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Latest Articles: Business
Little-Noticed Bill Could Make It Harder To Challenge Foreclosures
Post Date: 2010-10-07 11:24:49 by Brian S
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UPDATE: An Obama administration official tells HuffPost that the White House has 'concerns' about the bill. Challenging foreclosures could become more difficult for homeowners if the president signs a bill that passed through the Senate last week. The little-noticed bill comes at a time when the validity of foreclosure proceedings across the nation have been called into question. The House passed the bill in April, and its brisk journey through the Senate has drawn scant attention, Reuters reports. If signed into law, it would require courts to accept certain documents that have been notarized out of state, streamlining foreclosure proceedings and stripping homeowners of one legal ...
US Retailers’ Group Predicts Holiday Rebound
Post Date: 2010-10-06 14:29:34 by Brian S
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Published: October 6 2010 05:10 | Last updated: October 6 2010 05:10 The National Retail Federation, the largest US retail industry group, has said it expects to see a 2.3 per cent increase in holiday sales this year, with retailers battling to lure shoppers still sharply focused on stretching their dollars. The forecast increase, to $447.1bn in November and December, is lower than the average 2.5 per cent rise seen in the holiday periods over the past 10 years. It contrasts with the 0.4 per cent rise seen at the end of last year and the 3.9 per cent drop seen at the end of 2008 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist at the NRF, said US consumers had ...
Bailouts Cost Just $29 Billion, Far Less Than Earlier $350 Billion Estimate.
Post Date: 2010-10-06 12:50:45 by Brian S
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The controversial federal bailouts passed under President George W. Bush two years ago will cost taxpayers $29 billion, far less than earlier estimates of about $350 billion. The Treasury Department is declaring the Troubled Asset Relief Program a success, and one reason for the reduced cost is the profits coming from the sale of shares of AIG. Without that $22 billion profit, the price of TARP would be $51 billion. Most of the losses come from the bailouts of GM and Chrysler ($17 billion lost) and programs to deal with the housing crisis ($46 billion lost), such as mortgage modification. Almost 80 percent of banks that received money have paid it back, and Treasury says that small ...
Kohl's Boosts Holiday Hiring By 21 Percent In 2010
Post Date: 2010-10-06 12:36:47 by Brian S
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MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (AP) -- Kohl's Corp. is increasing its holiday hiring this season by 21 percent, another major retailer to boost its employee count this winter. The department store chain said Wednesday it expects to hire more than 40,000 people this season, up from 33,000 last year. It plans to hire an average of 35 employees per store at 1,089 stores. Kohl's also expects to hire 2,200 people at distribution centers and 60 people at credit operations. The Menomonee Falls, Wis., company said seasonal workers can work from a few hours to more than 20 per week. Hiring has begun and most jobs will be filled by the middle of November. Macy's, Toys R Us, Pier 1, American ...
Retail Data: September Sales Edge Up
Post Date: 2010-10-06 11:47:14 by Brian S
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans kept spending carefully last month, buying electronics and back-to-school clothes but holding back on luxuries. Erratic weather and tepid economic news dampened sales, according to data released Wednesday by MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, which includes transactions in all forms including cash. But pockets of growth during the five weeks between Aug. 29 and Oct. 2 point to a modestly more robust holiday season this year than last. Clothing sales rose 3.8 percent, driven by children's and family clothing, which includes teen retailers, as stores offered back-to-school discounts. Other positive categories included electronics, up 4.7 percent. In ...
Wall Street Soars To Near 5-Month High On Stimulus Hopes
Post Date: 2010-10-05 19:46:11 by Brian S
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NEW YORK (Reuters) -Stocks rallied to nearly a five-month high on Tuesday on growing conviction that central banks will do even more to bolster struggling economies worldwide. The Bank of Japan lit the fuse overnight when it unexpectedly cut rates closer to zero and said it would pour money into the markets through asset purchases. This move came as markets increasingly believe the U.S. Federal Reserve will stimulate the world's largest economy in a similar fashion."The thinking today is that the printing of money is going to take place," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama."The short-term impact of that is to ...
