Euro Area Unemployment Surges
The unemployment rate of the eurozone reached 10.8% in February, up from 10.0% a year ago according to EuroStat. Unlike the in United States, the trend is in the wrong direction. The lowest rates…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
China Q1 Growth Slows
The notices from the Chinese government that GDP improvement in Q1 will disappoint grew as the Bank of China said the figure would be a disappointing 8.2%. That is against 8.9% for the full year…
Foxconn Eats New Costs (NASDAQ: AAPL)
Foxconn has given in to global PR. The manufacturer which does a great deal of work for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) will increase worker salaries and lower hours worked. The Fair Labor Association, which stepped for Apple when it was…
Gas Nears $4, As Crude Rises Over 4% In The Quarter
WTI crude rose just over 4% in the first quarter to almost $103. The effects on the price of gasoline were evident as the average price of a gallon of regular nationwide was flat…
Planned Corn Planting Hits Seven Decade High
A shortage of a number of crops will mean the amount of corn planted in the US this year will be at a seven decade high. In theory, this will push corn prices down,…
Groupon–More Financial Trouble As It Revises Results, Again (Will CFO Stay?)
Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN), the troubled online coupon company, has trouble getting its financials correct before its IPO. Now, post-IPO, it it in trouble again. Groupon revised both its Q4 2011 and full year 2001 numbers.…
The Most Popular Cities of the Ultra-Rich
The votes are in and London is the most important city in the world — at least, according to the ultra-wealthy. The Wealth Report, a new study by Knight Frank Research and Citi Private…
Past Failure as a Key to Future Trouble: Google, Best Buy and RIM
Three companies recently announced plans to improve their fortunes. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will launch its own tablet PC to challenge the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad, the Wall Street Journal reports. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY)…
Nasdaq, Up Nearly 20% in First Quarter, Faces the Second
The Nasdaq has risen 19% in the quarter that is about to end. That is much more than the S&P 500, which is only 13% higher. Many analysts believe that the Nasdaq has risen…
Economic Confidence Erodes in Battered Cities
Flickr - Marshall AstorIt is not unusual for research and polls to tell people what they already know. Obesity leads to poor health. People who text while driving are more likely to have accidents…
What’s Important in the Financial World (3/3/2012) Bezos and Apollo 11, Bernanke and the Economy
The concern of EU governments about the fates of Italy and Spain was evident as the region appears ready to increase its emergency funding facilities to 940 billion euros. Spain and Italy are not the…
Media Digest (3/30/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Eurozone officials will increase the size of the funds to create “firewalls” around financially troubled nations. (Reuters) Research In Motion’s (NASDAQ: RIMM) CEO says the firm’s struggles will continue as more management leave the…
The Bernanke Lecture Series Ends
Ben Bernanke gave the last of his four lectures at George Washington University. He pointed out that US GDP has risen by about 3% a year over the last one hundred. He predicted growth…
Gas Continues Rapid Race To $4
Not a single day passes without an increase in the price of regular gas, as measure by AAA based on a national average. That price rose to $3.925 yesterday up from $3.921 the day…
More Talk Of Larger EU Firewall
The concern of EU governments about the fates of Italy and Spain was evident as the region appears ready to increase its emergency funding facilities to 940 billion euros. Spain and Italy are not…
Jeff Bezos Goes To Outer Space
Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has been successful enough to earn himself a remarkably expensive hobby. He has been interested in outer space since he was a child. Bezos assembled an…
Google To Launch Android Tablet–WSJ
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will launch its own Android tablet shortly. The hardware will be made by partners which includes Samsung According to The Wall Street Journal Google Inc undaunted by a short-lived attempt to…
Investigation Of Apple Supplier Foxconn Finds Issues At Factories
The Fair Labor Association found problems at three plants run by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) supplier Foxconn. Oddly enough, these come as Apple CEO Tim Cook visits China where the plants are based. The Fair Labor…
Troubled U.S. Cities Still Face Jobs Problems
New data from Gallup show that some cities that suffered the worst jobs losses during the recession have the lowest job creation now. The five metropolitan areas at the bottom of the Gallup Job…
As Broadband Surges in Russia and China, Governments Lose
The number of people with broadband connections in the United States, Korea, Canada and the United Kingdom increased very little last year. Too many people there already have the service for there to be much…