Britain's biggest supermarkets have slashed their prices by more than £700 million in recent weeks in an attempt to encourage shoppers in the grip of the credit crisis to spend money. Source: Telegraph Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 3:49 pm
Fifteen years is a very long time in consumer trends. In 1993 a mobile phone was the luxury of few, cosmetic surgery was the preserve of the rich and famous, and no one had even heard of a WAG. Source: Telegraph Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 3:43 pm
Voters in Ireland have decisively rejected the Lisbon treaty, official results are expected to show, as more people than expected turned out to vote against further integration with the European Union. The result plunged the 27-nation bloc into crisis, with some European politicians warning of a two-speed Europe Source: FT.com - US homepage | 13 Jun 2008 | 3:19 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Friday, helped by a government report that showed underlying price pressures were muted in May, easing fears of inflation and a near-term rise in interest rates.
BOSTON (Reuters) - Investors can expect more volatility in the stock of once rock-solid General Electric Co , at least until the company reassures Wall Street with a few solid earnings reports.
Airline will be the only one to offer non-stop service from Sao Paulo to this destination SAO PAULO, Brazil, June 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TAM (NYSE: TAM;... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 3:10 pm
The dollar strengthened against major currencies on Friday after a Labor Department's report on core inflation met expectations, easing some concerns about the effect of rising prices on... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 3:09 pm
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Vodafone Group plc and Tellabs Inc. led telecommunications stocks broadly higher in Friday trades as U.S. markets basked in the glow of positive economic data on inflation and falling prices of crude oil.
OSAKA, Japan (Reuters) - The weak U.S. dollar and oil speculators took centre stage as Group of Eight finance ministers gathered in Japan on Friday to grapple with surging inflation and a slowing global economy.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Soaring gasoline prices helped drive up overall U.S. consumer prices during May by the fastest rate in six months, but core prices remained tame, a government report on Friday showed.
Reuters - Lehman Brothers' shares surged
10.5 percent on Friday, snapping back after five days of
declines, as investors looking for cheap stocks bought shares
and some short-sellers closed out their positions. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:56 pm
Kofi Annan calls the philanthropist a 'master of dialogue among nations, ethnicities, and religions' NEW YORK and GUETERSLOH, Germany, June 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:56 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers' shares surged 10.5 percent on Friday, snapping back after five days of declines, as investors looking for cheap stocks bought shares and some short-sellers closed out their positions.
Silverjet makes its 420-strong workforce redundant as negotiations over a rescue deal break down. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:53 pm
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Yahoo Inc. shares sank deeper Friday morning as the company reeled from Microsoft Corp.'s stunning rebuff of a merger deal and analysts pointed to the besieged Web portal's rapidly dwindling options.
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Hess Kennedy Chartered announces that on May 22, 2008 they were again victorious in defending one of their clients, Joshua... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:50 pm
SEATTLE/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft's plan to establish a strong footing in online advertising suffered a big blow on Thursday as merger talks with Yahoo finally, formally failed and Yahoo said it would let Google sell search ads on its site.
To Help Support UNICEF's Emergency Relief Efforts In Myanmar, Please Visit www.unicefusa.org/myanmar or Call 800-4UNICEF NEW YORK, June 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:44 pm
Reuters - Stocks rose to session highs on
Friday, with gains on the Nasdaq topping 2 percent, as
investors brushed off weak consumer sentiment data and focused
on a retreat by oil prices and signs of muted inflation
pressures.
PHILADELPHIA, June 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aberdeen Global Income Fund, Inc. (Amex: FCO) (the "Fund"), a closed-end bond fund, today announced that it paid Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:42 pm
Asia Pacific shares had their worst week in ten months as inflation worries affected China and the rest of the region and the price of oil held above $130 a a barrel. The MSCI Asia Pacific index dropped... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:37 pm
Reuters - The weak U.S. dollar and oil
speculators took centre stage as Group of Eight finance
ministers gathered in Japan on Friday to grapple with surging
inflation and a slowing global economy.
CHICAGO, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven Summits Research releases NewsBites on key stocks. Seven Summits Strategic Investments NewsBites are available to all Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:36 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Record corn prices pushed up by flooding in the Midwest have forced five small to mid-sized U.S. ethanol plants to shut and output of the biofuel could be slowed for months, a Citi research note said on Friday.
The US Supreme Court dealt the Bush administration a blow by ruling 5-4 that detainees at Guantánamo Bay could challenge their detention using US civilian courts Source: FT.com - US homepage | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:34 pm
Shares of Lehman Bros. Holdings rose about 9% Friday morning as investors cottoned to the notion that the firm might be a buyout target or find some other way to sort out its future.
Wall Street stocks rose slightly on Friday morning as falling oil prices cheered investors and new data showed a moderate rise in inflation in May, calming fears that runaway prices would force the Federal... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:31 pm
Wall Street stocks rose slightly as falling oil prices cheered investors and new data showed a moderate rise in inflation in May, calming fears that runaway prices would force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates Source: FT.com - US homepage | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:31 pm
PHILADELPHIA, June 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. (Amex: FAX) (the "Fund"), a closed-end bond fund, today announced that... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:31 pm
Drivers are being urged to buy only the fuel they need as 600 tanker drivers stage a four-day strike. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:27 pm
US consumer prices surged higher in May, spurred by rising fuel costs and airline fares, adding to concerns that inflationary pressures could further unsettle the slowing domestic economy. Source: FT.com - US homepage | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:23 pm
European bourses broke into positive territory after Wall Street opened on Friday following the release US price data that was in line with expectations as banking stocks bounced off their lows supported... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:23 pm
The dollar strengthened against the euro on Friday as referendum returns in Ireland showed the country has rejected a treaty to reform the way the European Union works. Irish electoral Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:21 pm
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell $3 to near $134 a barrel on Friday on an industry newsletter report Saudi Arabia was considering a sizeable increase in crudeoutput to cool oil prices hovering near record highs.
