Stocks erased losses, with investors taking tentative steps back after the previous session's battering, as fears about record oil prices were tempered by reports showing a rise in personal income and spending.
Pummeled by high gas prices, rising foreclosures and weak job growth, U.S. consumers’ mood turned even gloomier in June despite the stimulus checks they got from Uncle Sam, the University of Michigan says.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A portfolio manager at Legg Mason Capital Management, Yahoo Inc's third largest shareholder, said on Friday he is not sure if he will support activist investor Carl Icahn's board slate.
U.K. stocks wobble around the flat line as oil prices reach $142 a barrel, with the banking sector again under pressure after an alternative funding plan for struggling Bradford & Bingley was withdrawn.
Mobile-phone maker Sony Ericsson says it might not see any profit growth in the second quarter due to slowing demand for some of its higher-priced phones and a delay in shipping new models to the market.
Reuters - Federal Reserve officials worried in
March about credit risk to their own institution when launching
a lending facility to shield bond dealers from the credit woes
that felled Bear Stearns, minutes of emergency meetings in
mid-March released on Friday showed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials worried in March about credit risk to their own institution when launching a lending facility to shield bond dealers from the credit woes that felled Bear Stearns, minutes of emergency meetings in mid-March released on Friday showed.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Stocks fell again in early trade Friday, after a wobbly attempt to bounce back a day after a big plunge spurred by renewed concerns about financials, credit conditions and oil topping $140 for the first time.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - consumer confidence fell more than expected in June, hitting another 28-year low as surging prices and mounting job losses sapped sentiment, according to a survey released on Friday.
Palm Inc. shares fall in early trading Friday after the company reported a fourth-quarter loss and a drop in sales as its popular Centro smart phone was unable to make up for declines in other areas.
Reuters - consumer confidence fell more than
expected in June, hitting another 28-year low as surging prices
and mounting job losses sapped sentiment, according to a survey
released on Friday. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 2:01 pm
Reuters - consumer confidence fell more than
expected in June, hitting another 28-year low as surging prices
and mounting job losses sapped sentiment, according to a survey
released on Friday. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 2:01 pm
Ian King, the new chief executive of BAE Systems, has pledged to salvage the
reputation of Europe's largest defence company by turning it into a global
ethics leader. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:54 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Personal spending rose by a more-than-expected 0.8 percent in May as government stimulus checks bolstered household budgets, government data on Friday showed, while a key gauge of inflation stayed tame.
Tesco investors vote against plans to lift welfare standards for chickens backed by TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:40 pm
Reuters - Stocks inched higher at the open on
Friday as a muted reading in a key inflation gauge and signs
that consumer spending held up in May tempered worries about
record oil and the health of banks.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks inched higher at the open on Friday as a muted reading in a key inflation gauge and signs that consumer spending held up in May tempered worries about record oil and the health of banks.
Key European markets suffer declines in morning trading, following sharp falls in Asia and on New York's Wall Street. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:38 pm
Taiwan’s central bank has hiked its policy rates for a 16th straight quarter, citing inflation concerns, solid economic growth and low real interest rates.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc on Friday forecast 2008 earnings above analysts' estimates as it laid out a cost-cutting plan and explained its reasons for rejecting InBev NV's $46.3 billion bid.
The property market is stagnating, with the numbers of transactions for both
modest and deluxe homes down by an average of 50 per cent, according to
figures out today from the Land Registry. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:30 pm
Sony Ericsson warned on Friday that it would just break even in the second quarter, as sales of its mid and high-end mobile phones continued to disappoint.The profit warning its second this year demonstrates... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:30 pm
House prices in England and Wales were unchanged in May and up 1.8% over the year, the Land Registry says. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:25 pm
BOSTON (Reuters) - KB Home , the No. 5 U.S. home builder, posted a deeper quarterly loss on Friday on tumbling revenue as the United States faced its deepest housing slump in decades.
British investment group Resolution said Friday it had abandoned its funding plan for home-loans provider Bradford & Bingley because of opposition from management at the group it sought to... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:18 pm
AFP - British investment group Resolution said Friday it had abandoned its funding plan for home-loans provider Bradford & Bingley because of opposition from management at the group it sought to buy.
Reuters - Personal spending rose by a
more-than-expected 0.8 percent in May as government stimulus
checks bolstered household budgets, government data on Friday
showed, while a key gauge of inflation stayed tame.
