|
|
|
|
National Express 'did not invite' Stagecoach dealNational Express today disputed claims that it had invited a merger approach from its rival, Stagecoach. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Oct 2009 | 5:08 am Black Monday: Yuppies aghast at the end of the boomFirst published in The Times on Tuesday October 20, 1987 Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Oct 2009 | 5:05 am Black Monday: Wall Street - the crisis is far from pastFirst published in The Times on Thursday October 22, 1987 Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Oct 2009 | 5:04 am Black Monday: When Big Apple's slot machine paid out sheer carnageFirst published in The Times on Wednesday October 21, 1987 Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Oct 2009 | 5:04 am Fraud case hits Sri Lankan sharesThe Sri Lankan stock market falls sharply after the arrest of a Sri Lankan billionaire investor in New York on insider trading charges.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:36 am World stocks rise ahead of US earnings (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:35 am Too many wins hit William HillA punter-friendly start to the football season and an unexpected X Factor result knock results at bookmaker William Hill.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:30 am Union urged to cancel post strikeRoyal Mail offers to approach the conciliation service Acas to discuss modernisation, but only if union members call off planned strikes.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:28 am NYSE creates up to 400 NI jobsThe New York Stock Exchange plans to set up a service centre in Northern Ireland, creating hundreds of jobs.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:15 am Insider Trading Becomes SEC’s New Poster ChildThe press and Congress have been unkind to the SEC for the last two years. It has been blamed for missing the trading activity of Bernie Madoff and for not properly regulating the banking and financial system. The SEC has countered by saying that it does not have adequate staff to cover all the territory that [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:14 am UK to tighten mortgage rules, ban "liar loans" (Reuters)Reuters - Britain's financial regulator plans to force mortgage lenders to check the income of all borrowers, scrapping so-called "liar loans" blamed for helping to fuel bad debt problems at the heart of the credit crunch.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:12 am UK to tighten mortgage rules, ban "liar loans"LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator plans to force mortgage lenders to check the income of all borrowers, scrapping so-called "liar loans" blamed for helping to fuel bad debt problems at the heart of the credit crunch.Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:12 am Insider trading?Spotlight on hedge funds as Sri Lankan billionaire heldSource: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:11 am Obama aides: Wall Street shouldn't fight reformWall Street needs to focus more on helping Main Street than self-enrichment, two of President Obama's top advisers said.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:07 am Indications: U.S. stock futures point to bright openingU.S. stock futures rise on Monday as a busy week of earnings reports kick off and as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hints that China should ramp up its spending.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Oct 2009 | 4:00 am What If Apple (AAPL) Misses Earnings?Wall St. believes that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will make $1.42 a share for the quarter that just ended on $9.2 billion in revenue. Both figures would be well over 10% higher than a year ago. Apple would have to sell about of 2.9 million Macs, 10.5 million iPods and 6.9 million iPhones to hit those numbers. Fulfilling those [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:57 am Asia shares mixed; traders mull economic prospectsThe Japanese stock market ends on a mixed note, weighed down by weakness among exporter stocks, but finding some support from a rebound in shares of Japan Airlines..
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:57 am EU says Germany assures Opel aid is unconditionalBRUSSELS (Reuters) - Germany has assured GM and the Opel Trust that its 4.5 billion euros ($6.70 billion) offer in financial aid for Opel is not tied to the choice of an investor or a plan, a European Commission spokesman said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:51 am Jobs galoreUS town sees boom as its oil reserves are drilledSource: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:47 am Insider-trading accused seeks leave from India's ISB (Reuters)Reuters - Anil Kumar, charged with other executives over the biggest hedge fund insider-trading scheme, has sought leave from the board of a top Indian business school that he helped set up.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:46 am Insider-trading accused seeks leave from India's ISBNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Anil Kumar, charged with other executives over the biggest hedge fund insider-trading scheme, has sought leave from the board of a top Indian business school that he helped set up.Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:46 am Insider-trading accused seeks leave from India's ISBNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Anil Kumar, charged with other executives over the biggest hedge fund insider-trading scheme, has sought leave from the board of a top Indian business school that he...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:46 am UPDATE 2-Saudi Mobily's Q3 profit soars, bets on data* Post-paid accounts for quarter of overall revenue (Adds executive quotes, stock price, analysts)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:42 am DSB bankrupt after sale failureA Dutch court declares troubled bank DSB bankrupt after last-ditch attempts to find a buyer fail.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:38 am UPDATE 1-China food firm in largest Singapore IPO since '08* IPO plan comes after funds call off stake sale (Adds quotes, details and background)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:32 am JAL's banks reject restructure plan, shares reboundTOKYO (Reuters) - Creditors of Japan Airlines Corp have rejected the struggling carrier's restructuring plan and are pushing for a cut in debt waivers and details of the use of state funds, a source familiar with the matter said.Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:31 am Homebuyers face questions on alcohol and smoking under new mortgage rulesHomebuyers could be forced to provide detailed information about the amount of money they spend on alcohol each month to qualify for a new mortgage under a new clampdown on reckless lending. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:31 am American (AMR) And Delta (DAL) Back In The Game For JAL AllianceSigns are pointing to another bailout of Japan Airlines by the Tokyo-based government. That means the carrier could survive without being broken into pieces. JAL is still prized for its significant and presumably lucrative routes around Asia. That makes it attractive to US carriers who want a large piece of the business in the fastest growing [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:31 am Confidential Records Management, Inc. Hires Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc.GREEN BAY, Wis., Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Confidential Records Management, Inc. (CRMI) of North Carolina has hired Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc., Green Bay, WisconsinSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:30 am Naropa University Selects 90octane for Conversion-Driven Pay-Per-Click Advertising ProgramThe private university aims to increase applications through online tactics DENVER, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- href="http://naropa.edu/index.cfm">Naropa University , a...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:30 am Agri-Business Council of Oregon Names Koopman Ostbo Its Agency of RecordPORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Integrated marketing communications firm Koopman Ostbo (KO) has been named agency of record for the Agri-Business Council of Oregon.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:30 am UK warns of climate 'catastrophe'The UK faces a "catastrophe" of floods and killer heatwaves if world leaders fail to agree a new deal on climate change within 50 days, the prime minister warns.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:29 am Blackstone's new fund faces cash shortfall: report(Reuters) - Blackstone Group is finding it difficult to raise money for a new leveraged buyout fund, the New York Post said, citing people familiar with the matter.Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:26 am Blackstone's new fund faces cash shortfall: report (Reuters)Reuters - Blackstone Group is finding it difficult to raise money for a new leveraged buyout fund, the New York Post said, citing people familiar with the matter.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:26 am Blackstone's new fund faces cash shortfall: report(Reuters) - Blackstone Group is finding it difficult to raise money for a new leveraged buyout fund, the New York Post said, citing people familiar with the matter.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:26 am British insurer Aviva outlines Dutch flotationInsurer Aviva said on Monday it would float 42 percent of Delta Lloyd in Amsterdam next month in an initial public offering that values its Dutch unit at 2.6-3.1 billion euros (3.9-4.6...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:26 am Plan for mortgage affordability testBorrowers face a mortgage affordability test from lenders amid plans to step up the regulation of home loans.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:24 am EU says Germany assures Opel aid is unconditionalBRUSSELS (Reuters) - The German government has given written assurances to U.S. carmaker GM and the Opel Trust that its offer of 4.5 billion euros in financial aid for Opel is not tied to...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:24 am UK regulator outlines plans to ban "liar loans"LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator plans to force mortgage lenders to check the income of all borrowers, scrapping so-called "liar loans" blamed for helping to fuel bad debt...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:21 am Apple results: Will iPhone disappoint?Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:18 am Reaganomics is dead (long live Reaganomics)Bruce Bartlett was a lieutenant in the Reagan revolution. As an aide to congressman Jack Kemp, he helped write the legislation underpinning Ronald Reagan's 1981 tax cut and then worked in the Reagan and the George H.W. Bush administrations.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:16 am Wall Street braces for earningsSo far, so good. But next week brings the first big test for corporate profits.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:08 am Stocks set for early gainsU.S. stocks were poised to rebound Monday as investors shook off recent earnings disappointment and focused instead on buying opportunities.