A committee of MPs will accuse ministers of failing to protect the public this
week, because they have allowed people to buy millions of soon to be
obsolete television sets. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jun 2008 | 7:04 pm
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Volvo Car Corporation, owned by struggling auto giant Ford Motor Co , said on Wednesday it would cut 2,000 jobs across its operations.
Shoppers at farmers markets are paying over the odds as they are confused by the source of local produce. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:54 am
The UK bank launched its long-expected cash call to raise £4.5bn and bring in new investors, which include the Qatar Investment Authority and Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:53 am
India’s Idea Cellular Wednesday said it will acquire smaller rival Spice Communications in a cash-and-stock deal that will strengthen its position in one of the world's fastest growing telecom markets and give Malaysia’s TM International a large stake in the merged entity.
Reuters - General Mills Inc on Wednesday
reported a fall in fourth-quarter net earnings and said it
expects costs to rise 9 percent in the current fiscal year as
the food industry faces a continued increase in prices for
grain, energy and other commodities.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - General Mills Inc on Wednesday reported a fall in fourth-quarter net earnings and said it expects costs to rise 9 percent in the current fiscal year as the food industry faces a continued increase in prices for grain, energy and other commodities.
Anglo American defends plans to develop a platinum mine in Zimbabwe, despite calls for firms to pull out. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:44 am
Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE: WMB) has just increased its earnings guidance for 2008 and 2009. Its 2008 consolidated recurring segment profit guidance to a range of $3.1 to $3.65 Billion and $2.30 to $2.80 EPS, up from its previous ranges of $2.5 to $3.0 Billion and $1.70 to $2.10. First Call has 2008 estimates of $2.21 EPS. For 2009, Williams its range to $2.9 to $3.8 Billion and earnings per share to a range of $2.05 to $2.90 EPS, up from its Prior ranges of $2.6 to $3.2 Billion and $1.80 to $2.30 EPS. First Call has 2009 estimates at...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday is expected to hold interest rates steady and indicate slightly greater unease on inflation, while stopping well short of signaling higher borrowing costs are imminent.
Volvo Cars says it is sacking
about 1,500 employees, adding to speculation that Ford wants to sell the firm. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:27 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Illinois attorney general's office plans to sue Countrywide Financial Corp and Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo on Wednesday, claiming the troubled mortgage lender engaged in deceptive trade practices.
Anglo American, the London-listed mining giant, said today that it was "reviewing
all options surrounding the development" of its $400 million ($£202
million) platinum mine in Zimbabwe. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:20 am
Old Mutual, the FTSE 100 insurer, said it anticipates a fall in operating
profits due to "tougher markets" in the US and higher costs. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:17 am
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet gave no indication Wednesday that the central bank’s rate-setting governing council was about to change its anti-inflation tune, even as signs of an economic slowdown were mounting.
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- John Varley and Bob Diamond, the chief executive and president of U.K. banking group Barclays, both struck a defiant tone Wednesday after announcing a plan to raise nearly $9 billion from investors from Qatar to China.
These are not all of the calls we are seeing in pre-market coverage, but these are ten of the calls impacting shares this Wednesday morning: Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD) Started as Underweight at JPMorgan. AT&T (NYSE: T) raised to Outperform at Bernstein. Boeing (NYSE: BA) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. NASDAQ OMX (NASDAQ: NDAQ) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray. Nelnet (NYSE: NNI) Raised to Outperform at FBR. Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE: PBT) Raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup. Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) Raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Morgan Keegan....
As the head of the European Central Bank signals hat euro-zone interest rates remain on track for a small rise next month, the euro makes modest gains in quiet trading. The dollar's mixed, as currency traders await word on what Federal Reserve policymakers will do regarding U.S. interest rates.
Japan's trade surplus in May fell a smaller than expected 7.6 percent, as Chinese demand to rebuild from a major earthquake supported exports, data showed Wednesday. The... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:07 am
Stocks expected to move actively in trading on Wednesday include Barclays, Cost Plus, Darden Restaurants, General Mills, Iona, Jabil Circuit, Sourcefire and 3Com.
(Reuters) - General Mills Inc posted a higher quarterly profit, excluding a reduction in the mark-to-market valuation of certain commodity positions, as price increases helped boost sales... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:00 am
TEL AVIV, Israel, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- - Mr. Gabriel Matzkin, Formerly VP Sales of ECI's Optical Division, Will be new VP Worldwide Sales Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:00 am
Data show the volume of mortgage applications down a seasonally adjusted 9.3% last week compared with the week before, as lower interest rates fail to draw new filers.
WESTMONT, Ill., June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- 1st Reverse Financial Services, LLC (1st Reverse), a national reverse mortgage wholesale lender and subsidiary of Wilmington... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:00 am
NEW YORK, June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WallSt.net's 3-Minute Press Show is a daily video program hosted by WallSt.net reporter, Tracee Tolentino. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:00 am
State's supportive business environment, strong talent base promote growth COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio's supportive business environment and... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:00 am
Today is the one day in the year - possibly the only day - when your boss might turn a blind eye if you sleep on the job. Source: Telegraph Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 11:00 am
The dollar fell against the euro and rose slightly versus the yen on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve appeared set to maintain the current level of US interest rates, analysts said. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 10:58 am
U.S. stocks headed for a higher open Wednesday as investors awaited economic reports and the Federal Reserve's latest decision on interest rates. Though findings are due on durable goods Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 10:58 am
LONDON, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- HKMEx today announces the creation of a new commodities exchange in Hong Kong. By bridging the international commodities markets with... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 10:57 am
Membership numbers at the world's millionaires' club swelled by more than 6pc last year, despite the onset of the credit crisis, thanks to high returns from emerging markets. Source: Telegraph Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 10:54 am
General Mills says commodity hedging costs drove fiscal fourth-quarter profit down 17 percent, but strong sales of its yogurt, cookie mixes and Cheerios boosted revenue above Wall Street... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 10:53 am
LONDON (Reuters) - The Russian shareholders in TNK-BP have threatened legal action in Russia and internationally in their dispute with British oil major BP Plc and said labor union unrest could follow.
