Major Stock Indices Still Well Below All-Time Highs
The DJIA is up 70% over the last year and the NASDAQ has almost doubled. But, most market indices are still down 15% to 25% from their late 2007 highs. Some traders speculate that…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
IMF Says Financial System Is Better, But Not Really
The good news from the IMF April Global Stability Report is that worldwide bank write-down should be $2.3 trillion and not the $2.8 trilion that the agency estimated last October. The IMF said that the improvement was…
FDA Gets Pushed On High Salt Content In Food
The pressure on the FDA to take measure sthat would lowere the salt content of food increased today. According to the AP, “the prestigious Institute of Medicine said the food industry hasn’t done enough…
Ernst & Young Gets Pulled Into Lehman Ugliness
There have been questions about the role of Lehman Bros auditor Ernst & Young since an investigation into the bankruptcy done by an independent party–Anton R. Valukas, Chairman of Jenner & Block — was…
Apple App Store Has Lost $450 Million To Piracy (Update), What About The iPad?
Website Vimov says that Apple, Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad apps may create a billion dollar industry by 2012. Vimov writes, “if the iPad App Store were to be like the iPhone’s, then 40-60% of…
The Final Stake To The Heart? Greek Unemployment Spikes
It is simple math. High unemployment drives up government support costs to the jobless, and undermines consumer spending. Greece announced today that its unemployment rate rose to 11.3%. That is only modestly high than…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (4/20/2010)
Updated throughout the day. American International Group (NYSE: AIG) may sue Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) over $2 billion in losses on insured derivatives. Google Inc’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) password system was broken into by…
The Twitter-24/7 Wall St. Stock Market Watch
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…
Goldman Sachs Crushes Estimates As Critics Stew, Firm Appears To Moderate Compensation As UK Starts New Probe
Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS), in the shadow of an SEC investigation, beat earnings estimates handily. It was not a surprise after Citgroup Inc. (NYSE:C), Bank of Americ (NYSE: BAC), and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) posted strong…
Another Delay In iPad Shipments
Due to demand that drove iPad sales in the US to more than 500,000 units, the company had to delay the launch of the product overseas until May 10. That does not seem to have…
Trade Pressure On China From US Rushes Along
If China is not going to be named a “currency manipulator” perhaps some other form of designation with a similar effect will do. The U.S. Commerce Department may soon begin an investigation into whether the People’s…
Home Mortgage Modification Plan Gets Powerful Enemy
The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program thinks that the Administration made a wrong turn on its path to help struggling American homeowners. Neil Barofsky said of the Home Affordable Modification Program…
GOLDMAN SACHS GETS GUILTY UNTIL INNOCENT TREATMENT
Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) may have done several terrible things including an alleged sale of mortgage-backed securities to financial firm ACA. Goldman may have allowed Paulson & Co. to determine the mix of the underlying…
Media Digest (4/20/2010) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) password operation was hit by cyberattacks. Reuters: A leading political party in Germany is urging that the nation not deal with Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS). Reuters: The fortunes…
Wal-Mart Top Management Made $65 Million As Shares Faltered
The top five officers at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc (NYSE: WMT) made $65 million in aggregate in the company’s fiscal year ending January 31. Shareholders did not do quite as well. Wal-Mart shares rose only 10% over…
Iran Sanctions Fail To Hurt Nation’s Oil Opportunities
There have been recent reports that demand for Iranian crude oil is faltering and that the country has begun filling VLCC tankers and having them sail around in circles on the Persian Gulf. Estimates of…
Goldman Sachs: SEC Commissioners Often Vote 3-2 Along Party Lines
A look at important issues that have come before the Securities Exchange Commission in the last year indicate that the agency is heavily politicized. Republican Commissioners Kathleen Casey and Troy Paredes voted against making the charges…
How Citigroup Saved Goldman Sachs
In terms of financial performance of their respective firms, Vikram Pandit the CEO of Citigoup Inc (NYSE: C) has been a goat for the last two years and Lloyd Blankfein has been a hero. Today, the tables turned.…
Bank Failures Accelerate, FDIC Sweats
Bank closings hit eight last week bringing the total to 48 for the year. The rate of the failures is greater than in the previous two years. FDIC chief Sheila C. Bair recently said…
Ecuador Threatens Expropriation of Private Oil Operations
Ecuador is a relatively unknown member of OPEC, due mostly to its up and down relationship with the cartel. Ecuador first joined OPEC in 1973, then in 1992 suspended its membership for 15 years…