Presidential Candidates Differ Sharply on Economic Policy (SmartMoney Magazine)

The presidential contest shows unusually sharp differences on economic policy.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:30 pm

Maersk makes SKr3.6bn bid for Brostrm

The operator of the world's largest container shipping fleet is set to become the biggest oil product tanker operator after Denmark's AP Mller-Maersk made an agreed offer for Sweden's Brostrm.The SKr57...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:15 pm

Futures slip on bank worries, higher oil (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. stock futures slipped on Wednesday, suggesting a weaker market opening, prompted by lingering worries about the battered banking sector and crude prices rising for a third straight day.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:14 pm

Futures slip on bank worries, higher oil

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures slipped on Wednesday, suggesting a weaker market opening, prompted by lingering worries about the battered banking sector and crude prices rising for a third straight day.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:14 pm

Health care, not boomers, will bust us

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:13 pm

Gas prices drop 10%

Gasoline prices fell yet again, bringing the total decline to 44.7 cents a gallon since July, according to a national survey of gas station credit card swipes.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:08 pm

IBM's server market lead over HP grows

(Reuters) - U.S. computer group International Business Machines widened its market share lead over rival Hewlett-Packard Co in worldwide server shipments in the second quarter, researcher IDC said on Wednesday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:07 pm

Taxes, jobs and more: Where candidates stand

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:07 pm

Google's tough sell to Corporate America

Steve Skinner, the head of information technology for a big Bay Area real estate agency, recently got his umpteenth call from Google. Would Skinner be interested in buying a package of e-mail, word processing and other software known as Google Apps for his company's 1,300 employees?

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:05 pm

GM to cut production in Spain due to slowdown

MADRID (Reuters) - General Motors will trim production at its Figueralas plant in Zaragoza in eastern Spain due to the slowdown in its main markets, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:03 pm

Oil rises as Gustav enters Gulf

Oil prices rose Wednesday as Tropical Storm Gustav entered the Gulf of Mexico and threatened U.S. oil facilities.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:02 pm

A Qik Hit

Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Netscape, has a reputation for being able to see what lies just around the bend.

That's why his investment in mobile streaming-video startup Qik, (pronounced "quick") is evidence that the next great tech battleground will likely be the palm of your hand.

Until recently, most of the attention in the mobile video space has focused on bringing Web content to your phone. Qik offers an alluring new twist to internet users increasingly comfortable with sharing their lives online: the ability to stream cell-phone video to the Web in real time.

Andreessen and Qik are hoping to capitalize on the growing willingness of people to broadcast everyday details of their lives online—a trend that has achieved expression in everything from Twitter, the microblogging service, to Justin.tv, the "life-casting" community.

"Go LIVE with your life by streaming anytime, anywhere—right from your phone," the company says on its website. "Be an eyewitness, capture those first steps, or whip up your own streaming video blog." Last month, as the service opened to the public, the company rolled out new features that allow users to stream video from their phones to Facebook, MySpace, and other websites.

Andreessen, who is widely respected in Silicon Valley, adds a dose of visibility to Qik, which has fought to stand out amid a crowded field of mobile-video startups, including Kyte and Flixwagon. Qik, which had previously raised $4 million, did not disclose how much Andreessen and his partner, Ben Horowitz, invested in the company—other than calling it "significant"—but said the two had joined its board of directors.

"We are thrilled to have Marc and Ben involved in Qik, both as investors and advisers," Ramu Sunkara, Qik's chief executive, said in a statement. "Marc is a true visionary and seasoned technology investor. He brings strong entrepreneurial and innovation experience to Qik. It is great to have them both on board to help us grow Qik and guide us on how we can change the way people communicate and share live experiences around the world."

Andreessen declined to comment on his investment in Qik, which he said "speaks for itself."

The investment in Qik comes as the company is starting to generate buzz beyond the insular world of Silicon Valley, where it has already been praised by notable Web personalities including Jason Calacanis and Robert Scoble, who has written that the service "freaking rocks."

Earlier this month, Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, demonstrated Qik in a speech about how his government is embracing technology. And Rep. John Culbertson, a Texas Republican, has used the service to broadcast from the U.S. Capitol. (The Secret Service wouldn't let him broadcast a meeting with President Bush live from the Oval Office, however.)

As cell-phone technology has improved and network speeds have grown faster, the mobile Web space has seen a flurry of activity, from startups like Qik to Apple and its iPhone, as well as Google’s Android plans.

But Andreessen has shown his ability to peer into the future of technology. He co-founded Netscape and became rich and famous when the company went public in 1995, ushering in the first internet boom and garnering Andreessen a Time magazine cover. Today, Andreessen's main job is running Ning, the popular social-networking platform he co-founded in 2004 that has picked up in popularity of late. Nearly 300,000 individual social networks have been created on Ning, and the company, which has raised over $100 million, is thought to be valued at over $500 million. In June, he joined Facebook’s board of directors.

With the land rush on for dominance in the mobile Web space, Andreessen's investment in Qik should serve notice that increasingly the action is going to take place in the palm of your hand. And it might just be streamed live to the internet.

 

Related Links
Andreessen Joins Facebook Board; Business Model Still M.I.A.
Amazon.com Buys Book Start-up Shelfari
New Facebook Group: "Join the Class Action Lawsuit...Against Facebook."


Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:00 pm

'Urban myth' of rebalancing

Leaving your portfolio to fend for itself could end up exposing you to more risk than you're willing to take.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:55 am

TNS hints at take out price for WPP

Taylor Nelson Sofres remained defiant in the face of a bid from WPP but gave an indication of the price the board would be prepared to consider as the battle for control of the marketing services group...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:53 am

Heineken warns of slower growth

Heineken, the Dutch brewer, said it passed on higher raw materials and transport costs to consumers everywhere except the US during the first half of the year and would continue to do so as it forecast...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:52 am

London Markets: Miners and oils are gainers, limiting losses in steady London

London shares weaken a touch, but a strong performance from the commodity sector limits losses for the top FTSE 100 index.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:44 am

Brown Shoe posts lower profit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brown Shoe Co Inc said on Wednesday that quarterly profit dropped, hurt by lower sales and more discounts for its products.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:40 am

Weekly mortgage applications rise for first time in three weeks

Weekly mortgage applications rise for the first time in three weeks, the Mortgage Bankers Association says Wednesday.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:35 am

Mortgage applications up 1st time in 3 weeks: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications rose for the first time in three weeks as interest rates edged lower, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:33 am

Apple bans comic book, firestorm ensues

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:32 am

Europe Markets: Shares in Europe decline as oil rises

European shares weaken in early trading on Wednesday, as an uptick in oil prices pressures stocks sensitive to consumer spending such as automaker Daimler.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:32 am

Barclays to invest $35 mln in Chinese finance company

British bank Barclays said on Wednesday that it had won regulatory approval for a minority investment worth 35 million dollars (24 million euros) in New China Trust Co. Ltd (NCT).
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:29 am

Heineken profit up, says brand outperforms market

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Heineken NV , the world's third-largest beermaker, posted a 7.4 percent rise in operating profit and better-than-expected sales on Wednesday despite higher grain and packaging costs, lifting its shares by 2 percent.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:24 am

