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Profits rise 98% at British GasBritish Gas profits almost double as the company, which supplies half of households' energy, benefits from the cold weather.Source: BBC News - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 4:12 am Indications: Stock futures waver ahead of earnings, Beige BookU.S. stock futures straddle the flatline, as investors await earnings from Boeing and ConocoPhillips.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 28 Jul 2010 | 4:09 am BOE's King: Economy still needs monetary stimulusBank of England Governor Mervyn King on Wednesday said the central bank isn’t ready to begin withdrawing monetary stimulus measures amid uncertainty over the durability of Britain’s economic recovery.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 28 Jul 2010 | 4:04 am Apple Sued Over “Overheating” iPad, As Success Breds EnvyThe Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad apparently overheats when left in the sun, which makes is like almost everything else left to bake. A suit filed in federal court in Oakland, California claims that “does not live up to the reasonable consumer’s expectations created by Apple” because it “overheats so quickly under common weather conditions,” [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 28 Jul 2010 | 4:03 am Bank head hints rates to stay lowThe head of the Bank of England says he is more worried about slow growth than inflation, suggesting rates will stay low.Source: BBC News - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:57 am Risky assets rise as US concerns easeGlobal Markets Overview: The FTSE All-World stock index is up 0.2% as Asian stocks shrug off a jittery Wall Street session, with investors focusing instead on signs of on-track recoveriesSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:47 am Tokyo paces Asian stock gains, Mumbai shares dropJapanese stocks charge ahead as solid corporate earnings from Canon put some extra gloss on the already better outlook for exporters.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:47 am BP plc–Rebuilding A Safety Structure In An Unsafe WorldThe oil industry apparently did not learn much from the Exxon Valdez spill, the Ixtoc 1 Oil Well catastrophe of 1979, the Amoco Cadiz disaster off Brittany in 1978. And perhaps there is nothing to be learned. BP plc’s (NYSE: BP) new CEO Bob Dudley said what he had to say. BP has a new [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:41 am Telefonica agrees new Vivo dealSpanish telecom firm Telefonica agrees to buy Portugal Telecom's stake in Brazilian mobile company Vivo, ending weeks of negotiations.Source: BBC News - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:39 am Warning over bank giveaway errorsBank customers are warned that they are unlikely to be allowed to keep money mistakenly credited to their bank account.Source: BBC News - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:32 am 100 days of oil: Gulf life will never be the sameIt's been 100 days since an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and setting off the worst oil spill in U.S. history. For the people along the Gulf Coast, life has...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:28 am Infineon swings to profit, raises outlookGerman chip maker Infineon ups its full-year revenue and investment outlook, as it reports a return to profit and a 59% surge in revenue.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:28 am Stocks set for shaky startU.S. stock futures rose Wednesday morning, but gains were slight as economic woes hung over investors.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:27 am Should you rent or buy your home?Modern America has long paired the "America Dream" with home ownership. The idea of staying put, paying property taxes and periodically mowing the lawn belonged to citizens who were somehow more American than the poor saps who could only afford to rent the place they called home.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:27 am Earnings awaited as Wall St futures point to gainsNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for Wall Street on Wednesday, after stocks closed mixed a day earlier, with investors likely to focus on earnings from Boeing and Visa among others to provide direction for equities.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:21 am London Markets: British shares edge higher as banks, miners gainShares in Invensys and BG Group decline in London after updating investors, partly offset by gains for miners and banks. offsetting gains from banks and miners.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:17 am GM’s Volt–An Electric Car No One Will BuyGM’s Chevrolet division will start to sell the electric Volt model later this year but will produce only about 10,000 models between then and the end of 2011. Nissan will launch its Leaf electric vehicle about the same time. It is wise that the companies limit production. Except for consumers who want to say that [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:13 am Boeing looking to stronger salesBoeing will be hoping for a stronger outlook for the rest of the year as the airline giant releases its second quarter results.Source: BBC News - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:12 am Global steelmakers paint gloomy pictureNEW YORK (Reuters) - Steelmakers painted a gloomy picture of the short-term prospects for the industry on Tuesday as global prices have fallen and industrial demand is not recovering from the recession as quickly as expected.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:10 am Telefonica: new deal with PT to buy Brazil's VivoTelefonica said Wednesday it has reached an initial agreement with Portugal Telecom to acquire a controlling share in Vivo, Brazil's largest cell phone company, for a reported euro7.5...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:03 am Oil spill, day 100: Businesses still hurtingWednesday marks the 100th day since the oil spill began, and business owners across the Gulf Coast who've seen the tourists they depend on disappear hope that somehow the next 100 days will get better.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:03 am For-Profit Schools Face New Debt Rules (Education and Your Money)Rules could require for-profits to manage student debt.
Source: SmartMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:01 am More States Offer Sales Tax Relief (Deal of the Day)Seventeen states offer summer and fall tax holidays this year.
Source: SmartMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:01 am From Trash to CashWaste-hauler Republic Services' stock is poised to rally as margins expand.
Source: SmartMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:01 am Missouri Airport Bonds Hit an Air Pocket (Muni Bond Watch)Branson bonds dip into reserves as flight revenues fall short.
Source: SmartMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:01 am 3 Small Firms With Heavy Trading Volume (Screens)Hough: These shares are changing hands at a frantic pace.
Source: SmartMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:00 am Top Ten Consumer Complaints Dominated By Lies And Poor ServiceThe Consumer Federation of America has come out with its list of the top ten complaints for 2009 based on a survey conducted with the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators. The items on the complaint list are predictable, and underscore the pitfalls of consumers not paying close [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:58 am Telefónica reaches Vivo deal with PTSpanish telecoms group confirms it has reached an agreement to buy Portugal Telecom out of Vivo, their Brazilian mobile phone joint venture, ending three months of acrimonious wranglingSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:53 am World stock markets gain amid strong earningsWorld stocks advanced Wednesday as strong corporate earnings and signals of an improving European economy outweighed fading U.S. consumer confidence. The yen was down against the dollar,Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:43 am BP hopes to turn page with new CEO, leaner company (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:41 am ArcelorMittal warns on pace of global recoveryArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, announces a 146 per cent rise in underlying profits in the second quarter but expects profits to fall in the next quarterSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:38 am Telefonica, Portugal Telecom reach new Vivo dealA months-long battle between Spain’s Telefonica and Portugal Telecom could be nearing an end, with an announcement on Wednesday that the two companies had reached a deal over Brazilian mobile operator Vivo Participacoes.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:28 am Employers get tough on insuring 'family'Think your whole family is covered by your company health plan? Get ready to prove they're actually your kin.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:26 am Peugeot Citroen returns to profit in first halfPSA Peugeot Citroen SA on Wednesday reported a return to profit in the first half of 2010, beating market expectations and boosting its outlook, thanks to strong demand for new cars in...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:18 am Peugeot Citroen returns to profit in first half (AP)AP - PSA Peugeot Citroen SA on Wednesday reported a return to profit in the first half of 2010, beating market expectations and boosting its outlook, thanks to strong demand for new cars in China and a raft of new models.Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:18 am Home ownership falls to lowest in 11 yearsThe number of Americans who own homes fell in the second quarter of the year to the lowest level since 1999, said a government survey released Tuesday.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:16 am ArcelorMittal posts profit, sees slowdown in ChinaArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, swung to a $1.7 billion net profit in the second quarter, but it warned that earnings in the coming months will be hit by a slowdown in demand from China.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:10 am Media Digest (7/29/2010) Reuters, WSJ, NYTime, FT, BloombergReuters: BP plc’s (NYSE: BP) new CEO called the spill a “wake up call” for the oil industry. Reuters: The IMF backed down on its comments about the yuan’s value. Reuters: Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is in talks to build a Facebook competitor. Reuters: Hackers received information about how to listen in on cellphone calls. [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:08 am China at risk of bad loans, warns IMFThe International Monetary Fund has warned China to be vigilant over bad loans as its economy begins to slow.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:08 am Fear takes its toll on the recoveryFDR said we have nothing to fear but fear itself -- and even though we're a long way from the Great Depression, uncertainty about the economy is proving pretty scary, and a major drag on the recovery.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:08 am Oil hovers above $77 after surprise US supply jumpOil prices hovered above $77 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed U.S. crude supplies unexpectedly rose last week, suggesting demand remains weak. Benchmark crude for...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:07 am Telstra fined for blocking rivalsTelecoms giant Telstra is fined 18.5m Australian dollars ($16.6m; £10.6m) for blocking rivals from accessing its infrastructure.Source: BBC News - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:07 am Earnings boost stocks as euro rises (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:03 am Europe Markets: European shares rise for seventh sessionEuropean shares advanced for the seventh straight session on Wednesday, helped by earnings-related gains from BBVA, Infineon Technologies and Atos Origin on a busy day for corporate news flow.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:01 am Business Bullet: Asia, Energy, BG, CarphoneThe latest news on: Asia, Energy, BG, CarphoneSource: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:00 am Cameron begins Indian trade driveDavid Cameron begins a two-day visit to India with the aim of strengthening relations and creating jobs back in Britain.Source: BBC News - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:59 am Currencies: Greenback mostly lower; Aussie slips on price dataThe Australian dollar slips against its U.S. counterpart, after Australia's quarterly consumer price figures rises less than economists expected.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:57 am CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-Broadcaster CME Q2 revenue up, sees challenging H2(Corrects last paragraph to show that shares had lost, not gained, 2.4 percent from the start of the year to Tuesday's close)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:56 am Telefonica to buy Vivo from Portugal TelecomSpanish telecoms giant Telefonica said on Wednesday it had reached an agreement in principle to buy Portugal Telecom's stake in Brazilian operator Vivo in a deal reportedly worth 7.5...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:52 am European Stocks to Watch: Managers ease back into southern Europe stocksStocks in parts of peripheral Europe have enjoyed a rebound this month, leading some managers to rethink their exposure to the region, though they say the long-term outlook remains clouded by economic uncertainty.
Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:47 am easyJet sees revenues rise despite volcanic ash cloudLow-cost carrier easyJet saw third-quarter revenue rise 5.3pc and forecast it would report an annual profit of at least £100m.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:41 am Arcelor makes Q2 net income of $1.7 billionArcelorMittal SA, the world's biggest steelmaker, says it made net income of $1.7 billion in the second quarter, up from a loss of $0.8 billion a year earlier. The result announced...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:39 am Risky assets rise as US concerns easeWednesday July 28, 0810 BST: The US economy may seem to be on a weak footing but signs of on-track recoveries elsewhere are proving enough for investors to push risky assets further up from recent lows...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:35 am FTSE 100 climbs in early deals (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:34 am BAT 1st half profit up 5 pctBritish American Tobacco PLC, the maker of Dunhill, Pall Mall and Lucky Strike cigarettes, said Wednesday that profits rose 5 percent in the first half of the year, helped by the...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:32 am Ahead of elections, Obama ramps up his fundraisingPresident Barack Obama is stepping up his fundraising efforts as the midterm elections draw closer. Obama will tout a lending initiative aimed at small businesses during remarks...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:14 am China sales drive Peugeot profitFrench car giant Peugeot Citroen reports a return to profit in the first half of the year, driven by strong demand in China.Source: BBC News - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:01 am California's clean energy future threatened by federal delays, state officials sayThe U.S. Department of Energy is accused of foot-dragging in approving loan guarantees to finance several major projects worth an estimated $30 billion.Plans for a massive expansion of clean energy in California are being jeopardized by federal foot-dragging, according to state officials who say that more than 20 nearly shovel-ready solar and wind projects are being held up by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am Obama signs cruise ship safety billThe law requires lines to immediately report serious crimes to U.S. authorities and install peepholes on passenger stateroom doors, among other safety improvements.In response to a series of high-profile assaults and disappearances on cruise ships in recent years, President Obama signed into law Tuesday tougher new rules for reporting crimes at sea, improving ship safety and training ship staff on collecting assault evidence.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am BP reports record loss of $17.1 billionRobert Dudley named to CEO's post. L.A.'s Occidental Petroleum posts $1.1-billion profit. As it posted a record...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am L.A. City Council delays review of Google e-mail contractConcerns about the security of sensitive LAPD data have slowed the rollout of the new system. Google says it will pay to keep the current system running. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am Obama signs cruise ship safety billThe law requires lines to immediately report serious crimes to U.S. authorities and install peepholes on passenger stateroom doors, among other safety improvements. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am Disney to buy Playdom Inc. for $563.2 millionThe acquisition positions the entertainment giant to capitalize on a rapidly expanding segment of the video game industry. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am L.A. City Council delays review of Google e-mail contractConcerns about the security of sensitive LAPD data have slowed the rollout of the new system. Google says it will pay to keep the current system running.The Los Angeles City Council postponed until next week a review of Google Inc.'s $7.25-million contract to take over the city's e-mail system.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am ABC exec steps downEntertainment chief Steve McPherson resigns after repeated clashes with his bosses. After a tumultuous six-year...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am ABC exec steps downEntertainment chief Steve McPherson resigns after repeated clashes with his bosses.After a tumultuous six-year reign, ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson stepped down, the network said Tuesday, after repeated clashes with his bosses that reached a climax in the last few days after he got wind that a replacement was in the wings.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am Disney to buy Playdom Inc. for $563.2 millionThe acquisition positions the entertainment giant to capitalize on a rapidly expanding segment of the video game industry.Walt Disney Co. made a bold bet on social networks as an emerging entertainment platform Tuesday by agreeing to acquire gaming company Playdom Inc. for $563.2 million.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am Home prices tick up 1.3% in MayIt was the second straight monthly increase, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 U.S. cities, but experts warn it is not likely to last. Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am Home prices tick up 1.3% in MayIt was the second straight monthly increase, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 U.S. cities, but experts warn it is not likely to last. Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco are among the gainers.Home prices posted strong gains in May as a federal stimulus program boosted sales. But many experts predict the housing market to soften this year as the effects of government support wane.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am NZ sharemarket liftsThe sharemarket rose today, led by Telecom and Contact Energy, and reflecting strength in offshore markets on the back of strong US corporate earnings.The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 13.755 points, or 0.457 per cent, at 3022.181....Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:44 am Iran sanctions hit Chinese tradeDespite a trading history that goes back centuries, China has reluctantly backed UN sanctions against Iran in light of its nuclear programme.Source: BBC News - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:44 am Who are the Bank of Baroda, Raphaels Bank and Aldermore?Topping the best buy tables are unknown banks such as the Bank of Baroda, Raphaels Bank, Aldermore and AK Bank.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:38 am Asian stock markets gain amid strong earnings (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:34 am Soros to buy 4 pct stake in Bombay bourse: report (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:23 am LG profits hit by low phone salesSouth Korean electronics firm LG Electronics reports a slump in profits as it struggles to keep pace with competitors in the mobile phone market.Source: BBC News - Business | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:20 am Hitachi promises stable parts supply to Nissan (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:15 am IMF: China currency undervalued but policy sound (AP)AP - The International Monetary Fund said China's yuan is undervalued in a mildly worded assessment Wednesday of its controversial currency controls and praised Beijing's response to the global crisis.Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:57 pm BP says SEC, Justice looking at securities matters (AP)AP - BP says the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are conducting informal inquiries into securities matters arising from the Gulf oil spill.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:49 pm NZ dollar dips below US73cThe New Zealand dollar fell in afternoon trading after the National Bank of New Zealand Business Outlook (NBBO) survey showed confidence slid for a third consecutive month.Earlier the Australian dollar fell on softer than expected...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:40 pm IMF gives ground on yuan exchange rate debateBEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has chosen not to call the yuan "substantially" undervalued, a move that recognizes China's efforts to free up its exchange rate and avoids friction with an increasingly influential shareholder.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 10:54 pm Business confidence falls for third monthBusiness confidence has fallen for the third consecutive month, and has almost halved since reaching a decade high in February.There was now a clear change of direction which was beyond what could be put down to "usual monthly...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 9:51 pm Issuers need to improve some disclosuresMany entities that issue securities to the public need to improve disclosures relating to ethical standards, directors and executives' remuneration, risk management, and shareholder and stakeholder relations, the Securities Commission...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 8:54 pm Chevy prices Volt at $41,000 but will push leasesA federal tax credit would shave the electric car's price to $33,500. The carmaker turns heads by offering leases as low as $350 a month. The rival Nissan Leaf will sell for as little as $20,280 or lease for $349 a month.The Chevrolet Volt, the first mass-market electric vehicle from General Motors Co., will have a sticker price starting at $41,000 when it hits showrooms this year, but it was the attractive lease offer that the automaker announced Tuesday that grabbed the attention of industry analysts.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 8:47 pm Dudley vows new BP safety cultureBP announces that it lost $17bn after tax in the second quarter, one of the largest losses in British corporate history, after a $32.2bn pre-tax provision for the costs of cleaning up the Gulf spill and compensating victimsSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 27 Jul 2010 | 8:35 pm NYSE busts trades after botched Bancorp share swap (Reuters)Reuters - A botched share swap last month in which 10 times more US Bancorp shares were issued than planned, angering and confusing investors, led the NYSE on Tuesday to cancel three days of trades in the stock.