Euro Countries Bring Down Deficit
April 18, 2008
Within the countries that have the Euro as their currency, it was seen that they were able to bring the country’s deficit to the European Union limit in 2007. With the growth of the European Union economically, many of the governments were able to claim the surplus of tax windfalls.
With the effect of the drop in the economy from the United States, the combined EU deficit stands at 0.6 percent what is a strong percentage to be at as the economy and the real estate industry continues to slide.
Even the countries that are commonly over the combined EU deficit - Italy and Portugal - reported a drop. Italy had a drop of three percent with a deficit at 1.9 percent, while Portugal’s deficit dropped by 3.9 percent.
Beijing Will Allow Smoking For Olympic Games
April 14, 2008
It was previously stated that Beijing would not allow people to smoke within restaurants with the new smoking ban in May 1st. However, with the unpopularity of the Summer Olympics to be held in Beijing, the government is worried that to have a complete nonsmoking ban in bars and restaurant will hurt the amount of revenue from the Games.
Therefore, smoking in restaurants is still possible, but the restaurants if the restaurant has separated into a smoking and nonsmoking area. The smoking ban will not include bars and internet cafes, as this is where the government hopes to make the most of its money.
It is estimated that over three hundred million smokers live within the country of China.
Aruba Network Shares Worsen
April 11, 2008
A drop of about 12% of the shares that have lost their value in the first place, Aruba Network shares, as analysts evaluated, have worsened since Thursday, leaving the company without any meaningful way to be competitive despite a recent profit warning.
Shares in the Sunnyvale company increased from fifty-four cents to $ 5.23 US dollars, during the last part of March.
At the beginning of April, weak sales were responsible for a lowered earning forecasts, and even with the remaining weeks in the fiscal year for Aruba, it is not expected that there will be much change or stronger sales to compensate.
Kodak Buys Printing Company Intermate
April 9, 2008
The company Kodak is well known for its photography related software and hardware, has announced that it purchased the holdings of the Intermate company.
Intermate is based in Denmark, and is responsible for producing all of the computer hardware and software applications that are used by manufactures to operate printers.
The software and hardware Intermate manufactures is used to produce receipts or other items used as in sale transactions.
According to Kodak’s President Philip Faraci, the recent buyout of Intermate will help Kodak grow tremendously within the printing industry.
Tax Refund Needed By Many To Pay Bills
April 9, 2008
The way in which the United States economy is today, many people are happy to receive a tax refund from the government. However, in recent
years a trend has been growing. Previously, members of the public might have put their tax refund into a savings account or save it for a rainy day.
However, many people are now using this refund to pay bills.
The amount of people that depend on their tax refund to pay bills has rose steadily over the last few years, until it has been reported that at least
thirty-five percent of people will use their refund to settle an outstanding debt.
Analysts say that this percentage is an increase from at least twenty-seven percent from last year.
Shares Drop For Major Drug Companies
April 8, 2008
One area on the stock market that gained attention this week were shares involving drug companies. Shares of many of these companies fell as the stock market opened.
During the opening, the biggest fall in price was from Astra Zeneca PLC. They are produces of the drug Nexium, however, the shares were reduced in price by Goldman Sachs. There was a decline by more than three percent.
Astra Zeneca PLC is currently in competition with Ranbaxy over the generic version of Nexium, and with Teva Pharmaceuticals over the generic version of Seroquel.
Shares in GlaxoSmithKline also fell by more than three percent - 3.7 - after the FDA issued a warning letter to the company demanding to see the results of the studies they conducted on the diabetic drug Avandia.
Analysts Wait For Minutes Of Federal Open Market Committee
April 7, 2008
As economic analysts are patiently waiting the release of the news from the previous meeting of the Federal Reserve, it was observed that the prices for the Treasury did not change by many percentage points.
At the moment many people are sitting at the edge of their seat waiting to hear if there will be a reduction in interest rates when the Federal Open Market Committee meets again at the end of the month.
With the volatile nature of the stock market in the past, any who has invested in stocks and bonds is also eagerly awaiting the report from the Federal Reserve, and hoping that the recent stability of the market will continue.
American Airlines Postpones Hiring
April 4, 2008
The major airline company American Airlines has decided to stop hiring management and airline support workers at the moment. This hiring freeze is due to the declining economy and the increase in the price of fuel that airlines are faced with.
The company will still employ anyone who was offered a job before April, but will stop hiring any more staff at this time. According to airline spokeman, Andy Backover, “I think it’s no secret that the entire industry, including us, has been struggling to contain costs, mainly the cost of fuel,” he stated.
