Olympus To Remain Listed Company Despite Trouble
The Tokyo Stock Exchange will continue to allow Olympus to remain a listed public company. The news is something of a surprise. The firm’s stock prices has collapsed as it has become engulfed in…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
HSBC China PMI Reading Shows Ongoing Slowing
HSBC measures China’s PMI and releases its numbers ahead of China’s official figures. It reported today a reading of 48.8 for January compared to 48.7 in December. A number under 50 represents contraction. The debate which…
IMF Lagarde Warns On Austerity
The debate continues over whether austerity is a regressive approach to deficit reduction. It does bring down the spending side of sovereign P&Ls. But, does the drop in expenditures undercut necessary stimulus dollars needed…
New York Fed Dumps Troubled AIG Bond Portfolio
The New York Fed took on much of AIG’s damaged bond portfolio as the insurance firm nearly went under three years ago. The funds had unpaid balances of $20 billion. The NYF has dumped…
Home Owners Will Finally Rebuild–IHS Global Insight
Americans may not be able to sell their homes, but many will start to refurbish them. Part may be due to the belief by consumers that the recession is over. But, it may be…
Natural Gas Prices Could Soar In US–Energy Information Administration
The prices of natural gas may be at a 10-year low. This obviously helps both consumers and business which depend on the fuel. The situation will not last according to the Energy Information Administration.…
EU May Have Tougher Rules On Deficits
The ECB has pressured EU officials to be hard on nations that miss budget targets. The plan may be unrealistic with some much of the region in recession. Half of budget targets is austerity.…
States with the Highest (and Lowest) Credit Card Debt
Americans cut down their credit card debt by 11% last year, compared to 2010, according to a new report by Credit Karma. 24/7 Wall St. looked at the average credit card debt owed by…
What’s Important in the Financial World (1/19/2012) BP Settlement, Kodak Patents
Eastman Kodak’s Chapter 11 filing is a way to shed its financial obligations. It also may allow a bankruptcy court to auction off its patents, either through purchase or license, to the highest bidders.…
Detroit’s Problem: A City of Government and Health Care Workers
Detroit’s unique position as a large American city is not just related to the fact that the state may appoint an emergency manager and take the power of governing away from the mayor and city…
Large Nations Consider Economic IMF Aid as Smaller Ones Collapse
Japan would consider a series of bilateral loans to the International Monetary Fund as the organization seeks $600 billion to bolster its accounts as a means to help bail out the economies of some of Europe’s…
Americans Continue to Turn Their Backs on Big Business and Big Government
Americans are unusually dissatisfied with big government and big business. There is irony in that, because many of the solutions to major problems in the U.S. will have to come from these two sectors.…
Media Digest (1/19/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) files for Chapter 11. (Reuters) Greece and its private lenders work toward a last-hour compromise on a debt exchange. (Reuters) BP (NYSE: BP) likely to set a $20 billion to…
News Corp Partial Settlement Of Hacking Charges–WSJ
In a story just posted at WSJ.com, the paper reports that parent News Corp has settled some of the hacking charges which arose from practices used at the new defunct News of The World…
Greek Creditors May File Novel Suit Against Nation–NYT
Some hedge funds may file a novel lawsuit to block any effort by Greece to default and drive the value of their sovereign holdings down–perhaps to zero The New York Times reports that Hedge…
Facebook Launches New Features To Hold Members
Facebook will always face competition from other sites which vie for the limited number of hours people can spend online. These include news, entertainment, and service sites. The world’s largest social network, which is…
Spain And France Raise Capital On Better Terms
The worries that sovereign in the eurozone will have problems raising capital now that their prospects have been downgraded by S&P have diminished. Spain and France each raise new debt at rates largely better than…
Greece And Creditors Still Locked In Battle
Negotiation between Greece and private investors which hold much of its debt have faltered again. Greece believes it needs these investors to exchange their sovereign paper for new debt which has about half of…
Sony Ericsson Posts Large Loss, Losing Smartphone Battle
It is a wonder that Sony (NYSE: SNE) wants to take sole ownership of the Sony Ericsson handset company. The firm announced another loss, this time for the fourth quarter. It has been completely…
S&P CEO Defends Downgrades Of US And EU Nations
For some reason, the new head of S&P fells he needs to defend the agency’s downgrades of sovereign debt beyond the explanations the ratings agengy provided in its written material. According to The Wall…