Screen Survivors

Dear Pershing People Performance for Pershing Square International: Source: Dealbreaker | 5 May 2009 | 1:03 pm Stressed By The Test So remember that totally crazy rumor everyone thought was insane to the effect that pretty much all of the banks (16 of 19) failed the stress tests? Or were "technically insolvent," whatever that means? That rumor seems to have originated with a April 19th weblog entry from Turner Radio Network listing 7 facts about the stress tests and summarizing with "Put bluntly, the entire US Banking System is in complete and total collapse." Well, that eventually looked like a total hoax- intended to be outlandish for the shockingly poor results turned in by the banks tested. But apparently the real results aren't particularly fantastic either. Specifically: About 10 of the 19 largest U.S. banks being stress tested will be instructed by regulators to raise more capital, according to a source familiar with official talks. The banks have been negotiating with their regulators about the depth of their capital needs, should the recession prove to be deeper and longer than anticipated. Markets have been anxiously anticipating the results, which will differentiate the strongest banks from those still expected to sustain considerable credit losses. What could be a more perfect opportunity for the DecaSplit 10 unit splitscreen segment on CNBC? Reuters managed only eight (and since the exact list of the failuresbanks needing further assistance from various agencies and the gracious demeanor of the American public hasn't been released yet, these might not even vaguely resemble the real list. Well except for Ken Lewis. And Count Vikula) so CNBC has a huge opening here. About 10 U.S. stress test banks to need more capital [Reuters] Source: Dealbreaker | 5 May 2009 | 12:45 pm Virgin Media sees 13% drop in new customers Virgin Media, the television and broadband group, today conceded the recession was hitting business as it unveiled a 13 per cent drop in new customer sign-ups. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 May 2009 | 12:33 pm GMAC 1Q loss widens as credit markets remain weak (AP) AP - GMAC Financial Services says its loss widened in the first quarter as the weak credit markets continued to weigh on its automotive financing and mortgage businesses. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 May 2009 | 12:33 pm GMAC 1Q loss widens as credit markets remain weak GMAC Financial Services says its loss widened in the first quarter as the weak credit markets continued to weigh on its automotive financing and mortgage businesses. The largest... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 12:33 pm Stocks could lose momentum U.S. stocks were poised for a lower open Tuesday, as futures lost their momentum from the previous session, when the major gauges reached multi-month highs. Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 May 2009 | 12:31 pm New Chrysler incentives coming With bankruptcy threatening to further weigh down the carmaker's sales, Chrysler is expected to announce a new incentive program Tuesday. Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 May 2009 | 12:30 pm Opening Bell: 05.05.09 Citigroup Eyes New Ways to Pay Employees (Reuters) "Three people familiar with the matter said the bank has examined a series of possible moves, including special stock-based bonuses, or offering employees a percentage of their group's revenue." UBS Reports $1.76B Loss (NYT) The Swiss bank chalked the loss up to "yet more writedowns, as client withdrawals continued." I don't see client withdrawals stemming, any time soon. "UBS said its core wealth management and Swiss bank business saw net new money outflows of 23.4 billion francs in the quarter, while its wealth management Americas business saw net new money inflows of 16.2 billion." RBS Finance Chief To Step Down (WSJ) "The CFO, Guy Whittaker, is staying on to allow time to undertake an orderly search for a successor, RBS said. In the meantime, his role and responsibilities are unchanged. A spokesman for RBS said that Mr. Whittaker wasn't available for comment. He was preceded in his departure by, among others, former CEO Fred Goodwin, who has been sharply criticized for a taking generous pension package that the bank is now attempting to claw back." Program To Unfreeze Credit Receives $10B Boost (WSJ) People are starting to push credit card loans/student loans into bonds again under TALF; there's been about $10B in movement in the past two months. The most deal was put together by JP Morgan recently was the largest to date, $5B, and sold at LIBOR + 1.55. "The $5 billion deal put together by J.P. Morgan is one of six deals, including General Electric Co.'s $1 billion credit-card-backed deal, due to be sold Tuesday, the deadline for the Fed's nonrecourse loans under TALF. J.P. Morgan, which is underwriting the deal, didn't return calls seeking comment." Much The Same After Credit Crunch (Bloomberg) Cohen (of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP) is of the opinion that Wall Street will be much the same after the recent credit crunch; that is, that firms won't be remarkably different in their structuring or operating practices. Between he and Lazard's Par, and Carlyle's Rubenstein they seem to think we'll end up with 5 to 7 larger institutions, 3 to 4 of which are going to be top notch. Fed Sees Loosening Of Bank Standards For Loan Origination (WSJ) Ongoing surveys by the Federal Reserve are showing that banks are starting to loosen credit requirements for loan origination, most notably in the commercial sector. "When banks tighten standards, they make it harder to get a loan by toughening certain criteria, such as for income, cash flow or indebtedness. Banks were also a little less aggressive about demanding more for the loans they actually made. Some 80% said they toughened terms on loans -- for instance, increasing the interest rate -- when compared with some benchmark. That was down from the 95% that said in January they demanded a higher rate." Georgia Accuses Russia Of Mutinous Plot (BBC) "Tanks and armoured personnel carriers are being sent to quell the rebellion at the Mukhrovani base, reports say. The authorities say the mutiny is part of an attempted coup - linked to Russia and aimed at assassinating President Mikhail Saakashvili. Russia's envoy to Nato described the charges as "mad". The trouble comes a day before Nato exercises in Georgia." Source: Dealbreaker | 5 May 2009 | 12:30 pm Presented By: Source: Dealbreaker | 5 May 2009 | 12:30 pm Amylin seeks FDA OK on once-weekly diabetes drug Biotechnology company Amylin Pharmaceuticals has applied for Food and Drug Administration approval of its once-weekly diabetes treatment. The drug candidate exenatide LAR, an extended... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 12:27 pm London Markets: Banks, mineral extractors front FTSE 100 advance Shares in the U.K. climb sharply on Tuesday, as investors return from a long holiday weekend buys up shares in banking firms and mineral extractors. Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 May 2009 | 12:27 pm TSX may fall as commodity prices ease (Reuters) Reuters - Toronto's main stock index may dip at the open on Tuesday as underlying weakness in commodity prices may prompt the energy and materials groups to fall. Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 May 2009 | 12:25 pm Emerson Electric net falls 32%, reiterates view Emerson Electric says Tuesday second-quarter earnings fell 32% on a sharp drop in sales tied to the recession, but the electronic-equipment maker stands by its earnings target for the year. Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 May 2009 | 12:25 pm Oil falls to $54 after 2009-high settlement LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell to around $54 a barrel on Tuesday as forecasts that U.S. crude inventories probably rose from their highest level in almost two decades countered optimism about economic recovery. Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 May 2009 | 12:17 pm Kraft Foods' first-quarter profit rises 10% Kraft Foods reports first-quarter net income growth of 10%, citing strong gains from operations, as the blue-chip component affirms top- and bottom-line targets for 2009. Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 May 2009 | 12:16 pm GMAC loss widens in first quarter NEW YORK (Reuters) - GMAC LLC on Tuesday reported a first-quarter loss that was 15 percent larger than a year earlier. reflecting an increase in soured loans as the economy weakens. Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 May 2009 | 12:15 pm Stock futures steady after big gains (AP) AP - Investors are taking pause Tuesday, a day after stocks logged big gains, as caution returns to Wall Street ahead of results of the government's stress tests of banks. Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 May 2009 | 12:11 pm Stock futures steady after big gains Investors are taking pause Tuesday, a day after stocks logged big gains, as caution returns to Wall Street ahead of results of the government's stress tests of banks. Stock futures were... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 12:11 pm Bramdean Alternatives asks Vincent Tchenguiz's Elsina to reveal backers for EGM Bramdean Alternatives the fund managed by Nicola Horlick has made a written request to Vincent Tchenguiz's investment vehicle Elsina to reveal who is backing a call for an extraordinary meeting to oust the board and copied in the City regulator. Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 May 2009 | 12:11 pm Wall Street set for lower open on profit taking (Reuters) Reuters - Wall Street indexes pointed to a lower open on Tuesday with investors set to book profits a day after the S&P 500 turned positive for the year, while financials were in focus as the market awaits stress tests results from the government. Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 May 2009 | 12:05 pm Wall Street set for lower open on profit taking (Reuters) Reuters - Wall Street indexes pointed to a lower open on Tuesday with investors set to book profits a day after the S&P 500 turned positive for the year, while financials were in focus as the market awaits stress tests results from the government. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 May 2009 | 12:05 pm Wall Street set for lower open on profit taking NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street indexes pointed to a lower open on Tuesday with investors set to book profits a day after the S&P 500 turned positive for the year, while financials were in focus as the market awaits stress tests results from the government. Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 May 2009 | 12:05 pm Why Iraq deserves membership of the WTO A highprofile Iraqi delegation visited London last week to make the case for investing in the country. Mike Pullen explains what is at stake for the country's future. Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 May 2009 | 12:01 pm Is the new CEO turning Yahoo around? Read full story for latest details. Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 May 2009 | 12:01 pm MillerCoors 1Q profit rises on higher prices Molson Coors Brewing Co. and SABMiller PLC said Tuesday that the first-quarter profit for their U.S. joint venture MillerCoors LLC rose 51 percent as sales of Coors Light and other brands... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 12:00 pm 2009 International Investment Summit in Dalian Presents Over 100 Premier Chinese Growth Companies Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 12:00 pm Tenet Healthcare swings to 1Q profit Tenet Healthcare reports a first-quarter profit on a one-time debt swap gain and higher overall revenue, despite a drop in the hospital operator's same-hospital admissions. Dallas-based... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 11:58 am London stocks shoot higher after holiday (AFP) AFP - The London stock market jumped to its highest levels since mid-January on Tuesday, boosted by surging banking shares, as traders returned to work after a public holiday in Britain. Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 May 2009 | 11:57 am Oil prices fall after five-month spike (AFP) AFP - Oil prices fell slightly on Tuesday after rallying to the highest levels in more than five months thanks to rebounding stock markets rather than signs of recovery for energy demand, analysts said. Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 May 2009 | 11:55 am UBS books 2B francs net loss for Q1 UBS AG, the Swiss bank hit hard by the financial crisis and a U.S. legal probe into its American clients' offshore accounts, reported Tuesday a first-quarter net loss of 1.98 billion Swiss... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 11:52 am Sling Art Source: Business Pundit | 5 May 2009 | 11:49 am Wealth arm bears brunt of UBS cuts The troubled bank's core Swiss and international wealth management businesses will bear the brunt of the 10,000 job losses planned to help it save up to SFr4bn a year by the end of 2010 Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 May 2009 | 11:48 am Banks rally on stress test hopes European bank shares rally on hopes that US banks will not face huge shortfalls in the amount of money they need to raise. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 May 2009 | 11:47 am Duke 1Q profit falls 26 percent as industry slows Power generator Duke Energy said Tuesday that its first quarter earnings fell 26 percent as the deep recession cut demand for electricity among its industrial customers. The company also... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 11:47 am Archer Daniels Midland's 3Q profit tumbles Agribusiness company Archer Daniels Midland says its fiscal third-quarter profit tumbled 98 percent due to a steep drop in sales and one-time losses related to equity investments. The... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 11:45 am Jacobs Engineering Appointed Project Representative for Crossrail PASADENA, Calif., May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) announced today that Jacobs Engineering UK Ltd had been appointed as Project... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 11:45 am Financial markets are racing well ahead of the real world Positive thinking is a powerful force even when it doesn't make much sense. That is one explanation for the mounting exuberance in financial markets. Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 May 2009 | 11:44 am Indications: U.S. futures slip on bank capitalization jitters U.S. stock futures hold steady Tuesday as investors weigh news that the government may order ten banks to boost their capital levels against indications that the economy has stabilized. Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 May 2009 | 11:44 am Kraft profit beats expectations (Reuters) Reuters - Kraft Foods Inc posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit helped by price increases and cost-cutting measures. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 May 2009 | 11:42 am Kraft profit beats expectations CHICAGO (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit helped by price increases and cost-cutting measures. Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 May 2009 | 11:42 am Is Apple (AAPL) Trying To Buy Twitter? Rumor of the day. Gawker is reporting that Apple (AAPL) is in advanced negotiations to buy social texting company Twitter for $700 million and would like to close by early June. Since Apple rarely makes acquisitions and never makes large ones, the rumor seems unlikely to be true. Douglas A. McIntyre Tagged: AAPL [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 May 2009 | 11:41 am Find a financial adviser you can trust Question: I was laid off recently and have been approached by several financial advisers who all want me to roll over my 401(k) into an IRA. Sometimes I feel like everyone is out to make a commission off my misfortune. Who do I trust? --Marcy, Hutchinson, Minnesota Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 May 2009 | 11:32 am Currencies: Euro rally loses steam LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The European single currency lost ground versus the dollar Tuesday, retreating slightly off of a monthly high ahead of a meeting alter this week of European Central Bank policy makers. Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 May 2009 | 11:29 am Tata takes 203,000 Nano orders India's Tata Motors says it has so far received 203,000 orders for the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 May 2009 | 11:28 am Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APC, ATML, CBY, CEO, EXR, N, OXY, OZM, PSA, WFC) These are ten of the top pre-market analyst calls we have seen early this Tuesday morning with more than two hours until the market opens: Anadarko Petroleum (APC) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays. Atmel (ATML) Raised to Outperform at FBR. Cadbury Schweppes (CBY) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan. CNOOC Ltd (CEO) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan. Extra Space Storage [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 May 2009 | 11:27 am Alcatel-Lucent first-quarter loss widens Alcatel-Lucent's first-quarter loss widens as operators continue to curb spending on non-essential network upgrades. Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 May 2009 | 11:23 am Fed's Rosengren: Systemic regulator needs global reach NEW YORK (Reuters) - A systemic regulator needs a global reach to address a financial firm's multinational operations and increased use of derivatives around the world or risk being ineffective, a top Federal Reserve policy maker said on Tuesday. Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 May 2009 | 11:16 am AIG to post first-quarter loss, no new bailout: source NEW YORK (Reuters) - American International Group Inc is expected to post a first-quarter loss on Thursday, but the embattled insurer's results will not trigger a new capital injection from the U.S. government this time, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 May 2009 | 11:14 am Best strategy to keep your job? Pay cut Let's say you work in an industry that's been hit hard by the economic downturn, and you're watching competitors downsize left and right. You're pretty sure that layoffs are headed to your place too, and fast. What's your best strategy to keep your job? Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 May 2009 | 11:13 am UBS wary on outlook but won't need capital hike soon ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS remained wary on its immediate outlook as it braced for the recession's full impact after a first quarter loss, but its shares rose as resilient capital ratios cut the need for a balance sheet boost. Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 May 2009 | 11:00 am Georgia accuses Russia of coup plot Georgia accused the Kremlin of backing a planned military coup coinciding with Georgian military exercises with Nato and aimed at bringing the former Soviet country back under the Russian yoke Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 May 2009 | 10:56 am EU ban looms over seal products Euro MPs vote to ban the sale of seal products in the EU, following protests over the hunters' methods. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 May 2009 | 10:54 am Europe Markets: European shares trade higher as banks gain European shares trade higher, with London the standout as investors there catch up following a long holiday weekend. Standard Chartered rallies on the bank's positive comments, and investors bid UBS shares higher following the Swiss giant's results. Earnings-related weakness undercuts shares of Adidas and to a lesser extent, Alcatel-Lucent and Metro. Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 May 2009 | 10:46 am World stocks await key US stress test results (AP) AP - World stock markets rose modestly Tuesday as investors awaited details of which U.S. banks will need more capital, while Britain's FTSE 100 index surged as it played catch-up after being closed the day before when investors reaped big gains. Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 May 2009 | 10:42 am Get smart about borrowing for college By now, most college-bound high school seniors have accepted an admissions offer and are cruising blissfully toward graduation, summer, and their chosen campus come fall. For parents, on the other hand, the hard work of financing this education is just beginning. Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 May 2009 | 10:41 am Alcatel-Lucent losses worse than feared Ben Verwaayen, the former BT chief executive trying to revive Alcatel-Lucent, the French telecom equipment group, stuck to his forecast of breakeven for this year, despite revealing a deeper €358 million (£317.7 million) first-quarter loss than expected. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 May 2009 | 10:23 am Chrysler gets court approval on loan, Opel heats up (Reuters) Reuters - Chrysler won interim approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court to access a $4.5 billion loan as it tried to move ahead in its planned alliance with Fiat SpA, while the Italian automaker advanced its bid for General Motors Corp's European Opel brand. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 May 2009 | 10:12 am Chrysler gets court approval on loan, Opel heats up NEW YORK/BERLIN (Reuters) - Chrysler won interim approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court to access a $4.5 billion loan as it tried to move ahead in its planned alliance with Fiat SpA, while the Italian automaker advanced its bid for General Motors Corp's European Opel brand. Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 May 2009 | 10:12 am GM (GM) Sales In China Up 50%, A Way For The Company To Raise Money GM’s (GM) most valuable asset may be its operation in China. Sales at the division rose 50% in April to 151,084.  The No. 1 US car company sold 173,007 light vehicles in the US last month. China may pass the US as the world’s largest auto market this year. According to the AP, “Vehicle sales in [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 May 2009 | 10:09 am Construction activity rises to 7-month high Britain’s construction industry contracted at its slowest pace in seven months in April, as the weak pound helped to support new orders, according to the latest survey of purchasing managers by CIPS/Markit. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 May 2009 | 10:07 am Standard Chartered reports strong start to year Standard Chartered the Asiafocused bank reported a "strong start" to the year with record income and profits in the first quarter. Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 May 2009 | 10:03 am Asian stocks mostly higher, Hang Seng gains 0.3% HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian markets ended mostly higher Tuesday with miners and financial stocks broadly rising on signs of stability in the global economy, and China and Taiwan shares buoyed by optimism about cross-strait ties. Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 May 2009 | 10:00 am RBS finance chief to depart Royal Bank of Scotland says Tuesday that its Finance Director Guy Whittaker will step down later this year. Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 May 2009 | 9:57 am Spanish jobless claims 'easing' The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Spain rose in April, but by the smallest amount in nine months.. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 May 2009 | 9:52 am Is UBS (UBS) Loss A Caution For American Banks? UBS (UBS) lost $1.7 billion in the first quarter. Some of the reasons for the poor earnings report could apply to American banks and their results in future quarters. UBS management mentioned that its short-term prospects were  still not good. The Swiss bank said that its ability to trade derivatives is still being impeded by a lack of [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 May 2009 | 9:51 am UK construction decline slows in April The severity of the recession in the beleaguered UK construction sector eased markedly in April although output and orders continued to fall the latest survey shows. Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 May 2009 | 9:45 am Rumors The Ten Of 19 Banks Failed “Stress Tests” (WFC)(BAC)(C) Several news organizations are reporting that ten of the 19 banks subjected to “stress tests” will be asked to raise more capital. Since the firms are still debating with the government, the number could change. It is not clear whether the problem can be solved, at last at some of the banks, by converting preferred [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 May 2009 | 9:35 am Oz Minerals CEO to take job with Chinese miner OZ Minerals Ltd. says Tuesday that its Chief Executive Andrew Michelmore will step down and take a new executive role with China Minmetals Nonferrous Metals Co. Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 May 2009 | 9:35 am Lettings licensing scheme to crack down on 'cowboys' Housing campaigners have welcomed a licensing scheme for lettings agents aimed at protecting tenants from cowboy operators. Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 May 2009 | 9:29 am German retail giant Metro posts first quarter loss (AFP) AFP - The German retail giant Metro said Tuesday that its first quarter net loss deepened to 100 million euros (134 million dollars) as sales slumped amid a gloomy economic climate. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 May 2009 | 9:26 am RBS financial chief quits group The RBS finance director who presided over the UK's biggest ever corporate loss, is quitting the bank. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 May 2009 | 9:24 am Google (GOOG) And Apple (AAPL) Up Against Bogus Antitrust Probe The FTC believes that there may be an antitrust problem because two members of the Google (GOOG) board sit on the Apple (AAPL) board. One of those is Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The situation is almost certainly not a real problem. Would Schmidt share trade Apple trade secrets with his staff? Since it would cost him his [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 May 2009 | 9:22 am The dangers of failing to write your will Natascha McElhone feared she might lose her home after her husband died without leaving a will. Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 May 2009 | 9:12 am Adidas sees profits drop by 97% Sportswear giant Adidas says it may have to shut some of its stores amid a 97% fall in first quarter profits. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 May 2009 | 9:12 am Despite Signs To The Contrary, Real Estate Will Get Worse Warren Buffett said that the real estate business his company Berkshire Hathaway owns is seeing a small improvement in housing demand. The National Association of Realtors seemed to confirm his observations when it announced that the index for pending home sales went up in March. This data helped send the stock market higher as it [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 May 2009 | 9:11 am Despair And The Vision Of The New Economy A number of prominent American economists believe that the American economy has permanently lost its resilience and vitality. They believe that, for the first time in memory, America cannot rebuild itself after a severe economic  cataclysm and that the business base of the country is not creative enough or elastic enough to come back to [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 May 2009 | 9:04 am UBS cautious as losses stack up UBS confirms a quarterly net loss of 2bn Swiss francs and says it remains cautious as the economy continues to deteriorate. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 May 2009 | 9:04 am Mexico hits at China's quarantine policy A diplomatic row between China and Mexico escalated as the Mexican government prepared to airlift dozens of its citizens from the country in response to what it called discrimination in its quarantining practices for H1N1 swine flu Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 May 2009 | 8:59 am Florida bridge slammed as stimulus waste The most expensive item on Florida's list of economic stimulus projects is drawing fire from some residents and at least one public official, all questioning whether it's needed at all. Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 May 2009 | 8:40 am Fiat would keep German Opel plants, cut staff: report FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Fiat plans to keep all German Opel plants open should its takeover plans for the General Motors unit succeed but would cut staff there, Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne told a newspaper. Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 May 2009 | 8:34 am The government's new definition of rich Are you rich? If you make $250,000 a year, President Obama and Gov. David Paterson of New York think you are. The SEC disagrees. It tells financial firms that a high-net-worth individual is someone with at least $750,000 parked at a particular institution or someone the firm "reasonably believes" to have a net worth exceeding $1.5 million. Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 May 2009 | 8:25 am UBS 'cautious' after $1.7 billion loss Read full story for latest details. Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 May 2009 | 8:20 am UBS has cautious outlook as loss hits £1.16bn UBS, the Swiss bank that took a battering during the credit crisis, has warned that the worst may not yet be over as the deteriorating economy threatens to increase loan losses. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 May 2009 | 8:19 am FTSE 100 jumps to near fourmonth high The FTSE 100 rose more than 2pc on Tuesday to a near fourmonth high on renewed optimism about the global recession and stress tests at US banks. Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 May 2009 | 8:17 am BAA losses widen as debt costs spiral BAA revealed on Tuesday widening losses after passenger numbers at its airports fell for the second consecutive quarter and costs associated with its 9.5bn debt pile soared.The owner of Heathrow and Gatwick... Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 8:16 am RBS finance chief quits as US test lifts banks The finance director of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has quit, it emerged today, as shares in the part-nationalised group surged on expectations that the results from stress testing US banks will be better than expected. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 May 2009 | 8:14 am Adidas steps up shake-up as profits plunge Adidas reported a 97 per cent drop in first-quarter net profit on Tuesday, announcing at the same time that it would accelerate a corporate restructuring.The sportswear manufacturer also said that it expected... Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 8:12 am Fiat setback in plans for European group Fiat's plan to build a European car group with Chrysler and GM's German unit, Opel, began to hit obstacles as Berlin issued conditions for any Opel buyer,and dissident Chrysler creditors said a sale to Fiat would be 'patently illegal' Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 May 2009 | 8:05 am Metro loss widens on currency moves Metro, Germany's largest retailer, said its first-quarter loss widened as sales were hit by consumer reticence in western Europe while recession-induced exchange-rate swings drove down sales in eastern... Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 8:02 am Media Digest 5/5/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg According to Reuters, changes at Yahoo! (YHOO) are getting mixed reviews from employees. Reuters reports that ten banks could could have to raise new money after stress tests. Reuters reports that two top Fed officials think the recession will end this year. Reuters writes that Chrysler’s bankruptcy has brought many of its dealers to the brink of closing. Reuters [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 May 2009 | 7:59 am Wealth arm bears brunt of UBS cuts UBS's core Swiss and international wealth management businesses will bear the brunt of the 10,000 job losses planned to help the beleaguered Swiss bank save up to SFr4bn ($3.5bn, 2.6bn) a year by the end... Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 7:55 am BAA's loss widens as debt charges bite The owner of Heathrow loses £316.2m loss in the first quarter as debt charges compound falling passenger numbers. Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 May 2009 | 7:52 am Apple and Google 'probe launched' Apple and Google face an anti-trust inquiry into the role of shared board members, say US reports. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 May 2009 | 7:50 am Australian stocks: Market closes moderately higher MELBOURNE - The Australian share market gave up early strong gains to close moderately higher, buoyed by gains on resource stocks and a positive session on overseas bourses, At 1615 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 7.4 points,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 May 2009 | 7:49 am RBS parts company with finance director Royal Bank of Scotland confirmed the departure of Guy Whittaker the finance director at the partnationalised bank. Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 May 2009 | 7:37 am On the march French see job threat from EU move East Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 May 2009 | 7:35 am BAA flyers tumble as debt costs quadruple The full cost of BAA's debt was revealed today as the Spanish-owned UK airports operator said its interest payments had soared to £327 million in the first quarter. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 May 2009 | 7:33 am Asia Markets And Europe Open 5/5/2009 Markets in Asia were modestly higher. Japan was closed for a holiday The Hang Seng was up .2% to 16,405. The Shanghai Composite moved up .3% to 2,568. At the open in Europe, the FTSE was up .2%. The Dax fell .1% to 4,899. The CAC 40 was down .1% to 3,240. Data from MarketWatch and Reuters. Douglas A. McIntyre [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 May 2009 | 7:21 am Stock rally gains steam worldwide The Dow rises 2.6% as more 'green shoots' on the economic horizon fuel cautious optimism. Stock markets worldwide surged Monday on another wave of optimism that the worst is past in the global recession. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Housing crunch becomes literal in Victorville A bank cuts its losses on a failed 16-unit project by having the homes demolished. Curtis Forrester moved into a brand-new house in Victorville last week, but there was little time to enjoy the Jacuzzi and designer kitchen. He was there only to see it destroyed. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Surf and skateboard shop in San Clemente needs to stand out DBC Ride Shop is gambling on a prime new location to draw customers. Advice: Establish a niche with a narrower focus, new designers, grass-roots marketing and social media. DBC Ride Shop in San Clemente hit some rough waves in recent years as competition, the loss of a longtime location and an expensive experiment with snowboard gear drowned sales at the once-thriving skateboard and surf shop. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Supreme Court revives 'wardrobe malfunction' case An appeals court must reconsider its ruling sparing CBS a fine for broadcasting a split-second image of Janet Jackson's exposed breast during a Super Bowl halftime show in 2004. ... Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Chrysler heir shifts from idle to fully engaged Frank B. Rhodes Jr., the normally low-key great-grandson of the automaker's founder, Walter P. Chrysler, has for the last six months been waging a one-man PR campaign to save the firm. CHESTERTOWN, Md. -- Past Todd's Body Shop and a crab shack, across from a field of wheat on Route 291, hangs a modest sign for Frank B. Rhodes Jr., furniture maker since 1983. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Trump Baja project is turning into a legal battle of Trump proportions To angry buyers, the heart of the dispute over the failed luxury vacation home complex is this: If Donald Trump is identified as a project's builder, is he liable if the actual builder fails? Waves crash against a rocky shore while a couple stroll hand in hand on the beach. Poolside, a bartender is mixing up a batch of margaritas. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Chrysler heir shifts from idle to fully engaged Frank B. Rhodes Jr., the normally low-key great-grandson of the automaker's founder, Walter P. Chrysler, has for the last six months been waging a one-man PR campaign to save the firm. ... Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Boston Globe negotiations reach an impasse Talks between the newspaper's management and largest union snag largely over lifetime job guarantees. Management backs off -- at least temporarily -- a threat to begin the process of closing the paper... Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Stock rally gains steam worldwide The Dow rises 2.6% as more 'green shoots' on the economic horizon fuel cautious optimism. Stock markets worldwide... Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Santa Anita Park's owner gets OK to sell racetrack Magna Entertainment, which has filed for Chapter 11, needed a bankruptcy judge's approval to auction assets to pay down debt. The move won't affect the track's horse-racing schedule. ... Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Business leaders sharply critical of Obama's plan to crack down on overseas tax shelters They say the president's proposal would unfairly penalize U.S. companies that are trying to compete in global markets. President Obama's plan to crack down on what he called abuse of overseas tax loopholes was met Monday with quick and unusually sharp opposition from big business, threatening to produce the administration's first major confrontation with a broad segment of corporate America. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am Emulex rejects Broadcom's buyout offer The Costa Mesa networking equipment firm calls the $764-million bid too low. Emulex Corp. formally rejected an... Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 May 2009 | 7:00 am About 10 U.S. stress test banks to need more capital (Reuters) Reuters - About 10 of the 19 largest U.S. banks being stress tested will be instructed by regulators to raise more capital, according to a source familiar with official talks. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 May 2009 | 6:57 am About 10 U.S. stress test banks to need more capital WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 10 of the 19 largest U.S. banks being stress tested will be instructed by regulators to raise more capital, according to a source familiar with official talks. Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 May 2009 | 6:57 am Time to move on? Mexico starts battle to lure back visitors in wake of swine flu Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 May 2009 | 6:52 am AIG to post first-quarter loss, no new bailout: source (Reuters) Reuters - American International Group Inc is expected to post a first-quarter loss on Thursday, but the embattled insurer's results will not trigger a new capital injection from the U.S. government this time, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 May 2009 | 6:52 am Adidas issues warning amid 97% profit plunge Adidas, the German sportswear group, today issued a profits warning, blaming the global recession for a shock 97 per cent plunge in its quarterly pre-tax profits to just €5 million (£4.43 billion). Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 May 2009 | 6:43 am NZ stocks: Telecom helps market surge nearly 2pc The sharemarket's benchmark top-50 index closed above the 2800-point level for the first time since November 2008, pulling away from recent five-year lows. The NZSX-50 closed up 52.78 points, or 1.9 per cent, at 2819.05, following... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 May 2009 | 6:11 am Currency: Dollar holds steady The New Zealand dollar traded steadily today, as it benefited from stronger equity markets around the world. By 5pm, the kiwi was at US57.67c, up a little from US57.40c late yesterday afternoon and close to its session high of... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 May 2009 | 5:58 am Selling coffee becomes diacritical for McDonald's Starbucks is in the golden arches' sights. McDonald's -- never known for a delicate marketing touch -- is about to drop the mother of all campaigns on you, an everywhere-you-look, invade-your-dreams ad campaign in support of its McCafé specialty coffee drinks that will be not so much viral as bubonic. An estimated $100-million mega-buy across TV, Web, radio, print, outdoor and social media, the McCafé push beginning today will be, according to the company, its biggest "menu initiative" since it began serving breakfast in the 1970s. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 May 2009 | 5:39 am Is Chrysler's bankruptcy cloud becoming GM's silver lining? Now that Chrysler is in bankruptcy, bondholders at GM may see that threat as real, and be willing to negotiate a deal as the firm tries to reduce obligations to the union and creditors. Chrysler's woes could turn out to be a blessing for General Motors Corp., paving a clearer path for the troubled company to avoid bankruptcy. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 May 2009 | 5:34 am Asian stocks mixed ahead of US bank "stress tests" (AP) AP - Asian markets were mixed Tuesday after the previous day's big rally as investors turned cautious ahead of the U.S. government's "stress tests" for the 19 largest American financial companies later this week. Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 May 2009 | 5:04 am Aus Reserve Bank leaves cash rate unchanged at 3pc Canberra- The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has left the cash rate unchanged despite further signs of deterioration in the economy, which could see the unemployment rate hit six per cent this week. Economists and financial markets... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 May 2009 | 4:56 am Commodity export prices rise again - lamb up to record high Commodity export prices have risen for their second consecutive month, with a 2.5 per cent increase in April's ANZ Commodity Price Index the largest in nearly two years. The index, which had its first gain in March in eight months,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 May 2009 | 4:22 am Pending home sales climb, lifting recovery hopes The National Assn. of Realtors' index shows purchases rose 3% in March from February and 1% from a year earlier. A reported bounce in U.S. home sales Monday boosted hopes that the housing downturn was nearing its end and that the broader economy was moving toward recovery. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 May 2009 | 4:12 am Late to the Rally? Bet On Value Stocks (Screens) An odd thing happened on the way to financial oblivion last year. Stocks that started off cheaper than the broad market performed much worse than ones that didn’t. Value investors, as people who favor such inexpensive shares are called, understandably expected them to lead the market in 2009. Incredibly, they’ve continued to lag well behind — until just the past few weeks. So are value stocks finally ready to soar? Let’s first define the terms. “Growth” and “value" are wishy-washy descriptors, since all companies are meant to grow, and since just about any stock that will be worth more tomorrow is something of a value today. I prefer the terms “popular” and “unpopular.” Generally speaking, growth stocks are popular. They fetch prices equal to many times their current profits or asset values, on the assumption that their profits or asset values will grow quickly in coming years. Value stocks are less popular. They trade at lower multiples of their profits and asset values because they’re not expected to grow as quickly. There are no firm numeric cutoffs. Stocks exist in a spectrum between growth and value, not on either side of a fence. Hence, mutual funds and stock indexes labeled as growth and value often hold or track the same stocks. To get a clear read on how the two styles are performing, focus on benchmarks that have no overlap, like the S&P Pure Growth and Pure Value indexes. Last year, Pure Value lost 48%, while Pure Growth lost 39%. This year through April, Pure Value lost just under a percent, while Pure Growth gained 10%. That’s not normal. In past market downturns — from December 1980 to July 1982, from September 1987 to November 1987, from September 2000 to September 2002 — value stocks outperformed. They trade with less popularity, after all, so they have less of it to lose when stocks as a class lose luster. But value stocks are often cheap because of company flaws that, while perfectly manageable in a normal market downturn, can turn disastrous in a global financial flush like the one that began in earnest last fall. Investors during the worst bits of the past year stopped asking about the return on their money and started asking whether they will ever see a return of their money, reckons Robert Arnott, whose firm, Research Affiliates, manages indexes that skew toward value stocks. A close look at the numbers suggests value stocks might have recently broken free of the abuse. While they’ve trailed year-to-date, the damage happened early when the market was falling. Through May 9, the S&P 500 index dropped 25%. Pure Growth lost only 20%, while Pure Value plunged 44%. In April, when stocks rose, just the opposite: Pure Growth gained 15%, while Pure Value soared 32%. Below are listed a handful of members of the S&P 500 Pure Value index that still seem attractively priced.
Company	Ticker	Industry	Share Price	Trailing P/E	Yield (%)
Avery Dennison	AVY	Paper products	$28.42	11	5.8
Big Lots	BIG	Discount stores	28.35	15	n/a
Consolidated Edison	ED	Utility	37.36	12	6.3
McKesson	MCK	Drugs	39.11	10	1.2
Verizon Communications	VZ	Telecom	31.04	12	6