Wall Street weakened by oil

Stocks were poised for a weak open on Wednesday, as oil prices climbed on concerns that Tropical Storm Gustav could disrupt the oil supply in the Gulf of Mexico.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:22 am

Fate of loss-making Alitalia top of the agenda again

As Italians wrap up their summer holidays and prepare to head back home, the fate of national airline Alitalia has resurfaced to the top of the news agenda.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:18 am

Adecco set deadline for Michael Page bid

The Takeover Panel on Wednesday gave Adecco until the end of next month either to announce a firm intention to bid for Michael Page International or to walk away.The "put up or shut up" ruling which sets...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:14 am

UK homebuilder Taylor Wimpey posts huge 1H loss

British homebuilder Taylor Wimpey PLC's shares fell by 12 percent Wednesday morning, after the company reported a huge first-half loss resulting from 1.51 billion pounds ($2.79 billion)...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:09 am

Mortgage applications up 1st time in 3 weeks: report (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. mortgage applications rose for the first time in three weeks as interest rates edged lower, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:09 am

Mortgage applications up 1st time in 3 weeks: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications rose for the first time in three weeks as interest rates edged lower, an industry group said on Wednesday.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:09 am

E.ON to cut 1,800 jobs in Germany

E.ON confirms it is cutting 1,800 sales jobs as it closes two-thirds of its German service centres.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:05 am

Movers & Shakers: Wednesday's biggest gaining and declining stocks

Stocks expected to move actively in Wednesday's trading.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:02 am

European shares drive lower

European stock markets declined on Wednesday, with automakers hit by the rising cost of crude oil, and amid ongoing jitters about the impact of the global credit crunch, dealers said.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:01 am

[video] Paul Lisenby, CEO of XTend Medical Corporation Discusses Global Distribution Agreement With DDI on WallSt.net's 3-Minute Press Show

SUN VALLEY, Calif., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XTend Medical Corp. (Pink Sheets: XMDC), a company that delivers cutting-edge telemedicine solutions to the...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am

Housing market woes hamper London

London equities eased back on Wednesday, with fresh bad news from the housing sector hitting developers. The FTSE 100 fell 13 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5,459.9. Second-tier stocks lost more ground due...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Co-Host of 'The View' Joins Ronald McDonald(R) to Read to Children at the McDonald's(R) at 34th Street

McDonald's New York Tri-State Celebrates the Ten Year Anniversary of the "Check It Out" Reading Program NEW YORK, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- In...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am

[video] Anthony Welch, Chairman of Boveran Diagnostics, Inc. Discusses Recent Advisory Board Appointment and Corporate Strategy on WallSt.net's 3-Minute Press Show

OXFORD, Miss., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boveran Diagnostics, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BOVD), a developer of specialized medical technologies, today announced...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am

[video] Steve Leicht, Chief Operating Officer of Collexis Holdings, Inc. Discusses Health Sciences South Carolina Partnership on WallSt.net's 3-Minute Press Show

COLUMBIA, S.C., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Collexis Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CLXS), a leading developer of semantic search and knowledge discovery...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am

Euro recovers from six-month dollar low

The euro on Wednesday rebounded from a six-month low point against the dollar, which also fell versus the yen in European trade on profit-taking, dealers said. In morning...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:58 am

PetroChina says 1H net profit fell 35 pct

PetroChina's first-half net profit fell 34.5 percent, the oil company said Wednesday, amid rising losses in its refining business mainly due to Chinese domestic price controls. The...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:55 am

Call for housing market 'rescue'

A mortgage rescue scheme and councils buying unused land feature in a Liberal Democrat plan to revive the housing market.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:49 am

Conoco (COP) Exits Gas Station Business: A Lost Opportunity

Conoco (COP) is selling its gas stations, following Exxon (XOM) out the exit door. Perhaps there is a greater fool; a company that thinks it can make money on a business that Conoco believes is dying.

According to The Wall Street Journal, “ConocoPhillips is expected to sell the remainder of its 600 company-owned gasoline stations to closely held PetroSun West LLC for $800 million.”

Refining and selling gas and diesel has become the ugly end of the oil business. Crude comes off the ships and through the pipes at $120 a barrel. The refined products are so expensive that consumers and businesses cannot afford them. Gas at $4 may seem high, but it is not profitable for Big Oil.

The answer to the problem is to pawn off the gas station business to the buffoons who think they can still make money.

Conoco is probably making falling prey to an error in judgment. If oil continues to come down and gas prices deflate, the profitability of the old line service station will probably return to what it was three or four years ago. The business runs in a cycle, but in the best years it throws off mighty profits.

Conoco may reason that owning stations is simply too tiny a business to be worthwhile. Under the sales agreement its brand name will still be on the front door, it will lose control over the level of service at those retail outlets. That, in essence, is what drives its reputation with customers. Giving it up for a modest amount of money is a mistake.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:45 am

Heineken loses fizz through S&N acquisition

Heineken, the giant Dutch brewer which recently bought out Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) in partnership with its rival Carlsberg, today said the £10 billion acquisition had been a drag on first half earnings despite a rising thirst among consumers for its premium brands.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:31 am

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 | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:31 am

Asia Markets: Hong Kong jumps as Tokyo drops in mixed Asian action

Asian markets end mixed, with exporters such as Honda dropping in Tokyo on a strengthened Japanese yen while Hong Kong and Taiwan score solid gains.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:25 am

Nokia(NOK): The Best Chance To Chase The Apple (AAPL) iPhone

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:22 am

Japanese auto production picks up

Global output by Japan's top three carmakers picked up in July, reflecting strong demand despite the global economic slowdown.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:21 am

Unlocking your home equity

The housing rescue package that Congress scrambled to pass in July was aimed primarily at stemming foreclosures and shoring up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But it also contains provisions that make reverse mortgages a better deal for older homeowners who want to turn their equity into cash.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:18 am

Ronaldo's 1.2m goal hits Paddy Power

A pledge to refund all losing bets if Ronaldo scored in the Champions League final and back-to-back wins by golfer Padraig Harrington has forced Irish bookmaker Paddy Power to knock 7m (5.58m) of its full-year...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:18 am

Ronaldo's £1.2m goal hits Paddy Power

A pledge to refund all losing bets if Ronaldo scored in the Champions League final and back-to-back wins by golfer Padraig Harrington has forced Irish bookmaker Paddy Power to knock €7m (£5.58m) of its full-year profit forecast.
Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:18 am

More problem banks

More banks are in trouble than just three months ago according to the FDIC.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:14 am

Banks drag Europe lower

European equities fell on Wednesday as weakness among banks outweighed energy stocks that gained from rising oil prices. The FTSE Eurofirst was down 0.8 per cent at 1,162.28, the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:13 am

Apple's 'misleading' iPhone advert banned

Apple has been forced to withdraw an advert for the original iPhone after its claims that the device could access “all parts of the internet” were deemed inaccurate.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:11 am

A Coup De Grace For The Banking Industry

Aside from bad mortgage-backs securities bets, a dying LBO business, auction rate securities, and deteriorating credit card debt, the banks and brokerages may be up against their largest challenge yet. They have to pay back or roll over hundreds of billions of dollars of debt between now and the end of the year.

Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) have to refinance $223 billion in paper by the end of September, but they are hardly alone. As money center banks and brokerages prepare to manage maturing debt during the second half, they will be faced with much higher interest rates. The credit crunch has done too much to drive the appetite for risk out of the market. Some of the larger financials could see their annual debt service rise by several billion dollars.

That is the beginning of the bad news, but it is not the end. The “floating-rate” notes banks used to borrow money in 2006 will come due this year and next. Credit was easy when that money was secured. Getting it replaced at any price may be difficult. According to The Wall Street Journal, “The problem highlights how the pain of the credit crunch, now entering its second year, won't end soon for banks or the broader economy”

Where will that money come from? Since the capital markets may simply reject taking on so much new debt in troubled institutions, the Fed would seem like a good place to turn for the capital. That is the most likely thing to happen. Why pay 7% interest to re-finance when the Fed may do it for 3%?

The massive problem with finding a way to pay down bank borrowing could well be more significant than bailing banks out of their mortgage-backed securities. Many of those mortgage write-downs have come and gone. The process is not done, but a great deal of it has been worked through the system of Fed aid and lower rates designed to pull banks out of the swamp of the effects of a failing housing market.

The rolling over of “floating rate” debt has not hit the international financial system yet. Another rude shock to the complex operations of keeping a foundation under the global bank industry means that central banks will have to dig down deep to supply capital for a second tranche of rescues. The level of cash central banks will have to put into financial institutions will once again raise the question of whether banks are owned more by governments than by their sharedholers.

At some point, even the capacity of the central banks begins to falter. They rely on their governments to underwrite the stability of the system. That causes national debts to rise and traces its eventual funding back to the taxpayer. That is the same taxpayer who is having trouble paying his energy bill, mortgage, and credit card balance.

A new round of saving the banking system relies to a large extent on a troubled taxpayer base. The caissons of the system are rotten at their core.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Aug 2008 | 10:02 am

Property sector drags the Nikkei lower

Asia-Pacific equities were mixed on Wednesday with Japan weighed down by property stocks and a higher yen, while elsewhere investors applauded the earnings of companies including China Mobile, China Cosco...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:53 am

M&S suspends redundancy plan 'whistle-blower'

A worker at Marks & Spencer (M&S) who “blew the whistle” on the high street giant’s plans to slash redundancy terms for more than 60,000 staff has been suspended and faces a disciplinary hearing.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:49 am

Indications: U.S. stock futures lower on fears over Gustav's path

U.S. stock futures dropped on Wednesday with fears as much as about the future path of Hurricane Gustav as the latest report on durable-goods orders.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:48 am

Fidelity-Goldman ties probed: report (Reuters)

Reuters - The New York attorney general's office is probing the relationship between Fidelity Investments and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in connection with the sale of auction-rate securities, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a person familiar with the investigation.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:45 am

Fidelity-Goldman ties probed: report

(Reuters) - The New York attorney general's office is probing the relationship between Fidelity Investments and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in connection with the sale of auction-rate securities, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a person familiar with the investigation.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:45 am

Costain profits up on £2bn record order book

Construction tiddler Costain today showed the benefit of seeking out public sector work, as it revealed a record order book, despite growth in the economy faltering.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:44 am

Heineken profit climbs 35% in first half

Dutch brewer Heineken on Wednesday reports a 35% rise in first-half profit, buoyed by drinkers opting for more high-end beers, slashing costs and the company’s acquisition of half of Scottish & Newcastle.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:40 am

Taylor Wimpey hit by massive loss

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey reports a £1.54bn loss for the past six months after having to reduce the value of assets.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:27 am

Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Gift To The Funeral Industry

The National Funeral Directors Association must be sending “thank you” cards to Eli Lilly (LLY) and it partner Amylin (AMLN). Together, the companies developed and market diabetes drug Byetta. The firms had told the FDA that two people had died from the drug. That was bad enough. But, recently it added four more people to the list.

Lilly and its partner were a bit late with the news. They wanted to make sure it was not taken out of context. According to The Wall Street Journal, "We're coming forward because of the high degree of confusion around the FDA alert," said Amylin President and Chief Executive Daniel Bradbury. "We want to avoid confusion in the future when that information [about the four additional deaths] becomes available."

Since being dead is a permanent state, it is hard to see who might be confused. The only suspects are the people at the FDA.

Investors in the two companies get the message. Eli Lilly shares are off ove5 15% this year. It is worse over at Amylin. Its stock is down 45% since the beginning of the year.

Most business school professors and litigation experts would say that the price of legal actions for “flawed” drugs is built into the pricing. A certain number of treatments will go wrong each year. It is simply a part of doing business.

In the case of the people who died, those calculations are not of much comfort

.Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:22 am

Penny-pinching Britons drive profits at Moneysupermarket.com

Customers counting their pennies by looking for the best deals on utility bills and savings accounts have helped double half-year profits at price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com.
Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:20 am

Penny-pinching Britons drive profits at Moneysupermarket.com

Customers counting their pennies by looking for the best deals on utility bills and savings accounts have helped double half-year profits at price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:20 am

Currencies: Profit-taking, rising oil weigh on dollar

A further rise by crude-oil prices amid worries over the potential impact of Tropical Storm Gustav on the Gulf of Mexico triggers profit-taking on the U.S. dollar Wednesday, analysts said.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:19 am

Euro gains as dollar rally stalls

The dollar loses some ground against the euro, a day after hitting a six-month high against the single currency.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:10 am

PetroChina profits fall 34.5 per cent

HONG KONG, Aug 27 - PetroChina Co Ltd, Asia's top oil and gas producer, posted a 34.5 per cent fall in first-half earnings after refining losses and windfall taxes dented gains from soaring crude prices...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Aug 2008 | 9:02 am

S&N purchase hits Heineken profit

Heineken reports a slight fall in half-year profits as a result of the cost of buying UK brewer Scottish & Newcastle.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Aug 2008 | 8:44 am

World poverty 'more widespread'

The World Bank says there are more poor people in the world than previously thought, with one in four in poverty.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Aug 2008 | 8:40 am

Weak economy to sap handset market growth: Gartner

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A weakening global economy will blunt cellphone market sales growth this year, research firm Gartner said on Wednesday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Aug 2008 | 8:27 am

Shorts See Market Bottom, Flee Financials (MER)(BAC)(LEH)(ABK)(WB)

Short sellers believe that they have seen the bottom for financial shares and exited the industry en masse.

Shares sold short in Merrill Lynch (MER) fell 12.6 million to 42.3 million. Short interest in Bank of America (BAC) dropped by 12.3 million to 112.8 million. Share short in Lehman (LEH) fell 11.5 million to 70.6 million. Short interest in Ambac (ABK) fell 8.3 million to 83.5 million. Shares short in Wachovia (WB) dropped 6.4 million to 271.9 million and the short interest in Wells Fargo (WFC) dropped 7.4 million to 165.8 million.

Short sellers also moved away from big tech. Shares short in Intel (INTC) fell 23.7 million to 82.6 million. The short interest in Dell (DELL) fell 4.7 million to 60.3 million. Shares short in Cisco (CSCO) fell 9.2 million to 60.1 million. Shares short in Sun (JAVA) dropped 11 million to 45.8 million. Short interest in Microsoft (MSFT) dropped 1.6 million to 54.2 million. Shares short in Motorola (MOT) dropped 13.9 million to 43.4 million. Short interest in AMD (AMD) dropped 13.4 million to 93.4 million.

