Google Plans Greater Privacy Invasion
A number of media report that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will update its privacy rules to allow it to collect and put together more data on its users. Google says this is to help these…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Facebook Blocks Share Sales For Three Days
In a move that the huge social network did not explain, it has blocked the sales of its privately traded shares for three days. The company will probably go public in the Spring with…
Drug Giant Roche Offers $5.7 Billion For Illumina
The business of using genetic codes and mapping to cure human health problems has taken a new turn. Roche offered to buy DNA map firm Illumina for a premium of over 60%–$5.7 billion. Illimina and…
Ericsson Earnings Collapse
LM Ericsson, a leader in wireless equipment manufacturing, says earnings fell. That does not bode well for an expansion of the telecommunications industry. Maybe the build out of huge wireless efforts has slowed. And the…
Japan Posts First Trade Deficit Since 1980–MarketWatch
Japan posted its first trade deficit since 1980, according to MarketWatch The financial site reports Japan posted its first annual trade deficit since 1980, with the Ministry of Finance reporting Wednesday a 205.1 billion…
CEOs Express Caution, Fear, Loathing
A survey of CEOs from around the world found them slightly pessimistic about the near term future. It may be a coincidence that this news comes the same day as the IMF cut of its global outlook…
Richmond Federal Reserve Posts Strong Numbers–MarketWatch
MarketWatch reports that the Richmond Federal Reserve posted encouraging numbers The Richmond Federal Reserve said manufacturing activity in its six-state region increased in January, mirroring improvements seen in similar regional indexes. The bank said…
IMF Cuts Global Forecasts, As Europe Crumbles
A day after IMF chief Lagarde warned that Europe could sink into a 1930s style disaster without growth programs, the agency cut global GDP growth forecasts–primarily because of trouble in the eurozone. The argument for the cuts…
S&P May Post Greece As “Selective Default”
As Greece battles unsuccessfully with its private creditors, S&P worries that there will not be no negotiated conclusion for the two sizes to settle on revised debt provision. S&P, therefore, may put Greece’s rating…
Economic Confidence Hits High Since May–Gallup
According to Gallup, economic confidence hit its highest level since May. It is another sign that consumers have thrown off the pessimism that had through the recession and the period just after. The mentality…
Europe, Particularly Germany, Recovers
In the shadow of deep concerns about the viability of the sovereign debt of some of the eurozone’s weakest nations, the economies of several countries in the region showed progress this month. Even overall eurozone purchasing manager…
U.S. Energy Picture in 2035?
It takes a fair amount of arrogance to predict anything that will happen two decades from now. That has not stopped that U.S. Energy Administration from issuing an early version of its 2012 Annual…
An Awful Start for JCPenney’s New CEO
Former Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) retail chief Ron Johnson, hired to achieve a turnaround at JCPenney (NYSE: JCP), is off to a terrible start. The wobbly department store company may not recover for a long…
What’s Important in the Financial World (1/24/2012) YouTube Views, EU PMI
The predictions of an economic collapse in Europe were premature. Area research firm Markit released manufacturer purchasing activity for January. The numbers for France improved, although many experts have worried that its GDP has begun to…
Media Digest (1/24/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Eurozone ministers reject a settlement between private bondholders and Greece. (Reuters) Macy’s (NYSE: M) sues Martha Stewart Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) over a deal the media company did with JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) that may have…
S&P Downgrades Two Major French Banks
S&P downgraded the sovereign wealth fund of France from AAA to AA+. The move follows a downgrade of the nation’s debt Two French banks, probably saddled by balance sheets which contain sovereign debt from…
Germany May Trade Larger Bailout Fund For Harsher Sanctions On Weak Nations
Germany may be prepared to marry a temporary bailout fund with a permanent one and create a pool of 750 billion euro to rescue the region’s weakest nations. The FT reports that According to…
Settlement On Foreclosure Legal Battle With Banks Nears
State and federal government officials are near a deal to settle improper foreclosure charges against a number of banks. The amount of the agreement will cause financial firms to pay about $25 billion According…
Petroplus, Swiss Refiner, Files It Is Insolvent
Petroplus, the Swiss refiner, will file that it is insolvent According to The Wall Street Journal Petroplus, which previously referred to itself as “the largest independent refiner and wholesaler of petroleum products in Europe”,…
DuPont (DD) Earnings Top Forecasts
DuPont posted Q4 earnings which slightly beat Wall St. estimates. Its global revenue footprint and diversity of products make it something of a proxy for the broader economy. The company disclosed Fourth quarter 2011…