"Make no mistake about it," U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said Monday while chairing a meeting of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. "Excessive speculation in commodity markets is having a devastating effect at the gas pump that is rippling through our entire economy."
US equity markets were set for a lower start and were poised for a fourth consecutive weekly drop, as oil prices surged higher, dragging on consumer-facing stocks and stoking fears of inflation Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:11 pm
US equity markets were set for a lower start on Friday and were poised for a fourth consecutive weekly drop, as oil prices surged higher, dragging on consumer-facing stocks and stoking fears of inflation... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:11 pm
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal, citing strong demand, said on Friday it was raising its prices for flat carbon steel in Europe by 50 euros to 770 euros (1,212 dollars) a tonne. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:09 pm
Confidence in the euro-zone economy dropped in June to its lowest level in nearly five years, a government survey said Friday, deepening an already gloomy growth outlook. The report also Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:09 pm
Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson warned Friday that its second-quarter results would be dented by a difficult commercial environment. "Difficult market conditions are going... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:07 pm
Cotton Supplies Forecast to Hit Historic Lows NEW YORK, June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite 2008's U.S. cotton acreage forecast at its lowest level in more than 20... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:00 pm
WASHINGTON, June 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) today announced a scheduled dividend rate for its Variable Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock Series Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:00 pm
WASHINGTON, June 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) will redeem the principal amounts indicated for the following securities issues on the redemption... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:00 pm
Will Focus on Enhanced Offerings to High Net Worth Clients NEW YORK, June 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ted A. Berenblum has been named head of alternative investments Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:49 pm
U.S. stocks are heading toward a modestly lower open after the government reported that personal spending and incomes jumped last month, as taxpayers started receiving stimulus checks. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:42 pm
KB Home says its losses widened during its second quarter as sales dropped. It also took charges to lower the value of inventory, joint venture deals and land option contracts. The Los... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:37 pm
Batten down the hatches: More Wall Street executives are saying they will give up their bonuses.
In the wake of losses sustained in the credit crunch, John Mack of Morgan Stanley gave up his 2007 bonus, as did top executives of Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch.
Lately, Lehman Brothers has been the Street's problem child, and Yalman Onaran of Bloomberg News reports that its C.E.O., Richard Fuld, and its president, Herbert (Bart) McDade, told the firm's managing directors this week that they will forgo 2008 bonuses.
The bonus is typically the majority of a Wall Street professional's annual compensation. But these are hard times, with credit markets mired and with deals and offerings chilled.
"I'd be surprised if other C.E.O.'s didn't give up their bonuses this year," Jeanne Branthover, the New York-based head of the financial-services practice at Boyden Global Executive Search, told Bloomberg.
Don't shed any tears for Fuld, however. The chief executive received $40 million last year, and nearly all of that was a bonus. Allan Sloan in Fortune recently calculated that Fuld has gained nearly $500 million from stock options and restricted stock awards since Lehman was spun off from American Express in 1994.
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil leapt to a new record high above $142 a barrel on Friday, extending gains after surging nearly 4 percent in the previous session, as tumbling global stock markets helped to trigger a wider commodities rally.
Reuters - InBev weighed up its next
move on Friday after turning tough with reluctant bid target
Anheuser-Busch to pressure the Budweiser brewer's
shareholders, although analysts do not see a hostile bid yet.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - InBev weighed up its next move on Friday after turning tough with reluctant bid target Anheuser-Busch to pressure the Budweiser brewer's shareholders, although analysts do not see a hostile bid yet.
Tim Davie, the BBC's marketing director, will replace Jenny Abramsky as
director of audio and music, putting him in control of the corporation's
radio operations. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:23 pm
The board of Bradford & Bingley was facing fierce criticism on Friday after Resolution withdrew its offer to inject 400m into the embattled mortgage lender, sending its shares plunging by nearly a... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:22 pm
Bradford & Binglsey shares slumped after Resolution dramatically withdrew its plan to invest £400m in the troubled mortgage lender. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:15 pm
Bradford & Binglsey shares slumped after Resolution dramatically withdrew its plan to invest 400m in the troubled mortgage lender. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:15 pm
Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson warns investors that its profits would be less than previously expected. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:14 pm
Retail gas and diesel prices eased overnight, a daily survey by motorist group AAA showed Friday, but continued near-record prices are expected to curtail Americans' travel plans during the July 4 holiday weekend.
