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Stock futures moderately lower ahead of jobs data (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:33 am Stock futures moderately lower ahead of jobs dataStock futures are moderately lower ahead of a key report on the nation's employment. Overseas, European markets fell modestly, while Asian markets were mixed ahead of the U.S. jobs...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:31 am Hypo Real Estate reports $1.08 billion 2Q lossNationalized German lender Hypo Real Estate Holding AG said Friday that it lost euro750 million ($1.08 billion) in the second quarter as hefty loan loss provisions weighed down its...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:29 am Allianz net profit up 21 percent to $2.7 billionGerman insurer Allianz SE said Friday its second quarter net profit rose 21 percent as its life and health insurance business improved and said it was adjusting to the "new normal" of...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:27 am Goldman to help NY Times sell the Boston GlobeSource: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:27 am Finnair reports 2Q net loss of $37 millionFinnair PLC on Friday reported a second-quarter net loss of euro26 million ($37 million) as the airline's chief executive announced that he is resigning in what he called "crisis"...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:26 am Lawmaker got choice Countrywide loansRead full story for latest details.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:24 am Trucks win the Clunkers game - not small carsDespite the government's top-ten Cash for Clunkers sales list all but excluding SUVs and trucks, two full size trucks were actually among the top-ten buys and a small crossover SUV, not a compact car, was the most popular overall.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:24 am Toyota not chasing 15 percent global market shareToyota under its new president will no longer chase global market share and other numerical targets, even as it hopes to sell more cars in emerging markets, a company executive said Friday.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:15 am Google (GOOG): The World Most Valuable Brand At $100 BillionNew data from Millward Brown, the brand evaluation firm, shows that Google (GOOG) is not the world’s most valuable brand with a valuation of just over $100 billion. That is well above the No.2 brand, Microsoft (MSFT) at just over $76 billion. Microsoft is a great deal larger than Google in revenue, so the figure does [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:14 am South Korea, India sign free trade agreementSouth Korea and India signed an ambitious free trade agreement Friday that slashes tariffs, encourages investment and promotes exchange of skills in a bid to double fast-growing commerce...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:14 am Oil slips to near $71 ahead of US jobless dataOil prices fell to near $71 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors looked to U.S. monthly employment figures later in the day for signs the economy may be recovering. Benchmark crude for...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:13 am Avoid the layoff line: 15 tipsYou've got a job. Good. Now keep yourself employed by avoiding bad office behavior. No microwaving fish or clipping your nails in the office.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:12 am European stocks fall ahead of key US jobs report (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:11 am European stocks fall ahead of key US jobs reportEuropean markets fell Friday as investors awaited a key report on U.S. job losses and financial stocks pulled indexes down after the Royal Bank of Scotland reported bigger first-half lossesSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:06 am Italian economy shrinks by 0.5%Italy's economy shrank 0.5% in the second quarter, a smaller contraction than expected, raising hopes the worst is over.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:05 am Recession sends personal insolvencies to new highA record 33,073 people in England and Wales were declared insolvent during the three months to the end of June according to new figures released today. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:04 am Indications: Stock index futures pressured ahead of payrollsU.S. stock index futures fell slightly Friday as investors braced for the U.S. Labor Department’s monthly employment report for July.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:04 am Magna posts Q2 loss on weak auto market(Reuters) - Canadian auto parts company Magna International Inc , one of the two bidders vying to buy carmaker Opel from General Motors, on Friday reported a second quarter loss, hurt by...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:01 am Magna posts Q2 loss on weak auto market(Reuters) - Canadian auto parts company Magna International Inc , one of the two bidders vying to buy carmaker Opel from General Motors, on Friday reported a second quarter loss, hurt by steep declines in global auto production.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Aug 2009 | 4:01 am Asian stocks mixed amid US jobless concernAsian markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street's overnight decline on concern a U.S. government employment report might show worse-than-forecast July job losses. Japanese and South...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:58 am More Evidence That GM Should Relocate To ChinaGM says it will sell 1.4 million cars in China this year. It sold about 180,000 in the US in July. The critical difference between its costs in the two markets is that many of GM’s Chinese vehicles are made in facilities owned by joint ventures with local car companies. Others are produced in manufacturing [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:55 am Oil edges down near $71 before U.S. July jobs dataLONDON (Reuters) - Oil edged down on Friday from a six-week high as markets looked to upcoming U.S. July employment data for clues on whether the U.S. economy could be emerging from recession.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:55 am Sharp fall in factory gate pricesThe prices of goods leaving UK factories fell at their sharpest annual pace in nearly eight years last month, figures show.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:51 am Personal insolvency at new recordThe number of people being declared insolvent has hit a new record in England and Wales, government figures show.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:48 am Shanghai, Hong Kong drag on Asia marketsMost Asian markets end lower Friday ahead of a key report on U.S. employment.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:46 am Oil prices retreat, mirroring stock markets (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:42 am European central banks reach gold agreementThe European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank and Sweden’s Riksbank on Friday announced a new agreement to limit central-bank gold sales over the next five years.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:41 am Citigroup (C) May Give Up On PhibroPressure from the government may be forcing Citigroup’s (C) hand. Its Phibro energy group has generated $2 billion in profit over the last five years, but it has cost the bank in compensation expenses. Andrew J. Hall, who runs the unit, is due $100 million in pay for the current year. That has not made [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:36 am Profit at Allianz unit that includes Pimco fallsThe fund management division of Germany’s Allianz that includes Pimco, the world’s top bond fund manager, reports 12.5% profit drop for the second quarter.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:34 am London shares drop after RBS resultsLondon-listed equities fell on Friday after underlying losses and rising bad debt at Royal Bank of Scotland cast a shadow over the recently buoyant banking sector.Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:28 am Bridgestone posts Q2 loss but lifts outlookTOKYO (Reuters) - Top Japanese tire maker Bridgestone tumbled to an operating loss in the second quarter, hit by the economic slump and a stronger yen, but raised its full-year outlook again after a surprise upgrade in June.