|
|
|
|
UK retail sales suffer sharp fallUK retail sales slump by 1.8% between December and January, the sharpest drop in 18 months, according to official figures.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Feb 2010 | 3:15 am After a layoff, become a consultant?Dear Annie: After my former employer laid me off last year, they offered me a chance to come back as a consultant to run some special projects. I took them up on it, thinking the work would at least tide me over while I looked for a new job. I found I really like being an independent consultant, and I'd like to try doing it as a permanent career.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Feb 2010 | 3:14 am Toyota president agrees to testify before Congress (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 3:11 am Fed move sends Asian markets downAsian stock markets fall after the US Federal Reserve surprised investors by increasing interest rates for emergency bank loans.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Feb 2010 | 3:10 am The New Deficit Panel Begins A Journey To NowhereThe President has appointed an 18-member blue ribbon panel to analyze the issues of how the US budget deficit can be reduced. The panel is then to make recommendations meant to bring the deficit down to 3% of GDP. That figure will be 10.6% in the current government fiscal year according to budget projections. Erskine [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Feb 2010 | 3:10 am The resume black holeEver applied to a job online only to have your résumé seemingly vanish into a void?Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Feb 2010 | 3:08 am Google's zoning appeal: Room to grow, pleaseGoogle has asked the city of Mountain View to change its zoning laws so that homes and stores can be built near its headquarters.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Feb 2010 | 3:08 am Stocks poised to dropU.S. stock futures tumbled early Friday, as the Federal Reserve's decision to raise its emergency funding rate triggered worries about tighter credit.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Feb 2010 | 3:07 am Britain's deficit third worst in the world, tableBritain has one of the worst deficits as a percentage of GDP in the world, according to OECD figures. Only Iceland and Greece have higher deficits and experts fear it could overtake Greece. Here is a table of how the UK compares with other nations.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am Schlumberger on verge of Smith takeoverWorld’s largest oil services group close to an agreed takeover of the US company in a deal that could be worth about $9bnSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:58 am Toyota head prepares for Congress grilling on recalls (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:58 am Toyota head prepares for Congress grilling on recallsTOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of Toyota Motor Corp bowed to pressure to testify before U.S. lawmakers and explain the company's safety crisis, becoming the highest profile Japanese executive to face such a grilling from Congress.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:58 am London Markets: Miners fall in London, Anglo American profit dropsAnglo American shares fall in the top British share index on Friday, after the miner reports a sharp fall in fiscal-year profit and gives a mixed outlook.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:52 am Fed rate rise sparks fresh slide in sterlingSterling extended losses against the dollar this morning, as the US currency continued to thrust higher after the Federal Reserve raised a key interest rate. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:46 am Backing for spending cuts delayMore than 60 economists sign two open letters backing the chancellor's decision to delay spending cuts until 2011.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:45 am Fed rate rise boosts dollarThe decision by the Federal Reserve to increase the discount rate by 25 basis points jolted investors who removed risk from markets and sent the US currency to a nine-month high against the euroSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:32 am Europe Markets: Europe stocks in the red in wake of Fed hikeMADRID (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets were showing red ink on Friday, as markets got a first chance to react to a surprise rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, with banks and financial services stocks showing the strain and resource stocks sharply lower, not helped by weak results from Anglo American.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:22 am Stock futures signal weaker Wall St after Fed (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:19 am Stock futures signal weaker Wall St after Fed(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell, pointing to a weaker start for Wall Street on Friday after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised an emergency lending rate it charges banks.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:19 am Anger at Corus plant mothballingWorkers at Corus on Teesside accuse the government of not doing enough to save the plant, which is being partially mothballed.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:18 am Nestle profits dampened by falling mineral water salesNestle, the world’s biggest food company, posted a 42 per cent drop in net profits for 2009, as sales of bottled water fell, but increased its dividend in anticipation of higher growth this year. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:12 am Nestle nets $9.6 billion, forecasts 2010 growthThe Swiss food giant beats market expectations as it also announces plans to lift its dividend and buy back more shares.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:09 am Euro falls below 9-month lows at $1.3493 (AP)AP - The euro has fallen below nine-month lows against the dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve started unwinding some of its cheap liquidity measures for banks and as concerns about Greece's budget linger.Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:06 am Nestle makes $9.55 billion full-year profit (AP)AP - Swiss food and drinks company Nestle SA reported a full-year net profit of 10.4 billion Swiss francs ($9.55 billion) Friday, a significant drop from the 18 billion francs it earned the previous year, when it benefited from the sale of part of its stake in eye care company Alcon.Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 2:03 am Carrefour net profit drops 74% after chargesFrench supermarket giant Carrefour is hit by restructuring and impairment charges and says 2010 is likely to remain challenging.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:57 am Berkshire's big day: $24 billion in tradingWarren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway got a rousing introduction to the S&P 500 this month -- though it wasn't quite the most lavish ever.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:56 am Fed raises emergency funding rateThe Federal Reserve raised the rate it charges banks that borrow from the central bank when they run short of funds.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:55 am Media Digest 2/19/2010 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, BloombergReuters: The Fed will try to calm the markets after it raised the discount rate to .75%. Reuters: The head of Toyota (TM) will go to Congress to testify. Reuters: The Fed’s action helped the dollar but hurt commodities. Reuters: Major US retailers are in a fight for market share as Macy’s (M), JC Penney (JCP), and Saks [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:54 am World stocks drop as Fed hikes emergency loan rate (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:48 am World stocks drop as Fed hikes emergency loan rate (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:48 am Toyota president battles crisis in family company (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:47 am Dell shares drop on lower earningsDell reported a 5% drop in fourth-quarter earnings Thursday, but the computer maker beat Wall Street's expectations on solid sales across all its segments as businesses started spending on IT again.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:47 am Pound slides further on surprise Fed rate cutSterling hit a nine-month low against the dollar on Friday as the US currency continued to gain broadly after the Federal Reserve raised its discount rate.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:42 am Metals Stocks: Gold futures drop as much as $19 on GlobexGold futures sink during Asian trading hours, as strength in the U.S. dollar helps push prices for the precious metal down by as much as $19 an ounce.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:28 am Asia Markets And Europe Open (2/19/2010)Markets in Asia fell. Shanghai was closed for a holiday. The Nikkei fell 2.1% to 10,124. The Hang Seng was down 2.6% to 19,894. At the open in Europe, the FTSE fell .6% to 5,293. The DAX was off .8% to 5,633. The CAC 40 fell .9%. Data from Reuters and MarketWatch. Douglas A. McIntyre Filed under: International Markets [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:27 am Anglo American profits dented by falling metal pricesAnglo American, the London-listed miner, reported a 53pc fall in pre-tax profits to $4.03bn (£2.58bn) as the global downturn pushed metal prices down sharply.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:22 am Rentokil cancels payout despite soaring profitsRentokil Initial, the pest control and parcel delivery group, cancelled its dividend for 2009, even though it recorded a rise in profits of more than 50 per cent for the year. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:15 am Paulson 'regrets blaming Britain' over Lehman crisisHenry “Hank” Paulson, the former US Treasury Secretary, has admitted that he was wrong to accuse Britain of ruining the rescue of Lehman Brothers. