Biden sees need to stop drift in ties with Russia

The United States and Russia need to 'press the reset button' to end a dangerous drift in relations between Moscow and Nato and find areas where they can work together, US Vice President Joe Biden
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:44 pm

Senators agree to stimulus compromise

U.S. senators debated late into the night Friday on a massive economic-recovery package, after a coalition of Democrats and some Republicans reached a compromise that trimmed billions in spending from an earlier version.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:25 pm

Foreclosure fix: Obama's options

This much we know -- the Obama administration wants to set aside between $50 billion and $100 billion to address the foreclosure crisis.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:18 pm

Early push positioned states for green jobs now

The same week that automakers sought billions in aid to avoid bankruptcy, two states, including Michigan, announced huge alternative power industry investments, with one site being built on
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:16 pm

WTO chief warns of looming political unrest

The global economic crisis could trigger political unrest equal to that seen during the 1930s, the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said in a German newspaper interview Saturday.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:15 pm

BNP could give up Fortis takeover bid: CEO

France's BNP Paribas signalled Saturday that it could abandon its bid for collapsed Belgian bank Fortis if shareholders failed to agree a revised takeover deal next week. "It is clear...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:03 pm

NewsWatch: Deal struck in Senate on $780 billion stimulus plan

Senators' compromise with moderate Republicans paves the way for a vote in the chamber and hands Obama a legislative victory on his highest economic priority.

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

Personal Finance Daily: The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories: Feb. 2-6

In case you missed them, here are the top 10 Personal Finance stories from MarketWatch for the week of Feb. 2-6:

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Feb 2009 | 1:01 pm

IMF: Depression May Have Already Started

For some countries, it may already be too late to keep their economies in a recession hoping for a recovery late in the year.

That notion would make some sense. In the US and UK, unemployment is almost certainly headed toward 10%. If people out of work and no longer looking for jobs are included, the figure could move much closer to 15%.

Consumer and business spending have virtually shut down because of lack of access to credit. In the US, several major industries may be in the late stages of complete failure. This would almost certainly include the retail and automotive sectors, and could, if the government does not take appropriate action, move to the largest financial firms.

The IMF contends that several of the largest economies are already in depressions. According to Bloomberg, "Advanced economies are already in a depression and the financial crisis may deepen unless the banking system is fixed, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said."

If that analysis is correct, the bottom could last several years. The layoff cycles has hit a the vicious point where the growing number of people out of work further undermine consumer spending which leads to more firings at consumer goods companies and retailers. Each job lost is a series of lost sales for a number of American companies. Those firms are faced with more rapidly falling sales as the year passes

The ride down may just be beginning.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:34 pm

UPDATE 2-Nigerian militants attack Shell gas plant in delta

PORT HARCOURT, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Nigerian militants attacked a gas plant operated by Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta on Saturday and warned of more strikes to come, but the army said it had repelled...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:04 pm

Obama to attend G20 summit in London in April: Biden

US Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday that President Barack Obama will attend a summit of the G20 group of advanced and developing nations in London on April 2. Biden said that "to...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 11:59 am

Deal reached on $800bn US stimulus package

US Senate Democrats agreed to cut their hopes for a larger economic stimulus package and support an $800bn compromise that would give President Barack Obama an important but narrow victory
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Feb 2009 | 11:53 am

Nigerian militants claim attack on Shell gas plant

LAGOS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Nigeria's main militant group said its fighters had carried out an attack on the Utorogu gas plant operated by Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta on Saturday and warned of more...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 11:31 am

Auto Review: Tired of 2009 already? For cars, 2010 and 2011 are here now

We don’t know when the recession will end or who else in this town hasn’t paid their taxes. However, in the auto world it is 2010 and even 2011 already. (And I kid my wife about reading summer clothing catalogs when I come in from clearing snow from the driveway!)

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Feb 2009 | 11:01 am

Market Snapshot: Stocks pin more hopes on stimulus, rescue plan

Investors are poised to start next week eager for plans from the government to boost the economy and rescue the financial system, which could help bulls cement a nascent February rally in stocks.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Feb 2009 | 11:00 am

Consortium wins Mecca rail project

A Saudi-French-Chinese consortium has bagged the 1.8 billion dollar civil works contract for the Mecca-Medina high speed railway, a project official said on Saturday. The Al-Rajhi...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 10:48 am

Economic crisis hits China's toy exports: state media

Growth in Chinese toy exports slowed sharply last year as the global economic crisis hit demand, state media said Saturday, citing customs figures. Exports rose by 1.8 percent to reach...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 10:35 am

Malaysia to cut power tariffs by 7-10 pct-report

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Malaysia's government will cut electricity tariffs for households and industry by 7 to 10 percent beginning March 1, the online version of local daily The Star reported...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 10:27 am

Nigerian army says repels attack on Shell gas plant

PORT HARCOURT, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Nigerian military said it had repelled an attack by gunmen early on Saturday on the Utorogu gas plant operated by Royal Dutch Shell in southern Delta state, killing...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:44 am

GE to reevaluate future dividends

INVESTING
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am

New York's Milk Studios picks Hollywood backdrop

Publishers and advertisers can't get enough of Hollywood, the photography studio says. Some of its space may rent for $10,000 a day. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am

598,000 workers lose their jobs in January

The number of cuts by employers is the biggest for any single month since 1974, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate climbs to 7.6%. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am

Alliance Bank of Culver City is shut down

Federal regulators sell the failed bank's five branches to California Bank & Trust. Customers will still be able to write checks and use debit cards over the weekend, and the bank will reopen Monda...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am

Gauging Uncle Sam's credit risk

Just how creditworthy is the United States of America?
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am

DreamWorks in distribution talks with Disney

Negotiations on a deal announced months ago between Steven Spielberg's studio and Universal collapse in the home stretch. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am

Stocks advance as final stimulus plan nears

Investors shrug off January's job losses of 598,000. The Dow rises 217.52 points. Major indexes post their first weekly gain after four straight weeks in negative territory. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am

Manufacturers say the standard, which takes effect Tuesday, may cost thousands of jobs.

Manufacturers say standard for children's products may cost thousands of jobs. The battle over a product safety...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am

BofA chief: No plan for government to take over

CEO Ken Lewis calls nationalization rumors 'absurd.' Shares spring back from 25-year low. Bank of America Corp...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am

New SEC chief Mary Schapiro says she'll speed penalty process

She strikes down a policy that required enforcement attorneys to get commissioners' approval before negotiating fines and penalties with firms accused of violations. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am

Stocks to Watch: Stocks in focus for Monday

Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are Loews, Nissan and NYSE Euronext.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Feb 2009 | 5:01 am

Taxing Times: How will House and Senate agree on tax-cut provisions?

A selection of MarketWatch's top stories on taxes from this past week.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Feb 2009 | 4:51 am

Deal struck in Senate on $780 billion stimulus plan

Senators' compromise with moderate Republicans paves the way for a vote in the chamber and hands Obama a legislative victory on his highest economic priority.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Feb 2009 | 4:45 am

U.S. bank plan to offer asset support, mortgage help (Reuters)

Reuters - The Obama administration's eagerly-awaited bank rescue plan will offer to insure some distressed assets held by banks, authorize the government to purchase others, and spend up to $100 billion to buy and modify troubled homeowner mortgages, a source with knowledge of the plan told Reuters on Friday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Feb 2009 | 4:08 am

U.S. bank plan to offer asset support, mortgage help

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's eagerly-awaited bank rescue plan will offer to insure some distressed assets held by banks, authorize the government to purchase others, and spend up to $100 billion to buy and modify troubled homeowner mortgages, a source with knowledge of the plan told Reuters on Friday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Feb 2009 | 4:08 am

Regulators close 3 more U.S. banks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Regulators closed banks on Friday in Georgia and California, bringing the total of U.S. bank failures to nine this year.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Feb 2009 | 3:57 am

Regulators close 3 more U.S. banks (Reuters)

Reuters - Regulators closed banks on Friday in Georgia and California, bringing the total of U.S. bank failures to nine this year.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Feb 2009 | 3:57 am

US senators 'agree' economy bill

Senate Democrats say they have enough Republican backing to pass the US economic stimulus plan, but only in reduced form.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Feb 2009 | 3:22 am

SportsWatch: Sour economy shines light on stadium naming rights

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- For the sports purist who nearly choked on his sauerkraut and grilled onions when San Francisco's Candlestick Park was draped in the 3Com brand back in 1995, the nation's financial crisis could carry a whiff of sweet revenge.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:56 am

Three more banks fail; nine already this year

State regulators shuttered two banks Friday evening, bringing the total number of bank failures this year to eight.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:54 am

Good riddance to guidance!

