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Latest Articles: Business
Likely Gridlock In Congress Could Threaten Economy
Post Date: 2010-11-02 11:26:57 by Brian S
16 Comments
Political gridlock is supposed to be good for business. If bickering lawmakers can't agree on anything, the thinking goes, they can't pass laws and regulations that make the economy worse. So will the midterm elections, which are expected to leave Congress at least partially controlled by Republicans and squaring off against a Democratic White House, be a help to the economy? Don't count on it. A standoff between the Obama administration and emboldened Republicans will probably block any new help for an economy squeezed by slow growth and high unemployment. Congress might also create paralyzing uncertainty for investors and businesses by fighting over taxes, deficits, health ...
AIG To Repay 36.7 Billion Dollars Of US Bailout Aid
Post Date: 2010-11-01 20:08:16 by Brian S
1 Comments
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Ailing insurer AIG is poised to repay 36.7 billion dollars in government bailout aid after floating its Asian unit AIA and selling another subsidiary, US officials said Monday. American International Group raised 20.5 billion dollars of cash in its initial public offering of pan-Asian insurer AIA Group last week, the Treasury Department said in an update on AIG's taxpayer-funded rescue. In the sale of unit American Life Insurance Company (ALICO) to MetLife, Inc., AIG raised about 16.2 billion dollars, including about 7.2 billion dollars in cash. "This approximately 36.7 billion dollars in aggregate proceeds will be used to fully repay the loan extended to ...
Warnings Abound In Enforcing Immigration Job Rules
Post Date: 2010-11-01 12:24:12 by Brian S
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(11-01) 01:29 PDT Seattle (AP) -- They cost clothing chain Abercrombie & Fitch $1 million in fines, tripped up Meg Whitman's campaign for California governor, prompted mass layoffs across the country and have been at the center of countless other workplace immigration disputes. An obscure federal document called the I-9 form has emerged as a contentious element in the national immigration debate since the Obama administration vowed to go after employers who hire undocumented workers. Employers must fill out and sign the form, which requires them to acknowledge, under penalty of perjury, that they examined documents that allow an employee to work. The Obama administration a year ...
Pontiac, Maker Of Muscle Cars, Ends After 84 Years
Post Date: 2010-10-31 19:11:37 by Brian S
7 Comments
DETROIT (AP) -- Pontiac, whose muscle cars drag-raced down boulevards, parked at drive-ins and roared across movie screens, is going out of business on Sunday. The 84-year-old brand, moribund since General Motors decided to kill it last year as it collapsed into bankruptcy, had been in decline for years. It was undone by a combination of poor corporate strategy and changing driver tastes. On Oct. 31, GM's agreements with Pontiac dealers expire. Even before GM's bankruptcy, Pontiac's sales had fallen from their peak of nearly one million in 1968, when the brand's speedier models were prized for their powerful engines and scowling grills. At Pontiac's pinnacle, models ...
Requiem for the Pelosi Democrats
Post Date: 2010-10-30 21:43:40 by WhiteSands
3 Comments
It took Democrats in the House of Representatives 40 years to become out-of-touch enough to get thrown out of office in 1994. It took 12 years for the Republicans who replaced them to abandon their principles and be repudiated in 2006. Now it appears that the current Democratic majority has lost voter confidence in only four years. How did this happen? And what does the increasing speed of voter backlash mean for Republicans who will likely take control next Tuesday? For answers, I decided to chat up Rep. Brian Baird, a six-term Democrat from Washington state. Even though he's never won re-election with less than 56% of the vote, Mr. Baird is retiring because the brutal congressional ...
Dem attacks Pelosi as 'authoritarian'
Post Date: 2010-10-30 13:47:43 by jwpegler
2 Comments
It took Democrats in the House of Representatives 40 years to become out-of- touch enough to get thrown out of office in 1994. It took 12 years for the Republicans who replaced them to abandon their principles and be repudiated in 2006. Now it appears that the current Democratic majority has lost voter confidence in only four years. How did this happen? And what does the increasing speed of voter backlash mean for Republicans who will likely take control next Tuesday? For answers, I decided to chat up Rep. Brian Baird, a six-term Democrat from Washington state. Even though he's never won re-election with less than 56% of the vote, Mr. Baird is retiring because the brutal congressional ...
