11/25 DailyFinance

Please add updates@feedmyinbox.com to your address book to make sure you receive these messages in the future. DailyFinance GPS makers can't seem to locate a price floor: Sub-$50 devices in sight November 24, 2009 at 7:00 pm Filed under: Google , Wal-Mart Stores, Palm, Amazon.com Inc. First comes the nasty entry of Google's (GOOG) freebie turn-by-turn voice-activated navigation app. Then comes news that this holiday shopping season may be the first where we see GPS devices by popular makers TomTom and Garmin (GRMN) drop to the $50 price range, an area never before seen for these still hot-selling, but increasingly imperiled, devices. Deutsche Bank analyst Jonathan Goldman released analysis on Tuesday that found TomTom is going to price its new model One 125SE at $59 at major online stores like Walmart.com (WMT). This is $20 below Garmin's lowest price point, likely forcing Garmin to come down on price, as well. Continue reading GPS makers can't seem to locate a price floor: Sub-$50 devices in sight GPS makers can't seem to locate a price floor: Sub-$50 devices in sight originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments China's $9 trillion global warming problem November 24, 2009 at 6:40 pm Filed under: Energy, Healthcare, Green If Chinese premier Hu Xintao had any doubts about taking an aggressive stance to enforce carbon-emission reductions at the upcoming Copenhagen Climate Summit, a report today may push him over the edge. A detailed analysis of the potential economic impacts of rapid global warming, put together by insurance-industry experts and underwritten by the World Wildlife Fund and insurance giant Allianz, found that China stands to suffer a whopping $9 trillion in economic damage by 2050. The U.S. followed closely behind, with $7 trillion in potential damage, and India took the third spot with $3 billion in potential environmental damage. The study was notable in that it was performed by experts in insurance and actuarial research, rather than climate researchers, which implies more objectivity and financial-industry rigor. Continue reading China's $9 trillion global warming problem China's $9 trillion global warming problem originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Prempro lawsuits: Pfizer hit with $103 million more in punitive damages November 24, 2009 at 6:20 pm Filed under: Company News, Healthcare, Pfizer, Merck It seems that for Pfizer (PFE), the saga of Prempro is just beginning. Barely a month after the world's largest pharmaceutical company lost a case related to Wyeth's Prempro hormone replacement therapy drug and was ordered to pay punitive damages on top of earlier compensatory damages, it lost the second pending case in the matter in Philadelphia on Monday. Initially, Pfizer was ordered in September to pay $3.75 million in compensatory damages. The punitive damages amount awarded a month later was sealed pending another verdict in a second similar case in the same courthouse. On Monday, the court revealed that Pfizer has been ordered to pay a total of $103 million in punitive damages in the two cases. The jury found the hormone drugs the two plaintiffs used for years contributed to their breast cancer. Including three other cases, so far Pfizer has been ordered to pay $165 million in punitive damages. Continue reading Prempro lawsuits: Pfizer hit with $103 million more in punitive damages Prempro lawsuits: Pfizer hit with $103 million more in punitive damages originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Cops drop charges against non-tipping college students November 24, 2009 at 6:00 pm Filed under: Columns, Media Charges against two Pennsylvania college students arrested last month for failing to leave a tip were dropped Monday by local authorities, according to an Allentown, Pa., newspaper. John P. Wagner, 24 and Leslie A. Pope, 22, were charged with theft of services after they wouldn't pay the more than $16 tip they were charged by Lehigh Pub, a restaurant near Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Both had refused to pay the gratuity for what they claimed was awful service, including having to get their own silverware and drink refills. Their waitress also reportedly took a cigarette break instead of attending to them. Continue reading Cops drop charges against non-tipping college students Cops drop charges against non-tipping college students originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Diners Club leaves Citi and the country, finding a new home in Canada November 24, 2009 at 5:40 pm Filed under: Company News, Economy, Citigroup On February 8, 1950, Frank McNamara and Ralph Schneider finished their dinner at Major's Cabin Grill in New York and did something that had never been done: they paid with a charge card. The two men, along with colleague Matty Simmons, were the creators of Diners Club, the first charge card that could be used at