Archives: November 2007

Top Stories of the Week

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 30, Categories: weekend

Zander calls it quits The CEO of beleaguered Motorola,Ed Zander, will step down in January. He has run the company for four years. Greg Brown, the current president and...

Bernanke Open to Rate Cut

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 30, Categories: early

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the housing downturn and ensuing credit crunch in financial markets is adding “greater than usual” uncertainty in the U.S. economy’s prospects....

Jobless Numbers Send a Signal

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 29, Categories: late

More evidence that the economy is cooling: Initial unemployment claims jumped more than expected in the week ending Nov. 24, hitting the highest level in nine months. The Labor...

Paulson: Help for Homeowners Coming

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 29, Categories: early

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that banks, servicers and investors are close to finalizing a template before the end of the year to help eligible homeowners to renegotiate adjustable-rate...

A Fed Honcho Fires Up the Street

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 28, Categories: late

In remarks that warmed the hearts of Wall Street traders, Federal Reserve Vice-Chairman Donald Kohn gave an unusually clear signal that the U.S. central bank may cut rates at...

Israelis, Palestinians Pledge to Reach Peace Agreement

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 28, Categories: early

Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to begin formal talks for the first time in seven years to strike a comprehensive peace deal, including the creation of a Palestinian state,...

Falling Home Prices, Gloomy Consumers

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 27, Categories: late

The U.S. housing slump continues to deepen, and it’s giving consumers the willies, say two reports released today. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index shows that single-family...

Falling Home Prices, Gloomy Consumers

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 27, Categories: late

The U.S. housing slump continues to deepen, and it’s giving consumers the willies, say two reports released today. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index shows that single-family...

Abu Dhabi Fund Becomes Citigroup’s Largest Shareholder

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 27, Categories: early

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is buying a 4.9% equity stake in Citigroup for $7.5 billion. The stake will make the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund the largest shareholder...

Citi May Get Slimmer

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 26, Categories: late

Citigroup employees had better brace themselves, reports CNBC: Another big round of layoffs is coming. Citing sources within the company, CNBC says that the sources describe the upcoming second...

Rio Tinto Rebuffs BHP Billiton

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 26, Categories: early

Rio Tinto rebuffed BHP Billiton’s takeover bid for the world’s third largest mining company by spending $2.4 billion on acquiring new mines, raising dividends to 30% this year and...

Retailers Expect Weaker Black Friday This Year

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 23, Categories: early

Some of America’s largest retailers opened doors earlier on “Black Friday” this year because they are worried that the weaker economy and high gas prices will depress holiday spending....

The Biggest Mideast IPO Ever

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 21, Categories: late

The much-anticipated IPO for DP Ports raised $4.96 billion, with shares selling for $1.30, at the top of the range the company had set. The offering values the world’s...

Freddie Mac's $2 Billion Loss Sends Shares Tumbling 29%

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 21, Categories: early

Freddie Mac posted a $2 billion loss in the third quarter due to the subprime mortgage crisis. The earnings results shocked the financial markets. Freddie Mac is considered a...

More Gloomy News On Housing

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 20, Categories: late

At first glance, the report looked encouraging: Housing starts rose 3% in October after three months of sliding, the Commerce Dept. said. The main area of strength was starts...

Overseas Sales Help HP's Earnings Beat Consensus

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 20, Categories: early

Hewlett-Packard not only reported stronger fourth-quarter net profit and sales than the Wall Street consensus, but also raised its forecasts for the coming quarter. The world's largest technology company's...

The Termites Eating Lowe's

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 19, Categories: late

The home improvement biz looks mighty wobbly these days. Lowe’s reported a 10% dip in third-quarter earnings and issued a gloomier outlook for the rest of the year. That...

Venezuela, Iran Blame High Oil Prices on Weak U.S. Dollar

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 19, Categories: early

President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez blamed the high oil prices on the weak U.S. dollar at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries summit...

Court Rejects Bush Administration's SUV Fuel Standards

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 16, Categories: early

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected the Bush administration's fuel-economy standards for light trucks and sport utility vehicles, saying that federal...

Well-Behaved Inflation

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 15, Categories: late

Sky-high oil and a sinking dollar don’t seem to be driving up prices—at least not yet. The Labor Dept. reports that consumer prices rose 0.3% in October, and the...

Now Barclays' Turn

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 15, Categories: early

Barclays will write down $2.7 billion due to losses from the U.S. subprime mortgage market collapse. The United Kingdom's third-largest bank originally took a $1.65 billion hit in October....

Thain Heads for Merrill

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 14, Categories: late

In a shocker, NYSE Euronext chief John Thain will take the top job at Merrill Lynch, succeeding ousted CEO Stanley O’Neal. Virtually everyone on Wall Street had been expecting...