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:18 am

U.S. weighs new auto industry help, no decision yet

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is talking with U.S. auto industry about more help, but no decisions are expected until General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC submit turnaround plans to the government later this month, a White House official said on Friday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:09 am

Iceland: women end 'age of testosterone'

The government of Iceland is to be led by a cabinet dominated by women after an 'age of testosterone' ends.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:07 am

Big rally on Wall Street

Bank and housing shares led a broad rally Friday as optimism about the government's economic stimulus bill and the new version of the bank bailout plan countered unease following the brutal January jobs report.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Feb 2009 | 2:04 am

Fed's Yellen sees dynamics similar to Depression

KOHALA COAST, Hawaii (Reuters) - The United States is not facing a downturn as deep as the Great Depression, but many of the current dynamics are similar, driving the need for "urgent, aggressive action" to stop a deepening recession, a top Federal Reserve policy-maker said on Friday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Feb 2009 | 1:56 am

Fed's Yellen sees dynamics similar to Depression (Reuters)

Reuters - The United States is not facing a downturn as deep as the Great Depression, but many of the current dynamics are similar, driving the need for "urgent, aggressive action" to stop a deepening recession, a top Federal Reserve policy-maker said on Friday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Feb 2009 | 1:56 am

SEC looks to reassure investors

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Securities and Exchange Commission officials looked to reassure investors on Friday that they would reinvigorate the agency's policing of Wall Street, improve the quality of credit ratings and said they expect to bring more cases against mortgage fraud.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Feb 2009 | 1:35 am

SEC looks to reassure investors (Reuters)

Reuters - Securities and Exchange Commission officials looked to reassure investors on Friday that they would reinvigorate the agency's policing of Wall Street, improve the quality of credit ratings and said they expect to bring more cases against mortgage fraud.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Feb 2009 | 1:35 am

SEC looks to reassure investors (Reuters)

Reuters - Securities and Exchange Commission officials looked to reassure investors on Friday that they would reinvigorate the agency's policing of Wall Street, improve the quality of credit ratings and said they expect to bring more cases against mortgage fraud.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Feb 2009 | 1:35 am

California, Georgia banks are latest failures amid crisis

Federal regulators shut down a bank in Southern California and another in the Atlanta area on Friday, bringing the number of U.S. failures this year to eight.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Feb 2009 | 1:14 am

Trends & Innovations - Friday

Fake parking ticket gives a virus

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:49 am

Acquisitions Strengthen Company That Maintains Water, Energy Pipes

Insituform Technologies has enjoyed a steady flow of business as a growing number of cities pour big bucks into repairing aging sewer and water pipes.

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:49 am

Healthy Prognosis For HMOs

Managed health care endured a tough year as it navigated investment losses, higher unemployment and premiums that failed to keep up with rising...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:49 am

In Brief - Friday

Regions Financial (RF), an Ala.-based bank, said after hours that it has assumed $285 mil in deposits from Ga.-based FirstBank Financial Services,...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:49 am

Business Briefs - Friday

Roche: Offer for DNA is fair deal. The CEO of Swiss drug giant Roche said its lowered 86.50-a-share offer for the biotech giant is fairly priced,...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:49 am

Dividend at risk as GE feels the heat

General Electric raised the possibility that it might cut its dividend for the first time in more than 30 years, a move that would reverse its previous commitment to maintain the pay-out
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:32 am

Barack Obama stimulus plan: Democrats 'reach deal'

US senators have reached a 'tentative' deal on President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:31 am

The Fed: New consumer loan facility on track to begin this month

A new program to try to get credit flowing for small business and consumers is on track to start later this month, the Federal Reserve says.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:13 am

Bank chiefs to travel by public transport

The heads of major US banks converging on Washington next week for a congressional grilling are expected to leave the private jet in the hangar and instead travel by train or commercial aircraft in the hope of containing the House's fury
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:04 am

We cannot stand still on the shop floor

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:00 am

Unions square up to British Airways and bmi as airlines seek to freeze staff pay

British Airways (BA) and bmi are on a collision course with trade unions representing nearly 50,000 workers as both airlines try to impose pay freezes. The two carriers account for nearly 60 per cent of flights out of Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport, and a confrontation with unions could lead to industrial action this spring.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:00 am

Jobless rate worst since 1992 as recession grips US

More jobs were lost in America last month than at any time since 1974, it emerged yesterday as the world's biggest economy spirals into a deep and protracted recession.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:00 am

No one pays back a bonus

The apologists for the current system of banker bonuses are in full cry. They should pipe down. The system is rotten and flawed. Claims are still being made that unless British banks are allowed to pay bonuses in the next few weeks, the talent will walk, profits will fall and taxpayers will be worse off. It is all lame and self-serving.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:00 am

Top bankers prepare for live TV and net grilling by Treasury committee

Their industry's reputation having been comprehensively trashed this week, some of Britain's top bankers are preparing for what promises to be an even more testing few days.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:00 am

Need to know: Volvo driven down ... BAE contracts ... Beazley to grow

View video and Need to Know interactive heatmap
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:00 am

Barclays set to give big bonuses to bankers who scuttled Woolworths

Barclays Bank is ready to award bonuses of up to £1.1 million to corporate bankers who pulled the plug on Woolworths and other leading high street names.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:00 am

Fund managers react angrily to FSA plan to name all short-sellers

Fund managers reacted angrily yesterday after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said that it may force UK stock market investors to make public almost all information about their short-selling activities.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:00 am

Landsbanki wins the day as Baugur's British arm is forced into administration

Baugur has conceded defeat in its battle with Landsbanki, its largest financial backer, after its main British arm was forced into administration at the High Court yesterday.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:00 am

Sarkozy stirs anger with call for relocation of car plant

The President of France provoked an angry reaction from the Czech Republic yesterday when he suggested that a Peugeot-Citroën assembly plant near Prague should be relocated in France.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Feb 2009 | 12:00 am

Sterling rallies after rate cut

The pound hits a two-month high against the euro, after the Bank of England slashed interest rates to a record low.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 6 Feb 2009 | 11:28 pm

Wall Street shrugs off January job losses of 598K (AP)

AP - Investors have taken another big gamble on the government's plans to help the economy — hoping that this one will finally work.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Feb 2009 | 11:12 pm

U.S. job losses accelerate (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. employers slashed 598,000 jobs in January, the biggest monthly loss in 34 years, and the jobless rate soared to a 16-year peak, putting pressure on lawmakers to act quickly to counter a deepening recession.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 11:08 pm

U.S. job losses accelerate

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers slashed 598,000 jobs in January, the biggest monthly loss in 34 years, and the jobless rate soared to a 16-year peak, putting pressure on lawmakers to act quickly to counter a deepening recession.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 6 Feb 2009 | 11:08 pm

CORRECTION: Feb. 5 American Home Mortgage story (AP)

AP - In a story Feb. 5 about Citigroup's residential lending unit, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Citigroup Inc. sold servicing rights on a loan portfolio to American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc. for $1.5 billion. American Home Mortgage Servicing says the dollar amount is not the outright sale price; rather, most of the $1.5 billion includes advances American Home Mortgage is making to the trusts that own the loans.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 11:03 pm

Weak economy hits British Airways

BA makes a loss of £70m in the nine months to 31 December, bruised by further economic weakness and the weak pound.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 6 Feb 2009 | 11:01 pm

How the major market indexes fared (AP)

AP - Wall Street has had another big rally as investors bet the government will take some big steps to help the economy. Investors looked past another bleak jobs report and awaited word from Washington about an economic stimulus plan and changes to the government's financial rescue program. The Senate was expected to vote on its version of a stimulus plan that would include a mix of spending and tax cuts.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Feb 2009 | 10:50 pm

Unemployment data hits oil price

Oil prices have fallen by more than $1 a barrel as rising US unemployment leads to further fears of weakening demand among consumers.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 6 Feb 2009 | 10:41 pm

Pavlik Advocates Broad Exposure to Financials Via ETFs

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Feb 2009 | 10:32 pm

US hits out as nuclear scientist is freed

The US hit out at Islamabad after Abdul Qadeer Khan, the architect of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, was freed after five years of effective house arrest for selling nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Feb 2009 | 10:28 pm