The European Central Bank president rejected the argument that speculators are behind sharp rises in commodity prices, while his remarks on inflation strengthened expectations of an ECB rate rise next week Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jun 2008 | 10:45 am
Wall St. is getting nervous that RIM (RIMM) could lose its luster as it moves from providing handsets for business into the consumer market. Apple (AAPL) is sitting there along with Nokia (NOK) and new software from Google (GOOG). Perhaps the RIMM bears have too little faith in the company. If Apple can do well with consumer smartphones. why can't the creator of the Blackberry? As one analyst told The Wall Street Journal, "RIM has little ability to dramatically improve its share at its two largest customers." Those customers would be AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless. But, the last anyone...
Reuters - Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) Chief
Executive Carlos Ghosn said industrywide sales in the United
States could fall well below 15 million vehicles this year as
high gas prices and a sluggish economy sap demand, and warned
of another push by steelmakers to hike prices.
YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said industrywide sales in the United States could fall well below 15 million vehicles this year as high gas prices and a sluggish economy sap demand, and warned of another push by steelmakers to hike prices.
LONDON (Reuters) - British bank Barclays raised 4.5 billion pounds ($8.8 billion) from investors including Qatar and Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui and aims to use half the cash to rebuild capital and half to pursue growth.
Ever since he lost out on a bid to take control of GM (GM), Carlos Ghosn has seemed a bit punchy. His golden touch at Nissan and Renault have failed him. The companies are no longer considered paragons of the turnaround art. Ghosn has become ordinary. He was especially ordinary in his recent assessment of the US car market. According to Reuters, "If we take the trend of the market in May and June it looks like we are going to be much below 15 million. Now I'm not sure if this is going to continue for the rest of...
The euro advanced on Wednesday after Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, cemented expectations that eurozone interest rates were set to rise next month. Mr Trichet told the European... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 10:13 am
Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential hopeful, is urging Sir Terry Leahy,
Tesco's chief executive, to engage with trade unions in the US over workers
rights at the supermarket giant’s Fresh & Easy chain. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jun 2008 | 10:11 am
London equities made gains on Wednesday, with the banking sector rising rapidly after Barclays announced details of plans to raise 4.5bn through the launch of a huge new share issue. The FTSE 100 rose... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 10:07 am
Boeing (BA) has demonstrated that it cannot get its big planes to market on time. It has delayed its 787 Dreamliner three times. Customers are angry and may actually ask for compensation. The problems have helped drop Boeing's shares from a 52-week high of $107.83 to their current level of $74.79. The stock price may be about to get worse. The global turmoil in the airline industry is making carriers poor and driving many of them in the direction of Chapter 11. Boeing should have turned up the heat and gotten those 787s out the door. A number of buyers...
U.S. stock futures climbed on Wednesday as some traders bet that comments from the Federal Reserve will be enough to break the market out of a recent rut.
The market was happy to see Barclays (BCS) raise nearly $8.9 billion. The stock traded up in London. No one seems to care that the need for capital meant the firm was running out of money. The bank did its best to apply lipstick to the pig. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Through our capital raising ... we strengthen our capital base and give ourselves additional resources to pursue our strategy of growth through earnings diversification," Barclays Chief Executive John Varley said. Well-spoken, but transparent. The news may say something about the past. Banks took too many risks. They...
Japan’s trade surplus for May was bigger than economists had expected, as imports slackened and surging exports of processed petroleum products and machinery to Asia offset declining demand from the U.S. and Europe.
Royal Dutch Shell resumes production at its main offshore oil field in Nigeria, following a militant attack. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jun 2008 | 9:43 am
LONDON (Reuters) - Stock futures rose as European equities got a boost from financials after Britain's Barclays unveiled a share issue. September Dow Jones, Standard & Poor's and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.3-0.4 pct, while indicative Dow Jones was down 0.8 pct.
Frank Mozilo, founder and CEO of Countrywide (CFC), is almost universally viewed as a thug and miscreant. It will be left to the celestial authorities whether he eventually goes to heaven or purgatory. But, the Attorney General of Illinois wants him in state court. According to The Wall Street Journal, "In a draft of the complaint, Illinois alleges that the company engaged in "unfair and deceptive practices" in the sale of mortgage loans." The root causes of this is probably that Mozilo wanted to improve his earnings and fuel the secondary mortgage market. He was willing to pay brokers to...
Barclays says it is planning to raise £4.5bn from foreign investors in a share issue to bolster its balance sheet. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jun 2008 | 9:27 am
UBS, the world’s largest asset manager and the European bank hit hardest by the subprime-mortgage crisis, reportedly hired Lazard to carry out a strategic review, a move that fueled further takeover speculation surrounding the firm.