A report out of Citigroup this morning is sending shares of Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) higher this morning. The broker reiterated its BUY rating on the stock and its $20.00 target notes that the high-end retailer may be in-play as a merger target. Citi noted that Baugur's filing earlier this week shows forward contracts to buy more shares. If this sounds at all familiar, that is because this one has been a buyout rumor on many occasions in the past two years. A year ago, this was noted by Jim Cramer positively on this chance and Dana Cohen gave this...
Wall Street is extending its gains in early trading after a pair of economic reports point to the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates stable when it meets later this month. The Labor... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:12 pm
For almost two years, the focus on Sirius (SIRI) and XM Satellite (XMSR) has been on whether they would craft a merger and then whether it would be approved. The FCC has effectively dragged its feet long enough so that it may not matter. Neither company has ever posted a profit and each has over $1 billion in debt, so every day the attention about share price moves more to whether they can continue the rapid growth of their subscriber bases. Concerns about consumer spending now have to be front and center for both firms. A large percentage of the...
Stocks rallied Friday morning, as investors scooped up some of the shares beaten down in early week selling and took in stride a big jump in consumer inflation.
London's equity markets were lower on Friday, although there was relief for companies progressing with rights issues after regulatory measures were announced.Banks were higher and helped pare losses, while... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 1:40 pm
All 400 workers at Silverjet, the troubled business class airline, have lost
their jobs today after an attempt to get the airline flying again collapsed
this afternoon. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 13 Jun 2008 | 1:33 pm
US inflation rises at its fastest pace for six months in May because of sharply higher energy costs. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Jun 2008 | 1:18 pm
Reuters - Soaring gasoline prices helped drive
up overall U.S. consumer prices during May by the fastest rate
in six months, but core prices remained tame, a government
report on Friday showed.
The newspaper industry was hit with another downgrade today, astonishing because almost all of the stocks in the sector are at 52-week lows. Wachovia cut its ratings on several chains including Gatehouse (GHS), McClatchy (MNI), Gannett (GCI), Lee (LEE), and The New York Times Company (NYT). According to the AP, "Analyst John Janedis expects total ad revenue to fall 10.4 percent in 2008 and 6.5 percent next year." That kind of fall-off in revenue could be enough to undermine the ability of several of the debt-laden companies in the group to make interest payments. It is now very likely that...
The news that consumer prices rose sharply in May should come as no surprise to anyone who fills a gas tank regularly.
The Labor Department said the consumer price index rose by 0.6 percent during the month, beating economic forecasts and recording the biggest rise in prices since November.
Excluding food and energy costs, the so-called core C.P.I. was much more contained, which is a sign that the soaring prices in those sectors are not yet spilling over to the rest of the economy. That index rose by a moderate 0.2 percent, which matched expectations.
On a year-over-year basis, core prices rose 2.3 percent, which is above the Federal Reserve's target of range of 1.5 percent to 2 percent. Including energy and food, consumer prices were up 4.2 percent from May 2007.
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has repeatedly spoken about inflationary concerns weighing on policymakers' minds. The Fed seems to have made the shift from focusing on an economic downturn, which usually leads to lower interest rates, to trying to slow inflation, which often signals higher interest rates.
Last week, he said the average of the inflation figures during the past four quarters of 3.5 percent was higher than the Fed is comfortable with. He also suggested that the risks of an economic downturn appear to have diminished.
Oil prices hold steady at just over $136 a barrel despite Opec again cutting forecasts for daily global oil demand. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:51 pm
Opec, the cartel that produces 40 per cent of the world’s oil, today admitted
that it expects demand for crude to fall next year and has cut its forecast
by 60,000 barrels a day. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:50 pm
LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC on Friday cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2008 for the third time this year, the latest sign that record-high oil prices are slowing consumption.
We have already covered Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPST) on the raw earnings news last night along with its huge backlog being more important than earnings. Shares slid off a tad in after-hours last night but shares are actually trading up this morning. This is on the heels of a 200% rise in the last 7 months or so. Despite this being our own top pick for our alternative energy stock in our "10 Stocks Under $10" weekly subscriber newsletter, analyst Sanjay Shrestha at Lazard Capital is out with a key call this morning that shows the company's huge backlog...
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc may bid for Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, countering a $4.6 billion offer by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd for the Indian generic drug maker, the Business Standard newspaper said.
The housing crisis grew worse in May, as more than 73,000 American families lost their homes to bank repossessions, up a staggering 158% from the 28,548 households that were dispossessed in May 2007.
Reuters is reporting that ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) plans to sell the 1,400 retail outlets it owns and the 820 it operates over the next several years. The company doesn't want to fool around any more with this low-margin business. One analyst quoted in the Reuters story estimated that Exxon's profit margin from retail was 10%-15%, about a third of the company's margin from its production business. In December 2006, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) announced that it planned to divest 830 retail outlets it owned and operated. Since 2003, Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) has sold about 3,300 retail outlets, mostly in Europe and Asia....
Five years ago, Kathy and Josh Gunn were typical urban professionals. Kathy started her day at 5 a.m. to get in a session with her personal trainer before heading to the office, where she put in 60 hours a week as an executive at a consumer electronics company. Josh traveled four days a week as a crop systems specialist for John Deere.
