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Gold soars on weak dollarThe price of gold soared to a fresh all-time high today as world markets rallied, with sterling inching up against a weak dollar. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Oct 2009 | 4:54 am Confidence on Japan's streets growsThe stock market is in tatters, the yen is soaring to levels that panic exporters and the new government is split with internal quarreling after just three weeks in power: the view from the street, though, is that things are perking-up. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Oct 2009 | 4:36 am Norway fund says VW-Porsche deal is 'unacceptable'Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has called the proposed merger between German automakers Volkswagen and Porsche “unacceptable,” saying the deal fails to ensure that shareholders are treated equitably and that conflicts of interest get resolved.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Oct 2009 | 4:20 am Vivendi seen unlikely to engage in GVT bidding war* French firm not able to make same synergies as TelefonicaSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 4:19 am Upbeat Alcoa gives world markets a boost (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 8 Oct 2009 | 4:17 am CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-Alcatel CEO says mergers not best solution for it(Corrects date of Alcatel results in last paragraph to Oct. 30)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 4:15 am National postal strike looms for ChristmasPostal strikes are looming in the run-up to Christmas as Royal Mail awaits the results of a ballot to be announced this afternoon. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Oct 2009 | 4:09 am SEC Appeals Cuban Insider Trading DecisionThe SEC’’s reputation, already hurt by its action or lack thereof during the credit crisis, took another blow when a federal judge rejected its $33 million settlement with Bank of America (NYSE:BAC). The SEC appeared to be prone to expending as little effort as possible by using negotiated terms to keep the case out of [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Oct 2009 | 4:03 am Earnings Watch: Updates, advisories and surprisesA roundup of the latest corporate earnings reports and what companies are saying about future quarters.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Oct 2009 | 4:01 am New Kingsnorth coal plant delayedCampaigners welcome a decision to put on hold controversial plans for a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Oct 2009 | 4:00 am Oil prices rebound as stock markets surge (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:58 am Indications: Alcoa's surprise profit lifts U.S. stock futuresA surprise profit by Alcoa sends U.S. stock futures higher on Thursday on hopes that the third quarter will again provide consensus-beating results.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:57 am UPDATE 1-Saudi Oct gasoline imports flat from Sept -tradeDUBAI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia imported around 26,000 barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline in October, around the same amount as in the previous month, traders said on Thursday.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:56 am INTERVIEW-Japan's DoCoMo to ease pace of M&A in AsiaTOKYO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Japan's top wireless operator NTT DoCoMo Inc is easing the pace of its M&A; activity in Asia as it focuses on existing acquisitions, an executive said on Thursday.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:53 am As Recovery Takes Root, Airlines Delays To Hit Record LevelsThe events of 9/11 and the recession have cut sharply in to airline travel. That has been demonstrated by carriers cutting routes and laying off employees. There were a few airline bankruptcies last year. Delta (NYSE:DAL) bought Northwest in a consolidation meant at least partly to cut costs. One positive by-product of falling passenger activity was [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:49 am Gold hits record high as dollar slidesLONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices rallied to record highs for a third successive session in Europe on Thursday, as persistent weakness in the dollar fueled fund buying of the metal as an alternative to the U.S. unit.Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:48 am FTSE Eurofirst 300 climbs back to 1,000 levelEurope's benchmark index inched back above 1,000 points on Thursday as investors bet interest rates would not be raised above the current 1 per cent level.The Eurofirst 300 was up 0.9 per cent at 997.99...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:46 am ECB set to hold rates, caution on economyVENICE, Italy (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates at a record-low 1.0 percent on Thursday and its head Jean-Claude Trichet will probably caution against high hopes of a speedy economic recovery.Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:44 am FACTBOX-Asia prepares for 2nd wave of swine flu infectionsHONG KONG, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Health experts in Asia have urged people against underestimating an expected second wave of infections from the pandemic H1N1 swine flu, even though the virus appears to have...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:43 am Gold hits new record high for third dayThe gold price has hit a record high for a second consecutive day closing at 1044 in London.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:42 am A test case for Wall Street justiceDespite all the finger-pointing over who's to blame for the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, just two prominent players face criminal charges.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:38 am House prices 'have further 17pc to fall'The recent rises in house prices will prove to be a false dawn because of the broader problems facing the British economy Fitch Ratings said yesterday.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:34 am Lloyds considers 15bn rights issueLloyds Banking Group and its advisers have begun sounding out investors about a 15bn capital raising, a move they believe could allow the bank to withdraw entirely from the government-sponsored asset protection...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:33 am Prosecutors clear Deutsche Bank chiefs in spying probeFRANKFURT, Oct 8 - Frankfurt prosecutors on Thursday said they declined to launch a criminal investigation of Deutsche Bank management and supervisory board members as part of a probe into a spying affair...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:32 am Division over housing 'recovery'The UK housing market recovery survived the traditional summer slowdown, estate agents say, but others are less optimistic.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:30 am Marketsandmarkets Publishes Global Baby Food Market (2009-2014) ReportWILMINGTON, Delaware, October 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The target consumers of commercially-available baby food range from infants (babies aged 6 to 12 months) to toddlers...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:30 am IBM 'in anti-competition probe'IBM is being investigated by the US Department of Justice over allegations of anti-competitive behaviour, a trade body says.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:29 am Berlusconi hits out at court rulingSilvio Berlusconi’s government plunges into crisis after Italy’s top court rules that a law giving the prime minister immunity from prosecution is unconstitutionalSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:27 am Miners protect FTSE 100 from banking sector lossesBanking stocks failed to hold onto initial gains in London on Thursday, after momentum from reports of a potential rights issue at Lloyds soon faded. But the FTSE 100 continued to make overall progress,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:25 am Stocks poised to climbU.S. stock futures climbed Thursday, lifted by better-than-expected earnings from Dow component Alcoa.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:23 am U.K. regulator against Ticketmaster-Live NationBritain’s Competition Commission on Thursday strikes a blow against the proposed combination of Ticketmaster Entertainment and Live Nation, arguing such a deal would make it difficult for a new rival to enter the U.K. ticket market.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:19 am UPDATE 1-SK Energy close to battery deal with Mitsubishi FusoSEOUL, Oct 8 (Reuters) - South Korea's SK Energy is in the final stages of talks to supply rechargeable batteries to Daimler's Japanese truck unit, Mitsubishi Fuso, a source at SK Energy said on Thursday...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:18 am Wall St futures point to higher start for equities (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:12 am Wall St futures point to higher start for equities(Reuters) - Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rise 0.9 to 1 percent, pointing to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:12 am Wall St futures point to higher start for equities (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:12 am Wall St futures point to higher start for equities(Reuters) - Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rise 0.9 to 1 percent, pointing to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:12 am Too Many SmartphonesDell (NASDAQ:DELL) announced that it will launch a smartphone with AT&T (NYSE:T) next year. The handset will be powered by the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system. The news about Google’s role has to annoy Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which has a mobile package of its own, and Symbian, which has about 50% of the smart phone operating system [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:11 am UPDATE 1-Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitionsOct 8 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 0900 GMT on Thursday.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:09 am UPDATE 1-Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitionsOct 8 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 0900 GMT on Thursday.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:09 am The Rise Of The Kindle And The Fall Of LiteracyJeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon (NYSE:AMZN), is being praised as the man who has invented the next big and important electronic device. That category includes the Sony (NYSE:SNE) PS2, the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPod, and the Nintendo Wii. The iPod has sold 200 million units worldwide. That, in the nomenclature of the electronics industry, makes [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Oct 2009 | 3:01 am Magners maker's profits declineC&C, the maker of Magners cider, has reported half-year pre-tax profits of 57m euros, a drop of almost 14% on the first six months of last year.