past and what to make of it. Source: Marketplace Money | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:45 pm
US stocks ended the week at levels virtually unchanged from the close on Friday, a fact which belies the incredible volatility experienced by investors over the last five days. Source: FT.com - US homepage | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:45 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar fell below 99 yen and hit a record low against the euro after Bear Stearns said a worsening cash position forced the Wall Street firm to secure emergency financing.
The Fed has its eye on core inflation, but some are more concerned about costs that figure doesn't include, like energy and food. Alisa Roth explains what all the indicators really mean. Source: Marketplace Money | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:28 pm
A surprise fall in inflation last month offered a glimmer of hope that price pressures could be softening in the face of economic weakness, giving the Federal Reserve greater scope to cut US interest rates Source: FT.com - US homepage | 14 Mar 2008 | 7:54 pm
Reuters - A court ruling on whether
IAC/InterActiveCorp chief Barry Diller breached his
proxy agreement with controlling shareholder Liberty Media Corp
and can be removed from office is expected in late March,
lawyers involved in the case said on Friday.
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - A court ruling on whether IAC/InterActiveCorp chief Barry Diller breached his proxy agreement with controlling shareholder Liberty Media Corp and can be removed from office is expected in late March, lawyers involved in the case said on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday pledged the U.S. central bank will make every effort to soften the damage from a wave of home foreclosures, which he said stem partly from reckless lending.
AFP - Dresdner Bank, part of the giant Allianz insurance group, will split up its investment and retail banking activities, a spokesman said on Friday.
Gold hits a fresh record high of $1,007.10 an ounce due to deepening financial market troubles. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:42 pm
The latest residential property statistics show that house prices are falling and there is unlikely to be any improvement in the short term.
A sustained downturn in the housing sector, which has been one of the main drivers behind... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:06 pm
Last year the sight of anxious Brits queueing at Northern Rock branches in a desperate bid to recover their savings sent shockwaves around a financial world already reeling from the sub-prime and credit crisis.
The safety of money... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Conditional owner of 40 per cent of Auckland Airport, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, says it wants to work closely with the Cullen superannuation fund here and overseas.
A majority 57.7 per cent of all votes received... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Finance company MFS Boston has staved off receivership after receiving approval from its debenture investors to wind down the business through a 20-month moratorium.
Yesterday, its 1700 investors were asked to allow the company... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
An Army sergeant major and the Swiss bosses of the multinational engineering firm Sulzer Engineering were pivotal for Maori Television chief executive Jim Mather and his early business career.
As a private at Papakura Army base,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Strengthening demand for top quality diamonds has pushed prices to world-record highs, but investments in the gemstones could sour if economic turmoil forces speculators to flood the market.
Surging global economic growth and a... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Helen Clark was all giggles and smiles this week as she gambolled across a privately owned mountain side with high-profile Canadian foreign investor Shania Twain.
As the pair traversed a small section of Twain's vast high country... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Financial regulators pledged yesterday to toughen rules for mortgage brokers, lenders and credit agencies to try to restore investor confidence and prevent a recurrence of credit-market problems that threaten to slow the economy.
US... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
What happens if AMP or Westpac goes bust?" So asked a friend arguing against opening a KiwiSaver account.
But he was talking to someone who thinks joining KiwiSaver is a no-brainer thanks to the tax breaks. First there's $1000... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
As New Jersey Nets star Vince Carter took out a pen and signed a four-year contract extension worth $66 million at a much-ballyhooed press conference last July, one had to wonder if he was signing with the Nets or Wrigley's chewing gum.
Behind Carter that day was a massive banner displaying every Wrigley's brand of chewing gum from Juicy Fruit to Doublemint. But Wrigley's wasn't just sponsoring that particular event—they are the sponsors of the entire Nets off-season. Any player or team announcement the Nets make from June to October is branded by Wrigley's gum.
It's one of the more surprising things Brett Yormark, the New Jersey Nets' workaholic C.E.O., has managed to find a sponsor for, but it's certainly not the only one. Almost every inch of the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the team plays, is branded by someone, including a hallway sponsored by dining cruise company World Yacht. So having a sponsor, Wrigley's, for the off-season shouldn't be all that surprising. Even the team's press releases are sponsored by Internet telephony company Vonage.
All told, Yormark, who at 41 is the N.B.A.'s youngest C.E.O., has lured an impressive and diverse roster of 111 sponsors for the team, ranging from the Diamond Exchange in Paramus, New Jersey, to Aflac and Marquis Jet. And not all the deals are small, either.