Oil prices extended their record breaking run, driven higher by a cocktail of supply concerns, dollar weakness, inflation fears and turmoil in equity markets, as Opec president Chakib Khelil said crude could rise as high as $170 a barrel before easing back by the end of the year Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:08 pm
Oil prices extended their record breaking run on Friday after pushing above the $140 a barrel level for the first time in the previous session, driven higher by a cocktail of supply concerns, dollar weakness,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:08 pm
STOCKHOLM June 27 - Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson issued a profit warning on Friday, saying gross margins would be hit and the firm expected to about break even in the second quarter. Sony Ericsson,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:04 pm
Angelo Mozilo may be the busy chief executive of the nation's biggest mortgage lender, but it turns out he had time for many, many friends.
Two weeks ago, Daniel Golden reported on Portfolio.com how a little-known program at the lender Countrywide Financial provided mortgages at favorable terms to former cabinet members, a former ambassador, and two senators, including Christopher Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Countrywide's V.I.P. program waived points, lender fees, and company borrowing rules for its "friends." (For Portfolio.com's complete coverage of the Countrywide loan scandal click here.)
But it was not only elected officials and the powerful and politically connected who received the V.I.P. treatment.
James Hagerty and Glenn Simpson of the Wall Street Journalreport today that the program helped a number of others, including the daughter of a casino manager, former Indiana Pacers center Rik Smits, and former San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Harris Barton.
While the possible motivation for favorable loans to the politically connected is apparent, it's not why Mozilo might have recommended these customers.
The Journal says: "Mr. Mozilo regularly lined up loans for people he met, according to several current and former Countrywide executives. Said one: 'Angelo would call in and say, literally, My maid needs a loan.'"
The paper notes that while there is nothing illegal in offering loans at favorable terms, it is not necessarily in the interest of shareholders.
That problem will soon be Bank of America's, as its acquisition of Countrywide closes next week.
On Thursday, the bank said it would eliminate about 7,500 jobs, or more than 12 percent of the two companies' mortgage, home equity, and insurance businesses, after the merger.
Resolution today abruptly dropped its £400 million bailout bid for Bradford &
Bingley (B&B), the UK mortgage lender, blaming the board's refusal to open
its books for its decision to walk away. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Jun 2008 | 11:46 am
Crude oil surges to a record, breaking through $142 a barrel, on concerns that supply will not meet demand. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Jun 2008 | 11:41 am
Aiful, one of Japan's largest consumer finance groups, is considering legal action against Lehman Brothers, after a report this week by the US broker said the Japanese lender was "arguably insolvent" on... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 11:34 am
The stock market is nearly at the halfway point for the year. Investors, don't look back. It was ugly.
This morning, stock index futures are indicating that the market may steady today after a sharp drop on Thursday that took the market within a hair of being a bear market—or a fall of 20 percent since its high.
That decline came amid signs that banks and other financial institutions are still struggling to escape the credit quagmire. There may be more bad news to come: Roger Freeman, an analyst with Lehman Brothers, is now estimating that Merrill Lynch will need to take write-downs of as much as $5.4 billion in its second quarter, much higher than other analysts' estimates.
"We did a deeper review of Merrill's monoline exposures on non-A.B.S. C.D.O.'s (asset-backed security and collateralized debt obligation assets)," Freeman said, according to Reuters. "This incremental $1.7 billion of write-downs constitutes the majority of our adjustment."
Financial shares have led the recent market slump, assuming the role that internet stocks had in the bursting of the Nasdaq market bubble, notes E.S. Browning of the Wall Street Journal.
"The past months' cascading fall is reminiscent of how technology stocks led the way to the last bear market after the dotcom boom," Browning says.
Giving support to the stock index futures today has been shares of energy companies as crude-oil prices climb. The crude-oil futures benchmark rose as high as $141.71 in electronic trading this morning, while in London, Brent crude surged to $141.98 before retreating.
Asian markets closed sharply lower, while many European markets are lower at midday.
The Shanghai index tumbled 4.5 percent, while markets in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea all fell more than 2 percent.
"We've still got bad news on the credit crunch, we've got bad news about consumers," Garry Evans, an equity strategist at HSBC in Hong Kong, told the BBC.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 358 points, bringing it to a new low territory for the year, and its lowest level since September 2006. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes also fell, but they both remain above their lowest points for the year so far.