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:14 am UPDATE 2-Carrefour to enter India, in talks with partners* To start India operations with cash-and-carry activitiesSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:09 am Anglo American full-year profit down 54 pct (AP)AP - Mining company Anglo American PLC on Friday reported that full-year profits fell 54 percent as the global economic downturn hit sales of coal, iron ore and other metals.Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:06 am Anglo American full-year profit down 54 pctMining company Anglo American PLC on Friday reported that full-year profits fell 54 percent as the global economic downturn hit sales of coal, iron ore and other metals. Net profit for...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:06 am Residents fight to clean up Calif. chicken wasteAt the end of a remote road lined by houses, children play in yards just a short distance from a stagnant, 16.5-acre lagoon filled with the waste sludge of a factory egg farm. Flies...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:05 am Carrefour profits see sharp dropProfits at Carrefour, the world's second-biggest retailer after Wal-Mart, fall 70%, hurt by asset writedowns in Italy and price-cutting.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:05 am Toyota president to testify before CongressAfter indicating at first he would not appear, Akio Toyoda gets a personal invitation from the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and agrees to testify next week.The head of Toyota Motor Corp. skirted a transpacific row Thursday by agreeing to testify before a congressional committee probing a series of massive recalls by the Japanese automaker.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Ex-owner of SK Foods indicted in tomato scandalFrederick Scott Salyer faces charges including racketeering and wire fraud. He's accused of leading a conspiracy to bribe customers' employees to sell his California firm's tomato products.A federal grand jury has indicted former SK Foods owner Frederick Scott Salyer on racketeering and six other counts of corruption for allegedly directing a decade-long scheme to quash competition and sell tomato products at inflated prices -- a practice that led to consumers paying more at the grocery store.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Court convicts 12 in Pinot Noir fraud schemeTOULOUSE, France -- Worse than a faux pas, that embarrassing slip of the tongue, this was a case of faux Pinot involving French wine traders and local vintners that duped the California wine-making empire...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Ex-owner of SK Foods indicted in tomato scandalFrederick Scott Salyer faces charges including racketeering and wire fraud. He's accused of leading a conspiracy to bribe customers' employees to sell his California firm's tomato products. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages edge down to 4.93%This week's average reported by Freddie Mac is 0.04 percentage point lower than last week. The average on 15-year fixed loans also fell, to 4.33% from 4.34%. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Fed bumps up rate banks pay for emergency loansWASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve decided Thursday to boost the rate banks pay for emergency loans. The action is part of a broader move to pull back the extraordinary aid it provided to fight the worst...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Wal-Mart posts strong quarterly profit but issues a cautionary noteFourth-quarter profit rose 22% over the year-earlier quarter, but same-store sales fell 1.6%, a sign of consumer strain. In the U.S., the retail giant expects a challenging start to the year.Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Thursday reported a 22% increase in profit for the fourth quarter but said an important measure of sales fell and cautioned that it expected a challenging start to the year for its U.S. business.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Jeffrey Gundlach's ex-clients at TCW face choiceBig investors in two bond funds are to decide Friday whether they'll be loyal to the ousted fund manager, TCW or neither. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Jeffrey Gundlach's ex-clients at TCW face choiceBig investors in two bond funds are to decide Friday whether they'll be loyal to the ousted fund manager, TCW or neither.In the all-out war between L.A. money manager TCW Group Inc. and its former chief investment officer, Jeffrey Gundlach, one battle will be decided Friday.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Ticketmaster accused of selling 'phantom' Springsteen ticketsThe ticket broker sold concert tickets that it didn't have in hand, the Federal Trade Commission says. The company, now part of Live Nation, has agreed to stop the practice. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Ticketmaster accused of selling 'phantom' Springsteen ticketsThe ticket broker sold concert tickets that it didn't have in hand, the Federal Trade Commission says. The company, now part of Live Nation, has agreed to stop the practice.Bruce Springsteen fans who bought seats for a hugely popular "Working on a Dream" concert last year were sold "phantom tickets" that Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s Ticketmaster unit didn't have in hand, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Cruise offer gets beachedA free Caribbean cruise -- and all you have to do is participate in a brief phone and online survey.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Wal-Mart posts strong quarterly profit but issues a cautionary noteFourth-quarter profit rose 22% over the year-earlier quarter, but same-store sales fell 1.6%, a sign of consumer strain. In the U.S., the retail giant expects a challenging start to the year. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Young, educated and jobless in ChinaWith millions graduating from college each year and few jobs awaiting them, the country's central planners worry that a mass social experiment that created a class of professionals is backfiring. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am 'Shutter Island' is expected to have a strong openingPre-release surveys show the Martin Scorsese thriller selling $35 million to $40 million in tickets its first weekend. That would be a rare feat for an R-rated drama.Paramount Pictures looks to have something on its hands this weekend that has become a rare commodity in Hollywood: a hit R-rated drama.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am 'Shutter Island' is expected to have a strong openingPre-release surveys show the Martin Scorsese thriller selling $35 million to $40 million in tickets its first weekend. That would be a rare feat for an R-rated drama. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Index of leading economic indicators rises slightlyImproving financial markets, a steadier manufacturing sector, an increase in housing permits and stronger consumer expectations spurred the index to its 10th straight increase. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Anglo American sees profits halveMining giant Anglo American sees its annual net profit more than halve to $2.43bn (£1.57bn) after metal prices fell sharply.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:52 am Anglo American says net profit halves in 2009Global mining giant Anglo American on Friday said that its net profit more than halved to 2.425 billion dollars (1.8 billion euros) in 2009 as last year's economic downturn slashed the...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:52 am UPDATE 1-Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digestBANGALORE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories were reported by media on Friday:Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:52 am UPDATE 1-Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digestBANGALORE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories were reported by media on Friday:Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:52 am Nestle sees higher growth 2010 after FY beats pollVEVEY, Switzerland (Reuters) - Nestle , the world's biggest food group, is aiming for higher underlying sales growth in 2010 after a robust performance in Asia and the Americas helped it beat forecasts for 2009.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:51 am Nestle posts big drop in annual net profitThe world's biggest food company Nestle on Friday posted a 42 percent drop in annual net profit in 2009 to 10.4 billion Swiss francs, largely in line with analysts' expectations. The netSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:44 am Toyota head to face US Congress over safety crisisThe head of embattled Toyota has bowed to calls to testify in US Congress as lawmakers demand a whistleblower lawyer hand over potentially damning internal company documents on alleged...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:44 am Anglo American shuns dividend as profits halveAnglo American, the mining giant, unveiled a halving of profits this morning on the back of plunging metals prices and disappointed investors by failing to reinstate a dividend. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:42 am Carrefour 2009 net profit down 74 percent (AP)AP - French retailer Carrefour SA said Friday that net profit last year fell 74 percent, impacted by euro1 billion ($1.34 billion) in restructuring charges linked to shuttering stores in Italy and turning around its stalling French operations.Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:40 am Carrefour 2009 net profit down 74 percentFrench retailer Carrefour SA said Friday that net profit last year fell 74 percent, impacted by euro1 billion ($1.34 billion) in restructuring charges linked to shuttering stores in Italy...