This hiring freeze is just another clue of how things are at the moment within the airline industry.
Microsoft Issues Ultimatum
April 4, 2008
Microsoft has decided to give Yahoo! an ultimatum in accepting its buyout bid. Microsoft has offered $41 billion to buyout Yahoo!, but as yet no deal has been reached by the two parties.
Recently Microsoft stated it will give Yahoo! until April 26th to accept its bid. If Yahoo! fails to accept its bid Microsoft plans to launch a hostile takeover, but this will be done at a much lower price.
At the moment shareholders are pushing Yahoo! to accept the bid that Microsoft has tabled before the company is bought at a lower price.
Possible Recession?
April 2, 2008
According to Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman, the US economy is not expected to improve, but will reduce over the next couple of months. Bernanke is hinting that a “recession is possible”. Even on the eve of this news, the public was not surprised but wondered if this would push the Federal Reserve Chairman to issue an interest rate cut. The US GDP is not expected to increase much during the first quarter of 2008, and might even lessen. If the GDP decreases for a least six months, the country is said to be in recession.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Prices On Imports Rise By 0.2% In February
March 13, 2008
February saw the price of imported goods into the U.S. rise by 0.2%; which, according to the Labor Department, is due largely to the price of imported petroleum taking its second decline in three months.
The price on imported petroleum fell 1.5% and exports out of the U.S. saw an increase in price of 0.9% in February, most of which is based on the U.S.’ agricultural exports which saw an individual export price increase of 4.4% from last month and 30.8% from this time last year.
Consumers Not Consuming
March 13, 2008
Consumers just aren’t consuming as they once did; as retail sales figures from the U.S. Commerce Department for February, which were released on Thrusday, show another decline of 0.6%.
Nearly all retailers have reported a lower than average sales, even taking into account the impact of current inflation. No change to retail sales was forecasted by Wall Street, so these figures are weaker than expected.
Compared with last year’s nominal terms, retail sales were up by 2.6%.
IFO Project 1.5% Growth For Germany Through To 2012
March 13, 2008
In the first ever medium-term projection released by IFO Institute, Germany has been seen to have a potential growth rate of 1.5% through to 2012.
This prediction, from the Munich-based think-tank, is based upon the belief that in spite of the population decline that Germany is expected to undergo in the next few years, that there will none-the-less be increased participation in the labor workforce and longer work hours are on the cards too.
This hypothesis is also based on the assumption that reforms recently introduced into the labor market of Germany will not be altered, nor will minimum wage. However, according to the release made by IFO, the actual rate of growth will depend on business-cycle factors which cannot be accurately speculated upon.
Companies sued for import of toxic toothpaste
March 12, 2008
Criminal charges have been charged against a company in Los Angeles on the 6th, with the charge that they have been importing toxic toothpastes. The charge against the company is that they brought in and distributed almost 90,000 tubes of china-made toothpaste, which is believed to have poisonous substances. The charge was also against the wholesaler who distributed the toothpaste amongst the local stores. The news was let out by the city attorney of Los Angeles Rocky Delgadillo.
The company known as Selective Imports Corp. is the one against which the criminal charge has been filed. The company, it has been said in the file that, sold toothpastes which has in it Diethylene Glycol on a nationwide basis throughout the period of December 2005 to may 2007. Vernon Sales Inc. is also charged with the crime of buying these toothpastes and reselling them to numerous stores in the Los Angeles area.
According to many chemical experts the chemical Diethylene glycol is usually used as a solvent or as constituent in antifreeze. The Chinese manufacturers of the toothpaste is said to have used this chemical as an alternative to glycerin which is far more expensive than DEG. Glycerin is generally used in toothpastes to make it thicker. However DEG is a dangerous chemical and will cause damage to the kidney as well as the liver if there is prolonged exposure to the chemical.
There are 14 total criminal charges against the Vernon Sales and its officials for the selling, receiving and delivering of an adulterated drug. The president and the vice president of Selective Imports have also been charged with the selling, receiving and delivering of a product containing DEG. The Supervising deputy City Attorney said that the companies will be responsible for the distribution and import of the product as the companies in the nation are liable to make sure that the products they sell meet the safety standards. He went on to say that it would not matter even if the companies were unaware of the fact that the toothpastes were containing harmful toxics. The misconduct charges against the companies, which were charged on the 3rd, carry with it a penalty of a year of imprisonment as well as a $1,000 fine.
