<a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/"><b>Economics</b></a>
<br/>
<br/>
<b>Retail sales</b> Britons are expected to spend £9.1 billion on shopping and
entertainment over the Easter weekend, some 14 per cent less than last year
when they splashed out £10.6 billion, according to the Centre for Economics
and Business Research. “The combination of bad economic news and bad weather
is unlikely to be the best background for spending,” the CEBR said. <br/>
<br/>
<a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/"><b>Banking
& finance</b></a><br/>
<br/>
<b>Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers</b>’ profits could deteriorate
significantly this year if the turmoil sweeping the capital markets
persists, according to Standard & Poor’s, the credit rating agency. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Reuters - The Bank of England denied a report in
the Financial Times on Saturday that it was proposing using
public funds to make mass purchases of mortgage-backed
securities in order to ease the credit crisis.
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revises its outlook on Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to negative from stable, saying net revenue could decline between 20% and 30% this year after write-downs.
LONDON (Reuters) - Central banks on both sides of the Atlantic are in talks about the feasibility of mass purchases of mortgage-backed securities in a bid to solve the global credit crisis, the Financial Times (FT) said on Saturday.
KINGFISHER, the owner of B&Q — Britain’s biggest DIY chain — is expected to
slash its dividend following a strategic review led by its new chief
executive, Ian Cheshire. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 22 Mar 2008 | 10:46 am
Nine floats managed to get away in London in the first quarter of this year
raising a dismal $330.3m ($£166m) in proceeds, according to data from Thomson
Financial. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 22 Mar 2008 | 10:45 am
A major investment bank has collapsed, and the Fed is cutting interest rates to stave off a recession that we may already be in. More and more people seem to be having trouble making their mortgage payments,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:35 am
TWX payTime Warner CEO Jef frey Bewkes was paid $19.6 million last year, an SEC filing said. Chair man Richard Parsons re ceived $18.6 million, the company said in a proxy. Scruggs' sonThe last defendant... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:32 am
3Com Corp. shareholders, seeking to collect $66 million in breakup fees, approved a $2.2 billion takeover bid for the maker of network equipment that Bain Capital Partners LLC and its Chinese partners... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:32 am
Wall Street titans Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers had their credit-rating outlook cut to negative by Standard & Poor's yesterday, with the rating agency expecting their profits could fall as much... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:32 am
CIT Group Inc., trying to quell concerns about a cash shortage at the biggest independent US commercial lender, may raise as much as $7 billion from asset sales and said it has enough money to last through... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:32 am
The US Justice Department is conducting a broad review of the subprime lending crisis to see if there is a "larger criminal story" to the mortgage meltdown, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said. Mukasey... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:32 am
Circuit City shares, which have lost three-quarters of their value over the past year, are likely in for more bumps ahead. The struggling electronics chain, whose sales and profits have been tumbling... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:32 am
LONDON (Reuters) - Central banks on both sides of the Atlantic are in talks about the feasibility of mass purchases of mortgage-backed securities in a bid to solve the global credit crisis, Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:28 am
AP - After being laid off from her job as an events planner at an upscale resort, Jo Ann Bauer struggled financially. She worked at several lower-paying jobs, relocated to a new city and even declared bankruptcy.
Wall Street investment bankers got another lesson about the dangers of risk-taking this past week with the downfall of Bear Stearns Cos. The question now obviously is, how long will it... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:09 am
On a wind-swept air base near the Missouri River, the Air Force has launched an ambitious plan to wean itself from foreign oil by turning to a new and unlikely source: coal. The Air... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:03 am
Aloha Airlines said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday that it was in discussions to sell all or some of its company. The state's second-largest airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 9:00 am
US Vice-President Dick Cheney meets Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to discuss ways of stabilising the oil market. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 22 Mar 2008 | 8:52 am
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., March 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, in conjunction with the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
WASHINGTON, March 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau: SATURDAY, MARCH 22: FIRST... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
Pooling gratuities is a common practice, and California and several other states require managers to keep their hands out of the jar.
The restaurant industry got a bad case of coffee jitters Friday after a San Diego judge slapped Starbucks Corp. with a more than $100-million judgment for unlawfully giving supervisors a cut of barista tips.
The device makes it easy to search for data on the run. That can quickly turn a casual conversation into the Pursuit of Truth.
When she whipped out her iPhone, Erica Sadum could feel her husband's eyes roll. But she had a point to prove. And in less than a minute, she was able to report to the skeptics around the dinner table that Menno Simons, whose followers are known as Mennonites, was in fact born in 1496.
