Crude oil prices fall, as the dollar strengthens and Saudi Arabia makes reassuring comments. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:34 pm
Chinese authorities vow to fight spammers after 200 million mobile phone users received unwanted text messages. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:16 pm
Reuters - Walgreen Co , one of the
largest U.S. drugstore chains, posted higher quarterly profit
on Monday, helped by cost-cutting measures and an extra day in
the quarter due to leap year.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walgreen Co , one of the largest U.S. drugstore chains, posted higher quarterly profit on Monday, helped by cost-cutting measures and an extra day in the quarter due to leap year.
Shops in England may be banned from displaying cigarettes in a plan being considered to cut smoking. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:09 pm
Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co is in
talks to raise its takeover offer for Bear Stearns Cos
to about $10 a share in an effort to appease Bear shareholders
angry with the cut-rate deal, a person briefed on the
discussions said on Monday.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co is in talks to raise its takeover offer for Bear Stearns Cos to about $10 a share in an effort to appease Bear shareholders angry with the cut-rate deal, a person briefed on the discussions said on Monday.
Reuters - Stock futures pointed to a higher
opening on Monday following news that JPMorgan Chase & Co
was in talks to quintuple its offer to buy Bear Stearns
Cos , while a further decline in commodity prices eased
inflation concerns.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a higher opening on Monday following news that JPMorgan Chase & Co was in talks to quintuple its offer to buy Bear Stearns Cos , while a further decline in commodity prices eased inflation concerns.
JP Morgan Chase is in talks to strongly raise its offer for Bear Stearns, according to a report in the US. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 24 Mar 2008 | 11:57 am
Tiffany says loans made to a diamond company hurt its fourth-quarter earnings, but adjusted results beat analyst expectations. The jewelry retailer said Monday it earned $118.3 million, Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 11:51 am
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday as investors sought to lock in profits and as top exporter Saudi Arabia reassured consumers of its plans to boost supply.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tiffany & Co posted a lower quarterly profit on Monday, as a weaker economy crimped consumer jewelry spending. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 11:36 am
AP - For months, Americans have been subjected to a sort of economic water torture a maddening drip of bad news about jobs, gas prices, sagging home values, creeping inflation, the slouching dollar and a stock market in bumpy descent.
U.S. stock futures signaled a stronger start to trading on Monday, with reports of a potentially higher bid from J.P. Morgan Chase for Bear Stearns Cos. in focus.
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.
The U.S. dollar was higher against most other major currencies in European trading Monday morning. European gold and silver markets were closed for a public holiday. The euro was... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 11:12 am
Tiffany & Co. reported Monday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit declined 16%, hurt by several one-time charges, but the luxury-goods retailer raised its profit forecast for the current fiscal year.
Tesco launches an inquiry into a report that some of its workers overseas earn just 8p an hour. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 24 Mar 2008 | 11:07 am
U.S. stock futures edged higher early Monday as investors returned from the long weekend and eyed the possibility of a higher bid for Wall Street firm Bear Stearns.
Marathon Acquisition Corp. sets plans to buy Global Ship Lease Inc., a unit of French container ship giant CMA CGM S.A., in a deal valued at $1 billion.
Stocks headed toward a higher open Monday as investors met with more upbeat headlines about Bear Stearns. JPMorgan Chase & Co. was in talks to boost its offer for Bear Stearns Cos. to... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 10:55 am
Sentiment among Japanese companies worsened during first quarter as high materials prices and a strong yen ate into their profits, a government survey showed Monday. The dismal results Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 10:55 am
Gas prices surged nearly 7 cents over the past two weeks to reach an all-time inflation-adjusted high of $3.26 per gallon of self-serve regular, a national survey said Sunday.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China Life Insurance Co , the country's biggest life insurer, said on Monday that it had invested $300 million in Visa Inc's initial public offering in its maiden overseas investment.
Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are Bank of America, Bear Stearns, Dominion Homes, Metro One, Neurogen, Palm, Smart Modular, Synplicity and Tiffany. The Nasdaq and NYSE markets were closed Friday for Good Friday.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese land prices rose for a second straight year in 2007 on robust demand for prime commercial property, but analysts say the honeymoon is already over with the Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 10:35 am
Hal Jessee looks at a shovelful of dirt and assesses it as only a lifelong farmer can. "It's not looking good," says Jessee, 83, who farms 400 acres about 100 miles southwest of San... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 10:11 am
BEIJING (Reuters) - China Life Insurance Co , the country's biggest life insurer, said on Monday that it had invested $300 million in Visa Inc's initial public offering in its maiden... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 10:07 am
China's leaders are facing renewed pressure over shortfalls in diesel and gasoline, with lines growing at filling stations in major cities Monday as the gap widens between international... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 9:46 am
DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh's privately-owned GMG Airlines expects to complete a deal with plane maker Boeing to buy six new aircraft worth more than $900 million in the next few months, GMG's chairman said on Monday.
DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh's privately-owned GMG Airlines expects to complete a deal with plane maker Boeing to buy six new aircraft worth more than $900 million in the next few months,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 9:33 am
Sheila Bair became Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in June 2006 - just in time for the end of a real estate and credit bubble that has made her job one of the toughest in the regulatory world. She was one of the first members of the Bush Administration to say that it was the job of lenders and big banks to help mortgage holders in distress; and she has fought to uphold strict banking standards and create more lending laws.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - CIT Group Inc is in talks with overseas banks to find a steady stream of cheap funding to finance its core lending business, the Wall Street Journal said in its Monday edition, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The people of Bhutan began voting in the first parliamentary elections in the isolated Himalayan kingdom's history, warming to democracy after a century of absolute rule Source: FT.com - US homepage | 24 Mar 2008 | 9:06 am
Taiwan's stock market and its currency get a big boost after the opposition wins the island's presidential election. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 24 Mar 2008 | 8:54 am
The World Food Programme has launched an 'extraordinary emergency appeal' to governments to donate at least $500m in the next four weeks to avoid rationing food aid in response to the spiralling cost of food Source: FT.com - US homepage | 24 Mar 2008 | 8:54 am
Global Ship Lease, the London operator of container ships, will go public via a blank-check company run by Michael Gross, the co-founder of the private-equity firm Apollo Management, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Bosses at HBOS buy more than £6m worth of shares in the bank, after it was hit by "malicious rumours". Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 24 Mar 2008 | 8:37 am
With the New York International Auto Show in full swing, we at Media City thought it would be a good idea to see what's happening in the world of cars. Need further proof that the economy is in recession?... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 8:22 am
Spanish stalwart Univision has been gaining on its English-language rivals for years, but this season it almost caught them in the race for younger viewers. While ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox are still ahead... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 8:22 am
Verizon's fiber-optic service, so far mainly available to suburbanites, is making a big push into Manhattan with a deal to connect Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. Of the 110 buildings, seven... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 8:22 am
MySpace's plan to launch a digital-music joint venture with the major record companies is picking up steam, as the social networking giant nears deals with Sony BMG and Warner Music Group, multiple sources... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 8:22 am
Slump sagaThis week's data are expected to show con sumer spending slowed in February and home sales continued to drop. Economists anticipate the Commerce Depart ment to report Friday that spending was... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 8:22 am
Top music downloads1. No One, Alicia Keys2. Cyclone, Baby Bash3. With You, Chris Brown4. Low, Flo Rida5. Sweetest Girl, Wyclef Jean6. Apologize, OneRepublic7. Take You There, Sean Kingston8. Clumsy, Fergie9... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 8:22 am
Taiwanese stocks rallied Monday, reflecting hopes of closer ties with China, after the Kuomintang Party presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou this weekend was elected in a landslide and ended eight years of Democratic Progressive Party rule.