multiple restaurants and retailers. Like their later competitor American Express (AXP), Diners Club balances had to be paid in full at the end of the month, but the ease of credit purchases opened the door to innovations like credit cards. Now, almost 60 years later, the trailblazer for America's credit industry is leaving the country. Citigroup (C), which bought Diners Club in 1981, has announced plans to sell the company's North American operations to the Bank of Montreal (BMO). It has already gotten rid of worldwide operations, having sold them to Discover (DFS) last year. Continue reading Diners Club leaves Citi and the country, finding a new home in Canada Diners Club leaves Citi and the country, finding a new home in Canada originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Facebook creates a dual stock structure, but denies that it 'signals' an IPO November 24, 2009 at 5:20 pm Filed under: Google , Facebook Facebook has taken a key step toward selling itself to public investors. Although the world's largest social network insists that the move doesn't mean the company is planning to go public, it's clearly designed to allow the current owners to maintain control of Facebook if it does go for an initial public offering. Founded in 2004 in a Harvard dorm room, Facebook has been valued as high as $20 billion during the go-go years of the Web 2.0 bubble. Since the financial meltdown and recession, that valuation has dropped below $5 billion and hasn't been able to break $10 billion. Continue reading Facebook creates a dual stock structure, but denies that it 'signals' an IPO Facebook creates a dual stock structure, but denies that it 'signals' an IPO originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments As AOL stock begins limited trading, analyst takes a look at potential value November 24, 2009 at 5:00 pm Filed under: Company News, Technology, Investing, Earnings, Time Warner AOL, or "Aol.," as DailyFinance's corporate parent shall soon be known, won't be spun off from Time Warner (TWX) until Dec. 9, but Wall Street is already forecasting its (or should we say, "our") business prospects. Barclays Capital analyst Douglas Anmuth laid out his earnings estimates for soon-to-be-independent AOL on Tuesday, coinciding with the stock trading on a "when-issued" basis on the New York Stock Exchange. (A when-issued listing is standard practice ahead of a spin-off in order to ensure a smooth transition for market participants.) Continue reading As AOL stock begins limited trading, analyst takes a look at potential value As AOL stock begins limited trading, analyst takes a look at potential value originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments A bitter pill for taxpayers: Drug ads do nothing but boost drug prices November 24, 2009 at 4:40 pm Filed under: Company News, Healthcare, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi Aventis A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that direct-to-consumer drug advertising may be associated with increased drug prices -- and little else. Specifically, researchers looked at blood-thinner (anti-clotting) drug Plavix, which is commonly prescribed for heart conditions. They found that advertising aimed at consumers did not actually increase the use of the drug. However, because of the increased expenditure for advertising, the price of the drug increased, and so did the reimbursement cost of Plavix for Medicaid patients. "The cost of drugs to public and private health insurance programs has been a long-standing source of concern among policy markers," wrote the study's authors, Michael Law of the University of British Columbia and his colleagues. Indeed, several members of Congress have asked the GAO recently to examine allegations of price gouging on drugs, especially in light of the ongoing debate over health-care reform legislation. Continue reading A bitter pill for taxpayers: Drug ads do nothing but boost drug prices A bitter pill for taxpayers: Drug ads do nothing but boost drug prices originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Stocks sag after crummy reports on economic growth, consumer confidence November 24, 2009 at 4:35 pm Filed under: Company News, Investing Stocks drifted below 13-month highs after a lackluster reading on consumer confidence and a report showing slower economic growth sapped some of the market's optimism. Major indexes posted modest losses Tuesday, as drops in financial and industrial stocks were tempered by gains in health care companies. