MacBook Pro: Too Much Computing Power
The new MacBook Pro has a price tag between $1,199 and $2,499. It is more powerful than the mainframes IBM marketed in the 1960s. The computer has quad core processors, Thunderbolt technology, and an…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
A US Agricultural Export Boom And China
The Chief Economist of the USDA issued his “Prospects for the US Farm Economy in 2011” The document is barely 10 pages long, but it says a great deal. The US farmer will have…
Oil Prices And The Future Of Airline Employees
Lost in the conversation about airline fuel prices and falling margins is the fate of airline employees. The most frequent reaction to an increase in the cost of jet fuel is similar to the…
Media Digest (2/25/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
EADS division Airbus lost out on an Air Force tanker to Boeing (NYSE: BA) (Reuters) Gold and oil moved higher on concerns about Libya (Reuters) Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) launched a new MacBook Pro (Reuters) A…
IEA Tries to Calm Crude Price Fears
The International Energy Agency has issued a statement that it apparently hopes will quell some of the fears that have driven crude prices to levels not seen for a while. The IEA notes that…
$4 Gas/$5 Gas
Turmoil in Libya and elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East is causing any number of prognosticators to come out of the woodwork and predict that gasoline prices could or will rise to…
Skellig Capital Begs Concurrent Computer To Buy Back Shares
Concurrent Computer NASDAQ: CCUR) shares are under-priced and Skellig Capital and Robert M. Neal, head of Skellig, want to remedy that. Together, the man and the fund hold 5.86% of Concurrent’s 9,247,000 shares outstanding. Skellig wants…
The 24/7 Wall St./Flame Index: Frontier Oil Wacked
Frontier Oil is receiving the most bad press this morning after posting poor earnings. And, investors are still upset about its M&A deal with Holly. Holly posted good earnings but it investors are also…
The Twitter-24/7 Wall St. Market Report (2/24/2011) GM Profit, Initial Job Claims
Twitter has, by most estimates, 175 million members, which makes it one of the largest social networks in the world. All major media companies are on Twitter and some have more than one million…
Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (CLMT, ETFC, SLXP)
Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Thursday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Calumet Specialty Partners Products Limited (NASDAQ: CLMT), E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC),…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (2/24/2011) Obama Mortgage, Danaher M&A
Updated throughout the day. Obama will propose a solution to charge against banks over mortgage foreclosure issues. It will involve the modification of the loan balances of $20 billion worth of mortgages (WSJ) PerkinsElmer…
Ten Things Americans Waste the Most Money On
24/7 Wall St. reviewed how Americans spend money. One of the conclusions of this analysis is that consumer spending is relatively alive and well, despite the recession. This may mean that Americans continue to…
Israel’s Economy Continues To Roar
What’s Israel’s secret to success? Being at the right place at the right time. The Jewish state’s success is all the more remarkable considering its lack of natural resources such as oil and the…
Where Will The Irish And Egyptians Go?
One of the by-products of unrest and austerity in Ireland is that many of the well-educated and well-paid have left the country or are in the process of doing so. The Wall Street Journal…
The FDIC List Of “Problem Banks” Rises With No Audit In Place
The FDIC issued its report for the fourth quarter of 2010. The number of institutions on the FDIC’s “Problem List” rose from 860 to 884. Total assets of “problem” institutions increased to $390 billion…
The Congressional Budget Office Misplaces Two Million Jobs
The Congressional Budget Office is supposed to issue a quarterly report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which is the centerpiece of the Administration’s efforts to right the economy. The report for the…
Media Digest (2/24/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg
Brent crude rose $6 to $113 on worries about Middle East contagion. (Reuters) GM (NYSE: GM) is likely to post its first annual profit since 2004. (Reuters) An effort by shareholders to get Apple…
North African Turmoil Could Push Oil to $220/Barrel (NMR)
Not even a promise from Saudi Arabia’s oil minister to make up any production shortage caused by the unrest in Libya and Algeria is enough to hold down the rise in crude oil futures.…
Gaddafi Made Libya Into An Economic Basket Case Long Ago
Libyan strongman Col. Mu’ammar Gaddafi, who today vowed to die a martyr as pressure mounts on him to leave office after 40 years, was supposed to be mellowing with age. The West thought his…
Auto Sales Flat Line As GM Loses Ground
A new forecast shows that car sales will drop in February from January when measured by the Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate. The February number will translate into an SAAR of 12.5 million cars and light…