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) - Most Asian markets advanced Monday, with Taiwanese shares rallying on China Airlines and financials such as Cathay Financial Holding Co., as investors hoped the weekend election result would lead to closer ties with China.
He's smiling and waving at former clients but is less friendly with his alleged victims.
Editor's note: Rachel Abramowitz will be periodically checking in on the trial of Anthony Pellicano -- former private eye to the stars, who faces 110 counts of racketeering, wiretapping, conspiracy and other federal charges -- and writing about what the case means to Hollywood.
Boogaloos, a multifaceted business in Fullerton, has broken even only two months since it started. An expert suggests ways to help sales take off.
Boogaloos in downtown Fullerton is a cheerful place where youngsters can sit in colorful mini-airplanes to get their locks trimmed, take the stage in the photography studio or star in a pirate or princess birthday party.
Despite concern about comfort, fuel prices spur a return of the unglamorous aircraft on regional routes.
As fuel prices soar to record highs and airlines struggle to maintain profitability, the unglamorous but fuel-efficient turboprop regional airliner is making a remarkable comeback.
The animated elephant movie holds off Tyler Perry's latest and 'Drillbit Taylor.'
"Horton Hears a Who!" sat atop the box office again over the weekend, holding off openings of "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns" and "Drillbit Taylor" to remain in the No. 1 spot, grossing an estimated $25.1 million.
The university's Olive Center plans to help growers accelerate their production. One challenge is educating the American palate.
After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, UC Davis established a research department that led to the flowering of the California wine industry. Now it hopes to do the same for olive oil.
The Federal Reserve's expanded lending, a salve for the financial markets' current crisis, was meant to aid the 'forgotten man.'
It was July 1932 when Speaker John Nance Garner rose to address the U.S. House of Representatives, complaining that the government was helping big business but not the little man.
That's the peak -- so far. Those who can handle a sky-high price like the proximity to stars that it buys them. For summer... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
Boogaloos, a multifaceted business in Fullerton, has broken even only two months since it started. An expert suggests ways to help sales take off. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 24 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
CIT Group is in talks with overseas banks to obtain funding for its core lending business, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
JPMorgan Chase was in talks to quintuple its $2-a-share offer for Bear Stearns in an effort to pacify angry shareholders who vowed to fight the original fire-sale deal, reported the New York Times Source: FT.com - US homepage | 24 Mar 2008 | 5:04 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street strategists and industry analysts now expect first-quarter earnings at Standard & Poor's 500 companies to decline 5.5 percent from a year earlier, twice the 2.7 percent decline they had forecast just one week ago, according to Reuters Estimates.
Reuters - Bank of America Corp , the
largest U.S. retail bank, may set aside a record $6.5 billion
in the first quarter to cover possible future loan losses,
including in its mortgage and home equity portfolios, according
to a banking analyst.
Reuters - Wall Street strategists and industry
analysts now expect first-quarter earnings at Standard & Poor's
500 (.SPX) companies to decline 5.5 percent from a year
earlier, twice the 2.7 percent decline they had forecast just
one week ago, according to Reuters Estimates.
The number of US soldiers to die in Iraq has reached 4,000, just days after the fifth anniversary of a war that President George W. Bush says the United States is on track to win Source: FT.com - US homepage | 24 Mar 2008 | 4:04 am
We'll soon know whether Transpower's controversial plan to put giant electricity pylons through Waikato will get the go-ahead or not.
An inquiry into the scheme, expected to last up to five months, begins in Hamilton tomorrow.
More... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 24 Mar 2008 | 2:20 am
CLEVELAND (Reuters) - As hundreds of thousands of American home owners fall behind on their mortgage payments, more people are turning to short-term loans with sky-high interest rates just to get by.