The Qatar Investment Authority, which will invest up to 1.76bn in Barclays, was founded by the Gulf state in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy through strategic investments. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 9:25 am
The Qatar Investment Authority, which will invest up to £1.76bn in Barclays, was founded by the Gulf state in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy through strategic investments. Source: Telegraph Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 9:25 am
More and more data go speeding along the information superhighway every day. Only trouble is, the roads in the U.S. are too narrow, and they're getting clogged. Unless carrying capacity increases rapidly, Internet users will experience more and more traffic jams in the form of slower service.
Research in Motion is set to show whether it can keep defying the slumping economy and the slowdown in mobile phone sales, and withstand the looming threat of Apple's iPhone.
Indian infrastructure group GMR on Wednesday agreed to buy half of US power producer InterGen for about $1.1bn from an investment firm backed by American International Group and Highstar Capital.The move... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 9:16 am
Flood defence must be taken more seriously if communities are to be protected, a report on last summer's flooding says. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jun 2008 | 9:14 am
Barclays, the British bank, joined Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS in seeking new funds after it wrote down 1.7 billion in bad loans this year. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 9:13 am
Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc may be able to
withstand estimated losses of $36 billion and remain in
business, and avoid an additional capital raise, said Ladenburg
Thalmann analyst Richard Bove, who narrowed his 2008 loss
forecast for the thrift.
A viral online video phenomenon won a Grand Prix at the Cannes International Advertising Festival that was usually reserved for only the best in traditional TV advertising.
A cyber campaign about a supposedly dying medium – yes, ironically, television – won another Grand Prix.
And a groundbreaking Japanese online effort for a clothing retailer won the most coveted creative prize of all, the Titanium Grand Prix, and had everyone gushing about the unlimited future of interactive branding.
Whatever you call it -- online, interactive, viral, 360, or cyber — a new advertising paradigm has finally come of age after years of empty hype and broken promises.
“TV used to be the sun and all other mediums were merely satellites around it,” said David Lubars, chief creative officer at BBDO New York, which was named the Agency of the Year. But this year’s festival represented the first true global validation of the power of interactive work, he added.
“TV is still the only place where you can get 70 million eyeballs on an ad," Lubars said, "but now if your message is engaging enough you can get people to voluntarily spend 10, 20, 30 minutes, totally engaged with a brand.”
Consider the Titanium Grand Prix, which went to the four-year-old production boutique Projector/Tokyo for the breadth, depth, and refreshing level of consumer engagement of its work for the Uniqlo clothing retailer.
Projector's creative director, Koichiro Tanaka, said the challenge was to create a relevant, portable experience. The result combines user-generated media and the Uniqlo website with a nonstop fusion of dance, sound, viral video. It available via product catalogs, screensavers, ringtone downloads, and customizable T-shirts. There isn't a single 30-second TV spot to be found.
Other notable interactive Grand Prix winners include 42 Entertainment’s “Year Zero” viral campaign for Trent Resnor and a new Nine Inch Nails album, as well as T.A.G. and McCann Worldgroup’s imaginative “Believe” campaign for Halo 3.
But the Uniqlo work was seen as a seminal, barrier-breaking moment. While the Nine Inch Nails and Xbox work benefited from an already rabid audience eager to glean clues about a favorite artist or game, Uniqlo managed to be compelling and immersive in the relatively un-sexy business of clothing retailing. With retailers, expectations are low and websites often offer little more than online catalogs.
Entertainment and social responsibility advertisers have had interactive hits, but Uniqlo is among the first to show that an interactive effort can be breathtakingly creative, engaging, viral -- and, most importantly, still increase sales.
“The industry is always talking about viral,” said Titanium jury panelist Jean-Remy von Matt, Founder & Member of The Board. “The Uniqlo work is viral branded utility. It’s so simple, smart and beautiful. All over the world people have it on their desktops, giving them a brand presence in countries where their products don’t even exist.”
Mark Tutssel, Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide and jury judge of the Titanium and Integrated Lions, said that more than the Film award, the Titanium Grand Prix has become the most prestigious honor in the industry.
“It’s a glimpse into the future of what we do," Tutssel said. It is, he added, "the most prestigious and the new standard for what everyone should work for.”
The Cadbury Gorilla
The compelling nature of interactivity was also apparent in the august Film Lion Grand Prix, for the best TV ad. Fallon London won for its “Gorillia” short, which it created for Cadbury Dairy, a British chocolate bar.
Originally intended for the British market only, the film, which features a gorilla playing a drum solo while listening to the Phil Collins song Something in the Air Tonight, spread virally on the Internet. Even better, it generated thousands of consumer-produced remixes. Total views on viral video platforms by fully engaged audience members: close to 10 million.
The fact that the Film Lion went to a viral video hit that became interactive, and that many awarded campaigns crossed or defied categorization says much about the transitional state of the industry and gives Cannes Festival leaders something to ponder for next year’s awards.
(Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc may be able to withstand estimated losses of $36 billion and remain in business, and avoid an additional capital raise, said Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Richard Bove, who narrowed his 2008 loss forecast for the thrift.
Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday. Exporters dropped on gloom about US demand, as American consumer confidence sank to its worst levels in 16 years and Wall Street dropped to three-month lows. But... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 8:58 am
Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday. Exporters dropped on gloom about US demand, as American consumer confidence sank to its worst levels in 16 years and Wall Street dropped to three-month lows. But... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 8:58 am
Ehud Olmert has faced down the latest threat to his increasingly embattled tenure as Israeli's prime minister, by striking a deal with his main coalition ally that will allow him to govern for at least another three months. Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jun 2008 | 8:38 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The network formed by a merged Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines would help them avoid cutting the number of cities they serve if oil prices force more capacity reductions, their chief executives wrote in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
Northern Foods today suffered a fresh blow as its finance director, Jez
Maiden, announced plans to leave for National Express a month after the
failure of new contract talks with Marks & Spencer (M&S) led the ready meal
maker to cut 730 jobs. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jun 2008 | 8:26 am
The trouble with gloom is that when you're surrounded by it, that's all you can see. A sunny tomorrow could be on its way, but the present darkness is definite. Obviously I'm talking about the economy, not the weather, and I'd like to propose the radical thought that, contrary to the evidence that surrounds us right now, just possibly the apocalypse is not at hand.
YOKOHAMA, Japan, June 25 Nissan Motor Co chief executive Carlos Ghosn said that industrywide sales in the United States could fall well below 15 million vehicles this year and that he expected steel firms... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 8:21 am
"Jam-packed" Heathrow needs a third runway to remain competitive, operator BAA's boss will say. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jun 2008 | 8:19 am
Based on data from Nasdaq as of June 13, short sellers made heavy bets against tech stocks. Many investors clearly think the sector is not immune from the current economic downturn. The short interest in Cisco (CSCO) rose 14 million to 64.9 million. Shares short in Intel (INTC) moved up 8.5 million to 61.8 million. Short interest in Dell (DELL) jumped 10.5 million to 60.5 million. Shares short in Sun (JAVA) rocketed up 32.4 million to 57.1 million. The short interest in Broadcom (BRCM) moved up 3.7 million to 35.4 million. Shares short in Qualcomm (QCOM) moved up 2.2 million...
Smithfield Foods, the US packaged meats company, plans to merge its main European subsidiary with Spain's Campofrio to create a pan-European group with annual sales of more than €2bn Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jun 2008 | 8:14 am
Smithfield Foods, the US packaged meats company, plans to merge its main European subsidiary with Spain's Campofrio to create a pan-European group with annual sales of more than 2bn.The merged entitiy... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 25 Jun 2008 | 8:14 am
According to Reuters, the Fed is seen as holding rates on fears of inflation. Reuters writes that the CEO of Nissan is bracing for the worst in the US. Reuters writes that Hilton will add 300 hotels in Asia over the next decade. Reuters reports that Barclays (BCS) will raise $8.8 billion in new capital. Reuters reports that Blockbuster (BBI) shares rose on rumors it would not buy Circuit City (CC). Reuters reports that Illinois is suing Countrywide (CFC) and Mozilo. Reuters reports that Blackrock (BLK) sees the global slowdown getting worse in 2009. The Wall Street Journal reports that...
Barclays may release the details of its planned £4bn fundraising as early as today after sounding out shareholders on the proposal since the weekend. Source: Telegraph Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 7:45 am
A "fundamental shift" in attitudes to public transport boosts annual profits at rail and bus firm Stagecoach. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jun 2008 | 7:36 am
Markets in Asia were mixed. The Nikkei fell .1% to 13,830. Konica Minolta was down 3.5% to 1871. NTT (NTT) was up 1.2% to 506000. The Hang Seng rose 1.1% to 22,699. China Life (LFC) was up 2.3% to 26.45. China Netcom (CN) was up 3.4% to 21.60. The Shanghai Composite was up 3.4% to 2,905. Data from Reuters Douglas A. McIntyre
Stagecoach, the transport company which part-owns Virgin Rail Group, gave
warning today that there was a significant risk that Network Rail would not
be able to upgrade the West Coast Main Line in time for critical timetable
changes due in December. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jun 2008 | 6:57 am
Barclays revealed this morning that it is to raise £4.5 billion through a
discounted share placing and open offer in which the Qatar Investment
Authority and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation will become major new
shareholders. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jun 2008 | 6:49 am
The spectre of inflation returned to haunt the global economy as companies ranging from Dow Chemical of the US to South Korea's Posco unveiled sharp price rises to combat the soaring cost of energy and raw materials Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jun 2008 | 6:46 am
Reuters - The U.S. Federal Reserve on
Wednesday is expected to hold interest rates steady and
indicate slightly greater unease on inflation, while stopping
well short of signaling higher borrowing costs are imminent.
Japan's trade surplus falls for a third consecutive month in May because of high oil prices and lower US demand. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jun 2008 | 6:03 am
Reuters - The Illinois attorney general's office
plans to sue Countrywide Financial Corp and Chief
Executive Angelo Mozilo on Wednesday, claiming the troubled
mortgage lender engaged in deceptive trade practices.
The picture painted by the latest survey into consumer confidence is so bleak that one bank economist has called the results "jaw-dropping".
Consumer confidence, already at a decade low in the March quarter, plunged further in... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 4:00 am
As the collapse of the finance company sector intensifies, two accountants who signed off on the books of one of the first to hit the wall have pleaded guilty to breaching the Institute of Chartered Accountants' code of ethics.
National... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 3:00 am
Dorchester Pacific has announced to the NZX it will undertake an "immediate review" of the potential impact of St Laurence's decision yesterday to cease lending.