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:59 am London Markets: Miners lead FTSE 100 index to sharp gainsLondon shares rally, with miners leading the top index higher after better-than-expected results from U.S. aluminum giant Alcoa.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:58 am Gold hits another record - nears $1,050Gold continued to push higher into record territory Wednesday amid concerns about a weak dollar, inflation and technical-based buying by large investment funds.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:56 am Halfords sales helped by staycationersHalfords reported sales growth for the second successive quarter today after warm weather and the weak pound led to increased numbers of "staycationers" using their cars, bicycles and camping equipment during the summer. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:52 am Car bomb explodes outside Indian embassy in KabulA car bomb exploded near the Indian embassy in Kabul, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 80, according to intelligence and hospital sourcesSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:52 am Casualties of the crisis: Where they are nowSource: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:41 am Ladbrokes to raise $439 million from shareholdersShares in U.K. bookmaker Ladbrokes drop over 8% Thursday after the firm says it will sell 275 million pounds ($439 million) of new shares in an effort to reduce its debt burden.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:34 am Gold sees third consecutive highThe price of gold touches a record high for a third consecutive day as the dollar remains weak.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:32 am Satellite image duopoly needs Google effectThe US government has a voracious appetite for highquality satellite imagery. It uses two listed companies DigitalGlobe and GeoEye to provide pictures of things like Iranian nuclear projects and Afghan mountainsides.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:30 am Citi management gets satisfactory marks in reviewBOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A review of Citigroup Inc's management team, demanded by U.S. regulators in the aftermath of the financial crisis, gave it satisfactory marks, according to a person familiar with the matter.Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:27 am Carphone continues to take UK broadband market shareCarphone Warehouse said on Thursday said it was continuing to take market share in the UK residential broadband market, after its TalkTalk service added a better than expected 77,000 net new customers...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:23 am Jobless lose lifeline as Senate stallsAs thousands of jobless Americans lose their weekly unemployment checks, Congress is still debating who should qualify for a benefits extension.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:16 am Australian dollar jumps on jobless dataAustralia's unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 per cent for the month of September in a surprise development that helps the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision this week to raise interest rates.The strength...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:16 am U.S. begins antitrust inquiry of IBMSource: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:13 am Ladbrokes cuts dividend freezes pay seeks £275m to cut debt as football hits profitsA flurry of Premier League goals has hit the profits of the bookmaker which has frozen pay cut its dividend and unveiled a discounted rights issue.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:12 am Music merger 'anti-competitive'The UK's Competition Commission rules against the merger of Ticketmaster and concert promoter Live Nation.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Oct 2009 | 2:03 am Media Digest 10/8/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, BloombergReuters: GM says most of its cost cutting is done and its sales chief left. Reuters: Spot gold hit a record above $1,050. Reuters: The Senate healthcare bill weighs in at $829 billion. Reuters: Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) plans its first smartphone to be launched with AT&T (NYSE:T) using the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android OS Reuters: Alcoa (NYSE:AA) had a surprise quarterly [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:59 am Aussie stocks close over 1pc upMELBOURNE - The Australian share market has closed up more than one per cent, supported by stronger than expected jobs data.The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished up 72.9 points, or 1.55 per cent, at 4768.6 points, while the...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:56 am Carphone Warehouse adds broadband accountsCarphone Warehouse, the owner of TalkTalk, reported a rise in customers for both its businesses during its second quarter and confirmed that it will split into two companies in March. Europe's biggest independent mobile phone retailer said today that it added 77,000 broadband subscribers to its TalkTalk telecoms unit in the three months to the end of September. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:50 am Carphone Warehouse renegotiates Tiscali dealCarphone Warehouse, the mobile phones retailer, plans to renegotiate the terms of its takeover of Tiscali’s UK business after losing more broadband customers than expected. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:50 am Europe Markets: European shares jump after Alcoa resultsEuropean shares jump, with investors pushing up metal stocks in particular after U.S. aluminum giant Alcoa kicked off third-quarter earnings season with a strong set of results.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:50 am Metals Stocks: Gold futures tap fresh record above $1,050Gold futures extend their U.S. rally into Asian trading hours, hinting that the New York market is poised to log a fifth winning session in row.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:49 am Ladbrokes gambles on £275m rights issueLadbrokes, the bookmaker, today confirmed plans to raise £275 million through a heavily discounted rights issue as it revealed revenue fell by 15 per cent in the third quarter due to a low number of draws in top flight football matches. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:42 am Ladbrokes gambles on £275m cash callLadbrokes, the bookmaker, today confirmed plans to raise £275 million through a heavily discounted rights issue as it revealed revenue fell by 15 per cent in the third quarter due to an unprecedented low number of draws in top flight football matches. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:42 am Stadium for sale (Super Bowl not included)The hard-hit city of Pontiac, Mich., is auctioning off the Silverdome, a stadium of more than 80,000 seats that once played host to the Super Bowl.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:37 am Justice Department opens IBM antitrust probeWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating allegations that International Business Machines abused its dominance of the mainframe business to squeeze rivals, Computer and Communications Industry Association Chairman Ed Black said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:36 am Ladbrokes launches 275m cash callFundraising goal: Ladbrokes joins rival William Hill and others in sector with its rights issue Ladbrokes on Thursday became the latest company in the leisure sector to tap shareholders for cash with...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:35 am Carphone Warehouse reports sales growth (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:35 am Latin American airlines to mergeTwo of Latin America's airlines - Avianca of Colombia and El Salvador's Taca - are to merge to save costs.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:28 am Asia Markets And Europe Open 10/8/2009Markets in Asia rose moderately with Shanghai closed for the holiday. The Nikkei rose .3% to 9,832. The Hang Seng was up 1.1% to 21,475. HSBC (NYSE:HBC) was up. At the open in Europe, the FTSE rose 1.1% helped by good earnings from Alcoa (NYSE:AA). The Dax was up 1.6% to 5,726. The CAC 40 rose 1.3% to [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:23 am ECB set to hold rates, caution on economy (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:23 am Worth its weightWhy the price of gold is at record levelsSource: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:23 am Macau casino tycoon: Development boom is overMacau gambling tycoon Lawrence Ho says the global credit crisis has ended the city's casino-building frenzy. But for those with resorts already running, profits look likely to keep rolling in.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:21 am UK competiton regulator rules against Ticketmaster Live Nation mergerCompetition Commission fears the merger of ticketing giant Ticketmaster and the world's largest concert promoter Live Nation will raise prices.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:18 am Ladbrokes looking to raise £275mBetting firm Ladbrokes says it plans to raise £275m by issuing new shares in order to cut its debt levels.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:08 am Natural gas to play bigger role at ChevronThe firm's future vice chairman says large investments will be needed by the industry, even in the recession, to take advantage of the fuel's potential.Natural gas will be an increasingly important product to Chevron Corp. and other energy companies, a top executive said Wednesday.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am California municipal bond sale opens to weak demandThe state's offering of $1.3 billion in notes to finance infrastructure projects attracts only $428 million in orders from individual investors. Institutional investors will place orders Thursday. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Billions are spent to defend 5,000 jobs at Boeing C-17 plantCould $2.5 billion be better spent on creating long-term training programs and developing new industries rather than keeping the Boeing plant open indefinitely merely to save jobs in Long Beach?If you're interested in contemplating the harvest of this country's decades of failed economic policies, failed military policies and just plain failed politics -- and who isn't? -- I know just where to send you.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Los Angeles boosts perks to filmmakersThe City Council adopts some incentives and will consider others to try to stem an outflow of TV and film production work.Can free parking in Los Angeles help to stem the migration of TV and film production to other cities and states?
