Facebook’s Dominance Of US Online Market Grows
Most of the comScore commentary about its November review of the largest US websites and their traffic was devoted to the increase in activity at the large e-commerce destinations due to the start of…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
China Rides To Europe’s Rescue
Senior Chinese officials have said they will buy more sovereign debt from European nations. The remarks helped spur global markets briefly. The effect did not last long. The euro dropped back down below $1.31.…
Will Holiday Spending Ruin First Quarter GDP?
The National Retail Federation predicts retail sales will rise 3.3% this holiday season. MasterCard SpendingPulse, a research operation, says that store activity has accelerated sharply in the last week. The NRF figure may turn…
Why Amazon Expects To Collect More Sales Tax: A Billion Dollar Problem
Amazon Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) doesn’t charge sales tax to most of its customers. The company does not expect that to last. The largest Internet retailer supports the Streamlined Sales Tax Initiative, an effort backed by…
Loss Leaders: How Seven American Companies Lose Money To Make Money
‘Tis the season for loss leaders. Maybe retailers were scared by the ho-ho horrible recent holiday seasons or maybe they were concerned that consumers remained as worried as ever about the economy though it…
Media Digest (12/22/2010) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Bonuses for bankers around the world will drop 7%. (Reuters) FCC commissioners voted along party lines to approve new internet access rules. (Reuters) Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will launch a version of Windows for tablet…
Beware Of Greeks Bearing Debt
Just as it appeared that Greece could not be downgraded any further, Fitch warned that it may take down the debt of the nearly dead sovereign paper another notch. “Fitch Ratings has today placed…
Oil Spill Effects May Be Negligible
Ken Feinberg is a lawyer and not a scientist . It was surprising to hear him say that the long-term effects of the BP plc (NYSE: BP) oil spill may be very little over…
Michael Dell Buys Dell Stock: No One’s Fooled
Michael Dell bought $100 million of Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) stock. He clearly wants the market to believe he has faith in the health of the company he founded. His action may actually take the…
HP: Special Discounts For Cisco Customers
The SEC investigation into Mark Hurd’s departure from Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) which eventually led him to the president’s job at Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) will be the front page story about both companies. What will…
Portugal Downgrade? Rolling Debt Problems Across Europe
Sovereign debt downgrades are usually a self-fulfilling prophecy. Moody’s or another agency threatens a downgrade or actually makes one. This causes the country which faces the action to explain to the capital markets why…
Media Digest (12.21.2010) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
The FCC will approve standard which allow carriers to restrict access for heavy users. (Reuters) The SEC will investigate the details around Mark Hurd’s departure from Hewlett-Packard. (NYSE: HPQ) (WSJ) China voiced concern about…
Net Neutrality Will Pass FCC: Dems Vote “Yes”, Republicans “No”
The FCC will approve new net neutrality rules, along party lines. The agency’s Chair Julius Genachowski has already proposed rules which would prevent internet providers from blocking legitimate Internet traffic. It may take several years…
Sara Lee Could Find a New Home in Brazil
One of the best-known US food brands may be for sale. The Wall Street Journal reports that Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) is conducting talks with Brazil’s JBS SA (OTC: JBSAY) for a sale…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (12/20/2010) Google TV Delay, Sara Lee M&A
Updated throughout the day. Nokia (NYSE: NOK) may begin it use Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows 7 Mobil in its smartphones (various) Ernst & Young will be sued by federal authorities for civil fraud in…
No Solution On Spain
The OECD has released its economic report on Spain and the analysis is such that it suggests the country is in a bind it cannot get out of. “Spain is slowly emerging from the deep…
Weather: The Economy’s Worst Enemy
The UK has recently been hit by record low temperatures. Most of its large airports are closed. The wintry weather has also moved to other parts of northern Europe. Some people will not get…
Americans End The Year Unhappy
Americans are remarkably unhappy about their situations and the direction the country is going as the holiday season begins and they look toward the end of the year. “Seventeen percent of Americans say they…
Online Ad Spending Passes Newspapers
Many people have read so much about the death of the newspaper industry that they might believe that online ad spending passed newspaper ad spending years ago. That is not so. It was actually…
The Ten Worst Holidays Since the Great Depression
Slow retail sales and the high unemployment rate this year might make people believe that this is one of the more economically difficult holiday seasons in memory. That is not true because the recession…