Manic weeks like this one in the markets test investors in so many ways. Including their ability to withstand massive metaphoric pile-up. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
A pending deal will transfer the celebrated brand's ownership from one former British colony to another.
Inspector Morse tooled around Oxford in a Mark II. James Bond's archenemy, Zao, drove an XKR roadster, with an optional Gatling gun mounted behind the seats. When former British Prime Minister Tony Blair pulled out of 10 Downing Street for the last time last year, it was -- how else? -- in the back seat of a Jaguar.
As the economy worsens, more people in their 40s and 50s are turning to their parents for financial support.
After being laid off from her job as an events planner at an upscale resort, Jo Ann Bauer struggled financially. She worked at several lower-paying jobs, relocated to a new city and even declared bankruptcy.
Service hopes to foster reliable energy sources. Some have concerns, including climate change.
On a wind-swept base near the Missouri River, the Air Force has launched an ambitious plan to wean itself from foreign oil by turning to an unlikely energy source: coal.
Regional share prices rise, especially in Japan and South Korea. The dollar falls against the yen on a day when most financial markets worldwide were closed for Good Friday.
Asian stock prices mostly rose in light trading Friday after a turbulent week, while the dollar fell against the yen and the euro.
Proposals gain traction in Congress as the housing crisis roils the economy.
From Wall Street to Capitol Hill, calls are growing for the government to get into the mortgage business as the only way out of the housing crisis roiling the economy and the financial markets.
Boeing Co. says it has changed the design of a key part of its new 787 jetliner, but the company has not addressed rumors that the fix would contribute to further delays in the plane's first flight. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
Reuters - The International Monetary Fund on
Friday endorsed staff plans to develop best practice guidelines
for sovereign wealth funds and said it would meet with wealth
funds in April to start working on an initial draft. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 1:42 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Friday endorsed staff plans to develop best practice guidelines for sovereign wealth funds and said it would meet with wealth funds in April to start working on an initial draft.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Friday endorsed staff plans to develop best practice guidelines for sovereign wealth funds and said it would meet with wealth funds Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 22 Mar 2008 | 1:42 am
Dear FSB: I run a lawn and landscape business in Texas. I was wondering if you believe there will be a change in our business due to the dipping economy. I have met plenty of people with profitable businesses like mine. Is there any way to grow my revenue even further?
Pruning is a skill every vineyard owner - and chief executive - needs to master, writes James Hall. Source: Telegraph Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Charles Denton, the former chief executive of upmarket soap-maker Molton Brown, is taking on internet bookselling giant Amazon with a new website called BookRabbit.com. Source: Telegraph Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Land Securities, the UK's biggest commercial property company, is expected to launch an assault on "Fortress Wapping" next week, when bids are due for News International's £200m headquarters. Source: Telegraph Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Defra, the food and rural affairs ministry, has announced plans to withdraw funding from the body responsible for promoting British food overseas, causing an outcry from struggling food manufacturers. Source: Telegraph Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Energy Cranes, a company that provides cranes and mechanical handling services to the offshore oil and gas industry, could be about to change hands in a deal worth more than £100m. Source: Telegraph Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
"They're definitely going to fall again on Monday. I'm a seller," said one Wall Street type a week ago today, sitting in an East Village restaurant over lunch with a friend. Source: Telegraph Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Thousands of individuals who invested in Lloyd's of London when the world's largest insurance market nearly collapsed in 1992 are set to be given a cast-iron guarantee that they will never again be hounded for more money. Source: Telegraph Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Fund management group Invesco has put more than 10pc of its £460m listed property trust on the market. Source: Telegraph Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Over the past week, the Federal Reserve under Ben Bernanke has taken a much more aggressive approach to the ongoing credit crisis. It combined providing $30bn (£15.1bn) to help JP Morgan pick up the remnants of Bear Sterns with widening the collateral pool it will accept, extending the period at which it is prepared to lend this new money, and narrowing the discount spread, with a 75 basis point rate-cut cherry on top. Source: Telegraph Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
French energy giant EDF is preparing a takeover bid valued at more than $130bn (£64bn) for Spanish utility companies Iberdrola and Fenosa, according to reports Source: Telegraph Business | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
A vast oilfield operated by a BP affiliate in Siberia will be investigated by
Russia's state environmental agency, adding further pressure to TNK-BP,
which was raided this week by the Russian state security service. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
As prospects for a sale of Alitalia to Air France-KLM recede and Italy’s
troubled national airline moves closer to receivership, a rich and powerful
“white knight” has appeared on the horizon to save it - none other than
Silvio Berlusconi, twice Italian Prime Minister and, according to the polls,
likely to win a third term in the country’s general election next month.<br/>
<br/>
Mr Berlusconi, describing the Air France-KLM offer for the partly state-owned
Alitalia as “arrogant and unacceptable”, said that he was backing a rival
offer by Air One, Italy’s biggest private carrier, with financial support
from Banca Intesa, the second-biggest bank in Italy. Mr Berlusconi, who
earlier in the election campaign had said that he could accept the Air
France-KLM offer provided Alitalia kept its “national” character, yesterday
indicated that he would reject it if he won office next month.<br/>
<br/>
Mr Berlusconi urged Romano Prodi, the outgoing Prime Minister, to arrange a
state bridging loan to allow time for an “all-Italian” bid to be presented.
