The Ten Richest U.S. Presidents
After months of speculation, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney recently confirmed that he is worth roughly $200 million — give or take a million or more. 24/7 Wall St. examined the finances of all…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Apple and Google Fall Behind in China
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) are the leaders of the consumer technology sector in the U.S. One dominates search and mobile OS, the other digital content, smartphones and tablet PCs. Neither has…
U.S. Unemployment Pockets Become More Severe
January unemployment fell to 8.2%. Recent weekly jobless claims have fallen to multiyear lows and are now consistently below 400,000. The figures mask a growing regional jobs problem. It has worsened, at least in comparison…
Reviewing a Million Foreclosures
Flickr, Images of MoneyA recent report on foreclosure abuses in San Francisco has dimmed the excitement of a settlement of foreclosure abuses among banks, the federal government and state attorneys general. The amount of that agreement will…
What’s Important in the Financial World (2/17/2012) ECB Bond Swap, Baidu Rules China
Research firm Gartner has released its fourth-quarter China smartphone market share data. It shows that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has fallen behind. Apple now stands fifth in share at 7.5%, down from 10.4% in the previous quarter. Arch…
Media Digest (2/17/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Foreclosure abuses likely occurred across the U.S. (Reuters) Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone loses market share in China, based on Gartner data. (Reuters) Improved odds of a Greek bailout lift markets. (Reuters) The U.S. Consumer…
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Want Crackdown On Debt Collectors
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed means to crack down on abuses by firms that attempt to collect debt from consumers. These companies have been largely unregulated and many consumer advocates claim the firms…
Oil Prices Threaten Recovery?
There are more economists who believe that with Brent above $120 and WTI above $100 that the spill over to gas prices will push the cost of a gallon of regular above $4. That would…
Did Large Banks Manipulate Global Interest Rates
The media has reported that trades at some large rates had set schemes to manipulate interest rates around the world as a way to make money. UBS has helped authorities track the practice which would be…
Google Secretly Tracked iPhone User Data–WSJ
The issue of privacy among users of websites and smart devices never seems to end. Either Facebook is collecting data to use with advertiser of large and well-known internet sites are tracking data to…
Greek Bailout Closer–Maybe Not
Greece edged closer to a bailout, but the deal is not done. The ECB said it would swap bonds it bought two years ago for new paper. This would allow it to avoid a write…
Apple Drops Market Share in China
New data from research firm Gartner shows that Apple’s market share in China has dropped from 10.4% in the nation in the third quarter to 7.5% in the fourth. That is an extraordinary loss…
Google Bypasses Apple Security Software–WSJ
Google set up its search software so that it would bypass certain security software in Apple’s mobile OS. That gave the search company access to personal information from iPhone and iPad users. Apple software…
The Least Dependable Cars in America
People buy cars based on personal appeal, price, performance, fuel efficiency and reliability. Reliability is among the most important factors for most consumers. A car or light truck that runs without problems saves its…
Why GM Should Keep Opel
General Motors (NYSE: GM) has been in the news this week for two reasons. One is presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s views about whether the government should have bailed out the car maker. The other…
Gas Prices and the Global Airlines Industry
AMREconomists have begun to voice concerns that the price of gasoline, which is usually high, could damage the U.S. recovery and make the recession in Europe worse. That is probably true. An American who drives…
Foreclosures and a Small Sign of Housing Recovery
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index for February showed the confidence of builders at a five-year high. That is the best level since May 2007, which is about when the most severe period of…
What’s Important in the Financial World (2/16/2012) More Greek Trouble, Apple in China
Moody’s made a series of announcements about the possible downgrades of a number of banks and financial firms, mostly due to exposure to financial trouble in Europe. The warning included banks in 16 European…
Media Digest (2/16/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Moody’s may cut Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and UBS (NYSE: UBS) as the global euro crisis spreads. (Reuters) Officials in Japan arrest former Olympus executives. (Reuters) Congress reaches a deal on payroll tax extensions. (Reuters)…
China Reduces Holdings Of US Treasuries
China cut its holding of US Treasuries in December The People’s Republic dropped its U.S. debt securities by $31.9 billion from November–2.8%, to $1.11 trillion, according to the Treasury Department The general theory for…