Amazon.com to Offer Kindle E-Books on Mobile Phones (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - Amazon.com is seizing on the popularity of its electronic book reader Kindle to reach a new market. On Friday the online retailer said it will make Kindle e-books available on a variety of mobile phones, but the company is not saying which books would be available or on which phones, according to the Associated Press.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 10:20 pm

Write-Offs: 02.06.09

$$$ Banks haggle over small print in €8bn bailout plan [Independent.ie]

$$$ Delphi Value May Be Too Low to Pay Bankruptcy Lenders [Bloomberg]

$$$ Madoff's Private Equity Clients [DealJournal]

Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Feb 2009 | 10:01 pm

Jobs battle

Unemployment in one of the US's worst hit states
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:53 pm

Stimulus and bank rescue hopes boost Wall Street (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks rallied for a second day on Friday on hopes Washington's stimulus package and a bank rescue plan will bolster the ailing economy, even as data showed the biggest one-month job losses in 34 years.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:34 pm

Stimulus and bank rescue hopes boost Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rallied for a second day on Friday on hopes Washington's stimulus package and a bank rescue plan will bolster the ailing economy, even as data showed the biggest one-month job losses in 34 years.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:34 pm

Stimulus and bank rescue hopes boost Wall Street (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks rallied for a second day on Friday on hopes Washington's stimulus package and a bank rescue plan will bolster the ailing economy, even as data showed the biggest one-month job losses in 34 years.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:34 pm

Will Someone Please Put Out The Duchess' Hair?

Well, you knew she had to say something, we're just not sure this is it:

The new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission took steps on Friday to reinvigorate the agency's policing of Wall Street, two days after a congressional hearing chastised SEC investigators for failing to uncover Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion fraud.

"I like to tell the staff we are going to act like our hair is on fire," SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro told reporters after an appearance at a conference.

And here I was, convinced that the burning smell of hair was a brain tumor.

SEC chief says agency to act like "hair is on fire" [Reuters]

Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:32 pm

US job losses accelerate

US job loss figures have been revised upwards underlining the severity of the recession but failing to deter investors. The US Labor Department now says 598,000 Americans became unemployed during January. It was the worst month...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:29 pm

Low rates defuse 'exploding' ARMs

A wave of resetting adjustable rate mortgages had been poised to add to the flood of foreclosures as their rates jumped.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:28 pm

Spielberg film talks collapse

Steven Spielberg's hopes of creating a new independent film company have been dealt a serious blow after the collapse of talks on a distribution deal with Universal Studios
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:24 pm

SEC chief promises tougher and faster action

The new chief of the US Securities and Exchange Commission vowed to make the beleaguered regulator a tougher and faster cop on Wall Street, saying her staff will act like its 'hair is on fire'
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:21 pm

SEC chief speeding penalty process for violations (AP)

AP - The new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is ending a practice that she said had slowed the agency's enforcement efforts against corporate wrongdoing.
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:20 pm

Apple has NOT banned Facebook

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:15 pm

Consumer credit: Third straight monthly drop

Consumer borrowing tumbled for the third consecutive month in December as the faltering economy continues to pressure households to curb spending.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 6 Feb 2009 | 9:07 pm

The Slow Slide

Poor GE. The biggest problem investors have at this point is determining if it was coincidence that the place began melting down under Immelt.

General Electric Co (GE.N) will "evaluate" its planned dividend for the second half of the year in light of the slumping global economy, the U.S. conglomerate said on Friday.

GE "to evaluate" dividend for second half [Reuters]

Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:59 pm

The 52-Week Low Club (SKX)(AIG)(EXXI)

Skechers (SKX) Big loss and analysts cuts. The daily double. Drops to $7.11 from 52-week high of $25.20.

AIG (AIG) Report says government investment in the company is a bust. Sells down to $.90 from 52-week high of $52.41.

Energy Xxi (EXXI) No news. Shares have been dropping forever. Off to $.57 from 52-week high of $7.93.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:57 pm

Obama's week ahead: Game on

Now it's really crunch time.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:39 pm

States to Congress: Send money fast

Massachusetts state workers and retirees face higher deductibles and co-pays on their health insurance.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:34 pm

Behravesh Says U.S. Unemployment to Peak in Early 2010

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:33 pm

Sky takes Sentanta's Premier League games

Media giants Sky have tightened their grip on Premier League football by winning the lion's share of a megabucks new TV deal.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:30 pm

GE "to evaluate" dividend for second half

BOSTON (Reuters) - General Electric Co will evaluate its planned second-half dividend in light of the slumping global economy, the U.S. conglomerate said on Friday, leaving open the possibility of a cut in the payout.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:29 pm

Collectors view recession differently

For collectors, keeping their avocations going amid a recession can be the best of times and the worst of times. It just depends what they're looking for. Rico Gagliano reports.
Source: Marketplace Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:29 pm

Presented Without Comment: There Is A New Sheriff In Town

We actually take great pride in being "inconsistent with the Merrill Lynch Principles"

Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:27 pm

Emerson to cut up to 14,000 jobs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Industrial conglomerate Emerson Electric Co could cut its workforce by up to 14,000 from current levels by the end of the fiscal year that ends in October, Emerson Chief Executive David Farr told an investor meeting on Friday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:27 pm

Madoff Returns Should've Raised Red Flags, Says Woolner

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:12 pm

LoPucki Says Bankruptcy Lawyer Fees Outpacing Inflation

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Feb 2009 | 8:05 pm

GE Finally Opens Door To Dividend Cut (GE)

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 6 Feb 2009 | 7:58 pm

You Must Make Amends In The Traditional Manner

Having grown somewhat bored of the "Obama Economic Superfriends Application Process Lacks Best Practices Diligence Guidelines" story for a while, but still unable to resist secretly reading Bloomberg stories on the topic, we came across a curious quote from Senator Charles Grassley. Specifically:

...executives at firms that seek government help need to take responsibility for "driving their corporations into the ground" and adopt a "Japanese ethic."

"One of the things you do is, you either go out and commit suicide, or you go before the American public and you take a very deep bow and you say, 'It's all my fault and I'm sorry and I'm going to straighten it out.' Or you might resign."

Leaving aside for a moment a discussion of the effects a bushido code might have if adopted on Wall Street (but, by all means, please feel free to address this in comments), it is hard to argue that a few well placed acts of seppuku (and the cascading acts of oibara) wouldn't have rather... interesting results on The Street.

Mixed emotions, dear readers. Like Larry Wildman going off a cliff... in my new Maserati.

A "Don't Short Me, Bro" mug for the commenter coming up with the best "Death Poem" and name of kaishakunin for your favorite disgraced Wall Street luminary. Go.

Grassley Says Obama Team's Vetting of Nominees 'Too Rushed' [Bloomberg]

Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Feb 2009 | 7:55 pm

Harvard to cut 25 percent of investment unit's staff

BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard University is sending pink slips to about one-quarter of its investment management staff after the school's endowment shrank by about 22 percent and its president said cost cuts would follow.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 6 Feb 2009 | 7:53 pm

Barclays chairman Agius may face call to quit

Marcus Agius Barclays' chairman is under pressure from several shareholders who have raised the subject of him stepping down.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 6 Feb 2009 | 7:43 pm

Desperation Economy

As the nation's unemployment rate climbs—it jumped another four-tenths of a percent last month, when employers culled 598,000 jobs—some mental-health experts worry that we may see a corresponding rise in suicides.

Anecdotal evidence of the problem has been around for months, from the suicide of French aristocrat and Madoff victim Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet to the murder-suicide committed by a laid-off man in Southern California.

But experts have been split about whether suicides overall are really on the rise. Empirically, it's too early to tell, because national statistics for 2008 won't be available for another three years. But given the preliminary data and historical trends, health experts do fear that the recession's toxic mix of stressors—unemployment and home foreclosure—will be reflected in the nation's suicide rate.

Historically, the suicide rate has been linked to the unemployment rate rather than the stock market, investment frauds, or other financial phenomenon, says Dr. Lenny Berman, executive director of the American Association of Suicidology.

During the Great Depression, for example, the peak unemployment rate, 25 percent, coincided with an increase in the suicide rate. As joblessness spread, 17 persons for every 100,000 in the population took their own lives, up from 14 before the Depression. (According to the Center for Disease Control, the suicide rate for 2005, the latest year this information is available, was 11 persons for every 100,000, or a total of 32,637 deaths.)