There are other calls out there, but these are ten of the early morning analyst calls that we are focused on this Friday 13th: Aflac (NYSE: AFL) Started as Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Allied Waste (NYSE: AW) Raised To Buy From Neutral at Goldman Sachs. Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) Raised To Overweight from Equalweight at Lehman. MeadWestvaco (NYSE: MWV) Raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup. NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse. Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: ODFL) Raised to Outperform from Neutral at Baird. PDL Biopharma (NASDAQ: PDLI) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at...
The Law Commission is asked to look into private claims by consumers treated unfairly as soon as possible. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Jun 2008 | 11:29 am
The FSA takes steps to clarify short selling positions, the trading technique blamed for an HBOS share price slump. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Jun 2008 | 11:06 am
Moss Bros, the menswear retailer, added to the high street gloom this morning,
suggesting that the retail environment has worsened in recent weeks. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 13 Jun 2008 | 11:00 am
Waiting for the housing slump to hit bottom? Don't hold your breath.
Foreclosure filings surged 48 percent last month from a year ago, as bank repossessions more than doubled, RealtyTrac, an online data service, reported.
"May was the third straight month where we've seen a month-to-month increase in foreclosure activity and the 29th straight month we've seen a year-over-year increase," said James Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac.
More than 261,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, or one in every 483 households in the United States. Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida, and Michigan had the highest state foreclosure rates.
Foreclosures are swelling the housing inventory and depressing prices. Economists at Lehman Brothers Holdings have estimated that foreclosed properties, which typically sell for about 20 percent less than other homes, will depress home prices by 6 percent, Bloomberg News said.
The data comes a few days after Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, while suggesting that the economy may avoid a recession, said that "the ongoing contraction in the housing market and continuing increases in energy prices suggest that growth risks remain to the downside."
French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, has attacked the European Central Bank's push towards higher interest rates despite slowing economic growth in the eurozone. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 10:44 am
French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, has attacked the European Central Bank's push towards higher interest rates despite slowing economic growth in the eurozone. Source: Telegraph Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 10:44 am
US home foreclosures moved up 49% in May, compared with the same month a year ago. Figures from RealtyTrac show that "One in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in May," according to the AP. Lyndon Johnson's "Domino Theory" may not have worked in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, but it is at work in the US economy now. The recovery of consumer spending is based to a large extent on some stability in housing prices. A person who feels poorer every month is rarely a big spender. Foreclosures, by their nature, push the prices of the homes...
The euro slumped to a three month low against the dollar on Friday after an Irish broadcaster said early returns showed Irish voters have rejected the EU reform treaty.Ireland is the only one of the EU's... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 10:36 am
Shares in Ranbaxy posted strong gains in Bombay today on reports that Pfizer,
the US pharmaceuticals giant, is mulling a hostile counterbid for India's
largest drug maker. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 13 Jun 2008 | 10:20 am
European stocks fell back on Friday morning, sinking for their seventh day in eight as fears deepened that inflation will force central banks to hike interest rates. Greek bottling company Coca-Cola Hellenic... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 10:15 am
Ford (F) wants the Feds to help it build and market an electric car. The vehicle manufacturer argues that if Congress does not give incentives to citizens who want to buy the expensive motor cars, they will go unsold. A car with a battery is more costly than the current generation of gas cars. But, if everyone had one, the Arctic ice ledge would stop melting. The odd thing about this is that Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) plan to launch battery cars of their own. They have not been around to see anyone in Washington about getting a special...
Airlines worldwide are putting up baggage fees and fares in an effort to make up for high fuel bills. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Jun 2008 | 10:09 am
US Air (LCC) became the latest airline to cut a lot of people and routes in the hope of cutting enough costs to stay afloat. It is a valiant move, but will probably not save the carrier. The market is wise, and most airline stocks dropped 10% to 15% yesterday, hitting new lows. Taking out capacity and people is not nearly enough. The government numbers showed the volume of people flying in March dropped. Each of the largest airlines is faced with fuel bills that may be close to $2 billion higher over the next year than they were for...
eBay delays plans to make its Australian customers pay for items only via Paypal after the country's regulator objects. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Jun 2008 | 9:49 am
Two thousand years from now, when archaeologists dig up the bones of present-day CEOs, they will find that those who were in any way related to their company's founders had a mutated gene in the DNA which kept them from accepting generous offers for their companies. Perhaps it is nothing more than the need to save their pride. Yesterday, Yahoo! (YHOO) finally rejected a bid from Microsoft (MSFT). The shares now trade about $10 below the offer from Redmond. The stock had not been above $35 since early 2006 and is not likely to get back there anytime soon. Miserable...
The chief City watchdog is clamping down on short selling in the shares of companies undertaking rights issue, amid extreme volatility in the share prices of some of the UK's largest banks which are seeking... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 13 Jun 2008 | 9:21 am
The City watchdog is to force greater disclosure of short-selling positions in the shares of companies undertaking a rights issue Source: FT.com - US homepage | 13 Jun 2008 | 9:21 am
Inflation hits a seven-year high in India, as the rising cost of food and oil continue to pressure prices. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Jun 2008 | 8:49 am
AFP - Swiss bank UBS, dramatically hit by the US home-loan crisis, said on Friday it had "successfully" raised almost 16 billion Swiss francs (9.9 billion euros, 15.3 billion dollars) from shareholders through an issue of new stock.