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 27 Jul 2010 | 8:06 pm NYSE busts trades after botched Bancorp share swap (Reuters)Reuters - A botched share swap last month in which 10 times more US Bancorp shares were issued than planned, angering and confusing investors, led the NYSE on Tuesday to cancel three days of trades in the stock.Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 8:06 pm NYSE busts trades after botched Bancorp share swapNEW YORK (Reuters) - A botched share swap last month in which 10 times more US Bancorp shares were issued than planned, angering and confusing investors, led the NYSE on Tuesday to cancel three days of trades in the stock.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 8:06 pm California's clean energy future threatened by federal delays, state officials sayThe U.S. Department of Energy is accused of foot-dragging in approving loan guarantees to finance several major projects worth an estimated $30 billion. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jul 2010 | 7:15 pm SEC to take public comment before adopting rules (AP)AP - The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that the agency will seek input from businesses and the public before proposing new rules to oversee Wall Street and financial companies.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 27 Jul 2010 | 6:47 pm Chevy prices Volt at $41,000 but will push leasesA federal tax credit would shave the electric car's price to $33,500. The carmaker turns heads by offering leases as low as $350 a month. The rival Nissan Leaf will sell for as little as $20,280 or lease...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jul 2010 | 6:44 pm CA-CANADA Summary (Reuters)Reuters - The Toronto Stock Exchange falls short of global listing standards and should do more to manage potential conflicts of interests in how it regulates listed companies, according to report published on Tuesday.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 27 Jul 2010 | 6:25 pm Farmers to cut auto insurance rates for some California customersDrivers covered by the company's Farmers Insurance Exchange subsidiary will see premiums fall by an average of 14.5% and can get a 10% rebate on policy renewals.California's largest auto insurer, Farmers Insurance Group, announced Tuesday that it was reducing its rates by an average of 14.5% for policies issued by its Farmers Insurance Exchange subsidiary. Also, current holders of those policies will get a one-time 10% rebate when they renew them.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 6:16 pm Farmers to cut auto insurance rates for some California customersDrivers covered by the company's Farmers Insurance Exchange subsidiary will see premiums fall by an average of 14.5% and can get a 10% rebate on policy renewals. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 27 Jul 2010 | 6:16 pm The Tuesday Podcast: Toxie's Dark Past
Chana Joffe-Walt/NPR
This house in Florida was sold into what may have been a mortgage-fraud ring. Recently we learned from a group of reporters at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that one of the mortgages in Toxie, our toxic asset, was part of a real-estate scheme being investigated by the FBI. It's a scheme that allegedly involves $200 million in fraudulent loans. So we traveled to Florida to find out how the scheme worked. The reporters there told us it all centered around a man named Craig Adams, who was flipping houses back and forth among a circle of friends and business associates. The people in the circle would buy homes for higher and higher prices, taking out larger and larger loans from the bank and then divide that money amongst themselves. The first person whose home was sold into that circle was Dr. Fred Bloom, who watched the price on his former home rise rapidly for 10 years, before he finally learned the truth. David Kestenbaum explains a "flop" fraud scheme:
For more on the fraud scheme in Florida, read our earlier post. Subscribe to the podcast. Music: The Shins' "Little Boxes." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr. Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 27 Jul 2010 | 6:00 pm Wage gap with Australia wider - reportAustralian workers are being paid even more than their Kiwi cousins since National became the Government. The Dominion Post newspaper reported that while Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee was saying the wage gap had...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 5:37 pm Cigarette sales, smokers declinePrice increases, health concerns and restrictions on where people can light up lead to a 8.1% drop in sales in the most recent fiscal year.Taking a puff in California is getting to be a drag, with health concerns and high prices pushing cigarette sales in the most recent fiscal year to their steepest plunge in a decade.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 5:32 pm Tribune deal marred by ‘dishonesty’A court-appointed examiner of the publisher’s 2007 buy-out found evidence of ‘dishonesty and lack of candour’ in the deal that led to the group’s insolvencySource: Financial Times - US homepage | 27 Jul 2010 | 5:27 pm GM sets $41,000 price for electric Chevy VoltDETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors on Tuesday set a price of $41,000 for its electric Chevrolet Volt -- $8,000 more than its nearest competitor, the Nissan Leaf.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 5:16 pm KiwiSaver money pours into poor performersSome of the worst-performing KiwiSaver funds have attracted the most money, data from Morningstar show.The fund research firm has released its qSource: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 5:00 pm Sen. Kerry to pay Mass. tax on yacht docked in RI (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:57 pm NZ sharemarket lifts earlyThe sharemarket gained in early trading as leading share Telecom reversed most of its decline yesterday.Telecom shares were up 3c to 196 in the first few minutes after the market opened, having yesterday depressed the market when...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:55 pm Olam confident of Uruguay profitOlam International could make takeover target NZ Farming Systems Uruguay profitable within two years, says the Singapore-listed company.Vivek Verma, managing director coffee and dairy divisions at Olam, said some of NZ Farming...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:30 pm Lift 'reckless' oil drilling ban, Gulf residents plead (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:25 pm SEC: More transparency comingThe Securities and Exchange Commission will make it easier for the public to join in the rulemaking discussion, as required by the new Wall St. reform law.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:13 pm Stock rally goes on hold after consumer data (AP)AP - ECONOMIC DATA TRUMPS EARNINGS: A reading on consumer confidence that came in lower than expected stalled the stock market's three-day rally. The Conference Board's report distracted investors from another batch of upbeat earnings reports.Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:07 pm Hey Baby, What's Your Cluster?Marketplace's Stacey Vanek Smith discusses potential clusters a data mining company may put you in.Source: Marketplace | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:05 pm Warning for Dorchester Finance investors over buyout offerThe Securities Commission is warning investors in Dorchester Finance to be wary of an offer by Australian firm Stock & Share Trading Company PTY Limited to buy their debentures for 5c in the dollar.The commission says investors...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:00 pm Stocks fall slightly on consumer confidence report (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:53 pm Chevy Volt priced at $41,000General Motors announced the final price of its Chevrolet Volt electric car Tuesday afternoon, but it's the lease rate that will probably be most interesting to consumers.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:51 pm Optimistic BP fails to weigh the chances of being rebuffed in the US . . .There is no doubt that BP is a radically changed business, I'm just not sure the company's management realises it.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:46 pm Write-Offs: 07.27.10
$$$ The Hypocrisy Of Dodd-Frank’s Million Dollar Fraud Bounty [CNBC] $$$ Christie Brinkley has an “extremely optimistic” view of the Hamptons housing market. [WSJ] $$$ French banks among top winners in Basel revamp [Reuters] $$$ Chiesi in talks over some Galleon evidence issues [Reuters]
 Source: Dealbreaker | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:42 pm Tomkins should reap benefits itselfThe board of Tomkins issued a statement yesterday which highlighted the company's exposure to cyclical US consumer markets.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:42 pm Northern Rock's former FD fined and banned from CityA former executive at collapsed lender Northern Rock has been fined £320,000 and banned from working in the City.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:36 pm Soros set to buy stake in Bombay exchangeBillionaire investor in final talks to buy Dubai Holding’s 4 per cent stake in manager of Indian benchmark Sensex indexSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:31 pm 'Emergency' Budget was not urgent, says economic think tank NIESRMeasures to raise an additional £40bn through spending cuts and tax rises could have waited another six months, a respected research institute said.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:30 pm Fran O'Sullivan : Fears grow we're selling the golden gooseRealpolitik dictates that neither John Key nor Bill English will be quite so blunt - or stupid - as to admit straight up that the decision to order a second-round review of the foreign investment regime is due to New Zealanders' growing...Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:30 pm Dow Edges Up 12.26 Points (Market Update)Stocks finished the day with a mixed result, as a weak consumer-confidence reading...
