World Business News Headlines for October 21, 2008

An unauthorised point of view

On Radio New Zealand last week Michael Cullen revealed he was not authorised to give financial advice. A funny admission for a Minister of Finance to make but, under the recently-introduced Financial Advisers Act, Cullen probably...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 2:19 pm

Tech Stocks: Weak earnings from TI, Sun Micro lead losses

Technology stocks fell across the board in early trading Tuesday as the sector was dragged down by disappointing earnings reports from Texas Instruments Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Lexmark International Inc.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 21 Oct 2008 | 2:08 pm

Metals Stocks: Gold falls 2% as dollar strengthens, oil falls

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures fell Tuesday as a stronger U.S. dollar reduced the precious metal's appeal as an alternative investment.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 21 Oct 2008 | 2:08 pm

Ben Bernanke Still Misses the Point

By John Tamny RealClearMarkets

Writing about former Fed Chairman Arthur Burns in his 1998 book, Nixon's Economy, economic historian Allen Matusow noted that Burns "had no fixed monetary principle of his own, except a determined eclecticism that translated into unsteadiness of purpose." Though he fought against the suspension of the Bretton Wood's world-dollar standard, in the end Burns was "too ready to sacrifice clarity for surface harmony in the policy directives of the Federal Open Market Committee."

Futures Movers: Crude contract falls 4% on demand concerns, stronger dollar

Crude-oil futures drop further, amid concerns over a slowdown in global petroleum demand and as the U.S. dollar trades at its highest against the euro in 19 months.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 21 Oct 2008 | 2:04 pm

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

Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Tuesday’s session are American Express, DuPont, Icon, Logitech, Netflix, SanDisk and Sun Micro.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 21 Oct 2008 | 2:03 pm

MarketWatch First Take: Volkswagen shares are plunging -- and it's good news

Volkswagen shares are down 47% from highs reached just Thursday -- and that’s the good news, writes Steve Goldstein.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 21 Oct 2008 | 2:02 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 | 21 Oct 2008 | 2:01 pm

DuPont cuts outlook as profit drops 30%

DuPont cuts its earnings outlook for the year as the continued fallout from hurricane damage and the deteriorating economy in North America and Western Europe weigh on the chemicals giant.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 21 Oct 2008 | 2:01 pm

Material costs spark 6% drop in Caterpillar's quarterly profit

Higher material costs offset record sales for Caterpillar in the third quarter, driving profit down 6% on a year-over-year basis, but the heavy-equipment maker stands by its previous target of generating $6 a share in profit for 2008 as well.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 21 Oct 2008 | 2:01 pm

Financial Stocks: Sector slide as banks, BlackRock post results

U.S. financial stocks again took their cue from earnings Tuesday morning as falling results from a trio of Ohio banks and a major asset manager drove the sector lower.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 21 Oct 2008 | 2:01 pm

Fed launches new plan to help money market funds (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday launched a new facility to fund purchases of certificates of deposit and commercial paper from money market mutual funds in the latest step to provide liquidity to strained financial markets.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:59 pm

Eli Lilly to take $1.4 billion charge as it talks to settle probe

Eli Lilly and Co. said Tuesday morning that it is in advanced discussions to resolve ongoing federal probes into its marketing of Zyprexa, a popular drug designed to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:59 pm

Sun Microsystems, Still Setting in the West (JAVA)

Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) just cannot seem to get things right and that is more than evident in its shares this morning. Last night the company warned of lower than expected earnings. Unfortunately that may just be the start of its issues, and there are very few clear answers.

The company said its revenues would come in between $2.95 and $3.05 billion. While it sees a GAAP loss of -$0.25 to -$0.35 EPS, its non-GAAP numbers are also expected to show a loss at -$0.02 to -$0.12 EPS. Revenues expectations are $3.14 billion and non-GAAP earnings are now -$0.01 EPS, but these have just recently come down to this level.

Its gross margin is expected in a range of 39% to 41%. The GAAP loss is from restructuring items and it is taking writedowns on carrying value as goodwill.

Where the real problem is going to come is likely in the next quarter. Sun talked about customer slowdowns and if you interpolate the forecasts being given elsewhere with slowdowns, then it becomes almost impossible to believe that this next quarter's estimate of $0.17 non-GAAP EPS and $3.54 billion in revenues is feasible.

One of the other large issues the company faces is that many investors just do not really understand the company any longer. High-end servers are now very competitive and most Java applications are essentially free to license. It made acquisitions to generate higher earnings, but it seemed very short-lived. It also seems to us on the surface that the big move was on backward looking legacy products rather than on forward looking large transformative deals, but that may just stem from years of disappointment here.

Shares are down 13% at $4.99 today and the 52-week trading range is $4.68 to $24.08. If this keeps up, the company will get to announce a reverse split and stock ticker change all over again.

Formal earnings are next Thursday, October 30, 2008. No one is very excited.

Jon C. Ogg
October 21, 2008

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:54 pm

Oil down as weak demand outweighs OPEC

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell on Tuesday, pressured by expectations that a global recession will crush demand for oil, which could limit the impact of any supply cuts by OPEC.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:52 pm

Accountants named for rescue program

Read full story for latest details.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:51 pm

Stocks open lower after previous session's rally

NEW YORK -- Wall Street is down in early trading as investors decided to cash in some of Monday's big gains as they comb through another batch of quarterly earnings.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:51 pm

Stocks drop on recession, profit worries

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slid at the open on Tuesday as recession fears fueled a sell-off in commodity-related companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp, and earnings reports and outlooks sparked caution.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:50 pm

Growth worries force euro lower

The euro falls to a 19-month low against the dollar as investors fear faltering European economic growth.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:50 pm

Stocks pull back at open

Stocks slipped Tuesday morning, as investors backtracked after the previous session's big 413-point rally for the Dow Jones industrial average.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:49 pm

Lilly to take $1.4 billion charge over Zyprexa (Reuters)

Reuters - Eli Lilly and Co will record a $1.4 billion charge because of probes into past marketing of its top-selling Zyprexa schizophrenia drug and is in advanced talks to resolve the investigations, the company said on Tuesday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:48 pm

Lilly to take $1.4 billion charge over Zyprexa

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co will record a $1.4 billion charge because of probes into past marketing of its top-selling Zyprexa schizophrenia drug and is in advanced talks to resolve the investigations, the company said on Tuesday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:48 pm

Kerkorian sells down his Ford stake

In a sharp change of strategy, Kirk Kerkorian, the US billionaire, is selling down his stake in Ford Motor because he sees more value in his core gambling holdings
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:42 pm

Stocks drop on recession, profit worries (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks slid at the open on Tuesday as recession fears fueled a sell-off in commodity-related companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp, and earnings reports and outlooks sparked caution.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:41 pm