Fox Blackout Set to Spread as Dish, News Corp. Spar Over Programming Fees
Post Date: 2010-10-29 12:05:40 by Brian S
2 Comments
Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Dish Network Corp. customers in some cities may face their own Fox blackout next week, as the satellite company feuds with Fox parent News Corp. over programming fees ahead of a Halloween contract deadline. Dish’s existing contract to carry more than 25 local Fox TV stations expires at midnight on Oct. 31. If an agreement can’t be reached, the channels would go dark for more than 3 million customers in New York, Los Angeles, Washington and other cities. That would affect Fox shows such as “House” and potentially the last three games of the World Series. Fox already cut off programming to Cablevision Systems Corp. in a similar dispute, affecting ...
Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment Falls to the Lowest in Almost a Year
Post Date: 2010-10-29 11:57:24 by Brian S
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Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Confidence among U.S. consumers fell in October to the lowest level in almost a year, which may temper the biggest part of the economy. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment decreased to 67.7 from 68.2 in September. Economists had forecast a reading of 68, almost matching the preliminary figure of 67.9, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. A jobless rate projected to stay above 9 percent through next year may restrain consumer optimism and prompt Americans to limit their purchases, which account for 70 percent of the economy. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. are among retailers using discounts and ...
Consumer Confidence Hits Five-Year High In Michigan, According To MSU Survey
Post Date: 2010-10-28 13:29:59 by Brian S
5 Comments
Michigan residents’ optimism about the future is at its highest in nearly five years, according to Michigan State University’s latest State of the State Survey.The number of Michiganians who say they believe they will be better off financially one year from now stands at 54.8 percent. That’s up from 50.1 percent in the previous survey and the highest mark since fall 2004, when it was 60.1 percent. Charles Ballard, director of the quarterly survey and professor of economics, said the optimism is likely due to a slight improvement in the state economy, but also because residents just seem ready to believe after years of tough times. “It was a tough decade for ...
New Cadillac ATS Compact, 600 Jobs Coming To Lansing
Post Date: 2010-10-28 12:41:13 by Brian S
6 Comments
Few things translate as easily into election-year votes than announcing more jobs at a big factory in town -- especially in hard-hit Michigan. So no surprise Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero upstaged General Motors with his own announcement that Cadillac's new ATS compact sedan -- designed to be a BMW 3-Series fighter -- will be built at the Lansing Grand River plant that makes Caddy"s STS and CTS. Tally: 600 new union jobs, $190 million in spending by GM to equip the plant, votes TBA. (Did we mention Bernero is the Democrat running for governor of Michigan?) No comment from GM or the United Auto Workers after Bernero talked to the hometown Lansing State Journal, but a GM announcement ...
‘Are You Guys Eventually Going To Disclose?’ Chamber Responds Bluntly, ‘No!’
Post Date: 2010-10-27 18:47:47 by lucysmom
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... The Chamber has admitted to taking foreign funds for the same 501(c)(6) account they use for attack ads, and ThinkProgress caught them collecting $885,000 from over 80 foreign companies by investigating the Chamber’s own fundraising documents. Normally, organizations take international funds through a 501(c)(3), which is prohibited from political activity. However, what the Chamber is doing, fundraising from foreign corporations and asking them to deposit the money in their 501(c)(6) — an undisclosed, unlimited vehicle for their attack ads — is unprecedented. As for the Chamber’s concerns that disclosure would lead to negative retribution, Paul Blumenthal at the ...
Federal Reserve Overruled by Obama's Courtroom Lawyer on Rescue Disclosure
Post Date: 2010-10-27 15:37:54 by Brian S
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Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama Administration’s top courtroom lawyer directed the Federal Reserve to drop its plan to ask the Supreme Court to block the release of bank bailout records, according to a legal brief filed by a group of the biggest commercial banks. The Fed did not join the Clearing House Association LLC, a group of 20 banks, which appealed to the high court yesterday. The banks hope to reverse a lower court ruling forcing disclosure of Fed lending programs. Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, sued the central bank for the information. In papers filed with a federal appeals court in New York, the Clearing House said the Fed had initially sought approval from ...