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:28 am Dirt-cheap DIY landscaping tricksSummertime, and the living is supposed to be easy. The fish are jumping -- or maybe it's the kids at the pool -- and yard work is the last thing on your mind. But the lawn has brown spots, monochrome greenery has replaced those May flowers, and weeds have overrun the mulch beds.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:27 am John Dvorak's Second Opinion: Intel looks like the winner as computers shrinkIntel is still in the driver's seat as computers shrink again.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:26 am Logica profits near doubleLogica the AngloDutch IT services company reported a near doubling of firsthalf profits as cost savings helped maintain margins.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:22 am OFT refers Sports Direct over JJB Sports storesThe Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the consumer watchdog, has referred Sports Direct to the Competition Commission after the retailer failed to find a buyer for stores it had acquired from JJB Sports, its biggest rival. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:21 am RBS posts H1 loss, warns of tough years aheadLONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland reported more losses on Friday as investment banking profits failed to offset bad debts and the state-owned lender warned of more "poor" results to come before its own and the economy's recovery.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:18 am RBS posts H1 loss, warns of tough years ahead (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:18 am Comment: we're fussing over the credit crunch but pensions are the real crisisThe banking crisis will soon be a distant memory and will have little impact on Joe Public in years to come. The same cannot be said of pensions.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:16 am Job jitters on Wall StreetU.S. stock futures slipped early Friday, ahead of a keenly awaited government report on jobs.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:15 am German export surge ignites hopeGerman exports rose 7% in June, the fastest pace in nearly three years, in the latest sign of the country's economic recovery.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:13 am Earnings Watch: Updates, advisories and surprisesA roundup of the latest corporate earnings reports and what companies are saying about future quarters.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:01 am RBS cautious after reporting 1bn lossRoyal Bank of Scotland on Friday said its results were likely to be poor for the next two years as it reported a net loss of 1bn for the first half of 2009 following a quintupling of impairment charges...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:00 am Vringo: see who's calling, with a video to bootJonathan Medved is buildsing another new business -- the video-ringtone producer Vringo, and he has about a million mobile subscribers worldwide testing the beta version of the service.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Aug 2009 | 3:00 am RBS boss Stephen Hester on bad debts bonuses and the economyRBS chief executive Stephen Hester gave a cautious assessment today of the fortunes of RBS and the banking industry more broadly.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:58 am Barclays strike 'inevitable' unless pensions offer is improved says unionBarclays may improve its offer to 17000 staff affected by the bank's decision to close its finalsalary pension scheme to existing members after angry workers threatened to strike.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:58 am Hypo Real increases bad loan provisionsFRANKFURT, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Stricken real estate bank Hypo Real Estate hiked provisions for problem loans as it plunged in to the red in the second quarter and said it continued to rely on support from...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:56 am John Lewis in summer profit riseJohn Lewis says this summer's "staycation" trend and the poor weather has worked in its favour after sales rose 5.6% last week.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:47 am Sports Direct faces store probeSports Direct's acquisition of 31 stores from rival retailer JJB is referred to the Competition Commission.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:44 am Pass on energy price cuts utilities toldOfgem the energy regulator has demanded that Britain's gas and electricity companies explain to customers why their energy bills have not fallen more sharply.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:44 am Mutual Funds: You can lounge in August but not your savingsIt's August and that means vacation time on Wall Street. Following a terrific July that pulled markets into positive territory for the year, most folks had to be feeling pretty good as they headed out of the fund shops and the trading floors for the beaches and the mountains.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:43 am India and South Korea boost tradeIndia and South Korea sign an agreement to reduce tariffs on goods and services to boost trade between the two nations.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:38 am Bank Of America’s Secret Deal To Buy Merrill LynchBank of America (BAC) announced that it would buy Merrill Lynch for $50 billion on September 15 of last year. It was one of the largest M&A transactions in the American banking industry, but to hear the press, Congress, the Fed, the Treasury department, and the bank’s management talk, no one knew any of the [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:36 am London Markets: Banking sector drops after RBS cautionTraders take profits out of the banking sector as the Royal Bank of Scotland offers up a decidedly more pessimistic view.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:36 am RBS warns there will be no 'miracle cure' as it tumbles to £1bn lossPartnationalised Royal Bank of Scotland warned that it will be some time before the bank and the economy get back on track.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:25 am "Cash for clunkers" gets a $2 billion boost (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:20 am "Cash for clunkers" gets a $2 billion boostWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate approved and sent to the White House on Thursday a $2 billion extension of the "cash for clunkers" autos sales incentive program.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:20 am Toyota to decide on California plant by end of monthTOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp will decide by the end of this month whether to pull out of a California plant it has operated with General Motors since 1984, a top executive said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:15 am RBS downbeat despite £15m profitRoyal Bank of Scotland, which is 70% taxpayer-owned, reports a £15m half-year profit, but it has to write off hefty bad debts.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:15 am Media Digest 8/7/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NY Times, FT, BloombergReuters: A college education no longer means easy employment in China. Reuters: Fannie Mae (FNM) lost $14.8 billion. Reuters: The auto “clunkers” legislation passed the Senate. Reuters: Obama is in no rush to decide Bernanke’s appointment to a new term. Reuters: Private equity asked if it could relax FDIC rules. Reuters: Blackstone’s (BX) bankruptcy advisory business is growing quickly. Reuters: Hackers [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:05 am Stock index futures mixed ahead of jobs data(Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Friday, as investors braced for key monthly jobs data.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:02 am Currencies: Dollar mostly steady ahead of job dataThe U.S. dollar was little changed against its European rivals and was only slightly lower against the yen in Asian trade Friday, as markets awaited key U.S. employment data later in the day.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Aug 2009 | 2:02 am John Lewis gets 'staycation' boostJohn Lewis the employeeowned group viewed as a barometer of British retail spending posted a third consecutive big rise in weekly sales at its department stores boosted by the "staycation" phenomenon.