The US housing market continues to ebb with new home starts and building permits falling sharply. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 1:29 pm
Initial construction of U.S. homes fell to a 17-year low in March, a much steeper-than-expected drop, according to a government report released Wednesday.
There was a significant agreement out of Canada between it and China, via Canpotex (Canadian Potash Exporters). Canpotex is the world's largest exporter of potash. Canpotex announced potash price increases between Canpotex and Sinofert in China, which actually will be paid out the rest of 2008. T his calls for shipment of 1 million metric tons of potash at $576 per metric ton, which appears to be a $400 per metric ton increase over the 2007 price. This is going to add significantly again to fertilizer and potash players involved, and all are trading higher in pre-market trading. Companies which...
UK unemployment falls by 39,000 in the three months to the end of February, government figures show. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 1:19 pm
US stocks were set for a higher start after JPMorgan and Coca Cola reported robust results and finally gave investors something to cheer about in what has been an otherwise dismal opening to the 2008 first quarter earnings season Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 Apr 2008 | 1:12 pm
AP - Consumer prices pushed higher last month as increases in energy, food and airline tickets overwhelmed the biggest drop in clothing prices in nearly a decade.
Unlike many of its peers in the financial services industry, JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Wednesday turned in a better quarterly performance than analysts had expected. Still, earnings dropped 50% from a year earlier.
Reuters - Stock index futures pointed to a
higher market open on Wednesday after reassuring earnings from
blue-chip companies and data on consumer prices showed
inflation ran slightly less than expected last month.
U.S. home builders started the fewest number of homes in 17 years, as housing starts plunged 11.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 947,000 in March, the Commerce Department reports.
Stock futures continued to rise early Wednesday, lifted by an upbeat outlook from chip giant Intel, better-than-expected earnings from JPMorgan Chase and despite plummeting new home construction and rising inflation.
Investors buoyed by Tuesday’s stronger earnings from regional banks looked for another up day Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company reported record revenue for the first quarter, despite significant loan-loss reserves.
The US investment bank, which last month stepped in to buy Bear Stearns, reported profits that halved for the first three months of the year due to writedowns and provisions related to mortgage-related assets Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:59 pm
JPMorgan Chase saw profits halve in the first quarter of the year as continued trouble in the mortgage, home equity and leveraged loans markets forced it to take more than $5bn in writedowns and provisions... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:59 pm
Gordon Brown is set to urge US bankers to reveal financial losses quickly when he meets them on Wall Street. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:57 pm
Crude-oil futures edged higher Wednesday, after soaring to a record of $114.53 a barrel earlier in the session, as the dollar fell sharply against other major currencies and traders awaited the latest data on U.S. petroleum inventories.
Reuters - Home building projects started in
March fell by 11.9 percent to a lower-than-expected annual rate
while building permit activity, a sign of future construction
plans, was off 5.8 percent, a government report on Wednesday
said.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Home building projects started in March fell by 11.9 percent to a lower-than-expected annual rate while building permit activity, a sign of future construction plans, was off 5.8 percent, a government report on Wednesday said.
Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co , the
third-largest U.S. bank, said on Wednesday quarterly profit
fell 50 percent, hurt by writedowns for leveraged loans and
mortgages and because it set aside more money for loan losses.
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) posted a 25% gain in earnings, but reported $1.90 EPS versus $2.00 estimates; Assets under management are now $1.364 Trillion. Shares are trading down by 2% pre-market. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) $0.69 EPS vs. $0.64 est.; $2.6 Billion markdowns; expect weakness to continue and expects capital market stress to continue; sees issues affecting results for remainder of 2008 or longer; shares are trading up over 2% in pre-market. Knight Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NITE) $0.35 EPS vs. $0.30 estimates; trading volume surged in dollar terms and decreased in volume for march, noted de-leveraging of financial markets;...
Intel Corp.’s first-quarter profit falls 12%, weighed down by a major restructuring charge, but the chipmaker’s shares surge in premarket trades after the company issues an upbeat forecast for the current period.
Reuters - Consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in
March, slightly less than expected as cheaper clothing helped
hold down overall prices despite a modest rebound in energy
prices, a Labor Department report on Wednesday showed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in March, slightly less-than-expected as cheaper clothing helped hold down overall prices despite a modest rebound in energy prices, a Labor Department report on Wednesday showed.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures added to gains on Wednesday after data on consumer prices showed inflation ran slightly less than expected last month.
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil struck a new record high above $114 a barrel on Wednesday, buoyed by the weak U.S. dollar, inflows of speculative money and long-term constraints on supply.
Fox Interactive, the online division of News Corp (NWS), will miss its numbers. A few of the marketing executives there lost there jobs. It would seem that the primary culprit is MySpace, the world's largest social network. According to ZDNet Fox said "it has reshuffled its management and ad operations–a sign that problems monetizing MySpace persist." The value of social networks probably peaked last year when No.2 property Facebook got a $15 billion valuation during a round of financing. But, making money on these business is going to be very hard. A great deal of the revenue flowing to MySpace...
One of the arcane financial acronyms that has gained much prominence over the course of the credit crisis is Libor—the London interbank offered rate. It is the average interest rate when banks make short-term loans to one another.
It is one of the most important credit benchmarks, used by banks and financial institutions around the world.
Carrick Mollenkamp of the Wall Street Journalreports that there are growing suspicions that some banks may be underreporting the rates they are paying for short-term loans, undermining the accuracy of the Libor.
His report is a startling revelation. If the Libor is viewed as unreliable, the credit crisis may be much worse than previously thought, with borrowers receiving loans tied to the index getting a cheaper rate than they should.