Drugmakers post healthy third-quarter results

LONDON (Reuters) - Three of the world's top drugmakers posted healthy quarterly results on Tuesday, underlining the defensive nature of the sector at a time of financial turmoil.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:38 pm

Fed adds step in mutual fund help

Read full story for latest details.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:36 pm

Caterpillar profit falls as economy slows

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar Inc said its quarterly earnings fell 6.4 percent as weakness in the United States spread into Europe and Asia and offset continued growth in emerging markets.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:32 pm

France and Japan help banks, IMF prepares aid

LONDON (Reuters) - Japan and France offered a helping hand to their banks on Tuesday and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) prepared to intervene in financial trouble spots in several corners of the world.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:29 pm

Fed to buy commercial paper from mutual funds (AP)

AP - The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday that it will start buying commercial paper a crucial short-term funding mechanism many companies rely on for day-to-day operations from money market mutual funds.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:26 pm

National City to cut 4,000 jobs (Reuters)

Reuters - National City Corp, a U.S. Midwest regional bank hard hit by the credit crisis, on Tuesday announced plans to slash 4,000 jobs and said rising reserves for soured mortgage and real estate construction loans led to its fifth straight quarterly loss.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:24 pm

National City to cut 4,000 jobs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - National City Corp, a U.S. Midwest regional bank hard hit by the credit crisis, on Tuesday announced plans to slash 4,000 jobs and said rising reserves for soured mortgage and real estate construction loans led to its fifth straight quarterly loss.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:24 pm

Fed launches new plan to help money market funds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday launched a new facility to fund purchases of certificates of deposit and commercial paper from money market mutual funds in the latest step to provide liquidity to strained financial markets.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:23 pm

Fed to buy commercial paper from mutual funds

The Federal Reserve says it will buy commercial paper -- a crucial short-term funding mechanism that many companies rely on for day-to-day operations -- from money market mutual funds.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:11 pm

Fed to buy commercial paper from mutual funds

The Federal Reserve says it will buy commercial paper -- a crucial short-term funding mechanism that many companies rely on for day-to-day operations -- from money market mutual funds.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:11 pm

Pfizer raises full-year forecast

Pfizer said its profit in the third quarter tripled, mostly due to a huge charge depressing last year's results
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:09 pm

Kerkorian cuts Ford stake, says could sell all shares

DETROIT (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian sold part of his 6.5 percent stake in Ford Motor Co and could sell the rest of his stake in the No. 2 U.S. automaker, Kerkorian's investment vehicle Tracinda Corp said on Tuesday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:08 pm

Poor earnings reports unsettle Wall Street

US stocks were set for a lower start after a glut of disappointing earnings and warnings of lower profits next year overshadowed improvements in money markets. Ford fell after billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian sold part of his stake in the embattled company
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:07 pm

Kerkorian selling Ford stake

Financier Kirk Kerkorian is pulling out of the stake he took in Ford Motor Co. he took only six months ago, selling 7.3 million shares at a fraction of his purchase price.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:00 pm

Factory gloom 'worst since 1980'

Lower demand for UK-made goods causes the sharpest quarterly drop in manufacturing confidence in 28 years, a survey says.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:55 pm

Layoffs can't save Yahoo

Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang will have a lot of explaining to do when the company he founded reports earnings after the closing bell Tuesday. Yahoo will announce its long-expected plans for major layoffs, but Wall Street investors say cutting costs is hardly enough to fix Yahoo's mountain of problems.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:42 pm

Kerkorian Dumps Ford (F)

Billionaire, or at least still multimillionaire, Kirk Kerkorian sold a large piece of his stake in Ford (F). The transaction amounted to 7.3 million shares at $2.43 each. The is only a tiny part of the 133.5 million shares that the old man owns.

According to MarketWatch, Kerkorian's holding company Tracinda will focus on the gaming and hospitality, as well as the oil and gas industries, "in light of current economic and market conditions," They left out the part about Ford being a Chapter 11 candidate.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:40 pm

Fifth Third, At Fourth and One (FITB)

Those hoping for any magic recovery over at Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) are going to have to wait a little longer. The troubled regional bank is trading lower Tuesday despite the point that almost everyone should have been expecting light earnings. Fifth Third has posted a loss of -$0.14 EPS while First Call had estimates for a profit of $0.18 EPS. Fifth Third said it was considering applying for relief funds under the $700 billion bank bailout TARP plan.

The company's loss was $81 million after items, and this compares to a whopping profit of $325 million or $0.61 EPS in the same quarter of 2007. You can imagine where the losses stem from: the loss was mainly blamed on higher credit costs and market valuations. The loss provisions set aside were $941 million rather than an amopunt of only $139 million in the same quarter last year, and the high concentration of those losses is Michigan and Florida. Its charge off rate has also grown by 150% to 2.17%.

There are roughly $123 million in charges spread out among the Fannie/Freddie write-offs and the Visa-Discover settlement and the life insurance policies.

The good news is that net interest income rose over 40% to $1.07 billion, but about $215 million was due to accounting adjustments.

This company does need the TARP help, even if it comes at a price. Shares are trading down 14% at $10.50 pre-market, while the 52-week trading range is $7.96 to $31.52. Two years ago this was north of a $40.00 stock.

You can forget about trying to make forward calculations on the P/E ratios here now that the "E" is a "-" and this is going to cause many estimates to come crashing down all over again. About all traders and investors can hope for here is that these crummy numbers should have been factored iun much better than what analysts had as official numbers. Interestingly enough, it doesn't look like any of the analysts were expecting losses.

Jon C. Ogg
October 21, 2008

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:38 pm

European airports seal alliance

The Paris airports operator says it has sealed a deal with its counterpart in Amsterdam allowing the airports to share services and cut costs.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:33 pm

International sales keep Caterpillar on track

The world's largest maker of construction equipment and heavy-duty engines, reported a 6% cent fall in third-quarter profits, but record revenues from buoyant business outside North America
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:31 pm

Compass Diversified Holdings to Release Third Quarter Financial Results on November 10, 2008

Management to Hold Conference Call at 9 a.m. ET WESTPORT, Conn., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Compass Diversified Holdings (Nasdaq: CODI) ("CODI" or
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

Investing in a Volatile Real Estate Market: Local Financial Pro Gives Investors Seven Tips to Navigate the Real Estate Market

RICHARDSON, Texas, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Throughout our nation's history, investing in real estate has been one of the fastest ways to build wealth, but news...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

Builders Insurance and Home Builders Association of Georgia Reach Agreement to Resolve Proxy Contest

ATLANTA, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Builders Insurance (a Mutual Captive Company), and the Home Builders Association of Georgia ("HBAG") today announced that they...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