He indicated that such a bid might include him and his children Piersilvio,
executive vice-president of Mediaset, and Marina, president of the family’s
holding company Fininvest, who he said were “ready to help” alongside “Arab
investors ready to participate with minority stakes”. Mr Berlusconi’s three
children by his second wife, the actress Veronica Lario – Barbara, Eleonora
and Luigi – also hold stakes in his companies.<br/>
<br/>
He added: “Even Greece and Portugal have a national airline. One can’t just
give up Alitalia. I’ve been silent until now, but I spoke up when I saw the
unacceptable conditions.”<br/>
<br/>
However Mr Berlusconi later backed away from the idea that he or his family
would sink their own cash into Alitalia, instead urging other “patriotic”
businessmen to step forward, insisting that “there is an Italian option”.<br/>
<br/>
To some sceptics, all this looked like a blatant electioneering appeal to
nationalist and protectionist sentiment. “If there were Italian businessmen
capable of saving Alitalia, why didn’t they come forward earlier?” said Pier
Ferdinando Casini, leader of the Christian Democratic UDC, which was
formerly part of Mr Berlusconi’s Centre Right alliance but has deserted it
to run independently.<br/>
<br/>
The board of Alitalia announced last weekend that it was accepting the bid by
Air France-KLM. This provoked protests from politicians and trade union
leaders over the sale price, proposed job cuts and the impact on the economy
of Milan because of plans to cut flights from Malpensa airport and make Rome
the only hub for Alitalia. Letizia Moratti, the mayor of Milan, said that
Italy was “handing its transport policy over to foreigners”.<br/>
<br/>
Air France-KLM said that it was losing patience and would pull out of the deal
unless threats of strikes and a lawsuit by SEA, the Malpensa airport
operator, were lifted. However, Giuseppe Bonomi, SEA’s chairman, insisted
that it would not drop its lawsuit against Alitalia for €1.25 billion (£970
million) in damages over its decision to downgrade Malpensa.<br/>
<br/>
Maurizio Prato, chief executive of Alitalia, said its situation was grave, and
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, the Finance Minister, said bluntly that the only
alternative to Air France’s bid was bankruptcy. Alitalia loses more than €1
million a day. Mr Padoa-Schioppa said: “Whoever is interested in Alitalia
should come ahead formally and with concrete offers. Time is running out
very rapidly.”<br/>
<br/>
Union leaders who walked out of talks with Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chief
executive of Air France, on March 18 are to meet him again next Tuesday,
together with Alitalia management. Air France has set a March 31 deadline
for agreement with the unions. Marco Veneziani, of the UIL union, said:
“There may be room to negotiate.”<br/>
<br/>
Ansa, the Italian news agency, said that receivership would almost certainly
involve grounding 50 of Alitalia’s 174 aircraft, which would mean more than
doubling the 2,100 job cuts among air and ground staff envisaged in Air
France’s plan. Alitalia would have to be put up for liquidation and its
assets sold to pay debts of €1.5 billion. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
I think I may have inadvertently stumbled upon a new law of investment: don't
take financial advice on newspaper publishers from newspaper journalists -
at least not from this one. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Profits at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers could deteriorate significantly
this year if the turmoil sweeping the capital markets persists, a leading
research agency said yesterday. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The US Congress has begun an inquiry into last weekend’s bailout of Bear
Stearns by the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase as Washington grows
increasingly concerned that American taxpayers are paying the price for Wall
Street’s mistakes. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Chilly weather this weekend will spell gloom for retailers as shoppers stay
indoors, an economic consultancy said yesterday.<br/>
<br/>
Britons are expected to spend £9.1 billion on goods and entertainment over the
Easter weekend, some 14 per cent less than last year, when they splashed out
£10.6 billion, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said.<br/>
<br/>
Garden centres and DIY stores will be particularly hard hit. For retailers,