A fresh round of concerns in the financial and automotive sectors fueled the sell-off. Goldman Sachs analysts lowered their rating on shares of Citigroup, which fell more than 5 percent. The research analysts predicted that Citigroup will post another $8.9 billion in write-downs during the second quarter and will cut its dividend. Goldman also downgraded its view on the entire brokerage sector.
Goldman Sachs experienced some of the pain itself as well, after analysts at Wachovia Bank downgraded its rating on the investment bank because of overall weakness in the capital markets. Its shares lost more than 4 percent.
In coverage this morning, Goldman Sachs has come out and reiterated the firm's Cautious analyst coverage view for the corn-based ethanol producers. Specifically, the firm has reiterated its "SELL" ratings on: Aventine Renewable Energy (NYSE: AVR), Pacific Ethanol NASDAQ: PEIX), and VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE). The firm notes that corn markets are already short of supply already tight and that spot prices are now much higher because of the Midwest flooding. It also noted that the next big ramp-up in ethanol capacity will keep pressure on ethanol equities. As part of this call, Goldman Sachs made wider loss projections for...
EMI, the troubled music group, is close to appointing a little-known Italian
executive from the consumer goods industry to run its recorded music
division. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Jun 2008 | 11:14 am
These are the earl-bird upgrades and downgrades we are seeing in Telecom, Tech, and I.T. on this Friday morning with about two and a half hours to open: ARM Holdings (NASDAQ: ARMH) raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse. F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) started as Buy at Deutsche Bank. McAfee (NYSE: MFE) Started as Outperform at R.W.Baird. Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Started as Underperform at Credit Suisse. Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse. Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) Raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies. Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse. Tibco Software (NASDAQ: TIBX) Raised to Hold...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - American International Group Inc said it planned to absorb up to $5 billion on losses of sales of investments from a dozen insurance units hit by the subprime meltdown, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
The economy slowed to its weakest in three years in the first quarter despite
badly squeezed households drastically cutting back on saving to shore-up
their spending, official figures showed today. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Jun 2008 | 10:53 am
More rate rises are expected as Indian inflation reaches the highest level since records began 13 years ago. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Jun 2008 | 10:47 am
As you may already know, June is the most popular month in this country for weddings. So now that the marrying month is almost over, I thought it might be a good idea to turn the focus to - what else? - divorce!
London equities made tentative gains on Friday after the previous session's sharp sell off took almost 150 points off the FTSE 100.The modest rise was driven by resource stocks as investors continued to... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 10:42 am
Prudential has decided against freeing an 8.7bn surplus in its life funds, closing the door on a potential windfall for 4m of the UK insurer's policyholders."Our overriding priority is to maintain the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 10:31 am
The Wall Street Journal has unearthed a memo from Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft (MSFT). In it, he lays out some of his plans for the company. The program falls into four buckets. The first is that he will more carefully monitor the launch of Windows 7, which will eventually replace the doomed Vista OS. Next, he will set up a structure which allows the operating groups within the company to work more closely together. Third, he wants to build out a consumer electronics group. As the paper writes, "He now is pushing to more aggressively attack the consumer market...
European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson accused Russian shareholders of "menacing"
behaviour yesterday in the struggle for control of TNK-BP. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Jun 2008 | 10:19 am
Tesco, Britain's largest supermarket, today defeated a proposal from Hugh
Fearnley-Whittingstall, the celebrity chef, to invest in improving living
conditions for the chickens it sells in its stores. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Jun 2008 | 10:08 am
Japanese inflation is at its highest level for a decade driven by rising oil and commodity prices. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Jun 2008 | 10:06 am
The dollar lost ground on Friday as falling equities and rising oil prices sparked a fresh wave of risk aversion. Analysts said the dollar suffered as the sell-off on global equities markets was triggered... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jun 2008 | 10:04 am
AP - Asian stock markets tumbled Friday amid growing alarm as oil prices spiked above $141 a barrel for the first time and Wall Street plummeted overnight.
Prudential, the UK's second largest insurer, sensationally dropped plans to
return some of the £8.7 billion of extra capital in its with-profits fund to
policyholders today in a move set to enrage some of the 4.5 million
customers that will now lose out. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Jun 2008 | 9:49 am
After over a year of playing cat and mouse, it looks like Apple (AAPL) may be close to a deal with China Mobile (CHL) to sell the iPhone on the mainland. Since the country has more cellular subscribers that any nation in the world and the base is growing rapidly, it may be the most critical deal Apple can strike to drive rapid adoption of its newest product. The problem that China Mobile has had with Mr. Jobs is that he wanted a piece of the subscription revenue from each customer who bought the phone. He seems to have dropped...
