India IT boss quits over scandal

The boss of Satyam, India's fourth-biggest software firm, resigns after admitting to irregularities in its accounts.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:18 pm

Bank of America sells China bank stake (Reuters)

Reuters - Bank of America Corp , coping with tough economic conditions, raised $2.83 billion by selling part of its stake in China Construction Bank Corp (601939.SS), and Hong Kong's richest tycoon sold a $500 million stake in rival Bank of China (3988.HK).

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:18 pm

Stock futures sink further on Intel warning (Reuters)

Reuters - Stock index futures sank further, hitting session lows on Wednesday as technology bellwether Intel Corp warned about its outlook, adding to worries about the deepening economic slump.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:17 pm

Firms show interest in Wedgwood

Administrators say there have been 10 expressions of interest in china and glass group Waterford Wedgwood.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:13 pm

Stock futures dip as employment worries escalate (AP)

AP - Wall Street headed for a lower open Wednesday, sobered by aluminum producer Alcoa Inc.'s decision to slash jobs and production to navigate through the global downturn.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:12 pm

Israel orders three-hour daily ceasefire

The Israeli government has ordered its forces to stop their assault on Gaza for three hours a day to establish a so-called humanitarian corridor to give Palestinians access to food and medicine, but said it was still discussing a ceasefire plan put forward by Egypt
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:12 pm

Value-seeking shoppers boost Family Dollar; shares on the rise

Benefiting from budget-conscious shoppers, Family Dollar posts 14% profit growth for the discounter's first quarter and issues an upbeat second-quarter outlook. Investors reward shares.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:12 pm

Stocks set to drop

Stocks were set for a lower open Wednesday, with the weak employment situation in investors' focus.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:12 pm

Boutique Warms To Apple & Qualcomm (AAPL, QCOM, NVDA)

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:11 pm

Job weakness continues, reports show

Separate employment reports released Wednesday showed the labor market continued to get battered in December.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:09 pm

Private sector cut 693,000 jobs in December (Reuters)

Reuters - Private-sector employers shed 693,000 jobs in December, a private employment service said on Wednesday in a report that was far worse than expected and pointed to more ugly news from the government's jobs data due later this week.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:08 pm

Private sector cut 693,000 jobs in December

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private-sector employers shed 693,000 jobs in December, a private employment service said on Wednesday in a report that was far worse than expected and pointed to more ugly news from the government's jobs data due later this week.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:08 pm

Supervalu posts loss due to charges

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Grocer Supervalu Inc posted a quarterly net loss of nearly $3 billion on Wednesday due to asset-impairment charges, but earnings before one-time items were slightly...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:05 pm

Supervalu posts loss due to charges

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Grocer Supervalu Inc posted a quarterly net loss of nearly $3 billion on Wednesday due to asset-impairment charges, but earnings before one-time items were slightly above Wall Street expectations.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:05 pm

Time Warner cuts outlook, sees 4th quarter writedowns

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc said on Wednesday it expects to record a charge of about $25 billion in goodwill writedowns, leading to a loss in the fourth quarter.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:03 pm

Time Warner cuts outlook, sees 4th quarter writedowns (Reuters)

Reuters - Time Warner Inc said on Wednesday it expects to record a charge of about $25 billion in goodwill writedowns, leading to a loss in the fourth quarter.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:03 pm

Monsanto first-quarter profit leaps 54%

Monsanto Co. says Wednesday its fiscal first-quarter profit leapt 54% on farmer demand for its genetically-engineered seed and strength in its Latin American market.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:03 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 | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:01 pm

NewsWatch: ADP shows 693,000 jobs lost in December

U.S. private-sector firms shed 693,000 jobs in December, far worse than expected, according to the ADP employment index.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:00 pm

M&S to close stores and cut jobs

Marks and Spencer says it plans to close 25 Simply Food stores and two of its regular stores, and cut 1,230 jobs.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Jan 2009 | 2:00 pm

Why Wall Street could go to jail

Corporate officers were making reassuring statements about financial prospects just days before Armageddon hit their companies -- and investors' portfolios. Here's some prominent cases.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:59 pm

Accounting scandal at Satyam could be "India's Enron"

BANGALORE (Reuters) - The head of Indian outsourcing firm Satyam Computer Services resigned on Wednesday, disclosing that profits had been falsely inflated for years and sending its shares tumbling nearly 80 percent.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:59 pm

European stocks down ahead of expected US sell-off (AP)

AP - European stock markets fell Wednesday ahead of an expected sell-off at the U.S. open, with worries about the economy resurfacing after a surprisingly upbeat start to the New Year.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:58 pm

Jobs survey heightens Wall Street recession fears

Wall Street stocks could struggle to cling to a two-month high after a dire labour market survey heightened concerns over the depth of the recession
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:57 pm

Alcoa shares fall after aluminum giant sets cost cuts

Shares of Alcoa Inc. fall as much as 7% in premarket trading Wednesday, a day after the aluminum giant announces plans to cut 13,500 jobs, close plants and further curb output to conserve cash.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:56 pm

Expected cut to leave Bank of England in unchartered waters

Facing what many economists expect to be the deepest recession since World War II, the Bank of England is seen as virtually certain to drop the central bank’s key lending rate to the lowest level since its founding in 1694.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:56 pm

Time Warner cuts outlook

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc said on Wednesday it expects to record a charge of about $25 billion in goodwill write-downs, leading to a loss in the fourth quarter.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:55 pm

US jobless to hit highest level in 60 years

America's private employers cut more than half a million workers in December alone, raising fears that Government figures out on Friday will show the most savage job cuts in almost 60 years.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:55 pm

Lower open eyed on employment gloom and Alcoa

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks headed for a slide at the open on Wednesday as data showing further labor market deterioration heightened worries about the severity of the recession and Alcoa announced plans to slash output.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:51 pm

Lower open eyed on employment gloom and Alcoa (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks headed for a slide at the open on Wednesday as data showing further labor market deterioration heightened worries about the severity of the recession and Alcoa announced plans to slash output.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:51 pm

Madoff took $250m from mentor days before arrest$

Bernard Madoff took $250 million ($£166 million) from one of his closest friends less than a fortnight before allegedly confessing to $50 billion financial scam, it emerged today, as investors in the fund were told that it would be at least a month before they were compensated for their losses.$
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:47 pm

Family Dollar posts higher profit, raises forecast

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Family Dollar Stores Inc reported a 14 percent jump in quarterly profit and raised its fiscal-year forecast on Wednesday as shoppers headed to its discount stores, sending its shares up more than 10 percent.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:46 pm

Economic Report: ADP shows 693,000 jobs lost in December

U.S. private-sector firms shed 693,000 jobs in December, far worse than expected, according to the ADP employment index.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:41 pm

Before the Bell: Alcoa, Bank of America, Satyam, employment data in focus

U.S. futures extended losses Wednesday after a worse-than-expected reading on U.S. employment added to pressure from Alcoa's decision to slash jobs and lower production.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:36 pm

Marks and Spencer to axe 1,230 jobs, close stores

Iconic British retailer Marks & Spencer Group on Wednesday says it plans to cut 1,230 jobs and shut 27 stores after reports its worst sales performance in close to a decade.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:34 pm

Monsanto first-quarter profits surge

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Monsanto Co . the world's biggest seed company, said on Wednesday first-quarter profits rose 117 percent, citing strong herbicide and soybean seed sales in the United States and Latin America.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:33 pm

Indications: U.S. futures drop on Alcoa production cut, jobs data

Caution from metals giant Alcoa and a report showing that nearly 700,000 jobs were lost last month help drag U.S. stock futures lower as an up-and-down week continues.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:32 pm

ADP Sees December Job Losses Off The Charts

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:25 pm

Monsanto increases annual earnings outlook

(Reuters) - Monsanto Co increased its full-year ongoing earnings-per-share guidance after reporting 117 percent earnings growth in first quarter of fiscal 2009.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:15 pm

Bank of America sells China bank stake

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Top U.S. lender Bank of America raised $2.83 billion from selling part of its holding in China Construction Bank and Hong Kong's richest tycoon followed by selling a $500 million stake in rival Bank of China.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:08 pm

Bank of America sells China bank stake (Reuters)

Reuters - Top U.S. lender Bank of America raised $2.83 billion from selling part of its holding in China Construction Bank (0939.HK) and Hong Kong's richest tycoon followed by selling a $500 million stake in rival Bank of China (3988.HK).

