South Korea’s Achilles Heel – Energy
South Korea has a market economy which ranks 15th in the world by nominal GDP. But it’s is more fragile than raw statistics indicate, and its prosperity is prognosticated on its access to inexpensive…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
AT&T Kills $39 Billion T-Mobile Offer
AT&T (NYSE: T) has ended its quest to buy No.4 US cellular company T-Mobile for $39 billion. It will pay T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom a $4 billion break-up fee. The future of AT&T Wireless…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (12/19/2011) Apple TV
Updated throughout the day. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) may buy Gulf Keystone Petroleum for $10.9 billion (The Independent) Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has begun to meet media executives in preparation to launch its TV product.…
Google Chrome Passes Internet Explorer As Top Browser
Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Internet Explorer has been the top browser in the world since the company bought Netscape nearly 15 years ago. Mozilla’s Firefox gains modest share over the last several years. But, it is…
National Institute of Statistics and Economics Sees French Recession
France is about to fall into a recession according to its statistics bureau– the National Institute of Statistics and Economics. France is already on a credit watch with negative implications according to Fitch. Many…
Amazon’s Most Popular Gifts This Holiday
Amazon.com is the largest e-commerce retailer in the world. In the third quarter of this year the company’s net sales increased 44% to $10.88 billion, compared with $7.56 billion in the third quarter of…
Catastrophe in Europe by End of Year?
nationsonline.orgA de facto collapse of the eurozone may occur before the end of 2011. It is unlikely, but it is possible. This possibility is new and relates to the lack of ability of the region’s largest…
Saab Finally Dies
It took the better part of a year. The owners of Saab sought capital all over the world, and the search ended in China. But a deal with local manufacturers and a government bank could not…
Media Digest (12/19/2011) Reuters, WSJ, FT, Bloomberg
Fitch is skeptical that European Union officials can solve the sovereign debt crisis. (Reuters) The rising U.S. deficit could undermine health care reforms. (Reuters) The S&P 500 may not close in the black for…
What’s Happening in the Financial World (12/19/2011) Eurozone Warning, Fuel Prices Fall
Saab finally succumbed to its inability to get a car off the assembly line. The company has not produced a car since last April. It declared bankruptcy today. Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile and a local…
The Ten Worst 10-Ks of 2011 (HPQ, GRPN, BWLD)
Covering a wide range of industries and behaviors, the 10Q Detective lists some of the more sophomoric — and predictable — regulatory filings made to the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2011: Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:…
Markets Unsteady As North Korea Leader Dies
The death of Kim Jong-il caused markets to falter on fear the North Korea’s leadership may be in question. This, in turn, could cause unrest in a nation which is believed to have nuclear…
US To Accept Basel Accords
The Federal Reserve will probably accept the Basel accords which would make US banks hold more capital. According to The Wall Street Journal, While big U.S. banks that are asked to maintain higher cushions could be…
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Buys $300 Million In Twitter
One of the richest and most famous investors in the world, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, has bought a $300 billion stake in microblogging company Twitter. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is famous for risking investments in firms like Citigroup…
Google Continues Large Lead In US Search Rankings
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) continued to hold its huge lead in US search engine share. In November, the figure was 65.4%. Yahoo!’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) was next at 15.1% and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was next at…
Holiday E-Commerce Revenue Surge Stays At 15%
The 15% improvement in e-commerce which began with the Black Friday weekend has continued at a nearly identical pace since then. Some analysts were concerned the American consumer would spend whatever money he had early…
Fitch Revises France Rating To Negative Outlook
France’s AAA rating, which has been threatened for months by concerns about a Europe recession, eurozone contagion, and its debt level moved closer to perilous levels, as Fitch reexamined it rating. The credit agency also said…
Moody’s Downgrades Belgium Two Levels To Aa3, Outlook Negative
nationsonline.orgIn another blow to the belief the European leaders have begun to gain control of the region’s sovereign debt problem, Moody’s downgraded Belgium by two levels to Aa3 and placed its sovereign paper on negative…
Irish GDP Drops, A Warning For Other Austerity Experiments
Ireland announced that it Q3 GDP dropped 1.9% quarter compared to previous quarter. That puts it in a class with Greece which has suffered a similar contraction, but not by much. Ireland is a…
IMF Chief Lagarde Pushes the Panic Button
It is credible to say that many parts of Europe are in the grip of a new recession. It is equally credible to say that the U.S. economy could contract and that China’s GDP…