Yormark managed to convince Izod to pay several million dollars to sponsor the team's arena through 2012, even though the Nets are planning to move to a much-anticipated new arena in Brooklyn, designed by Frank Gehry, in 2010.
But Yormark's biggest move of all has been the $400 million deal with London-based Barclays Bank to sponsor the new arena in Brooklyn for 20 years, the richest naming rights deal for a sports arena in U.S. history.
"We don't go after the expected," Yormark says of his approach. "We make our living doing the unexpected."
Part of the reason that Yormark has to hustle so hard is that the Nets play in a relatively isolated area (some would say the arena is about as appealing as the swampland that surrounds it) and have always been overshadowed by their enormously popular rivals across the river, the New York Knicks. Even though attendance rose as the Nets became one of the elite teams in the league in the early 2000s with star guard Jason Kidd, playoff games sometimes failed to sell out, a situation that would be unthinkable for the Knicks. This year, after a decline in performance and the trading of Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks, the Nets are pulling in an average of just over 15,500 fans a game, putting them at No. 21 among all N.B.A. teams (the Knicks, by contrast, in the midst of another horrible season, are averaging about 19,000 fans and are 10th in the league in attendance). That Yormark has been able to sell so many sponsorships for a team like the Nets makes his accomplishments all the more impressive.
"[Yormark] has taken the Nets from an also-ran, second-thought franchise in the largest market in the country and made them relevant again," marvels Mark Ganis, the president of Sportscorp, a national sports-consulting firm based in Chicago. "He has turned some lead to gold."
According to the Nets, revenues have increased 25 percent since Yormark took over the team in early 2005. While the team would not disclose revenue figures, Forbes estimated that team revenues rose from $93 million during the 2005-06 season to $102 million the following year. Even the Nets players recognize what a difference Yormark has made. "You see how much more things are evolving around here," says Richard Jefferson, the team's seventh-year forward. "At first you had a product that a lot of people weren't seeing and [Yormark] has found a way to get more and more people and sponsors to buy into that product."
For his part, Yormark, who often starts his day at 3:30 in the morning and sometimes works as many as 19 hours a day, says his secret is simply that he works harder than everyone else.
"I am probably one of the most aggressive sports executives in the country," Yormark says. "I am giving myself every day, every hour—that is just my makeup." Yormark's twin brother, Michael, is the president and chief operating officer of the N.H.L.'s Florida Panthers and is similarly intense; the two frequently try to top each other with creative ways to advertise sponsors and sell more tickets.
At a recent game, Yormark was seen hustling around the Izod Center checking in on everything from the quality of the food at the arena's Dewar's 12 Club restaurant, to the arrangements for a pregame birthday party held for a young fan, to helping a fan locate his courtside seats.
Yormark got his start in the sports business with the Nets in 1988 as a ticket salesperson, eventually rising to become an executive in the corporate marketing group. From there, he went over to head up corporate marketing at Nascar, where he helped secure the richest sponsorship agreement in American sports, Nextel's $750 million, 10-year deal to turn the marquee Winston Cup series into the Nextel Cup. Yormark's experience with Nascar, where practically every square inch of drivers' uniforms and cars is branded, is readily apparent in his approach to selling the Izod Center (In Yormark's marketing-speak, he's merely trying to "activate" every area of the arena.) Yormark has had so much success selling naming rights that he and the Nets have opened up a side business to help other venues, like the M.G.M. Grand at Foxwoods and Monmouth College, sell sponsorship rights for their properties.
For his latest challenge, lining up sponsors for the as-yet unbuilt Barclays Center, one might think it would be difficult to sell sponsorships on a new center that still faces some legal and community hurdles to breaking ground, but the idea of bringing basketball to a borough on the rise and offering the area's fans an alternative to the woeful Knicks has gotten lots of people excited.
"Sports returning to Brooklyn and the Brooklyn renaissance—we buy into it," says Gerard LaRocca, the chief administrative officer for Barclays Capital, who negotiated the company's deal with the Nets.
Yormark's going to have to adjust his approach in Brooklyn, where Barclays is looking for a more refined and uncluttered look and style. But Yormark claims he'll have no problems adapting to this challenge.
"Our strategy [now] is based on circumstances—in Jersey, we need to drive revenue and we are a tenant in the building," Yormark says. "When we go to Brooklyn, we have a celebrity architect and nobody has ever branded his work before. [We plan to] develop a program that is somewhat of a departure from what it is today."
Yormark displays all the confidence in the world that the Nets as both a business and a team will raise their game to a new level once they move.
The economy will go into recession in the second half of this year, the Bank of New Zealand says, as the housing market downturn and the global credit crunch form an unpleasant cocktail.