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:40 am Economists warn deep spending cuts would be 'dangerous'Fears over Britain's economic stability after official figures showed that the Government borrowed £4.3 billion last month.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:31 am Nestle forecasts growth in 2010Nestle reports a net profit of 10.4bn Swiss francs ($9.5bn; £6.2bn) and says it expects to achieve higher growth this year.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:29 am Dell profits slide as revenues climb on notebook computer salesDell on Thursday reported a 5pc fall in its fourth-quarter profits despite revenues climbing to $14.9bn (£9.4bn).Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:25 am Oz markets: Shares dragged downThe Australian share market finished lower amid profit-taking and a fall on Asian bourses, dragged down after a surprise interest rate increase by the US central bank.Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 19.8 points,...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:16 am Fed action boosts dollar, hurts commodities, stocks (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:11 am NZ markets : Slight rise on big dayThe New Zealand sharemarket ended little changed today but there was plenty going on with investors reacting to corporate earnings, United States policy changes and a controversy over NZX50 index inclusion.The benchmark NZX50...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:11 am UPDATE 1-Natixis in talks to sell private equity ops to AxaPARIS, Feb 19 (Reuters) - French investment bank Natixis , recovering from a series of quarterly losses that provoked funding worries, on Friday said it was in talks with AXA to sell its private equity...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:10 am Fed seeks to calm markets after discount rate riseWASHINGTON/MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve officials moved to calm speculation that a surprise rise in its emergency lending rate could bring forward broader policy tightening, saying borrowing costs in the economy would stay low.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Feb 2010 | 12:02 am Air India bailout plan approvedIndia's government approves the first phase of a massive financial aid package for ailing national carrier Air India.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:54 pm Asian stock markets drop on surprise Fed rate riseAsian stock markets fell on Friday after the US central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates for emergency bank loans, triggering investor fears that growth could slow in the world's largest economy.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:44 pm Asia Markets: Elections hold key to Philippine stock prospectsAs the Philippines prepares for presidential elections in May, some analysts fear political uncertainty will add to existing worries over the country’s high fiscal deficit, not to mention the impact of a dry spell on agriculture and a power shortage.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:13 pm Fed to lift discount rate as 'exit' beginsThe Federal Reserve announced it would raise the discount rate at which commercial banks borrow from the central bank as part of moves to withdraw emergency support to the financial system.Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Feb 2010 | 10:34 pm U.S. department stores in fight for market shareNEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. department stores are by and large set to report far better earnings in the coming week than they did a year ago in the thick of retail meltdown.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 18 Feb 2010 | 10:26 pm Mark Hulbert: Parsing reaction to Fed's surprise moveIn the looking-glass world known as Wall Street, there may actually be a silver lining to stock index futures’ drop in the immediate wake of Thursday night’s surprise discount-rate hike.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 18 Feb 2010 | 10:06 pm Jon Friedman's Media Web: NY Times learns yet another lessonThe New York Times got another wake-up call when one of its journalists resigned this week in the wake of a plagiarism debacle, writes Jon Friedman.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 18 Feb 2010 | 10:01 pm Outside the Box: Change in law helped REIT's cash positionRegardless whether other bidders emerge for General Growth Properties Inc., there's a good chance the Internal Revenue Service will have played a substantial role in making any takeover possible.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 18 Feb 2010 | 10:01 pm FundWatch: Top value-stock investor launches own mutual fundsDavid Marcus, who co-managed many of Franklin Resources Inc.’s Mutual Series funds, has launched his own funds, which will use a go-anywhere approach, mixing bonds and stocks and using short-selling strategies when appropriate.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 18 Feb 2010 | 10:01 pm Financial reform bill seen next week in SenateWASHINGTON/PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Efforts to tighten U.S. financial regulation advanced on Thursday, with a new bipartisan bill expected next week from two key senators who were working on it while traveling together in Panama.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 18 Feb 2010 | 9:58 pm China hits at Obama’s Dalai Lama meetingPresident Barack Obama finally met the Dalai Lama in the White House, an event set to test the US-China relationship in an already turbulent yearSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Feb 2010 | 9:10 pm Toyota president Akio Toyoda agrees to face US Congress over recall crisisAkio Toyoda has caved in to mounting political pressure from the United States and agreed to face a congressional hearing into problems that have triggered worldwide recalls of nearly 9 million Toyota cars. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 18 Feb 2010 | 9:05 pm Telecom identifies staff responsible for 'f*** you' textsAn investigation into abusive text messages sent to Telecom mobile customers by one of its call centres has resulted in the suspension of four Philippines-based personnel, the telecommunications company announced today.The inquiry...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 7:55 pm Bank to take prime commercial property in Beverly HillsBritish developers had paid $500 million for the site of the former Robinsons-May on Wilshire Boulevard in 2007. They had planned to develop condominiums and a hotel on the eight-acre parcel.Jet-setting British developers are set to lose their prized real estate on a prime stretch of Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills on Friday as a bank controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim completes a foreclosure.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 7:53 pm Kiwi dollar falls below 70c as Fed signals early exitThe New Zealand dollar fell below 70 US cents after the Federal Reserve hiked the discount rate charged to banks for direct loans, in a sign American regulators are moving toward winding down stimulus measures.The kiwi dropped...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 7:22 pm Toyota chief agrees to testifyAkio Toyoda agreed to appear before a US congressional committee as lawmakers stepped up their scrutiny with a subpoena for documents held by one of its former attorneysSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Feb 2010 | 7:11 pm Federal Reserve raises a key interest rateThe increase in the so-called discount rate, which banks pay for emergency loans from the central bank, was widely expected. The move is the latest sign that the economy is regaining its footing.The Federal Reserve took its most notable step so far toward unwinding some of the extraordinary measures it took to prop up the economy during the financial crisis.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 6:58 pm Young, educated and jobless in ChinaWith millions graduating from college each year and few jobs awaiting them, the country's central planners worry that a mass social experiment that created a class of professionals is backfiring.Six months after graduating from university, Guan Jian was unemployed and living in an 8-by-8-foot rented room on the fringes of this sprawling capital.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 6:56 pm Dollar, Bonds, Gold, Oil, Gas, Solar Energy: Taking StockSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 18 Feb 2010 | 6:44 pm Huljich pulls KiwiSaver statement after Securities Commission probeA probe into how Huljich Wealth Management has been reporting historical investment returns has prompted the KiwiSaver provider to withdraw its current investment statement.The Securities Commission, in a news release, says it...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 6:30 pm Deficit panel can be candid: Budget cuts will hurt (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 18 Feb 2010 | 6:30 pm Dell margins miss Street view, shares fallSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Dell Inc's quarterly gross margin missed Wall Street expectations, hurt by sales of lower-priced personal computers for consumers and a rise in costs for memory chips and other components.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 18 Feb 2010 | 6:02 pm New MySky box drives Sky TV's profits up 19pcSky TV says its latest profit results show that all its spending on new technology is starting to pay off. The results, released today, show net profit in the six months to December 31 increased to $50.8 million, from $42.6 million...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 6:00 pm Questor share tip: Buy Morgan Crucible - focus on cost-cutting has bourn fruitQuestor advised buying into industrial material specialist Morgan Crucible after its interims in August because it looked like the business was stabilising. Yesterday's full-year numbers confirmed that this was the case.