Browser Companies Give In To Privacy Pressure
Google and several other firms which make web browsers will make a major move to protect consumer privacy. They will put a “do not track” button on their products. A web surfers decision to…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Germany Confidence Up–Ifo Institute
German research group Ifo Institute said that German business confidence reached a 7 month high with a reading of 109.6. The improvement has done on for four straight months. Both the measures of current…
EC Forecasts Recession
The EC has issued new forecasts for the eurozone’s GDP. It says the it expects a contraction of .3% in economic activity this year. In the 27 nation EU, it expects no grow at all.…
The Most Profitable Stores in America
lululemon The past few years have been challenging for the retailing industry, and there are signs that 2012 will be no different. One key metric used to judge the health of a store is…
Fitch Downgrades Greece To “C” From “CCC”
In a sign that the refinancing of Greece will not be universally heralded as a solution to its economic problems, and probably not those of the eurozone, Fitch downgraded it to “C” from “CCC”…
US Small Business To Increase Capex–Gallup
Small business in supposed to be the engine of US job creation. That was certainly not true during the recession and immediately after. Many small businesses lost money, and access to capital, as banks…
Business Software Alliance: Patchwork Of National Laws Halts Cloud Advance
The BSA claims that the future of cloud computing has been slowed by a large number of tech laws and regulations which vary widely from nation to nation. Cloud computing is viewed as the future of…
FHFA’s Inspector General Hit Fannie, Freddie $100 Million Legal Fees
The inspector general of the FHFA, which controls defunct mortgage operations Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for $100 million in legal fees paid since each went into Chapter 11. The concern seems fair given…
Fitch Cuts JC Penney Rating
Credit agency Fitch has already lost confidence in the one month old turnaround at JC Penney. It is being headed by former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson. His plan has been to simplify pricing and…
For the Bottom 20%, Life Gets Worse
The recession did no favors for Americans who were the worst off financially at its start. They are unlikely to recover to where they were before the economic catastrophe. New research from the Federal…
JCPenney Turnaround Falters
On January 25, new JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) CEO Ron Johnson, former head of Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) retail operations, unveiled his vision for the retailer’s turnaround. His “Fair and Square” price plans would make it…
Comcast Streaming Media — More and More and More VOD
Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) announced that it will offer a new streaming service to current TV and internet subscribers. The service, called Xfinity Streampix, will have a library of 75,000 television shows and movies. It may…
What’s Important in the Financial World (2/22/2012) Recession, Oil Prices
The Chinese and eurozone economies each showed signs of sharp slowing, and in Europe a new recession has begun. Data from the HSBC flash purchasing managers index indicated that China’s PMI continues to contract. It was 49.7…
Media Digest (2/22/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
President Obama may propose a new corporate tax rate. (Reuters) The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will examine overdraft fees. (Reuters) Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) will hold its annual meeting with the company in the best…
Obama To Suggest Corporate Tax Cut
Many media have reported that the President will suggest the core business tax rate be dropped from 32% to 25%. The loss of revenue from that would be offset by the elimination of a number…
PSA Peugeot Citroen And GM?
Auto manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroen said it was in talks about a joint venture to make cars in Europe. It has been presumed by the media that the other party is GM. GM’s EU Opel…
Business Activity Contracts In Eurozone–Markit
Research firm Markit said a number of its measurements for business confidence and PMI in the eurozone showed contractions as they fell below the 50 score which is the edge between growth and a fall off. The data…
China PMI Flashes Negative
The HSBC preliminary PMI figure for China in February was 49.7. It is the fourth month in the contraction level. Economists take it as another sign that a recession weary world has lost much of its appetite…
Data Confirms Eurozone Recession
nationsonline.orgThe question of whether the eurozone has slipped back into recession has been answered. Data from Markit show that “Eurozone business activity slips back into contraction in February.” The Composite Outlook Index, Services PMI Activity Index and Eurozone Manufacturing PMI…
Lightsquared Fires 45% Of Workers–Reuters
Already near death because of a failure of federal officials to approve the roll out of its 4G LTE service, Lightsquared will fire 45% of its 330 persons labor force, according to Reuters. The company…