Source: SmartMoney.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:24 pm Stocks sag on consumer confidence (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:15 pm US examines BP shares as vilified Tony Hayward resignsBP has admitted that trading in its shares is under investigation in the US.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:07 pm What's next for housing finance, Fannie and Freddie? (McClatchy Newspapers)McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — With the overhaul of financial regulation in the bag, the Obama administration Tuesday said it'll focus next on housing finance — another key cause of the recent deep economic downturn — with an eye to deciding the fate of mortgage finance titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:06 pm Oil industry is driving force behind Proposition 23's attack on California's new greenhouse gas regulationIf a ballot initiative is known by the company it keeps, we should be just a teeny bit suspicious of Proposition 23, the Nov. 2 measure designed to eviscerate California's new greenhouse gas regulation.
Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Jul 2010 | 3:04 pm Global steelmakers paint gloomy picture (Reuters)Reuters - Steelmakers painted a gloomy picture of the short-term prospects for the industry on Tuesday as global prices have fallen and industrial demand is not recovering from the recession as quickly as expected.Source: Yahoo! News: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:48 pm Examiner sees signs of dishonesty in Tribune saleNEW YORK (Reuters) - The court-appointed examiner investigating Tribune Co's bankruptcy said he found some evidence of dishonesty in the 2007 leveraged buyout of the media company by real estate developer Sam Zell.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:45 pm Sterne Agee's Rabatin on Bank of Hawaii: Taking StockSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:41 pm The New Economics Of Fancy Playgroundsby Robert Smith July 27, 2010 
Robert Smith/NPR
At the $7 million playground that opened today in New York City, there are hundreds of giant foam shapes for kids to play with, and not a swing set in sight. The Imagination Playground is the latest in a string of fancy, innovative playgrounds that have opened recently in the city. For anybody who has ever gone down a slide, this raises a few questions: Why were playgrounds so boring for so long? And what's suddenly changed? The standard playground goes back about 100 years, and was created for New York City children who would otherwise have been playing in the street or the river, says Susan Solomon, an architectural historian. "By then you are already dealing with the sandbox, the slide, the seesaw," she says. "Playgrounds are all about avoiding risk." The city used this model to build lots of cheap, cookie-cutter playgrounds through much of the 20th century. There were some innovators in the 1960s — people who wanted to create playgrounds that, like the Imagination Playground, allowed kids more freedom to build stuff and play in a less structured way. But the threat of lawsuits discouraged some of the would-be innovators — and even led to the removal of some old playground favorites, like merry-go-rounds. Lawsuits, of course, haven't gone away. In the last few years, though, city leaders have come to see a new benefit associated with innovative playgrounds: Money. Manhattan is undergoing a baby boom. And Adrian Benepe, New York's parks commissioner, says building fancy, innovative playgrounds can serve as draws for high-income families. Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:41 pm Broadcom Runs Into Headwinds (BRCM, QCOM)Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) appears to have missed the mark on its earnings report, which is now looking much less like QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) earnings last week. There is some confusion on the street over what consensus reports were expecting. Because only loose guidance was not offered, this one should probably be considered somewhat [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:30 pm BP's new boss Bob Dudley strikes a cautious toneFor the past three months, Bob Dudley has quietly watched the man who once beat him to the post of BP chief executive struggle to contain the fallout from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:29 pm Chapin Hill's Kathy Boyle Discusses Stocks, ETFs: Taking StockSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:19 pm After Double-Dip Rumble, Some Good News (Common Sense)Stewart: Good summer tidings from energy, finance and fast food.
Source: SmartMoney.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:14 pm Credit Suisses's Dillon Analyzes Paper, Packaging: Taking StockSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:04 pm World Bank warns on ‘farmland grab’Investors are targeting countries with weak laws, buying arable land on the cheap and failing to deliver on promises of jobs and investments, according to the World BankSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 27 Jul 2010 | 2:02 pm Hayward is out - with $1.6 millionTony Hayward will step down as chief executive of BP, the company announced Tuesday, amid ongoing outrage over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:59 pm Movie Goer Has Oddly Specific Reason For Why Money Never Sleeps Sucks
Source: Dealbreaker | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:45 pm Dodd-Frank Provisions We Can All Safely Ignore
Laws go unenforced for any of several superficially distinct reasons, but ultimately because of political failure. Mostly a reiteration of desuetudinal laws, Dodd-Frank seems deliberately written so that it can’t be enforced. Dodd-Frank is a gigantic recipe for political failure. Dodd-Frank definitely costs money. Some of the provisions of the statute, like the hedge fund regulation, will require a little finesse. Some provisions impose additional cost on the ultimate consumer. Some, like cutting states out of surplus lines and reinsurance, will reduce costs. The beauty of putting swaps and derivatives on an exchange is self-evident. But no one seems interested in the provisions that place the Executive Branch subordinate to Congress, provisions that conflict with each other, that promote regulatory capture, that rely upon Treasury Secretary Geithner to devise tough new rules, or that simply formalize the status quo. Yet the statute is primarily composed of just such provisions. Those provisions can be safely ignored. I’ve always felt there’s something charming about trying to fix the problems in your plan by hiring new managers to execute your plan. The Financial Stability Oversight Council is something like that, although the voting members of the council (except for the insurance industry representative) aren’t new. A few obvious problems. The Council is tasked both with disabusing the industry of Too-Big-To-Fail expectations and with referring troubled institutions to the Orderly Liquidation Authority, i.e., the bailout group. The Council is headed by the Treasury Secretary. It’s set up to be exempt from just about all the restrictions that every other one of the, I don’t know, say thousands, of existing advisory committees out there, just to make sure that everyone else in Federal government is jealous and uncooperative from the get-go. And the Council members are obliged to periodically sign off to Congress on the health of the Financial System. Congress may assume that because President Obama signed the law his Council will feel compelled to report to them in some meaningful way, but I’m not so sure. Odds are good the Administration sees it’s Congressional reporting requirements as a chore, or at best, as a courtesy. Certainly not as any sort of binding warranty. Same for the Office of Financial Research – which, by the way, might not be such a bad place to work. Check it out. I’m happy to say the Volcker Rule is completely gone, and leave it as an exercise to the reader to cogitate further. The countercyclical capital requirements bit could have been written by Jamie Dimon himself. I’m tempted to say it was. New investor protections in Title IX are not actually new, and the new disclosure rules for retail investors are part of an ongoing discussion with the SEC. Then there’s the SEC’s funding to consider. The worst of both worlds, the SEC is self-funding except that it isn’t. They can’t afford to hurt industry too hard and they can’t afford to piss off anyone in Congress either. So it’s no better for them to rock the boat than it was before this statute. If they have any sense they’ll keep Congress in the dark and do their best to stay out of court. The whole process around orderly liquidation is a great gift. In exchange for a small premium, Dodd-Frank has given large financial institutions a permission slip to drive each other to the brink of collapse, secure in the knowledge that a guilt-free LTCM-style bailout awaits any failing institutions, and protected from the wrath of taxpayers. The restriction imposed on the Orderly Liquidation Authority not to use taxpayer funds to finance future bailouts can be safely ignored, but it does look nice on paper. Unfortunately the restrictions Congress wants to place on bailing out Greece is also a non-starter, but I doubt any of you people care about that. It has often been said that in politics nothing succeeds like failure. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is by that measure a resounding success.