Yves Smith on the Naked Capitalism blog points to another serious implication: "As more and more statistics and benchmarks come into doubt, it creates uncertainty and undermines planning, which in turn is a deterrent to investment."
The Journal says there is no evidence that banks are providing false data, but bankers have expressed concerns that the Libor does not reflect true credit costs.
The Cash and Burn blog says the underreporting phenomenon "might just be a blip (and it probably is), but it is having real effects on commercial lending."
"Amongst other things, it is driving up investment-grade syndicated-loan pricing."
China's economic boom slowed in the first quarter - but only modestly, leaving it at a still sizzling 10.6pc. Source: Telegraph Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:30 pm
Reuters - Merrill Lynch will announce a further $6
billion to $8 billion of asset writedowns in its quarterly
results this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on
Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch will announce a further $6 billion to $8 billion of asset writedowns in its quarterly results this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co , the fifth-largest U.S. bank, said on Wednesday first-quarter profit fell 11 percent, hurt by deterioration in credit quality.
JP Morgan Chase sees profits in the first three months of 2008 fall, partly due to the credit crisis. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:25 pm
Hedge fund manager John Paulson of Paulson & Co. took home $3.7 billion last year, making him the biggest earner in the industry, according to Alpha Magazine.
EMI has hired Nick Gatfield, the man responsible for the success of Amy Winehouse and Mika, to take charge of its artist and repertoire (A&R) activities in North America and the UK.Mr Gatfield's recruitment... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:25 pm
Kimikazu Noumi is set to step down as chairman of Aozora, in a setback for the Japanese bank that is 45.5 per cent owned by Cerberus, the US private equity firm.Mr Noumi, who joined Aozora just a year... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:23 pm
Kimikazu Noumi is set to step down as chairman of Aozora, in a setback for the Japanese bank that is 45.5 per cent owned by Cerberus, the US private equity firm Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:23 pm
JPMorgan Chase reported a 50 per cent drop in its first quarter profits as
America's third biggest bank took a $5.1 billion ($£2.5 billion) writedown
against investments in mortgage-backed securities and its portfolio of
homeloans. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:05 pm
Astronomic food price surges and a winter of freak snowstorms have taken the
edge off China’s roaring economic growth, stoking government fears of
embarrassing social unrest before the Beijing Olympics. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:05 pm
BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. money manager BlackRock Inc on Wednesday posted a 24 percent jump in first-quarter profit as assets under management grew, but the earnings fell far short of estimates.
J.P. Morgan Chase, with its "fortress balance sheet" and its takeover of Bear Stearns, may be the hero of the financial world, but that doesn't mean it is immune to the effects of the credit crunch.
The bank said that first-quarter earnings fell by half as it took a $5.1 billion hit on credit losses and markdowns on mortgages, leveraged loans, and collateralized debt obligations.
For the banking industry overall, the first quarter was ugly, with tight, still-fearful credit markets and a weak economy. Even in a slump, J.P. Morgan still impressed by reporting results that exceeded analysts' forecasts.
Yet many have said the rest of the year will be equally difficult for banks, and Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of J.P. Morgan, gave weight to that view with an uncharacteristically downbeat forecast.
"Our expectation is for the economic environment to continue to be weak and for the capital markets to remain under stress," Dimon said. "These factors have affected, and are likely to continue to negatively impact, our firm's credit losses, overall business volumes, and earnings—possibly through the remainder of the year or longer."
He emphasized, however, that J.P. Morgan was prepared to ride through the storm. "We are prepared to manage through this down part of the economic cycle, given the strength of our liquidity, credit reserves, capital, and operating margins, and to successfully position our company well for the future."
J.P. Morgan earned $2.37 billion, or 68 cents per share, compared with $4.79 billion, or $1.34 per share in the quarter a year earlier.
Net revenue, or revenue minus interest expenses, fell 11 percent, to $16.9 billion.
The bank set aside $2.5 billion for credit losses. It marked down $1.2 billion on mortgages and $1.1 billion on leveraged loans.
France Telecom was in the early stage of examining a friendly merger with Nordic rival TeliaSonera, people close to the French company told the Financial Times on Wednesday, as consolidation in the European... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:00 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co , the third-largest U.S. bank, said on Wednesday quarterly profit fell 50 percent, hurt by writedowns for leveraged loans and mortgages and because it set aside more money for loan losses.
Europe's main stock markets advanced on Wednesday, taking their cue from a late recovery on Wall Street and earlier gains in Asia as investors set aside record high oil prices, analysts... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:59 am
ASML, the Dutch supplier of tools to the semiconductor industry, said on Wednesday the credit squeeze may have contributed to several customers postponing their orders as it cut its sales forecast for... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:57 am
Revising his stance on global warming, President Bush will propose a new target for stopping the growth of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. The president also will call... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:55 am
These are 10 of the top calls that 247WallSt.com is looking at this morning: Altria (NYSE: MO) cut to Neutral at JPMorgan. Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) started as Overweight at Lehman Brothers. ITT Industries (NYSE: ITT) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse. Macy's (NYSE: M) cut to Underweight at JP Morgan. McKesson (NYSE: MCK) Started as Buy at Jefferies. Nutrisystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) started as Underweight at Lehman Brothers. Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) started as Overweight at JP Morgan. Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley. State Street (NYSE: STT) cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch. Yingli Green...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as the weak dollar boosted international sales, helping the world's largest soft drink maker offset flat sales volume at home.
The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index, due out this morning at 8:30 a.m. EDT, is expected to show that consumer prices resumed an upward climb in March due mainly to higher energy... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:52 am
Job and pay figures are providing stronger pointers towards the slowdown in the economy and strengthening the case for a further reduction in interest rates say analysts. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:50 am
Job and pay figures are providing stronger pointers towards the slowdown in the economy and strengthening the case for a further reduction in interest rates say analysts. Source: Telegraph Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:50 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc said on Wednesday first-quarter earnings rose on higher sales of its prescription drugs and medical devices and favorable foreign exchange factors.
