`Amazing Kreskin' Says He'll Solve Crime on New TV Show


Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:18 pm

Beazer narrows loss, but says homebuyers 'remain reluctuant'

Beazer Homes USA Inc. on Friday reported a narrower quarterly loss, but revenue continued to fall and the company said potential customers anxious over further price declines remain wary of purchasing new homes.


Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:16 pm

Wall St set for flat open, Fannie Mae down (Reuters)

The New York Times and The Wall Street Jounal are displayed at a newsstand on Monday, July 28, 2008 in New York. News Corp. says fiscal fourth-quarter earnings jumped 27 percent, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2008, on profit from the sale of assets and higher operating earnings in its film, cable networks and newspaper units. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)Reuters - Stocks headed for a flat open on Friday after home finance company Fannie Mae posted a fourth straight quarterly loss and slashed its dividend, tempering optimism spurred by a further slide in oil prices.



Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:13 pm

Rio Tinto's coal arm, Cloud Peak, eyes $1 billion IPO

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Cloud Peak Energy, the U.S. coal producer arm of Rio Tinto, is considering a $1 billion initial public offering, the company said Friday.


Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:13 pm

MBIA reports surprise profit of $1.7 billion

MBIA Inc. reported a surprise second-quarter net income of almost $2 billion on Friday as the bond insurer booked gains on credit derivatives.


Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:13 pm

Beijing opens Olympics with elaborate ceremony

The 29th Olympic Games opened in Beijing Friday with an elaborate ceremony punctuated by a dramatic fireworks display and a cast of thousands of performers.


Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:11 pm

Futures Movers: Crude futures down more than 2%, pressured by dollar rally

Crude-oil futures trade down more than 2% near $117 a barrel, as a broad rally in the U.S. dollar weigh on dollar-denominated commodities.


Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:10 pm

WPP going for gold in Beijing

Shares in the world's largest advertising group, WPP, have enjoyed medal winning performances during four of the past five Olympics Games.
Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:05 pm

Can Apple Put iPhone Rumors To Bed? (AAPL)

Iphone_logo Usually rumors on new technology items create buzz or create hype for shareholders, but they can also create unrealistic expectations that ultimately hurt the stock.  Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been under the cloud already with only about one month under its belly of 3G iPhones.

The rumor mill has been saying that Apple would release a downsized version of the iPhone.  Essentially the rumors are about an iPhone Nano.  Even Business Week has covered it.  The prevailing rumor for a stripped down and smaller version of the iPhone due sometime around Christmas.

There is just one small problem.  Apple cut its iPhone prices shortly after launching last year and took a little PR hit despite lowering the entry price to bring in more customers.  Then its 3G version came out roughly a year later with strong demand.

But a newer version of the iPhone within months of the huge launch? This might create confusion or might create some resentment from those who have lined up to buy each wave of products.  Apple is cool.  Apple fasion.  But if the company is going to make these bits of fashion as seasonal and irrelevant as fast as a one season clothing item, then customers may start feeling more resentment.

In today's economy, keeping up with the Jones's is easier to do.  But having to constantly up-spend to keep up with them isn't the right call right now.  We won't address how Apple handled the Steve Jobs health rumors.

Jon C. Ogg
August 8, 2008


Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:02 pm

Earnings Watch: Updates, advisories and surprises

A roundup of the latest corporate earnings reports and what companies are saying about future quarters.


Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:01 pm

NewsWatch: U.S. stock futures point to mixed start after productivity data

U.S. stock futures on Friday pointed to an indecisive start on Wall Street as the dollar rallied but Fannie Mae’s loss widened, with the mortgage giant slashing its dividend.


Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:00 pm

Indications: U.S. stock futures point to mixed start after productivity data

U.S. stock futures on Friday pointed to an indecisive start on Wall Street as the dollar rallied but Fannie Mae’s loss widened, with the mortgage giant slashing its dividend.


Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:59 pm

Economic Report: Productivity stays solid as hours worked fall, U.S. data show

U.S. firms cut back on their employees’ working hours in the second quarter, keeping productivity growth relatively high, according to Labor Department data.


Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:59 pm

No way out

Proposed solutions may make the credit crunch worse
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:54 pm

MySpace: Making free music pay

It's been the talk of the music industry for months. Perhaps as soon as September, MySpace, the huge social networking site with 120 million users, will unveil an ad-supported music service with free songs from three of the four major record labels: Universal, Sony and Warner Music. MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe has promised it will launch "a new chapter in the story of modern music."


Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:51 pm

Credit expenses lead to $2.3 bln loss at Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae posts a $2.3 billion loss as the biggest U.S. buyer of home mortgages says the struggling housing market and credit expenses again hurt its performance during the second quarter. Investors react negatively. Fannie CEO issues gloomy forecast for home prices.


Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:51 pm

Fannie Mae puts pressures on US stocks

Wall Street was set for a higher start on Friday as oil prices resumed their slide but the advance was pared by weak results and a dividend cut from Fannie Mae, the embattled mortgage giant
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:47 pm

Fannie Mae puts pressures on US stocks

Wall Street stocks were set for a higher start on Friday, and poised for a second week of modest gains, as oil prices resumed their slide but the advance was pared by weak results and a dividend cut from...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:47 pm

Georgia on brink of war with Russia

Georgia has warned that Moscow and Tbilisi would be in "a state of war" if reports of Russian tanks, military trucks and troops entering South Ossetia proved true
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:46 pm

Falling oil leads retreat across commodities

Oil prices fell on Friday, resuming their downward correction, while gold retreated as recovery in the dollar dented sentiment in commodity market. Base metals also moved lower amid concerns about a slowdown...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:45 pm

U.S. boosts McDonald's July same-store sales

CHICAGO (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp said on Friday that global sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 8 percent in July, as the key U.S. market posted its largest gain in five months.


Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:43 pm

GM says to spend $900 million on restructuring

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp said on Thursday it expects to spend $900 million over the next few years to adjust its manufacturing capacity, including closing plants and reducing output.


Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:42 pm

GM agrees to lend Delphi $300 mln more

(Reuters) - General Motors Corp agreed to lend Delphi Corp a further $300 million as the automaker's former parts unit struggles to exit bankruptcy protection, courts papers show.


Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:41 pm

Fannie Mae unveils loss of $2.3bn

US mortgage finance company Fannie Mae plunges $2.3bn into the red as a result of housing market woes.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:37 pm

More pain at Fannie - $2.3 billion loss

Mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae reported a much larger-than-expected loss in the second quarter and slashed its dividend Friday, more signs that the problems in housing and financial markets are not over.


Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:35 pm

Stocks' outlook clouded by Fannie

Stocks pointed to a sluggish open Friday as a steep loss from the troubled mortgage financier Fannie Mae rattled investors, even as oil prices extended their decline and the U.S. dollar gained strength.


Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:32 pm

Futures flat; Fannie Mae loss offsets oil

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Friday as news of a fourth straight quarterly loss by home finance company Fannie Mae offset lower oil prices.


Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:31 pm

MBIA posts surprise profit


Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:30 pm

UBS agrees to buy back stricken bond debt: source

LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Embattled Swiss bank UBS is close to buying back billions of dollars in bond debt whose value collapsed during the global financial crisis, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.


Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:29 pm

No Matter How Hard It Tries, McDonald's (MCD) Can't Stop Growing

RonaldmcdonaldMcDonald's (MCD) may be raising the prices on its "Happy Meals" and offering less attractive "Dollar Menus" None of that seems to matter. In July, same-store sales moved up 8%. Sales at worldwide restaurants rose 15.9.