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:08 pm

Obama: $1 trillion deficits 'for years'

President-elect Barack Obama is inheriting the worst economy in decades and says he'll need to "invest an extraordinary amount of money" to get it back on track.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:04 pm

Affordable dream stocks

There's no such thing as a perfect portfolio. Value-conscious investors like me are acutely aware of this fact. Sometimes you come across a good stock trading at a great price but there's simply no room in your portfolio at the time. In other cases you feel like a kid with his nose stuck to the windowpane of a Ferrari dealership: You spot a wonderful business you'd love to own, but you can't justify paying the price being asked.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:02 pm

Barclays bank announces 400 UK job cuts

British bank Barclays PLC said Wednesday it was cutting more than 400 technology jobs after a review of its operations. The bank said the job cuts were designed to eliminate obsolete or...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:01 pm

Madoff lawyer due to answer call to jail financier

A defense lawyer for Bernard Madoff is expected to submit written arguments Wednesday to a judge who is probing whether the disgraced Wall Street financier should be jailed before trial.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:56 pm

Oil climbs towards $49

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil climbed toward $49 a barrel on Wednesday, drawing support from cold weather and an escalation in the Ukraine-Russia dispute that has choked off natural gas supplies and increased demand for oil products.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:55 pm

Funding Status of U.S. Pension Plans Declines Over 11 Percentage Points in December, According to BNY Mellon Asset Management

Typical Plan Saw Funded Status Decline More than 30 Percentage Points in 2008 BOSTON, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Funding ratios at the typical U.S. corporate
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:54 pm

US, European interbank lending rates ease further

The cost of three-month loans between banks fell further Wednesday ahead of key interest rate decisions and some signs that confidence was returning, albeit slowly, to markets. The...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:51 pm

Constellation Brands 3Q adjusted profit tops view

Constellation Brands, which markets Mondavi wine, Corona beer and Svedka vodka, says its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 30 percent due to restructuring costs and weaker sales, and trimmed
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:51 pm

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AKS, ARO, NTRS, OCNF, URBN)

There were not as many analyst upgrades today, but here are this Wednesday's early bird upgrades:

• AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
• Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) Started as Buy at KeyBanc (late yesterday).
• Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
• OceanFreight (NASDAQ: OCNF) Raised to Perform at Oppenheimer.
• Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) Started as Buy at KeyBanc (late yesterday).

Jon C. Ogg
January 7, 2009

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:50 pm

CIMCON Software Reinforces Market Leadership with Strong Performance and Major Enterprise Customer Acquisitions in 2008

BOSTON, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- CIMCON Software, Inc., the pioneering market leader in spreadsheet controls and compliance, today announced the completion of another highly...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:50 pm

Mortgage applications dip despite low rates

Read full story for latest details.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:49 pm

Top Pre-Market Downgrades (AMSF, SQM, TRI, TSCO, WOOF, VOLVY)

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:44 pm

Marks & Spencer says will axe 1,230 jobs and close 27 stores (AFP)

AFP - British clothing-to-food retailer Marks & Spencer said Wednesday it would cut as many as 1,230 jobs and shut 27 stores as the group struggled with falling sales and a looming recession.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:43 pm

U.S. 2008 planned layoffs most in 5 years: Challenger

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Planned layoffs at U.S. firms eased in December from the previous month's seven-year high but they were up an astounding 275 percent annually as the year-old recession...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:39 pm

Dispute hits Europe gas supplies

Exports of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine stop altogether with both countries accusing each other of turning off the tap.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:36 pm

FTSE-100 index down 61.98 points at 4,576.94 (AP)

AP - Share prices on the London Stock Exchange were lower at midday Wednesday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:25 pm

India truck strike begins to bite

Prices of fruit and vegetables start to rise in some Indian cities as a nationwide strike by lorry drivers enters a third day.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:18 pm

Aladdin Comes Clean, Addresses Merger Reports (ALDN)

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:15 pm

Germany sees higher jobless total

German unemployment levels rose for the first time in nearly three years in December, according to government figures.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:12 pm

Autos: 2008 winners and losers

In a disastrous year for auto sales here's who came out on top and who got thrown under the wheels.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm

Crypt Alert: T. Boone Pickens & $100 Oil, Maybe, Again (CLNE)

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:01 pm

Car sales dive 21% as calls for help intensify

New car registrations in the UK fell by 21.2 per cent in December, new figures revealed today, piling more pressure on the Government to deliver an aid package to Britain's struggling vehicle industry.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:55 am

UK car sales fall to 12-year-low

UK car sales in 2008 are 11.3% lower than they had been in 2007, following a 21.2% drop in December.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:49 am

European shares dip as investors pause (AFP)

AFP - Europe's main stock markets sank on Wednesday as investors banked profits from gains made since the start of 2009, and digested a bleak outlook on the American economy from the US Federal Reserve.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:39 am

Satyam Turns Out to be a House of Cards (SAY, INFY, WIT, PIN, EPI, IFN)

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:38 am

Bank Stocks Could Drop By Half This Year (BAC)(JPM)(WFC)(C)

Yesterday, Bank of America (BAC) said it would miss its 2008 numbers. There has been a good deal of talk that Jamie Dimon will be pulled off his thrown at JPMorgan (JPM) once the integration of Bear Stearns and write-off of consumer and business credit starts to hit its earnings.

No one in the banking industry likes analyst Meredith Whitney. She is actually the most loathed person covering big financial firms. She is pessimistic about the future of banking in America and with each new forecast that gets worse.

According to Reuters, Whitney said "U.S. banks will have to raise fresh capital in 2009, and a sharp increase in credit-rating downgrades on mortgage-related securities will lead to further stresses on the companies' capital." She cut her estimates on Bank of America and JPMorgan,. Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C) are likely to get the same treatment when they put out fourth quarter numbers.

The calculus on bank stock pricing is remarkably simple Bank of America trades at $14 against a 52-week low of $10 and a 52-week high of $45. Its market cap is $71 billion.

If BAC has to raise $20 billion, it will almost certainly have to do the deal below market, unless the federal government will give it special treatment the way that it did Citi. There is no demand for investing in bank equity. A transaction might go through as low as $10 with warrant coverage on top of that. What happens to the stock of a company with a $71 billion market cap with that kind of dilution at very low pricing? It takes the stock down by 40% or so.

Bank of America is an $8 stock. It may take awhile for the market to see that.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:35 am

Satyam chief admits to falsifying books

B Ramalinga Raju stepped down after confessing to fixing the company's books for the past 'several' years in the country's first major fraud case to emerge following the global financial crisis
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:31 am

Will Madoff's enablers get hard time?

