Hurricane Isaac Poised to Strike U.S. Economy
Isaac, now a Category 1 hurricane that could become a Category 2, will have some effect on the U.S. economy even if it does not make a direct hit on a major city. Damage estimates to…
All Work
Trey Thoelcke
The Aftermath of Apple vs. Samsung
It may take months for the shock waves from the Samsung legal loss in a patent suit with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to change the smartphone industry’s landscape. Samsung has to immediately decide whether it should redesign…
Gasoline Prices Rise Again
The nationwide average price for a gallon of regular rose seven cents over the past two weeks, according to the Lundberg Survey. That puts the price at $3.76. In the previous two weeks, the price…
U.S. Stocks Open Lower Following Thursday Declines
While most of the 30 stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial closed in the red yesterday, Kraft Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: KFT) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) bucked that trend. Kraft climbed 0.71%, according to Bloomberg,…
Gas Prices Still Rising Ahead of Labor Day
Two months ago, almost all predictions about gasoline prices were that they were falling and would stay down, or even drop more. Crude prices had fallen. Oil and gas supplies were abundant. Trouble with Iran…
HSBC Seeks to Settle Money-Laundering Charges
Bloomberg reports that HSBC (NYSE: HBC) has gone into talks with federal officials to settle charges that it helped launder money for interests in Sudan and Iran. Other banks may be caught in related investigations. Standard…
France and Germany Still Press for Greek Austerity
The relationship between Germany and France on the one hand and Greece on the other spins from accommodation to exasperation in an almost regular cycle. Despite support of the euro, in concept, Angela Merkel and Francois…
U.K. Economy Shrank Less in Q2 Than Previously Estimated
The United Kingdom’s gross domestic product in the second quarter of 2012 shrank less than previously estimated, according to newly released data from the Office for National Statistics. The data indicate that U.K. economy…
Apple Falls to Fourth Place in China’s Smartphone Market
New data from industry research firm IDC shows that Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) share of the smartphone market in China fell to 10% — or nearly cut in half — in the second quarter.…
Germany Posts Budget Surplus, but GDP Growth Slows
German gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.3% in the second quarter of 2012, following a 0.5% increase in the previous quarter, according to data from the Federal Statistics Office. This result was in line…
German Private Sector Output Falls
The Markit preliminary composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for Germany indicated that private sector output fell at faster rate during August. A renewed contraction in services offset slower drop in manufacturing activity. The index…
Eurozone Manufacturing Falls for Seventh Straight Month
nationsonline.orgThe Markit preliminary composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the eurozone indicated that services and manufacturing output in the region contracted for a seventh consecutive month in August. But the pace of decline was marginally…
HSBC Flash China PMI for August Declines
HSBC’s preliminary or “flash” reading of its China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for August declined to 47.8. That was a nine-month low, as well as a drop from July’s final reading of 49.3.…
Fifth Third Hits New High Following Dividend Hike Approval
Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) opened higher this morning after the company said last night it won Federal Reserve approval for a 25% dividend hike and an expanded, $600 million share buyback…
Unions Furious at Federal Pay Freeze Extension
Union leaders are displeased that President Obama has decided to extend a two-year pay freeze for federal employees until at least next spring because Congress has failed to agree on a budget for the…
Trading Volume Hits Five-Year Low
CNNMoney is the latest media outlet to acknowledge the fact that trading volume is light. In their estimation, it is at a five-year low. There could be several reasons for this. The most obvious is that…
Nokia to Launch Windows Phone — Finally
NokiaNokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) will release a Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows Mobile powered phone on the Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) network before the end of the year, according to several rumors. The…
Greek Prime Minister Wants More Time
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras says he needs more time to repair the financial and economic damage done to his country, or by his countrymen, over the years since the recession began. For some reason, be…
Japan’s Exports Plunge in July
Japan’s exports plunged in July, the Ministry of Finance said. The nation swung back to a trade deficit. The yen fell following the worse-than-expected report. The trade gap totaled 517.4 billion yen ($6.5 billion),…
Medical Device Recalls at Eight-Month High
The quarterly ExpertRECALL Index released today indicates that more than 123 million medical device units were recalled during the second quarter of 2012, an eight-quarter high. The medical device category includes such products as…