McDonald's said that US revenue was helped by breakfast traffic.

In Europe, results were especially strong, pushed ahead by 7.6%. The people on the continent used to be great chefs, but that must be over.

Douglas A. McIntyre


Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:26 pm

Fannie Mae posts hefty loss, cuts dividend (Reuters)

Construction workers are seen at a townhouse complex in a Denver, Colorado suburb May 16, 2008. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)Reuters - Fannie Mae , the largest U.S. home funding source, on Friday posted its fourth straight quarterly loss as home loan defaults increased and said it would slash its dividend more than 85 percent and take other steps to shore up its capital position.



Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:24 pm

Fannie Mae posts hefty loss, cuts dividend (Reuters)

Construction workers are seen at a townhouse complex in a Denver, Colorado suburb May 16, 2008. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)Reuters - Fannie Mae , the largest U.S. home funding source, on Friday posted its fourth straight quarterly loss as home loan defaults increased and said it would slash its dividend more than 85 percent and take other steps to shore up its capital position.



Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:24 pm

Fannie Mae posts hefty loss, cuts dividend

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fannie Mae, the largest U.S. home funding source, on Friday posted its fourth straight quarterly loss as home loan defaults increased and said it would slash its dividend more than 85 percent and take other steps to shore up its capital position.


Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:23 pm

Fannie Mae (FNM): Misery Loves Company

FanniemaeWhy should Freddie Mac (FRE), the big banks and large brokerage firms have all the fun losing billions of dollars. Fannie Mae crashed the party today by announcing mind-boggling losses and cutting its dividend. The push shares down 13%

The mortgage company reported a loss of $2.3 billion, or $2.54 a share. According to MarketWatch, Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research were expecting the big mortgage buyer to report a loss of 91 cents a share.

Fannie Mae also cuts its dividend to $.05 from $.35. So much for that attractive yield.

Douglas A. McIntrye


Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:20 pm

Oil sinks as dollar hits 5-month high

Oil prices fell Friday as the dollar rallied strongly against slumping foreign currencies.


Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:18 pm

UBS agrees to buy back stricken bond debt: source (Reuters)

The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen on a building in Zurich July 8, 2008. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)Reuters - Embattled Swiss bank UBS is close to buying back billions of dollars in bond debt whose value collapsed during the global financial crisis, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.



Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:11 pm

McCain's nuclear plan: Doable, but risky

John McCain's call for a big push into nuclear power in order to become more energy independent can certainly be met, if the country is willing to pay more for power and tolerate the safety risks.


Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:10 pm

What Happened To All Of The Safe Haven Stocks? (AAPL)(WMT)(T)(GOOG)(XOM)(GE)

WmtAfter Wal-Mart (WMT) announced its outstanding June numbers, Wall St. said the company was actually “recession proof”. Consumers, beat down by high gas and commodities prices, could turn to Wal-Mart to get relatively high quality goods and groceries at low prices. That would give its same-store sales a boost that might last throughout a recession. The power of the opinion lasted one month. Wal-Mart’s same-store sales were weak in July.

Investors have begun to turn to Wal-Mart as a safe haven. The company has a strong balance sheet, good cash flow, and a modest 1.7% yield. The shares were supposed to hold up as the stock market went down. The stock was almost $61 before Wal-Mart posted its July numbers. Then, it collapsed straight down to under $57.

Wal-Mart joins a list of large-cap stocks which were supposed to be good investments as the economy slowed. Most of the corporations on that list have proven that they don’t belong. For some of them, it only took one quarter’s results.

Ge_largeGE (GE) had been high on the list for almost a year going into 2008. Its shares made it to $42 last October. The case in favor of the company was that its businesses were diversified and that it does a lot of business overseas in fast-growing economies. Even with its stock way up, it had a yield of over 2%. Then GE posted its Q1 and Q2 earnings. Two things were clear. The first was that GE had some divisions which were doing badly in a tough economy. Medical equipment and industrial products were at the top of that list. And, the slowdown in the US was not limited to the US. GE earnings showed that there was some softness overseas.

Applelogo1Apple (AAPL) was a “fail safe” stock. Sales growth of its iPod continued to move up well as the year passed. The market was pleasantly surprised that sales of the Mac grew faster than the PC market as a whole. The iPhone was considered a sure-fire product. Initial sales of the handset hit a million units in the first three days it was on the market.  Before announcing its most recent quarter and its forecast for the rest of the year, the stock nearly hit $190. But, Apple’s projections for the rest of the year were below what Wall St. expected. Its shares dropped to just above $153 and have not recovered much since.

Tx00338coilwellgusherodessatexasp_2Exxon Mobil (XOM) should have been another big winner. The world’s largest oil company posted a massive $11 billion profit for the last quarter. With oil well above $120, an economic slowdown would not matter to the company. But, oil prices have started to move south and investors began to focus on the part of Exxon which is doing very poorly. Its refinery operations are losing their margins. As the price of oil rises, Exxon cannot quickly pass those increases onto retailers of oil and gas and manufacturers of oil by-products. Exxon was a $95 stock in May. Now it trades below $78.

GoogGoogle (GOOG) was another lock as a stock that would do well through a recession. It owns so much of the search market that advertisers should not have been able to stop using it to generate leads, even in a slow business environment. Early in the year,the market was concerned that even Google might get bitten a tiny amount by a poor advertising environment. When it turned in its Q1 results that did not turn out to be true. Google jumped from $450 to almost $600 in just a few weeks. Wall St. looked at those numbers and saw a good year for Google. That was until its Q2 figures came out. The recession had hit Google with some force. Its shares immediately sold off to just above $460.

Angrybear_3 AT&T(T) has a cellular unit which has been growing so fast that it has jet propelled the company’s earnings for the last three years. Since cell phone use is almost universal, even in a poor economy it is a business which should hold its own. AT&T has also been making inroads with cable company customers. Its fiber TV and broadband product are supposed to offer higher connection speeds than cable does. That means it can market more high definition channels and faster broadband. All of those good expectations moved AT&T shares up to almost $41 in May.  But, then the company put out its most recent numbers. They showed that the company’s huge landline business was being plagued by customer losses as the economy slowed and some people decided to keep only one phone line—their cell. The quarterly report also indicated that cable companies were taking away landline customers with VoIP. All of that bad news pushed AT&T down to $30.

Each of these companies will be around for decades, but many of them have underperformed the Dow in the last quarter. They are hardly “safe” for investors who want to preserve capital in a bad market. If these firms can’t post promising results, not many companies can.

Douglas A. McIntyre


Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:08 pm

Where the big jobs are

Despite the slump at lowlier levels of the job market, there's currently a war for senior management talent. In fact, 70% of executive recruiters surveyed by networking organization ExecuNet (www.execunet.com), say there's a shortage of people who can step in and run things.


Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:57 am

Beazer posts deeper-than-expected loss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Beazer Homes USA Inc on Friday posted a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss as the builder labored under the sharpest housing market downturn in decades and a federal investigation into its accounting.


Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:52 am

Analyst Downgrades 8/8/2008

Angrybear_2Ambac Financial (ABK) Cut To Underweight at JPMorgan.