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:58 am RBS returns to profit but warns of grim timesThe part-taxpayer owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) today announced a profit despite having to write down £7.5 billion in bad debts in the first six months of the year. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:56 am How Obama reshaped U.S. autosPresident Obama ended his first 100 days in office amid hopes that both General Motors and Chrysler Group might both still avoid bankruptcy. In his second 100 days, he created a new U.S. auto industry.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:53 am Fannie needs $10.7 billion more in aidFannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage insurer, said Thursday that it needs another $10.7 billion from the Treasury Department to stay afloat.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:47 am NZ currency: Dollar trends downThe New Zealand dollar was little changed today, having retreated during the week from a 10 month high. The NZ dollar was at US67.07c at 5pm from US67.12c at the same time yesterday. BNZ said optimism about the global economic...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:46 am NZ stocks: Market edges upThe New Zealand sharemarket edged higher today with market operator NZX in the limelight with a strong earnings result. The earnings season here kicks off in earnest next week with Fletcher Building reporting on Wednesday and Contact...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:46 am Creditors in talks to save SsangyongCreditors of Ssangyong Motor are expected to provide fresh funding to the ailing carmaker after the militant labour union agreed to end its violent two-month strike.State-run Korea Development Bank, Ssangyong's...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:42 am London stocks fall at open (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:38 am Aussie stocks dragged downThe Australian sharemarket closed lower, pulled down by the miners and financial stocks on investor nervousness ahead of the publication US labour market data that will give some indication as to the extent of recovery in the American...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:31 am Asia Markets And Europe Open 8/7/2009Markets in Asia were mixed The Nikkei rose .2% to 10,412. The Hang Seng fell 1.5% to 20,596. China Mobile (CHL) rose sharply. The Shanghai Composite dropped 2.7% to 3,281. At the open in Europe, the FTSE fell .6% to 4,665. RBS (RBS) fell on poor numbers. The Dax fell .6% to 5,337. Data from Reuters and MarketWatch. Douglas A. McIntyre Posted [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:24 am US boosts car scrappage by $2bnThe US Senate approves a further $2bn for the car scrappage scheme, after initial funds of $1bn ran out in 10 days.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am TV networks cut 'upfront' prices for ad time but still sell lessABC, CBS, NBC and Fox all failed to raise rates for the first time in years.In some parts of the country, home prices are back near 2001 levels, and now so is the volume of advertising the TV networks have sold.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Ex-chief of AIG settles SEC fraud chargesMaurice Greenberg will pay $15 million, while the insurer's ex-finance chief agrees to a $1.5-million fine. Former...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Nasdaq to stop offering flash-order tradesIt will voluntarily cease the practice, which gives some brokers a split-second advantage in buying or selling stocks, on Sept. 1. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am DirecTV revenue up but profit declines 11%DIRECTV
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am DVD business down but not out for biggest titlesUniversal moves more than 3 million copies of 'Fast & Furious' in one week. Executives are closely watching its sales for signs of the strength of the home entertainment market.When Joy Papa of Silver Lake stopped by Fry's Electronics in Burbank last week, she did something movie executives wish consumers would do more often this year: buy a DVD.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Retail sales fall 5.1% in July despite back-to-school luresMajor names report double-digit percentage drops as shoppers hesitate. A few bargain chains manage gains.The start of back-to-school season failed to entice consumers in July, providing another dismal report card for the underachieving retail industry.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am 2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS is an American LexusGM's first new car since it emerged from bankruptcy is as good as or better than the ES350 in every way, and is actually desirable.Fighter pilots call it "target fixation" when you become so focused on a single adversary that you lose situational awareness and fly into something large and obvious, like the ground. Buick's 2010 LaCrosse -- a near-luxury, mid-size-to-large sedan -- was built to put the cross-hairs on a single bogie, the Lexus ES350, and I'll tell you right now, it blows the Lexus out of the sky. Pow. Parachute. Smoking crater.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Salmonella outbreak linked to ground beefBeef Packers Inc. of Fresno recalls 800,000 pounds of ground beef products. The meat was repackaged and sold under various brands, so the USDA urges consumers to check with their retailers.There's another salmonella scare -- this time with ground beef from a Fresno packinghouse.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Senate OKs more cash for 'clunkers'Some car dealers are running out of popular models. Meanwhile, the $2 billion should keep the auto rebate program rolling at least through Labor Day, the Obama administration says."Cash for clunkers" will live on, but shoppers in the weeks ahead may have a hard time finding that fuel-efficient ride they've been craving since the program got underway.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am DVD business down but not out for biggest titlesUniversal moves more than 3 million copies of 'Fast & Furious' in one week. Executives are closely watching its sales for signs of the strength of the home entertainment market. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Twitter attack is a growth pangSpeculation on the perpetrators who crippled the popular online social network for hours runs from bored teenagers to cyberspace fighting between Russian and Georgian political operatives.Twitter, once derided as a frivolous way to tell friends of what you are eating and when you're going to bed, has grown up -- the hard way.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am DirecTV revenue up but profit declines 11%DIRECTVSource: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Senate OKs more cash for 'clunkers'Some car dealers are running out of popular models. Meanwhile, the $2 billion should keep the auto rebate program rolling at least through Labor Day, the Obama administration says. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Fannie Mae seeks additional $10.7 billion in U.S. aidThe mortgage finance company posts another massive quarterly loss because of declining housing market conditions made worse by rising unemployment. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 7 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am RBS chief Stephen Hester says there is no 'miracle cure' as bank slumps to £1bn lossRoyal Bank of Scotland the bank now 70pc owned by the taxpayer has slumped to a £1bn loss in the first six months of the year as the downturn drove up its bad debts.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Aug 2009 | 12:29 am Japan Airlines records $1bn lossJapan Airlines - the largest carrier in Asia - reports a $1bn loss in the three months to May, after ticket sales slumped.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 7 Aug 2009 | 12:29 am Hank Greenberg pays 15m to settle with SECMaurice "Hank" Greenberg the former chief executive of insurer AIG has agreed to pay 15m £9m to settle government accusations that he altered AIG's financial records to inflate its earnings between 2000 and 2005 US securities regulators said.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Aug 2009 | 12:01 am Fannie Mae seeks more state aid after massive lossFannie Mae the troubled statebacked mortgage firm a massive 14.8bn £8.8bn loss in the second quarter and asked the US Treasury for another 10.7bn in aid.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 6 Aug 2009 | 11:55 pm The July jobs report looms, and some see a (happy) shock