E.on, the German energy giant that owns Powergen, has no plans to submit a bid
for nuclear power station operator British Energy, according to reports in
Germany. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:40 am
Yearly inflation in euro nations rose to a record of 3.6 percent in March on higher prices for transport fuel, heating, dairy products and bread, the EU's statistical agency Eurostat said Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:40 am
Building and auto systems maker Johnson Controls says global demand for energy efficient buildings helped boost second-quarter earnings 27 percent. The Milwaukee-based company says it... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:38 am
The Coca-Cola Co. said Wednesday that its first-quarter profit rose 19 percent on a 21 percent increase in sales. The results beat Wall Street expectations. The Atlanta-based company... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:31 am
New regulations governing high-risk investments by banks will seek to stop a repeat of the sub-prime crisis. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:31 am
London equities continued to rise on Wednesday, with banks joining the rally after recent declines left them looking oversold. Upbeat reaction to a series of corporate newsflow helped sustain the gains,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:30 am
JPMorgan Chase says its profit fell 50 percent in the first quarter, after the bank added $4.4 billion to reserves and lost $2.6 billion from the value of its loan portfolio. The New... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:21 am
Wall Street was poised for a higher opening Wednesday after strong reports from Intel Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. helped ease investor anxiety about corporate earnings and their impact Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:19 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co reported a higher quarterly profit on Wednesday as strong international sales helped the world's largest soft drink maker offset sluggish sales at home. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:18 am
JP Morgan (JPM) took some big write-offs which dropped its profits well below the same quarter last year. The bank 2008 first-quarter net income of $2.4 billion, compared with record net income of $4.8 billion in the first quarter of 2007. Earnings per share of $0.68 were down 49%, compared with record earnings per share of $1.34 in the first quarter of 2007. James Dimon, CEO, said "We also added $2.5 billion to our allowance for credit losses (which now totals $12.6 billion), and maintained a strong 8.3% Tier 1 capital ratio.” The company's shares were up slightly in the...
Coca-Cola says its first-quarter profit rose 19 percent on a 21 percent increase in sales. The results narrowly beat Wall Street expectations. The Atlanta-based company said... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:16 am
Intel has eased fears that a slowing economy is having an effect on the
technology industry, issuing an above expected forecast for the current
quarter and telling investors that global demand for its chips remains "solid". Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:10 am
Markets in Europe were modestly higher at 6.35 AM The FTSE rose .7% to 5,948. Barclays (BCS) was up 2.9% to 462. BA was up 2.6% to 214. The DAXX rose .4% to 6,612. Infineon rose 5.5% to 4.82. Siemens (SI) was up 1.5% to 70.14. The CAC 40 was up .5% to 4,804. Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) was up 2.5% to 3.73. France Telecom (FTE) was down 5.9% to 20.88. Data from Reuters Douglas A. McIntyre
The price of oil moves above $114 a barrel once again as the market awaits crucial US inventory figures. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 10:38 am
Legal & General kicked off the insurance sector's first quarter new business reporting season on Wednesday with figures broadly in line with the same period in 2007 and ahead of consensus expectations,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 16 Apr 2008 | 10:37 am
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has come up with a canny way to increase its revenue during a recession. It will loan companies money to buy its software. Redmond has always had a deft touch in bringing in more sales, and this is yet more proof of the firm's endless inventiveness. According to The Wall Street Journal "With small-business customers finding it harder to finance high-tech purchases, Microsoft Corp. plans to increase the amount it lends them for purchases, by as much as 60%." That would bring the number up to $1.25 billion. Microsoft earns so much money that even a decent...
Britain's strong labour market is beginning to show signs that it may be
feeling the first effects of the slowdown that is blighting other areas of
the economy. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 Apr 2008 | 10:24 am
Cosmetics firm L'Oreal blames tough US trading for lower-than-expected sales in the first three months of 2008. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 10:21 am
Venezuela president-for-life and dissociative identity disorder diagnosed Hugo Chavez will raise a new tax on excess oil profits for crude found and refined in his "republic". According to The Wall Street Journal "The levy kicks in when the price of benchmark Brent crude sits above $70 a barrel. If oil prices are above that threshold for one month, the state will take 50% of the difference between this average and the final sale price of every barrel." The news is good only for the citizens of the South American country. For the balance of the world, it is one more...
Surging food and fuel prices push up annual inflation in the eurozone to a record 3.6% last month. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 10:11 am
The markets seemed to have perked up somewhat this week as investors boldly tried and push the FTSE back towards the 6000 mark. Source: Telegraph Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
Mack of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Fuld of Lehman (NYSE: LEH) have both expressed the opinion that the worst of the Wall St. earnings crisis may now be in the past. The head of UBS (NYSE: UBS) also thinks his bank's worst news is out. All of that is true until it isn't. Word is spreading that Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) may take write-offs of $6 billion to $8 billion for the last quarter. According to The Wall Street Journal, Merrill made bigger and bigger bets on the CDO market as 2007 went on. The net result, writes the...
AFP - The Bank of England is finalising plans to help Britain's mortgage market, which has been hit hard by the credit crunch as banks tighten lending criteria, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
Jimmy Carter, the former US president and winner of the Nobel peace prize, is set to meet two top Hamas officials in Cairo, defying appeals from the Israeli government and the US administration to shun the Islamist group Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 Apr 2008 | 9:42 am
Inflation in Europe rose 3.6% in March, the highest rate in 16 years. In China, inflation moved up 8.1%. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Communist government's target was 4.8%. Pretty big miss. The rising costs of goods and services now has most of the civilized world firmly by the throat. It is not going to get any better. The story has been written too often that the causes of increasing prices are oil and commodities, especially food. The hidden culprit is rising demand. Gas is still up in the US because people are still driving. Food prices in...