"Any time there is a significant life stress that threatens the every day functioning of an individual and their ability to cope there is always an increase in the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior," said Dr. Berman.

"In general," he added, "we will expect to see an increased rate of suicide if the recession is prolonged. The Great Depression had a great affect on unemployment and suicide. Subsequent recessions were not as lengthy and did not have the same observable affect on suicide. This current recess threatens to be longer than any recession we've had since the Great Depression."

Calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in 2008 rose 36 percent from 2007, and employee assistance providers, which offer counseling as part of an employee's health plan, have reported a dramatic increase in calls related to depression and financial concerns.

While those changes occurred as the economy was sinking and unemployment rising, John Draper, director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, said that the increase wasn't entirely due to the financial crisis. Growing public awareness of the line and the expansion of services to veterans contributed to the increase, he said.

Indeed, establishing a clear causal relationship between the economy and deaths is difficult. Mental health professionals caution against extrapolating trends from a few high-profile examples and against assuming that the slump alone—or even primarily—could be responsible for a significant change in the suicide rate.

After all, 90 percent of people who die by suicide have pre-existing psychiatric disorders at the time of their death, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. But the loss of a job or a home may be enough to push some people into despair.

"Financial crises that affect individuals certainly can act as triggering factors for suicide attempts," said David Litts, associate director of prevention practice at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. "Usually the people who are affected by financial stress are people who have other underlying vulnerabilities, even though when they're not stressed they function pretty well. But when the crisis hits, they feel hopeless, humiliated, and in despair. They don't have the resiliency that is required to get them through a particularly stressful situation."

Still, Draper reported that the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline does have anecdotal evidence from crisis centers across the country that calls linked to the financial concerns have increased.

  One of these centers, serving Palm Beach, Florida, and four surrounding counties reported an 87 percent increase in calls related to suicide over the past year, with almost three times as many callers contemplating suicide because of financial distress.

At the top of the list of callers' concerns were worries about homelessness or home foreclosure. In 2008, more than 2.3 million Americans faced home foreclosure proceedings, an 81 percent increase from 2007.

Oregon's suicide prevention line, Oregon Partnership, recorded a 55 percent increase in calls over the past year. Director Leslie Storm said callers have also been mentioning job and money concerns increasingly in the past few months.

This stress is being translated to the workplace—if not around the water cooler, then in calls to counselors available through employee assistance programs.

Aetna Behavioral Health, a program provider, experienced a 55 percent increase in the third quarter of 2008 for calls relating to financial stress over the same quarter in 2007, a 12 percent increase in reported anxiety and panic disorders, and a 7 percent increase in reported depression.

"I think anxiety as much as depression is a featured element in a lot of the phone calls, and that's kind of unusual," said Louise Murphy, head of Aetna Behavioral Health. "You're going to bed at night and you've just turned on the 10 o'clock news and unemployment is up, and that anxiety starts to wash over them."

Mary Tavarozzi, a principal at Towers Perrin, a healthcare consulting group, said that employers are responding to the recession by actively advertising the counseling services available under certain healthcare plans. Some have even asked healthcare providers place a counselor on a job site a few times a week, or have made outside experts on financial planning available to their workers.

Over the next few months, the Samaritans of New York, a suicide prevention group and crisis line for New York City and the New York State Office of Mental Health will be strategizing how corporations can play a more active role in suicide prevention, said Samaritans director Alan Ross.

"The government and Congress and president are focusing on rescue and working to rebuild the financial credit and industrial structures of this country," Ross said. "No one's talking about rebuilding the emotional and well-being of the public that is just as affected as the economy."

Reaching out to friends, family, and counselors can ease the sense that one is isolated in a problem and reduce an individual's suicide risk, says Dr. Yeates Conwell, co-director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide at the University of Rochester Medical Center in upstate New York. Helping people gain perspective of their situation, he said, is integral to suicide prevention.

"The good side of the story is that it's happening to the great majority of the country," Dr. Conwell said. "We all need help coping with circumstances like that. The people who have access to help externally or internally will be able to cope better. And the people who don't will then develop the clinical conditions that may increase their risk tremendously for things like clinical depression and alcoholism."

As Berman of the Association of Suicidology remarked, "Recessions do end, and people who are affected need to make it through to survive and recover."Related Links
The Pain to Come
Worst of Times
The Case for Optimism



Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 6 Feb 2009 | 7:30 pm

Toyota warns of Y450bn deficit

The world's biggest carmaker forecast a far bigger full-year operating loss and cautioned that it would also fall into a net loss
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Feb 2009 | 7:17 pm

In the Rough

Here's a suggestion to Tim Finchem, the PGA Tour Commissioner: Let's drop the façade that the fundamentals of the golf economy are strong. In the spirit of a tanking global market and the perception that golf is a game of corporate excess, take $1 million off each purse, and donate it back to the sponsor of that particular event. Then take another 5 percent, and kick it in to all the charities that will be hit hardest, in a gesture of generosity across the board. Do it for one year, as part of a stimulus package, because the PGA Tour could use some stimulation based on the scene at the Buick Invitational this week.

This is not just my idea. It's an idea coming from tournament directors and even some players, including one who raised a skeptical eye at the tour back even when our 401Ks were not 201Ks and golf was still riding a Tiger Woods windfall.

"If I was (Finchem), I would cut the prize money by 20 percent to show U.S. citizens, corporations and the world, that have lost anywhere from 25 to 55 percent of their wealth that we, the tour, sympathize with what has taken place and we are not acting like we, the tour players are recession- or depression-proof," Presidents Cup captain Greg Norman said in an e-mail this week. "What would the difference be between getting $800k for first instead of $1 million? This would be great PR."

To Norman's point, what kind of message would a PGA Tour rebate send to America? Never mind the Arnold Palmer video shown at a Tuesday night players meeting at Torrey Pines intended to reach a group that really hasn't felt the impact of the recession—or at least not yet. There is a call to be more engaged in the tournament commitment process, more personable in pro-ams, more receptive of the media, more passionate on the golf course. There was discussion by CBS about the players being "miked up," but it's not about the product or the presentation anymore. It's about the economy and what happens when sponsors start lining up behind Bobby Ginn after filing bankruptcy.

As one veteran said on the putting green Tuesday, "This is the calm before the storm."

Under an otherwise clear sky here in La Jolla, California, on the edge of an azure Pacific Ocean, there were enough signs of those storm clouds forming. Ben Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion, is without his NFL clothing deal. Players who always have had the standard "ball, shoe and glove" contracts were shut out, prompting one player manager to say solemnly, "There are no bones being thrown anymore."

One player had his agent tell him that a corporation wanted the logo removed from his shirt. They'd still pay him, but like Chrysler a few weeks ago at the Bob Hope Classic, this one particular company didn't want its shareholders to know it was "investing" in golf.

And then there's Buick, off Tiger Woods' bag and hardly represented here after being synonymous with this tournament since 1992. Finchem has been in town to meet not only with his players and staff, but also with marketing representatives of a car company that was part of the distressing flotsam coming out of Detroit about January car sales plummeting 37 percent in January.

The tour already has a lucrative TV contract in place, signed before the FedEx Cup was rolled out in 2007. But in the case of a total financial meltdown, how many events could it subsidize from its emergency fund?

"I'm shocked that we're still able to play golf right now. I think in a year, if things don't get better, I really worry where this tour goes," said Jay Williamson, who has been on and off the tour for 14 years. "I just don't think that if these companies are getting government money, they're going to able to say, 'Oh yeah, by the way, we're going to have a golf tournament next week for $5 million.

"My takeaway is that Tim is concerned ... I mean let's face it, without sponsors there's no professional golf. That's the bottom line. And without professional golf, I don't know what else I'm going to do for a living."

 A temporary solution could be players agreeing to play for less. Maybe that not something they would campaign for, but most understand it beats an alternative of empty weeks on the schedule.

"For some reason if there was a need to take 5 to 10 percent off the purses I don't think that would be a big problem," said Charley Hoffman, who made $648,000 for finishing second to Kenny Perry at the FBR Open on Sunday. "The PGA Tour hasn't cut back and its sort of amazing that it hasn't."

