Fannie & Freddie Play AIG Bonus Game, Truth or Dare? (AIG, FNM, FRE)

Did you think that American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) was a cluster-something on the bonus front?  The ‘retention’ bonuses of some $210 million that are heading out to Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) will either sound just as bad on the surface, or far worse if you are a compensation [...]

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 4 Apr 2009 | 2:12 pm

Is this the end of the 401(k)?

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 4 Apr 2009 | 1:44 pm

Map: Home price forecasts in your city

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 4 Apr 2009 | 1:42 pm

A startup's crusade: Make light cheaper

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 4 Apr 2009 | 1:39 pm

Why we're hemmoraging jobs

Employment at small businesses with 500 or fewer employees decreased by 614,000 positions in March, marking one of the sharpest drops yet in 14 consecutive months of declines, according to an employment report released Wednesday by payroll processor ADP.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 4 Apr 2009 | 1:34 pm

Stocks gain for 4th straight week

Stocks rallied Friday, finding momentum at the end of a choppy session influenced by a wretched March jobs report, bringing the recent advance to four straight weeks.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 4 Apr 2009 | 1:34 pm

Your taxes: What's to come

Changing tax policies is always fraught with political and economic risk. Never more so than now, given the country's deep fiscal hole and competing theories on how best to aid economic recovery.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 4 Apr 2009 | 1:18 pm

The American cars Obama wants

The Obama administration has made it clear: In order to get the billions of dollars of federal money that Chrysler and General Motors need to survive, they'll need to build and sell more fuel efficient vehicles.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 4 Apr 2009 | 1:14 pm

NewsWatch: U.S. stock rally faces test next week as earnings kick off

April is the cruelest month, the poet T.S. Eliot once wrote, and stock market investors are hoping next week won’t live up to that epitaph and dash the hopes of those who believe the current uptrend will continue.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Apr 2009 | 1:00 pm

Mass protest in Rome over financial crisis

Several hundred thousand workers, pensioners, immigrants and students filled a Rome park on Saturday to protest the Italian government's handling of the financial crisis. Led by Italy's...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 12:31 pm

PVE, state funds show interest in Opel stake - paper

FRANKFURT, April 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds have shown interest in the European business of General Motors , the US carmaker's European head told a German magazine. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 12:29 pm

Personal Finance Daily: The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories: March 30-April 3

In case you missed them, here are the top 10 Personal Finance stories from MarketWatch for the week of March 30-April 3:

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Apr 2009 | 12:01 pm

The New York Times Threatens To Fold The Boston Globe

The New York Times Company (NYT) has threatened to close The Boston Globe, one of the papers on the 24/7 Wall St “Ten Major Newspapers The Will Fold Or Go Digital” list. According to the paper’s unions, NYT said it may have to close the paper if it cannot get $20 million in labor cost concessions. Douglas [...]

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 4 Apr 2009 | 11:19 am

Child Trust Funds set to Bolster UK Economy and Fund a Future Generation's Aspirations

LONDON, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- - 6 April 2009 Marks Fourth Anniversary of Child Trust Fund 'Going Live' Over GBP3.5 billion could have...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 11:00 am

Swiss to discuss working with U.S. on tax in April

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland will start negotiations with the United States over its existing double-taxation treaty at the end of April, the Swiss ambassador to the United States told...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 10:01 am

Swiss to discuss working with U.S. on tax in April

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland will start negotiations with the United States over its existing double-taxation treaty at the end of April, the Swiss ambassador to the United States told Swiss television late on Friday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 4 Apr 2009 | 10:01 am

Swiss to discuss working with U.S. on tax in April (Reuters)

Reuters - Switzerland will start negotiations with the United States over its existing double-taxation treaty at the end of April, the Swiss ambassador to the United States told Swiss television late on Friday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 10:01 am

Auto Review: 2009 Nissan Versa: Basic training in a modern compact car

First off, you should know that the Nissan Versa tested this week had the easiest-to- adjust radio of any car test in the past five-plus years.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Apr 2009 | 10:01 am

Nato summit off to rocky start

Nato's 60th anniversary summit got off to a difficult start after the 28 leaders of the alliance failed to agree on a new secretary general
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Apr 2009 | 9:55 am

Summers received money from Wall Street: report

The top White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers received more than five million dollars last year from the hedge fund D.E. Shaw and collected 2.7 million in speaking fees from Wall...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 9:40 am

Unemployment rate in U.S. climbs to 8.5%

The nation has lost more than 5 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007. Economists expect the cuts to continue.

Optimism that the end of the recession is in sight may be growing, but the U.S. unemployment rate, which reached its highest level in a quarter of a century last month, is likely to keep rising for some time to come.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Wall Street looks past jobs data, logs 4th week of gains

Not even grisly job losses could get in the stock market's way Friday.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Executives' outlook will set the tone

Investors mostly are counting on companies to offer some relatively upbeat comments about the future -- or, at a minimum, to sound less dire.

It's a simple matter in our capitalist economy to explain why so many people have lost their jobs in recent months: Companies have been desperate to slash costs to protect what's left of their bottom line.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Plenty of cars, too few buyers

The factors that led to the housing collapse -- cheap and easy credit, excessive production -- are also behind today's drop in auto sales.

The sea of new cars, 57,000 of them, stretches for acres along the Port of Baltimore. They are imports just in from foreign shores and exports waiting to ship out -- Chryslers and Subarus, Fords and Hyundais, Mercedes-Benzes and Kias. But the customers who once bought them by the millions have largely vanished, and so the cars continue to pile up, so many that some are now stored at the nearby airport.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Kosher alcoholic choices for Passover widen

Jews today can follow strict dietary laws and drink upscale wines and spirits, including a premium vodka, a $200 Cabernet Sauvignon and a pure agave tequila. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Fed plans to use all its tools to strengthen the economy

The pledge by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke followed a Labor Department report of more heavy job losses in March. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Service sector index shrinks for sixth straight month

A monthly survey finds purchasing executives still firmly in contraction mode. A private trade group's measure...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Mortgage aid often failed to curb defaults

Lenders favored short-term relief over true loan modifications for troubled borrowers, a regulators report says.

