German Confidence Falls
If the Germany economy is the only real healthy one in Europe, and Europe must rely on Germany as the bedrock for bailouts of weak nations, the odds that the country can be of substantial…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Media Digest (7/17/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, Bloomberg
Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) appoints Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Marissa Mayer as CEO. (Reuters) A Senate report says that HSBC (NYSE: HBC) handled Iran and drug cartel funds. (Reuters) Many investors do not like Google’s move into hardware.…
Apple iPhone 5 To Have Thinner Screen–WSJ
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the new Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 5 will have a thinner design and a higher resolution display. The makes it sound like the smartphone will be quite a bit…
Moody’s Downgrades Thirteen Italian Banks
Moody’s downgraded by one to two notches the long-term debt and deposit ratings for ten, and the issuer ratings for three, Italian financial institutions.The action was triggered to some extent by an earlier downgrade…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (7/16/2012) GlaxoSmithKline Buys Human Genome Sciences
Updated throughout the day on the 24/7 Wall St. Wire: GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) will buy Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI) for $2.8 billion. (Reuters) The Justic Department and HSBC (NYSE: HBC) are close to…
What’s Important in the Financial World (7/16/2012)
Much of the financial future of Europe is still caught in a web of the political movements of Germany’s Angela Merkel. Today, the possibility that her own party will not support a Spanish bank bailout…
Human Genome Sciences Deal Nearly Done
Several reports indicate that GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) will buy Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI) for $2.8 billion. The two companies have battled over the price for several months. GSK believes it needs the latest…
New Pipeline Bypasses Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz just became much less important to the transport of oil to countries that import crude. There has been much concern that if the strait was blocked by Iran’s navy in…
Germany Struggles with Spain Bailout
Much of the financial future of Europe is still caught in a web of the political movements of Germany’s Angela Merkel. Today, the possibility that her own party will not support a Spanish bank…
Economics Group Sees Slowdown
The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) released its most recent forecast for company optimism. The results were another example of how much U.S. gross domestic product has suddenly slowed in the eyes of corporate…
Boeing’s Loser CEO Judges P&G Chief
If Bloomberg’s reporters are correct, Boeing’s (NYSE: BA) CEO James McNerney, who is also chairman of the Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) board of directors compensation and leadership development committee, has pressed to oust Robert McDonald, the consumer products firm’s…
In Macy’s Legal Victory, a Black Mark for Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart Living Omnivision’s (NYSE: MSO) new CEO, Lisa Gersh, was given a restricted stock unit award last week in respect of 64,395 shares of MSLO Class A Common Stock. The corporation announced: In making such determination,…
Media Digest (7/16/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) will take over Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI) for $2.8 billion. (Reuters) A poll from the National Association for Business Economics shows few companies plan to hire new workers. (Reuters) Lenovo may…
Premier Wen Jiabao Warns on China Growth
Premier Wen Jiabao warned about China’s near-term growth prospects. China’s PMI and Q2 GDP already show an economy that has at the very least dropped below traditional annual improvement. “The economic growth rate is still…
RIM Losses Patent Case to Mformation
Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) lost a crucial patent case to Mformation on Friday. Damages levied after the trail in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California were $147.2 million. RIM…
Nokia Cuts Price of Flagship Phone in Half
NokiaNokia (NYSE: NOK) has cut the price of its flagship Lumia 900 in half to $49.99. The smartphone is available, among other places at AT&T’s (NYSE: T) as a “web only” special. The price change…
Video Game Sales Plunge
Research firm NPD reported that video game sales fell 29% in June to $699.8 million. Hardware sales dropped 45% year-over-year. This was despite the release of the new Nintendo 3DS. “The 3DS is still…
Good News For Italy Bond Auction
A two-notch rate cut of Italy’s sovereign debt by Moody’s from to Baa2 from A3 has not kept global capital markets investors from some small optimism about the country’s prospects. Italy sold $3.1 billion…
Will Lowest Mortgage Rates Help Housing?
Thirty-year mortgage rates fell to a low that has not been seen since numbers were first recorded in the 1980s. The rate reached 3.56%. Will that rate help the housing market? So far, the…
Moody’s “Summer of Discontent”
Moody’s issued its cleverly titled “Summer of Discontent” analysis of the global economic situation. The comments about the next quarter were dire, but, as usually, the rating agency was late in its evaluation and…