St Laurence has also proposed a schedule for delayed payment of NZ$241... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 2:30 am
Fisher & Paykel Appliances says a slump in its share price over the past year has made it more vulnerable to a takeover.
The whiteware maker, which has been struggling with the strong New Zealand dollar, material prices and tougher... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 2:00 am
Troubled OPI Pacific Finance has made a damages claim for about A$270 million ($344 million) against Queensland-based Octaviar and one of that company's subsidiaries.
Previously named MFS, investment manager Octaviar owns 38.5... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 1:00 am
Bradford & Bingley is under mounting pressure to open its books to Clive Cowdery's Resolution group after the entrepreneur answered calls to reveal more details of his dramatic plans for the buy-to-let lender. Source: Telegraph Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Two former Cahoot managers have set up the first stand-alone online UK savings bank since the dotcom boom, with the backing of Indonesia's wealthiest family and owner of London's high-rollers' casino Les Ambassadeurs. Source: Telegraph Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Employers are to be prohibited from offering higher salaries or cash bonuses to encourage staff to opt out of company pension schemes, the Government has announced. Source: Telegraph Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Troubled department store chain Debenhams has brought forward its trading statement in an attempt to end speculation about its financial strength. Source: Telegraph Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
House prices are moving from the loft to the basement. Last year's "crisis", with an estimated shortfall of 4m homes, has morphed into a very different kind of problem: plenty of properties on the market but no buyers. The prospect of negative equity is biting into consumer confidence. Source: Telegraph Business | 25 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
A colleague told her children yesterday that they might miss some school after
council workers voted to go on strike over pay. To which they replied:
“What's a strike, Mummy?” Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Jun 2008 | 11:00 pm
The dream of homeownership has slipped farther from the reach of first-time buyers, who have been unable to afford a home because of the credit crunch. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Jun 2008 | 11:00 pm
House prices in the US have fallen by almost 23 per cent over a three-month
period and a decline in American consumer confidence is seen as signalling
the biggest drop in consumption to occur since 1974. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 24 Jun 2008 | 11:00 pm
Industry experts say they are becoming alarmed at big cracks opening up in the property finance sector which yesterday threatened Wellington-based company St Laurence.
St Laurence, which owes about $250 million to 9000 debenture... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 24 Jun 2008 | 11:00 pm
Investor's Business Daily - Treasury Sec'y Henry Paulson said the housing market will likely bottom by year-end and the economy will show signs of recovery. "I think it's going to take some time to get out of this, but don't forget that the foundation of the United States economy is very solid," he said on Mexican TV. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 24 Jun 2008 | 10:45 pm
The sharemarket was down again after yesterday's brief and mild interruption of an eight-day losing streak.
On Wall Street, US shares dipped in choppy trade as weak economic data and a bleak outlook from delivery giant UPS darkened... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 24 Jun 2008 | 10:40 pm
The property development sector is fast running out of second-tier lenders after St Laurence found the economic environment made it too risky to lend any more.
Helen Mexted, St Laurence's general manager of funding and corporate... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 24 Jun 2008 | 10:00 pm
NYSE Euronext has taken an equity stake in Qatar's stock market, stoking the three-way battle for regional financial supremacy in the petrodollar-fuelled Gulf region Source: FT.com - US homepage | 24 Jun 2008 | 9:35 pm
US stocks hit their lowest level in three months as investors weighed a handful of mixed earnings reports, a rally in financials and new data showing the continuation of a slump in house prices and consumer confidence Source: FT.com - US homepage | 24 Jun 2008 | 9:29 pm
Reuters - Retailer Circuit City Stores Inc
has received buyout interest from several strategic and
financial bidders, including movie-rental company Blockbuster
Inc , and a sales agreement could be announced over the
next month, an institutional investor said on Tuesday.
Fonterra is boosting its presence across the Tasman by buying the yoghurt and dairy dessert business of Nestle Australia.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, includes the rights for 28 years to manufacture, market and sell Nestle's... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 24 Jun 2008 | 8:30 pm
Property financier Strategic Finance says potential buyers with strong capital backing have started talks about buying New Zealand's fourth largest finance company.
The company is also going through an intensive review of its loan... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 24 Jun 2008 | 8:15 pm
Nokia struck back against Google on Tuesday by announcing plans to increase sales of its mobile phones and boost its revenue from wireless web services and that it was taking control of Symbian, the UK software company Source: FT.com - US homepage | 24 Jun 2008 | 6:13 pm
Busy lifestyles and increased attention on water conservation have fake grass manufacturers seeing a lot more green. Lenora Chu reports. Source: Marketplace | 24 Jun 2008 | 5:46 pm
Google has unveiled an audience measurement tool that strengthens the search engine's already large advertising business. Host Bob Moon asks Media Week's Mike Shields about the new service's impact. Source: Marketplace | 24 Jun 2008 | 5:46 pm
The small loans that have sparked a financing revolution around the world are starting to pique interest in the United States. Alisa Roth reports. Source: Marketplace | 24 Jun 2008 | 5:46 pm
The United States has long criticized China's economic policies. But as China's economy booms and ours struggles, the Chinese are returning the favor. Host Bob Moon talks with Marketplace's Scott Tong about the shift. Source: Marketplace | 24 Jun 2008 | 5:46 pm
The Sunshine State is negotiating with U.S. Sugar Corp. to buy land that could be instrumental in saving the Everglades. The deal would put the nation's largest cane sugar company out of business. Jeremy Hobson reports. Source: Marketplace | 24 Jun 2008 | 5:45 pm
Home prices are continuing their free fall in markets across the country and experts say we may still be months from the bottom. Dan Grech reports. Source: Marketplace | 24 Jun 2008 | 5:45 pm
It's no surprise falling home prices and rising gas and food costs have Americans on edge, but economists are shocked by just how shaky consumer confidence has become, reaching a 16-year low. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports. Source: Marketplace | 24 Jun 2008 | 5:45 pm
When an airline sneezes, does the entire travel business catch a cold? Maybe. Experts say that as airlines raise fares and cut routes, they'll squeeze other businesses who depend on a constant flow of passengers to keep the money rolling in.
