Merkel’s Problems At Home
France and Greece are not the only nations in which the forces of austerity suffered a setback. The party of Angela Merkel, the champion of government cost cuts across Europe, gave up ground in local…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Markets Crater in Asia, Open Off in Europe
Fears that new leaders in France and Greece will repudiate austerity and urge other nations in Europe to do so as well pushed Asian stocks deeply lower. The Nikkei fell 2.78% to 9,119 as…
America’s Favorite Beers
It may be about time Budweiser relinquished its title as “King of Beers.” According to the recently released 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Rankings, there is a new batch of brews with stronger brand equity,…
European Leaders Change Summer Vacation Plans
Austerity programs for the region’s weakest economies firmly in place, IMF chief Christine LaGarde and Germany leader Angela Merkel should have been able to spend their summers on vacation. Europe’s financial reputation had been restored by a…
François Hollande Clubs Sarkozy in French Election as Anti-austerity Sweeps Europe
Just hours after it became clear that the parties that have ruled Greece for years were largely repudiated for their supports of austerity, Nicolas Sarkozy, who supported austerity measures in France has been voted out…
Greece’s Controlling Parties Thrashed–Reuters
Markets may open down across Asia, and then Europe and the US as minority parties appear to have made major gains in Greek elections. The coalition which has run Greece throughout its most recent financial disaster may…
What Could Buffett Buy For $22 Billion? Canadian Pacific
Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A), during the firm’s annual meeting, claimed that he looked at a huge buyout recently, which would have cost $22 billion. Buffett says he did not make a deal because he…
Yahoo!’s Most Important Director: David W. Kenny
David W. Kenny is Yahoo!’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) most important director now. He serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. One of the charters of the committee is developing and recommending to the Board a…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (5/4/2012) BMW And Hyundai Motor JV
Updated throughout the day on the 24/7 Wall St. Wire. Micron is the likely winner in bidding for Elpida Memory (Reuters) BMW and Hyundai will have a joint engine development program (Reuters) Bank of…
Six Cities Where Rents Are Skyrocketing
Yesterday, online real estate site Trulia released rental data for the 100 largest housing markets in the country. The report showed that while home prices have increased slightly in the past year, rent prices…
How Fast Things Change: Samsung Galaxy S III
The new Samsung Galaxy S III is a better smartphone than the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. Until a few days ago, the iPhone had no single worthy rival. Could that really change in less than…
How Fast Things Change: Greeks Go to the Polls
The Greek government stabilized when the nation’s long-time prime minister, George Papandreou, resigned last November. His father and grandfather had held the same position. He broke the dynasty to save Greece from financial default, it was…
What’s Important in the Financial World (5/4/2012) Gas Prices, Zuckerberg Riches
The focus of the Facebook IPO turned again to the wealth of founder Mark Zuckerberg. The issue is so much more important than the company itself, or its new investors, that Bloomberg reported Zuckerberg will…
How Fast Things Change: Yahoo!’s New CEO Becomes a Liar
Investors were skeptical when Scott Thompson became Yahoo!’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) new chief executive. He was nothing more than an e-commerce expert who had run eBay’s (NASDAQ: EBAY) PayPal unit. He had no credentials in search…
Media Digest (5/4/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Facebook sets its IPO to raise more than $10 billion. (Reuters) The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) files suit against Walmart (NYSE: WMT) over bribery allegations in Mexico. (Reuters) Greek elections could reverse…
Gas Prices Stable
Gasoline prices have stopped falling, at least for a day. The AAA Fuel Gauge report showed the cost for a gallon of regular based on the national average was $3.802. That is statically flat…
Spirits Airlines Baggage Charge Revolt
One of the press’ favorite business stories this week is about Spirit Airline’s plan to charge as much as $100 for big carry on bags. The airline sets its ticket prices so low that…
Walmart Sued Over Bribery By CalSTRS
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) sued Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) because the world’s largest retailer may have violated Mexican and US laws. At issue is the bribery, or alleged bribery scandal, at Wal-Mart’s…
Facebook CEO Zuckerberg Get Rich
courtesy Facebook Inc.The focus of the Facebook IPO turned to the wealth of founder Mark Zuckerberg, again. The issue is so much more important than the company itself, or its new investors, that Bloomberg…
Europe Results Rip GM
Results from Europe hurt GM (NYSE: GM) sales in the latest quarter, hurting numbers as it did with Ford (NYSE: F) GM’s Opel division has been a problem for some time. The company is…