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Corrections: The best cars of 2008, including the Car of the YearA Jan. 3 MarketWatch report misstated the Nissan GT-R’s engine type. The GT-R carries a twin turbo V6.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Jan 2009 | 2:11 pm Auto Review: CORRECT: The best cars of 2008, including the Car of the YearMarketWatch auto reviewer Ron Amadon selects the top cars from among those he test drove this year.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Jan 2009 | 2:06 pm NewsWatch: Stocks in focus for MondayAmong the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are Mosaic, Apple, General Motors and Ford.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Jan 2009 | 2:00 pm Robert PestonAre tax-payers going to guarantee bank loans?Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Jan 2009 | 1:50 pm The Bloomberg Survey: Jobs Numbers Will Get Worse
The new poll indicates that "The U.S. economy probably lost more jobs in 2008 than in any year since the end of World War II as firings rippled from homebuilders and automakers to banks and retailers." “We’re continuing to lose massive amounts of jobs,” said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. “The negative momentum carrying over into the first half of 2009 will hold down the economy regardless of policy.” Douglas A. McIntyre Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 4 Jan 2009 | 1:50 pm GMAC: Private Capital Deserts The Govenment
GMAC had gone to its bondholders and asked them to swap their paper for a combination of equity and cash. GMAC, a newly-minted commercial bank under the government's rules that allow financial firms to get federal cash infusions, aimed to get 75% of $38 billion of its debt swapped for ownership in the firm. According to Reuters, "The lender said holders of $21.2 billion of debt will swap their stakes for $15.7 billion of new securities plus cash," thus making the level of participation about 56%. Those not privy to the negotiations for the debt swap can be sure that there was a great deal of arm-twisting, some of it it probably from the government. It would not look good if private investors repudiated the plan to help GMAC which has been on the brink of insolvency more than once. Its own mortgage business has nearly swamped it. The failure for the GMAC debt for equity swap may foretell what will happen when GM (GM) attempts to do the same thing as part of the restructuring plan mandates by Congress and the administration. If GMAC is any indication of the appetite of private money to help troubled companies when they know that the government is standing by with a large check, the future of a partnership of private and public capital to help solve the credit crisis is troubled itself. Douglas A. McIntyre Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 4 Jan 2009 | 1:38 pm Synovus corrects estimate of 4th-quarter loan-loss provisionSynovus Financial Corp. on Saturday corrected its estimate of its fourth-quarter provision for possible losses on bad loans, pegging the figure at $350 million with a charge-off proportion of 3.2%.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Jan 2009 | 1:16 pm Investor warning on Bellway bonusHousebuilder Bellway looks set to clash with investors after a shareholder watchdog raised concerns over bonuses.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Jan 2009 | 1:13 pm Winners From China's New 3G Expansion (MOT)(QCOM)(TXN)(BRCM)
According to The Wall Street Journal. "China Mobile Ltd. (CHL), the dominant carrier, would be assigned the Chinese-developed TD-SCDMA standard. The global standards WCDMA and CDMA-2000 are to go to China Unicom Ltd. (CHU) and China Telecom Ltd., respectively." While US and EU equipment and chip providers will not make money from the local Chinese 3G standard, they could make billions of dollars providing chips and infrastructure for the global standards. In the chip business, Qualcomm (QCOM), Broadcom (BRCM), and Texas Instruments (TXN) are all likely to make sales providing components for 3G handsets. Nortel (NT) and Ericsson are large provides of infrastructure components as is Nokia Siemens Networks . Motorola (MOT) is a large supplier of CDMA-2000 components. Many of those companies should make money on the new Chines build-out, unless China tries to push all of the business to firms inside its borders. Douglas A. McIntyre Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 4 Jan 2009 | 1:02 pm Israel ground invasion of Gaza marks day 9 of attack on HamasThe ninth day of Israel's attack on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip saw fierce ground battles between the two sides, with media reports saying many Palestinian civilians and soldiers have been killed and 30 Israeli soldiers have been wounded in the latest fighting.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:37 pm TV: Iran-Iraq to increase economic cooperationIran's state television says Iran and Iraq will increase their economic cooperation to $10 billion in 2010. The report on Sunday quotes Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoudi. He says theSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:13 pm Israel continues ground attack in GazaIsraeli troops and tanks on Sunday continued to battle Hamas fighters inside the Gaza Strip, on the second day of a massive ground offensive designed to prevent the Islamist group from firing rockets on nearby Israeli towns.Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Jan 2009 | 11:50 am China adjusts 2008 record trade surplus upward: reportChina's trade surplus is likely to hit a record 290 billion dollars in 2008 despite woes caused by the global slowdown, state press said Sunday, citing the nation's customs administration.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 11:47 am China factory output dips furtherChina's manufacturing output falls for a third consecutive month as the economic slowdown continued to hit its economy.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Jan 2009 | 11:21 am Canada's Africa Oil stops Somali exploration -staffDHAROOR, Somalia, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Canadian oil and gas exploration company Africa Oil Corp has stopped exploration in Somalia's Puntland region for lack of funds, local staff and contractors said on...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 11:17 am PM defends handling of downturnPrime Minister Gordon Brown has defended the way he has handled the economic downturn and outlined a job creation plan.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Jan 2009 | 10:44 am Iran bases budget on oil price of $37.5 per barrelIran's state television says the country is planning next year's budget based on an oil price of $37.50 per barrel. The Sunday report quotes Iranian oil minister Gholam Hossein Nozari....Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 10:15 am UPDATE 6-Four killed as quake strikes Indonesia's PapuaJAKARTA, Jan 4 (Reuters) - A series of powerful earthquakes off the northern coast of West Papua, Indonesia, early on Sunday killed four people, injured several others and flattened buildings, officials...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 9:55 am UPDATE 1-China develops gas fields in East China Sea-reportBEIJING/TOKYO, Jan 4 (Reuters) - China has drilled a gas field in the East China Sea in violation of a June agreement, a Japanese newspaper reported on Sunday, a charge Beijing dismissed because it said...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 9:25 am At annual economist parley, idea of '09 U.S. recovery falls flatThe idea that the U.S. economy is going to recover in the next six months is given little credence at a gathering of top academic economists here over the weekend.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Jan 2009 | 9:06 am Global outlook worsens as confidence drops, top IMF economistThe outlook for the world economy has clearly worsened over the past two months, hurt by a simultaneous drop in business and consumer confidence around the globe, Olivier Blanchard, the International Monetary Fund’s chief economist, said Saturday.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:25 am Tips for green investing in 2009In these dismal times, is it financially smart to do the environmentally right thing? Here's advice on navigating a sector fraught with risks. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am Paying for misguided borrowingRegarding the story, " IOUs pave the streets ," Dec. 31:Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am Sanyo R277 delivers Internet radio without a computerThe table-top box provides access to thousands of stations and will wake you up in the morning. Online radio,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am Consumer groups protest life insurers' plan to lower reservesEasing capital requirements would increase the risk that an insurer would fail to pay all its obligations, the groups say. But the industry's proposals have the support of regulators. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am Keeping the house makes for a messy divorceIt's not just a matter of who keeps the home. Loans, liens and other financial issues can preclude a clean split. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am Mozilla chief John Lilly is fired up about making a better Web browserLilly's company, which makes the open-source Firefox software, depends for its success on thousands of devoted volunteers. The gig: Chief...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am When at risk of losing home, seek counselingDear Liz: My daughter and her husband bought a house 18 months ago with financial help from his mother, who moved in with them and helped make the payments initially. The mother-in-law then found love,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am Series spreads the blame on economyDespite criticism that it's anti-Bush, a New York Times series looks at what and who contributed to the country's financial woes. Its detractors are missing the point. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am Advice for renters if landlord faces foreclosureFannie Mae's new policy can keep tenants in their homes or give them money to relocate. A little sleuthing also can help avert a too-quick eviction. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am CHP explains text-messaging do's and don'tsCELLPHONESSource: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am Economist Martin Feldstein, a euro skeptic, sticks to his gunsAlthough the euro is now 10 years old, it is about to face its biggest challenge as Europe’s economy weakens, the Harvard University economist Martin Feldstein said on Saturday.