Ann Talor (AMM) Cut to Market Perform at FBR

Bank of America (BAC) Cut to Neutral at UBS

FEMSA (FMX) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Hansen Natural (HANS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Home Inss & Hotels (HMIN) kept as Buy but Target Cut to $22.40 at Citigroup.
IBM (IBM) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Lexmark (LXK) Started as Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Murphy Oil (MUR) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Sin Microsystems (JAVA) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
3-D Systems (TDSC) Cut To Sell at Piper Kafray.
TheKnot (KNOT) Cut to Hold at Deutsche bank.
Wal-Mart (WMT) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.
Jon C. Ogg
August 8, 2008


Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:48 am

Analyst Upgrades 8/8/2008

Cammonopoly_wideweb__430x3250_2Apple (APPL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse

Dell (DELL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

EMC (EMC) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse

Gibraltar Industries (ROCK) Raised to Outperform at Baird.

Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR) Started as Buy at SunTrust.

Lifetime Firness (LTM) Started as Outperfoprm at Morgan Keegan

Qwest (Q) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Jon C. Ogg
August 8, 2008


Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:46 am

Strengthening dollar boosts European stocks

European shares climbed higher on Friday as a recovery in the greenback boosted companies which rely on the US for earnings, offsetting weakness in commodities stocks. At lunchtime, the FTSE Eurofirst...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:41 am

RBS slumps to loss after 5.9bn writedown

Troubled markets led Royal Bank of Scotland to report the first loss in its 40-year history as a public company as it wrote down the value of many of its credit market assets by 5.9bn.Britain's second-biggest...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:33 am

RBS slumps to loss after £5.9bn writedown

The UK's second largest bank reported a loss for the first time in its 40-year history after writing down the value of its credit market assets by £5.9bn
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:33 am

TNK-BP's Robert Dudley escapes three-year Russia ban and fined £10

Robert Dudley, chief executive of TNK-BP, BP’s troubled Russian 50-50 joint venture, escaped a possible three-year ban from doing his job today after a Moscow court said he had broken the Russian labour code.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:31 am

UK home repossessions rise by 41%

The number of properties repossessed by mortgage lenders in the UK rose by 41% in the first half of 2008, to 18,900.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:28 am

Google: AOL stake may be a loser

Read full story for latest details.


Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:22 am

UBS is close to $25bn securities settlement$

UBS, the embattled investment bank, is poised to pay $25 billion ($£13 billion) to settle lawsuits relating to its role in the collapsed auction-rate securities market in what would be by far the largest deal so far.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:18 am

RBS suffers first-ever loss after $11 bln writedown

LONDON (Reuters) - A 5.9 billion pound ($11.4 billion) writedown on risky assets sent Royal Bank of Scotland to a first-half loss of 691 million pounds -- better than feared, but still one of the biggest losses in British history.


Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:17 am

Twitter: Hottest startup

I am sitting in a meeting room at the San Francisco offices of Twitter, chatting with the fast-growing startup's 31-year-old CEO, Jack Dorsey, when a wave of déjà vu washes over me. The youthful vibe, the playful decor, the funky South of Market loft space - I've been here before. In 2005, Mark Zuckerberg earnestly explained to me the importance of Facebook as we sat in his similarly appointed office in Palo Alto. Chad Hurley and Steve Chen walked me through YouTube's growth story the following year in their cramped space above a San Mateo, Calif., pizza parlor.


Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:15 am

Resource stocks weigh on FTSE

London equities little changed on Friday after falling commodity prices hit resource stocks, but news of one of the biggest corporate losses in UK history failed to cause further damage.By midday, the...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:06 am

Euro and pound dip against dollar

The dollar rallies against the euro and pound amid belief that growth in Europe is faltering.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am

UK repossessions soar 50pc to 12-year high

The number of people who lost their homes soared by almost 50 per cent in the first six months of this year to a 12-year high.
Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:56 am

UK repossessions soar 50pc to 12-year high

The number of people who lost their homes soared by almost 50 per cent in the first six months of this year to a 12-year high.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:56 am

Richemont to spin off BAT stake

Richemont, best known for its Cartier jewellery and Montblanc pens, on Friday unveiled its long awaited restructuring into a pure luxury goods group by distributing its 19.4 per cent stake in British American...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:47 am

Dollar surges against euro and pound

The dollar surged higher on Friday, hitting a five-month high against the euro and a seventeen-month peak against sterling amid a growing conviction that the effects of the credit crisis were spreading...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:28 am

Google fears AOL financial blow

Google acknowledges its stake in rival internet firm AOL may now be worth less than the $1bn it paid for it.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:25 am

Like Every Other Company In The World, Nokia (NOK) Turns To China

ChinaThe sun can never set on a day before some large multinational company says that its future is in China. Why should Nokia (NOK) be an exception?

Nokia management opines that, even though 600 million Chinese have cellphone, that the figure could rise sharply in the next few years.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the NOK CEO said "I think there's a lot of room left when it comes to penetration."

Nokia's projections may be right, but it faces at least a couple of obstacles. The first is that rivals Samsung, Motorola (MOT), LG, and Sony Ericsson all want a piece of the action. Nokia has 40% of the Chinese market. Increasing that number may be hard.

The second, more frightening problem is that the Chinese have a way of building their own products so that foreign companies do not own their market. That is already happening in the car business and in some sectors of consumer electronics. A large number of the handsets sold by the incumbents are made in China. Why shouldn't China have some of that manufacturing capacity go to local companies?

China may be a large forest, but the government makes certain it is full of traps.Nokia may learn the hard way that, on the mainland, not all corporations are created equal.

Douglas A. McIntyre


Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:22 am

India court okays UK mine project

The Indian Supreme Court allows the British company Vedanta Resources to go ahead with its controversial mine project in Orissa state.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:16 am

MI Developments announces 2008 second quarter results and departure of CEO

AURORA, ON, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - MI Developments Inc. (TSX: MIM.A, MIM.B; NYSE: MIM) ("MID" or the "Company") today announced its results ...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:12 am

Royal Bank of Scotland Suffers First-Ever Loss

A $11.4 billion write-down on risky assets sent Royal Bank of Scotland to a first-half loss that was one of the biggest in British history.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:11 am

GM agrees to lend Delphi $300 mln more

(Reuters) - General Motors Corp agreed to lend Delphi Corp a further $300 million as the automaker's former parts unit struggles to exit bankruptcy protection, courts papers show.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:10 am

Gas prices fall: 22 days and counting

Retail gasoline prices fell, on average, more than a penny overnight, extending declines for the 22nd straight day, a survey of gas station credit card swipes showed Friday.


Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:10 am

ACE Aviation reports second quarter 2008 results

SECOND QUARTER OVERVIEW - Net income of $830 million. - Operating loss of $2 million. - EBITDAR of $238 million including EBITDAR of $249 million at Air Canada. - Secondary...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:10 am

Toilets Delay Boeing (BA) Planes

BoeingBoeing (BA) has already suffered the ignominy of three delays in the launch of its new Dreamliner jet. The tardiness of the project will cost the company revenue, at least in the next year. It has also made Boeing's best customers angry. That does not matter so much because they have no place to turn other than Airbus, which is also perennially late with its aircraft deliveries.

Boeing faces a new challenge in launching its products. It is short on toilets for the planes.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Boeing and Airbus face "a shortage of less-advanced equipment such as seats, toilets and galleys that is slowing down their assembly lines."

The people who handle product development and strategic sourcing at Boeing are boneheads. Dunces make poor executives and Boeing's shareholders are paying for that.

Not only is revenue being deferred, some of it may be lost. Boeing customers are starting to ask for reparations for the late planes and their claims are equitable. The plane manufacturer did offer a money-back guarantee on delivery dates. The spring and fall equinox have passed several times since the original delivery dates.

Boeing's shares have dropped from a 52-week high of $107.15 to $64.69. Much of that has to do with fears that a global economic slowdown could hurt the company's business, but a great deal of it has to do with product delays.

