Former Primer Minister In Loan Scandal
March 31, 2008
An investigation by Thai authorities has been established to determine what role the former Prime Minister Shinawatr had in the loan to the Myanmar satellite communication deal. According to information on the Assets Examination Committee, the former prime minister is alleged to have given a loan in 2004. The AE Committee was created after the former prime minister was ousted, and it is alleged that he approved the loan that was quite favourable to the borrower.
Cubans Can Book Hotel Rooms
March 31, 2008
Since taking over the presidency, Raul Castro has made various adjustments to life in Cuba. Recently it was announced that he has now made it possible for Cubans to book a hotel. Previously the luxury of staying at hotels was only for visitors or tourists to Cuba. But now three hotels have confirmed that Raul Castro will be allowing Cubans to stay there.
Even though they are able to now stay within a hotel in Cuba, Cuban nationals will not receive a special rate and will be at least twenty times the price that the average worker is paid. The only evidence they will need to show to book a room is their National Identification Card.
Revenue Boost For Pall Corp
March 31, 2008
In a report issued late on Friday, Pall Corp., stated that their second quarter net income has seen a dramatic boost to reach $48 million, 0.39c per share, from $44.3 million, 0.36c per share this time last year.
These figures would be, if they did not take into account any financial commitments associated with the company’s current restructuring, 0.46c per share. This time last year, those figures would have been 0.35c per share.
First quarter revenues were $625.8 million, well up from last year’s fourth quarter earnings of $544.9 million.
Federal Reserve To Hold Short Term Auctions
March 28, 2008
The Federal Reserve announced plans on Friday to auction US$50 billion in short term credit to banks. The plan to offer the special term auction is in aid of relieving some of the liquidity issues currently being faced by the country in international markets due to the fallout in the high risk based mortgage-backed securities market.
The normal method will be observed for these auctions, with the winning banks paying the same interest rate for their 28 day credits. The auctions have been scheduled for April 7th and 21st and the Federal Reserve have made it clear that these auctions could continue further, as long as they were required.
Poor Sales In U.S. For Third Consecutive Month
March 28, 2008
The U.S. Commerce Department has released figures which show that, taking inflation into account, sales in the U.S. have been sluggish for the third consecutive month.
Whilst January saw inflation level out, prices for consumers rose 0.1%. Core consumer prices, which are all those apart from food and energy, rose by the same degree, however that was forecasted by economists.
The onset of particular governmental transfer payments helped to increase nominal income for February by 0.5%; economists had predicted a 0.3% rise in incomes for that time frame.
Reduction In 1Q Profits For J.C. Penney
March 28, 2008
Friday saw J.C. Penney Co. announce a new, more conservative, estimate for their first quarter profits. The company revised their earlier estimate of between 0.75c and 0.80c per share, to more like 0.50c per share.
According the the statement released by Penney, the Easter holiday period brought less than expected sales, which the company predicts will continue throughout March with declines in the low double-digits for same-store sales. This will in turn lead to high single-digit diminution for the first quarter of this year, against earlier predictions of low single-digit reductions for both phases.
The CEO and Chairman of J.C. Penney, Myron Ullman, said that confidence in the company by consumers is at a low not seen for many years. Though analysts from FactSet Research had forecasted the company to bring in 0.75c per share first quarter earnings, Penney’s stocks have fallen in premarket trading by 13%, now selling at $34.90.
Oil Prices Start To Level Out
March 28, 2008
In the last session of trade, crude oil prices soared after reports of a bombing of a crucial oil export pipeline in Iraq. As more information regarding the bombing is released, fears over the extent of the damage have reduced and prices have begun to level out again.
Future orders for crude oil in May have reduced today by 0.98c, which brings the current price on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $106.60 per barrel.
Fluctuation In Treasury Bonds
March 28, 2008
The market for Treasury bonds has been extensively fluctuating since Friday, when they opened low and moved up to make gains later in the day. Speculation is that the low sales figures and conservative inflation has driven bonds lower.
At this stage, the benchmark for 10 year bonds has reduced by 0.01%, leading to a return of 3.529%. This was prior to the release of data which has shown that the yield price, which is converse to the price, is currently at 3.538%.
A third consecutive month of lower sales figures was reported by the Commerce Department, whilst inflation seems to be leveling out. Prices for consumers have risen by 0.1% for January alone, along with a 0.1% rise in core consumer prices - core excludes food and energy prices - which was predicted by economists.
Delta and Northwest Resume Talks
March 28, 2008
Delta and Northwest Airlines have resumed talk again in regards to finding a suitable deal to merge the two major airline companies. However, this merger is taking place without first going through their pilots.
It is customary for airlines in merger talks to first have the union of pilots for both airlines “iron out” a deal that would be suitable for them for the merger to take place. This was done in the beginning, but the two groups were not able to come to an agreement. In this deal, the pilot were slated to get pay raises.
Instead Delta and Northwest are approaching the situation from a different angle, and if a deal is formulated, the expected pay raises for their pilots will not occur.
JC Penney Release First Quarter Results
March 27, 2008
The latest results released by J.C. Penney shows that the economy is really in a poor state. As many people within the general public loose faith within the economic situation, and with the increasing price of gasoline, the latest figures released by JC Penney confirm what analysts are have stated.
JC Penney is a large retailer that is one of the main stores in numerous malls across the United States. However, they published dismal first quarter profits. These profits were at least 33% less than predicted by economic analysts. CEO Myron Ullman had this to say,”Consumer confidence is at a multi-year low. While tax refunds might help for a while, we expect the continuation of a difficult environment over the course of 2008.”