Tourism is one industry that's bound to be impacted. Fewer flights and higher prices will cause some travelers to forgo the big summer trip and do something closer to home (though if gas prices don't come down they might just sit home in their air conditioning).
The chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Association says the airlines' moves are putting thousands of regional jobs and billions of dollars of investment at risk. Caribbean markets are especially susceptible to the cuts, he says, because struggling American Airlines handles a majority of traffic into the region. American recently announced that it's cutting its daily flights at its San Juan hub from 93 to 51 and will no longer serve Santo Domingo, Antigua, St Maarten, Aruba, or Samana from San Juan.
And that in turn messes things up for the cruise lines. Ten ships use San Juan as their home port, and if getting to the island becomes too much of a hassle, vacationers may blow off the cruise altogether.
Vegas might also take a huge hit. Wachovia Bank thinks the airlines will reduce service into Vegas by 12 percent, resulting in 2.4 million fewer visits each year. This in a year when over 11,000 new hotel rooms will open on the strip.
There are a whole slew of other industries that depend on the airlines to keep the money flowing. Airports are watching the amount of money they collect in landing fees shrink. Rental car companies, nervous about fewer travelers flowing through airports, are opening new location in the burbs. Hotels located around airports are concerned that as passengers trade in flights for road trips, they'll choose to stay at properties further out of town. Web-based travel agencies like Orbitz are anticipating that as number of airlines shrinks through mergers, passengers will feel less need to comparison shop online.
Long suffering airline employees are facing another round of pink slips, but they're not the only ones. Employees at the companies contracted by the airlines are also likely to get the axe. And with what's left of airlines' domestic food service gone or likely to go, the kitchens that provide in-flight catering are likely to make cuts as well.
Of course, not everyone loses. Airport shops and restaurants may see fewer passengers wandering the concourse, but the ones who are there might be more likely to pay $19 for a plate of Buffalo Wings and $4 for a bottle of water before boarding their bare-bones flight.
The recording industry and U.S. radio companies have squared off for decades about whether AM and FM radio broadcasters should pay royalties to singers, musicians and their labels.
But now the debate is getting meaner; there's more at stake as the recording industry seeks new income avenues in the wake of wanton peer-to-peer piracy and declining CD sales in part due to the iPod and satellite radio. A U.S. House subcommittee could vote as early as Thursday on a royalty measure.
On Monday, the recording industry sent the National Association of Broadcasters -- the trade group representing the $16 billion a year AM-FM broadcasting business -- a can of herring to underscore that it believes its arguments against paying royalties are a red herring. The NAB says its members should not pay royalties because AM-FM radio "promotes" the music industry.
The herring present followed another gift -- a dictionary, a bid by the recording industry to explain what it saw as the difference between fees and taxes. The NAB describes the latest royalty proposal as a tax.
And two weeks ago, the recording industry, under the umbrella group musicFIRST, sent the NAB four digital downloads: "Take the Money and Run" by the Steve Miller Band; "Pay me My Money Down" by Bruce Springsteen; "Back In the U.S.S.R" by Paul McCartney and "A Change Would Do You Good" by Sheryl Crow.
Broadcasting music without payment is akin to piracy, the industry says.
"It's a form of piracy, if you will, but not in the classic sense as we think of it," said Martin Machowsky, a musicFirst spokesman. "Today we gifted them a can of herring, about their argument that they provide promotional value. We think that's a red herring. Nobody listens to the radio for the commercials."
The coalition includes the Recording Industry Association of America, Society of Singers, Rhythm & Blues Foundation, Recording Academy and others.
The argument boils down to this: Radio is making billions off the backs of recording artists and their labels; and the recording artists gain invaluable exposure because they're on the radio, so royalties should not have to be paid.
A House subcommittee is expected to approve a royalty bill perhaps as early as Thursday. The measure, HR 4789, sponsored by Rep. Howard Berman, D-California, would move to the full House Judiciary Committee -- legislation that the National Association of Broadcasters said would cost the industry as much as $7 billion annually.
An identical proposal, S 2500, is in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Rates under both proposals would be negotiated, although small and public stations would pay a flat $5,000 annually.
Internet, cable and satellite broadcasters pay royalties to all participants involved. Singers, musicians and the labels get no royalties when AM-FM radio broadcasters air their songs.
That would change under both the Senate and House proposals. Composers and songwriters, however, do get AM-FM royalties, which are set under a complicated and negotiated rate.
"If it wasn't for radio play, most of the performers wouldn't be known," said Dennis Wharton, a NAB vice president.
When the securities class-action law firm Milberg L.L.P. recently reached a $75 million settlement with federal prosecutors to defer prosecution on charges over decades of kickbacks, the law firm submitted a statement of "admitted facts."