The bank's head of research, Stephen Toplis,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
No. The stock is down more than 40 percent today, and off more than 50 percent this week.
But surely the last thing this market needs right now is a bank failure?
Right. So the Fed is riding to the rescue, "allowing Bear Stearns to access liquidity as needed."
Didn't the Fed already do that on Tuesday, when it announced a new "Term Securities Lending Facility" available to investment banks?
Yes, but the T.S.L.F. won't go live until March 27. Bear Stearns couldn't wait that long.
So was the T.S.L.F. announcement a failure?
It does look a bit like that. The T.S.L.F. was meant to boost confidence in the investment banks: When the markets have confidence in a bank, there are never any liquidity problems. The Fed might well have been hoping that the T.S.L.F. would provide enough of a generalized confidence boost that Bear Stearns in particular would be able to continue normal operations, at least until its money became available on March 27. But Bear didn't participate in the big stock market rally on Tuesday, and has been plagued by rumors of illiquidity and insolvency all week. Finally, today, it came clean and admitted it needed an emergency loan from the Fed. Oh, and that 400-point uptick in the Dow we saw on Tuesday as a result of the Fed announcement? We've already erased half those gains.
How about today's announcement? Is the Fed's money helping Bear at all?
It's not helping the stock price, clearly. But it did helping the price of Bear's credit-default swaps, at least initially; they're a measure of how likely the market thinks Bear is to default. If you own Bear Stearns, you're in a world of pain right now. But if you're owed money by Bear Stearns, you do have some faith that the Fed will ensure you get it back in full—although obviously the market in Bear Stearns credit is extremely volatile right now.
Sounds like a bailout to me.
If it is a bailout, it's a bailout of Bear's creditors, not of its shareholders.
Why would the Fed do that?
Simple: counterparty risk. Bear Stearns is a major broker-dealer; billions of dollars of obligations flow through it every day. If suddenly that flow was halted, and Bear defaulted on its obligations, there would be a huge risk to the entire financial system. As Herb Greenberg puts it, "if the hedge funds and rich folk get caught here, without a net, you imagine possible domino effect throughout the brokerage and banking industries as people start pulling out cash and heading for safer pastures, such as trust companies." And the Fed simply can't risk the entire banking industry imploding like that.
So Bear is too big to fail?
Well, the bank itself can fail. But the Fed is going to do whatever it can to ensure that the transactions that it started will end up being finished. Right now the Fed's biggest hope is probably that Bear manages to find itself a buyer. The name on everybody's lips is J.P. Morgan—a bank big enough to be able to absorb any of Bear's losses without going bust itself.
But hope is not a plan. What is the Fed likely to do, other than simply cross its fingers that someone will want to take a punt on a damaged investment bank?
Well, the Fed has a scheduled meeting of its monetary policy committee on Tuesday. At this point a three-quarter-point rate cut is all but certain, and there's a growing consensus that they'll cut rates by a full percentage point.
Even as the dollar is plunging, commodities are soaring, and the risks of inflation are high?
Inflation is a medium-term risk. Financial meltdown is a near-term risk, and that's what the Fed has to worry about right now.
And cheaper money will prevent financial meltdown?
It might. It's worth a try, at least: There's not much else the Fed can do, beyond the outright nationalization of Bear Stearns.
Wow, that could really happen?
Anything is possible at this stage, but nationalization really would be a last resort, and would violate most of the precepts of George W. Bush and Hank Paulson. In a free-market system, companies that make bad bets have to be allowed to fail.
Ah yes, the bad bets. How did Bear get into this mess in the first place?
Mortgages. Bear Stearns was a huge player in mortgage-backed securities, relied on issuing them for much of its income, and had a lot of them on its balance sheet. When the market in those bonds collapsed, so did a key pillar holding up Bear Stearns.
And what are the chances of Bear getting out of it in one piece?
Slim, at this point: the amount of capital needed to reassure the markets that there isn't a problem is larger than the amount of money it would take to simply buy Bear Stearns outright.
And whose fault is it?
According to Henry Blodget, this is all the fault of Bear C.E.O. Alan Schwartz. But in fact it's probably a good thing that Schwartz took over from Jimmy Cayne. Cayne would probably prefer to lose a limb rather than sell Bear below book value; Schwartz can be a little more detached, and is also a dealmaker by training who is qualified to put a major acquisition together in a short amount of time.
So there's still a glimmer of hope that we will avoid complete and utter financial meltdown?
Yes. Although that's no reason not to stock up on canned goods.