Source: Dealbreaker | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:40 pm Viking Global Is Greatly Disappointed In Its Returns, Not Blaming Self, But Still Looking Within To See What Went Wrong
Source: Dealbreaker | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:35 pm Presented By:Source: Dealbreaker | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:35 pm Platinum Partners' Landesman on Emerging Markets: Taking StockSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:34 pm Consumer confidence dims as home prices climbNEW YORK (Reuters) - Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months, underscoring the precarious state of economic recovery.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:30 pm Triple bonus boosts Europe bank sharesFTSE Eurofirst banks index closed up nearly 5 per cent, best performance since €750bn eurozone bail-out package was sealed in MaySource: Financial Times - US homepage | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:15 pm GTL. NYSE.Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:02 pm Top 10 consumer complaintsLandlords who won't exterminate roach-infested apartments. Debt collectors' harassing phone calls. Companies that sell timeshares for a fee -- then disappear with the money.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:53 pm Lockheed, L-3 top estimates but outlooks divergeATLANTA (Reuters) - Defense contractors Lockheed Martin Corp and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc beat Wall Street profit estimates on better revenue and margins but offered differing full-year outlooks.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:50 pm Tribune Examiner's Report: Bloomberg Law Bankruptcy ReviewSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:49 pm GE pays $23m after Iraq probeGeneral Electric has agreed to pay $23.5m to settle allegations from US regulators that its subsidiaries bribed Iraqi officials to win contracts under the UN Oil for Food Programme between 2000 and 2003Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:33 pm Another Coffin Nail For Housing: High Vacany RatesForeclosures and a buyer’s strike may be the most visible enemies of a recovery in the housing market. Vacancy rates in homes and apartments could be just as severe a drag. New Census Department data show that vacancy rates for both rental properties and homes are still at high levels set during the trough of [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:33 pm Who Pays For Credit Card Rewards?by Jacob Goldstein Credit-card rewards — cash back, frequent-flier miles, etc. — benefit the wealthy at the expense of the poor, according to a new study by economists at the Boston Fed. These being economists, they even put some precise numbers on the finding:
Here's the authors' reasoning. Stores and other businesses that accept credit cards have to pay a bank fee every time a customer pays with a card. Stores typically raise prices for all customers (including those who pay with cash) to pass these fees onto consumers. Credit cards are far more common among people who live in high-income households. Among people who have credit cards, people in high-income households spend more, and they're more likely to have cards that offer rewards. So, on balance, what you get is everybody paying higher prices (to cover the banks' credit card fees), and people in high-income families getting the rewards. To see the raw data, along with the math the authors did to come up with their findings, read the paper. Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:31 pm Pakistani ex-spy chief hits back over leaksHamid Gul hits back at allegations he supported the Taliban, saying the US orchestrated a mass leak of confidential files in a bid to scapegoat him for its failures in AfghanistanSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:27 pm Aflac's Outlook Is Just DuckyConcerns over the investment portfolio have obscured earnings growth.
Source: SmartMoney.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:57 am Local Governments May Slash Nearly 500,000 Jobs, Ruin Unemployment ForecastsThe Administration said last week in its mid-year report to Congress that unemployment would remain above 9% until the beginning of 2012. That goal may be a struggle, as there is growing evidence that companies large and small will squeeze productivity out of current employees rather than take the financial risk of increased personnel expenses. [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:42 am What To Tell The Judge When You Inevitabley Get In Hot Water For Hiring Prostitutes To Service Your Employees
At Military Contractor’s Trial, a $100,000 Buckle [NYT]
Source: Dealbreaker | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:39 am Molchanov, Weiss Discuss BP Results, New CEO Dudley: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:23 am Get to know Stacey, the savvy singleIn part two of our series on data mining, Marketplace's Stacey Vanek Smith visits a data mining company and sees what they know about her through her credit card transactions, Facebook account... It's a lot.Source: Marketplace | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:15 am U.S. debt not sustainableKai Ryssdal talks to Harvard Professor Niall Ferguson about the unsustainable debt load of the United States.Source: Marketplace | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:15 am U.S. hesitant to accept Dutch oil clean-up techThe Dutch have some of the best oil spill clean-up technology in the world, and they've offered it to the U.S. to help with the BP oil spill -- only to be told that their help is not necessary.Source: Marketplace | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:15 am 'Race to the Top' motivates schools to reform, but changes may not lastJust the prospect of winning money through the Obama Administration's "Race to the Top" fund was enough for some school districts to make drastic reforms, but given the already tight budgets on all levels of government, can these reforms last?Source: Marketplace | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:15 am Will Basel III help the U.S.?Towards the end of this year, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision will agree on a third round of bank regulations for safer banking standards around the world. Marketplace's Bob Moon sees what effect Basel III can have on the U.S. financial system.Source: Marketplace | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:14 am What will BP's future look like?Kai Ryssdal talks to Marketplace's Krissy Clark about what BP's second quarter earnings report and the sale of $30 billion in assets means for the oil company.Source: Marketplace | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:14 am Paying Foreign Transaction Fees at Home (Card Sharp)Shopping abroad via the Internet? How to avoid currency conversion fees.