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:07 am Oil Nears $80 On Its Way HigherOil reached $79.05 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That is almost certainly not the end of its rise and for a number of reasons $90 crude is likely on the way before year’s end. Oil has, so far, traded higher primarily because of weakness in the dollar and the perception that demand will [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Oct 2009 | 3:05 am JAL's banks reject restructure plan, shares rebound (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:59 am Nish to succeed Crombie at Standard LifeDavid Nish is to become group chief executive of Standard Life in January, replacing Sir Sandy Crombie, who has led the insurance group since March 2006. "David has a proven track record in our business,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:59 am London Markets: Miners, oil producers lead FTSE 100 advanceBritish shares jump on Monday, with oil-and-gas firms and mining companies posting strong gains as commodity futures climbed.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:59 am Oil price hits new high for 2009Oil prices reach a new high for 2009, continuing to rise on the back of the weak US dollar and strong US corporate earnings.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:43 am DSB Bank declared bankruptDSB Bank, a small Dutch lender, was declared bankrupt on Monday, a week after the central bank took it into administration following a bank run sparked by disgruntled customers. The courts had given the...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:40 am Create the perfect bond portfolioYou already know that to protect yourself against stock market meltdowns, you should devote more of your portfolio to bonds as you age. But as you may have discovered recently, the downside protection you get can vary dramatically depending on the type of bonds you own.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:38 am 'Shockingly higher' costs on horizonIt's open enrollment time at work. Prepare yourself. Starting in 2010, your employer is making sure that when it comes to paying for your health care, you're going to be sharing much more of the burden.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:35 am Stagecoach in talks over National Express dealU.K. bus and rail operator National Express saysit has received a “highly preliminary" approach from rival Stagecoach.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:31 am Hollywood jobs come to MichiganGetting a job in this economy is tough everywhere, but some local job markets are faring worse than others. And nowhere is it harder to find a job than in Michigan.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:27 am Currencies: Dollar edges down vs. most rivals in Asian tradingThe dollar lost ground Monday, ending the Asian session above recent lows but off early session highs.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:17 am Stagecoach approach lifts National ExpressLondon equities made progress on Monday, with relief for shares in National Express after rival transport group Stagecoach confirmed it would be prepared to make a new offer for the company.The demise...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:13 am Tokyo to speed up JAL restructuringShares in Japan Airlines rallied sharply on Monday after it emerged that the government would push for quick adoption of a recovery plan for the ailing carrier.JAL's shares jumped 12 per cent on the Tokyo...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:08 am Europe Markets: Europe stocks bid higher on earnings hopesEuropean stocks were bid higher Monday in a broad-based advance, helped by broker enthusiasm for companies including Nestle ahead of their updates.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:08 am Biggest hedge fund insider case everSource: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:07 am Media Digest (10/19/2009) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, BloombergReuters: US corporations are concerned about the weakness of the dollar. Reuters: Bernanke says that global imbalances in trade and cash flows must be addressed. Reuters: Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) is attacking new markets with huge price cuts. Reuters: Obama Administration officials say big Wall St. bonuses are “obscene” Reuters: Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) said millions of computers have fake security software. Reuters: The [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Oct 2009 | 2:03 am BAIC says man accused of trade theft on leave in U.S.SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A Chinese national accused of stealing trade secrets from Ford Motor Co was employed by Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC), China's fifth-biggest automaker, but was in the United States on personal leave when he was arrested, BAIC said Monday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:57 am Aviva aims to raise 1.2bn from Delta floatAviva, the UK's second largest insurer, said on Monday it hoped to raise 1.2bn (1.1bn) after setting a price range for the flotation of Delta Lloyd that values its Dutch subsidiary at 2.6bn-3.1bn.The listing,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:55 am Stock futures signal rebound along with commods (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:54 am Stock futures signal rebound along with commods (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:54 am Stock futures signal rebound along with commods(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a rebound on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.46 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.26 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.52 percent at 3.30 a.m. EDT.Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:54 am Stagecoach plans friendly National Express dealStagecoach, the bus and train company run by Brian Souter, today confirmed that it had written to the board of National Express on Friday night, proposing an all-share merger with its embattled rival. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:49 am National Express and Stagecoach in Takeover Panel clashA war of words broke out Sunday night between National Express and Stagecoach as doubt grew about the struggling transport group's future.Questions may be raised as to whether Stagecoach violated Takeover...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:30 am Asia Markets And Europe Open (10/19/2009)Markets in Asia were mixed. The Nikkei was down .2% to 10,237. Mitsubishi UFJ (NYSE:MTU) rose. The Hang Seng was up 1.1% to 22,179. CNOOC (NYSE:CEO) and PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) rose. The Shanghai Composite was up 2.1% to 3,028. At the open in Europe, the FTSE rose .9% to 5,235. The Daxx was up .8% to 5,791 and the CAC [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:28 am Aussie stocks close nearly 1pc downSYDNEY -The Australian share market closed almost one per cent lower, weighed down by financial stocks with no external lead to guide the bourse.The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 43.6 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 4,792.8,...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:27 am Standard Life new chief lands £3.3m pay dealDavid Nish, Standard Life's finance director, was today named as the new chief executive to succeed Sir Sandy Crombie, with a pay and bonus package of up to £3.3 million. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:20 am China's Nasdaq-style board late Oct trade: report (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:20 am ABB set to unveil $1bn third-quarter profitsABB said on Monday it would make a higher-than-expected net profit of "approximately $1bn" for the third quarter when it reports its latest results next week, but warned of higher charges related to its...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:08 am Nikkei slips back as JAL soarsTOKYO, Oct 19 - Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.2 per cent on Monday, with exporters such as Kyocera Corp down after disappointing US corporate earnings robbed the market of upward momentum sparked...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:06 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 | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:01 am Northern California grocery chain recalls cantaloupesRaley's, which is based in Sacramento, voluntarily removes 1,120 cartons of the fruit from its stores after salmonella was found in routine testing.A Northern California grocery chain has recalled cantaloupes sold in its stores after detecting salmonella in the fruit during routine testing.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Getting past the fear of computer cloudsStoring data remotely is still in the early stages. Broader use will lead to greater reliability and security of the online systems, experts say. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Movie studios enjoy strong weekend at the box officeTicket sales surge 41% from a year ago as the top three movies -- Warner Bros.' 'Where the Wild Things Are,' Overture's 'Law Abiding Citizen' and Paramount's 'Paranormal' -- play extremely well. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am The week ahead at a glanceAt a glance TODAY National Assn. of Home Builders releases housing market index for October.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am SAG gives interim chief the permanent positionA divided board approves a two-year contract for David P. White, who took over as executive director after a group of moderate actors orchestrated the firing of his predecessor, Doug Allen.The Screen Actors Guild board of directors has appointed David P. White as the national executive director and chief negotiator for Hollywood's largest union.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Investors to focus intensely on corporate earnings reportsWall Street is expected to pay little attention to economic data due out this week.After getting worrisome signs about consumers from bankers' earnings reports, investors will be looking at a broad range of companies this week for further insights into the outlook for the economy.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Movie studios enjoy strong weekend at the box officeTicket sales surge 41% from a year ago as the top three movies -- Warner Bros.' 'Where the Wild Things Are,' Overture's 'Law Abiding Citizen' and Paramount's 'Paranormal' -- play extremely well.For most movies, bigger-than-expected Thursday midnight shows are a great start to an opening weekend. For "Where the Wild Things Are," they may have been a mixed blessing.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Calling America's bluff on Internet gamblingThe U.S. approach to Internet gambling, which is legal in much of the rest of the world, is absurd. The activity is unstoppable, so let's regulate it.No issue brings out America's talent for self-deception like gambling.