The Small Business Economy Falls Apart
Small businesses are supposed to be a major engine of the US economy. Some experts believe that companies with under 500 workers use more than half the people who work in the US and…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Company Profits Cure To US Financial Woes
If only American companies were more profitable, many of the problems with the economy and access to social services would disappear. That is the claim of a new research document from Dalberg Global Development…
When No One Can Afford To Retire
Every American should be able to retire with money in the bank, and an IRA with hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in it, or instead a large corporate or government-supported pension. That…
Media Digest (6/15/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Obama has tried to get the business community to support his concern that the lack of approval of an increase in the debt cap would be a catastrophe (Reuters) A former head of the…
What Does It Cost? $1.2 Billion, Nokia’s Stock Value After Settling Apple Patent Litigation
> Nokia’s pre-settlement market cap: $22.5 billion > Nokia’s post-settlement market cap: $23.7 billion > Increase in market value: $1.2 billion Mobile phone powerhouses Nokia and Apple have finally settled after almost two years…
Commodities Watch: Corn Prices Fall as Goldman Raises Outlook (ADM, VLO, GPRE, PEIXD, MOO, DBA)
Corn prices have fallen by its limit of $0.30/bushel today, at about $7.52/bushel, and other ag commodities are also trading down. Wheat is off more than $0.25/bushel, to around $7.17. This on the same…
Daily Austerity Watch: Belarus — The Next Bailed Out European Country
The IMF is poised to offer Belarus a $8 billion bailout as the former Soviet Republic teeters on the brink of insolvency. While it’s chicken feed compared with the aid being offered to Greece…
CEOs Thrilled With Economy
CEOs think the economy is much better than it was two quarters. That is, at least, based on how the prospects of their own companies tell. “Fully 87% of our CEOs anticipate higher…
Rumors We Would Like To Hear: HP Sells PC Unit
Hewlett-Packard’s (NYSE: HPQ) new CEO Leo Apotheker can rearrange his management team as much as he likes. He can also push out his most talented executive, Ann Livermore, who has been at HP for over…
Consumer Confidence Falls Apart
Gas prices, home prices, clothing prices, and unemployment have finally reached the point at which they have destroyed consumer confidence. Some economists…
OECD: US Growth Is OK?
The global growth rate may have slowed recently compared to OECD expectations. The US is the surprising exception, which is hard to fathom. US unemployment is still stubbornly high. Composite leading indicators (CLIs) designed…
Today Best Market Rumors (6/14/2011) Google Maps China
Updated throughout the day Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) applied for a Google Maps license in China (Reuters) Glencore continues to look for companies it can buy (WSJ) Douglas A. McIntyre
IMF Age Discrimination
The IMF board decided that Israel’s central banker, Stanley Fischer, cannot be a candidate to become its new chief. He is 67 and the age limit for the job is 65. Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn…
Hewlett-Packard Changes Management But Not Strategy
Any CEO can change his management team. But, chess is not won by the use of new pieces. It is won by a strategy of attack and defense. Hewlett-Packard’s hapless new CEO, Leo Apotheker,…
Inflation Runs Wild In India And China
CIA World FactbookInflation in India in May was 9.06%. The figure for China in the same month was 5.5%. The two nations have roughly 2.5 billion people between them compared to a global population…
Media Digest (6/14/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Hackers broke into Senate computers. (Reuters) Chinese inflation hit a 34-month high last month. (Reuters) A slow economy could affect debt talks between the Republicans and Democrats. (Reuters) Oil moved higher on strong China…
American Companies Burned Worst By The Media
One school of thought about negative publicity is that its impact dissipates over time. It is hard to disprove that theory, especially in the case of large companies. And sometimes it takes longer than…
S&P Cuts Greece, So It May Finally Be Rescued
Greece says it will not, under any circumstances, default. S&P believe otherwise. It dropped its sovereign debt rating on the southern European nation by three notches. In the announcement the agency said: Standard &…
What Does It Cost: $1.8 Billion, What Groupon’s Impending IPO Has Cost LinkedIn’s Market Cap
> LinkedIn’s Peak Valuation: $8.9 billion > LinkedIn’s Current Valuation: $7.1 billion > Amount Lost: $1.8 billion Social networking site LinkedIn recently enjoyed an enormous single day jump following its IPO. Shares were originally…
The 24/7 Wall St./Flame Index: Companies With The Worst Press (6/13)
News that a drought in west Texas could undermine oil and gas production hit Halliburton, Anadarko, and KBR. Bank of New York Mellon was hit by negative coverage of a problem of how it…