A snapshot of the reeling mortgage industry, released Friday by federal bank regulators, illustrates the challenges the Obama administration faces with its $95-billion plan to help lower mortgage payments for struggling borrowers.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

L.A.'s Figueroa Street reaches for the sky

Korean Air's $1-billion proposal to replace the Wilshire Grand with two skyscrapers is just the latest in a series of projects that have been remaking the corridor.

The Figueroa Street corridor in downtown Los Angeles is already thick with hotels, restaurants and office towers.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

NBC gives Boston station an ultimatum on Jay Leno show

The media giant says it will yank all of its NBC programming from WHDH-TV if the station carries out its threat to ditch Leno.

NBC Universal rolled out a cannon to shoot down a rebel Boston television station that says it will not carry Jay Leno at 10 p.m. when the comedian's show shifts to prime time in the fall.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Kosher alcoholic choices for Passover widen

Jews today can follow strict dietary laws and drink upscale wines and spirits, including a premium vodka, a $200 Cabernet Sauvignon and a pure agave tequila.

How about a margarita with that matzo ball?

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Work-life benefits fall victim to slow economy

Arrangements such as telecommuting, 'flex time' and paid leave that allow employees to balance the demands of work and family life are slipping away, worker advocates say. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Work-life benefits fall victim to slow economy

Arrangements such as telecommuting, 'flex time' and paid leave that allow employees to balance the demands of work and family life are slipping away, worker advocates say.

With the recession forcing businesses to cut back on workers, employees are increasingly doing all they can to hang on to their jobs, and are forgoing many of the benefits that once allowed them to balance the demands of work and family life.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Mortgage aid often failed to curb defaults

Lenders favored short-term relief over true loan modifications for troubled borrowers, a regulators report says. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Disney eliminates about 1,900 jobs at its domestic theme parks

The bulk of the cuts occurred at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. The move signals that the entertainment giant is bracing for an extended downturn in its resorts business. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Plenty of cars, too few buyers

The factors that led to the housing collapse -- cheap and easy credit, excessive production -- are also behind today's drop in auto sales. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Disney eliminates about 1,900 jobs at its domestic theme parks

The bulk of the cuts occurred at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. The move signals that the entertainment giant is bracing for an extended downturn in its resorts business.

In a sign that the recession is cutting into Walt Disney Co.'s parks and resorts business, the company said Friday that it eliminated about 1,900 jobs at its domestic theme parks.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Customers lament the negatives of Ritz Camera store shutterings

The photo chain is closing 38 locations in California, and 300 nationwide, in a bid to stay afloat.

Going-out-of-business sales start today at 38 Ritz Camera Centers Inc. stores in California, part of the retailer's plan to shut 300 stores nationwide in a last-ditch bid to keep the company afloat.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Unemployment rate in U.S. climbs to 8.5%

The nation has lost more than 5 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007. Economists expect the cuts to continue. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Customers lament the negatives of Ritz Camera store shutterings

The photo chain is closing 38 locations in California, and 300 nationwide, in a bid to stay afloat. Going-out-of-business...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 7:00 am

Obama plans new company bailout initiatives

The administration of President Barack Obama is considering new bailout initiatives that will allow troubled companies to benefit from rescue programs while avoid restrictions imposed by...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 6:18 am

Banks resisting pressure to swap debt for stock-WSJ

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - Banks that have loaned Chrysler LLC $6.8 billion are resisting government pressure to swap more than $5 billion of that debt for stock, the Wall Street Journal reported...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 5:12 am

Earnings Outlook: Earnings test is on the way, with banks again in focus

The first-quarter reporting season, which officially starts next week, is expected to be bad. But with expectations for corporate results already so low, an improving economic backdrop and banks being given free reign to revalue some of their mortgage-related assets, chances are investors will still applaud.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Apr 2009 | 4:01 am

Surging Wall Street faces earnings season test (AFP)

AFP - After putting together a remarkable four-week winning streak, Wall Street faces a new test of its rally in the coming week with the opening of earnings season.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 4 Apr 2009 | 3:05 am

New York Times threatens to shut Boston Globe

BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Times Co has threatened to shut The Boston Globe unless the newspaper's unions quickly agree to $20 million in concessions, the Globe reported on Friday, quoting union leaders.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 4 Apr 2009 | 2:45 am

Aerojet Propulsion Critical to Launch of Wideband Global SATCOM Spacecraft

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, announced its key role in the successful launch of United Launch Alliance's...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 2:34 am

Assomull and Tradewell Ink Agreement for India Real Estate

SAN DIEGO, April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Mukesh Assomull of La Jolla, California, Senior Managing Director of Tradewell USA has closed on Tradewell India Fund I. This is a...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 2:25 am

Boston Globe unions say NY Times wants $20M cut

Union leaders say The New York Times Co. has told The Boston Globe's unions they must agree quickly to $20 million in concessions. Executives from the Times Co., which owns the Globe,...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 4 Apr 2009 | 2:08 am

Market Snapshot: U.S. stock rally faces test next week as earnings kick off

April is the cruelest month, the poet T.S. Eliot once wrote, and stock market investors are hoping next week won’t live up to that epitaph and dash the hopes of those who believe the current uptrend will continue.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 4 Apr 2009 | 12:20 am

U.S. talks to Chrysler lenders to cut debt: sources (Reuters)

Reuters - Chrysler LLC's lenders are in talks with the U.S. government to reduce the automaker's debt by swapping some of it out for equity, new debt or a lesser amount in cash, sources familiar with the talks said on Friday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 4 Apr 2009 | 12:04 am

U.S. talks to Chrysler lenders to cut debt: sources

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC's lenders are in talks with the U.S. government to reduce the automaker's debt by swapping some of it out for equity, new debt or a lesser amount in cash, sources familiar with the talks said on Friday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 4 Apr 2009 | 12:04 am

Banks accused of charging ripoff interest rates

Britain's banks have been accused of ripping off customers by charging extortionate interest rates of up to 21 per cent on personal loans.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:57 pm

Lawmaker sees Fannie, Freddie bonus "insult"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Continuing bonuses paid to employees at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are offensive since taxpayers are helping keep the mortgage-finance companies afloat, a leading Senate Republican said on Friday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:51 pm

Lawmaker sees Fannie, Freddie bonus "insult" (Reuters)

Reuters - Continuing bonuses paid to employees at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are offensive since taxpayers are helping keep the mortgage-finance companies afloat, a leading Senate Republican said on Friday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:51 pm

