Reuters: Chinese investors are holding a large amount of gold.
Reuters: Bernanke sees tighter policies as the economy improves.
Reuters: The Congressional Oversight Panel says that the US plan to help homeowners with mortgages is not enough.
Reuters: The FDIC questioned a review of Citigroup (NYSE:C) management. Read More
No one should have to tell the US government that it has the highest possible credit rating. It is the government of the world’s largest economy, the world’s most voracious consumers, and its debt, the world’s investment of last resort. Read More
According to Reuters, lenders will object to the Chrysler Chapter 11 filing.
Reuters reports that Switzerland is asking US a court to halt a case against UBS (UBS).
Reuters reports that SMFG will buy Citiroup’s (C) Japan units for over $5.6 billion.
Reuters writes that Cuomo said that pension kickbacks are a national problem. Read More
Depending on the source, Japan’s mythic “Lost Decade” lasted from 1989 to 2003, or sometime later if the exact bottom of the real estate market in the Asian nation is taken into account. Because the period began with easy access to capital followed by a sharp drop in the stock market and property values, it is now being compared to what many economists believe began in the US two years ago. They fear, probably with good reason, that GDP growth will simply stay in a narrow band of extremely modest growth or no growth at all and the lack of consumer and business spending and demand for exports will cause deflation. Read More
According to Reuters, the government’s auto task force will meet with GM (GM) to push ahead its restructuring.
Reuters writes that US banks may still need aid.
Reuters writes that Morgan Stanley’s (MS) Q1 earnings may be hurt by bonds.
Reuters reports that regulators may not want TARP money back soon.
Reuters reports that lower home values are widening budget gaps in many US cities.
Reuters reports that laid-off workers are sometimes finding jobs, but at much lower pay. Read More
According to Reuters, investors in GE (GE) are still worried that the stock will not recover to its highs of last year.
Reuters reports that Madoff pleaded guilty of 11 charges of fraud.
Reuters reports that US lawmakers are looking at pay for performance legislation which would apply to corporate executives.
Reuters reports that China’s premier said that the nation’s growth target would be hard to meet.
Reuters reports that Citigroup (C) will nominate new board members.
Reuters reports that GM (GE) would survive March with no US aid.
Reuters reports that many Americans remain optimistic even in the recession according to a poll. Read More
According, to Reuters, 
GM (GM) and Chrysler have asked for another $22 billion.
Reuters reports that the SEC has charged Alan Stamford with “massive fraud.”
Reuters reports that Trump’s image is being hurt by the bankruptcy of his casino company. Read More
Dow Chemical (DOW) was supposed to buy Rohm & Haas (ROH). Now, it may be the other way around. Dow can’t close the deal and Rohm is suing to get it finished.
Dow has quickly gone from being viewed as one of the most aggressive multinationals in the world to a firm which is in very deep trouble. The Rohm deal was a bold play for combining two similar companies to create big potential cost savings and a broad product line for common customers.
According to Reuters, cities and states are facing shortfalls and potential defaults.
Reuters reports that the US steel industry is starting a "buy America" campaign.
Reuters reports that Fannie Mae (FNM) believes that IndyMac may owe it $1 billion.
Most people who are in business put making a profit above maintaining a good image. They would like their customers to think well of them because it drives sales. But, being a pillar of public admiration is for churches, benevolent associations, and the Knights of Malta.
Fortune thinks corporate reputations are important and goes to a great deal of expense to put out a list of America’s Most Admired Companies.
According to Reuters, Lehman (LEH) will release earnings a week early after its stock dropped 45%.
Reuters reports that OPEC agreed to a surprise production cut.
Reuters reports that CFOs are more optimistic about the US economy.
Reuters reports that Nokia (NOK) has entered into a corporate e-mail deal with Microsoft (MSFT)
According to Reuters, oil price moved toward $120 on fear for supply interruptions.
Reuters writes that Chrysler is trying to sell two of its North American plants.
Reuters reports that many Wall St. analysts believe that Microsoft (MSFT) will launch a hostile bid for Yahoo! (YHOO).
Reuters writes that Continental (CAL) will not merge with United (UAUA).