China and Taiwan sign historic agreements on direct flights and tourism at their first talks in almost a decade. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Jun 2008 | 7:56 am
Babcock & Brown European Infrastructure Fund, which today acquired Angel
Trains for £3.6 billion, has pledged it will not be caught out by a
forthcoming ruling from the Competition Commission on the future of the
train leasing industry. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 13 Jun 2008 | 7:38 am
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), the City watchdog, was attacked across
the City today as it unveiled draconian new rules to force short sellers to
disclose their positions in companies undertaking a rights issue. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 13 Jun 2008 | 7:11 am
Reuters - Microsoft's plan to
establish a strong footing in online advertising suffered a big
blow on Thursday as merger talks with Yahoo finally, formally
failed and Yahoo said it would let Google sell search ads on
its site.
This past summer has seen a bumper harvest of grapes, which will be a boon for the demands of the wine industry, New Zealand Winegrowers announced today.
However, figures for the Hawke's Bay were down from 2007, with indifferent... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 2:30 am
Consumers are cutting back spending at the supermarket, but vehicle sales were on a roll in April, according to new retail numbers released this morning.
Total retail sales rose just 1 per cent - $52 million in April, says Statistics... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:20 am
Employees with company cars may find it more difficult to get a pay rise this year in the wake of rising food and petrol prices.
Petrol has gone up 12 cents a litre this week and the cost of vegetables is up 11 per cent this month.
Alasdair... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:15 am
You might not immediately think of the TV show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? as a cutting-edge guide to business decision-making. But consider the panicky moment when contestants have to reply to a question to which they don't... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:10 am
The battle for dominance of the web search business took a decisive turn as Yahoo sealed an alliance with search giant Google, leaving rival suitor Microsoft out in the cold as it hunts for a way to revive its own flagging internet fortunes Source: FT.com - US homepage | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:04 am
Sir Stuart Rose, the executive chairman of Marks & Spencer, has said that high petrol prices are deterring customers from driving to out-of-town retail parks, in the latest example of how the consumer economy is being affected by rising commodity prices. Source: Telegraph Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
The European Union has named Gaz de France and Germany's E.ON in connection with alleged rigging of gas markets as it ratchets up a notch its two-year probe into gas supplies. Source: Telegraph Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Talks between Microsoft and Yahoo! concerning what could have been the largest technology merger in history have ended after the search engine operator opted to strike a deal with Google instead. Source: Telegraph Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
How the great have fallen. In February last year, two months before it bought Wilson Bowden for £2.2bn, Barratt Development's shares were trading above £12. Today the shares closed at 75p. Source: Telegraph Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
UK tobacco manufacturer Imperial Tobacco and Danish brewer Carlsberg have raised a combined £8.1bn from investors in a sign that top tier companies can still rely on shareholders' financial support despite difficulties in the global economy. Source: Telegraph Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive of French nuclear giant Areva, has been sounding smug recently. The message from the Queen of Nukes in an interview this week was that Areva will be crowned as the exclusive reactor designer for Britain's new generation of nuclear power stations. Source: Telegraph Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Peter Sutherland has removed the diplomatic gloves and slugged it to the Russians where he thinks it will hurt most. As chairman of BP, Sutherland is as steeped in the statecraft of global business as any leading management figure. The pressures BP is being subjected to in Russia, unfairly according to the company, have finally led Sutherland to appeal directly to the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev. Source: Telegraph Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Tourism Holdings has reduced its trading profit guidance, while reporting the sale of its Milford Sound and coach assets for $26 million and one-off gains of about $9 million.
The company said today that since March, trading conditions... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 13 Jun 2008 | 12:00 am
Lehman Brothers executed a sudden management shake-up, ousting its long-serving president and demoting its chief financial officer following a $2.8bn second-quarter loss that raised questions about its future as an independent bank Source: FT.com - US homepage | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:33 pm
The NZ$ fell befow 75 US cents in overnight European and North American trading, its lowest level in eight months.
The impact on inflation from further falls will be significant, with many costs likely to rise sharply. The retrenchment... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:30 pm
Babcock & Brown, Australia's second-biggest securities firm, had their rating cut to "neutral" from "buy" at UBS AG after the stock yesterday plunged by a record amount.
The firm's share price slumped 28 per cent yesterday as the... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:30 pm
Guy Hands just passed his first test running EMI. Coldplay, the biggest act on
the British major's roster, has brought out what looks to be a big hit with
the new album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:20 pm
There was fun of sorts at Independent News & Media's annual meeting on
Wednesday at the Park Lane Hotel on Piccadilly. The ever-engaging Sir
Anthony O'Reilly nearly handed a gift to his critics by reminiscing in
bufferish style that he had stayed in the hotel before departing for the
1955 British Lions tour of South Africa. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:00 pm
Carphone Warehouse has become an unlikely victim of Britain’s housing slump
after it warned that a sharp decline in housing transactions had hit demand
for its broadband business. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:00 pm
The sharemarket pulled up in early trading today from near lows not seen for over two years.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index inched up 4 points to 3443 at 10.20am, having lost 1.4 per cent yesterday amid very low investor confidence.
Third-ranked... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:40 pm
Reuters - Exxon Mobil Corp said on
Thursday it is getting out of the retail gas business in the
United States as sky-high crude oil prices squeeze margins.
Investors in failed residential property business Blue Chip got mixed news this week from a barrister who holds out hope of recovering money for some people but warned that more failures are likely.
Paul Dale, the Auckland barrister... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:00 pm
US health officials yesterday said they are still receiving reports of people falling ill from eating Salmonella-tainted tomatoes and that they now have 167 reported cases from 17 states.