Other major changes in short positions included an increase of share short in Juniper (JNPR) of 4.7 million to 26.5 million. Shares short in Starbucks (SBUX) dropped by 14.9 million to 37.6 million.

Short interest in Ford (F) dropped by 14.7 million to 311.3 million. Short interest in Sprint (S) rose 15.2 million to 88.5 million.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Aug 2008 | 8:10 am

Johnston scraps payout as ads plunge 21%

Johnston Press, the regional newspaper group whose titles include The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post, revealed that advertising revenues in July and the first three weeks of August plunged by 21 per cent, as the rate of decline continued to accelerate as the economy slowdown.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:59 am

Middle class families in the South East have largest debt

Middle-class families in London and the South East of England have run up the largest debts in the country with some owing more than £50,000, a survey has revealed.
Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:59 am

Media Digest 8/27/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

According to Reuters, the FDIC may have to borrow money from Treasury to see it though a wave of bank failures.

Reuters reports that Lehman (LEH) has asked three investment firms to stay in the bidding for its money management arm.

Reuters reports that the NY Attorney General is looking at the relationship between Goldman Sachs (GS) and Fidelity in the sale of auction-rate securities.

Reuters reports that profits at China Mobile (CHL) rose substantially in Q2.,

Reuters writes that Mattel (MAT) $100 million in damages in the copyright infringement case it brought against MGA Entertainment Inc over the Bratz doll franchise.

Reuters writes that Southwest (LUV) will cut 200 flights early next year.

The Wall Street Journal reports that banks now face the challenge of paying back hundreds of billion of dollars that they borrowed before the credit crunch.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Fed is split on how to handle inflation.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Boeing (BA) has softened its stance with unions.

The Wall Street Journal reports that HP (HPQ) closed its deal to buy EDS.

The Wall Street Journal reports that advertising fell sharply at The New York Times Company (NYT) during July.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly (LLY) disclosed more deaths from their diabetes drug Byetta

The Wall Street Journal reports that more builders of commercial property are turning to hedge funds for capital.

The Wall Street Journal writes that shares in Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) rose sharply as investor concern that they might be bailed out by the government faded.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Conoco (COP) will sell the rest of its gas stations.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Nokia (NOK) introduced two new high-end handsets.

The New York Times reports that distributing power from wind energy is hard because of limitation in the nation's power grid.

The New York Times writes that cities facing money problems my privatize the infrastructure.

The FT reports the pension funds are moving into the company debt and buy-out businesses.

Bloomberg reports that Singapore fund Temasek increased its investment in Merrill Lynch (MER)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:51 am

Germans pull out of battle for TNS

German market research group GfK has decided not to pursue a £1.1bn bid for the UK market research company Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS).
Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:45 am

Antofagasta sees profits rise 15%

Mining giant Antofagasta reports a 15% rise in half-year profits as high copper prices offset higher production costs.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:37 am

RBS beefs up its board with new non-execs

The struggling bank that last year led the €71bn break-up bid for Dutch bank ABN Amro has recruited three heavyweight bankers as non-executive directors to address boardroom weaknesses
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:27 am

Taylor Wimpey profits plunge: Roundup Aug 27

Sterling has slumped to its weakest levels against the dollar in more than two years, weighed down continuing fears over the health of the UK economy. In early trading it was down around a cent at $1.8436 - levels last seen in July 2006.
Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:20 am

Asia Markets 8/27/2008 (LFC)

Markets in Asia were mixed.

The Nikkei fell .2% to 12,753. ANA fell .3% to 295. Canon fell 1% to 5040.

The Hang Seng rose 1% to 21,260. China Life (LFC) rose 2% to 27.55. Tencent rose 3% to 66.30.

The Shanghai Composite fell .3% to 2,342,

Data from Reuters

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:19 am

RBS names three heavyweights in board shake-up

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has appointed the deputy chairman at Northern Rock, the troubled nationalised lender, as one of three new non-executive directors in a move aimed at pacifying investors.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:13 am

Royal Bank of Scotland shakes up boardroom with new directors

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will today announce the appointment of a trio of non-executive directors in an effort to demonstrate that Britain's second-largest bank by market value is addressing shareholder concerns in the wake of its £12bn rights issue.
Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:05 am

Vons joins Ralphs in curtailing its double-coupon policy

The supermarket chain is capping the value of doubled coupons at $1. Coupons worth $1 or more will be redeemed only at face value.

A strategic change in the marketing and pricing policy at Ralphs Grocery Co. in June may have dealt a blow to avid coupon clippers, shoppers said Tuesday.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Broadcom's Henry Samueli and Henry Nicholas facing more legal troubles

Henry Samueli seeks to avoid prison, while Henry Nicholas fights to keep two homes.

In the latest legal twists for Broadcom Corp.'s billionaire co-founders, one is clinging to his freedom while the other tries to hang on to multimillion-dollar homes in Orange County and Las Vegas.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

A cellphone bill roams to the stratosphere

Santa Monica resident Aurelie Foucaut traveled last month to Paris with her two kids. During a brief stopover in Montreal, she made six calls on her BlackBerry to friends and family members, each lasting less than three minutes.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Mattel wins skimpy damages in Bratz doll case

A jury awards the company as much as $100 million in its copyright infringement suit against MGA Entertainment, but that's far less than the $1.8 billion Mattel had sought.

Mattel won the big battles in the Barbie vs. Bratz trial, but it may have lost the financial war.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

More bank failures may be on the way, FDIC warns

The agency's list of 'problem' banks grows to its highest level in five years.

Federal regulators Tuesday boosted to $8.9 billion the estimated cost of IndyMac Bank's failure and prepared the public for more collapses, reporting that the number of troubled U.S. banks shot up 30% in just three months.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

L.A. Times Media Group names Scott McKibben chief revenue officer

The newspaper industry veteran joins the company in a post considered key to reviving its fortunes. His appointment is the first major move by new Times Publisher Eddy Hartenstein.

Newspaper industry veteran Scott McKibben on Tuesday was named executive vice president, chief revenue officer, for the Los Angeles Times Media Group, filling a job considered key to reviving the company's flagging financial fortunes.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Number of Americans without health insurance falls

The Census Bureau says the 2007 decrease is mostly due to expanded government coverage for children.

Thanks mostly to expanded government health coverage for children, the number of people without health insurance fell in 2007 for the first time since President Bush took office, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Couples are finding ways to cut wedding costs

Worried about the economic slowdown, many are tying the knot on a shoestring budget.

A typical bride-to-be, Katrina Macrae has bought a dress, browsed different varieties of flowers and settled on a date and location for her April nuptials.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Investors punish Corinthian Colleges for making student loans

Shares fall 19% after the Santa Ana company reveals lending program for students with poor credit.