Everybody relax. It looks like the credit crunch can be solved. Don't worry about complex ways to move assets back onto balance sheets, or swap one kind of collateral for another. Just curb your sex drive. Source: Telegraph Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 9:35 am
Shares in L'Oreal fell 7pc today after the cosmetics giant said that the US market was proving even tougher than it had expected this year. Source: Telegraph Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 9:30 am
The Bank of England is on the verge of taking action to address the increasing reluctance among mortgage lenders to lend money in the wake of the credit crunch. It is waiting for Government approval to take over mortgage loans that are sat on lenders' balance sheets, in order to increase liquidity in the money markets Source: Telegraph Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 9:26 am
Rio Tinto says production levels in the first quarter of 2008 show it should not give in to a hostile takeover bid. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 9:12 am
UBS is forcing its investors to accept shares as a cut-price dividend instead
of its usual cash payout just days before the loss-making Swiss bank asks
shareholders to buy into an emergency SwFr15 billion (£7.5 billion) rights
issues to prop up its balance sheet. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 Apr 2008 | 9:04 am
Chinese food prices are up 21% this year, figures show, fuelling fears over inflation and the price of basic goods. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 8:44 am
Peter Kurer, the newly appointed chairman of UBS, in an interview with the Financial Times said the Swiss bank faces a three-year struggle to restore its reputation in the wake of the damage caused by its troubled investment banking unit Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 Apr 2008 | 8:34 am
JJB Sports is cutting 800 jobs as part of a plan to close 72 stores as the sports retailer seeks to turn around its fortunes on an increasingly competitive high street. Source: Telegraph Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 8:00 am
Gordon Brown will today meet banks on Wall Street a day after he welcomed proposals made by UK banks to help ease the credit crunch and confirmed that the Government remains in contact with the Bank of England to find a way through the crisis. Source: Telegraph Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 7:45 am
Motorists could find themselves paying £5 a gallon for petrol this summer,
after a leading energy broker gave warning that $120 a barrel oil was on its
way.$ Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 Apr 2008 | 7:28 am
JJB Sports, one of Britain’s largest high street chains, is cutting 800 jobs
after seeing profits fall by almost 30 per cent in the past year. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 Apr 2008 | 7:13 am
The $330-billion auction-rate securities market will "cease to exist" after it collapsed in February because Wall Street firms stopped using their own capital to buy bonds when demand fell short, a Citigroup Inc. analyst said.
Food and fuel costs push a key index up 1.1% in March from February, adding to inflation worries.
Soaring food and fuel costs caused wholesale prices to rise much faster than expected last month, raising the possibility of more sticker shock for consumers and more inflationary pressure for the nation's economy.
The government gets $19.6 billion, but not the nationwide wireless emergency network it had sought.
Despite raising a record $19.6 billion, the government's recent auction of prime airwaves was branded a failure by several lawmakers Tuesday for failing to accomplish its major goal: producing a national wireless network that would allow police and firefighters to share information during disasters and terrorist attacks.
The social-networking site uses members' e-mail address books to try to boost its roster.
The name of the game for social-networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook is to draw as many users as possible into the fold. Typically that's done by creating a community and features so irresistible that people feel they just have to join.
With homes in or facing foreclosure accounting for more than one-third of sales, activity in Southern California inches up in March while the median price falls.
The traditional spring home-buying season is off to its worst start in 20 years, data released Tuesday show, with sales so weak that foreclosures now account for more than one-third of all market activity.
The low-fare carrier faces strong competition as it adds West Coast routes from Long Beach to San Jose, Seattle and Austin.
Even as rising fuel costs are grounding weaker airlines -- including three this month -- airline competition is heating up for travelers flying the Pacific coast.
Investors sort through a mixed bag of data including an upbeat factory report and signs of inflation.
Stocks finished an erratic session moderately higher Tuesday after investors sorted through a mixed batch of data that included a hopeful report on manufacturing, uneven corporate earnings and signs of strong inflation.
Continental and United face the same pressures that led to a Northwest-Delta deal.
Continental Airlines Inc. and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines gave strong signals Tuesday that they would consider a merger, either together or with other carriers, raising the prospect of another big airline deal.
Angry shareholders forced the resignation of a senior director at Washington Mutual as the chief executive of the reeling mortgage lender said market conditions were the the worst since the Great Depression Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 Apr 2008 | 5:05 am
I was comparison shopping in New York's Soho neighborhood last week. The product? My DNA—and what it can tell me about when, or if, I might have a heart attack and keel over one day. Or if I have a high risk factor for acquiring exfoliate glaucoma or Alzheimer's disease. Better news would be that I have genetic markers protecting me from certain dreaded maladies.
In a few minutes I'll know my results for 17 gene-influenced diseases, delivered in a most unlikely place: A posh storefront that looks like an art gallery, with bare-brick walls and hardwood floors. It's opening day for Navigenics, a company selling what may be a first for on-site retail: genetic testing for the healthy, with tests ordered and results delivered online.
Piled on a countertop are boxed kits containing small vials that a customer will fill with DNA-rich saliva and mail in to be tested on a gene array—a chip that locates and identifies more than 1 million genetic markers, including those which scientists have connected with certain diseases.