How will the shareholders be compensated for the remarkably poor management? Each on will be sent a toilet seat. That is, when they come in.

Douglas A. McIntyre


Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:03 am

Hawai'i Celebrates Lower Airfares This Fall

Four Seasons Resorts Hawai'i Announces Special Incentives for Travelers MAUI, Hawai'i, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- After a busy summer characterized by higher than...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:00 am

Boeing, Airbus face delays on parts shortages: report

(Reuters) - Boeing Co and Airbus are facing a slowdown on their older model assembly lines because of a shortage of basic components such as seats, toilets and galleys, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.


Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:59 am

UBS to buy back $19.4 bln in ARS: report

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank UBS will buy back $19.4 billion worth of auction-rate securities to settle charges over misleading investors in the United States, the Boston Globe...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:58 am

RBS suffers first-ever loss after $11 bln writedown (Reuters)

Royal Bank of Scotland signs are seen outside a branch in Edinburgh, Scotland April 22, 2008. (David Moir/Reuters)Reuters - A 5.9 billion pound ($11.4 billion) writedown on risky assets sent Royal Bank of Scotland to a first-half loss of 691 million pounds -- better than feared, but still one of the biggest losses in British history.



Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:51 am

Olympics fails to lift China markets

Asia-Pacific shares fell on Friday but a rise in car makers and technology stocks offset losses from a big fall on Wall Street overnight.There was no sign of an Olympic rally in China on the day the Beijing...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:51 am

Futures point to higher open on Wall St.

London (Reuters) - Stock futures point to a higher opening on Wall Street, recovering after the previous session's sharp drop as softer oil further eases inflation concerns.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:46 am

The New Economic Stimulus Package: $100 Billion In Tax Rebates A Month

Cammonopoly_wideweb__430x3250Based on GDP figures and June numbers out of retailers including Wal-Mart (WMT), the tax rebate program helped the economy for about 30 days. July retail numbers seem to show that the effect did not go much beyond that. Economist Martin Feldstein recently wrote "Recent government statistics show that only between 10% and 20% of the rebate dollars were spent. The rebates added nearly $80 billion to the permanent national debt but less than $20 billion to consumer spending."

Feldstein may be off. When it comes to really large numbers, economists usually are. But, he is not off by a factor of two or three.

Tax rebates sent out by the US government totaled something above $100 billion.It helped the economy for a remarkably short time. That may be a warning sign of how deep a recession the economy is already in, a recession which probably worsened around mid-year. The present situation could do more damage to already badly damaged industries, particularly retail, airlines, and autos. The stocks prices for companies in these sectors reflects the inevitability of things getting worse.

The federal government could solve many of these problems by making the rebate program monthly instead of having it be a one-time things. It might bankrupt the government, but it would save a lot of companies and jobs.

Douglas A. McIntyre


Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:43 am

House repossessions soar by 48% since January

House repossessions soared by 48 per cent to 18,900 in the first six months of 2008 as the credit crunch and stricter lending regimes forced more people into default, particularly at the riskier end of the market.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:41 am

Oil 'could hit $200 within years'

Oil prices could rise as high as $200 a barrel within the next 10 years as a result of a looming supply crisis, a report warns.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:34 am

Italian economy shrinking again

The Italian economy suffers its second quarter of negative growth in the past nine months and flirts with recession.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:29 am

RBS (RBS): Another Big Bank Ambushed By Write-Offs

AngrybearThe safe-house for money center banks closed and locked its doors long ago. The mortgage-related paper crisis rolls on like a mighty river and its latest victim is RBS (RBS). But, victim is the wrong characterization. RBS and other banks did create and buy these securities. They also failed to assess their risks.

RBS lost $1.35 billion in the first half, driven by a a $5.9 billion write-down in assets. According to Reuters, RBS said difficult conditions in financial markets "look set to be compounded by a deteriorating economic outlook". Stated another way, things will get worse.

Based on numbers predicting mortgage delinquencies rising in the second half, weakening consumer credit, and the cost of settling auction-rate securities claims. the performance of the banking industry will almost certainly be worse in the second half than it was in the first.

Banks with modest balance sheet strength including Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) will probably make it through another few bad quarters. Banks like Wachovia (WB) and Washington Mutual (WM) may not.

Douglas A. McIntyre


Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:27 am

Hammerson upbeat on new centres

Property firm Hammerson sees pre-tax losses of £417.1m in the first six months of 2008, after cutting the value of its property portfolio.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:23 am

BAT share listing shake-up dashes bid hopes

Shares in British American Tobacco (BAT) fell by as much as five per cent today after it announced it was seeking a secondary listing on the South African stock exchange.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:09 am

Oil dips to near $119 on stronger dollar

Oil prices dropped to near $119 a barrel Friday in Asia as a strengthening dollar and worries about economic growth offset supply concerns over Turkish pipeline sabotage that was claimed by
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:34 am

California eyes cattails to combat climate change

On one side of the gravel road are hundreds of acres of corn. On the other is a different crop that scientists hope will enable farmers to rebuild sinking islands in the Sacramento-San...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:29 am

Schroders' profits slashed amid turbulent markets

Schroders, the asset manager, reported a fall of more than 26 per cent in pre-tax profit for the six months to June 30, after writing down seed capital and fixed-income investments, and gave warning that its retail business would be hit this year by market volatility.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:22 am

Boeing, Airbus face delays on parts shortages: report

(Reuters) - Boeing Co and Airbus are facing a slowdown on their older model assembly lines because of a shortage of basic components such as seats, toilets and galleys, the Wall Street...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:14 am

RBS has £691m loss in first half

Royal Bank of Scotland posts a pre-tax loss of £691m in the first half of 2008, the second-biggest loss in UK banking history.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:11 am

Google admits its AOL investment may be impaired

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc's 5 percent stake in Time Warner Inc's AOL unit may be worth less than the $1 billion the Web company paid for it in 2006, Google warned in a regulatory filing on Thursday.


Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:04 am

UBS costs to settle probes may exceed Citigroup's: report

(Reuters) - UBS AG , Switzerland's biggest bank, may pay more than Citigroup Inc or Merrill Lynch & Co to settle state and federal claims that it fraudulently sold auction-rate...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:55 am

BG Group, Schroders: Business roundup August 8

Light crude oil was found in an exploration well in the Iara field, controlled 65pc by Petrobras, 25pc by BG Group, and 10pc by Portugal’s Galp Energia.
Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:50 am

Ex-Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo is under formal SEC investigation

The probe is focused on whether he violated insider-trading law and whether the mortgage lender's disclosures misled investors, sources say.

Securities regulators have stepped up their investigation of mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp. and its former chief executive, Angelo R. Mozilo.


Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Gauging the furor over Obama's tire pressure remark

Given Barack Obama's bracing summons to civic duty this week, telling the masses to keep their tires properly inflated to save gas, I was surprised and a little disappointed that the tire maintenance section of my local AutoZone was so uninhabited.


Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

DirecTV earnings rise as sales increase

The company's growing HD channel lineup helps it sign up customers.

DirecTV Group Inc., the nation's largest satellite-television provider, said second-quarter profit rose 1.6% as high-definition channels attracted new customers.


Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Warner Music narrows loss on brisk digital sales

The company's fiscal third-quarter loss falls to $9 million from $17 million a year earlier. Digital revenue jumps 39%.

Strong international sales and higher digital music revenue narrowed losses for Warner Music Group Corp. in the fiscal third quarter, surpassing analyst expectations in the face of the industry's rocky transition to digital distribution.


Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Workers' compensation enforcers widen focus on employers

Audits of factories, farms and other workplaces highlight violations by employers.

For a decade, California employers and their advocates in Sacramento complained about the high cost of workers' compensation insurance and condemned abuses of the system by employees, who they said fake claims, exaggerate medical conditions and collect fat disability benefits.


Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Citigroup, Merrill to buy back $17 billion in auction-rate securities

The fixed-income investments, pitched as safe, tanked during the credit crisis.

Two of the country's biggest financial firms agreed Thursday to buy back $17 billion in troubled fixed-income securities, ratcheting up pressure on the rest of the industry to bail out clients stuck with the investments.


Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Warehouse clubs lead, clothing chains trail in July retail sales

With sales up a meager 2.6% in July, experts see signs of a gloomy holiday season.

With Americans' tax-rebate checks about gone, consumers spent cautiously in July as retailers launched the important back-to-school shopping season.


Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

John Lewis: and now for a little good news

John Lewis, the department store group, has delivered a rare piece of good news for the high street by revealing a “very welcome” sales revival.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Aug 2008 | 6:56 am

Sterling tumbles to 18-month low against the dollar

Sterling tumbled to its lowest in more than a year against the dollar and weakened against the euro on fears that the UK economy is sliding into recession.
Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 6:45 am

Royal Bank of Scotland plunges into record loss

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) reported a pre-tax loss of almost £700 million in the first half, after writing down £5.9 billion on investments hit by the credit crunch. It is one of the biggest losses in UK corporate history, compares with a profit of £5.1 billion a year ago, and is the first time that the bank has plunged into the red in its 40-year listed history.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Aug 2008 | 6:37 am

The Great Panic

It can be tricky trying to pin down the beginning or end of world events. When asked about the impact of the French Revolution nearly two centuries later, Zhou Enlai replied: "It is too soon to tell."

Still, the birth of the credit crunch—the child of a burst bubble in housing—can be traced to a Thursday last summer, a day when many Wall Street executives, bankers, and government officials were enjoying their vacations.

On August 9, 2007, it became clear that fear had paralyzed the world's credit markets. The question was no longer only about the quality of assets or the availability of cash. Everything was suspect and no one was willing to take any chances.

The world had turned subprime.

The chill in the credit markets was already apparent beginning in February in the wake of the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the United States. Many mortgage lenders were in trouble. Two Bear Stearns hedge funds that had bet heavily on securities tied to subprime mortgages collapsed earlier in the summer. In July, the German government organized a $5 billion bailout of IKB bank.

Then, an announcement by a big French bank starkly revealed to the world that the credit markets had frozen up.

Early that August morning in Paris, BNP Paribas announced that it was stopping investors from withdrawing money from three funds because it could not determine the market for their holdings.

"The complete evaporation of liquidity in certain market segments of the U.S. securitization market has made it impossible to value certain assets fairly regardless of their quality or credit rating," the bank said in a statement.

The statement ignited rumors of possible problems at other banks and at hedge funds. Stocks on European markets slid. Fear held dominion in the markets.

"This is the day the world changed," Adam Applegarth, then the chief executive of Northern Rock, said looking back, as the British lender had to be rescued from collapse by the Bank of England just days later. (To see just how much the world has changed in a year from the credit storm, click here.)

Nearly as startling on August 9 was the rapid response of the world's central bankers. The European Central Bank pumped $147 billion into euro money markets to try to unblock lending among banks. It was a bigger infusion than the one that came in response to the 9/11 attacks.

The Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada, and the Bank of Japan followed with similar, but smaller steps.

Liquidity, however, was not the core issue. It was confidence. Banks did not trust other banks. Investors fled from risk. Trust would not be restored with below-market-rate loans from central banks.

Even after the unusual moves by the central banks, stocks in the United States slid. Spreads widened. After the market close, Countrywide Financial, the biggest American mortgage lender, warned that "unprecedented disruptions" in the credit markets threatened its financial health.

Fears mounted. Loans, for businesses and consumers, soon became more expensive and more difficult to get. Dealmaking came to a standstill. The crunch was being felt.

In response, the Fed first went by the playbook, then threw the book out. Some economists contend that Ben Bernanke and other policymakers were too slow to respond, Zubin Jelveh reports.

The credit crunch has reshaped the financial landscape. Banks, insurers, and other institutions have written down hundreds of billions of dollars in assets. Bear Stearns and Countrywide no longer exist. A year later, it is still difficult to tally up the damage on Wall Street or to forecast its future, Megan Barnett writes.

No end is in sight. The credit crunch, on top of the slide in housing prices and the surge in energy prices, has probably tipped the economy into a recession. It is squeezing consumers and businesses. Banks are still scrambling to raise capital and still marking down assets as loan delinquencies and foreclosures increase. The Treasury Department has a rescue plan for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sweeping overhauls of the financial regulation system have been proposed.

In a year, the worldview of finance has been turned upside down. In the spring of 2007, Wall Street was basking in a "golden age" of private equity and deals. Regulators believed the subprime implosion could be contained. "Troubles in the subprime sector seem unlikely to seriously spill over to the broader economy or the financial system," Bernanke told a South African audience on June 5, 2007.

And on August 9, President Bush sought to play down the jitters in the market, saying that  "the fundamentals of our economy are strong."

How much has changed. His successor may now have to confront another year of financial pain.




Related Links
Fed: Wall Street Needs More Time
Don't Blame Canada
Captain Crunch


Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 8 Aug 2008 | 4:00 am

Captain Crunch

It takes anywhere from three months to two years for Federal Reserve decisions to affect the economy, which means that one year into the credit crunch, there's no clear answer as to whether the Fed's actions will help avert economic calamity.
 
But there's been no shortage of debate over whether the Fed stepped too far, or not far enough, outside of its normal operating procedures to control the spread of the credit crunch.
 
"They were a little slow to perceive the magnitude of the risk," says Nigel Gault, chief United States economist at Global Insight. But Gault is quick to add that as soon as the Fed did realize the gravity of the situation, "they responded appropriately and creatively."

The Fed's first moves to prevent the subprime fallout from reaching other parts of the economy were largely by-the-book.
 
After the crisis started, on August 9, 2007, the Fed injected $38 billion into jittery markets, unnerved by the freezing of three funds at BNP Paribas. A week later, the Fed lowered the interest rate and extended the duration on loans banks could borrow from its discount window.
 
But it wasn't until it clipped its target for the federal funds rate in mid-September—by an unusual 50 basis points—that the Fed signaled that the subprime virus could not be contained within the balance sheets of Wall Street banks and mortgage lenders. The move also showed the Fed was ready to cut aggressively to prevent a hard landing.
 
Although markets rallied to new highs in the weeks after the cut, some critics already saw the central bank's response time as too slow. Others feared that Bernanke's academic background made him a bad fit for leading the Fed through real-world turmoil.
 
But the most salient critique was that the Fed wasn't addressing the main problem: that banks were flush with assets impossible to value, hence, impossible to trade. Two British economists, Willem Buiter and Anne Sibert, urged the Fed to create lending facilities that would serve a wider variety of financial firms, accept more types of collateral, but charge borrowers a penalty rate.
 
Through the fall, Bernanke and crew continued to cut rates by another 75 percent, but tight credit conditions would not abate, and it became clear that low rates weren't going to be the easy fix they were in 1991 and 2001.
 