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Schlumberger Looks Like a Potential Gusher

INVESTORS WHO'VE LIVED THROUGH OIL-PATCH busts will tell you that, with oil-service stocks down about 60% from highs, the typical play is to buy the group before signs of an economic recovery become widespread. When demand revives, they'll all rise, the thinking goes, so there's no need to pay up for the more expensive shares of, say, Schlumberger , the biggest and arguably the best in the business.

No downturn is exactly the same, however. Oil-service pricing is falling fast in North America, thanks to an overbuilt land-drilling market that may take many years to mend, and to a drop in industrial demand for natural gas. This slump may require special stock-picking skill. Smaller oil-service companies leveraged to the U.S. market -- stocks that soared in previous up- turns -- may have a harder go of it this time.

With international oil-exploration markets likely to fare better, the attractions of Schlumberger (SLB) -- a wide range of product and service offerings and a diverse geographic footprint -- are magnified. And if the global economy begins to recover next year or in 2011, as many expect, Schlumberger's balance-sheet strength, technological leadership, management depth and long history of profit growth will likely give investors the best combination of safety and return.

The Franco-American company, now based in Houston, was founded in 1926 by brothers Marcel and Conrad Schlumberger. It supplies services such as well evaluation and directional drilling, among many others.

Though down big time, crude prices seem to be stabilizing around $40-$50 a barrel, and the sharp deterioration in global economic growth has abated, too. This is typically when savvy investors begin to look at oil-service outfits. Schlumberger stock dropped to 35 in February from a high near 115, before popping up to 50 a share. Even with the rally, the stock sells at a price/earnings valuation significantly below its historical median.

That represents a good opportunity for a patient investor to pick up shares of the world's best oil-service company at relatively cheap prices ahead of a global recovery. In response to sustained signs of life in the underlying commodity, Schlumberger's shares could rise 20%-25% in the next 24 months, to 60. And if there were a strong global rebound, the stock could wind up 50% higher four or five years down the road.

As oil prices collapsed to $50 a barrel from last summer's $145, and natural-gas prices fell to $3 per million British thermal units from $13 per mm BTU, many exploration outfits slashed exploration and production budgets. Revenue at oil-service companies, which help explorers drill holes in the ground or underwater, derive from E&P. In his annual survey of exploration budgets, James Crandell, a veteran oil-service analyst at Barclays Capital, figures E&P spending will drop 12% globally this year.

Things are far worse in North America, where the drilling-rig count is down 54%, to about 950 rigs from nearly 2,000 last September, according to Baker Hughes, an oil-service provider. Even a 50% recovery in rigs would leave capacity far too high, says Dan Rice, a BlackRock Advisors portfolio manager, who cautions investors away from oil-service companies overly exposed to U.S. land drilling.

Andrew Lees, lead manager of the AIM Energy fund (IENAX), concurs, saying "severe margin pressure will continue, especially in the U.S." He prefers to play an oil-service recovery through "big, diversified" names like Schlumberger, which has a market capitalization of $58 billion. "It's the Exxon of oil-service firms," says Lees, whose fund bought Schlumberger shares recently.

"EVENTUALLY WE WILL GET OUT OF THIS recession, and demand for oil services will increase," predicts Matt McCormick, a money manager at Bahl & Gaynor, which has added to a long-standing position in Schlumberger. "The company has a strong balance sheet, has never cut its dividend and, despite the tough times, showed good resiliency in the first quarter's results released April 24," he adds. It's also a "quasi-tech company dressed up as an oil-service firm," a big plus in a world where oil discoveries increasingly are in hard-to-get-to places.

In the first quarter, Schlumberger revenue fell to $6 billion from $6.3 billion, while net income dropped to $938 million, or 78 cents a share, from $1.3 billion, or $1.06, in the same quarter of 2008. At quarter's end, it had cash of $4.4 billion and a net debt position of about $1.5 billion. The ratio of total debt to total capital was a low 26%. In 2008, Schlumberger posted net income of $5.4 billion, or $4.45 a share, on sales of $27.2 billion.

That peak annual number isn't likely to be repeated soon. Analysts expect the company to post EPS of $2.57 this year and $2.47 next, for a P/E ratio of 19. In a conference call, CEO Andrew Gould gave a sober picture of 2009, noting the first quarter's better-than-expected results will be difficult to repeat, and that Schlumberger's 26% operating margins would weaken further. Drilling "activity continued to weaken around the world...and the rate of decline in revenues at oil-field services accelerated considerably," particularly in the U.S., he said.

Schlumberger also said it would reduce head count by about 5,000 beyond the 5,000 it has already cut. Cost reductions will allow the company to stabilize North America margins, said Gould, who doesn't see a potential cyclical upturn until mid-2010, assuming this is a typical oil-patch bust. Schlumberger declined to speak with Barron's.

Loomis Sayles analyst Bob Goodof says: "So few big oil projects were OK'd in the last few years [that] looking a few years out, if we get any more oil demand, even 1%...by 2011-2012 the fundamentals get better" for oil services. The stocks begin to discount that ahead of time, says Goodof, who likes Schlumberger as a "defensive" oil-service play.

That's why Schlumberger's shares represent good long-term value even at a P/E of 19 -- still well below the median P/E of 23 since 2004. Granted, the stock is up about $15 a share from its lows, but the long-term investor should look at what Schlumberger's EPS would average over the cycle. Given the $4.45 EPS peak and a typical 50% drop to trough profits, or about $2.25, a through-the-cycle normalized EPS of $3 for Schlumberger seems reasonable, if not conservative. Applying the company's typical 20-25 P/E gives a share range of $60-$75, though the higher number would likely require a full oil-demand recovery.

Why apply such lofty P/Es to Schlumberger? The company has produced average EPS growth of 40% since 1999, which includes times when oil prices were sharply lower than today's $50 a barrel. Nor is it all gloom and doom for a company with Schlumberger's global breadth. The U.S. oil-service market is flat on its back, but Mexico, Brazil and Russia show signs of life; even Iraq may need help soon.

Says AIM's Lees: The next peak in Schlumberger's EPS -- whenever that is -- could be $5. "It will get more than a 20 P/E. There's ample room for [shares of] a big company like Schlumberger to rise."

Of course, a bet on Schlumberger is inherently a call on oil prices. But investors can rest relatively easy because of its financial wherewithal. At some point the global economy will revive, and with it Schlumberger's shares.

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Swine Flu Fallout: Cheap Vacation Deals (Deal of the Day)

Health officials are seeing some evidence that the spread of swine flu may be starting to ebb. That’s obviously good news from a public health perspective — but it also means that travel bargain hunters may want to take a closer look at booking deals to destinations hit hardest by the hype.

Since the swine flu was first identified as a new strain on April 24, there have been 1,085 confirmed cases world-wide, including 590 in Mexico and 286 in the United States, reports the World Health Organization. In the past week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Union have both issued travel warnings for Mexico and, in the case of the EU, to the U.S. as well. But now it appears things are subsiding. Schools in Tennessee, New York and Arizona that shut down over swine flu concerns are now reopening or planning to do so in the days ahead. Mexico’s health minister Jose Angel Cordova announced Monday that the number of new cases being reported is starting to ebb and, as a result, the country plans to lower public alerts and allow businesses in Mexico City to reopen.

Nevertheless, the swine flu has taken a toll on popular travel destinations in Mexico and even Central America (where very few swine flu cases have been found). Some flights are almost empty, as are many hotel rooms. Continental Airlines was forced to reduce its capacity on routes to Mexico by 50% through the end of the month as a result of weak demand. Even prospective travelers seem to be steering clear: Travel review and advice web site, TripAdvisor.com, reports that it's seen a 50% drop in searches for Mexican destinations.

But is it safe to go now? A lot of people want to convince travelers that things are alright. The Mexican government is certainly hoping to do that by assuring everyone that Mexico City is ready to be reopened for business. The WHO says travel restrictions aren't necessary. And airlines are working hard to regain passenger confidence. Last week, German airline Lufthansa began stationing doctors on all its flights to and from Mexico, announcing that they will be there to detect and treat affected passengers.

Of course, while many experts agree that the hype has overshadowed the current level of risk, travelers may understandably feel anxious. But as long as they take standard precautions like washing their hands and avoiding obviously ill people they should be fine, says Dr. Alan Magill, a Washington, D.C.-based infectious disease specialist and president-elect of the International Society of Travel Medicine.

“If someone offered me an all-expenses-paid trip to Cancun, would I go? Yes, absolutely,” says Gerald Evans, an infectious disease specialist at Queen’s University in Ontario and president of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada. The exception: Infants, the elderly, people with compromised immune systems and others typically at high risk of serious flu complications should stay at home, he says.

So if you're feeling more comfortable amid the latest updates suggesting that the spread may be subsiding then you probably have a chance to beat the crowds back to some of these destinations and do so at a substantial discount.

Here are some of the current deals to Mexico (and beyond) that you can find:

Mexico City

Number of confirmed cases: 116 (confirmed in the states of Mexico and Hidalgo where Mexico City is located)

The epicenter of the pandemic, Mexico City has (understandably) been unpopular with travelers. Yet Mexican officials say the number of new cases reported has ebbed, and businesses will start to reopen in the days ahead. “The fares to Mexico City are, of course, very cheap,” says George Hobica, founder of fare-tracking site AirfareWatchdog.com.

Sample deal: Travelocity.com lists a round-trip flight from San Francisco to Mexico City on Aeromexico for $318 (travel dates are May 16 through May 22). Last year, that flight would have set you back an average $466, according to FareDetective.com. Total airfare savings: 32%. Want a place to stay? In Mexico City, the four-star Camino Real has dropped prices from $233 to $174 per night through May 13. You’ll save 25%. On the budget end, the already-affordable Hotel Prim cut its prices from $50 to $30 per night through May 13, a savings of 40%.

All photos from Getty Images

Cancun

Number of confirmed cases: Three (confirmed in the state of Quintana Roo where Cancun is located)

Airfares to this spring break haven have dropped by $10 to $50, reducing them to levels typically found during the off-season, says Hobica. Better still: Many airlines are extending current deals through prime winter travel season so you can lock in the low rates now and travel later.

Sample deal: Expedia.com is offering a mid-May round-trip flight on Aeromexico from New York to Cancun for $275. Last year, a similar flight cost an average of $478, according to FareDetective.com. That's a 41% drop year-over-year. Hotels are also slashing prices. Hyatt Regency Cancun cut its prices most nights through June to $85 a night down from $242 -- a savings of 65%.

Costa Rica

Number of confirmed cases: One

Travelers are already nervous about flying internationally because of the risk of illness and Costa Rica's proximity to Mexico isn't helping much, says Rick Seaney, CEO of booking site FareCompare.com. Thanks to the waning economy and the arrival of new budget airlines like JetBlue and Spirit, airfare to Costa Rica was already averaging well below the $500 benchmark for a May flight between New York and San Jose. Now travelers can save even more.

Sample deal: Orbitz.com has a flight from Philadelphia to San Jose on May 16 (returning May 22) on Delta for $369. Last year, that flight would have cost $606, reports FareDetective.com. Savings: 39%. Costa Rica is also a bargain place for summer rentals this year with some properties as much as 60% cheaper than in previous years. In San Jose, the all-inclusive, four-star Occidental Grand Papagayo is charging $257 per night through May, a 28% discount off its regular $356 rate.

Puerto Vallarta

Number of confirmed cases: None

Even though no cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Puerto Vallarta, the city still closed local businesses for almost two weeks as a precaution. Businesses reopen May 6, and when they do travelers should have plenty of deals to choose from.