Navigenics, based in Redwood Shores, California, is the latest company pushing us into the new world of direct-to-consumer genetic testing. I already have results from the two other major online genetic-testing companies that opened last fall: 23andme in Mountain View, California, and deCodeme in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The three companies do what the Web loves to do: push the edges of technology and commerce to see if they can launch new revolutions—and make money.
The issue is whether the science in the fledgling field of genetic forecasting is ready to be peddled to healthy individuals like an iPod. As Harvard geneticist David Altshuler asked me: "Just because you can do something, should you?"
As we hear almost daily reports about scientists discovering genes for this or that trait, a vacuum has formed in what this information means for individuals. So far, the medical community has largely abrogated its role to help us make sense of all this research. This has allowed commerce to step in and use new, cheaper gene-testing technologies to bring DNA directly to the people.
"We believe this is a fundamental right, for people to have access to their own DNA," Navigenics chief executive Mari Baker says.
At the moment, however, Navigenics is charging $2,500 for its service—beyond the reach of the masses; 23andme and deCodeme each charges close to $1,000.
That's $4,500 for all three, which collectively offer information on genetic risk factors for some 37 diseases. The companies expect prices to come down with volume and improvements in technology.
Baker acknowledges the price is high, though she points out that the first wave of any new technology is pricey—think about cell phones and personal computers. But, she adds, value is relative. "How much would it be worth to you to find out you have a risk of a disease that you can do something about?" she asks.
Each site proffers tests they consider scientifically valid, with Navigenics offering assessments of 17 diseases, deCodme 19 diseases, and 23andme 30 diseases. Some tests overlap. For instance, all three look for markers associated with heart attack, glaucoma, and type 2 diabetes.
The sites diverge on several diseases. Only Navigenics tests for lupus, and only deCodeme tests for asthma and psoriasis. 23andme's larger cache includes several maladies reported in studies that the other companies consider less scientifically valid.
I'll include much more detail on the tests and how they are chosen, and their validity and usefulness, in future columns in this series. I also will report on my own results as a typical consumer.
Two of the sites, 23andme and deCodeme, offer tests for ancestral DNA. Both also offer lists of "recreational genomics"—genes that some people consider fun, such as whether or not one has wet or dry earwax, or is more inclined to be a sprinter, an endurance athlete, or neither.
Navigenics differentiates itself from those companies by featuring only medical information and by creating a look that is more like a serious medical site, with smiling patients and doctors that echoes pharmaceutical sites and WebMD.
23andme's investors include Google; deCodeme's parent is publicly traded deCode Genetics, a pharmaceutical and gene-hunting company; Navigenics is funded in part by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
When Navigenics opened its retail store in New York, Kleiner Perkins chief John Doerr—whose venture successes include Google and Amazon—dropped by to tell a gathering of scientists, journalists, marketers, and investors that he has been tested on the Navigenics site. Doerr was mum about his results, however. Also attending was former Vice President Al Gore, a new partner at Kleiner. He said he hadn't been tested but was considering it.
But can the products be trusted? Do they deliver? Can we yet determine which gene site is better? This series is going to offer up one consumer's thoughts and observations about being tested on the three sites. It's not exactly Consumer Reports, but it aims to offer a review of sorts.
Wellington Airport's passenger numbers have continued to rise following its inclusion in Pacific Blue domestic network in November.
March domestic passengers were 17 per cent above the previous year , and domestic capacity increased... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 3:40 am
Kermadec Property Fund has reported a net gain of $2.3 million in the value of its property portfolio as at the end of March.
That increased the value of the company's portfolio to $128.2 million and lifted net asset backing per... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 2:15 am
The global food crisis intensified as Kazakhstan, a major wheat exporter, halted foreign sales and rice prices shot to a record high after Indonesia stopped sales of the grain abroad Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 Apr 2008 | 1:37 am
Groupe Eurotunnel improved the investment case for subscribing to its planned €900m (£725m) rights issue with strong first-quarter revenue growth. Source: Telegraph Business | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:01 am
British Airways dismissed two of its longest-serving managers yesterday for
their part in the shambolic opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow, as Willie
Walsh, the chief executive, acted to deflect demands for his own resignation
after more than 500 flights were cancelled and 28,000 bags were lost. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 15 Apr 2008 | 11:00 pm
Intel offered a ray of hope to beleaguered technology investors, arguing it had yet to feel the effect of the credit squeeze that has led to big writedowns by banks Source: FT.com - US homepage | 15 Apr 2008 | 9:56 pm
Two days before a second public hearing over its controversial "network management" practices, Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, said it was developing a "Bill of Rights and Responsibilities" for file-sharing services.
Critics blasted the idea as an attempt to deflect criticism of Comcast for having blocked and deliberately slowed the delivery of on-demand video services and other peer-to-peer services offered by competitors.
Comcast's move today follows the company's about-face in March, when it said that by the end of 2008 its network-management policy will be "protocol agnostic"—meaning it will not favor one type of traffic over another—and will instead focus on users who consume the most bandwidth.
Federal regulators are looking into complaints by rivals and consumers that Comcast unfairly throttles some types of internet traffic, particularly videos from companies, like Vuze, that compete with Comcast's video-on-demand service.
File-sharing company Pando said it was teaming up with Comcast on the Bill of Rights, becoming the second peer-to-peer firm to strike a pact with the cable giant. In March, BitTorrent said it would work with Comcast to devise the best way to manage peer-to-peer traffic.
Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas said the company's "rights" document is "another example of how we can work with the industry to solve these issues rather than getting the government involved."
The company's critics dismissed the plan as "ludicrous."
"This so-called agreement is simply another way for Comcast to try to evade punishment for its blocking and degrading of peer-to-peer services for its customers," said Gigi Sohn, president of consumer rights group Public Knowledge. "The fact that Comcast is trying to come up with a Bill of Rights for customers is ludicrous."