SportsWatch: Return of the young male gives ESPN Radio a renewed spark

At a time when radio ad revenues are down across the board, the ESPN Radio network is holding its own, and then some, a senior ad sales executive for the network said this week.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:48 pm

Latin American Markets: Cosan fronts Brazil's gain; Mexico to trigger U.S. FX swap line

Latin American equity markets rise, with sugar producer Cosan Ltd. leading advancers in Sao Paulo and helping the country's benchmark move toward its longest weekly winning streak in nearly a year.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:26 pm

Shore Capital banker was arrested man

Christian Littlewood a banker with Shore Capital is the man arrested by the Financial Services Authority earlier this week as part of the City watchdog's crackdown into insider trading The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:14 pm

After Hours: Banking stocks lose ground in active trading

Most banking stocks lose ground after hours and are among the most actively traded in the wake of a dayside session that sees the group recover from declines after the U.S. government reported a spike in the unemployment rate.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:12 pm

'Galactica's' legacy not lost on NBC Universal executive

Sci Fi Channel’s reworking of the old “Battlestar Galactica” series, which ended a successful four-year run this season on the network, offers some important lessons for those who would dare to try a remake, an NBC Universal senior executive says.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:10 pm

GM CEO says bankruptcy will be fast if needed: report

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. automaker General Motors Corp will move quickly into bankruptcy if necessary, chief executive Fritz Henderson said in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper published on Friday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:03 pm

Need to know: Rolls-Royce contract ... KPN pensions ... BASF sale

View video and Need to Know interactive heatmap
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

Former Dresdner Kleinwort employee Christian Littlewood was arrested in insider-dealing inquiry

The banker arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged insider-dealing ring this week was Christian Littlewood, a former Dresdner Kleinwort corporate finance adviser who is now employed by Shore Capital, The Times has learnt.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

DSG feels the cold and plans closures in Scandinavia

DSG International, the embattled owner of Currys and PC World, plans to close part of its Scandinavian business.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

The world is saved. But what about Rotherham?

As Docklands barricades come down and the winking lights of departing foreign leaders' jets fade into the dusk sky, Gordon Brown must move from one world back into another - ours.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

Sir Fred Goodwin spurns Hampton approach over pension

Sir Fred Goodwin last night rejected a claim by Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, that he was considering giving up part of his pension entitlement, provoking yet another battle over the former chief executive’s benefits from the stricken bank.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

European Investment Bank prepares to give green light for carmakers' financing plan

Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan's Sunderland factory could be awarded hundreds of millions of euros next week for green technology development.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

Hopes of an end to recession lift as downturn in services sector eases

Hopes that Britain could soon emerge from the worst of the recession rose yesterday as the slump in the services sector eased and businesses reported readier access to credit.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

British Airways misses its stay-at-home big spenders

British Airways is counting the cost of belt-tightening by its premium-fare-paying public after announcing yesterday that the number of its business and first-class passengers had fallen by 13 per cent in March.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

US recession pain goes on as rise in jobless hits 25-year high

The toll on American workers from the longest US recession since the Second World War mounted yesterday when it emerged that the unemployment rate in the world's biggest economy had soared to 8.5 per cent last month, the highest for a quarter of a century.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

Bailing out charities and councils: rewarding incompetence?

One reason why council tax bills are rising is that an awful lot of town hall bean-counters thought it was a clever wheeze to park spare cash in Icelandic banks last autumn. The final tally hasn’t been done, but the Audit Commission reckons councils have lost as much as £954 million. Kent County Council alone had £49 million tucked away in Reykjavik. That’s a lot of school dinners.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 3 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

Presented By:

Source: Dealbreaker | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:56 pm

Write-Offs: 04.03.09

$$$ The Impersonator: Marc Dreier [NYM]

$$$ Charlie Gasparino: Don't Blame Hank Greenberg For AIG [TDB]

$$$ Which banks will fail next? [The Deal]

Source: Dealbreaker | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:56 pm

Skype's iPhone application raises protests

Skype's application for the Apple iPhone is igniting network neutrality disputes around the globe after less than a week on the market.
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:50 pm

Stocks to Watch: Stocks in focus for Monday

Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday’s session are Immucor Inc., Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and ConAgra Inc.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:50 pm

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac plan 210 mln in bonuses (AFP)

AFP - More than 7,600 employees of US government-rescued mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are to receive 210 million dollars in bonuses to keep them in their jobs, according to documents released by a lawmaker Friday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:47 pm

Optimism may extend rally in short week

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks should rally further next week, if investors get more signs that the economic slump is abating and earnings season does not get off to a rocky start.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:44 pm

Optimism may extend rally in short week (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks should rally further next week, if investors get more signs that the economic slump is abating and earnings season does not get off to a rocky start.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:44 pm

Optimism may extend rally in short week (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks should rally further next week, if investors get more signs that the economic slump is abating and earnings season does not get off to a rocky start.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:44 pm

Late rally bucks grim US jobs data

US stocks rallied late in the day on Friday to complete a fourth successive week of gains for the first time since the market peaked in October 2007, despite downbeat economic data showing US unemployment hit 8.5%
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:38 pm

NYC protesters ask US to 'bail out the people' (AP)

AP - Chanting "Whose street? Our street!" hundreds of people rallied on Wall Street on Friday to protest the billions of dollars in federal bailout money to big business.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:11 pm

OECD names and shames tax havens

Costa Rica, Malaysia, and the Philippines are all on the OECD's blacklist of non-cooperative tax havens.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:04 pm

Fed Attempts To Jump The Sharks

Demonizing sources of capital has consequences. The same is true of creating a market environment that is so unpredictable and subject to the slings and arrows of populist ire that no one wants to dip a toe in. Consider the current TALF situation:

"I can do very well for my clients without venturing into federal waters which are inhabited by sharks," said David Kotok, the chairman of Cumberland Advisors Inc. in Vineland, New Jersey, who manages about $1 billion. "We are leery of doing anything with the federal government."

While Wall Street has been slow to take up the cautionary baton, pulling the rug out over and over again has some effect, after all.