Sample deal: U.S. Airways offers a round-trip flight from Seattle to Puerto Vallarta leaving May 16 and returning May 22 for $355, according to Farecast.com. Last year, that flight would have cost $481, according to FareDetective.com. You’ll save 26%. At the Westin Resort & Spa Puerto Vallarta, rates were slashed from $155 to $96 per night from May 16-30. A savings of 38%.

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10 Things Wine Merchants Won't Say (10 Things)

1. “You’re paying for prestige, not taste.”

Cruise the aisle of your local wine store. Take in the various vintages, and imagine the taste of a fine old Bordeaux on your palate. But before you grab that special bottle, notice the dizzying degree to which wine prices can vary, even for offerings that seem extraordinarily similar. Take, for instance, bottles of Mondavi Pinot Noir 1997 and Benton-Lane Pinot Noir 1998. They both come from the West Coast of the U.S. Their tastes are difficult to discern from one another. But then look at the price: The Mondavi, which sells for $110, costs twice as much as the $54 Benton-Lane.

What is such a price difference really about? In a word, prestige. “Expensive wines command high prices because they are produced in limited quantities or come from very specific geographic regions,” says Vic Motto, a wine industry consultant with Motto, Kryla and Fisher in California’s Napa Valley town of St. Helena. Motto cites the well-known Opus One—a joint venture of Robert Mondavi and Rothschild—as an example. Opus One’s 1980 cabernet sauvignon sells for a whopping $300 a bottle. “How much better is that than a $50 wine?” asks Motto. “Probably not three times as good. But it’s scarce, reliable, and prestigious.” According to a spokesperson for Opus One, that is pretty much the point. “I’d have to ask [Motto] which $50 bottle of wine he has in mind,” he says. “Will it have the cachet, the imprimatur of the Rothschild and Robert Mondavi families? No.”

2. “Our labels are misleading.”

Seeing the words “Napa Valley” on a wine label is reassuring. The area is known for its first-rate grapes, and many of the best American wines originate there. That explains why California wineries like to have their products associated with the region—even if the grapes were grown someplace far away. Such was the case with a wine called Napa Ridge, which is actually made from grapes grown in central, rather than northern, California. Similarly, CK Mondavi, owned by a member of the famed winegrowing family, slapped references to the Napa Valley all over the labels of its wines, which are produced from grapes grown elsewhere in California. In 2000 a California judge fined the Californiabased Bronco Wine Co., makers of Napa Ridge, $750,000, and CK Mondavi $300,000 over a labeling complaint. And in 2005 a ruling went into effect making it illegal to use a geographical name on a wine label unless 75 percent or more of the grapes in the wine come from that region. A 2006 law extended the ruling to include wines labeled as being from Sonoma.

The folks at CK Mondavi see the issue more benignly. “It was just a reference to where the winery was located, and it was originally okayed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms,” says John Garaventa, former brand manager at Mondavi. “Apparently they changed their mind.” Bronco Wine says, via a written statement, that in part “this was one of those notorious ‘gut and amend’ bills that started life as one thing and got hijacked to serve a special interest”—namely Napa Valley grape growers.

3. “Our favorite wines aren’t necessarily the best . . .”

You’re sitting in a restaurant, perusing a wine list loaded with unfamiliar names, and so you ask your waiter for assistance. He immediately suggests an offering, smiles, and tells you that it’s one of his personal favorites. What he doesn’t tell you is why. “Some wine companies offer incentives to waiters who move their products,” says Anthony Bourdain, chefat- large for Les Halles’ three locations, host of the Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and author of the bestseller Kitchen Confidential about the ins and outs of the restaurant business. “Wine salesmen spend a lot of time in their customers’ restaurants,” Bourdain explains. “They give away fancy corkscrews, signage, cute outfits, free cases.” In other words, it’s often in the waiter’s best interest to push one wine over another, even if it’s not the best value.

In some cases, the benefits may be too alluring to pass up. “I know of one waiter who is ferociously selling a not very good wine,” continues Bourdain. “The vintner maintains a château in Portugal, and the waiters who sell the most bottles of his wine get invited to stay there. I understand that the place is a Portuguese equivalent of Hef ’s pad.”

4. “. . . but you won’t notice anyway.”

Back in 1999 a group of British wine critics were challenged to try five wines, four of which were defective in some way, and as one of the participants, Richard Neill, wrote in London’s Daily Telegraph, “Thirty of the assembled tasters didn’t get a single correct answer [as to what was wrong with each wine], and not one person managed to get all five right.” The results of the test do beg the question: If the experts can’t tell the good from the bad, what chance does an amateur oenophile have?

Tim Kopec, wine director for the restaurant Veritas in Manhattan, reveals some sure signs that you have been handed a bad bottle. “When you smell the wine, you are looking for a flaw,” he explains, adding that you should at least hope for an agreeable, pleasant scent. If the wine smells like wet cardboard, Kopec explains, that means the wine has been “corked”—that is, become infected with a spore from the cork. If it smells acidic, like vinegar, the wine is spoiled. You should also be sure to aerate the wine with a swirl before tasting it. What if you’re still not sure whether or not the wine is flawed? Says Kopec: “Ask the sommelier [or waiter] to have a taste and give you his opinion.”

5. “Stay away from my wine of the week.”

Ever wonder why on certain trips to the wine store, various bottles are being offered at bargain-basement prices? Sometimes wines are on sale because merchants have gotten particularly good deals on them. But often there are other motivators at work. “Some places will push a wine because they have it in stock and it’s not moving,” explains Al Hotchkin, former owner of the esteemed New York City wine store Burgundy. Hotchkin was recently at a wine tasting where one of the star attractions was a French white wine. The people hosting the tasting bragged about having purchased the wine for about half its going price. After drinking it, Hotchkin realized that it was heavily reduced for good reason. “The wine tasted old and tired,” he says.

You should also be skeptical about those handwritten shelf tags that promote various wines—you know, the ones that promise a “velvety finish” and a “hint of blackberry”—as they may be little more than sales gimmicks. “Hopefully, those cute things written that adorn the shelves were written by the wine merchant after he tasted the wine,” says Hotchkin. “Less good is when the store copies it from a reputable review. The third possibility is something that I’d rather not think about.” What does he imagine it might be? “Creative writing.”

6. “The best regions often make for the worst deals.”

If you really wanted to get serious about wine, you’d spend some time traveling through obscure towns in France, checking out underappreciated wines from boutique growers. But because few wine lovers have that kind of time or money, they often find themselves at the mercy of liquor store sales staff who tend to play it safe by pushing familiar wines from familiar regions—and it doesn’t hurt if they’re on the expensive side. Robert M. Parker, who publishes the bimonthly newsletter Wine Advocate and is an editor at Food & Wine magazine, cites the much-touted Burgundy Chambertin vineyard as an example. “Three wines that come out of there are stupendous, six are good, and the rest range from mediocre to undrinkable,” he explains. “Yet they all sell for $150 to $300 per bottle. You’re paying for a legendary vineyard with a mythical reputation that often disappoints.”

Fortunately, it is possible to find good wines from little-known regions for bargain prices. That’s exactly what Kermit Lynch does for a living. Lynch is a Berkeley, Calif.–based wine importer who spends half the year scouring the French countryside for unknown wines. Most recently, Lynch has had a lot of luck in the South of France. Some of his favorites? A white varietal from Domaine de la Done for $7 and a sauvignon blanc from Domaine du Salvard for $9.

7. “We’ll ship you the bottles, but you might never get them.”

The Internet seems like a fabulous resource for wine—especially for hard-to-find bottles produced in limited quantities. Unfortunately, Internet wine retailers may or may not be able to deliver to where you live, legally speaking. In a hangover from the days of Prohibition, many states’ laws prohibit wine from being shipped across state lines—there are currently just 30 states where you can legally and unquestionably receive such a shipment. (To see where your state fits into all of this, go to www.wineinstitute.org.)

While Internet retailers have different ways of dealing with the problem, some just ignore it; that is, they’ll ship you wine wrapped in brown paper, regardless of what the law says. No harm, no foul, right? Not necessarily. The feds can seize illegally delivered wine, explains John Hinman, managing partner at Hinman & Carmichael, a San Francisco-based law firm that specializes in alcoholic beverage law. “You do run the risk,” he says. In Maryland, for example, “there have been a number of wine seizures, which tend to strike during the holiday season.”

8. “Your wine has been spiked.”

Because all wine essentially looks the same, the label goes a long way in guiding you toward what you want to drink. When something is identified as, say, cabernet sauvignon, that’s what you expect to be drinking. But what if the label also promises that the wine includes “natural flavors”? You might assume that means other grapes. Nope. In fact, the most likely mystery ingredients are fructose, water, and alcohol.

How do winemakers get away with spiking their product? Because the laws state that while all the grapes present in the wine must be named, the specifics of any additives do not need to be listed. Karen Ross, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers, is outraged by the laxity of the law. “It’s a rip-off to consumers,” she says. Ross also doesn’t like its inconsistency of winelabeling rules: Winemakers get fined when they “put less expensive grapes in with, say, their zinfandel grapes” without making it clear to consumers, she says, but when they acknowledge that so-called natural flavors are mixed in with a known varietal, they’re allowed to do it, “even though you have no idea what you’re drinking.”

9. “Wine is a rotten investment.”

As with all limited commodities, the value of a wine grows when demand exceeds availability. That is the idea behind investing in wine futures, fancy financial instruments that allow you to buy wine years before it is produced, at a discounted price. Then, the theory goes, you will wind up with a case of wine poised to grow in value as it ages to perfection.

Really, though, wine futures are only great to buy if you want the wine to drink, since they guarantee you an allotment of the wine in question. As an investment, “it’s pretty risky,” acknowledges Jake Sobotka, a financial adviser for Joshua Tree Imports in Duarte, Calif., who is also an avid wine collector and a frequent purchaser of wine futures—though only for vintages that he knows he’ll want to drink. “Yes, 1990 was a great year for Bordeaux, and you could have made a 50 percent return on your investment,” he says. “But if you bought Bordeaux futures for 1992, ’93, ’94, ’97, or ’98, you actually overpaid in relation to what the wine sold for when it was released.”

10. “Ignore the reviews I’m touting.”

Wine reviewers are everywhere, in upscale food magazines, in every newspaper, and on the Web. Merchants, of course, use this to their advantage, scouring the wide field of critics to find reviews that will best help them to promote the wines they most want to sell. But don’t be fooled. Those in the food and wine industry put limited stock in most of the reviews, and you should do the same. Only one reviewer is regarded as being completely beyond reproach and stunningly consistent: Robert Parker, whose bimonthly newsletter accepts no advertising. “Robert M. Parker is the god,” says Anthony Bourdain.

Upon hearing this adulation, Parker— who is partial to wines that are young and unctuous—points out that he was the first wine critic to “depart from the gravy train of being sponsored for trips and getting [four-star] treatment from the wineries. I pay my own way.” Parker also believes that his signature method of giving wines a numerical score (out of 100 points) has created a level of accountability for reviewers who use it. “If you give a wine a 90,” he says, “well, it better be a damned good wine.”

SMARTMONEY ® Layout and look and feel of SmartMoney.com are trademarks of SmartMoney, a joint venture between Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and Hearst SM Partnership. © 1995 - 2009 SmartMoney. All Rights Reserved.

Futures Turn Flat Before the Fed (Market Update)

News at a Glance

• Stressed Out: Roughly 10 firms told to lift capital levels.
• Flat Signals: Stock futures barely budge ahead of data.
• Ben Speaks: Bernanke to address Congress on state of economy.
• Democratic Reqest: Party seeks $94.2 billion emergency spending bill.

The Lowdown

The optimism that brought the S&P 500 back to its 2009 starting point was muted early Tuesday before the opening bell.

