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…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
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…
Media Digest (12/20/2010) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
The Congress will try to reach an agreement to fund the government short-term–through March 4. (Reuters) Now that the tax package has been approved, the political battle will change to government expenditures. (Reuters) Housing…
Free Shipping Spurs E-Commerce, May Harm Online Margins
Free shipping has begun to draw more and more customers to online retail sites. The surge of consumers could continue into 2011 and next holiday season. Large store chains like Best Buy (NYSE: BBY),…
Starbucks May Pay Employees In Stock
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) may begin to pay US employees in stock if its plans in the UK are any indication. Starbucks shares have gone from $8 in March 2009 to $33 recently. The company…
Inflation In Online E-Commerce Prices Spikes
The prices of goods sold online has moved up sharply according to data from MIT. The movement higher has outpaced the Consumer Price Index recently, a possible sign of inflation in the cost of…
UK, Germany & France Urge EU Budget Freeze
nationsonline.orgMany of the EU nations have adopted such severe austerity programs that unions and students have taken to the streets in protest. Greece recently had riots that shuttered the national transportation system. There have…
Early Indications Show Rise In December Unemployment
Unemployment in December may have worsened. The federal government posted joblessness data for November which disappointed most analysts and politicians. These are people who have supported platforms which they believe will help create employment.…
The Twitter-24/7 Wall St. Market Report (12/17/2010) Ireland Trouble, M&A Record
Twitter has, by most estimates, 175 million members, which makes it one of the largest social networks in the world. All major media companies are on Twitter and some have more than one million…