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UK recovery 'gains traction' on 5% exports riseBritish exports in July rose at their fastest monthly pace since the start of 2008, helping the trade gap to further narrow and boosting hopes of an economic recovery. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 9 Sep 2009 | 5:16 am Micro Focus shares fall as chief executive quitsShares in Micro Focus tumbled 13 per cent as the FTSE 250 software developer announced the shock departure of Stephen Kelly, its chief executive. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:40 am NYSE Euronext to sell stake in Amex options unit (AP)AP - NYSE Euronext Inc. said Wednesday that it plans to sell a "significant" stake in its NYSE Amex options unit to seven Wall Street brokers.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:33 am Peek inside Madoff's homes and boatsIn an age when the rich and famous often indulge themselves with huge, expensive mansions, Bernie Madoff played it relatively conservatively.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:32 am Diageo rejects whisky jobs planDrinks giant Diageo is to press ahead with up to 900 job cuts after rejecting a government-backed alternative plan.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:30 am World stocks slip as dollar drop hits exporters (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:28 am Vivendi offers 2bn for Brazil telecom GVTVivendi is close to buying GVT, a Brazilian telecoms provider, in a 2bn offer that, if accepted, would give the French communications and entertainment group an important foothold in the fast-growing...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:22 am UK employment market 'recovering'The UK jobs market is starting to show signs of recovery, according to a survey of recruitment agencies.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:21 am Europe Markets: Europe shares on track for fifth day of gainsEuropean shares slip in early trading then move higher, on track for a fifth straight day of gains. Energy firms and autos are some of the strongest performers.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:18 am UPDATE 1-Syneron agrees to buy Candela for $65 mlnSept 9 (Reuters) - Aesthetic laser device maker Syneron Medical Ltd said it agreed to buy rival Candela Corp in an all-stock deal valued at about $65 million.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:14 am UPDATE 1-Almirall to file for COPD drug in EU; shares rise* Share price jumps over 4 percent (Adds details, share reaction, comment)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:08 am Indications: U.S. stock futures drift lower before Beige BookU.S. stock futures drift lower on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve is due to release its assessment of an economy where output has stabilized but credit remains tight.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:02 am Tech startup tries options for event ticketsA Silicon Valley startup called OptionIt Inc. is trying to launch a new market by selling options for sporting event tickets.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 9 Sep 2009 | 4:00 am Bank Of America (BAC) And Merrill: How Many Prosecutions?The Bank of America (BAC) deal with the SEC to settle charges that it mislead investors about Merrill Lynch bonus payments in it proxy to approve the Merrill buyout is already being challenged in federal court. Now it appears that Andrew Cuomo, NY State Attorney General and Governor-in-waiting, may prosecute B of A. Cuomo believes that [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:56 am London Markets: U.K. shares choppy as oil producers offset minersChoppy trade in London as oil producers offset miners.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:52 am Websites 'breaking consumer laws'More than half of websites selling electronic goods break European laws aimed at protecting consumers, an EU probe finds.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:50 am Taxpayers Unlikely To Get GM And Chrysler Investment BackTaxpayers will probably not get the tens of billions of dollars that they put into Chrysler and GM back, ever. That is the opinion of the Congressional Oversight Panel. The committee also expressed concerns that the Administration may not be disclosing what it knows about the two companies and their future prospects. As owners, the [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:44 am Barrick to sell $3 billion in stock to buy back hedgesTORONTO (Reuters) - Barrick Gold will issue $3 billion in stock to eliminate all of its fixed-price gold hedges and a portion of its floating hedges, taking a $5.6 billion hit to third-quarter earnings, the world's top gold miner said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:42 am Tokyo, Hong Kong retreat, Shanghai rallies onJapanese stocks retreated Wednesday as worries about the yen’s recent strength pressured exporters, while banks lost ground on concerns they could have to raise capital. China edged higher for a seventh session.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:40 am China's Geely eyes bid for Ford's Volvo carsSHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's Geely Automotive said on Wednesday its parent wants to bid for Ford's Volvo Car Corp -- the latest Chinese automaker to chase a foreign brand in a global industry overhaul.Source: Reuters: Business News | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:39 am Oil prices hover near $71 as OPEC meetsLONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices hovered above $71 a barrel on Wednesday, after rising more than $3 the previous day, as OPEC ministers were expected at their meeting in Vienna to maintain official output unchanged.Source: Reuters: Business News | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:37 am EU sets out €15bn climate aid planThe European Union is to offer a modest €15bn a year to help poor countries cope with the effects of climate change, setting the stage for a fight before an international conference in Copenhagen in DecemberSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:34 am OPEC committee recommends no oil production cutOPEC appeared poised to hold oil production quotas unchanged Wednesday, with its ministers voicing satisfaction with current global crude prices. Instead, the focus at the organization'sSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:33 am McLaren road car marks expansionFormula One racing group McLaren unveils a new road car that marks the creation of a new UK-based carmaker.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:32 am Misys Expands Confirmation Matching Service to Automate OTC Derivative and Commodity Post-Trade ProcessingLONDON, September 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Misys plc (LSE: MSY), the global application software and services company, today announces it has extended its...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:31 am Upbeat OPEC set to hold output steadySteady crude prices and an upbeat view of the oil market reassured ministers of the OPEC producers' cartel as they prepared to meet on Wednesday, set to hold output steady despite a mixed...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:29 am Stocks set to pull backU.S. stocks were poised to tumble Wednesday as the dollar remained under pressure and investors prepared to move to the sidelines after the previous session's big rally.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:29 am Another financial crisis inevitable: GreenspanLONDON (Reuters) - Another global financial crisis is inevitable because human nature always reverts to "speculative excesses" during a period of sustained prosperity, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said.Source: Reuters: Business News | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:26 am Brazilian oil field holds 1.1-2.0 bln barrels: BGBritish energy producer BG Group on Wednesday said that an oil and gas field it helped to discover off the coast of Brazil holds between 1.1 and 2.0 billion barrels. "The Guara discoverySource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:25 am Kraft (KFT) To Slash Supplier Costs, Too LateHidden in the shadows of its bid for Cadbury, Kraft (KFT) is planning to cut its supplier base in half in an attempt to save $300 million a year. Kraft is trying to raise as much as $8 billion for its Cadbury offer, so the expense cuts come at an auspicious time. The real question about the cuts [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:24 am Julius Baer to list Artio in the USZURICH, Sept 9 - Switzerland's Julius Baer has kick-started the listing of US asset management arm Artio in America, a fresh sign that companies are starting to trust equities markets again after the subprime...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:24 am Vivendi in friendly $3 bln offer for Brazil's GVTVivendi launches a friendly all-cash offer of around $3 billion for Brazilian telecoms provider GVT in a bid to expand its reach in the fast-growing South American market.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:24 am China Yurun Food Group Limited Announces Its Interim Results For The Six Months Ended 30 June 2009Significant margin growth a result of foresight and strategic planning Optimization of production to capture opportunities arising from economic recovery HONG KONG,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:24 am Kraft seeks $8 billion financing for Cadbury bid: report(Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc , which went public on Monday with a $16.7 billion offer for Cadbury PLC that the British candy maker rejected, is in talks to arrange about $8 billion of financing for the bid, Bloomberg said, citing two people familiar with the matter.Source: Reuters: Business News | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:21 am Kraft seeks $8 billion financing for Cadbury bid: report (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:21 am Kraft seeks $8 billion financing for Cadbury bid: report(Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc , which went public on Monday with a $16.7 billion offer for Cadbury PLC that the British candy maker rejected, is in talks to arrange about $8 billion of...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:21 am Stock index futures point to lower open(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 down 0.3-0.5...