As of now, the tour has no drastic measures in the works. According to executive vice president Ty Votaw, that's not a reflection of a lack of concern, but of so many questions remaining unanswered.

"We've looked at a number of ideas generated both internally and externally," Votaw said. "We've concluded that at this point it would be premature to shift resources around as a reaction to what some people might feel are only optics. But we continue to prepare to do things if things worsen and this is a long-term systemic malaise instead of just a cycle."

In the meantime, one of the tour's main talking points has been increased player participation. In the '80s and early '90s, Norman proclaimed that the season started at Doral. But when Woods came along, it was Torrey Pines that marked the unofficial start-up after the soft opening in Hawaii and at the Hope. Taking Tiger off any pairing sheet sucks most of the excitement and anticipation from an event anyway. But with Woods back in Orlando, and only recently allowing himself to go full bore on his knee, it's still up to Phil Mickelson, reigning Player of the Year Padraig Harrington and the sexy Colombian, Camilo Villegas, to fill the void.

In Mickelson's case, he hasn't come up big since Tiger headed for the exits last June at Torrey, but the tour needs him now more than ever.

"I'm not an economist," Mickelson said in a Tuesday news conference, wearing logos from KPMG and Callaway. "But this year, knowing our contracts are already in place, we haven't necessarily felt the effects. We haven't seen or felt the hardships on tour, per se."

It would also be nice if Mickelson's Ryder Cup partner, the electrifying Anthony Kim, showed his face more often. After a closing 67 at Kapalua that amounted to a back-door second-place finish, young A.K. pulled out of his hometown event, the Hope, with a bum shoulder, then missed the cut at FBR. Where is he this week? At home in the California desert, just on the other side of the mountains from San Diego, awaiting a plane ride Saturday night for back-to-back appearances in Malaysia and Australia.

Kim, 23, doesn't have the built-in excuse of kids getting older, which Mickelson took full advantage of last year. Phil played 21 events in the U.S., a couple overseas, and the Skins Game. That was enough.

"It's easy for guys to play every event every four years when we only had 27-28 events," Mickelson said. "And that's what a lot of older players did and are committed to doing. But we have some 40-odd events now, and it's just not as realistic."

 Seeing how 18 of the tour's sponsors being car companies or financial institutions, that number is destined to go down. There's lean and mean, and with two million Americans lining up for a free breakfast at Denny's, there's every man for himself. At this point, the tour needs to let Woods play out of a cart, Mickelson have a free pass into the weekend and Norman to win the Masters—and even that wouldn?t save pro golf with type of numbers coming out of Wall Street and Detroit. This is a correction that has 10 to 12 months before a recycle—which puts it in the wheelhouse of the tour's next renegotiation phase.

"I don't have any answers for what should be done. I just know it's tough times and everybody is struggling," said 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin. "We certainly want to keep playing for what we're playing for, but if something has to change, it'll change. That's up to Tim and the boys to figure that out. I'm just happy that we have the opportunity to play what we do out here, and which ever way it goes, I'm still going to be happy."

The subject of courtesy cars has come up as a way of belt tightening. Pavin remembers coming out on tour in 1984, when there were only 30 cars in the pool, and the players who didn't need them were the ones who got them.

"That way it was fine," Pavin said. "If it's that way again, that's fine, too. There are a lot of guys who weren't out here then, but it's nothing. If I have to rent a car, big deal. We're out here playing for $6 million a week. If I have to rent a car for $500 a week, I think I can handle it. I think everybody out here has to understand that. And I think everybody is getting educated out here to understand that."

The final word on this goes to Paul Goydos, who was recently cited as one the brightest player on tour in a Golf Digest poll, and who goes by the nickname "Sunshine." Goydos figures that if he and his caddie have to share a rental car, they'll manage. He also thinks it's silly to ask a professional golfer who never had a real job to weigh in on the economy.

Nonetheless, he weighed in on the subject of a corporate-purse rebate as the sun set over the Pacific and he worked on a 10-footer with a right-to-left break with swing instructor Jamie Mulligan.

"It's an idea, but if we decided to do something along those lines, that would be between Tim and the sponsors," Goydos said. "I don't know if the sponsors would want to publicize they were taking a rebate. I don't know if that's the strategy you'd want to look for. The people who are going to survive this economy are going to say, 'Look, we need to be ready when this thing gets better. We need to continue to build our base. The companies who are going to come out of this are the ones you want to be in business with.'"

Goydos paused long enough between putts to make his closing point.

"If it doesn't get better, it doesn't matter," he said. "If it goes south, the company to buy is Smith and Wesson. Their sales will go through the roof. If the Dow goes to 3,000 what difference will it make? Do you think the PGA Tour will matter?"

"No."

 

Related Links
PGA's FedEx Cup Proving Profitable for Networks
Golf's Wachovia Championship Will Stay in Charlotte
Woods Effect in Play as FedEx Cup Ratings Soar



Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 6 Feb 2009 | 7:00 pm

Brown furious at Sarkozy VAT attack

Britain's prime minister was left fuming after the French president denounced his VAT-cutting plan and gave a picture of a Britain where industry was finished
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:55 pm

Barack Obama condemns 'irresponsible' delay on stimulus bill

President Barack Obama has attacked Republicans for an "inexcusable and irresponsible" delay in passing his economic stimulus bill.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:49 pm

Fridson Says Unemployment Is Best Gauge of Market Direction

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:49 pm

FSA To Bring Back Short Sell Ban?

The FSA has released a report on short selling and, to our way of thinking, the renewed interest (did it ever fade?) in regulatory intervention is worrying. From the report:

Clearly, the most radical option for constraining short selling would be to impose a complete or partial ban.This section considers the various prohibition options and their associated costs and benefits; a prohibition would only be justified where we are satisfied that there are net benefits.

Of course, several less intrusive options for "potential constraints" are discussed. Time will tell if these are merely window dressing.

FSAShortStudyFeb09.pdf

Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:46 pm

The Ten Companies That Will Lead The US Out Of The Recession

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:35 pm

Iceland: downfall of 'a foolish little nation'

The shockwaves from Iceland's economic implosion are being felt in Britain but the effects are far worse at home says Neil Tweedie
Source: Telegraph Finance | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:32 pm

Concern mounts for Setanta as it wins one TV rights deal

Setanta's future success is facing questions after the Irish sports broadcaster yesterday won only one Premier League TV rights packages.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:29 pm

BHP Billiton's Goodyear takes the helm at Temasek

Ho Ching chief executive of Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek unexpectedly steps down.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:24 pm

Personal finance bloggers check in

Tess Vigeland brings back three personal finance bloggers she talked to last fall to hear how they and their followers are now faring as economic conditions have worsened.
Source: Marketplace Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:15 pm

Work Life: Race car engineer

Meet Matthew Niles, a race car engineer. He describes his job from California's Laguna-Seca Raceway.
Source: Marketplace Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:15 pm

Getting Personal

Tess Vigeland and Chris Farrell answer listener questions on why student loans are "good debt," whether to draw on savings or take Social Security, how to get a pro athlete's taxes in shape, and more.
Source: Marketplace Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:15 pm

Decoder: The 'multiplier effect'

The Obama administration says the economic stimulus plan's price tag will be worth the cost -- and then some -- because of something called the "multiplier effect." What does that mean? Sally Herships explains.
Source: Marketplace Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:15 pm

Putting personal finance in classrooms

It's important to learn good personal finance habits early in life. Tess Vigeland talks with Laura Levine of the JumpStart Coalition and New Jersey State Senator Steven Sweeney about programs for teaching those skills to high school students.
Source: Marketplace Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:15 pm

Straight Story: Make taxes simpler!