Source: SmartMoney.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:07 am Boston Scientific’s New Stent May Assist in Turnaround (BSX, ABT, JNJ, MDT, STJ)Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) has been a long and painful investment for thousands of shareholders who have held shares in hopes that this turnaround stock can eventually turn around. News yesterday out of the company over its U.S. and European launches of the Neuroform EZ™ Stent System may be one catalyst to watch in [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Jul 2010 | 10:51 am 25 People and Industries That Profit From FearAre you worried about the economy tumbling into oblivion? Scared that some stranger will break into your home? Paranoid about losing your youthful good looks? Don’t worry. You can buy your peace of mind. Whether it’s a pill, a locking system, or legislation, someone has the perfect solution. Just make sure you pay up to get it. Indeed, even if the most crucial professionals, like doctors, have their own ways of scaring you into agreeing to their offerings. We look at how 25 everyday people and industries take a bite out of you by playing on your fear. (Note: I read a lot of sociologist Frank Furedi’s material before writing this post. I was especially influenced by his ideas on religion, wellness, experts, advocacy, and the environment. I want to encourage readers to read more of Furedi’s work, as he’s a true expert on society and fear.) 25. The Security Industry Security is, by definition, the opposite of fear. It stands to reason that the security industry, which sells products and services that protect your body and assets, makes big bucks of off fear. The funny thing about security is that not all of it works. How many times have you ignored a car alarm, waiting for the owner to finally turn it off? Or what about home security companies, which profit from installing systems that may make you feel better, but that essentially rely on the taxpayer-funded police for action? The security industry knows that the more paranoid you feel, the more likely you are to put your hard-earned money towards their products. Let’s just say their interest is not in making you feel better about the world. It just doesn’t sell. 24. The Beauty Industry If a product has the prefix “anti” in front of it, it’s probably fighting a very undesirable condition. Some of these “anti” products, like antifreeze, are quite useful. Leave it to the beauty industry, however, to create an entire class of products that fight humanity’s most natural process: aging. Anti-aging creams, balms, and sprays will set you back financially, but will they really stop you looking like you’re aging? Indeed, the beauty industry has a knack for promising a cure for the appearance flaws that petrify some women. From antiwrinkle pillows to anti-cellulite cream, beauty companies would have you believe that the solution to growing older lies in ill-proven products. What they don’t want to tell you is this. If you really want smoother skin, you’ll have to stay out of the sun and save your money for your plastic surgeon. 23. The Pet Care Industry Dogs and cats have been human companions for centuries. Despite the fact that yesterday’s pets lived happily on farms, our 21st-century darlings come with microchips, hypoallergenic organic sleeping pads, smoked BBQ chicken treats, and full insurance. What would happen if you took all those things away? Most pets would be fine. Yet fear of the unpredictable keeps us buying extras in the name of pet safety and well-being. As long as you believe that Snowball would be traumatized without that lavender aromatherapy shampoo, you’re playing into the system, too. 22. The Anti-Germ Industry A host of companies make the antibacterial soap, antimicrobial pillows, antifungal shoe inserts, and many other products that promise you instant sanitation. Because there’s no formal name for the cottage industry that has emerged around the antibacterial title, we’re going to call it the anti-germ industry. Recent history has proven that if you sell products that kill germs, you make a killing. Consumers’ paranoia about dirt and germs is so aggravated that things like antibacterial chopsticks actually sell. Over the years, researchers have discovered that our love of antibacterial products has had negative repercussions like antibiotic-resistant superbugs and an increase in allergies. Expect the PR machine to backlash with a new set of probiotic products, containing human-approved bacteria, in the near future. 21. Stock Market Experts Buy more gold. Browse financial experts’ websites for five minutes, and you’ll probably walk away with a headache. Most of these folks are very smart, very concerned about your money, and very sure that they’re right. Act now, and for a low monthly fee, you’ll get their premium newsletter, Platinum-level picks, and market prognoses. Don’t wait until you lose all your money in the stock market! 20. The Weight Loss Industry In the US, we associate attractiveness with lean, fit bodies. If you’re carrying around a few extra pounds, though, that doesn’t mean you’re unattractive. But the weight loss industry would like you to think you are. If you read into their invisible fear memo, carrying around extra weight will keep you from finding a partner. It will diminish your social status or even outcast you. Nobody will care about you. You simply must combat those extra pounds through diet pills, fad diets, or any of the other myriad offerings of the $50 billion weight loss industry. The industry’s promise of instant self-esteem will assuage your fears of being an eternal bachelor or perpetual fat girl. You, too, can lose weight for just $99.95 + tax. Come on, sign up now! 19. Banks
What if your credit card gets stolen? What if you lose your job and can’t pay your mortgage? How about if someone steals your ID? Banks offer products to protect you against those worrisome possibilities, however remote they actually are. In many cases, however, you should be more worried about the bank taking your money than losing it in a more organic fashion. JP Morgan Chase, for example, slips in an extra $2 non-Chase ATM fee every time you pull money out of a non-Chase machine. That’s in addition to whatever the machine charges you. Bank of America snags a $400 processing fee from your credit card before you’ve signed any refinance papers with them, making an instant buck and locking you in without actually promising you anything. Banks, especially in the US, profit by quietly bilking you. But if you buy their insurance products, you’ll be safe, they pinky-swear that. 18. Consultants Even if you went to school to obtain at minimum a Bachelor’s degree, and more than likely have an MBA, your business still may be doomed for failure. Unless you hire a consultant. It doesn’t matter if your degree is directly related to your multi-million dollar corporation, or if you have years of experience. A consultant who has no knowledge whatsoever about your chosen field holds the key to your success. Follow his or her advice, and your company will be just fine. Don’t hesitate to hire business help. If you falter in any way on your own, after all, your business will crash and burn like the Hindenburg. 17. Doctors Some doctors–I dare not implicate the profession here–”figure out ways to increase their high-margin work and decrease their low-margin work,” according to the New Yorker. In other words, they act like businesspeople. And it certainly helps when you’re scared enough to trust that every referral, procedure, and medication they give you is, in fact, necessary to make you better. 16. The Children’s Products Industry
If there’s one demographic we want to keep safe, it’s our babies and children. But we’ve moved beyond that, into what Reader’s Digest writer Lenore Skenazy calls the “Kiddie-Safety Industrial Complex.” Manufacturers want you to protect your precious bundle with baby kneepads, toddler helmets, and a host of other paranoia-friendly accouterments (see Skenazy’s fantastic article for the full lowdown). While a number of kids’ products are indeed dangerous, advertisers will still play on your most neurotic tendencies to squeeze out those extra consumer dollars. 15. The Environmental Industry
Did you accidentally spill gasoline as you were filling up? Did you miss the garbage can and unwittingly litter? Thanks for killing the planet, you petroleum-leaking litterbug. Remember what Paul Ehrlich said: “In ten years all important animal life in the sea will be extinct. Large areas of coastline will have to be evacuated because of the stench of dead fish.” Ehrlich said these words in 1970, but the sense of guilt and dread in the environmental movement remains the same. Fact is, we do have a lot of environmental problems. They’re impossible to ignore. But there have been improvements, too. Unfortunately, highlighting those doesn’t scare you into supporting any causes. When it comes to the environment, fear just seems to be the proven formula. Bonus: Capitalism has caught up with environmentalism. You can now buy a host of “green” products that you may or may not need–and that may or may not help the environment, depending on who’s peddling them. 14. The Self-Help Industry Life Coaches, spiritual guides, organizers, oh my! When did we make the shift from managing our own lives to seeking an expert for everything? From creating a home-office filing system to understanding why can’t seem to progress on our jobs to tapping into our inner psyches to figure out we don’t along with our neighbors, there’s an expert for that. What’s wrong with accepting that you’re not the most organized person? Or that you need to get another degree to move ahead at work, or that your neighbor is nuts? Somewhere along the line, all our defects were pathologized. And help, my friends, is only a few dollars away, in the form of an expert or book. Just remember–there’s always something else that you can outsource a cure for. 13. Advocacy groups Society’s treatment of children and animals may well be on the upswing, but many advocates would have you believe that it’s all Sturm und Drang, all the time. The idea is to scare you into thinking that their target topic is horribly affecting your life–then giving them money to fix it. Sociologist Frank Furedi calls these kinds of people “secular moral entrepreneurs.” Here’s how Furedi says they work: …advocacy groups use ‘surveys’ and ‘research’, rather than the language of good and evil, to claim