If the stock market crashes, it could bite a number of parts of the economy, and bite them hard. There are several things that Congress could do to help the situation, although the government body is almost always slow to act. The laundry list is short, but a 2,000 point drop in the Dow could wipe out the savings of many of America's older citizens and some of the so-called baby boombers. With home prices falling, a big sell-off could take the net worth of many citizens to zero. 1. Eliminate the tax on dividends. This would drive buyers into...
The Russian co-owners of TNK-BP threaten legal action following the election of a new board of directors. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Jun 2008 | 8:05 am
According to Reuters, M&A activity is down sharply. Reuters writes that Anheuser-Busch (BUD) turned down an offer from InBeve. Reuters reports that Yahoo! (YHOO) has realigned its senion management Reuters reports that China Mobile (CHL) said it was making progress with Apple (AAPL) on iPhone distribution. The Wall Street Journal reports that Mozilo of Countrywide (CFC) helped many people get loans. The Wall Street Journal writes that the Fed will make it easier for private equity firms to invest in banks. The Wall Street Journal writes that IACI (IACI) will take a $300 million goodwill hit. The Wall Street Journal...
Markets in Asia were down sharply. The Nikkei fell 2% to 13,544. The Hang Seng fell 1.8% to 22,055. The Shanghai Composite fell 5.3% to 2,746. Data from MarketWatch Douglas A. McIntyre
Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world and one of the foremost figures in technology, today steps down as head of Microsoft to concentrate on the philanthropic projects supported by his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 7:11 am
Global stock markets tumbled as a weak dollar pushed the oil price over $140 a barrel for the first time in London and New York. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 6:40 am
Defence giant BAE Systems appoints Ian King as its new chief executive to succeed Mike Turner in September. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Jun 2008 | 6:33 am
The New Zealand dollar rebounded today from an overnight slump despite soft GDP data.
In a counter-intuitive move the kiwi climbed against all currencies despite news the economy shrank by 0.3 per cent in the March quarter.
ANZ... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 5:35 am
Shares in Diligent Board Member Services lost another 23 per cent today and those who bought into the New York-based software company have seen 77 per cent of its value eroded since the Initial Public Offering (IPO) in December.
The... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 4:52 am
Christchurch-based retailer Smiths City Group said today its net profit fell 1.7 per cent to $3.56 million in the year to April.
Operating revenues fell 7.2 per cent to $252.4m, mostly reflecting the sale of its Christchurch-based... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 4:31 am
The economy shrank by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2008, taking it halfway to what many commentators expect will be a technical recession - two quarterly declines in a row.
The agriculture and construction industries were... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 3:00 am
Mortgage holders are set to be spared more interest rate discomfort next week with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) expected to keep rates on hold.
None of the 19 economists surveyed by AAP have forecast a rate rise on July... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 2:00 am
The sharemarket has fallen sharply today to a 2-1/2 year low, sparked by a profit downgrade by retailer The Warehouse and a 3 per cent plunge on Wall Street.
By 1.20pm, the market had fallen 2.55 per cent.
GDP data due today... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 2:00 am
The only good thing about this morning's March quarter GDP numbers is that they were no worse than the financial markets were already expecting.
The production measure of GDP shrank 0.3 per cent, bang on the market consensus, and... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 1:00 am
Investors looking to dive into London Stock Exchange's new "dark liquidity pool" trading platform would do well to take a financial dictionary and some water purification tablets with them. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Global stock markets tumbled as a weak dollar pushed the oil price over $140 a barrel for the first time in London and New York. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Europe's mobile phone giants have slammed calls from Europe to cut by 70pc the amount they charge for handling each other's calls. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
American brewer Anheuser-Busch has rejected a $46.3bn hostile takeover bid from InBev, saying it undervalues the company. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Halifax owner HBOS has secured shareholder support for its £4bn rights issue after an overwhelming majority of investors voted in favour of the fundraising at its meeting in Edinburgh. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Global markets tumbled as a weak dollar pushed the oil price over $140 a barrel for the first time in London and New York. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Public transport operator Arriva says its revenue will increase by over 50pc in the first half of this year, further evidence that a growing number of people are ditching their cars for bus and train travel because of fuel prices. Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Four international airlines have agreed to pay $US504 million in fines to settle charges they conspired to fleece consumers by driving up cargo shipping prices.