Easter is the most important sales period after Christmas.<br/>
<br/>
The CEBR said: “The combination of bad economic news and bad weather is
unlikely to be the best background for spending.”<br/>
<br/>
This week the British Retail Consortium (BRC) forecast that sales in the eight
days of Easter would be £8 billion – 3 per cent higher than last year. It
said that £4.4 billion would be spent in the four days leading up to Easter
and a further £3.6 billion over the long weekend. But it, too, gave warning
that DIY and gardening sales could fall.<br/>
<br/>
The CEBR said that DIY stores and garden centres in some areas could see sales
fall by 50 per cent compared with last year as shoppers stayed at home and
fewer home sellers spruced up their houses to impress viewers.<br/>
<br/>
Easter is usually a bumper weekend for the housing market, sparking the start
of the spring sales season. But forecasts for icy winds and snow are likely
to deter all but the most determined househunters.<br/>
<br/>
This is particularly depressing news for big DIY stores such as B&Q as
Easter is their most significant sales period. A spokesman for the BRC said: “Easter
is a more important sales season than Christmas for DIY and garden stores,
so the combination of the early Easter, terrible weather and the increased
pressure on customers’ budgets at the moment is leading to heavy discounts
in stores. The fact that we have an early Easter was always going to be
difficult.”<br/>
<br/>
Easter is earlier this year than in any other year since 1913 and it will not
fall this early again until 2160.<br/>
<br/>
The CEBR said that spending was “exceptionally strong” last year as parts of
the UK enjoyed higher temperatures than the Costa del Sol but that, even
when compared with a normal Easter, spending this year is forecast to be
“depressed”.<br/>
<br/>
Spending on food is expected to hold up or even increase slightly as shoppers
stock up on comfort food. Sales of winter dishes such as casseroles,
shepherd’s pie and bangers and mash have all risen over the past two days,
according to Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket.<br/>
<br/>
Tesco stores have also reported a 25 per cent rise in pudding sales as Britons
turn to traditional hot desserts to cope with the grim holiday conditions.
Sales of whisky have also shot up, by 39 per cent.<br/>
<br/>
Consumers are set to spend £280 million on Easter eggs, the BRC said, although
sales of the chocolate treats have been more modest this year than in the
past.<br/>
<br/>
Sales increased by only 9 per cent in the first two weeks of the six-week
run-up to Easter, down from a 16 per cent rise last year and a 17 per cent
rise in 2006.<br/>
<br/>
Increasing numbers of shoppers are choosing instead to buy other chocolate
novelties, such as bunnies and flowers. However, hot cross buns are still a
firm favourite. Sales of the seasonal snack rose by 10 per cent in the first
two weeks of the Easter period, the same as two years ago. Families are set
to spend £20 million on them.<br/>
<br/>
Retailers hoping for a boost from last-minute errands may be disappointed.
Mike Watkins, of the BRC, said: “It is possible that any last-minute rush to
buy food and indulgences will be less marked than last year when the weather
was unseasonably warm.”<br/>
<br/>
But there was a glimmer of hope. “The silver lining in the cloud for retailers
is that some of the spending that does not happen this weekend may reemerge
later in the spring when the weather warms up a bit,” the CEBR said. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
I realise it has been a difficult week in business and finance, and you
probably don't need any more bad news, but I'm going to give you some anyway
- this development is too shocking to ignore. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 22 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Reuters - The U.S. Department of Justice has
launched a criminal investigation into whether Alcoa Inc
, one of its subsidiaries and people connected with the
unit committed fraud, corruption and bribery in its relations
with customer Aluminum Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba). Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 11:49 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into whether Alcoa Inc , one of its subsidiaries and people connected with the unit committed fraud, corruption and bribery in its relations with customer Aluminum Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba).