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 9:39 pm UK newspaper plans iTunes-style pay modelBritain's Financial Times is in talks to introduce a "pay-per-article" system inspired by the Apple iTunes model, which could change the culture of reading news on the internet. Senior sources at the FT have confirmed...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 8:52 pm House price confidence rising again, survey findsConfidence about the house price outlook has improved substantially in the ASB's quarterly survey of housing confidence. Results for July showed more people expected prices to rise than to fall, the first positive result in the...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 8:30 pm Mobile prices 'like 1980s'When 2degrees investor Brad Horwitz saw the state of the New Zealand market 18 months ago he was stunned. And it wasn't just the size of his roaming bill on his return to the United States. "While I was here I went into a couple...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 8:00 pm Fannie Mae draws on U.S. support after $14.8 billion lossNEW YORK (Reuters) - Fannie Mae, the largest provider of U.S. home mortgage funding, on Thursday reported a $14.8 billion quarterly net loss that it said would force it to go to the U.S. Treasury trough a third time for money to stay in business.Source: Reuters: Business News | 6 Aug 2009 | 7:34 pm NZX profits jump on after asset salesA big jump in sharemarket operator NZX's half year profit is largely attributed to gains on the sale of both TZ1 Registry and the company's stake in the Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA). NZX today said net profit for the six...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 7:30 pm India, Sth Korea sign free trade dealSEOUL- South Korea and India signed a broad trade agreement today to slash tariffs on goods and services in a bid to increase commerce between two of Asia's biggest economies. South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and India's...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 7:30 pm ‘Cash for clunkers’ gets $2bn boostThe US ‘cash for clunkers’ programme, which pushed July car sales higher after a record-breaking slump, tripled in size on Thursday as the Senate extended it by an extra $2$2bnSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:49 pm U.S. jobless claims fall sharply, buoy recovery hopesWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers submitting new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, fanning hopes the fragile labor market was on the mend and that the broader economy was stabilizing.Source: Reuters: Business News | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:40 pm U.S. jobless claims fall sharply, buoy recovery hopes (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:40 pm Nasdaq, BATS to "voluntarily" stop flashing orders (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:17 pm CBS profits tank but shares surgeThe US broadcaster reports a 96% plunge in net profit but forecasts a ‘considerably’ stronger second half as its devastated local businesses show signs of a reboundSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:12 pm Write-Offs: 08.06.09$$$ Hedgies are off to their best seven-month start in 10 years [WSJ] $$$ Obama is going to make the Beard sweat this one out [Reuters] $$$ New IPhone accessory may negatively impact Apple's sales. [Examiner.com] $$$ Guy Hands is starting to feel the heat in Guernsey [NYT] $$$ Coming soon- age group specific bailouts. [WSJ] 
Sponsored Topics: Apple - IPhone OS - IPhone - Guernsey - App Store Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:08 pm British director Timothy Summers to leave TNK-BP ventureThe most senior British executive at TNK-BP, the British oil group’s Russian joint venture, is set to leave this autumn for personal reasons, the company announced yesterday. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm Warning: 200,000 NHS nurses are about to walk out the doorThe “Sixties Bulge”, as it is known in the NHS, refers not to obesity in those approaching old age but a looming workforce problem that has been visible from some considerable distance. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm Millions locked out as hackers targets Facebook and TwitterThe social networking sites Twitter and Facebook came under a “denial of service” attack yesterday, locking out millions of users. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm Hospitals creaking under the strain as NHS vacancies are left unfilledMedical leaders have warned that shortages of doctors, nurses and other clinical staff are putting the NHS under unsustainable pressure as a generation of health workers enters retirement amid cutbacks in junior doctors’ working hours. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm Virgin Media boasts three services but has losing handIn the media business, you really do need to get your message across. None more so than Virgin Media, which is anxious to hammer home the fact that it has not one, not two, but three services lined up for every customer. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm Aviva’s U-turn disappointsAviva’s decision to cut the dividend now, having unexpectedly held it in March, looks distinctly odd, given that financial conditions have improved since then. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm Pritzker dynasty to launch cash call for Hyatt HotelsOne of America’s richest families is planning to float the Hyatt hotel chain in an effort to raise much-needed cash after travellers, suffering under the recession, cut spending. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 6 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm Presented Without Comment (Except The Unbridled Laughter You Hear In The Background)Fannie Mae is seeking an additional $10.7 billion in government aid after posting another massive quarterly loss as the taxpayer bill from the housing market bust keeps growing. Fannie Mae seeks $10.7B in US aid after 2Q loss [Associated Press]
Sponsored Topics: Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac - Business - Real estate economics - Associated Press Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:55 pm Publicis nears Razorfish acquisitionThe French communications company and Microsoft, the owner of Razorfish, have entered a final round of talks this week over the sale of the digital advertising companySource: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:52 pm Nasdaq, BATS to stop offering flash trading (AP)AP - The operators of the Nasdaq and BATS stock exchanges said Thursday they will stop a practice that gives some brokerages a split-second advantage in buying or selling stocks.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:51 pm Fannie Mae suffers massive loss, seeks more aid (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:47 pm Park The Car In Harvard Yard We're Going To A Party
Attacks on Goldman Sachs are routine (and quite a bit more potent than in prior years). Warren Buffett is a cheater (haven't you heard?) Institutions from the Federal Reserve to the Treasury to the SEC have been literally run through with vicious, biting (and potentially well-deserved) criticism from all corners. Just watching these goings on, you would think that, after rising above a certain strata, any inclination towards self-preservation would repress a lust for fame. Or any notice at all. Or... maybe not: Harvard University, the world's richest school, licensed its name to a maker of designer clothes to take advantage of a taste for seersucker, khakis, loafers and other "preppy" attire. Well, at least they got this last part right. Regardless, we aren't so sure the timing was well played here... "Harvard is the ideal -- the pinnacle," Wolf said. "When you think of modern prep, you think of New England and the Northeast. You think campus, quads, and you think Harvard." ...and Wolf obviously needs to get out more. Harvard Licenses Clothing Line Amid 'Preppy' Upswing [Bloomberg] Earlier: My Harvard Tie