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am California municipal bond sale opens to weak demandThe state's offering of $1.3 billion in notes to finance infrastructure projects attracts only $428 million in orders from individual investors. Institutional investors will place orders Thursday.California came up short as it tried to sell longer-term municipal bonds to individual investors this week -- the first such sale since last spring.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am FHA may be setting up repeat of housing bubble, lawmakers worryThe percentage of loans backed by the agency that are delinquent or in foreclosure hit nearly 8% at the end of June. Critics say borrowers don't have enough of a stake in keeping up with payments.In the wake of the mortgage meltdown, the Federal Housing Administration has emerged as a pillar of the still wobbly housing market -- providing vital insurance that enables borrowers to qualify for loans with as little as 3.5% down.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Couple battle to make insurers liable for coverage decisionsTheir wrongful-death suit against Cigna over the loss of their 17-year-old daughter was blocked. Now they aim to bring change.Surrounded by supporters, Hilda Sarkisyan marched into Cigna Corp.’s Philadelphia headquarters on a chilly fall day, 10 months after the company refused to pay for a liver transplant for her daughter.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Obama seeks ways keep joblessness from sinking recoveryThe White House considers various ideas to spur job creation and looks at continuing elements of the stimulus package, including extending unemployment benefits.Under pressure to stop rising joblessness from sinking a fragile recovery, President Obama met Wednesday with top congressional Democratic leaders to fashion new strategies to bolster the U.S. economy.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am GM plows ahead with restructuring as sales chief Mark LaNeve exitsCEO Fritz Henderson says the company has moved aggressively and successfully launched new cars. Still, there's turnover in top management, and September sales were down 45% compared with last year.General Motors Co., amid weak auto sales, is making progress in restructuring its operations three months after emerging from bankruptcy, its top executive said, although turnover continues to afflict the company's upper management.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Ford is launching new ads -- but without brand-new cars to show offWith a significant new rollout at least six months away, Ford Motor Co. will focus its campaign on fuel efficiency and driver satisfaction to make the brand seem appealing.In the auto business, there are few challenges tougher than marketing a brand that has few new cars to promote. No matter how good the current product, consumers like to see the latest stuff.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am FCC's Genachowski reinforces call for rules on Internet neutralityThe nation's chief telecommunications regulator Wednesday reiterated the Obama administration's call for rules to ensure the free flow of Internet traffic, regardless of whether the data traveled over wired Internet connections or over wireless cellular networks.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am U.S. companies may look abroad to fight global warmingFirms could save billions by combating deforestation abroad instead of cleaning up their own emissions at home, report says. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Obama seeks ways keep joblessness from sinking recoveryThe White House considers various ideas to spur job creation and looks at continuing elements of the stimulus package, including extending unemployment benefits. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am US mulls new duties on China steel pipesThe US Commerce Department said it launched an investigation that could lead to new duties of nearly 100 per cent or more on imports of steel pipes from ChinaSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 8 Oct 2009 | 12:49 am US budget deficit balloons to 1.4 trillionThe US government spent a record 1.4 trillion £800bn more than it collected in the year to September congressional analysts said.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Oct 2009 | 12:33 am Market posts gains as leaders riseThe New Zealand sharemarket got off to a firm start and ran on even though the NZ dollar rose through US74c today.The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 27.749 points, or 0.883 per cent, at 3168.938 points.Turnover was worth...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 8 Oct 2009 | 12:24 am Bank of England expected to keep interest rates at a record lowThe Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.5pc today.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 8 Oct 2009 | 12:21 am US deficit 'hits record $1.4tn'The annual US budget deficit hits $1.4 trillion estimates say - equal to 9.9% of GDP, more than treble the 2008 level.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Oct 2009 | 12:18 am NZ dollar climbs through US74cThe New Zealand dollar rose through the US74c figure today after a "monster" employment report in Australia increased optimism about economies in this part of the world.The NZ dollar was US73.99c at 5pm from US73.33c at 8am and...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:31 pm BlackRock competing for risk-rating role: report(Reuters) - U.S. asset manager BlackRock Inc is in the running to help state regulators estimate risks in insurers' investments, the Wall Street Journal said, citing regulators and a National Association of Insurance Commissioners official.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:29 pm Peter Brimelow: After a good decade, is $5,800 gold possible?A skillful veteran letter is sanguine about stocks -- but positively gleeful about gold and other hard assets.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:10 pm Dell plans first U.S. smartphone with AT&T: sourceSAN FRANCISCO/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Dell Inc plans to launch a smartphone with Google's Android mobile software on carrier AT&T's network, a source said, marking the PC maker's first foray into a cut-throat U.S. cellphone arena.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Oct 2009 | 10:17 pm Alcoa posts surprise quarterly profitNEW YORK (Reuters) - Alcoa Inc posted a surprise profit on Wednesday through cost cutting and higher aluminum prices after three consecutive quarterly losses, sending its stock 6 percent higher.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Oct 2009 | 10:15 pm 3 Stocks for Bargain Hunters (Screens)Below are stocks found by an experimental screen recipe I’ll call Valuation Goulash. It uses no fewer than five price/something measures in an effort to find bargains. First, there’s price/earnings, long suspected of predicting stock performance, but first shown conclusively to do so in a study by Sanjoy Basu in 1977, once computers had made the job easier. Price/sales, far less subject to accounting subjectivity than P/E, came out the winner in James O’Shaughnessy’s 1998 comparison of stock-picking measures, called “What Works On Wall Street.” In a 2000 paper, Joseph Piotroski, then an accounting professor at the University of Chicago, found that low price/book-value stocks beat the market by six percentage points a year over 20 years ended 1996 (or a whopping 13 points a year, once the stocks were further screened for nine other promising financial attributes). I used price/free-cash-flow, too, because unlike pure accounting measures, real cash coming in denotes financial strength, something particularly important when financing is tight, as it is now. I also used dividend yields because studies by the likes of Robert Arnott, former editor of Financial Analysts Journal, suggest reinvested dividends, not price gains, form the bulk of stock returns over long time periods. For the first four measures I searched for companies whose ratios are below industry averages, and for the fifth I looked for just the opposite, because dividend yield is nothing more than a price/dividend ratio turned upside down. Genuine PartsPrice/sales (Industry): 0.6 (1.0) Genuine Parts (GPC) is the leading U.S. distributor of replacement car parts. It also sells industrial parts and office supplies. Sales are expected to fall 9% this year and earnings per share, about twice that. Those declines compare favorably with industry averages, though. Genuine Parts, which owes next to nothing and should generate free cash this year equal to 7% of its stock market value, is in a good position to expand at the expense of struggling competitors. It can also keep the dividends coming, boasting 53 consecutive years of payment increases and a current yield of more than double that of the broad market. Lockheed MartinPrice/sales (Industry): 0.7 (1.1) Lockheed Martin (LMT) is America’s largest defense contractor. The U.S. defense budget is widely perceived to be ripe for cuts for at least three reasons: The federal government will likely spend $1.6 trillion more than it collects from taxpayers this year; defense spending makes up a fifth of the budget (or a third, including spending outside the Department of Defense); and the U.S. spends almost as much on defense as the rest of the world combined. Also, Lockheed needs to shore up its pension plan, at a likely cost of about $700 million a year over the next few years. For those reasons, shares sell for just 10 times earnings. Yet sales this year are forecast to climb 6% to $45.3 billion, and early estimates call for 6% further growth next year, too. The company generates about $3 billion a year in free cash, or more than 10% of its stock market value, and spends generously on stockholders, with a dividend yield of 3.3% and share repurchases that have reduced the outstanding count by about 10% since 2006. MicrosoftPrice/sales (Industry): 3.8 (4.2) Microsoft (MSFT) suffers from a tragic lack of coolness at the moment. There’s Windows Vista, released in November 2006 to unenthusiastic reviews. There’s the “I’m a Mac” commercials created by Apple (AAPL), which suggest that Windows users look like John Hodgeman (even though I look like John Hodgeman but use a Mac). And, well, there’s this bubbly, awkwardly sincere video promoting Windows 7, which has gone “viral” on the Internet, as the kids say, but for purposes of mockery. Coolness aside, Windows 7, due out later this month, has won much better reviews than Vista. Microsoft’s sales are expected to grow slightly this fiscal year, which is far better than most companies are faring. And the stock is trading at just 13 times earnings after subtracting Microsoft’s cash hoard from the share price. 