China Property Values Down, Again
China property prices fell again last month in most of the 70 cities the National Bureau of Statistics measures. Forty six cities had drops, a trend which has gone on for months. It is…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Spain Bank Downgrade Kills Markets Worldwide
A Moody’s downgrade of several banks in Spain smashed markets in Asia and Europe. The concerns that problems in Greece could spread to a much larger economy increased. Even with the new facility of nearly…
What’s Important in the Financial World (5/17/2012) Greece Wobbles, Verizon Increase Rates
The debate over the state of the housing market continues to seesaw. RealtyTrac reported that April foreclosures fell again and are now back to July 2007 levels. But the research operation’s CEO Brandon Moore cautioned, “More…
Almost No Improvement in Foreclosure Rates
There are a handful of theories about what will signal a bottom of the housing market. Perhaps an increase in prices or a drop in the supply of homes or the days that the…
Americans Take Contrarian View of Economy
Much of the recent news about the U.S. economy has been bad. The Federal Reserve made comments about the effect of the eurozone troubles on America. The stock markets have sold off for that, as…
Despite Attack, Amazon’s Appeal Lingers
Famous short-seller David Einhorn attacked Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) in a presentation recently. The company’s business model will not lead to consistent profits, he said. Therefore, the stock is overvalued. It is not hard to figure…
Media Digest (5/17/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT
The European Central Bank no longer offers help to Greek banks it believes are insolvent. (Reuters) Some brokerage firms stop taking orders for Facebook shares. (Reuters) Japan’s gross domestic product rises 3.5% in the…
Verizon Raises 4G Rates
Verizon will begin to end its unlimited data plan for existing subscribers. As customers upgrade to super fast 4G LTE service, Verizon will use the opportunity to take away something many consumers thought was…
No Greek Resolution, Banks May Be Battered
The situation in Greece will almost certainly drag on for another month. A caretaker government is about to take over ahead of June elections. Greece may say it cannot make a debt payment, the…
Japan GDP Up 4.1%
Japan’s surprisingly sharp rebound in GDP shows how resilient its economy can be despite years of growth which has been hobbled by a sort of stagflation, and more recently, the value of the yen.…
RealtyTrac Foreclosure Data Improves, A Little
The debate over the state of the housing market continues to see-saw. RealtyTrac reported that April foreclosures fell again and are now back to July 2007 levels. But, the research operation’s CEO Brandon Moore…
Google Launches “Next Generation of Search”
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced that it will launch “The Knowledge Graph,” which it describes as the “next generation of search.” This is only the case for users who are not happy with Google’s functions…
What’s Important in the Financial World (5/16/2012) New Greek Elections, Oil Prices Fall
It appears increasingly likely that concerns about the future of Greece will depress equity markets worldwide. Politicians in the country have failed to set a coalition government, despite several efforts. The chance that Greece…
JCPenney and Nokia — When a New CEO Fails
It is rare, but some new chief executives fail early — just after they begin their new jobs. That leaves boards with impossible decisions. How will the stock market react to the admission of a mistake?…
As European Car Sales Slide, the Industry Gets Desperate
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) announced that April sales of cars and light trucks in the region were “6.9% less than in the same month of 2011.” That means only 1,017,912 new passenger cars were…
T-Mobile, Like Sprint, Loses Battle for Market Share
T-Mobile, the wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom, probably will never recover from a failed takeover bid by AT&T (NYSE: T). The FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice killed the deal, and all DT…
Gas And Oil Fall
WTI crude reached a six month low, which is positive for nearly everyone other than the oil and gas industry. the price moved below $92, down from close to $110 less than 90 days…
Media Digest (5/16/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
The number of shares Facebook will sell rose 25% and the company could raise as much as $16 billion. (Reuters) Greeks take hundreds of millions of dollars out of banks there and the government…
Big Shareholder Attacks Pepsi
Shareholder activist firm Relational Investors has bought $600 million of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) shares according to The Wall Street Journal. Large companies are not immune from the kind of attacks recently experience by AOL…
GM Ad Cancellation Does Not Hurt Facebook IPO
Investors do not seem to care that GM (NYSE: GM) has dropped Facebook as an advertising medium. The press made a great deal of the news, but GM’s investment was only a few million…