Current management, led by Sanford Dumain, took responsibility for the crimes of seven former partners. Four, including Melvyn Weiss and William Lerach, were named in the statement, but three were identified only as "Partner E, Partner F, and Partner G." They were described by the firm as "conspiring former partners."
Portfolio.com has learned who those partners were. Two of them, Jared Specthrie and Robert Sugarman, remain in good standing as registered lawyers with the New York bar. The third was Lawrence Milberg, the founding partner of Milberg Weiss and the name that firm has chosen to stake its re-emergence on. The three were identified by lawyers involved in the case.
The Milberg Three were never charged, much less identified publicly by the government. But their involvement was significant. The law firm and its former partners were accused of illegally paying more than $12 million to people to serve as plaintiffs in shareholder class-action lawsuits over more than 25 years. Prosecutors have described how cash was kept in a special credenza in the office of a former partner, David Bershad, who was the first to plead guilty. According to the firm's statement of "admitted facts," Bershad, Weiss, Lerach "and the other conspiring former partners pooled their personal finds into a fund Bershad maintained at his office at the firm, which was used by the conspiring former Partners to supply cash for secret payments to be paid to plaintiffs and others."
In 1965, Milberg, a 1936 graduate of Harvard Law School, took on young lawyer Melvyn Weiss, who had just returned from a stint in the Army. Milberg died while playing tennis at his home near Great Neck, New York, in December 1989. Milberg was 76, and the obituary in the New York Times called him a "specialist in cases involving shareholder rights and class actions."
Weiss took on another young lawyer, William Lerach of Pittsburgh, in 1976. From his office in San Diego, known as Milberg West, Lerach sued so many technology companies that he became feared and hated by Corporate America. Lerach, who pleaded guilty, is now serving a 24-month sentence, while Weiss will begin a 30-month sentence in August.
How can the firm go on with the name of a tarnished former partner?
Milberg L.L.P. declined to comment about Partners E, F, and G through spokeswoman Barbara Schrager.
And why should someone who has been dead for nearly two decades be cited, if not identified, in a criminal investigation?
The U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, Thomas O'Brien, says, "This case is about a long-running scheme that goes back several decades, a scheme that compromised the justice system and involved the highest levels of Milberg Weiss."
Another of the Milberg Three is Jared Specthrie, who was a name partner in what was known as Milberg Weiss Bershad Specthrie & Lerach in the 1990s. Specthrie appears to be listed as "of counsel" to Milberg on www.lawyers.com, the website maintained by Martindale-Hubbell, an industry standard for lawyer listings. A receptionist at Milberg said he was "retired."
Specthrie's lawyer, Edward McDonald of Dechert, says the "of counsel" relationship ended "years ago." He declined to comment further.
The third is Robert Sugarman, who was a partner in the firm's New York office, now in Oyster Bay Grove on Long Island, the same town that Mel Weiss will soon depart to begin serving his prison sentence. Sugarman, who still maintains a solo law practice in Uniondale, New York, did not return calls for comment. His lawyer, Michael Ross of Manhattan, also did not return a call for comment.
Sugarman and Specthrie's standing as lawyers could change, according to Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at New York University School of Law. Gillers says a plea agreement by any of the Milberg Three could form the basis for a disciplinary action seeking their disbarment.
Even in the absence of such a deal, the disciplinary authorities could seek sanctions against, or to disbar, the Milberg Three, Gillers says.
Milberg L.L.P. clearly wants to put the investigations behind it and try to restore its status as the nation's most powerful securities class-action law firm. But collateral damage from the scandal may make that difficult.
Two former Milberg partners, Michael Buchman and Douglas Richards, are suing the four former partners who have pleaded guilty in the Federal District Court in Manhattan, contending "fraudulent concealment" and other wrongs.
The lawsuit seeks damages against Lerach and Weiss, as well as Bershad and Steven Schulman, two former partners who pleaded guilty last year and have been cooperating with the government.
AFP - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to propose rules that may diminish the traditional weight credit ratings carry in many markets, The Wall Street Journal reported online Tuesday.
STOCKTON, California— There is still no joy in Mudville.
To understand why the housing slump has been so deep and so prolonged, one could visit this California city, once called Mudville. A fast-growing bedroom community for San Francisco Bay area workers during the housing boom, Stockton stumbled badly when the mortgage market imploded. Prices tumbled and the number foreclosures rose. The city became a national symbol of boom and bust. 60 Minutes profiled a bus tour of repossessed homes in Stockton—what the Los Angeles Times called the "magical misery tour."
More than two years into the slump, there is no sign of a recovery.
"Everybody wants to wait until the market hits the bottom, but nobody can assure them that the bottom is here yet," says Oliver Torlai, a local real estate agent in business for 40 years.
Nationwide, the housing slump has been unrelenting. Housing prices continue to slide in most metropolitan areas. Prices in 20 metropolitan regions fell 15.3 percent in April from a year ago, the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller index showed today. National home prices have fallen steadily since January 2007 and are now at 2004 levels.
And new Harvard study says that the high number of foreclosures and tight credit will make it more difficult for housing to recover than in previous downturns.
"Historically, housing markets recover only after the economy has entered a recession and a combination of falling mortgage interest rates and house prices have improved housing affordability," says Nicolas Retsinas, the director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. "It is difficult to judge how far away from these conditions we may be."
