Zynga’s Odd Rise in Share Price
courtesy of ZyngaThe stock prices of both Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and the game company Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA), which has relied on Facebook traffic, have risen in lock-step over the past five days. Each…
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Trey Thoelcke
Germany Opposes Writing Off Greek Debt
ThinkstockDiscussions of how to bail out of Greece have turned rapidly to what kind of write-off investors may have to take on Greek debt as the International Monetary Fund and European Union prepare to…
Amazon Leads in Record Online Black Friday Sales
Wikimedia CommonsResearch firm Comscore announced two pieces of data. The first is that Black Friday e-commerce sales rose about $1 billion for the first time ever — to $1.042 billion. The other was that…
The Cost of the 12 Days of Christmas Rises to Record Level
ThinkstockThe cost of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” rose to a record level, even though most economists say there is very little inflation in the economy. The combined price of the items rose to…
New Greek Bailout Inching Closer to Fruition
thinkstockThe latest rumors about Greece’s bailout suggest that a deal will be done soon. Only last week, battles among Germany, most European Union finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund made a compromise unlikely.…
Walmart Bribery Probe Spreads to India
courtesy of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.The Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) bribery probe has widened. It began last April when The New York Times reported that officials of Walmart Mexico had bribed government officials to…
Samsung Adds More Apple Products to Patent Suit
courtesy of AppleThe ongoing patent wars between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung have escalated yet again. Samsung now claims that Apple’s new iPad mini, its new iPod and the iPad 4 infringe on…
Nintendo Optimistic About Wii U Launch
courtesy NintendoNintendo has struck a positive tone about the launch of its new Wii U. There is not much initial data to support whether the Japanese consumer electronics giant can make much progress against…
Samsung to Remain the Top Smartphone Company
courtesy of SamsungSamsung will ship 61 million smartphones in the current quarter, according to the Yonhap News Agency. That is well above forecasts, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 — the notebook that competes…
Hostess and Union Agree to Mediation — Too Bad, Twinkies Hoarders
courtesy of Hostess Brands Inc.Some Americans hoarded all the Hostess Twinkies they could find after the company announced plans for a liquidation that would destroy 18,000 jobs. Now, the liquidation has been put on…
Wrangling over Bailout Continues as Greeces Inches Toward Default
ThinkstockAfter months of wrangling, disagreement and partial compromise, Greece does not have the money it needs to avoid default. The Greek government claims it has gone along with all the austerity requests of the…
Tiger Global Takes a Chunk of Groupon
courtesy of Groupon Inc.An SEC filing shows that Tiger Global has taken a 65 million share position (9.9%) in Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN). That certainly will press its shares higher, at least temporarily. Tiger is…
Falling Gasoline Prices Provide Relief to American Drivers
ThinkstockGasoline prices have fallen again, based on the two most important measures, and the drop continues to accelerate. The famous Lundberg Survey reported a drop of 7.26 cents in the past two weeks to…
AAA Predicts a Slight Increase in Holiday Traffic
ThinkstockThe American Automobile Association expects a very small increase in holiday traffic over Thanksgiving, which it defines as Wednesday to Sunday. AAA estimates 43.6 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home…
Cisco Pushes Further into the Cloud with Meraki Acquisition
ThinkstockCisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) continues to push further into cloud computing, along with almost every other large tech company in the world. It announced it would by start-up Meraki Inc. for $1.6 billion. Cisco…
Should I Worry About Apple’s Falling Share Price?
courtesy of Apple Inc.Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) share price erosion has taken the top spot of the financial news recently. The stock has fallen 17% over the past three months. A debate over why this happened rages…
Increased Use of Seat Belts Reduces Traffic Fatalities
ThinkstockTraffic fatalities continue to drop year-over-year. One reason may be the increased use of seat belts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in 2012 “nationwide seat belt use reached an all-time…
Time to Stress Test the Big Banks Again
ThinkstockThe time has come to “stress test” America’s largest banks again. Nineteen financial firms will take part. The Federal Reserve has released guidelines for the tests. Some could make bank executives shiver. The Fed…
Europe Returns to Recession
ThinkstockEurope has dropped into recession, or nearly so. Eurostat reported that third-quarter gross domestic product in the euro-area fell 0.1%, compared with the second quarter. Among the EU27, GDP registered a 0.1% improvement. In…
Old Tech Companies Struggle to Stay Afloat (TXN, XRX)
courtesy of XeroxTwo old tech companies, both in trouble, have announced layoffs. Their actions might be attributed to a bad economy or to the fiscal cliff. But making that assumption would be a mistake.…