that a particular problem is getting worse and that, unless Something Is Done, it will engulf the whole of society. Secular moral entrepreneurs continually seek out new opportunities to promote their cause, in a process described by sociologists as ‘domain expansion’: that is, expanding a widely recognised problem to encompass new issues. For example, widespread public concern about child abuse has encouraged secular moral entrepreneurs to use the language of abuse in relation to other issues, too: some now campaign to prevent ‘elder abuse’, ‘animal abuse’ and what they call ‘peer-to-peer abuse’. It is now even argued that people who are cruel to animals are likely to be cruel to their family members as well – in other words, one form of abuse begets another. With relentless repetition, and the support of the media, this imaginative linking together of disparate problems can become a kind of conventional wisdom. So when you hear stats like “one in four US teen girls reported that they met strangers off the Internet,” remember that all those people weren’t sexual predators–but someone would like you to think so. 12. The IT industry You’ll do anything to avoid getting a computer virus, won’t you? Thanks to a few bad ones, we’re convinced that horrible things will happen to our computers. Ignorance about all things technical helps fuel the mass hysteria. Don’t believe it? Have you ever forwarded emails from friends and family about the latest virus that’s going around, regardless whether you’ve verified it on SNOPES? Did you ever bump up your weekly anti-virus download so as not to take any chances? Did you buy all the proposed fixes and still stay up all night in December 1999 anticipating Y2K? Yep, they got you! 11. Fraudsters
Fear impairs your capability to logically assess a situation. Fraudsters know that. That’s why they’re so good at siphoning off money, especially from more vulnerable populations, like seniors. If you’ve ever fallen for a phishing scam (“Your account has been compromised! Please enter your login and credit card information here so that we can reactivate it!”) or a job that makes you pay upfront for training or materials you never get, then you know what I’m talking about. The more they make you panic, the more likely you are to cough up your dough. And they succeed, year after year. 10. The Pharmaceutical Industry Drug companies profit from treating diseases, not curing them. So the more conditions there are to treat, the more drugs a drugmaker can sell. No wonder they spend way more on marketing than on R&D. By branding and marketing their drugs, then finding new uses for them and rebranding, drugmakers squeeze out as much profit out of a formula as they can. That’s how Prozac became Serafem, a drug marketed for PMS—I mean PMDD. The more conditions a drug company can medicalize, the more potential it has for rebranding its formula. According to Naked Capitalism’s Yves Smith: Something like 88% of the so-called “new drug applications” in the US are for alternate uses of existing drugs (so the salesforce can market it legally, doctors are free to prescribe for other uses) OR improved formulations of existing drugs (no joke, stuff like a time released version of Wellbutrin so you only need take it 1X a day). The “improved formulations” type were invariably priced well out of line with the added benefits. Needless to say, Big Pharma isn’t interested in curing you. It’s interested in keeping you sick—and swallowing its pills. 9. Collections Agencies If you have ever gone delinquent on paying a credit card or three, you’ve likely received a letter from a collection agency. Their letters, if left ignored, get increasingly irate suggesting everything from “we can settle this with one phone call” to threatening lawsuits. Fearing the latter, you either pay or make arrangements to pay. Assuming that you’ve accepted that your FICO is going to be seriously compromised, it’s important to know what collection agencies can and can’t do to you. They cannot take you to court and if you write them to tell them to “lay off” they have to, by law. They prey on your fear, ignorance and guilt to get their money. Know your rights! 8. Niche Experts In spite of all the information available to us on the Internet, we seem to have returned to the Dark Ages in terms of relying on some expert to educate us. Whether it’s the severity of the latest flu, the Gulf Oil Spill’s impact on the environment, or even the social ramifications of a child raised by a homosexual couple, anyone with an opinion today is easily deemed an expert. Anyone can use phrases like “research shows” without a shred of evidence to back up their claims. Granted, some of these so-called experts are actually leaders in their fields, but that’s usually impossible to know upfront. As long as any “expert” has your attention, their game is working. 7. The Wellness Industry The wellness industry focuses on preventing illness instead of fighting it once it has appeared. The industry, which covers everything from massage to supplements to gym classes, plays an important role in keeping everyone fit and well-nourished. But that doesn’t stop the industry from trying scare you into buying their goodies. Sociologist Frank Furedi describes it best: They preach the message that people’s lives are becoming more and more unhealthy, and thus we need to be ever more vigilant in order to avoid becoming diseased…The premise is that being well is not a natural or normal state – instead it is something people need to work on, something to aspire to and achieve with the help of experts and gurus. Health activists insist that, unless you follow their prescribed patterns of behaviour, your risk of becoming ill will increase. Once you’re convinced that you need to replace your toxic canola oil with extra-virgin olive oil, you subject yourself to even more potential trickery. But as long as you feel safe and healthy, everything’s okay, right? 6. Prisons
We all want our streets to be safe from thugs, miscreants, druggies, and the rest of society’s maladapted. Yet it’s hard to believe that the nearly 2.3 million people in our jails in mid-2009—roughly a quarter of the world’s prisoners—are all there for good reason. One in 100 adult Americans is locked up, according to the New York Times. The more afraid you are of criminals, the more likely you are to support political measures that keep this mind-blowing incarceration rate alive. As a result, we jail people for more crimes and longer terms than most other countries, writes the New York Times. Who profits most from this? Politicians taking a “tough on crime” stance, the companies running private prisons, and the businesses supplying government prisons with goods. A full prison, after all, is a profitable prison. 5. The Gun Industry The recession shows no signs of weakening. People are foreclosing on their homes at a staggering rate. Yet gun sales are through the roof. Gun sales and fear run on parallel barometers. Shocking footage from Columbine or Virginia Tech seems to make people more likely to stock up on steel protection than ask questions about causes. Alarmist messages like “(we’re on a) slippery slope toward more Draconian gun restrictions and, ultimately, toward confiscation of all guns” only add fuel to the fire. There’s that fear relationship again: Fearing tougher gun restrictions in the future makes stacking up on semi-automatic weapons seem like the only answer. 4. Insurance companies Rental car collision insurance. Flight insurance. Contact lens insurance. Death insurance, life insurance, dismemberment insurance, disability insurance, accident insurance…you could insure yourself up the wazoo, if you so desired. But how many of these so-called safety contracts do you really need? If you’re scared of everything, well, you need them all. And you’ll fatten a few bottom lines in the process. 3. Religion Religion is a fairly new concept to humans, given how long we’ve been on earth. Yet for two thousand years, religion has been upheld as the ultimate solution to reign in the sinners and strays among us. Using it to condemn anyone who is not living a “morally fit” existence is quite the norm. From eating pork and drinking (preferably simultaneously) to swearing and “living in sin,” when it comes to religion, people check their own moral compasses at the door. Instead, they choose to listen to those who promise them hell if they continue these sinful acts. How to redeem yourself? Oh right, tithing and sworn loyalty, plus the occasional potluck. 2. The Media
The media mainlines fear for profit. On any given day, the newspapers, websites, and TV shows that make up the MSM (mainstream media) will tell you about baby killers, deadly wild animals, conspiracies, crashes, fires, and terrorists. Here are some examples of real-life media headlines I found one random afternoon while browsing the Web: Baby, toddler kidnapped at gunpoint Once the media ratchets up your anxiety with scary stories, you’ll keep turning to it for answers, or at least updates. Meanwhile, the media profits off the advertisers, impressions, ratings, pageviews, and all that other soft currency that results from your sustained attention. 1. Politicians Terrorists. Death panels. Peak oil. Can you read those words without feeling a twinge of fear in your gut? No? Good. That’s just how politicians want you to feel. When they have you scared, they stand a better chance of passing legislation in line with their own interests. George W. Bush handily used our fear of terrorism to swiftly invade Iraq, despite little premise. Obama is trying to assuage our fear of economic failure by talking of the promise of cap and trade and green jobs, things that are minor in execution. Then there’s that Arizona immigration law. The more fearful you are, the more likely you are to support laws that you think will soothe that fear. And the merrier politicians get.
Source: Business Pundit | 27 Jul 2010 | 10:30 am Indian IPO Filing: MakeMyTrip (MMYT)There has been an IPO filing from online travel portal MakeMyTrip Limited This is an Indian online travel company and it filed to raise up to $100 million in its initial public offering. The proposed ticker is to trades as “MMYT” on the NASDAQ National Market. Morgan Stanley is the lead underwriter, and Oppenheimer and [...][[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 27 Jul 2010 | 10:02 am Who Doesn't Pay Taxes and Why (The Tax Guy)Lots of folks have no skin in the game -- and that's not a good thing.
