China Trade Legislation Advances
The House based a bill that sets the ability of the Commerce Department to set duties on goods from China and other nations that subsidize exports. The Senate passed similar legislation. The president shortly…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
How America’s Richest Companies Invest Their Cash
You might have already heard the reports that Apple is sitting on a lot of cash, around the $100 billion mark. You might have even read the scores of recommendations about what it should…
Economic Confidence Up Sixth Straight Months–Gallup
There is nothing special to be taken away from the new Gallup poll about how well US economic confidence is doing. The Conference Board has said as much as has the University of Michigan.…
Op-Ed: How Higher Gas Prices Hurt Less Affluent Consumers and the Economy
By Isabel Sawhill With rising gas prices now rivaling unemployment as a key issue in this year’s election, both the president and his Republican opponents have been speaking out about what, if anything, should…
IBM at $200 a Share
The price of IBM (NYSE: IBM) shares rose above $200 for the first time ever. It is no more a milestone that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) at $500 or when people reach age 65. The…
Small Business Sputters
Small business is supposed to be the most important engine of the jobs market. Many economists believe that companies with fewer than 20 workers account for more than half of all U.S. jobs. The small…
China’s 7.5% Growth and the Rest of the World
Even the most sophisticated economist could only guess about the global effect of a 7.5% GDP growth rate in the Chinese economy this year. Some analysts claim this will be the slowest growth rate…
What’s Important in the Financial World (3/6/2012) Sell Apple, EU Recession
The amount of speculation that Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock will fall has nearly reached the level of speculation that it will increase. Shares have run up by 50% over the past year, which is…
Media Digest (3/6/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, Bloomberg
A disorderly default of Greece would cost one trillion euros as contagion would spread sovereign debt problems to Spain and Italy, the Institute of International Finance says. (Reuters) AIG (NYSE: AIG) raises $6 billion…
Gas Prices Finally Tick Down–A Tiny Amount
The AAA Fuel Gauge reports that gas prices dropped, ever so slightly, yesterday. After weeks of increases, it was not much of a relief. And, the high price of oil means gas prices will…
Greek Meltdown Would Cost One Trillion Euros–Institute of International Finance
The Institute of International Finance which negotiated the private debt swap for many holders of Greek sovereign debt claims that a “disorderly” default of the southern EU nation would have cause a falling of…
Wall St. Bonuses Down 25%
There have been several estimates of how much the bonuses given to Wall St. bankers fell last year. All agree on one thing. Banker and brokers made less in 2011 than 2010. That should…
Opel Ampera Is European Car Of The Year
The much criticized GM (NYSE: GM) Chevy Volt, sold as the Opel Ampera in Europe, has been awarded the European Car of the Year distinction. The decision to bestow the award is made by journalists from 27 countries. The Volt has…
Euro Area GDP Falters
Analysts may claim that the new GDP data from the euro area demonstrates the region went into recession in Q4 2011. GDP fell .3% according to Eurostat. Much of the drag came from Germany, the region’s largest economy. GDP…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (3/5/2012) Jaguar Goes To China, Facebook IPO
Updated throughout the day on The 24/7 Wall St. Wire. Jaguar Land Rover and Chery have sought a joint venture approval to operate in China (Reuters) Facebook will add Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and…
As Facebook Sets Venture With Vevo, Is A Buyout Far Behind?
Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube is the largest video site in the US in terms of videos viewed each month, according to Comscore. VEVO is second. The gulf between the two was huge in January. YouTube had almost…
Apple App Downloads Hit 25 Billion
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) released a report that says downloads from its App Store have reached 25 billion — about three times the population of the world. The figure skirts the issue of how many…
What If Walmart Were Tesco?
Tesco (NASDAQ: TESO), the largest retailer in the UK, said it would add 20,000 jobs between now and 2014. It is the largest employer in the UK, with 270,000 workers. The move is an…
Too Many Pilots Sleepy on the Job
The National Sleep Foundation has just released a research report that says: About one-fourth of train operators (26%) and pilots (23%) admit that sleepiness has affected their job performance at least once a week,…
The $28,000 Appendectomy
An organization called the International Federation of Health Plans keeps track of medical costs in most of the developed nations around the world. As would be expected, the costs for most procedures and medical treatment…