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:50 pm Americans doubt their stock-market savvy: survey (Reuters)Reuters - Fewer than two in 10 Americans are confident of their ability to invest in the stock market, although 60 percent still believe equities are important in a portfolio.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:49 pm Americans doubt their stock-market savvy: surveyNEW YORK (Reuters) - Fewer than two in 10 Americans are confident of their ability to invest in the stock market, although 60 percent still believe equities are important in a portfolio.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:49 pm Questor share tip: Buy BAE Systems - it's still on target for growthThere may be some uncertainty next year over defence sales, but global spending in the defence industry is still likely to rise.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:48 pm Former BofA CEO Lewis was briefed on disclosureNEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said he was briefed twice on his company's decision not to disclose rising losses at Merrill Lynch & Co, before the bank's takeover of Merrill was put before shareholders.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:48 pm Toyoda to testify before U.S. lawmakersToyota president Akio Toyoda accepted on Thursday a formal invitation to testify at a hearing to be held next Wednesday.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:38 pm IAEA concerned over Iran nuclear programmeThe United Nations nuclear watchdog said it was worried Iran could be working on “a nuclear payload for a missile”, in its most hard-hitting report on Tehran’s atomic programmeSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:36 pm States short $1 trillion to fund retiree benefitsJust as they are contending with massive gaps in their operating budgets, states and localities must also deal with a $1 trillion deficit in public employees' retirement benefits' funds, a new report found.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:33 pm Microsoft steps up search assault on GoogleSEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's assault on search engine leader Google Inc took a major step forward on Thursday as U.S. and European regulators cleared the software company's search partnership with Yahoo Inc.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:31 pm Turners Auction profits up 200 per centTighter control of inventory and smart buying in Japan pushed vehicle auction company Turners Auctions profits up more than 200 per cent in the year to December 31.Turners reported a net profit after tax of $3.3 million for the...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:30 pm BNP Paribas Raised to `Buy' at RBS: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:26 pm Traxis Partners' Biggs Likes ETFs Over Individual Stocks: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:24 pm Mr. Toyoda Goes To WashingtonAkio Toyoda, the head of Toyota (TM), will go to Washington to testify before the House Oversight Committee. He did not want to visit Congress, but he ended up with little choice. The committee’s chairman Edolphus Towns wrote Mr. Toyoda “There appears to be growing public confusion regarding which vehicles may be affected and how people should respond. In [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:21 pm Genetic engineering needed at financial regulatorMy assertion that we need to extend the gene pool on the board of our chief financial regulator has rattled some observers who believe I should provide more proof.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:19 pm VT Group should open up and prove its worthVT Group's rejection of Babcock's revised offer was hasty.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:16 pm Going bananasHow easy irrigation methods can help India's farmersSource: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:03 pm Sex at workExploitation or a useful way to kick start a career?Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:03 pm Contracts loss forces BAE to restructure armamentsBAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence company, has begun to restructure its once-lauded land and armaments division after losing key armoured vehicle contracts. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:01 pm Local authorities must identify new sources of financingHistorically, infrastructure developments have been financed by central Government and co-ordinated by regional development agencies. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:01 pm Toyota to shut down its UK factory for two weeksToyota is to shut down its UK production plant next month, leaving 3,500 workers idle. The unprecedented halt for two working weeks is a result of a collapse in its car sales amid consumer concerns over the safety of the Japanese company’s vehicles. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:01 pm Entrepreneur shows his cards with £450m floatHamish Ogston has built up a multi-million pound business insuring other people’s plastic. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:01 pm Interactive news, Google tricks at mobile showAfter a week in one of the world's most beautiful cities, Telecom's head of mobile Paul Hamburger is yet to see anything but the inside of windowless meeting rooms.In Barcelona for the annual Mobile World Congress, his day stretches...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:00 pm Millions of blog sites downWordpress.com hosted blogs are all down.Numerous reports throughout the day on Twitter say that the 9.2 million blogs hosted on the popular platform are not working. Popular blogs including TechCrunch and Failblog were still...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 4:58 pm Obama to push for stricter capital levelsThe Obama administration is preparing to push for higher capital requirements for banks as the main thrust of its regulation reform strategy as it seeks to overcome the legislative gridlock in CongressSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Feb 2010 | 4:35 pm Govt deficit better than expected, says EnglishGetting the Government books into shape in the long-term remains a tough challenge despite improvements in the Crown accounts out today, Finance Minister Bill English says.Treasury said for the six months to December 31 tax revenue...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 18 Feb 2010 | 4:30 pm Summary Box: Stocks gain again on manufacturing (AP)AP - WHAT DID THE MARKET LIKE: The Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its index of regional manufacturing rose more than analysts had expected in January.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 18 Feb 2010 | 4:29 pm CA-CANADA Summary (Reuters)Reuters - Christine Nesbitt of Canada mounted a gutsy charge to the finish line to claim gold in the women's 1,000 meters at the Richmond Olympic Oval on Thursday, roared on by a fanatical crowd. Nesbitt, the world champion and World Cup leader, claimed the Olympic title by a scant two-hundredths of a second in one minute 16.56 seconds that met with thunderous cheers when the time was posted.Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 18 Feb 2010 | 4:28 pm Pandora: Making the right movesIn an online world saturated by struggling streaming music services, Internet radio site Pandora appears to be making all the right moves.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 18 Feb 2010 | 4:26 pm How the major stock indexes fared on Thursday (AP)AP - An increase in regional manufacturing pushed the stock market to its third straight advance and offset concerns about lower sales at Wal-Mart.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 18 Feb 2010 | 4:05 pm Write-Offs: 02.18.10$$$ Inside The Crisis At AIG [Fortune] $$$ Ken Lewis Was Briefed Twice on Merrill Losses [WSJ] $$$ Flesh-Eating Vultures Descend on Luxury Condo Building [CNBC] $$$ Jamie Firestone: Russian Police System Is `Corrupt' [Bloomberg] 
 Source: Dealbreaker | 18 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm Stronger manufacturing report lifts stock market (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 18 Feb 2010 | 3:59 pm Boeing looks to overtake Airbus againBoeing boss predicts Seattle should be able to regain supremacy over Airbus within four yearsSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Feb 2010 | 3:57 pm The Rate Hike Cycle BeginsJust yesterday in the FOMC meeting minutes from January, it was becoming painfully clear that the FOMC was getting closer to hiking rates. Most notable was that the discussions had revolved around whether changing the “extended period” and more importantly that the FOMC was considering raising the discount rate. It is unusual to see the FOMC [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 18 Feb 2010 | 3:55 pm MGM Mirage, Wal-Mart, Rite Aid are big movers (AP)AP - Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market:Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 18 Feb 2010 | 3:32 pm TSX rises for seventh session, led by golds (Reuters)Reuters - Toronto's main stock index finished higher for a seventh straight session on Thursday, led by gold mining shares, which got a boost from better than expected results from Barrick Gold.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 18 Feb 2010 | 3:24 pm Summers: China holdings of U.S. debt fluctuate (Reuters)Reuters - Top White House adviser Lawrence Summers on Thursday played down the significance of a decline in China's holdings of U.S. Treasuries.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 18 Feb 2010 | 3:13 pm Darrell Issa Is Not Finished With Tim GeithnerTimmy G's tormentor-in-chief Rep. Darrell Issa will get to the bottom of that whole AIG saga, believe you me. Issa sent yet another letter to Bernanke yesterday, asking him to turn over all Fed documents related to the AIG bailout and its credit-default counterparties. Apparently those 250,000 pages they already turned in don't reveal anything and the document production is "incomplete and not in full compliance with the Committee's subpoena."