Marketplace's economics editor Chris Farrell is hopping mad about the United States income tax system. Dramatically simplifying the tax code, he argues, could be an easy fix.
Source: Marketplace Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:15 pm

Unemployment benefits vary greatly

Millions of out-of-work Americans are finding many factors can alter their unemployment benefits -- if they get any at all. Christine Vestal, a writer covering unemployment, talks with Tess Vigeland about the different scenarios.
Source: Marketplace Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:15 pm

Longtime workers enter jobless ranks

More than 6 million people are getting unemployment benefits nationwide, the most in at least 40 years. But the numbers only tell so much. Reporter Joel Rose talked to three first-time recipients about what unemployment means for them.
Source: Marketplace Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:13 pm

Resler Sees Payroll Tax Reduction Providing Boost to Economy

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Feb 2009 | 6:03 pm

Dye Sees U.S. Unemployment Increasing Through Early 2010

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:58 pm

India's debt collection centers booming

Americans are having a tough time paying off their debts in this recession. That's good news for debt collection call centers in India, where business is booming. Raymond Thibodeaux reports.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:55 pm

Consider this: Stimulus plan won't work

President Obama is pressing Congress to approve his stimulus package. As lawmakers debate the plan, commentator Susan Lee says one argument they should consider is that a stimulus won't work.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:55 pm

Obama economic adviser talks stimulus

Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer co-authored President Obama's plan for economic recovery. Kai Ryssdal discusses the stimulus and its prospects for jump-starting the economy with Romer.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:55 pm

Presented By:

Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:55 pm

The Lava-Like Flow Of Hot Tips Continues

We have no idea what the cause might be. Friday? Boredom? Unemployment? Whatever the case, the tips are pouring in to the Bess Levin hot tips hotline^(tm). Ironic that this should happen on the afternoon when Bess is on assignment. The latest:

Harvard Management Co will be laying off 25% of its staff.

Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:55 pm

Weekly Wrap: Job losses and deflation

Amid all the job losses, there's a lot of talk about how to ignite consumers spending. Kai Ryssdal speaks with Fortune Magazine editor Leigh Gallagher and Businessweek's chief economist Mike Mandel about whether we should be concerned about deflation as consumers wait for prices to fall to buy again.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:55 pm

Carbon crunch clouds U.S. cap program

As demand for goods has dropped, so too has the amount of pollution produced by manufacturing plants. In European carbon markets, pollution permits are down nearly 70%. Now some are questioning if carbon markets are worth the price to reduce global emissions. Sam Eaton reports.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:55 pm

Geithner's plans for second half of TARP

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will announce on Monday new plans to cope with the financial crisis and how the remaining bailout funds from TARP will be distributed. John Dimsdale offers a preview of what to expect.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:55 pm

More laid-off men alters family dynamic

In this recession, layoffs are mounting. And 82% of the workers who have been let go from their jobs are men. How are these layoffs changing family dynamics? Steve Henn reports.
Source: Marketplace | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:55 pm

More job losses to add to the pile up?

The latest unemployment numbers are dismal. Almost 600,000 jobs were lost last month. The new unemployment rate is 7.6%. With job losses mounting, will more companies add to the pile up?
Source: Marketplace | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:55 pm

Rate Alert: Three accounts to beat the baserate blues

The average rate on instant access accounts is at a record low of 1.08pc but some still pay much more.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:54 pm

Hear: Pajama Party

Folks, we're on our way to tour one of the great centers of power in the entire universe. Barring an unforeseen uncontrollable urge to blog, we'll see you on Monday.

Today on Planet Money:

-- With unemployment at 7.6 percent in January, San Francisco radio station KGO-AM broadcast a special "sell yourself" segment in which people who'd lost jobs got the chance to pitch prospective employers. Host Ronn Owens says calls came in at the rate of six to eight per second.

-- Simon Johnson and James Kwak of Baseline Scenario published a terrific Planet Money primer this week, National Debt for Beginners. On today's show, Johnson talks about the fictitious land of Irresponsibilistan.

-- As the recession deepens, countries are considering fresh limits on trade. The U.S. Congress has been wrestling with a provision to have the stimulus package money governed by a "Buy American" rule, the idea of which raised anger around the globe. Meanwhile, a U.S. protectionist measure that targeted China but meant good news for Cambodia just expired.Rachel Louise Snyder, author of Fugitive Denim, reports it has do with pajamas.

Bonus: A good news letter, after the jump.

Brady writes:

I work for Clean Water Action. We run a Canvass out of the office every day. They go door-to-door and ask people to get involved by writing letters and giving money and signing our member form. Anyway, our Canvass in Philadelphia is still bringing in a respectable amount of money. We're on budget. I think other offices are hurting more, but we have a really talented crew with good leadership and they are getting the message to people right and people are still getting involved with donations.

It's pretty interesting, considering the times, but it also goes to show that most people are still working.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: The Fray's "You Found Me." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

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Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:50 pm

Targeted

Sad tidings from the hedge fund return unit at Dealbreaker (often first, but in this case shamelessly lifted from Bloomberg):

William Ackman's hedge fund that invests solely in Target Corp. fell 40.1 percent in January, bringing the loss since inception to 89.5 percent, according to a letter sent to investors.

We love the WA. We are so sad. (Call us, Bill. Seriously).

Ackman's Pershing Square Target Fund Falls 40.1% in January [Bloomberg]

Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:49 pm

Bailout Wine Offers Best of Derivatives, Wine, and a Dwindling Economy

Do you ever kind of miss the high life? You know, the days of derivatives, reliable 401Ks, and fine wine? The folks at Bailout Wine have figured out a way to combine pining for days of yore with today’s bailout realities. From the bailout wine website:

Just like you, we here at Crushpad have been obsessing as our 401k’s sink like a stone. But we put our anxiety on hold, put on our day trading hats and figured out a way to combine winemaking and derivatives to create Bailout - a wine that is dynamically priced to balance out any pain your retirement account may be feeling.

The big guys have credit default swaps and billion dollar bailouts. Well, we’ve got Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - our own little piece of the bailout pie whether the market rocks or tanks.

For $39, you purchase futures on an awesome 2007 Napa Cabernet currently aging in French oak barrels. The wine will be bottled in August 2009. If the Dow goes down, you get an economic stimulus check of $2 per bottle for every 100 point drop. If it goes up, then your 401K is looking good and the maximum of $39 is a steal for similar wines we produce that command $75+ at retail. Bull or bear, you can’t lose.

These guys make a Dow crash look yummy.

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:27 pm

The Magic Of Television

Normally, this wouldn't bother me. Perhaps it is because it is Friday. Perhaps it is because I had to watch the Ken Lewis interview. Perhaps it is the chemical burns I have after shaking hands with Robert Rubin the other day. Whatever the case, this threatens to send me screaming into the darkness today:

What possible utility is there in a seven-way split screen? Was some Video Engineers Full Employment Act passed while I wasn't looking?

Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:23 pm

Where The Big Layoffs Are

Bloomberg's Rodney Yap runs the layoff numbers for big companies, including by industry and state. My adopted homestate of New York leads with 205,920.

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Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:19 pm

Don't bank on a generous redundancy package

Employment lawyers are warning that increasing numbers of companies are reviewing the redundancy terms on offer to staff with a view to making them less favourable.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:18 pm

SEC says magnitude of Ponzi schemes growing (Reuters)

Reuters - The frequency of Ponzi schemes is not increasing but the magnitude of the frauds is, a Securities and Exchange Commission official said on Friday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:17 pm

Why So Many Credit Card Offers?

David from St. Paul writes:

I am interested to know how many other people are still being inundated with credit card offers and even (!!) increasing credit limits without asking for them. I would love to hear if you and others are still being hit up in this climate. A couple of months ago I heard rumblings of "credit cards are next" -- as in next to crumble. I was getting tons of offers then and now still. Point of reference - I am single, 25, just bought a house (30 year fixed FHA 3 percent down), and have good credit and such.

An answer, after the jump.

It's true that credit card defaults on the rise. But we've also heard from several of you that the offers keep pouring in.

I put the questions to Scott Talbott, chief lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, who represents dozens and dozens of large banks and the major credit card providers. Talbott called around to the latter group and reported back that they've actually cut money for marketing -- including fancy offers in the mail -- by something like 28 percent from 2007 to 2008.

What's more, he says credit card companies are a little freaked not just by the recession, but also by new rules from the Federal Reserve that restrict their ability to change interest rates on the fly. Under the old rules, credit card folks could raise the rate if customers missed payments -- they looked at those customers as newly higher risks whose credit should come at newly higher interest rates. "Because they can't respond to changes in individuals' at-risk profiles as easily, they are exercising more caution in the marketing campaign," he says.

Established customers who remain good credit risks, like David, can expect the credit card companies to keep doing what they always do -- find customers and groom them.

If you're noticing a spate of offers in the mail just lately, Talbott says, that's probably a seasonal anomaly. "The budgets for credit card companies are like any company's budgets -- they start up at the beginning of the calendar year," he says. "Many marketing departments spend their resources at the beginning of the year." Talbott expects marketing overall to continue its steady decline.