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 | 7 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm Boomer Consumers Are Consuming a LotTHE BABY BOOMERS, WHO CURRENTLY range in age from 45 to 63, are in the prime of power, with one of their number in the White House and legions of others at the top echelons of Corporate America, the military, the courts, the media and just about every other hub of U.S. life. But to Madison Avenue, which historically has worshipped at youth's altar, the boomers are hurtling into the winter of irrelevance. Increasingly, the 77 million of them are being ignored by advertisers and marketers. They're being elbowed aside, ironically, by 18-to-49-year-olds, the very age group that they, in their younger years, put on the map as the most desirable consumer cohort. But the realities are changing, and any company that ignores them will be doing so at its peril over the next decade or two. For one thing, the number of Americans over 50 is soaring. By 2015, when all the boomers will be 50-plus, folks aged 50 to 75 will account for 40% of adult consumers, up from 36.8% now. And they will boast the most spendable cash. Yet advertisers and marketers still seem to devote about 90% of their energy to wooing the 18-49 group, and 10% to those 50-plus. "To most marketers and the management they report to, when you turn 50, you're dead," says John W. Martin, CEO of the Boomer Project (www.boomerproject.com), an online marketing and research organization, and co-author of a book called Boomer Consumer. Demographer Peter Francese views the imbalance as ridiculous. Readily granting that the younger cohort deserves greater attention, he says that, in their own self-interest, marketers should rebalance their focus to something approximating 60%-40%. Does it make sense, after all, for NBC's suits to judge a new TV show like Jay Leno's mainly on its appeal to 18-to-49-year-olds, as some published reports say is the case? Leno's advertisers include companies such as BMW (ticker: BAMXY), many of whose buyers are 50 or older. Leno himself, 59, is a famed car collector, whose vehicles include a 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG. Luxury auto sales have suffered greatly in this recession, and their chances of picking up depend on courting the boomer consumer. The median age of all luxury-car buyers is 52, by some estimates, and shoppers 50 or older account for the highest proportion of purchases or leases of luxury-car makers' most expensive models; they have worked the longest, have accumulated the most assets and have money to spend on themselves. If Leno's former archrival, David Letterman, were to come up with a Top 10 list of things that people over 50 buy, Depends adult diapers or enSure nutrition drinks would surely make the cut, along with burial plots and long-term-care insurance. But while the aging boomers certainly will be a bonanza to health-care outfits -- they already account for two-thirds of the spending on pharmaceuticals -- they will be anteing up a lot more for other things. Letterman's own shopping list must reflect the fact that he's a recently married 62-year-old with a six-year-old son (and some embarrassing personal problems, as he disclosed on his show last week). In fact, the 50-plus set already accounts for 45% of all U.S. consumer spending and, Francese predicts, the figure could ultimately approach 50% by 2015. The group's spending patterns are often misperceived. ONE MYTH IS THAT OLDER Americans are much more interested in shedding furniture and housewares than in buying them because most are empty-nesters. The reality: Older consumers account for more than 40% of the money spent on new household furnishings and equipment in the U.S. In part, this is because two-thirds of the owners of second homes are at least 50 years old, and need couches, tables and cutlery for those getaway places. In addition, one in six families headed by a person over 50 has a member under 18, as more people have children at later ages. At the same time, the recession undoubtedly is forcing more 25-year-olds and 40-year-old single parents to rethink the charms of their parents' homestead. Bottom line: Older consumers will keep trudging off to Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Target (TGT), Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Ikea for years. That message, however, doesn't seem to have reached advertisers. Boomerologist Martin partly blames ad agencies for what he views as companies' blindness to the "basic demographic truth." He says a disproportionately large number of advertising copywriters, account managers and art directors are young. "Ask them to do an ad targeting the 50-plus demographic, and they default to a gray-haired senior limping down a beach trailed by an aging golden retriever," he adds. A Boomer Project survey of advertising pros showed that, on average, respondents regarded the term "over the hill" as meaning someone older than 57. (Boomers' response to the same question: age 75.) Ironically, boomers themselves helped foster Madison Avenue's infatuation with 18-to-49-year-olds. Not so long ago, this demographic really was huge, since it was, after all, dominated by boomers. Take 1965 (see chart nearby), when the oldest boomers were turning 18, then jump to 1995, when the very oldest were turning 49. Over these three decades, the number of U.S. residents aged 18 to 49 soared from 78.6 million to 125.9 million. In the same period, the 50-to-75-year-old cohort, many of them a product of the birth dearth of the 1930s, rose far more slowly. That all changed after 1995, as the boomers began to turn 50. What has happened since then was predictable, but has unaccountably been overlooked. As the boomers left the younger age group and swelled the ranks of the older, the balance rapidly tipped. Of the total number of adult consumers aged 18 to 75, the share over 50 jumped from 30.4% in 1995 to 36.8% in 2009, the highest percentage on record. It is expected to rise further. By 2015, Census Bureau projections show the over-50s will account for 40% of all adult consumers. By 2025, the number will hit 41%. Over the same span, according to Census estimates, the number of consumers aged 18 to 49 will rise far less impressively. (The balance will begin to reverse by 2035, when most boomers will be past 75, with many of them residents of assisted-care communities or that Great Mall in the sky.) That raises a crucial question for at least the next 16 years. Says Martin: "What's easier for a consumer-driven company? Fighting among your competitors for a piece of a flat 18-49 demographic, or going after the 50-plus age group that will experience almost all the growth?" Francese argues that, with older Americans already accounting for 45% of consumer spending, 40% of the marketing effort -- not just the current sliver -- should be targeted at the 50-plus crowd. To be fair, the 18-49 cohort will still account for most of the new-household formation that leads to buying new products. And they still will be the most likely to cruise malls and downtowns to scout for those items. How much they will be buying is another question. The recession has left the typical 18-to-49-year-old far less flush than the average 50-plus consumer. In September, unemployment officially ran 9.8% for all workers, but the figure was 10.6% for those 18 to 49. For workers over 50, the rate was 7.3% Put another way, 92.7% of the over-50s who want a job are working, versus 89.4% of their younger counterparts. As the official jobless rate rises, people often drop out of the labor force. But the decline in labor-force participation over the past year has been concentrated among workers under 50. Among older Americans, the participation rate actually has ticked up. That shouldn't be surprising. The news that more older workers are delaying retirement is actually old hat. Mainstream media have left the impression that workers are staying on the job solely because the bear market has devoured their 401(k)s. But the trend has been evident since the late 1990s, when bull-market euphoria was at its zenith. It is doubtful that Dow 14,000 would convince a lot of these folks to relinquish their desks for the pleasures of golf, bridge and Scrabble. The decline in wealth has probably hurt Generation X -- born in the late 1960s and the 1970s -- more than the boomers "Of all the generations born since World War II," maintains demographer Cheryl Russell, "boomers are in better shape than the younger generation, largely because most bought houses before prices went through the roof. Gen Xers are the ones stuck with the overpriced homes." To which we might add, the stock portfolios held by Gen X might also disproportionately hold overpriced shares. The boomers are old enough to have accumulated stocks years before the Dow first went north of 10,000. WHAT SECTORS MIGHT BENEFIT from boomer consumers' continued strength? If The Graduate were made today, says Martin, "the cocktail party advice on the coming industry would shift from 'plastics' to 'probiotics.' Go into the aging businesses, all of which will thrive with longer life expectancies as the boomers age." Along with pharmaceuticals and other health-related goods and services, beauty products should do well. Procter & Gamble's (PG) Olay, L'Oréal (LRLCY) and its Garnier unit and Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Neutrogena have all launched products targeted to boomer women. Airlines and travel-and-entertainment companies, such as cruise operator Carnival (CCL) or Walt Disney (DIS), already benefit from the over-50s and should gain more. Not all the travel is for the boomers themselves. Demographer Francese, author of a major study called The Grandparent Economy, says more than half the grandparent population will be baby boomers by 2010, and nearly 60% will be by 2015. These folks travel to visit their grandchildren, take them on one- and two-day trips, sometimes to theme parks, and ply them with goods and services. "The rapid increase in boomer spending on grandchildren," comments Francese, "is driven in large part by the decline over the past decade in real income among young families, at a time when household income among those over 50 has been rising." ANOTHER BENEFICIARY: the financial-services industry, since aging boomers will be keenly interested in raising income, investing and even saving, to preserve something for their heirs. Mental-agility products, such as Brain Age, Nintendo's (NTDOF) mental-training game series, might also become big as millions of boomers try to keep their minds sharp. Much later, as the boomers' autumn gives way to winter, such products might also be used to delay the onset of dementia. But, despite what Madison Avenue might think, for the boomers -- one of whose bards sang memorably about staying "forever young" -- winter is still a long way off. 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 | 7 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm Higher Education: 529 Plans, Grants, More (Ask SmartMoney)
Q. Which is better: a prepaid 529 plan or a 529 college savings plan?
Both offer tax-free savings for certain college costs, and both have struggled lately. Choosing the right one depends partly on your home state and your tolerance for risk. For most, the college savings plan is more flexible than the prepaid plan. It allows you to invest in a small pool of mutual funds and other investments, and is often run by a big fund company. Over the long haul, this should lead to greater gains than a prepaid plan, but recent history has shown these accounts can suffer substantial losses, too. Contributors don’t need to stick with their state’s plan, but there are often state-tax benefits for doing so. With a prepaid tuition plan, you pay today for future in-state college bills. The account grows according to the state’s annual public-college tuition increases, which have averaged 4.2 percent over the past decade, and that’s on top of inflation, according to the College Board. Should your student opt for a private or out-of-state school, your account may come up short. A bigger concern is that some plans are struggling to meet obligations. Of the 19 prepaid plans operating, only 12 take new applications. And some of those are hurting, says Joseph Hurley, founder of Savingforcollege.com. Still, the Florida prepaid plan is one of the best, he says, noting its state-backed guarantee. Despite the recent woes of 529 plans, the tax perks make them a good way to save. But like any other investment, stick with plans with low fees and a risk level you’re comfortable with.
Q. I’d like to use IRA money to pay my son’s college bills. How do I do this?
Hang on: Is there any chance you’ll need that money yourself some day? “Don’t jeopardize your retirement,” warns IRA expert Ed Slott, who usually advises using student loans instead of IRA withdrawals. The IRS does waive the standard 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty (applied to those under age 59½) if the money is used for certain college costs. To take the withdrawal, you’ll fill out a form with your IRA provider and report the distribution on your tax return. You’ll owe ordinary income tax on withdrawals taken from a deductible IRA. With a Roth IRA, taxes are due on earnings. But that’s a last-case scenario, experts say. “Tapping your IRA early is like slaughtering a golden goose,” Slott says, since the real strength of IRAs is their ability to compound over time.
