Platts is reporting this morning that Russian gas monopoly Gazprom will turn off gas supplies to Ukraine unless the former Soviet republic signs a natural gas export contract by January 1st. According to Gazprom,…
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday announced that it has approved new rules to "modernize its oil and gas company reporting requirements." Well, modernization, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The…
Yesterday evening, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered its corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings on Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) to ‘BBB’ from ‘A-‘. The long-term ratings on Dow Chemical and the ‘A-2’…
The Ninth Circle of Hell in Dante’s Inferno. The home of traitors to their own kind. The Conference Board today reported that consumer confidence hit 38 for the month of December, the lowest level…
According to S&P/Case Shiller, home prices fell 18% in October compared with the same month last year. Home prices are now back to March 2004 levels. The index for the top ten cities is…
Drops in consumer and corporate spending are about to compounded by high fuel prices as crude is likely to move to $50 or better early in 2009. Both sides in the Gaza conflict have…
Astoria (AF) remains "underperform" at FBR. Axsys (AXYS) upped to "buy" at Morgan Joseph. Yum! (YUM) upgraded to "buy" at Argus. AgFeed (FEED) downgraded to "neutral" at Global Hunter. Sources: Briefing.com and wire services.…
Thanks for this. Reuters reports that "The auto sector is expected to be the most financially troubled industry in the United States next year, taking the top spot from the homebuilding group, according to…
The Wall Street Journal makes the point that consumer confidence does not mean much if it does not go hand-in-hand with consumer spending. As the paper reports "Gasoline is still getting cheaper, retailers and…
"Baby, you can drive my car /yes, I’m gonna be a star/ Baby you can drive my car /And maybe I’ll love you."–The Beatles. The matchless idiocy which has defined the fall of the…
The Japanese stock market has closed down about 42% for the year. The US markets may do a little better than that, off by 38% or so. For people with money in the market,…
GMAC finally got its designation as a commercial bank. That allowed the firm to get $6 billion in federal money, $5 billion of which comes from the Treasury Department in exchange for preferred notes.…
According to Reuters, GMAC will get $6 billion from the government with $1 billion coming through GM (GM). Reuters reports that violence in Gaza intensified. Reuters writes that Japan is looking at a program…
Markets in Asia were mostly higher. The Nikkei was up 1.3% to 8,860, but was down 42% for the year. Toyota (TM) fell modestly, and Sony (SNE) rose. The Hang Seng fell .3% to…
The media has been full of news about how heavily retailers will have to cut store locations next year. Three weeks ago, 24/7 Wall St. ran an analysis of the retail companies which might…
Dow Chemical (DOW) Deal with Kuwait is dead. Falls to $14.93 from 52-week high of $43.43. Martha Stewart Living (MSO) No special news. Media stocks just keep falling. Drops to $2.55 from 52-week high…
Kirk Kerkorian used to be considered "smart money". He wears a dunce hat now that Ford (F) is back near $2. According to Reuters his investment firm, Tracinda Corp., has sold all of its…
In late 2005, China began to fill its strategic petroleum reserve of 102 million barrels. It has added to the reserve on and off ever since, sometimes buying the oil on the open market…
Piedmont Natural Gas Company (NYSE:PNY) this morning reported results for its 2008 fiscal year, which ended on October 31st. The company reported EPS of $1.49 on earnings of $110 million, compared with EPS in…
SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG), a producer and marketer of electricity, will be added to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index after the market closes on December 31st. To celebrate the occasion, SCANA is offering 2…