John McCain has been rebuffed by fellow senators in his bid to place restrictions on so-called pork barrel spending projects, casting doubt on his ability to impose greater fiscal discipline on Congress if elected president Source: FT.com - US homepage | 14 Mar 2008 | 4:23 pm
Enough about Goldman Sachs. J.P. Morgan is shaping up to be the real winner on Wall Street during this credit crisis.
The bank has so far emerged relatively unscathed from the subprime write-downs and loan losses that have plagued its Wall Street competitors. It wrote down just $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, and its loan-loss provisions rose to $2.5 billion. That's just a tiny drop in the bucket of losses worth some $285 billion worldwide so far.
That news in January sent its shares up just enough to nudge J.P. Morgan's market cap above Citigroup's for the first time. It's currently second in size only to Bank of America.
And now it's using its strong balance sheet and diverse revenue streams to influence other banks that haven't been so fortunate.
According to the Wall Street Journal, J.P. Morgan's vice chairman, James Lee, warned the Carlyle Group's David Rubenstein last week that the lenders (J.P. Morgan being one) behind its ailing Carlyle Capital unit would seize their assets unless it was bailed out.
And today, of course, it's J.P. Morgan that has come to the rescue of Bear Stearns, which is facing such a dire liquidity crisis that it was unable to last on its own until March 27, when the Federal Reserve would have been able to lend it funds.
Being a commercial bank, J.P. Morgan is able to borrow funds from the Federal Reserve's discount window and then re-lend them to Bear for 28 days. It issued a statement saying it does not believe the loan exposes it to any significant credit risk.
J.P. Morgan is also working with Bear "on securing permanent financing or other alternatives for the company."
It's not yet clear what J.P. Morgan gets out of the deal, but because this is Wall Street, it's certain that they didn't do it out of the kindness of their hearts.
According to the Associated Press, it was Bear Stearns and the Fed that approached J.P. Morgan about the financing. The two banks also discussed a potential deal, whereby J.P. Morgan would buy Bear Stearns outright, according to a person close to the talks.
Speculation that J.P. Morgan would make a major acquisition in 2008 has swirled for months, but most believed it would be in the commercial banking space, not investment banking.
But if J.P. Morgan's chief Jamie Dimon did entertain the thought of acquiring Bear Stearns during their urgent talks this week, he could come out looking smarter than ever to have engineered this loan first.
Bear Stearns is worth about 40 percent less today than it was yesterday.
Takeover talk about Bear Stearns is one of the oldest fantasy leagues on Wall Street. Desperation may now make it come true.
In announcing its financing of Bear, J.P. Morgan Chase said that it was working with the firm on finding permanent financing "or other alternatives." That is typically banker code for: Bear is in play.
The Associated Press reports that a sale to J.P. Morgan is among the possibilities being discussed in talks between the two companies.
Although Jamie Dimon, J.P. Morgan’s chief executive, is known for his aversion to risk, he has indicated that his bank, which has weathered the subprime storm, may be interested in deals.
"In terms of buying assets or buying companies, we are very open-minded," Dimon said in a conference call in January.
J.P. Morgan has been keen on growing its mortgage business, and buying a leading packager and trader of mortgage-backed securities would fit with that strategy.
With the slide in its stock price today, Bear has a market value of about $3.5 billion, which makes it seem cheap. But there is all that debt: The firm is more highly leveraged than Carlyle Capital, which is on its way toward a forced liquidation.
And of course, Bear's main business, trading debt securities, is so closely tied to the train wreck of the subprime mortgage market. Its other main business, servicing hedge funds, is also strained.
"The key issue is building a new business model," Richard Bove, an analyst with Punk Ziegel said earlier this week. "Bear Stearns must adjust, and it is probably going to be forced to find a merger partner."
For a big European bank that still has ambitions to be a major Wall Street player (HSBC?), Bear could still provide a toehold.
In January, Dennis Berman, on the Wall Street Journal's Deal Journal, argued that if Bear comes up for sale, a hedge fund like Citadel, D.E. Shaw, or SAC Capital would be a more likely buyer. Bear would give such a firm an enhanced trading infrastructure and a public listing.
The main trial over the collapse of Italian food giant Parmalat in 2003 opens in Parma. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 2:07 pm
Its namesake ended one financial crisis a century ago. Now J.P. Morgan Chase, with the help of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is trying to help stem another.
J.P. Morgan is providing a lifeline to Bear Stearns, whose shares have been battered in recent days by worries that the firm may have liquidity problems. J.P. Morgan is borrowing funds through the discount window of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and re-lending them to Bear for up to 28 days. The Fed will be responsible if Bear's collateral deteriorates in value.