Q. How can I find free college money for my daughter? We don’t qualify for the Pell Grant.
Grants and scholarships generally fall into two categories: merit-based and need-based. That doesn’t mean your daughter needs to be a brainiac or that your family needs to be struggling financially, though either would increase your odds. Dig deep enough and you can find scholarships for some pretty obscure interests and skills. Corporations and other organizations often fund scholarships, as do the states and colleges themselves. Start with online scholarship search engines like FastWeb, says Ben Kaplan, creator of the DVD Finding College Cash in Tough Times, and tap the resources of your high school’s guidance counselor. Colleges award more gift aid to students they really want, so it pays to find the right fit. For need-based aid, much rides on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which asks for details on your family’s finances. If you aren’t happy with your package, consider appealing for more aid. 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 | 7 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm 5 Conservative Ways to Save for College (Consumer Action)As high school students around the country prepare for their first exams of the year, some of their parents are preparing for their own test: saving enough money to fund a higher education. Saving for college remains a Catch-22 for many families. Although most parents want to help their children – 63% of parents are saving for college expenses, according to a September 2009 Fidelity survey – they also have to juggle saving for retirement and everyday expenses. During the past year, many parents who contributed to a 529 college savings plan (an investment vehicle where earnings grow tax free) saw those savings take a hit. Many 529 plans were heavily invested in stocks, though their beneficiaries were just a few years away from attending college, says Greg Brown, a Morningstar mutual fund analyst. Between the first quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, total assets in 529 college savings plans fell by 25% to $85.9 billion, according to the Financial Research Corporation. After six consecutive quarters of market declines, an uptick during the second quarter brought total assets to $98.6 billion – still well below the two-year peak of $111.9 billion reached during the fourth quarter of 2007. The sudden loss of college savings has parents thinking about more conservative approaches to saving for college, says Sheryl Garrett, a fee-only certified financial planner. Although there are many options, including bonds and stable value funds, parents whose children are still many years from college should consider that by taking a more conservative approach, they risk not saving enough money to keep up with college inflation. Including tuition, room, board and fees at public and private colleges, college inflation has averaged 5.9% during the past five years, according to the College Board. On Sept. 17, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, II (D., Mo.) introduced the Deposit Restricted Qualified Tuition Programs Act of 2009 that would create 529 bank accounts that offer tax treatment similar to 529 plans but guaranteed by the federal government. “These are parents and grandparents trying to do the right thing and save for their children’s education, but some have seen the value of their investments drop in value by 50%,”Cleaver said in an email. “In this continued economic downturn they are understandably hesitant to invest more of their hard-earned money into the stock market.” Here are five conservative options that can help you save for college. Add some variety to 529 plansGiven the recent losses among 529 plans, it’s understandable that parents would consider reshuffling their plan’s asset allocation by moving from equities to a more conservative asset class. Most 529 plans offer a menu of conservative investment options, says John Middleton, an investment advisor and certified financial advisor at Brighton Financial Planning, an independent fee-only financial planning firm in Clinton, N.J. (The firm doesn’t sell 529 plan-related products.) When choosing investment vehicles, parents should consider the number of years their child has until he or she begins college and their risk tolerance. With high school students, parents should begin minimizing their exposure to stocks while increasing their exposure to more conservative investments, says Middleton. (One example is short-term bonds.) When children are two years away from attending college, parents should tilt toward a fixed-income portfolio that includes corporate and government bonds and global bonds, which are a bit more aggressive and tend to have a higher return than other conservative options, he says. Investors who plan to stash their children’s college funds in CDs or money-market accounts can find comparable vehicles within 529 plans that offer tax-free growth on earnings. Also, some 529 plans include stable value funds, which are often comprised largely of government-backed securities with insurance that can prevent losses. “This kind of approach has its own set of risks, primarily the rate of return on a CD or stable value fund won’t match the rate of inflation,” says Middleton. “You’re avoiding market volatility but still have inflation risk in your portfolio.” Be cautious of age-based portfoliosTypically, investors who choose an age-based portfolio within a 529 plan know that their investments will automatically become more conservative as their child nears college. However, during the recent market downturn, many age-based portfolios were hit in part because they were still too exposed to equities. According to Morningstar’s April 2009 “Best and Worst 529 College-Savings Plans” study, “some plans didn’t move out of equities fast enough and were courting far too much risk given that they were geared toward students getting close to matriculation.” The study point to Utah’s “S&P and Bonds” age-based option that – as of April 2009 – had stashed 65% of assets in equities for a college-enrolled beneficiary. Separately, Oregon’s OppenheimerFunds 529 plan “1-3 Years to College” portfolio had 40% in equities until March 30. “Many investors don’t really understand what the underlying allocation of their investment is in the older age bands,” says Doug Chittenden, a vice president at TIAA-CREF, a financial services company. For high school students, those with more than 20% exposure to equities fare well when the stock market is up, but over the past year, investors in such plans have seen negative returns, he says. Parents typically can review how an age-based portfolio will break down their investments and their exposure to risk, and they can usually make limited changes without incurring penalties. (In 2009, investors can make two changes. Unless the Treasury extends this, investors will only be able to make one change in 2010.) “The age-based options are a low-maintenance approach but not a no-maintenance approach,” says Brown. “You still have to do some looking under the hood to see how it transitions from stocks to bonds.” Brown recommends checking your 529 plan at least once a year. Look for low-expense investmentsExpenses come out of the plan’s return, regardless of whether it’s positive or negative. Finding a 529 plan with lower expenses is more important during a volatile market because it’s one thing investors can control, Garrett says. One of Morningstar’s top-rated 529 plans, the Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan, has expenses that range between 0.23% and 0.91%. With the Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan, fees range from 0.35% to 0.53%. Investors should be wary of fees higher than 1%, Brown says. Those paying more than that should make sure they’re getting a well-respected manager and a very high-quality fund, he says. High-yielding money-market accountsOnline money-market accounts often keep up with inflation and savers can withdraw money from them typically within 24 hours, making them appealing savings vehicles for college expenses. Before choosing an online money-market account, investors should make sure it’s insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and keep in mind that, unlike 529 plans, these accounts don’t offer tax-deferred savings for college purposes. “This is the best place I know where you can get all flexibility, the ease of adding to it automatically with each paycheck and should inflation pick up the yield will go up as well,” Garrett says. I Savings BondsI Bonds are U.S. government bonds that carry low risk and protect savers against inflation, a feature that may prove extremely helpful in the next couple of years, Garrett says. Their earnings rate is determined by a fixed rate and an inflation rate. Both rates are announced each May and November; the fixed rate remains the same for the life of the bond. The inflation rate is based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The CPI-U is combined with the fixed rate to determine the earnings rate of the bond every six months. Although they’re not worth stashing college savings in now – I Bonds issued since May 1 have just a 0.10% return – parents should keep an eye on them because their earnings rate is likely to rise once inflation starts to kick in, Garrett says. 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 | 7 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm Active Trader: It's That Time of Year...Again (Active Trader)It’s earnings season again, that quarterly ritual when companies report their sales and profits for the preceding three months and investors act surprised -- or not -- at the results. Earnings announcements do move stocks, but investors must look beyond the headlines if they want to capitalize on any earnings-related volatility. At their most basic, quarterly earnings provide a snapshot of how a publicly traded company performed in the preceding quarter. But when investors react to earnings, they’re reacting less to the actual numbers than to the expectations surrounding the numbers. The industry set the earnings bar pretty low for the first half of this year, based on concerns about the economy, and most companies beat their glum forecasts. But this time around, “expectations have clearly been elevated,” says Jeff Markunas, portfolio manager of the RidgeWorth Large Cap Core Equity Fund. Investors will want to see sales increases over last quarter, he notes. While most of the headline earnings numbers will reflect the year-over-year change in a company’s profits —known as the “bottom line” and measured in earnings per share—many investors this quarter will be focusing on the “top line,” which represents revenue numbers. During the downturn, many companies have been keeping their profits high (or, at the least, higher than expected) by slashing their work forces and expenses-reducing measures. But “you can’t do that forever,” says Stephen McClellan, a former Wall Street analyst and author of "Full of Bull: Unscramble Wall Street Double Talk to Protect and Build Your Portfolio." “Sooner or later, you need sales.” Wall Street analysts who follow companies make earnings forecasts based on their own models and the company’s “guidance.” A company that meets its earnings expectations is less likely to see stock fluctuations than one that surprises on the upside or the downside. A company might surpass its expectations but its stock still will slide if management indicates that next quarter doesn’t look nearly so rosy. Management offers forward projections in their earnings press release and also in their quarterly conference call to investors, which is open to the public. Analysts listen closely to the management’s message and also to executives’ tone, McClellan says: “Do they sound flakey, or do they have conviction?” To trade around earnings, look for gaps between reality and perception, says Eric Marshall, manager of the Hodges Small Cap Fund. For example, he bought men’s retailer JoS A. Bank (JOSB) ahead of the company’s most recent earnings report, thinking analysts weren’t giving the company enough credit for holding up better than expected in the downturn. The purchase worked in his favor when the company’s earnings beat expectations and the stock rose. 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 | 7 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm IMS sees brighter outlook for global drug salesNEW YORK (Reuters) - Global pharmaceutical sales are proving more resistant than expected to the economic slowdown, helped by surprising strength in the United States, according to a report by the leading tracker of prescription drug data.