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Jan 2009 | 7:52 am Cadillac unveils sleeker SRX before Detroit showGeneral Motors Corp. is counting on the 2010 Cadillac SRX crossover vehicle to lure luxury car buyers with new design and performance features. The redesigned vehicle was unveiled SundaySource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 7:39 am China violates accord with Japan over disputed gas field: reportChina has violated an agreement with Japan and continued developing a gas field in a disputed area in the East China Sea, a press report said Sunday. The neighbours struck a...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 6:39 am Chinese manufacturing shrinks in DecemberChina's manufacturing shrank for a third month in December as export demand fell, suggesting an economic slump is worsening despite government efforts to shield the country from global...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 5:09 am China develops gas field in East China Sea-reportTOKYO, Jan 4 (Reuters) - China has drilled the Tianwaitian gas field in the East China Sea, a Japanese newspaper reported on Sunday, despite an agreement in June to jointly develop gas fields in disputed...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Jan 2009 | 4:41 am Fed has abandoned monetary policy, critic saysSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve has embarked on a campaign of unsupervised industrial policy to end the country's financial crisis, a move that could undermine its independence, a former top U.S. official said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 4 Jan 2009 | 2:58 am Fed has abandoned monetary policy, critic says (Reuters)Reuters - The Federal Reserve has embarked on a campaign of unsupervised industrial policy to end the country's financial crisis, a move that could undermine its independence, a former top U.S. official said on Saturday.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 4 Jan 2009 | 2:58 am Evans says Fed needs to mimic below-zero ratesSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A grim economic outlook highlights the need for the Federal Reserve to step up quantitative measures to boost growth, with official interest rates already effectively at zero, Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Fed, said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 4 Jan 2009 | 2:37 am Time ripe for Fed inflation target: BullardSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Setting an explicit inflation target would help the U.S. Federal Reserve keep deflation at bay now that interest rates have been cut to almost zero, a top central banker said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 4 Jan 2009 | 2:35 am Time ripe for Fed inflation target: Bullard (Reuters)Reuters - Setting an explicit inflation target would help the U.S. Federal Reserve keep deflation at bay now that interest rates have been cut to almost zero, a top central banker said on Saturday.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 4 Jan 2009 | 2:35 am Evans says Fed needs to mimic below-zero rates (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 4 Jan 2009 | 1:18 am Dale Vince: Hippy blowing in the windWe meet in a café on a Reading business park. Dale Vince goes for the Keith Richards look: ripped jeans, holey vest, scuffed biker jacket, pierced ear bits. Lean and lithe, only his rumpled features give away his 47 years of age. When he smiles, he has snaggled teeth below, new ones on top.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Industry calls for lowest Bank rate in 300 yearsBUSINESS says the Bank of England should slash interest rates again this week to prevent the recession turning into depression.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am ITV set to cut Friends valueITV IS preparing to slash the carrying value of website Friends Reunited in a year-end review of past acquisitions.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am M&S to report dismal high street tradingTHE retailer Marks & Spencer will report one of its worst Christmas trading performances in more than 80 years as a public company, laying bare the full extent of the crisis engulfing the high street.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Pru to help out its struggling retailersONE of Britain’s biggest commercial landlords is poised to strike a ground-breaking deal to provide comprehensive financial assistance to cash-strapped high-street retail chains.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Corporate pragmatism will get us out of this messI remember in December 2007 bumping into Peter Meinertzhagen, the veteran broker, when he was offering some timely advice to a small huddle of City figures: “The market is looking cheap,” he said “but if you are thinking of buying, bite your lip, it’s going to get cheaper.”Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am UK’s refinancing timebombCORPORATE BRITAIN is facing a refinancing timebomb this year as more than £50 billion of bank debt expires during the biggest credit crunch in global history.