Sponsored Topics: Harvard University - GoldmanSachs - Massachusetts - Warren Buffett - New England Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:32 pm Another $10.7 Billion For Fannie Mae (FNM)For those who want to know how much worse that housing market is getting they need look no further that the quarterly results of Fannie Mae (FNM). The mortgage operation lost $15.2 billion and will need another $10.7 billion from the government to continue. The primary reason for the loss is that 4% of the loans [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:28 pm Fannie Mae seeks $10.7B in US aid after 2Q loss (AP)AP - Fannie Mae plans to tap $11 billion in new government aid after posting another massive quarterly loss as the taxpayer bill from the housing market bust keeps growing.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:25 pm Banks line up for second round of TARPFor some banks, the grim reality is that another dose of TARP may be their best shot at salvation.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:17 pm Nasdaq OMX and BATS to end ‘flash orders’Two of the three US equity exchanges that allow traders to use flash orders said they would voluntarily end the practice at the start of SeptemberSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:15 pm Rolling the dice on AIGLess than a year after it nearly brought down the financial system with a misguided derivatives bet, AIG is everyone's favorite lottery ticket.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:10 pm July sales drop shows retail pressure continues (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:02 pm Sharemarket up in early tradeThe New Zealand sharemarket edged up in early trading after taking a breather in the past two days from the rally that started in mid-July. Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 3.28 points to 3059.43, having shed 27.9...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 4:40 pm What Rafting the Grand Canyon Taught Me About SustainabilityCulture shock (n): A state of bewilderment and distress experienced by an individual who is suddenly exposed to a new, strange, or foreign social and cultural environment. Two weeks was all it took. Once it set in, the culture shock numbed me to the media. It turned bathrooms, cars, and roads into outrageous luxuries. It even robbed me of my short-term memory for a while. I’d experienced severe culture shock once before, after months in Africa. This time, I hadn’t even left the US Southwest. And I’d only been gone for 16 days. It almost wasn’t fair. Except that I came out of my Grand Canyon river trip a wiser person. Moving at the speed of the Colorado River, living a life devoid of crowds, traffic, electricity, and noise, I learned a few lessons about sustainability. I’d like to share three of them with you. They have altered how I think about sustainability. I hope that you find them useful, too. Lesson #1: Excess is Normal
Good Lord. That’s a lot of water. This was my first through upon entering the bathroom stall at the Hualapai Lodge lobby in Peach Springs, Arizona. Inside, there was a toilet. In that toilet, two gallons of clear, placid water anticipated my waste. After 16 days of rafting down the Grand Canyon, I hardly remembered what a toilet looked like. The trip toilet had consisted of army surplus ammo cans. Known as “groovers,” these metal boxes served as our 16-person group’s only waste repositories. Approximately every four days, one of the cans would fill up. At this point, we clamped it shut, loaded it on a boat, and dragged out a new empty one. We literally sat on the can every time we had to do our business. All that water…for a single bowel movement? Back in the Canyon, we hand-fetched and filtered our drinking water from the Colorado River. Two gallons of water was precious. Using water to rinse our waste away simply wasn’t done. It was too much work to fetch and filter it. We also wanted to keep the river clean. It was our home. Here in civilization, each bowel movement is honored with its own two gallons of water. Pull the flush lever, and the waste swirls into a hole and disappears. It’s wasteful, but it is standard. We consider it normal. Lesson #2: Adapting Nature is Work. Adapting to Nature is Easy.
I continued to marvel at the toilet. The white porcelain bowl sat on impeccably scrubbed tile, laid for the sole purpose of making visitors’ bathroom experience more pleasant. An wall-mounted electric machine dried hands at the push of a button. Faucets with sensors decided the amount and temperature of the sink’s water. Wide walkways, high ceilings, inoffensive artwork, and air conditioning optimized the sense of comfort. Just a day earlier, our group had been paddling down the Grand Canyon’s scorching innards. The Canyon didn’t care how comfortable we felt. In its world, we were inconceivably small, flesh floating on the coattails of a millisecond. Despite the heat, bugs, and work of setting up a new camp every day, our ancient playground offered abundant amenities. At every camp, we found flat surfaces on which to set up our tents. A chilly Colorado River offered bathing, drinking, and cooling off. Trees secured our rafts. A wild panorama of stars replaced evening TV shows. We hadn’t altered the environment to suit ourselves. Yet the Grand Canyon was complete. Our primitive setting felt in place, with everything perfectly arranged. Our duty was to adjust to it. And that took surprisingly little effort. Don a coat in the rain. Put up a wind shield to protect cooking food from gales. Clean sand out of stuff. After indulging in the wilderness, coming back to climate-controlled, polished-floor, double-wide-sidewalk America felt like a taser shock. Despite all the mining, building, and paving required to make an environment comfortable for humans, being back felt incomplete. Since coming back, I feel more comfortable, but only marginally. Cool air from vents feels nice in summer. My mattress beats my Therm-a-Rest. Yet modern amenities haven’t improved my quality of life that much at all. Lesson #3: Think About Origin
When we traveled the river, our necessities came from rafts. Each raft was rigged to the hilt with supplies. The river provided transportation, baths, and water, but everything else—food, shelter, kitchen, toilet, trash—stayed on the raft during the day. At night, we would lug everything up to camp, where we set up our kitchen, tents, and other necessities. The next morning, we packed it all up again and reloaded the rafts. The 16 of us easily lived from those four rafts. Instead of being insulated from my surroundings by cars, thick walls, and a computer screen, we lived in and on the Earth. Whenever I altered the environment, I saw the effects of my actions. I watched my feet trample plants, my tent pad level wind-sculpted sand, my garbage feed fire ants. I also noticed how little propane we needed to cook our daily meals. I reveled in stars, and didn’t miss electricity at all. Fast forward to home. It’s a hot summer morning. My air conditioner, powered at its origin by coal, keeps my bedroom cool. A reservoir, running through a system of pipes, hydrates my shower. The wastewater goes to a treatment facility. My trash goes into a container, which then goes onto a truck, which in turn dumps it into a landfill. It’s much more complicated than living off a raft. Now, as I rumble around in my car, recharge my laptop batteries, and crank the air conditioner, I think about where things comes from. I still feel connected to the Earth, despite the layers of concrete noise that separate us. I wonder how I am impacting it. I think about how I, like all my resources, came from the Earth, and will one day return to it. Maybe humans and toilet water aren’t that different, after all.
Source: Business Pundit | 6 Aug 2009 | 4:25 pm Unfounded Rumor Of The Afternoon: Former Bear Chief Investment Strategist Quits ING After 2 MonthsThe former US Equity Strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management who left JPM in 2007 to assume the reins as Chief Investment Strategist at Bear, Jonathan Golub, has reportedly abandoned his most recent port of call, ING Investment Management, after roughly 8 weeks of service. Having said "This is an exceptional time to join ING" in a June 3rd press release, DB is hearing that Golub apparently thought last week was an exceptional time to leave ING.