Shares of Corinthian Colleges Inc. dropped after the operator of colleges and trade schools said it began making loans to students, raising concern that costs would erode earnings.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am

Taylor Wimpey reveals £1.5bn property hit

Taylor Wimpey, the embattled housebuilder, said it was still locked in talks with its bankers about revising the terms of its debt convenants as two massive writedowns blew a £1.54 billion hole in first-half profits.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Aug 2008 | 6:55 am

FDIC may borrow money from Treasury: report

(Reuters) - Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) might have to borrow money from the Treasury Department to see it through an expected wave of bank failures, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Aug 2008 | 6:47 am

ECB slammed by Nobel economist as European slump deepens

Almost the entire region of Western Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltics is on the cusp of fully fledged recession, raising fresh fears about the health of Europe's banking system.
Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 6:45 am

WPP in poll position as GfK abandons TNS bid

GfK this morning confirmed it had abandoned its pursuit of TNS, the market researcher, leaving only a £1.1 billion bid from Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP on the table.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Aug 2008 | 6:43 am

FDIC may borrow money from Treasury: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) might have to borrow money from the Treasury Department to see it through an expected wave of bank failures, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 6:43 am

Lehman asks private equity firms to remain in bid: report

(Reuters) - Lehman Brothers has asked three private equity firms to remain in bidding for its asset management arm even though the investment bank has yet decide on whether to sell the unit, the Financial Times reported.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Aug 2008 | 6:27 am

Profits rise 51% at China Mobile

China Mobile, the world's largest mobile phone network, sees quarterly profits rise 51% thanks to strong subscriber growth.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 27 Aug 2008 | 5:47 am

U.S. home prices continue record decline

A 15.4% quarterly drop is the largest in 20 years for one major indicator. June prices decline 25.3% in L.A. and Orange counties compared with last year, the index shows.

U.S. home prices continued to fall at a record pace through the first half of 2008, according to a major indicator released Tuesday.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 5:05 am

Lehman asks private equity firms to remain in bid: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Lehman Brothers has asked three private equity firms to remain in bidding for its asset management arm even though the investment bank has yet decide on whether to sell the unit, the Financial Times reported.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 4:21 am

Will There Be Blood?

Will bloodmobiles soon be a thing of the past, like vacuum-tube televisions and glass milk bottles delivered daily?

More important: Will the use of embryonic stem cells, which became a heated issue during the 2004 presidential election, finally produce a breakout product? One that will squelch the controversy for all but a few die-hards who still prefer their milk in glass bottles?

Researchers at Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Massachusetts, announced the breakthrough a few days ago. Working with scientists from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and the University of Chicago, A.C.T.'s team says it has developed a method for making potentially unlimited and scalable supplies of synthetic blood from embryonic stem cells.

The findings are published in Blood, a scientific journal. A.C.T.'s chief scientific officer Robert Lanza led the team.

If the claim holds up to scrutiny, it would be a huge boon for humankind, which until now has had to collectively open its veins to provide tons of this basic stuff of life for people who need extra blood because of injuries, surgeries, or disease.

The discovery also would remove the danger of blood being tainted by pathogens that cause hepatitis, H.I.V., and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, among other viruses and bacteria.

But will this promise become reality?

Advanced Cell Technology has made incredible claims before. Under recently departed C.E.O. Michael West—whom some critics compared with the circus promoter P.T. Barnum—the company routinely asserted that stem-cell therapies were likely to reverse the aging process and grow replacement body parts, while most scientists were talking a more cautious line.

  The company was the first to clone an endangered species, an Asian bovine called a gaur, which died soon after—possibly from causes unrelated to the cloning. A.C.T. also claimed it had cloned the first human embryo, attracting worldwide attention, though the embryos grew to only a few cells in size.

Some blame the company's over-enthusiasm for playing into the hands of stem-cell opponents in the Bush Administration and elsewhere who were bent on squelching this new therapy. President Bush severely restricted federal funding for stem-cell research in 2001—restrictions that remain today, and are likely to until the next administration takes office.

Under Lanza, the company may not have fulfilled all of the promises made by West, but it has produced a string of solid discoveries and observations—though none have proved to be commercially viable. Most recently, Lanza's team has also induced stem cells to grow into retinal cells in eyes.

Creating synthetic blood has proved difficult; decades of efforts have so far been in vain. Several potential products are being tested in human clinical trials, most of them focusing on the critical function that blood plays in transporting oxygen. Other products, however, have been abandoned when they either didn't work, or proved to have dangerous or deadly side effects.

Blood created by stem cells is very similar to the real thing, and may avoid the pitfalls with other, more artificial techniques. If further tests confirm A.C.T.'s discovery—and, critically, show that the process is scalable and affordable—stem-cell blood may make the company more attractive to investors as it desperately seeks cash to carry on.

In July, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that A.C.T. had $17 million in current liabilities, but only $1 million in cash and other current assets, the Boston Globe reported. A.C.T.'s stock has been trading at 6 cents per share, down from $8 per share three years ago.

It's hard to know what the new techniques will cost once scaled up, or what revenues the discovery will bring in; Lanza says that he expects the company to know within two years if the processes will work.

Independent scientists are hopeful that the discovery will pan out. "The problem with relying on donated blood is that there are always shortages," Professor Alex Medvinsky, a blood stem-cell expert at the University of Edinburgh, told the Times of London. "The ability to generate red blood cells in very large numbers would be a very big thing."Related Links
Stem Cells on the Brink
A Google in the Sun
Last Days of the Anti-Science President


Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 27 Aug 2008 | 4:00 am

Clinton urges supporters to back Obama

Hillary Clinton rose to the occasion with a rousing speech to the Democratic convention in Denver on Tuesday night that called on her supporters to fall in line behind Barack Obama and reclaim a nation in peril
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Aug 2008 | 3:44 am

Business confidence improving

Business confidence has improved in the August National Bank Business Outlook survey released today. The number of those surveyed who expect things to get worse over the year ahead has fallen, with 20.5 per cent optimistic, compared...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 3:40 am

Sir Ron Brierley signals GPG retirement

Sir Ron Brierley today signalled his departure from Guinness Peat Group, the investment company he built up with colleagues after losing control of Brierley Investments. Brierley, 71, is planning to retire as chairman of GPG in...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 3:00 am

Vector profits down 29pc to $164m

Energy network company Vector has unveiled a 29.5 per cent fall in full year net profit to $164.4 million. Chairman Michael Stiassny said the result was "very robust" and due to efforts to streamline the business by removing inefficiencies,...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 2:00 am

Vector share buyback waiver approved

NZX Regulation (NZXR) has decided to waive one of its rules to allow Vector to buy back 2.5 per cent of its shares just three years after it listed. The previously announced buyback means Auckland Energy Consumer Trust's shareholding...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 1:38 am

Barbie maker gets $US100m in Bratz damages

A US federal jury has awarded Mattel $100 million in damages in a copyright lawsuit that pitted the house of Barbie against MGA Entertainment, the maker of the Bratz dolls. MGA and its chief executive officer, Isaac Larian, were...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 1:01 am

City news (Mon-Fri)

City news (Mon-Fri)
Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:01 am

Warning from Bean sends blue chips tumbling

Traders returning from the long Bank Holiday weekend were faced with a torrid trading session as the FTSE 100 initially crashed through the 5400 level.
Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:01 am

Lehman forces out small UK borrowers

Lehman Brothers is jettisoning small UK corporate borrowers from a book of £1.3bn commercial loans that the troubled US investment bank bought from Northern Rock in June last year, just ahead of the credit crisis.
Source: Telegraph Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:01 am

No Warehouse court appeal for Foodstuffs

Supermarket co-operative Foodstuffs has decided against taking its fight over the right to bid for retailer The Warehouse to the Supreme Court. Four weeks ago the Court of Appeal released a decision preventing Foodstuffs and rival...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am

KiwiSaver blamed for IRD overload

Accountants say the Inland Revenue Department is so overloaded with new initiatives such as KiwiSaver that other taxation work is getting put on the back burner. The New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants says getting anything...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 26 Aug 2008 | 11:30 pm

Oil bonanza?