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Jay Leno's new time slot wreaks havoc for NBC affiliatesNBC's decision to move the talk show king to 10 p.m. is undermining viewership of local late-night newscasts, which are a crucial source of revenue for the network's affiliates.Baltimore may be called Charm City, but for WBAL -- the local television station that carries NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" -- there isn't much to smile about lately.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Healthcare bills lack protections against treatment denials, experts sayMeasures pending in Congress push insurers to keep down costs and cover all regardless of health. That leaves the firms with a big cost-containment tool: refusing requests to cover treatments.Despite growing frustration with the way health insurers deny medical treatments, major healthcare bills pending in Congress would give patients little new power to challenge those sometimes life-and-death decisions.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am A Freeway Series could be a ratings strikeoutFew outside L.A. area want the Angels and Dodgers in the World Series. For top ratings -- and reviving an old rivalry -- a Yankees-Dodgers matchup is the dream outside the Southland.Ron Cervenka is a 55-year-old Burbank police detective who went to Game 3 of the 1963 World Series, when the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the New York Yankees.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am Economic Preview: Chinese third-quarter growth tipped at 9%Chinese government economists forecast this week's gross domestic product data to show growth of 9% or more for the recent quarter. Not everyone agrees, however.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Oct 2009 | 12:54 am Market rises on Black Monday anniversaryThe New Zealand sharemarket started the week on a positive note and welcomed news of the float of retailer Kathmandu.The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 13.72 points, or 0.428 per cent, at 3220.924. Turnover was worth $71.18...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 12:46 am Crisis shows need to right imbalances: BernankeSANTA BARBARA, California (Reuters) - The financial crisis has spotlighted the importance of dealing with global imbalances in trade and capital flows, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Sunday at a Fed conference on Asia.Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Oct 2009 | 12:39 am Crisis shows need to right imbalances: Bernanke (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 19 Oct 2009 | 12:39 am Suicide bomb kills elite troops in IranSix senior commanders in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards and 36 others were killed by a suicide bomber in the most serious attack against the Islamic regime in more than 20 yearsSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Oct 2009 | 11:59 pm Still hazy on cloud computers' securityStoring data remotely is still in the early stages. Broader use will lead to greater reliability and protections in the online systems, experts say.Over the last year, the technology world has been enamored of the possibilities of moving into the cloud.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 18 Oct 2009 | 11:59 pm DB staff strike over proposed pay freezeDozens of workers at two Dominion Brewery-owned breweries have begun industrial action over a pay dispute.Dominion Breweries confirmed 44 (of 65) staff were on strike at Mainland Brewery in Timaru and two people were on strike...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Oct 2009 | 11:47 pm Dollar hovers in US74c rangeThe NZ dollar started the week off on a more subdued note after rising to near US75c last week.It was knocked lower during the weekend by a recovery in the US dollar but recovered during today's session to be US74.37c at 5pm from...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Oct 2009 | 11:35 pm Peter Brimelow: Gold bears gathering, but gold bulls defiantAs they argue over gold's direction, the bears cite a variety of technical indicators, while the bulls deploy sweeping fundamental arguments, often very impressively.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 18 Oct 2009 | 11:17 pm Tesco's Sir Terry Leahy: the full interviewWatch Sir Terry Leahy on Tesco's future the UK economy and Asian expansion.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:55 pm Earnings blitz to test market's mettle (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:47 pm Asia Markets: Japanese exporters pressured by overseas concernsJapanese exporter shares skid despite a weakening of the yen, a sign that concern about overseas economies is taking as big a toll on shares as currency appreciation.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:24 pm SmartMoney's 2009 Power 30: Health and Medicine (Magazine Cover)
The Blue Dog Democrats
Democratic Congressional leaders have to keep their party united to pass legislation these days, so their worst nightmare is the Blue Dog Democrats: about 50 House members known for their fiscally conservative viewpoints. This summer they flexed their muscle when fiery Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross publicly protested that party leaders were "cramming" the president's health care bill down his caucus's "throats." That caused party leaders to whittle down the bill's price tag and delay a vote past the original August deadline. Expect the group to continue to watch the budget deficit and spending, too. "They've basically become the margin of difference," says Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at University of Virginia, "between difficult bills passing or failing in Washington." Burned once by the cap-and-trade vote, they could stand in the way of any future energy price hikes. And if Obama attempts a second economic stimulus? "They'll oppose that," Sabato predicts, "with relish."
Angela Braly
Angela Braly, CEO of Wellpoint, the country's largest health insurer, often emphasizes her humble roots-including her waitress job growing up. No doubt she's facing another hardscrabble situation now. Although Braly recently raised premiums to correct pricing missteps the company made in 2008, Wellpoint has since suffered steep earning drops as members filed more health claims and customers lost their jobs-and health insurance. "We remain optimistic about the future," Braly, 48, says of those developments, adding the company has had a "strong selling season" for 2010. But analysts will be watching her closely in the coming months. Because Wellpoint gets more of its business from the individual-versus employer-provided-insurance market, the company has the most to lose if health reforms ultimately create a cheaper, public insurance plan to compete with insurers. She'll have to guard against that while also watching the roughly one-third of her business that comes from public programs like Medicaid, hard hit by state budget woes. "If reforms aren't dramatic," says Matthew Coffina, a Morningstar analyst, "Wellpoint stock could be seriously undervalued" due to all that uncertainty. For now, time will tell for Braly-and her industry.
Karen Ignagni
The last time major health care reform was debated, Karen Ignagni, the lead lobbyist for the health insurance industry, was working behind the scenes as a representative of organized labor, urging then-President Bill Clinton not to be "too timid" with his efforts. So some people are surprised by the seat Ignani is sitting in now as the lead lobbyist for the health insurance industry. One day before this month's crucial Senate Finance Committee vote on reform legislation, Ignagni released a report predicting that the bill under consideration would raise health insurance premiums for families by almost $5,000 in four years. To some, it was a stunning maneuver-especially since Ignagni had supported Congress's efforts for months prior to that; the report was criticized for not taking into account the government subsidies to offset a family's premium costs. "Karen is pretty politically savvy as anyone I've ever seen when it comes to protecting her industry's interests," says Wendell Potter, a former Cigna executive turned industry critic. The report touched off a move in the House to create a public option that would compete with insurers head-on. For her part, Ignagni says her group still supports health care reform that covers all Americans, but that it's concerned about the "workability and cost" of the legislation that came out of the Senate Finance Committee.
Billy Tauzin
It's not often that a lobbyist publicly pressures the White House to acknowledge a backroom deal it has made with his industry. But few lobbyists have the negotiating power of the 66-year-old Tauzin, the folksy former Louisiana politician turned chief Washington power broker for the pharmaceutical industry. "Who is ever going to go into a deal with the White House again if they don't keep their word?" he asked reporters after a House committee passed a version of health reform that would cost his industry $110 billion over a decade. Administration officials promptly admitted they had told Tauzin they'd oppose any effort to push that price tag above $80 billion. That sort of gamesmanship is familiar to longtime observers of Tauzin, nicknamed "the swamp fox" back home. "Of all the stakeholders in health care, he's most used to winning," says Ron Pollack, executive director of research group FamiliesUSA. Tauzin has campaigned to improve the industry's image, even creating a television program, Sharing Miracles, featuring consumers helped by drugs. All that could prove useful, since the battles aren't likely to end with health reform: Some Democrats want to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, costing pharmaceutical companies an estimated $30 billion annually. The 2009 SmartMoney Power 30 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 | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm SmartMoney's 2009 Power 30: Industry (Magazine Cover)
Jeffery Boyd
William Shatner, a.k.a. "The Negotiator," may be the face of Priceline.com, but CEO Jeffery Boyd, 53, is the one charged with helping the online travel company negotiate the perils of today's postrecession staycation nation. And with the company's stock hitting a nearly nine-year high this year, he seems to be charting a solid course. Priceline's "Name Your Own Price" bidding system played well in a down economy, appealing to travelers looking for rock-bottom deals and hotels anxious to quietly unload cut-rate rooms. Boyd also extended the company's reach into the less recession-struck European and Asian travel markets with what Lorraine Sileo, vice president at research firm PhoCusWright, calls "impeccable timing." The question now is where Priceline goes from here. As the economy improves, travelers may feel less pressed to haggle. And some of its signature moves-it was the first to eliminate airline booking fees, for example-have been adopted by the competition. For his part, Boyd says Priceline will continue to focus on its international business and new technologies like ones that make it easier for customers to access its Web site while on the road. Surviving in today's competitive travel industry means "innovating all the time," he says. "We have to come up with new ideas and new ways to save our customers money."