The Justice Department called the case one of the largest antitrust... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Jun 2008 | 12:00 am
InBev, the world's largest brewer, said it would launch a hostile bid for Anheuser-Busch as its US rival rejected its $46bn bid as "financially inadequate" Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Jun 2008 | 11:59 pm
Pumpkin Patch, the children's clothing chain that has grown to 227 stores, said slowing economic growth in its biggest markets of Australia and New Zealand is resulting in only a "minor softening" in sales, website sharechat.co.nz... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 26 Jun 2008 | 11:30 pm
Fonterra may link with National Foods and Warrnambool Cheese and Butter in a joint bid for Australia's Dairy Farmers, which is valued at up to A$1 billion ($961.5 million), according to Australian media reports.
In an unsourced... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 26 Jun 2008 | 11:00 pm
Soaring energy prices are forcing Procter & Gamble to rethink how it distributes its products, with the world's biggest consumer goods company shifting manufacturing sites closer to consumers to cut its transport bill Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:33 pm
Verizon Communications has stepped up the pressure on Vodafone to sell out of Verizon Wireless, their mobile joint venture, saying that the second largest US telecoms company intends to be "the hunter" in future industry consolidation Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:33 pm
The value of mergers and acquisitions in the first half sank by nearly a third from the same period last year to $1,860bn as the collapse of the buy-out boom prompted a steep drop in the number of high-value deals Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:33 pm
The US is taking North Korea off its state sponsors of terrorism list in return for a long-awaited declaration by Pyongyang about its nuclear activities Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:27 pm
Chinese officials are condemning houses damaged by the recent earthquake as part of the clean-up effort, but some residents fear officials are just paving the way for new development. Lisa Chow reports. Source: Marketplace | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:26 pm
Although Britain has sanctions against Zimbabwe's government, some British-owned businesses are still pumping money into the African nation. Stephen Beard reports. Source: Marketplace | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:26 pm
Violence across Mexico has intensified as the government has fought against the country's powerful drug cartels, often well-armed from the U.S. Host Bob Moon asks journalist James Verini what can be done to stem the cross-border arms trade. Source: Marketplace | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:26 pm
As the co-founder of Microsoft leaves to focus on his charitable work, the business world pauses to look back on the legacy of one of the most successful businessmen in history. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports. Source: Marketplace | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:26 pm
After North Korea released details on its nuclear program, President Bush lifted some sanctions against the communist nation. Host Bob Moon talks with professor David Kang about the impact of the new developments. Source: Marketplace | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:26 pm
California has released its plans to achieve the goals of landmark global warming legislation it passed in 2006. The state wants to reduce greenhouse emissions and ramp up renewable energy production by 2020. Sam Eaton reports. Source: Marketplace | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:26 pm
Home sellers who managed to avoid foreclosure are now posting some pretty steep asking prices, which could draw out the housing crisis even longer. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports. Source: Marketplace | 26 Jun 2008 | 10:26 pm
Gazprom set out a vaulting vision of its future status as the world's most powerful energy company as it belittled Opec, saying the oil producers' cartel had in effect lost control of the market Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Jun 2008 | 9:43 pm
XM Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR) and its XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. announced in a filing today that (on June 26, 2008) it has entered into a Credit Agreement relating to a $100 million term loan with UBS AG. XM said it has used a portion of the loan proceeds to repay the previously disclosed draw under its $150 million GM credit facility. Following the repayment, XM noted in the filing that it has full access to the GM credit facility. On June 26, 2008, the lenders who are party to XM’s $250 million revolving secured facility entered into...
Chances are that if you weren't short selling all day, this was another ugly summer day that made you want to panic. Covering the market wasn't any more fun either. But imagine that there were some key stock winners on a day where oil breaks above $140.00 per barrel and when the DJIA, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 were all down roughly 3%. You might think you'd have to be Dr. Pangloss for any positive takes, but here are a few key stock winners: Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) closed up 4.27% at $29.79 after beating earnings the night...