Representatives from the US Food and Drug... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 9:30 pm
InBev, the global brewer, mounted a campaign to win support for its $46bn bid for US brewing giant Anheuser-Busch as opposition to a potential takeover of one of America's best-known brands began to swell Source: FT.com - US homepage | 12 Jun 2008 | 8:54 pm
A big shake-up in the search business: Microsoft's bid is off the table and Yahoo has announced a partnership with Google. Kai Ryssdal gets the latest developments form Marketplace's Bob Moon. Source: Marketplace | 12 Jun 2008 | 8:03 pm
No one would accuse Bob Crandall of being shy. The legendary former CEO of American Airlines, who is widely credited with developing the hub-and-spoke system and inventing the frequent flier program, always speaks his mind. And the aviation world is abuzz with what he's been saying lately.
Crandall considers the deregulation of commercial aviation a huge failure and says it's time to bring back government oversight of fares and pricing. "It's time to acknowledge that airlines are more like utilities than ordinary businesses," he said during a speech at the Wings Club, a cushy meeting spot for the industry's heaviest hitters. "We have failed to confront the reality that unfettered competition just doesn't work very well in certain industries, as aptly demonstrated by our airline experience."
Jeez. Don't sugar coat it, Bob.
Crandall's got no shortage of ideas for saving the industry from itself. Some of them might actually work.
Most of the major airlines - United being the main exception - actively opposed deregulation when Congress approved it in 1978. The Airline Deregulation Act ended 40 years of oversight by the Civil Aeronautics Board, which dictated everything from who could enter to the market to which routes carriers could fly. It also set the fare structure.
But Congress thought regulation had made a mess of the air travel industry and felt, in the words of the Airline Deregulation Act, that "maximum reliance on competitive market forces" would spur "efficiency, innovation, and low prices" while expanding consumer choice in air travel.
To be fair, deregulation did bring lower fares and low-fare airlines like Southwest and JetBlue. But can anyone look at the state of the industry these days - it expects to lose as much as $6.1 billion this year - and say air travel's grown more efficient or innovative? Crandall, who was president of American from 1980 to 1995 and chairman / CEO from 1985 to 1998, concedes free markets work for most businesses, but says airlines aren't like most businesses. He proposes an industry re-regulation scheme that would include:
Giving the government a role in pricing and prohibit new airlines from offering below cost fares that makes flying unprofitable for everyone.
Amending the Railway Labor Act so that unions and management both "adopt more moderate positions"." Translation: Make strikes by unions illegal and force them into binding arbitration.
Pressuring airlines to use the larger jets, which means you won't be flying those annoying 50-seat regional jets between Cleveland and Cincinnati anymore, but you'll only have two flights a day to choose from, instead of six.
Developing a replacement for America's antiquated air traffic control system. (Most of us won't live to see this one, so don't hold your breath).
For passengers, Crandall's plan means fewer flights and higher fares. And for employees, it means less flexibility to fight for fair wages and benefits (not great in an industry struggling with a pilot shortage). It's not exactly a dream scenario.
But what are the other options? Collectively, airlines have lost over $13 billion since deregulation, and that's after you throw all the profitable years into the mix. Carriers are cutting routes fast, but with low-fare competitors still growing, so far they haven't been able to raise fares enough to cover costs. We've seen 24 airlines go under or go bankrupt in the past six months alone. That's one a week. Another couple of years of this and we're looking at a field day for corporate bankruptcy lawyers.
Re-regulation would suck. But the alternative could be just as bad.
Two U.S. senators, two former Cabinet members, and a former ambassador to the United Nations received loans from Countrywide Financial through a little-known program that waived points, lender fees, and company borrowing rules for prominent people.
Senators Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through Countrywide’s “V.I.P.” program in 2003 and 2004, according to company documents and emails and a former employee familiar with the loans.
Other participants in the V.I.P. program included former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke. Jackson was deputy H.U.D. secretary in the Bush administration when he received the loans in 2003. Shalala, who received two loans in 2002, had by then left the Clinton administration for her current position as president of the University of Miami. She is scheduled to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom on June 19.
Holbrooke, whose stint as U.N. ambassador ended in 2001, was also working in the private sector when he and his family received V.I.P. loans. He was an adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
James Johnson, who had been advising presidential candidate Barack Obama on the selection of a running mate, resigned from the Obama campaign Wednesday after the Wall Street Journal reported that he received Countrywide loans at below-market rates.
Most of the officials belonged to a group of V.I.P. loan recipients known in company documents and emails as “F.O.A.'s”—Friends of Angelo, a reference to Countrywide chief executive Angelo Mozilo. While the V.I.P. program also serviced friends and contacts of other Countrywide executives, the F.O.A.’s made up the biggest subset.
According to company documents and emails, the V.I.P.'s received better deals than those available to ordinary borrowers. Home-loan customers can reduce their interest rates by paying “points”—one point equals 1 percent of the loan’s value. For V.I.P.'s, Countrywide often waived at least half a point and eliminated fees amounting to hundreds of dollars for underwriting, processing and document preparation. If interest rates fell while a V.I.P. loan was pending, Countrywide provided a free “float-down” to the lower rate, eschewing its usual charge of half a point. Some V.I.P.'s who bought or refinanced investment properties were often given the lower interest rate associated with primary residences.
Unless they asked, V.I.P. borrowers weren’t told exactly how many points were waived on their loans, the former employee says. However, they were typically assured that they were receiving the “Friends of Angelo” discount, and that Mozilo had personally priced their loans.