BMHC to Report Third Quarter 2008 Financial Results on November 6, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Building Materials Holding Corporation (NYSE: BLG), a leading provider of building materials and construction services to
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

Southwest Bancorp Reports Third Quarter Earnings, Increased Reserves

STILLWATER, Okla., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: OKSB), ("Southwest"), today reported net income of $2.3 million, or $0.16...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

PolyOne to Hold Third Quarter Conference Call on November 5

CLEVELAND, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL), a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, intends to...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

Webster Declares Convertible Preferred Stock Dividend

WATERBURY, Conn., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE: WBS), the holding company for Webster Bank, N.A., announced that its Board of Directors...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

AK Steel Reports Record Net Income of $188.3 Million for the Third Quarter of 2008

Quarter Highlighted By Record Selling Prices And Operating Profit Measures WEST CHESTER, Ohio, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) today reported...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

Kaboose Announces Third Quarter Earnings Release Date and Conference Call

TORONTO, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Kaboose Inc. (TSX: KAB), one of the largest family-focused new media companies in the world, announced today that it will release its...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

UAL Corporation Reports Third Quarter 2008 Results

Delivering Competitive Revenue, Controlling Costs, and Executing on Plan to Return to Profitability CHICAGO, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UAL Corporation (Nasdaq:...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

Ford: He's Just Not That Into You

K irk Kerkorian, serial dater of automakers. The latest company to catch the 91-year-old investor's eager eye only to be abandoned months later is Ford Motor.

Kerkorian's investment company, Tracinda, says that it is selling its 6.4 percent stake in Ford. It sold 7.3 million shares on Monday and says it may sell the remaining 133.5 million shares, or nearly 6.1 percent of Ford, "depending upon market conditions and available sales prices."

When Kerkorian first built his stake in Ford in April, it was seen as a rallying endorsement of the turnaround strategy of Alan Mulally, Ford's chief executive, after the company had suffered nearly $24 billion in losses over the last three years. Indeed, Kerkorian has been the biggest shareholder outside of the Ford family. Even as the onetime Big Three struggle to survive as car sales plunge and cash evaporates, many have seen Ford as Detroit's best hope. Ford has been the most aggressive in working to reduce the number of its factories, workers, and dealers in North America.

The options for Detroit are quickly dwindling. General Motors has been talking with Chrysler about a possible merger, but a deal faces some high hurdles. Chrysler, meanwhile, has weighed joining a manufacturing alliance with Nissan Motor and Renault, John Stoll of the Wall Street Journal reports. And Chrysler's private equity owner, Cerberus Capital Management, is talking about having Nissan, and possibly Renault, acquire a minority stake, the Journal says.

Tracinda says it will focus on its gambling, hospitality, and energy interests instead of the auto industry.

With Ford, Kerkorian has repeated a familiar pattern. In 1995, he made an unsuccessful takeover bid for Chrysler. After Chrysler agreed to be acquired by Daimler-Benz in 1998, Kerkorian sued but lost in a Delaware court. When Daimler later put Chrylser up for sale last year, Kerkorian tried to present a bid, but was rebuffed.

Between Chrysler engagements, Kerkorian became the biggest individual shareholder in General Motors in 2005. He successfully pressed G.M. for a seat on the board, but he was less successful in trying to persuade the automaker to enter into an alliance with Renault of France and Nissan Motor of Japan.

His long, tempestuous romance with the automobile has now finally ended.

Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

Suddenly single - and ready to bet big

TeRon Lawrence, 37, sees opportunity in the recent stock and real estate market turmoil. In fact, he sees a lot of opportunities.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:29 pm

Brown to urge banks to lend to small business

Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson will meet the chief executives of High Street banks in Downing Street on Thursday and urge them to lend more freely to small and medium sized enterprises.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:26 pm

Apple's next act: Changing PC buying habits

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:22 pm

Ohio banks National City, Fifth Third post losses

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:18 pm

Gas exporters' group to be formed

Russia, Iran and Qatar agree to set up a "technical committee" as a prelude to creating a gas equivalent to Opec.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:16 pm

Major Industrial Earnings Surviving, But Not Thriving (MMM, CAT, LMT)

This morning there have been earnings reports from key industrial and defense stocks from the likes of 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT). These have all reported earnings that Wall Street appears to be digesting well. None of these numbers are blow-out numbers, but they are also not indicative of the orders at major companies falling off of a cliff into the abyss.

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) is trading higher this morning after the conglomerate beat earnings expectations. It posted $1.42 non-GAAP and $1.41 actual EPS vs. First Call estimates of $1.38, while revenues were $6.56 billion versus $6.65 billion estimates. The company also guided $5.40 to $5.48 EPS versus estimates of $5.45 EPS. 3M shares are up 4% at $60.00.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) posted earnings of $1.39 EPS vs. $1.41 estimates. The company also noted that it sees 2008 at $6.00 EPS vs. estimates of $6.04 EPS and revenues of $50 billion vs. the estimates of $50.4 billion. The company is actually maintaining that emerging market demand and commodity prices have kept orders up in mining and energy that offset negative conditions in the developed world. Cat shares are up less than 1% pre-market at $41.05.

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) reported earnings of $1.92 EPS vs. $1.89 estimates and it sees 2008 now higher in a range of $7.55 to $7.70 EPS vs. a prior range of $7.45 to $7.60 EPS. It also sees 2009 at $7.65 to $7.90 EPS. First Call has 2008 estimates at $7.75 EPS and 2009 at $8.39 EPS, but shares are indicated up 1% in early indications. Lockheed is actually indicated lower by 3% at $90.00 pre-market based upon the soft guidance for 2009.

Jon C. Ogg
October 21, 2008

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:16 pm

Leading indicators lift dollar

Read full story for latest details.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:15 pm

Manufacturing confidence falls to 28-year low

Confidence among manufacturers has seen its sharpest fall for almost three decades during the last three months of “exceptional economic turbulence,” the CBI warned today.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:07 pm

Top Pre-Market analyst Upgrades (AUTH, CBRL, CAKE, DRI, KR, LGF, PNRA, PMC, VLTR)

These are some of the top upgrades and positive calls we are seeing this Tuesday morning on Wall Street:

AuthenTec (AUTH) Started At Buy at Stanford Group.
CBRL Group (CBRL) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.
Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.
Darden Restaurants (DRI) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.
Kroger (KR) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Lions Gate (LGF) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Panera Bread (PNRA) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.
PharMerica (PMC) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Volterra Semiconductor (VLTR) Raised to Buy at Piper Jaffray.