Things were supposed to be bad at Palm (PALM), but, based on earnings, they were even worse. The firm, which has products which compete with the Apple (AAPL) iPhone and RIM (RIMM) Blackberry, among others, posted a loss of $41 million on revenue of $296 million. For the quarter ending May 31 a year ago, the numbers were much better. Revenue was $410 million and the company had a $17 million net profit. According to the company "Smartphone sell-through for the quarter reached a record high, totaling 968,000 units, up 29 percent year over year." That means the price that...
Over the past 35 years, the biotechnology industry has produced a number of modern medical miracles and has generated a great deal of hope for more. But it has never turned a profit.
In the past decade, losses have averaged $4 billion to $5 billion a year, peaking in 2006 with a net loss of $7.3 billion. The deficit shrank to $2.7 billion last year, although if one were to remove the few (hugely) profitable companies, such as Genentech and Amgen, the industrywide losses would have been much worse.
Losses are only a symptom of a deeper problem: A shrinking number of new drugs to show for all the investment. The Food and Drug Administration approved only 17 new drug entities last year, compared with two or three times that number 10 years ago. The failure rate in biotech now stands at almost 9 out of 10 drugs that enter human clinical trials.
Despite all this, biotech posted an all-time global high in 2007 of venture-capital investments, $7.5 billion. And the industry is growing: It has more than 4,000 companies in operation running 400 drugs in human trials, according to the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
If this enthusiasm for an unprofitable industry seems misplaced, consider one of the big stories coming out of the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s annual bacchanal last week in San Diego: State governments are racing to invest billions of taxpayer dollars in biotech.
On the first day of the meeting, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts touted his recent signing of a $1 billion biotech bill for his state. Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland was there, too, talking up the $1.1 billion his state is planning to spend on biotech. A few days later, Maryland added another $500 million to the pot.
Meanwhile, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California talked up his state's $3 billion stem-cell initiative. Passed by voters in 2004 but delayed until last year by legal challenges, the massive public initiative is already pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into biotech and basic science in the Golden State.
This comes on top of $1 billion committed last year in Florida to biotechnology projects, and billions more in other states, not to mentions dozens of nations around the world.
What is the reason for this largess, public and private, for an industry perennially in the red?
For private investors, there is the Hollywood blockbuster mentality: Most movies lose money, but a few make a killing. Likewise, biotech is a high-risk, high-reward venture, and a hit, like Amgen’s Epogen, can rake in billions of dollars a year.
In a report issued at the San Diego conference, the accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young compared biotech to gambling. “With such steep odds,” it said, "successfully commercializing a product is, in effect, the equivalent of winning the drug-development lottery."
For states, there is the hope of becoming a “biotech cluster,” as San Diego and San Francisco have done. For a lucky few localities, biotech has indeed attracted thousands of highly educated workers with high salaries. Biotech also is innovative and mostly clean, and brings with it something politicians love to bask in: a high-gloss focus on the future.
Never mind that creating a biotech cluster has proven to be extremely tough, requiring a critical mass of world-class research institutions, risk-loving investors, and entrepreneurial moxie that few locales have been able to muster.
If this were any other industry, it’s hard to imagine billions flowing from venture capitalists and states given the risks and perpetual losses, even if there are a few huge hits. But biotech creates products that are designed to treat and cure the sick, a motivation that overrides rational business calculations for some people.
Schwarzenegger made this point during a lunch keynote at the BIO conference when he talked about how Alzheimer’s disease has afflicted his father-in-law, Sergeant Shriver, the close aide and confident of President John F. Kennedy. On bad days now, he can’t remember his daughter and Arnold’s wife, Maria Shriver, or much else that matters.
No cure exists for Alzheimer’s, but more than 40 drugs are currently in human testing. Perhaps it’s the nature of the science that 40 attempts are needed to get one or two successes, though there is no guarantee that any of the 40 will work, though everyone is rooting for success.
Historically, there are periods when investors flee biotech, but for the moment biotech is hot – so was dealmaking, partying, and swag-collecting at BIO. It's all either a testament to human hope, or to our ability to believe that if one rolls the dice enough times they can come up a winner.
For equity investors, the first half of 2008 will officially be remembered as a wash.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 358 points today, bringing it to a new low territory for the year, and its lowest level since September 2006. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes also fell, but they both remain above their lowest points for the year so far.