Fed Struggling to Win TALF Investors Wary of 'Sharks' [Bloomberg]

Source: Dealbreaker | 3 Apr 2009 | 10:02 pm

Street looks past job data, logs 4th week of gains (AP)

AP - Not even grisly job losses could get in the stock market's way Friday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 3 Apr 2009 | 9:59 pm

How the Dow Jones industrials fared Friday (AP)

AP - Not even grisly job losses could get in the stock market's way Friday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 3 Apr 2009 | 9:26 pm

Hear: Accounting Rules

On today's Planet Money:

-- World leaders emerged from the G20 summit with a $1.1 trillion plan for saving the global economy, plus a communique that talked like a Hallmark Card and walked like vintage John Wayne. The IMF got a ton of new money for helping poor nations. Continental Europe got a call for new financial regulation. The one big player who got almost nothing, says economist Adam Posen, was China.

-- Gather 'round, economy nerds. This week the Financial Accounting Standards Board gave banks a break from mark-to-market accounting. Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson tease apart the knotty questions of what this means, why this matters, and who won what.

-- Listener Aimee Ennis checks in from Clover, South Carolina, where her new neighborhood looks to be on hold and her home value maybe isn't what it used to be.

Bonus: Vending machine goes from dollars to coins.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Citizen Cope's "Let the Drummer Kick." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr

Beerzie Boy writes from Sacramento:

We have a soda machine at work that, like most soda machines, can be persnickety about taking bills when they are wrinkled. You have to smooth the bill and unfold the corners perfectly to get the bill to go into the machine. Last year about this time, I could not get the machine to take a dollar bill, no matter how flat and perfect it was, so I would always have to use change to get a soda. It was a real pain, because I often didn't have change and would have to pester my co-workers to get some. One day when I saw the vending machine guy filling the machine, I asked him why this was happening. He told me that when the machine gets full of bills, it refuses to take any more. Pretty simple.

Recently, the opposite started to happen: I would try to use change, and it would refuse to take it and dump it in the coin return. At first it only refused quarters, then it started to refuse dimes, then nickels. Now it will only take bills. When I saw the vending machine guy he said -- you have probably guessed it -- that the coin bins were filling faster than the bill bin. He also said this was becoming more common on the machines on his route. So I guess that people are digging deeper into their purses, piggy banks, and car ashtrays for the money to get their daily soda fix, and saving their bills for more important things.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 9:25 pm

Dow ends above 8,000 in best 4-week run since 1933 (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks rose on Friday, with the Dow marking its best four-week winning streak since 1933, lifted by robust results from Research in Motion and comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said the central bank will do everything it can to stabilize banks.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 3 Apr 2009 | 9:19 pm

The Obama Portfolio

Heading for the 20 handle.

The Obama Portfolio (Since Inception): +19.50%

Earlier: The Obama Portfolio

---

In a conspiracy keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Click to Learn More stateofplaymovie.net

Source: Dealbreaker | 3 Apr 2009 | 9:08 pm

Freeman Calls `Legacy' Writedowns an Issue for Morgan

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 3 Apr 2009 | 9:05 pm

Ken Lewis: A (Drunk) Man With Nothing To Lose

A lot of people are losing it over the "pitchforks" comment that came out of Barack and The Bankers' lunch date last Friday. And that's a terrible shame, because it's overshadowing this little ray of hilarity, brought to us by the good people at the Boone's factory, who had the foresight to package that shit in mini-bottles discreet enough for sneaking swigs of at the table:

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis cracked a joke at the expense of his peers who'd lavished praise on the administration: "Mr. President," he said, "I'm not going to suck up to Geithner and Summers like the other CEOs here have."

Source: Dealbreaker | 3 Apr 2009 | 8:56 pm

U.S. jobless rate hits 25-year high

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate soared to 8.5 percent last month, a 25-year high, as employers slashed jobs and cut workers' hours to the lowest level on record, the government said on Friday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 3 Apr 2009 | 8:45 pm

U.S. jobless rate hits 25-year high (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.S. unemployment rate soared to 8.5 percent last month, a 25-year high, as employers slashed jobs and cut workers' hours to the lowest level on record, the government said on Friday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 8:45 pm

JPMorgan's Glassman Says `Too Soon' to Predict Third Stimulus

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 3 Apr 2009 | 8:40 pm

What 8.5 Percent Looks Like

U.S. unemployment spiked again in March, reaching 8.5 percent. Our good friends over at NPR.org have put together a slew of charts to help us all get it. And while we're at it, I recommend their Portraits of the Unemployed, too.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 8:32 pm

Pic: Fowl Interest

Don't let the duck run the bank.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 8:28 pm

ExHBOS chief Hornby gives up £1m redundancy

Andy Hornby the former chief executive of stricken bank HBOS left the bank with no more than his statutory minimum redundancy of £2970 after forgoing a £1.03m payoff.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 3 Apr 2009 | 8:05 pm

Dealbreaker: Fair And Balanced

We recognize that, contrary to Muffie's views on the matter, not every Dealbreaker reader is a Muffie Benson-Perella fan. You, dissenters, deserve a voice too. We have a soft spot, you see, for contrarians. And so, we are going to give you that voice. We at Dealbreaker are pleased, therefore, to announce, the introduction of the "Stuff The Muff" Anti-Muffie Benson-Perella Coffee Mug.

Emblazoned prominently with Muffie's ritual Monday morning in-office cocaine and vodka binge recovery process, it is the prefect way to remind yourself that there are characters more wretched than you in the morning. Much more wretched. You may not be an anti-capitalist, but that doesn't prevent you from showing your anti-Muffie colors with pride (and with the caption "Screw Muffie Benson-Perella.")

Supplies may be limited, but be assured they will be less limited than Muffie's LTCM meltdown mugs.

Source: Dealbreaker | 3 Apr 2009 | 8:05 pm

And Much Like Partying, You've Gotta Fight For It!