The V.I.P. loans to public officials in a position to advance Countrywide’s interests raise legal and ethical questions. Countrywide’s ethics code bars directors, officers and employees from “improperly influencing the decisions of government employees or contractors by offering or promising to give money, gifts, loans, rewards, favors, or anything else of value.” Federal employees are prohibited from receiving gifts offered because of their official position, including loans on terms not generally available to the public. Senate rules prohibit members from knowingly receiving gifts worth $100 or more in a calendar year from private entities that, like Countrywide, employ a registered lobbyist.
Senator Dodd received two loans in 2003 through Countrywide’s V.I.P. program. He borrowed $506,000 to refinance his Washington townhouse, and $275,042 to refinance a home in East Haddam, Connecticut. Countrywide waived three-eighths of a point, or about $2,000, on the first loan, and one-fourth of a point, about $700, on the second, according to internal documents. Both loans were for 30 years, with the first five years at a fixed rate.
The interest rate on the loans, originally pegged at 4.875%, was reduced to 4.25% on the Washington home and 4.5% on the Connecticut property by the time the loans were funded. The lower rates save the senator about $58,000 on his Washington residence over the life of the loan, and $17,000 on the Connecticut home. The former employee says the float-downs were free. Senator Dodd’s wife, Jackie Clegg, said in a brief interview that two other lenders they checked with offered comparable interest rates. The senator’s office said Thursday afternoon that it is preparing a response.
Countrywide has also contributed a total of $21,000 to Dodd’s campaigns since 1997. While a presidential candidate last year, he filed a bill to ban lenders from charging prepayment penalties and steering home buyers to more costly loans—both practices in which Countrywide reportedly engaged. He also called for criminal charges for such predatory lending.
Senator Conrad borrowed $1.07 million in 2004 to refinance his vacation home with a balcony and wraparound porch in Bethany Beach, Delaware, a block from the ocean. Mozilo instructed a subordinate to “take off 1 point,” or $10,700, according to a March 17, 2004, email.
Later that year, Conrad refinanced an eight-unit apartment building that he and his brothers owned in Bismarck, North Dakota. According to the former employee, the loan violated Countrywide’s normal policy of providing loans for buildings of four units or fewer. In an April 23, 2004, email, Mozilo encouraged an employee to “make an exception due to the fact that the borrower is a senator.”
Senator Conrad acknowledged in a statement that he received financing from Countrywide. “I never met Angelo Mozilo,” he said. “I have no way of knowing how they categorized my loan. I never asked for, expected or was aware of any special treatment…From what we have been able to determine, it appears that we were given a competitive rate.”
A spokeswoman for Countrywide, which is slated to be acquired by Bank of America, declined to comment. A Bank of America spokesman said that senior executives there “do not get involved in the origination of mortgages,” but will refer inquiring friends to the right loan programs.
Mozilo co-founded Countrywide in 1969 and helped build it into the nation’s largest home mortgage lender. While interest rates were dropping in the first half of this decade, prompting widespread demand for refinances and home-equity loans, Countrywide loaned hundreds of millions of dollars per year through its V.I.P. program to politicians, government officials, business executives, entertainment celebrities and other customers singled out for special treatment. Account executives at Countrywide’s call center in Rosemead, California, handled the bulk of the loan applications, which were processed by a separate V.I.P. underwriting unit that had its own branch number in Countrywide’s record-keeping system.
Jackson, the former H.U.D. secretary, borrowed $346,331 from Countrywide in June 2003 to refinance his Alexandria, Virginia, townhouse. That December, he applied for a $308,000 mortgage to buy a vacation home on a golf course in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The loan came through on January 21, 2004, a week before President Bush named him to the H.U.D. post. He resigned in March 2008 amid unrelated cronyism allegations.
H.U.D. has wide-ranging relationships with Countrywide and other lenders. It regulates real estate settlements and closing costs, and runs the Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees mortgages.
The former employee says that Jackson received discounts on both loans. Defending his transactions, Jackson said he was a Countrywide borrower long before he met Mozilo or worked for H.U.D. Asked if he received any breaks on the loans, he said, “Not to my knowledge. If I did, it certainly wasn’t discussed with me.”
Former H.H.S. secretary Donna Shalala received two V.I.P. loans, for $338,685 and $202,300, in 2002. “Normally, I would not ask for special consideration toward a certain loan/customer, but the complexity of the Shalala deal calls for it,” one Countrywide executive wrote in an August 20, 2002, email, explaining that the University of Miami president was buying an interest in a timeshare. “Angelo asked me to ensure that we ‘knock her socks off’ with our great service.” On September 21, another Countrywide staffer wrote that Shalala’s loans were “ready to close…I floated both of them down to current pricing.” Shalala did not respond to messages, and an assistant at the University of Miami said that she was traveling.
Holbrooke’s wife, author Kati Marton, received loans totalling $1.4 million to refinance two properties in 2002. “Look for these,” one Countrywide manager wrote in a September 27, 2002, email, alluding to Marton’s loan applications. “These loans are incredibly important to Angelo and as such they are incredibly important to us.”
The next year, Holbrooke borrowed $1.2 million to refinance a vacation home in Telluride, Colorado. Countrywide waived at least 1.25 points, or $15,000. “Per Angelo, this loan is to be at zero points,” a Countrywide manager wrote in a February 20, 2003, email. Also in 2003, Holbrooke’s son, David, and daughter-in-law Sarah received a half-point discount on a $559,500 loan, or about $2,800, when they refinanced their Brooklyn high-rise co-op, and five-eighths of a point discount on a $428,000 loan, or about $2,600, when they bought the floor above it. Neither Holbrooke nor his wife and son returned messages.