Kenneth I. Chenault
Just as economic turmoil took its toll on the nation's biggest credit card firm, a nascent recovery has the green giant showing signs of revival. When cardholder spending dropped and late payments surged last fall, AmEx was among the first credit card companies to slash credit limits. Chenault, 58, also announced a "reengineering program" that included 11,000 job cuts and the elimination of pay raises for managers. "We established three clear priorities to navigate through the recession," he tells SmartMoney. "Stay profitable, stay liquid and invest selectively for growth." So far, the plan seems to be working. While AmEx received $3.39 billion in federal bailout bucks, it repaid the government within six months-"with a very attractive 26 percent return for U.S. taxpayers," Chenault says. But the road to recovery stretches on. The nation's high unemployment rate will remain a burden on consumers, he says, and he anticipates they'll continue to be careful about spending their money. Still, the company is focused on expanding its base of cardholders and continuing to build partnerships with banks that would issue cards on AmEx's network. "While we continue to be cautious," says Chenault, "we're now talking about growth, not just managing through the crisis."
Sergio Marchionne
Italy makes some of the world's most beautiful cars, but its auto industry isn't known for bold acquisitions-or profits. Marchionne is changing that image, though. Since becoming CEO of Fiat in 2004, he has rebuilt its car business, produced some award-winning popular models and swooped in to take over Chrysler, saving it from extinction. A chain-smoking former lawyer and accountant, Marchionne, 57, aims to sell models like the tiny Fiat 500 in America. It could be a tough sell, of course, but his moves have paid off: Fiat's stock has surged more than 140 percent this year and is up sharply since he took charge. The question now is whether he can pull of the same magic for Chrysler.
Alan Mulally
If happy days return to the U.S. auto industry, Alan Mulally is likely to get a chunk of the credit. Not bad for someone who wasn't even a car guy when he shocked the business world by signing on to run Ford Motor in late 2006. An engineer by training, he'd spent 37 years at Boeing and led a turnaround in the aerospace giant's commercial aviation business. Ford, on the other hand, was on track to lose $12.6 billion in 2006. "People couldn't see a plan for the future," says Mulally, a Kansas native with an infectious high-energy style. Barely three years later, Ford boasts a rising stock price, improving market share and some promising new models that will hit the showrooms in coming months. Deciding shortly after his arrival that Ford couldn't survive without a big cash infusion, the 64-year-old executive literally mortgaged the company-borrowing $23.6 billion against its assets. That gave Ford enough money to restructure and make it through the financial crisis without following Chrysler and General Motors into bankruptcy court. Of course, Ford is still losing money this year, and analysts say its turnaround could be derailed by another dip in car sales. But Mulally is sticking to a forecast of full-year profits in 2011. "We have the right products at the right time," he says, sounding like a Detroit veteran.
Frits van Paasschen
Frits van Paasschen probably wouldn't describe his two years at Starwood as a holiday. First, skeptics doubted his ability to run a stable of high-end hotel brands-including Westin, Sheraton, and W-without a hospitality background. (Defenders say he was hired for his brand-management savvy, honed in stints at Coors, Nike and Disney.) Then the hotel business fell off a recessionary cliff. And an aggressive 50 percent-off promotion so angered industry rivals that the CEO of Joie de Vivre hotels wondered in a blog post if Starwood had "lost its collective mind." Or maybe its Dutch-born chief is just crazy like a fox. While it's too early to know how Aloft and Element, the company's newest brands, will fare, some industry watchers applaud Starwood for continuing to take risks when many competitors are standing pat. As van Paasschen, 48, sharpens his strategic vision, Wall Street seems optimistic (the company's stock is up this year). That vision includes expanding overseas (70 percent of hotels in its development pipeline are outside the U.S.), courting loyalty customers, and transitioning from owning properties to more economical "fee-based" (franchised or managed) relationships. All of it, says Jan deRoos, HVS professor of hotel finance and real estate at Cornell University, "brings a renewed focus on the value created by the brand." The SmartMoney 2009 Power 30 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 | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm 10 Things Your Preschool Won't Tell You (10 Things)Updated and adapted from the book, "1,001 Things They Won't Tell You: An Insider's Guide to Spending, Saving, and Living Wisely," by Jonathan Dahl and the editors of SmartMoney. 1. “Sure, we're licensed, but that doesn't mean we're any good.” Over 80 percent of four-year-olds go to preschool these days—a big switch from 1990, when only 65 percent of them did, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). More working mothers and a wide acceptance of the benefits of early education have fostered the growth of preschools. But there's a downside: “Overall, the quality of preschools needs considerable improvement,” says Steve Barnett, director of NIEER. One reason is that most state licensing requirements pertain to safety and health rather than quality. That means a school might take extra care to make sure the toilet bowl plunger isn't within a toddler's reach, but it might not require its teachers to have much education. In fact, some states don't require any academic degree to become a preschool teacher. So how do you find a good preschool for your toddler? One indicator of quality is whether a facility has received accreditation from an outside organization. The largest accrediting body for preschools is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). To find information on that group's requirements as well as a locator for accredited preschools, visit its web site at www.naeyc.org. 2. “Bus drivers make more than our teachers.” The most pressing problem for preschools is hiring and keeping good teachers--and it's little wonder why. The average annual salary for a preschool teacher is $26,610, less than what a bus driver or a concierge makes, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The low pay is often reflected in the both the quality of the teachers hired and in staff retention. According to NAEYC, average teacher turnover at preschools is at least 30 percent annually. How can a parent tell if a teacher is a modern-day Mister Rogers? In addition to looking for college degrees in early childhood development and years of experience, parents should observe teachers at work. One important factor is teacher to student ratio. NAEYC recommends one teacher for every nine three-year-olds. 3. “Learning the ABC s won't prepare your tot for kindergarten.” Preschool used to be solely about sandboxes and finger painting. But more standardized testing in elementary schools, as well as anxious parents who think that learning the alphabet by age four will pave their tot's way to the Ivy League, has pushed academic preparation over more traditional kids' stuff. Today in preschools, in-class worksheets and memorization of letters and numbers, for example, are not uncommon. At the end of the day, however, preschoolers may not need as much academics as some parents might think. In fact, education experts say that overemphasizing academics at such an early stage can actually hamper a child's emotional and social development. The skills kindergarten teachers are really looking for are those that enable academic learning, such as following directions or sitting attentively during story time. In light of that,parents should seek out a preschool that integrates the ABCs into playtime and encourages activities that engage the senses and emotions, which is how children learn best. A project that includes making lemonade, for example, could also involve lessons about measuring and counting.
4. “Discipline's not our forte.” When it comes to discipline, preschools differ dramatically in their approaches, ranging from New Agey time-outs to old-fashioned verbal reprimands, like “Stop running!” One preschool even brands tots with a red sticker if they've had too many outbursts. Ultimately, a child's cognitive and social development is best encouraged through collaboration, discussion, and discovering the hows and whys of their actions, according to the National Association of Elementary School Principals. In other words, discipline is another opportunity to teach—if teachers and schools are willing to put in the necessary time it takes. For starters, discipline methods need to take into account a child's developmental needs. For example, Braun says that even benign time-outs miss the boat for preschoolers who aren't old enough to contemplate the rights and wrongs of their behavior. A better approach is to stop inappropriate behavior and help the child understand why it was wrong by talking with him about his actions. Parents should ask preschool directors and teachers if they have a written policy regarding discipline and inquire about what training the school provides its teachers to help implement it. Untrained teachers may simply fall back on the discipline techniques they experienced as children. 5. “Separation anxiety? Never gave it much thought.” For many toddlers and parents, one of the most significant experiences of preschool is being apart from each other. Yet for some schools, how children and parents separate isn't enough of a priority. If separation from mom or dad isn't handled thoughtfully, children may act out, regressing in their toilet training or clinging to parents back at home. But there are ways to help smooth the transition. Resurrection Preschool in Oak Forest, Ill., for example, hosts an orientation day where kids, parents and teachers are introduced to each other in the classroom setting. This helps ease the transition from home to preschool, and on the first day of school, children are more likely to view the teacher as a familiar figure. 6. “Get ready to work overtime.” Many cash- and staff-strapped preschools not only welcome parental involvement, they require it. Parents are often prodded to lend a hand, which can mean everything from making snacks for 30 kids at a time to trimming the bushes outside the school's gates. Some preschools go even further, charging a nominal fee, say $100, for parents who want to opt out of bake sales and other extracurricular activities. But some parental involvement at a preschool is far preferable to the alternative—none at all. If a preschool doesn't have an open-door policy for parents to drop in and visit their kids, many experts say you should seriously wonder why. And watch out for ruses: It is possible for a school to schedule a full staff during the morning, when parents dropped kids off, but then let most of the staff go, deeply depleting the ratio of teachers to toddlers. At the very least, preschools should have a system that enables and promotes communication from parents, whether it's calls to the director or tacking suggestions on a message board. And if schools don't require any parental effort, they should welcome it when it's offered. 7. “We serve more junk food than McDonald's.” Back in the day, what kids ate in preschool didn't tend to register very high on the list of parental concerns. But with childhood obesity rising and growing concern over the prevalence of food allergies like peanuts, many parents are easing up on the peanut butter cups and cheese curls at home—even as many preschools continue to serve up plenty of junk food. Despite federal and state nutrition guidelines that require balanced meals, treats like cookies, pretzels, Popsicles, and sugar-coated cereals are still standard snack-time fare at many places. But more and more preschools are beginning to heed the call for healthy eating and impose nutrition guidelines and snacking policies. Little Village Nursery School in Los Angeles, for example, has a no-dessert rule for its snacks. At other places, special dietary requests from parents will be honored. If a preschool won't meet individual students' needs, then education experts say it should at least address allergy concerns. That means forbidding peanut butter and keeping toddlers from sharing their homemade treats.