The selective imports vice president said that he was totally shocked by the filing as his company had been completely cooperative with the FDA in the destruction of all the products which had been alleged to have had toxic chemicals in them. He acknowledged the fact that the toothpastes might not have been of superior quality. But he pressed on the point that his company had not intention whatsoever to hurt anyone intentionally.
As a result of the suit that has been file the reputation of china as a reliable exporter ahs taken a hit. The country has been taking a lot of flak in the recent few years as a lot of their products which includes toothpastes, pet food, and lead toys have been recalled as they were either below the required standards or were having harmful substances in them.
Dollar touches record low against euro yet again
March 12, 2008
As the unemployment report for the month of February is scheduled to come out on the 7th of March the US dollar touched another record low against the Euro on Friday. The jobless report that is going to come is predicted to be the highest ever in the last two years. This is one of the main reasons for the drop in value of dollar against the fifteen nation currency. The recent drop in value of dollar reinforces the belief that the US economy is heading towards or is already in a recession.
The currency on the seventh reached its lowest level against the euro. Furthermore the continuing losses the credit market was incurring strengthened the belief of investors that the Federal Reserve was going to cut the interest rates by 75 points in this month. However, the Greenback was finally able to spring back from the lowest ever value against the Japanese yen in the last three years. The dollar managed to jump back as a result of the speculation that the Bank of Japan is going to reduce the interest rates in 2008 in an effort to incite economic growth in the nation.
The condition of the dollar which is pretty weak at the moment is quite extraordinary. It is believed by many that the latest sell-off the greenback took is not only definitive but also vindicated by the various economic policy changes. The US dollar dropped to $1.5395 per euro, which happens to be the lowest value at which dollar has stood ever since the currency came into existence in the year 1999. The dollar was placed at 102.76 yen after jumping from the three year low of 102.46 yen when trading opened today.
According to the studies conduced by many economists the Bank of Japan is most likely to decrease the rates towards the end of the year. As news about this came out the yen took a slide from 157.92 per euro to 158.04 per euro. It is predicted that the value of yen is proceeding towards a weekly low. The central bank of Japan however kept borrowing costs on hold.
The dollar also took a fall by a very large amount in front of the Swiss Franc to reach an all time low of 1.0211. The greenback also took a fall of 1.1 percent against the English pound. Norwegian Krone is another currency in fro of which the Dollar fell by 1.7 percent. The currency experts in the country continues to maintain that the US currency will go ahead with its decline to reach somewhere around $1.55 per euro by the end of June. The latest value with which the experts have come out is far more than the previous forecast of $1.41 per euro. Another forecast is the dollar is going to drop to almost 97 yen.
The jobless report which he government is going to come out with is predicted to have figures which will show that the number of unemployed persons in t nation is going to increase by almost 5 percent. It was the news of this report which led to the massive drop in the dollar’s value.
Democratic Presidential Nominee Likely To Be Obama
March 6, 2008
Just one day before the primaries, U.S. Senator Obama is shaping up to be the Democratic Presidential nominee. If Obama is successful in defeating U.S. Senator Hilary Clinton, his greatest opposition for the role, in either Ohio or Texas primaries, he is in pole position to become the Democratic presidential nominee, pitting him against Republican nominee U.S. Senator, John McCain.
Exit polls taken are showing that the senator from Illinois now has the lead over Clinton in the state of Texas. If Obama wins in Texas and ousts the former first-lady, he will have successfully taken out a power-house in the U.S. presidential race.
Since the onset of the race, and with two very strong candidates stepping up to the plate, the Democratic Party have been extremely careful to avoid causing undue friction within the party itself, as they believe this will lead to a weaker presidential campaign in November. Most members of the party have stressed their backing for both of the candidates, however, so the internal forecast of the party is still quite positive. The party is looking for a clear victory in tomorrow’s primaries as concerns have been raised that the Democratic nominee should already be designated and that undecided voters are not going to favor them if they are too long in deciding the final candidate.
If Clinton manages to capture both the states tomorrow then the race would be extended until April 22, when the Pennsylvanian primary is to be held. Either way, a candidate will be known by the end of April. Concerns are that the Democratic Party is losing valuable time in starting the battle against the Republican nominee. John McCain, Senator for Arizona, has now become the most probable Republican nominee.
With smear campaigns coming out of the Clinton camp, and Obama’s grandmother weighing in on the issues, the in-party nominations are shaping up to be quite tumultuous. Something that the Democrats do not want in the lead up to the election. At this stage, the party is looking to establish as much stability within, so as to be better prepared for November.
The Democratic Party hence is hoping for a distinct win in the primaries tomorrow, as an extended race between Obama and Clinton would only serve to make their presidential victory more uncertain.