Nice work if you can get it: Hanging out at the Palm Beach Country Club and introducing friends to an exclusive and seemingly safe place to stash your cash - Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:27 am

Life after iPhone

What will AT&T do after the iPhone?
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:27 am

Fed predicts economy will get worse

The U.S. economy is likely to deteriorate further this year and unemployment will rise into 2010, according to the latest forecasts from the staff of the Federal Reserve.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:24 am

China Car Sales: The End Of Hope For US Auto Firms

It is the Year of the Rat in China. Perhaps they could change that to the Year of the Dog so that it would be in keeping with the general mood.

One of the hopes of the US car companies is that China, the world's second largest auto market after America, would keep up double-digit vehicle sales growth. An economy with 10% GDP increases and a ballooning middle class had to be the salvation of the industry.

Last fall, the numbers started to turn against car sellers. The increase of vehicle purchases year-over-year started to drop.

While the predictions about GM's (GM) future move back and forth between bankruptcy and solvency based on huge cost cuts and creditor concessions, the firm's sales in China has gone way off track.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Sales at GM's passenger-vehicle joint venture, Shanghai General Motors Corp., fell 7% to 445,709 units from 479,427 units in 2007."

GM's reports sales in four regions: North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe and The Middle East. Domestic sales and numbers from the EU are already a catastrophe. None of the Latin American countries can avoid a global recession altogether, so revenue from that part of the world will start to slow.

That leaves Asia to pick up where the rest of the company could not. Now that China is faltering, there is nowhere left to grow.

The part of the federal government bailout of GM which is never mentioned is whether overseas sales will help or hurt the firm's earnings. Up until the middle of 2008, the answer was clear. Good numbers from off-shore were partially offsetting red ink in GM's home market.

The dynamics of GM's foreign business have changed in the blink of an eye, and with that the numbers Congress is looking at are completely flawed.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:20 am

The Growing Trend Of Profitable Firms Firing People (AA)(IBM)

It would be hard to miss the headline that Alcoa (AA) fired 15,000 people yesterday. The actions of big companies are probably a much better indicator for what is ahead for the economy than forecasts from business professors.

The fascinating and troubling aspect of the Alcoa cuts is that the company made $470 million in the last reported quarter and Wall St. estimates have it making a very modest amount of money this year. Dow Chemical (DOW), which recently let thousands of people go, also is a money maker. One of the most successful corporations in the US, IBM (IBM) is rumored to be a week away from cutting more than 10,000 people. IBM may have as good a balance sheet and earnings stream as any American public company.

Challenger, Gray reports that big companies had 166,348 layoffs in December, up 275% from a year. A look at their reports for the first 11 months of the year shows that many cuts came at firms which were doing well like Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)

While it would be a mistake to take too much from CEO forecasts and predictions, obviously executives at companies which span almost every major industry are cutting costs and personnel. No one needs to show that it is a vicious circle for the broader economy. A man without a job is a man who spends nothing. The same is true of a business that folds.

Wall St. analysts are still posting earnings forecasts that show many large companies making a lot of money next year. Expectations are that IBM's earnings per share will rise from $8.71 in 2008 to $8.99 this year. If someone could make it through security at the company's headquarters and get the straight dope from the tech company's CEO Samuel J. Palmisano, he would certainly say that anyone who believes those forecasts belongs in a state mental institution.

By most measures, the American economy lost between 2 million and 2.5 million jobs last year. As that number rises sharply this year, the IBMs cut as many people as the GMs. That says more about what the second half of the year looks like than any other set of numbers laying around.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Jan 2009 | 11:00 am

Bank of America sells Chinese bank stake

Top US lender Bank of America, raising cash to weather a dismal market at home, was selling a $2.83bn chunk of its holding in China Construction Bank at a 12% discount
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Jan 2009 | 10:51 am

Dollar rally runs out of steam

The recent dollar rally showed signs of running out of steam on Wednesday as traders took profits following its strong start to the year.
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Jan 2009 | 10:35 am

HK stocks fall as China Construction Bank dives (AP)

AP - Hong Kong's main stock index fell more than 3 percent Wednesday, as shares in China Construction Bank plunged after Bank of America sold part of its stake in the mainland's No. 2 lender.
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Jan 2009 | 10:25 am

Japan stocks up for 7th day on hopes for US plan (AP)

AP - Japanese stocks rose for a seventh straight trading day on Wednesday on optimism over a U.S. economic stimulus plan. Exporters like Panasonic and Honda also gained as the yen weakened, inflating their overseas income.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Jan 2009 | 10:01 am

Itching to work

Jobless for years - the accountant who lives on £35 a week
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Jan 2009 | 9:51 am

Record high for videogaming sales

Sales of videogame software and hardware in the UK hit an all time high, figures from the industry trade body show.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Jan 2009 | 9:37 am

Shares on the backfoot (AFP)

AFP - London shares fell on Wednesday, as investors speculated about deteriorating earnings and the precarious state of the US economy.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 9:30 am

Shares on the backfoot (AFP)

AFP - London shares fell on Wednesday, as investors speculated about deteriorating earnings and the precarious state of the US economy.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Jan 2009 | 9:30 am

Cattles axes 20% of staff and slashes lending

Cattles, the sub-prime and doorstep lender, unveiled plans to slash 1,000 jobs, or 20 per cent of its workforce, and dramatically scale back lending as it grapples with a funding crisis.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:37 am

Dow Chemical prepared to delay Rohm & Haas deal: report

(Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co is prepared to miss next week's deadline to clinch the $15 billion takeover of Rohm & Haas in an effort to raise enough cash to complete the deal without taking on too much debt, the Financial Times reported on its website late on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:22 am

Dow Chemical prepared to delay Rohm & Haas deal: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Dow Chemical Co is prepared to miss next week's deadline to clinch the $15 billion takeover of Rohm & Haas in an effort to raise enough cash to complete the deal without taking on too much debt, the Financial Times reported on its website late on Tuesday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:22 am

Banks may need to raise fresh capital in '09: Whitney (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. banks will have to raise fresh capital in 2009, and a sharp increase in credit-rating downgrades on mortgage-related securities will lead to further stresses on the companies' capital, according to prominent banking analyst Meredith Whitney.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:05 am

Regulators rethink rules on testing children's clothing and toys for lead

The Consumer Product Safety Commission gives a preliminary OK to exempt some items from testing after complaints of hardship to thrift stores and sellers of handmade toys. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Blue Shield to restore coverage for dropped Californians

In an attempt to settle investigations prompted by articles in The Times, the insurer agrees to reissue plans to almost 700 Californians and reimburse them for expenses that would have been covered. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Glendale Galleria owner to settle with Americana at Brand's Rick Caruso

General Growth Properties will pay developer Caruso $48 million for trying to prevent a Cheesecake Factory from locating at the Americana. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Recession creates a load of problems for truckers

Cuts at firms are pushing more haulers into the ranks of independent owner-operators, spurring bidding wars for fewer jobs. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Treasury yields rise as investors move to riskier securities

Yields on corporate and municipal bonds fall, and the stock market rallies again, with the Dow gaining 62 points. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Alcoa to cut 13,500 jobs, slash spending

Alcoa Inc., the world's third-largest aluminum maker, said Tuesday that it would cut 13,500 jobs, or 13% of its workforce, and slash spending and output to cope with the global economic slowdown.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Pricing formula at gas stations makes cents, but no sense

Gas stations go out of their way to mislead people with an archaic pricing system that serves no purpose but to make drivers believe they're getting a better deal at the pump. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Curtain rises on Televisa-Univision trial

The Mexican media giant wants out of its exclusive telenovela deal with the U.S. firm. Mexican media giant Grupo...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Social Security unveils new online application

WASHINGTON -- The Social Security Administration, envisaging the near-future prospect of 10,000 baby boomers applying for benefits every day, has put together a new online service that will allow people...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis asks board to skip bonuses for him, top executives

Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Ken Lewis is asking the company's board not to award bonuses to him or other top executives for 2008.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Australian stocks: Market closes 37 points up

MELBOURNE - The Australian stock market closed higher on Wednesday, after the local resources sector strengthened on the back of improved commodity prices. At the 1615 AEDT close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 37.0 points,...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 7:50 am

Bank of America in Chinese sale

Bank of America is to sell a stake in China Construction Bank, in an move that could raise $3bn, the Chinese bank says.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Jan 2009 | 7:26 am

M&S to cut 25 Simply Food stores and 1,230 jobs

Marks & Spencer (M&S) today confirmed it will cut 1,230 jobs and close 27 stores after reporting one of its worst Christmas trading performances on record.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Jan 2009 | 7:22 am

Currency: Dollar fails to crack US60c level

The New Zealand dollar reached its highest level against the greenback in nearly three weeks but failed to push through the US60c level. From around US58.15c last night the kiwi pushed up to US59.92c earlier today, then remained...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 6:36 am

NZ stocks: Market falls just over 19 points

Investors were unable to sustain the enthusiasm in New Zealand shares shown in the past few days, despite rises in overseas stock markets. The benchmark NZSX-50 index had risen by a total of about 105 points in the previous three...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 6:31 am

Tiger, After the Knee

Tiger Woods and Anthony Kim are squared off, just as everyone would like to see them in 2009.

The setting, of course, isn't the final nine of a major but a clinic on a shimmering October day off the Pacific. Kim is hitting the shots while Woods—his celebrated left knee still on the mend—faces him from a few feet away and does the commentary.

Tiger is holding a club, but his last full swing remains a 9-iron approach to the seventh green at Torrey Pines on the 91st and final hole of the 2008 U.S. Open, back on June 16.

Kim, 23, casual and confident but also concentrating, is striping it. He's got speed, his swing plane is perfect, and the sound of club against ball and ground is the aural definition of flush. It's the action that in July produced a closing 65 at storied Congressional to win the PGA Tour event Woods hosts and made Kim the first American under 25 to win two events in one year since ... Woods.

Kim is the guy who Woods' über-mentor, Mark O'Meara, contends has better technique than Woods had at the same age. And succession fetishists can thrill to the fact that there's a decade difference between the two, as with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and Nicklaus and Tom Watson.

"Pretty pure there," says Woods, watching another 3-iron. "Seriously, you missed a shot yet?"

"Just lucky," answers Kim, the compliment turning him shy.

Enjoying his role as relative elder statesman, Woods jokingly wonders, "Maybe I should stay retired."

Woods clearly likes Kim, a former wild child who has straightened up. Tiger has encouraged him the way he once did with Sergio Garcia, the way he never has with Phil Mickelson or Vijay Singh. The two have an easy banter. They are both from Southern California, both with Asian heritage, both with enough authentic athletic chops to feel occasionally boxed in by golf.

When Kim arrives at the event wearing a white belt with "USA" in red, white and blue rhinestones, Woods cries, "Give it up!" Later, when Kim tries to convey to the assembled how lucky he feels for the chance to learn face to face from "a guy who has won 10 majors," the holder of 14 tilts his head in disbelief and intones, "TEN majors?" After Kim responds with a shrug, Woods plays the offended purist. "Come on!" he yells. A couple of beats later, still comically appalled, he says it again, only louder: "C'mon! "

Kim laughs with everyone else, content for now with the notion that anything that doesn't help him get the ball in the hole quicker can only clutter his mind. Though as an adolescent he drew inspiration from watching a Tiger video, his feel-oriented, right-brain approach contrasts sharply with the analytical Woods. "I just have to let my body take over and not let my mind ruin what my body is capable of doing," Kim explains. Woods is all about understanding cause and effect.

"When I was a kid, I was the kind who really bugged my parents with 'Why?' " Tiger says. "And they always had to have a good reason, because I would analyze it, and if it wasn't a good reason, I'd ask, 'Why?' again. If I don't know why, then how in the hell am I going to fix it?"

The character trait revealed in this last sentence is the raison d'être of Woods' Hoganesque approach. He has always believed he has an edge against players who would rather not know why, and when Kim is imprecise in explaining his ball positions for various shots, or confesses that he plays a fade because a draw makes him nervous, or sneaks a look at the sole of his driver before saying "8.5" to a question about its loft, it isn't a stretch to surmise that the "Anthony Kim: Possible Weaknesses" file in Woods' head is getting thicker.

 Still, this is Woods unplugged. Below the hem of his shorts, a vertical surgical scar along the left knee that was operated on June 24 is revealed, but any trace of a limp—or a game face—is gone. His past two weeks have been devoted to promotional work. Along with corporate schmoozing and interviews, it has meant watching a lot of bad golf, especially from the man who won Woods as a caddie for nine holes at Torrey Pines but was so nervous he barely spoke to his cart mate for the first four holes. Yet at the clinic, Woods betrays no impatience and specializes in icebreakers. Sidling up to 15-year-old Seth Jones, whose father, Jason, is playing in the pro-am, Woods notices the teenager's braces and, remembering his own orthodontic ordeal, grabs a packet from the snack table and deadpans, "Beef jerky?"

"He's calm and balanced," says Woods' athletic trainer and physical therapist, Keith Kleven, who has known him since the year before Tiger entered Stanford. "The family, the way he talks about the baby and the one on the way [due in February]. He's centered in everything right now, the best I've ever seen him."

Woods concurs. "I've been working so hard on the rehab part of it, it hasn't been hard to forget the golf part," he says. "In a couple of more months, when I'm able to rotate and move on this thing a little more, I'm sure I'll have the itch to come back. But this down time has reconfirmed that I won't have a problem when I have to walk away from the game. It's not going to be that hard."

Of course, Woods has been fortunate to fill any potential void by being an active participant in the most formative period in the life of his daughter, Sam.

"We're all proud of our kids, and I'm no different," he says. "Watching her learn how to talk—yelling at the dogs like I do. We play catch. She's 16 months ... she'll catch it and throw it right back to me. I wouldn't have seen all this if I had been playing a lot. It's something I talked about with Jay Haas [a father of five]. I told him, 'It's harder to leave home.' He said, 'Wait until they tell you, "Don't leave, Daddy." That kills you.' That's something I'm not looking forward to at all."

At the same time, Woods sees the whole domestic package as a help, not a hindrance, to his golf.

"From what I heard, when I first got engaged I was going to become a worse golfer, and when I married Elin I was going to become a worse golfer. Then after we'd had a kid, I was going to get worse again. But I've become a better golfer with each event. They've all made me a happier person with a more rounded life. All these people who basically said I would lose it because of all these different things, they have no idea."

So, is this injury break another karmic moment in the charmed life of Tiger Woods? A perfectly timed halftime, a long moment to reassess and plan for a career second half that should include passing Nicklaus' 18 majors? Woods sees it as much more pedestrian.

"I just see it as rehab, something a professional athlete has sometimes got to do," he says. "My life changed dramatically when my dad died [in 2006]. To make that adjustment in life, that was hard. Then, after losing my dad, the next year to have Sam—those were polar-opposite experiences. To be as low as I could possibly be, to be as high as I could possibly be, all in one year. If you want to create halves, that was that transition. To have knee surgery, that's easy."

It's not to say that the break won't be beneficial.

"It can only do him good," says instructor Hank Haney. "It takes a tremendous amount of mental energy to do what Tiger does. More than most people can imagine. It's good for him to rest, to visualize, to prepare. On the other hand, he's so good at mind control that he keeps himself from saying he misses it, because that doesn't do him any good."