Source: Dealbreaker | 18 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm Clown Gets Paid!
Clown, Mandy Dalton, on stilts with magician, Eric Henning, in the red vest and juggler, Rich Potter, in plaid. (Mandy Dalton) Remember Mandy Dalton, the clown who had gotten caught up the one of the largest bankruptcies of all time? (She was owed $200 for a show she did at a mall owned by General Growth Properties, which went bankrupt after being unable to deal with much larger debts of $900,000,000.) Well GGP is in the news again, because its competitor Simon Property Group is trying to buy the company out. I called Mandy to ask how things were going. She says she finally got paid, a $200 check arrived in the mail. "I'm very happy", she says. "They probably said 'Let's just get the clown out of our hair." One person stands to get a lot more than $200 from the bankruptcy. Businessweek is reporting that if the buyout goes through, investor William Ackman could make $170 million. Mandy, by the way, says the clown business has been good recently. She had saved enough for a trip abroad. I talked to her via Skype in Barcelona where she was taking a class at the Nouveau Clowning Institute. BONUS: Here the story of GGP's colossal, and strange demise. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 18 Feb 2010 | 2:37 pm First Solar… First Cheer, Then Dump (FSLR)First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is out with earnings today, and there is nothing great and nothing awful to report in here. For its fourth quarter, revenues were $641.3 million, up from $480.9 million sequentially and up from $433.7 million a year ago. Net income was $1.65 EPS and $141.6 million. That is down sequentially [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 18 Feb 2010 | 2:25 pm Dell Earnings Drop 5%, Shares Drop 3%Earnings for Dell’s (DELL) fiscal fourth quarter which ended January 29 fell 5% to $334 million. EPS dropped 6% to 17%. The company reported that sales rose 11% to $14.9 billion. Dell posted improvements across all of its major units–Large Enterprise, Small and Medium Business, and Consumer. Operating income for the Consumer segment was only $9 [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 18 Feb 2010 | 2:19 pm Microsoft-Yahoo alliance is approvedUS and European antitrust regulators approved an internet search alliance between Microsoft and Yahoo in a decision that backed the view of many big advertisers that the combination would give Google more competitionSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Feb 2010 | 2:08 pm Meredith Whitney Still Bank-Cautious (JPM, BAC, C, BLK)Esteemed banking analyst Meredith Whitney just gave a CNBC interview a year after starting that she was starting Meredith Whitney Advisory Group. She is still very cautious on the banking sector and the prospects for higher earnings, but she did give some specifics on JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 18 Feb 2010 | 1:48 pm Phil And Lisa Falcone Sued For (Allegedly Grabbing) House Manager's Balls
* Homophobic slurs from Phil (William is gay, and claims he was asked about his sexual orientation during his interview) * Being forced to work out of an office that the family's pet pig used to live in * Being told by Lisa that that he wasn't gay enough for her tastes, but, at the same time, having his nuts grabbed, without permission. Lisa Maria, meanwhile, told him his "demeanor did not live up to her idea of what a stereotypical gay man should be, as [he] was not 'effeminate' enough."
Source: Dealbreaker | 18 Feb 2010 | 1:46 pm Spotted: Ruth MadoffRuth Madoff is at the social security office in Rockland County, circa now, and not looking that bad, all things considered.
Source: Dealbreaker | 18 Feb 2010 | 1:07 pm RBS Will Not Be Made To Feel Guilty About Its Huge, Gleaming Trading Floor, On-Site Massages
Like A.I.G., the British bank has been the target of many attacks by unhappy taxpayers, including protests during the Group of 20 summit meeting in London in April 2009 and a snowball barrage on some of its workers in London two months earlier that became popular images on the Internet. Last month, the British singer Billy Bragg rallied a crowd in Hyde Park in London to demand that R.B.S halt bonus payments. Did the company ever consider "canceling the move in light of the bank's problems," the Times would like to know? Fuck no they didn't, and let me tell you why. Reason number one: the cash bonuses they didn't pay their employees for the past several years mostly made up for the costs associated with building this place. You know this is true because members of the staff were in such financial straits that they had to steal money from the firm. Reason number two: it's not like they didn't try to be sensitive to what people might think, which is why that sports bar? Was re-branded a "coffee bar." And reason number three: it makes everyone feel really good about themselves.
