Apple Starts Foxconn Investigation
Plagued by bad public relations, and online petitions about how the labor at its suppliers in China is treated, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) started an investigation into huge supplier Foxconn. It is not clear where…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Today’s Best Market Rumors (2/13/2012) Goldman Departure, Avon Jury
Update throughout the day on the 24/7 Wire. A grand jury will be given evidence about Avon overseas bribery activity. (WSJ) An “informal inquiry” has begun into the activity of private equity firms (NYT)…
Greece Becomes a Third-World Country
The news media has given a great deal of coverage to the austerity programs Greece has accepted in order to get it another 130 billion in aid, the riots in the streets of Athens…
Boeing’s 33,500 New Planes
Boeing (NYSE: BA) officials say that the world will need 33,500 large aircraft between now and 2030. That is a very precise number given that no one knows what will happen to the world…
Trouble for Online News Sites
One of the challenges traditional news media face is that advertising has begun to move online. As its turns out, the news media does not do much better on the internet than in the old world…
What’s Important in the Financial World (2/13/2012) Record Gas Prices, Valentine Sales
The mess in Greece will not go away, even though the nation’s parliament voted by an overwhelming margin to accept austerity measures to get a 130 billion euro bailout, its second. Citizens continue to riot…
Media Digest (2/13/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Greece’s parliament passes austerity measures as people riot. (Reuters) President Obama’s new budget plan will be based in part on taxation of the rich. (Reuters) Olympus forecasts a $412 million loss. (Reuters) Apple (NASDAQ:…
Government Employment Strong In DC, Alaska, Hawaii–Gallup
Almost one in three people employed in Washington DC, Alaska, and Hawaii work for local, state, or federal government. These people may want to be concerned. Austerity measures are likely to thin their ranks.…
Avon Bribery Case Moves To Grand Jury
The news for Avon, hammered by and SEC investigation and poor earnings got worse. The Wall Street Journal reports that a foreign bribery case will be presented to a grand jury. The paper reports…
European Job Cuts Worsen–Bloomberg
On the tails of several announcements of large jobs cuts by big companies in Europe, Bloomberg has reported research that layoffs have accelerated from last year. It is a sign, the news service reports,…
GE To Add 5,000 Jobs For Veterans, Improve Plants
GE’s (NYSE: GE) chief Jeff Immelt is the head of the President’s CEO advisory council. On of its jobs is to find ways to increase job opportunities in America. Immelt has been criticized because GE has not added…
Google’s New Product–A YouTube App?
The media has been full of rumors about what Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) would announce at a meeting with the press and analysts. A number of people “familiar” with the plans believed it would be a home entertainment…
Valentine’s Day Spending Up 8.5%–NRF
The National Retail Federation say Valentine’s Day spending will bu up 8.5% to a record $17.6 billion. The study has been conducted for 10 years. If the number is right, it would show that consumer…
Gas Price Spike Up
No one can say when high gas prices will move a huge number of Americans out of the consumer spending market. But, the fact that gas prices rose over 11 cents in the last…
Japan GDP Off Down 2.3%–Japan Cabinet Office
Japan’s GDP dropped 2.3% on an annualized basis according to data from the Japan Cabinet Office. Exports of goods and services were down 11.9%. Based on most media reports, the number was below estimates. The steep…
Greek Parliament Approves Austerity And Loans
According to a number of media reports, the Greek parliament has approved the austerity measures need to get a second loan of 130 billion euro to cover deep deficits and a debt which cannot…
Greece Appears Ready To Approve Austerity While Germany Pushes For More
The Greek parliament will probably approve strict austerity measure despite the resistance of some law-makers and the riots and protests in its streets over wage and pension cuts. Germany remains publically skeptical about whether…
Apple Files Another Major Lawsuit Againt Samsung
In another round of the global intellectual war between Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung, Apple has filed a lawsuit in the US which claims the South Korean firm violates four of its patents. The battle…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (2/10/2012) Apple iPad, Google Entertainment
Updated throughout the day on the 24/7 Wall St. Wire Apple will release the iPad 3 early in March (AllThingsD) Alibaba will take its online unit private as it buys shares back from Yahoo!…
The Digital Omnivore vs. the Couch Potato
The most frightening observation of the new and remarkably comprehensive Comscore “U.S. Digital in Focus: 2012” report is the rise of the “digital omnivore.” These multidevice consumers roam the streets, their homes, retail establishments,…