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into whether Alcoa Inc , one of its subsidiaries and people connected with the unit committed... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Mar 2008 | 11:49 pm
Federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into allegations that Alcoa Inc. and affiliates bribed officials in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain to secure hundreds of millions... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Mar 2008 | 10:48 pm
Tax time is here and so are the scammers. Lisa asks Victor Olmeczencho of the IRS how you can protect yourself from the most common tax scams. Source: Marketplace Money | 21 Mar 2008 | 10:35 pm
Financial planners and investment planners: who's who? Sally Herships learns the answer to this and more as she finds help getting a financial plan together. Source: Marketplace Money | 21 Mar 2008 | 10:24 pm
On this week's a Day in the Work Life, we follow pro wrestler Kurt Angle from the Olympics to prime time. Source: Marketplace Money | 21 Mar 2008 | 10:15 pm
In this edition of Getting Personal, Chris and Lisa talk about gift and loan confusion, Health Savings Acccounts, microfinance funds and paying off a mortgage early. Source: Marketplace Money | 21 Mar 2008 | 10:07 pm
Central banks on both sides of the Atlantic are actively engaged in discussions about the feasibility of mass purchases of mortgage-backed securities as a possible solution to the credit crisis Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Mar 2008 | 10:02 pm
Some universities are offering students ID cards that do double duty as debit cards. Lisa asks Kathy Chu about the controversial move. Source: Marketplace Money | 21 Mar 2008 | 9:54 pm
The International Monetary Fund signaled Friday that it was ratcheting up its scrutiny of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) due to their rapidly growing financial clout. IMF... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Mar 2008 | 9:40 pm
With the dollar dropping fast, it's not surprising that it's falling out of favor overseas. As Rico Gagliano discovered during a trip to India, greenbacks aren't what they used to be. Source: Marketplace Money | 21 Mar 2008 | 9:36 pm
The good news: the commercial real estate market is in better shape than the residential one. The bad news: it's a rough road ahead. Lisa talks to Susan Smith about what's to come. Source: Marketplace Money | 21 Mar 2008 | 9:21 pm
When the phone rings at 3 a.m. alerting the government to a financial emergency, the call doesn’t come in to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue but to an apartment in Manhattan. Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, picks it up.
Economics editor Chris Farrell reminds us to put safety ahead of high returns as he sets the story straight on ways to protect your money during the current economic skittishness. Source: Marketplace Money | 21 Mar 2008 | 9:16 pm
Washington has called on international financial institutions to steer clear of doing business with Iran's central bank, in the US's most wide-ranging attempt yet to isolate Tehran financially Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Mar 2008 | 9:04 pm
Lisa Napoli looks back at the erratic and nerve-wracking week that was on Wall Street through the eyes of Marketplace reporters and financial experts. Source: Marketplace Money | 21 Mar 2008 | 8:59 pm
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve's actions to lend billions of dollars to prop up and sell off ailing brokerage Bear Stearns will help all Americans by stabilising capital markets, a senior US Treasury official said.
In a transcript... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 8:38 pm
FGIC, a troubled bond insurer that was recently stripped of its triple-A credit rating, risks further ratings downgrades because of its weak capital position, Standard & Poor's said Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Mar 2008 | 8:37 pm
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Stocks will enter the final week of the first quarter with investors hoping to build on nascent gains scored after the near-collapse and subsequent bailout of investment firm Bear Stearns.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are 3Com, Walgreen, and Tiffany. The Nasdaq and NYSE markets were closed Friday in observance of Good Friday.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Under mounting pressure from surging commodity prices, makers of the name brand foods that fill the nation's grocery shelves are fighting back on several fronts, deploying an arsenal that includes jacking up prices, shutting down factories, and shedding less profitable brands.
Senator Barack Obama received a long sought-after endorsement from Bill Richardson, a former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, in a boost for his campaign after its most difficult month to date Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Mar 2008 | 7:41 pm
Reuters - The Federal Reserve's actions to
lend billions of dollars to prop up and sell off ailing
brokerage Bear Stearns will help all Americans by stabilizing
capital markets, a senior U.S. Treasury official said. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 7:34 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's actions to lend billions of dollars to prop up and sell off ailing brokerage Bear Stearns will help all Americans by stabilizing capital markets, a senior U.S. Treasury official said.
The Treasury Department said Friday it plans to lower the minimum investment amount for government bonds in an effort to make them more affordable for average investors.
Congressman Patrick Kennedy wants the government to spend more money on your brain—and everyone else's.
Scientists estimate that about 100 million Americans will one day develop neurological disorders, and for many of those maladies, treatments either don't exist or could be more effective.
At a press conference in Washington last week, the Rhode Island Democrat unveiled plans for a new National Neurotechnology Initiative that would spend $1 billion over five years to boost brain research, regulation, and drug development.
This comes as a transition is underway from Prozac-era antidepressants and other psychopharmaceuticals to new classes of targeted neurotreatments that are based on the latest scientific understanding of the brain.
Newer classes of drugs now being tested include pills that act on brain receptors that control memory, cognition, mood, inflammation, and more. Turning these receptors up or down can treat a range of diseases, from Alzheimer's to chronic pain. They also introduce a whole new category of drugs that enhance cognition and memory in healthy people by as much as 20 percent, with few side effects.