A few more, courtesy of commenter FUNdamental:

---

In a conspiracy keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Click to Learn More stateofplaymovie.net

Source: Dealbreaker | 3 Apr 2009 | 8:03 pm

RBS needs five years to get over ABN fallout

Royal Bank of Scotland will take at least three to five years to recover after the disastrous acquisition of ABN Amro assets chief executive Stephen Hester has said.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:57 pm

Fed officials vow to use all tools to help economy (Reuters)

Reuters - Top Federal Reserve officials pledged on Friday to use all the tools at their disposal to spur lending and a U.S. economic recovery, but warned a rebound could be slow in coming.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:55 pm

Fed officials vow to use all tools to help economy

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Top Federal Reserve officials pledged on Friday to use all the tools at their disposal to spur lending and a U.S. economic recovery, but warned a rebound could be slow in coming.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:55 pm

Oil settles slightly lower, job report weighs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled above $52 a barrel on Friday, slightly lower on the day after a report that U.S. unemployment in March soared to a 25-year high.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:49 pm

RBS investors reject remuneration report

Shareholders overwhelmingly rejected the bank's remuneration report, which includes the £703,000 pension payment to former chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:41 pm

Iceland report a timely reminder that no regulatory system can be foolproof

I thoroughly recommend the Treasury Select Committee's report into the Icelandic banking crisis writes Damian Reece.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:35 pm

What banks need is carrot not stick

Sir Philip Hampton was only pulling my leg on Friday when he said it was in all our interests for people to move their bank accounts from HSBC to the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:26 pm

Don't Even Try To Blame Harvard For This Mess

Muffie Benson-Perella (muffie AT muffmarkets.com) was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division of a "Bulge Bracket" bank. She holds a B.A. in French and Art from Vassar College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She concentrated in Contemporary French Poetry at prep school where she was awarded the exclusive premiership of the school's "French Club." Today, Ms. Benson-Perella is the Founder and Managing Director of "Muffie on Markets" (http://www.muffmarkets.com), a deep dive into capital markets, finance and investment strategy. She is also the Founder and Managing Director of Muff Cap, LLC., an invitation only, private investment vehicle for non-existent, prestigious and accredited investors only, employing an actively managed, long-short strategy.

Apparently it has become fashionable to bash higher education. And it seems to be even more fashionable to bash higher higher education and the graduate programs that compose it. It doesn't take an in-depth understanding of non-linear systems in mathematics to draw a straight line right to the premise that bashing the highest institutions of higher higher education [(higher)³ if you will] has become the most fashionable. This little bit of social algebra is borne out by the number of no-nothing articles, petty blogs and opinionated op-ed pieces that have, of late, attacked no lesser a monument than the noble and proud edifice of the Harvard Business School.

A recent Bloomberg piece (written by a Columbia graduate, obviously) went so far as to suggest that a November task-force was formed at HBS as a reaction to scrutinize the ability of HBS to teach risk management and develop a case to facilitate that goal. Of course, this betrays a very poor understanding of the role of cases at HBS. Harvard cases are written to market to other institutions. Attempting to teach actual Harvard cases to Harvard students would result in a massive and near violent revolt of apathy and boredom. The width and breadth of world experience already under the skirt of the matriculating Harvard student makes any attempt to teach the trite and condescending prose that typifies the average Harvard case the height of effrontery. To the extent cases are discussed at all in HBS classes it is to critique them for their eventual redistribution to the Crimson-challenged. Clearly, the task-force discussed in the article is to distribute better risk management teaching expertise to the world and prevent the sort of melt-down that non-Harvard types seem to enjoy causing every 20 years or so. Despite all our efforts to place alumni at the top, and in key positions around the country, incompetent minions, listless staff and executives who cannot learn to take orders manage to scuttle our progress time after time.

Source: Dealbreaker | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:25 pm

Meanwhile, In Charlotte...

Here's a shot of the "protest" going on outside of Ben Bernanke's speech earlier today. Maybe it was the 70 degree, beautiful weather, maybe it was the lack of a literal and not merely figurative Wall Street to march on, maybe it was the fact that the Beard has put himself out there of late as someone who doesn't take shit or prisoners but I just don't feel the same passion. No Fed Guy can't even be bothered to put down the fountain beverage and put his back into it.

Source: Dealbreaker | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:22 pm

BP likely to avoid 1bn Prudhoe Bay penalty

Alaska is unlikely to secure the 1bn £676m in compensation it is seeking from BP for lost revenues following the Prudhoe Bay oil spill.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:16 pm

Barclays accused of putting the boot into Southampton

Rupert Lowe the former chairman of Southampton Football Club has accused Barclays Bank of "sentencing the club to death".
Source: Telegraph Finance | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:09 pm

US tells N Korea to stop rocket test

President Barack Obama gave a stern warning to North Korea, telling it not to carry out a "provocative" rocket launch due for as early as on Saturday.
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:05 pm

FTN's Dwyer Recommends `Taking Profits,' Cutting Exposure

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:04 pm

MPs blame 'impotent' FSA over Icelandic banks

Select committee says FSA was 'impotent' and councils imprudent in dealings with Icelandic banks but charities must be compensated.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 3 Apr 2009 | 7:01 pm

How to help homeowners? Shrink payments

It may seem obvious: Increasing how much troubled borrowers pay on their mortgage leads to redefaults. But that didn't stop America's banks.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:59 pm

Twitter to Google? Think again

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:58 pm

Hoffman Says Job Losses May Have `Hit Bottom'

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:58 pm

Supermarkets fall as rally runs out of steam

Market report: Supermarkets were under pressure as the FTSE 100 threatened to fall back below the 4000 level.
Source: Telegraph Finance | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:51 pm

Demystifying tax law changes

Quite a few modifications to tax laws have resulted from President Obama's stimulus plan and housing credit. Tax analyst Mark Luscombe explains what the changes mean for those who have not yet filed returns.
Source: Marketplace Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:47 pm

Guess The Dow

Well, it's Friday, and after yesterday's massive bounce, that means it's anyone's market today. Maybe even yours. You know the rules. Closest to the close without going under. All bets are off ten minutes before the bell. In the case of a tie we will pick the earlier entry.

Ready?

Go!

Source: Dealbreaker | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:44 pm

Beware the bear market bounce

The bullish momentum of global equities, which started a month ago, has extended into the first days of April
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:43 pm

Iceland warms up to frugality

On the brink of financial collapse last year, Iceland is now trying to recover and its citizens are embracing a culture of conservative spending. Stephen Beard reports.
Source: Marketplace Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:40 pm

This Week’s Links

From Twine: Will Twitter survive what’s about to happen to it?

Chris Jordan’s amazing macro photo project illustrates the scale of consumption.

Rolling Stone’s The Big Takeover is one of the best AIG-themed articles yet.