Sponsored Topics: Investment management - JPMorgan Chase - Business - ING Group - Financial services Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Aug 2009 | 4:11 pm Senate confirms Sotomayor appointmentThe US Senate voted to confirm Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court judge, handing President Barack Obama a victory his administration had sought for weeksSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Aug 2009 | 4:10 pm Air NZ unveils new Rotorua-Sydney flightsAir NZ says it will soon start flying between Rotorua and Sydney. The new service, using one of its 152-seat Airbus A320 plane, will start twice a week from December 19. "Rotorua is an iconic tourism destination and well known...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 4:00 pm How the major stock indexes fared on Thursday (AP)AP - Investors shuffled through the final day of trading before the government's July employment report. Worries about the Labor Department's report dominated trading for a third day. A stream of disappointing July sales numbers from major retailers added to Wall Street's uneasy mood. A recovery in the job market is crucial to the economy's ability to pull itself from the longest recession since World War II.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:55 pm How the major stock indexes fared on Thursday (AP)AP - Investors shuffled through the final day of trading before the government's July employment report. Worries about the Labor Department's report dominated trading for a third day. A stream of disappointing July sales numbers from major retailers added to Wall Street's uneasy mood. A recovery in the job market is crucial to the economy's ability to pull itself from the longest recession since World War II.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:55 pm Bove, Leopold, Corridore Discuss Banks, Technology, AirlinesSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:45 pm Take The Plunge
"...held up during the difficult portion of the recession." (It being all behind us now, this is clearly a safe observation, right?) "...new bull market." (a/k/a "It's different this time." a/k/a "A new paradigm.") "...stocks should likely perform better than bonds." (Should likely). "...not only good, but fabulous by comparison." (Thanks for asking!) "...staircase pattern." (Stairway to heaven, one assumes). "...job losses were slowing." (The precious second derivative decline. Thank the maker!) "...unlikely to turn all at one [sic] or on a dime." (Bit dangerous to put Titanic references in an otherwise positive pump job, but we digress...) Being the aesthetics that we know you to be, we've decided to give you a chance to hone your literary and poetic skills in the comfort of your own deskchair. Yes, a contest. Best haiku using as much of Cohen's unique vocabulary as syllapossible gets to vote on our new fall intern. Scoring will be completely arbitrary, unfair and primarily focused on creative use of words and phrases like "fabulous" and "V-Shaped." Go! Stocks in 'New Bull Market,' But Climb Will Be Slow: Cohen [CNBC]
Sponsored Topics: CNBC - Market trend - Recession - Haiku - Cheerleading Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:41 pm Strazzini Says Leveraged, Inverse ETFs Are Complicated TradesSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:38 pm Judge sets hearing on BofA-SEC settlement (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:28 pm Obama likely in no rush to nod on Bernanke's fateWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is unlikely to tip his hand as soon as financial markets would like on whether he plans to name Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to another term.Source: Reuters: Business News | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:11 pm Study finds women directors damage profitsHaving more women in the boardroom can hurt the financial performance of well-governed companies, according to research that is likely to be seized upon by opponents of diversity initiativesSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:10 pm Patty Edwards Discusses Retail, Lowry’s Knudsen on StocksSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:07 pm More Foreclosures To Come?
Click for a larger version. (Source: OC Register) By Mathew Katz Mathew Padilla has an interesting take on mortgage delinquencies over at the O.C. Register. He looks at the 90-day delinquency rates in Orange County. The data charted above come from FirstAmerican Corelogic, and makes it seem like the foreclosure rate is only going to go up. It shows the 90-day delinquency rates, the foreclosure rates, and the rates of REOs (or real-estate owned, meaning the foreclosured properites on banks' books). The 90-day rate includes mortgages that have been delinquent for at least 90 days, but aren't foreclosed yet. That rate just keeps on going up. Sam Khater, senior economist at First American CoreLogic, told the OC Register that government efforts have delayed some foreclosures, hasn't prevented many. Of course, Orange County has been particularly hard-hit by the mortgage crisis, but this still could be an bad omen for the wider market -- especially when combined with Deutsche Bank's prediction that nearly half of U.S. mortgages will be underwater by 2011. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:02 pm Dollar gains as BoE to expand money supply program (AP)AP - The dollar came surging back Thursday as stock markets slipped, gaining strongly against the British pound after the Bank of England said it was extending its program of boosting the money supply.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Aug 2009 | 2:59 pm Ex-AIG CEO Greenberg pays $15 million to settle with SEC (Reuters)Reuters - AIG's former CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg agreed to pay $15 million to settle government accusations that he altered AIG's financial records to inflate its earnings between 2000 and 2005, U.S. securities regulators said on Thursday.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 6 Aug 2009 | 2:48 pm NVIDIA Returns To Profits One Quarter Early (NVDA, AMD)NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is back to profitability. Yep, profits. The graphics chipset leader posted $0.07 non-GAAP EPS. This is down almost half from last year’s $0.13 EPS, but it is significantly better than the Thomson Reuters consensus target of -$0.02 EPS. Revenue fell to $776.5 million from $892.7 million a year ago, but Thomson [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 6 Aug 2009 | 2:48 pm The SEC Clarifies Its Role
SEC Settlement Tactic Raises Questions [WSJ]
Sponsored Topics: Mary Schapiro - US Securities and Exchange Commission - Business - SEC - Law Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Aug 2009 | 2:38 pm Presented By: Drain the Ocean - Sunday August 9 9P e/p
Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Aug 2009 | 2:38 pm Crocs Cash For Clunkers Earnings (CROX)Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) is soaring in the after-hours session on its earnings report. The numbers were ahead of plan enough that many might think Crocs was the winner in the “Cash for Clunkers” pact in the auto sector. The company said revenue fell to $197.7 million from $222.8 million a year ago. On a [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 6 Aug 2009 | 2:26 pm French Insider Traders Fart In Your General Direction
Sponsored Topics: Bernard Madoff - Insider trading - Business - Investing - Bernie Madoff Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Aug 2009 | 1:52 pm FBR’s Miller Says Home Equity Losses Will `Haunt the System’Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:56 pm Pioneer’s Carey Says Excess Capacity Is Drag on U.S. EconomySource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:46 pm The Spitz Talks About What "That Huge Sucking Sound" IsWho can make the rating agencies seem credible? The Spitz can. On today's installment of financial Romper Room, the good ex-governor teamed up again with D-Rat and Sherrod Small to explain the intricacies of rating MBS. After his trademark call for greater integrity, the guy partly responsible for a brothel promotional campaign got to the heart of the matter and addressed RA fee agreements. Quid-pro-quo arrangements don't sit so well with the Spitz. In fact just mentioning them led him to have a momentary flashback when remarking that the agencies cleverly hid those agreements as "the secret we don't want anybody to know". Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Sponsored Topics: Breaking News - World News - Msnbc.com - Sherrod Small - Romper Room Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:42 pm Cash For Clunkers: Couple Gains 10 MPG, With Help From Uncle Sam
The Town and Country broke down by the side of the road one day. (Courtesy of Michael Langdon) By Laura Conaway Among the people who took advantage of Cash for Clunkers are Michael Langdon and his wife, Baraba Ebel-Langdon of Newaygo, Mich. They clunkered a 1997 Chrysler Town and Country minivan, for which they'd been told to expect a trade-in value of about $1,000 (the Kelly Blue Book puts the sale value at $4,750 to $6,075). The government says it gets 14 miles to the gallon in the city, 20 on the highway. The mileage in the photo of above is considerably less, as that's when the Town and Country overheated and left them stranded by the road. After the jump, what they bought. 
