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Latest Articles: Business
LifeLock CEO’s Identity Stolen 13 Times
Post Date: 2010-05-19 13:11:40 by Skip Intro
22 Comments
LifeLock CEO’s Identity Stolen 13 Times Apparently, when you publish your Social Security number prominently on your website and billboards, people take it as an invitation to steal your identity. LifeLock CEO Todd Davis, whose number is displayed in the company’s ubiquitous advertisements, has by now learned that lesson. He’s been a victim of identity theft at least 13 times, according to the Phoenix New Times. That’s 12 more times than has previously been known. In June 2007, Threat Level reported that Davis had been the victim of identity theft after someone used his identity to obtain a $500 loan from a check-cashing company. Davis discovered the crime only ...
Home Prices Projected to Begin Rebound in 2011
Post Date: 2010-05-19 12:01:07 by Brian S
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U.S. home prices will begin a gradual recovery by next year, according to a survey of 92 economists and other housing analysts by MacroMarkets LLC. Separately, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that single-family housing starts in April surged to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000, up 10.2% from March. Ivy Zelman, chief executive of research firm Zelman & Associates, said builders stepped up production ahead of the April 30 deadline for sales qualifying for a federal tax credit, but since then have cut back. The analysts surveyed by MacroMarkets on average expect home prices, as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller national index, to rise about 12% in the five years ending ...
Oil Falls Near $68 To 8-Month Low On Europe Fears
Post Date: 2010-05-19 11:57:43 by Brian S
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Oil prices fell to near $68 a barrel Wednesday, extending losses to an eight-month low as mixed U.S. crude supply figures failed to stem a two week sell-off. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for June delivery was down $1.23 to $68.18 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 54 cents to settle at $69.41 on Tuesday. Oil has plunged more than 20 percent from $87.15 a barrel on May 3 on investor concern that efforts to contain Europe's debt crisis could fail and deep government spending cuts will hurt economic growth and oil demand. Oil inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday was mixed. Crude and ...
Consumer Prices in U.S. Unexpectedly Drop for First Time in More Than Year
Post Date: 2010-05-19 11:19:48 by Brian S
2 Comments
May 19 (Bloomberg) -- The cost of living in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped in April for the first time in more than a year, reinforcing forecasts that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates near zero for much of 2010. The 0.1 percent fall in the consumer price index was the first decrease since March 2009, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. Excluding food and fuel, the so-called core rate was unchanged, capping the smallest 12- month gain in four decades. Retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are cutting prices to bolster sales as customers face almost 10 percent unemployment and rising foreclosures. The European debt crisis, which has pushed up the value ...
Homebuilder Confidence at 2-1/2 Year High in May
Post Date: 2010-05-17 14:22:40 by Brian S
1 Comments
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home-builder sentiment rose in May to the highest level in more than 2-1/2 years, boosted by a homebuyer tax credit and strengthening economy, the National Association of Home Builders said on Monday. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index increased three points to 22, the highest since August 2007, the group said in a statement. It was the second straight month of gains in the index. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to inch up to 20. A reading below 50 indicates more builders view sales conditions as poor than good. The index has not been above 50 since April 2006. "Builders were undoubtedly reacting to the heightened consumer ...
Credit Card Debt, Late Payments Fall in 1Q , TransUnion Says
Post Date: 2010-05-17 12:45:16 by Brian S
2 Comments
Consumers lowered the credit card balances on average almost 11 percent over the past 12 months, and fewer were late on their payments in the first quarter, pushing down the 90-day delinquency rate nearly 16 percent over a year ago, TransUnion said today. The quarterly analysis of credit card trends based on 27 million anonymously sampled credit files shows that Americans continue to reduce card balances through economic hard times, possibly helped along by credit card reform that took effect Feb. 22. “TransUnion believes that the 90-day credit card delinquency rate, apart from seasonal ups and downs, will likely continue to decrease in 2010, possibly dropping below 1.0 percent by ...
