What 10% Mortgage Rates Do To Housing
Mortgage rates moved above 5% last week and many economists expect the number to rise above 6% by the end of the year. “It certainly will make it harder for people to buy homes,”…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Hackers Break Into New Apple’s New iPhone Software
The new Apple (AAPL) iPhone operating system, known as OS 4.0, was only introduced two days ago. Hackers have already broken into the system so that they can run pirated software on the handset.
Car Sales In China, The Industry’s Salvation, Rise 63% In March
Car sales in China during March rose 63% to 1.26 million according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. US domestic vehicles sales for the same period were 1.07 million. When trucks were included…
Greece Gets 30 Billion Euro Bailout Gift
The most remarkable thing about the 30 billion euro bailout package for Greece by the euro-zone nations is the interest rate–5%. The yield on Greek sovereign debt was well over two points higher than that just…
Toyota Could Have Been Fined $13.8 Billion–NHTSA
The government cap on fines that the NHTSA division of The Transportation Department can levy on any one car company for a single violation of the agency’s rules is $16.735 million. That is the fine the NHTSA will…
China Going Broke
It is only a few weeks ago that China was promoting its role as the preeminent expanding economy of the world. It also regularly lectured the US about containing its deficit and getting its…
Once Dead Refining Industry Experiences Resurrection
From the heady heights of the summer of 2008, oil refiners have suffered from a downturn. Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO) and Tesoro Corp. (NYSE:TSO), which refine and market petroleum products exclusively, have suffered the…
Germany Will Bail Out Its Banks, Not Greece
Greece needs 53 billion in euros to cover its deficit and debt service this year. Germany and France are dragging their feet rather than providing Greece immediate aid, for reasons that are not entirely…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (4/9/2010)
Updated throughout the day. Bain and KKR plan IPOs for Toys ‘R’ Us, HCA, and NXP Semi (WSJ) Twitter will redesign its homepage. (AllThingsD) Continental (CAL) may push out US Air (LCC) as the merger partner…
What Does Twitter Say About The Stock Market? Plenty 4.9
Twitter has, by most estimates, 75 million visitors a month, which makes it one of the largest social networks in the world. All major media companies are on Twitter and some have more than…
Store Sales Down, Wal-Mart Cuts Prices On 10,000 Items
It is a time-honored tradition within the retail industry. When sales drop, so do prices. Of course, not all retailers can afford that. As the holiday season in 2008 showed, many stores simply close…
The Market For $5 Milllion Plus Homes Falls Apart
The price at which real estate is dropping may have slowed, but that is not helping the ultra-rich to stay in their homes. A study commissioned by The Wall Street Journal and carried out…
If Oil Goes To $100…
The FT reports that Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) both predict that oil prices could move to $10o per barrel in 2011. Jeff Rubin, a former CIBC chief economist says: “Triple-digit oil prices…
Media Digest 4/11/2010 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: The Fed once again pledged low interest rates. Reuters: If the yuan rises, the euro may be badly hurt. Reuters: Soda companies are hurt by the economy according to AlixPartners. Reuters: March retail…
Housing Stumbles Badly, Again
Home sales and home prices are supposed to improve in the spring despite the fact that government programs to encourage purchases will go away. Defaults must fall to fuel the recovery. If they do…
ECB’s Trichet: What? Me, Worry
Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, an agency with almost no power, said that Greece will not default on its debts. It was as if there is some magic in his words that…
Which Way is the Wind Blowing?
About 40% of US electricity is generated by burning natural gas. Another roughly 30% comes from burning coal and about 10% is generated by nuclear fission. Wind-generated power accounts for 1.8% of all US…
How Apple Killed The Future Of Search
Today, Google gets over 9.5 billion searches per month in the United States. Although search engines such as Microsoft’s Bing compete for a share of the market, they present no real threat to Google’s…
Breaking Greece’s Back: Another S&P Downgrade?
The capital markets are already suspicious that Greece will not be able to close a bond support deal with other eurozone countries and the IMF. Ratings agency Fitch told Greece that it needed a transaction…
Power Companies Call for Price Hike
By staff reporter Xu Ming, Caixin Five Chinese power companies have submitted a joint application to regulatory authorities to offset thinning profits from tighter energy supplies