Good New Yorker article on the relationship between sustainability and the bad economy.

Seth Godin on the myth of big (banker/government) salaries.

Source: Business Pundit | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:34 pm

True Or False: 'It's A Depression'

Robert Reich, who served under President Clinton as secretary of Labor, takes a look at today's unemployment figures and declares, "It's a Depression."

Reich draws on the government's broadest measure of job loss, which has one in every six Americans as either unemployed or underemployed. Most of us are within two degrees of separation from someone out of work, he says. Reich writes:

All this means that the real economy will need a larger stimulus than the $787 billion already enacted. To be sure, only a small fraction of the $787 billion has been turned into new jobs so far. The money is still moving out the door. But today's bleak jobs report shows that the economy is so far below its productive capacity that much more money will be needed.

This is still not the Great Depression of the 1930s, but it is a Depression. And the only way out is government spending on a very large scale. We should stop worrying about Wall Street. Worry about American workers. Use money to build up Main Street, and the future capacities of our workforce.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:30 pm

Fonterra China boss quits

Fonterra managing director for China Bob Major will retire from the company at the end of his contract in May, the dairy co-operative says. Bankrupt Chinese dairy company Sanlu, which had been 43 per cent owned by Fonterra, was...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:30 pm

What If I'm Over The FDIC Limit?

After our interview with FDIC's John Bovenzi, a listener asks:

When a bank is taken over by the FDIC, what happens to the deposits that exceed the insured amounts? Are they just considered gone, or are they used to cover the debts of the bank being taken over?

Great question. The simple answer is that after $250 thousand, there are no guarantees. It's not bloody likely you'll ever see that money again.

Here's the longer answer:

After a bank fails, the FDIC usually spends months selling off the remaining assets. That means everything from loans to office chairs, often for a lot less than the bank had said it was all worth.

The proceeds first go toward paying insured depositors -- up to that limit of $250,000. If there's anything over (usually there isn't), it gets divided equally between the FDIC insurance fund and depositors who were over the limit. In those cases, depositors often get something like 50 cents on the dollar.

So, there's a chance you'll get some of your uninsured money back. There's even a chance you'll get all your uninsured money. But in reality, that money is probably gone.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:22 pm

GM chief fails to rule out bankruptcy

Henderson gave his most forceful message yet to debt-holders and unions, saying a clean balance sheet was 'not negotiable' and could 'very well happen' through bankruptcy
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:17 pm

Day in the Work Life: Pro hockey player

We hear from professional hockey player Mike Komisarek, a defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League.
Source: Marketplace Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:06 pm

Getting Personal

Tess Vigeland and Chris Farrell answer listeners' questions about whether moving during the recession is a good idea, what to do when a company stops matching 401(k)s and how to handle unused pension or HSA funds.
Source: Marketplace Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 6:03 pm

CitiFinancial, Meet Scrap Masters

Separate businesses, one sign.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 5:57 pm

Signs of green shoots raise hopes

Scattered signs of green shoots in the global economy are raising hopes the recession could bottom out later this year, paving the way for economic recovery in 2010
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 3 Apr 2009 | 5:51 pm

Online checking is a good option

Money market funds, CDs and other accounts that used to offer large returns are now only offering 1% interest. Laura Bruce of Bankrate.com discusses whether high interest online accounts come with a risky catch.
Source: Marketplace Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 5:48 pm

Congress eyes tougher credit card laws

A congressional subcommittee recently approved a version of a credit-card "bill of rights" that could protect consumers from abusive billing practices. Nick Bourke of the Pew Charitable Trust talks about some companies' questionable methods.
Source: Marketplace Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 5:42 pm

The Straight Story

Tess Vigeland and economics editor Chris Farrell discuss how to prepare for the potential loss of entire industries and how some people might have to start rethinking their plans for retirement.
Source: Marketplace Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 5:41 pm

Fairfax raises A$624m

Fairfax Media has completed its capital raising, collecting A$624.6 million, or 91 per cent of the A$684 million maximum amount it was seeking. Fairfax said it would use the proceeds to pay down a substantial portion of its syndicated...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 5:30 pm

In Scranton, hard times are here again

The economy has not been kind to Scranton, Pa. -- even during some of America's good times. Reporter Peter Crimmins attended a job fair to find out how residents of this hard-luck town are dealing with this recession.
Source: Marketplace Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 5:28 pm

Hit twice by layoffs, family gets moving

When Yvonne and Ronnie Hart both lost their jobs in California, they headed for Houston, where family and friends are helping them make a new start. Rachel Dornhelm reports.
Source: Marketplace Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 5:21 pm

HK police raid Citic Pacific in fraud probe

Citic Pacific is also the subject of an investigation by the city's market regulator after it lost billions of dollars in foreign exchange trades
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 3 Apr 2009 | 5:08 pm

RIM shares surge on strong results

TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) - Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion jumped more than 20 percent on Friday, a day after the company surprised investors with a strong profit report and a rosy outlook for its smartphones despite a grim economy.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 3 Apr 2009 | 5:06 pm

Bergsten Sees China, U.S. Co-Leading World Economy

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:50 pm

Tough sell for overstocked pawn shops

Many consumers hard up on cash turn to pawn shops for quick loans. But as fewer people come back to reclaim their items, shops are teeming with merchandise they can't sell fast enough. Zachary Barr reports.
Source: Marketplace | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:48 pm

Services Bank On Stimulus

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' March jobs report shows the service-providing sector had the biggest number of job losses last month -- down 358,000 jobs.

Services have been primary engine of U.S. economic growth in recent years, and the latest numbers don't seem to offer much hope for resurgence anytime soon.

The Institute for Supply Management today released its non-manufacturing index for March, which shows the service sector as a whole remains under pressure. The index is a composite indicator of changes in business activity, the number of new orders, employment levels and rate of supplier deliveries.

The Index fell to 40.8 in March from 41.6 in February.

The drop means the services sector is still contracting, which some economists hadn't expected due to recent gains in retail sales. But there is hope among non-manufacturing outfits that the federal stimulus package will turn things around.

The ISM asked businesses a "special question" this month: whether they believe their industry and organization will benefit from the Economic Stimulus Package.

Fifty-two percent said they expect their industries will get a boost from federal stimulus funds. The most optimistic industries were real estate, public administration, educational services, utilities, finance & insurance, construction, health care & social assistance, and scientific & technical services.