"This is the company that not only lied for a year about the workings of its internet service," Sohn added, "but also created such ill will among its cable subscribers that one elderly woman busted up a customer-service office with a hammer because she and her husband were kept waiting for hours in the heat."
Sohn was referring to an incident last year when 75-year-old Mona Shaw, frustrated by what she felt was Comcast's subpar customer service, smashed up a Comcast office in Manassas, Virginia, with a hammer.
Public Knowledge said Comcast did not ask it for any input regarding the Bill of Rights.
When asked by the blog Ars Technica why Public Knowledge—along with other consumer groups including Free Press and the Electronic Frontier Foundation—were not consulted about the Bill of Rights, Comcast spokesman Douglas said, "I don't know."
Shareholder activists have made a lot of noise but have not been able to point to many changes this proxy season—until today.
Mary Pugh, a member of the board of Washington Mutual for nine years, has resigned. Because she was chairwoman of the board's finance committee for the last three years, Pugh had been the target of several shareholder groups who held her accountable for what they said was WaMu's shift toward subprime and other riskier mortgages.
"Shareholders at Washington Mutual sent an unequivocal message today that they are ready for more independent and accountable directors," said CtW Investment Group, which advises union pension funds. "We commend Washington Mutual's board for promptly accepting Ms. Pugh's resignation and urge them to also demand the resignation of any other directors who fail to win majority shareholder support."
Glass Lewis and other advisory shareholder groups had questioned the relationship of Pugh's investment firm with the savings and loan, "which might have affected her objectivity and oversight of the company's risk management."
She is a founder and chief executive of Pugh Capital Management, a 17-year-old fixed-income money management firm that has received more than $1.1 million in investment management fees from WaMu, according to Glass Lewis.
WaMu, however, did not say in its statement why Pugh had stepped down.
WaMu also announced a first-quarter loss of $1.14 billion, and it had closed on its sale of $7 billion of common shares and convertible securities to investors led by private-equity titan TPG.
General Electric plans to invest up to $2bn in acquisitions and other deals in China over the next three years as part of a strategy to double its revenues in the country Source: FT.com - US homepage | 15 Apr 2008 | 9:25 pm
Activity in credit derivatives has continued to explode in spite of investors' and regulators' growing concern that recent events such as the Bear Stearns' implosion have highlighted potential weaknesses in the infrastructure of this market Source: FT.com - US homepage | 15 Apr 2008 | 9:25 pm
The merger of Northwest and Delta creates the world's largest airline, and it could prompt more consolidation in commercial aviation. But is bigger necessarily better? Jeremy Hobson reports. Source: Marketplace | 15 Apr 2008 | 9:05 pm
Hollywood sometimes uses video-game ideas for movies. But now gamers are making movies out of the games themselves. It's fun and games only until the lawyers get involved. David Chong reports. Source: Marketplace | 15 Apr 2008 | 9:05 pm
Eric Lichtblau, author of "Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice," talks with host Kai Ryssdal about the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program and other covert tactics. Source: Marketplace | 15 Apr 2008 | 9:05 pm
Kai Ryssdal reviews listeners' comments on Sunday alcohol sales, national service programs, and our April Fool's joke that just keeps going. Source: Marketplace | 15 Apr 2008 | 9:04 pm
A growing chunk of college costs is the price of textbooks, on which the typical undergraduate spends $900 a year. So a group of college professors is calling for low-priced and free texts online. Congress is getting involved, too. Jill Barshay reports. Source: Marketplace | 15 Apr 2008 | 9:04 pm
Inflation on wholesale goods jumped 1.1.% in March, more than double the forecast. So-called "core" prices, excluding energy and food, rose 0.2%. That core price, though, doesn't mean much to businesses struggling to keep from passing soaring costs onto consumers. Sarah Gardner reports. Source: Marketplace | 15 Apr 2008 | 9:04 pm
Presidential candidates are making their cases for change to the federal tax system. But commentator and economist James Poterba says trying to change the tax code will be tricky, no matter who's in the White House. Source: Marketplace | 15 Apr 2008 | 9:04 pm
Any slowdown in the semiconductor industry due to a weak economic climate appears to be isolated to Advanced Micro Devices so far.
Intel, the biggest chipmaker, reported first-quarter results that were largely in line with analysts' expectations, and it offered a strong outlook for the second quarter as well. It earned $1.4 billion, or 25 cents per share, on revenue of $9.7 billion. Sales were up 9 percent, while net income dropped by 12 percent due to restructuring charges.
"Our first-quarter results demonstrate a strengthening core business and a solid global market environment," said Intel chief executive Paul Otellini in a statement. "We saw healthy demand for our leading-edge processors and chipsets across all segments."
Plenty of technology analysts were worried that current recessionary pressure would hurt computer sales and orders for new chips. Those concerns were underscored last week, when the No. 2 chipmaker, A.M.D., said that its first-quarter sales would fall short of expectations.
"People might now say maybe it's safe to put your feet in the water here,'' Raymond James equity analyst Hans Mosesmann told Bloomberg of Intel. "They have a super product lineup, and A.M.D. is in a death spiral.''
Investors were certainly pleased with the news. Shares of Intel jumped 7 percent in after-hours trading.
The Real Housewives franchise, one of growing importance to Bravo, will play an even greater role in the coming programming season, Bravo officials announced at the channel's annual up-front advertising-sales press breakfast this morning.
The Real Housewives of New York City, which has its seventh episode and season finale tonight, will return for a second season on Bravo, and the original Real Housewives of Orange County series will return for a fourth, Bravo Media general manager Frances Berwick said at the breakfast.