The problem is that nearly all neurotreatments fail to make it through the long, arduous process of Food and Drug Administration trials. This makes neurotech one of the most costly segments of pharma, with a success rate of about one out of 10 drugs that enter human clinical trials.
"The industry has had a number of drugs that have made a huge difference for patients, but as a business it has been stunningly unsuccessful," says Sam Barondes, director of the Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco and the author of Mood Genes and other popular books on psychiatry and drugs.
The only reason investors put up the billions of dollars needed to sustain these losses is because success in markets for drugs for conditions such as depression and pain can be huge. Some 20 out of 25 leading drugs that treat the central nervous system each generate revenue of more than $1 billion per year.
Many major blockbusters are going off patent, however. Prozac went generic in 2001. This year Wyeth's patent will expire for its antidepressant, Effexor, which has sales of more than $2 billion a year; so will Janssen's Risperidone for schizophrenia, with sales approaching $2 billion a year.
Kennedy's legislation comes out of an effort by a new trade group called Neuroinsights. It has been making a case since 2005 that there is a separate "neurotech" industry, one that treats tens of millions of people—and reaps $120 billion in revenue annually.
Also on Portfolio.com: More Science NewsDavid Ewing Duncan regularly covers the intersection of science and business. Search Mission Google C.E.O. Eric Schmidt on the threat from a Microsoft-Yahoo deal.
This industry even got its own index on Nasdaq last fall: the Nasdaq Neuroinsights Neurotech Index. It arrived just in time for the recent market volatility, and has fallen by some 26 percent since its debut last September. That compares to a 19 percent tumble for the Nasdaq composite index, and is a reflection of how tough it is to succeed in the brain business.
Kennedy's legislation will ask the federal government to spend $200 million a year for five years. "We believe this money will improve the odds of success," says Zack Lynch, the co-founder and managing director of Neuroinsights.
Among other things, the bill allocates $30 million to the Food and Drug Administration to train more experts and to improve operations; $80 million to the National Institutes of Health to coordinate neuroresearch efforts, which now fall under 27 different institutes; and $75 million to increase small-business grants for neuro-based companies.
The initiative also includes $10 million to explore the ethical, legal, and social implications of more-powerful mind drugs.
This funding is vital to launch a public debate about a psychosocial shift already underway to medicate every little edge in life—a move that could take us down a path toward Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, where the masses take a drug called soma that keeps them in a happy stupor most of the time.
Pills that enhance are also likely to roil our society if these compounds actually boost the cognition and memory of people who are already smart. As Kennedy's press release said, money is needed to analyze and discuss "issues such as its appropriate use in the criminal justice system, or enhancement of soldier and civilian mental capabilities."
If spending this money seems a no-brainer in a country that is getting older and will suffer from ever more neurological ailments, then I wonder why Kennedy isn't asking for even more money.
The nanotech initiative has so far received over $9 billion in funding. Surely neuro, which impacts 100 million brains in the U.S. alone, deserves as much federal largess as nano—if it is targeted at truly going after the new breakthroughs that will work best.
Credit Suisse and its senior managers face enforcement action from the UK's financial watchdog after the Swiss bank took more than a month to spot that some of its traders had deliberately overvalued positions, contributing to a SFr2.86bn ($2.84bn) writedown Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Mar 2008 | 6:54 pm
BP's Russian oil venture, TNK-BP, faced a fresh setback on Friday as Moscow's environmental watchdog said it would launch an investigation into the company's biggest oil unit Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Mar 2008 | 6:46 pm
Islamist conservatives in Afghanistan have called for the Afghan Star talent programme to be banned, objecting in particular to performances by women Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Mar 2008 | 6:40 pm
It's already hooked America's youth, and now Facebook is set on winning the hearts of two potentially lucrative demographics: Adults and the rest of the world.
The bridal business is a $69-billion industry, one that a new Spanish-language magazine is hoping to cash in on. Caitlan Carroll reports on the launch of Bodas USA, the first American bridal magazine written entirely in Spanish. Source: Marketplace | 21 Mar 2008 | 6:25 pm
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) recently attacked President Bush by equating him with Herbert Hoover. Economic historian Amity Shlaes explains why comparing any politician to Hoover is so insulting -- and how, in these confusing economic times, there's plenty of blame to go around. Source: Marketplace | 21 Mar 2008 | 6:25 pm
Thanks to its stake in Visa's initial public offering this week, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has enough money to pay for its Bear Stearns purchase and still have about a billion dollars left over.