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Oct 2009 | 9:23 pm Dell plans first U.S. smartphone with AT&T: source (Reuters)Reuters - Dell Inc plans to launch a smartphone with Google's Android mobile software on carrier AT&T's network, a source said, marking the PC maker's first foray into a cut-throat U.S. cellphone arena.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 9:12 pm Justice Department opens IBM antitrust probe (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 8:48 pm Westpac loses massive tax case on all countsWestpac Bank faces a tax bill of close to $1 billion after losing one of New Zealand's largest ever tax avoidance cases.In a judgement delivered this afternoon, Judge Rhys Harrison says the bank was lucky the Inland Revenue Department...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 8:30 pm Aust jobless falls, NZ dollar jumpsAustralia's unemployment rate fell unexpectedly last month while the number of people employed rose, stoking bets the central bank will raise interest rates more aggressively. The Australian dollar climbed above 90 US cents and...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 8:00 pm US regulators probe mainframes marketThe US Department of Justice has begun a preliminary investigation of the mainframe computer market, potentially drawing fresh scrutiny of IBM more than 50 years after regulators first took action to curb its powerSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Oct 2009 | 7:55 pm Fed fears grow over banks' commercial property loansThe Federal Reserve has been beefing up its examination of US banks, fearing that profligate lending to commercial property developers could ultimately prove as damaging to the financial system as the subprime mortgage debacle.An...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 6:30 pm Citi survey casts cloud over three executivesThe position of Terri Dial, head of Citigroup’s troubled US consumer bank, is called into question after an external review of the bank’s executives raises concerns over her managerial skillsSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Oct 2009 | 6:28 pm Alcoa posts surprise quarterly profit (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 6:16 pm GM says cost-cutting nearly done, sales chief outDETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co is on track to complete a wrenching cost-cutting but faces risks from an uncertain U.S. economy and rising unemployment as it tries to win back consumers, the automaker said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 7 Oct 2009 | 6:10 pm Conservatives plan to shed thousands of civilian jobs in MoDThe Conservatives are planning to axe thousands of jobs within the Ministry of Defence if they win the next election, The Times has learnt. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Oct 2009 | 6:01 pm Conservatives pledge booze tax to stop antisocial drinkingThe Tories have set out plans to increase taxes on super-strength beer, cider and alcopops, amid complaints from shadow ministers and prospective parliamentary candidates that the party has retreated to knee-jerk populism on law and order. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Oct 2009 | 6:01 pm NZ incomes barely change over past yearMedian weekly incomes barely changed in the year to June, but with the economy mired in recession more people received income from government transfers and fewer from self-employment.Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) figures out today...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 6:00 pm Google: Here's one company that's hiringGoogle Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said that the tech firm has ramped up hiring, citing an end to the advertising slump.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Oct 2009 | 5:54 pm Podcast: The Economics Of Parenting
Worth it. (Elemenous/Flickr Creative Commons) On today's Planet Money: Human beings have always loved their children, but at certain times in history they really needed them, for financial reasons. Mick Watson, chair of the psychology department at Brandeis University, explains how economics has impacted parenting styles from our early hunter-gatherer days to today's modern industrial society. These days parents don't have a strict economic need to have children. Some values, he says, can't be measured in dollars and cents. Bonus: Loving the health care in Australia. Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Sia's "Day Too Soon." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr. Graham Gordon writes: I've been meaning to write since you first asked for confusing insurance bills. Then I again thought I should drop you a line when you asked "if I could have the insurance of any country where would it be?" I suppose it is better late than never. My wife and I recently moved to Australia. We didn't move for the insurance, but Australia has insurance that is better than any country that I know of. Here there is a mix of public and private insurance. Everyone is covered by Medicare, and in addition you can purchase private health cover. Soon after arriving here I found a doctor that I really like and have not had any trouble seeing him. I called just the other day and was offered appointments as early as two days later. I haven't paid much attention to the bills I have been given, because all the care I have received so far, including blood work, specialist visits, and even some minor surgery has been completely covered. When I did go in for the surgery the staff was fantastic. Everyone was very concerned about my comfort and making sure all my questions were answered. The night after my surgery a nurse called to check up, answer any questions I had, and make sure I was pleased with my care. I have written letters to all my congresspeople urging them to look to Australia as a model for how good the US system could be. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 7 Oct 2009 | 5:38 pm Kathmandu float expected by XmasA float of clothing retailer Kathmandu is reportedly expected before Christmas.The Independent weekly business newspaper today said it understood Kathmandu's owners, Goldman Sachs JBWere and Australia's Quadrant Private Equity,...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 5:30 pm Obama under fire over falling dollarThe sharp fall in the US dollar is giving ammunition to the critics of the Obama administration and fuelling broader concerns about the erosion of America’s reserve currency status.Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Oct 2009 | 5:30 pm Coffee house brews up big franchise deal in ChinaThe Chinese will be drinking New Zealand-roasted coffee following a deal done by the Kiwi owners of the Esquires coffee house franchise.Brothers Stuart and Lewis Deeks own the Canadian-developed coffee house franchise for everywhere...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm Boost for Baucus on cost of health reformThe centrist Democratic senator got a boost from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office when it estimated his healthcare reform plan would cost $829bn over the next decadeSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:55 pm NZ shares start firmThe New Zealand sharemarket started firmly after leading shares Fletcher Building and Telecom rebounded from falls yesterday.Shortly after the market opened, Telecom was up 7c to $2.59 having fallen 6c yesterday, while Fletcher...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:40 pm Write-Offs: 10.07.09$$$ Citi Management Gets Generally Good Review ("strong overall marks to Citigroup's management team and to Mr. Pandit in particular, according to the people familiar with the matter.") [WSJ] $$$ BofA has narrowed down its internal list of candidates to two names, neither of which are Krawcheck, which must tear her up inside, considering how badly she wants the job, even though some people are here to tell you she'd be an awful choice. [WSJ, Forbes] $$$ Matthew Goldstein: Fed Becomes Reluctant Landlord [Reuters] $$$ Wall Street casualties: where are they now? [CNN Money] 
 Sponsored Topics: Wall Street - Citigroup - Bank of America - Merrill Lynch - Wall Street Journal Source: Dealbreaker | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:38 pm E.ON to delay building 'greener' coalfired power station until 2016E.ON'S controversial new coalfired power station is expected to be delayed until 2016 because the power company does not want to commit to making the investment for two to three years.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:23 pm General Motors on track to pay back 50bn loan and relist on New York Stock ExchangeGeneral Motors looks on track to pay back the 50bn £31.3bn it owes US taxpayers as it outlined plans to return the stock market as early as next year.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:22 pm Mortgage rates below 5 percent fuel re-fi boom (AP)AP - Every dollar counts in this economy.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:20 pm Alcoa swings to surprise profitAluminum producer Alcoa Inc. posted a surprise profit and revenue that beat estimates for the third quarter on Wednesday.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:15 pm Alcoa in surprise return to profitabilityAlcoa, the US’s biggest aluminium producer, surprised Wall Street by reporting a return to profitability in the third quarter after three consecutive quarters of losses, thanks to rising metal prices and aggressive cost-cuttingSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:08 pm Overdraft charges: Banks vs. youA new battle is brewing in Congress, riding the same populist wave that pitted banks against consumers on credit card fees earlier this year.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:02 pm A-Rod's Stimulus Program For New York
According to the Economic Development Corporation, each home playoff game at Yankee Stadium provides a total economic benefit of approximately $11.9 million to the city. But based on the regular season, it looks like the Yankees should sail right through to the World Series. Enter A-Rod and his recent post-season performance. Should #13 continue his October ways, and the Yankees be forced go the distance in each series, the club will play 11 home games translating into just under $131 million in economic benefit. So while Yankee fans would love to see Rodriguez break-out during the playoffs and lead the team to three consecutive series sweeps, many New Yorkers may be secretly hoping it'll be business as usual. Yankees Home Playoff Games Worth $6.7 Million to NYC Businesses [Bloomberg]
Sponsored Topics: Yankee Stadium - Alex Rodriguez - World Series - New York Yankees - American League Source: Dealbreaker | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:00 pm SEC seeks jury to hear Bank of America dispute (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:59 pm Stocks end mixed after rally as earnings loom (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:55 pm Lloyds unveils new plans to raise £25bnLloyds Banking Group has submitted new plans to the FSA in a bid to cut its participation in the government's toxic debt insurance scheme.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:49 pm Edwards on MLPs, Schutz on Non-Bank Financials: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:39 pm Levitt Sees No U.S. Regulatory Overhaul This Year: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:38 pm Krugman: International Trade Activity Is 'Worse' Than The Great DepressionBy Caitlin Kenney Our editor, Uri Berliner, passes along this WSJ (sub req.'d) piece about Paul Krugman's view on international trade. The key bit: "When it comes to international trade, actually it's not the Great Depression, it's worse," he said, presenting charts showing the decline in global trade activity falling much more steeply in the current downturn than during the Depression. "The scale of the collapse of world trade has been so large that it has produced a degree of international linkage that surpasses what even the pessimists imagined," he said. "World trade acted as a transmission mechanism," spreading economic distress "even to those countries that had relatively healthy financial systems," such as Germany. The U.S. Commerce Department today launched an investigation that could lead to tariffs on imports of steel pipes from China. Krugman says protectionism is one thing he isn't worried about. He said the tire tariffs imposed on China "aren't really a big deal." » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:31 pm Dollar sags as oil weakens (Reuters)Reuters - Canada's currency fell against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday after earlier touching a one-year high, as weakening oil prices and a mixed showing on stock markets dragged the unit lower.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:24 pm Ron Paul, With Nothing Better To Do, Asks To Delay Bernanke ConfirmationRon Paul found that he could not be elected President and in most of the United States could not make a solid run for dog catcher. He spends most of his time in Washington agitating for positions which very few voters care about. One of those is a program to mandate outside auditing of the Fed, [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:21 pm How the major stock indexes fared on Wednesday (AP)AP - Investors waiting for earnings reports to start rolling in held to modest moves after a two-day spike in stocks.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:12 pm Caption Contest Wednesday