Source: Dealbreaker | 18 Feb 2010 | 12:47 pm Gov't rethinks role of Fannie, FreddieFannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator is proposing to limit their exposure to subprime mortgages. Brett Neely reports.Source: Marketplace | 18 Feb 2010 | 12:23 pm Presented By:Source: Dealbreaker | 18 Feb 2010 | 12:01 pm Day One: Do It Across State Lines
Source: Dealbreaker | 18 Feb 2010 | 12:01 pm UN climate change chief quitsDeparture of de Boer throws into doubt the precarious process of forging a fresh global treatySource: Financial Times - US homepage | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:57 am Fat Sections on Planes?By Daniel Costello More responses to the controversy involving director Kevin Smith and Southwest airlines this week keep coming. The airline reportedly asked the plus-sized writer-director behind comedies including "Clerks," "Dogma" and 2008's "Zack & Miri Make a Porno" to take another flight at Oakland International Airport on Saturday, allegedly because the captain deemed Smith's obesity a "safety risk" to other passengers. In response, Los Angeles Times business writer David Lazarus is suggesting airlines create sections for its heavist passengers so others aren't inconvenienced by their size. The idea seems absurd to me. What do you all think? » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:29 am Unions fight for school controlThe city of Los Angeles plans on turning 36 schools over to outside groups like charters and nonprofits. But many of those groups don't want to work with teachers unions, which means thousands of jobs and bargaining power could be at stake. Jennifer Collins reports.Source: Marketplace | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:25 am The big money behind college sportsMark Yost, author of "Varsity Green," talks with Kai Ryssdal about some of the corruption that occurs in college sports.Source: Marketplace | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:25 am Farmers look for ways to be efficientMidwest farmers are rattled that rains and cold temperatures will throw planting out of whack. But the crummy weather has been good for some farm equipment manufacturers. Jay Field reports.Source: Marketplace | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:25 am Man gives company to his employeesBob Moore, owner of Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods, talks with Kai Ryssdal about why he gave his employees a big gift: his company via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.Source: Marketplace | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:25 am Sears plans to franchise auto centersSears has been working on ways to extend its most popular brands outside its stores. It plans to market Die Hard batteries through other retailers and will franchise its Sears Auto Centers. Bob Moon reports.Source: Marketplace | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:25 am Why Medicare costs are so highA new study published in the Journal of Health Affairs takes a look at what is pushing Medicare costs through the roof. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.Source: Marketplace | 18 Feb 2010 | 11:24 am Ping (Jiang) Capital Down 4.96 Percent For January, Ping Jiang Interested In Meeting With *You* Today
From: [redacted]
Source: Dealbreaker | 18 Feb 2010 | 10:45 am Soothing the Tax Headache: An Interview With Outright.com
Welcome to tax season. If you’re a small business owner, those words might induce a shudder. For many of us, tax season means scrambling to itemize, catching up on stray expenses, and rushing to send contractors and employees the right forms at the right time. Unless you’re a CPA or other tax expert, tax season can be one prolonged headache. The people behind Outright want to help. They founded the online bookkeeping software after watching small business owners flail during tax season. Rather than spending hours compiling tax data, why not live your life? That’s what Outright aims to help you do. The bookkeeping software is free, Web-based, and intuitive enough to ease the aches out of tax work. Outright also recently launched Right Taxes Now, a blog devoted to helping those in the business community make positive changes both their own tax understanding and government tax legislation. We talked to Kevin Reeth, Outright’s CEO, and Marketing VP Paul O’Brien to get their take on small business, taxes, and what needs to happen at the places where they intersect. BP: What are some of the biggest mistakes small business owners make when doing their taxes? One, not paying taxes because they don’t think it’s a lot of money or because they have other bills. Or they wait until the end of the year, instead of paying estimated taxes throughout the year. Another is to allow themselves to get disorganized, which causes them to miss important deductions or critical tax deadlines. And of course, there’s the fear of claiming the home office deduction – even though more than half of all small businesses are home-based, the majority don’t claim the home office deduction. BP: What’s the biggest point of pain that Outright removes for those people? Outright help get entrepreneurs get organized, automating a lot of their recordkeeping and reminding them to pay estimated taxes on time. RightTaxesNow.com is a community web site that’s been created to highlight the tax-related issues that cause really small businesses the most trouble, and to rally people in an effort to influence legislation that could simplify taxes and make entrepreneurship easier. If we really want small business the step up, create jobs, and help get this economy back on track, we’d be well served to make it easier to be in business. The real impact on small business owners is just the amount of changes in tax laws and, maybe even worse, the unknown, of what Washington may do next with tax rates. Very few of the 2009 tax law changes had any broad impact either positive or negative on small businesses, but there has been so press about law changes, most of which impact individuals that business owners are concerned they can’t keep up. One positive law change has been the ability to carry back operating losses, to still take advantage of them; it seems though, the majority of small business owners are doing well enough this change has little benefit to anyone. BP: If you had one sentence of advice to give small business owners this year regarding their taxes, what would it be? Actually, it would be to get organized so they spend as little time dealing with taxes, and as much time as possible earning a living. If you can’t tell from the direction we’re heading, we’re fed up with the support self employed professionals get from the government, and even big businesses like the credit markets and banks. Outright.com is designed to make it not only very easy to keep up, but to help entrepreneurs all but forget about the business of running a business. We’ll take care of your bookkeeping, help with taxes, and now, with Right Taxes Now, we intend to change things for the better for people just trying to make a living. For more on small business, taxes, and how to make the two gel, visit Outright and Right Taxes Now.
Source: Business Pundit | 18 Feb 2010 | 10:40 am More Heated Google Search Competition Coming (GOOG, MSFT, YHOO)The search pact between Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has been approved. Finally. The companies announced that the search pact was okayed by the Department of Justice and the European Commission. The deal was announced last summer. While few expect Yahoo! to reclaim its former glory, this is going to offer [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 18 Feb 2010 | 9:34 am Matt Taibbi On Lloyd Blankfein's BallsMatt Taibbi has a new article out. See if you can guess what it's about. Were you going to say evil bankers and particularly the evil ones at Goldman Sachs? Of course you were. In MT's latest, we "learn" that all banksters used junkie, con-men-like attitudes, and that Blankfein's super power resides in his "pair of giant, nuclear-powered testicles." So now you know. Also: At one point or another, pretty much everyone who takes drugs has been burned by this one, also known as the "Rocks in the Box" scam or, in its more elaborate variations, the "Jamaican Switch." Someone sells you what looks like an eightball of coke in a baggie, you get home and, you dumbass, it's baby powder.
Source: Dealbreaker | 18 Feb 2010 | 9:33 am Kneber Botnet Steals Login Data from 75,000+ Computers
The Kneber botnet, a malicious program that steals login information, has compromised 2,500 organizations and an estimated 75,000 computers worldwide. Affected systems include Facebook, Yahoo, some banks, and companies such as Merck. PCWorld has a good Q&A about the Kneber botnet: Where is Kneber? Netwitness says Kneber controlled machines are in 196 countries. The five countries with the most significant instances of infected machines are Egypt, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States. Who is getting hit? Kneber only targets Windows machines, and computers are running Windows XP Professional SP2 make up the majority of the botnet. Netwitness did not report on infections among Windows 7 machines. Kneber is primarily found on machines in corporate and government infrastructures, but home users can be affected as well. Netwitness hasn’t named which companies have been compromised, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting that affected companies include Merck & Co., Cardinal Health, Paramount Pictures and software company Juniper Networks Inc. What is being stolen? Kneber is targeting login credentials for online social networks, e-mail accounts and online financial services. The top sites with stolen login credentials, according to Netwitness’ report are Facebook, Yahoo, hi5, metroflog, sonico and netlog. While the focus has been on e-mail and social networks, Kneber is now targeting banking sites as well.
Source: Business Pundit | 18 Feb 2010 | 9:23 am Guess What Ben Bernanke's Doing In A Few Weeks?What he does basically every other day of his life-- testifying about what he's been up to. the House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 24. At this point, the whole thing looks like a creepy version of Groundhog Day, as it seems to be all the Federal Reserve chairman ever does. And we're starting to feel for the guy, cause what else is left to say? Any suggestions? Advice? Creative feedback? Story pitches for Ben?