Only 46 percent of those surveyed, however, expect their individual companies will benefit from the stimulus package.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:48 pm

Karl Says This Month Will Be Worst for U.S. Jobs Losses

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:40 pm

Bernanke: Fed to use 'all its tools'

Read full story for latest details.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:39 pm

Hugh Johnson Sees Up to 9.5% U.S. Unemployment in 2009

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:32 pm

Sales drop 25pc

A monthly survey of manufacturing and export sales shows a fall of 25 per cent from a year earlier. New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association chief executive John Walley said the major falls were in specific areas such...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:30 pm

US may cede to Iran's nuclear ambition

US officials are considering whether to accept Iran's pursuit of uranium enrichment, which has been outlawed by the United Nations and remains at the heart of fears that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons capability
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:29 pm

Gardiner Sees Structural Difficulties for U.S. Automakers

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:28 pm

Harris Sees `Worst' U.S. Job Market Since 1975

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:26 pm

First Solar Sees Less Dilution For Acquisition (FSLR)

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) has completed its acquisition of OptiSolar’s photovoltaic project pipeline.  The company said that it expects to construct the solar power plants developed under the pipeline over the next several years.  It also still plans to sell them to regulated utilities, diversified energy companies and other independent power producers. What is [...]

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:17 pm

FTSE 100 closes in the red (AFP)

AFP - Stocks in London were in the red on Friday as unemployment soared and the service sector contracted further in the United States in a stark reminder of the dismal state of the world economy.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:09 pm

Deal in Pfizer-Nigeria drugs suit

Nigeria's Kano State and US drugs firm Pfizer have agreed to settle an alleged drugs testing scandal out of court, lawyers say.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:06 pm

Rapper feels 'Arab Money' isn't funny

Iraqi expat and hip-hop artist Yassin Alsalman used to be a big fan of Busta Rhymes. That was until the rap star released a controversial song called "Arab Money." Sean Cole reports.
Source: Marketplace | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:04 pm

Hoops lessons for the economy

The Oregon State basketball team had a dismal conference record last year, but is now playing in the College Basketball Invitational final. Ethan Lindsey reports on how the Beavers' turnaround could be a lesson for the nation's economy.
Source: Marketplace | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:04 pm

Weekly Wrap: Signs that we're OK

Unemployment continues to soar, but home sales are up and the stock market has had some good days. Kai Ryssdal speaks with Clusterstock.com's John Carney and The Atlantic's Megan McArdle about whether the bottom is near.
Source: Marketplace | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:04 pm

Rescued banks buy rivals' bad assets?

Bailed-out banks like Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are considering a controversial plan to buy toxic assets from rival financial institutions. Amy Scott reports.
Source: Marketplace | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:03 pm

Loan modifications that don't help

A new government study reveals Americans are struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments, and loan modification plans aimed at helping homeowners aren't working. Tamara Keith reports.
Source: Marketplace | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:03 pm

A grim outlook for the unemployed

Five million Americans have lost their jobs since the recession began. A deeper look into the details reveals how the economy has gotten worse. Steve Henn reports.
Source: Marketplace | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:03 pm

The Anatomy of a Web Advertising Scam

Investigating the people behind those sketchy flat-stomach ads. By Chadwick Matlin for The Big Money The Internet wants me to have a flat stomach—and it wants me to have it for free. Over the last few months, those flat stomach ads have followed me around the Internet like a beggar asking for money. On many of my [...]

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:03 pm

G20 summit marks major shift in world order

Global leaders took their biggest steps yet toward a new world order that's less US-centric with more heavily regulated financial industry and a greater role for international institutions and emerging markets. At the end the London...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:00 pm

Home front welcomes 'fine words'

Local economists have welcomed the tone of the G20 communique, saying it addresses many of the threats to the global economy, but it remains to be seen whether the words will translate into the required action. Stockmarkets around...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:00 pm

Brian Fallow : One solution from 20 heads? Unlikely

If people were looking for a committee to save the world, a gathering of 20 national leaders was always going to be too unwieldy and divided to fill that bill. The most useful outcome of the G20 summit is probably making US$1 trillion...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:00 pm

Lobby group aims to give telco industry a voice

The major players in the telecommunications sector have clubbed together in a lobby group aimed at promoting industry views. The Telecommunications Industry Group (TIG) comprises industry heavyweights Telecom and Vodafone, junior...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:00 pm

Brian Gaynor: Blame interest rates on our borrowing

The banks were under fire again this week after they raised long-term lending rates. Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard pitched in with his statement: "We believe the rise in longer-term interest rates is unwarranted and inconsistent...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:00 pm

Activist label rests lightly on Rebstock

Paula Rebstock steps down after five years chairing the Commerce Commission at a time when having an effective and vigilant competition watchdog has never been more important. The temptation to engage in price-fixing or other kinds...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:00 pm

Shareholders vote against RBS pay

Royal Bank of Scotland shareholders vote against the bank's pay and pensions policy at its annual meeting.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:00 pm

Fortescue faces suit over Chinese deals

Fortescue Metals Group will next week face a suit from Australia's corporate regulator, which alleges the nation's third-largest iron exporter made misleading statements about deals with Chinese companies. The case will focus on...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 3 Apr 2009 | 4:00 pm

What's With The New Name?

Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute will be on the podcast today to help us break down the final draft of the G-20 communique. A significant chunk of the communique addressed the creation of the Financial Stability Board as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum. Reading the communique, I wondered if that was just a name change or something more? According to Posen, it's a little bit of both.

By calling it a board, they are tying to convey that it's got not just a talking shop, which is a forum, but that it has some oversight responsibility. It gives it more of an air of authority that's why you call it a board.

It's not just the name that's changing, the new group will also be expanding its membership to include more emerging markets. And stay tuned -- Posen says we will be hearing more a lot more from the FSB in the future about international regulation and oversight.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 3:55 pm

Show Me The Money...Or Not

The G-20's pledge of $1.1 trillion in new resources for fighting the global economic crisis is a noteworthy outcome of yesterday's summit. The communique says the funds will "restore credit, growth and jobs in the world economy." The leaders also agreed to tighter regulations on hedge funds, rating agencies and tax havens.

But will these things help resolve the crisis in the short term?