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Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:05 pm

Ex-promoter faces contempt in Fla. SEC fraud case (AP)

AP - A once high-flying concert promoter of acts such as Aerosmith, Elton John and Shania Twain could face contempt charges for failing to show up in Miami for a Securities and Exchange Commission fraud case that has spawned a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Paris Hilton.
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Feb 2009 | 5:00 pm

US unemployment rate reaches 7.6%

The US economy lost 598,000 non-farm jobs during January, figures show, as unemployment hits a 16-year-high.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:51 pm

This Week’s Weird Jobs

Job #2 is by far one of the weirdest we have ever seen. Check it out below, nestled between less exotic unusual gigs:

1. British Columbia: Security Guards Needed

You must have BST 1&2 & own vehicle, cell phone, and ability to work with minimal supervision and stay alert. You are assertive and can work at night or day alone on foot patrol at high profile static sites. If so; please send me your resume with a brief description of the type of sites you have experience at.

Because safety never takes a holiday.

2. Vancouver: Help with building BDSM furniture in exchange for Dominatrix services

I am a Professional Dominatrix looking ot build some custom furniture and want help showing me what to do, it would also have to be someone with a wood work shop, as I have no tools… well no tools for wood working anyway. I have plenty of tools to put you in submission and can make sure it is you who christens the furniture before anyone else;)

Hope you like splinters.
 

3. Vancouver: ASSISTANT for ACNE CLINIC

Expanding ACNE CLINIC requires enthusiastic, experienced, PROFESSIONAL, motivated ASSISTANT with a desire to make a difference.

Experience in marketing and promotion as well as in day to day business management is a great asset. To those, who are eager to learn Acne Healing Advanced Course is available.

Please refrain from expressing shock, dismay, or pity when meeting new clients.

4. Alaska: Shake your Booty!!!!

Get paid to get you groove on! We have a new tax service office and are in need of a few enthusiastic part time wavers. We offer flexible hours and competative pay. Drop by our new office next to KFC and check us out.
 
    * Compensation: $7.50/hr

Eat four Boneless Variety Buckets a day—and dance them all off in a strip mall! Who can beat that?

5. Wasilla, AK: LOOKING FOR PROFESSIONAL TATTOO ARTIST

One Professional, Licensed Tattoo Artist Needed. Must have a professional outlook and want to grow with the company. Your work station is big, private and all yours. Artists don’t wait this is going to be the ride of a life time! Prime location Parks Hwy Frontage in Wasilla.

Possible niche for those who specialize in tattooing Sarah Palin’s face on truckers.

Happy Friday!

 Image by Flickr user Bonniegrrl

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:39 pm

This Week’s Links

The Silicon Alley Insider deduces that sending every New York Times subscriber an Amazon Kindle would cost less than printing the Times.
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/printing-the-nyt-costs-twice-as-much-as-sending-every-subscriber-a-free-kindle

Scientific American on India’s $10 laptop. http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=india-promises-10-laptops-for-stude-2009-02-02

The Harvard Business Review on the dangers of being distracted. http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/hmu/2009/01/pay-attention-an-interview-wit.php

Time Magazine on how a name can make you a criminal. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1874955,00.html

Financial Armageddon covers the blood on Main Street. http://www.financialarmageddon.com/2009/01/more-good-news-not.html

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:36 pm

Hot Men’s Gift This Valentine’s Day: 3D Underwear

I can never pass up a bit of hot underwear news. This Valentine’s Day Jockey is promoting its new line of 3D-Innovations underwear for him. So just what is 3D underwear?

Marketing via Word Association

When I think 3D, I think of those red and green paper glasses, really bad B movies, and things leaping out at me. I’m guessing it was that last one that Jockey’s marketing department was banking on when they came up with the working for the new underwear line. However, sadly, the new underwear hold no special powers to make things leap off the cotton, or even make objects appear larger than they actually are.

According to the company, it’s all very scientific:

“Jockey analyzed thousands of body scans to develop the technologically-advanced 3D-Innovations collection, which features a unique eight-way stretch construction for maximum mobility and comfort. Jockey’s 3D-Innovations Boxer Brief provides a gentle hold and form-flattering fit that is stylish and practical. Pair with a matching 3D-Innovations Henley and he’ll be ready to lounge with his significant other in style.”

Well, at least he’ll enjoy maximum mobility and a gentle hold. All the ladies have to look forward to in their new product line, Mini, is is a ‘flirty, youthful fit’.

If you’re going to buy your mate underwear as a Valentine’s Day gift, just be careful. Some of those 3D images can be awfully nauseating!

Image Credit: Nadya Peek, Flickr

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:31 pm

Constellation Energy Exits North American Gas Trading Business (CEG, GS)

In its seemingly never-ending quest to raise cash, Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:CEG) has sold its downstream natural gas trading business to the North American trading arm of Australia's Macquarie Group. Financial details of the sale were not disclosed. Last month, the company sold its international commodities trading operations to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS).

Constellation's North American gas trading business is one of the country's largest, moving about 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. In its third-quarter 10-Q, Constellation noted, "[W]e trade energy and energy-related commodities and deploy risk capital in the management of our portfolio in order to earn additional returns. These activities are managed through daily value at risk and stop loss limits and liquidity guidelines, and may have a material impact on our financial results."

Constellation faced the prospect of having to increase the amount of capital it needed to stay in the trading business, and it simply can't go down that path. At the end of 2007, Constellation had posted $485.3 million in net collateral. By the end of the third quarter of 2008, that number had gone up to $1.05 billion. About $130 million of the additional collateral was posted "due to certain counterparties that would not accept letters of credit issued by certain financial institutions."

There's little question that Constellation is doing everything it can to shed assets that it can not afford to support properly. It has sold natural gas properties that it can't afford to develop, trading businesses it can't afford to collateralize, and half it's nuclear generation business. Will it be enough?

Paul Ausick
February 6, 2009

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:19 pm

Faber Says Tax Cuts `Superior' to Stimulus Packages

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:17 pm

Gotthelf Says Gold Price May Rise to $1,000 an Ounce

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:13 pm

What Not to Do at Happy Hour

When beer meets enthusiasm…

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:09 pm

Scottish and Southern cuts prices

Scottish and Southern Energy says it will cut prices for electricity and gas customers from 30 March.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:08 pm

Baugur's UK arm in administration

The UK business of Icelandic investor Baugur, which has stakes in House of Fraser and Hamleys, enters administration.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:02 pm

Local firms have to look past banks on great cash hunt

As it became apparent early last year that the credit crunch was more than just a speed bump, optimists suggested a number of reasons why we shouldn't panic. Some - like hopes that the world was "decoupled" from the ailing US economy...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:00 pm

Liam Dann : Use of the D word could spell danger

Explicit content warning: This column contains frequent use of the "R" word and the "D" word. The British Prime Minister shocked the House of Commons this week by declaring that a global stimulus package was needed to get the world...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:00 pm

Crisis catching up with Aussie banks

National Australia Bank and ANZ yesterday said rising bad debts were eroding profit growth as losses spread from financial markets to the wider economy. National Australia Bank - owner of New Zealand's BNZ and Australia's largest...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:00 pm

Free trade deal with Korea a snug fit

Park Jin visibly enthuses about the new "Global Korea" policy to "open up and reach out" to the world. Chairman of the South Korean National Assembly foreign affairs committee, he is an imposing politician with a strong physical...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:00 pm

Brian Gaynor : Plans for jump-start reveal differing styles

Australia and New Zealand's response to the worldwide economic downturn reflects our respective national characteristics. The Australians have adopted a big, bold and aggressive approach to the crisis, whereas we have taken a...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:00 pm

Media giant responds to red ink by cutting jobs

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has flagged job cuts after reporting a US$5.9 billion ($11.5 billion) first half net loss amid a "grim economic climate". The media group also on Friday posted a US$6.417 billion net loss for the second...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:00 pm

Small loans may boost US economy

Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for pioneering a micro-lending model for the world's poorest to engage in business, says his formula can also help recession-racked American families escape poverty. "This...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:00 pm

Shutdown for tyre maker

Tyre producer Bridgestone Australia will close its Adelaide manufacturing plant for two weeks in April to cut stocks in the wake of the global economic downturn. The company said yesterday that the plant, which employs about 600...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:00 pm

Loosen the corsets and grab some action

Investors have the chance to be proportional owners of the Bendon head office and international distribution centre on George Bolt Drive in the Auckland Airport industrial area. Augusta Funds Management is offering 202 individual...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Feb 2009 | 4:00 pm

salesforce.com, Failed Coup or Poor Results?