Woods also has a chance to fuel up for paybacks to skeptics, doomsayers and those who long to see him fail.

"When you have desire like Tiger has, when people write you off and say you're finished, you like that," says Lee Trevino. "I heard that stuff my whole life, and I loved it. Whenever I was in a hospital bed or laid up, my mind would be running, thinking about all the things I was going to do. Tiger's going to come back with a vengeance."

Woods doesn't bite on the payback angle, but when asked if he ever has to fight fears that his best golf has been played, or that he'll never be the same, he says, "I never look at it that way. Anyway, I don't want to be the same—I want to be better."

 He has more than ever to build on. It's easy to forget that before his operation, Woods was on his longest ever sustained run of excellence. From last August through the U.S. Open, he won 10 of the 13 events he played, all with an anterior cruciate ligament that ruptured while he was jogging at home the week after the 2007 British Open.

Counting Dubai, Woods won four consecutive times to open 2008. "A lot of it was due to Tiger changing his swing after he tore his ACL, to take the pressure off the knee," says his caddie, Steve Williams. "He really made a conscious effort to shorten his swing a little bit and tried to keep everything a little quieter through the ball. He ended up hitting the ball more consistently than he ever has. Then in the offseason he worked on his short game, kept hitting the ball just as well, and came back even better. I thought the venues for the major championships were particularly to his liking, and I really believed 2008 was going to be a huge year."

For Woods, his standard of play was the fruition of all the work he had done with Haney since 2004. "All the things that Hank and I had been working on over the years were starting to take shape," he says. "The only thing missing was getting the proper leg action, and that was because of my knee. But I finally felt like I started to understand my golf swing. I could fix it when I was out there playing, could make the adjustments mid-round from shot to shot. I was more consistent day in and day out because of it."

Even in a truncated season, and with Torrey as the exclamation point, the legend grew.

"It all just reinforced the idea that Tiger is something extremely special," says John Cook, a close friend. "People stopped talking about a rival because there isn't one. Maybe the key is his humility. He's never above learning, and he always wants to learn more and do better. At the same time, there's definitely something different about him. Without ever saying so, he knows what his place is. The best golfer ever, for sure. One of the greatest athletes in any game, ever. One of the great humans at anything, ever. He knows his place."

And Woods is fully honoring his gift. He was once seemingly fatalistic about the knee, which he now admits he first injured as a boy daredevil engaged in X-Games-style activities that had nothing to do with golf. In recent years he was lifting heavy, running hard and grunting through military-influenced workouts with Navy Seals he had befriended. Woods still seemed defiant about limitations at his post-victory press conference at the U.S. Open when he said. "I'm not really good at listening to doctors." But now he is.

"What he's told to do, he does it, and he does it at the highest level," says Kleven. "It wasn't always the case, but he's grown up a lot. He's learned that everything the doctors, the trainers and the therapist say is for a reason. On his own, he studies and has a vast knowledge about the injury, the surgery, the rehab. He knows everything about what's been done and what he needs to do."

Woods could be excused for being cavalier when his winning percentage increased after the tear of the ACL. But the resulting instability caused painful cartilage damage, which he chose to clean out after Augusta. His plan was to get through the PGA Championship before having surgery to repair the ACL, but his quad and hamstring atrophied to the point where they could no longer hold off bone-to-bone contact in his knee joint. Trying to cram in preparation for the Memorial Tournament—scheduled as his sole tuneup for the U.S. Open—proved too much.

"I was just practicing at Isleworth, hitting a normal 5-iron," he says. "I felt something kind of give, and it hurt, but I thought, It's just pain. I kept hitting balls, but it kept getting worse and worse and worse. This was a different type of pain. Two days later we had it X-rayed, and they found the cracks."

Woods' stress fractures—what Kleven describes as "little lightning bolts down through the connecting tissue and the cartilage"—were in the left tibia. Kleven says that Woods had so much pathology in his knee that the surfaces of the femur, tibia and fibia were rubbing together. "That's really excruciating pain," he says.

So intense that the week before the U.S. Open, it was difficult for Woods to hit more than two practice shots without having to sit down. Still, he was steadfast about playing at Torrey Pines, the site of his Junior World and Buick Invitational victories.

"I'd never seen him talk about a tournament so much before it started than he did about Torrey Pines," says Williams.

Woods also talked when he got there, buoying himself by repeating two self-fashioned declarations.

 The first was to Kleven, who was charged with managing Woods' increasing pain. "It was probably the toughest week I've ever had in any sport, and the most relieved I've ever felt about anything when it was finally over," says Kleven, who was in heavyweight champion Larry Holmes' camp for several title defenses.

"Between stimulation and ice and some different systems that I use, you could block the pain, but you can't block it for the whole day," Kleven added. "It would come back during the round, and all the bending over and grimacing he was doing, that was the pain response to bone to bone and him doing whatever he had to do to get through it. Endorphins kicking in from the emotional part of competition probably kept him from feeling as much pain as a person would normally feel, but by the time he got back to the room he was wrung out and just wanted to lie down.

"We'd do several sessions from dinnertime to 11 or 12 at night, and then again in the morning before he played," Kleven continued. "We really didn't know how much damage he was doing inside. I would ask him, 'Are you sure, Tiger? Because we can't lose your knee,' or I'd say, 'I don't know if we can go.' And he'd react like a boxer in the corner: 'No, we can go, Keith, we can go. We can do this.' But most of the time he'd just come in and say, 'I hurt it; you fix it.' He said that over and over."

Woods' other mantra was saved for the golf course. "Tiger kept repeating this one sentence," says Williams. "He'd say, 'Stevie, I'm going to win this tournament, I don't give a s--- what you say.' He'd say it after a good shot, or a bad hole, or just to keep things light. It was a way to reassert his belief and just keep going."

Woods needed an extra helping of will to overcome four double bogeys (three of them on the first hole). "Really, there is no way I should have won," he says, shaking his head. "Do I think about that a lot? Yeah.... Yes."

Woods had to rely on his team like never before at Torrey, and the most timely help of all came from Williams. The man who will be remembered as the finest caddie of all time made what he considers his greatest call on the 72nd. Needing a birdie 4 to tie, Woods faced a 101-yard third shot from deep rough to a front-right flagstick on a very firm green also protected by water. Williams paid attention to details but trusted an instinct honed during stints with Hall of Famers Peter Thomson, Greg Norman, and Raymond Floyd.

"There was a lot of talk between us, and I managed to sway Tiger to the [60-degree] lob wedge, which he normally doesn't hit more than 85 yards," Williams says. "The shot that he had in mind, using a 56 to bounce the ball up without much spin, I just couldn't see. There was a steep bank in front of the green that kicked everything hard left. With that shot, if you dropped 20 balls you could get the ball close maybe once.

"I knew he was pumped up," Williams continued, "and I knew we were coming out of that tight Kikuyu grass that still had some dew on it even though it was late in the afternoon, because that side of the 18th stays in the shadow of the hotel. I knew that the moisture would help him hit it farther. I just had a feeling. I could envision him hitting that club as hard as he can and being able to get that distance out of it, with enough spin to stop it. Of course, if it didn't come off it was going to be a very long nine months. But it turned out perfect."

Well, 12 feet away. His recounting of that bumpy putt offers a window into how Woods' mind works under pressure:

"I was reading the putt, a ball and a half outside right, thinking You can't control the bounces; all you can control is making a pure stroke. Go ahead and release the blade, and just make a pure stroke. If it bounces off line, so be it, you lose the U.S. Open. If it goes in, that's even better. I hit the putt, it felt pure, and I hit it just right where I wanted to. It's rolling down there, I'm just, Break ... please break ... break ... not breaking ... and then it started to barely move left, and at the very end it just dove. And as it dove, it caught the right edge of the lip and went in, and you saw me with some stupid reaction."