The UK's chief environment scientist deals a damaging blow to the government's biofuels policy. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:09 am
Two of the main protest groups against expansion of London's Heathrow airport have been criticised by the advertising industry watchdog for running press adverts likely to "mislead" the public. Source: Telegraph Business | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
BT Group chief executive Ben Verwaayen is more than £4m worse off as a result of the fall in the BT share price in the past year. Source: Telegraph Business | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Some analysts are already making comparison with the great financial and economic crises of the past. So how does the current crisis stack up against those infamous episodes? Source: Telegraph Business | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Plans to clamp down on tax loopholes that are used to avoid paying stamp duty on house sales could be extended to the commercial property market within a year, according to a leading tax lawyer. Source: Telegraph Business | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Three of Britain's leading airlines are to join forces to call for an unprecedented judicial review of the Civil Aviation Authority in protest at hikes in landing charges at Heathrow and Gatwick. Source: Telegraph Business | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Despite the collapse of the private equity mega-deal, mid-market funds are showing resilience to the credit crisis - partly thanks to changes in the tax regime, according to new research. Source: Telegraph Business | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The strains of Carmen are gently rising and falling from the dress rehearsal below as Tony Hall sets out his vision for the Royal Opera House. Source: Telegraph Business | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
A former Apax-owned Welsh consumer finance group with a £1.2 billion loans
book is poised to be sold within the next seven to ten days to an unnamed
rival private equity firm for as little as 1p. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The stock of unsold homes is rising steadily as the mood in the housing market
darkens, but the array of properties is failing to tempt buyers back as
homeowners demand ever-higher prices, according to Rightmove, the property
website. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The RAF is launching covert bombing raids against schools and other key
landmarks across the country, acts of gleeful revenge for a litany of abuses
such as extra homework, detentions and humiliations in class. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Joe Lewis, the British billionaire who has lost almost $1 billion ($£505
million) on his investment in Bear Stearns, is confident that he will be
able to block the takeover of the stricken investment bank by JPMorgan Chase
before the deal is completed in three months. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
A multibillion-euro Swiss contract to buy natural gas from Iran has provoked
threats from Washington, protests from Jewish groups and fuelled mounting
concern about Europe's energy security. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Britain’s biggest lenders are bracing themselves for fresh turbulence on the
wholesale markets amid suggestions that it may be weeks before the Bank of
England agrees to free up the banking system with a bumper cash injection.<br/>
<br/>
It is understood that, after a meeting with senior retail banking executives
late last week, the Bank is happy in principle to provide additional
liquidity when needed along the same lines as those agreed by the US Federal
Reserve – but that it needs time to work out the details.<br/>
<br/>
Extra liquidity is understood to have been one of the main requests made by
the banks at last week’s meeting, held with Mervyn King, the Governor. It is
also thought that the Bank is prepared to take a wider range of securities
to use as collateral against loans.<br/>
<br/>
The Bank confirmed over the weekend that it was considering ways to ease
pressure on the funding markets for banks. However, the UK’s lender of last
resort provided no firm details about the size or timing of any potential
cash injection.<br/>
<br/>
Sources close to some of the leading high street banks said that last week’s
meeting with Mr King had gone well. One said: “There has been some movement.
The Bank is looking at different measures.<br/>
<br/>
“This is the Bank of England, though. It will want to think very carefully
before doing this. Don’t presume anything will happen any time soon. It
could be this week, but it could be weeks down the line.”<br/>
<br/>
The Bank declined to comment yesterday, but on Saturday it did deny reports
that it was considering using public money to fund a mass acquisition of
mortgage-backed securities. It went on to say that it was “examining a
number of other options, but it is too early to go into any detail”.<br/>
<br/>
Short-term money markets have been paralysed since the middle of last year as
banks fearful about their exposure to the crisis in mortgage securities
become increasingly nervous about lending to each other. After fighting shy
of a public intervention, the Bank last week doubled to £10 billion its
auction of three-day money. Demand for it was nearly three times supply.<br/>
<br/>
The Bank is to hold another auction of three-day money this Thursday. It may
still use this scheduled sale to unveil further measures. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Ministers intend to take steps to counter a threat by property developers to
leave buildings unfinished in an attempt to dodge an impending increase in
business rates. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Did last week mark the beginning of the end of the credit crunch, or merely
the end of the beginning? The answer depends on another question, which was
much in the news over the weekend: will the Bank of England and the Federal
Reserve start lending against mortgages, essentially without penalty and
without limit, as the European Central Bank has done since last year? This
may seem an esoteric technical question, but it will determine whether the
credit crunch can be resolved merely by tweaking the traditional techniques
of central banking, or whether vast sums of public money will be required.