Prospectors scour the UK countryside for black gold
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 26 Aug 2008 | 11:04 pm

Northern Rock defaults leave taxpayers facing bill

Fears that taxpayers may end up footing an even bigger bill for Northern Rock intensified yesterday after it emerged that the nationalised bank was suffering dramatically high default rates.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 26 Aug 2008 | 11:01 pm

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts favourite to bid for key Lehman Brothers business

Dick Fuld, the chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers, is seeking to complete a crucial deal for the Wall Street bank within three weeks as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), the private equity group, emerged as favourite to bid for the bank's asset management business.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 26 Aug 2008 | 11:00 pm

Mallard calls in Raglan wind farm decision

Environment Minister Trevor Mallard says he intends to call in Contact Energy's proposal for a 180-turbine wind farm near Raglan to be considered by an independent board of inquiry. The Hauauru ma Raki wind farm Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 26 Aug 2008 | 10:00 pm

Chico's profit beats; J Crew cuts view (Reuters)

Reuters - Apparel retailers Chico's FAS Inc and American Eagle Outfitters Inc posted better-than-expected profits on Tuesday despite taking deep markdowns to lure shoppers of all ages, sending their shares higher.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 26 Aug 2008 | 9:34 pm

Natural Gas ETFs Jump On Storm Worries (Daily ETF Wrap-Up)

As hurricane appears to gain strength, traders fret over impact on natural gas ETFs.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 26 Aug 2008 | 9:31 pm

VIX Index of U.S. Stock Option Prices Retreats 2.2 % to 20.49

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 26 Aug 2008 | 9:26 pm

Bell Rock's Toroian Suggests ETFs for Volatility in Oil Markets

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 26 Aug 2008 | 9:25 pm

Maybe Not All Is Rotten at GT Solar (SOLR)

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 26 Aug 2008 | 8:56 pm

4 Ways to Maximize Your Social Security Benefits (Deal of the Day)

Four ways prospective retirees can get the most out of their Social Security benefits.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 26 Aug 2008 | 8:52 pm

Seetharaman Says Doha Bank Planning to Expand in Asia

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 26 Aug 2008 | 8:19 pm

WR Hambrecht's Kather Says Apple's Model Still Has `Leverage'

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 26 Aug 2008 | 8:18 pm

Stocks Finish Mixed

Stocks ended flat on a hint of a rate hike, a letdown in housing and a boost in consumer confidence.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 26 Aug 2008 | 8:12 pm

Recession worries send euro to new low

The euro fell to a six-month low against the dollar after a new survey of German business confidence showed the lowest reading for three years and expectations of future activity hit a 15-year low
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Aug 2008 | 8:11 pm

Medvedev endorses Georgia break-up

The Russian president Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree recognising the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two Georgian breakaway regions, in a move that provoked western anger
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Aug 2008 | 8:03 pm

Crunching the Banks

Don't bet on a rebound in the nation's banks anytime soon.

The outlook looks increasingly bleak, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced that the number of institutions on its "problem" list had jumped to 117 at the end of the second quarter—the highest level in five years—from 90 in the first quarter.

The combined assets of the problem banks increased to $78 billion from $26 billion, the F.D.I.C. said.

In the second quarter, the 8,500 banks and thrifts insured by the agency set aside $50.2 billion to cover potential loan losses, more than four times from a year ago. Their earnings tumbled nearly 87 percent, to $5 billion, for the quarter from one year ago.

The annualized net charge-off rate in the second quarter was 1.32 percent—the highest since the fourth quarter of 1991.

Nine banks have failed so far this year, the biggest being IndyMac, and the agency wants to raise premiums to boost its deposit insurance fund.

For the third consecutive quarter, the agency said,  "insured institutions added almost twice as much in loan-loss provisions to their reserves for losses as they charged off for bad loans."

"By any yardstick, it was another rough quarter for bank earnings, but the results were not unexpected as the industry coped with financial market disruptions, the housing slump, worsening economic conditions and the overall downturn in the credit cycle," Sheila Bair, the chairwoman of the F.D.I.C., said in statement.

The problems with loans are likely to get worse for the banks as the housing market continues to sag and loans taken out in 2006 and 2007 increasingly go bad.

That was underscored by the latest Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 major metropolitan areas, which showed that housing prices declined 15.9 percent in June from a year ago.

Related Links
A Subprime Idea from the FDIC
The Astonishing Growth of Bank Deposits
IndyMac-n-Squeeze


Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 26 Aug 2008 | 8:00 pm

Matlock Says Kosovo Dispute Set `Precedent' for Russia

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:55 pm

The 52-Week Low Club 8/26/2008 (NT)(MU)(NYX)(SIRF)

Nortel Networks (NT) Analyst downgrade hits shares. Falls to $5.51 from 52-week high of $19.50.

Micron Technology (MU) Sell-off in sector. Drops to $4.21 from 52-week high of $12.

NYSE Euronext (NYX) Concerns that stock exchange profits are being hurt by financial markets. Sell off to $37.36 from 52-week high of $95.25.

Sirf Technology (SIRF) Judge recommends ban on company's imports. Plunges to $1.51 from 52-week high of $30.61.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:52 pm

Fannie and Freddie: Buy the Debt, Skip the Stock (Common Sense)

The mess that is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provides investing opportunities and dangers.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:28 pm

Goolsbee, Furman Say McCain's Plan Would Expand Deficit

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:26 pm

Almost Family to Uncle Sam (Stock Screen)

The savviest suppliers of home care are flying high and feeling no pain.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:16 pm

Dems need to consider nuclear energy

Commentator Will Marshall says there's a missing element in the Democratic party's platform that needs to be looked at more closely -- the future of nuclear power.
Source: Marketplace | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:01 pm

China laborers don't always fit blueprint

Big budgets and cheap labor are fueling rapid development in many Chinese cities. But with all the opportunity for architecture and construction firms comes a bit of risk -- the workforce. Lisa Chow reports.
Source: Marketplace | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:00 pm

It's not what you drive, but how

When the flow of traffic just isn't in your favor, the thing to remember is that it's not really about you. It's likely your fellow drivers who are responsible. Tom Vanderbilt, who makes that point in his book, "Traffic," explains to Kai Ryssdal.
Source: Marketplace | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:00 pm

Detroit's slowly shifting to efficient cars

For all the talk about building smaller, more fuel-efficient models, Detroit's automakers are just now taking some simple steps to improve the mileage of the cars they sell. Steve Henn reports.
Source: Marketplace | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:00 pm

State's obese workers face bigger bills

Alabama has begun charging more for health insurance to obese employees who don't at least try to trim down. Tanya Ott reports.
Source: Marketplace | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:00 pm

