More Evidence of U.S. Home Market Crater
It is one thing for researchers to estimate what portion of Americans own their homes. It is another for Americans to say for themselves whether they own a home. A new poll from Gallup shows that…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
What’s Important in the Financial World (4/26/2012) Nintendo Loss, Gas Price Retreat
Economic confidence in Europe took a nose dive. The European Commission reported its economic sentiment indicator fell in April to 92.8 from a reading of 94.5 the previous month. MarketWatch says that the consensus…
Media Digest (4/26/2012) Reuters, WSJ, FT, Bloomberg
Markets are lifted by Fed comments that the economy is recovering and that it will keep rates low. (Reuters) Chrysler posts its best earnings since being partially taken over by Fiat. (Reuters) Samsung says…
Benanke Housing Worry
One the heels of bad housing numbers from S&P/Case-Shiller, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke told a news conference that the largest threat to the US economy remains home prices. He said that the problem…
Gas Price Retreats
Gas prices and futures indicate that the price of a gallon of regular based on the national average may never reach $4. As a matter of fact, the number may drop back to $3.50.…
Nintendo Loses Money
Nintendo lost money. It is the first time in recent memory that it has done so. Some of the blame falls on the value of the yen. But, more important, sales of its Wii…
European Economic Confidence Falls
Economic confidence in Europe took a nose dive. The European Commission reported its economic sentiment indicator fell in April to 92.8 from a reading of 94.5 the previous month. MarketWatch says that the consensus…
Chrysler Helped by Lack of Overseas Operations
A year ago, most car company analysts believed that the key to big profits for large manufacturers was an abundance of overseas sales. That has turned out to be untrue for now. Chrysler posted record…
Nine Countries Where Everyone Has A Job
Earlier this month, polling agency Gallup released its 2011 global unemployment statistics for 148 countries. Of the nations Gallup surveyed, nine had unemployment rates below 5%. The majority are in Asia, with the remainder…
Will LG, HTC and Sony Exit U.S. Smartphone Market?
Near the rear of AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Wireless retail stores sit smartphones like the HTC Trophy, the LG Vortex and Sony Experia. These usually sell for less than high-end Samsung smartphones and the Apple…
Is There a Big Search Engine Market in China?
Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) always has been a very small company compared to Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), although by some estimates it has 80% of the huge China search market. Baidu met analyst estimates for its first quarter,…
What’s Important in the Financial World (4/25/2012) India Downgrade, Facebook Prospects
Comscore released its list of the 50 largest U.S. websites for March based on unique visitors. The top of the list has not changed. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) sites are still in first place with…
Media Digest (4/25/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
A judge objects to parts of an AIG (NYSE: AIG) suit to block a Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) settlement over mortgage bond sales. (Reuters) Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) earnings are better than even the…
Moody’s Hurts India
The belief that the most rapidly growing developing nations can sustain rapid economic improvement and GDP expansion received another blow. China’s GDP has already begun to slow, the most visible indication of the trend.…
Forbes Vs. Bloomberg–Real Time Billionaires
The “billionaire index” business has gotten out of control. Bloomberg poached staff from Forbes, the traditional media outlet for the wealth of the super rich through its Forbes 400 and other reports. Bloomberg believed…
Apple No Indication Of Tech Revival
Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) extraordinary earnings will almost certainly help lift the US stock markets. They may be a false positive as far as earnings and prospects for most other tech companies are concerned. Apple’s…
Facebook Audience Disappoints
Comscore released its list of the 50 largest US websites for March based on unique visitors. The top of the list has not changed. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) sites are still in first place with…
UK Falls into Double Dip Recession and Austerity Gets Another Test
The UK Office of National Statistics announced today that first-quarter 2012 GDP dropped by 0.2%. That is not much, but it comes on the back of a drop in the final quarter of last year.…
EU Green Energy Ambitions No Easy Task
nationsonline.orgLondon and its partners in the European Union count their so-called 20-20-20 scheme as among the global models for a low-carbon future. Much of the region aims to cut emissions, use more renewable energy…
Case-Shiller–Home Prices Collapse
Case-Shiller, the housing research operation, reports that home prices continued their horrible collapse in January. The note said Data through February 2012, released today by S&P Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure…