Commandos storm Korean car worker protest

A bitter, 76-day protest by recently sacked South Korean autoworkers at the Ssangyong plant near Seoul exploded into an frenzy of violence on the factory roofs today as 100 elite police commandos descended from helicopters to end the siege.


Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Aug 2009 | 5:14 am

Surge in services sector stokes recovery hopes

Activity in Britain's services sector, the engine room of the country's economy, jumped by more than expected in July, boosting hopes that the country is clawing its way out of recession.


Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:39 am

European oil refiners to cut output in Aug -survey

* Runs around 85 pct in May-July, 89-92 pct throughout 2008
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:32 am

Earnings Watch: Updates, advisories and surprises

A roundup of the latest corporate earnings reports and what companies are saying about future quarters.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:31 am

CNN Poll: 50% favor Obama's health care reform

Americans appear split over President Barack Obama's health care reform proposals, according to a new national poll.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:20 am

Bad debts batter French bank

Societe Generale reports a slump in profits as it was forced to write off bad debts and investments in risky assets.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:18 am

Stimulus: What's been spent - what hasn't

The $787.2 billion stimulus plan is a lightning rod for criticism and second guessing, but love it or hate it, the massive program's funds are flowing as planned.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:15 am

Eurozone retail sales slip further: EU

Retailers in the 16 nations using the euro saw their sales fall in June, continuing a downward trend broken only in April this year, according to official EU data released Wednesday. The
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:13 am

Oil prices dip before US inventories report

World crude oil prices fell slightly on Wednesday as traders awaited the release of a widely-monitored US government report on the country's energy reserves. New York's main contract,...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:10 am

Eurozone retail sales slip further: EU (AFP)

AFP - Retailers in the 16 nations using the euro saw their sales fall in June, continuing a downward trend broken only in April this year, according to official EU data released Wednesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:10 am

UPDATE 2-Malaysia's Maxis eyes $2bln listing, taps banks-sources

* Taps Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, CIMB as advisors-sources
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:10 am

Indications: U.S. stock futures ease off pedal before data

U.S. stock futures fall on Wednesday, ahead of data on private-sector employment and the services sector.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:06 am

UPDATE 2-Nikon writes down unsold gear, doubles loss outlook

* To book 30 bln yen inventory writedown on unsold steppers
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:05 am

A New Blackberry For $48 (RIMM)

RIM (RIMM) has come up with a way to take market share from Apple (AAPL) and Palm (PALM) in the smart phone market. It is launching the BlackBerry 8520, a handset that will be available for $48 at Wal-Mart (WMT) and $129 from T-Mobile. Investors have been very concerned that lower prices on some iPhones and [...]

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

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:05 am

Global risk appetite wanes; eyes on central banks

LONDON (Reuters) - The rally in global equities took a breather on Wednesday while the dollar hovered near its 2009 lows with two major central banks' policy meetings and key U.S. labor data looming.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:04 am

House prices rising, says Halifax

House prices are rising for the first time since 2007, according to the latest survey from the Halifax mortgage lender.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:03 am

'I traded my heap for this!'

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:01 am

Bank bailouts: The never-ending story

After rescuing the nation's banking system from utter disaster last fall, Washington now faces an arguably much trickier task: putting the bailout genie back in the bottle.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:00 am

Obama's policies: Slam dunk or airball?

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:00 am

Cathay Pacific returns to profit

Cathay Pacific says it is back in profit thanks to its oil contracts, but is cautious about when recovery will begin.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:57 am

Carlsberg profits rise despite sluggish sales

Shares in Carlsberg rose 3 per cent on Wednesday morning as the world's fourth-largest brewer announced forecast-beating second-quarter earnings in spite of sluggish global demand for beer.Aggressive cost...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:56 am

Lloyds blames HBOS for £4bn loss

Lloyds Banking Group makes a £4bn loss, blaming bad debts from loans made by HBOS, which the UK bank bought in January.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:54 am

Lloyds posts loss as bad debts hit 13 billion pounds

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Lloyds Banking Group sank to a 4 billion pounds ($6.8 billion) loss in the first half, battered by a surge in bad debts from its HBOS business, but the bank told investors it was through the worst.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:50 am

Yahoo 'escape clauses' for deal

Yahoo will be able to quit its search deal with Microsoft if they fail to meet market share and revenue targets.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:48 am

SocGen profit drops 52%, but beats expectations

French bank Societe Generale reports 52% drop in second-quarter profit Wednesday after taking additional charges on top of those already announced for the period.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:47 am

Yahoo! Deal With Microsoft Better Than Assumed

Yahoo! (YHOO) filed an 8K with the SEC with details of its search engine agreement with Microsoft (MSFT). Several of the provisions of the contract are better than investors may have expected. Yahoo!’s share of the revenue under the agreement can move to 93% in the last five years of the deal, up from 88% in [...]

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

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:42 am

Futures point to lower start for Wall Street

(Reuters) - Wall Street was expected to open lower on Wednesday, slipping back from a nine-month high, as investors awaited further pointers to a potential economic recovery, and more...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:34 am

Futures point to lower start for Wall Street (Reuters)

Reuters - Wall Street was expected to open lower on Wednesday, slipping back from a nine-month high, as investors awaited further pointers to a potential economic recovery, and more second-quarter earnings.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:34 am

Futures point to lower start for Wall Street

(Reuters) - Wall Street was expected to open lower on Wednesday, slipping back from a nine-month high, as investors awaited further pointers to a potential economic recovery, and more second-quarter earnings.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:34 am

Futures point to lower start for Wall Street (Reuters)

Reuters - Wall Street was expected to open lower on Wednesday, slipping back from a nine-month high, as investors awaited further pointers to a potential economic recovery, and more second-quarter earnings.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:34 am

Gold: Royal Mint doubles production of gold coins to meet surge in demand

The Royal Mint doubled production of gold coins in the second quarter.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:33 am

Service sector seen contracting at slower pace in July

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. service sector is forecast to show contraction last month, but less than it shrank in June, according to a Reuters' poll of economists.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:32 am

British home prices rise in July: survey (AFP)

AFP - British home prices rose by 1.1 percent in July from the level the previous month, but fell over 12 months, a survey from home-loans provider Halifax showed on Wednesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:32 am

Markets & Markets: Global Silicon Photonics Product Market Worth US$1.95 Billion by 2014

WILMINGTON, Delaware, August 5 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report, 'Global Silicon Photonics Market (2009 - 2014)', published by...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:30 am

Supporting the folks isn't just a money issue

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:29 am

SocGen profits bolstered by market rebound

PARIS (Reuters) - Unexpectedly modest bad debt provisions and an investment banking recovery cushioned Societe Generale against steep falls in second quarter profits and the French bank said there were signs of stabler market conditions ahead.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:27 am

Europe Markets: Financials lead Europe stocks higher

Financials lead Europe stocks higher on Wednesday, as investors back hard-hit firms like Lloyds Banking Group and AXA.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:26 am

Citi plans to sell 20 consumer finance businesses: report

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Citigroup plans to sell 20 businesses in consumer finance area, many of them located in Europe, its CEO Vikram Pandit said in an interview with Singapore's Business Times.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:24 am

Citi plans to sell 20 consumer finance businesses: report

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Citigroup plans to sell 20 businesses in consumer finance area, many of them located in Europe, its CEO Vikram Pandit said in an interview with Singapore's Business...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:24 am

Citi plans to sell 20 consumer finance businesses: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Citigroup plans to sell 20 businesses in consumer finance area, many of them located in Europe, its CEO Vikram Pandit said in an interview with Singapore's Business Times.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:24 am

Better Late Than Never: Economists Increase Forecasts For Second Half

It has begun to dawn on economists that all of the good news about housing, GDP, and earnings much be leading somewhere. Practitioners of the dismal science are beginning to make upward revisions to their forecasts for second half GDP. A survey by The Wall Street Journal shows that a number of large banks and fund [...]

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

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:22 am

Sign Lloyds up for boot camp Sir Win

Lloyds has slumped to a £4bn loss. Damian Reece says the bank should turn to the military to win the recovery campaign.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:18 am

Stocks set for quiet start

U.S. stocks were poised for a weak open Wednesday, with investors looking to the latest reports on the labor sector for direction.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:18 am

Adidas profits slump 93%

Adidas on Wednesday reported a further steep drop in profits, but the world's second largest sporting goods company moved to reassure markets when it said it had reached the nadir of its financial performance...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:14 am

Blount Announces 2009 Second Quarter Results

- Second quarter sales of $114.0 in line with first quarter levels - Debt reduced by $33.2 million during the second quarter to $306.8 million - Second quarter diluted earnings
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:00 am

How to profit from your bank

Banks are making bumper profits again - but don't let it be at your expense. Follow our guide and profit from the banks instead.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:56 am

Deutsche Bank in Sal Oppenheim stake talks

Deutsche Bank is in advanced talks about taking a stake in Sal Oppenheim, one of Europe's best-known private banks, in a deal designed to strengthen its business with affluent German clients.Germany's...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:49 am

GM Chief Insists Firm Will Stay No.1 In USA

GM’s new chairman Edward E. Whitacre Jr said that one of his major goals is to make certain that the No.1 US car company stays N0.1. GM will find it very hard to measure up. In an exclusive  interview with The Wall Street Journal, Whitacre said being No.1 is “the position we should strive for… (as) [...]

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

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:48 am

Profit from your bank: current accounts

Our guide to turning the tables on the banks looks at the best deals on current accounts.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:48 am

Adidas sees profits plunge by 95%

Sportswear giant Adidas reports a fall in profits as consumers buy less sportswear during the economic downturn.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:48 am

U.S. July ISM factory index seen up, but below 50

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A closely-watched gauge of U.S. factory activity likely rose in July but stayed below the level showing expansion, suggesting the economy might start to emerge from recession in the second half of the year.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:44 am

U.S. July ISM factory index seen up, but below 50 (Reuters)

Reuters - A closely-watched gauge of U.S. factory activity likely rose in July but stayed below the level showing expansion, suggesting the economy might start to emerge from recession in the second half of the year.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:44 am

SocGen Q2 profits bolstered by market rebound

PARIS (Reuters) - Unexpectedly modest bad debt provisions and an investment banking recovery cushioned Societe Generale against steep falls in second quarter profits and the French bank...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:43 am

Currencies: Dollar slips vs. rivals in Asian trading

The dollar edges down against major counterparts in Asian trading Wednesday, as investors await U.S. employment data.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:42 am

London Markets: Lloyds in demand but broader market slips

Shares of Lloyds are in hot demand on Wednesday as the troubled U.K. lender says write-downs of 13 billion pounds in the first half will represent the peak of its problems.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:37 am

Young investors wary of jumping into market lows

BOSTON (Reuters) - Young investors may accept the argument that those who begin investing when stocks are cheap end up with more retirement money, but after the turmoil of the past year, some find it hard to put their money in the market.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:35 am

What is the Appropriate PR Reaction to the LA Fitness Shooting?

