What’s Important In The Financial World (12/30/2011) Google+, AMR Delisted

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Published

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China’s PMI, Slowing Economy The country’s PMI was below 50 again in December. A PMI above 50 is considered a mark of expansion. The China Purchasing Managers’ Index for this month was 48.7. In November, it was slightly worse at 47.7. Now, the People’s Republic must balance making money easier to borrow with whether that easing becomes the cause of inflation. The availability of money may not solve the problem at all; it may just delay the effects of poor PMI. No amount of capital can offset a sharp drop in demand for China goods in the US and EU.

Can’t trade AMR on NYSE The ability of investors to trade share of AMR, the bankrupt parent of American Air, on the NYSE will disappear. That adds insult to injury. American is one of oldest carriers in the US. Unlike many of its competitors, it has not gone through serial Chapter 11 filings to remain viable.

Verizon’s 4G Woes The problems of Verizon Wireless, which include the third collapse of its 4G network in as many weeks have not ended. The firm made the following announcement:

Verizon Wireless offers customers numerous free and simple payment options and we encourage customers to use those options. Starting January 15, a new $2 payment convenience fee will be instituted for customers who make single bill payments online or by telephone.

The news caused a revolt among Verizon Wireless subscribers. Verizon said it needs to make the charge to offset transaction expenses. Secretly, the fee may also help the carrier make up for the revenue it loses as subscribers flee is crumbling network.

Google+ v Facebook The threat of the Google+ social network product to Facebook appears more real with each passing day. Social network expert Paul Allen says Google has 62 million “plus” users now. He forecasts that the figure will reach 400 million by the end of 2012. Facebook has about 750 million members. What Allen does not address is whether people actually spend any time on Google+. Most research shows that social network “time spent” favors Facebook by a wide margin

Douglas A. McIntyre

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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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