Stocks looked to open barely changed, as traders turned cautious before congressional testimony from the Fed and new data on the services sector. Shortly before 7:30 a.m., Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures were trading a bit above fair value.

In finance, several of the big-name firms took hits after a report that the government's stress tests revealed that about 10 out of the 19 banks examined should boost their capital reserves.

On Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke prepared to deliver the Humphrey Hawkins report on the state of the economy to the Joint Economic Committee. Bernanke is expected to portray conditions as having improved somewhat.

On Monday, two Fed officials offered slightly different target dates for a return to growth. Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker predicted growth by the end of the year, and Kansas City Federal Reserve President Thomas Hoenig said he expected a return to expansion in 2010.

Democratic lawmakers are pushing for an emergency spending bill of about $94.2 billion to fund continued operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and to better prepare for the possbility of a pandemic.

On the Nymex, oil prices slipped slightly ahead of the bell. By 5:59 a.m., crude traded down 14 cents at $54.33 a barrel.

Corporate News

• AIG (AIG) is preparing to post a record quarterly loss for the first quarter, but the firm does not plan to request or accept additional bailout money from the U.S. government, Reuters reported, citing an anonymous source. The loss would be AIG's sixth in a row. The insurer has accepted about $180 billion in bailout funds from the Treasury, including $80 billion in loans.
• UBS (UBS) posted a $1.75 billion first-quarter loss, in line with its guidance from last month, the firm said. UBS also said it expected the weakened economy to force the firm to expand its credit provisions.
• Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) are the subject of federal investigation regarding whether the composition of their boards constitutes an antitrust violation, The New York Times reported, citing anonymous sources. Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson each sit on both boards, which has become increasingly of concern to the FTC as the firms have become larger rivals in the telecom and operating systems markets.

The Economy

• The April reading of the Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Managers' Index for the services sector is scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. The ISM index stood at a reading of 40.8 in March. Economists predict the index will have risen to an April reading of 42.0. A reading of less than 50.0 indicates the sector is contracting.

SMARTMONEY ® Layout and look and feel of SmartMoney.com are trademarks of SmartMoney, a joint venture between Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and Hearst SM Partnership. © 1995 - 2009 SmartMoney. All Rights Reserved.

Speed-Dating for Small Businesses

LIKE SPRINTERS THEY CHARGED into the room—350 small-business proprietors, wearing dark suits and no hint of economic desperation. They queued up in lines two-dozen deep in front of folding tables, each waiting for a two-minute chance to make a pitch to a venture capitalist or angel investor. And two minutes really meant two minutes: A plastic yellow egg timer sat on each table.

The scene was a venture-capital conference in New York City, sponsored by the networking group FundingPost.com. These events might look familiar to anybody who’s attended one of those employment fairs where businesses meet job seekers. At these affairs, in contrast, the entrepreneurs pay for a chance to pitch their ideas. And unlike job fairs, which have been dwindling as employers ratchet back hiring in a dismal economy, the numbers of venture investment conferences is holding constant, according to organizers like the FundingPost, Red Herring and the International Business Forum. It turns out the downturn hasn’t derailed venture investing as much as it has initial public stock offerings or small-business lending. While venture investing in general dropped in 2008, “seed” investing focused on companies in their earliest stages rose 19 percent from the previous year, to $1.5 billion, according to a survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. That’s enough of a carrot to lure would-be billionaires and their business plans to conferences all over the country.

At this affair, in a cavernous meeting room lent by sponsor Credit Suisse, a $125 ticket bought wine, goat cheese crostini and the chance to court Mr. or Ms. Bulging Wallet. About 65 angel and venture investors stood ready to catch the pitches. These gatekeepers were unfailingly patient and polite—and young. At least half the venture capitalists were in their 20s, while the entrepreneurial faces across the tables were, generally speaking, at least a decade older. The pitchers were also, often, better dressed. One scruffy dude with a brown backpack was the odd entrepreneurial duck. The stereotypical college-dropout founder, à la Bill Gates, is so last decade; Howie Schwartz, of FundingPost.com, says the average age of the folks doing the pitching has been rising steadily.

Do these speed-dating sessions ever lead to pay dirt? Apparently. While the odds are lottery-like, the dozen or so venture capitalists we spoke to each had a story of someone they’d met at a conference and later funded. “It’s a good way to start a relationship,” says Jeanne Sullivan, of StarVest Partners, who attends a half-dozen shows a year.

We watched the evening’s proceedings and then polled the investors for some tips on what impresses them—and what makes them wish the egg timer were a vaporizing gun. The consensus is that to win at this game, business founders must clearly but passionately explain who they are, what stage of development they’ve reached, how much money they seek, and what their company will do for the world—in two minutes, tops. “Fifteen seconds is even better,” quips Sullivan. These tips can improve your shot at the brass ring.

Know your stage

“Many VCs are stage-specific,” says Schwartz, meaning they prefer to get involved only at certain steps of a business’s development. Firms like New York’s Argentum Group, for example, want to invest in later-stage companies that already have $5 million or more in sales. In contrast, First Round Capital, of West Conshohocken, Pa., will consider “prerevenue” companies that are still in the prototype phase. (Guess who had the longer line?) So entrepreneurs will want to look for investors that fit their place in the growth cycle.

Solve a problem

In this cost-conscious climate, venture capitalists want products that solve burning issues. “Get to the pain point fast,” advises Maneesh Sagar, of Connecticut Innovations. You might say, for example, “My service automates data collection normally done by seven analysts and saves $500,000 a year.” Try to avoid buzzwords that aren’t attached to specific goals. “People say they manage business intelligence or use a cloud platform,” says Schwartz. “No one really knows what that means.” Also be prepared to explain why you’d succeed even as consumer spending is taking a powder. At the New York event, a jewelry maker whose items cost $65,000 each waited in line to speak to Phineas Barnes, of First Round. Barnes asked her why she wasn’t concerned about selling luxury goods in a recession. She stammered that her customers were so high-end they weren’t affected. Red flag.

Go easy on gimmicks

Some venture investors didn’t object to being given potted plants to promote an agribusiness or a cupcake for a bakery chain. But gimmicks can be risky. One guy at a Seattle event wore a costume to promote his publishing company, “but his Mickey Mouse ears were distracting,” says Schwartz. Sita Vasan, of Intel Capital-Digital Home, remembers when an overzealous entrepreneur promoting a Chinese clothing line insisted that she accept a silk tie. When she politely declined, he continued to push her. “It felt like bribery!” she said, wincing. Meet-and-greets are not tourist rug bazaars.

Leave the business plan at home

A one-page summary is all you need for an elevator pitch—and even then, ask if you may leave it. “People foist their paper on us,” says Vasan with distaste, adding that a business card will do. On that note, we shouldn’t have to say this, but if you want to make a businesslike impression, a casual e-mail handle—e.g., Stacyloveshorses@gmail.com—isn’t going to fly. To make a small business look bigger, founders can get an 800 number and a virtual receptionist through customer-service company Angel.com for as little as $40 a month.

Leave time to listen

After your spiel, take a breath and let the investor react. If the response is favorable, ask, “What’s the next step?” If it’s not, ask if he could refer you to anyone else. If after you’re done, your interlocutor won’t look up from his BlackBerry or his sandwich, move on.

Along with their tips, the investors we spoke to offered some foolproof methods for blowing your chances. Among them: claiming that your product is so unique that you have no competition, making hockey-stick revenue projections and stating that you will be bought by Google. A subtler flaw is to be young and inexperienced and to appear unaware of that. If it’s possible you could be perceived as wet behind the ears, acknowledge your inexperience; it might also help if you make it clear you’re looking for a better-seasoned teammate. Sullivan says she wants people with entrepreneurial spirit but who also have a track record of “making grass grow on bare ground.”

The odds of breaking through are never great. Schwartz says out of the several thousand entrepreneurs who traipse through FundingPost events each year, the moon and stars line up perfectly for about a half dozen, who find venture capital, and double that number, who secure smaller funding commitments from angel investors. At our New York meeting, one entrepreneur in his mid-40s seemed to have the right touch. He and James Lockhart of Greenhill Partners, a New York tech and business-services venture firm, spent a few moments watching a demonstration on the entrepreneur’s iTouch screen. Then Lockhart uttered the words that every entrepreneur in that room craved more than the sliced turkey and unlimited merlot: “Would you mind leaving us your information?”

SMARTMONEY ® Layout and look and feel of SmartMoney.com are trademarks of SmartMoney, a joint venture between Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and Hearst SM Partnership. © 1995 - 2009 SmartMoney. All Rights Reserved.

Auckland house prices 'starting to rebound'

Fletcher Building raises $100m

Banks slow to cut mortgage rates, says English

APN cuts profit forecast in challenging markets

Banks issue challenge on mortgage rates

Obama squares up to corporate America

TPG highlights buy-out woes

Swan Hunter's iron giants find a new home in India as shipbuilders go through dry spell

Fiat's bold bid to create car supergroup runs into opposition in Europe and US

Europe in Recession

Hear: Fears Of A Clown

Funky shoes: $300 Clownsoport

 

On today's Planet Money:

-- Figuring a little cushion couldn't hurt, West Virginia's Centra Bank borrowed $15 million from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Then CEO Douglas Leech decided TARP's restrictions weren't worth the hassle and moved to repay the money. Getting out cost the healthy bank $750,000, for complicated reasons. Now David Kestenbaum has the chance to live his radio dream: Stopping his NPR story midway so he can explain it for the rest of us.

-- When the Treasury announces the results of the banking stress tests this week, says Douglas Elliott of the Brookings Institute, we'll be looking at numbers based on a lot of information and a slew of judgment calls. Elliott, who's got a new paper out on the tests, says the real test for the economy isn't the toxic assets, but the growing defaults on far more ordinary loans.

-- It's tough out there for a clown. Mandy Dalton takes apart the business of buying $300 shoes for entertaining kids in the middle of a deep recession and a swine flu panic.

Bonus: The corporate tax loopholes President Obama wants to close.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Crystal Castles' "Untrust Us." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr

Marc Chandler, a currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman, sent over a primer on President Obama's announcement about a move to end overseas tax shelters for companies. Chandler says he's all for the plan.

The counter-argument, I'll just say, is that the economy depends on the free movement of capital and that companies are supposed to maximize profits, including by moving capital overseas and seeking every legitimate tax advantage.

Back to Chandler's primer, which is a touch technical but not frighteningly so. It starts with a "check the box" rule that took effect in 1997:

Initially adopted to reduce paperwork (and who is not in favor of that?), it allowed business to classify their corporate structure in the most tax efficient (minimization?) without triggering an IRS challenge. These rules, so the critics argue, were gamed and multinationals apparently created subsidiaries whose sole purpose was to shift profits to low tax countries. One the corporate assets were in in the low tax country, the multinational parent would borrow from the subsidiary. The interest payments were deductible from the US tax and tax fee in the tax-havens.

The Clinton Administration, which had initially adopted the rules, quickly realized their shortcomings and tried to rescind them, but ran into blow-back from companies and their legislative allies.

The other parts of Obama's proposals are reportedly modeled on proposals form the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee from 2007. These include a proposal to defer most expense deductions, including for interest paid, until the US tax is paid on the foreign income. Under current practices, a US company can deduct 35% of interest paid to a foreign-based subsidiary that owes little or no tax to its host country. Obama seeks to close this window for tax arbitrage, which in effect reduces the corporate tax burden at the expense of the US Treasury. The Obama Administration appears to be compromising here as some wanted an outright repeal of these rules.

Another part of Obama's plan addresses the foreign tax-credit rules. US rules gives companies a dollar tax credit for every dollar in foreign taxes it pays. US companies are projected to use this rule to "save" about $4.3 bln a year.

The key point regarding the Administration's plans is that they can still be rejected by a blue-ribbon panel appointed by Obama and led by Paul Volcker. Like other developments in the new Administration, panels and reviews are conducted, but the President is not waiting for them to conclude before moving ahead.