Jon C. Ogg
October 21, 2008

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:03 pm

Oil tops $74, OPEC-style gas cartel possible

Read full story for latest details.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:02 pm

Top Pre-Market analyst Downgrades (CEO, EXC, LLTC, NRG, PVH, POWI, TXN, WFMI)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades and negative calls we are seeing from Wall Street this Tuesday morning:

CNOOC (CEO) Cut to Hold at Deutsche bank.
Excelon (EXC) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Linear Tech (LLTC) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.
NRG Energy (NRG) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Power Integrations (POWI) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.
Texas Instruments (TXN) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.
Whole Foods (WFMI) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.

Jon C. Ogg
October 21, 2008

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:01 pm

A.I.G. vs. Cramer Smackdown

Yeah, booyah to you, pal!

Thanks to the publicity over retreats at expensive California spas and partridge hunts in the English countryside, American International Group has become a big fat target for critics.

But its new chief executive Edward Liddy, the former Allstate C.E.O. and Goldman Sachs director, has drawn a line in the sand. Heidi Moore of the Wall Street Journal’s Deal Journal reports that Liddy has sent an angry letter to Jim Cramer, saying that he went too far by urging viewers of his Mad Money show on Thursday to "harass" A.I.G. employees.

Cramer said on the show about A.I.G.:

"We should hound them in the supermarket, we should hound them in the ballpark, we should hound them everywhere they are. We should make fun of them, and we should point fingers at them, and we should tell them that you have no shame."

Liddy has demanded an apology, saying, "It is one thing to criticize the executive leadership of A.I.G.—that's fair commentary. But it is way out of bounds to incite people to confront and harass other A.I.G. employees."

A.I.G. employees, he says, "did not cause this mess, but they are paying for it—in diminished 401(k) savings and in some job losses as we sell companies to repay the Federal loan."

On the show, Cramer was sharply critical of the way A.I.G. doled out money for retreats and executive bonuses even as it sought nearly $123 billion in federal loans.

And he noted that there could be a day of reckoning for the company today, when the credit-default swaps on hundreds of billions of Lehman Brothers debt will be settled.

Did Cramer go too far in mocking A.I.G.? And would he really apologize when former A.I.G. executives have not taken any of the blame for the near collapse of the insurance giant?

Still, Cramer has been in an apologizing mood of late, issuing mea culpas for bullish calls on Bear Stearns and Wachovia.

"I apologized to my viewers," he told David Carr of the New York Times. "I apologized on the Today show. It is a completely humbling market."

Related Links
The Humbling of Jim Cramer
Banning Terrorism
AIG: The Cramer Conspiracy Theory

Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:00 pm

House sales slump 53% in UK

The number of property sales in the UK has fallen by 53% in the past year, according to HM Revenue & Customs.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 21 Oct 2008 | 11:56 am

Stocks boosted from new US stimulus plan (AFP)

AFP - World markets showed encouraging signs of recovery on Tuesday on hopes of another US economic stimulus package and a thaw in frozen credit markets, analysts said.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 11:30 am

DuPont posts lower quarterly profit, trims outlook (Reuters)

Reuters - Chemical maker DuPont Co reported lower third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, hurt by hurricane-related charges and lower volume shipments, and cut its full-year forecast.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 11:24 am

DuPont posts lower quarterly profit, trims outlook

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chemical maker DuPont Co reported lower third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, hurt by hurricane-related charges and lower volume shipments, and cut its full-year forecast.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 21 Oct 2008 | 11:24 am

Pfizer (PFE) Does Some Good, Viagra Rocks On

Once all of the one-time charges were washed out of the numbers, Pfizer had third-quarter 2008, Pfizer recorded adjusted incomeof $4.2 billion, an increase of 5% compared with $4.0 billion in the year-ago quarter, and adjusted diluted EPS of $.62, an increase of 7% compared with $.58 in the year-ago quarter. The firm hit these numbers despite a drop in sales of its Zyrtec and Camptosar products.

Viagra and Lipitor continued to do well, a bit of a commentary on life in the US in 2008.

Perhaps most important, Pfizer upped its forecasts. The pharman firm raised the lower end of its guidance range for full-year 2008 revenues to $48.0 to $49.0 billion from $47.0 to $49.0 billion.

All in all, a pretty outstanding set of numbers

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 21 Oct 2008 | 11:14 am

IMF warns business as EU outlook worsens

European businesses will suffer a sharp contraction in credit next year as the full consequences of the global crisis unfold for non-financial companies, the International Monetary Fund has predicted
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Oct 2008 | 11:11 am

Wal-Mart says China sales growth at over 25 percent (Reuters)

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world's largest retailer, has achieved annual sales growth in China of at least 25 percent and this strong growth will continue, a company executive said on Tuesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 11:11 am

Sarkozy wants top EU economy team

The French president calls for a European "economic government" to ensure a more united EU response to financial turmoil.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 21 Oct 2008 | 11:06 am

Mandelson pledges business help

Britain's new business secretary Lord Mandelson promises to help small and medium-sized businesses.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 21 Oct 2008 | 11:05 am

House sales plunge 53% to three-year low

The number of houses sold in September fell by 53 per cent to a three-year low compared to last year as Britain's housing crisis deepened.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 21 Oct 2008 | 11:04 am

Poverty gap wider, says OECD

The gulf between rich and poor in most wealthy nations is wider than it was 20 years ago, the OECD says.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 21 Oct 2008 | 10:52 am

OFT accuses eight recruiters of price fixing

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has accused eight recruitment agencies of price fixing and collectively boycotting another company that supplies staff to the construction industry.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 21 Oct 2008 | 10:39 am

Asian markets rise on possible U.S. economic aid

HONG KONG -- Most Asian markets rose Tuesday, following Wall Street's gains after the chairman of the U.S. central bank signaled support for more government aid to revive the country's slumping economy.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 10:34 am

Asian markets rise on possible U.S. economic aid

Sarkozy calls for halt to foreign ownership

Nicolas Sarkozy risked blowing apart the European consensus over how to deal with the financial crisis by proposing today that each country launch sovereign wealth funds to take stakes in key industries to stop them falling into foreign hands.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 21 Oct 2008 | 10:29 am

French banks surge on state injection

The shares of French banks soared after the government said it would inject €10.5bn into the six biggest players in an effort to shore up their balance sheets
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Oct 2008 | 10:26 am

As Chrysler Walks From GM (GM) VW May Be In The Footlights

GM (GM) may not be able to come up for the money to marry Chrysler. The deal could involve firing 60,000 people and paying their severance. The process of putting the two companies together would probably take more than a year. Forcing together IT structures, product management, and accounting systems is high-risk work and another expensive undertaking.

Chrysler and its largest shareholder, Cerberus, needs a partner. Chrysler sales in North America are down as much as 30% compared with last year, and Cerberus is most likely sick of writing more checks.

Renault and Nissan, which already have close ties in purchasing and product development, are talking to Chrysler about the American car firm hooking up with them. It is hard to see how Chrysler saves much money that way, but Cerberus may think that any way out is a good one. If a deal comes together it leaves GM forlorn and still bleeding cash at the rate of $1 billion a month. The largest car company in America has also talked to Ford (F) about a merger, but the smaller company is apparently not interested.