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:20 am Stock index futures point to lower open (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:20 am Stock index futures point to lower open(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 down 0.3-0.5 percent.Source: Reuters: Business News | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:20 am Stock index futures point to lower open (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:20 am BG oil discovery will 'dwarf' BP's giant findShares in BG Group soared 2 per cent today after the company announced that its Guara discovery in Brazil contained up to 2 billion barrels of oil. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:20 am Born Lucky: Sokol Blosser Releases the Latest Edition of Evolution, Their Nine Grape Wine PhenomenonLAKE BLUFF, Ill., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- In homage to their nine grape blend Evolution, Sokol Blosser Winery is releasing their 13th annual bottling on September 9, 2009...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:20 am New Brazil find may contain 2 billion barrelsA field offshore of Brazil may contain up to 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, a trio of companies says Wednesday.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:05 am Consumer Spending: No One Has A DimeThe Federal Reserve issued its monthly Consumer Credit report for July. Consumer credit fell almost $22 billion to $2.74 trillion. The figure has been dropping fairly steadily since the middle of last year. The July number represents an annual rate of decline of more than 10%. It should not shock anyone that $12 billion of [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:01 am Richemont sales sink 16%; group urges cautionLuxury-goods maker Compagnie Financiere Richemont, on Wednesday reports a 16% fall in sales for the first five months of the year and delivers a cautious outlook.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 9 Sep 2009 | 3:00 am Saudi Arabia leads the call for no OPEC changeVIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC ministers were all but certain to leave output targets unchanged at a meeting late on Wednesday after the top exporter Saudi Arabia said there was no need for action.Source: Reuters: Business News | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:57 am The Ratings Game: Banks may cut pay as new rules hurt profitabilityInvestment banks face a sharp drop in profitability due to the global crackdown on capital standards and other rule changes, which could lead to hefty pay cuts in the sector as firms struggle to restructure, according to analysts at J.P. Morgan.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:53 am The US Government Online: Eighty-One Million People With Nothing To DoEighty-one million people visited federal government websites in July which is about four out of ten people on the Internet in America. There are several notable trends when the traffic is broken down by government department. Most of these indicate that people are better off spending their time elsewhere on the Internet. Visits to the [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:52 am Sports Direct upgrades profits on sales boostSports Direct today revealed revenues rose 10 per cent in the early summer and upgraded its profit forecasts as the retailer began to lift itself out of the recession. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:34 am Auto bailouts: Cash down the drainMuch of the money given to General Motors and Chrysler to prevent them from collapsing will never be recovered, according to a report released Wednesday by the Congressional Oversight Panel.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:33 am Sun-Times Media enters initial asset-sale accordSun-Times Media Group Inc., publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and 58 suburban newspapers and related Web sites, said late on Tuesday that it entered a so-called stalking-horse agreement under which an investor group would buy nearly all its assets.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:33 am Diary of a Private Investor: Housebuilders have more to go'I have not been able to resist buying shares such as Barratts.'Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:27 am Palm unveils smaller sibling of PreThe clearest indication at whom Palm is aiming its newest smartphone, dubbed Pixi, is the new Facebook application that debuts in the younger, smaller sibling to the Palm Pre. If that is your thing, then perhaps your gadget has arrived.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:25 am Greenspan says financial crisis will reoccurAlan Greenspan, the former US Federal Reserve chairman blamed in some quarters for not doing enough to prevent the financial crisis, has predicted that more crashes are inevitable. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:21 am FTSE 100 slips back from year highLondon equities opened lower on Wednesday after three positive sessions that took the FTSE 100 to a fresh high for the year. The benchmark index gave up 13 points in opening trade to 4,933.20, a loss of...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:16 am 5 lessons from the financial crashEven one year later, the speed with which America's financial system unraveled last September still boggles the mind.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:11 am Weak close for Aussie dollarSYDNEY - The Australian dollar closed lower on Wednesday after surprise falls in retail sales and housing finance commitments data dampened expectations of interest rate rises by the central bank. At 1700 AEST, the local currency...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:08 am Cadbury may be bitter for Kraft shareholdersAs Monday's £10.2bn 16.5bn hostile bid for Cadbury shows Kraft chief executive Irene Rosenfeld is hellbent on growth. But there's a limit to how far she can go in her quest to acquire the British candy company without sacrificing the wellbeing of her own longsuffering shareholders.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:05 am China's Geely may bid for VolvoChina's Geely carmaker group says it will bid for Volvo if Ford decides to sell the Swedish carmaker.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 9 Sep 2009 | 2:02 am Media Digest 9/9/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, BloombergReuters: First Solar (FSLR) plans a huge solar field in China. Reuters: Kraft (KFT) plans to cut its supplier base to save costs. Reuters: Cuomo may charge Bank of America (BAC) over the Merrill deal. Reuters: July consumer credit fell a record $21.6 billion. Reuters: The Ohio attorney general said more mortgage companies would be sued. Reuters: China’s Geely auto [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:57 am Forget gold. Silver is shining bright.All that glitters isn't necessarily gold. If you want a really hot metal, check out silver.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:56 am Stocks fall but Opec boosts oilLondon shares opened in negative territory today after reaching a new high for the year the previous day. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:55 am IG Group sees jump in new account openingsIG Group the British financial spread betting company saw a 72pc firstquarter increase in new account openings a key lead indicator of future growth.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:53 am Don't eat kangaroos, Steve Irwin's dad urges China (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:38 am UK consumer confidence reaches highest for more than a yearUK consumer confidence has reached its highest level in more than a year amid fresh evidence that the economy is pulling out of the worst recession in decades.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:24 am Berkeley says housing market in Southeast stableBerkeley Group the housebuilder said on Wednesday that its main markets in London and the south east of England remained stable and that it had bought a number of new sites in recent months.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:23 am Asia Markets And Europe Open 9/9/2009Markets in Asia were narrowly mixed. The Nikkei fell .8% to 10,312. Honda (HMC) and Toyota (TM) slipped. The Hang Seng fell .7% to 20,925. The Shanghai Composite was up .5% to 2,948. At the open in Europe, the FTSE was off .2% to 4,938. The Dax fell .3% to 5,466. The CAC 40 was off .3% to 3,650. Data [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:19 am World of Warcraft's strong bondsJosh Schweitzer and his guild, the Dread Pirates, share more than just countless hours of online gaming. Deep friendships come into play when you're battling monsters and talking strategy.Getting divorced was a lonely experience for Josh Schweitzer. Spending his days overseeing construction workers and his evenings caring for his 3-year-old son, he had no one to talk to. But there was one group of people who helped him pull through -- even though he'd never laid eyes on most of them.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Disney bolsters video games unitThe media conglomerate hires Alex Seropian, the founder of the firm that developed the hit series Halo, as creative head of Disney Interactive and buys his studio.Continuing to bring in creative talent and properties from the outside, Walt Disney Co. has hired Alex Seropian, a founder of the company behind the hit series Halo, as the creative head for its video game division.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Cellphones and brain tumors: Report revives nagging questionsThe wireless industry has been telling us for years that cellphones don't cause brain cancer, but a new study raises doubts.People have been asking for years whether cellphones can give you a brain tumor. And for years, the wireless industry has been telling us not to worry our pretty heads.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Proposal would restrict credit checks on job seekersA bill headed to Gov. Schwarzenegger would narrow the category of jobs for which employers could investigate the financial background of applicants. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am U.S. consumers cut debt by record $21.6 billion in JulyThe drop in the amount Americans owe on credit cards and loans for purchases such as autos shows that they are concerned about continued job losses and uncertain about the economic recovery.The amount Americans owe on credit cards and other consumer loans plunged a record $21.6 billion in July, clouding prospects that the budding economic recovery would soon extend to Main Street.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Arizona firm in deal to spread sun power to ChinaFirst Solar signs a memorandum of understanding to build a 2,000-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in the Inner Mongolian desert. The project could supply enough power for 3 million homes.The sun shines nearly everywhere, but alternative energy company First Solar Inc. is hoping those rays will be most profitable out in the far reaches of China.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Proposal would restrict credit checks on job seekersA bill headed to Gov. Schwarzenegger would narrow the category of jobs for which employers could investigate the financial background of applicants.Employers increasingly are using credit checks to screen job applicants, a practice critics say is making it tougher for many unemployed workers to find jobs in the midst of a grinding recession.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Switzerland tops U.S. as most competitive economyTHE ECONOMY
