IMF Stuggles With BRICS
CIA World FactbookThe amount the IMF can raise, primarily to help to create a sovereign firewall for Europe, stands at $320 billion, although several nations have said they will help push the sum close…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Ford Expands In China
Ford (NYSE: F) plans to increase it production facilities and dealer outlets in China two-fold by 2015. The No. 2 US car firm said it would build a $760 million auto assembly plant in…
German Confidence Up in April
Germany continues to be the financial cornerstone of Europe because of the size of its gross domestic product and its continued economic growth. It is fair to say that the ability of the European Union…
Executive Pay Up 14% in 2011
The data is from a major union, and, therefore, may have a bias against chief executives. Numbers can be bent. The AFL-CIO reports that CEO pay rose 14% last year: According to data released…
Economic Indicators Rise For Sixth Month, Lag Pre-Recession
While jobs, manufacturing, and housing data may be choppy, a core measure of economic velocity has not been. The Conference Boards Leading Economic Indicators rose for a sixth month in March. The level posted was 95.7,…
The Empires of Apple Media
Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock occasionally rises above $600 a share and its market cap above $600 billion. Its sales almost certainly will pass $100 billion this year, based on extraordinary revenue growth. The iPhone and…
IMF Misses Fund-Raising Target
The International Monetary Fund may continue to increase in membership, but its ability to raise money has weakened recently. The Republic of South Sudan became the IMF’s 188th member today, but the nation is too…
Oil Races Down Toward $100 a Barrel
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude has begun to teeter down toward $100, after nearly three months above that level. With it the price of gasoline and anxiety about the negative effects on…
What’s Important in the Financial World (4/19/2012) Facebook $104 Billion Value, Gas Price Drop
Gasoline dipped below $3.90, based on the AAA assessment of the average price for a gallon of regular nationwide. The price yesterday was $3.891, down from $3.899 the day before and $3.907 a week ago.…
Media Digest (4/19/2012) Reuters, WSJ, FT, Bloomberg
BP (NYSE: BP) wants a trial over the Deepwater Horizon delayed while it tries to get a settlement. (Reuters) The International Monetary Fund receives $320 billion in new funds that could be used to…
Gas Below $3.90
Gas dipped below $3.90 based on the AAA assessment of the average price for a gallon of regular nationwide. The price yesterday was $3.891, down from $3.899 the day before and $3.907 a week…
Facebook’s New, Higher Valuation
courtesy Facebook Inc.Several media report that the Facebook buyout of Instagram implies a value of $104 billion for the social network about a month before its IPO. Many analysts have set the value that…
IMF Panics About EU Banks
The IMF reports that EU banks may have to sell $3.8 trillion in assets by the end of next year, if the sovereign debt crisis spreads. Many of these banks hold significant amount of…
Roche Walks Away From Illumina
Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) shareholders may be in for a rude surprise. Suitor Roche could be close to walking away from a $6.8 billion offer which values the gene research company’s shares at $51. The Illumina board…
Spain’s Debt Offering Has Modest Yields
Spain auctioned $3.2 billion in bonds. Demand was solid. Spain paid high yields, but not as high as many had feared. Yields well above 6% would signal that the nation could not sustain the…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (4/18/2012) Nestle And Pfizer M&A
Updated throughout the day on the 24/7 Wall St. Wire Nestle is close to a purchase of Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) baby products division (Reuters) Carlyle Group may buy a large Philadelphia area refinery from…
The Forces of Green Attack Cloud Computing
Greenpeace is worried that the huge new cloud computing industry will rely on old sources of energy. The growth and size of these IT infrastructures in not only large, it is growing as fast as…
In French Election, a Threat to Europe’s New Order
A perceived threat to the new EU order, which is set to help rescue Greece, Portugal and perhaps Spain and Italy, is based in part on the new governments put in place in those nations.…
Economic Confidence Picks Up More
The International Monetary Fund’s new assessment of an improving U.S. economy may be right, and the effects appear to have been driven by the consumer confidence level. The agency yesterday downgraded growth for most of the large nations around the…
Italy Delays Balanced Budget
In what is likely to be a shock to the system of EU austerity negotiations, Italy will move its balanced budget goal from 2013 to 2014. Reuters reports that a document from the office of Prime Minister Mario Monti shows the altered…