Europe Loves Germany
Europeans love and admire Germany to an extent beyond most expectations. The powerful nation might be viewed as a nasty landlord in the region. Instead, Germany has a reputation as the nation with the…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Europe Turns Against China
China wants to do business in Europe. It is the world’s largest region by GDP, even if the economy has slowed. But many companies in European nations have lost some of their confidence in…
A Facebook Smartphone
courtesy Facebook Inc.Samsung released its new-age Galaxy S3 smartphone in Europe. Inventories are already gone in many places. The handset has gotten such favorable reviews and reactions that its sales are not unlike those of…
Media Digest (5/29/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, Bloomberg
JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) sells $25 billion in profitable securities to offset its trade debacle. (Reuters) The SEC examines JP Morgan financial reports. (Reuters) Marubeni buys U.S. grain company Gavilon Holdings for $3.6 billion. (Reuters) The…
Oil Prices Tick Back Up
Oil prices have stopped their rapid decent. Concerns about arms negotiations in Iran pushed crude back to $91. Any breakdown in those talks is unlikely to help WTI to recapture $100. Gas reserves in…
Huge Sales For “MIB 3”
Sony (NYSE: SNE) will benefit from the extraordinary launch of Men In Black’s third installment–MIB3. Worldwide sales for the Memorial Day weekend were $203 million. Estimates of the cost of the film have been…
Samsung’s New Music Hub
Samsung launched its Galaxy 3S smartphone in Europe and supplies in many areas ran out the first day. Some expects say that the handset has a set of features which match those of the…
European Bank Rescue
The perception that the large banks in Europe could present as much of a financial problem as the debt of sovereign nations do has grown rapidly recently. Spain’s bailout of Bankia will cost over…
Spain’s Borrowing Costs Push Above 6.5%
Worries about the solvency of its banks, particularly the bailout of huge Bankia, rating agency calls that the Spain economy has entered a double-dip recession, and nearly 25% unemployment have pushed Spain’s borrowing costs…
Greek Move Toward Austerity Lifts Markets
Markets in Europe rose, but only modestly, because of polls that showed Greek voters shifting support toward parties that favor austerity. The news was unexpected. Greeks showed a great level of rebellion against sharp…
Facebook May Buy Opera To Create Own Browser
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has apparently not allowed the scandal around its IPO, its slowing growth, or questions about its revenue from mobile devices to slow its M&A activity. It is in talks to buy the company…
Icahn Tries To Replace Four Chesapeake Directors
Carl Icahn has used the mess at Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) to try to take four board seats. Chesapeake’s shares have cratered because of trouble involving the side-by-side investments of its CEO Aubrey McClendon in…
Another Reason People Hate Lobbyists: The Alliance for American Manufacturing
Scott Paul, the Executive Director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing is one of the most loud mouthed lobbyists in Washington . He is willing to speak out on any subject, apparently based on the idea that…
America’s Favorite Coffees
courtesy Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.Americans love their coffee. Three-quarters of adults drink coffee and 58% say they drink coffee daily, according to the National Coffee Association. Like other large consumer products in the…
What’s Important in the Financial World (5/24/2012) MSNBC.com, Toyota’s New Markets
Toyota (NYSE: TM) announced it would move more aggressively into emerging markets. The Wall Street Journal reports that: Toyota, Japan’s biggest car maker by volume, plans to sell more than 1 million subcompacts in…
Cities with the Most Homes Underwater
Mortgage debt continues to be a major issue in the United States, nearly six years after home prices peaked, according to a report released Thursday by online real estate site Zillow. Americans continue to…
Newspaper Industry Gets Torn Up Again
Warren Buffett may be the only newspaper owner in American who wants to support the business. In addition to his ownership of daily newspapers in Omaha and Buffalo, he recently bought a portfolio of…
Short Sellers Hit Internet Stocks
For the two weeks that ended on May 15, short sellers hit old and new Internet site companies alike. Among firms that had IPOs recently, the short interest in Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) rose 35% to…
Hyundai Loses Ground in the Car Sales Race
Hyundai, and its sister brand Kia, have had the hottest selling cars in the American market since the recession began. The rational for this is that the South Korean company delivered high-quality cars and…
Memorial Day as a Litmus Test for the Econony
The AAA issues a forecast of Memorial Day driving each year. It believes the rise will be 1.2% this weekend, helped in part by lower gas prices and an improved economy. The increase may…