In a conference call with investors this afternoon, Bear Stearns C.E.O. Alan Schwartz and C.F.O. Sam Molinaro sought to calm the fears of their clients and shareholders. Schwartz said that the "rumor and innuendo" about a liquidity crisis at the firm earlier this week were unfounded, but their account holders obviously felt compelled to protect themselves in spite of that reassurance.
Cash outflows from the firm's prime brokerage and repo accounts accelerated dramatically yesterday, especially late in the day, Schwartz said. They turned to J.P. Morgan for help because it is the clearing agent for Bear Stearns, and could act quickly. Moreover, it was "easy for them to see the kind and quality of our available collateral," Schwartz said.
The executives offered little in the way of details on their capital ratios, except to say they are "in good shape." Bear will announce its quarterly earnings on Monday afternoon, several days earlier than planned, and it will update analysts on its financial situation then.
Bear Stearns also declined to provide detail on the amount of the J.P. Morgan loan, but insisted it was enough to cover outflows while Bear attempts to shore up confidence. Schwartz called it "a bridge loan to a permanent solution."
Bear Stearns Share Price
While the move is intended to shore up Bear Stearns, it provided little comfort to investors. Shares of Bear fell in value by about 47 percent. The news also pulled the overall market down with the Dow Jones industrial average falling off 195 points.
J.P. Morgan added that it was working with Bear on finding permanent financing "or other alternatives for the company," which could be read as a possible sale. Bear Stearns said it will also continue using the services of Lazard to help it find strategic alternatives.
While Bear executives sought to lay the blame on "rumor," Edward Hadas on Breakingviews.com says that firm is at fault for letting itself become vulnerable to rumor. While other Wall Street firms shored up their capital base through deals with sovereign wealth funds, "Bear did almost nothing."
As the smallest of the major investment houses on Wall Street and the one whose trading business was the most directly tied to the subprime-mortgage market, Bear has been seen as vulnerable to the credit crisis. Two of its hedge funds blew up last summer, and in January, the firm replaced longtime chief executive James Cayne with Schwartz.
A number of commentators have noted that Bear is as leveraged as the Carlyle Group affiliate Carlyle Capital, which has collapsed amid margin calls and repossessions by its lenders.
US prices stayed stable in February, boosting hopes that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 1:11 pm
Electrolux says it needs to check 7,000 dishwashers to identify just three products that pose a fire risk. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:38 pm
Even as prices for oil and commodities are surging, consumer inflation paused in February.
The Consumer Price Index was "virtually unchanged" in February from a gain of 0.4 percent, the Labor Department said. Excluding the often-volatile categories of food and energy, the index was also unchanged. The flat reading was a surprise: Analysts had forecast modest increases for the month.
Consumer inflation is now running at an annual rate of 4 percent, still higher than what the Federal Reserve would like, but down from the annual rate of 4.7 percent in January.
Fed officials have warned about inflation pressures building, as the prices of energy, wheat, metals, and other basic commodities continue to climb. A weaker dollar is also making imports more expensive. Some have feared that with mounting inflation and slowing growth, the economy may again experience the scourge of the 1970s known as stagflation.
Today's tame inflation data should ease concerns that the Fed might have to temper its efforts to free up credit to help economic growth. Fed policymakers meet on Tuesday and are widely expected to cut the benchmark interest rate by a half point.
The consumer prices report showed that energy costs fell 0.5 percent in February, the sharpest decline since August.
But that retreat may be temporary, as crude oil futures are now regularly testing $110 a barrel.
This week, the average price of a gallon of gasoline rose to $3.27 nationwide, according to AAA. The highest price for gas is in Maui, where it is nearly $4 a gallon.
Reuters - The UK government has approached energy
suppliers to see if they are interested in its 35.2 percent
stake in nuclear power company British Energy Group Plc
, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
AP - Consumer inflation, after pushing relentlessly higher, posted its mildest reading in six months in February thanks to energy and food costs moderating. The relief, however, was expected to be short-lived, given that energy prices have resumed their upward climb.
Reuters - The emergency rescue of Bear
Stearns Co Inc on Friday left observers from all
quarters wondering who would be the last man standing at the
Wall Street bank.
Reuters - U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday as an
emergency rescue of Bear Stearns orchestrated by the Federal
Reserve revived fears about a deepening global credit crunch,
triggering a massive sell-off in shares across the board.
Reuters - A court ruling on whether
IAC/InterActiveCorp chief Barry Diller breached his
proxy agreement with controlling shareholder Liberty Media Corp
and can be removed from office is expected in late March,
lawyers involved in the case said on Friday.
AFP - Dresdner Bank, part of the giant Allianz insurance group, will split up its investment and retail banking activities, a spokesman said on Friday.