Source

Last night’s tragic LA Fitness shooting resulted in up to five deaths in a Pittsburgh gym. The Philadelphia Inquirer describes the incident:

A man carrying a duffel bag walked into a rear door of the L.A. Fitness center in the suburb of Collier last night and opened fire, killing four or five people and wounding as many as 11 more.

Allegheny County police said they believed the gunman was among the dead.

The wounded were transported to UPMC Mercy, Allegheny General, and St. Clair hospitals.

UPMC Mercy spokeswoman Linda Ross said her facility received five victims - all women with multiple gunshot wounds who initially were listed in critical condition.

This shooting implies that gyms, like schools and post offices before them, risk losing their sanctuary status. The shooting took place in a fitness class comprised mostly of women. It’s important for female customers to feel safe in the gym, and especially in classes, which many attend for a supportive atmosphere.

The shooting was probably an isolated incident. However, it did take place in the sanctuary that is a women’s fitness class. For that reason, LA Fitness needs to take measures to assure its customers that it has beefed up security, if only by locking doors after classes begin. This could be a temporary measure, but it is symbolically important. If women feel unsafe their classes, they won’t come back. By reassuring them with increased security measures, LA Fitness will retain customers’ trust. The Pittsburgh tragedy presents the gym with an opportunity to assert itself as a caring organization.

What do you think the appropriate PR reaction would be? Would locking doors be overkill, given the rarity of the situation?

Source: Business Pundit | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:32 am

Beijing urges China's city banks to boost reserves

China’s banking regulator urges the nation’s city banks to voluntarily set aside more funds as reserves to help safeguard against financial shocks.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:22 am

Taylor Wimpey posts loss on writedowns

Taylor Wimpey kicked of firsthalf reports from British housebuilders with another loss and further writedowns on land values.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:20 am

Autumn casts shadow over 1.1% house price rise

House prices rose for the second time in three months in July, almost wiping out losses at the beginning of 2009, according to the latest figures from Halifax.


Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:16 am

Asia markets retreat as autos fall; Europe down (AP)

AP - Asian markets retreated Wednesday as Japanese automakers fell on Toyota's big loss and investors waited for a U.S. employment report to shed light on how quickly the world's biggest economy can recover. European markets were mostly lower.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:13 am

U.K. July house prices up 1.1%: Halifax

British house prices rise 1.1% in July, mortgage lender Halifax says in its monthly survey Wednesday, offering further evidence of stabilization in a property market.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:12 am

Ultimate sales: Luxury goods, 90% off

As department stores struggle and independent boutiques call it quits, high-end sample sale Web sites are enjoying a surge in popularity.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:07 am

Loss of £41m for First Trust bank

Allied Irish Bank group has reported a pre-tax loss of 872m euros for the first six months of its financial year.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:06 am

Media Digest 8/5/2009

Reuters:   GM’s new board endorsed the company’s new plans. Reuters:   The Senate will probably approve “cash for clunkers” aid. Reuters:   Sony (SNE) will enter the market with an e-reader to compete with Amazon (AMZN). Reuters:   Disarray in the Administration is hurting plans for changes in financial regulation. Reuters:   The service sector probably contracted at a slower pace in July. Reuters:   [...]

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

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:06 am

Swiss Re disappoints with SFr381m loss

Swiss Re disappointed investors on Wednesday with a surprise loss in the second quarter, as solid earnings in insurance underwriting were overshadowed by continued losses and writedowns on its massive...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:05 am

Lloyds shares bounce as bank says charges peaked

Shares in Lloyds Banking Group jump as much as 8% in early trading Wednesday after the group reports a surge in losses from bad loans, but adds those charges should fall significantly in the second half of the year.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:05 am

Keep Uncle Sam's hands off target-date funds

Target-date funds, those all-in-one portfolios of stocks and bonds that are supposed to be age-appropriate, have become targets themselves lately. The charge: that they failed to protect older investors from last year's downturn.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:01 am

Standard Life swings to a 44m loss

Falling equity markets pushed Standard Life to a loss in the first six months of the year, although the insurance group raised its interim dividend as it expressed cautious optimism on future cash generation...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:56 am

Lloyds slumps to loss as bad debts spiral to £13.4bn

The scale of the taxpayer rescue for Lloyds has been laid bare as the troubled lender slumps to a loss.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:55 am

Gordon Brown bank merger produces £4bn loss

The Gordon Brown orchestrated merger of Lloyds and HBOS today saw the part-state-owned bank report a £4 billion loss in six months.


Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:48 am

FTSE's banks in demand

Financial stocks were in demand in London on Wednesday after Lloyds, the bank most exposed to the domestic UK home loan market, said bad debt levels had peaked. Lloyds Banking Group said impairment charges...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:40 am

Asia Markets and Europe Open 8/5/2009

Markets in Asia were lower. The Nikkei fell 1.2% to 10,253. Toyota (TM) dropped on earnings. The Hang Seng fell 1.2% to 20,512. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.2% to 3,247. At the open in Europe, the FTSE was down .3% to 4,659. BHP Billiton (BHP) fell. The Dax was off .4% to 5,396. Shares in Axa (AXA) rose. Data from [...]

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

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:34 am

Standard Life profits slide 35pc

Standard Life the British life insurer reported a 35pc drop in its halfyear profit as people cut back on insurance spending during the recession and asset values continued to fall.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:26 am

Crunch time

How banks are faring two years after the crisis hit
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:25 am

Australian sharemarket puts on brakes

The Australian share market snapped its recent bull run, closing lower on profit-taking among financial and resources stocks. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was 44.8 points, or 1.04 per cent lower at 4264.5, while...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:15 am

Halifax data show house prices up 1.1%

LONDON, August 5 House prices in Britain rose a bigger-than-expected 1.1 per cent in July, leaving prices down 12.1 per cent in the three months to July versus a year ago, the smallest fall in 11 months,...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:10 am

NTT net profit slips on mobile-phone revenue

Japan's NTT says its quarterly net profit fell 21%, hurt in part by lower income from its mobile-phone interests.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:06 am

Hotel Bel-Air will be closed nearly 2 years for renovation

Nearly all of its 300 workers will lose their jobs next month because of a multimillion-dollar project to modernize all guest rooms, suites, the restaurant and bar and add 12 hillside villas.

The Hotel Bel-Air, a storied Mission-style landmark frequented by Hollywood's elite, will close for nearly two years for a multimillion-dollar face lift that will put hundreds of staffers out of work.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

USAA auto premiums drop 7% in California

The reduction affects nearly 1 million vehicles. Bills for customers in L.A. County will be cut by about 15%, says the state's 10th-biggest auto insurer.

Owners of nearly 1 million California vehicles covered by insurance company USAA collectively will save about $48 million, thanks to a 7% rate decrease effective today.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

U.S. public transit improvements will be a tough sell

It won't be enough to lay down lots of track and hope people leap aboard trains and subways. It also will take discouraging the use of cars and making cities less comfortable.

It's hard to appreciate how truly pitiful our public transportation system is until you spend some time with a system that works.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

Idealab rebounds with recent focus on clean technology

Entrepreneur Bill Gross' Pasadena firm has had its ups and downs. But it is energized since turning to clean tech, including ESolar, which is opening an innovative solar power facility in Lancaster.

The hundreds of glass mirrors break the dusty field in Lancaster, a sea of silver in a landscape of brown.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

Senate majority leader promises additional 'cash for clunkers' funding soon

Sen. Harry Reid says the Senate will OK $2 billion more, already approved by the House, before the August recess. Some Republicans oppose the plan, calling it unwarranted deficit spending. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

Hotel Bel-Air will be closed nearly 2 years for renovation

Nearly all of its 300 workers will lose their jobs next month because of a multimillion-dollar project to modernize all guest rooms, suites, the restaurant and bar and add 12 hillside villas. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

Gotta go? Runpee.com tells when to head for the head during a movie

The website suggests points in the action during which you could run to the restroom without missing much. Just...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

In healthcare debate, small business becomes pivotal

President Obama and lawmakers pledge to relieve firms struggling to cover workers. But how? Two company owners in Oregon and Ohio differ strongly, reflecting the difficulty in reaching a solution.

As they work to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, President Obama and his congressional allies have pledged to help small-business owners such as Rhonda Ealy and Kelli Glasser.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

GE to pay $50 million to settle accounting allegations

The SEC says the company bent the rules to make its financial results appear more attractive to investors.

General Electric Co. will pay a $50-million civil penalty to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing the conglomerate of improper accounting to make its financial results appear more attractive to investors.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

Senate majority leader promises additional 'cash for clunkers' funding soon

Sen. Harry Reid says the Senate will OK $2 billion more, already approved by the House, before the August recess. Some Republicans oppose the plan, calling it unwarranted deficit spending.

Responding to overwhelming consumer demand and arm-twisting by President Obama, senators won't drive out of town for vacation this week before approving more money for the "cash for clunkers" program, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) promised Tuesday.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

Banks slow to modify mortgages, Treasury reports

Only 9% of eligible home loans have been changed under the Obama program. BofA and Wells Fargo, which participated even less, say the report doesn't reflect modifications made outside the plan.

Despite the continuing foreclosure crisis, banks have made little progress toward modifying the loans of stressed-out homeowners, drawing fire from advocacy groups who say both financial institutions and the federal government should do more.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

Clunkers provide a bonanza for Southland junkyards

Auto dismantlers want the vehicles so they can sell the parts. Scrap metal recyclers want to crush them into tiny fragments, which they sell locally and internationally.

The Lincoln Continental with leather seats, the shiny gray Mercedes-Benz, the immaculate Lexus ES 300 and the impeccable Cadillac DeVille seem out of place in this San Fernando Valley junkyard, where wrecks of VW bugs and pickup trucks bare their smashed hoods like fangs at the pretentious newcomers.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

Gotta go? Runpee.com tells when to head for the head during a movie

The website suggests points in the action during which you could run to the restroom without missing much.