In addition, the franchise will expand to a third locale—not Dubai, as Portfolio.com speculated yesterday, but an as-yet-undisclosed city in New Jersey.
The mood at the breakfast was earnest, to use the word that Bravo Media and Oxygen Media president Lauren Zalaznick employed to describe herself to the reporters and Bravo officials assembled at Craft, the restaurant owned by Tom Colicchio, head judge of Bravo's popular series Top Chef.
Zalaznick kicked off the morning with a reference to the legal fight over Project Runway, a Bravo ratings winner and the subject of a lawsuit between NBC Universal, Bravo's parent company, and the Weinstein Company, the show's owner.
Since litigation is under way, Zalaznick said there wasn't much for her to say, and her comment on the show "starts and ends here." But then she cracked a joke at Weinstein's expense, saying "Harvey was going to come but may not make it," due to his busy schedule of dropping his kids off at school and washing his windows.
Things quickly returned to business with a brief sales presentation, highlighting Bravo's transformation during the past several years from an obscure arts broadcast channel to a powerhouse of original reality programming. Advertisers have responded: In 2007, the channel brought in 30 percent more revenue than the year before and snagged 110 new advertisers.
The first quarter of 2008 saw a 60 percent jump in revenue over the same period last year; a 38 percent increase in the 18- to 40-year-old age group; and a 30 percent jump in total viewers, making it Bravo's biggest quarter ever. The network hopes to reach 90 million homes this year.
Bravo sought to emphasize its popularity among "affluencers," a consumer hybrid of affluent and influencer, a young demographic of adults, ages 18 to 49, who are engaged and educated, according to the network.
Berwick, speaking second, reiterated Bravo's progress from 2006, when the channel had one show and one night of original programming, to today, with 21 original series, 12 of which have audiences of more than one million and three with audiences of more than two million.
Last addressed were Bravo's digital and new media initiatives, with a focus on the channel's multiple branded websites. A new initiative, the "L Bar," will shrink the TV screen to 80 percent of its size and introduce content along the left-hand and bottom edges of the viewing area.
That content will allow for online and mobile initiatives tied into Bravo content, including live polling, voting, and quizzes. The L Bar will be available to advertisers who want to offer coupons or conduct polls during their commercials, as well.
Overall, the network announced 12 returning series, including the fifth season of Project Runway, which debuts in July, and three new series, plus a Bravo A-List Awards special.
The new shows include The Rachel Zoe Project, featuring the celebrity stylist as she runs her business and juggles her marriage and work; Date My Ex, a reality show starring Jo De La Rosa, a former Orange County real housewife, as she looks for love in L.A.; and Real Housewives of New Jersey, of which the audience was shown a brief clip.
One of the housewives, Danielle, showed off her cavernous mansion, which contains her Fabergé egg, French chandelier, and lapdog named Paradise. The video tour provided much-needed reassurance that the recession won't put a damper on the series. But could the Real Housewives series expand internationally?
"We are looking at the franchise," hedged Andy Cohen, Bravo's senior vice president of programming and production.
Fonterra is to start selling its goods online in a bid to keep up with volatile markets and set a global reference price for dairy products.
The world's largest dairy exporter plans to start an internet-based sales system in July... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 15 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
Inflation in the March quarter was no worse than the Reserve Bank had expected, but no better either, and there was little in the data that might incline it to give borrowers a break any time soon, economists said.
The consumers... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 15 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
NEW YORK - Oil prices jumped to a new peak over US$114 a barrel on Tuesday amid lingering supply worries and weakness in the US dollar, deepening concern in world consumer nations that a spike in energy costs could cause severe economic... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 15 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
Accountants throughout the country are offering an hour of their time free to help struggling Blue Chip investors.
The Companies Office has collaborated with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants to provide a freephone... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 15 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
All investors - New Zealanders and foreigners alike - should be pressuring Finance Minister Michael Cullen to designate forthwith the list of strategic assets that the Government wants to maintain within New Zealand control, or, subject... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 15 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
Shoppers can expect no relief from skyrocketing food prices as long as the global price of food production continues to rise, experts said yesterday.
Food prices provided the most significant contribution to the 0.7 per cent on-quarter... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 15 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
Sue and Roger Wall's award-winning Auckland house was devised to be like a nest but with a woven-fronted facade in a nod to Maori ornamentation and design.
"We're hidden but we're able to look out at everybody else," said Sue Wall... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 15 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
The first containers of pure orange juice have come out of beverage maker Charlie's Australian factory.
The plant in Renmark, South Australia, bought for A$2 million ($2.3 million) last October, will specialise in its Honest Not... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 15 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
It turns out that things weren't so bad, financially speaking, at the bank before February 29. Bear reported its first-quarter numbers in an S.E.C. filing yesterday, and, although income fell nearly 80 percent from the prior year, it still managed to eek out a profit of $115 million for the three-month period.
As for what happened during the days between February 29 and March 16, when J.P. Morgan announced its surprisingly low offer to save Bear Stearns from bankruptcy, we still don't know just how desperate things became. The filing gives few details: "The company experienced a significant liquidity crisis during the end of the week of March 10, 2008, that seriously jeopardized its financial viability."
We may find out a bit more tomorrow, as J.P. Morgan is scheduled to report its quarterly numbers before the market opens. While J.P. Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon may not have much detail to report, it's all but certain he'll be asked about what Bear Stearns will bring to its balance sheet.
One question that's on many minds now is whether or not J.P. Morgan will acquire Alan Schwartz with the deal. Schwartz, who was known as a preeminent dealmaker before he took the reins at Bear Stearns just 11 weeks before its fire sale, has not made his plans known yet.