The new wheels, a Chevrolet Cobalt. (Courtesy of Michael Langdon) The couple went for a Chevrolet Cobalt, which the government says gets 24 miles to the gallon in the city, 33 on the highway. They got $3,500 from Cash for Clunkers, and could have gotten another $1,000 had they opted for a standard transmission. The Cobalt was stickered at $17,000, but the government boost and a family discount dropped the price to $10,000. Economists debate whether a program like Cash for Clunkers creates demand or simply pulls in people now who would have bought later -- whether a bump in sales now means a dip in sales later. For Langdon, the case is clear. "This purchase would not have happened without CFC," he writes. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:42 pm New Obama Healthcare Logo Looks Like an Acid Trip
The Obama healthcare logo makes a rather celestial plea for Obama’s health care reform plan. A stylized caduceus rises ethereally from the fields of Obama. Three heavenly stars grace its crown, while a faint bubble trembles above the silhouttes of expectant Americans. If Uncle Sam himself were tripping, this is probably what he would see. I’d prefer a more down-to-earth logo–perhaps a big needle piercing a health insurance company–but obviously someone on the Obama team thought LSD-inspired patriotism was the most effective way to market healthcare reform. What do you think of the new health care logo?
Source: Business Pundit | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:35 pm Will Murdoch end era of free content?Rupert Murdoch is steering his media empire News Corp. towards charging for online content. But will it work? Kai Ryssdal talks with PaidContent.org co-editor Staci Kramer about how she thinks Murdoch will implement his plan.Source: Marketplace | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:05 pm U.K. toughens laws on immigrationIt used to be pretty easy to earn U.K. citizenship as long as you managed to stay out of trouble. But now British government is implementing stricter policies on who can enter and live in the country. Christopher Werth reports.Source: Marketplace | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:05 pm Obama must raise taxes on middle classPresident Obama promised during the election that he would not raise taxes on anyone earning less than $250,000. But commentator Lawrence Haas says the president has to, and likely will, raise taxes on the middle class once the economy recovers.Source: Marketplace | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:05 pm Bundled loans stall modification planMortgage-backed securities are making it difficult for people to take advantage of the Making Home Affordable program. Part of the problem is that investors have a say in which loans get modified and which don't. Karen Weise from ProPublica reports.Source: Marketplace | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:05 pm Discarded clunkers clog up junkyardsCash for Clunkers was supposed to reduce the number of polluting cars on the road. But all those discarded cars are now clogging up junkyards. And disposing of them will be no small task. Sam Eaton reports.Source: Marketplace | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:04 pm Are lobbyists behind recent protests?Protests over health care reform have been popping up all over the country. While they may appear to be grassroots gatherings, some Democrats believe lobbyists are involved. Steve Henn reports.Source: Marketplace | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:04 pm Obama's pharma deal may not sufficeThe White House struck a deal with Big Pharma to lower prescription costs for seniors by $80 billion. But some say that figure isn't nearly enough, especially since a clause in the deal protects the companies from congressional pressure to offer more savings. Tamara Keith reports.Source: Marketplace | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:02 pm Greenberg pays $15m in SEC settlementHank Greenberg, the former chairman of American International Group, agreed to pay $15m to settle the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into his role in accounting fraud at the company from 2000 to 2005Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:02 pm Back To Basics
Too many choices in 2007. (pigstubs / Flickr/Creative Commons) By Caitlin Kenney Faced with shrinking profits, Procter & Gamble is rethinking some of its products. The Wall Street Journal (sub req'd) reports that the company has "quietly rolled out" a cheaper version of its famous Tide detergent. Tide Basic costs about 20 percent less than regular Tide and is significantly cheaper than premium versions like "Tide Coldwater," "Tide with a Touch of Downy," or "Tide with Febreeze Freshness." Procter & Gamble decided to go ahead with the product last January, but the Journal reports that it wasn't an easy decision: Executives feared that a cheaper version might cannibalize sales of regular Tide, which accounts for more than $3 billion of P&G's $79 billion in annual revenues. Marketers at the company have been so loath to sully their prized soap brand that they've wrestled with the matter at least eight times in the past three decades. On Wednesday, Procter & Gamble reported that its fourth quarter profit fell 18 percent and sales 11 percent. The company said the biggest hits came in the grooming and beauty sales divisions, which both saw sales decrease over 4 percent. The future of Tide Basic is unsure, executives are waiting to see how it fares in about 100 stores throughout the South, but as for P&G, officials say they are testing lower-priced products in other areas as well. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Aug 2009 | 11:57 am Snowball's Future Is Secure
Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, who led American International Group Inc. for 38 years until his ouster amid state and federal accounting probes in 2005, will pay $15 million to settle U.S. claims he manipulated the insurer's earnings. So in addition to avoiding painful and disruptive adoption or dog-sitting arrangements, the daunting prospect of a life of Ruth Madoff-like notoriety (and shame) seems avoidable for Snowball and owner. We are greatly relieved. Hank Greenberg, Ex-AIG Chief, Pays $15 Million to End SEC Probe [Bloomberg]
Sponsored Topics: American International Group - United States - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - Hank Greenberg - Bernard Madoff Source: Dealbreaker | 6 Aug 2009 | 11:55 am M Stanley to pay $950m for Tarp warrantsMorgan Stanley is to pay $950m to sever yet another link to the US government’s bail-out plan, buying back warrants it gave the authorities as part of a $10bn capital injection at the height of the crisis last yearSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Aug 2009 | 11:41 am Wesbury of First Trust Sees U.S. Stocks Rising Another 40%Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Aug 2009 | 11:18 am Buffett & Berkshire Earnings Likely Get Last Laugh On Derivatives (BRK-A)Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) will get much of the attention after the big jobs report on Friday. The insurance giant, holding company, and conglomerate reports earnings tomorrow after the close. Just last week we noted how so many Buffett stocks, even many of his non-financial stocks, have effectively more than doubled [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall Street | 6 Aug 2009 | 11:18 am Pali's Greenfield Calls News Corp.'s Web Fee Plan ChallengingSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Aug 2009 | 11:08 am Whalen Says Banking Industry Can't Absorb Losses Still AheadSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Aug 2009 | 10:57 am The liquidity pipes remain cloggedBanks seem unwilling to use spare liquidity to engage in activity that regulators or shareholders might deem risky, writes Gillian TettSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 6 Aug 2009 | 10:10 am Forbes College Rankings: Join the Military for a Good Education
Forbes has released its college rankings list for 2009. Surprisingly enough, the usual suspects–Harvard, Yale, Princeton–don’t crown the list. Instead, the US Military Academy (West Point) was rated the best college in the nation. Forbes explains how West Point beat the Ivy Leagues in a separate article. Here’s a taste of the top schools: Best Colleges 1. United States Military Academy, NY Best College Buys 1. Berea College, Ky.
