As Recession Looms, Economists See Growth
The signs that point to a new recession recently have grow larger. That has not kept members of the National Association for Business Economists from forecasting moderate growth next year. Their view is out…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
The Last Stand for Gap and Best Buy CEOs
The CEOs of Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) are at the ends of their respective ropes. If each company has poor holiday sales, as is expected, both chief executives likely will be…
China Owns Up to Recession
China must have seen a prolonged recession coming from far off. Its export business has dropped. Chinese government figures are considered unreliable, and some experts say they paint the picture the central government wants painted. The…
Moody’s Comments on a Weakening France
Trouble with eurozone debt, a slowing economy and a heavy debt load have finally caught up to France. Moody’s warned it could change its outlook on French sovereign paper, although the agency said a…
Media Digest (11/21/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
The supercommittee appears unlikely to settle on a deficit agreement. (Reuters) A senior Chinese official says he expects the global recession to last for some time. (Reuters) Spain’s center-right People’s Party gains a majority…
Japan Has Trade Deficit In October
According to MarketWatch, Japan swung back to a trade deficit in October, with the Ministry of Finance reporting Monday a trade gap of 273.8 billion yen ($3.56 billion). The result missed a median forecast…
Rhode Island Pensions Reform May Cause Others–Fitch
Yesterday’s approval of broad pension reform by the Rhode Island legislature increases financial stability for the state and may set a precedent for other U.S. states, according to Fitch Ratings. Rhode Island’s pension reform…
The Sodas America No Longer Drinks
The soda industry has a problem. Some of the industry’s largest selling and most famous brands have lost well over a third of their sales in the last decade. When those brands include Sprite,…
The Twitter-24/7 Wall St. Market Report (11/18/2011) Boeing Record Order, Spanish Debt
Bloomberg: Boeing wins record $21.7B order | http://bloom.bg/vOeh0v $BA WSJ: Spain Credit Crunch Deepens http://on.wsj.com/v3SnJN BBC: Greek budget will ‘cut deficit’ http://bbc.in/tkpwNv MarketWatch: ECB-IMF proposal for bailouts reportedly gains traction; Frankfurt and Paris erase losses http://on.mktw.net/tHJve2 Douglas A.…
Heinz Reports Second-Quarter EPS of $0.81 before Special Items ($0.73 reported) with 8.3% Sales Growth, Led by Emerging Markets and Global Ketchup
Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) Sales in the quarter ended October 26, 2011 grew to $2.83 billion, fueled by Emerging Markets, which delivered 15.8% organic sales growth (50.3% reported). The acquisitions of the Quero brand in…
What’s Important in the Financial World (11/19/2011) S&P Regrades Banks, Kindle Fire Costs
The weekend break in equity trading may produce more anxiety than relief. As Friday draws to a close, most stock markets probably will be down for the day, and certainly will be for the…
Who Will Collect Greek Taxes?
There is a problem with tax collection in a country that has instituted austerity measures while simultaneously trying to attack tax evaders, and that is there may be no one to collect the money…
Child Poverty Is Concentrated in Areas That Cannot Combat It
Nothing in the Census report on child poverty levels for 2009 and 2010 was unexpected. The 2010 poverty rate rose slightly to 21.6%, the highest level since 2001. That is the year when the…
Microsoft Deepens Facebook Ties
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) should have bought Facebook four years ago, when it might have had to pay only a few billion dollars. Since then, the social network has cruised past MSN, Aol (NYSE: AOL)…
Media Digest (11/18/2011) Reuters,WSJ, NYT, FT
Greek citizens stage large protests. (Reuters) Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) could be affected when S&P updates its credit ratings on the world’s 30 largest banks. (Reuters)…
Rising Protests Unsettle India’s Nuclear Energy Expansion Plans
International nuclear energy firms have fanned out across the globe since the 11 March Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan to drum up new business, with two of their most lucrative potential markets being the…
Gap (GPS) EPS Down 21% To $.38, New Share Buyback Of $500 Million
Gap (NYSE: GPS) announced earnings of $.38, down 21% from the same quarter last year. The period ended October 29. Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, which ended October 29,…
Nike (NKE) Ups Payout 16%
Nike (NYSE: NKE) raised its dividend 16%. The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.36 per share on the company’s outstanding Class A and Class B Common Stock. The $0.36 quarterly dividend,…
Amazon (AMZN) Smartphone, Fourth Quarter 2012–Source
Barron’s reports that Amazon (NASADQ: AMZN) may launch a smartphone in late 2012. The magazine quotes research firm Citigroup investments “We believe FIH is now jointly developing the phone with Amazon. However, we believe…
No Turnaround Under New Sears (SHLD) CEO
The turnaround efforts of new Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) CEO Lou D’Ambrosio have died almost before they started. Sears reported especially poor earnings for the quarter that ended October 31. The figures show that the…