In a bold move, the Fed created new lending avenues to act as a liquidity "backstop" for markets. Although similar to the ones proposed by Buiter and Sibert, there were important distinctions: The Fed's facility was an auction instead of a one-on-one transaction, it didn't charge a penalty rate, and it was more restrictive in the variety of firms it would allow to bid. The Term Auction Facility, as the new measure was called, proved to be popular with commercial banks.
 
While researchers have shown that the new lending options were successful in reducing fears over access to liquidity, it wasn't enough to make firms feel better about borrowing and trading with one another.
 
And it was this counterparty risk that brought down Bear Stearns in March. In response, the Fed, with a little help from the Treasury Department, engineered its most controversial moves of the past year: pushing for a takeover of the century-old firm by J.P. Morgan and allowing investment banks to borrow directly from the Fed for the first time.
 
"The lack of these liquidity facilities in the early stages of the financial crisis forced them to rely much more heavily on monetary policy," says John Ryding, chief economist of RDQ Economics and former chief economist at Bear Stearns.
  "Had the Fed moved more quickly, it could have been a stitch in time that saved" Bear Stearns, he says.

Others, including Alan Greenspan, the former Fed chairman, think that the Fed has allowed itself to be stretched too far beyond its dual mandate of promoting growth and stable prices.

"What we should not have is the central bank involved in its balance sheet," Greenspan said on CNBC last week. "If you allow major fluctuations in [the monetary] base as a result of other-than-monetary-policy reasons, I think you're taking undue risks with the notion of the stability of the financial system and very specifically the Fed's control of inflation."
 
But the Fed's defenders argue that it would have taken ESP-like foresight for regulators to figure out that disaster was looming.
 
"Under the circumstances, they've done about as well as you could expect," say New York University economist Mark Gertler, who has co-authored with Bernanke a number of papers on the Depression.
 
The Bear rescue will be debated for some time to come, but at least the markets were once again relatively calmed. The fallout from the subprime mess, however, had by then started to show up in government figures.
 
Economic growth fell from a strong 4.9 percent in the third quarter to 0.6 percent in the next, and employers began cutting more jobs than they were creating in January. (Growth figures were later revised to 4.8 percent and -0.2 percent, respectively.)
 
Rising energy and food prices, meanwhile, meant the Fed had to be careful not to stoke inflation with its rate cuts. As oil surged 50 percent between February and May, the Fed chose to keep rates steady after lowering them 3.25 percent since September.
 
Before the year was out, the Fed had to get creative again, this time assisting the Treasury Department in preventing a collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored entities that were party to close to half of the mortgages in the United States. The Fed's role in the Fannie-Freddie bailout—providing access to liquidity—by now seemed like old hat.
 
The Fed's travails over the past year highlight the fact that the financial regulatory system in the U.S. was designed to deal with the risks associated with commercial banks, not investment banks or other non-depository institutions.
 
"In very short order," Gertler says, "the Fed had to redesign the system to deal with these institutions."
 
The next major task for the Fed, and the next president, will be to figure out which of the new tools should be kept around and which should be discarded.
 
But in doing so, the Fed has to avoid creating the sort of implicit guarantees that created the type of investor behavior that has brought down Fannie and Freddie.
 
"The backstop is now established," says Gault of Global Insight, "and even if things were to calm down so much that the backstop could be removed, the very fact that it's been instituted once means that at any point in the future it could be brought back."


 

Related Links
The Man Who Saved (or Got Suckered by) Wall Street
The Great Panic
The Great Depression Debate


Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 8 Aug 2008 | 4:00 am

Westpac says earnings growth 'on track'

SYDNEY - Westpac Banking Corporation says it is on track to deliver 2008 cash earnings growth of between six and eight per cent. Westpac said today it was well positioned to pursue its strategic agenda, including completing the...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:30 am

Jade profit down, revenue up

Christchurch technology company Jade Software today said operating earnings fell in the six months to June 30 from a year ago but revenue rose 36 per cent. Earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) fell...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:30 am

Google admits its AOL investment may be impaired (Reuters)

The AOL offices in Beverly Hills, California are pictured November 12, 2007. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)Reuters - Google Inc's 5 percent stake in Time Warner Inc's AOL unit may be worth less than the $1 billion the Web company paid for it in 2006, Google warned in a regulatory filing on Thursday.



Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:17 am

Citi and Merrill in $20bn ARS agreements

The credit crunch hit the financial sector hard again as Citigroup and Merrill Lynch agreed to buy a total of up to $20bn in auction-rate securities (ARS) and AIG shares plunged amid fears the insurer might need more capital
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:15 am

In Brief - Thursday

Warnaco (WRC), an apparel maker, said Q2 EPS nearly doubled to 56 cents ex items, above views. Sales rose 22% to $503.8 mil, driven by gains in...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:42 am

After The Close - Thursday

QUALITY SYSTEMS (QSII), a maker of medical records and billing software, said its Q1 EPS rose 38% to 40 cents, beating views by 3 cents. Revenue...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:42 am

Business Briefs - Thursday

Up and Atom for Intel, chip firms. Citi said Intel's INTC Atom chips for low-cost laptops look to be running well ahead of forecasts. Citi said...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:42 am

Saving Energy Is A Wise Investment

Be it for a gallon of gas, milk or Starbucks coffee, prices are marching higher for consumers.

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:42 am

Trends & Innovations - Thursday

Cells to help transplant process

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:42 am

Industrial Equipment Maker Diversifies Beyond Its Traditional Pumps

A few years ago a DXP Enterprises store in Oklahoma City was pulling in $200,000 to $300,000 a month selling the industrial supplier's line of pumps.

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:42 am

GPG dumps Australian Tower stake

Listed corporate raider and strategic investment company Guinness Peat Group PLC is quitting its stake in Tower Australia Group Ltd, and says it will sell its entire 29.7 per cent shareholding - 100,351,041 shares - to the The Dai-ichi...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:30 am

Penney Ups Profit Guidance Despite Weak Sales (One-Day Wonder)

The retailer's improved profit guidance offset weaker sales in July.


Source: SmartMoney.com | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:11 am

Profits of big three insurers tumble by 46pc

The credit crisis is playing havoc with Europe's leading insurers, wiping billions from profits as the value of their investments tumbles.
Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:01 am

Smith & Nephew recovers from Plus malaise with $1bn revenue

Medical devices group Smith & Nephew attempted to put the controversial acquisition of Plus Orthopaedics behind it as it posted record revenue of $1bn (£514m) in the second quarter.
Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:01 am

Sterling falls as interest rates stay on hold

The pound has dropped to its lowest level against the dollar after the Bank of England left borrowing costs on hold.
Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:01 am

Wellcome is mystery investor in M&S

The Wellcome Trust, the UK's largest charity, has amassed a 2.5pc stake in Marks & Spencer, the retailer, as part of its "long-term investment portfolio".
Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:01 am

Nestle defies soaring costs with 5pc profits rise

Global food giant Nestle has challenged the view that size is not everything after successfully overcoming the challenges of soaring energy and commodity costs to post a 5pc increase in profits.
Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:01 am

Euro bank's hawks take a pounding

Weakened single currency puts pressure on Frankfurt to accept that central bankers misjudged the severity of the credit crisis.
Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:01 am

Liam Dann: No silver lining in Telecom news

Telecom's 15.5 per cent drop in net profit is ugly any way you look at it. In fact if you look at just the latest numbers for the fourth quarter it is even worse - a slump of 31 per cent. But the result was largely in line with...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am

Rich feel the pinch too

The rich are sharing America's financial pain - and contributing to it. Rich Americans are investing more conservatively, spending less on luxury goods and being more thrifty with their credit cards. That news may produce...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 11:30 pm

