The Big Risk of Advertising on Twitter
TwitterOne of the tactics Twitter has adopted to increase its ad revenue is to put sponsored tweets among the normal tweets in people’s Twitter feeds. The tactic has backfired to a great extent, as…
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Douglas A. McIntyre
Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC Want New Leverage Standards
ThinkstockIn an action that is likely to cause deep concern among America’s largest banks: The Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)…
China Exports Down 3.1% — General Administration of Customs
ThinkstockChina’s exports dropped 3.1% in May, which is viewed as more evidence the Chinese economy is slowing. PMI data has recently confirmed the trend as have downward revisions in GDP improvement from both public…
Cyber Security Talks Between U.S. and China Progress
ThinkstockAlthough it is hard to believe, the United States may have started to make progress in talks with China over its shameless hacking of government and private Web properties. American investigators believe that they have…
White House Posts New U.S. Deficit Guess: 2017 Will Be a Very Good Year
thinkstockMost federal debt and deficit forecasts, whether from the White House Office of Management and Budget or the Congressional Budget Office, show America’s situation as greatly improved five or 10 years from now. Those…
Apple iPhone Production Will Not Drop
ThinkstockAn analyst from a tiny research firm claimed that production of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhones will decline 20% in the second half. The claim does not hold water. Even the largest research houses…
As Barnes & Noble Nook Fails, New CEO Will Not Matter
ThinkstockAs former Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) CEO William Lynch took the fall for the failure of the company’s e-commerce business, the man who controls the company — Leonard Riggio — got to…
IMF Suggests Bank Reform and Steps to Support Demand in Europe
ThinkstockIt is a shame that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can only suggest solutions to the European financial crisis and the devastation of jobs and economic recession that has come in its aftermath. Most…
Barnes & Noble (BKS) Dumps CEO
ThinkstockThe chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) never really ran the company. The family that has control of the book firm did. But someone had to be the fall guy…
Royal Dutch Shell Gets New CEO
ThinkstockFor once, a huge company has changed CEOs on schedule, without scandal or the trigger of poor financial performance. Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-B) appointed its refining boss as the new chief, effective…
Memo to Howard Schultz at Starbucks: Someone Will Get Hurt
courtesy of StarbucksStarbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) breaths high level food retail. The employees are well educated, well spoken and well mannered. The stores are clean, even down to the restrooms. However, there is one…
Americans Turn to TV for News
thinkstockTV represents the easiest way to get news, if the person seeking the news wants to expend as little effort as possible. Tapping the Internet or newspapers requires effort, and the desire to pick…
High Unemployment May Help Corporate Earnings
ThinkstockCorporate earnings are expected to be poor for the second quarter, perhaps the worst in three years, or the worst since the end of the recession. Each of these predictions has been made with…
IMF, ECB, EU Still Concerned About Greece
ThinkstockGreece may have made some economic progress, but it has not made enough for its major financial supporters to claim it is worthy of more bailout money. That is the conclusion of a statement…
S&P Cuts Softbank Rating to BB+, Huge Downgrade
ThinkstockThe price that Softbank has agreed to pay for Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) has killed its credit rating, which will make it more difficult to raise money. S&P cut its Softbank rating to…
German Exports Plunge 4.8% in May
ThinkstockBad news about the global economy and that of the world’s largest nations continues to rush out. Germany’s exports plunged 4.8% in May, compared to the same month last year, according to its Federal…
Citigroup Cuts China 2013 GDP Forecast to 7.4%
ThinkstockOne day after Christine Lagarde remarked that the International Monetary Fund may cut its global 2013 GDP forecast below its current 3.3%, Citigroup has cut its China forecast to 7.4%. The action likely is…
IMF May Cut Global GDP Forecast Below 3.3%
ThinkstockThe International Monetary Fund, and in particular chief Christine Lagarde, may cut its current forecast for 2013 GDP growth below its current estimate of 3.3%. She made comments about the possibility during a speech.…
S&P Downgrades Nokia to Dead Meat
courtesy of Nokia Corp.S&P has come to the conclusion that Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is barely viable, if it is viable at all. In a new ratings report, S&P largely blamed a deal to…
Jobs Number: Luck or Skill?
Ed Brown, via Wikimedia CommonsIn June, the nation added 195,000 jobs and the rate was 7.6%. The number may have been luck more than skill. Hospitality and leisure jobs rose 75,000. The start of…