2008 January
Motorists Get Temporary Reprieve as Soaring Gasoline Prices Shift Into Reverse
By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor Despite recession fears and a temporary pullback in the price of oil, gasoline prices will likely tease record highs even before the summer driving season kicks back into gear. The price of crude oil accounts for more than 55% of the retail price of gasoline, according to the federal Energy [...]
Midday Market Update: Stocks Rise Worldwide on Possible Fed Cut, Strong Durable Goods Orders
By Jennifer Yousfi Managing Editor With a rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve seen as highly likely, world markets gained across the board today (Tuesday), reversing most of yesterday's losses. The U.S. markets were up at midday. At noon today, all three major U.S. indices had posted gains. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average [...]
Societe Generale's $7.14 Billion Blow Out Won't Be the Last
By Keith Fitz-Gerald Investment Director Money Morning/The Money Map Report It wasn't quite the Bin Laden trade we wrote about months ago, but at $7.14 billion, it was noteworthy. We're referring, of course, to the trades taken by 31-year old trader Jerome Kerviel, former employee of Societe Generale SA (SCGLY). In recent months, he made [...]
Foreign Markets Slump, But U.S. Markets Gain
By Jennifer Yousfi And Jason Simpkins Money Morning Editors U.S. markets advanced yesterday (Monday), erasing most of Friday's losses, as hopes of another Federal Reserve rate cut buoyed investor optimism and kept the U.S. indices from following the Asian and European markets' lead. Friday saw all three major U.S. indices in the red. The blue-chip [...]
Global Investing Roundups
CME Bids for NYMEX; Sears Ousts CEO; Record Year for McDonald's; Countrywide CEO Relinquishes Severance; New Home Sales Plummet; Investors Bancorp Gets a Lift From Share Buyback; Citigroup to Team Up with Central China Securities; American Express Hits 4Q Bump CME Group Inc. (CME), the result of a July merger between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange [...]
Takeover Bid For Societe Generale Unlikely
By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor A highly publicized rogue trader scandal has again made Societe Generale (SCGLY) the target of speculation about a possible takeover bid. But that speculation may be premature considering all of the prospective hurdles involved. The collapse of mortgage-backed assets, a depleted U.S. market, and a rogue trader scandal that cost [...]
Mittal Steel to Divest Sparrows Point Steel Plant of the Now-Defunct Bethlehem Steel
By William Patalon III Executive Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report Investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) will manage the sale of Mittal Steel Co. NV's (PINK: AMSAF) Sparrows Point steel mill near Baltimore, a court-appointed trustee has told The Associated Press. In two related developments, a Citigroup Inc. (C) analyst has upgraded the shares of [...]
Yum Brands Adds $1.25 Billion To Stock Buyback
By William Patalon III Executive Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report Global Titan Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) will buy back another $1.25 billion of its stock over the next 12 months, the latest part of a $4 billion stock repurchase plan announced last October. Yum Brands operates the Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut casual-dining [...]
How Dividend-Paying Stocks Can Help You Tame the Bear
By Keith Fitz-Gerald Investment Director Money Morning/The Money Map Report Many investors are so scared by the wild gyrations the stock market has seen of late that they've jettisoned everything – including the kitchen sink – in their search for safety. Not only is this a massive mistake from a timing standpoint, it's also a [...]
U.S. Dominance Bites the Dust: How Wall Street Sold Itself Down the River
By Peter D. Schiff Guest Columnist Over the past half-century, the United States has seen its global dominance in dozens of industries slip away. One plum that we have maintained is our gargantuan financial-services industry, whose contribution to total gross domestic product (GDP) more than tripled between 1947 and 2005. However, as a result of [...]
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