Holbrooke and Johnson are both vice chairmen of the private banking firm Perseus. Besides the discounted interest rates reported by the Journal, Countrywide also waived points for Johnson, a former chief executive of government-sponsored mortgage reseller Fannie Mae. In 2003, Countrywide took 1.375 points, about $13,000, off a nearly $1 million loan to refinance Johnson’s Washington home. When he borrowed almost $1.3 million in 2003 that same year to refinance a 4,400-square-foot, Southwestern-style home with four bedrooms and five baths beside the second green of a golf course in Palm Desert, California, Countrywide waived 1.875 points, or about $24,000.
In 2004, Johnson borrowed $3 million to upgrade to a larger estate—a 5,875-square-foot house, with a guesthouse and pool—on the same course. Although the size of the loan exceeded Countrywide’s limit for a second home, Mozilo told an employee to “do the deal.”
Brian Brooks, a lawyer for Johnson, said that he never asked for a discount on his loans, and that it is “common knowledge” that individuals of high income and high net worth receive lower rates than other borrowers. “We don’t see anything out of the ordinary here.”
Widely criticized for spurring the country’s mortgage crisis with over-aggressive lending policies, Countrywide saw its share price plunge from $45 in February 2007 to less than $5 in January 2008, when Bank of America agreed to acquire the company in a $4 billion stock swap.
Countrywide is reportedly under F.B.I. investigation for alleged securities fraud, and Mozilo has drawn criticism for unloading $474 million in Countrywide shares between 2004 and 2007 as the housing crisis neared. He’s defended the sales as part of his retirement planning.
Additional reporting by Julia Ramey; this story was adapted from a feature in an upcoming issue of Condé Nast Portfolio.
It's time to stop imagining a world where Microsoft and Yahoo married. Instead, it's time to start thinking about a world where Yahoo and Google are in a serious relationship.
More than five months after it first made an offer to buy Yahoo, Microsoft has officially ended negotiations to buy the company outright, according to the Wall Street Journal. No deal was reached to acquire the search firm for $33 per share as it had previously offered, or for any other amount.
Both firms confirmed the news, but offered slightly different statements. Yahoo said that the talks have concluded. Microsoft said it won't re-bid for the company as a whole, but it left the door open for an "alternative transaction" with Yahoo.
Yahoo also announced it reached a deal with Google to display some ads sold by its bigger rival on Yahoo sites in a deal it expects will generate $800 million in annual revenue. The deal could face regulatory scrutiny.
The Google deal also left the door open for Yahoo to be acquired. Either party can end the arrangement in the event of a change of control and Yahoo agreed to pay a termination fee if it gets bought in the next two years.
The news will come as a blow to financier Carl Icahn, who bought millions of shares of Yahoo in order to try and force a sale to Microsoft. An advertising deal with Google, he said, would be welcomed secondarily to a Microsoft merger.
Yahoo shares tumbled more than 10 percent on the news.
Of course, Henry Blodget at Silicon Alley Insider wonders if this drop means that Icahn is already dumping his shares. It could also mean the deal with Google is not meaningful.
Reuters - Shares of Yahoo dropped more
than 8 percent on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal
reported that negotiations between the Internet media company
and Microsoft Corp ended without reaching a deal
.
For four years, six days a week, 17-year-old Mohmen has been working in a Pakistani leather factory. What does he have to look forward to in life? More of the same. But he says he's made peace with it. Gregory Warner reports. Source: Marketplace | 12 Jun 2008 | 6:06 pm
The U.S. military's Missile Defense Agency signed a $97 million contract with a Kremlin-connected nonprofit, to help secure Russia's aid in anti-missile projects.
Pentagon higher-ups ultimately quashed the deal between the agency and International Exchange Group, or IEG, for "facilitating" Russian "cooperation" on target missiles and early-warning radars. But the 2004 agreement shows the strength of the connections between the Defense Department, IEG and former Congressman Curt Weldon, now under investigation by the FBI. Earlier this week, news emerged that the wife of one of Weldon's staffers was reportedly paid money by IEG for work never performed.
On the surface, the non-profit IEG was merely working to facilitate U.S.-Russian partnerships. In a 2006 interview with Sharon Weinberger, Weldon revealed that the organization did much, much more. With IEG, Weldon said, "you can get access to any [WMD] sites you want in Russia, you can get cooperation with any project in Russia. We’ll give you access the inner circle of President Putin."
In a letter to IEG, Brig. Gen. Mark Shackelford, then deputy director of the Missile Defense Agency, said he wanted to "establish a relationship" with the nonprofit for precisely that kind of access. The Missile Defense Agency wanted to use Russian missiles to test American "detection and tracking equipment." And he was hoping to include "Russian radar data for early warning of third-country ballistic-missile launches ... into the United States ballistic-missile defense system." The first two pages of the $97 million contract with IEG to gain Russian participation in those efforts are here and here.
Traditionally, the Missile Defense Agency had never been enthusiastic about Russian cooperation. It killed the RAMOS (Russian AMerican Observation Satellite) project several years ago. So why did the agency agree to take part in this dubious relationship? Well, for starters, Weldon was one of the seminal supporters of missile defense, helping the agency at its height secure over $10 billion a year in funding. But the entire structure of IEG was suspect and smacked of conflict of interest: Why should the U.S. government have to pay an openly Kremlin-linked nonprofit in order to ensure government cooperation?