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17 points a day after jumping by 133. Stocks pulled off their lows of the day after the Federal Reserve released minutes from its latest rate-setting meeting, during which it pledged to keep rates low for the foreseeable future and said inflation remained at bay. The Fed raised its expectations for economic growth during the second half of this year, but said unemployment will remain high. Continue reading Stocks sag after crummy reports on economic growth, consumer confidence Stocks sag after crummy reports on economic growth, consumer confidence originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Fortune runs out as layoffs hit Time Inc. November 24, 2009 at 4:20 pm Filed under: Media, Time Warner Long-awaited layoffs arrived at Time Inc. Tuesday, and those near the top were not spared. At Fortune, three of the four remaining assistant managing editors have been pink-slipped. John Brodie, Brian Dumaine and Eric Gelman are all departing, leaving only Stephanie Mehta, who, according to one insider, is seen as the likely eventual successor to Managing Editor Andy Serwer. A fourth assistant managing editor, Lee Clifford, volunteered for a severance package last week, as did executive editor Steve Koepp. Continue reading Fortune runs out as layoffs hit Time Inc. Fortune runs out as layoffs hit Time Inc. originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments The FDIC's swelling list of banks on the brink November 24, 2009 at 4:00 pm Filed under: Economy It's no secret that the financial sector is struggling. Even so, new figures from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s so-called secret list of troubled banks show an industry in increasing distress. The number of banks on the regulator's confidential watch list increased by 33% in the third quarter, to 552, the highest level in almost 16 years, the FDIC said Tuesday. Worried about souring mortgages and other toxic assets, the more than 8,000 banks with deposits backed by the FDIC sharply raised the amount they set aside to cover loan losses, dampening their profitability. The agency keeps the names of banks on this list under wraps to protect them from debilitating runs by depositors, which could destabilize them further. However, the FDIC does publish aggregate figures derived from its examinations of their books. Continue reading The FDIC's swelling list of banks on the brink The FDIC's swelling list of banks on the brink originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments No sale: GM's Saab deal falls apart after Swedish buyer pulls out November 24, 2009 at 3:00 pm Filed under: Company News, Economy, General Motors It seems General Motors (GRM) isn't have any better luck at selling pieces of itself than it is at selling its cars and trucks. A deal struck by the Detroit-based company in June to sell its Saab unit fell apart Tuesday, according to news reports, threatening an end to the Swedish manufacturer of niche automobiles. GM had hoped to seal the deal on the sale of Saab to a consortium led by Swedish luxury car builder Koenigsegg Group at the end of next month. But on Tuesday, Koenigsegg suddenly pulled out after it was unable to secure financing in time to close the deal. Continue reading No sale: GM's Saab deal falls apart after Swedish buyer pulls out No sale: GM's Saab deal falls apart after Swedish buyer pulls out originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Why Ballmer and Murdoch's attack on Google is doomed November 24, 2009 at 2:50 pm Filed under: Company News, Technology, Google , Microsoft, Yahoo Competitor-focused strategies fail, while customer-focused ones win. This comes to mind in thinking about a possible deal to take search advertising market share from Google (GOOG). It's now well known that Microsoft (MSFT) and News Corp. (NWS) are discussing teaming up in an effort to take out a rival (the competitor-focused strategy), whereas Google is on the side of creating competitively superior value for consumers and the advertisers seeking to reach them (the customer-focused strategy). Google's approach is better because customers are the ones who are paying, and while Microsoft and News Corp. are busy trying to take a piece out of Google's hide -- with Microsoft paying News Corp. to remove its links from Google and put them on Bing -- their struggles to partner will distract them from serving customers. And that could give Google a chance to take search traffic away from Bing. Continue reading Why Ballmer and Murdoch's attack on Google is doomed Why Ballmer and Murdoch's attack on Google is doomed originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Fed officials: Labor market recovery could take up to six years November 24, 2009 at 2:29 pm Filed under: Economy The Federal Reserve doesn't expect the recovery will be strong enough to quickly drive down the jobless rate, and acknowledged its efforts to keep the rebound going could feed a new speculative bubble. Record-low interest rates "could lead to excessive risk-taking in financial markets," according to documents released Tuesday of the Fed's closed-door meeting earlier this month. It also could cause consumers, investors and businesses to worry about inflation taking off. Although Fed officials saw the current likelihood of