Reuters writest that the Fed will probably cut rates but pause from any further reductions.
Reuters reports that Qantas will raise fare due to higher fuel prices.
The Wall Street Journal writes that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) and Mars are near at $22 billion to wuy Wrigley (WWY).
The Wall Street Journal reports that China may begin to launch satellite for foreign countries.
The Wall Street Journal reports that AMD (AMD) is making a push for getting more small business customers.
The Wall Street Journal writes that profits at China Life (CHL) fell 61%.
The Wall Street Journal writes that Big Oil should report huge profits this week.
The New York Times writes that Google (GOOG) is releasing new software for better image recognition.
The FT writes that investors are pulling huge finds out of large mutual funds.
Douglas A. McIntyre
There are only six companies left with "AAA" ratings from both S&P and Moody’s. The are Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK), GE (GE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Exxon (XOM), and Toyota (TM).
Wall St. might think that companies with strong ratings would be modest market performers because they make "safe" business decisions. In reality, all of the companies, except Toyota, have out-performed the S&P over the last year. Toyota at least has the excuse that it operates in an industry which has had two brutal years.
The trick for doing well might seem to be that the companies are diversified. But, that is not entirely true, especially with Exxon and ADP. More likely, the firms do extraordinarily well because they have a very large portion of their business coming from outside the US. While the market may be slowing here, it is still robust in some emerging markets and these operations are moving assets to those regions.
The advantages of being global can be overstated. Emerging countries can be politically unstable. But, for the time being, they produce.
Douglas A. McIntyre
According to Reuteres, Novartis will buy Nestle’s Alcon stakes for $39 billion.
Reuters writes that Microsoft (MSFT) has given Yahoo! (YHOO) a dealine for buy-out talks.
Reuters writes that Yahoo! will inform Microsoft that it is not against a buy-out but would expect a higher price.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Private-equity firm TPG and other firms will put $5 billion into Washington Mutual (WM).
The Wall Street Journal writes that federal officials are encouraging Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) to fire the head of its reinsurance unit due to criminal convictions of some of its executives.
The Wall Street Journal writes that Carlyle has raised $1.35 billion to buy distressed assets.
The Wall Street Journal writes that a Chinese court has approved going forward with a case by the music industry against Chinese online firms including Baidu (BIDU).
The Wall Street Journal writes that Polo Ralph Lauren will outfit the US Olympic team.
The Wall Street Journal writes that more CEOs are sharing their bonuses with staff members.
The New York Times writes that airline passenger complaints are rising sharply.
The New York Times writes that Yahoo!’s board is likely to reject Microsoft’s offer as being too low.
The New York Times writes that oil is moving back toward $107.
The FT writes that Delta (DAL) and Northwest (NWA) have restarted merger talks.
Bloomberg writes that with Bear Strearns gone, Goldman Sachs (GS) is now the Wall St. firm that relies the most on leverage.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Perhaps the fact that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) got into the bond insurance business just as it was falling apart was not entirely due to the genius of Warren Buffett. According to the FT, Mr. Buffett’s company began its new business "just weeks after receiving an unusual call from New York state’s insurance regulator urging it to enter the multi-billion dollar market."
The entreaties of the troubled fell upon the ears of the mighty. New York State approved the application to start the business in one month. People who are not Warren Buffett often wait six to nine months.
Now that Buffett and Company and their Fort Know balance sheet are in the bond insurance business, companies like MBIA (MBI) and Ambac (ABK) can head down the sewer. The stocks of both firms were shellacked today on concerns that they will have substantial losses. Both companies face having to raise money, or worse.
For Warren Buffett, it is good to be the King.
Douglas A. McIntyre
According to Reuters, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) has bought control of Marmon Industries for $4.5 billion.
Reuters writes that US retail sales were up a disappointing 3.6% for the holidays.
Reuters reports that China auto companies SAIC and Nanjing Auto will merge.
The Wall Street Journal writes that the credit crunch is beginning to hit commercial real estate prices.
The Wall Street Journal writes that Moody’s has downgraded one of the BlackRock institutional funds to "junk" status.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Docomo (DCM) will provide Google (GOOG) services on its phones in Japan.