Source: Dealbreaker | 18 Feb 2010 | 8:57 am 9 Poorly Conceived Marketing CampaignsThe world of marketing is a tricky thing. Most companies need to get the word out about their new product or service, but finding the best way to do it is often easier said than done when you want to be memorable, informative and entertaining all at the same time. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Lose so very badly. Here are nine examples of poorly conceived marketing campaigns that left the companies behind them with pie on their face. The Campaign: Panasonic Woody
The Plan: Market a new touch screen PC with Woody Woodpecker as a spokesman The Story: Back in the 90’s, Panasonic was all about making the Japanese home PC the awesomest thing it could be. User friendly, cool and down with the modern age. So naturally they got Woody Woodpecker to be the spokesman because 200 year old American cartoons really speak to Japanese consumers. With their Civil War era cartoon tie-in secured, the marketing team took the next logical step by naming the computer “The Woody.” The Woody, as you might expect, was superior to other computers because of its touch screen capabilities, which were naturally called “Touch Woody.” When an American finally explained why this made so many foreigners laugh like children, Panasonic managed to drop the “Touch Woody” name and shift focus to some of the PC’s other features including its support system, the much more maturely named “Internet Pecker.” The Campaign: Wang Computers
The Plan: Think up a clever, memorable slogan to advertise Wang Computers The Story: Wang was founded by someone named A. Wang and thus never really had a chance of not being the butt of numerous jokes from the minds of 12 year olds, or just people who think like 12 year olds. Not putting much effort into bettering its image or thinking too hard on how to make the word Wang not sound like a joke, they released the slogan “Wang Cares” on a snickering United Kingdom. While it’s nice to imagine yourself as a having some manner of corporate accountability, Wang Cares sounds a hell of a lot like wankers which just means masturbators and isn’t really the most effective way to sell a computer. The Campaign: Renault 14
The Plan: Market the Renault by drawing on its similarities to pears, since they’re kind of the same shape The Story: Deciding that likening an ugly car to an ugly fruit was a good idea, French automaker Renault tried to launch a campaign that compared the Renault 14 to a pear. The fact that “poire,” in French, can mean both pear and gullible was apparently lost completely on the manufacturers, as was the fact that no one really wants a car that looks like a pear, basically meaning it’s a short, fat ass automobile and is the vehicular equivalent of taking a ride on that little psychic lady from the Poltergeist movies. On top of this, the car had an issue with body corrosion, leading people to start calling it “the rotten pear,” as “worthless crap” was not entirely media friendly and didn’t really include a pun. The Campaign: Calvin Klein Scary Porno Ads
The Plan: Since sex sells, make some gritty, realistic commercials featuring young people in various states of undress The Story: In the mid 1990’s, Calvin Klein, already pretty damn successful at what they did, decided it might be fun to make every human on earth who is not required by law to tell people when they move into the neighborhood uncomfortable by launching a series of ads featuring teenagers in a basement. Oh, and also they were mostly naked and being filmed by an unseen lecherous cameraman who asked inappropriate questions and told teenage boys they looked like they worked out. The campaign managed to get the FBI to investigate to see if anything illegal had occurred and Calvin Klein pulled the ads and issued an apology, because who knew insinuations of pedophilic porno wouldn’t capture the hearts of America? The Campaign: Sony PSP
The Plan: Tap into the online youth market by trying to create a viral, amateur-feel campaign The Story: Sony, generally considered by many to be pretty reliable and cutting edge when it comes to cool home electronics, decided to put the marketing of their PSP system in the hands of complete and total assholes. Treading into the dangerous waters of viral marketing, the ad agency Zipatoni made a terrible, terrible video of some dude rapping about how he wanted a PSP for Christmas and posted it on Youtube along with links to a website. That alone might not have killed Sony, but they added fake comments on Youtube and other sites, including hip slang filled conversations like this one put them over the edge: here’s the deal::: i (charlie) have a psp. my friend jeremy does not. but he wants one this year for xmas. so we started clowning with sum not-so-subtle hints to j’s parents that a psp would be teh perfect gift. we created this site to spread the luv to those like j who want a psp! Wow, look at all that bad grammar, this must be legit and awesome. Let’s all get PSPs. Never once was it mentioned that Sony was behind this at all and everything was presented as being strictly fan made. The campaign was torn apart viciously and exposed over at Somethingawful.com, and managed to create near unheard of hatred amongst Sony’s target audience. Sony responded with what may be an apology but mostly comes off as the sad attempt of a clueless parent to speak the language of the kids with gems like this “As many of you have figured out (maybe our speech was a little too funky fresh???), Peter isn’t a real hip-hop maven and this site was actually developed by Sony” in it. The videos were taken down and the site now redirects to Haagen-Dazs.com. The Campaign: Anti-Drug Campaign
The Plan: Alert the public to some of the unknown dangers associated with illegal drugs in an effort to further curb drug use The Story: It’s not just corporate America that can screw up royally when it comes to trying to sell a line of garbage to the general public. The Office of National Drug Control Policy managed to spend nearly one billion dollars on an anti-drug campaign, including $10 million on commercials that suggested if you use drugs you support terrorism. A five year evaluation of the campaign showed absolutely nothing. No evidence whatsoever that drug use was being curbed in the slightest as a result of the commercials and advertising, which is stunning considering how those “this is your brain” egg commercials from the 80’s managed to completely eliminate heroin and crack. Making things worse for the anti-drug campaign was some emerging studies that showed children were more inclined to be curious about trying illegal drugs after see anti-drug ads than if they had seen no ads at all, meaning the government had been spending about $1 billion to make kids wonder if horse tranquilizers were a delicious alternative to pixie stix. The Campaign: McDonald’s “I’d Hit it”
The Plan: Appeal to the hip, younger crowd by using slang terms they’re familiar with in advertisements The Story: Realistically McDonald’s probably doesn’t even need to advertise anymore. They’re located on pretty much every other block in every town on the face of the Earth. If you don’t know about McDonald’s at this point, odds are you will never know and likely don’t want to know. Nonetheless, McDonald’s strives to continually think up new slogans and campaigns on a regular basis to keep themselves at the forefront of Mcminds all around the world. And back in 2005, they figured they’d be hip and trendy if they co-opted some of that hip slang the kids love so much. Unfortunately, no one on staff in McDonalds marketing has apparently ever spoken to anyone under the age of 30 in person and thus had no idea what they were talking about. The result was the “I’d hit it” campaign for their dollar menu, featuring the image of a young man staring longingly at a burger with the words “I’d Hit It” separating the two of them. This would have been fine if we live din a world where no one has a problem with someone basically saying they want to have sex with a hamburger, but we don’t. And that’s what “I’d hit it” means. We can only guess at what marketing execs assumed it meant, but you know what happens when you make assumptions. The Campaign: Molson Hunts for College Drunks