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Refinery work boosts gasoline prices in CaliforniaLower output at two sites leads regular gas to rise an average of 6.2 cents a gallon to $3.099 in the last week. The U.S. average fell 2.5 cents. Analysts expect costs at the pump to climb further.While much of the rest of the nation gets a break on gasoline costs, California motorists are seeing pump prices rise to new highs for the year because of reduced fuel production by the state's refineries.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Disney bolsters video games unitThe media conglomerate hires Alex Seropian, the founder of the firm that developed the hit series Halo, as creative head of Disney Interactive and buys his studio. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Financier William 'Boots' Del Biaggio III sentenced for bilking investors, banksA federal judge gives him more than eight years in prison for forging financial documents to obtain a $110-million loan to buy a controlling interest in a pro hockey team. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Warner Bros. settles lawsuit over 'Lord of the Rings' licensing paymentsThe settlement with the heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien clears the way for two planned films of 'The Hobbit.'Clearing the way to move forward with its two planned films of "The Hobbit," Warner Bros. resolved a nasty legal battle with the heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien over profit from the "Lord of the Rings" films.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am The PC is becoming the new TV, survey showsIf you're watching more TV on your computer these days -- and less on an actual TV -- you're not alone.Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Arizona firm in deal to spread sun power to ChinaFirst Solar signs a memorandum of understanding to build a 2,000-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in the Inner Mongolian desert. The project could supply enough power for 3 million homes. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Switzerland tops U.S. as most competitive economyTHE ECONOMYSource: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Warner Bros. settles lawsuit over 'Lord of the Rings' licensing paymentsThe settlement with the heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien clears the way for two planned films of 'The Hobbit.' Clearing...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Sunrider aims to put tax scandal behind itThe Torrance-based herbal company rebounds years after legal problems crushed sales.With its sparkling headquarters building in Torrance and global network of 300,000 distributors, Sunrider International seems to be a picture of entrepreneurial success -- right down to the gleaming red Rolls Royce in its lobby.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Aust stocks close flatMELBOURNE - The Australian share market closed flat on Wednesday, giving up early gains after the release of disappointing retail sales figures. At the 1615 AEST close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had dropped 1.6 points, or...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 12:55 am NZ sharemarket 'quiet'The New Zealand sharemarket slipped today after a promising start to trading with some modest gains. The biggest stock on the NZX, Telecom initially lifted 1.5 per cent but was dragged back later in the day to close at 270, down...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 9 Sep 2009 | 12:50 am Oil price up before Opec meetingOil prices rise on a weakening US dollar as oil ministers from the producers' cartel Opec prepare to meet in Vienna.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 9 Sep 2009 | 12:43 am UK consumer confidence upUK consumers are more optimistic about the future than they have been in more than a year, says a Nationwide survey.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 9 Sep 2009 | 12:27 am NZ dollar high against USThe New Zealand dollar today traded at 12-month highs against the US dollar, apparently reflecting optimism about the "green shoots" of economic recovery. At lunchtime it touched US69.93c - its highest rate against the US dollar...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 11:35 pm China's Geely eyes bid for Ford's Volvo cars (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:53 pm TSB cuts mortgage rates to new record low of 5.3pcTSB Bank has lowered its 6 month fixed mortgage rate to 5.35 per cent from 5.50 per cent, effective September 10, 2009. This change comes on the eve of the Reserve Bank review of its official cash rate, and its Monetary Policy...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:36 pm CNPC boosts war chest with $30bn loanChina National Petroleum Corp, the country’s largest oil and gas producer and supplier, said it had received a $30bn loan from a state-owned bank in a big boost to its war chest for securing overseas resourcesSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:34 pm 10 Things College Admissions Tests Don't Do1. "We don't measure what you think we do."IN 1926, THE College Board created the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT, and standardized college-admissions testing was here to stay. The American College Testing Program followed suit in 1959 with the ACT. Today 89 percent of schools use these two tests in the admissions process, according to a survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. But what do they measure? Both the SAT, which has three sections scored from 200 to 800 each, and the ACT, scored from one to 36, have narrowed their claims. These tests are no longer said to measure intelligence; rather, research indicates they reliably forecast how well students perform in their first year of college. But there are better indicators, says Bill Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions at Harvard, such as class rank and GPA. So why are these tests popular? Convenience for admissions officers, says Robert Schaeffer, of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, who argues standardized tests get misused. It's less expensive and time consuming but "less fair to students," he says. The College Board says it offers guidelines on appropriate uses of test results but doesn't control their usage. 2. "We score on a curve."SAT RESULTS USED to mean scores in the traditional 200 to 800 range for each section of the test, a scale that depended in part on the performance of other students. Today's test taker still gets these, but she also receives her "raw scores," which directly reflect the number of questions she got right and wrong. A big improvement, say many students and their harried parents-until you learn that it's the original 200 to 800 scores that really matter as far as most admissions officers are concerned. How does scaled scoring work? The College Board says that a missed question typically means a debit of 20 points. But the higher a student's score overall, the more missed questions will weigh, says Leslie Lukin, director of Assessment and Evaluation at Lincoln Public Schools in Nebraska. No small thing, given that more than 20 percent of schools impose minimum scores for admission, and studies indicate that even a 10- or 20-point difference can significantly improve one's chances at more than a third of colleges, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Indeed, says Fitzsimmons, these tests can be "a very blunt instrument." 3. "You don't have to be Shakespeare to ace the essay."IN 2005, THE College Board unveiled an updated SAT, designed to restore the test as a measure of ability in at least one area. The main new feature: a 25-minute essay. But it hasn't exactly impressed some admissions officers. "We don't think it's a measure of anything that's supportive of a student's writing ability," says Ann Bowe McDermott, director of admissions at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, which accepts only math and verbal scores. When the test was released, the College Board said the writing section "sends a loud and clear message that strong writing is essential to success in college and beyond." But critics like Robert Yagelski, associate professor of English education at SUNY Albany, disagree, saying the essay section "misunderstands what makes effective writing." One problem is that scoring focuses on organization and tends to ignore factual errors. "It's taking a step away from how students need to write in college," Yagelski says. A College Board spokesperson says the essay "very effectively measures students' writing skills and, in particular, their ability to write concisely, coherently and quickly." 