Late December Holiday Sales Surge
Weekly U.S. Retail Chain Store Sales Snapshot provided by Goldman Sachs and ICSC showed that figures for the latter part of the shopping season surged The report showed Down to the wire, consumers had…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Why America’s Financial Future Is Far Better Than Europe’s
A number of economists believe the U.S. debt burden, budget problems, recession and lack of growth will soon be the same as those now facing many EU nations. This would mean that America has…
Have Consumers Begun to Ignore Housing?
Flickr, Images of MoneyThe Conference Board reported that the Consumer Confidence index was 64.5 in December, a gain of almost 10 points from November. That is near the highest measure since the recession ended.…
U.S. Administration Backs Down From Yuan Problem, Again
The Treasury Department backed away from labeling China a currency manipulator again as it posted its “Semi-annual Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies.” It was another lost opportunity to address…
Oil Price Problems Turn to Political Turmoil
The most closely watched triggers for oil prices have turned from China’s consumption and OPEC production to Nigeria and Iran. Political turmoil may determine prices for some time. Iran warned yesterday that it may…
What’s Important in the Financial World (12/28/2011) New Fed Members, New iPad
Crude oil prices have moved higher for a week, based on fear of a supply interruption threatened by Iran. The rogue nation said it may stop shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which is…
Media Digest (12/28/2011) Reuters, WSJ, FT, Bloomberg
Obama nominates Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell to take seats at the Federal Reserve. (Reuters) New York Times (NYSE: NYT) sells its regional media group for $143 million. (Reuters) The U.S. Treasury declines to…
For Those With Retail Trouble, the Problems Worsen Online
Research firm ForeSee released its customer satisfaction ratings for the shopping season — its Holiday E-retail Satisfaction Index. The e-commerce ratings mirror, in most cases, the states of the parent companies’ revenue. Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN)…
Asia Down, Europe Opens Flat
Asia shares sold off after news of weak retail sales and poor industrial output. Output in November was down 2.6%. November retail sales fell 2.6% The Nikkei was down .2% to 8,424. The Hang…
Eastman Kodak Late in Board Resignation Announcement
Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) has the right to delay the announcement of certain events under SEC regulations. It did so when it disclosed today that two of its board members resigned on December 21.…
Sears Will Not Close Enough Stores
The numbers do not add up. Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) has over 4,000 full-line and specialty stores. Same-store sales for the eight weeks that ended December 25 were down 5.2%. That figure represents a…
The Worst Product Flops of 2011
A number of incredible new products were launched this year. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) introduced the iPhone 4S — a phone with voice command — and Boeing’s (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner — a fuel efficient…
Google Tablet to Menace iPad?
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) chairman Eric Schmidt says his company will launch a new tablet PC in 2012. The product will run on the firm’s Android OS mobile platform. Google likely will struggle with the product,…
New Survey Says Economy to Expand Next Year … If
A new poll of economists by the AP reads like many others. The U.S. GDP will improve in 2012, so long as it is not undermined by European problems and a host of other…
More Pressure on Austerity Plans in Spain and France
France announced that its unemployment rate reached a 12-year high last quarter. The finance minister of Spain said he expects the nation’s GDP to contract this quarter and next. The pressure on austerity plans as…
What’s New in the Financial World (12/27/2011) Toyota Prius, Bank of America Asset Sales
The retail industry, just off a successful holiday season, must now wait for data on how post-holiday sales went. The Monday after Christmas is one of the busiest of the year. Two things are…
Media Digest (12/27/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Retailers hope that “mega Monday” sales continue a string of strong retail results. (Reuters) The MF Global disaster prompts requests that the systems for grain trading to be changed. (Reuters) Chinese investment tradition likely…
Spain Expects New Recession
Luis de Guindos, the new Spain finance minister, expects a recession in the nation. GDP will fall .2% in the current quarter and .3% in Q1 of next year, according to his calculations. Spain’s…
Toyota Launches New Hybrid
As part of the race for ultra-high mileage cars, Toyota (NYSE: TM) has launched its Aqua hybrid. The car will also be called the Prius c. Toyota will sell the car for about $22,000.…
GSM Phones May Be Hacked
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/hub.1324331373.htmlGermany’s Security Research Labs says that GSM phones can be hacked and used for unauthorized calls. The warning is one in a string that show mobile devices have become the targets of the kind of…