By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor The price of oil surged to another record high yesterday (Monday) as oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) again resisted pressure to increase output. "Any increase in production now will not have an impact on prices because there is a balance between supply and demand," OPEC […]
Archives for April 2008
April 2008 - Page 5 of 14 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From
Midday Market Update: Stocks Slump on Financial Fears
By Jennifer Yousfi Managing Editor U.S. shares declined as poor earnings from two banks led investors to believe financial firms have yet to recover from the subprime mortgage crisis. At midday in New York, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average Index was down 77.02 points (-0.60%), to trade at 12,772.34. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index […]
Money Talks: China Leads World in Global Shift From Fixed-Line Phones to Mobile Multimedia
By Mike Caggeso Associate Editor China Mobile Ltd. (CHL), the biggest phone carrier in the world, is leading the worldwide shift away from fixed-line phone service to mobile multimedia. Not only is China Mobile sniping subscribers from fixed-line titan China Telecom Corp. Ltd. (CHA), but its penetration into new and rural markets – with its […]
First Step or False Signal? Could Last Week's Surge in Stocks Signal a Rebound Ahead?
By William Patalon III Executive EditorMoney Morning/The Money Map Report It's earnings season again. But with an odd twist. You see, most investors realized that earnings season would be dismal; so when the results came in (pretty much) as expected, many investors seemed to find that the news (especially among financials) was not worse and […]
Latin America Pulling Away from a Slowing U.S. Economy
By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor Concerns about the U.S. economic slowdown are starting to blunt some of the optimism surrounding Latin American economies. And while some of the more-timid investors are already retreating from the region, the actual panic some are experiencing is premature, as Latin American economies are demonstrating a much stronger ter resilience […]
Rising Tide of Level 3 Assets a "Disaster Waiting to Happen"
By Jennifer Yousfi Managing Editor In the first quarter, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) packed another $27 billion worth of illiquid assets onto its balance sheet – a 39% increase that brought the total to $96 billion. And Goldman wasn't alone. Morgan Stanley (MS) reported that these hard-to-value/hard-to-sell assets soared 45%, reaching $32 billion. For […]
Caterpillar Digs Deep into the Developing World for Profit
By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) beat estimates up and down Wall Street with a 13% jump in first-quarter profit that was largely driven by booming international sales. Caterpillar reported net income of $992 million ($1.45 a share) for the quarter, up from $816 million ($1.23 a share) a year ago. Sales soared […]
Citigroup Misses Earnings Estimates and Announces 9,000 Job Cuts
By Mike Caggeso Associate Editor Citigroup Inc.'s (C) highly anticipated first-quarter earnings missed analyst's expectations, as the largest U.S. bank posted its second straight loss and announced it will cut 9,000 jobs this year. More than $16 billion in write-downs and higher consumer credit costs caused the company to record a loss of $5.11 billion, […]
LIBOR Sends Another Shaky Signal to the Global Financial Markets
By Martin HutchinsonContributing Editor The news that the London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) system of setting interest rates is running into trouble was surprising at first glance. It seems some banks are giving phony LIBOR quotations that don't reflect the true rates at which they accept deposits. In the perfect financial system, beloved of regulators […]
The Heart of Darkness: What's Really Behind Asian Investment in Africa
By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor As the home to 34 of the world's 50 least-developed countries, Africa is the poorest and least-developed continent on the planet. It's 11.7 million square miles of desert and jungle, with little in between. Africa is malnourished, politically impotent, overrun with disease, and teeming with warlords, so it's no surprise […]