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Scramble over Woolies’ stockENTERTAINMENT companies including EMI and Microsoft are preparing legal action against the administrators of Woolworths to claw back millions of pounds of stock.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Crunch talks for MosaicTHE owner of Karen Millen, Oasis and Principles is poised to begin crunch talks with its lenders in a desperate attempt to secure the long-term future of the company.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Excel in chase for big casinoTHE home of the London Boat Show, the Excel exhibition centre in London’s Docklands, has revived plans to open a large casino.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Chicago Fed: 'Big stimulus appropriate'Read full story for latest details.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:51 pm Wall Street: Bracing for bad newsAfter a strong start to the new year in very light trading, Wall Street gets serious.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:08 pm Obama sketches out recovery planPresident-elect Barack Obama on Saturday offered the most detailed statement yet of his economic recovery plan, sketching out broad-based spending proposals and tax incentives aimed at reviving an economy mired in recession.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:07 pm 2008 And The Death Of E-Commerce: The Internet Is Getting Old
As gas prices rose earlier this year, e-commerce gained what should have been another advantage over physical stores. It looks like almost none of that worked out. A rough economy has sunk all retail boats. Whatever edge online shopping had has been destroyed. According to Comscore, online shopping revenue dropped 3% this holiday season compared to the same period in 2007. The total income from e-commerce hit $25.5 billion. Most analysts believed that because this number is relatively small compared with physical shopping revenue, online numbers could continue to post large percentage increases due to their modest base. E-commerce would, in essence, use its advantages to take market share from stores. The measurement service said, “This marks the first time we’ve seen negative growth rates for the holiday season since we began tracking e-commerce in 2001." ShopperTrack, which follows retail store activity,reported that holiday sales were down 2.3%. The difference between that and the online revenue drop is a rounding error. The figures may say as much about the Internet as they do about consumer purchasing habits. One of the hallmarks of this sharp downturn is that online advertising growth has slowed remarkably, and now no longer has a significant advantage in terms of its rate of expansion compared with many traditional media. The disappearance of an e-commerce advantage over traditional retail in a microcosm of a much broader change in the growth cycle of the internet. Put simply, the internet is getting old. Revenue growth figures for large portals like Yahoo! (YHOO) and AOL now only show improvements in the singles digits year-over-year, which is not much different from network television growth. In the third quarter of last year, Ebay's revenue from its auction and marketplace businesses were only up 1%. A Citigroup research analyst recently committed heresy by saying that Google might have a drop in revenue from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009. According to Alley Insider, it would be "the first time ever the search industry has shrunk quarter over quarter." If Google does indeed falter, the one bright ray of hope for internet revenue will have grown dim. This year may be the first year that it is broadly acknowledge that the internet is no longer an emerging media. It has become part of the traditional media and faces the same fundamental economic challenges that go along with that. Douglas A. McIntyre Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 3 Jan 2009 | 10:50 pm December Car Sales: The Achilles Heel Of The Auto Bailout (GM)(F)The mathematics of the US car company bailout are simple. At least the car companies say that they are. Expenses get cut. Labor costs go down to what they are for Japanese auto firms operating in the US. Creditor costs get chopped as debt is traded for equity. The failure of the GMAC debt swap program shows that not everyone will go along with that. The final piece is that suppliers take a haircut. On the revenue side, things are even less complex. The US car companies have given Congress a plan that assumes that they will keep their market shares in an industry that will produce at least 12.5 million vehicles sales each year. December sales numbers show that this forecast is completely flawed. According to Edmunds, vehicles sales will fall below 13 million for 2008. That is down 17% from 2007. The rate of the drop-off is expected to be closer to 38% in December, which means the fall-off is accelerating. If last month's numbers are the standard for next year, total vehicles sales could drop below 10 million. While no one wants to believe that is true, no one wanted to believe that the current recession is the worst since WWII. Ford recently told analysts that it expects sales for the industry to drop another 20% to 30% in the first quarter of this