But sources told Reuters that Schwartz will likely remain at J.P. Morgan as a "nonexecutive rainmaker" with the title of vice chairman. He would be responsible for bringing in high-level clients—such as Microsoft, which Schwartz is currently advising in its attempt to acquire Yahoo.
Schwartz wants to hold off on making a formal commitment to J.P. Morgan until after more of Bear's 14,000 employees learn their own fate, Reuters reports. J.P. Morgan already made it known that it will only invite five of Bear's top-26 investment bankers to join its ranks.
One thing we do know that J.P. Morgan will acquire with Bear is a growing legal mess. Bear announced in its filing that it has received a notice from the S.E.C. that it may be charged for its potentially anticompetitive practices in municipal-bond bids.
The filing also disclosed that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether or not Bear's mortgage-servicing unit violated consumer-protection laws.
And, of course, there's the slew of class actions and other suits related to Bear's credit problems and the events that led to its shotgun wedding with J.P. Morgan last month.
As for J.P. Morgan, analysts expect it to report a profit of 66 cents per share, and it will likely report more write-downs from troubled loans. Compared with many of its competitors on Wall Street, however, the expectations for loan losses are quite moderate.
Everything in this economy seems to slowing—except the prices for energy and food.
The latest sign that inflation is very much on the boil came as the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the prices paid to manufacturers and other producers climbed 1.1 percent in March, more than double forecasts and up from a 0.3 percent gain in February.
Energy prices gained 2.9 percent, while food prices rose 1.2 percent. Rice surged 8.7 percent.
Excluding food and energy costs, the Producer Price Index rose just 0.2 percent.
The Federal Reserve has repeatedly noted that it is concerned about the mounting threat of inflation, but feels that the need to stabilize the markets and promote growth outweigh those concerns. The Fed is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate by another quarter point this month.
Higher food and fuel costs will further sap consumer spending and will cut into companies' profits.
"Cost pressures are building and will continue to build for a few quarters before they recede,'' Michael Gregory, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, told Bloomberg News before the P.P.I. data were released.
Perhaps it is time to start thinking seriously about stagflation?
For years, investors and industry officials have pointed to a need for airlines, with their high cost structures and razor-thin margins, to combine in order to cut expenses, eliminate overlapping routes, and take seats away, enabling them to raise fares. With fuel prices soaring, the industry is expected to lose as much as $9 billion this year. And any airline will want to get a deal done when the merger-friendly Bush administration is still in power.
Also on Portfolio.com: Who Takes the Hit? The sky is falling—on the heads of business travelers. Changes in the Air Here are the busiest routes for the nation's big hub-and-spoke airlines.
First on the deal runway will be United Airlines and Continental Airlines. The Delta-Northwest merger frees Continental from an earlier agreement that gave Northwest a veto over any deal involving Continental.
Jeff Bailey and Micheline Maynard of the New York Timesreport that the two airlines "now may try to get the deal wrapped up within the next 30 days."
Deutsche Lufthansa has been rumored to be looking at taking a stake in a combined United-Continental. Lufthansa acquired a 19 percent stake in JetBlue late last year.
A new Open Skies treaty frees where airlines in the United States and the European Union can fly on both continents. While U.S. law still prevents foreign investors from controlling an airline, there may be more minority stakes, like Lufthansa's in JetBlue, that could pave the way for operational alliances.
It's unclear if American Airlines, the longtime leader of U.S. aviation, will try to disrupt the Delta-Northwest or United-Continental deals or seek alliances of its own.
Earlier this year, the TheDeal.Com noted that Southwest Airlines had signaled it was interested in acquisition opportunities, but that it was more likely to seek gates and other assets rather than merger deals.
It is important to note that no deal is a certainty. Delta and Northwest reached their agreement without the support of their powerful pilots' union. Its deal and others will face political challenges and regulatory scrutiny.
Under terms announced Monday evening Delta agreed to swap 1.25 of its shares for each Northwest share. Based on Delta's closing price of $10.48 a share on Monday, the offer values each Northwest share at $13.10, a 16.8 percent premium over their close Monday.
Based on Northwest's recent disclosure that it has 236.43 million shares outstanding, the Delta offer values Northwest at $3.097 billion.
Delta and Northwest acknowledged the effect of higher oil prices when they announced their intention to merge.
"Record fuel prices have fundamentally changed the economics of the airline industry," they said in a statement. "Fuel is the highest single expense for Delta and Northwest, significantly eroding the financial benefits of restructuring and placing the airlines' newfound strength and stability at long-term risk."
AP - Consumer prices pushed higher last month as increases in energy, food and airline tickets overwhelmed the biggest drop in clothing prices in nearly a decade.
Reuters - Stock index futures pointed to a
higher market open on Wednesday after reassuring earnings from
blue-chip companies and data on consumer prices showed
inflation ran slightly less than expected last month.
Reuters - Home building projects started in
March fell by 11.9 percent to a lower-than-expected annual rate
while building permit activity, a sign of future construction
plans, was off 5.8 percent, a government report on Wednesday
said.
Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co , the
third-largest U.S. bank, said on Wednesday quarterly profit
fell 50 percent, hurt by writedowns for leveraged loans and
mortgages and because it set aside more money for loan losses.
Reuters - Consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in
March, slightly less than expected as cheaper clothing helped
hold down overall prices despite a modest rebound in energy
prices, a Labor Department report on Wednesday showed.
Reuters - Merrill Lynch will announce a further $6
billion to $8 billion of asset writedowns in its quarterly
results this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on
Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
AFP - The Bank of England is finalising plans to help Britain's mortgage market, which has been hit hard by the credit crunch as banks tighten lending criteria, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.