4. "You can game the system."THERE HAS ALWAYS been concern about the legitimacy of the SAT and ACT-which is why the College Board and ACT Inc. frequently tweak the tests, then put out new studies reconfirming their validity. One factor experts use to determine whether a standardized test is legitimate is its vulnerability to gaming techniques. "If you can take shortcuts to do better, then it's a bad test design," says Mark Reckase, an education professor at Michigan State University; studying subject matter is the only thing that should help improve a score. But according to the $2 billion test-prep industry, performance on the SAT and ACT can be improved with tips and tricks. "We don't pretend to teach students a lot academically," says Ed Carroll, an executive director at The Princeton Review. "Taking tests is a skill that can be developed, like playing a guitar or tennis." A study by the NACAC supports his claims; it found this type of test prep could add roughly 30 points to a score, or 5 percent per section. A common suggestion: Skip a question if you're unsure of the answer, since it won't count against you. However, if you can eliminate at least one answer, then the odds of guessing correctly shift in your favor. 5. "The practice test is more stressful than the real one."BEFORE THE test-prep industry took off, the only real way to prepare for the SAT was to take the Preliminary SAT, or PSAT, which debuted in 1959 to offer students a "low stakes" practice version of the pressure-filled admissions test, says Glenn Milewski, executive director of the PSAT at the College Board. But in 1971, the stakes suddenly got a lot higher for high school kids taking the PSAT. That's when the College Board teamed up with the National Merit Scholarship Corp., which doles out $36 million in scholarships annually to high school students, and renamed the test the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The crux of the relationship: The College Board allows the NMSC to use the test as a way of narrowing the field of potential scholarship recipients based on score. Before the NMSC will even glance at GPA, class rank or any other measure of a student's merit, it looks at results of the PSAT-which can be taken for the National Merit Scholarship competition only once. "We're not saying we get every great student who's out there," says a spokesperson for the NMSC. 6. "Our side business is selling your data."AFTER MATEI ALEXIANU took the PSAT in his sophomore year, test scores weren't the only thing that showed up in his mailbox. Soon the 17-year-old high school senior from Spokane, Wash., was getting postcards, letters and brochures from colleges-"a whole bunch of junk," he says. The reason for the blitz? He had opted in for the College Board's Student Search Service, which allows colleges to contact you. Selling your info is just one added way testing services bring in money, says Harry Henry, vice president of Outsell Inc., an education research company. Schools pay the College Board 32 cents a name and ACT 31 cents for address, gender, date of birth, e-mail and other such data. "They're selling the information you paid to give them," says Schaeffer. A spokesperson for the College Board says students don't pay to participate in this elective, opt-in service. Nonprofit ACT says the program "is used to improve our products and services and keep their cost to students as low as possible." Alexianu says when he retook the PSAT/NMSQT junior year, he chose not to opt in. "I already know the schools I'll be applying to," he says. 7. "There's no point in taking both tests."WHEN IT CAME TO deciding which test to take for college admissions, the decision used to be easy-it depended on where you lived. The SAT has always been more popular on the East and West Coasts, while the ACT has been the admissions test of choice for the Midwest. But now, with the vast majority of colleges accepting both, students can choose. And since admissions officers generally don't give extra weight to one or the other, there's no good reason to take both, says Molly Baab, director of StudentEdge, an online test-prep service. So how to decide which one to take? Baab suggests taking both tests at home, using versions found online (for the SAT, free at www.collegeboard.com; for the ACT, free with a $20 annual test-prep program fee at www.actstudent.org), then see how you did on each. Some other factors: For students who get stressed by short, timed intervals, the ACT might be better since it's divided into five sections, half the SAT's 10. The ACT also has a science section-if that isn't your thing, go with the SAT. 8. "We've been known to make mistakes."THERE IS ENOUGH pressure on high school students who take the SAT without their having to worry that their test isn't being scored properly. But unfortunately, just as students slip up sometimes and fill in the wrong answer, Pearson Education, the third-party company that scores the SAT, can make mistakes too-as more than 4,000 students who took the test in October 2005 can attest. Heavy rain in transit caused wet answer sheets to expand; as a result, some scores were off by as much as 300 points. Exacerbating the problem, affected students weren't informed of scoring errors until five months later, enough time to derail admissions-which is what some students alleged in a class- action lawsuit filed in federal court in Minnesota in 2006 against Pearson and the College Board. The suit was partially settled out of court; students had the option of receiving $275 in damages or submitting a claim for more money, which some have done, according to Joe Snodgrass, an attorney at Larson King, the firm representing the students. (A spokesperson says the College Board is taking steps in quality control to ensure it doesn't happen again; Pearson had no comment.) The College Board offers a $50 Score Verification service for those surprised by their score. The fee covers the cost of regrading by hand, says a College Board spokesperson. But even The College Board is skeptical about the service; the PSAT's Milewski, who hasn't heard of a score being changed through Score Verification, says he wouldn't recommend it. If a scoring error is found, the fee is refunded. 9. "We cost more than you think."BOTH THE COLLEGE Board and ACT recommend taking their tests twice for optimum results-that's around $90 for two go-arounds, not counting test preparation, which can run anywhere from $100 to over $1,000 for tutoring and other approaches. But for many, these costs get compounded by additional fees. For example, if you miss one of the seven registration dates for the SAT, it will run you about $20 more to register. If an emergency comes up on test day and you need to reschedule or change the location, that's another $20. Want to apply to more than four colleges? The College Board and ACT both charge about $9 for each additional college a score report is sent to after the fourth one. The one safe haven from all this nickel-and-diming: Checking your scores online is free. 10. "We're becoming obsolete."THE BIG NEWS for the nearly 3 million high school students who take the SAT and the ACT every year is that these tests may start carrying less weight than they used to. The National Association for College Admission Counseling recently recommended that colleges and universities deemphasize the importance of standardized tests unless there was proof these scores predicted college grades and graduation rates, according to Harvard's Fitzsimmons. So far, there are more than 800 test-optional schools, which don't penalize applicants for not including an SAT or ACT score. Instead, high school GPA, class rank and Advanced Placement courses are given more weight in the admissions process. Of course, the reasons for going test-optional aren't all altruistic on the part of the schools, says Jack Maguire, chairman of educational consulting company Maguire Associates. Since the test-optional schools are more likely to have students submit scores only if they're high, the optional route can raise a school's average test score, Maguire says, boosting its reputation. Still, going test-optional should lead to a more diverse class population, Maguire says, "one that's more representative of society." 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 | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:00 pm Which Teen Financial Products Make the Grade? (Deal of the Day)Financial literacy is one subject your child can’t afford to fail. It’s also a subject that’s taken on new weight as the nation struggles to recover from a recession brought on by irresponsible investing and overzealous spending. Now, as American students return to school, financial education is starting to receive the kind of attention once reserved for reading, writing and arithmetic. Yet most schools don’t require, or even offer, courses in personal finance today. In fact, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy’s 2008 survey, which covered topics like credits cards and bank accounts, showed high school seniors answered fewer than half of questions correctly. Barring a wholesale change to the national curricula, that statistic won’t improve unless parents start teaching their children sound money management. First, have a conversation about finance basics like budgeting and bank account management. “Without that understanding, [using money management tools] is like going to see a doctor who can’t understand all his high-tech equipment,” says Michael Eisenberg, a certified public accountant and member of the National CPA Financial Literacy Commission. “It’s the old ‘Garbage in, garbage out.’” After that, look for tools, products and other resources from banks and financial literacy groups to build on those basics. A simple savings account can help even young kids learn to manage their money, says Joe Peri, the CEO and president of the Council for Economic Education, which promotes financial literacy in schools. Looking for something a little more advanced? These three new financial products for teens and tweens earned passing grades from the money educators we spoke to: FacecardKeep an eye on your teen’s spending with this reloadable debit card. Like other prepaid cards, users are limited to the available balance accessible via charge (anywhere MasterCard (MC) is accepted) or ATM withdrawal. Parents can monitor the account online and set alerts for low balances and declined transactions. Teens can send money to other Facecard users (say, to repay a friend for lunch) and receive money from people who don’t have an account (a birthday gift from relatives or a babysitting payment from neighbors). The company is also testing coupons that load onto the card and automatically