Ford vs. GM — The Past Five Years
Courtesy Ford Motor Co.Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) may change CEOs within months, of even weeks, of one another. GM has already chosen Mary Barra to replace Dan Akerson who…
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Douglas A. McIntyre
North Korean Economy by the Numbers — Too Tiny to Matter
ThinkstockNorth Korea has been in the headlines, heavily in recent days as the No.2 leader, Jang Song Thaek, was executed by his nephew Kim Jong Un–the current No.1 of the isolated country. Before that, the concern…
10 Shopping Days Until Christmas–Retailers Sprint
courtesy Wal-Mart Stores Inc.The spread of estimates of how holiday sales did over the period from Black Friday through Cyber Monday is wide. NRF reported that Thanksgiving Holiday spending reached $57.4 billion, which was a slight…
What Amazon Wants You to Buy for the Holidays
Wikimedia CommonsAmazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) admitted that the discounts it gave on gifts during its Black Friday Deals Week and Cyber Monday Deals Week are over. Like every other retailer, it has to keep…
How Russia and China Killed Cisco
courtesy of Cisco SystemsJohn Chambers, the longtime CEO of Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) made a presentation to investment analysts. It contained dozens of PowerPoint slides, but the audience only cared about one. It…
For New CEOs, the Art of Doing Nothing
ThinkstockGeneral Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) has a new chief executive officer, Mary Barra — the first woman to head a major global car company. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: G) may need a new CEO…
Foreclosure Starts Reach 95-Month Low
ThinkstockIf foreclosure rates are among the hearts of the real estate industry, then housing has gotten much stronger. Foreclosure starts hit a 95-month low in November. Overall foreclosure filings dropped 15% from October, the largest month-over-month…
Why the Xbox Means So Little to Microsoft
MicrosoftIt is as if the Xbox One mattered to Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) — at least financially. The world’s largest software company boasted it sold two million devices in 18 days. And in a…
Holiday Spending Continues to Disappoint
ThinkstockIn the matter of how large the holiday sales pie will be this year, the size apparently will be small. That means retailers, both store-based and Internet-based, will need to take business from one…
Oil Presses Toward $100, Threatening Recovery Again
ThinkstockThe U.S. economy has benefited for some time from cheap oil, fueled by historically weak demand in China, crumpled demand in Europe and the rise of shale. However, the price of crude has reached almost…
New GM CEO Faces Huge Challenges in U.S.
courtesy of General MotorsNew General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) CEO Mary Barra inherits a company that has done remarkably well in China and horribly in Europe. However, her greatest challenge is in GM’s home…
The Ten Best Places to Work
Wikimedia CommonsThere are several research firms and employee review websites that publish lists of the best places for people to work. The latest of these is from Glassdoor, the jobs and career online community.…
Twitter Shares Outpace Facebook and LinkedIn
ThinkstockTwitter Inc.’s (NASDAQ: TWTR) shares, despite worries that it has no sustainable revenue model, have outperformed those of LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) over the past month. Incidentally, Wall Street…
Numbers Of Women In Top Board And Executive Jobs Stays Poor
ThinkstockNew research show that women have not been able to break the glass ceiling at many large corporations, at least as measured by their numbers in senior management and on board. According to research…
Consumer Ratings of America’s Top Four Banks
ThinkstockThe American Customer Satisfaction Index has released its ranking of the nation’s top four banks, which include J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and…
As NFL Season Draws to an End, Sponsors Fill League’s Pockets Online
thinkstockThe NFL is supposed to make money on TV rights and from major sponsors. Most of these sponsors are among the largest branded companies in the United States. And virtually all of them already have huge…
Biggest Threat to Holiday Spending: A Consumer Love of Saving?
ThinkstockSo far, the list of reasons shoppers may let down the retail industry this year includes unemployment that is still at high levels, weak store sales over the Thanksgiving weekend and a consumer spending trend that has been…
Is Google’s Stock the Best Way to Profit From Holiday Retail Action?
Wikimedia CommonsThe assumption among most investors is that to make money on stocks based on holiday sales, the only option is shares in retail and e-commerce companies. That is not entirely true. All those…
Holiday Retail Discounts Deep During Final Weeks
courtesy Wal-Mart Stores Inc.Major retailers have not let up on offering discounts — even a little. The trend could pull in shoppers who did not exhaust their budgets on the Thanksgiving to Black Friday…
Time Inc. Spin-Off Likely Delayed to Second Half of 2014
ThinkstockThe spin-off of publishing company Time Inc. by its parent, the entertainment company Time Warner Inc. (NASDAQ: TWX), will most likely be delayed until the second half of the 2014, according to two sources…