All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Despite Awful Performance, Martha Stewart Contract Extended
It must be nice to be a founder. Despite a horrible performance, both financially and for shareholders, Martha Stewart was given a contract extension to act as founder and chief creative officer through June 30, 2017.…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (7/10/2012) Google To Settle With FTC
Updated throughout the day on the 24/7 Wall St. Wire Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will pay $22.5 million to settle FTC privacy charges (WSJ) John Paulson’s hedge fund posted huge losses last month (Bloomberg) Douglas…
Gas Prices Continue To Fall
Gasoline prices have began to fall again, roughly following the price of oil as usual. The AAA Fuel Gauge showed the average price for a gallon of regular nationwide was $3.381 yesterday, compared to…
No Summer Rally For US Market
Back in the United States, stock markets continue a retreat. The indexes have fallen for most of the past 10 trading days on a slow American economic recovery, as well as concerns about a…
UK Production Stats Mislead
A report on UK production for May offered a misleading signal. Data from the Office of National Statistics showed that: Production rose by 1.0 per cent between April 2012 and May 2012, with manufacturing…
Spain Moves to the Head of the Bailout Line
Getting bailout money from the Eurogroup is very difficult — until it suddenly is not. Because the body has become so concerned about the financial situation of Spain and its banks, the nation quickly will…
Not Nokia’s Last Breath
NokiaNokia’s (NYSE: NOK) shares have fallen so low that some investors and analysts of the handset industry believe the Finnish firm has reached the brink of bankruptcy. The company’s stock has fallen from $40…
The Charge That Large Companies Lack Transparency
The world’s largest companies have never had a reputation for showering investors with information about their financial situations and operations. The rules that might make them do so are too lax. Government authorities largely have…
What’s Important in the Financial World (7/10/2012)
A report on UK production for May offered a misleading signal. Data from the Office of National Statistics showed that: Production rose by 1.0 per cent between April 2012 and May 2012, with manufacturing…
Media Digest (7/10/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) invests in next-generation chip company ASML (NASDAQ: ASML). (Reuters) The Federal Reserve Bank of New York may have known in 2007 that the way Libor was set was incorrect. (Reuters) The European…
China’s Imports Collapse in June
China’s import levels collapsed in June. The data are another sign that raw materials needed for factories have dropped sharply due to lower demand, especially in Europe. China’s PMI was weak in the most…
Patriot Coal Files for Chapter 11
Patriot Coal’s (NYSE: PCX) share price dropped by 95% from its 52-week high recently and then gyrated wildly on worry that the company could continue as a going concern. The riddle about Patriot Coal’s future…
Media Digest (7/9/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Some wireless companies oppose the use of their networks as a means to make political contributions. (Reuters) Chinese inflation falls as the nation’s economy cools. (Reuters) The push to put together a European banking unit…
Do Huge Display Ads Hurt Online Content Businesses?
The display advertising industry, shaken by the falling prices it can get for its online ads, has taken to showing full-page marketing messages at websites. These blot out all of the content on website pages, some of…
Big Global IT Business Falters
As business comes to rely increasingly on computers and software, the IT industry should be flourishing. Yet, it is not. Fear of a slowdown in economies around the world has almost halted the growth of…
Layoff of 2,400 Workers Will Not Help Best Buy
Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) recently laid off 2,400 people. Wall St. has watched for a much more substantial sign, on the heels of years of poor performance and the departures of both its CEO and…
Duke Board Member Ann Maynard Gray Needs to Resign
The new board of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) pushed out William D. Johnson as chief executive of the company just formed by the merger of Duke and Progress. The board unexpectedly put the former Duke CEO…
Spain’s Bond Yields Move Above 7%
The yield on Spain’s 10-year notes rose above the financially and psychologically important 7% level. Most economists believe that if the yield remains above that level, Spain’s borrowing costs will be too onerous for the…
China’s Inflation Drops to 29-Month Low
In another sign that China’s economy has slowed, inflation is at a 29-month low. The country posted a June consumer price increase of only 2.2%. Inflation was only recently a major concern in the…