MetLife Exercise Shares
March 26, 2008
It has recently been announced that the company MetLife has excised its options for approximately three thousand common stock shares. This trade was arranged beforehand, as noted in information files with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Chairman of MetLife, C. R. Henrikson was instrumental in exercising these options at a price tag of $29.95 each. The shares were resold later in the day for $60.84 each. This trading plan has been in place to allow people within the company to carry out such transactions.
Seven Of United Airlines 747s Have Altitude Indicators Reset
March 21, 2008
United Airlines released a formal response today, to rumors that some of their planes had been grounded due to technical issues. U.A. stated that the planes are currently having their altitude indicators reset, as the company had just become aware that the test equipment was overdue for re-calibration.
No issues have been found on any of the seven 747s which are having their altitude indicators reset, and the downtime for the planes in question has nothing to do with an air worthiness directive.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced earlier this week that they are raising their involvement in overseeing maintenance records of airline operations, both in and out of the country. This comes just a week after Southwest Airlines was fined $10.2 million by the FAA, for not checking for cracks in the bodies of their planes often enough.
A statement has been issued by the Teamsters Union, who are looking to also represent mechanics from U.A., in which they say that this new report by the FAA not only indicates the need for higher regulation of aircraft repairs within the country, but also serves to emphasize the importance of overseeing repairs at facilities oversees.
Reorganization Of EBay Leads To 125 Job Cuts
March 21, 2008
The online edition of The Wall Street Journal announced today that EBay is planning to cut 125 jobs as a part of the reorganization enacted by new CEO, John Donahoe.
The aim of the modification is to move both people and resources to parts of the world that are crucial to modernizing the online marketplace mogul. Currently Ebay employs 15,500 employees worldwide, and the cut of 125 jobs is less than 1% of employees.
Contaminant In Baxter Heparin Identified By FDA
March 19, 2008
The contaminant in Baxter International Inc’s blood thinning medication, heparin, which has led to the deaths of 19 people, has been identified by The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S.
The harmful addition to the medication has been identified as a chemical compound, quite similar to the intended drug, heparin, but is actually oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, which has never been approved by either the FDA or any other similar body internationally.
Sprint And China Telecom To Connect Internet Portals
March 19, 2008
A statement was released by Sprint, a wireless communications company, last Wednesday, in which they have announced plans between themselves and China Telecom Corp. to interconnect their internet portals to form a virtual private network.
Within the terms of the agreement is the establishment of multiple, redundant network-to-network interconnection agreements for Sprint and China Telecom in the Asia-Pacific region.
Sprint said that this partnership will give them the opportunity to extend their current capabilities, whilst getting a foot in the door with China, and giving their customers a broader range of capabilities which come with China Telecom’s Next Convergence Network and will allow Sprint to cover more than 200 cities and 600 routers throughout China.
The statement did not include any specifics regarding the finances surrounding the deal.
Dillard’s Receive Director Nomination Proposal
March 19, 2008
It has officially been confirmed by Dillard’s Inc., on Wednesday, that they have indeed received notice from two investment firms, Barington Capital Group LP and Clinton Group Inc., who are seeking to nominate four people to Dillard’s board which will be convening at the upcoming annual shareholders meeting.
Dillard’s released a statement saying that the notice they have received will be sent on to the Executive Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors for a review, and that at this stage nothing is required of stockholders.
This comes on the back of a statement being released by Barington Capital in which they say their intention to nominate directors is due to their overriding lack in confidence in the ability of those on Dillard’s board to generate increased shareholder value.
HR Head From Brocade Sentenced
March 19, 2008
The former head of human resources for Brocade Communications Systems Inc., Stephanie Jensen, was sentenced on Wednesday to 4 months prison and was also fined $1.25 million for collaborating with former CEO of Brocade, Gregory Reyes, in a scheme to backdate stock options.
Last December Jensen was convicted of both conspiracy and falsifying corporate records.
Reyes was sentenced in January to 21 months in prison and he has been fined $15 million for his part in the backdating scheme.
CNet May Appeal Court Ruling
March 14, 2008
In a statement released by CNet Networks Inc. last Thursday, the company is considering appealing a court ruling which has meant that a new board will be nominated for the company by a group of activists investors.
The activist group is comprised of Jana Partners LLC and Spark Capital.
In the statement, CNet - which is an online media company - said that they are reviewing the decision and will consider an appeal as they do not think that it would be in the best interest of the company and shareholders, for a proxy battle - which would be highly disruptive and costly - to take place at this stage. The ruling also does not comply with the by-laws of the company.
Charge Leads To Loss For Liz Claiborne
March 14, 2008
Liz Claiborne Inc. have reported a loss of $435.7 million, or $4.55 a share for the fourth-quarter - as compared to last years $73.2 million, or 71 cents a share - due to a high Partnered Brands impairment charge.
If it were not for the $451 million charge, Liz Claiborne Inc. would have brought in a profit of 0.20c per share in the fourth quarter. Revenue was slightly below last years, with $1.21 billion instead of $1.25 billion.
Liz Claiborne Inc. is sticking to its predicted profits of $1.50 to $1.70 a share for this year.
No Vacancy For SCA
March 14, 2008
Security Capital Assurance (SCA) have reported a $1.2 billion net loss in the fourth-quarter, leading the bond insurer to announce they will not be writing up any new business.
Other repercussions of the loss is that the company will not be paying dividends on either of their quarterly common stock or semi-annual A preference shares. Though the company reported the possibility earlier this year, at this stage, company auditors wont be attaching any going concern notices on their annual 10-K filing statements.
SCA’s report outlined the loss for the last quarter as $678.1 million or $10.57 a share; as compared to the fourth quarter in 2006 of $18.67 a share versus a net income of $35.8 million which or 56 cents a share.
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