Woods had to make another birdie putt on the 18th the next day—a slick 4½-footer—to send the playoff against Rocco Mediate to the 91st and final hole, where Tiger won with a par. The entirety of the accomplishment makes Woods reflective of his early years.

"I grew up with a whole bunch of different military people—highly motivated people, and great people to be around," he says. "I grew up with a Marine, with a Navy captain, a Navy admiral. A couple of the guys were in the Army infantry, and my dad was Special Forces. So, this is what I saw. I saw the discipline side of it. I saw how to handle things. Whatever it is, you get the job done.

"Like my dad would explain to me," Woods continued, " 'Just because someone gets shot doesn't mean he's not effective. He can still operate. And just because you hit a bad shot doesn't mean your whole round is over. You can still turn it around. You can still operate. You can still get it done.' "

 As Woods does whenever he tries to make sense of his knack for great shots when he needs them most, his thoughts go back to seminal playing lessons with Earl Woods.

"How do you explain to a 4-year-old not to have negative thoughts?" Woods asks. "My dad would say, 'Where's the trouble?' I'd see water left and bunker right. 'Okay, where do you want the ball to go?' 'I want it to go there, Daddy.' 'Okay. What kind of shot do you want to hit?' 'I'm hitting a low draw.' 'Okay, do it.' And I'd put the ball right there. And he'd say, 'Okay, good.'

"And that's the way I grew up playing," Woods added. "So it's hard for me to explain negative processing. Even to this day, when I'm out there struggling and I don't have my best stuff at all, I'll go back to, 'You know what, Daddy, I'm going to put the ball right there. Right there. I'm going to put that little 2-iron right there, Daddy. No problem. I got it.' Boom, I put it right there ... "

Momentarily lost in the moment, Woods concludes the soliloquy with "Thanks, Pops."

Woods believes he'll be able to hit it where he's looking more often with a surgically repaired knee. Because of the weakened condition of the joint, Woods couldn't keep his left leg from hyperextending at impact. With a sound knee and sufficiently strengthened surrounding muscles, he is convinced he'll be able to avoid the straightening snap that caused so much wear and tear.

"I've always thought Tiger—good knee or bad knee—swings too hard," says Trevino. "Now I believe he'll learn to brace that left knee at impact instead of straightening it. In other words, swing more like we did, with a bent left knee and a little slide. It means he won't be able to swing the club quite as fast. And that will give him better accuracy. And then it's over, because when he drives the ball in the fairway, he's the best at every single part of the game from 180 yards and in. He might win every tournament he plays. He's the most intelligent player I've ever seen about the golf swing. He learns everything, overcomes anything."

Haney says Trevino's analysis is spot on, except the part about not being able to swing the club as fast. "When Tiger was hanging back on his right side because of his leg, it appeared that he was swinging too hard because he would kind of wheel his body around at the last second," Haney says. "Actually, that was slowing the club down. With a more correct swing, where he gets fully onto his left side, his downswing will appear smoother, but the club will be going faster. And the ball will be going straighter."

According to Woods, "I couldn't be as good as I wanted to with the longer clubs, couldn't really do what Hank wanted me to do, especially the driver, because the more speed and leverage, the more it would buckle. I knew it, and Hank knew it." Here, Woods smiles. "Not that I was going to say anything about it. Why? Unless my timing was really good, I would have to find a way to play around my driver. Mainly, I had to putt well. But I'm going to finally be able to get into my left side, and that's exciting."

Still, as Woods awaits a return to the tour before the Masters, his advantage over the competition might have lessened in his absence. Padraig Harrington won the remaining two majors, in the process extolling the pursuit of improvement. After Kim doubled up, Camilo Villegas won the last two events of the FedEx Cup, demonstrating a suddenly integrated melding of power, touch and resolve. It was clearly Tiger-like.

And not by accident. "If you listen to his words, Tiger makes his methods accessible," says Dr. Gio Valiante, who has been Villegas' mental coach for several years. "It happened with Hogan and Nicklaus: The dominant golfer of the generation revealing how he plays the game, the subsequent generation able to study that and then saying, 'It's possible. If he can do it, I can do it.'

"The first 20-somethings who followed Tiger probably were too close in time to fully absorb his lessons," Valiante says. "But now players like Camilo and Kim have. They know intuitively, for example, that Tiger made it okay to be selfish.

"Nicklaus wrote 'golf's gentlemanly code requires that you hide your confidence,' " Valiante continues. "Tiger changed that when he came out fist-pumping. At the time, guys were complaining, 'Don't bring that to golf; it's disrespectful and arrogant.' But Tiger proved the fist pump was about something bigger, about accomplishing the most difficult thing in this game, which is to be free. To be fully engaged, without inhibition, without indecision, without fear. To release.

"The blueprint is out there," Valiante says. "The question I've put before Camilo is, 'Why not you?' "

Woods surely plans to provide an answer, but he avoids tipping off any counter moves.

"It's fun to see the next generation of players, but I haven't been out there or watching," he says. "I haven't seen how they've been acting or talking. I don't know how they're acting coming down the stretch of a tournament, because I haven't seen their eyes. I don't know any of this stuff." But then he adds a very knowing getaway line: "Most of their success has come when I wasn't there."

In 2009, he'll be back.Related Links
The Long Shot
Tiger Woods Actually ... Loses?
Tigers Woods to Have New Beverage: `Gatorade Tiger'



Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 7 Jan 2009 | 5:00 am

Lenovo shares suspended amid restructuring talk (Reuters)

Reuters - Shares of Lenovo (0992.HK) were suspended on Wednesday, as market talk swirled that the world's No. 4 PC seller was set to announce a major restructuring amid flagging sales in the global downturn.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Jan 2009 | 3:59 am

Big fall in NZers' job market confidence

New Zealanders are becoming increasingly worried about the job market, although optimists still slightly outnumber pessimists, a new survey shows. The Westpac McDermott Miller employment confidence index fell 17.2 points in the...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 3:05 am

Weak prices at Fonterra online auctions

For many companies, the internet has been a happy hunting ground, with the venture into e-commerce yielding great returns. Not so for dairy giant Fonterra - yet. Whole milkpowder prices continue to fall at Fonterra's internet...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Jan 2009 | 1:00 am

After The Close - Tuesday

NETSCOUT (NTCT), a network software maker, reported preliminary Q3 EPS of 24-26 cents and revenue of $73 mil-$74 mil. Analysts expected a gain of...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:28 am

In Brief - Tuesday

Best Buy (BBY), an electronics chain, said it will offer refurbished iPhone 3Gs, starting at $149 for the 8GB version and $249 for 16GB, compared...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:28 am

Business Briefs - Tuesday

Dow Chemical will sue Kuwait. The chemical giant said it will take legal action against Petrochemical Industries of Kuwait, seeking more than $2.5...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:28 am

Home Health Care Provider Ramps Up And Goes On Hiring Spree

If you're tired of reading about companies laying off people, here's one that's hiring.