CNN Money reports that the best performing stocks in the Dow for 2007 have been Merck (MRK) and McDonald’s (MCD). In the Nasdaq 100, amondg the winners are Baidu (BIDU), Research In Motion (RIMM) and Amazon (AMZN). Among the Dow losers are Citigroup (C) and Home Depot (HD). Among the Nasdaq losers are Level 3 (LVLT) and Starbucks (SBUX).
Douglas A. McIntyre
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) is buying 60% of Marmon Holdings Inc., a diversified industrial firm with about $7 billion in annual revenue and more than 125 operating units, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The initial deal will be for 60% of the company and will be valued at $4.5 billion. The balance will be completed in 2014 based on the company’s performance.
Douglas A. McIntyre
According to Reuters, the pace of holiday spending dropped off in late November and early December.
Reuters writes that Ingersoll-Rand (IR) is buying Trane (TT) for $10.1 billion.
Reuters writes that chip makers like Intel (INTC) are considering going to larger wafers to increase production but the move could cost billions of dollars.
The Wall Street Journal writes that Related Companies, a large privately held NY real estate company will get a huge cash infusion from Goldman Sachs (GS) and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development as Arab interests increase investments in the US.
The Wall Street Journal writes that Ford (F) is near a deal to sell Rover and Jaguar to Tata.
The Wall Street Journal writes that Time Warner’s (TWX) studio release "I Am Legend" broke a box office record bringing in almost $77 million.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Cerberus and United Rentals (URI) have entered settlement talks over their broken buy-out deal.
The Wall Street Journal writes that IBM (IBM) is increasing its staff in India and China
The New York Times writes that sales of women’s clothing has been particularly weak this holiday season.
The New York Times reports that software programmers are having trouble keeping up with the new speed of faster chips
The FT writes that a rise in food prices is likely to hit all of the world’s major economies.
The FT also reports that telecom companies are turning to Silicon Valley to get their senior tech talent.
Barron’s reports that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) may be overvalued.
Bloomberg says Wall St expects M&A to fall 20% due to growing credit problems in the market.
Bloomberg also reports that the price of wheat moved above $10 a bushel.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Northern Rock may be the UK’s most troubled financial company. The Bank of England has put 26 billion pounds into the company and would like to get the money back.
According to The Sunday Telegraph "JC Flowers, Cerberus and the new consortium involving Olympus Partners and Five Mile Capital, the US private equity firms, are all understood to have discussed a deal with Warren Buffett’s advisers."
If Buffett appears to be part of a group buying the troubled UK firm, it may bring in even more bidders. His reputation is strong enough so that "smart money" could believe that he sees something in Northern Rock that others have missed.
Douglas A. McIntyre
According to Reuters, News Corp (NWS) CEO Rupert Murcoch says the company is having a strong quarter.
Reuters writes that Yahoo! (YHOO) has entered partnerships to expand its mobile business across Asia.
Reuters writes that the head of OPEC stated that the cartel will make no supply decisions until December.
The Wall Street Journal writes that Bershire Hathaway (BRK) may benefit if bond insurers seek reinsurance to keep their credit ratings high.
The Wall Street Journal writes that the stock boom in China has pushed it financial infrastructure to its limits.
The Wall Street Journal writes that credit agency Fitch downgraded the credit ratings of $37 billion in CDOs.
The Wall Street Journal writes that Wal-Mart (WMT) is changing its healthcare plan in a way that will help a greater number of workers.
THe New York Times writes that Saleforce.com want to become the new Microsoft (MSFT), trying to get thousands of programmers to write applications on top of its software.
The head of agency Publicis warned that internet ad revenue cannot support the valuations of companies like Facebook.
Barron’s writes that the head of Echostar (DISH) says that the country is probably in a recession.
Bloomberg writes that Vodafone’s (VOD) first half numbers beat analyst estimates.
Douglas A. McIntyre
| Today’s top tickerspy Indexes | |
| Coffee Stocks | +16.3% |
| Hotel Stocks | +9.0% |
| 2009 IPOs | +8.2% |
| Education Stocks | +4.7% |
| Coal Stocks | +4.4% |
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