The Plan: Use social media to run a contest in an effort to gain cheap, easy publicity and extend the brand to target markets The Story: Molson, one of the biggest brewers in Canada, has a pretty firm market share in the beer drinking world. But lord knows you never want to slip when it comes to advertising booze as your customer base is made up entirely of people prone to black out and forget things, so you need to keep your name on their slurry lips at all times. Because 19-24 year olds are such a key demographic for selling just about everything, Molson launched a campaign to target university students. While legal drinking age in the US may be 21, in many Canadian provinces it’s or 19. The campaign, launched on Facebook, asked students to send in their craziest party pics in an effort to track down the top party school in the country with the winner getting a trip to Cancun where presumably they would drink tea and learn about Mexican culture. This translates into “how drunk can you get on camera?” The problem, of course, is the number of 17 and 18 year old university students as well as most schools’ desire not to be known nationally as “that drunk school.” Universities immediately called out Molson for promoting irresponsible drinking and many parents took the time to register complaints as apparently mom and dad don’t like the idea of paying for their child’s education then having that same child’s drunken shenanigans at school used in beer promotions. Who knew? Molson ended the promotion early claiming they had only been interested in promoting school spirit and not excessive drinking, which seems like a plausible motivation for the country’s 3rd largest brewery. The Campaign: GM Can’t Do Viral Marketing
The Plan: Use viral marketing tactics and the element of user interactivity to allow people to create their own ads The Story: General Motors had the brilliant idea of letting the public tinker with interactive software to make their very own ads online. Anyone who’s ever seen what happens to an unlocked marquee outside of a business should know right away why this is a bad idea, as letting anyone have carte blanche to say whatever they want about your product is not a good idea. In fact, it’s hard to imagine why GM thought this would turn out any better than it did. Nonetheless, GM rolled out their campaign which let users pick video clips, soundtracks their own text-based messages to overlay on the finished product. Predictably, negative ads were produced by the boatload. People accused GM of contributing to global warming, of making poor quality vehicles or protested the war in Iraq. And those were the “good” ones. Other people chose the more “internet prankster” tack of simply lacing their commercials with obscenities. GM’s bizarre response was to point out how the campaign was technically a success as they’d received millions of hits and most of the responses were in fact positive, while blindly ignoring the fact they’d received so many hits due to the sharing of the negative ads and no one was watching any of the so-called positive ones.
Source: Business Pundit | 18 Feb 2010 | 8:55 am $1 Trillion State Pension GapBy Daniel Costello A $1 trillion gap. That is what exists between the $3.35 trillion in pension, health care and other retirement benefits states have promised their current and retired workers as of fiscal year 2008 and the $2.35 trillion they have on hand to pay for them, according to a report released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States. The Washington-based policy research organization paints a steadily deteriorating portrait among many states whose ability to finance public pension and health programs has fallen well behind their promises made to state employees. In eight states--Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and West Virginia--more than one-third of the total liability was unfunded. Two states--Kansas and Illinois--had less than 60 percent of the necessary assets on hand to meet long-term pension obligations at the end of 2008.
Most states' retirement systems allow for the "smoothing" of gains and losses over time, meaning that the pain of investment declines is felt over the course of several years. The funding gap will likely increase when the more than 25 percent loss states took in calendar year 2008 is factored in. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 18 Feb 2010 | 8:38 am Taylor on PPI, Mellor on Dollar, Herrmann on Jobs: First WordSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 18 Feb 2010 | 7:44 am Abby Joseph Cohen: Surveillance With Prewitt and KeeneSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 18 Feb 2010 | 7:37 am Please Rob Me–Or Please Don’t Post Your Whereabouts
Dutch developers have created PleaseRobMe, a site that posts the locations of empty homes, based on information from real-time location site FourSquare. The BBC has the story: The Dutch developers told BBC News the site was designed to prove a point about the dangers of sharing precise location information on the internet. The site scrutinises players of online game Foursquare, which is based on a person’s location in the real world. PleaseRobMe extracts information from players who have chosen to post their whereabouts automatically onto Twitter. Mr Van Amstel, Frank Groeneveld and Barry Borsboom realised that not only were people sharing detailed location information about themselves and their friends, they were also by default broadcasting when they were away from their own home. He said that the site would remain live but stressed it was not created to encourage crime. “The website is not a tool for burglary,” he said. “The point we’re getting at is that not long ago it was questionable to share your full name on the internet. We’ve gone past that point by 1000 miles.” Mr Van Amstel added that in practice it would be “very difficult” to use the information on the website to carry out a burglary. Sure makes updating your location less fun. Also, if someone actually does get robbed through this site, aren’t the developers kind of responsible? I’m not sure how anyone in the States would sue two guys in Holland, but the potential is there.
Source: Business Pundit | 18 Feb 2010 | 7:31 am NJ Governor Christie: Surveillance With Prewitt and KeeneSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 18 Feb 2010 | 7:25 am Raymond Stone: Bloomberg On the Economy With Tom KeeneSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 18 Feb 2010 | 7:12 am Charles Peabody: Bloomberg On the Economy With Tom KeeneSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 18 Feb 2010 | 7:05 am Morning Report: Financial Reform Gains Steam, Jobless Claims UpBy Daniel Costello It may be easier said than done but the U.S. Senate and White House negotiators are close to an agreement on a key element of regulation reform, the New York Times reported late Wednesday. The administration and Senate leaders have reportedly agreed on formation of a council of regulators to be led by the Treasury secretary that would be responsible for identifying systemic risk to the financial system. The creation of a council would diminish the authority of the Federal Reserve, which has borne waves of criticism for allowing the crisis to get out of hand. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has reportedly said he would not object to a Treasury-led council. Senators have not reached agreement on the question of whether the council would have the authority to impose its own rules on large financial institutions, the report said. "The idea of having a council, with the secretary of the Treasury as chair, and the Fed chairman or his designee as vice chair, is that you're getting an early-warning system," said Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. The Labor Department's weekly report Thursday showed initial claims for jobless benefits rose by a much higher-than-expected 31,000 to 473,000 in the week ended Feb. 13, while the previous week's level was revised upward to 442,000 from 440,000.
The International Monetary Fund called for a "vigorous" restructuring of Dubai's state companies, including giving up nonviable businesses, as the debt-laden city-state seeks to renegotiate its borrowings. While market sentiment has improved since Dubai received financial support last year from the wealthier neighboring emirate of Abu Dhabi, "uncertainties remain," the Washington- based lender said in an e-mailed report today. The economy of Dubai, which accounts for about 40 percent of the United Arab Emirates' gross domestic product, has been battered by the global crisis as credit markets seized up, trade declined and real estate prices plummeted. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 18 Feb 2010 | 6:47 am Today’s Best Market Rumors (2/18/2010)Updated throughout the day. Apple (AAPL) may have a deal with book publishers to sell e-books for $9.99. (NYTimes) Greece may issue a 10-year bond next week with a value of $6.8 billion (WSJ). Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) will launch a new keyless tablet computer called Slate to compete with Apple’s iPad (WSJ) The Obama Administration and Senate are close to [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 18 Feb 2010 | 6:42 am Job Title FAIL
Source: Business Pundit | 18 Feb 2010 | 5:15 am
|