Gold Hits Record Above $1,340/oz As Dollar Slides; Private Bankers Advise: "Just Say No To Gold"
Post Date: 2010-10-05 17:05:58 by Brian S
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By Frank Tang NEW YORK | Tue Oct 5, 2010 3:25pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gold jumped nearly 2 percent on Tuesday, its biggest one-day rise since May, resuming its march to record highs as the dollar tumbled and currency market volatility ignited safe-haven buying. Silver surged 3 percent to a 30-year high and platinum group metals also rallied with the entire commodities complex, after the Bank of Japan said it would pump more funds into the country's struggling economy and keep interest rates virtually at zero. Moves by countries around the world toward easier money indicate "not only the amount of liquidity that has been put into the system will remain, but there is a high ...
Treasury Says TARP Exceeded Expectations
Post Date: 2010-10-05 16:58:54 by Brian S
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(Reuters) - Despite its enormous unpopularity among voters, the government's Wall Street bailout plan succeeded much more quickly and at a lower cost than expected, a Treasury report released on Tuesday said. "The Troubled Asset Relief Program has succeeded faster, and at a much lower cost, than expected," the report said. The final cost to taxpayers of what started out to be a $700 billion Wall Street bailout will be about $50 billion. An expected $20 billion return for selling the government's stake in American International Group (AIG.N) would bring the final cost down to $30 billion, the report said. But other losses stemming from the financial crisis and housing ...
Service Companies in U.S. Expand at Faster Pace Than Projected, ISM Says
Post Date: 2010-10-05 11:12:40 by Brian S
23 Comments
Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Service companies in the U.S. expanded at a faster pace than projected in September, indicating the economic recovery is picking up heading into the fourth quarter. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of non- manufacturing businesses, which covers about 90 percent of the economy, rose to 53.2 from 51.5 in August. The gauge, in which readings greater than 50 signal growth, averaged 55.3 during the six-year expansion that ended in December 2007. Faster services growth would help boost the economy at a time that factory expansion, which helped lead the recovery, is cooling. Even so, with an unemployment rate projected to average above 9 percent through 20 ...
Capital-Goods Orders, Pending Home Sales Rise in Sign U.S. Recovery Stable
Post Date: 2010-10-04 16:43:55 by Brian S
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Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Orders for U.S. capital goods rebounded in August and pending sales of existing homes climbed for a second month, showing the recovery is stabilizing after a second-quarter slowdown. Bookings for non-military capital goods excluding planes increased 5.1 percent, the biggest gain since March, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The number of contracts to buy previously owned houses rose 4.3 percent, topping the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, data from the National Association of Realtors showed. Home sales are steadying after plunging in the months following the expiration of a housing tax credit, while the need to update ...
Foreclosures Bungle Could Hit US Banks
Post Date: 2010-10-03 17:44:50 by Brian S
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Already fragile US financial firms are facing a raft of law suits and potential fines after three major mortgage lenders admitted to mishandling thousands of home foreclosures. Major mortgage lenders Bank of American, JPMorgan Chase and GMAC have in recent days announced they were suspending tens of thousands of foreclosure processes across the country due to apparent improper handling of documents. Attorney generals in six states are already investigating claims by borrowers that lenders have committed errors in the foreclosure documentations. Foreclosures have evolved into a massive industry since the start of the economic crunch as Americans faced massive debts, with the number of ...
The Risk of Currency Devaluation
Post Date: 2010-10-01 18:00:36 by Capitalist Eric
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The Risk of Currency Devaluation It is interesting to watch Wall Street defy reality. This is a scene we’ve observed since the early 1960s, the effect of debt on the economy and the nation and in turn on its currency. The result of the profligacy over all those years is the biggest bull market in history in gold and silver. As we write gold is toying with $1,300 and silver with $21.50. Each day a new high is reached in spite of a pending options expiration and the perpetual market rigging and manipulation by the US government. Government goes on its merry way because they have a Federal Reserve. There will be no cutback in deficit spending. Photo: Ken Mayer. One of the things that ...
Cram Down the Ultimate $100 Trillion Bailout, U.S. Dollar Value Fast Meltdown Ahead
Post Date: 2010-09-30 12:24:30 by Capitalist Eric
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Cram Down the Ultimate $100 Trillion Bailout, U.S. Dollar Value Fast Meltdown Ahead If you've never heard of a “Cram Down”, you are about to get a first hand lesson on the receiving end of the biggest one in history. The words “Cram Down” used to be reserved for companies in bankruptcy or smaller venture backed companies that run out of cash and are recapitalized by “cramming down” the equity held by existing shareholders. The only other alternative to closing the doors is to reorganize the ownership structure to attract new capital and keep it in business. Those who don't have the money to play in the next round -- i.e. don't have a money printing ...
