“All politics is local”–Thomas Phillip “Tip” O’Neill, Jr., Speaker of the House, 1977 to 1987 Twelve members of Congress have been tasked with producing legislation to cut up to $1.5 trillion out of the…
In mid-afternoon trading today, WTI crude has fallen below $80/barrel and looks set to end the month down about -10%. Given all the dismal economic news that came out this month, it’s a wonder…
For several years, investing in large alt energy projects depended on large commercial banks being able to profit from the tax equity generated by a project’s developer. That investment strategy began to wither away…
If you believe things are bad now, just wait because they’re about to get much worse. That’s the forecast from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI). In their latest report, the firm says that…
Not only is air travel getting more expensive, passengers are more likely to face competition for fewer seats and more cancelled flights. Capacity is falling as airlines eliminate low-traffic routes and cancelled flights are…
The results are in, and though they may be temporary, it’s now official that IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) has become the second largest high-tech firm in the world, passing Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). Apple…
The rate for 30-year fixed mortgages dropped to 4.01% this week. That is the lowest figure on record. A current home buyer could save tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars…
There have been a number of convincing arguments that China will be spared the recession that has begun to spread across the world — or, by the recession that never ended but has begun…
Suppose that Barack Obama was not the president of the United States. The stock market might be higher and the global capital markets not as nervous as they are now. Or, perhaps it does…
The Obama administration has suggested the U.S. sell $22 billion in “unwanted” assets over the next decade to raise money. That is such a small figure that it is hardly worth mentioning. To put…
The federal government begins to probe the accounting of several Chinese companies. (Reuters) EU markets to decline more this quarter than in any other since 2008. (Reuters) Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to charge…
The outlook for the US economy has taken a turn for the worse among business leaders who see a drop in sales, capital spending, and new hiring. The gloomy outlook should be no surprise…
Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Thursday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:…
CNNMoney: First-time unemployment claims tumble to 391,000, down 37,000 in the latest week — the lowest level since April, government says. CNNMoney: U.S. economy grows at 1.3% annual rate in second quarter, faster than…
Updated throughout the day Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has hired Goldman Sachs (NYSE GS) to erect defenses against activist investors (WSJ) Ford (NYSE: F) may add 10,000 jobs in the US (Bloomberg) Douglas A. McIntyre
The vote was not decided until the last moment. The German parliament approved new power for the European Financial Stability Facility. The fund, which many economists believe must be increased in size may be…
NokiaNokia (NYSE: NOK) has let go 7,000 people since CEO Stephen Elop joined the company after a career at Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). He says Nokia will cut another 3,500 jobs. The firm announced it…
China’s Ministry of Agriculture said it will have to make an extraordinary effort to increase the nation’s supply of corn. That assumes the government can control the weather, the quality of seed, and the…
The Obama administration set a fund of $30 billion to help small businesses. The Treasury Department closed the fund recently after distributing only $4 billion of the money. The action is another example of…
The State Department recently supported a proposal to run a pipeline from Canada down the middle of the U.S. The Keystone XL project will, according to operator TransCanada (NYSE: TRP), create 20,000 jobs in the…