Flickr, Images of MoneyForeclosure rates are one of the proxies for the health of the housing market, along with housing starts, home prices and the number of underwater mortgages. During 2011, foreclosure rates improved…
South Korean electronics firm LG is the third-largest manufacturer of wireless handsets in the world. Nevertheless, the company has struggled to make the business successful. It will not pull back from cellphone manufacturing, but it…
Foreclosures fell for the first time in four years, according to research firm Realtytrac. The firm said “Foreclosure filings were reported on 205,024 U.S. properties in December, a decrease of 9 percent from the previous…
Olympus may partner with Samsung. (Reuters) RBS cuts 3,500 investment bank jobs. (Reuters) RealtyTrac reports that foreclosures reached a four-year low in 2011. (Reuters) International Monetary Fund senior executive Lipton sees no hard landing…
Spain raised 10 billion euro at lower than expected rates. It has only planned to raise 5 billion euro According to Bloomberg: Spain’s benchmark 10-year bond yield declined 13 basis points to 5.194 percent…
The EPA released a list of greenhoue gas emissions for 2010 from large facilities that are, based on the agency’s standards, the worst offenders The EPA reports For the first time, comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG)…
One small silver lining in the real estate market is that foreclosure rates have begun to fall. That had not helped home prices–yet. Case-Shiller data from earlier in the month show home prices continue…
Every car manufacturer in the world wants to do well in China–the world’s largest market. But, sales growth there slowed to an improvement of 2.5% to 18.5 cars and light trucks. The news will…
The idea that low inflation is a proxy for recession may be an old one. That does not mean it is not a true one. If so, the global economic slowdown has picked up speed.…
The endless process to sell investment firm Morgan Keegan is over. Raymond James has run the prize. RJ disclosed Raymond James Financial, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a definitive stock purchase…
As many observers have expected private holders of Greek debt may not agree to a final write down settlement for the value of their Greek sovereign paper. It has been assumed that both these investors and eurozone nation…
There is still too much spare capacity in the global auto industry. That is, at least, what Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne believes. He is particularly concerned about the situation in Europe where slow…
President Obama set the foundations for a program that would encourage American companies to move workers from outside the US back to America. The White House has dubbed the process as “insourcing” The Administration…
A showdown between GM and its German unions may be about to end which would allow the firm’s Europe operation–Opel–to improve its P&L. As part of a deal that would allow the No.1 US…
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) may be partners in the search engine business because they share a technology platform. However, the bragging rights that go with the No.2 spot behind Google (NASDAQ:…
Microsoft has probably stepped away from a plan to sell subscriptions to receive premium digital video programs. The company’s plan was the offer would allow consumers to watch the content on TV. Reuters reports that The…
There was no news about Sears Holdings today. It did not announce layoffs, earnings, a restructuring, or a sale of any brands. No other company offered to buy Sears. Yet, shares were higher by…
Famous Apple follower Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster believes that the company sold four million more iPhones than he expected for the last quarter of 2011. From Bloomberg: Munster today raised his estimate to…
Archer Daniels Midland will fire 1,000 people, 3% of its workforce, to cut costs. To help achieve this reduction, the company will offer a voluntary early retirement incentive in the U.S. ADM expects that these…
At odds with some members of the Federal Reserve and in lock-step with other, Chicago Fed head Charles Evans called for more action by the central bank to help the economy. He said Given…