redeem at checkout. It’s free now, but Facecard will begin charging for its services on Sept. 21. You’ll pay a one-time fee of $5 to buy a card. There’s a $3 monthly usage fee, which is waived if you load or spend $100 in a given month. Teens will also pay $1.50 per ATM withdrawal. (It’s cheap compared with competitors such as Visa (V) Buxx, which charges up to $15 for new accounts and $3 to reload the balance depending on the issuing bank.) Lessons: Because there’s a limited balance, prepaid debit cards can teach kids about the scarcity of financial resources and how to budget, Eisenberg says. “When the money’s gone, it’s gone,” he says. But don’t just regularly infuse your kid’s account with free fun money. Kids are more likely to spend wisely if their purchases come from their own funds, so use the card to dole out a portion of his or her allowance. Also, talk about appropriate uses for the card -- and warn them that you’ll want a sit-down if you spot bad behavior. Obopay Family AccountUsers can introduce their kids to mobile banking with this joint account, which merges Obopay’s mobile payment services with a prepaid debit card. Parents can reload accounts through two free options: online or via their cellphone. Teens can spend the available balance by charge (MasterCard), ATM withdrawal or sending money by phone to any other mobile number. Rather not have your teen spend via text? Parental controls let you restrict access and monitor spending. (None of your financial information stays on the phone, and you must log in each time, says spokesman David Schwartz.) Signing up for an account is free. Users will pay a $1.95 per month usage fee plus 25 cents each time they or their teens send money via phone to someone else. Parents can send money to their teen’s card by phone for free. Lessons: The option to spend and receive money via phone gives tech-conscious teens one more way to track their spending, so make sure they understand the importance of doing so, Peri says. The added fee provides a lesson on the cost of convenience, too. BillMyParents.comNo need to give your teen access to your credit card for online shopping. This payment site lets teens send wanted items to their parents for payment. Parents get an e-mail about the request, can approve or deny items individually and then pay for the virtual cartload. Accounts are free, and you’ll pay a 50-cent fee for each transaction. Parents can also see requests their teen sends to other people, including friends or family. The catch? BillMyParents.com currently works only with the site’s affiliate store on Amazon.com (AMZN) and a handful of online gaming and social networking sites, including Dragon Fable and Adventure Quest. Lessons: Using the site is smarter than handing over your account number (or card) to your teen, says Martin Higgins, a certified financial planner in Marlton, N.J., who developed a financial education program for his clients’ children. However, BillMyParents.com can encourage additional spending. “It is promoting them to go spend, to go shopping,” Higgins says. Talk about the purchase before you approve or deny it, so teens learn to discern needs from wants and budget appropriately. 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Source: SmartMoney.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:00 pm September 9, 2008 (Tuesday): Lehman Anxiety Grows; Bailout Is Growing Campaign IssueGrowing Anxiety About Lehman BrothersLehman Brothers loses nearly half of its value in the stock market as nervous investors fret that the investment bank is in big trouble and that it won’t be rescued by the federal government. The action came on the eve of Lehman’s scheduled quarterly report, which investors expect to show a big loss. The fear ripples throughout the stock market sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index down 3.4%, more than wiping out the previous day’s gains, which were sparked by the government takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Still, some market watchers said the government would be reluctant to let Lehman fail. (For more on this news, click here.) Lipstick Remark Becomes Campaign ControversyDuring a town hall event in Lebanon, Va., Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama says the policies of John McCain and Sarah Palin don’t represent true change. “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig,” Obama says. The comment quickly becomes the focus of a kerfuffle. Many interpret it as a direct swipe at Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and Republicans criticize Obama for attack politics. The Obama campaign says the remark did not reference Palin’s own “lipstick” joke at the GOP convention. (For more on this news, click here and here.) Criticism for Payments to Ousted Freddie, Fannie ChiefsIn a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie and Freddie’s new regulator, Sen. Barack Obama urges the reevaluation of golden-parachute payments for Daniel H. Mudd of Fannie Mae and Richard F. Syron of Freddie Mac. The men, both ousted from their posts as CEO, are eligible for as much as $24 million in severance and other benefits. Obama’s letter and similar comments by Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, suggest that the bailout is increasingly inserting itself into the presidential campaign. (For more on this news, click here.) 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 | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:00 pm 3 Companies With Rising Profitability (Screens)
For companies, high profit margins are a hallmark of operational excellence. So, stock investors should favor companies with the fattest margins, right? Smart BalanceOperating margin: 4.1% LanceOperating margin: 5.5% The Scotts Miracle Gro CompanyOperating Margin: 10% 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 | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:00 pm At Amgen, a Prescription for SuccessTHE MOST PROMISING NEW DRUG IN AMGEN'S pipeline is a bone-loss antibody called denosumab, which could be a biotechnology blockbuster if tests one day prove it can halt the spread of cancer to the bone. The more immediate question is whether denosumab's approval for other bone-related conditions will be a needed shot in the arm for Amgen -- and its shareholders. The answer could begin to emerge as soon as Oct. 19, when the Food and Drug Administration is expected to bestow its blessing on denosumab for use in treating post-menopause osteoporosis and bone loss from prostate-cancer treatments. If the drug gets the green light, sales eventually could top $3 billion, industry analysts say. But Wall Street is skeptical denosumab can compensate for the flagging sales growth of Amgen's maturing drugs, including the psoriasis and arthritis antidote Enbrel, which currently accounts for about a fourth of the company's $15 billion of annual revenue -- and comes off patent in 2012. As a result, Amgen (AMGN) sells for about 58 a share, or 11.5 times 2010 estimated earnings of $5.10 a share, below the price/earnings multiples of other biotech and even some pharmaceutical concerns. If the FDA slows the approval process or rejects some of denosumab's indications, or if onerous side effects emerge, Amgen's shares could fall to 45, their 2009 low. More likely, the drug, once approved, will surprise skeptics with its growth potential, leading to the stock's revaluation. Geoffrey Porges, an analyst at BernsteinResearch, expects that by 2013, denosumab will contribute more than $3.8 billion of Amgen's roughly $6.3 billion in new-product revenue, more than offsetting a slide, in the next four years, of almost $900 million, or 6%, in sales of existing drugs. He thinks Amgen's emerging biotech treatments could help the company achieve $19 billion in sales by 2013, and about $6.8 billion, or more than $7 a share in earnings, up from $4.55 in 2008 and an estimated $4.85 in '09. Given the potential for a 15% compound annual growth in earnings per share, Porges argued in a recent report that Amgen deserves to trade closer to 15 or 16 times 2010 estimates. His price target: 78. Based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Amgen makes five of the world's top-selling biotech drugs. Among them, sales are expected to keep climbing modestly for white-blood-cell booster Neulasta, which could generate 2009 revenue of $3.4 billion. Sales of Epogen, a genetically engineered hormone that stimulates red-blood-cell production, are holding steady at $2.5 billion, while sales of Aranesp, which also boosts red-blood-cell counts, could slip to $2.7 billion this year from $3.1 billion in 2008. The drug has been dogged by reports of problems at high doses and faces competitive threats. Amgen's challenge, as Sam Isaly, chief investment officer of OrbiMed Advisors, an Amgen holder, rightly notes, is a big, aging sales base. Yet the company continues to innovate. In addition to denosumab, Isaly points to Sensipar, first approved in 2004 to treat thyroid problems in patients with kidney disease and cancer. If tests establish it can extend life then sales, now $680 million, could grow substantially. Amgen also is studying new indications for Aranesp in cardiac patients. Other promising products include Vectibix, approved in 2006 for treatment of colorectal cancer, and an antibody that may lower cholesterol. BERNSTEIN'S PORGES THINKS DENOSUMAB could produce $654 million in revenue next year, mostly from use as a twice-yearly injectable for osteoporosis treatment in post-menopausal women over 50. Bernstein estimates that 66% of the eligible U.S. population of nine million is treated with pills such as Merck's (MRK) Fosamax, but Roger Perlmutter, Amgen's executive vice president of research and development, and a Merck veteran, says many women don't refill prescriptions, partly because of side effects. By 2015, Porges expects denosumab sales to be split between osteoporosis and oncology applications. As revenue ramps up, Amgen management will maintain its fabled focus on costs, which could enhance profitability. Smaller biotechnology companies might boost earnings more than Amgen in 2010, but many are expensive. Big Pharma pays dividends to compensate for sluggish profit growth. Amgen, in contrast, offers the likelihood of greater earnings growth at a discount -- plus an option on a potential blockbuster. That's a good prescription for many portfolios.
