Dwight Burdette, via Wikimedia CommonsThe American consumer has remained pretty consistent in 2013, helping to push along a still very slow economic recovery. One place they have spent money is the department stores around…
ThinkstockThe world of biotech investing is always a difficult one. Often a binary event, such as a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval or a life-saving capital raise is the difference between not only…
Frank Golhen, via Wikimedia CommonsThe stock market has come a long way since the dark days of March 2009. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been up 10 days in a row. The last…
ThinkstockWe reported yesterday that the EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) and VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) strategic forum in New York City was used as a platform to not only showcase earnings and prospects for the…
ThinkstockIn yet one more sign that China has not only dodged the recession but it has been largely unaffected by the troubled economies of the rest of the world, the services sector of the…
courtesy of StarbucksStarbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) will open a store in Vietnam, and why not. The investment is tiny, if meant to determine whether the coffee shop chain can take a piece of the morning…
ThinkstockWidely followed blogger Andrew Sullivan will leave the Daily Beast, just as he left The Atlantic before that. Sullivan plans to start a “for pay site” for which his new firm will charge as…
courtesy of Hewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) has filed its 10-K, and among its top disclosures was that the troubled tech company may sell some of its assets. Actually, the comments should not surprise anyone.…
ThinkstockMarkit issued its year-end eurozone PMI data. The summary of the report: Data collected 5–14 December. • Final Eurozone Manufacturing PMI at 46.1 in December (flash estimate 46.3) • Downturn remains widespread, with all nations bar…
courtesy of Kia MediaHyundai Motor, which owns the Hyundai and Kia brands, has had the hot hand in the global auto market. But the company said its prospects will cool considerably in 2013. This…
ThinkstockThe National Employment Law Project (NELP) reports that the minimum wage will increase in 10 states as 2013 begins. These include Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. The…
ThinkstockAMR, parent of American Airlines, has moved closer to an exit from Chapter 11 and a possible merger with U.S. Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC), as pilots of the troubled company have opened one…
ThinkstockThe U.S. population has expanded at a glacierlike pace recently. The trend will continue for several years. It is too early to tell how this might affect the employment situation, or the cost burden…
Frank Golhen, via Wikimedia CommonsOnly a few days remain for the U.S. markets to sell off because of fiscal cliff worries. There are actually just two. Volume will be light because so many traders…
ThinkstockApple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was hit with a copyright penalty in China. The Xinhua news agency reports: A Beijing court ruled against Apple Inc. in a copyright dispute on Thursday, saying the company must…
ThinkstockIt may not seem like much, but France’s INSEE reported that third-quarter gross domestic product was higher by 0.1%, not the 0.2% preliminary number. GDP contracted in the second quarter. France’s economy continues to…
ThinkstockA strike by the The International Longshoremen’s Association’s (ILA), which would begin Sunday, appears very likely. A number of companies that rely on the ports for their inventory have expressed alarm. Matthew Shay, the…
courtesy of Google Inc.Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has upped the ante in the competition among major e-mail suppliers, which would include, at least, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and AOL Inc.…
ThinkstockMario Monti, who recently resigned his post as the prime minister of Italy, may be back again. For proponents of the current austerity plans, his return would be good news. The balance of Europe…
courtesy of Google Inc.Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has increased its push to take away low-end business customers who use Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows products. Google Apps has been available for several years, and it…