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:28 am

Trends & Innovations - Tuesday

Recession rains on state parades

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:28 am

Apple strips iTunes of digital rights management

Blog: at least Tony Bennett was good
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:06 am

Merrill's financial advisers' loyalty questioned

The surprise departure on Monday of Robert McCann, head of Merrill's financial advisers, is sending tremors through the group
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:04 am

Comment: Gazprom is not a market player, it’s a political weapon

The bust-up between Russia and Ukraine that threatens to gum up the gas supplies of much of Southern and Eastern Europe hardly comes as a surprise. It is almost part of the new year ritual and somehow always seems to strike during a cold spell. Across the Continent, radiators run cold.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:01 am

Gazprom brands Ukraine 'a barbarian' in gas row

Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled gas monopoly, accused Ukraine of acting “like a barbarian” in its deepening dispute with Moscow over gas supplies.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:01 am

Gazprom brands Ukraine 'a barbarian' in gas row

Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled gas monopoly, accused Ukraine of acting “like a barbarian” in its deepening dispute with Moscow over gas supplies.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:01 am

Alistair Darling prays the gilts passion lasts

It is suddenly fashionable to suggest we are in the throes of a fresh investment bubble - this time in government bonds. Gilts have been bid up to dizzy levels as investors buy into the notion that deflation is coming and is here to stay. Why else buy assets yielding only 1 or 2 per cent unless you believe that Britain is heading into a Japanese-style lost decade of ultra-low interest rates and relentlessly falling prices?
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am

Obama warns of record $1,000bn deficit

Barack Obama warned that this year's budget deficit could break through a record $1,000bn – more than double last year's shortfall – and remain above that level "for years to come"
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:52 pm

Darling in new alert on depth of recession

Chancellor warns Britain was 'far from through' the recession, in a signal he will have to abandon the forecast that the recovery would start in the second half of 2009
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:50 pm

The Fall Of GM - A Visual Guide

This is terrific:

(Via)

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:06 pm

VIX Index of U.S. Stock Option Prices Retreats 1.3% to 38.56

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:02 pm

Fed and other agencies to join U.S. fraud task force (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.S. government is beefing up a task force to fight mortgage crimes and safeguard federal financial bailouts, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:02 pm

IVA's De Vaulx Says Oil ETFs Are Growing

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:55 pm

NZ stocks: Small rises on morning market

The New Zealand sharemarket made modest gains in early trading as it continues to rally in the first days of the New Year. The rally, which actually picked up momentum from New Year's Eve, has seen the benchmark NZSX-50 index add...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:45 pm

Billionaire ends it all under express train

A decorated German billionaire has thrown himself under a train after the stress of the global financial meltdown got too much for him to bear. Adolf Merckle leapt to his death in front of a train after his business empire, which...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:40 pm

Morgan Stanley's Feldman Says Japanese Strength Is Innovation

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:33 pm

IHS Global Insight's Lindland Says Auto Sales Slow Until 2012

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:28 pm

November trade deficit $520m

New Zealand's monthly trade deficit narrowed to $520 million in November, as exports rose faster than imports compared to a year earlier. Releasing the data today, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said the monthly deficit equated to...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:00 pm

Matt Fabian Says Municipal Bonds Are an `Exceptional Buy'

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Jan 2009 | 9:57 pm

Currency: Kiwi creeps up towards US60c

The New Zealand dollar crept up towards US60c this morning, after firming against most major currencies overnight. The kiwi was buying US59.57c around 8am, compared with US58.79c at 5pm yesterday, and continued to edge upwards....
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 9:55 pm

Fed considers setting inflation target

Minutes provide further insight into the December policy meeting at which officials cut its target interest rate to virtually zero and laid out its strategy for unconventional easing
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Jan 2009 | 9:45 pm

Zuckoff Says There Were Signs Madoff Fraud Started Legitimately

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Jan 2009 | 9:37 pm

Moec Sees Bank of England Interest Rates at 0.5% (Correct)

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Jan 2009 | 9:12 pm

Hear: Staring At The Job Market

Today on Planet Money:

-- Pam Olson in Centerville, Ohio, checks in with a Planet Money indicator.

-- Roger Lowenstein's While America Aged sees doom in the pension system. Mike Pesca reads it for you.

-- Economist House Call! Renee Edlund, 26 and living in Houston, takes a hard look at the job market with help from economist Simon Johnson of Baseline Scenario.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Alphabeat's "Fantastic Six." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Jan 2009 | 8:32 pm

Bid to revoke Madoff's bail

A prosecutor has asked that Bernard Madoff be jailed pending trial, saying the disgraced financier violated an agreement with the court by mailing watches, jewellery, cufflinks and mittens worth more than US$1 million ($1.7 million)...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 7:30 pm

Billionaire Merckle commits suicide

Adolf Merckle, one of Germany's wealthiest men, committed suicide after weeks of talks with creditors designed to save his businesses from being consumed by disastrous investments and the global financial crisis
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Jan 2009 | 7:10 pm

Steve Jobs’ Hormones Underline Bigger Issue

Is Steve Jobs dying? I don’t think he is. A survivor of pancreatic cancer is bound to have a host of follow-up problems that aren’t necessarily terminal. Indeed, the fine details of Jobs’ testoserone levels are hardly the issue. The real point is that Apple has most of of its eggs in one fragile basket.

Jobs’ cult of personality is so strong that the leadership vacuum lurking in the shadows when he leaves threatens the very fabric of the company. A powerful figurehead, in any kind of governance, should be counterbalanced by an equally stable organization. I’m no Apple insider, but from what I hear, the presence of Jobs, like that of God, infuses almost every layer of company operations. Remove the Jobs factor, and what do you have? A discernable vacuum.

Investors know this. That’s why Jobs had to explain that it was hormones, honey, not something deadly. And that’s what got me thinking that it’s not Jobs’ health that matters as much as his ability to prune a legitimate set of successors. Buffett and Gates have done it, but what of Apple? The only successor I can think of with the star power similar to Jobs would be board member Al Gore, but one can only imagine what would happen to Apple products under Gore’s leadership (the iCompost comes to mind).

What do you think?

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:46 pm

Peer pressure pushes people to go green

A growing body of research shows the most effective way to get people to go green is not through do-good appeals, but rather peer pressure. Sarah Gardner reports on the latest research findings.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:37 pm

Letters: Astrology, retirement, priorities

Listeners had strong reactions to stories about astrology and retirement in the Marketplace mailbox this week. Also, Kai Ryssdal tells us that FDIC isn't really an acronym at all.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:36 pm

Asphalt shortage makes recovery rough

President-elect Obama wants to spend nearly $300 billion on infrastructure projects to create jobs and boost the ailing economy. But road and bridge repairs will require a lot of asphalt, and as Joel Rose reports, a shortage of it could spell trouble.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:33 pm

A look inside Countrywide

Countrywide Financial is arguably the company at the heart of the mortgage financial crisis. Kai Ryssdal speaks with Countrywide's former Senior Vice President of Marketing Adam Michaelson about his experiences at the company.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:33 pm

Cheap oil puts Venezuela over a barrel

High oil prices have kept Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez popular over the years. But with oil prices falling and a stack of bills piling up, the Venezuelan economy is at risk of collapsing. Dan Grech reports.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:30 pm

Europe low on fuel without Russian gas

The dispute between Russia and Ukraine is heating up. While the two countries fight over the price of natural gas and an unpaid bill, several European nations are caught in the middle. Stephen Beard reports that many nations are warning of fuel shortages.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:30 pm

Putting the bad numbers into context

Numbers released today show that November wasn't a good month for factory orders or home sales. Both fell. But there is a little bit of good news in the services sector. Bob Moon reports on the latest numbers.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:29 pm

Macworld 2009: GPS integration, iTunes on 3G, Thinnest MacBook Ever

Hot on the tails of Steve Jobs’ hormones comes Macworld, which today held its keynote address. Here’s the latest and greatest blanket update from Macworld, summarized from Jason Snell and Dan Moren’s stellar play-by-play coverage on Macworld’s website:

Highlights:

2008 was the biggest year in the history of company in Mac sales, sold 9.7 million Macs. They grew over twice as fast as the rest of the industry.

iLife ‘09, a brand new version of the platform, is out now.