US To Hire Adviser For General Motors IPO
Post Date: 2010-05-17 11:29:23 by Brian S
1 Comments
DETROIT, May 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department is interviewing Wall Street bankers to advise the government on an initial public offering of General Motors Co [GM.UL], the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Among the firms competing for the advisory role are Greenhill & Co, Lazard Ltd and Perella Weinberg Partners, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the meetings. Officials from the Treasury Department, GM, Greenhill and Lazard declined to comment. Perella could not be reached for comment. GM, the No. 1 U.S. automaker, emerged from a government-sponsored bankruptcy last July. GM received a $50 billion government bailout that gave the U.S. Treasury nearly ...
GM Posts Its First Profit in 3 Years as Sales Rise 40 Percent
Post Date: 2010-05-17 11:27:46 by Brian S
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DETROIT — General Motors said Monday it earned $865 million in the first quarter, its first profit since 2007, after last year’s government-sponsored bankruptcy allowed the carmaker to wipe away many of its longstanding burdens. G.M. said revenue was up 40 percent, to $31.5 billion, and it had positive cash flow of $1 billion. The results show that G.M. is on track to become a public company again as soon as the fourth quarter, allowing the government to recover more of the billions of dollars it spent preventing G.M.’s collapse. The company earned $1.2 billion before interest and taxes in North America, the region where G.M. had sustained most of its losses in recent ...
Global Demand for Long-Term U.S. Assets Rises to Record, Led by Treasuries
Post Date: 2010-05-17 11:24:31 by Brian S
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May 17 (Bloomberg) -- Global demand for long-term U.S. financial assets strengthened in March to a record as investors from China to the U.K. purchased the most Treasuries since November, a Treasury Department report said. Net buying of equities, notes and bonds totaled $140.5 billion in March, more than double economists’ projections, after net buying of $47.1 billion in February, the report released today in Washington showed. Including short-term securities such as stock swaps, investors abroad purchased a net $10.5 billion, compared with net buying of $9.7 billion the previous month. Signs of a sustained economic recovery, including a rebound in earnings and stock prices, may ...
Confidence of U.S. Consumers Rises in Sign Shoppers to Strengthen Recovery
Post Date: 2010-05-14 12:29:52 by Brian S
3 Comments
May 14 (Bloomberg) -- Confidence among U.S. consumers increased in May, a sign the biggest part of the economy is helping strengthen the expansion. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment rose to 73.3 from 72.2 in April. The gauge was projected to rise to 73.5, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Employers last month added the most workers in four years, indicating an improving job market may keep bolstering spending that accounts for 70 percent of the economy. Another report today showed retail sales rose in April for the seventh consecutive month, helped by companies such as Macy’s Inc., as the recovery broadened. ...
U.S. Retail Sales, Industrial Output Exceed Forecasts as Recovery Quickens
Post Date: 2010-05-14 12:21:58 by Brian S
13 Comments
May 14 (Bloomberg) -- Retail sales and industrial production in the U.S. climbed more than forecast in April, indicating the economic recovery gained momentum at the start of the second quarter. Sales increased 0.4 percent last month after a 2.1 percent gain in March that was larger than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Production rose 0.8 percent, the most in three months, the Federal Reserve said. Another report showed consumer sentiment improved in May following four straight months of payroll gains, suggesting Americans will keep shopping at retailers including Home Depot Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. Factories are cranking up assembly lines and ...
GOP blocks oil liability bill
Post Date: 2010-05-13 22:23:18 by Skip Intro
2 Comments
GOP blocks oil liability bill Alaska’s senior senator blocked legislation Thursday that would have dramatically increased liability caps on oil companies, in the wake of one of the industry’s biggest disasters. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) objected to a voice vote request by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) on the bill, which would have spiked the maximum liability for oil companies after an oil spill from $75 million to $10 billion. The legislation has significant support from Democrats, and the White House has indicated it backs an increase in liability caps. But Murkowski said the legislation is “not where we need to be right now” and would unfairly advantage large ...
A Rendezvous With Destiny
Post Date: 2010-05-13 14:48:25 by lucysmom
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An old English judge once said: "Necessitous men are not free men." Liberty requires opportunity to make a living - a living decent according to the standard of the time, a living which gives man not only enough to live by, but something to live for. For too many of us the political equality we once had won was meaningless in the face of economic inequality. A small group had concentrated into their own hands an almost complete control over other people's property, other people's money, other people's labor - other people's lives. For too many of us life was no longer free; liberty no longer real; men could no longer follow the pursuit of happiness. Against ...