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 6 Feb 2009 | 3:58 pm

No Shelter

The other week we searched the globe (pretty much in vain) for some place sheltered from the economic storm.

India came up as a major economy that might be somewhat insulated.

Ken Rogoff from Harvard just got back from the World Economic Forum. He attended a party where Indian policymakers and business leaders were relatively cheerful. And it wasn't just because Slumdog Millionaire got nominated for the Academy Awards.

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Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 3:47 pm

Annunziata Says Housing Is Key to U.S. Economic Recovery

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Feb 2009 | 3:43 pm

Fundraising Trouble in Georgia

Laura from Marietta, Georgia writes:

I know you've been asking listeners to send in examples of the economic downturn they encounter in their own lives. Here's one from mine. I'm a PTA mom at an elementary school, Sope Creek Elementary, with one of the best PTA's in the country.

I'm forwarding our latest PTA e-mail, which informs us that we have failed to meet all of our fundraising goals so far this year and have even had to cancel a spring fundraising event because the company we do it with (which frames our children's artwork) has gone out of business.

In addition to this bad news, we've just been told by the superintendent of schools that Cobb County (our school district) will have to increase class sizes next year as a result of a budget shortfall.

PTA FUNDRAISING NEWS

As you know, our PTA fundraisers are critical to our ability to provide programs that enhance and enrich our children's learning experience at Sope Creek. From visiting authors to worm composting and Chief Sawgrass to the Winter Talent Show, the PTA provides programs that help to make Sope Creek a unique public school.

Unfortunately, the current economic times have not bypassed us this year. Our fall fundraisers have fallen short of their goal and our spring Art Show fundraiser scheduled in March has been cancelled due to the company going bankrupt.

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Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 3:32 pm

Allis-Chalmers... Too Little, Too Late? (ALY)

We noted this morning that Allis-Chalmers Energy Inc. (NYSE:ALY) had been downgraded and that the oil field services sector as a whole faced a more general turn south from at least S&P with warnings of more oil drillers and services sector company downgrades. In an effort to stop the bleeding, Allis-Chalmers announced cost reduction steps that it says will reduce its costs by $21.7 million annually. Included in that number are 235 jobs that will be cut.

A back-of-the-envelope calculation produces annual cost of revenues of about $500 million and G&A expenses of about $60 million. That means that Allis-Chalmers can come up with savings of just 4%.

If companies want to please the ratings agencies, even those in the oil patch, then it might be reasonable to expect that more cost cuts are coming.

The company's shares are fluctuating widely in early trading, and fell below the 52-week low of $2.95/share briefly before moving back over $3/share.

Paul Ausick
February 6, 2009

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 6 Feb 2009 | 3:25 pm

Why Must Economies Grow?

A bunch of you have asked why the experts all seem to say the economy has to keep growing. You want to know why we can't find a solid perch and stay there. If you're in that camp, or you're thinking of joining it, I may have found your guy. (Or not: Update in the comments.)

Venture capitalist (or nurture capitalist, as he often says) Woody Tasch is the founder of a new nonprofit called Slow Money. I've been talking to him for a segment I'm working on about an organic farmer who needs money to expand his operation. Tasch's publisher sent over his new book, Slow Money, in which he writes:

Is it really possible to design a market that does not demand growth?

We must dare to ask the question and we must dare to answer it.

This is not a problem that contravenes the laws of physics or biology. This is a human institution. This is a problem of design. This is a challenge to hold our heads above the rising tide of industrial finance. With all the knowledge and ignorance at our disposal, just why in the world would we not be able to design an alternative market, no matter how complicated?

And if such a market were to come into existence, with however few listed companies and however few investors, to what scale might it appropriately grow over time?

I'm hoping to talk to Tasch again. Let me know if you've got a question you'd like me to ask.

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Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 3:15 pm

Iceland Appoints Gay Female Prime Minister

It’s interesting that moral quibbles take a backseat to perceived leadership efficacy when economic times get hard. Remember the Clinton years, which happened to be boom years, and the womanizing controversy? Running an impeachment trial on purely moral grounds seems like distant history in light of today’s economic crisis. Now, Iceland, one of the worst-hit countries of all, has elected a gay female prime minister. Her sexual orientation is secondary to what people think she can do for the economy. Feminist.org reports:

Johanna Sigurdardottir, Iceland’s new interim prime minister and the first woman or openly gay person in this position, was officially appointed yesterday by Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. Sigurdardottir served as the welfare minister under former Prime Minister Geir Haarde, who resigned last week as a result of Iceland’s economic collapse.

Sigurdardottir is currently the only openly gay national leader in the world. Also, according to the Associated Press, Sigurdardottir’s Cabinet is the first in Iceland to be balanced evenly by gender.

The international gay community has lauded Sigurdardottir’s appointment, but the Icelandic media is focused primarily on how the new prime minister will repair the economy. In a televised appearance Sunday, Sigurdardottir said “We’ve put together an agenda I hope will be enough to heal the discord in society and facilitate reconciliation….We live in difficult times and need to restructure the Icelandic economy and adopt new values,” according to the Calgary Herald.

Iceland has some of the most progressive gay rights legislation in the world and legalized gay marriage in 1996.

Source: Business Pundit | 6 Feb 2009 | 3:11 pm

ETF Launch: Colombia ETF... Really (GXG, EC, CIB)

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 6 Feb 2009 | 3:07 pm

Evergreen... or Nevergreen (ESLR)

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 6 Feb 2009 | 2:50 pm

Pipeline Company Predicts Weaker 2009 (OKE, OKS)

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) and its pipeline partnership ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE:OKS) have issued guidance for 2008 and 2009. ONEOK has affirmed 2008 EPS "at the low end" of the $2.95-$3.05 range it had previously announced. ONEOK Partners expects to end up in the "lower half" of earlier 2008 guidance of $5.95-$6.15 per common unit, and distributable cash flow of $625-$655 million.

For 2009, ONEOK expects EPS of $2.25-$2.75, while ONEOK Partners is looking at net income of $3.15-$3.75 per common unit and distributable cash flow of $490 million to $550 million. In the first nine months of 2008, ONEOK Partners contributed $512 million to ONEOK's operating income. The 2009 guidance is nowhere near that figure.

It's not often that master limited partnerships like ONEOK Partners project lower income and less distributable cash. But ONEOK Partners is exposed to substantial commodity price risk and the company expects "a significantly lower commodity price environment" in 2009. The partnership expects to offset some of this weakness with new fee-based revenue, but as the guidance shows, the difference is just too great.

ONEOK shares are off more than 2% in early trading this morning. ONEOK Partners' common units are down about 2.5%.

Paul Ausick
February 6, 2009

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 6 Feb 2009 | 2:46 pm

7.6 Percent: You Feeling That?

The U.S. unemployment numbers for January are in, and my, my, my. We're at 7.6 percent joblessness, up from 7.2 in December.

That's 7.6 percent of the American workforce waking up today with no clear way to provide for themselves and their families, no clear sense of where or when they'll work next, no clear sense of when this will get better or which resume will finally do the trick. The Bureau of Labor Statistics writes, "Payroll employment has declined by 3.6 million since the start of the recession in December 2007; about one-half of this decline occurred in the past 3 months."

Ian Shepherdson's take, after the jump:

Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, runs the numbers, and adds a little spice:

January payrolls fell 598K, worse than the consensus -540K. The unemployment rate jumped to 7.6% from 7.2%, above the consensus, 7.5%. Earnings rose 0.3%, a tenth more than expected.

Another horrific report, showing job losses across the economy. Manuf jobs down a huge 207K - that's a 1.6% drop in one month -construction down 111K, retail down 45K, business services down 121K. The only private sector gain was in education and health.

Household survey employment fell 1.239 million, the worst since records began in 1948. Only a dip in participation prevented an even bigger rise in the unemployment rate. The strength in wages, up 3.9% y/y, won't last. It reflects the lagged effect of the rise in inflation last year. Wage gains will soon plunge. If ever there were an economy in need of stimulus, this is it.

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Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Feb 2009 | 1:53 pm

Another way?

Radical views on how to overcome the economic crisis
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 6 Feb 2009 | 1:30 pm

Stephanomics

Things are complicated. Just follow the money
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 6 Feb 2009 | 1:04 pm