Capital-Goods Orders Decline in Sign of U.S. Business-Investment Slowdown
Post Date: 2010-10-27 15:32:07 by Brian S
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Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Bookings for capital goods fell in September, signaling a slowdown in U.S. business investment that gives the Federal Reserve more reason to ease policy next week. Non-military orders for equipment like computers and machinery meant to last at least three years and excluding airplanes dropped 0.6 percent after a 4.8 percent gain in August that was smaller than previously estimated, figures from Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Another report showed sales of new houses hovered near a record low last month. The reports point to an economy that is struggling to gain speed more than a year into a recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s. Stocks, ...
Ford Posts Record Third-Quarter Profit of $1.69 Billion as U.S. Sales Gain
Post Date: 2010-10-26 11:40:47 by Brian S
1 Comments
Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the world’s most profitable automaker, reported record third-quarter net income of $1.69 billion and said it is paying down debt faster than planned as new models boost its U.S. market share. The results topped the 107-year-old company’s previous third-quarter high of $1.13 billion, set in 1997. Excluding some items, profit was 48 cents a share, beating the 38-cent average of 12 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The second- largest U.S. automaker had net income of $997 million in last year’s third quarter and adjusted per-share profit of 26 cents. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally has revived Ford by improving quality ...
Ford To Invest $850 Million In Michigan Between 2011 And 2013, Create 1,200 Jobs
Post Date: 2010-10-25 21:07:18 by Brian S
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Ford Motor Company announced today that it will invest $850 million in Michigan between 2011 and 2013. The new investments will support up to 1,200 new full-time manufacturing and engineering positions in Michigan. The company expects approximately 900 jobs will be hourly positions in its Van Dyke Transmission, Sterling Axle, Livonia Transmission and Dearborn Truck manufacturing facilities. The remaining 300 jobs will be salaried positions within its engineering and manufacturing operations. The investment is part of Ford's competitive plan to engineer and manufacture even more fuel-efficient vehicles and fuel-saving technologies in the state. "Fuel economy and technology are ...
America's Top Earners Saw Pay Quintuple Last Year to Average $519 Million
Post Date: 2010-10-25 16:57:47 by Brian S
4 Comments
Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- As the recession pushed U.S. incomes down last year, America’s highest earners -- 74 people who made more than $50 million -- saw their pay more than quintuple on average to a record $519 million each. Those top-end Americans earned a combined $38.4 billion in 2009, up from $11.9 billion earned by 131 individuals with wages above $50 million in 2008, according to Social Security Administration data. Nationally, the average annual wage fell by $384 to $39,269 and the median wage fell by $253 to $26,261 during the worst economic slump since the Great Depression. The Social Security Administration statistics, released Oct. 15, come as Congress faces a debate after ...
99 Weeks: When Unemployment Benefits Run Out
Post Date: 2010-10-25 15:02:40 by WhiteSands
5 Comments
The economic jam we're in has topped even the Great Depression in one respect: never have we had a recession this deep with a recovery this flat. Unemployment has been at nine and a half percent or above for 14 months. Congress did something that it has never done before - it extended unemployment benefits to 99 weeks. That cost more than $100 billion, a huge expense for a government in debt. But now, for many Americans 99 weeks have passed and there's still no job in sight. Some have taken to calling themselves the "99ers." "60 Minutes" and correspondent Scott Pelley went to several communities in search of the 99ers, but we didn't expect to find such a ...
Ford Set To Post All-Time Record Q3 Profit; Fiestas Selling For More Than Civics And Corollas
Post Date: 2010-10-25 13:50:48 by Brian S
1 Comments
If you regret not buying Ford stock when it was $1, you might want to reconsider even at the current $14. Bloomberg reports that Ford may well report a record third quarter profit of some $1.37 billion, based on the projections of five analysts. Considering that the market is still depressed, some analysts see plenty of potential left on the upside, projecting a possible $20 share price within the next 12 months. The keys to Ford’s success? Here’s just one: the new Fiesta is fetching $3,000 to $4,000 above its $14k base price, because buyers are happily taking them loaded with options. The result is that average transaction prices for the Fiesta are higher than Honda Civics and ...