Is Weldon the villain in all of this? It's important to note that Danger Room didn't obtain these documents through some secret sources: Weldon handed them to us, as part of our research for these reporters' new book about atomic travels. Some level-headed people in the nonproliferation community still credit Weldon with showing genuine interest in nuclear security. So why did Weldon support this scheme? Here are a couple of possibilities: A) Weldon had a financial interest in IEG, or B) Weldon had no financial interest in IEG and honestly believed this was the only way to gain Russian cooperation. There's also a third possibility: Weldon had a financial interest in IEG and believed this would help nuclear cooperation.
Speaking of would-be villains: Who in the Pentagon can we credit for saving the Pentagon from paying $100 million to this shady Russian outfit? That would be Doug Feith, who was widely criticized for his management of the Pentagon's policy shop. Weldon blamed Feith's office for scuttling the deal; the people there apparently questioned its legality. Related Links Waste Deep in the Big Muddy The Pentagon's $1 Trillion Problem The Hardest Sell in Advertising?
Kai Ryssdal talks to author David Price about animation studio Pixar's transformation from failing computer company to Hollywood darling. Source: Marketplace | 12 Jun 2008 | 5:10 pm
In this presidential campaign there'll be lots of debate over how to pay for budget priorities. Some argue for tax increases because, they tell us, we can't cut federal spending. Economist and commentator Glenn Hubbard thinks otherwise. Source: Marketplace | 12 Jun 2008 | 5:10 pm
Census data show a lot of people mark their career as "artist." What does it take to be an artist and how true are the stereotypes? Janet Babin reports. Source: Marketplace | 12 Jun 2008 | 5:10 pm
Europe's InBev has launched a bid for Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser beer. The offer is being slammed by some as unpatriotic. Marketplace's Stacey Vanek-Smith reports. Source: Marketplace | 12 Jun 2008 | 5:10 pm
The National Retail Federation reported a jump in May sales, meaning people are using those stimulus checks. But can we keep the spending up? Nancy Marshall Genzer has the story. Source: Marketplace | 12 Jun 2008 | 5:09 pm
US retail sales rose at twice the forecast rate in May as consumers began spending tax rebate cheques and were forced to pay more for petrol Source: FT.com - US homepage | 12 Jun 2008 | 4:06 pm
Stan O'Neal did it, and it didn't work. Jimmy Cayne did it, and it didn't work. But that's not stopping Dick Fuld from doing it too.
What these Wall Street leaders did was try to save their own jobs while their firms were in turmoil by firing their subordinates. O'Neal fired Merrill Lynch's head of fixed-income trading before he was eventually ousted himself. Bear Stearns' Cayne gave chief operating officer Warren Spector his walking papers in an unsuccessful ploy to save his own job.
Fuld named Herbert McDade chief operating officer and Ian Lowitt as Lehman's new finance chief. Callan, who only stepped into the C.F.O. role last December, will return to the firm's investment banking division in a "senior capacity," according to a statement.
The news comes at a particularly awkward time, right in between Lehman's pre-announced earnings and its scheduled final quarterly earnings call. Lehman is expected to report a loss of $2.8 billion, its first loss as a public company. It's also raising an additional $6 billion in new capital to help shore up its tainted balance sheet.
Lehman Brothers shares have plummeted more than 60 percent since the start of this year, as investors have questioned the firm's valuation metrics and lost confidence in its ability to survive as an independent company in this post-Bear world.
The market's reaction to this morning's news indicates that this may not be enough to satisfy the skeptics. Its shares fell another 10 percent in pre-market trading, after yesterday's 15 percent sell-off. After the market opened, its shares recovered.
Now the questions remain: How long will Dick Fuld last? And how long will Lehman Brothers last as an independent company?
Lehman's troubles come at a difficult time for the global financial markets, making any likely buyers scarce. In the U.S., both commercial banks and other investment banks are either struggling to turn out profits themselves, or already absorbing major acquisitions.
In Europe, the story is pretty much the same. Barclays is trying to raise additional capital right now, and UBS is still grappling with the dubious honor of having the most write-downs of any international bank.
Certain private equity players and hedge funds might desire Lehman, but the headache of dealing with the regulatory burdens that come with it might be too much to bear.
Reuters - Stocks rose to session highs on
Friday, with gains on the Nasdaq topping 2 percent, as
investors brushed off weak consumer sentiment data and focused
on a retreat by oil prices and signs of muted inflation
pressures.
Reuters - The weak U.S. dollar and oil
speculators took centre stage as Group of Eight finance
ministers gathered in Japan on Friday to grapple with surging
inflation and a slowing global economy.
AP - The inflation rate shot up in May at the fastest pace in six months, pushed higher by soaring costs for gasoline and other types of energy.
Reuters - Soaring gasoline prices helped drive
up overall U.S. consumer prices during May by the fastest rate
in six months, but core prices remained tame, a government
report on Friday showed.
AFP - Swiss bank UBS, dramatically hit by the US home-loan crisis, said on Friday it had "successfully" raised almost 16 billion Swiss francs (9.9 billion euros, 15.3 billion dollars) from shareholders through an issue of new stock.
Reuters - Microsoft's plan to
establish a strong footing in online advertising suffered a big
blow on Thursday as merger talks with Yahoo finally, formally
failed and Yahoo said it would let Google sell search ads on
its site.
Reuters - Exxon Mobil Corp said on
Thursday it is getting out of the retail gas business in the
United States as sky-high crude oil prices squeeze margins.
Reuters - Shares of Yahoo dropped more
than 8 percent on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal
reported that negotiations between the Internet media company
and Microsoft Corp ended without reaching a deal
.