Morgan Stanley Downgrades the World
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has decided to officially acknowledge what most economists and educated people around the world already know. The global economy has begun to grind to a halt and will only be…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
An Electric Cadillac No One Will Drive
General Motors (NYSE: GM) will build a Cadillac fueled by electricity. And it will be added to a long line of new electric-powered models that are unlikely to have many buyers. The world’s largest…
The Presidency Gets Downgraded on the Economy
President Obama’s approval rating on his handling of the economy has hit an all-time low. It is likely it would not matter who was president when it comes to how this near-recession is viewed.…
Media Digest (8/18/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
Hewlett-Packard’s (NYSE: HPQ) new CEO faces investors concerned about its prospects. (Reuters) U.S. box office sales near records despite the slowdown. (Reuters) Lenovo posts strong earnings in spite of troubles with global PC sales.…
States Where No One Wants To Buy A New Home
There is a strong indication that home builders have almost ceased activity in several states as demand for newly built homes has dwindled. The slowdown in new home permits is particularly stark when compared…
Unemployment Up In August
New data from Gallup shows what economists might have expected. Unemployment has risen in the US recently, as the economy has slowed or perhaps even gone into reverse. The trend is confirms by slack…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (8/17/2011) RIM M&A, Apple LCD
Updated throughout the day. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) may invest in a Sharp LCD plant (Reuters) Buyer have backed away from market for top tier real estate prices because of fears of a bubble (WSJ)…
Can Every Car Company Have 20% of the China Luxury Car Market?
China became the largest car and light truck market in the world when it passed the U.S. two years ago. This has prompted all of the big auto manufacturers to quicken their efforts in…
UK Labor Market Comes Unhinged
The British labor market crumbled recently. The UK Office for National Statistics reported that the number of people who claimed unemployment benefits moved higher by 37,100 in July to 1.564 million. Unemployment in the…
Dell: Tough Economy or Incompetence?
Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) expects the balance of its fiscal year to be difficult financially. The computer firm said the economy is softening. Critics say that the firm’s products are old and ill-suited to a…
Media Digest (8/17/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT
SABMiller makes a hostile bid for Foster’s Group. (Reuters) The Swiss National Bank says the franc is overvalued. (Reuters) News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS) management under more pressure as a reporter says News of the…
The Richest Diamond Mines in the World
The global diamond mining industry may be one of the world’s best-kept secrets. Next to anything else having to do with diamonds, that is. The four largest diamond miners in the world are De…
HTC Files Suit Against Apple (AAPL, MMI, GOOG, HPQ, SSNLF)
In the seemingly never-ending round of intellectual property lawsuits over smartphone technology, Taiwan’s HTC Corp. has fired the latest shot. The smartphone maker has filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission alleging that…
Sony Playstation Soon to be Free? (SNE, MSFT, ATVI, TTWO, GME, AAPL, NOK, MMI, GOOG, NTDOY, SSNLF)
Game consoles and handheld game players took another shot to the chin today as Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) dropped the price of its Playstation 3 console by $50 on both the $299 160-Gbyte and…
America’s 10 Poorest Suburbs
While high poverty in some urban areas comes as no surprise, the growing poverty rates in a few suburban areas have been more unexpected. In an attempt to better understand this trend, 24/7 Wall…
The Twitter-24/7 Wall St. Market Report (8/16/2011) US Housing Starts, Walmart Earnings
CNNMoney: Permits to build new homes slump 3.2% and new home construction drops 1.5% in July, the government says. MarketWatch: U.S. housing starts fall 1.5% in July as building permits drop; June figures revised…
Can The Wal-Mart Family Afford Its CEO Anymore?
Sam Walton left his children his share of the world’s largest retailer–Walmart (NYSE: WMT). The family still has the control block–1.68 billion shares or over 48% of outstanding. S Robson Walton is the company’s…
Bomb on Natural Gas Pipeline in Oklahoma Epitomizes Their Vulnerability
Last Wednesday morning, August 10, two Enerfin Resources employees discovered a suspicious parcel attached to an the company’s natural gas pipeline near the intersection of Oklahoma Highway 27 and a county road near Okemah…
Are Chryslers Still Junk?
Chrysler has tried to rebuild its image under the management of Italian car company Fiat. The number three U.S. manufacturer even makes money. The issue that continues to nag the firm is whether anyone…
The Germany Economy’s Turn to Fall Apart
Germany reported that its second-quarter gross domestic product rose only 0.1%. That disappointing number can be added to the U.S. growth rate of 1.3%, the 0.2% rate in the UK and Spain’s 0.2% estimate…