Carl B. Weinberg, chief economist with High Frequency Economics, says the measures are praiseworthy but aren't a prescription for restored economic growth:

"The health of the biggest countries in the world, the locomotives of the global economy, is not improved by any of these measures... No economic recession was ever reversed by regulation. Money talks, and the money on the table right now for the European economies and Japan is not enough to do what has to be done to support demand."

The sum total of international fiscal stimuli to date, according to the communique, is $5 trillion.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 3:44 pm

Less Natural Gas Drilling, More LNG Imports? (BHI, LNG, BP, CHK, XTO)

We’ve been closely tracking the weekly rig counts published by Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE:BHI) for a while now. Drilling for oil has slowed significantly in the US, and drilling for natural gas has slowed even more. A year ago, Baker Hughes counted 1,227 gas rigs; last week, there were just 810, a drop of 44%. [...]

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 3 Apr 2009 | 3:36 pm

BA to miss 2008 revenue targets

British Airways says it will miss its full-year financial targets and that market conditions continue to cause pressure.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 3 Apr 2009 | 3:35 pm

This Week’s Weird Jobs

Looking for someone trained in human euthanasia to work in an economy-proof industry. If you lack those qualifications, you can always settle for life at the cactus nursery. This week’s weird jobs have a taste of it all:

1. Texas: Cactus Nursery Worker Needed

Growing and expanding cactus and succulent nursery is looking for an able body to assist in daily greenhouse operations. Responsibilities will be generally, but not limited to, assisting in the loading and unloading of the delivery trailer, soil mixing, plant potting and repotting, maintaining greenhouses and nursery grounds so they are tidy and watered, taking customers on occasion, etc.

Gloves and/or thick calluses required.

2. Texas: CRIME PAYS - BIG - Work 3 Months & Then GET 1 Month OFF WITH PAY!

We are currently staffing our special promotions department. Entry level position for enthusiastic, energetic people. We are willing to train the right individuals to demonstrate our products. Learn about security systems and have fun before work on the Xbox 360. Get paid weekly.

In today’s economy many businesses are downsizing. Not ours. We are in the home security industry and unfortunately the worse the economy gets the more there is a need for our products. That is why we are expanding. Start your career in an economy proof industry.

Economy-proof industry, eh? Where do I board the shuttle to Gamma Canaris?

3. Nationwide: (Inbound Callers)

We are a local firm of a U.S. company that has many services that are in demand in this economy. Incoming calls only. Daily Pay. Rapid Advancement.

We’d rather not tell you what we do, but traditionally, alcohol, poker, and sex pick up in “this economy.” Take your pick—you’re selling one of them.

4. Michigan: Need Actress for Short Horror Film

Need attractive female actress for role in short horror film. Film will be part of a series of short films that will be combined into a full length movie.
Send the following info:
- Still Photo
- Web link to a monologue that shows fear, sadness, anger, and happiness
(See sample monologue at www.corbusfilms.com)
- Reason you think you can act

Showing four emotions and thinking you can act are the only prerequisites? Good thing actors will probably be murdered early on.

5. Michigan: Animal Control Officer

We are accepting applications to fill the position of full time ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER.

Applicants must (upon submission of application)
1. Be certified through the State of Michigan for Animal Control.
2. Certified or Certifiable in Human Euthanasia Practices; proficiency and knowledge of the American Veterinary Association Guidelines. Applicants must possess good moral character as determined by a favorable comprehensive background investigation covering school and employment records, home environment, personal traits and integrity.

Human euthanasia? Those dog catcher recruiters aren’t messing around these days.

Happy Friday!

Source: Business Pundit | 3 Apr 2009 | 3:27 pm

Ritz Camera Shutting Down 300 Stores

Rtiz Camera, Wolf Camera, Kits Camera, and other names associated with Ritz closing down 300+ stores nationwide as part of a bankruptcy consolidation process. CNET has details:

This of course means stock liquidation sales, which will begin Saturday, April 4. As with the Circuit City liquidation, I wouldn’t expect huge discounts despite a senior VP at one of the four LLCs handling the sale saying we’ll find “quality, brand-name merchandise at greatly reduced prices.” (I’m willing to bet his idea of “greatly reduced” and mine don’t jibe.)

Though it’s sad to see more stores shutting down, at least Ritz isn’t going away entirely. The company as of right now plans to keep more than 400 stores open.

Source: Business Pundit | 3 Apr 2009 | 3:17 pm

Unemployment Hits 8.5 Percent

With 663,000 jobs lost in March, U.S. unemployment hit 8.5 percent. We're up to 5.1 million layoffs since the recession began in December 2007, nearly two-thirds of them in the last five months. "In March, job losses were large and widespread across the major industry sectors," writes the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The category of people out of work for 15 weeks or longer continued its steady rise, to 3.7 percent.The category of U-6 -- which includes standard layoffs plus workers who've given up looking, plus everyone who's had to settle for part-time work -- checked in at 15.6.

Bonus: NPR's Portraits of the Unemployed

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 3 Apr 2009 | 2:31 pm

Legalized Medical Marijuana Company Now Public Stock, Really (CVIV)

If you thought that the legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes was a controversial, imagine how controversial it would be if a company was public in the sector of legalized marijuana.  Forget the “if” in the equation.  This week, a small and formerly unknown company called Club Vivanet announced that it is the first public company [...]

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 3 Apr 2009 | 1:50 pm

Further jump in US unemployment

The number of people employed in the US fell by 663,000 in March, bringing the jobless rate to its highest level since 1983.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 3 Apr 2009 | 1:32 pm

Apple (AAPL) Without Jobs Now Seeing A Six-Month High

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) today is hitting levels not seen since October. Apple today crossed the $114 level and is up over 33% for 2009. Apple’s stock sold off in the middle of January after Apple disclosed Steve Jobs health related issues were more complex than previously disclosed and Steve Jobs was going on medical leave [...]

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 3 Apr 2009 | 1:22 pm

NRG is the Company of ‘No’ (NRG, EXC, RRI)

NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has sent a long letter to shareholders counseling them not to vote for the new slate of directors being proposed by Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC).  NRG notes that the price of Exelon’s fixed exchange ratio offer has dropped 17% since Exelon first announced its proposal to acquire NRG. The company is still [...]

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 3 Apr 2009 | 1:17 pm