"The slump in housing markets has not yet run its full course," he says.
In Stockton, the number of foreclosures keeps rising. Last month, the city had the highest foreclosure rate of 230 metropolitan areas nationwide tracked by RealtyTrac. One in every 75 households in the Stockton region received a foreclosure filing in May, according to the online real estate data company. That's more than six times the national average.
Although some foreclosures involve reckless borrowers—speculators and borrowers who didn't think through or just didn't care about loans whose low rates would reset sharply higher—there are others in Stockton who took smaller risks, but still got caught up in the downward spiral.
Bruce Kern, a school administrator in San Joaquin County, lived in Stockton for 17 years, building up a sterling credit score and a steady record of making payments on a house he bought in 2000. After its value doubled, he refinanced. That helped him put money down on a second home in 2006, for his mother who had just moved to town.
His timing was terrible. He was soon paying two mortgages that had become worth much more than the houses. Neither home drew any buyers, so Kern chose to foreclose. He's moving his family to a rented house.
"I've always been responsible, so I thought we'd be stretched, but stretched for the right reasons," Kern says. "It didn't go that way. It's going to be very odd going from a homeowner to a renter. But, you know, it's taken a whole lot of anxiety out of my life."
Renting out his house became the only option for Tab Pestlin. When his wife's job relocated to the East Coast, he put his house on the market. Perched on the shore of a man-made lake, Pestlin's house, with a jacuzzi and a master-bedroom fireplace, should have been a desirable property. So he was surprised when his agent advised him to sell it himself. Pestlin tried, but in the end rented it out. Other neighbors have also chosen to rent rather than sell, he says, but one next door simply went into foreclosure, pulled out the appliances and walked away.
"A lot of agents have pretty much given up on the situation out there," Pestlin says. "Some of them who made a lot of money are pursuing other things. Everyone else is pretty much lying in wait."
Kern agrees. "People are kind of hunkering down, staying put," he says.
Yet, there is a strange quality of being in limbo in Stockton. In some respects, little has changed. Construction on retail centers, begun years ago, still goes on, for example.
"I'm not sure that I'm seeing the signs that you would expect to see when the economy is down," says John Knight, a business professor at Stockton's University of the Pacific. "I see the same traffic jams on the freeways, I stand in the same lines waiting to get into a restaurant. I don't see a whole bunch of difference."
Kern says that he still sees people shopping or throwing parties as before. "I think, how are people continuing to do this? Because I know they're pretty tight on credit."
That could change. For now, many in foreclosure still have their incomes—not paying their mortgages has improved their cash flows. But the toxic housing market is killing off jobs at real estate agencies, title companies, and mortgage brokers, not to mention banks that made those mortgages. Those lost jobs mean less spending, which ripples out into retail and other industries—even workers holding on to jobs may see wages decline.
The ripple effects, while not immediate, will be long lasting: years of higher interest rates for many homeowners who foreclosed, the lost city tax revenue, the threat of companies pulling up stakes on their Stockton facilities—and the damage to Stockton's image as an up-and-coming California city.
Founded 159 years ago during the gold rush, Stockton started to attract workers in the Bay Area, 80 miles west. Companies like FedEx, BMW, and Lowe's also opened regional operations there.
By 2005, when prices were nearing their peak, Forbes magazine listed Stockton as one of the top 10 cities with highest job growth and net migration. Along with that growth came higher housing prices, quadrupling in Stockton in six years. Speculators joined immigrants and young families in a red-hot housing market. But after peaking at an average price of $374,000 in early 2006, according to Zillow.com, they have dropped to $226,000.
Lately there have been signs that the housing slump is spreading to nearby counties such as Sacramento and Merced, where homes for sale by banks more than doubled in May over April.
Martha Lucey, chief executive of ByDesign Financial Solutions, says that when her credit-counseling company held a counseling workshop in Modesto recently, a thousand people showed up—three or four times as many as at workshops in Stockton.
"The line was around the block and down the street," she says.
Reuters - General Mills Inc on Wednesday
reported a fall in fourth-quarter net earnings and said it
expects costs to rise 9 percent in the current fiscal year as
the food industry faces a continued increase in prices for
grain, energy and other commodities.
Reuters - Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) Chief
Executive Carlos Ghosn said industrywide sales in the United
States could fall well below 15 million vehicles this year as
high gas prices and a sluggish economy sap demand, and warned
of another push by steelmakers to hike prices.
Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc may be able to
withstand estimated losses of $36 billion and remain in
business, and avoid an additional capital raise, said Ladenburg
Thalmann analyst Richard Bove, who narrowed his 2008 loss
forecast for the thrift.
Reuters - The U.S. Federal Reserve on
Wednesday is expected to hold interest rates steady and
indicate slightly greater unease on inflation, while stopping
well short of signaling higher borrowing costs are imminent.
Reuters - The Illinois attorney general's office
plans to sue Countrywide Financial Corp and Chief
Executive Angelo Mozilo on Wednesday, claiming the troubled
mortgage lender engaged in deceptive trade practices.
Reuters - Retailer Circuit City Stores Inc
has received buyout interest from several strategic and
financial bidders, including movie-rental company Blockbuster
Inc , and a sales agreement could be announced over the
next month, an institutional investor said on Tuesday.
AFP - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to propose rules that may diminish the traditional weight credit ratings carry in many markets, The Wall Street Journal reported online Tuesday.