The Rich Badly Hurt By Economic Cycles
The poverty level in the US has reached its highest level since 1994, and the number of uninsured Americans is at an all-time high. But it is the rich who are most affected by…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Media Digest 9/17/2010 Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: Geithner will take the yuan issue to the G-20. Reuters: Oracle’s (NASDAQ: ORCL) earnings beat Wall St. forecasts. Reuters: Research In Motion’s (NASDAQ: RIMM) numbers beat forecasts. Reuters: The dollar was steady compared…
CNBC Sounds the Death Knell of the TV Business
In breathless prose that it does so well, CNBC sounded the alarm bell about the future of television. Check out the first paragraph: “An alarming survey by Credit Suisse should serve as a wake…
Down-And-Out In America — 2010 Style
The news today from the Census Bureau was awful. As the U.S. grapples with the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, more people must struggle to sustain themselves. About 54 million people in…
RIM Reports Above Expectations, Stock Up 6%
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) today reported a 68% rise in quarterly profit, proving the BlackBerry maker is far from dead. The shares rose in after-hours trading. Profit was $797 million, or $1.46…
Oracle Bests Numbers, Shares Rise
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) shares rose more than 2% after hours reported better-than-expected results, as it benefited from the buyout of Sun Microsystems. Fiscal 2011 Q1 GAAP revenue was up 48% to $7.5 billion, while…
Natural Gas — The ‘American Idol’ Of Energy
U.S. utilities, which are under pressure to use more environmentally friendly fuel sources, are increasingly betting their future of natural gas at the expense of coal. As Bloomberg News notes, the U.S. Department of…
No Good New From The Philly Fed
The economy is in reverse, if the most recent data from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve is any indication. Results from the federal agency’s Business Outlook Survey suggest that regional manufacturing activity was nearly flat…
National Employee Morale Day At Fedex
Fedex (NYSE: FDX) said it would cut 1,700 people. The announcement was made as part of the air freight company’s earnings release. The firm reported earnings of $1.20 per diluted share for the first…
The Twitter-24/7 Wall St. Market Report (9/16/2010) Fedex, Jobless Claims
Twitter has, by most estimates, 100 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…
Pre-Market Active Trader Alerts: Cellular Tissue (CLU) Up 57%
These are issues active before the bell. Fedex (NYSE: FDX) is off 3% to $83.14 on new that earnings were weaker than expected. The freight firm will cut 1,700 jobs. The Williams Companies (NYSE:…
Top Analyst Upgrades And Downgrades (NOK)(F)(NFLX)
Barclays raised Ford (NYSE: F) to “overweight” from “equal weight” with a $16 target. Credit Suisse upgraded NetFlix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to “neutral” from “underperform” Morgan Stanley downgraded BT Group from “overweight” to “equal weight”…
Greece Will Not Default–Ever, Maybe
Greece will never default on its sovereign debt. That is, at least what Greece’s finance minister George Papaconstantinou says. His argument has less to do with his nation’s precarious situation than with his belief…
America’s Love Affair With Housing Begins To Disappear
The attitude among American when it has come to owning a home has changed radially, according to Fannie Mae. “A majority of Americans (67 percent) continue to believe that buying a home is a…
Apple’s Downfall, Android Sales
Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) is no longer the major challenge to the sales of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android-powered smartphones are. New data from comScore show that Android…
New “Halo” Sales Hit $200 Million On Day One
Sales of Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT)new “Halo: Reach” video game reached $200 million on the first day it was available. The world’s largest software company expects sales of the game to help push the launch…
Home Foreclosures Soar, Again
Home foreclosures remained high again in August, as might have been expected given recent news on home prices and housing sales. According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure actions were reported on 338,836 properties in August, a…
Media Digest (9/16/2010) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: Japan says it is ready to move into the forex market to support the yen. Reuters: George Soros says that China was the big winner coming out of the recession. Reuters: The Senate…
The History Of What Things Cost In America: 1776 to Today
The cost of living in America has gone up about fifteen fold since the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. Of course, not all prices have risen at the same rate. The value…
Why America is Losing Its Innovative Edge
As the world economy entered its worst decline since the Great Depression, corporations were less interested in innovating. Now, as the economy begins to recovers U.S. corporations are in danger of being eclipsed…