FDIC sees more banks closing doors

Today the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation warned of more bank failures ahead, with bank earnings dropping 80% from a year ago. John Dimsdale reports.
Source: Marketplace | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:00 pm

Credit markets weighing down economy

Some experts are whispering that the economy may be bouncing back. Key indicators released today might bolster their opinions. But poke around the credit markets and not everybody likes what they see. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
Source: Marketplace | 26 Aug 2008 | 7:00 pm

Letters: Our listeners sound off

Kai Ryssdal reviews listener comments to our coverage of New Orleans three years after Hurricane Katrina, college exams for 8th graders, and the Monsanto CEO's views on genetically modified crops.
Source: Marketplace | 26 Aug 2008 | 6:52 pm

3 Stocks to Watch: DRI, CHS, APC (Market Movers)

Darden shelled; Chico's cheered; Anadarko gushes cash.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 26 Aug 2008 | 6:14 pm

FOMC Minutes Diagnosis: Mass Schizophrenia

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 26 Aug 2008 | 6:10 pm

Temasek defends investment strategy

Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state investment agency, on Tuesday defended its strategy of investing in Merrill Lynch and Barclays, insisting that it saw value in US and UK financial stocks in spite of setbacks from the credit crunch
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Aug 2008 | 6:04 pm

Thornburg survival in doubt, sees completing tender (Reuters)

Reuters - Thornburg Mortgage Inc , a specialist in jumbo home loans, said its survival remained in doubt following additional margin calls, but it is on track to complete a restructuring and avoid collapse.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 26 Aug 2008 | 5:28 pm

Citi optimism boosts Fannie and Freddie

Shares in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac surged on Tuesday after Citigroup analysts said the two government-sponsored mortgage financiers could withstand losses up to the end of the year and an imminent government rescue was unlikely
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Aug 2008 | 5:05 pm

Cue the Optimists

Several Wall Street analysts have two words for those of you who have gotten your knickers in a twist over the fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Calm down.

In recent days, market chatter over a potential government bailout of the housing giants has reached a deafening roar. But several optimists have managed to quiet it, for now.

Citigroup equity research analysts told clients that both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have enough capital to cover their losses for the rest of the year. According to a presentation obtained by Reuters, the analysts project that Fannie Mae will have $20.3 billion in excess capital over the minimum required at the end of the year, and Freddie Mac will have $12.7 billion in excess.

The research seems to counter what other housing analysts have said in recent weeks, which is that a bailout for Fannie and Freddie must be imminent.

Separately, Goldman Sachs economists said that even if the government does have to rescue the mortgage giants, the event would be "entirely manageable." While taxpayers may have to incur some cost, they predict, a bailout would not have nearly the implications on the federal debt that some have estimated.

"The cost of G.S.E. intervention would be small in the federal context," they said, according to Dow Jones newswires. "The cost of intervening in the G.S.E. situation—if the Treasury decides this is necessary—would be substantially smaller than the notional amounts of debt suggest."

Yesterday, the bond market also provided a whiff of optimism after Freddie Mac successfully completed a $2 billion debt offering.

Battered Fannie and Freddie shareholders cheered the news. Freddie Mac shares soared 20 percent while Fannie Mae gained 10 percent.

The shares were also bolstered by the latest figures from the S&P/Case-Shiller indexes. While housing prices hit another new low in June, the declines appear to be moderating.


Related Links
When Bill Met Freddie
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Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 26 Aug 2008 | 5:00 pm

Legal Shark's Last Bite

Melvyn Weiss, once one of the most feared securities class-action lawyers in the country, must report to prison on Thursday.

For years, until entering a guilty plea in June, Weiss proclaimed his innocence on charges that he paid kickbacks to the investors who served as plaintiffs in his lawsuits against corporations. But the former founding partner of the law firm once known as Milberg Weiss is, if nothing else, a master deal maker.

Last October, he cut a deal in preparation for this day—an agreement to keep some of the future legal fees from cases he brought to his former law firm. Fees he might not otherwise have been entitled to share with his former partners, as an admitted felon who has lost the right to practice law, having pleaded guilty in June to racketeering and obstruction-of-justice charges.

Justice Herman Cahn of the New York State Supreme Court has approved the deal between Weiss and his former firm, now known simply as Milberg L.L.P. "Law firms are generally prohibited from sharing legal fees with non-lawyers," Justice Cahn wrote in his decision. But the ethical rules governing lawyers also allow a disbarred or suspended lawyer to be compensated for the fair value of his work before the termination of his or her right to practice law.

Cahn's decision notes that Weiss, who is 72, cannot be compensated for matters that were the subject of the federal prosecution. He will not get any fees for some lawsuits against Xerox, for example.

Weiss's deal with his former firm came under harsh criticism by the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal. On July 14, the eve of a court hearing regarding the agreement before Justice Cahn, the Journal published an editorial under the headline "The Milberg Double Cross," suggesting that prosecutors "may have been conned" by the "felonious" Weiss and his former firm. Already annoyed that the firm "got off easy" with its deal to avoid prosecution by paying $75 million, the Journal was disgusted that current partners would ink a deal to allow him to reap millions in the future: "Apparently, crime does pay," the piece huffed.

The Journal editorial, however, was inaccurate: The federal prosecutors in Los Angeles in fact had been apprised of Weiss's deal, as Justice Cahn's opinion points out.

The Journal itself acknowledged the error, if snarkily, in an August 5 editorial, after five Milberg partners wrote a stinging letter about it. ("Poor Bernie Ebbers, the former WorldCom boss now serving a 25-year prison sentence," the Journal editorial said. "If he'd been a class-action lawyer, he might have gotten a fat payout from his employer despite his felony rap.")

Sanford Dumain, Milberg's managing partner, defended the firm's deal with Weiss in an interview, noting that under the former partnership agreement, "Weiss had absolute dictatorial power if he wanted to use it."

"He gave up a lot in terms of monetary value, and he gave up all of his power," Dumain said.

And whatever fees Weiss collects under the deal may go back to the firm, at any rate. The firm has not given up its right to sue Weiss for contribution to its $75 million settlement with the Justice Department.

"Dollars are fungible," Dumain said. "You know, if Mel ends up contributing either by agreement or because we go after him for a judgment, dollars are dollars."

Weiss, for his part, will soon begin serving a 30-month prison sentence at a minimum-security camp in Morgantown, West Virginia.

And with Justice Cahn's ruling, the remaining lawyers at Milberg have their vindication that all was on the up and up with the prosecutors: There was no "double cross," as the Journal called it.
 
Now they soldier on. There have been rumblings that the firm kept the name Milberg so as not to trigger a dissolution clause in the original partnership agreement, an event that would require a payout of capital to former partners. In fact, two former partners of the firm, Steven Schulman and Robert Sugarman, brought arbitration proceedings in June 2006, claiming that such dissolution occurred when what was then Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach had a bicoastal divorce.

Does this smell of another Milberg "deal"? No way, says Dumain. "The only way that the firm can be dissolved is if the firm's executive committee votes to dissolve the firm," he says. At any rate, the arbitration has not proceeded vigorously. It is moribund, and an arbitration panel has not yet been selected.