Just when you thought the Internet provided every possible information service, along comes Runpee.com.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am

NZ dollar shoots higher

The New Zealand dollar rose to fresh 10-month highs today as the United States dollar continued to trade near 2009 lows. Dealers said strong rises in milkpowder prices at Fonterra's monthly internet auction helped boost the NZ...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:55 am

Service sector seen contracting at slower pace in July (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.S. service sector is forecast to show contraction last month, but less than it shrank in June, according to a Reuters' poll of economists.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:50 am

UK house prices have first quarterly rise since bubble burst in 2007

UK house prices had their first threemonth rise since October 2007 in a sign that the market may have found a bottom according to the latest survey from Halifax.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:38 am

Gains eroded on sharemarket

The New Zealand sharemarket slipped into negative territory today when modest early gains were eroded as investors took stock of current prices in the wake of strong advances in the first two days of the week. The benchmark NZX-50...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:25 am

Lloyds slumps to loss as bad debts soar to £13.4bn

Partnationalised lender slumped to a £4bn loss in the first six months of the year as the recession it to write off billions in bad debts.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:16 am

Swiss Re makes loss on bond bets

Swiss Re reports a loss for the April to June period as bets in the corporate bond market went wrong.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Aug 2009 | 11:47 pm

Board endorses direction of reorganized GM

DETROIT (Reuters) - The board of General Motors Co endorsed the automaker's direction and the focus of management after the first meeting of directors since GM emerged from a U.S. government-financed bankruptcy last month.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 4 Aug 2009 | 11:35 pm

Lloyds expected to warn on bad loans

Lloyds Banking Group the troubled bank in which the taxpayer owns a 43pc stake is expected to unveil billions of pounds worth of writedowns on bad debts on Wednesday.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 4 Aug 2009 | 11:04 pm

Top firms' pension funds plummet

Britain's leading companies have seen their pension schemes drop to a record deficit over the past year, a report finds.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 4 Aug 2009 | 10:46 pm

Kingfish sees local sharemarket positives

For the first time in a long time the June quarter saw share market behaviour and economic behaviour not joined at the hip, says small cap investor Kingfish. The NZX-listed company, which invests in other NZX-listed companies,...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Aug 2009 | 10:44 pm

10 Things Weather Forecasters Won't Say (10 Things)

1. “Long-term forecast? Your guess is as good as ours.”

WEATHER FORECASTERS have gotten pretty good at nailing the outlook two to three days ahead. The problem is, “everyone wants to know what the weather is going to do next weekend,” says Paul Karpowicz, president of the Meredith Broadcasting Group, and forecasting the weather a week or more down the road isn’t so easy.

Eric Floehr, founder of ForecastAdvisor, which tracks the accuracy of predictions, looked at high-temperature forecasts from the National Weather Service, AccuWeather and other organizations for 2008 and compared their
numbers with actual temperatures. When predicting highs for the following day, they were off by about three degrees; when forecasting nine days out, they missed by nearly seven degrees. Doug Young, performance branch chief at the National Weather Service, says his organization’s precipitation forecast for seven days out is only 55 percent accurate. “You’re almost flipping a coin at that point,” he says. Ray Ban, consultant for The Weather Channel, says the best forecasters can do is try to convey the uncertainty of long-range predictions.

2. “We’re pretty accurate—as long as the sun is shining.”

ONE OF THE MOST important things forecasters can do is tell you when bad weather is on the way. Unfortunately, they’re not very good at predicting rain. That’s especially true in summer, when most rainfall comes from thunderstorms, which are small, unpredictable and hard to track. It’s often difficult to tell where they’re headed or whether they’ll produce any rain. Most models for forecasting weather divide the country into a grid of squares that cover about 55 square miles each, though some have smaller squares. Whatever the square’s size, rain, snow, sun and temperature are forecast as a whole for each one. Since most thunderstorms are smaller than the squares, it’s tough to predict exactly where it will rain. “Forecasters are terrible at telling you if rain is going to fall where you live tonight,” says William Gallus, a meteorology professor at Iowa State University.

Even when forecasters can track a larger storm’s direction and speed, it’s very hard to determine its intensity and whether or not it will weaken or gain traction. That’s why most forecasters err on the side of caution, says
Floehr, issuing predictions like “50 percent chance of rain countywide.”

3. “We’re often more show biz than science.”

THERE ARE NO specific job requirements for TV weather people. Anyone can do it. Some have degrees in meteorology; others have no background in science. In markets where weather matters—such as hurricane-prone parts of Florida—real weather experts often dominate local newscasts. In Miami, for example, the No. 1 local news station, WPLG, features a former director of the National Hurricane Center. But in most fair-weather markets, “if you picked 100 weather forecasters,” says Tom Herwitz, a former president of station operations at Fox, “you’d find a lot of comedians and radio DJs.”

At some stations the evening-news weatherperson, who can earn between $100,000 and $300,000 a year, may not even be involved in putting together forecasts, which are based on data from the National Weather Service and private firms like WSI Corp., which is owned by The Weather Channel Cos. “Being a trained meteorologist where it’s sunny and warm every day is less important,” says Larry Rickel, president of consulting firm Broadcast Image Group. “You can have more personality.”

4. “Our high-tech gizmos do everything but predict weather.”

LOCAL NEWS stations are in an arms race over who has the best forecasting technology. They tout their Doppler 5000s, 7000s and 9000s and claim they have an edge over the competition, thanks to new wizardry like the VIPIR, the Volumetric Imaging and Processing for Integrated Radar, which gives real-time information in three dimensions. These expensive gizmos, designed to provide detailed images of weather, do a great job of using radar and computer-generated graphics to show viewers what storms look like and how they progress, but they don’t actually improve the forecast, says Cliff Mass, professor of atmospheric studies at the University of Washington.

Dan Greenberg, copresident of TV-news consultancy Norman Hecht Research, says viewers aren’t all that interested in the high-tech hype. When asked how vital it is that stations have the latest technology, survey respondents say it usually registers in the middle of important attributes. Says Bill Martin, chief meteorologist at KTVU TV in San Francisco, “What we really need to focus on is whether the guy reading the Doppler understands what he’s looking at.”

5. “Want the temperature? Don’t ask the National Weather Service.”

OVER THE PAST decade the National Weather Service has focused its efforts on forecasting catastrophic storms. It has improved its radar systems, added more sensors and satellites, and enhanced its computer models. It can even measure how fast a tornado is rotating. “It’s the most important thing we do,” says Andy Horvitz, public weather lead at the National Weather Service. As a result, since 1993 it has improved its lead time in predicting tornadoes to 14 minutes, up from six, and can now predict with 72 percent accuracy if a tornado will hit an area, up from 41 percent.

But there have been sacrifices. According to ForecastAdvisor’s Floehr, the weather service was less accurate in predicting day-to-day high and low temperatures across the U.S. in 2008 than The Weather Channel, Intellicast and Weather Underground. Robert Byrd, the National Weather Service’s chief financial officer, says it’s no surprise, since the government has increasingly focused on public safety, pouring its resources into projects like the National Hurricane Center. “There is a niche for the private sector,” Byrd says. “And good for them; we don’t want to do it all.”

6. “Weather is big business.”

THERE IS A BOOMING business in providing detailed forecasts to utility and insurance companies and any number of businesses that find their bottom line affected by the weather. WSI Corp. is one of the industry leaders. It gathers raw data and the results of models run by government agencies around the world to feed its own weather models, tailoring them to the needs of its customers. The result: more detailed forecasts than you might find on local TV. For example, WSI can give utilities minute-by-minute information about the temperature in any major city to help determine how much energy will be needed, and companies that own wind farms might buy forecasts for wind speed and direction to calculate how much electricity their turbines will generate.

WSI and companies like it are even having an impact on investing. By providing forecasts for every growing region in the world, commodity traders can use them to help determine whether it will be hotter or cooler, wetter or dryer than normal for a given region. It’s an industry that’s picking up steam: WSI’s revenue has doubled in the past five years, and the company says its business is increasing among hedge funds and insurance companies.

7. “Bad weather means big ratings...”

EVERY TIME A severe storm hits your town, the local news stations put their resources to work to dramatize every angle of it. In San Francisco, crews are dispatched to film snowplows removing the slightest dusting from the highways near Lake Tahoe, while newscasters stand in pouring rain in their Gore-Tex jackets in every major market to dramatize a storm.

Why such focus on big storms and bad weather? “Ratings skyrocket,” says Meredith’s Karpowicz. During Hurricane Wilma in 2005, for example, ratings increased 141 percent during the noon news on WPLG in Miami. And during 2008’s Hurricane Fay, the station’s 11 p.m. news broadcast saw ratings jump by 76 percent. These weather stories bring in viewers who might not normally watch the news-—those who would more often turn to the Internet, meaning a younger and more lucrative audience. “People are absolutely zoned in on it,” Karpowicz adds. “The more information we can give them, the more they want it.”

8. “...and it’s always bad during sweeps week.”

WITH STORMS providing such a boost in ratings, some stations can’t resist the urge to overhype foul weather. It’s a simple equation: The more people who tune in, the more the station can charge for ads during their news broadcasts. The amount advertisers pay is based on the ratings, which in most media markets are determined during sweeps weeks—periods in February, May, July and November when ratings companies calculate how many people are watching a given show.

Television insiders have learned to become skeptical of TV weather reports during sweeps weeks, when talking up a severe storm can boost ratings. Says one television executive, “They will tell you snow is going to fall, wind is going to blow, anything to get people’s attention.” No one makes up weather forecasts, but the threat of anything unusual often can be hyped. “Weather people love what they do, and when a storm is coming, they can get excited and wound up over 2 inches of snow,” says Karpowicz. Those with the best ratings aren’t the worst offenders, says Greenberg, of Norman Hecht Research; rather “it’s usually a station that is not the No. 1 that is trying to make a name in weather.”

9. “Accuracy? Who cares.”

BOTCHED WEATHER predictions have real consequences. People make and cancel plans based on forecasts all the time, and it can be frustrating when it’s dead wrong. Unfortunately, there are few consequences for making a bad call. Stations rarely track accuracy, and when it comes to hiring someone or judging job performance internally, accuracy still isn’t a big factor, says Karpowicz. “I’ve never seen a study that says people are turned off by mistakes in forecasting,” he says.

That’s because viewers think about accuracy differently than you might expect. Rickel’s market research has found that even when people say they want accuracy, they usually just mean they want someone who is clear and easy to understand. “People will keep watching a meteorologist even if he’s not particularly accurate, as long as they’re watching someone they like,” he says. Performance and storytelling ability are often more important;
in fact, audiences understand weather forecasting is an inexact science and mistakes are part of the business, says Greenberg. At the same time, they want at least some acccountability. “They expect the forecaster to fess up when they make a mistake,” says Greenberg.

10. “Weather is recessionproof.”

THESE HAVE BEEN hard times for news organizations, and TV news is no exception. Fewer people are watching: viewership of local TV news fell by an average of 4.5 percent last year. Revenue is down, and with the precipitous drop in auto ads, once the staple of local TV news, it’s unlikely things will get better soon. Experienced and expensive anchors are being dropped for younger, cheaper ones. Reporters and producers are on the chopping block. But in the midst of all the cost-cutting, it seems the television weatherman isn’t going anywhere.

Weather is key to developing a strong brand for local newscasts, and it’s relatively cheap to produce. Beyond salaries, the only real expenses are any private weather forecasting or graphics services used in addition to National Weather Service data, which is free. Top meteorologists may find their salaries getting cut just like the anchors who stick around, but due to their low cost and high value, they’re unlikely to be sent packing. Karpowicz says that in a news department of 60 people, the total weather budget including salaries and expenses accounts for less than one-fifth of the total news budget. “We are in difficult times,” says Karpowicz, “but we are not considering cutting back on weather.”