8. “We're harder to get into than Harvard.” These days getting your child admitted into a preschool of your choice can be as difficult as getting him or her into an elite college—and that's true whether you live in a big city or not. In urban centers such as Los Angeles and New York, proactive new parents put their newborns on preschool waiting lists. But even in smaller cities and suburbs, the competition for enrollment has gotten tough. Just how do preschools decide who gets in and who doesn't? Much of the time, it's the luck of the draw. But many preschools are also known to give preference to families with a sibling who's attended or to families who pony up big donations. And if a preschool is run by a church or a synagogue, members may also get a leg up. There are sometimes other considerations as well. Since preschools strive to balance their classrooms, a child's gender and even temperament can affect admission. Many preschools want diversity, so race and religion could also play a role. Of course, whom you know counts, too. 9. “Our pricey tuition is just the start.” Preschool tuition now costs as much as college tuition in many places across America. But the bigger sticker shock is that tuition is just the start of the money drain. The number of children a preschool can accept is constrained by the number it can physically accommodate, so revenue growth is limited—but the costs of running the school aren't. Despite low teacher salaries, a significant amount of money a preschool takes in—possibly as much as 55 cents of every dollar—goes toward labor, taxes, and insurance costs, such as workers' compensation. Aggressive fund-raising often fills in the gap, with as much as 20 percent of a preschool's budget coming from annual galas or auctions. In addition, many preschools actively solicit parents for cash donations as well. For families on a budget, the finances of preschool can leave them with few options. Some schools offer scholarships; there are also cooperative preschools run by parents. 10. “We don't always follow our own education philosophy.” Most preschools profess to have a guiding philosophy. Some follow specific theories espoused by education pioneers like Maria Montessori. Others buy materials and curriculum plans from education companies. But while they may have a plan on paper, many preschools may not follow it in practice. And while accreditation does offer some guarantee that schools will stick to their program, even that isn't airtight. NAEYC, for example, accredits schools on a rolling basis, leaving room for slippage. To make sure their kids' preschool is staying on track, parents should check in on the classroom from time to time, paying attention to how it looks and feels. Spaces should feel welcoming and be designed for children: Artwork should be hung low, for example, where little ones can readily view it. And if the watercolor clowns all look the same, it may mean the teacher has done more of the art than Tommy's inner Picasso. NIEER's Barnett says parents should also check what the daily lesson plans are and whether they include activities their child enjoys. Bottom line: The biggest indicator of whether a preschool is working is if both the child and the parent feel good when they go there. 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 | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm SmartMoney's 2009 Power 30: Finance and Wall Street (Magazine Cover)
Lloyd Blankenfein
It was one thing to take a big investment from Warren Buffett in the heat of the financial meltdown, but Uncle Sam? Better to keep him at a distance. That's the not-so-subtle message from Goldman, which has emerged as one of Wall Street's strongest survivors of the financial crisis. Blankfein, a 55-year-old former tax lawyer, was the first banking executive to repay government loans made during the crisis-$10 billion in Goldman's case. While that freed the firm from strict oversight on its business, expect it to continue to take heat for its generous pay practices. Indeed, now that Goldman has emerged from the meltdown at the head of a smaller pack, Blankfein's biggest challenge isn't boosting profits or beating competitors, says Rochdale Securities analyst Richard Bove: It's a "punitive government," itching to slap new restrictions on Wall Street. Blankfein, well aware of Main Street's beefs, recently said, "Compensation should encourage real teamwork and discourage selfish behavior, including excessive risk taking." The comments came weeks after record second-quarter profits put Goldman on track for a big boost in pay packages this year.
Warren Buffett
His investments ran into a few rough spots in the crash, but his $5 billion injection to help stabilize Goldman Sachs during the financial panic looks like a winner, and Berkshire shares have had a sharp rebound from their lows. Never afraid to say what's on his mind, Buffett uses his substantial credibility with markets and policy makers to opine on the issues of the day-such as the dangers of the nation's growing debt load.
James Dimon
Last year's financial meltdown left Dimon at the helm of the country's largest and, arguably, strongest bank. That gives him a lot of sway as the administration considers new regulations. But with TARP behind him, Dimon has been less of an inside coach and more of an outside critic as the administration shapes recovery plans. Banks and the government "must now truly work together to prevent the recurrence of another such crisis," he says. Dimon, 53, is also voicing fears that overzealous bureaucrats might see all derivatives in a bad light (his clients need customized derivatives to hedge risk), and he says choking off financial product innovation will cost America jobs and lengthen the recovery. "If innovation is stifled in America, then capital will simply flow to other nations where it is welcome," he wrote in a recent op-ed piece.
Larry Fink
As government and business continue their tug-of-war, Fink has influence with both. The 56-year-old son of a shoe-store owner was one of the first traders on Wall Street to sell mortgage-backed securities. Now the onetime head of real estate products at First Boston regularly takes calls from the Treasury for guidance on how to clean them up. No surprise, then, that Washington called on BlackRock to manage the toxic assets of the Bear Stearns and American International Group bailouts, as well as its program to revive the beaten-down housing market. These days Fink is juggling his role as government adviser with that of master acquirer. In June his firm agreed to buy exchange-traded-funds giant Barclays Global Investors, a move that will make BlackRock the world's leading money manager, with about $3.1 trillion in assets. Barclays will add nearly half the ETF market to BlackRock's growing set of products for big institutions and individuals. But some say it could also take Fink's eye off the ball in expanding BlackRock's mutual fund business, which has taken a low-key approach with retail customers, at least when compared to better-known competitors. BlackRock's fund business more than doubled when it merged with Merrill Lynch's asset-management unit three years ago, but its institutional business has long been its strength. With about 2.5 percent of all mutual fund assets, there's plenty of room for the firm to grow, analysts say. Its reach will "need to get bigger," says Stifel Nicolaus analyst Jeffrey Hopson. So what's next? "A lot of advertising," to promote the company's products, says Fink.
Yi Gang
Let's keep this guy happy: Yi, 51, helps oversee China's estimated $1 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds. With a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois, he later became an economics professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis before returning to China. Now, as the U.S. government continues to print trillions of dollars to bail out the economy, China has signaled that its appetite for U.S. debt might have its limits. While any quick moves away from Treasurys would hurt both countries, China has already begun diversifying its foreign reserves away from Uncle Sam. And any pullback by America's biggest creditor would mean higher interest rates here at home.
Bill Gross
As investors rediscover the benefits of bonds, the Total Return fund is in a sweet spot, which only adds to the clout of the Zen-like 65-year-old Gross. He has already made his mark on the recovery by seeing opportunity in toxic assets-and by virulently opposing any nationalization of the country's banks. His prescription for the government today: Keep spending. "Although deficits are astronomically high," warns Gross, our recent market surge will become the dreaded "dead-cat bounce" if the government doesn't maintain or increase spending. "Forget the balanced budget," he advises.