NZ stocks: Market tumbles as Telecom gets punished

Investors punished New Zealand's largest listed company Telecom when the sharemarket opened today. Telecom shares were down 30c, or 8.2 per cent, to 340, after the company reported its annual results. The fall in the price of...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 11:15 pm

Telecom shares down on bad profit news

Telecom shareholders have reacted to this morning's lacklustre profit announcement by slicing over 7 per cent off the company's share price. Telecom's shares dropped 30 cents to $3.40 on opening today. New Zealand's largest...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 11:15 pm

Iranian property tycoon Ardeshir Naghshineh raises Woolworths stake

An Iranian-born property tycoon mounted another share raid on Woolworths yesterday, taking his stake in the retailer to more than 10 per cent and stirring the Takeover Panel into action.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Aug 2008 | 11:00 pm

We need stamp duty reforms, not rumours

The first anniversary of the entry of the term “credit crunch” into the language was marked by larger-than-expected losses from Northern Rock, an increase in repossessions and news that stamp duty might be suspended - a move supposed to make all the other bad stuff not seem quite so gloomy. But prospective first-time buyers who would be the beneficiaries of the abolition of stamp duty on homes between £125,000 and £250,000 may not view the concession in the way that the Government hopes.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Aug 2008 | 11:00 pm

Buying could soon be cheaper than renting

Look at the worst-case scenario. Observers are predicting price falls of 15, 25 or even 30 per cent over the next few years, with some saying it will be 2012 before the market recovers. Does it make sense to buy a home? A new analysis from the agent Savills should help potential homeowners to decide whether the sums add up - even if it takes years for house price rises to resume.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Aug 2008 | 11:00 pm

Investors' summer holiday from fear may be over


Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 10:52 pm

Wal-Mart sees Marketside as $10bn chain

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, says the new small Marketside grocery stores that it is to launch this autumn could expand to a chain of more than 1,000 stores, delivering $10bn-plus in annual sales
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Aug 2008 | 10:39 pm

Vanguard Re-Opens Health Care Fund


Source: SmartMoney.com | 7 Aug 2008 | 10:22 pm

Prosecutors investigate 'ice fixing'

Wholesale ice is a nearly $2 billion market in the U.S. and it's controlled by just three companies. Now federal prosecutors think they may be working together to control prices. Amy Scott reports.
Source: Marketplace | 7 Aug 2008 | 10:14 pm

Treasury bonds rebound after data, retail sales (AP)

AP - Treasury bond prices rebounded Thursday as investors sought safe-haven investments after a surprise jump in weekly unemployment claims and disappointing sales reports from retailers.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 10:04 pm

Hamdan sentenced to 66 months in prison

Salim Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden, received a 66-month prison sentence following his conviction on charges of supporting terrorism in the first complete military commission at Guantanamo Bay
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:45 pm

Biderman Says Money Flows Out of Commodity ETFs as Oil Drops


Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:28 pm

VIX Index of U.S. Stock Prices Advance 4.5 % to 20.23


Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:27 pm

Most Valuable Players Know How to Score (The Invisible Hand)

AIG's latest results show how hard it is to judge who's useful and who's not.


Source: SmartMoney.com | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:24 pm

How Health-Care Advocates Help Struggling Patients (Consumer Action)

Health advocates help those who are drowning in medical bills or disputing charges.


Source: SmartMoney.com | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:17 pm

Author Colfer Says Family Inspired `Artemis' Characters


Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:09 pm

Murdoch Plans Global Dow Index, Like It or Not (Ticked Off)

Rupert Murdoch wants a global index to complement the famed U.S. average. So what?


Source: SmartMoney.com | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:06 pm

Wall Street stocks fall on AIG losses

US stocks fell back for the first time in three sessions as further losses at AIG hurt the financial sector and Wal-Mart posted disappointing July sales figures
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:06 pm

Olympian O'Brien Expects `Great Races' at Beijing Games


Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:05 pm

Citigroup to buy back 7.5 bln dlrs of tainted securities (AFP)

A pedestrian walks by a Citibank office in July 2008 in San Francisco, California. Troubled US banking giant Citigroup has agreed to buy back 7.5 billion dollars' worth of tainted securities it marketed to tens of thousands of investors, US regulators announced Thursday.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Justin Sullivan)AFP - Troubled US banking giant Citigroup has agreed to buy back 7.5 billion dollars' worth of tainted securities it marketed to tens of thousands of investors, US regulators announced Thursday.



Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:03 pm

Financial ETFs Take Brunt of Selloff (Daily ETF Wrap-Up)

Steep drops in shares of AIG and Citigroup weighed on their sector ETFs.


Source: SmartMoney.com | 7 Aug 2008 | 8:25 pm

Dow Falls 225 Points

Equities posted heavy losses, reversing most of this week's early gains. Financials led the fall.


Source: SmartMoney.com | 7 Aug 2008 | 8:11 pm

Barclays unloads £6.3bn troubled debt

Barclays has offloaded troubled loans and securities worth £6.3bn during the past few months in a sign that investors have become more willing to buy debt assets affected by the credit crunch
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Aug 2008 | 8:02 pm

These Gadgets Will Make Your Trip to the Games a Winner (Deal of the Day)

Visiting Beijing to see the Olympics? You may want to gear up with these gadgets first.


Source: SmartMoney.com | 7 Aug 2008 | 8:00 pm

Scrap metal scavenging on campus

Harvard regularly puts out free office furniture so students can comb through and find whatever they need. But lately, organizers are seeing a different group of people taking advantage of the offer. Hammad Ahmed reports.
Source: Marketplace | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:52 pm

Mass. passing the hat for student loans

Governor Deval Patrick is asking major universities and the state pension fund to pitch in to save the state's college loan program. Host Kai Ryssdal asks Boston Globe reporter Casey Ross what the reaction has been.
Source: Marketplace | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:52 pm

Time to take control of markets

John McCain has a new ad out that tries to distance him from big industries. Commentator and economist James Galbraith says he's been seeing a lot of this kind of repositioning among conservatives lately.
Source: Marketplace | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:51 pm

Athletes cash in with Olympic gold

The Olympic Games officially get going tomorrow. Host Kai Ryssdal talks with Diana Nyad about the financial ramifications success at the games could have for some U.S. athletes, both known and unknown.
Source: Marketplace | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:51 pm

Site lets you peek at a startup's future

A new site called YouNoodle launched an application to help you calculate the potential success of web startups. Rico Gagliano takes the service for a test drive.
Source: Marketplace | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:51 pm

EPA rejects ethanol waver for Texas

The Environmental Protection Agency denied Texas's request for a reduction in a federal ethanol mandate. Who gains and who loses from the decision? Janet Babin reports.
Source: Marketplace | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:51 pm

Citi to buy back $7 billion in bonds

After some nudging by authorities, Citigroup says it'll buy back billions of dollars worth of auction-rate securities to settle accusations of fraudulent sales. Bob Moon reports.
Source: Marketplace | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:51 pm

Finally -- a bailout for small investors


Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:46 pm

Digging Out of Medical Debt (Consumer Action)

Even the insured get buried in medical debt. Here's how to handle those pricey bills.


Source: SmartMoney.com | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:44 pm

Soss Says U.S. Must Reduce Need for Borrowing


Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:33 pm

Financial Regulator to Test Public Panels for Investor Disputes


Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:14 pm

Cadwalader to Fire 96 Lawyers on Real Estate Slowdown


Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:11 pm

Gloom descends on US finance executives

US finance chiefs' outlook for America's economy sunk to a four-year low amid mounting concern over high oil prices, waning consumer demand and inflation, according to a study
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:10 pm

Raising Financially Savvy Kids (Life Stages - Families With Young Children)

The responsibility rests on parents' shoulders. Here's some concrete advice.