Source: SmartMoney.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 9:37 am Jerk Running Ferry To Fire Island Not Up On The Celebs Of Financial Reform
Barney Frank [Page Six]
Source: Dealbreaker | 27 Jul 2010 | 9:34 am Housing Recovery? Not Yet
Alyson Hurt/NPR
"Since reaching its recent trough in April 2009, the housing market has really only stabilized at this lower level." Home prices rose in May, according to figures released this morning. A bunch of other housing indicators have been pointing to a weakening housing market lately, so rise in the Case Shiller index — up 1 percent compared with the previous month, and up 5 percent compared with May of '09 — was a bit of a surprise. Even S&P, which puts out the index, doesn't seem to have much faith in the rise. The guy who heads S&P's index committee said today:
Anyway. Here's the city-by-city list from Case Shiller:
What the numbers mean: In the Case-Shiller index, the median price of a home in January of 2000 is equal to 100. So for the composite index, home prices are more than 40 percent higher than they were in January of 2000. The index is not adjusted for inflation. Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 27 Jul 2010 | 9:33 am DuPont boosts 2010 forecastNEW YORK (Reuters) - DuPont forecast 2010 earnings well above expectations on Tuesday, sending its shares up 4.1 percent, as the rebounding global economy continued to fuel the company's recovery.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 9:30 am Tony Hayward, Bob Dudley, and the Weird Russian Connection
Tony Hayward is stepping out of the role of CEO at BP, but he’s not exactly getting thrown to the curb. According to ABC, “he will receive a year’s salary, worth $1.61 million, and he’ll also keep his approximately $17 million pension fund. He will also take a job at a BP outpost in Russia.” That is, he will become a board member at TNK-BP, BP’s joint venture with Russian oligarchs. Ah, the Russia thing. BP’s new CEO, Bob Dudley, went into hiding in 2008, when he was leader of TNK-BP, after teeing off oligarch shareholders (from NPR): …Dudley didn’t provide an exemplary showing in his other recent big experience in the limelight — his 2008 dust-up with four Russian oligarchs who are BP’s partners in TNK-BP, a Russian company that accounts for some 20 percent of BP’s global oil production and more than 10 percent of its profit. Dudley was CEO of TNK-BP when a dispute with the oligarchs broke out in 2008, and he ended up leaving Russia to what was politely called seclusion in an undisclosed location. More bluntly, Dudley fled and was hiding out. Early this year, the partners attempted to explain away the row as just one of those things — a warm spin on events described by the Wall Street Journal’s Greg White — but the CEO doesn’t go incommunicado for several months in a normal business disagreement. The oligarchs are over the dispute, according to Bloomberg: In 2008, workers seconded by BP were barred from working in Moscow, while the successor to the Soviet KGB raided its office and an employee was charged with industrial espionage. In the end, Dudley fled the country, citing “sustained harassment” amid court battles and labor and tax inspections. Moscow-based TNK-BP accounts for about a quarter of BP’s production, a fifth of reserves and about a tenth of earnings. In 2008, TNK-BP’s partner AAR, a group of companies owned by German Khan, Mikhail Fridman, Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, called for Dudley’s ouster in a dispute over strategy at Russia’s third-biggest oil company, alleging he ignored their interests. Dudley denied the charge. “I sent Bob my congratulations today,” TNK-BP shareholder German Khan said. “We also welcome the possibility that Tony Hayward will be named to the board of TNK-BP,” Khan said. “We think he’s highly qualified specialist and was the victim of a subjective situation.” So Hayward will be sent to Russia, hopefully in a peaceful manner, to help out with 25% of BP’s production. Dudley, who failed in Russia, will be sent to the US to deal with Washington and a leaky 40% of BP’s production. Sounds like BP likes both of these guys, but the oil spill forced the company to swap them out. Will Hayward go from US whipping boy to the Russian oligarchs’ darling? It may depend on how much the oligarchs like cost-cutting. According to the AP: Not long before he took over, Hayward told a conference that BP needed to change its leadership style because it was “too directive and doesn’t listen sufficiently well.” He said he was concentrating on “closing the performance gap” with rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell. Hayward stripped out layers of management and costs across a stumbling and bloated business, improving its refining efficiency and putting the firm on a stronger footing to weather a global downturn. BP’s market position improved and its reputation was rehabilitated. Cost-cutting, which saw around 7,500 positions axed, led to savings of around $4 billion. The BP situation in the US, despite the CEO thing, is still uncertain. Let’s see how the public reacts to Mississippi boy Dudley.
Source: Business Pundit | 27 Jul 2010 | 9:26 am Big miners to deliver strong results, H2 looks tougherLONDON/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Major diversified miners are due to post surging first half results after a strong rebound in prices with demand driven by China and India.
Source: Reuters: Business News | 27 Jul 2010 | 9:14 am San Francisco Spends $25 Million To Test 'Goldilocks' Parkingby Ashley Lau San Francisco is about to spend $25 million to answer a simple question: How much should a city charge for parking? The price should be cheap enough that most of the metered spaces and city parking lots are always almost full. But it shouldn't be so cheap that spaces are entirely full, leaving drivers frustrated and adding to congestion as cars circle endlessly looking for a place to park. "It's the 'Goldilocks' principle of parking spaces," said Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at UCLA who wrote a book called "The High Cost of Free Parking." Shoup's work was the inspiration for a high-tech project San Francisco is launching today. Its aim: to set parking prices just right. The system will use electronic sensors to measure real-time demand for parking spaces, and adjust prices accordingly. When there are lots of empty spaces, it will be cheap to park. When spaces are hard to find, rates will be higher. "It's basic supply and demand," Shoup said. The range in prices will be huge: from 25 cents an hour to a maximum of $6 an hour, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority. Eventually, drivers will be able to find open parking spaces by going online, checking their mobile phones or reading for new electronic signs that will be posted throughout the city. (Warning to SF pedestrians: Watch out for drivers who are checking their phones to search for a parking place.) Today's first phase begins with the installation of 190 new meters in the Hayes Valley area of San Francisco. Over the next two years, the city will be testing the system at 6,000 metered spaces across city and at 12,250 spaces in 15 of the city’s parking garages. "It's good for commerce and getting the price right," Shoup said, pointing to the economic efficiency of the plan. "Let the market do something good for this service." For More on Shoup: Check out his "Shoupista" following on Facebook. Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 27 Jul 2010 | 8:55 am Here Are Some Thoughts On Men And Wall Street
 Maybe not sounding so crazy anymore? And the one way this thing can apparently be saved (think ‘e’).
Women Can Save Wall Street From The End [MarketWtch]
Source: Dealbreaker | 27 Jul 2010 | 8:50 am Bloomberg's Robison Discusses Pre-Rolling an ETF: AudioSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 27 Jul 2010 | 7:43 am Lenhoff on Earnings, Silva on European Banks: First WordSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 27 Jul 2010 | 7:40 am Opening Bell: 07.27.10
Deutsche Bank raises quarterly profits despite crisis (AP) Top 25 Highest Paid CEOs Of The Decade (WSJ) Jailed Investment Banker Asks For $2 Million Bail (Bloomberg) CIT Reports Second Quarter 2010 Net Income of $142 Million; $0.71 Per Diluted Share (BusinessWire) New Chief Pledges BP Will Be ‘Good Corporate Citizen’ (CNBC) http://online.wsj.com/video-center?mg=com-wsj“>Down Came the Rain and Washed a Porsche Spyder Out (WSJ) U.S. Small-Business Aid May Create $300 Billion of `Junk’ Loans (Bloomberg) Cast Of Jersey Shore Rings Opening Bell (YouTube)
Source: Dealbreaker | 27 Jul 2010 | 7:30 am Gulf Oil Spill: $32 Billion, For Nowby Jacob Goldstein BP said today that it's taking a charge of $32.2 billion to pay for the Gulf oil spill. And, the company suggested, it could ultimately wind up on the hook for more. The charge includes the costs associated with the spill to date (including those incurred by the federal government), the $20 billion escrow fund that was already announced and "future costs which can be estimated reliably at this time." The company plans to sell $30 billion in assets (largely oil and gas fields) to raise cash. That represents about a tenth of its assets, the WSJ says. BP suggested it could ultimately have to pay more than $32 billion — if it fails to permanently stop the flow of oil next month; if it is found to have been grossly negligent; if the estimates for the flow rate were way off; or if the company has to pay significant fines and penalties other than those related to the Clean Water Act. To put all these numbers in context: The company reported $6.2 billion in profit in the first quarter of this year, before the spill occurred. For the second quarter, the company reported a loss of $17 billion, largely due to costs associated with the spill. Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 27 Jul 2010 | 7:23 am Things BP Could Buy With Lost Oil Spill MoneyVisual Economics has an eye-opening infographic on what BP could have done with the money it lost through the Gulf oil spill (click on it to enlarge and scroll sideways):
Source: Business Pundit | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:40 am
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