Chronic Unemployment Crushes Health
Chronic unemployment undermines a person’s sense of freedom in a free society. That is one of the reasons the extended economic downturn, in its third year and perhaps still in progress, has done such…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Media Digest 7/12/2010 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: Profit surprises are likely for companies linked to the oil spill. Reuters: Lawsuits against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and AT&T (NYSE: T) over service were certified as class actions. Reuters: BP says it…
Exxon Mobil May Have Interest In BP Purchase
Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) may make an offer to buy BP plc (NYSE: BP). The shares in the UK company are up 7% on the rumor. BP may be in the process of selling…
BP May Make Huge North American Asset Sale
BP Plc is in talks to sell up to $12 billion of assets, including a stake in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, to Apache Corp to help pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, The…
Airline Industry – Reality and Fiction: A 10 Year Look Back
Is “growth” really returning to the airline industry? Based on almost daily press releases, airlines appear to be adding new destinations every week Analysis by AirlineFinancials.com shows most airlines are not adding any significant…
BP Removes Well Cap, Oil Flows Freely
It is a risky move that could backfire. BP plc (NYSE: BP) will replace the current cap on its leaking well with a new one which could collect more crude. The cap which has…
China Trade Surplus Surges
Members of Congress who are trying to force the Obama Administration to label China as a “currency manipulator” now have another weapon. The China Customers Bureau reported that the People’s Republic’s trade surplus for…
FDIC Closes Four More Banks, Annual Total At 90
The FDIC closed two more banks on Friday, bring the total for the year to 90. A total of 150 banks will be closed in 2010 based on the current pace. That would be…
Aircraft Builders Compete for Air Force Tanker Contract Again
Maybe the third time will be the charm. Today marks the closing date for bids to build a new refueling tanker for the US Air Force. Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) submitted its 8,000 page…
IMF Identifies Europe as Risk to Global Recovery
By Heather Horn On Wednesday, the IMF released a report revising world growth forecasts. The U.S. is now predicted to do somewhat, and global growth has been revised upwards overall. Risks remain, however, particularly…
Are Unemployment Benefits a Blessing or a Curse?
When the US Congress left town for its Fourth of July recess, one of the last things the Senate did was to deny the Obama administration’s proposal to extend funding for both the Extended…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (7/9/2010)
Updated throughout the day. Deutsche Bank AG , Commerzbank AG and Deutsche Postbank will probably pass Europe stress tests. (Bloomberg) Singapore may pass China as the fastest growing economy in Asia (Bloomberg) Citigroup’s Asia…
The Twitter-24/7 Wall St. Stock Market Report 7.9.2010 The Wisdom Of Crowds
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…
China Renews Google License
Google Inc said that the Chinese authorities had renewed its China-based search page license, according to Reuters. Douglas A. McIntyre
Mortgage Rates Hit A Record Low — Again
Freddie Mac reports that mortgage rates hit another record low of 4.57% on a 30 year fixed home loan last week. That is down from the previous record low hit last week. According to…
Now It Is The Rich Who Abandon Their Homes
The rich are not selling their homes because they cannot find buyers. So like the rest of the 11 million US mortgage holders in the US with underwater mortgages, they are walking away from…
Yahoo! Cuts Deal With Zillow For Real Estate Listings
Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) will outsource its real estate section to Zillow, a popular listings site. The transaction calls for Zillow.com to oversee a network that will place home listings and ads from local real…
A New Way To Gyp Cable TV Subscribers
The cable and telecom companies have come up with a new way to get more money out of their subscribers. They will offer less expensive plans with many fewer “stations”. That means the cost…
China No Currency Manipulator, At Least Not By US Government Standards
The Treasury Department decided not to name China as a currency manipulator in a cleverly worded decision. The opinion was part of a Treasury report to Congress– the “Semi-Annual Report on International Economic and…
Media Digest 7/0/2010 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: The US did not name China a currency manipulator. Reuters: Most money managers don’t believe the U.S. is in a double-dip recession — yet. Reuters: The IMF said housing and unemployment could hurt…