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.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 4 Aug 2009 | 10:00 pm

3 Stocks Trading at Bargain Prices (Screens)

Judging by the S&P 500 index, American shares now trade at 18 times forecast 2009 earnings. That’s easily a third more expensive than their historical average. Wall Street analysts predict a 35% surge in corporate profits next year. If they’re right, today’s stock prices are fair or close to it. If they’re wrong, look out below.

Cautious investors ought to keep some cash handy and focus their buying on cheap companies. There aren’t many deep discounts to be found. I recently searched for single-digit price earnings ratios and found enough, but when I also demanded sales growth during the last quarter and dividend yields of at least 2%, the list shrank to about 50. A good third of them were insurers, mortgage brokers and shippers -- companies for which single-digit P/Es are normal. Below I've highlighted three of the remaining names.

Northrop Grumman

Forward P/E: 9.6

U.S. military spending seems to be on the public’s mind. According to Digg.com, a site where users recommend news stories, one of this week’s most popular submissions isn’t a story at all but a map that puts America’s defense spending at 48% of the world’s total. Next year the U.S. Department of Defense performs its quadrennial review of programs. With this year’s budget deficit projected to top $1 trillion, Reuters reports that the military branches have been told to find $50 billion to $60 billion in savings over five years.

That bodes poorly for military contractors, who depend mightily on defense budget increases for their sales growth, but their meager valuations seem to factor in deeper cuts than Congress is likely to pass. Several defense companies turned up on my search. Northrop Grumman (NOC), a ship maker, is only modestly indebted and offers a 3.9% dividend yield. Its backlog of business fell 8.5% last quarter but still tops $70 billion -- about two years’ worth of sales.

PDL BioPharma

Forward P/E: 7.2

How does an 11.7% dividend yield sound? Assuming PDL BioPharma (PDLI) continues paying 50 cents a share twice a year, that’s just what its stockholders will receive. There’s a catch, of course. The company has no operations, per se, but rather owns and extracts royalties from a series of patents that expire in 2013 and 2014. The patents are for antibody products used to make drugs like Herceptin and Avastin for breast, colorectal and other cancers; Synagis for lung infections; and Tysabri for multiple sclerosis. Swiss drug giant Roche, which bought Genentech this year, contributes about 70% of PDL’s royalties. Sales for PDL are expected to increase 12% this year and 8% next year. As sales increase, so should dividends. The payments won’t last forever, but today’s shareholders should end up with yearly returns that will rival those of corporate bonds using conservative forecasts, and which could easily hit double digits if key drugs sell well.

United Online

Forward P/E: 6.7

Not all Internet businesses are leading-edge. United Online (UNTD) owns dated properties like NetZero and Juno, which offer dial-up and broadband Internet connections; Classmates.com, which is presumably for people who haven’t heard of Facebook; and FTD, a rival to 1-800-FLOWERS that’s so old that the T originally stood for “Telegraph.” Unexciting as those businesses sound, they generate copious amounts of cash. United will likely grow its profits this year and reward stockholders with a 4.4% dividend yield. That’s far more than can be said for Yahoo (YHOO) and eBay (EBAY).

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.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 4 Aug 2009 | 10:00 pm

Robert Levitt: In Search of Growth

LIKE EVERY MONEY MANAGER, ROBERT LEVITT is waiting to see whether the U.S. stock-market rally gains ground or fizzles. But Levitt's clients, the affluent individuals who hire him to manage their separately managed accounts or invest in his hedge funds, have less at stake on the future course of the Standard & Poor's 500 than most of their peers.

"Global economic leadership has moved outside the United States, so that is where we are positioning our clients to earn the best returns -- we want to be where the economy will outperform, not where it has outperformed in the past," Levitt says. "Look at the automotive industry. The capital is no longer Detroit, but Shanghai."

Levitt, 48 years old, is based in Boca Raton, Fla., but scours the world for opportunity. In the past year, he has traveled to the Congo (for gold miners) and Nigeria (telecoms), and he is off soon to Russia: "This is not the time for American investors to stay quietly at home."

HIS CLIENTS HAVE ABOUT HALF the stock allocation of their separate-account assets ($3 million minimum is required) invested abroad, from well-trodden markets such as Japan and Western Europe to the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and so-called frontier markets like Pakistan. (That's more than twice the overseas holdings of most mutual-fund managers, according to Ibbotson Associates.) "Why rule anything out?" he says.

Levitt contends the goal is to seek out maximum economic growth. "In China, gross domestic product is likely to grow 9% again this year, and, if anything, the risk is that it will grow more rapidly." As Chinese consumers' interest in cars surges, Levitt has homed in on Xinyi (please see table on the following page for most tickers), a major Hong Kong-listed producer of vehicle glass. Another holding in China, where about 8.5% of the $353 million of assets Levitt Capital Management oversees is invested, is online-retailing giant Alibaba Group. Although it recently reported lower earnings, Levitt stresses that the business is expanding. "If you are a medium-sized manufacturer in China, one of the best ways to get your products known is by opening a virtual store on Alibaba," he says.

Levitt focuses on the potential for high returns from companies more than on the higher risk levels associated with emerging and frontier countries. Often, he argues, the risks are greatly magnified by fearful investors. "Yes, there has been a lot of upheaval in Pakistan, and investors fled, but the environment there changes rapidly," he explains. "We made a lot of money owning Pakistani oil companies, such as Oil & Gas Development [OGDC.Pakistan], when the political situation stabilized a bit," he says.

Some of his holdings are truly global. Naspers , a South African company, has stakes in a Chinese social-networking company, South African newspapers (whose readership levels are increasing), as well as Brazilian magazines and central European e-commerce Websites.

As of late July, year-to-date gains for his LCM Globally Diversified Fund I hedge fund ($1 million minimum), which is invested using the same strategy as his separate accounts, totaled nearly 9%; average annual returns over the last three years were close to 4%.

TO ADJUST FOR THE RISK ASSOCIATED with equity markets in the uncertain economy -- particularly markets like Pakistan -- Levitt has avoided chasing the equities rally. "Normally, we'd be increasing our allocation to stocks as our returns climb," he explains. Only about 52% of his clients' accounts are invested in stocks, with 48% allocated to fixed income or alternatives, including a very large position in long-term Treasury notes and bonds. Normally, in this kind of market, stocks would be 62%.

The stocks he buys fit into one or more cross-border themes, such as the shift in global economic leadership. He believes, for instance, that stocks of commodity producers are poised to outperform as consolidation continues. "Government-backed entities in countries like China are motivated buyers of these companies for strategic rather than financial reasons," he argues. Levitt thinks that as investors find fewer publicly traded alternatives to choose from, behemoths such as BHP Billiton and independent metals producers such as Teck Cominco will benefit, outperforming the market. Also in Levitt-managed portfolios is Vedanta (VED.UK), a London outfit that is one of the lowest-cost producers of aluminum, zinc, copper and iron ore.

Agricultural land is scarce, too, and highly prized by high-growth economies, Levitt argues: "You see food-importing nations like Korea and Saudi Arabia leasing land in grain-producing nations in parts of Africa, improving irrigation and fertilizing the land to produce higher crop yields." That investment theme has led him to companies like Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), a Chilean producer of fertilizer that trades on the New York Stock Exchange. "It's also a big producer of lithium, which is a key ingredient needed for making the next generation of environmentally friendly cars," Levitt notes.

While Levitt isn't betting on General Motors' recovery, he's bullish on the future of the auto business. "It just won't be a Detroit-centered industry any more," he explains. BYD (1211.Hong Kong), a manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, has begun making cars in the Chinese market. He's also invested in Fiat -- the Italian auto maker that has taken a 20% stake in Chrysler in exchange for small-car production technologies and is still hoping to acquire the assets of GM's German unit, Adam Opel hasn't given up on slower-growing economies such as Japan or the U.S. "Japan may be a demographic disaster, but that means that there aren't going to be that many eager competitors trying to take market share away from established Japanese companies like Kirin Holdings [2503.Japan]," he notes. And the brewing giant is venturing to China and Australia for growth. He sees similar opportunities closer to home, such as eBay (EBAY), Apple (AAPL) and Ontario-based Research in Motion (RIM) -- which appeal to him because they, too, are global.

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.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 4 Aug 2009 | 10:00 pm

Does It Make Sense to Lock In a Mortgage Rate? (Consumer Action)

Timing the market to land a mortgage with the lowest rate possible is like trying to hit a moving target. It’s not impossible, but it takes patience and a keen eye, particularly in today’s volatile market.

Mortgage rates can fluctuate over a few days or several weeks. The leading indicators that influence rates vary depending on the type of mortgage for which you’re approved and whether it’s a fixed rate or an adjustable rate (or ARM).

Before the downturn, some mortgage rates could be tracked and predicted relatively easily because a few leading indicators were more closely bound to rates, says Keith Gumbinger, a vice president at HSH Associates, a mortgage-data tracking firm. For example, fixed-rate mortgages moved in closer lockstep with 10-year Treasury yields than they do now. Now, those rates are heavily influenced by other factors, including the unemployment rate, consumer spending and fear of inflation, he says.

According to the most recent data from HSH Associates, average mortgage rates are down from one month ago. The average rate for a 30-year conforming mortgage was 5.42% for the week ending July 31, compared to 5.55% for the week ending June 26. The average rate on a 15-year mortgage for the last week of July was 4.85%, down from 5.01% in the last week of June. And the average rate on a 5/1 ARM (the most common ARM, whose interest is fixed for the first five years and then becomes variable) was 4.89%, down from 5.14% in the week of June.

These lower rates are well above the near-historic lows they touched earlier this year. For the week ending May 1, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hit 4.96%.

“Trying to time the bottom of the marketplace is like trying to time the stock market,” Gumbinger says. “Even insiders don’t know when interest rates may change quickly.”

Borrowers can lock in a mortgage rate with a few weeks or more left until closing is completed. This is particularly useful if the borrower believes rates will soon increase. But navigating this process can become tricky and even costly.

Here’s what borrowers should know about locking in mortgage rates.

When is the right time to lock in a mortgage rate?

In most cases, buyers must first find the home that they want to buy and sign a purchase agreement on it. That often requires a deposit of around 5% of the home’s purchase price, says Gibran Nicholas, the chairman of the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based CMPS Institute, which trains and certifies mortgage lenders and brokers.

Then, once your lender has told you the mortgage for which you have qualified, ask if you can lock in the rate through the closing process, which usually lasts around 30 to 45 days.

How much does it cost to lock in a rate?

Lenders who allow borrowers to lock in a rate for around 30 days often won’t charge a fee, says Chip Cummings, president of Northwind Financial, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based training and consulting firm for mortgage and realtor firms.

Borrowers who anticipate that closing will take longer, can request to lock in a rate for 45 or 60 days, which most lenders will let you do for free or for a one-time fee of up to 0.50% of the total loan, Nicholas says. Some lenders permit lock-ins for up to 90 or 120 days for, say, borrowers who haven’t found the home they plan to purchase, but you’ll have to pay a fee of 0.50% to 2% of the total loan amount.