The Bottom Line
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Source: SmartMoney.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:00 pm Chinese firm in talks to buy Kiwi dairying giantThe joint-owner of New Zealand's largest privately owned dairy farming operation has confirmed it is in talks to sell out to a Chinese company for over NZ$200 million. The sale would make the Chinese interests one of the biggest...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 9:00 pm Crystal ball still clouded for NZ equitiesNew Zealand companies beat analysts' low-ball earnings estimates in the year through June but provided little guidance for the next 12 months, as they await evidence of the much-touted recovery from recession. The average reported...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 8:30 pm PGG Wrightson responds to 'wildly innacurate' commentsPGG Wrightson is seeking to correct what it calls "speculative, uninformed and often wildly inaccurate" comment being made about the company. Chairman Kevin Smith today sent a letter to business and rural news editors to clarify...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 8:00 pm Fix health care. But fix the deficits, tooPresident Obama says reforming health care is central to the task of getting the government's long-term financial problems under control. And he's right.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:33 pm Woman fails in bid to stop IRD actionA woman's effort to stop her employer making deductions from her wages on behalf of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has been rejected by the Employment Relations Authority. Diane Meenken had claimed Rigg Zschokke Ltd was proposing...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:24 pm NY's Cuomo may charge BofA execs over Merrill (Reuters)Reuters - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo threatened on Tuesday to file charges accusing top Bank of America Corp executives of failing to disclose essential details about its takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:22 pm NY's Cuomo may charge BofA execs over MerrillNEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo threatened on Tuesday to file charges accusing top Bank of America Corp executives of failing to disclose essential details about its takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co.Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:22 pm UK is Europe's 'easiest economy'The UK is the fifth easiest economy in the world in which to conduct business, according to the World Bank.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Sep 2009 | 6:31 pm Consumers won't bail out economyDon't look to consumers to spend their way to an economic recovery.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 6:20 pm Passengers face new tax to halt rise in air travelTens of billions of pounds will have to be raised through flight taxes to compensate developing countries for the damage air travel does to the environment, according to the Government’s advisory body on climate change. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Sep 2009 | 6:00 pm Darling prepares for spending cuts amid signs recession is endingAlistair Darling set Labour a new “test of character” yesterday to make the hard choices required to ensure that public spending was devoted to the areas that needed it most. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Sep 2009 | 6:00 pm BAE sets out to capture a $20bn market as it prepares to test anti-piracy radar$BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence company, is working with BP to test a system capable of protecting oil tankers against pirate attacks. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Sep 2009 | 6:00 pm Cadbury: Kind hearts and chocolatesCadbury means more than a sweet taste in the mouth. There is social history in those chocolate bars, which take us back to the great Victorian reformers, who worked hard and used their money to do good. Similarly, the word Bournville...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 6:00 pm E-mail slip overshadows Kingfisher's surprise profits increaseKingfisher was yesterday forced to release a surprisingly positive set of trading figures nine days earlier than planned because of an e-mail mishap. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Sep 2009 | 6:00 pm Flickr releases iPhone appSource: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 5:28 pm Brave new roadMcLaren goes head-to-head with Ferrari and PorscheSource: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Sep 2009 | 5:27 pm Why your doctor doesn't give a shotParents who bring their kids to Dr. G. Andrew McIntosh for the chicken pox vaccine are out of luck.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 5:26 pm Shilling Sees Consumer Saving Rising to 10 Percent: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Sep 2009 | 5:25 pm Workers returnRural workers head back to China's coastal citiesSource: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Sep 2009 | 5:15 pm Crackdown threat to bank profitsThe global regulatory crackdown in the wake of the financial crisis is likely to cut long-term profitability at US and European investment banks by nearly a third, forcing them to cut bonuses and shed staff, says a studySource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:49 pm BofA considered 'MAC' clause before shareholder voteBank of America executives were so concerned about the worsening financial condition of Merrill Lynch last year that they sought legal advice about the applicability of a “material adverse change” clause before the December 5 shareholder vote on the acquisition, a state regulator saidSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:46 pm Barrick Gold plans to raise $3.5bnBarrick Gold is to raise up to $3.5bn via a share offering that will eliminate most of its remaining gold hedging contracts, giving the world’s biggest gold producer full exposure to changes in the market priceSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:45 pm Write-Offs: 09.08.09$$$ Ken Griffin (Meredith Whitney, Blankfein, Spitzer, etc) reflect on Lehman biting the big one : "I was at my grandmother's house late Sunday afternoon when a colleague called and said it looked like bankruptcy was inevitable for Lehman. My grandmother, who is 96, lived her whole life in fear of the next depression. But in a great bit of irony, she took this catastrophe in stride. I, however, had been very worried. When the market was down only a few percentage points on Monday, I felt like the boy who cried wolf. But then the First Reserve money market fund broke the buck, and money markets stopped buying the commercial paper of financial institutions. What was set in motion was an underwater earthquake. There would be rumors in the days following that Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Citadel would be next to fall. I credit my team for doing everything possible to make sure we were prepared for the worst." [Fortune] $$$ What it feels like to hug Dick Fuld [Daily Intel] $$$ Cuomo considers charges against Bank of America execs. [MarketWatch] $$$ Pornographer busted for faking it. [The Deal] $$$ Fairfield Greenwich Settles Massachusetts Regulatory Action [Reuters] $$$ In case you're looking to meet up with Shia LaBeouf tonight. [FG] $$$ Or tomorrow morning. 77th between Lex and Third. 6AM. 
 Sponsored Topics: Goldman Sachs - Morgan Stanley - Bank of America - Meredith Whitney - Business Source: Dealbreaker | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:31 pm Fed: consumers cut debt by record $21.6B in July (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:28 pm Bankers Get In On The Class Action Lawsuit Game
But the potential damage to Commerzbank Sued for $49 Million by 72 Bankers Over Bonuses [Bloomberg]
Sponsored Topics: Dresdner Kleinwort - Dresdner Bank - Commerzbank - London - Business Source: Dealbreaker | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:15 pm Karzai closes in on flawed poll winHamid Karzai was heading nearer to an outright victory in Afghan elections marred by widespread fraud after electoral officials defied western pressure to withhold suspect results and stage a partial recountSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:10 pm Britain climbing out of recession as economic growth returnsThe recession is probably over leading experts have declared as evidence show key parts of the economy rebounding.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:09 pm Stocks gain on rising commodities, takeover news (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:52 pm How the major stock indexes fared on Tuesday (AP)AP - Rising commodities prices and stirrings of corporate takeovers are making investors more optimistic about the economy.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:51 pm Kraft holds back in bid for CadburyThe board of US food conglomerate Kraft is prepared to wait and let the market decide the fate of its £10.2bn bid for Cadbury.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:46 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 | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:44 pm US consumer credit in record plunge (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:35 pm A Solar Field Larger Than ManhattanFirst Solar (FSLR) today announced that it had signed a contract with the Chinese government that will allow it to build a 2 gigawatt solar power plant in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China. The closing of the deal is contingent on execution of definitive agreements. The new solar field would be the largest in the world, [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:33 pm Education secretary bemoans dropout rate (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:33 pm Barrick Raising & Spending Billions To Drop Hedging (ABX)Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) is going to be taking an action which has mixed implications for shares of Barrick versus the overall gold play now that the shiny yellow metal is hitting $1,000.00 an ounce. The company has engaged a large syndicate of underwriters to raise billions in cash. This is not to make [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:29 pm Chelsea building a case for the start of new property boom...This could be a recessionbuster.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:25 pm Obama to challenge lawmakers on healthcareBarack Obama gave what sounded like a possible teaser on Monday of the do-or-die address he will give to the joint houses of Congress on healthcare reformSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:24 pm Bloomberg: Don't Flip Off Your Former Employer After Getting Fired, Particularly If Said Employer Is Known For Swathing Himself In Fleece
Sponsored Topics: Hedge fund - London - Business - Investing - Bloomberg L.P. Source: Dealbreaker | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:13 pm Orange and TMobile merger could see 1000 jobs cutThe companies will also close about 120 of the combined group's 613 high street shops if the deal goes ahead.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:11 pm US citizens in rush for offshore tax adviceUS citizens around the world are scrambling for tax advice ahead of a filing deadline, fearful that they may face prosecution after the US government’s crackdown on undeclared offshore assetsSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:08 pm Our First Podcast: 'Brad Setser Explains The China Thing'