A fresh round of concerns in the financial and automotive sectors fueled the sell-off. Goldman Sachs analysts downgraded shares of Citigroup, which fell more than 5 percent. The research analysts predicted that Citigroup will post another $8.9 billion in write-downs during the second quarter and will cut its dividend. Goldman also downgraded its view on the entire brokerage sector.
Goldman Sachs experienced some of the pain itself as well, after analysts at Wachovia Bank downgraded its rating on the investment bank due to overall weakness in the capital markets. Its shares lost more than 4 percent.
Shares of General Motorsfell to their lowest level since 1955 after Goldman Sachs issued a rare "sell" rating on the stock. The analysts believe the troubled automaker will be forced to raise capital as the conditions in the automotive market continue to worsen. G.M. shares tumbled more than 10 percent.
Indeed, one of the pressures on the auto industry is the rising cost of oil, which also contributed to the selling frenzy on Wall Street today.
The price of a barrel of oil jumped more than $5 to just past the $140 mark this afternoon after Libya said it may cut its oil production and the president of OPEC predicted prices reaching $150 to $170 a barrel later this summer.
This news comes just a day after the Federal Reserve left short-term interest rates unchanged, but cited inflationary pressures as an ongoing concern, as downside risks to economic expansion seem to have diminished. Plenty of Fed watchers had predicted that it would raise rates during the next meeting in August to combat rising inflation.
But they may reconsider that forecast if these economic concerns continue to mount, making the possibility of a recession a greater worry on investors' minds than inflation.
Airlines and price-fixing sometimes seem to go hand in hand.
In the annals of antitrust enforcement, a great chestnut is the tape-recorded conversation of Robert Crandall, the chief executive of American Airlines, who, in 1982, infamously told the chief executive of Braniff: "Raise your goddamn fares 20 percent. I'll raise mine the next morning."
The taste for price-fixing seems to extend to rates for air cargo. Today, the Justice Department announced a settlement with five major airlines, which agreed to pay criminal fines totaling $504 million for participating in a multiyear conspiracy to fix prices for air-cargo rates.
Air France-KLM is paying $350 million—the second-highest criminal fine levied in an antitrust prosecution. The other airlines pleading guilty are Cathay Pacific Airways, which is paying $60 million, Martinair Holland N.V., which is paying $42 million, and SAS Cargo Group, which is paying $52 million.
Air cargo may sound like a decidedly unglamorous corner of the airline industry, but the Justice Department prosecutors noted that fixing these prices has a wide impact on the American economy.
"Millions of American consumers and thousands of businesses—from the corner store to the biggest corporation—rely on the transportation industry to provide the products we buy, sell, and use every day. This price-fixing conspiracy undermines our economy and harms the American people who, due to lack of true competition, end up footing the bill," Kevin O'Connor, the associate attorney general, said in a statement announcing the charges.
The conspiracy began as early as January 1, 2000 and continued through February 14, 2006, according to the criminal information filed today.
The guilty pleas are the latest in a continuing investigation of the transportation industry. In August 2007, British Airways and Korean Air pleaded guilty, and each agreed to pay a $300 million fine for fixing cargo rates on international shipments. In January, Qantas Airways pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a $61 million fine. And in May, Japan Airlines pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $110 million.
Last month, Bruce McCaffrey, Qantas' former highest ranking executive in the U.S., pleaded guilty and agreed to serve eight months in jail.
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Reuters - Federal Reserve officials worried in
March about credit risk to their own institution when launching
a lending facility to shield bond dealers from the credit woes
that felled Bear Stearns, minutes of emergency meetings in
mid-March released on Friday showed.
Reuters - Stocks inched higher at the open on
Friday as a muted reading in a key inflation gauge and signs
that consumer spending held up in May tempered worries about
record oil and the health of banks.
AFP - British investment group Resolution said Friday it had abandoned its funding plan for home-loans provider Bradford & Bingley because of opposition from management at the group it sought to buy.
Reuters - Personal spending rose by a
more-than-expected 0.8 percent in May as government stimulus
checks bolstered household budgets, government data on Friday
showed, while a key gauge of inflation stayed tame.
Reuters - InBev weighed up its next
move on Friday after turning tough with reluctant bid target
Anheuser-Busch to pressure the Budweiser brewer's
shareholders, although analysts do not see a hostile bid yet.
AP - Asian stock markets tumbled Friday amid growing alarm as oil prices spiked above $141 a barrel for the first time and Wall Street plummeted overnight.