While all of this goes on, GM faces running low on money in the second half of next year.

There are probably only two car companies in the world large enough to have a merger of equals with GM or to buy the company outright. One is Toyota (TM), which certainly has the balance sheet and operating prowess to do do. But, it already has 15% of the US market and is growing. Buying GM would take its market share closer to 40%. People in Congress might be unhappy about that. Toyota may also feel it has enough exposure to the enfeebled American car market.

The other operator who has the revenue, manufacturing scope, and worldwide sales to pick up GM is VW. It has next to no market share in the US and its exposure is mostly in Europe and Asia. Since it could take tremendous costs out of GM's administration and production operations, it could cut North American costs substantially and be well positioned for a recovery.

GM needs a home, and VW is big enough.

Douglas A. McIntye

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 21 Oct 2008 | 10:21 am

Parmalat shares hit by US ruling

Parmalat shares fall sharply after the company is ordered to pay Citigroup $364m in damages by a New Jersey state court.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 21 Oct 2008 | 10:04 am

Why Apple (AAPL) Is The Best Stock In The World

Apple (AAPL) is not the best stock. Google (GOOG) is. Or, maybe it is a tie.

Apple will release its earnings into the jaws of one of the great economic slowdowns in memory and analysts think it EPS will rise to $1.11 from $1.01 last year. Some forecasters even put their quarterly guess as high as $1.19. Revenue is expected to go up 29% to $8.05 billion.

By those measures, the stock is dirt cheap, trading at just above $98, down from a 52-week high of $202.96.

Of course, investors are probably not worried so much about this quarter as the next quarter of this year and 2009. Since Apple's CFO always sandbags his forecasts, listening to him is close to worthless.

The Apple magic is based on one simple premise. Consumers like Apple products much better than competing offerings. That allows Apple to command premium prices. It also means that if people are going to buy any computer, music player, or phone, it will be an Apple. Buying something from Steve Jobs is such a privilege that consumers will spend their last dollar on something he has made. Recession or not.

To think that a company could command its markets that way is nearly absurd, but it has worked for Apple because consumers prize its products above others. No one understands how to use a Mac. It is much too complex and has nothing like the ease of use that a PC running Microsoft (MSFT) Windows does. But, people cannot get enough of the Apple product even though it is sold at a premium to almost every other laptop and desktop.

The same is true of the iPhone which looks like a brick with a touch screen. But, it does not have tiny and useless buttons on a keyboard like so many other cellphones do. Its screen is large and bright. The fact that it does not work on the AT&T (T) 3G network is only a modest drawback.

Whatever analysts and skeptical consumers think of Apple products, their appeal compared to their competition is remarkable and has been sustained over time.

As a business, Apple has the one thing that every other company would love--staying power.

Earnings will be better than expected.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 21 Oct 2008 | 10:03 am

Dollar hits 1-year high against euro

The dollar rose to a one-and-a-half year high against the euro and held close to a 16-month peak against a basket of currencies on Tuesday as funding demand supported the US currency.Analysts said hedge...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 10:01 am

Thaksin found guilty and sentenced to jail

Thailand's Supreme Court has found the country's controversial former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra guilty in absentia of abusing his office and sentenced him to two years in jail
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Oct 2008 | 9:46 am

Pakistan set for key IMF talks

Talks are due between the International Monetary Fund and Pakistan which faces a serious balance of payments crisis.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 21 Oct 2008 | 9:42 am

Asian stocks make further gains

Citic Pacific shares slumped by more than half their value on Tuesday after the listed arm of the Chinese government conglomerate said it was facing significant foreign exchange losses from unauthorised...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 9:40 am

French banks help lift European shares

European shares rose for a third session on Tuesday morning, as the French government's decision to inject 10.5bn into its banking system lifted financials and offset volatility in other sectors.The FTSE...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 9:22 am

Oil approaches $75 ahead of OPEC meeting$

Oil approached $75 a barrel this morning, rising for the third consecutive day, on fears that Opec, the cartel which accounts for 40 per cent of global production, will decide to cut output when it meets on Friday.$
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 21 Oct 2008 | 9:20 am

FTSE climbs as liquidity tensions ease

Equity markets continued to recover on Tuesday, but shares in London had lost much of their upward momentum shortly after the open after financial stocks came under pressure.By mid morning, the FTSE 100...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 8:57 am

European Markets Edge Higher, Asia Is Mixed

European stocks were mostly higher Tuesday, a day after France announced a big injection of cash into French banks.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 8:31 am

Gap between rich, poor widening in NZ - OECD report

Income inequality increased significantly in New Zealand between the mid-1980s and mid-2000, a report on inequality trends in OECD countries shows. The three-year study by the OECD showed that in the last two decades, inequality...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am

Rich-poor divide widens, says OECD

The gap between rich and poor has widened in most developed countries over the past two decades as economic growth has benefited the wealthy more than the impoverished, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:49 am

Debenhams cuts dividend amid faltering sales

Debenhams has slashed its dividend and promised a string of other cost cutting measures to reduce its £1 billion debt pile after reporting a 4.2 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in September and the first half of October.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:34 am

Australian Stocks: Market jumps almost four per cent

MELBOURNE - The Australian sharemarket closed almost four per cent higher for the second consecutive session today as world markets rebounded on signs the global credit crunch may be easing and the United States may do more to stimulate...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:33 am

Gasoline prices continue slide

The nationwide average falls to $2.914 a gallon, the Energy Department reports. California's average is down to $3.355.

Pump prices fell sharply again over the last week to less than $3 a gallon in much of the nation, the Energy Department said Monday, as economic malaise and weak driver demand exerted more pressure on the cost of gasoline.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

Southern California home prices continue to slide

The median is down 33% from a year ago. Sales rise 65% amid bargain hunting; half of September's home sales are foreclosures.

Don't count on that housing recovery any time soon.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

An eroding model for health insurance

Working Americans once could rely on employer-based benefits. But more people are being forced into the individual market, where coverage is costly, bare-bones and precarious.

First of three parts

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke supports stimulus plan

President Bush offers support after the Fed chief's statement. The parties differ, though, on their approaches. The last major obstacles...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

Women left on sidelines in video game revolution

The glass ceiling shows cracks, but it's still a man's virtual world.

As a top executive at one of the world's biggest video game publishers, Kathy Vrabeck often completes an entire workday without meeting with another woman. And her employer, Electronic Arts Inc., is less of a boys club than many of its peers.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

China less likely to buffer world crisis as its economy slows

Hopes that Chinese demand would aid the global economy dim as the Asian nation's growth slows sharply.

