As Recession Bites, Global Politics Turn Dirty
It is easy to look at Kuwait’s abandonment of a deal with Dow Chemical (DOW) as a simple economic decision on the part of the small Arab country. But, the country’s Parliament was involved.…
Archive
Year: 2008
All Year: 2008 Articles
Newest first · Page 4New Congress And Administration Get Ready To Sucker Punch Labor
For decades, labor’s strongholds were in the car business, newspapers, states and municipalities, and transportation. Between the UAW and the AFL-CIO millions of workers had jobs which were virtually guaranteed along with good wages…
Media Digest 12/29/2008 Reuters, WSJ, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, Kuwait canceled a $17 billion joint venture with Dow Chemical (DOW). Reuters reports that Credit Suisse (CS) clients may have lost $926 million on the Madoff scam. Reuters reports that GMAC…
Asia Markets And Europe Open 12/29/2008
Markets in Asia were mixed. The Nikkei rose .1% to 8,747. The Hang Seng was up .2% to 14,205. The Shanghai Composite was down 1.1% to 1,831. At the open, the FTSE was up…
Kuwait Blows Up Dow Chemical (DOW), Stock Headed Below $15
A lot of investors are betting the Dow Chemical’s (DOW) best years are behind it. Shares have dropped from a 52-week high of $43.43 to $19. The stock now trades where it did in…
If 25% Of American Retailers Go Bankrupt, Which Companies Make The List?
24/7 Wall St. has already provided a list of retailers who may well not make it through 2009. According to The Wall Street Journal, "AlixPartners LLP, a Michigan-based turnaround consulting firm, estimates that 25.8%…
Global Economy Could Shrink In 2009, First Contraction Since 1947
The global economy has not contracted since 1947. But, an HSBC economist believes that it will happen again in 2009. According to The London Telegraph, Stephen King, HSBC’s chief economist writes "On the basis…
Saving $1 Billion On Gas A Day: OPEC’s Bailout Is Bigger Than Obama’s
Americans have to be doing better now that gas is well under $2 a gallon compared to the $4 or higher where it was sitting last summer. By many accounts, a family with two…
GMAC Could Be Almost As Large A Bailout As Big Banks
There has been a great deal of debate about whether a car company lending arm should qualify for federal bailout funds. GMAC is no longer owned exclusively by GM (GM) because hedge fund Cerberus…
Anadarko Sells Mid-Stream Assets to Itself (APC, WES)
Western Gas Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) has completed the purchase of gas processing plants and gathering systems from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC). Western Gas was formed by Anadarko earlier this year to off-load Anadarko’s mid-stream…
Small-cap Oil Company Shrinks (TXCO)
Small-cap oil producer TXCO Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:TXCO) announced a few days before the holiday that it would reduce staff by 20%, slow its fourth-quarter drilling operations, and shut-in five wells and two steam generators…
Woes in the Oil Patch (RDS.A, XOM, COP, CVX)
Flying J Oil, Inc., a privately-held oil company headquartered in Ogden, Utah, filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 on December 22nd. The company owns and operates more than 250 retail outlets in the…
Projecting The 2009 Dogs of the Dow (AA, T, BAC, C, DD, GE, JPM, MRK, PFE, VZ)
The Dogs of the Dow are often misunderstood as an investment vehicle. These are technically the 10 highest dividend-yielding stocks out of the 30 DJIA components. The formal list of the ten Dogs of…
Wal-Mart (WMT) Confirms Sale of Apple (AAPL) iPhone Starting December 28th
Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) confirms it will sell Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone starting December 28th. Wal-Mart will offer the black 8 GB iPhone 3G model with the every day price of $197 and the 16…
When Bond Funds Change Investment Objectives (PHK)
It is no secret at all that the bond funds, particularly closed-end funds, have had a hard time in the latest credit mess. Yet today marks perhaps a new change for closed-end funds, and…