Remove Card and Take Bullion; Gold ATM Debuts
Post Date: 2010-05-13 13:35:46 by Brian S
1 Comments
Amid fears over the strength of nearly every major currency, Abu Dhabi’s top hotel has come up with a new type of ATM for their most risk-averse guests. The Emirates Palace is giving those staying there the chance to withdraw gold from the world first ever gold dispenser. With gold prices at record highs amid fears that the EU’s rescue package will drive inflation higher, the ATM monitors the daily price of gold and offers small gold bars that weigh up to 10 grams with customized designs. This could be just what those who stay in one of the world’s most expensive hotels will need as they watch the euro, yen and dollar jump around in volatile trade. The hotel boasts 302 ...
GM's Image Boosted by Controversial Ads on Repaying U.S. Loans `in Full'
Post Date: 2010-05-13 12:20:31 by Brian S
3 Comments
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. sparked Republican criticism and a regulatory complaint by saying in commercials it had repaid U.S. loans. The ads did succeed in repairing the automaker’s image with some consumers. Surveys by YouGov Plc, a London company that measures public perception of businesses, showed consumers have a more favorable view of GM since Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre’s ad proclaimed repayment “in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule.” It now has a stronger image than Toyota Motor Corp. and has gained ground on Ford Motor Co. “This could buy GM some goodwill,” Ted Marzilli, managing director of ...
House Dems Announce Expansion of Ohio Venture Capital Fund [Full Thread]
Post Date: 2010-05-12 14:03:20 by war
105 Comments
COLUMBUS – State Reps. Jay Goyal (D-Mansfield) and Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland) announced today new legislation that would expand the investment capacity of the Ohio Venture Capital Authority by at least $100 million. The expansion will build on successful efforts to foster innovation in high-growth industries such as healthcare, advanced energy and information technology. “The challenges of these economic times require strategic investment in our economy and our future,” said Rep. Goyal. “Investing in Ohio’s entrepreneurs and supporting emerging businesses through the Ohio Venture Capital Fund will help create good-paying jobs and position Ohio’s economy for ...
Q1 2010 Sees Venture Capitalists Invest $5.9B in 731 Companies [up almost 100% YOY]
Post Date: 2010-05-12 13:56:40 by war
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To receive weekly dealflow data and future quarterly reports, sign up for the free CB Insights newsletter. Our entire 32 page, downloadable venture capital activity report is embedded at the end of this post. To access the complete list of companies receiving venture capital funding in Q1 ‘10, login to CB Insights. It has been suggested that the secret to happiness is low expectations. And if Q1 ‘09’s multi-year low for venture capital activity sufficiently lowered everyone’s expectations then Q1 ‘10’s performance should have everyone at least a bit happier. Q1 ‘10 saw $5.9B invested across 731 deals, and the quarter’s performance was a marked ...
Stocks Gain as Europe Crisis Eases; Treasuries Fall, Gold Rises
Post Date: 2010-05-12 11:57:49 by war
4 Comments
May 12 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index recovering losses from its May 6 plunge, as a successful Portuguese bond sale and planned budget cuts in Spain and the U.K. bolstered optimism the European debt crisis is subsiding. Treasuries fell and gold rose to a record. The S&P 500 rallied 1.1 percent to 1,168.8 at 11:07 a.m. in New York, above its highest close since May 4. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.9 percent as all 19 of its industry groups gained. The 10-year Treasury yield increased 4 basis points to 3.56 percent, while gold surged to as high as $1,245.40 an ounce on speculation that international financial support for indebted European ...
Corrections Corp. Shows Crime Does Pay as States Turn to Private Prisons
Post Date: 2010-05-11 19:37:59 by Brian S
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By Daniel Taub May 11 (Bloomberg) -- Erik Townsend says he prefers the Arizona prison where he’s serving 15 years for robbery to the California facility where he was until August. For one thing, he was getting just two hot meals a day at the other prison. “We get three hots here,” Townsend, 40, said while taking a short break from sweeping the yard at La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, a desert town halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. “It’s all right. It’s decent.” La Palma, which houses about 2,900 convicts from California, is one of 65 facilities operated by Corrections Corp. of America. As is the case at the company’s other ...