year. The American car industry may be reshaping itself for a world based on wild optimism. If so, the government will be back into the bailout business for much more than the $37 billion the industry is seeking. If two million vehicle sales disappear next year, $50 billion in revenue could go out of the domestic market. US companies have about half of that. Chrysler's sales are expected to drop 46% for December. If that holds true for the first quarter of next year, the company is dead. GM (GM) and Ford (F) sales are expected to be off by between 30% and 40%. The new administration needs to put another $25 billion or more in its auto industry rainy day fund. That is what Detroit will need after its spends the $37 billion it has already asked for. If 2009 shows no recovery, the figures gets even larger, Douglas A. McIntyre Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 3 Jan 2009 | 10:17 pm NewsWatch: Stocks in focus for MondayAmong the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are Mosaic, Apple, General Motors and Ford.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 3 Jan 2009 | 10:00 pm NewsWatch: Stocks in focus for MondayAmong the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are Mosaic, Apple, General Motors and Ford.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 3 Jan 2009 | 5:00 pm US stocks face headwinds despite New Year rally (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 3 Jan 2009 | 4:58 pm Sliding home values boost property returnsProperty investors this year can expect a return to the days of positive cash returns for the first time in more than five years, say market watchers. It's one of three market certainties investors can bank on as interest rates...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 4:00 pm Little to give but a lot of receiving to be hadInsolvency experts are tipping 2009 to be a record year for receiverships. Deloitte recovery and forensics partner Barry Jordan told the Herald on Sunday there was "definitely a vast increase" in company receivership and liquidation...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 4:00 pm Suburbs 'best buy' this year for investorsThe experts' consensus is to buy in main city suburbs with strong communities, preferably within 3km of a city centre, close to reliable public transport, and areas with population growth, water views and diversified employment. Auckland...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 4:00 pm Alan Goldman: Recovery a year away - hopefullyUnited States market commentators are usually quick to publish their predictions for the new year, but this time, they are comparatively quiet - probably because many don't have a clue what the future holds. They have witnessed unprecedented...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 4:00 pm Mall tenants headed for rent battleA battle is brewing between Westfield and some of its long-term tenants, who are speaking out against "frustrating" rent increases imposed as the credit crunch bites. Paul Zwart, a Westfield Manukau City tenant for more than 20...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 4:00 pm Bernard Hickey: Trust left lying in the rubbleLast year was momentous in so many ways. Financial markets were convulsed with the worst series of shocks since the stock market crash of 1929. The investment banking model was destroyed. International credit markets froze like rabbits...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 4:00 pm Unlocking The Apple (AAPL) iPhone
In theory, Apple should be fine no matter how many of its new 3G handsets are unlocked. It should be paid for each one of them. It may lose some money from AT&T, which pays it part of the subscriber revenue it brings in from the calling plans linked to iPhone sales. It probably makes up for that by all the additional sales it makes to people who want to unlock their handsets for less restricted use. According to The Wall Street Journal, "a group called the iPhone Dev Team released a free piece of software called "yellowsn0w" that unlocks the iPhone 3G. The software lets users reprogram the phones so they can work on any wireless network based on the same technical standard." Even with the unlocking software it won't work on a system like Sprint's (S) "direct connect" service, a network it got from buying NexTel. The unauthorized use of the iPhone based on the ability to unlock its new 3G handset is actually a good way for Apple to get money from consumers and cast the needs of its carrier partners aside. Apple can always claim that it is not responsible for the problem. It would be expensive to keep introducing new versions of the phone which cannot be unlocked, at least until the next group of geeks comes along. But, Apple won't make the investment to protect the integrity of its exclusive partnerships. One of the reasons investors like the company is that it is in business for the money and just the money. Taking care of partners is not in its DNA. Douglas A. McIntyre Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 3 Jan 2009 | 2:07 pm Bitter weather and still no gas from RussiaRead full story for latest details.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 3 Jan 2009 | 1:56 pm
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