By Mike CaggesoAssociate Editor A Wall Street investment bank yesterday (Thursday) upgraded its ratings on Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (MER) after the company announced it filled its empty chief executive officer slot with John Thain, CEO of the NYSE Euronext (NYX). Credit Suisse Group (CS) raised its rating of Merrill Lynch shares from "Neutral" […]
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Retail Sales Inch Ahead, Hinting at a Less-Than-Happy Holiday Shopping Season
By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor Retail sales expanded at only a moderate pace in October, and analysts are growing increasingly concerned that retailers are looking at a sub-par holiday season. Total retail sales for the month increased 0.2%, which was in line with most estimates, but which represented a significant retreat from the upwardly revised […]
Analyst Sees $1 Billion Market Opportunity and Substantial Upside for China Fire & Security
By William Patalon III Managing Editor Money Morning China Fire & Security Group Inc. (CFSG), China's leading maker of fire-safety equipment and systems, has a $1 billion opportunity in its home market, thanks to a newly enacted fire code few industrial companies have complied with yet, an analyst wrote in a research note. Michael H.V. […]
Federal Reserve to Increase Disclosure, Will Now Publish Economic Forecasts Quarterly
By Mike Caggeso Associate Editor Will the "Bernanke Era" be remembered for its own form of glasnost? Perhaps so. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his team at the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee announced yesterday (Wednesday) that they would increase the frequency of their economic projections from twice a year to once […]
Macquarie Group’s First-Half Profits Rise 45%, But Fearful Investors Cash Out
Mike Caggeso Associate Editor Investors backed away from Australian bank Macquarie Group Ltd. – despite a 45% gain in first-half profit – after Chief Financial Officer Greg Ward warned that the "very, very favourable equity market" the company enjoyed in the first half "may not be as favourable in the second half." Shares of Australia's […]
Why the Chinese Trade Boom Could Cause the Country to Go Bust
By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor China's trade surplus for the first 10 months of the year expanded by 59% to $212.4 billion, easily eclipsing the full-year record of $177.5 billion set in 2006. According to figures released by the General Administration of Customs, October's trade surplus rose 13.6% from the same month last year, to […]
Sales Soar at Dubai Airshow
From Staff Reports Both Boeing Co. (BA) and rival Airbus SAS secured hefty contracts at the Dubai Air Show, the world's third-largest aerospace event. However, Boeing isn't resting on its success, but is rather looking ahead to what it thinks will be a very lucrative market in the future. Orders topped $80 billion on in […]
Slovak Economy Grows 9.4% in 3Q, Enforces Case for 2009 Eurozone Admission
By Mike Caggeso Associate Editor Slovakia's economy grew at an impressive 9.4% clip – or $21.5 billion – during the third quarter, driven largely by its surging manufacturing sector, the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic announced yesterday [Tuesday]. Employment also rose 2.1%. The government attributed most of the growth to the "manufacturing of machinery, […]
Banco do Brasil Sees Profits Rocket 50% in Third-Quarter
From Staff Reports Banco do Brasil, Latin America's largest bank, said profits rose 50% in the third quarter, due to borrowers taking advantage of record low interest rates. Farmers comprise a large portion of the government-controlled bank's borrowers. High crop prices – particularly sugar cane for ethanol production – gave farmers more financial leverage to […]
Oil Prices Slide on Demand and OPEC Considerations
By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor Crude oil prices settled $1.70 or 1.75% lower yesterday (Monday) after retreating more than $2.00 in early morning trading. The decline was driven, in part, by the Organization of Oil Producing Countries (OPEC), which gave several indications it would increase output to help combat soaring energy prices. Analysts also believe […]