MF Global Missing $1.2 Billion May Stay Missing
Since the collapse of MF Global, one of the acute questions is what happened to $1.2 billion in funds. Experts have been looking for the money for at least two months. Some expected to…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Dick Parsons May Step Down As Citi Chairman
Richard Parson, former CEO of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) may leave as chairman of Citigroup (NYSE: C). He is credited with helping steer the bank through the difficulty of the credit crisis, rebuilding the board,…
Apple Gains Market Share In Corporate World
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been successful in the market for personal computers for individuals for decades. The Mac has been pulled along by the popularity of, first, the iPod, and more recently the iPh0ne and…
Institute For International Finance Close To Greek Deal
The IIF, acting on behalf of the private holders of Greek sovereign paper says it is close to a deal to exchange current bonds for bonds with face value of less than 50% of…
More Reports That Germany Wants Control Over Greece’s Budget
The fears that Germany wants an oversized say in the budgets of nations which need large bailouts have grown. The specter of Germany as both the banker and chief financial officer of parts of…
IMF Continues To Push For Europe “Firewall”
The IMF has been at the forefront of the effort two increase funds set to save weak eurozone economies. IMF chief Christine Lagarde used her bully pulpit at Davos to further the cause of an additional…
More Talks Between Greece And Creditors–No New News
The reports that Greece and its private creditors are close to a deal on the swap of Greek paper for new bonds are close to conclusion have been in the press once again. These…
Delta (DAL) May Buy US Airways (LCC)–WSJ
A week ago there was a rumor that US Airways (NYSE:LCC) might buy American Air parent AMR out of Chapter 11 .The theory was that AMR would be able to cut costs through court mandated…
Germany Wants Control Over Greek Budget–Reuters
Germany has begun to play the card its neighbors feared it would. It wants some measure of control of the budget of financially crippled Greece. Germany is the defacto banker of the region’s bailout,…
University Of Michigan’s Official Announcement On Consumer Confidence
Below is the official announcment about January consumer confidence: Consumer confidence improves in January due to job gains ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Consumer confidence continued to improve in January due to positive news about potential…
Fed’s Dudley Talks Down Chances Of Economic Improvement
The head of the New York Federal Reserve William Dudley sees little in the economy that encourages him to believe any real recovery is about to happy. In comments today he said Growth of…
U of M Consumer Sentiment Up
The markets may be cheered by the new University of Michigan consumer sentiments which came out just after a disappointing 2.8% GDP improvement in Q4. The U of M numbers confirm others that show…
Markets Take GDP Disappointment In Stride
US GDP was up 2.8% in the fourth quarter, below consensus estimates of 3%. The stock market shrugged the news off, perhaps because recent PMI, employment, and consumer sentiment have been strong recently. That…
Apple Higher After Market Share Report
Apple share are higher to $445.69, just below their all-time high, after Strategy analytic released numbers that showed Apple had passed Samsung as the world’s leading smartphone company in the world Apple took the No.1…
Ford Posts Mediocre Earnings, And Investors Pay
Ford’s (NYSE: F) earnings were disappointing, and investors paid with a 4% drop in shares in the pre-market. Although US sales were good last year, compensation costs helped keep margins down. Asia-Pacific and Europe…
Spain’s Unemployment Situation Becomes Hopeless
Spain’s National Statistics Institute reported that the fourth-quarter unemployment rate reached 22.9%. That is up from 21.5% in the previous quarter. Spain does not have the economic engine to improve this number, and the austerity…
Only Two Horses Left in Smartphone Race
HTC, Motorola (NYSE: MMI), LG and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) might as well curtail their efforts in the smartphone arena. The industry has only two companies left with the ongoing opportunity for extremely large sales —…
Americans Want Government Aid for Housing, but Lack Ideas
Many Americans believe that the only way the housing market will recover soon is if the federal government takes an aggressive role in its improvement. That will require a sea change in the way the government has…
What’s Important in the Financial World (1/27/2012) Apple No. 1 Smartphone Seller, Starbucks Recovery
New research from Strategy Analytics shows that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was the number one seller of smartphones worldwide, with a 23.9% market share and sales of 37 million units. The results almost exclusively are due to…
Media Digest (1/27/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Greece and its creditors are close to a deal on the nation’s debt swap. (Reuters) A judge rules that some of the Gulf spill costs to be covered by Transocean (NYSE: RIG) will be covered by…