Thain Heads for Merrill

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 14, Categories: late

In a shocker, NYSE Euronext chief John Thain will take the top job at Merrill Lynch, succeeding ousted CEO Stanley O’Neal. Virtually everyone on Wall Street had been expecting...

Bush Vetoes Domestic Spending Bill, Signs Defense Bill

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 14, Categories: early

President George W. Bush vetoed a $606 billion Democratic-sponsored bill to fund education, health and labor programs, saying that the bill is too expensive and filled with pork projects....

Another Big Bank's Big Writedown

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 13, Categories: late

Bank of America, in an SEC filing based on a presentation by CFO Joe Prince, says it’ll take a $3 billion writedown in the fourth quarter on investments linked...

Another Big Bank's Big Writedown

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 13, Categories: late

Bank of America, in an SEC filing based on a presentation by CFO Joe Prince, says it’ll take a $3 billion writedown in the fourth quarter on investments linked...

Japan's Economy Rebounds 2.6%, Rates Stay Unchanged

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 13, Categories:

Japan's economy grew 2.6% in the third quarter, rebounding from a 1.6% contraction in the second quarter. The world’s second-largest economy grew faster than expected thanks to brisk exports...

A Body Blow to E*Trade

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 12, Categories: late

That was one powerful analyst's report. Shortly after Citigroup analyst Prashant Bhatia downgraded E*Trade stock to a sell, shares fell by more than 50% in intraday trading. The report...

Asian Stock Markets Tumble

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 12, Categories: early

Stock markets across Asia plummeted Monday, led by the Tokyo and Hong Kong, on fresh reports of a weaker dollar and more subprime losses in the U.S. The Nikkei...

Top Stories of the Week

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 09, Categories: late

A slimmer trade gap The U.S. economy may have all sorts of troubles, but for now, at least, the export sector is looking strong. The nation’s trade deficit shrank...

Merck to Settle Vioxx Lawsuits for $4.85 Billion

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 09, Categories: early

Merck has agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle 27,000 lawsuits filed against the drug maker over injuries and deaths caused by its Vioxx painkiller. The settlement is one...

The Dow Tumbles, Then Recovers

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 08, Categories: late

Wall Street found itself struggling again after yesterday’s 361-point drop in the Dow. The market dropped sharply in early afternoon, with the Dow down 185 points, or about 1.4%....

Subprime Fallout Continues

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 08, Categories: early

Morgan Stanley forecasts a $3.7 billion fourth quarter write-off for bad loans due to subprime mortgages from August to October. The write down, which is broadly in line with...

Oil Touches Another Record, Stocks Sink

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 07, Categories: late

In what is becoming virtually a daily event, crude oil futures hit a record in intraday trading, touching $98.62 a barrel after closing at $97.60 the day before. But...

GM Takes $39 Bln Charge, Will Post Biggest Loss in History

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 07, Categories: early

General Motors will take a $39 billion non-cash charge to write down deferred-tax credits, setting the stage for the world's largest auto maker to post the biggest loss in...

Another Bang-Up IPO in China

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 06, Categories: late

Just a day after PetroChina became the biggest company in the world by market cap after listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, e-commerce portal Alibaba set another record, for...

Banks to Retry Selling $10 Bln Chrysler Loans

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 06, Categories: early

JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns will begin marketing on Wednesday $10 billion in loans for Chrysler's automotive business, in a sign that the...

Splitsville for Diller

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 05, Categories: late

He spent more than a decade piecing the conglomerate together, but now Barry Diller is splitting IAC/Interactive into five publicly traded outfits. Part of the reason: the media company’s...

Former Treasury Secretary Named Citigroup Interim Chairman

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 05, Categories: early

Former Treasury Secretary and Citigroup board member Robert Rubin was named interim chairman of Citigroup after Charles Prince III stepped down at an emergency board meeting Nov. 4. Head...

Top Stories of the Week

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 02, Categories: late

Jobs show some muscle Another nail in the coffin of a rate cut in December? The Labor Dept. reports that nonfarm payrolls jumped by 166,000 in October after a...

Hollywood Writers to Strike Over Royalties

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 02, Categories: early

Leaders of the union representing Hollywood writers declared that they would go on strike in the first walkout of film and TV writers in nearly two decades. The Writers...

Nardelli Wields the Axe

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 01, Categories: late

Chrysler announced more job cuts, nearly doubling the number of workers the company has announced it will lay off. Chrysler, now owned by Cerberus Capital Management, says it will...

Nardelli Wields the Axe

Posted by: Harry Maurer on November 01, Categories: late

Chrysler announced more job cuts, nearly doubling the number of workers the company has announced it will lay off. Chrysler, now owned by Cerberus Capital Management, says it will...

Strike Looms as Hollywood Talks Break Down

Posted by: Chi-Chu Tschang on November 01, Categories: early

The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to reach an agreement on a new labor contract and broke off talks, six...