Home buyers who have about a week left until their lock-in expires should contact their mortgage company to confirm that their closing will wrap up within the week or to inquire about extending their lock, Cummings says.

What are the pros of locking in a mortgage rate?

Locking in a mortgage rate eliminates uncertainty for the buyer, says Buz Livingston, a fee-only certified financial planner in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. You’ll know whether you can afford your mortgage and in most cases what your monthly mortgage payments will be.

When a shopper finds a mortgage at a price level that they can afford, they should lock it in, says Gumbinger. Otherwise, they run the risk of ending up with a higher rate, which could result in a smaller mortgage that doesn’t cover the cost of the home. 

What are the risks?

Consumers who pay a fee to lock in a rate could end up losing out on the savings they’re after, Cummings says. Even if the lock-in rate is lower than rates four months from now, the fee you’ve paid could wipe out the savings you had hoped to reap from the lower rate.

Those who walk away from a mortgage after they lock in a rate stand to lose the money they gave the lender, including an application or appraisal fee or the fee they paid to lock in the rate or extend the lock, Cummings says. Fees vary, depending on the lender.

Also, by locking in a rate now, borrowers stand to lose out should mortgage rates drop. Few lenders offer a float-down option, which allows you to qualify for the lower rate should it kick in between now and the closing, even if you locked in a higher rate. This option could cost another 0.25 to 0.50 points of the total loan amount, Nicholas says. (On a $200,000 mortgage, this option could cost between $500 and $1,000.)

What questions should you ask a lender before locking in a mortgage rate?

Find out how long you can lock in a rate and at what cost. And find out if you can sign on for a float-down option and what money you’ll recoup if you back out of the mortgage. Make sure that all of this information is included in a written rate-lock agreement.

Also, ask how long closing is likely to take; in July, new regulations in the mortgage industry (including changes in the appraisal process) that may delay loan processing went into effect, says Nicholas.

What are the leading indicators that are pegged to mortgage rates?

Interest rates on fixed mortgages are determined by mortgage-backed securities or mortgage bonds that trade on the bond market, Nicholas says. When there’s demand for mortgage bonds, mortgage rates drop, and when that demand declines, rates increase. The Federal Reserve plan to purchase more than $1 trillion of mortgage-backed securities by the end of the year, which has helped lower rates, Nicholas says. (Reliable mortgage lenders will keep track of when the Fed buys mortgages to handicap a rate drop, he says.) Also, as economic indicators – including unemployment figures, consumer spending and concerns about inflation – worsen, rates on fixed mortgages drop, Gumbinger says.

Interest rates on ARMs are typically tied to either short-term Treasurys or the LIBOR, which is the interest rate that banks charge each other for short-term loans. The rate on the 5/1 ARM is often pegged to the 12-month LIBOR, Nicholas says.

What kind of buyer is best suited for fixed-rate mortgage vs. an ARM?

Buyers who plan to stay in a home for the long term or who can’t stomach the risk of a variable mortgage rate are better off with fixed-rate mortgages, Livingston says. Long-term homeowners often include families with young children that move into a neighborhood for the schools.

ARMs make sense for borrowers who plan to stay in a home for the number of years that the mortgage’s rate is fixed, especially if that temporarily fixed rate is significantly lower than what’s offered in a fixed-rate mortgage, Cummings says. Newlyweds who plan to upgrade or individuals who are transferred to new locations for work every few years often benefit from an ARM.

What about locking in when refinancing?

The benefits of locking in a rate when you’re refinancing become apparent more quickly than when you’re buying a home. That’s because once you’re quoted a new mortgage rate, you can compare it to the rate you’ve been paying so far. Assuming the new rate is lower, you should consider locking it in, Nicholas says.

Before you can lock in a rate, you’ll typically have to pay for a home appraisal (costs vary, but they are often around $500) and around $30 to $50 for your credit report.

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.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 4 Aug 2009 | 10:00 pm

Full Expectations For Cisco Earnings (CSCO, JNPR, BRCD, COMS, ALU)

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is set to report earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday.  Be advised that estimates could change ever so slightly before the formal number if there are any last minute changes from analysts.  Thomson Reuters has the estimates pegged at $0.29 EPS and $8.52 billion in revenues.  This will also [...]

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

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 4 Aug 2009 | 8:47 pm

Hallensteins says big drop in earnings coming

Hallenstein Glasson is forecasting a drop in full-year earnings of around 23 per cent. The clothing retailer says sales for the 12 months ended August 1, were $198.19 million, an increase of 2.3 per cent over the same period last...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Aug 2009 | 8:06 pm

Air NZ airfares set to fall as fuel bill drops

Travellers will get the benefit of Air New Zealand's shrinking fuel costs next year as competition in the Australasian market forces the national carrier to pass on any savings. The airline's fuel hedge position will slash costs...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Aug 2009 | 8:00 pm

No quick end to China's fiscal stimulus: researcher

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will stick to its loose fiscal policy for at least three years despite a growing budget deficit, a government economist said in comments published on Wednesday.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 4 Aug 2009 | 7:17 pm

No quick end to China's fiscal stimulus: researcher (Reuters)

Reuters - China will stick to its loose fiscal policy for at least three years despite a growing budget deficit, a government economist said in comments published on Wednesday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 4 Aug 2009 | 7:17 pm

Fonterra milk prices jump 26pc in online auction

Milk powder prices have jumped nearly 26 per cent in Fonterra's latest online auction as the world dairy market continues to show extreme volatility. The New Zealand dollar jumped to a 10-month high after the results were published....
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Aug 2009 | 7:00 pm

Clinton and freed journalists leave N Korea

Bill Clinton, the former US president, left North Korea with two American journalists newly released by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il after he granted the pair a ”special pardon”
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Aug 2009 | 6:14 pm

Property agent Dylan Harvey Residential fails with £6.5m in deposits

About 500 investors who put down deposits of as much as £20,000 for apartments in the North West have been hit by the collapse yesterday of a Lancashire-based property company.


Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Aug 2009 | 6:11 pm

Sony reveals new e-book reader

SAN FRANCISCO - Electronic books are often mentioned in the same breath as Amazon.com's Kindle digital reader. Now e-book rival Sony is determined to recapture consumers' attention with a smaller reader that's also $US100 cheaper. Sony...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm

Legal & General resilient despite huge profit slide, chief insists

Legal & General reported a 92 per cent slide in first-half operating profits to £31 million yesterday, surprising analysts and sending its shares sharply lower.


Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm

Orange dongle deal kickstarts mobile broadband price war

Orange has kicked off a price war in the mobile broadband market after slashing the monthly cost of its base package to less than £5 and capping the penalty charges users face for exceeding their download limit.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm

Nervous City fears Lloyds loss of up to £5bn

Lloyds Banking Group is set to unveil a pre-tax loss of up to £5 billion today, damaged further by the sickly state of corporate loans it took on when rescuing HBOS almost a year ago.


Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm

Business big shot: Jac Nasser, next chairman of BHP Billiton

Abdo Nasser, a bus driver in the Lebanon, decided 58 years ago to move with his wife and two children to Melbourne. For his son, Jac, then aged three, it was the start of a journey to the pinnacle of the Australian business world, culminating yesterday in his appointment as the next chairman of BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company.


Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm

Focus DIY calls on landlords to support deal

Focus DIY will outline details today of a vital restructuring deal to secure its future and urge landlords to back its proposals in a vote later this month.


Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 4 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm

Sony fires latest salvo against Kindle

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 4 Aug 2009 | 5:38 pm

GE settles claims of fraud in accounts

General Electric agreed to pay $50m to settle civil accounting fraud charges by US regulators, calling into question the conglomerate’s legendary ability to deliver consistent earnings growth
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Aug 2009 | 5:34 pm

UBS close to hiring McCann

UBS is close to hiring former Merrill Lynch executive Bob McCann as the Swiss bank tries to draw a line under the damaging tax evasion dispute with the US that has prompted clients to pull billions of dollars out of its private banking business
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Aug 2009 | 5:22 pm

Budget-conscious consumers boost Kraft

US shoppers are still opting for Kraft’s low-cost macaroni and cheese dinners to save money, but recent results from several US consumer companies suggest that the “trading down” trend that emerged with last year’s economic crisis might be starting to level off
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Aug 2009 | 5:13 pm

Presented By: Drain the Ocean - Sunday August 9 9P e/p

This is a world you have never seen before, a world normally hidden under miles of water...the landscape of the ocean bed. Click to learn more www.natgeotv.com/draintheocean

Source: Dealbreaker | 4 Aug 2009 | 5:09 pm

Write-Offs: 08.04.09

$$$ AIG will not talk about what happened this quarter [Bloomberg]

$$$ Third Point founder Daniel Loeb details everything he has done in his entire life.[Simoleonsense.com]

$$$ Minnesota Twins' Owners Gain $110 Million From PepsiCo Deal [Bloomberg]

$$$ For once. the Treasury's forecasts are 20% too conservative [WSJ]

Sponsored Topics: Bloomberg L.P. - Wall Street Journal - Minnesota Twins - Bloomberg - American International Group
Source: Dealbreaker | 4 Aug 2009 | 5:09 pm

Shares open with modest gains

After strong advances on the first two days of the week, the New Zealand sharemarket was gaining more gently in early trade today. While top stock Telecom was down 2c early to $2.84, other leading stocks were helping push the market...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Aug 2009 | 5:06 pm

Auckland property prices rise in July, sales up 24pc

Auckland property prices rose in July, but local real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson says the hot action was in the number of sales - up nearly 24 per cent on the same month last year. Barfoot & Thompson is the biggest real estate...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 4 Aug 2009 | 4:30 pm

US threat to banks based in havens

International financial services groups should be ex­cluded from the US market if they are based in countries that are havens from regulation
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Aug 2009 | 4:26 pm

Mortgage aid program helping fraction of borrowers (AP)

AP - The government's $50 billion program to ease the mortgage crisis is helping only a tiny fraction of struggling homeowners, and a list released Tuesday showed which lenders are laggards.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 4 Aug 2009 | 4:24 pm

Sony (SNE), Always Late And Always A Loser, Gets Into E-Reader Market

Sony (SNE) has had one hit product in the thirty years since it launched the Walkman. That product was the PlayStation 2. Microsoft (MSFT) and Nintendo bull-dozed Sony out of its position as the leader in game consoles and the PS3 has never come close to matching the success of its predecessor. Sony today announced that [...]

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

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 4 Aug 2009 | 4:13 pm

Unfounded Rumor Of The Afternoon: We Have Another JPM Intern Down

We're not exactly sure what is going on in the Natural Resources IB Group at the House of Dimon, but apparently they're dropping like flies. DB is hearing that a second intern in the group was worked into a state requiring hospitalization last weekend after experiencing "exhaustion and a migraine headache".