To the Tea Party: Go Screw Yourself
Post Date: 2010-10-23 10:53:59 by Capitalist Eric
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Yes, I mean it. Here's a “reprint” of my interview with Dylan Ratigan last night: I, and FedUpUSA, ought to sue anyone using this moniker for their so-called “political affiliation” for defamation. Yeah, that's a joke. But so are you. All of you. Especially Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Bob Barr, and douchebag groups such as the “Tea Party Patriots.” Let's look at their mission statement:Fiscal Responsibility Constitutionally Limited Government Free Markets Really? That sounds pretty good. But did you read “Free Markets”? Free Markets: A free market is the economic consequence of personal liberty. The founders believed that personal and ...
Leading Indicators in U.S. Increase for Third Month
Post Date: 2010-10-21 11:46:00 by Brian S
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Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The index of U.S. leading indicators rose in September for the third straight month, signaling the recovery will extend into 2011. The 0.3 percent increase in the New York-based Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months matched the median forecast of 57 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Another report showed the number of claims for jobless benefits fell last week to a level consistent with little improvement in the labor market. Gains in consumer spending, business investment and exports may keep the world’s largest economy afloat even as housing remains depressed. At the same time, growth will probably not be strong ...
U.S. Housing Market Foreclosure-gate Doomsday Revolution Erupts
Post Date: 2010-10-20 17:14:28 by Capitalist Eric
11 Comments
Foreclosure-gate is heating up and the mad scramble for what's left of $45 trillion in real estate is guaranteed to leave homeowners homeless, pension funds unable to pay their pensions and even some of the biggest banks insolvent. A great housing goat rodeo was created when some of the 65 million mortgages on U.S. homes didn't follow proper legal procedures; Fraud by homeowners who lied on their loan applicationsFraud by banks who didn't follow proper legal procedures around the notarization and processing of mortgage documentsFraud by investment banks who packaged this junk and resold it to unsuspecting pension fundsPension funds promised returns to their pensioners they ...
George W. Bush: Bailout Call 'Wasn't That Hard' [Full Thread]
Post Date: 2010-10-20 13:41:34 by Brian S
41 Comments
Former President George W. Bush on Tuesday night defended his decision to bail out banks toward the end of his term, saying the call “wasn’t that hard.” “I made the decision to use your money to prevent the collapse from happening,” Bush said during a speech in Tyler, Texas, according to reports from The Associated Press and other outlets. Bush said that when the markets crashed in the fall of 2008, he recognized that if his administration didn’t do “something significant,” a “depression greater than the Great Depression” could occur. The former president said the choice to backstop many of the country’s leading financial ...
Wall Street Bailout Returns 8.2% Profit to Taxpayers, Beating Treasuries
Post Date: 2010-10-20 11:10:17 by Brian S
3 Comments
Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government’s bailout of financial firms through the Troubled Asset Relief Program provided taxpayers with higher returns than yields paid on 30- year Treasury bonds -- enough money to fund the Securities and Exchange Commission for the next two decades. The government has earned $25.2 billion on its investment of $309 billion in banks and insurance companies, an 8.2 percent return over two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That beat U.S. Treasuries, high-yield savings accounts, money- market funds and certificates of deposit. Investing in the stock market or gold would have paid off better. When the government first announced its ...
US States Show 2nd Straight Quarter Of Tax Gains
Post Date: 2010-10-19 11:38:53 by Brian S
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NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- A gradual fiscal recovery appears to be underway for states in the U.S., even as they continue to struggle with revenue below pre- recession levels, according to a new study released Tuesday by the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The second quarter of 2010 represented the second quarter in a row that states reported overall gains in tax collections on the heels of five straight quarters of declines, the public policy research arm of the State University of New York said. The gains were aided by increases in sales-tax rates in some major states. Moreover, preliminary data for July and August suggest the third quarter of 2010 may show another revenue increase, ...
Moody's: US Commercial Real Estate Hit 2002 Levels In August (prices down 45% from their late-2007 peak)
Post Date: 2010-10-19 11:37:56 by Brian S
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U.S. commercial real estate prices fell 3.3% in August from a month earlier, putting prices at 2002 levels after a third straight month of declines, Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday. Prices for office buildings, shopping centers and apartment complexes are now down 45% from their late-2007 peak, said Moody's. Rental demand has diminished, shrinking properties' cash flow, while a tighter financing market has restricted investors' ability to inflate their returns using leverage. "The commercial real estate market in the U.S. has become trifurcated with prices rising for performing trophy assets located in major markets, falling sharply for distressed assets and ...
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