Nouriel Roubini
Fame and fortune aren't typically associated with the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. But that's what the past two years have brought about for Roubini. The economics professor, whose ultrabearish views were once scoffed at by mainstream economists, warned long before most that we were headed for financial disaster. Now he is one of the most sought-after experts on where the economy is headed next. But his recent celebrity status-his high-profile speeches can command fees of more than $30,000, and his late-night parties attract models and business executives alike-hasn't sweetened his financial outlook. Despite some signs of recovery, Roubini doesn't see the recession bottoming out until December. After that, he sees a slow and painful recovery, with economic growth hovering around 1 percent and unemployment rising as high as 11 percent. He's also warning that the government's monetary policies could lead to another recession or crippling inflation by 2011. There's "no easy path to getting it right," says Roubini, but "the chance of a quick recovery is out the window."
Mary Schapiro
The leader of the agency charged with protecting investors and maintaining orderly markets is fighting a war on two fronts. On the one hand, the Obama administration is threatening to scale back the SEC's authority to protect investors, since the agency failed to stop Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme and other high-profile scams. At the same time, Schapiro, 54, is getting heat for taking a tougher stance against brokerage firms on issues like trading and compliance, moves critics say could hamper economic growth. Schapiro, a former head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, tells SMARTMONEY her biggest concern is protecting investors and beefing up a staff struggling to stay on top of enforcement. "We have a lot on our plates and a lot more coming," says Schapiro, whose 400 examiners receive about 1.5 million complaints a year. But she'll have to convince Congress and the White House that the SEC is able to handle it all. Otherwise, the job of protecting investors could shift to another government agency. The 2009 SmartMoney Power 30 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 | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm SmartMoney's 2009 Power 30: Government (Magazine Cover)
Sheila Bair
A Republican appointed by George W. Bush to head the federal agency that insures bank deposits and bails out failing banks, Bair, 55, still has a lot of work to do. She has been an outspoken critic of the industry, pushed for more authority to regulate banks "too big to fail" and publicly criticized President Obama's financial-system reform plan, saying major parts of it won't make it through Congress. Next up: dealing with the growing number of "problem" banks, which recently topped 400, and the FDIC's insurance fund-at its lowest level since 1993.
Ben Bernanke
He might not be a rock star, but he's hardly keeping the low profile many thought he would when he succeeded the more camera-friendly Alan Greenspan as Fed chairman. Bernanke, 55, sat down for an interview with 60 Minutes, took questions from mainstream Americans in a town hall meeting in Kansas City, Mo., and cooperated with a Wall Street Journal reporter on a book-about his role in taming the financial crisis. The idea behind the unprecedented publicity is to get the average American to understand what's at stake in the Fed's extraordinary efforts to juice the economy. Now that the former Princeton professor has steered us away from a second Great Depression-earning the cheers of fellow economists, if not politicians-he'll face the toughest trick of all as his second four-year term begins in 2010. He has to decide when and how to slow the economy before inflation returns. "Will he have the guts to put the brake on when the unemployment lines are painfully long?" asks James Angel, associate professor of finance at Georgetown University's business school.
Earl Devaney
A year ago, no one had ever heard of Earl Devaney. Then again, Congress also hadn't authorized a $787 billion stimulus package intended to resuscitate the economy-and with it, a government unit to make sure that money is spent prudently. Now the 61-year-old Interior Department's inspector general has two and a half years and a budget of $84 million to see that the stimulus package does what it's supposed to do. Step one: Get all Americans involved, via Recovery.gov, which lets anyone with Internet access see exactly where and how the money's being spent, down to the most minute details of individual contracts. Then, after essentially deputizing the population as his watchdogs, Devaney and Co. are charged with tracking fraud, waste and abuse-problems they hope citizens will flag as they dig into the data on the site. "Once the American people can see how their money gets spent, we'll never do it the old, nontransparent way again," Devaney says. "The cow is out of the barn. This is the future."
Doug Elmendorf
The former Harvard economics professor serves as a reality check on government spending, putting a price tag on everything from the tiniest piece of pork to the cost of health care reform-and so he indirectly affects policy (along with the rest of the nonpartisan CBO). After spending much of his career behind the scenes, Elmendorf, 47, says he is learning to "pick my words carefully." Earlier this year, his blunt questions about proposed health care reform bills slowed down Democrats' efforts right before the summer recess and put him at odds with his predecessor Peter Orszag, who is now the president's budget chief. Given the spate of proposed reforms on the table, the drama isn't expected to end any day soon. The tension is just part of the job, says Alice Rivlin, who has held both men's positions in the past, but she adds, both roles "are probably crucial"-perhaps now more than ever. As Congress begins to shift its focus to other issues, Elmendorf says he is building up CBO's ability to analyze financial-sector issues in the wake of the government's deeper involvement-for example, with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-which will affect the budget and also will likely push Congress to explore ways to approach the housing market in the future. The 2009 SmartMoney Power 30
Kenneth Feinberg
Feinberg doesn't take easy jobs. The Washington, D.C., lawyer has overseen victims' settlements for the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Virginia Tech shootings. Compared to those grim assignments, judging the fairness of Wall Street executive pay doesn't seem so hard. As the Obama administration's pay czar, Feinberg is reviewing executive and employee salaries and perks at the seven companies that have received "exceptional" government assistance, including AIG, Citigroup and General Motors. Perhaps his most aggressive move to date was pressuring outgoing Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis to return $1 million he received this year and to forgo the rest of his 2009 salary and bonus. Corporate America is watching Feinberg closely: At a time when shareholders are loath to award millions to executives at struggling companies and pending legislation would require public companies to submit executive pay to a shareholder vote, Feinberg's guidance on compensation holds a lot of weight. "It certainly takes a lot of the fervor out of the debate," says Scott Talbott, the head lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable.
Timothy Geithner
Wall Street greeted Timothy Geithner's speech on fixing the banking system last February with a 382-point slide in the Dow. Now that the economy has stabilized, his to-do list includes pushing the administration's proposals for financial reform and reassuring countries like China that Uncle Sam is good for his debt. But it's still a rough road. Critics say the administration has failed to live up to its ambitious agenda. "They're letting Congress push them around," says Lawrence J. White, an economics professor at New York University. On Capitol Hill in July, Geithner, 48, acknowledged the backlash to Obama's regulatory plans and pushed for action this year: "If we wait and we try to do it piecemeal, it's going to be much harder."
Valerie Jarrett
When America's CEOs have something to say to the president, Jarrett can help. Last spring, travel executives upset over Obama's remarks about business travel were surprised to see the president pop in on their meeting with White House economic officials. The visit-and a presidential lunch over the summer with CEOs from Xerox, AT&T and Coca-Cola, among others-were arranged by Jarrett, who also happens to be one of the president's closest friends. The 52-year-old lawyer once ran Chicago real estate developer The Habitat Co. and sat on various boards, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Chicago Stock Exchange, where she was chairwoman. That experience and her friendship with the president make Jarrett an invaluable bridge between government and business in her role as senior adviser. (Obama has called Jarrett his eyes and ears and said he trusts her completely.) "She's like Warren Buffett-someone who will give you great sound advice," says Ariel Investments founder John Rogers Jr., who grew up with Jarrett in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. "They may tell you something you don't want to hear, but you realize it was exactly what you needed."
Peter Orszag
Regularly described as tough and disciplined-he has trained for marathons in the middle of the night-Orszag, 40, is one of the leading experts on health care, Social Security and retirement policy. The self-described "supernerd" regularly meets with members of Congress in a frontline role not typical of most economists. But Orszag's flair for adjusting policy to address concerns while still achieving stated goals makes him a valued member at the table, says Robert Greenstein, director of the Center for Budget Policy and Priorities. As the man controlling the nation's purse strings, Orszag tells SmartMoney he "is very concerned" about the nation's record budget deficit. But he says the focus should be the medium- to longer-term deficit, after the economy has recovered. But "key to our fiscal future," he says, is reining in health care costs. After building up health care capabilities as the former director of the Congressional Budget Office, he now finds himself at odds with the CBO over recent health care reform proposals. "Even the best referee sometimes gets things wrong," he says. "And when that happens, it is healthy to point it out."