The Milberg name refers to Lawrence Milberg, who died in 1989. Then 76, Milberg suffered a heart attack while playing tennis near his home in Great Neck, Long Island. Milberg was one of the unnamed co-conspirators in the kickback scheme, a fact admitted by the firm when it signed its plea agreement with the prosecutors.

So why continue with the name of a dead felon?

"We took the name because there is great value in the name," said Dumain. "The name still represents high-quality and tenacious work on behalf of our clients."

And the firm, by the way, is very much alive and well, Dumain says. There was a large defection out the door when the indictment against the firm was handed up in June 2006, he said. But that stopped in early 2007, and the firm now has 65 lawyers and 175 other employees. Dumain himself was co-lead counsel in the securities class action against Tyco, which landed a $3.2 billion recovery.

The firm has survived despite attacks on all sides by competitors and defense counsel attempting to use the pending indictment against it. But more often than not, the lawyers for the defense used the indictment against the firm—lawyers from powerful Wall Street firms like Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy.

But an opinion from September 2007, in a case called In re Flag Telecom Holdings Ltd. Securities Litigation, put these complaints to rest. Judge William Conner had some fun with Milbank Tweed's complaints that the firm would "face difficult decisions about how to manage the case" if the firm was "convicted" or "collapses before a criminal trial begins." Judge Conner had a simple response: "Defendants' argument is, to say the least, unpersuasive."

These days, the Milberg name is part of a larger crowd of firms. Firms such as Grant & Eisenhofer and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman carry most of the buzz in securities class actions. But Milberg is holding its own.

Even so, Judge John Walter of the federal district court in Los Angeles, who approved the firm's deal to avoid prosecution in the case, did so fairly reluctantly. "I am not a hundred percent convinced that a dismissal of all the charges based on the case disposition agreement that allows the firm to escape the consequences of the guilty plea to these charges is an appropriate disposition of the case," he noted at a July 14 hearing. But he also said, "In ruling on this motion, the court's discretion is extremely limited."

But Judge Walter tipped his hat to the current members of the firm. And he commended the prosecutors for "allowing those good people who didn't have any involvement in the conspiracy to earn a living."

Related Links
The Unknown Milberg
Law Firm Back From the Brink
The End of Milberg Weiss.


Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 26 Aug 2008 | 5:00 pm

Domestic Funds Straying From Home Turf (Ticked Off)

Investors bringing money home should check under the hood of that "U.S." fund.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 26 Aug 2008 | 4:23 pm

Wal-Mart goes purple with Marketside

Wal-Mart is not using its own name on its new Marketside small-format stores, and is opting for deep purple and grey colour scheme on the stores, which will open in coming weeks
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Aug 2008 | 3:28 pm

A Potential Winner in the Credit Crunch: People's United (Today From Barron's)

Having dodged the credit crisis, New England's largest regional bank is sitting atop $2.5 billion.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 26 Aug 2008 | 2:28 pm

Lorillard Viewed as `Best Positioned' by Goldman Sachs

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 26 Aug 2008 | 2:13 pm

Strait Profit

As of March 31, the value of Temasek's investment in Merrill Lynch had fallen by 24 percent and its stake in Barclays was down 38 percent.

You'd think that would hurt the returns for the Singapore sovereign wealth fund. But you'd be wrong.

Temasek's less-than-stellar investments in the banking sector couldn't slow the fund's momentum during the year that ended in March, according to its annual report. Bloomberg reports that the fund's net income doubled during the period to $12.8 billion. The returns comfortably outpaced the fund's average annual return of 18 percent since its inception more than 30 years ago.

The fund's portfolio expanded by 13 percent to $185 billion.

How did it do it? The fund's $3 billion sale of Tuas Power during the period certainly helped. The country's Ministry of Finance also injected about $7 billion into the fund during the year.

Temasek controls six of Singapore's 10 biggest companies, and the city's economy is still expanding at a healthy clip. Bloomberg notes that Singapore's economic output exceeded Merrill Lynch's market value for the first time in the quarter ended in March. It did it again in the June quarter.

Still, with investments in the financial sector comprising 40 percent of Temasek's portfolio, it's hard to imagine the fund can maintain these kinds of returns.

Even so, Temasek officials have indicated they still see value in the battered sector and may go in for even more exposure. "The financial service industry is one we believe in," said Temasek senior managing director Manish Kejriwal. "It's a proxy to the economic growth."

Indeed, Temasek recently committed another $900 million to Merrill Lynch, on top of the $5 billion it injected late last year. The fund uses its size to negotiate terms that reduce its risk in what most would consider the riskiest sector today.

Even though Merrill's share price has dropped precipitously since then, Temasek's stake was made whole when a subsequent share offering triggered an anti-dilution clause and reset Temasek's preferred shares at a lower price.  

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Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 26 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm

10 Things Millionaires Won't Tell You (10 Things)

They might drive fancy cars, but they also hunt for discounts and worry about retirement.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 26 Aug 2008 | 1:13 pm

What About Bob?

Now that Citigroup has simplified its Byzantine executive structure and given Bob Rubin the new title of senior counselor, the question remains: What exactly has Rubin been doing at Citi?

Or, more to the point, what has he been doing that justifies $118 million in compensation since 1999?

Rubin's role has been advising management and major clients on strategy and executive decisions. The new title "does not change anything in respect to my roles and functions within Citigroup," Rubin told the Financial Times.

At this time, however, Citi is not in need of a wise man. It is a bank that is pruning and retrenching, not one that is seeking growth opportunities or one searching for a global strategy. Citi has long had a vision, if a flawed one: to be a global financial colossus. It was stitched together by Sandy Weill a decade ago.

Now it is Pandit's job to fix it. It needs someone to cut costs, promote coordination and communication among its sprawling operations, and start investing in the supporting technology.

Pandit needs nut-and-bolts operational banking whizzes, not a Davos man (or woman).

Hammered by the credit crunch, Citi has racked up more than $17 billion in losses in less than a year. Where was Rubin when the bank, along with most of Wall Street, was plunging deeper into risky bets that were tied to a bubble in housing?

"People know I was concerned about the markets," Rubin told the New York Times in April. "Clearly, there were things wrong. But I don't know of anyone who foresaw a perfect storm, and that's what we've had here."

"I don't feel responsible, in light of the facts as I knew them in my role," he said.

As John Cassidy wrote in Condé Nast Portfolio last year: "It isn't for nothing that Robert Rubin is sometimes referred to as Teflon Bob."

As Treasury secretary under Clinton, Robin helped spur the deregulation of the financial industry, including the tearing down of Glass-Steagall, giving banks greater freedom to get into trouble.

Rubin, formerly co-chairman of Goldman Sachs, still has his admirers. His protégés can be found throughout Wall Street and the hedge fund world. One, Jason Furman, is Barack Obama's top economic adviser.

He may be wise, but Citi can no longer afford the services of a wise man.

Indeed, Citi is cutting costs everywhere it can. The Daily Telegraph reports on an internal memo that calls for cutting back on color photocopying and other expenses.

"Managing our expenses is not only a critical aspect of our strategy, it is also an important part of our jobs," the memo said. "Each of us must do our part to manage our expenses by challenging every dollar we spend."

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Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 26 Aug 2008 | 12:30 pm