S&P Cuts Greece To “Selective Default”
Greece appears to have all the necessary approvals to get a bailout package from the EU and IMF. Private creditors have agreed to take as little as 30 cents on a dollar of sovereign…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Nine States Closing the Most Mail Centers
The U.S. Postal service plans to close nearly half of the nation’s mail processing centers beginning May 15th. The move, which follows a five-month study on 264 of the country’s 461 centers, puts more…
Release Stategic Petroleum Reserve Supply
Less than a year ago — in June 2011 — the Obama Administration decided to release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This amount was matched by 30 million barrels from the…
Merkel’s Re-election
Angela Merkel faces a 2013 re-election bid. Polls taken in her country show that as many as 70% of citizens do not favor a bailout of Greece or any other eurozone nations. Several of her…
World Bank: China to Be Top Economy?
The much anticipated China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative High-Income Society, put together by the World Bank and Development Research Center of China’s State Council, reaches two main conclusions that are nearly opposites.…
What’s Important In The Financial World (2/17/2012) Phone Launches, BP Settlement
The smartphone wars have heated up as the industry’s leaders gather in Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress. Most of the companies that currently run behind Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in smartphone market share and profitability…
Media Digest (2/27/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
The BP (NYSE: BP) oil trial is delayed for settlement talks. (Reuters) G20 ministers and central banks say Europe has to add money to its own funds before seeking outside aid. (Reuters) Proview’s prospects…
G20 Presses Germany On Bailout–FT
Germany is in effect the bank to Europe because it is largest economy by GDP and has the fewest debt problems. Many Germany citizens and politicians have been against Germany’s aid to Greece and…
Gas Continues To Rise–AAA–Over $4 In Some Large States
According to the AAA Fuel Gauge, the price of a gallon of regular was nearly $3.70 yesterday–nationwide. That is up from $3.40 a month ago. The figure for premium is up from $3.67 a…
Ford Wants To Decrease Urban Auto Gridlock
Former Ford CEO and current executive chairman Bill Ford says he has a plan to cut urban car gridlock. This would involve smartcars that could take drivers around traffic choke points. Also part of…
“China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative High-Income Society”
The World Bank and Development Research Center of China’s State Council released their new study on the future of China’s economy and society Called China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative High-Income Society” The…
Ford To Press For More China Share
Ford will invest $490 million in a plant in Chongqing. It has three passenger car plants in China now. Ford is well behind market leaders VW and GM, each of which has the advantage…
Samsung Wants To Double Sales
Samsung wants to double sales of its smartphones and tablet PCs this year. It is now the world’s largest handset maker, and its growth rate, R&D capacity, and marketing prowess give it a chance…
American To Fire Hundreds
AMR, the parent of American Air, says it needs to fire hundreds of workers as part of its move to exit bankruptcy. If the court in charge of the Chapter 11 process agrees to the…
Nokia Launches Cheap Smartphone
If Nokia cannot compete with Apple at the high end of the smartphone market, then it will see if it can taking a winning position with a cheap handset. It will be called the Lumia 6100 and will be…
Germany May Block New, Huge Bailout
Germany may block a plan to createt two huge bailout funds, which would total about $2 trillion, to aid eurozone nations and presumably eliminate the region’s sovereign debt crisis. G20 leader have indicated that they would add…
Sprint Nextel Deal For Metro PCS Dies, Adding To Its Desperation
A deal for Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) to buy Metro PCS as a means of adding to its troubled subscriber base, has been killed–presumably by the Sprint board. It is one of the few transactions…
Eight Reasons Gas Will Hit $5 This Year
The price of gas is a widely covered news item these days. Oil prices have moved up from $75 a barrel in October of last year to more than $100 a barrel currently. And…
U.S. Becomes World’s Bread Basket Again
New data from the Department of Agriculture shows that, as world demand for food continues to be relatively high, price increases will moderate or even fall. This is in contrast to several years of sharp…
An Ineffective Way to Track Presidential Candidate Federal Budget Plans
A nonprofit, nonpartisan group called the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which tracks the effects of federal spending plans, released its latest U.S. Budget Watch. The group says the document effectively analyzes what the…