In line with the Gregorian Calendar, the news of the week started on Sunday, when authorities announced that JPMorgan Chase & Co. would acquire investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. for $2 a share. Now that's a bargain.
Stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson chats with host Kai Ryssdal about what happened on Wall Street this week and what may lie ahead. Source: Marketplace | 21 Mar 2008 | 6:09 pm
Taiwan goes to the polls to choose the next president of the island nation, and for most voters the deciding factor is a candidate's stance on relations with mainland China. But as Scott Tong reports, Taiwan and China are economically intertwined even if they are politically at odds. Source: Marketplace | 21 Mar 2008 | 6:09 pm
FEC disclosures reveal a large percentage of donations to the two Democratic presidential nominees have come through small contributions via the Web. Does this mean the end of dependence on big donors for political campaigns? Steve Henn reports. Source: Marketplace | 21 Mar 2008 | 6:09 pm
China's biggest bank will sell more than $1 billion in bonds, backed by Chinese corporate loans, to fellow Chinese banks. It's good timing, with U.S. banks in disarray, but Chinese corporations aren't as transparent as their Western counterparts. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports. Source: Marketplace | 21 Mar 2008 | 6:09 pm
Between bank bailouts, a lower number of housing starts and a credit crunch, there doesn't seem to be much to be optimism about in the U.S. economy. But Bob Moon reports that with a slight dollar upswing and a rise in exports, we may be soon seeing sunnier days. Source: Marketplace | 21 Mar 2008 | 6:09 pm
You might think that Mount St. Mary's doesn't belong on the same basketball court with North Carolina in Friday night's NCAA match-up. But the small school from rural Maryland is a lot closer to the Tar Heels in talent than they are in earning power off the court.
The highest-ranking Chinese cleric in the Roman Catholic Church has called on China to avoid acts of violence that could harm its hosting of the Olympic Games Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:38 pm
Baffled by the complexity of modern financial instruments? Don't fret: real instruments are going financial, as a hedge fund sets out to raise €70m (£54.5m) to invest in vintage guitars Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:37 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's credit rating outlooks were cut on Friday by Standard & Poor's, which said volatile markets could result in lower profit and revenue.
As most economic indicators continue to flash yellow - and occasionally red - a vigorous debate is unfolding about how far auto sales will fall this year.
New Zealand's top executives' pay has soared by an average of 25 per cent over the past year.
The 2007 increase on 2006 is more than three times the growth recorded in the previous year and was boosted by a number of high level... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Retailing king Rod Duke says taking an increased stake in children's clothing company Pumpkin Patch was a personal move not linked to his Briscoe Group.
Duke, who owns around 75 per cent of the group running the Briscoes Homeware... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
The collapse of Bear Stearns, the depressed housing market and the problems with ING's Diversified Yield and Regular Income funds have one thing in common, namely the bursting of the global liquidity bubble.
To understand this... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
As the global credit crunch worsens and rain refuses to fall on much of the country, economists have been cutting their forecasts for economic growth - some to the point of predicting a recession this year.
Even Finance Minister... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
How worried should we be? What does the credit crunch mean for the cost of our mortgages, the safety of our jobs and how is New Zealand placed in the longer term?
We asked Peter Conway, Council of Trade Unions economist and director... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
It would be wrong to describe the US market meltdown as a crash. It is serious and it is destroying wealth but it is just too darn slow to qualify as a crash. In motoring terms it is more akin to leaving the handbrake off.
We get... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, made a plea to Bear Stearns' employees to support his company's cut-price takeover of the collapsed investment bank - and he dangled the prospect of significant bonuses for those who... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel has rejected calls from distraught Blue Chip investors for the property investment group to be placed in statutory management.
She said this week that she had met Blue Chip liquidator Jeff Meltzer... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Q: I am quite amazed at the naked hatred that some of your correspondents have for owners of residential investment property. There needs to be some perspective on this.
First, it should be repeated once again that deductions... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Reuters - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's and Lehman
Brothers Holdings Inc's credit rating outlooks were cut on
Friday by Standard & Poor's, which said volatile markets could
result in lower profit and revenue.
Bond yields have plunged in the past few weeks. And even if you are not an active investor, you should care about what's been going on in the bond markets lately. Here's why.
(Reuters) - AT&T Inc said it will use a combination of funds from operations and debt to pay the $6.64 billion fee to the Federal Communication Commission, after winning 227 regional wireless spectrum licenses.
