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Monthly Archives: September 2011

Amazon Makes Nothing On New Kindle Fire

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 8:58 pm

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) makes no money on its new Kindle Fire tablet PC. That may be a sign that it will seek to take market share from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) ...
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How Big Business Influences The Super Committee Members

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 5:14 pm

“All politics is local”--Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill, Jr., Speaker of the House, 1977 to 1987 Twelve members of Congress have been tasked with producing legislation to cut up to $1.5 ...
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Who Defaults First: Greece or Eastman Kodak?… Take The Poll

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 3:51 pm

In the world of poor leadership and strategy, you have to love the irony that exists in the world of international finance on the last day of the quarter.  The ...
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Will Crude Prices Stay Down 10%? (XOM, CVX, COP, OXY)

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 3:32 pm

In mid-afternoon trading today, WTI crude has fallen below $80/barrel and looks set to end the month down about -10%. Given all the dismal economic news that came out this ...
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Big Banks Invest in Renewable Energy (BAC, C, WFC, GE, SPWRA, WFR)

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 2:25 pm

For several years, investing in large alt energy projects depended on large commercial banks being able to profit from the tax equity generated by a project's developer. That investment strategy ...
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Recession Just Around the Corner Says ECRI

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 1:16 pm

If you believe things are bad now, just wait because they're about to get much worse. That's the forecast from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI). In their latest report, ...
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Flight Cancellations on Record Pace (AMR, UAL, LCC, DAL, RJET, JBLU, LUV, ALK, HA)

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 11:27 am

Not only is air travel getting more expensive, passengers are more likely to face competition for fewer seats and more cancelled flights. Capacity is falling as airlines eliminate low-traffic routes ...
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IBM Passes Microsoft in Market Cap Beauty Contest (IBM, MSFT, AAPL, HPQ, DELL, NOK, GOOG)

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 8:58 am

The results are in, and though they may be temporary, it's now official that IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) has become the second largest high-tech firm in the world, passing Microsoft ...
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Today’s Best Market Rumors (9/30/2011) Facebook Privacy

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 8:21 am

Updated throughout the day. McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) and the CME may combine their DJIA and S&P 500 assets (Reuters) Facebook faces a privacy investigation  in Ireland (FT) Douglas A. McIntyre ...
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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ALTR, DOW, DNKN, HBC, ITRI, PHG, SHOO, WNR)

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 7:43 am

It is a bit thin in analyst coverage this morning.  These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Wall Street. Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) Cut to Hold ...
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Low Mortgage Rates Should Stimulate Home Market, But Do Not

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 6:28 am

The rate for 30-year fixed mortgages dropped to 4.01% this week. That is the lowest figure on record. A current home buyer could save tens of thousands, if not hundreds ...
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Economic Slump Hits China in Earnest

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 6:25 am

There have been a number of convincing arguments that China will be spared the recession that has begun to spread across the world -- or, by the recession that never ...
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Is Obama the Biggest Drag on Investor Confidence?

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 6:22 am

Suppose that Barack Obama was not the president of the United States. The stock market might be higher and the global capital markets not as nervous as they are now. ...
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Obama to Sell $22 Billion in U.S. Assets, a Drop in the Bucket

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 6:19 am

The Obama administration has suggested the U.S. sell $22 billion in “unwanted” assets over the next decade to raise money. That is such a small figure that it is hardly ...
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Media Digest (9/30/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

Posted: September 30, 2011 at 6:17 am

The federal government begins to probe the accounting of several Chinese companies. (Reuters) EU markets to decline more this quarter than in any other since 2008. (Reuters) Bank of America ...
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