The Obama administration says shuttering the tax havens will generate something like $210 billion over 10 years. Chandler puts the number closer to $190 billion.

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Write-Offs: 05.04.09

$$$ "American International Group Inc., the insurer rescued four times by the U.S., may post first-quarter results this week that don't trigger a new capital injection from the government, said three people familiar with the matter. " [Bloomberg]

$$$ Adviser Sees Profitable Chrysler By 2012 [Dbook]

$$$ The SEC has strong words for Sir Allen Stanford [FT Alphaville]

US banks surge on test hopes

The Dow Jones industrials' moves since Lehman fall (AP)

The Dow Jones industrials' moves since Lehman fall (AP)

Porsche and VW to clash over rescue plan

Malpass Says Mortgage Rates Should Have Moved Lower, Faster

Onion Tells It Straight-ish

Judging from the messages you're sending, the Planet Money audience has fallen in love with this from the Onion: "Nation Ready To Be Lied To About Economy Again." Frank Carlson called it "writing lies to tell the truth" and picked out a key bit.

"I don't need to be constantly reminded that the lack of regulations on Wall Street compounded with failing institutions like AIG basically plunged the world economy into a global recession," said 32-year-old office manager Alexis Harrington. "What I want is for someone to tell me with a straight face that the GDP is through the roof so that I can feel better and instantly forget what all these terms even mean."

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Hopes for end to inventory cuts grow

Diebold agrees to pay $25M to settle charges (AP)

How the major stock indexes fared Monday (AP)

Ritholtz Says `Bad Policy' to Throw Money at Ailing Companies

Limited Time Left To Break Up Negotiations Between Shia LaBeouf And Wall Street 2 Producers

'Cause this thing is being slapped together ASAP, people. Oliver Stone was in the Power Merchant Group's office at 40 Wall Street Friday for about just under an hour, scouting locations for the sequel, tentatively scheduled to start shooting this summer. (In related news, PMG is the employer of Oyster Boy, meaning there's a chance we'll get that shellfish eating contest plotline yet!)

Update: The clock is ticking faster than we thought. O-stones was spotted on the floor of the NYSE today, presumably searching for money shots.

Earlier: Casting the Wall Street Sequel

Peabody Says Bank Stress Tests Are About Capital, Not Pass-Fail

Cloud computing is for the birds

Achuthan Says U.S. Economy Is Moving Closer to Recovery

What Does Jamie Know That You Don't?

That as it travels through the galaxy it manages to suck towards its center, all the nearby available mass until, growing and growing, it finally manages attractions of such force that not even bid-ask spreads can escape it. It is... too big to fail and you will see more of it, once a few of them fail and get acquired.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon on Monday said he expects America's biggest banks will continue to gain market share, and that the financial industry is ripe for more consolidation.

Mr. Dimon, speaking on a conference call with investors and analysts, said the financial crisis will continue to restructure the banking industry for some time. He expects more deals will be done, and doesn't rule out an acquisition for his own company that will add more branches.

He expects deals might pick up once major U.S. players receive results of the government's stress tests this week. The nation's 19 biggest financial companies are expected to receive their results late Wednesday.

J.P. Morgan's Dimon Expects Bank Consolidation to Accelerate [The Wall Street Journal]

Pioneer's Carey Says U.S. Stocks Are on `Upswing'

Wells Fargo asked to raise money after stress test

Fortress President Michael Novogratz: "I just like wrestlers. For me this is about wrestling culture...about male bonding in a lot of ways...there are 450 people here, probably all men."

Here's Fortress prez Mike Novogratz, clad in a snakeskin jacket that he claims to have made himself, getting misty-eyed talkin' wrestling at last week's gala for "Beat the Street" (a program that funds middle and high school wrestling teams).

Related: Inside Fortress

Freak Out: Jimmy Choo Sale

Our pal Dan Pashman shot this video on Thursday in Manhattan. Pashman writes:

On my way to work, I came across a long line. A really long line. A line that would make Walt Disney jealous. There's an unemployment office near my office, and a few months ago there was a pretty long line there for a job fair. So I figured this was probably for another job fair.

I was wrong. The line was for a Jimmy Choo sample sale.

As the women in the line were happy to explain to me, Jimmy Choo shoes are very desireable. (They were made especially popular by the ladies of "Sex and the City.") Now Jimmy makes more than shoes, and like all designers, when he goes to convince stores to carry his new lines, he shows them samples. When those samples become outdated, they get sold off at bargain-basement prices, like $75 for shoes or $150 for a bag.

And as I later found out, a Jimmy Choo sample sale is especially exciting. So exciting that a woman I spoke to who was almost at the front of the line said she'd been waiting for nearly 2 1/2 hours.

I filmed the line and did not speed the footage up, in order to give you the most accurate possible picture of just how long people will wait to buy shoes.

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Ciocca Says Some U.S. Banks Will Need to Raise Capital

Stop That Bus!

We wonder how healthy it is to stand in front of a moving bus, particularly one bearing the hopes and dreams (and fantasies) of a restored, vibrant Chrysler. You know, the Chrysler that the "money people" almost ruined, but was saved at the last moment by diligent, purposeful leaders who weren't going to allow the American Dream of Car Ownership be tainted by something so trivial as [fill in the blank]. There's a lot of mass in that bus. So standing in front of a 363 sale with a hand-held stop sign might be a dangerous idea.

Seeking to stop Chrysler's speedy sale in bankruptcy court, a group holding portions of the automaker's senior secured debt filed an objection to the deal Monday, calling it rushed, unconstitutional and the result of a "tainted" sales process.

A judge had been scheduled to consider Chrysler's sale motion at a 10 a.m. hearing Monday morning in federal bankruptcy court in New York, but consideration of the sale motion was postponed until Tuesday afternoon.

In a long document filed Sunday evening, Chrysler asked a judge to approval a sale of most of its assets and some of its liabilities for $2 billion to an entity formed by Fiat, the United Auto Workers' retirement trust and the United States and Canadian governments.

In Monday's objection, a group of debtholders advised by the law firm White & Case criticized the proposal as too rushed, arguing that it was unreasonable to rule on the merits of the sale on "15 hours' notice."

Wimps. When we worked in big law you got 3 hours notice and liked it.

Chrysler's Holdout Lenders Object to Sale [DealBook]

Nothing To Fear: UBS Will NOT Be Wiped Out By Swine Flu

As part of the firm's protocols for pandemic alert Phase 5, we are issuing flu kits to all employees due to the Influenza A/H1N1 (swine flu) virus pandemic or other flu-related outbreak in the future. The kits are being issued as a precautionary measure. Our established pandemic plan at UBS includes providing these kits for our employees at a time when the supplies might otherwise be difficult to obtain.

Kits will be available for all employees and contractors. Supply is limited, so only one kit will be issued per person, and you must collect your kit in person. Information on exact contents and usage guidance is provided with the kits.

Additional communications will be sent for building/floor distribution.

Levitt Sees Eventual Hedge Fund Registration, Disclosure

50 Mother’s Day Gifts Under $50

As in every other category of life, people will be spending less on Mother’s Day this year. Fortunately, that doesn’t limit the variety of gifts that will make your mom happy this year. Here are 50 Mother’s Day gifts that cost $50 or less:

1. Framed photos or kids’ art. Hobby retailers like Joanne’s offer discount frames for photos and art. Meanwhile, Costco offer dirt cheap, high-quality photo printing. If you shop frugally, you can give your mother a professional-looking framed picture for less than $40. She’ll love it.

2. Maid service. Many maids charge between $20-30/hour. Give your mom a welcome break by hiring house help for an hour or two.

3. A picnic. Pack a basket with reasonably-priced wine, cheese, crackers, fruit, finger sandwiches, and cookies, then take your mom out to a beautiful place for a picnic. Active moms might enjoy a hike or bike ride to a scenic spot; otherwise, drive to your local beach, lake, viewpoint, or park, and enjoy one another’s company.

4. An outing. Your mom is sure to appreciate a trip to your local botanical garden, arboretum, animal sanctuary, museum, or other budget-friendly place of interest. Your company will matter just as much to her as the setting—or more.

5. Spa treatment. Spa Week is over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find an inexpensive treatment for your mom. Many spas offer promotions or coupons to lure in customers on Mother’s Day. You can also select a less expensive option from the spa menu, like a manicure or pedicure. Your mom will feel pampered, and you won’t feel broke.

6. Brunch at a restaurant. Some restaurants offer free meals for moms on Mother’s Day. Shop around for promotions and coupons, and you may be able to score one for under $50 for you and your mom.

7. Dinner of the Month Club. Give your mom the gift of delicious free food with a dinner of the month club membership. A couple of months could cost you under $50, depending on the club. Or try a chocolate, cheese, or coffee of the month club. Gifts.com has a selection of 30 different types of clubs.

8. Wine, chocolate, or cheese tasting. Take your mom out for a special day of sampling local wines, cheeses, or chocolates. Many wineries charge less than $10 for a tasting visit. If you’re lucky enough to live near a chocolatier or creamery, see if they offer tastings. Otherwise, you can create your own cheese or chocolate plate with gourmet cheese purchased at the supermarket, and have a tasting session at home.

9. A night at a bed & breakfast. Look for off-season deals in less-travelled places, and you could score a room at a B&B for $50 or less. Have your dad, or whoever will be sharing the room with your mom, chip in another $50, and you’ll have a better selection of rooms. If everyone in the family chips in, you could get mom some much-appreciated luxury.

10. Cooking class. Though many cooking classes run on the expensive side, your local community college, YMCA, or even cooking school might have a class for $50 or less. Look for promotions. Other alternative for Mom include online cooking classes or personal chef consultations in her own kitchen (look on Craigslist for personal chefs). Your mother will be pleased at a chance to improve her cooking skills with a pro.

11. Help her with chores. Give your mom a day off by doing the grocery shopping, helping in the garden, or cleaning the house.

12. Breakfast in bed. This oldie but goodie is still a sure winner with most moms. Find recipe ideas here.

13. Home video. Make a home video of you and the kids. Create a theme around why you appreciate mom or grandma. Put it on a DVD for her, and play it on Mother’s Day. She’ll have treasured memories to keep forever.

14. Photo album. Create a photo album of you and the kids. It doesn’t have to be a big photo album. Most thrift stores sell an abundance of smaller photo albums. Decorate the cover and dedicate it to Mom.

15. Gas card. Not the most intimate of gifts, but a good, practical one for the upcoming summer road trip season.

16. Scrapbook of memories with Mom. Find some pictures of your family, your mother, you and your mother, and your kids. Have the kids join in to create a scrapbook dedicated to fun and good times with mom. More on how to create a scrapbook. http://www.scrapbookscrapbook.com/beginners.html

17. A book. Buy your mom a book she’s been meaning to read. Couple the book with a card telling her you’ll make her breakfast or do errands for the day. That way, she’ll have time to start reading it.

18. Custom tote bag. Most hobby stores sell canvas tote bags for rock-bottom prices. Use fabric paint, stamps, and even your kids’ handprints to decorate the bag. Moms love these personalized, practical gifts.

19. A houseplant. An exotic houseplant or flowering garden plant is a lasting gift that your mom can enjoy every day.

20. Seed packets or vegetable plants for your mother’s garden. Seed packets will still work for locations with a long growing season. Otherwise, buy your mom some baby tomato, pepper, or basil plants for her garden.

21. Gardening kit. Put together a homemade gardening kit with a bag of soil, bags of seeds, bulbs, or several plants, a spade, gloves, and anything else your gardening mom might appreciate. Put everything inside a big pot or basket, and tie it together with a bow.