Update I: We are told the primary reason for the trip to the hospital wasn't so much mere exhaustion but the inability of the intern to stop violently throwing up.

Sponsored Topics: Migraine - Headache - Health - Conditions and Diseases - Neurological Disorders
Source: Dealbreaker | 4 Aug 2009 | 4:03 pm

Senate rethinks ‘cash for clunkers’ stance

The US Senate looks likely to push through a $2bn extension of the “cash for clunkers” car subsidy programme before it breaks up for its August recess following intense lobbying from the White House
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Aug 2009 | 4:02 pm

Online retailers point to new phase for Facebook

A new wave of sophisticated e-commerce applications is appearing on Facebook, a sign that the world’s largest social network could rapidly emerge as a big destination for online shopping
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Aug 2009 | 4:00 pm

Investors nudge rally forward with small gains (AP)

AP - Having sprinted higher for three weeks, the stock market is taking a break.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:51 pm

Asset freeze stays put in $53M Mich. fraud case (AP)

AP - A lawyer pleaded with a judge Tuesday to carve out a $3,000 allowance for a Michigan money manager whose assets were frozen after federal regulators accused him of squandering millions of dollars of his clients' money on a lavish lifestyle.
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:50 pm

Sergey Aleynikov Holds All The Cards (No, Really).

I mean, seriously. For a guy who spilled everything and talked for four straight hours to the FBI before even saying the word "lawyer" in passing, for that kind of nightmare client, Sergey's lawyer is doing pretty well.

Of course, when you factor in the seriousness of any public relations mess created by a Sergey spill during any trial, it doesn't really matter much to Goldman what the guy did or did not say to the FBI, or even if he spends a minute longer behind bars.

Today was the day for prosecutors to indict Aleynikov, who was arrested on July 3 on the theft charges. But in a court filing, prosecutors told the presiding magistrate judge that they need another 14 days to continue discussions with Aleynikov's lawyer about a "possible disposition."

After receiving his conditional discharge/probation, what, exactly, will Sergey be paid not to write a tell-all book about Goldman?

Will Sergey Cut a Deal? [Reuters Blogs]

Sponsored Topics: Federal Bureau of Investigation - Lawyer - Indictment - FBI - Magistrate
Source: Dealbreaker | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:42 pm

US prime borrowers fall behind on payments

The number of US prime borrowers behind on home loan payments has risen sharply, signalling further problems for banks and investors
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:30 pm

Edelman Calls Decline in Trust of U.S. Businesses `Calamitous'

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:25 pm

How the major stock indexes fared on Tuesday (AP)

AP - Investors made few big moves Tuesday after stocks rocketed 14 percent in just 16 days.
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:22 pm

General Electric to pay $50M in SEC settlement (AP)

AP - General Electric Co. will pay a $50 million civil penalty to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing the conglomerate of improper accounting in order to make its financial results appear more attractive to investors.
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:21 pm

Ortel Discusses GE Fraud Complaint; Strazzini on ETF Investing

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:19 pm

Buffett Loses Top Gun at NetJets (BRK-A)

It is easy to forget about the NetJets Inc. company….  Partly because of the recession, and partly because even fractional ownership of private jets has been vilified by the attack on wealth today.  Yet this is a Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) portfolio company, and therefore is what we have called Warren Buffett’s private airline.  [...]

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

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:16 pm

Oil, Gas ETFs Will Be Under Commission's Scrutiny

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:11 pm

Tough Day For Team Stanford

While Sir Allen's daughter, Randi, continues to fight against the "Gestapo-like" tactics the receiver in her father's case is using to smoke her out of her condo, ten former Stanford advisers are losing patience that their commissions are still frozen. The 10 self-described "innocent victims" who used to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in commission on those magical high-yielding CDs take issue with receiver Ralph Janvey's belief that $40 million in frozen advisor funds should be used to pay back their former clients. As for the man himself, prosecutors asked an appeals court to keep Stanford behind bars in his sweat box as he awaits trial.

"Stanford had extensive international contacts and minimal ties to Houston, faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted, maintained at least one secret Swiss bank account, and has realistic access to substantial resources either directly or through the support of others," the prosecutors argued.

The prosecutors must be really getting under Sir Allen's skin by now. First they deny him a jail with central air and now the flight risk issue has made him miss today's solemn occasion in Antigua commemorating their surrender to Stanford investors in the Mount Obama naming ceremony.

Sponsored Topics: Houston - Antigua - United States - Banking in Switzerland - Crime and Justice
Source: Dealbreaker | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:05 pm

SEC May Curb 'Flash Trading.' Goldman Says It's Not In The Game

By Laura Conaway

Goldman Sachs has told its clients it doesn't engage in "flash trading," in which high-frequency traders get a quick peek at competitors' stock orders before they're completed. The news came first from Zero Hedge, which got hold of a letter sent today by Goldman. Money quote:

"The most significant challenge ahead is for the regulatory framework to keep current with the rapid pace of innovation in the marketplace."

SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro said today that she has asked her staff to explore "an approach that can be quickly implemented to eliminate the inequity that results from flash orders." Schapiro wrote that she's concerned about "dark pools" where traders buy and sell large numbers of shares anonymously.

Schapiro's statement came after Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), told the world she had promised him a ban on flash trading.

In its letter, Goldman acknowledges using high-frequency trading but writes that its systems don't see "client order flow."

You can trace this particular hubbub back through the arrest last month of Goldman Sachs software developer Sergey Aleynikov for allegedly stealing proprietary software. At the time, Bloomberg columnist Jonathen Weil wrote that Goldman Sachs had lost its "grip on its doomsday machine." A prosecutor in the case told the court:

"The bank has raised the possibility that there is a danger that somebody who knew how to use this program could use it to manipulate markets in unfair ways."

On July 23, New York Times writer (and Planet Money pal) Charles Duhigg published an expose on high-frequency trading, "Stock Traders Find Speed Pays, in Milliseconds." Duhigg wrote:

Goldman acknowledges that it profits from high-frequency trading, but disputes that it has an unfair advantage.

Goldman says only about 1 percent of its total revenue this year has come from high-frequency trading.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:02 pm

EA Good Enough, on non-GAAP Basis (ERTS)

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced results for its first quarter of fiscal 2010, and shares are holding their own. Non-GAAP net revenue was $816 million, a gain of 34% from a year ago, and better than Thomson Reuters estimates of $729.5 million. EA’s non-GAAP loss was $6 million or -$0.02  EPS, down from -$0.42 [...]

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

Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 4 Aug 2009 | 2:46 pm

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

AP - How far the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen or advanced each trading day since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 15. Since Lehman's fall, which touched off a paralysis of the credit markets and deepened the recession, the stock market has gone through an extended period of volatility before kicking into a big rally starting this spring. The numbers are the closing levels for the Dow:
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 4 Aug 2009 | 2:25 pm

Dont Worry. They're Experts And They Conduct Stress Tests.

Because we know you for the free market lovers that we are, we are certain you share our concern about any increase in power for the Federal Reserve. The news that the present administration plans to significantly broaden the Fed's reach will have, likewise, filled you with a creeping dread. Fortunately, we have discovered that there is nothing at all to fear: The Fed will be hiring really, really smart people from now on. (Oh, and there will be more stress tests).

The Federal Reserve plans to strengthen its examinations of banks' lending practices and financial health with new teams composed of experts in everything from law to economics and markets.

Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo outlined the step in testimony to a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington today. The overhaul, which would make reviews more uniform across the banking system, builds on the stress tests the central bank completed on the biggest 19 banks in May, he said.

Definitely, absolutely smarter than the people over at Treasury.

Fed to Strengthen Bank Examinations With Expert Teams [Bloomberg]

Sponsored Topics: Central bank - Federal Reserve System - Washington - Federal Reserve - Daniel Tarullo
Source: Dealbreaker | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:47 pm

Anybody (Else) In Government Looking For A Prostitute?

As evidenced by Geithner's mini-meltdown on Friday, the stress and frustration levels of policymakers are starting to get close to the boiling point. But help is on the way to every member of the House and Senate as well as every governor. The Moonlight BunnyRanch is sending out "good time party passes" to our nation's lawmakers to help them forget the economic crisis and their spouses at the same time. Citing the collective works of Mark Sanford and The Spitz, BunnyRanch owner Dennis Hof explained the benefit of the brothel's stimulus plan.

"These men are good men who have gotten themselves into trouble and could have avoided all of this exploitation by visiting the BunnyRanch"

The BunnyRanch is also providing much needed relief for frustrated Californians by accepting IOUs. The full menu on offer to lawmakers who are now looking for flights to Reno follows after the jump.

Sponsored Topics: Mark Sanford - Spitz - Health - Senate - House
Source: Dealbreaker | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:43 pm

SEC set to target flash trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to clamp down on lightning-fast ‘flash’ trades, which are made at lightning speeds on electronic trading systems amid growing concerns that ontroversy over the practice puts some investors at a disadvantage
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:43 pm

KKR moves another step closer to Euronext (Reuters)

Reuters - Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co nudged another step closer to merging with its Euronext-listed fund on Tuesday after the fund received enough support from its unitholders for the deal.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:39 pm

KKR moves another step closer to Euronext (Reuters)

Reuters - Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co nudged another step closer to merging with its Euronext-listed fund on Tuesday after the fund received enough support from its unitholders for the deal.
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:39 pm

Bankruptcy Filings Reach New High

By Mathew Katz

The American Bankruptcy Institute reports that July saw the highest monthly number of bankruptcies since 2005, when Congress overhauled bankruptcy procedures to prevent abuses of the system. There were 126,434 bankruptcy filings in July, a 34.3 percent increase over last year, and an 8.7 percent jump from last month's numbers.

This is basically the recession's chickens coming home to roost. Bankruptcies are a delayed indicator, representing months of financial stress, so it's not surprising that they've hit a high among other signs of recovery. The institute is predicting 1.4 million new bankruptcies by the year's end--- we're at over 802,000 right now.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:32 pm

Coincidence? We Think Not.

GE Pays $50 Million to Resolve SEC Accounting Probe [Bloomberg]

Former GE Chief Jack Welch Expects Full Recovery From Discitis [Bloomberg]

We're rooting for Jobs now based on this connection.