Source: Business Pundit | 6 Aug 2009 | 9:52 am DeQuadros Sees U.S. Unemployment in Double DigitsSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Aug 2009 | 9:44 am Barefoot Baby Kicked Out of Burger KingA barefoot baby and her grandma had to leave Burger King after the manager accused them of violating the health code. The manager threatened to call the police if the barefoot baby didn’t leave. “Of you’re going to go to Burger King,” he said, “you’re going to have to put shoes on your baby.” The mother then came back after putting socks on the baby, but that still wasn’t enough for the manager. After the mother contacted the media, Burger King spokeswoman Denise Wilson made a statement that “The franchisee is retraining his restaurant team on the proper use of the “no shoes” policy. Furthermore, the franchisee is also contacting the guest to apologize about this incident.” CNN tells the story in a video here. Insurance companies won’t cover injuries to bare feet, so the manager wanted to make sure that no exposed tootsies entered his restaurant. But if a child can’t walk, there is no point in enforcing the shoe law. Watch the CNN video for the full story and commentary.
Source: Business Pundit | 6 Aug 2009 | 9:36 am Surprise: New Job-Loss Claims Fall Below 550,000; Total Rolls Hit New High
Still falling. (Source: Department of Labor) By Laura Conaway New claims for unemployment insurance fell last week to 550,000, down 38,000 from the week before, the Department of Labor reports. The four-week moving averge was down 4,750 -- less than the average weekly decline of 6,077 from April 25 to July 25, but still lower. The improvement surprised bearish economist Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics, who writes: Labor officials appear not to have identified any specific factors pushing claims down, but that does not mean we can assume 550K is the new trend; the numbers are volatile even when the trend is clear, and we need to see several more weeks at this level to confirm a real shift. Still, this number certainly looks good relative to the pre-auto chaos trend of about 615K. For much of July, the Department of Labor said it couldn't properly calculate the number of new claims because the usual summer layoffs in the auto industry had happened in the spring. Today's report shows the number of people on unemployment benefits hit a record high, at 9.35 million. We're seeing fewer people losing their jobs, even as those laid-off still struggle to find new ones. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Aug 2009 | 9:21 am Morgan Stanley Buys Back Warrants. Taxpayers Get 20 Percent ReturnBy Mathew Katz Congratulations, folks. You just made a 20 percent annualized return on your investment into Morgan Stanley. The bank today agreed to pay $950 million to buy back warrants from the Treasury after it bought $10 billion in stock to help rescue Morgan Stanley in October. Morgan Stanley has now repaid that loan, with the price of the warrants on top of that. Overall, the government made a $1.27 billion dollar profit, between warrants and dividends. Of course, as with other warrant buybacks, the deal largely frees the bank from government-enforced restrictions on things like bonus payouts. Still, unlike Goldman Sachs, which also bought back its warrants last month, Morgan Stanley reported a larger-than-expected second-quarter loss. That's not exactly a bonus-worthy performance, but banks have been eager to throw off government restrictions ever since the TARP program began in October. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Aug 2009 | 9:16 am Lenhoff Says U.S. Economy Bottomed in Second QuarterSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 6 Aug 2009 | 8:50 am Sluggish July sales show tight-fisted consumersShoppers -- worried about job security and finding fewer options among the sales bins -- remained tight-fisted in July, resulting in sluggish sales for many merchants and raising concern about the back-to-school shopping season's health.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 6 Aug 2009 | 7:43 am Tim Geithner Regains Cool, Stays Hot. Plus: Predicting UnemploymentBy Laura Conaway Well, well, well. We're at 24 hours and counting down until the July unemployment numbers come out, and here come the guesses. Meanwhile ... U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has moved from cursing out financial regulators in private meetings to openly castigating them for objecting to the administration's plan for overhauling financial regulation. Geithner tells the New York Times that the FDIC and SEC and every-doggone-body else has got to stop with the turf wars and start with accepting the proposal for a new systemic regulator. James Kwak upsets your morning coffee with his bracing argument "You Do Not Have Health Insurance." Read it. I bet you'll see his point. The U.S. Senate appears ready to pass a $2 billion extension of the Cash for Clunkers program. The Obama administration is considering using a good bank/bad bank approach to give Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a clean start. (Links via Calculated Risk.) Deutsche Bank says nearly half of all homeowners will owe more than their houses are worth by 2011, nearly doubling the number of folks who are underwater. And finally, a supermarket in the U.K. has upset vegetarians with its plan to generate electricity by burning old meat. In the U.S., some coffee shops are locking up the electrical outlets -- between the laid-off folks bringing in laptops and proprietors needing to save money and turn tables, that's two economic indicators in one. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 6 Aug 2009 | 7:12 am Diet Still Not Working?
Source: Business Pundit | 6 Aug 2009 | 5:42 am
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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 