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren rarely got results like these as a Harvard law professor: Less than a month after taking her new role as lead watchdog over the Wall Street bailout, she slammed the U.S. Treasury for failing to adequately monitor payouts from the Troubled Asset Relief Program and for its secrecy in general, and the department promised more transparency and better tracking of funds. Warren, a specialist in bankruptcy law and consumer debt, isn't stopping there. She's pushing for stronger stress testing of banks and more regulation of products like credit cards, car loans and mortgages through the creation of a Financial Product Safety Commission. Not everyone's a fan. Warren's proposals have drawn fire from almost anyone with an interest in maintaining the status quo, including the banking industry, mortgage brokers and even the Securities and Exchange Commission. But she says she's not backing down: "I'm not an insider, and I don't need another job," she says, a not-so-thinly veiled shot at what she sees as the revolving door between public office and private industry. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to raise the issues that I think are important, regardless of who wants to ignore them." The 2009 SmartMoney Power 30 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 | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm Solved: 5 Problems of Thanksgiving Travel (Deal of the Day)Cutbacks in leisure and business travel during the holidays have put pressure on the airlines and created a brief window of opportunity for fliers who can book their tickets early. But a swift response by the airlines could close that window in just a few weeks. At that point, higher fares could be the least of your problems in getting home. According to a recent survey from American Express (AXP), nearly 20% of people who traveled last year plan to stay home this year, and 7% plan to drive instead of fly. Another 3% plan to shorten their time away over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Reduced consumer demand has been a boon for those consumers who still want to take the trip. Seat selection has improved and prices are roughly 10% cheaper than booking made this time last year, says Rick Seaney, the founder of fare comparison site FareCompare.com. But the deals are likely to end by early November. It’s no secret that there’s a shorter shelf life on low holiday fares this year. Since early fall, airlines have begun adjusting seat capacity on holiday flights to reflect the decrease in consumer demand. Companies have scaled back the number of seats available at the cheapest price points and boosted fares with a $10 surcharge on high-traffic travel days, says Basili Alukos, an equity analyst with Morningstar who tracks airline stocks. “To me, that’s the biggest signal that airlines are acting more rationally,” he says. “They’re finally charging what their services are worth.” And despite the notorious delays and pitfalls of holiday travel, now heaped on top of extra baggage fees and no-food flights, consumers still seem to be interested. Holiday flight searches on Priceline (PCLN) are up 25% compared with last year, says Mark Koehler, the senior vice president of the travel booking site’s airline division. Southwest (LUV) also reported a traffic increase of 5% during the third quarter, Alukos says. “It shows consumer demand is there at the right price,” he says. Here’s how to navigate five potential pitfalls of booking holiday travel:
Problem: Wavering fares
You still have some time to look for the best possible price. There’s upheaval in the market as airlines balance reducing their seat capacity with luring in enough potential travelers to fill planes, Seaney says. If you’re not thrilled with current prices, check back several times a day over the next few weeks. But don’t wait later than the end of October for Thanksgiving tickets; or mid-November for the winter holidays. Prices are likely to rise precipitously a month out as the remaining cheap seats sell out swiftly, he says.
Problem: High-traffic surcharges
In recent weeks, AirTran (AAI), American (AMR), Continental (CAL), Delta (DAL), Northwest, United (UAUA) and US Airways (LCC) instituted a $10 surcharge on high-traffic days throughout the year – including Nov. 29 and 30, Dec. 19, 26 and 27, and Jan. 2 and 3. It’s a way for airlines to pad profits on what are already profitable days, says George Hobica, the founder of AirfareWatchdog.com, a fare sale tracking site. The surcharge may annoy consumers, but “it’s peanuts compared with the real cost of traveling those days,” he says. (The fee is built into fares, so people who bought their tickets before the fees began showing up in mid-October won’t be charged.) Avoiding these fees comes down to flying on an airline that doesn’t charge them, such as Southwest, or avoiding high-traffic days altogether. Hobica recommends trying flexible-date searches on Orbitz (OWW) and Priceline, which let users compare prices across several airlines and date combinations.
Problem: Reduced seat capacity
To cope with reduced consumer demand, airlines have scaled back flights and switched to smaller planes so that every flight is as full as possible, Koehler says. That’s true in cities across the country. Compared with last year, airlines have 23% fewer seats flying through Cincinnati on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, according to FareCompare.com. Hartford, Conn., lost 15%, while Tampa lost 12%. A few hubs have gained seats: Milwaukee will gain 29%, and Anchorage is up 6%. For consumers, reduced seat capacity can lead to problems if a flight is delayed or cancelled: There are likely to be fewer (if any) open seats on comparable flights. Try to avoid connecting through a hub where capacity has been reduced (see FareCompare’s chart here) or where flights are infrequent. Flying direct? Reduced seat capacity is one more reason to book now.
Problem: Flight delays
“Thanksgiving is at the cusp of bad-weather possibilities,” Seaney says. Book the first flight out, which is more likely to originate at that airport. Later flights are more likely to originate elsewhere, making them more susceptible to delays or cancellations because of weather across the nation.
Problem: Rescheduled flights
As airlines tweak their flight schedules, customers may receive at least one email between booking and takeoff notifying them of a time or route change, Hobica says. It’s also possible for a nonstop flight to morph into one with a layover. If that happens and the flight is no longer convenient, get on the phone with airline customer service, he says. The agent may be able to switch your schedule without the usual change fee. 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 | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm SmartMoney's 2009 Power 30: The List (Magazine Cover)
The 2009 SmartMoney Power 30 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 | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm SmartMoney's 2009 Power 30: Real Estate (Magazine Cover)
Rich Barton
Barton's Zillow.com Web site rattled real estate brokers when it launched in 2006 with automated home-price estimates. Now it has a mortgage-shopping service that lets consumers evaluate the true cost of loans, as well as iPhone apps that make it easier to shop for homes on the go. Barton rendered travel agents nearly obsolete with his last company, Expedia, and the powers-that-be in real estate fear he could be doing the same to them.
Shaun Donovan
Donovan summoned the heads of the nation's largest mortgage service firms to Washington this summer to deliver a stern message: Get with the program. A former commissioner of New York City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Donovan desperately needs the companies to pick up the pace on mortgage modifications and prevent foreclosures-just one task he's juggling in the quest for a sustained housing recovery. At 43, the youngest Cabinet member also must monitor the glut of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration-now 23 percent of all mortgages, up from about 3 percent just three years ago-and the bill taxpayers will get if those loans go bad. As if that weren't enough, he'll have a big say in what to do with government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whether to extend the first-time-homebuyer tax credit and when to retreat from government intervention in the housing market. While some wonder if Donovan has helped build yet another house of cards, he argues that recent positive reports indicate his philosophy of "targeted support" for the private sector is working. "We've pulled back from the precipice," he says. Millions of homeowners hope he's right.
Richard Dugas
When housing news was at its most dismal this past spring, Dugas snatched up rival Centex Corp. to create a home-building behemoth. Time will tell if the move put the company at the head of its class or merely the top of a trash heap. The acquisition gives Pulte an inventory of lower-priced homes-the sector's strongest category of late-as well as a foothold in relatively stable markets in Texas and the Carolinas. It now offers a brand for every buyer: Centex for first-timers, Pulte for the well-to-do and Del Webb for seniors. The company is expected to complete 40 percent more homes than its nearest competitor this year, but prices and margins are being squeezed as the company competes with foreclosures. Raymond James analyst Buck Horne expects it will be 2011 at the earliest before Pulte is profitable again. Dugas, known as a big-picture guy, "will have to shift his focus to blocking and tackling," Horne says. Dugas, 44, admits as much and vows that he has learned from the mistakes of recent years. "We will be more disciplined," he says. "Home building led us into this [recession]. It will lead us out of it."