Sponsored Topics: US Securities and Exchange Commission - Bloomberg L.P. - Business - United States - Presidential
Source: Dealbreaker | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:19 pm

Casesa, Rayman Discuss U.S. Auto Market, `Cash-for-Clunkers'

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:09 pm

SEC moving toward banning flash orders (AP)

AP - The Securities and Exchange Commission is moving toward banning a trading practice that gives some brokerages a split-second advantage in buying or selling stocks.
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:08 pm

Top U.K. professions exclude the poor

Britain has come a long way from the era of classes and nobility, but a government-sponsored report finds that the poor are still cut off from top jobs. Medicine and law are open only to the rich, and the divide is only getting deeper. Stephen Beard reports.
Source: Marketplace | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:05 pm

Milligan Says Simon Property Not Likely to Buy General Growth

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:56 pm

FBR's Miller Says Bank of America Management Shift Is Good

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:52 pm

Dow rally for real? "Big money" thinks so: study (Reuters)

Reuters - Pension managers and mutual fund houses have been among the biggest buyers of the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) in recent weeks, underscoring the growing belief the recession is over, according to an analysis conducted by Thomson Reuters.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:42 pm

China’s growth figures fail to add up

The latest set of first-half GDP numbers from provincial authorities are far higher than Beijing’s national figure, raising questions on the accuracy of statistics
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:20 pm

No more status quo for health care

Kai Ryssdal talks with health reform czar Nancy-Ann DeParle to smooth out some confusing facts about health-care reform. She also explains what President Obama will be doing while Congress is on summer recess.
Source: Marketplace | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:10 pm

The risky life of an L.A. 'Tamalero'

Selling tamales on the streets of Los Angeles is a dangerous game of hide-and-seek. Tamale vendors, or "Tamaleros," have to avoid obstacles like gangs, traffic, police and health inspectors to make only about $30 a day. Devin Browne talks to one Tamalero whose found ways to stay in business.
Source: Marketplace | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:10 pm

As RV industry tanks, so does Elkhart

Elkhart, Ind. is largely dependent on sales and manufacturing of RVs. Needless to say its an industry not faring well in this recession. Kai Ryssdal talks with dime-store owner Mac McNally of Elkhart about Obama's visit and the economic straits of the Midwestern city.
Source: Marketplace | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:10 pm

Obama treks to Indiana to talk economy

President Obama is heading back to Indiana for the fourth time in the past 15 months - he visited the city of Elkhart back in February. The economy is likely to be a major topic, since the state has been hard-hit by the downturn. Tamara Keith reports.
Source: Marketplace | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:10 pm

Travelers irked by Web travel sites fees

A new study shows that consumers are dissatisfied with online travel Web sites due to hidden fees often tacked on to purchases. Some travelers are even turning to old-fashioned travel agents. Dan Grech reports.
Source: Marketplace | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:10 pm

GE settles fraud suit for $50 million

General Electric is paying the SEC $50 million to settle a fraud suit alleging that GE reported false accounting numbers seven years ago. Amy Scott reports on why the investigation took so long.
Source: Marketplace | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:10 pm

RBS Bailout Money Found

It's no wonder RBS couldn't meet its lending quotas. Instead of attending to its penance of making forced loans, RBS was busy acting as a bailout funds pass-through SPV for its auditor's benefit. Having closely scrutinized and signed off on RBS's books throughout the lending binge, Deloitte pulled in just under £60 million last year from the bank, close to double the year before, for its reinvigorated efforts to ensure UK taxpayer money is safe. Between this incident and the AIG fee bonanza, it's been a decent year for half of the Big 4.

Sponsored Topics: Bank - Business - Royal Bank of Scotland Group - RBS - Financial services
Source: Dealbreaker | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm

Few benefit from loan modification plan

The Treasury Dept. reports that fewer than 10% of eligible delinquent home-loan borrowers get help through the mortgage modification program. Some banks are doing better than others, but Obama administration expects all banks to do more. Bob Moon reports.
Source: Marketplace | 4 Aug 2009 | 11:55 am

Who's Afraid Of The CFPA?

By Caitlin Kenney

There's been debate recently among some of Planet Money's favorite econ bloggers about why community banks oppose the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).

Simon Johnson of Baseline Scenario kicked off the conversation by suggesting that community bankers fears about "new regulatory burdens" are "fascinating but completely wrong." Felix Salmon of Reuters followed up -- saying he thinks the opposition is "a combination of fear of the unknown, on the one hand, and fear of the big banks, on the other." And Simon's blogging partner James Kwak weighed in to say that "small banks believe that once the CFPA is created, it will be captured by big banks, who will use it to screw them -- not an irrational fear, given the way regulation is often used as a stick with which one set of corporate interests beats on another."

The conversation made me think back to a podcast in June when we spoke to Diane Casey-Landry of the American Bankers Association. Landry represents all bankers, but she definitely has a soft spot for the little guy.

We spoke to her just after President Obama's unveiled his plans for overhauling regulation of the financial system, and at the time she was particularly alarmed about the creation of the CFPA, which she worried would be costly and ineffective. Here's a bit of what she told us:

It says the culture and the expertise of the agencies doesn't exist so they can enforce consumer protection laws yet they overlook the fact that consumer compliance exams have been going on for 30 years. Then two paragraphs later they say that to start up the new agency that they just said didn't do a good job, they are going to take all the people from the existing agencies. First of all, you have a long standing process and we also really don't think you can separate consumer protection from safety and soundness because the biggest consumer protection is to have a safe and sound enterprise. You want a safe and sound bank and then you are going to go in with the enforcement of all the consumer laws, but you need to ensure those consumer laws are enforced by people outside of the insured depository institution.

You have banks that for the last 30 years have been having compliance examinations. They are suddenly being told they are going to have another agency that has to be funded that is going to take away the ability to offer products to customers. We have the government telling you what kind of products you can offer?

Right now, the future of the CFPA is still unclear. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank was hoping to push the CFPA through Congress this summer but has agreed to delay the process to give the opposition more time. Republican lawmakers opposed to the measure say it will limit consumer choice and stifle innovation. Both the Senate and House are set to take up the bill in September. The Obama administration says it considers its passage a top priority.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 4 Aug 2009 | 11:52 am

Biden Defends Stimulus, Defines Recovery

By Laura Conaway

Vice President Joe Biden defended the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act today, saying the $787 billion stimulus has helped slow the shrinking of the U.S. economy. Biden said the spending plan has been misunderstood.

It's got three parts, the vice president said: rescue, recovery and reinvestment. Here's how Biden said we'll know when we reach recovery:

"Less bad" is not the same as "good." We know that growth in GDP is necessary but not sufficient. It's not a sufficient marker of recovery. For one thing, it's not going to occur until there are jobs. My grandpop used to have the expression, he said, when the guy up the line is out of work, it's an economic slowdown; when your brother-in-law is out of work, it's a recession; when you're out of work, it's a depression. Well, it's still a serious problem for millions of unemployed Americans. Too many people are out of work. Too many families are in pain. And when that's no longer the case, that's when we will have recovery.

I'll drop the full transcript of his remarks after the jump.

Transcript of Vice President Joe Biden's remarks:

We've just finished a briefing with the economic team about the impact and role of the Recovery Act in the more optimistic projections that are being -- that we're seeing. Six months ago we gathered here in the White House, worrying about the U.S. economy and whether or not it was falling off a cliff. And today, analysts are trying to determine if -- if an official recovery is already underway, or to quote my good friend Larry Summers, he said, "Six months ago we were talking about whether or not this recession was going to turn into a depression. And now today, we're sitting here talking about whether or not -- not when, not if, but when the recession will turn into a recovery."

So it's a significant change in the last six months. And that's because we are -- we're starting to see some signs of stabilization in key parts of the economy. In the final quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year, the loss rate of GDP was around 6 percent. And in the most recent quarter, GDP fell a much lower rate at 1 percent. And many economists, many economists -- left, right, and center -- have attributed this in large part to the Recovery Act, one piece of the three-pronged approach that the administration has put together to get this economy moving again.

The Recovery Act was designed to do three things. It's been mischaracterized, intentionally and unintentionally, by a lot of people. It really has three pieces to it. First is rescue, the second is recovery, and the third is reinvestment.

Now, you know, there's now evidence that it's accomplished the goals it set out to do, or on the way of accomplishing those goals. After falling the prior six months, state and local spending has increased 2.4 percent last quarter -- and a very unexpected reversal -- that links directly to the fiscal relief we have provided to the states. Household income has gotten a much needed boost in the last quarter, growing at a yearly rate of almost 5 percent following declines in the previous nine months. And business investment contracted less than expected as confidence is slowly -- slowly returning to the economy.

Americans are now confident enough that with certain incentives they're willing to start to go out and spend again. For example, the tax credit for new home buyers has helped stabilize sales and prices of new and existing homes, giving it a boost to, an incentive to -- over 250,000 families have gone out there and purchased a new home without reliance on unsound credit practices of the past.

And the Cash for Clunkers program has been an unqualified success. It has boosted demand for cars and spurred consumer spending. And our critics say they don't think this program is helping. Well, all the economic indicia point to the opposite direction -- it is helping. I think it would be hard to tell the young family who just bought their first home because of the tax credit or the thousands of people who have just traded in gas guzzlers for more efficient cars that this is having no impact.

Now, don't get me wrong -- we still have a long way to go. "Less bad" is not the same as "good." We know that growth in GDP is necessary but not sufficient. It's not a sufficient marker of recovery. For one thing, it's not going to occur until there are jobs. My grandpop used to have the expression, he said, when the guy up the line is out of work, it's an economic slowdown; when your brother-in-law is out of work, it's a recession; when you're out of work, it's a depression. Well, it's still a serious problem for millions of unemployed Americans. Too many people are out of work. Too many families are in pain. And when that's no longer the case, that's when we will have recovery.

But I can tell you today without reservation: The Recovery Act is working. And when we do recover, when we finish rebuilding, when we finish rescuing the thousands of people -- tens of thousands of people who have fallen into a black hole without our help with unemployment insurance and COBRA and FMAP and the like, when we finish this process we also will have been in the process of having, through the Recovery Act, begun to lay the platform for a much stronger, more stable economy in the investments that we're making through this Recovery Act.

So let me conclude by saying that I think -- and it's a fairly widespread and widely held view -- that the Recovery Act is working, it was necessary, it continues to be necessary, and we're going to see to it we execute the remaining portion of the act with the same kind of fidelity (inaudible).

Thank you very much.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 4 Aug 2009 | 11:45 am

Pitt Calls CEO Pay Limits Counterproductive, Destructive

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 4 Aug 2009 | 11:44 am

Calyon's Maher Sees GDP Globally in `Flatlining Environment'

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 4 Aug 2009 | 11:36 am

Three Million Students

One of the terms of the unwritten deal consummated between China and her citizens after several of them were shot, crushed by tanks, detained, executed or imprisoned in 1989, was that the party would remain in power, but the trappings of western life (internet porn and the appearance of prosperity in particular) would be permitted. Like any campaign (or post-massacre) promise, one expects real consequences only in the most dire of circumstances. Having said this, the downside for Chinese leadership isn't losing an election or being kicked out in a no-confidence vote. It is getting shot in the back of the head and having their organs sold for transplants before the by-products are ground up for poultry feed. Given this, it shouldn't surprise anyone that China is a bit concerned about the mounting problem of the jobless.

Sponsored Topics: China - Asia - Motion of no confidence - Society and Culture - Business and Economy
Source: Dealbreaker | 4 Aug 2009 | 11:35 am

Would You Eat a Bipolar Donut?