Oh, and if you're interested in getting down with this duo tonight:
Sponsored Topics: Arts - Contests - Television - Talk show - Tonight Show Source: Dealbreaker | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:02 pm 52-Week High ClubKohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) hit a yearly high of $58.03 after Morgan Stanley upgraded the department store operator from “equal weight” to “overweight”. MV Oil Trust (NYSE: MVO) hit a yearly high after the company announced that it would distribute $0.595 per share on October 23rd. Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) hit a yearly high of $409.35 after [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Oct 2009 | 2:22 pm Maxine Waters On The Lack Of Disclosure EpidemicOne of the main takeaways from the mountain of lawsuits currently facing banks is that lack of proper disclosure will not be tolerated. You're not going to get away with making or hiding money simply because people failed to ask the right question. It's an outrage and the good folks in the US Congress are going to clean up this mess. Right after they get done with their own. As Mad Max explained today in her defense of Charles Rangel, whose current alleged exploits include tax evasion and inaccurate financial disclosure, if somebody spent as much time going through Congress's financial records as they do going through bank CEOs', there'd be hardly anybody left to debate policy. Maxine explains 8:00 in. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy [MSNBC]
Sponsored Topics: Breaking News - World News - Television - United States Congress - Tax avoidance and tax evasion Source: Dealbreaker | 7 Oct 2009 | 2:18 pm Goodwin Discusses Trade Risk in Global Markets: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Oct 2009 | 2:12 pm Deutsche Bank Diversifies Commodities Tracked in ETFs: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pm ALCOA Brings In Surprise Profit (AA)Aluminum giant and Dow Jones Industrial Average component Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) has just kicked off earnings season for the Q3-2009 period. Shares were halted ahead of the earnings report. The company posted a surprise positive earnings of $0.04 EPS outside of items (and listed as $0.07 EPS from operations) and $4.6 billion in revenue. [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Oct 2009 | 2:08 pm Estee Lauder Raised to `Overweight’ at Piper Jaffray: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Oct 2009 | 2:08 pm Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
Sponsored Topics: Master of Business Administration - Advertising - Business - Education - Colleges and Universities Source: Dealbreaker | 7 Oct 2009 | 2:00 pm Woolley Sees Corzine Favored by Poll Trend: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Oct 2009 | 1:57 pm Warning on surge in wireless trafficThe head of the US Federal Communications Commission warned that there is not enough room in the airwaves for the ‘explosion’ in wireless data trafficSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 7 Oct 2009 | 1:53 pm Kotok Says Gold May Climb to $1,500 an Ounce: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Oct 2009 | 1:52 pm Annunziata Says He Wouldn't Invest in Gold Now: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Oct 2009 | 1:51 pm Nelson Says Corn Crop Increased on Ethanol Demand: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Oct 2009 | 1:49 pm Mistake #8: Taking It Personal
When your ego is bruised, remember: no matter what, it’s almost never personal. This is the last in the series 8 Mistakes Men Don’t Make, inspired by a presentation from Carol Spieckerman and Lisa Carver. Taking things personally is a weakness that confuses issues and, if you’re not careful, results in an uncooperative attitude hinders accomplishing business goals. Recognize PatternsIf we’re taking things personally, we assume an abrasive (or blunt, direct, manipulative, mean) person has something against us in particular. While that’s certainly possible, the truth is more likely that if someone behaves this way toward you, he or she is the same with others. The trouble with making it about you is that you start to second guess yourself or worse – fall into vindictive mode. And so what if it is? What if someone you’re trying to work with really can’t stand you? Who cares? That shouldn’t change the way you behave. If anything it should be a challenge to rise above the situation. If you’re going to assume anything, assume that nothing is personal. Easier said than done? Maybe, but it can be done. Enlist PerspectiveOnce you suspect (or assume) that someone’s got it in for you, every word and gesture takes on new meaning . Your judgment is clouded, making it impossible to see things objectively. Talking the situation over with a trusted friend or colleague (depending on the situation) provides alternative ideas for what’s behind another’s behavior. This is perspective you may be too close to the situation to recognize. Depersonalize EverythingOne way to protect against taking things personally is to separate the relationships from business goals, problems, and outcomes. The irony is that the more you shift the focus off of you–your skills, your feelings, whatever–the more successful you are. It’s because your energy is focused on accomplishing the objectives at hand instead of wasted on solving personal issues that may or may not actually exist. If you liked this post, I hope you’ll check out the rest of the eight mistakes series. Other Posts in This Series:4. Resisting Duality (this one’s very interesting….) 5. Blending In 6. Diminishing 7. Making It Personal Image Credit: lelia thomas, Flickr
Source: Business Pundit | 7 Oct 2009 | 1:40 pm Do Not Try To Sell John Thain A CDO-Squared
Sponsored Topics: Hedge fund - John Thain - Business - Investment Banks - Collateralized debt obligation Source: Dealbreaker | 7 Oct 2009 | 1:40 pm Presented By:Source: Dealbreaker | 7 Oct 2009 | 1:23 pm Church Of England Reverses Stance On Hedge FundsPope Benedict and his investment team at Body of Christ Capital are steadfastly sticking to their message that you're all going to burn in hell but the PMs over at the Church of England have apparently had a change of heart. Though Archbishop Rowan Williams just last month expressed discontent that the financial sinners in his flock had yet to repent and last year Archbishop John Sentamu described short selling as "bank robbery," they've decided to go on record saying these hedge fund guys? Not as bad as we thought. In fact, the C of E is now lobbying for the industry, after being tipped off to the fact that proposals to regulate hedge funds might adversely affect their bottom line. The Church Commissioners, who manage the £4.4 billion assets -- down from £5.7 billion in 2007 -- of the established Church, have criticised European proposals to regulate hedge funds.
Sponsored Topics: Hedge fund - European Union - Church of England - Business - John Sentamu Source: Dealbreaker | 7 Oct 2009 | 1:23 pm SEC to appeal Cuban insider trading ruling (Reuters)Reuters - U.S. securities regulators said on Wednesday it will appeal a court decision dismissing its insider trading case against Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner Mark Cuban.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 12:50 pm SEC to appeal Cuban insider trading ruling (Reuters)Reuters - U.S. securities regulators said on Wednesday it will appeal a court decision dismissing its insider trading case against Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner Mark Cuban.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Oct 2009 | 12:50 pm Charlie Gasparino Will Not Go Quietly Into The Night
Sponsored Topics: Andrew Ross Sorkin - Lloyd Blankfein - Charlie Gasparino - CNBC - Television Source: Dealbreaker | 7 Oct 2009 | 12:38 pm Exploring a state-run health care planDemocrats and Republicans continue to search for a common ground on the health-care debate. The latest idea: a state-run public health plan. What would that entail? Tamara Keith reports.Source: Marketplace | 7 Oct 2009 | 12:34 pm Debit will be hot this holiday seasonCredit-card purchases usually rise in the lead-up to the holidays. But this year, studies show consumers are increasingly steering away from credit and opting for debit. Mitchell Hartman reports.Source: Marketplace | 7 Oct 2009 | 12:33 pm Could tax credits help create jobs?The U.S. is down more than 8 million jobs since the recession started, and the Obama administration is considering giving companies tax credits if they create new jobs. Harvard University economist Greg Mankiw explains to Kai Ryssdal how it might work.Source: Marketplace | 7 Oct 2009 | 12:31 pm Frank Vows to Address SEC Concerns on Derivatives Regulation (CQPolitics.com)CQPolitics.com - House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., opened the door Wednesday to revising his draft legislation, which aims to regulate the massive derivatives market, to address concerns that some of the complex products could fall through the cracks.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Oct 2009 | 12:04 pm European Union Economy Shrinks More Than ExpectedBy Laura Conaway From the BBC: Economic activity in the eurozone shrank by 0.2% between April and June -- worse than originally thought -- according to official figures. The European Union's Eurostat agency had previously said the economy of the region had contracted by 0.1%. On the other hand, the latest data show Greece, Poland, Portugal and the Czech Republic joining France and Germany in leaving the recession behind. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:57 am East Germany survives in retail formAfter East Germany fell, many of its companies were closed and privatized. But some survived. On the 60th anniversary of the communist German Democratic Republic, Brett Neely takes us to a few stores from that era that are still doing business.Source: Marketplace | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:50 am SEC files notice of appeal in Cuban trading case (AP)AP - The Securities and Exchange Commission says it plans to appeal a federal judge's dismissal of the agency's insider-trading lawsuit against Mark Cuban.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:48 am Floyd Mayweather Wins Lunchtime Bout On CNBC
Round 1: SW: Your last three fights generated 300 million dollars. What does that say about the current business of boxing? FM: Boxing is something I love to do. What more can I say? Round 2: SW: But what does that say about the business of the sport right now that you do a million pay-per-view buys at a time when people, including myself, have questioned the status of the sport right now? FM: Lot of hard work. A lot of hard work and smart business people that I have around me. Round 3: SW: Is the sport in a good place right now? Everybody is feeling the effect of this economy. FM: I think I'm the only fighter, athlete, right now that gets 100% of his own money. So that is what I bring to the table. And with that, the fight was effectively over and Scott Wapner is still waiting for an answer to his question. Maybe another attempt with a certain somebody not afraid to take any question head on is in order.
