Back-to-School Spending to Drop
ThinkstockRetail spending is often used as a barometer of the general economy. If consumer spending is two-thirds of gross domestic product (GDP), retail spending is one of its primary engines. And the news about…
Archive
Year: 2013
All Year: 2013 Articles
Newest first · Page 180Oil Prices Hurt Economy, Help Big Energy Stocks
ThinkstockThe rising price of crude probably already has done some damage to the economy. And in the future it is certain to do more. The costs of gas and heating oil will rise for consumers. For…
Detroit Bankruptcy: As Its Own Worst Enemy, the City Got What It Deserved
ThinkstockIf the residents of the city of Detroit want to blame any person or organization for its Chapter 9 filing, they only need to look as far as the unions that controlled labor there…
The First Day in Memory No One Cared About Apple
courtesy of Apple Inc.Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has moved to the margins enough in the conversation about big tech that earnings from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) today did not…
Moody’s Changes Outlook on U.S. Aaa Sovereign Rating to “Stable”
ThinkstockWith an improving economy, an unexpected but welcome increase in tax revenue and federal spending down, largely because of budget battles, the U.S. financial situation has improved, not by design so much as by…
Microsoft Company Earnings a Mighty Whiff
courtesy of MicrosoftMicrosoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2013 results after markets closed today. The software behemoth reported adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52 on revenues of $19.9 billion for…
Google Company Earnings Not Awe-Inspiring
courtesy of Google Inc.Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) reported second-quarter 2013 results after markets closed today. The software behemoth posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $9.56 on revenues of $11.1 billion. In the…
Closing Bell for Thursday on Wall Street: Markets Open Mixed, Muddle to Positive Close
July 18, 2013: U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning after the report on new jobless claims in the U.S. came in better than expected. In Europe, Greece agreed to fire another 25,000 public…
Crude Spread Falls Below $1 a Barrel
thinkstockThe price differential (spread) between a barrel of WTI crude and a barrel of Brent crude has closed to less than $0.50 a barrel after soaring to around $28 a barrel in October of…
Which Stations Sell the Cheapest Gasoline?
ThinkstockIn what may be a Pyrrhic victory, Anglo-Dutch oil supermajor Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) is the market leader among branded gasoline sellers in the U.S. for the first half of 2013. BP…
U.K. Urges Disabling 787 Dreamliner Transmitters
courtesy Boeing Co.Last week’s fire in an unoccupied Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner at London’s Heathrow airport apparently has been traced to a malfunction in the aircraft’s emergency locator transmitter. The U.K.’s Air Accidents…
Freddie Mac: Mortgage Loan Rates Easing Back
ThinkstockIn its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, home lending giant Freddie Mac reported that mortgage rates for fixed-rate loans have finally broken a two-month string of weekly increases. The interest rate on a 30-year…
Natural Gas Futures React to Lower-Than-Expected Build
thinkstock The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) today reported the U.S. natural gas stocks increased by 58 billion cubic feet last week, compared with an expected build of around 64 billion cubic feet anticipated…
Exchange Rate Volatility Hampers Earnings: Who Gets Blamed?
ThinkstockFollowing last month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the euro-U.S. dollar exchange rate (EURUSD) fell to just over 80. Less than a month later the EURUSD came within a few ticks of 85, and…
Oppenheimer Top Industrial Stocks to Buy With Strong Second Half 2013 Potential
ThinkstockThe second quarter of 2013 for many industrial stocks was stubbornly soft. With difficult year-over-year comparisons, and the economy both here and abroad struggling to gain traction, many of the top industrial stocks covered…