Tons of Hope in GM’s Terrific Loss
By Jake Simpson The latest financial news from the beleaguered auto industry appears grim at first glance. Hampered by a $2.6 billion payment to its union, General Motors reported a $4.3 billion loss in…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Today’s Best Market Rumors (4/8/2010)
Updated throughout the day. A senior member of a Goldman Sachs (GS) large hedge fund left the firm (Bloomberg) Zale is being pursued by three private equity operations which include TPG, Golden Gate Capital,…
The Twitter-24/7 Wall St. Stock Watch 4.8
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…
The American Work Force: The Old Push The Young Onto The Bread Line
Being young has its advantages, but apparently being employed is not one of those. A new study from the Economic Policy Institute shows that people between 16 and 24 years old are 13.5% of…
Ben Bernanke’s Vision Of The Apocalypse
Ben Bernanke has seen the future and it is filled with an American debt balloon the size of which the world has never seen. The federal government will run out of money for Social Security…
The American Consumer Sees His Shadow
Consumer borrowing dropped in February by 5.6% to an annual rate of $2.45 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. Revolving credit, a good proxy for credit card debt, dropped by 13.1%. Nearly everyone who looked…
A New “Largest Airline In The World”: British Air And Iberia Marry
A merger between United Air (UAUA) and US Airway (LCC), which was recently rumored, would not create much of carrier compared to the BA merger with Iberia which was completed today. The new operation will be…
Toyota Was Warned Of Defects By Inside Employee
The smoking gun inside Toyota (TM) has been found. An executive warned his colleagues in the US that cars made by the Japanese company had severe defects. the warning came weeks before the world’s…
US May Fall Off Safest Soverign Debt Risk List
The safest sovereign debt investment in the world is Norway’s bonds. Finland, Germany, and Sweden also receive good ratings in the latest version of the CMA Sovereign Debt Report for the first quarter. CMA…
Media Digest 4/8/2010 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: British Air and Iberia signed a merger deal. Reuters: US Airways (LCC) and United (UAUA) are in merger talks. Reuters: A Toyota (TM) executive warned about defects in January. Reuters: Geithner will meet…
The Oldest Game In The Airline Industry: United And US Air May Merge
There are two opportunities for companies in the airline business to improve their prospects in troubled times. The first is bankruptcy and the other is M&A. US Air (LCC) and United (UAUA) have decided…
Greeks Blow Budget Estimates
In what may be a coup de grace to Greece’s chance to cooperate with eurozone nations and the IMF to raise money through the sale of sovereign debt by the southern European nation, Bloomberg…
Geithner Says China “More Open To The World”
From Bloomberg TV Geither’s comments are very similar to 24/7’s from earlier today. We said “China has argued that it will show a trade deficit in March and that any action to end the…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (4/7/2010)
Updated throughout the day A number of private equity firms are considering bids for the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Global Merchant Services division. (WSJ) US regulators will examine high frequency trading more closely (WSJ) CKE Restaurants…
The Twitter-24/7 Wall St. Stock Watch 4.7
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…
Cost To Build iPad Under $260
Apple’s (AAPL) cost to build its new iPad is extraordinarily low compared to what the firm charges consumers. iSuppli, a research firm which analyzes hardware expense of goods, estimates the total cost to build an iPad is…
Verizon Claims US Cellular Service Is World’s Best
Verizon (VZ) CEO Ivan Seidenberg must never have used an Apple (AAPL) iPhone which runs on the AT&T (T) Wireless network. The Ma Bell cellular service is notorious for dropped calls and slow 3G service.…
Geithner: A Last-Minute Trip To China
Treasury chief Tim Geithner is about to make an unannounced trip to China today to meet with the Chinese Vice Premier, Wang Qishan, the official most involved with monetary policy. This may lead to speculation that the…
California Pensions Could Be Short A Third Of A Trillion Dollars
In an age in which government spending is measured in hundreds of billions of dollars, the potential shortfall in California pension plans is shocking. A new study from the Stanford Public Policy Program estimates that…
A bailout of the bailout of Detroit?
GM and Chrysler are short about $17 billion in contributions to the pension plans of their workers, or so says the a report from the United States General Accountability Office on the progress of…