There’s a new iPhoto ‘09, with a feature called “Faces.” …it uses face detection. It highlights the face and asks you to give them a name. Click on it, type in a name; it adds a snapshot. Then it uses face recognition to find the same person across multiple photos.

You can also organize your photos by “Places.” …you get a map with pins for where your photos are. It uses GPS Geotagging, integrated in many new cameras and (the iPhone).

Additional features include a slideshow (with music) and Facebook and Flickr integration. A new “Travel Books” theme lets you integrate maps into your travel books.

iMovie ‘09 is out. Highlights: A new precision editor, expanded timeline view for advanced users. Advanced drag & drop: it gives you the option to replace, insert, use audio only. New dynamic themes with titles, transitions, even credits. Animated travel maps. Automatic video stabilization.

New versions of iWeb and iDVD.

iWork ‘09 is out. New: Magic Move: you set up your slides and Keynote does all the options for moving objects between your slides. Looks a bit like the way Flash does animation…iWork.com is a new service to share documents with other people online, including collaboration.

Pages ‘09 has a few new features, including a fullscreen view and dynamic outlines.

Numbers ‘09 adds a few new features to the spreadsheet world, including linked charts and a variety of new templates.

The brand new 17″ MacBook Pro is out. Macworld’s review: 0.98 inches thin. World’s thinnest 17-inch notebook. It’s 6.6 pounds, which also makes it the lightest 17-inch notebook…Innovative new battery: longest lasting battery life ever, but keeping notebook just as thin and late. Apple’s not allowing the battery to be removable in the 17-inch MacBook Pro.

iTunes
–Starting in April, iTunes songs will be offered at $0.69, $0.99, and $1.29.
–All iTunes songs will be DRM-free. Starting today 8 million songs will be offered DRM-free (couldn’t get that last 2 million, huh?). By end of quarter, entire catalog will be DRM-free.
–Starting today, users can download/buy iTunes songs on the 3G network.

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:09 pm

Frankel Wants Madoff to Share the Fate of Those He Cheated

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Jan 2009 | 4:49 pm

Congresssman Van Hollen Says New Stimulus Must Pass Quickly

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Jan 2009 | 4:39 pm

Bankers Don’t Need Politicians Meddling in Loans: Commentary

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Jan 2009 | 4:33 pm

German Billionaire Adolf Merckle Meets Sad Ending

German industrial tycoon Adolf Merckle threw himself in front of a train last night after investment losses broke him of his will to live. In a statement, family members said that Merckle’s companies’ financial losses, coupled with losing speculative bets on VW stock, were what caused the 74-year-old to take the dramatic action he did.

According to Reuters:

Merckle was ranked as the world’s 94th richest person in 2008 according to Forbes magazine and his family controls a number of German companies including cement maker HeidelbergCement (HEIG.DE) and generic drug company Ratiopharm, but its empire was rocked last year by wrong-way bets made on shares in carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG.DE).

Banking sources had told Reuters the family lost hundreds of millions of euros on investments, with losses of about 400 million euros ($539.4 million) on Volkswagen shares alone.

It has been in talks for weeks with banks to renegotiate loans.

A couple of weeks ago, I learned about Ivar Kreuger, the 20th Century match tycoon who took his own life after his empire began to collapse during the Great Depression. The Merckle case reminds me a bit of Krueger. It is indeed tragic to spend an entire life building an empire, then watch it collapse with a bad economy. I hope we don’t see more of this.

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Jan 2009 | 4:23 pm

Co-workers Sue Over $207m Lottery Win

From the Women on the Web:

Four city workers — who had been polling their money in the office pot for nearly five years under the verbal agreement that they’d all share the winnings — were out of the office and unavailable to contribute to the office pool for a drawing last month that resulted in a $207 million payoff. The four planitiffs are suing 15 co-workers who are keeping the $207 million Mega Millions lottery winnings all to themselves.

If they contributed for five years, they deserve it. Those other coworkers need to cough up.

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Jan 2009 | 4:10 pm

Hyundai Bails Out Consumers By Buying Back Their Cars

Vehicles have been in the news quite a bit these days, from bailout plans to million-dollar hybrids. Clearly, car companies are desperate. Now, Hyundai introduces its own bailout plan–for consumers (Financial Times):

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s biggest carmaker, is offering an unprecedented incentive in the US market by offering to buy back vehicles from US customers who have recently lost jobs, in an effort to counter the economic recession.

US customers who cannot make their instalment payments due to redundancy, a physical disability, personal bankruptcy or accidental death, can return their vehicles within a year of purchase.

Under the programme, Hyundai customers who have made at least two scheduled payments on their car loan or lease can walk away from a financing obligation when the difference between the resale value of the car and the balance of their loan is less than $7,500.

I’m sensing a new trend. Buy a Hyundai; return it. Get a GM for half the price. When said GM breaks, ditch it with minimal loss. Buy a new one. Repeat.

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Jan 2009 | 3:59 pm

Orange County Woman Finds $10,000 in a Box of Crackers

From the Orange County Register’s Erika Chavez:

Sandra Rogoff reached into the cupboard on Oct. 10 (2008) and opened a box of crackers, only to find an unmarked white envelope taking up residence next to the bagged crackers. She opened it to discover $10,000 in $100 bills.

Rather than go on a shopping spree, the family called police…Police later heard from store managers at Whole Foods in Tustin that an elderly woman had come in a few days earlier, hysterical because she had mistakenly returned a box of crackers with her life savings inside. In a mix-up the store restocked the box rather than composting it.

The Lake Forest woman, whose identity was not released, had lost faith in her bank and decided the box would be a safer place for the money. Luckily for her, the box of Annie’s Sour Cream and Onion Cheddar Bunny crackers were bought by the Rogoffs, who discovered the crisp $100 bills in an unmarked white envelope on Oct. 10.

The Rogoffs never heard from the woman and didn’t receive a reward, but Rogoff did return to Whole Foods a couple weeks later. “I asked them if I could have another box of crackers,” she said with a laugh. The store obliged.

The old woman trusted a box of crackers more than her bank. That sure says something about the state of the economy, doesn’t it?

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Jan 2009 | 3:23 pm

Maybe Decaf This Morning

A big headline this morning : U.S. Auto Sales Fell 36% last month. I think headlines like that are a little unfair. It's a 36% drop when compared to last December. That's a smart comparison in steadier times. But auto sales were just as bad last month, down 36.7% compared to a year before. So are we going to keep writing headlines for the next ten months saying "Auto Sales Down 30%"?

And here's an economic indicator for you; there's less mail flowing through the U.S. Postal system.

Meanwhile, the auto repair business in Branson, Missouri is thriving.

The Planet Money minds are gathering here in DC today so we won't be tending the blog, but check back this evening -- we have a good podcast for you that includes our first ever Planet Money book review, which I'm sure will not be the usual affair since Mike Pesca did it.

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Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Jan 2009 | 2:38 pm

Do YOU Owe Madoff Money?

The folks combing through Bernard Madoff's books to see how much money is left have reportedly found about $830 million. And they're looking for more.

Letters went out to over 8,000 people who might have been customers. Most of them will of course be trying to recover some part of their investment.

But the form also has a section for investors who might owe money to the guy who allegedly took everyone else's money.

"c. If you wish to repay the Debit Balance,
please insert the amount you wish to repay and
attach a check payable to "Irving H. Picard, Esq.,
Trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC."
If you wish to make a payment, it must be enclosed
with this claim form. $__________________"

Wonder if they'll get any checks.

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Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Jan 2009 | 2:02 pm