U.S. sets duties on copper from China, Mexico (Tariff War)
Post Date: 2010-09-29 00:02:19 by Hondo68
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HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. on Monday imposed dumping duties of about 61% on copper pipes and tubes from China and Mexico, according to reports. The U.S. Commerce Department announcement was the latest sign of continued trade friction between China and the U.S. and came a day after China raised an antidumping duty on U.S. chicken products, months after the punitive measures were first introduced. Read full story of China’s antidumping duties on U.S. chicken products. The U.S. duties will be as much 60.85% on $233 million of imports from China and as much as 31.43% on $130 million of imports from Mexico for the products, Bloomberg News reported, citing a U.S. Commerce ...
Trucking Volume Collapses, Falls Most Month To Month Since March 2009
Post Date: 2010-09-28 18:08:30 by Nebuchadnezzar
7 Comments
Trucking Volume Collapses, Falls Most Month To Month Since March 2009 Gregory White | Sep. 28, 2010, 4:29 PM | 847 | 3 Email Sent! You have successfully emailed the post. Truck tonnage may have increased 2.9% year-over-year in August, but the collapse in month-over-month levels is much more illuminating. Tonnage fell by 2.7% from July to August, according to the American Trucking Association. That's the biggest month over month fall since March 2009. The chief economist at the ATA, Bob Costelo, says this slowdown was expected and that it should be slowing further with the economy for the remainder of the year. From the American Trucking Association: Read more: ...
Shut Down The Fed [Ambrose Evans Pritchard Sees the Light]
Post Date: 2010-09-28 16:39:36 by Capitalist Eric
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I apologise to readers around the world for having defended the emergency stimulus policies of the US Federal Reserve, and for arguing like an imbecile naif that the Fed would not succumb to drug addiction, political abuse, and mad intoxicated debauchery, once it began taking its first shots of quantitative easing. My pathetic assumption was that Ben Bernanke would deploy further QE only to stave off DEFLATION, not to create INFLATION. If the Federal Open Market Committee cannot see the difference, God help America. We now learn from last week’s minutes that the Fed is willing “to provide additional accommodation if needed to … return inflation, over time, to levels ...
15 Bone Chilling Signs That Part Two Of The Double Dip Housing Crash Has Begun
Post Date: 2010-09-28 01:31:20 by Nebuchadnezzar
12 Comments
15 Bone Chilling Signs That Part Two Of The Double Dip Housing Crash Has Begun These are harrowing times for anyone trying to sell a home or for anyone who is trying to make a living in the housing industry. But unfortunately, there are a whole lot of signs that things are about to get quite a bit worse. U.S. home sales have hit record lows in recent months. An increasing number of sellers have started to reduce their asking prices, and there are signs that home prices are already starting to slip substantially in many areas of the country. Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold homes in the United States continues to rapidly increase. Home foreclosures and bank repossessions of homes ...
Permanent 0% on Road to Ruin
Post Date: 2010-09-24 13:56:43 by Andrew Jackson
3 Comments
Japan has proved without confusion that 0% is a permanent stuck position. The United States will repeat the path, but with a vast mudslide. Japan has had the advantage of a strong industrial base, a sizeable trade surplus, and no war budget. Thus it has been capable of funding much of its own deficits. It does possess a big debt burden. But the US has $1 of new debt for every $1 in government revenue. The US war budget is almost as large as its total revenue. The US depends upon foreign creditors, many of whom have been thoroughly alienated. Apart from the structural and foreign angles, the US is stuck with a 0% policy. The USFed has no Exit Strategy at their avail, precisely what the ...
The Immorality of Government Inflation
Post Date: 2010-09-24 13:41:45 by Andrew Jackson
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Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve are at it again. The most recent policy statement by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said that current inflation is "somewhat below" levels consistent with stable prices, and that it is "prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed to support the economic recovery and to return inflation, over time, to levels consistent with its mandate" to maintain stable prices. Never mind that in the old days when words actually meant something, stable prices meant prices that were actually stable, that is, did not go up or down. Now it seems that stable prices mean prices that are not actually stable, but are prices that ...