At a September 2008 recycling drive in Brooklyn, Chinese goods piled up. (Bob Sacha) By Laura Conaway Call it star-crossed or star-kissed: Planet Money so happened to launch the day the U.S. government announced it was taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to save them and the rest of the economy. The news broke on Sept. 7, 2008, and the next day we published our first podcast. From the sound of it, I'd say Adam Davidson recorded it by himself at home. You couldn't even find us on iTunes yet. Adam says he thinks he was the sole person who downloaded this first edition. Listening again, I'm stunned at how relevant it remains. Here's that podcast with guest Brad Setser above, and its blog entry after the jump: Debt, to most of us, is something you pay. But to creditors, it's also something you sell. Mortgage agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issue so-called mortgage-backed securities to investors -- including, notably, China. Roughly put, we buy tons of Chinese goods, and the Chinese loan us the money back through securities so we can buy more. Got it? The numbers involved here are enormous, billions mounting into trillions. Brad Setser, an economist with the Council on Foreign Relations, has spent the last years obsessively researching China's buying of American debt. What scares him is the idea that China would stop buying the debt -- meaning it would stop financing American mortgages and our general standard of living. An extra jolt: Setser says the Chinese can't go on buying this way forever. He explained this all to us in a way I could almost completely understand. It's so good, I'm going to listen twice (click above or download). » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:07 pm Orange merger with TMobile rings change in marketOrange and TMobile hammer out details of merger writes Rupert Neate.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:01 pm Consumer Borrowing Falls By Biggest Amount On RecordBy Laura Conaway That giant snapping sound must have been your wallets closing. Americans slashed their borrowing in July by the largest amount on record, according to new numbers from the Federal Reserve. People pulled back on debt at a yearly pace of 10.4 percent, and that's after a 7.4 percent annualized drop in June. All told, Americans borrowed $21.6 billion less in July than they had in June, the biggest one-month drop since records began in 1943. Not even Cash for Clunkers could stop the rapid draining of credit. From AP: Demand for non-revolving credit used to finance cars, vacations, education and other things fell by $15.4 billion, also a record decline. That 11.7 percent pace was on top of an 8 percent annualized decline in June. This economic crisis has been described as a crisis caused by too much leveraging (or borrowing) followed a painfully rapid deleveraging (in which debtors either pay off what they owe or creditors give up collecting). It's also a crisis of overconsumption followed by a painfully steep decline in consumer demand. In today's numbers from the Fed, those twin factors meet. Total consumer credit now stands at $2.47 trillion. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:49 pm Madoff feeder fund settles with MassachusettsBOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts' top securities regulator reached an $8 million settlement on Tuesday with Fairfield Greenwich Group for having invested the bulk of its clients money with swindler Bernard Madoff.Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:46 pm Cree Raising Cash (CREE)Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) is raising cash. The company, which makes lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor solutions for wireless and power applications, announced that it is selling 11,000,000 shares of its common stock. Before any price adjustments this comes to a level of $422.4 million. Cree said that it intends to use the proceeds [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:38 pm Too early to take away the propsUnprecedented monetary easing and fiscal expansion have indeed put a floor under the world economy. But it is too early to declare victorySource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:29 pm 'The Economic Wreckage': Sifting Through A Year of Crisis
The S&P 500 has begun bouncing back, but it's still far below its level at the start of the recession. (Click to enlarge.) (Robert Benincas and David Wright / NPR) By Laura Conaway Though the worst of our current economic crisis wouldn't hit until September 2008, the recession began in December 2007. That leaves a lot of financial wreckage to sort through. NPR's Robert Benincasa and David Wright have charted key categories -- including the look, above, at the S&P 500. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:27 pm IShares to List ETFs on Chiles’s Exchange in 2010: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:20 pm July consumer credit falls a record $21.6 billionWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Total U.S. consumer credit fell by a record $21.6 billion in July, Federal Reserve data showed on Tuesday, the latest hint household spending would be too weak to drive the economy's recovery from recession.Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:18 pm July consumer credit falls a record $21.6 billion (Reuters)Reuters - Total U.S. consumer credit fell by a record $21.6 billion in July, Federal Reserve data showed on Tuesday, the latest hint household spending would be too weak to drive the economy's recovery from recession.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:18 pm The FHA Finds A Way To Stay Afloat
The home defiling movement that Lenny recently helped shine the spotlight on is doing wonders to make homes more affordable, reignite the market, and save the FHA. No stranger to inflated home prices, thieves in Arizona are helping spur organic growth by stripping foreclosed properties of every fixture that has even the slightest change of being resold on Craigslist.,
As the FHA will not extend a loan on a property that is not intact, the Dykstra Plan will likely save the agency untold millions by forcing people to seek more expensive, toilet inclusive homes falling outside of the FHA's purview. Theft of fixtures becomes major risk in foreclosures [Arizona Republic]
Sponsored Topics: Arizona - Real estate - Arizona Republic - United States - Real estate broker Source: Dealbreaker | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:57 pm Presented By:Source: Dealbreaker | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:57 pm Cohan Sees Serious Problems Ahead for Regional Banks: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:53 pm What Tricks Of The Trade Is Shia LaBeouf Learning About At CNBC?
Sponsored Topics: Jim Cramer - Shia LaBeouf - Power Lunch - Charlie Gasparino - CNBC Source: Dealbreaker | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:43 pm General Electric Raised to `Overweight’ at JPMorgan: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:37 pm Spurned Kraft warns Cadbury it will struggle to stay independentKraft, the largest US food maker, has warned that Cadbury will struggle to stay independent if the UK confectionery group continues to spurn its £10.2bn (€11.6bn) takeover approachSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:31 pm McGraw Says S&P Court Judgment Was Misunderstood: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:22 pm Goldman Sachs 'Romantic With A Heart Of Gold' Paid Hooker £500,000 To Make It Official?
Sponsored Topics: Goldman Sachs - Suicide - Morley - Yann Samuelides - Denis Morley Source: Dealbreaker | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:22 pm Stock Market Worry: Insiders Are Heavy Sellers (Time.com)Time.com - Signs abound that the economic recovery is gradually unfolding. So why are corporate insiders heavy sellers of their stock?Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:10 pm Stock Market Worry: Insiders Are Heavy Sellers (Time.com)Time.com - Signs abound that the economic recovery is gradually unfolding. So why are corporate insiders heavy sellers of their stock?Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:10 pm A look at economic developments around the globe (AP)AP - A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Tuesday:Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:07 pm Flashback: Listener Calls Fannie/Freddie Rescue 'Thievery.' Davidson Says Heck NoBy Laura Conaway Looking back at the first news from last year's federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, you can see people searching for someone to blame for the collapse. A year ago today, one Planet Money commenter, Maria Schneider, wrote in to say: We shareholders will be wiped out with this takeover of Fannie and Freddie. I thought our legal system was a warranty and would prevent the government from stealing from the people. We would expect the nationalization of Fannie and Freddie to be dictated by dictatorial governments such as Cuba or Venezuela. Or is this government a national socialist one? They are stealing from the rightful shareholders of the company. We trusted the government and their cronies. I am sure their profits will soar with this measure. This is a legal system that protects the little guy, it was anyway until this government came into office. And one thought they were conservative republicans... [This] is an act of thievery. Which prompted a dose of very strong medicine from Adam Davidson. On this anniversary week, I'll print in full his reply from the first days of the Planet Money blog. Davidson wrote: Maria, as a shareholder in Fannie and Freddie, I can only imagine how awful a day this is for you. Indeed, you trusted that these quasi-governmental agencies were being well run and that they are safe. Over the last few months, you've seen the value of your shares collapse. Today, the nail was hammered in the coffin. I will speak some harsh truths to you, though. . . . I don't think it's fair to call this weekend's move "stealing." The stock price of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell so precipitously because, well, they were very poorly run companies. They took on far more risk than they could properly handle. Legally you, as a partial owner of the companies, are responsible for that leadership. You -- I mean, now, the collective you of Fannie/Freddie stock holders -- did not throw out the heads of the company or demand more prudent actions. Why didn't you? Well, I think it's because these were very successful, very profitable companies. They were successful specifically because, unlike almost any other private company in the U.S., Fannie and Freddie were able to use the implied backing of the U.S. government to borrow money at the world's cheapest rates. Who stole your money? Well, in a sense, you did. You accepted (knowingly or not) high-risk behavior to get higher returns. As it happens, that high-risk behavior put the entire global financial system at risk of collapse. I think almost any impartial observer would agree: the shareholders of Fannie and Freddie deserve no help from the U.S. government. It is an appropriate outcome that they lose most or all of their money. No matter how personally painful that might be to some. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:56 pm Growe Says Hershey, Nestle Won't Bid For Cadbury: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:48 pm He's Coming Up Next
Sponsored Topics: 50 Cent - Business - Kids and Teens - Hip hop music - Police Source: Dealbreaker | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:22 pm Bloomberg's Ivry Says Fed Won't Allow Another Lehman: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:03 pm Something To Aim ForAsk most officials in the current administration what sort of place would legalize tax evasion and you'd probably hear sermons about locales run by nefarious cronies whose back room dealings completely remove any semblance of confidence in local markets. Ask the World Economic Forum and they'll tell you one of those places happens to be the most competitive economy in the world, Switzerland. While other major industrialized countries race to team up with one another and draw lines in the sand for what is economically right and wrong, the one country that goes it alone wound up on top .
Its ability to innovate has been on prominent display recently. Faced with intense persecution from the IRS and current administration over its secrecy laws, the Swiss managed to find a way to (temporarily) pacify the tax hounds, keep roughly 90% of American account holders' identities secret, and give those who may be at risk of being detected some advance warning.