Campbell, CA-based Psycho Donuts might be the only place in the country where you can buy donuts with names like Bipolar, Manic Malt, or Psycho. It also entertains customers with a padded cell and servers dressed as nurses.

It’s a neat novelty idea–or so the owners thought. However, soon after the store opened, people started protesting, claiming that the donut shop was aggrevating the sense of shame and stigma mental health patients already expreience. They gave the shop bad reviews on Yelp.com, and staged regular protests in front of the store.

Recently, Psycho Donuts co-owner Kipp Berdiansky appeared on TV to debate mental-health advocate Oscar Wright, who is the CEO of the nonprofit United Advocates for Children and Families.

Wright said that the country’s mental health crisis–1 million kids are diagnosed with mental illness annually–involves shame about coming forward and accessing services. Psycho Donuts only accentuates the stigma by playing on mental health terminology. “The message that mental illness can be a joke causes a serious problem,” Wright said in the interview (featured above). “Kids have very impressionable minds. The images and ideas that they see at an early age influence them later in life.”

Berdiansky states his point in the Psycho Donuts blog:

It’s a shame that there are a handful of folks out there who do not have a sense of humor. Follow me here - if our donuts are crazy, does that make us insensitive to the mental health community? Is El Pollo Loco insensitive to Crazy Chickens? Was Patsy Cline being hurtful when she wrote the song Crazy? Is it insensitive to call a donut bipolar? …let’s agree on one thing: donuts are not people; and the names of our donuts do not correspond to any opinion or pre-conceived notion about people.

To those who are spending countless hours building an intricate strategy against us, we have a simple solution — go buy your donuts elsewhere. Or if you don’t like donuts, go spend your time on the bigger problems in the world. Go find a donut shop you like, or focus your concerns on something other than two guys trying to sell donuts. But irregardless — the crowds of people who have a sense of humor will keep coming, and these are our customers.

In this day and age, all of us are a little crazy. 25% of Americans have some clinical form of mental health challenge - and our take is that the rest of us just haven’t been clinically diagnosed yet! I might add that Psycho Donuts contributes to NARSAD (www.narsad.org) - which is a mental health research organization. We might make light of the topic in our store, but we aim to be a positive contributor to positive mental health. Psycho Donuts is a testament to the human condition, and a place where we can all accept our individual faults. If people can leave our store with a smile on their face, then we’ve done our part contributing to people’s positive mental health.

Amen to that. Psycho Donuts’ ability to bring levity to the mental health epidemic reminds me of something I read recently in a book called Creating Mental Illness. In it, author Allan Horwitz claims that although the DSM-IV contains about 400 different diagnoses, the real diseases among them–psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder–make up only a small portion of the list.

Many of the other diagnoses attempt to medicalize conditions without taking cultural factors, stressful life events, or social deviance. Professionals have a tendency both to pathologize and overestimate the prevalance of mental disorders.

A medicalized, pill-popping society is the result. According to NIMH, “26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.” That’s almost 58 million people. Many are diagnosed with more than one mental disorder.

Who benefits? Pharmaceutical companies, for one. Professionals such as psychiatrists and therapists. The media. Anyone who can use the industry to their advantage.

It’s hard to say how many patients (outside of those with serious disorders) benefit from identifying their condition with a pathological cause. Perhaps names give people comfort. Perhaps experts and pills are just a modern replacement for the priests, shamans, and tribal elders of yore. As long as we search for medical names for our anxieties, fears, and obsessions, and find comfort in customized medication, the industry will continue to thrive.

Back to Oscar Wright, the mental health advocate in the debate. To me, part of his message says “stop stigmatizing these poor, victimized people who feel shamed as a result of the labels an overly pathologized system has given them!” By “protecting” people–I still don’t think the donuts are that serious–he is supporting the sense of insecurity and shame that keeps people with vague problems in the grip of the medical industry in the first place.

Instead of targeting a tongue-in-cheek donut shop, Wright should be focusing on the advertisers who try to convince people that they have problems, or the drug companies who keep coming up with new uses for their psychotropics (like the anti-kleptomania pill). This country needs innovative, community solutions to mental health “issues,” not attacks on a satirical small business.

Like Berdiansky said, if you don’t like the donut shop, don’t go there.

Source: Business Pundit | 4 Aug 2009 | 11:06 am

France Telecom Cut to `Neutral' From `Buy' at Bank of America

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 4 Aug 2009 | 10:58 am

Pending Home Sales Rise Again

By Laura Conaway

Pending home sales are up for the fifth month in a row, the National Association of Realtors reports.

The cheaper stuff's going first, says NAR economist Lawrency Yun. "Historically low mortgage interest rates, affordable home prices and large selection are encouraging buyers who've been on the sidelines," he says, in the group's press release.

The Pending Home Sales Index for contracts signed in June was up 3.6 percent from May and 6.7 percent from June 2008. For what it's worth, the last time pending sales rose for a fifth straight month was in July 2003, just after the post-9/11 recession ended.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 4 Aug 2009 | 10:10 am

Mortgage Modification Program Off To Slow Start

By Mathew Katz

The Obama administration released the first official stats on its $75 billion mortgage modification program this morning. According to the report, 235,250 home loans, or about nine percent of delinquent borrowers, have been put into trial modifications by loan servicing firms participating in the program. Those institutions offered extended modifications to 406,540 delinquent borrowers -- about 15 percent of the total.

According to the Center for Responsible Lending, there are about 3.5 million mortgages in serious delinquency right now, and that same report warned that new foreclosure starts and delinquencies are outpacing the modification program, which was announced in February.

We linked to that report last week, along with a New York Times story about mortgage servicers not wanting to alter loans so they could profit off of late fees. As you can see from the above chart, a lot of the lag is coming from the banks -- most of which haven't modified even 10 percent of their delinquent mortgages.

But the Obama administration says that they're going to speed up the program's implementation and put more pressure on lenders to modify bad loans -- the goal is to modify 500,000 loans by November, and up to four million over the next three years.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 4 Aug 2009 | 9:58 am

Japanese Wages Hit 20-Year Low. Chart Looks Like Cliff Dive

By Laura Conaway

Carl B. Weinberg of High Frequency Economics sends a bummer note this morning."The global economic downturn is not taking any time off for summer vacation," he writes. Global credit has stopped growing, he notes, and German retail spending is looking very 1990.

But that's nothing compared to the news out of Japan, where overall pay clocked in last month as the lowest in 20 years. Cash earnings are down 7.1 percent over June 2008, as companies cut summer bonuses by 17 percent. Wages were down 2.5 percent lower than May 2008. With less money in their pockets, Weinberg writes, Japanese families will be spending less for a long while. "This is what a depression looks like, eh?" he writes.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 4 Aug 2009 | 9:56 am

Saut Favors U.S. Energy, Telecom Stocks

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 4 Aug 2009 | 9:51 am

700 Locations on Post Office Closure List

As part of a consolidation effort, the US Post Office is considering closing or scaling down up to 700 locations. The full post office closure list is here. The San Francisco Chronicle has more:

Postal officials released Monday a list of nearly 700 post offices in metropolitan areas that are being eyed for potential closure or consolidation by the independent Postal Regulatory Commission. Some could be closed entirely while others might remain open but provide only limited services, according to postal officials.

“The Postal Service is not doing well financially with the dramatic decrease in mail volume,” said spokesman James Wigdel. “We’ve consolidated operations in our processing plants; now we’re looking at consolidating (post offices) in metropolitan areas.”

After the closures, it would be nice to see wait times and customer service improved in the remaining post offices. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the government and Postal Worker’s Union think that way.

Source: Business Pundit | 4 Aug 2009 | 9:37 am

Personal Income Falls, Spending Rises, With Little Inflation In June

By Laura Conaway

From the Bureau of Economic Analysis:

Personal income decreased $159.8 billion, or 1.3 percent . . . in June.

Personal spending rose from May to June by $41.4 billion, or 0.4 percent. The bureau's price index shows a .5 percent increase in June, versus .1 percent in May. If you exclude the volatile costs of food and energy, prices increased .2 percent versus .1 percent in May. "This should help temper any near-term inflation fears," writes Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman.

The BEA pins the monthly fall in income on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the $787 billion stimulus, which called for a one-time $250 check to Social Security recipients in May.

Wages and salaries, as a category, notched a tenth straight monthly decline, falling by .4 percent in June.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 4 Aug 2009 | 7:45 am

Tim Geithner Loses His Cool: What's Happening Out There

By Laura Conaway

In the news this morning, the Economy economy and the economy we live in:

-- For the first time since November, the S&P 500 closed above 1,000 Monday, and the TED Spread keeps falling as investors and bankers are breathing a little easier these days. The U.S. Treasury says it will need to borrow $109 billion less than expected in the third quarter because banks have paid back more than $70 billion in TARP money (Wall Street Journal, subs. req'd.). The CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, reportedly told his folks to avoid flashing their bonus cash with big purchases around town. Also, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner apparently cursed out a bunch of financial types -- including FDIC chair Sheila Bair and SEC chair Mary Schapiro on Friday, telling them he'd had enough of their objections to the Obama administration's proposed overhaul of financial regulations (Wall Street Journal, subs. requ'd.).

-- Meanwhile, people who've been laid off can spend years trying to regain their old salary levels. The price of gas is going up again, as the commodities market rises. Cash for Clunkers tiptoed forward in the Senate, with key critics saying the $2 billion extension should pass. And the new GI Bill sets aside $78 billion in benefits, including college tuition, for veterans.

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

Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 4 Aug 2009 | 7:05 am

Oh, #%*!

Source: Business Pundit | 4 Aug 2009 | 6:30 am

BMW Net Profits Down 76% This Year; Ford, Subaru Increase Sales

BMW today reported that its net profits are down 76% from a year ago. The BBC has more:

Carmaker BMW has said it sees few signs of a lasting economic recovery after it reported profits down by three-quarters for the April to June period. Net profit was 121m euros ($174m; £103m), down 76% from a year ago, with car sales down by nearly a fifth.

Despite “some tentative positive signs, a lasting and wide ranging recovery is not yet in sight”, BMW said. BMW has been cutting costs as sales fall. Last week, it announced it would quit racing in Formula 1 from the end of this season.

Earlier on Tuesday, the world’s biggest carmaker, Toyota, reported a big quarterly loss after sales slumped.

Last week, VW reported an 81% net profit loss from a year ago. Renault, Peugeot Citroen, Daimler and Nissan also reported losses.

Yet some carmakers are suffering more than others. In the US, Subaru’s sales have jumped 34%, Hyundai’s are up 12%, and Ford sales have increased 2.3% from last year. Cash for Clunkers is largely responsible: Up to 50% of Subaru’s July sales were part of Cash for Clunkers, reports Edmunds. Most people bought Subaru Foresters in exchange for their clunkers.

Source: Business Pundit | 4 Aug 2009 | 5:35 am