Cessna workers uneasy about plans to cut 700 jobs (Witchata, KS)
Post Date: 2010-09-23 23:02:49 by Nebuchadnezzar
4 Comments
(WICHITA, Kan.) — Cessna plans to cut 700 jobs. Employees were notified through an email from Cessna CEO Jack Pelton Tuesday morning. Eyewitness News spoke with Cessna Communications Director Doug Oliver. He would not say where the cuts would happen, but many believe Wichita will bare the brunt of the layoffs. Workers say the news hurts, but doesn't come as surprise. "We had heard rumors that there would be a layoff, but we weren't for sure," said Delora Messer, "until today." She sat in her car at a light by Cessna after her Tuesday shift ended, just like dozens of others. "I worry about my job. "I've got a lot of seniority in, but you ...
Gold Price Breakout, The Ominous Silent Canary
Post Date: 2010-09-22 11:14:58 by Capitalist Eric
13 Comments
Gold Price Breakout, The Ominous Silent Canary Alan Greenspan had full knowledge of his betrayal to the principles of sound money. He wrote early in his career about the only legitimate basis for a monetary system, namely Gold. His published works from four decades ago read like an indictment against his career for monetary crimes against the nation. His accommodation, giving the financial sector what they wanted, betrayed his mindset. He knew the nation courted disaster with a long delayed fuse. His quote is being circulated frequently and broadly lately, "Gold is the canary in the financial coal mine." Exactly, precisely, perfectly. Greenspan proved to be a great handler of ...
NFL CFO Anthony Noto returning to Goldman Sachs
Post Date: 2010-09-20 21:27:24 by Fred Mertz
8 Comments
NEW YORK -- Chief Financial Officer Anthony Noto is leaving the NFL after two years to return to Goldman Sachs. The league said Monday that Eric Grubman will oversee the finance group at least until the end of collective bargaining negotiations with the NFL Players Association. Grubman is executive vice president of business operations and led the league's finance operations when he joined the NFL in 2004. Noto will leave Oct. 4 to serve as a partner in Goldman Sachs' investment banking division and co-head of the firm's Global Media Group. He also held the title of executive vice president of finance with the NFL. Grubman is also a Goldman Sachs alum. In his 14 years there, ...
Greenspan's Dark Cloud
Post Date: 2010-09-19 03:28:05 by Capitalist Eric
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In an interview at the Council on Foreign Relations (Sept. 15), Greenspan called for higher taxes. This got headlines. But he said a lot more than this. When a high-level national figure speaks on the record at the CFR, he usually says nothing radical. He is brought there to speak to the members, but he is also speaking to the media. There are rarely any big surprises at one of these meetings. These meetings are important for this reason. The CFR sets boundaries on what constitutes the climate of Establishment opinion. Remember: when anyone says something for the record at a CFR meeting, he has been screened. He is part of the decision-making class. He minds his P's and Q's. He ...
Was 'Stagflation' Actually Hyperinflation? [Long Read, but VERY Good]
Post Date: 2010-09-19 03:22:12 by Capitalist Eric
9 Comments
Was Stagflation in '79 Really Hyperinflation? by Gonzalo Lira If my best friend is the truth, then my next best friend is history. I’ve been writing about the possibility of hyperinflation, if there is ever a run on Treasury bonds. My argument has been, Treasuries are the New & Improved Toxic Assets, a termite-riddled house waiting to collapse. If and when there is a run on them, money will flow to a safe haven, which I am predicting will be commodities. As a byproduct of this sell off in Treasuries and buy up of commodities, consumer prices will rise catastrophically in a hyperinflationary event and the dollar will be left dead on the highway like roadkill. This scenario ...
Gold Rises to Record for Third Time This Week on Haven Demand
Post Date: 2010-09-17 11:31:35 by Brian S
1 Comments
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Gold futures climbed to a record for the third time this week on demand for a haven from financial turmoil. Before today, gold gained 16 percent this year, outperforming stocks, bonds and most commodities as sovereign- debt concerns and an uneven economic recovery roil financial markets. Silver fell after approaching reaching the highest price since 1980. “Gold is accelerating,” said Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago. “We’re getting to a point where the public is getting spooked by the instability in financial markets. Gold is going to be the asset of choice when investors are seeking safe havens.” ...
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