And the answer to this, in turn, depends on another even more
obscure-sounding debate: has the “liquidity crisis” that started last August
in the US mortgage market degenerated into a “solvency crisis” for the
global banking system as a whole? Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The president of Opec has predicted that the price of oil could stay as high
as $110 a barrel for the rest of the year, spurred by investors seeking to
hedge themselves against the weakening US dollar.<br/>
<br/>
Chakib Khelil, the president of the global oil cartel, who is also the
Algerian Energy Minister, said: $“There are big pressures on Opec and some
consuming nations would like to present Opec as being behind current high
prices.<br/>
<br/>
“But the truth is that the current prices are linked to US economic problems
as well as to the value of the dollar.”<br/>
<br/>
His comments came after Dick Cheney, the Vice-President of the United States,
met Saudi leaders in Riyadh to discuss soaring oil prices. Mr Cheney has
urged Saudi Arabia to boost production in an attempt to ease the price of
oil.<br/>
<br/>
There are hopes that a recession in America and moves by China to reduce
economic growth will lead to a fall in demand for commodities such as oil
and result, in turn, in falling oil prices.<br/>
<br/>
Opec left oil output levels unchanged this month despite calls from
oil-consuming nations to increase production. A week ago, the price of light
sweet crude futures hit $111.80 a barrel, a record, but it has eased since
amid evidence that the American economy may already be in recession.<br/>
<br/>
The rising oil price is also creating problems for Saudi Arabia, the world$’s
largest oil exporter. Last month, inflation in the country hit a 27-year
high, at 8.7 per cent. Last week, Saudi Arabia’s central bank and the United
Arab Emirates cut interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point, in
line with the US Federal Reserve. Yesterday, Qatar – where inflation is
13.74 per cent – followed suit.<br/>
<br/>
The Gulf states face an uncomfortable dilemma. As demand for oil soars, Gulf
Arab economies are booming, driving demand for everything from housing to
power and water. However, instead of raising interest rates to try to stem
rising inflation, countries such as Saudi Arabia have been forced to follow
the Federal Reserve’s cuts because their currencies are pegged to the US
dollar.<br/>
<br/>
After the meeting with Mr Cheney, the Saudi Supreme Council of Petroleum and
Mineral Affairs, which is chaired by King Abdullah, expressed “its
satisfaction at the Kingdom’s work in expanding crude production and
refining capacity to help meet global demand”. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer spreads out a large map of Europe between us and, like
a general planning a military campaign, his arm sweeps from the Alps to the
Carpathians and the Black Sea as he maps out the energy future of Central
and Eastern Europe. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The government should undertake research and provide evidence to support changes to the Employment Relations Act (ERA), an employers' organisation says.
Labour Minister Trevor Mallard and Cabinet colleague Maryan Street yesterday... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The US should inject public funds into its financial system, which is undergoing a worse crisis than Japan during its loan crisis, according to Japan's financial services minister Source: FT.com - US homepage | 23 Mar 2008 | 10:05 pm
Carrington Capital Management, a $1bn hedge fund specialising in mortgages, is trying to persuade its investors to lend it up to $200m to replace bank loans Source: FT.com - US homepage | 23 Mar 2008 | 10:02 pm
Reuters - The average price of a gallon of gas
in the United States has risen to a record $3.26, and the cost
of diesel fuel has soared to a record $4.06 a gallon, adding to
pressure on consumers and the companies that deliver their
goods.