Michael Fascitelli
Talk about a baptism by fire. The son of a tailor (and first in his family to attend college,) Fascitelli, 53, took over the corner office from industry titan Steven Roth in May-just as the recession's full impact was being felt in commercial real estate. As the longtime No. 2, Fascitelli became known for his prolific deal making in recent years and transformed Vornado from a modest shopping-mall owner into a massive collector of office and retail properties. "They have bets all over the table," says Michael Knott, an analyst with Green Street Advisors. The REIT remains well leveraged, but Fascitelli says he is already eyeing the bargain bin. His biggest test may be managing Vornado's sizable portfolio in the struggling Manhattan office market, but he insists there will be few vacancies. "The better landlords always do better in environments like this," he says. The SmartMoney 2009 Power 30 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 | 18 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm Horizon rejects Marlborough bidMarlborough Lines' bid for 51 per cent of Horizon Energy has been rejected by Horizon's majority shareholder.The Eastern Bay Energy Trust, which owns 77.3 per cent of Horizon, announced its decision to reject the offer today.Marlborough...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pm Kathmandu to open 18 new stores in NZKathmandu, the outdoor lifestyle retailer based in Christchurch, has signalled 18 further store openings in New Zealand as it launched a sale of shares today from Australia.The 200 million shares being sold will be listed in Australia...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Oct 2009 | 8:30 pm Pakistan and Taliban clash in WaziristanThousands of Pakistani soldiers are locked in heavy fighting with Taliban militants in the lawless area of south Waziristan, in a campaign widely seen as a test of the military's ability to tackle the growing violent extremism inside the countrySource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Oct 2009 | 8:00 pm New CFO for Contact EnergyContact Energy's new chief financial officer is Mark Elliott.He is an Auckland University graduate who has worked extensively in the electricity and gas markets in both this country and internationally for companies such as Shell...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm CME in informal talks to take over CBOE: reportCHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - CME Group Inc , the world's largest derivatives exchange, is in talks to take over the Chicago Board Options Exchange in a deal that would value the largest U.S. options market at up to $5 billion, according to Crain's Chicago Business.Source: Reuters: Business News | 18 Oct 2009 | 6:48 pm The “VW-shaped” RecoveryThe UK, home of John Maynard Keynes, has added a new term to the lexicon of descriptions of possible recovery patterns that could end the current global recession. It is the”VW-shaped” recession, and, unlike the German car company, it is as vicious, lengthy, and brutal as any recovery could be. And, UK economists make a [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 18 Oct 2009 | 6:19 pm Rolls-Royce engine takes next step towards take-offThe United States Air Force (USAF) has approved Rolls-Royce to move to the next phase in developing a jet engine capable of high performance but with low operating costs. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 18 Oct 2009 | 6:01 pm Heathrow counts cost of disappearing business passengersThe number of business passengers using Heathrow, the world’s busiest international airport, fell by 5 per cent last year, according to the annual survey of passengers by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The numbers dropped by 1.2 million to 22.8 million, just over a third of the total number of all passengers. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 18 Oct 2009 | 6:01 pm BBC is propping up standards in broadcasting, says Chris EvansChris Evans has proclaimed himself “defender of the faith” of quality broadcasting in the face of falling standards in the commercial sector. Three months before he takes over Terry Wogan’s breakfast show, the most coveted slot on BBC Radio, the former Virgin Radio owner revealed himself as a born-again advocate of the BBC. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 18 Oct 2009 | 6:01 pm The Criticism Of Wall St. Bonuses Continues…..Senior members of the Administration were out in force on the Sunday TV talk shows to criticize the multi-million bonuses that many Wall St. bankers will get this year. Executives at companies that still owe the government money under the TARP program will have their compensation restricted by the Treasury. The rest of the largest banks [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 18 Oct 2009 | 5:50 pm Citigroup might lose Mexican subsidiaryMexico’s Supreme Court is this week set to probe a case that could potentially force Citigroup, the troubled US bank, to sell its profitable and highly prized Mexican subsidiarySource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Oct 2009 | 5:42 pm Service sector looking upThe first month of spring sees several bright signs for the service sector, according to the BNZ Capital - Business NZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).The PSI for September stood at 53.2, which was 1.9 points up from August....Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm Nigeria offers ‘revolutionary’ delta dealNigeria plans to transfer 10 per cent of all its oil and gas ventures to the inhabitants of the oil-producing Niger Delta, in an attempt to end a rebellion that has hampered production in sub-Saharan Africa’s leading energy supplierSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Oct 2009 | 4:37 pm Shares edge lower earlyThe New Zealand sharemarket slipped in early trading, following disappointing corporate results from the United States at the end of last week.Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was down 1.9 points to 3205.31, having gained...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Oct 2009 | 4:35 pm Barclays chief warns on regulationThe chairman of Barclays says Britain’s banks will be damaged if regulators are too rigorous in their implementation of a global crackdown on bonuses and capital requirements while other nations, such as the US, are laxSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Oct 2009 | 4:14 pm AMP alters interest ratesAMP has this morning cut its variable mortgage rate, but raised all of its fixed rates, barring the six month rate. AMP cut its standard floating mortgage rate by 16 basis points (bps) to 6.29 per cent. It raised all its one-five...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Oct 2009 | 4:10 pm RBC poised to spend C$1bn on buy-backsRoyal Bank of Canada has signalled that it could spend more than C$1bn ($965m) of its bulging capital on share buy-backs, underlining the contrasting financial health of Canada’s banks and many of their US and European counterpartsSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Oct 2009 | 3:54 pm Sri Lanka claims Rajaratnam gave Tamil Tigers ‘millions’Raj Rajaratnam, the New York-based billionaire and hedge fund manager charged in an alleged insider trading scheme, was funding the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, considered a terrorist group by the US, the Sri Lankan government claimedSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Oct 2009 | 3:39 pm Centrists in US Senate to play key role in health reformThe Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill faces a battle to persuade a pivotal group of centrist senators to vote for health reform, according to the senator for NebraskaSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Oct 2009 | 3:34 pm Investors waiting for more clues about consumers (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 18 Oct 2009 | 3:01 pm Britain risks sterling crisis if public finances are not controlled warns CBIBritain runs the risk of driving foreign investors away and triggering a sterling crisis if the public finances are not brought under control by 201516 the CBI has warned.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Oct 2009 | 2:57 pm National Express admits £1.6bn Stagecoach offer but looks to push on with £400m rights issueNational Express confirms 'highly preliminary' all share offer but wants to push ahead with a £400m rights issue to maintain its independence.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Oct 2009 | 2:55 pm Government's tax raid would 'undermine banking sector and push jobs offshore'The Government will push jobs offshore and damage investor confidence if it embarks upon a new tax raid on UK banks the industry warns.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Oct 2009 | 2:48 pm 50 Best Places to Launch a BusinessGrowing economies, affordable workers, few foreclosures -- these 50 metro areas have all the features entrepreneurs need to thrive.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 18 Oct 2009 | 2:43 pm Habitat owners call in Lazard to look for a buyerSwedish owners are testing the market to see whether they can find a buyer for the onetime trendy furniture store amid rising losses.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Oct 2009 | 2:38 pm Is Channel 4's 'catchup' TV deal with YouTube a new watershed?Last week Channel 4 became the first broadcaster in the world to make its "catchup" schedule available on YouTube free of charge.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Oct 2009 | 2:28 pm Schwarzman sees big returns in roller coastersNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stephen Schwarzman is rapidly becoming the king of the thrill ride.Source: Reuters: Business News | 18 Oct 2009 | 2:02 pm Heron International's chief executive Gerald Ronson cuts own pay from £12.9m to £1.7mProperty entrepreneur slashes his pay package and dividend at Heron International following the collapse in the commercial property market.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Oct 2009 | 2:01 pm Karzai pressed to accept compromiseAfghan president Hamid Karzai faces growing international pressure to accept some form of compromise with Abdullah Abdullah, his main challenger, to defuse the country’s growing election crisisSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Oct 2009 | 1:55 pm Recession over but British economy will 'bump along the bottom' for 18 monthsThe recession is now over but Britain's economy will manage little more than to "bump along the bottom" for the next 18 months according to one of the country's leading forecasters.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Oct 2009 | 1:54 pm US volatility index hits 13month lowA US volatility index hit its lowest level in 13 months last week as investors grow more positive about US corporate earnings.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Oct 2009 | 1:51 pm Liverpool Victoria and Royal Liver in talks to create £10bn groupThe socalled 'Liver birds' are finally talking about tying the knot.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Oct 2009 | 1:34 pm Russia looks to raise $18bnRussia is to launch its first international bond in a decade to bolster its public finances and take advantage of the surge in demand for emerging market debtSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Oct 2009 | 1:23 pm The Most Insane Apple (AAPL) App Of All TimeApple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) App store offers an extraordinarily large number of downloads–more than 85,000. The store has downloaded more than two billion piece of software. Developers are constantly creating new application in the hope of offering free services that may bring them fame or marketing opportunities for paid products. Other applications cost iPhone and iPod customers money, but only a [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 18 Oct 2009 | 6:03 am
|