It's a relief the administration is tackling this critical issue at the same time the country came in an impressive 108th for soundness of banks. Hopefully by this time next year there will be a slightly greater distinction between the perceived soundness of US banks and the often overlooked Albanian banks (104th). Swiss Deal With I.R.S. May Hide Some Tax Cheats [NYT]
Sponsored Topics: Switzerland - United States - UBS AG - Tax avoidance and tax evasion - United States Department of Justice Source: Dealbreaker | 8 Sep 2009 | 11:31 am Jimmy Cayne: I Had A Good Reason For Smoking Dope, The Particulars Of Which Escape Me At The Moment
Sponsored Topics: Drug abuse - Cannabis - Charlie Gasparino - Health - Drug Source: Dealbreaker | 8 Sep 2009 | 11:30 am New National Affairs Magazine Cuts Through Hype with Reason
(Read it here.) National Affairs Magazine, successor to the 1960’s-era The Public Interest, launches today. What sets National Affairs apart is that it addresses weighty economic and policy issues–California’s fiscal crisis, financial crisis cronyism, compassionate conservatism–is a rational way. (If you follow the media closely, you will know why I italicized that word.) The New York Times has more on this unique magazine: The magazine…occupies…the bloody crossroads where social science and public policy meet matters of morality, culture and virtue. (In one article), Luigi Zingales points out that the legitimacy of American capitalism has rested on the fact that many people, like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, got rich on the basis of what they did, not on the basis of government connections. But over the years, business and government have become more intertwined. The results have been bad for both capitalism and government. The banks’ growing political clout led to the rule changes that helped create the financial crisis. If we can’t trust the people and we can’t trust the elites, who can we trust? How can change be effectuated? This is one of the problems National Affairs is going to have to think through in the years ahead. Another is: Can the state do anything to effectively promote virtuous behavior? Because when you get into the core problems, whether in Washington, California or on Wall Street, you keep seeing the same moral deficiencies: self-indulgence, irresponsibility and imprudence. National Affairs has potential to strengthen the national dialogue around the issues facing this country. Mainstream media and politics sell vitriol to earn themselves money and votes, but intelligent argument suffers as a result. National Affairs comes at a sorely needed time.
Source: Business Pundit | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:44 am Case may transform national electionsCompanies are currently banned from paying for ads that take sides in an election campaign. But a case before the U.S. Supreme Court could bring about a change. Steve Henn reports.Source: Marketplace | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:34 am Letters: Education, running, light bulbsKai Ryssdal reviews what listeners had to say about stories involving college majors, light bulbs, and commentaries about running and about higher education's placebo effect.Source: Marketplace | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:34 am China leads economic reboundAsia correspondent Scott Tong talks with Kai Ryssdal about why China's economy is recovering much faster than the United States'.Source: Marketplace | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:33 am Chamber fights consumer agency planThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched an ad campaign opposing the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Bob Moon reports.Source: Marketplace | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:33 am U.S. must step up on climate changeThe health care debate is putting climate change on the back burner, which means the U.S. may not pass a law to cut down greenhouse gas emissions anytime soon. Commentator Dan Esty says that's a cop out.Source: Marketplace | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:33 am Why is the price of gold so high?The price of gold soared past the $1,000-an-ounce mark for the first time since February. Why are investors going for gold right now? Alisa Roth reports.Source: Marketplace | 8 Sep 2009 | 10:33 am Carl Weinberg Calls Japan’s Debt Level `Irrecoverable': AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Sep 2009 | 9:57 am Kubarych Says `Cash for Clunkers' Likely to Be Repeated: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Sep 2009 | 9:55 am Davidowitz Sees Poor Christmas Retail Sales Ahead: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 8 Sep 2009 | 9:54 am Full Obama Speech to Kids Transcript
When I heard the GOP accuse the Obama speech to kids of pushing a socialist agenda, I had to get my hands on a copy of the transcript. This complete transcript comes from Whitehouse.gov. This rather boring, predictable speech turns the socialist agenda hype on its head: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today. I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning. I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning. Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.” So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year. Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility. I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn. I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox. I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve. But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team. And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it. And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy. We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country. Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork. I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in. So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse. But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country. Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right. But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future. That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America. Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez. I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall. And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college. Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter. Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things. But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try. That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying. No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals. And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country. The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other. So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country? Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America. If you have found any evidence of socialist indoctrination in this speech, please quote from the transcript and leave a comment.
Source: Business Pundit | 8 Sep 2009 | 9:52 am It's Been A Year Since The Economy Exploded. Are You Okay?By Laura Conaway Much of the world thinks of the global financial crisis as having begun with the fall of Lehman Brothers, on Sept. 15, 2008. For us at Planet Money, though, it began the weekend before with the news that the federal government was stepping in to rescue mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. On Morning Edition yesterday, Adam Davidson talked about the adrenaline rush of covering the biggest economic story in decade: I -- I remember every minute of that day. I really think that's true. For months, we had had rumors that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in trouble. But I don't think a lot of people outside of Washington or Wall Street were paying a lot of attention. And then, all of a sudden, on Sunday -- September 7th, was a Sunday last year -- we started hearing they are collapsing, the government is stepping in and rescuing them, taking them over. I jumped on a plane. I mean, it felt like covering a war. I jumped on a plane and flew to an already-existing conference of mostly former finance ministers from around the world. And interviewing them, I started to hear language I never thought I would hear in my life. People were talking about the entire global economy coming to a total standstill. We have a global economy built on credit, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are crucial to that global credit system. And if they go down, the entire global economy collapses. Since that day, we've seen bank failures tap the FDIC's resources, foreclosures keep climbing and unemployment grow by amazing leaps. Remember when 7.2 percent seemed like a lot? It's been a heck of a year -- how's by you? » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 8 Sep 2009 | 9:42 am U.S. Drops To Second Place In Competitiveness RankingsBy Laura Conaway Good morning, and welcome back from the holiday weekend. The United States falls to second place in the World Economic Forum's new Global Competitiveness report. The WEF says Switzerland moved into first place as the U.S. markets have been looking weaker over the past year. Singapore comes in third. A troy ounce of gold crossed the $1,000 mark today, thanks to a relatively weak dollar and some skittish investors. China is taking steps toward making its yuan an international currency. First up: Offering investors in neighboring countries a chance to buy Chinese government bonds. The global financial crisis has reached the Mongolian grasslands, NPR's Louisa Lim reports, with rural households piling on debt to get through. A week ahead of the first anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse, economists are wondering what the heck happened. Paul Krugman took his gargantuan pass at it over the weekend. Krugman argues that the profession mistook the beauty of mathematical formulas for ground-level truth. Nancy Folbre goes a step further, arguing that economists mistook the market for the economy. On the ground now: new signs that businesses are feeling mighty enough and confident enough about the future to pursue mergers (even hostile ones). » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:27 am T-Mobile, Orange Joint Venture Creates UK’s Biggest Carrier
T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom, and Orange Group announced a plan to merge their UK operations yesterday. The merger will create the biggest cell phone carrier in the UK. ZDNet has more: The as-yet-unnamed joint venture will have a combined customer base of about 28.4 million people, or 37 percent of the market, with the deal expected to complete in November. The companies said the merger will cost between £400m ($656m) and £600m ($984m). It is expected to deliver savings of around half-a-billion pounds per year by 2014, by removing duplicate base stations and retail outlets, as well as other efficiencies in operational staff and customer support. The deal will need shareholder approval from both companies and will also have to be cleared by British and European regulators. The UK mobile telecommunications market is widely regarded as highly competitive, and no regulatory problems are anticipated.
Source: Business Pundit | 8 Sep 2009 | 5:53 am Go On the Go…
Source: Business Pundit | 8 Sep 2009 | 5:49 am Monopoly City Streets Blends Board Games with Social Media
Monopoly City Streets, a new version of online Monopoly you can play through Google maps, goes live September 9. The game, co-sponsored by boardgame company Hasbro, allows you to build and trade property with other participants in real time. The online game will last four months. Hasbro plans to promote its new Monopoly City Edition, a 3-D version of the game, through Monopoly City Streets. “Google Monopoly”–City Streets’ other moniker–promises to be a powerful promotional tool. If you win, according to the City Streets website, you “become the richest property magnate in existence.” That promise, coupled with the ability to outplay your friends and bulldoze or build jails on other people’s properties, has already earned the blog close to 900 followers at time of writing. Earlier this month, Wired claimed the sneak peek version of City Streets wasn’t that much fun. As a social media experiment, however, it just might work. By pitting players against their friends, promising the winner fame, and adding fun new features, Hasbro is rekindling interest in the game of Monopoly. The global approach is also a clever move. I bet they’ll get sales out of this. If enough sales result, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more board games integrating with social media this way.
Source: Business Pundit | 8 Sep 2009 | 5:42 am
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