The first public price estimates for specific structured credit securities to have emerged since the start of the credit crisis show that values have fallen sharply Source: FT.com - US homepage | 23 Mar 2008 | 7:04 pm
Rio Tinto says it wants to work with Chinese state companies to develop projects overseas in an apparent attempt to deepen ties with its biggest customer Source: FT.com - US homepage | 23 Mar 2008 | 7:01 pm
It's a great game to play over a few drinks - picking your "dream team".
Who would you have, dead or alive, in your best All Blacks squad of all time? Who would you select for your ultimate pub quiz team?
In the same vein, albeit... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 23 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
The pay packets of top executives could be set to take a hit as companies feel the squeeze in tightening economic conditions.
The Herald's annual remuneration survey of 49 NZX 50, private and state-owned companies showed there... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 23 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Now this may sound like teaching grandmothers to suck eggs - whatever that means exactly - but compost it appears is good for growing plants.
Compost is getting a new look in from commercial horticulturists and farmers and is providing... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 23 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Rio Tinto, fighting a takeover bid by rival Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton, would like to work with Chinese state firms to develop mining projects around the world, chief executive Tom Albanese says.
The partnership offer... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 23 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
Health sector IT company Orion Health has secured two large contracts in the Middle East.
The contracts, its first in the fast-growing region, will see the company supply its Rhapsody Integration Engine to Saudi Arabia's King Fahd... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 23 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
The Middle East conjures up dark pictures in Westerners' minds, the agonies of Palestine and Iraq. That's like judging all of Africa by Darfur, or all of Asia by North Korea.
There's more to the region and the Muslim world than... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 23 Mar 2008 | 5:00 pm
More than 40 per cent of the population of Chinese cities will be made up of migrants within two decades, according to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute Source: FT.com - US homepage | 23 Mar 2008 | 4:08 pm
The president of the European Parliament has said that European countries should consider a boycott of the Olympics in Beijing if the Chinese government continues to take a hardline attitude to unrest in Tibet Source: FT.com - US homepage | 23 Mar 2008 | 3:30 pm
Reuters - Walgreen Co , one of the
largest U.S. drugstore chains, posted higher quarterly profit
on Monday, helped by cost-cutting measures and an extra day in
the quarter due to leap year.
Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co is in
talks to raise its takeover offer for Bear Stearns Cos
to about $10 a share in an effort to appease Bear shareholders
angry with the cut-rate deal, a person briefed on the
discussions said on Monday.
Reuters - Stock futures pointed to a higher
opening on Monday following news that JPMorgan Chase & Co
was in talks to quintuple its offer to buy Bear Stearns
Cos , while a further decline in commodity prices eased
inflation concerns.
Reuters - Tiffany & Co posted a lower
quarterly profit on Monday, as a weaker economy crimped
consumer jewelry spending.
AP - For months, Americans have been subjected to a sort of economic water torture a maddening drip of bad news about jobs, gas prices, sagging home values, creeping inflation, the slouching dollar and a stock market in bumpy descent.
Reuters - Bank of America Corp , the
largest U.S. retail bank, may set aside a record $6.5 billion
in the first quarter to cover possible future loan losses,
including in its mortgage and home equity portfolios, according
to a banking analyst.
Reuters - Wall Street strategists and industry
analysts now expect first-quarter earnings at Standard & Poor's
500 (.SPX) companies to decline 5.5 percent from a year
earlier, twice the 2.7 percent decline they had forecast just
one week ago, according to Reuters Estimates.
Reuters - The average price of a gallon of gas
in the United States has risen to a record $3.26, and the cost
of diesel fuel has soared to a record $4.06 a gallon, adding to
pressure on consumers and the companies that deliver their
goods.