Bernanke Tries to Fix Housing
Ben Bernanke, the head of the Federal Reserve, sent the chiefs of the House Committee on Financial Service a 24-page note about the problems of the housing market and the need for them to be…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Will Kodak Dump Its Patents to Save Itself?
Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) probably will declare bankruptcy this month. It has too little cash to operate with its current expenses and balance sheet. So far, it has been unable to license most of…
The Strait of Hormuz, $150 Oil and Strategic Oil Reserves
An article in The New York Times argues, without much support, that if the Strait of Hormuz is closed for any amount of time, oil prices will rise 50% and gas will move to…
Auto Industry and the Race for the Rich
Mercedes sold 261,846 new cars in the U.S. last year. BMW sold 248,073. That is a lot of units for a country that is nearly in a recession. And it is a sign that…
What’s Important in the Financial World (1/5/2011) Pepsi Layoffs, Kodak Patents
Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK), established nearly 140 years ago, soon may declare Chapter 11. It is burdened by debt, loses money and has been unable to license most of its 1,100 patents. It hopes a…
Media Digest (1/5/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Blackstone (NYSE: BX) will complete the capital raise for its $16 billion fund. (Reuters) The EU agrees to an embargo on Iranian oil. (Reuters) Citing defense cuts, Boeing (NYSE: BA) closes it plant in…
Spain Bank Fears Hurt European Markets
Spain said it may need 80 billion euro to support its weak bank system. That adds to concerns about its sovereign debt. The worry caused European markets to drop The DAX was off .68% to…
Toyota Posts Weak China Sales
Sales of Toyota (NYSE: TM) cars and light trucks rose only 4% in China last year to 833,000 The largest Japanese car company faced two hurdles in the People’s Republic. The first is that an…
Fiat Raises Chrysler Ownership To 58.5 %
Fiat hit performance hurdles that allow it to increase its ownership in Chrysler from 53.5% to 58.5%. The the United Auto Workers union’s retiree health-care trust holds the balance of the shares Fiat CEO…
The Best and Worst Run Cities in America
Many qualities separate the best-run and worst-run cities. But perhaps the most important is access to jobs. The economies of the best-run cities fall into two categories. They either have a booming industry or…
France Bond Yields Rise At New Auction
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/hub.1324331373.htmlFrance had to pay more money for 10-year and 30-year notes today compared to what it paid on December 1`. France sold 7.96 billion euros of 10- to 30-year bonds According to Reuters: Investors…
CostCo December Same Store Up 7%
Costco (NASDAQ: COST) same-store sales rose 7% for the important five week holiday period. The movement was, however, a slowing from the balance of the quarter which rose 9%. Costco is one of the…
Ford Sales Up 16% In December, As Progress Slows
Ford (NYSE: F) was the hot US car company in 2010. That crown has been taken by Chrysler, at least in terms of growth rate. Ford’s domestic sales rose 16% in December to 201,703. Sales…
VW December Sales Up 36%. Share Of Market Still Small
VW continues to gain ground in the only major auto market in the world where its does not have a significant presence–the US. December auto sales for VW rose 36% to 32,505, only about one-third…
GM US Sales Up Disappointing 5% For December
GM (NYSE: GM) posted very modest sales in December, up only 5% from the same year in 2010. The No.1 US car company reported that total U.S. sales were 234,351 For the year, sales rose…
Todays’ Best Market Rumors (1/4/2012) Yahoo! CEO, RIM Chairmen
Updated throughout the day PayPal President Scott Thompson will become Yahoo!’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) next CEO (AllThingsD) MF Global sold some of its assets to Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) before it went bankrupt (Reuters) Research…
US Futures Hold Their Own As Europe Waivers
Concerns about the level of local bank borrowing at the ECB helped press Europe shares lower. The DAX was off .74% to 6,121, despite that fact that Germany’s unemployment improved. The FTSE was down .09%…
The Fed Games the System
Later this month, Federal Reserve officials on its Open Market Committee will begin to disclose their forecasts for interest rates. These members also will release what they believe is the most likely timing for…
Another Brief Look at the Poorest Americans
So much relies on the 2010 Census and related American Community Survey. Congressional district maps will be reset in some cases. The uses of about $400 billion per year in government aid to projects like…
Another Sign Unemployment Progress Is Stalled
The unemployment situation in the U.S. improved in the final quarter of last year, but ever so slightly. The federal government says the economy added a little over 120,000 new jobs in October and…