China's powerful economic machine is losing steam, raising significant concerns for many businesses that are counting on the Asian nation to help them ride out the global financial crisis.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke supports stimulus plan

President Bush offers support after the Fed chief's statement. The parties differ, though, on their approaches.

The last major obstacles to another government stimulus package began crumbling Monday, shifting the debate from whether the fading economy needs a jolt to the best way of providing it.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

Online music service offers songs for 10 cents each

Of course there's a catch: You can listen only through your Web browser. The major record labels plan to start...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

Qantas brings Airbus A380 to LAX

The world's largest jet arrives from Australia with about 450 people aboard. A380 flights are expected to provide an economic boost to the region.

The world's largest airliner landed at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday with about 450 people aboard, kicking off Southern California's first A380 passenger service and providing a welcome economic boost for the slumping airport.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

Southern California home prices continue to slide

The median is down 33% from a year ago. Sales rise 65% amid bargain hunting; half of September's home sales are foreclosures. ...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 21 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

Prudential confirms interest in AIG Asia

Prudential, the UK insurer, today confirmed it was examining whether to buy Asia-based assets from AIG, its stricken American rival, and confirmed that financial turmoil in the region had forced it to delay its new business profit targets.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 21 Oct 2008 | 6:48 am

NZ stocks: Shares gain two per cent

New Zealand shares rose another 2 per cent today, adding to yesterday's strong gains as they followed other markets higher. Even news of annual inflation hitting an 18-year high of 5.1 per cent in the September quarter failed to...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 6:09 am

Currency: Dollar undeterred by inflation data

The New Zealand dollar drifted off its early highs today as it followed the Australian dollar lower. By 5pm, the kiwi was at US61.78c from US61.20c late yesterday afternoon. The currency had hit a peak around US62.60c overnight...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 5:38 am

The Sky Is Not Falling

It's possible that the downturn could prove to be one of the briefest and mildest on record.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 21 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Bawl Game

As the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies prepare to slug it out in the World Series, a baseball contest of a different sort—involving some of the sport's tiniest players—is raging around America's suburban fields.

At the center of the tug-of-war: children's baseball uniforms.

On one side is Major League Baseball, which has been asserting its trademark rights and collecting licensing fees through an official uniform supplier, Majestic Athletic, Ltd. M.L.B. has threatened legal action against vendors who put pro team names on jerseys worn by Little League and amateur players without permission.

On the other side, some youth leagues are crying foul. They denounce the higher cost of official uniforms as well as what they feel are M.L.B.'s hardball tactics to force them to buy from a single supplier. So some are boycotting pro team names.

In Santa Clarita, California, a city north of Los Angeles, the William S. Hart league's  baseball division narrowly voted to continue using names like the Mets and  the Orioles. Its 1,800 players will still wear official hats bearing  team logos, but the league plans to drop all pro names from team jerseys, to avoid M.L.B.-licensed apparel.

Others have kicked the Major League off the field altogether, switching to generic collegiate monikers like Trojans and Bruins, or looking to the rainbow. In Bloomingdale, Illinois, where miniature Pirates and Marlins once faced off, teams are now identified by color.

"At first the younger kids were disappointed...but you're saving the membership thousands of dollars," says Rick Palandri, a board member of Bloomingdale Baseball and Softball Association. The league's moisture-wicking jerseys—imperative, Palandri says, for keeping boys and girls cool in summer—cost about half the price of comparable M.L.B.-licensed outfits.

Out of more than 10,000 youth-baseball leagues across America, about 4,000 wear M.L.B.-licensed uniforms. No one knows how many use pro-team names but avoid their mention on jerseys, or copy on the sly—like one in California rumored to import knockoffs from Mexico.

To police sales, M.L.B. has been sending warning letters to small vendors and making them sign agreements prohibiting the use of its team names in any form, even without official logos, on the athletic apparel they sell.

"Major League Baseball is creating a monopoly for its products," says Fred Miller, vice president of Evans TeamWear, an Orange County company that provides uniforms to more than 100 youth leagues in California and Nevada.

Evans recently paid M.L.B. a $75,000 settlement over unpaid royalties after being contacted by M.L.B. lawyers—though Miller says his company did nothing wrong. "It comes down to a business decision," he said. "Do I want to fight this in court for [a lot more], or pay the settlement fee now?"

But pro-baseball officials say they must protect their trademarks as a matter of law. In 2005, M.L.B. entered into a licensing arrangement designating Majestic, an apparel manufacturer in Bangor, Pennsylvania, as the exclusive supplier of all uniforms bearing its team names—from pros in the Major Leagues to kids in Little League and casual fans everywhere.

"We're obligated by our contracts," said Matt Bourne, spokesman for M.L.B., the corporate entity representing the 30 pro-baseball clubs. "If you don't protect your intellectual property, there's a risk of losing ownership. Team names are our identity. It's critical to the brand names we've built for more than 100 years."

It's also big business. The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association said the retail value of all Major League Baseball-licensed merchandise—including uniforms and memorabilia—totaled $3.3 billion last year, the highest for any professional sport.

Neither M.L.B. nor Majestic would discuss the specifics of their contract. But in public statements, Majestic's parent corporation, VF Corp.—the world's largest apparel company, which also owns Wrangler jeans, Vans footwear, North Face outerwear, and Nautica sportswear—touts its booming "Major League Baseball business under the Majestic brand."

In 2007, the year VF acquired Majestic from its founding family, Majestic produced $156 million in sales. The brand accounted for another $33 million jump in revenues for VF in the first half of 2008, according to recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Licensing fees from Majestic, in turn, help boost pro baseball's bottom line. M.L.B.'s total revenues—which includes ticket sales, television deals, and online subscriptions—surged to a record $6.1 billion in 2007 from $3.4 billion in 2000. Over the same period, licensing revenues more than doubled, although M.L.B. declined to reveal specific figures.

Despite its business success, some say pro baseball may be wiser not to be so aggressive in squeezing money from its youngest enthusiasts.

"It alienates everyone involved," says John Skilton, who runs Baseball-Links.com, a repository of more than 12,000 websites and blogs. "With its labor conflicts and the steroid controversy...it's one more in a series of black eyes for them."

If the team-name tussle ever winds up in court, legal analysts say it's unclear which side would win. The law generally protects a trademark only if an unauthorized use is likely to cause confusion—that "people would think Major League Baseball was somehow associated with the production of this uniform" when in fact it wasn't, says Charles McManis, a professor at Washington University School of Law.

If youth leagues take steps to differentiate their apparel, a court could rule against M.L.B., reasoning that "all people will think when they see the jersey is, Oh yeah, they're just making their jerseys look like Dodgers jerseys."