Economy In Recovery: Hiring Jumps, While Job Openings Edge Up Slightly
Post Date: 2010-05-11 15:03:26 by Brian S
2 Comments
WASHINGTON (AP) -- New hiring rose in March to its highest level in more than a year while job openings moved up slightly, signs the job market is slowly improving. The Labor Department said Tuesday that employers hired 4.24 million people in March, up from 4 million the previous month. Job openings edged up by 47,000 to 2.69 million. But new hires and job openings remain well below pre-recession levels, as many employers are still cautious about adding to payrolls. That is particularly true for small businesses. A separate survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found smaller companies were more optimistic in April about future economic trends than the previous month. ...
Chrysler To Rehire 376 Workers At Kokomo Plants
Post Date: 2010-05-11 14:58:39 by Brian S
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DETROIT (AP) -- Chrysler Group LLC says it will rehire 379 laid-off workers and hire 20 new supervisors to build transmissions at its operations in Kokomo, Indiana. The company said Tuesday that it will invest $43 million in equipment to expand the Kokomo operations, which include casting and transmission plants. Some of the workers have already been brought back, said Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson. The factories will build components and transmissions that accompany four-cylinder engines in the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep small and midsize vehicles. Chrysler says the investment was made possible because of tax abatement granted by the city of Kokomo. The company said the Kokomo ...
Home Prices Gain in 91 US Cities in First Quarter
Post Date: 2010-05-11 12:35:17 by Brian S
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May 11 (Bloomberg) -- Home prices rose in 91 U.S. cities in the first quarter as states hard hit by foreclosures began to recover and a tax credit cut the number of properties for sale. The median price of a single-family home sold in Saginaw, Michigan, doubled to $60,800, the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors said in a report today. Prices in Akron, Ohio, climbed 90 percent to $95,300 and Grand Rapids, Michigan, recorded a 26 percent increase to $90,700. Nationally, the median declined 0.7 percent. Cities that led the nation in foreclosures a year earlier had the biggest price increases as a tax credit of as much as $8,000 boosted demand and drove the supply of unsold ...
Chrysler could up 2010 outlook, launch IPO 'quickly'
Post Date: 2010-05-10 15:26:02 by Brian S
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DETROIT, May 10 (Reuters) - Chrysler could raise its financial targets for 2010 in the second half of the year and aims for a public offering of its stock "as quickly as possible," Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Monday. Chrysler, which surprised analysts with a first-quarter operating profit last month, is well ahead of its cash flow and earnings targets and there is a strengthening basis for the company launching a stock sale "in a much shorter timeframe than most would expect", Marchionne said. "It is clear that if we continue to perform at this rate we're going to be in excess of the guidance that was provided in 2009," Marchionne said in a ...
Mortgage Delinquencies Slide For The First Time Since 2006
Post Date: 2010-05-10 12:55:34 by Brian S
16 Comments
The rate of late mortgage payments dropped in the first quarter for the first time since 2006, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion. The 60-day delinquency rate, considered an indicator of future foreclosures, slipped to 6.8 percent, from 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. That was the first decline after 12 consecutive quarters of steady increases, TransUnion said. In the Lehigh Valley, the first quarter mortgage delinquency rate was 6 percent, unchanged from the previous quarter. That's below the national rate but higher than Pennsylvania's rate of 4.6 percent. TransUnion measures the rate using mortgage payments that are 60 days late, or two skipped months. ...
AAR Reports Growth in U.S. Rail Freight Traffic Continues
Post Date: 2010-05-10 12:47:54 by Brian S
1 Comments
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reports that the growth in rail freight traffic continued during the week ended May 1, 2010, as all 19 carload freight commodities and both intermodal categories were up from a year ago for the second consecutive week. U.S. railroads originated 295,718 carloads during the week ended May 1, up 16.3 percent from the comparable week in 2009. However, volume was still down 11.6 percent from 2008. In order to offer a complete picture of the progress in rail traffic, AAR now reports 2010 weekly rail traffic with comparison weeks in both 2009 and 2008. Intermodal traffic totaled 213,013 trailers and containers, up 13.2 percent from last year but down ...
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