Sponsored Topics: Boxing - Floyd Mayweather - Sport - Pay-per-view - Welterweight Source: Dealbreaker | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:44 am Susan Marks Says Water Is Next Great Jobs Generator: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:36 am NYC threatens to rip Garment DistrictNew York City's Garment District has been a major hub for clothes production for over 100 years. But proposed zoning law changes would open the area up for development. Kai Ryssdal talks to designer Nanette Lepore, who is fighting the changes.Source: Marketplace | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:33 am CIT saga is just business as usualIf business lender CIT Group falls into bankruptcy, taxpayers will end up losing $2.3 billion, which is what the firm got from the bailout last year. But commentator Robert Reich says CIT stands to gain about $1 billion from taxpayers' loss.Source: Marketplace | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:31 am 'King' revamps for global conquestBurger King patrons will soon be privy to brick walls and industrial metal counter-tops as the chain revamps its restaurants to make it more globally competitive. But this might be a tough sell for franchisees. Rico Gagliano reports.Source: Marketplace | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:17 am Listener: Why Not Standardize Rates For Medical Care?After hearing Monday's podcast about medical billing, Dave Goldberg, a physics professor at Drexel University writes: I enjoy your show every week, but Monday's episode, in particular, hit on something that's been bothering me for a while. While I understand the hospitals' motivations for charging a lower price to a particular insurance company than an individual, I don't understand why the federal government can't or won't introduce a law saying that medical services can't be charged at a different rate for different customers. It seems like this would almost be a panacea. Much of the ruinous cost of being uninsured would be at least partially ameliorated. For that matter, the barrier to entry that allows individual regional insurance companies to enjoy a near-monopoly would be greatly reduced. Why hasn't anyone floated such an idea? The only objection I could think of is that both insurance companies and Medicare would end up having to pay somewhat more, since in essence they are being subsidized by individuals paying more for the same services. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 7 Oct 2009 | 11:06 am ConocoPhillips Gets More Shareholder-Friendly (COP, XOM, CVX)ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is trying to further adopt shareholder-friendly strategies with a higher payout and lower expenses. With as much as this stock has lagged some peers until recently, that should be of little surprise. It was back in early March when we listed ConocoPhillips as one our picks in the energy sector which might [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 7 Oct 2009 | 10:36 am 15 Bedtime Stories That Keep Entrepreneurs Awake at Night: Book Review
Ingram, the founder/CEO of VA-based executive search and IT staffing firm Capital TechSearch, probably sleeps better now. The company’s revenues increased 63% in 2008, earning it a place on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies—the second time the company had been honored. Yet this successful entrepreneur hasn’t taken his learning curve for granted. “When I was in such a bad spot several years ago, I wish that I had a book like this one to reassure me and help me stave off insomnia.” He didn’t have the right book, because the market didn’t offer him one. So Ingram proceeded to do what entrepreneurs do best: He created the product. The book, released in late September 2009, presents fifteen real-life business challenges, many from Ingram’s own experience. He covers the story, implications, and resolution of each challenge in every chapter of the book. At the end of each chapter, he presents readers with a short list of questions to help them work out similar challenges in their own companies. Essentially an advice book, 15 Bedtime Stories covers important lessons that every entrepreneur growing a business from a startup to a platform (self-sustaining) organization should know. Each chapter presents a real-life business challenge, from cash flow to ethics. The human resources-related chapters were especially strong. This is not surprising, given Ingram’s industry focus on people. One of the book’s most endearing qualities is its frankness. Ingram isn’t afraid to address the thorny stuff. One chapter recounts Ingram’s friend John’s experience of choosing to implement company health benefits after heavy deliberation. Soon afterward, John hired an employee who was diagnosed with cancer the same day the company brought him on. Another chapter tells the story of how a company’s top sales performer brought the rest of the team down, confronting the CEO with a difficult firing decision. Ingram doesn’t gloss over things, but he doesn’t discourage you, either. In fact, he encourages you to learn from his mistakes rather than making those same mistakes yourself. His detailed descriptions and resolutions of business issues make the book a valuable reference source. Ingram could easily compile a longer book of lessons, for entrepreneurs to keep around as a desk reference. If you’re curious about entrepreneurship, in the midst of it, and or just looking to improve your general business-running skills, 15 Stories is for you. Even seasoned vets can learn something from this fun and valuable book. Business Pundit recommends it.
Source: Business Pundit | 7 Oct 2009 | 10:26 am Amazon Releases International Version of the Kindle
After nearly two years of selling a Kindle that only works in the US, Amazon has released The new version, with the snappy name of “Kindle with US and International Wireless,” will sell for $280 and can be pre-ordered now. The current version will still be for sale, and Amazon is dropping the price from $300 to $260. The bigger Kindle DX is unchanged. As Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos explains it in a phone interview with Wired, “The two Kindles are identical, except for the radio.” The new device does not sync with Sprint, which was previously the exclusive supplier for Amazon’s Whispernet technology. Instead, it works with AT&T’s wireless network, which has the global reach that Amazon needs for its international plans. This seems to push Sprint out of the long-term Kindle picture. Won’t everybody want to spend 20 bucks more on the AT&T version that that works all around the world, even if a cross-border trip isn’t on the immediate horizon? “I would!” says Bezos. Indeed, having a Kindle that downloads from overseas means you can get your favorite newspapers and magazines delivered instantly, at the same cost you pay at home. It makes the Kindle a travel guide, too: If you want the lowdown on a Kyoto temple, or are wondering where to get the best fries in Amsterdam, you can download a relevant guide on the spot. And for the first time, the Lonely Planet series will be sold on Kindle, along with the previously available travel books from Frommer, Rick Steves and Michelin. No wonder the Amazon press release has an ecstatic quote from AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson and not a word from Sprint honcho (and vanity TV pitchman) Dan Hesse. Wired suggests early adopters might be sore about this new development. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos addresses the problem by saying that current Kindle owners, if they’re disappointed with the limits of their devices, give away or sell their old readers. This new development is a sure winner for Amazon.
Source: Business Pundit | 7 Oct 2009 | 8:27 am Johnson: A Falling Dollar Helps ObamaBy Laura Conaway Good morning -- do you know where your U.S. dollar is? The relative value of the greenback has been been sliding for seven months now, for a couple of reasons. First, investors are worried that the Federal Reserve's policy of keeping interest rates at record lows will lead to inflation, in which case the U.S. dollar would be worth much less. Second, as the economic crisis drags on, international calls have mounted for a new currency to replace to the dollar as the global first choice. In a must-read analysis, Simon Johnson argues that the U.S. could arrest the dollar's fall if policymakers chose -- but they don't want to. Why? Because a falling dollar makes U.S. goods cheaper for other nations to buy. Foreign demand is good for American manufacturing, and Johnson says that's good Rust Belt politics for President Obama as the congressional midterms approach. On a similar note, Congress is considering a tax incentive for employers who actually, you know, hire people. Also big in the news: Commercial real estate, with office vacancies hitting 16.5 percent and the Federal Reserve worried that banks are setting themselves up for a disastrous wave of loan defaults (WSJ, subs. req'd.). » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 7 Oct 2009 | 8:26 am Teacup Pigs: The Next Lucrative Pet Trend?
The piglets cost up to $1,100 each, and Croft sells them only in pairs and only to people she feels are qualified to keep them. In Great Britain, owners must be licensed to keep livestock, as the pigs are considered to be farm animals. The pigs are also clean. “You can litter-train them like a cat. You can take them for walks,” Croft said. The mini-porkers also are said to be good for people who are allergic to dogs or cats, because they have hair instead of fur. In the meantime, (breeder) Croft is putting in 14-hour days trying to keep up with the demand in Great Britain. She told Vieira and Curry she’s selling five to 10 a week, “but I got up this morning and I had over 500 inquiries on the Web site. So right now, there’s going to be a long waiting list.” Teacup pigs, also known as micro pigs and micro mini pigs, are not yet sold in the US. It’s just a matter of time before breeders in this country pick up on the craze. At over $1,000/pig, the price is right. Wonder if they’ll make it into celebrity purses.
Source: Business Pundit | 7 Oct 2009 | 8:08 am Mortgage applications surge to 4-month high (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 7 Oct 2009 | 7:53 am Sexy ISP Ad
Source: Business Pundit | 7 Oct 2009 | 5:33 am
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