But if a court finds a team name to be a "famous mark"—which enjoys more legal protection against dilution in the marketplace—M.L.B. would probably prevail. The key is whether the name is distinctive and well known enough to constitute a "famous mark," says McManis, author of two books on intellectual-property law.

That decision, however, would not necessarily cover all Major League franchises, experts said. A court could deem White Sox and Yankees distinctive enough to be "famous marks," but not more generic-sounding teams like the Tigers and Indians.

In the court of public opinion though, M.L.B. has been striking out. Its stance has been barraged with boos and hisses in the blogosphere. Comedian Stephen Colbert has also been piling on.

"These kids aren't just stealing team names—they're ripping off all kinds of stuff from the Majors," Colbert deadpanned on a recent show. "Where did these kids get the idea of using a mitt?" he said. "Or wearing a cup?"

In its defense, Major League Baseball notes that it spent $30 million on youth programs in the last five years and makes sure that Majestic, in addition to its regular ware, offers a low-price, royalty-free line of uniforms. Cultivating a good relationship with children "is obviously very important to us," says Bourne.

Some believe pro baseball needs to do more to court the young. After all, they're the ones who one day will decide whether to shell out—or not—for tickets, hotdogs, jackets, and souvenirs.

"M.L.B. should be paying the kids to wear its uniforms," says Palandri, the Bloomingdale board member. "It's free advertising for them."

Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 21 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

NZ Shares: Market opens up 2pc after good night on Wall St

New Zealand investors stuck their head above the parapet again today, and the sharemarket opened up about 2 per cent after a surge of optimism on Wall Street. A rise in the Dow Jones industrials index of 400 points gave that market...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 1:30 am

In Brief - Monday

HLTH (HLTH), which has an 84% stake in health care Web site WebMD (WBMD), cancelled plans to fully acquire WebMD. HLTH cited concerns about taking...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:33 am

Pawnshop Chain Expands South Of Border As Economy Heads South

As the weather gets cooler, many Americans plan on heading south of the border.

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:33 am

After The Close - Monday

ORACLE (ORCL), a business software company, will add $8 bil to its share buyback program. The program is now $9.3 bil. Shares rose.

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:33 am

Business Briefs - Monday

Netflix EPS tops, cuts sales view. The online DVD rental company said Q3 EPS rose 43% to 33 cents, topping views by 2 cents. Revenue gained 16% to...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:33 am

Trends & Innovations - Monday

Nat'l patient ID numbers urged

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:33 am

Inflation hits 5.1pc - highest in 18 years

Annual inflation hit an 18-year high of 5.1 per cent in the September quarter, pushed up by petrol, housing and electricity costs. Releasing the data today, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said that for the three months to the end...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am

No rush for $300b bank guarantee

A domestic banking crisis caused by the absence of a wholesale deposit guarantee is not imminent because the industry's Australian owners and the Reserve Bank have the capacity to ensure sufficient liquidity, say commentators. A...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 21 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am

Bridgecorp directors back in court

Two executive directors of failed finance company Bridgecorp were back in court on criminal charges today. Rod Petricevic and Robert Roest appeared in Auckland District Court facing charges under the Securities Act and the Companies...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 20 Oct 2008 | 11:40 pm

Bernanke backs new stimulus package

The prospect of a second fiscal stimulus package being approved before the end of the year rose after Ben Bernanke backed the notion and the White House indicated President George W. Bush was "open to the idea"
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 20 Oct 2008 | 11:30 pm

NZ First plan to sell Kiwibank under fire

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters' plan to sell Kiwibank is "erratic and confusing" and would risk destroying the bank, Progressives leader Jim Anderton says. Mr Peters yesterday put forward a radical proposal to float shares...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 20 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Ben Bernanke puts a charge into stock markets

Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, fuelled a global fightback by battered stock markets yesterday, boosting hopes that Washington will soon order new tax cuts and extra public spending to shore up the faltering American economy.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 20 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Pensions crisis as share falls leave company schemes facing cash shortage

Britain's biggest companies may need to put aside up to £150 billion to repair the damage inflicted on their pension schemes by huge falls in share prices.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 20 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Ex-Ambassador Vanden Heuvel Sees Need to `Rebuild' U.S.

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 20 Oct 2008 | 10:58 pm

Nobel Laureate Krugman Sees a `Nasty' U.S. Recession

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 20 Oct 2008 | 10:48 pm

Philanthropist Bronfman Sr. Says Judaism Needs Rebirth

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 20 Oct 2008 | 10:44 pm

European carmakers eligible for rescue funds

German and French carmakers, which have asked the European Commission for €40bn in cheap loans, are eligible to tap their governments' banking rescue plans, according to government officials
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 20 Oct 2008 | 10:33 pm

Glickenhaus Sees `More Spartan' Credit Use After Crisis

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 20 Oct 2008 | 10:18 pm

Laid-off Wall Streeters want regulations

New York City has lost 11,000 financial sector jobs and expects to lose many thousands more. With Wall Street hemorrhaging jobs weeks before the election, Jeremy Hobson finds out what pink-slipped want from a new administration.
Source: Marketplace | 20 Oct 2008 | 10:14 pm

VIX Index of U.S. Stock Option Prices Retreats 24.7% to 52.97

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 20 Oct 2008 | 9:24 pm

Sequent's Hartzell Says ETFs Offer Liquidity to Short Stocks

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 20 Oct 2008 | 9:20 pm

Zingales Sees Debt-for-Equity Swap as Housing Crisis Solution

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 20 Oct 2008 | 8:33 pm

Governor Kaine Sees Obama Winning Virginia, Overcoming Losses

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 20 Oct 2008 | 8:19 pm

Merrill's Bernstein Sees 6% Return On S&P in Next 6 Months

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 20 Oct 2008 | 8:18 pm

Justice Inside Out

As a global financial crisis rages, the accounting scandal of backdating stock-options grants seems, well, so…2006.

Yet as investigations begin into the financial turmoil, a recent backdating case provides a cautionary tale to any company directors, executives, and lawyers who may come under the scrutiny of prosecutors.

Earlier this month, a San Francisco federal jury acquitted Kent Roberts, the former general counsel of McAfee Inc., after a two-and-a-half-week trial. His lawyers had questioned the fairness of the internal investigation conducted by independent directors at McAfee, a computer-security company, when the backdating scandal broke in the summer of 2006.

That's important because many companies now respond to accusations of improper management practices by hiring an outside law firm to conduct an internal investigation. Boards hope that a thorough investigation that sifts through the records and hands the work over to government investigators will help win favorable treatment for the company. Prosecutors can use the internal investigation as a road map for their own.

But in the trial of Roberts, his lawyer, Stephen Neal of Cooley Godward Kronish, argued that McAfee and Howrey L.L.P., the law firm that conducted the internal inquiry, did not give the full story to both the prosecutors and the defense.