John Malone and Barry Diller did not disappoint as they played out a soap opera of sorts in Delaware Chancery Court last week.
Their lawyers were at work on final briefs due today at the chambers of Vice Chancellor Stephen Lamb. He has asked for information on two matters:
Did Diller violate his contract with Malone's Liberty Media in his plan to spin off four IAC/Interactive business units into separate companies?
And was Liberty too hasty in suing, given that the board at Diller's IAC has not yet voted on the spinoffs?
At a hearing last Friday, Lamb said he would rule on the contract claims by March 28.
IAC Share Price
It's a fair bet that Liberty Media will have an uphill battle in winning the judge on the claims: For all the star power of Diller and Malone offering their own versions of the disintegration of their business marriage, the case may come down to how their lawyers interpreted a single clause in the governance agreement for their arrangement.
The two moguls, who have worked together for 13 years, each had a star turn at the trial.
Malone, appearing icy and aloof, called Diller's spinoff plan—which would, coincidentally, dilute Liberty Media's voting stake in the various businesses from about 62 percent to 30 percent—a "breach of faith" under a proxy agreement. (That agreement, by the way, does explicitly allow Diller to vote the Liberty Media shares—even against Liberty's own best interest, apparently.)
For his part, Diller, as method actor, "projected" during his time on the stand, at one point recounting an icy meeting with his fellow mogul after the Wall Street Journal published a front-page story in which Malone criticized Diller at great length.
But how did each executive score on the key contract point: What kind of latitude does Diller have to vote Liberty Media's shares in IAC after Liberty gave him its proxy?
Since 1995, Liberty Media has had a veto right over Diller's voting proxy on certain matters. Diller and his legal team from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz have portrayed this provision as bowing to Liberty's concerns about Federal Communications Commission rules against cross-ownership of broadcasters.
Liberty, on the other hand, has characterized the veto power much more broadly.
The case could come down to a "he said/she said" match between two key lawyers for Liberty Media and IAC over how the veto provision has evolved over the years. It was last revised in 2001, when IAC merged the USA Network with Vivendi Universal.
Testimony from the lawyers who negotiated that deal differed on what kind of veto power Liberty Media retained.
Frederick "Buzz" McGrath, a partner with the New York office of Baker & Botts, who has represented Malone since 1992, testified that the veto clause was a "catchall protection" for Liberty.
But he could not provide evidence to support that recollection when pressed by Lamb.
"Is there anything in the writing from 1995 that confirms that testimony?" the judge asked.
"No, I don't believe so," McGrath responded.
"Did you communicate it to anyone at Wachtell, Lipton in 1995?" the judge then asked, referring to the law firm representing Diller's IAC.
"Not that I recall," McGrath replied. In fact, McGrath repeatedly admitted that there was no written communication confirming the catchall nature of Liberty's right to veto Diller's proxy.
The Diller response to Liberty is that the veto related only to "regulatory" matters, fundamentally the Federal Communications Commission's cross-ownership restrictions.
On this point, Liberty's lawyer, Pamela Seymon of Wachtell, was quite forceful. She testified that "alarm bells would have gone off in my head" had the "contingent matters" provision been a catchall in the 2001 negotiations.
Seymon also agreed that it was "fair" to characterize the veto provision as one that related to regulatory matters. "It's my interpretation," she said.
On Diller's right to exercise the proxy to vote in favor of spinoffs with a single-tier voting structure, Seymon was clear: "As a contractual matter, he can," she testified. "Remember that there is a board of directors here as well."
Seymon has a point: The IAC board last considered the spinoff at a January 16 meeting. Diller gave a speech at the time and Martin Lipton of Wachtell explained the board's liability, or lack thereof, if they voted in favor of the plan. The board has yet to act.
Malone testified that he left the legal details to his lawyers, while Diller was adamant that a veto provision that would have given Liberty Media a catchall would have set off "alarm bells" for him because "a fundamental purpose" of the Vivendi transaction was to "remove the consent rights" that Liberty previously held.
Reuters - The Bank of England denied a report in
the Financial Times on Saturday that it was proposing using
public funds to make mass purchases of mortgage-backed
securities in order to ease the credit crisis.
AP - After being laid off from her job as an events planner at an upscale resort, Jo Ann Bauer struggled financially. She worked at several lower-paying jobs, relocated to a new city and even declared bankruptcy.
Reuters - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's and Lehman
Brothers Holdings Inc's credit rating outlooks were cut on
Friday by Standard & Poor's, which said volatile markets could
result in lower profit and revenue.