Source: SmartMoney.com | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:01 pm

Bush, Still Backing Miers, Gets Slapped by Judge


Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Aug 2008 | 6:54 pm

Blue Chip: How investors got sucked in

Nervous investors considering buying a property through Blue Chip were given a series of well-rehearsed answers if they expressed concerns. Paul Dale and Daniel Grove, barristers acting for more than 300 investors, have obtained...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 6:40 pm

China's rain-stoppers face big Olympic test

Beijing's weather 'modifiers' have deployed aircraft, artillery and rocket launchers to ward off rain before the opening ceremony in the roofless 'bird's nest' stadium
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Aug 2008 | 6:35 pm

De Grauwe Says Fed Policy Made Credit Crisis Possible


Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Aug 2008 | 6:24 pm

Strategic puts freeze on redemptions

Strategic Finance has become the latest finance company to freeze redemptions, stopping about 15,000 investors from taking their money out. The announcement came after the NZX-listed firm was placed on a trading halt yesterday. Strategic...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 6:20 pm

Jobs data is fuel for rate cuts

A rise in the unemployment rate to 3.9 per cent will keep the Reserve Bank in easing mode, economists say, despite an unexpectedly sharp rebound in employment in the June quarter as the labour force grew. Statistics New Zealand's...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 6:00 pm

For Warner Bros., Sisterhood Is Powerful

The pixie dust in Warner Bros.' formula for a successful movie this summer? Women. Preferably in sets of four.

On Wednesday, the studio released The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, the sequel to the hit movie based on a book featuring four teenage girls who share a pair of jeans that, magically, fits them all. The new movie made an estimated $5.7 million in its first day in theaters—midweek, no less—according to Exhibitor Relations, a Los Angeles-based entertainment-research firm.  

That single night's haul is more than half what The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants made in its entire opening weekend back in 2005. The movie went on to gross about $39 million domestically, handily making back its $25 million budget, and grossed another $40 million or so in DVD sales and rentals on top of that.

This summer, the pump for feel-good chick flicks has been primed, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 could do considerably better than its predecessor.

For one thing, the sequel features the original movie's same four stars, all of whom have since entered the halls of teenage-megafandom. Blake Lively stars in the CW's Gossip Girl, and America Ferrera in ABC's Ugly Betty. Alexis Bledel ended her run in the CW's Gilmore Girls last year, and Amber Tamblyn, already a familiar face from CBS's show Joan of Arcadia, will star in a new ABC show, according to industry reports.

But more important, a certain wildly popular movie from earlier in the summer, also starting four clothes-oriented women (although of a different generation), has whetted the appetite of female fans for films catering exclusively to them.

When the Sex and the City movie made its debut to groups of frenzied female fans in May, Warner Bros. found itself raking in double the profits it had forecast for the opening weekend: a cool $55 million. That made the movie—which women attended in groups and planned entire evenings and outfits around—the most successful opening ever for both a romantic comedy and an R-rated film.

For a benchmark closer to the demographic of Pants, Hannah Montana's 3-D concert film, released in February, has made about $65 million to date.
 
While Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 probably won't break any records, it could still gross between $15 million and $20 million its opening weekend alone, according to predictions from Exhibitor Relations. That's before the ancillary markets, like merchandise and DVD sales, kick in, and makes the movie potentially profitable enough that a third film seems almost inevitable—especially considering that the book series, on which the films are based, consists of four titles.

"If you deliver a product that women want, they will turn out," says Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations.

As Warner Bros. is learning, that applies at any age.
 
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Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 7 Aug 2008 | 5:30 pm

The Tech Two-Step

What it takes to be a tech exec in 2008: You gotta dance. And we're not talking about any competitive dealmaking fancy footwork. This is the real kind, full of sweat and jiggles—a real boogie. A hoedown.

The latest to join in the cha-cha-cha is Jerry Yang, who, as C.E.O. of Yahoo, has some time on his hands these days to really get down, now that Microsoft has backed off, Carl Icahn has grown bored, and the shareholder meeting (and vote and recount) are behind him.

Recently, he threw his hands in the air, twisted and shouted, and finished off his two-step with a triumphant victory pose in a dancing session with Matt Harding (of the Where the Hell is Matt? website, where he can be seen traversing the globe in search of dancing fools).



But for all Yang's smiley vigor and style, he's not the first tech exec to express his enthusiasm in such a manner.

He is preceded by Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer, whose improvised routine on the stage of a Microsoft conference in 2001 was inspirational for its resemblance to monkey dances, for its Howard Dean-like verbal accompaniment, and, most of all, for its duration.



Of course, Ballmer and Yang are mere hopefuls compared with the ambitious and practiced HDNet founder and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Before a broadcast audience last fall, Cuban chomped down hard on his white-man's overbite, mouthed the words to rapper Nelly’s "Ride Wit Me," clicked his heels in the air, and expressed general "exuberance" (though not skill), according to the judges of Dancing with the Stars.



As dancing is clearly an area tech execs are drawn to, we expect more will follow. In the meantime, let us know which of these three is the best dancer by taking our poll (above on the right).
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Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 7 Aug 2008 | 4:00 pm

On to the Next Sure Thing

The more things change on Wall Street, the more they stay the same.

Citigroup has negotiated a settlement with New York attorney general Mario Cuomo and the Securities and Exchange Commission over its auction rate securities sales. The bank agreed to buy back $7 billion worth of the illiquid securities from the unwitting customers they sold them to, and it will pay $100 million in fines.

Other banks are expected to follow suit. Merrill Lynch, UBS, Wachovia, and Bank of America have also been targeted for auction rate securities sales.

The settlement comes as a financial blow to Citigroup, which is struggling to cut costs and clean up its troubled investment portfolio from the subprime fallout. Adding another $7 billion of tainted assets to its balance sheet will not help matters.

But mostly it comes as a blow to the banks' brokerage clients—individual investors, small businesses, non-profits, and corporate clients all took the bait from their money-hungry brokers. Auction rate securities are a safe bet, they said, even as they knew the market was collapsing. They are just like cash. We're committed to this market. You can't go wrong.

While this settlement will make Citi's individual clients whole again (no matter that they may have needed the cash five months ago), it will not stop the episode from happening again with the next "great" investment.

The brokers had to pawn these products off on their clients ("Gotta move these microwave ovens!" one Merrill Lynch honcho said to another in an email unearthed by Massachusetts investigators). The banks, after all, made money issuing the bonds to the municipalities. They made money again at each auction. And they made money again by selling them to clients.

And while today's settlement means that this ugly chapter may be over for investment banks, it's only a matter of time before another one is started. Nothing will change from this settlement—no new regulations, no set of "best practices," no lines drawn.

The fact remains that Wall Street will continue to do what it does best: create financial products and sell them to investors. When one market implodes, they'll create yet another.

Investors unfailingly end up holding the bag when investigations like this one lead to fat Wall Street settlements, but it's sometimes difficult to feel sorry for them.

Next time your broker says he has a guaranteed, risk-free, profitable financial product for your portfolio, stop and ask yourself why he's hawking it.



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Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 7 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

Jobless claims rise to highest since March 2002

The number of newly laid off people signing up for jobless benefits last week unexpectedly climbed to its highest point in more than six years as the faltering economy forced companies to cut back.


Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2008 | 2:48 pm