Howrey declined to comment for this article.

The trial began with the belated discovery by Howrey, a Washington law firm known for its insider status and heavy expenditures on law firm advertising, and its document collection of four emails that were directly related to Roberts' grant of stock options.

A special committee of the McAfee board had spent $20 million for the services of Howrey and a forensic accounting firm to complete the investigation—a fact mentioned by Neal in his opening statement to the jury.

Then there was the code name of the internal inquiry: "Project Shield."

The lawyers at Howrey came up with that name, according to testimony from Denis O'Leary, a McAfee independent director. Another former member of the McAfee board, Robert Dutkowsky, acknowledged on cross-examination that, when all was said and done in the "Project Shield" investigation, the Howrey firm concluded that mistakes in options grants to independent directors were the result of "clerical errors."

Neal portrayed the Howrey investigation as one that differed widely in how it collected evidence from outside board members—including those with options at issue in the huge McAfee restatement of earnings—and from executives. For instance, Dutkowsky asked the company's management to seize Roberts' laptop.

By the time that independent directors began their inquiry by forming a special committee, Kent Roberts had already gone to Boris Feldman of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, McAfee's primary outside law firm and the firm that advised it on options, alerting Feldman that he had received a grant of options on 20,000 shares in 2000 as something that could be relevant to the backdating problem. At the trial, prosecutors characterized this conversation as a "confession."

That options grant mounted to one-half of one-tenth of 1 percent of the shares at issue in the McAfee restatement of $137 million in earnings. Neal showed jurors a PowerPoint presentation from a special committee meeting on October 10, 2006, that showed that the investigation was focusing its attention on Roberts.

Kandis Thompson, McAfee's comptroller and the person responsible for the accounting of the company's options grants, acknowledged at the trial that she was not focused on fairness or justice to her own general counsel, Roberts. She relied on the special committee to do that.

Experts are of mixed minds about investigations like the one conducted by Howrey.

"Basically, the company and its independent counsel has a task: Protect the company from the worst possible results, but yet not whitewash," says Larry Ribstein, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law.

But the bigger problem, he says, is that the government has criminalized decisions in corporate governance, and yet does not have any tools to truly understand how those decisions are made. Under the threat of indictment, "you get a massive process of behind-covering and scapegoating and finger-pointing."

At the end of the Howrey investigation, a report went to the board of directors and to the Securities and Exchange Commission. When McAfee filed an 8-K statement with the S.E.C. in December 2006, based on the findings of the inquiry, the company said it was making changes in option grants to "adjust for clerical errors." Among them were two grants of options, totaling 466,250 shares, for George Samenuk, the McAfee chief executive who was fired amid the scandal.

In his closing arguments, Neal hammered home his view of the failings of the inquiry conducted by McAfee's independent directors, among them their failure to tell regulators that Roberts' options were "under water" when granted, and failed to show the missing emails.

"Either the special committee knew these things and didn't tell them when they met with the board, and didn't tell the S.E.C. when they met with them…or they learned those things after the fact, and never went back to correct and amplify the record," Neal argued.

After the jury returned its verdict, Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the federal district court in San Francisco strongly urged the prosecution to drop any further pursuit of claims on which the jury deadlocked. A little more than a week ago, she signed off on an order in which prosecutors took her advice.

Robert still faces an S.E.C. lawsuit, which was put on hold during the criminal trial.

"Prosecutors were as much victims as we were," Neal said of the picture presented by the special committee after the Howrey investigation was concluded. "They were getting half the story, we were getting half the story."

Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 20 Oct 2008 | 7:00 pm

Need Capital? Fill This Out.

Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 20 Oct 2008 | 7:00 pm

FTN Financial's Low Sees More Parts of Rescue Plan in Place

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 20 Oct 2008 | 4:52 pm

Food scandals go back a long way

Food contaminations like the China milk scare are not a new phenomenon. Marketplace host Tess Vigeland chats with author Bee Wilson, who chronicled the history of "food fraud' in her book "Swindled."
Source: Marketplace | 20 Oct 2008 | 4:26 pm

Obama's war chest vs. public financing

Barack Obama shattered campaign fundraising records again, raising $150 million in September alone. And, he did so solely with private donors. Host Tess Vigeland turns to Politico.com writer Ken Vogel for some perspective.
Source: Marketplace | 20 Oct 2008 | 4:26 pm

What I'm doing: Dr. Tanyech Walford

Family practice physician Tanyech Walford has seen her business shrink and insurance reimbursements cut back. For her, the financial crisis means closing her office and leaving L.A. Walford tells her story for our series "What I'm doing."
Source: Marketplace | 20 Oct 2008 | 4:26 pm

Local banks doing better than big ones

Many local bank managers say they aren't seeing the level of financial disruption or the liquidity crisis plaguing the upper echelon institutions on Wall Street. Kate Archer Kent visits a local bank in Shreveport, La.
Source: Marketplace | 20 Oct 2008 | 4:25 pm

Credit crisis taking new victims

The credit crisis is behaving as if it were a vampire searching around for fresh blood. This time it's the supposedly "recession proof" tech, entertainment and art sectors. Stacey Vanek-Smith has the story.
Source: Marketplace | 20 Oct 2008 | 4:25 pm

Fed will buy stake in banks of all sizes

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the $250 billion bank rescue plan isn't just for the big guys. It's come one, come all -- big, medium or small. Ashley Milne-Tyte has more from New York on what Paulson had to say.
Source: Marketplace | 20 Oct 2008 | 4:24 pm

Bernanke urges consumer stimulus

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the economy is badly in need of a boost and said it's time for a significant stimulus package. Washington Bureau Chief John Dimsdale has more.
Source: Marketplace | 20 Oct 2008 | 4:24 pm

Fed: Do More

Warm up the helicopters.

Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, says he supports further economic stimulus measures.

"With the economy likely to be weak for several quarters, and with some risk of a protracted slowdown, consideration of a fiscal package by the Congress at this juncture seems appropriate," Bernanke told the House Budget Committee.

Bernanke's comments represent a break with the White House. After passage of the $700 billion bank rescue package, Democrats have been pushing for additional measures to help homeowners and consumers, while the Bush administration has been cool to the proposals.

"If the Congress proceeds with a fiscal package, it should consider including measures to help improve access to credit by consumers, homebuyers, businesses, and other borrowers. Such actions might be particularly effective at promoting economic growth and job creation," Bernanke said.

Consumer spending has been slowing sharply. Businesses are also cutting back, shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs. The housing market, meanwhile, continues to deteriorate.

"The stabilization of the financial system, though an essential first step, will not quickly eliminate the challenges still faced by the broader economy," Bernanke noted.

Still, he did not commit himself to endorsing any specific course of action by the Congress.

Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 20 Oct 2008 | 2:30 pm

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