22. Homemade gift basket. EHow has a step-by-step guide on how to make your mother an inexpensive gift basket.

23. Memory jar. Write six of your favorite memories on colorful strips of paper. Have your siblings or kids each add six of their own. Please the strips inside a big Mason jar. Decorate or paint the jar, and tie it with a bow.

24. Make her dinner. Create a menu and decorative table setting. Cook something fancy or special, like tapas. Finish it off with your mom’s favorite desert.

25. Pottery painting. Most cities have DIY pottery shops, where your mom can select a ceramic piece for as little as a couple of dollars, paint it herself, and get it professionally glazed and kilned. Sign your mom up for a class, or, better yet, join her for a painting session.

26. Movie date. Treat your mom to a movie. Buy her popcorn and soda. Make it a surprise.

27. Print coupons. Visit online coupon sites and print out coupons that your mother can use—the more, the better. Arrange them into a custom coupon book.

28. A Bag, Borrow or Steal item. You can get your mom a Gucci purse for a week for less than $50 with a designer rental outlet like Bag, Borrow, or Steal. It’s a fun way to help her live it up, style-wise.

29. Homemade baked goods. This gift works especially well if you have kids. Bake your mom cookies, a cake, brownies, or even homemade chocolate. Have the kids pitch in with baking and decorating the goodies. Place them on a nice plate (if you can customize that, even better), wrap them in pretty cellophane, and top them off with a bow.

30. Aromatherapy and a soothing CD. Buy your mom a small bottle of essential oil and a relaxing CD—or make your own custom CD for her. Take it a step up by mixing the essential oil with Epsom salts and bottling the mixture just for your mom.

31. A concert. If your mother’s favorite big-name artist is too pricey, go for a smaller name in her genre of choice. Summertime jazz concerts, symphonies, and lunchtime shows are often discounted—check out your city’s summer schedule for more details.

32. Potted herbs for the kitchen. We can’t emphasize it enough—plants, rather than flowers, are a good idea for mother’s day. If your mom already has enough houseplants, try some potted basil, sage, thyme, or rosemary for her window sill. She can chop and use the herbs whenever she wants.

33. A letter. Handwrite a letter of gratitude to your mom on nice stationary, then mail it to her in time for Mother’s Day. You can’t beat the personal touch—or price.

34. High-quality chocolate. You can purchase some seriously fancy chocolate for far less than $50. Visit your local Whole Foods or specialty store for rare, fancy, and foreign chocolate.

35. A donation to your mom’s favorite charity. Plant a tree, educate a child, or help cancer research in your mom’s name. Most charities offer gift cards or e-cards for gift donations. This website has more.

36. An edible arrangement. Buy your mom flowers she can eat. People love these innovative bouquets, most of which cost less than $50.

37. Magazine subscription. Most magazine subscriptions are dirt cheap right now. Look for deals on your mom’s favorite magazine, from Elle to the New Yorker, which is amazingly going for $40/year at time of writing.

38. Perfume. Buy Mom a couple of small perfume samplers, or look for one of a wide range of quality perfumes under $50. If she has expensive taste, ask your local retailer for perfumes similar to her favorite scent that are also within your price range.

39. Mother’s Day cruise. Avoid pricey dinner cruises and go for a lunch cruise, which is often up to $40 cheaper.

40. A beading set. Crafty moms will appreciate a custom-made set of beading wire, clasps, and handpicked beads. You can purchase a wide range of beautiful items at your local bead store for little money.

41. Sandals, flip flops, or espadrilles. Women love pretty shoes, especially during the summer sandal season. Find some cute, open-toed shoes that your mom might like to strut. Most cost less than $50.

42. Cosmetics. Even one good bottle of mascara can make all the difference in a woman’s makeup set. Finding a couple of high-quality pieces of makeup or cream for your mom will make her day. Avoid wrinkle creams and deodorant.

43. A bottle of her favorite alcohol. This could include a wine, sherry, a keg of beer…whatever will make your mom happy.

44. Yoga or massage items. The yoga/massage genre is a big hit among moms. Pilates foam rollers, self massagers, eye pillows, and inspiration books usually only set you back around $20. Buy them online for better deals.

45. A babysitter and a date. If your mom still has kids to care for, buy her a night off by hiring a babysitter, then taking her out to dinner or a movie.

46. Book of kids’ artwork. Compile a homemade book of your childrens’ artwork. Have them make a fancy cover for it, and bind it with string. Mom will love flipping through the masterpieces.

47. Custom doormats. Buy inexpensive doormats, then have your kids step on latex paint, then leave their colorful footprints on the mat. This gift is especially good for proud grandmas.

48. Personalized jewelry. Design custom bracelets, pendants, and other jewelry using photographs and engraved names. Many online retailers offer this kind service.

49. Wind chimes. Outdoors, they make pleasant sounds; indoors, they’re good feng shui. Wind chimes, like these Japanese pond bells, are inexpensive and attractive.

50. Beach gear. A nice wrap, beach towel, pair of cute sunglasses, or floppy hat will help your mom enjoy the upcoming summer season in style.

Trouble Even Working For Free

Nonprofits across the country have seen a surge in volunteers since the recession started -- a sharp contrast after several years of a declining U.S. volunteer rate.

These days, when people get laid off, it seems the first thing many of them do is search for something to do, even if it's working for nothing.

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Grim plot twist for Bollywood

Whither The Ironmen?

Where'd everybody go?Jeff Erenstone

 

Jeff Erenstone writes:

I live in Lake Placid, NY, the site of the Ironman, USA. My house and office overlook the road that both the bike and run course use. Every year people flock to Lake Placid to train on the course before July 26th, the race date. In years past, as soon as the snow melted away and the weather gets nice, I would see hundreds of people training every weekend on the course. This year there are a lot fewer athletes.

This does not mean that there are fewer people doing the event.

Race registration opened the day after the previous year event and the race filled up within an hour after registration opened. But instead people are taking fewer trips to Lake Placid to train for the race.

Ironman Triathlons generally attracts people with more professional incomes. Most years athletes drive up from the cities, stay in the hotels, and train on the course so they feel totally prepared for the event, Some people will drive up every week for the months before the event. Most years there are so many riders, that the road are completely fill with bikers and driver get upset. This year people seem to be opting to stay at home and not incurred the added cost of training here. Drivers are happier.

In response to the massive amount of training athletes we normally get, my family have made up a little song for them: "Iroman, Ironman, doing the things that an Ironman can."

We have not been singing it much this year.

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German students: Nein on tuition fees

Putting swine flu worry into scope

Poetry in work

Fewer workers, less traffic

GM needs to focus on innovation

Fiat eyes GM Europe deal, aims to grow

Treasury, banks negotiate stress tests

Volcker Sees Indications U.S. Economy Is Leveling Off

SEC's Schapiro Seeks Rulemaking Power Over Hedge Funds

The Paradox Of Cutting Pay

Road to recovery. Apripom/Planet Money Flickr pool

If you're looking for the news, take these: Citigroup and Bank of America are out in the weeds looking for $10 billion each in fresh capital, ahead of the stress tests results expected on Thursday. Fiat wants a chunk of GM, too, not just Chrysler. President Obama's intent on kicking over corporate tax havens, and on making Pell Grants for college an entitlement program like Medicare and Social Security.

But that's not where my heart is. I spent yesterday talking to a guy who's nearing the end of school and hoping to become a teacher. His advisor's telling him this is the worst year he has seen for placing new teachers in 20 years. I tried to tell him, hey, even your parents don't have a model for this kind of job market -- it's bound to let up at some point. And you could see it cheered him not a whit.

Then Paul Krugman got me today with his column on wage deflation. A lot of you have told us about cuts in wages, either in your same old jobs or in the new ones you were lucky enough to find after getting laid off. At NPR, we're looking at what feels like a modest pay cut, in the form of five furlough days and the ending of certain paid holidays. Krugman writes that furloughs may save jobs at the level of the individual company, but they're bad for the overall economy.

For starters, Krugman describes pay cuts are a race to the bottom. As more workers from more companies undergo them, those companies lose any competitive advantage from cheaper labor. And there's more:

John Maynard Keynes put it clearly, more than 70 years ago: "The effect of an expectation that wages are going to sag by, say, 2 percent in the coming year will be roughly equivalent to the effect of a rise of 2 percent in the amount of interest payable for the same period." And a rise in the effective interest rate is the last thing this economy needs.

Where else might we look for a model of this kind of spiral? Japan, of course, circa 1997. "[T]he risk that America will turn into Japan. . .seems, if anything, to be rising," Krugman writes.

Not what I wanted to hear, either, but hey.

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KFC Witness Protection Program

5 Little-Known Facts About Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a uniquely American phenomenon. Think they’re going wild with margaritas, baile folklorico, and tortilla chips all over Mexico this week? Not exactly. This list of five little-known facts about Cinco de Mayo will enlighten you on the finer aspects of this year’s holiday. Viva el Mexico!

1. It all started with a credit default. In 1861, after years of fighting both internally and with America, Mexico was bankrupt. That year, President Benito Juarez “issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for a brief period of two years, with the promise that after this period, payments would resume,” according to UCLA’s Chicano network. The French, English, and Spanish weren’t interested in waiting around, so they invaded Mexico to retrieve their payments. The latter two countries retreated, but the French tried to take over the country. Cinco de Mayo resulted when the Mexicans defeated the French in Puebla, Mexico.

2. Cinco de Mayo is a big deal in the US–but not in Mexico. In Mexico, it is primarily a regional holiday, celebrated around Puebla. In the United States, it’s nationwide. This makes it more of a Chicano than a Mexican holiday.

3. The margarita was invented about 70 years after the Cinco de Mayo defeat. Those Puebla victors may have toasted with tequila, but it took a while for ice, sugar, and lime to find its way into their cups. The battle of Puebla took place in 1862. The margarita didn’t come about until 1930 or later, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

4. The first US Cinco de Mayo celebration took place in 1967. A group of California State University students started commemorating the holiday to recapture Chicano history (there was no Chicano holiday at the time).

5. 2009 is a good Cinco de Mayo year for observant Jews. A Long Island company is releasing kosher tequila just in time for the holiday. Agave 99, a 99-proof rabbi-certified tequila, will cost $41.95 per bottle, according to MSNBC.

Singers tell Congress: Money (That's What I Want) (AP)

Wolfram Alpha May Beat Wikipedia, not Google

Wolfram Alpha, a new search engine based on Wolfram Research’s Mathematica formula, is due for release this month. If you watch the demo above, you’ll see that Wolfram Alpha is able to process questions in natural language–the way humans ask them. There’s no translating required, as there often is in Google searches. Wolfram Alpha generates results that include graphs, charts, and detailed explanations.

Physicist Stephen Wolfram explains what makes the Wolfram Alpha search engine different in a blog post:

Fifty years ago, when computers were young, people assumed that they’d…be able…to ask a computer any factual question, and have it compute the answer.

But I’m happy to say that with a mixture of many clever algorithms and heuristics, lots of linguistic discovery and linguistic curation, and what probably amount to some serious theoretical breakthroughs, we’re actually managing to make it work.

Lifehacker explains why Wolfram Alpha may beat Wikipedia, but not Google:

Don’t think of Wolfram Alpha as a Google Killer, though, because frankly Google doesn’t really have anything like it—except for maybe Google’s new public data search, which, while impressive, doesn’t look nearly as robust as Wolfram Alpha. (Then again, we’ll have to wait and see how well Wolfram Alpha works when it gets in the hands of the public.) Either way, Google will still corner the market on most normal search. (We’re not always looking for the kind of answers Wolfram Alpha provides when we hit up Google.) As for how this editor uses Google and Wikipedia, I’d actually imagine that Wolfram Alpha could be more of a Wikipedia competitor than a Google competitor.

I would add that most competitors with consistently accurate information stand a chance of beating Wikipedia.

Keep an eye on WolfromAlpha.com, which launches sometime this month, to test it out yourself.