that as "relatively low," they pledged to "remain alert to these risks." Continue reading Fed officials: Labor market recovery could take up to six years Fed officials: Labor market recovery could take up to six years originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Galleon's Rajaratnam strikes back, calls SEC tactics unconstitutional November 24, 2009 at 2:00 pm Filed under: People, Investing Billionaire hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam had vowed to fight the insider trading charges against him with the same vigor he used to amass his fortune. And now his army of seasoned lawyers is swinging back hard against allegations that the founder of the Galleon Group engaged in insider trading in stocks ranging from Google (GOOG) to Hilton (HLNQ). On Tuesday, Rajaratnam's legal team responded to the SEC's allegations by attempting to systematically dismantle the case made against their client. Not only were the methods used to snare Rajaratnam unconstitutional, the response contends, but the information allegedly given to Rajaratnam was already widely known, and it may be difficult to prove he traded on it rather than on his broader analysis of the stocks. Continue reading Galleon's Rajaratnam strikes back, calls SEC tactics unconstitutional Galleon's Rajaratnam strikes back, calls SEC tactics unconstitutional originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Consumers scramble to pay credit card bills, let everything else slide November 24, 2009 at 1:00 pm Filed under: Economy, Real Estate In these tough economic times, people are leaning on their credit cards more than ever. So when it comes time to decide which bills to pay, those are the ones that make it to the top of the pile. Credit reporting agency TransUnion reported Monday that credit card delinquency rates fell in the third quarter, continuing a drop-off that began a quarter earlier. Average credit card borrower debt fell by 1.87% to $5,612 from the previous quarter's $5,719, and down 1.71% compared to the third quarter of 2008. But this is not a sign that the economy is improving. Continue reading Consumers scramble to pay credit card bills, let everything else slide Consumers scramble to pay credit card bills, let everything else slide originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments As foreclosures of rental units jump, renters lose November 24, 2009 at 12:30 pm Filed under: Economy, Investing, Real Estate As foreclosures of rental units mount, renters find themselves caught between the bank and their landlord. They often suffer as much-needed repairs are left undone at units nearing foreclosure. While the biggest hit to the rental sector may not happen until after 2013, when two-thirds of Fannie Mae's multifamily debt matures, renters are already beginning to feel the pain as multifamily units enter the foreclosure process. Continue reading As foreclosures of rental units jump, renters lose As foreclosures of rental units jump, renters lose originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Big box bookstores don't see a happy ending ahead for holiday sales November 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm Filed under: Company News, Earnings, Media Retailers in general aren't expecting to do boffo business on Black Friday, but big box bookstores Barnes & Noble (BKS) and Borders (BGP) might be excused for their more intense states of anxiety. Both companies issued quarterly reports Tuesday morning, and based on earnings and sales, both have good reason to be nervous that the holidays won't deliver for them. Barnes & Noble reported that store sales for its fiscal second quarter, which ended Oct. 31, fell 2% to $950 million, with same store sales falling 3.2%. The total net loss for the quarter was $24 million (or 43 cents a share), broken down to 30 cents of operating loss and 13 cents attributed to re-acquiring shares in its B&N College Division in late September. (The college division is credited with only $65 million in sales, but the data only includes the one-month post-acquisition period.) Continue reading Big box bookstores don't see a happy ending ahead for holiday sales Big box bookstores don't see a happy ending ahead for holiday sales originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments U.S. consumer confidence resumes its upward trend in October November 24, 2009 at 11:30 am Filed under: Economy Record another, positive data point for the U.S. economy, as consumer confidence unexpectedly rose to 49.5 in November from a revised 48.7 in October, The Conference Board announced Tuesday. A Bloomberg News survey of economists had expected the index to total 47 in November. It reached 53.5 in September, and 54.5 in August, after hitting a record low of 25.3 in February (base year, 1985=100). Meanwhile, the present-situation index was virtually unchanged in November, at 21 compared to a 21.1 reading in October. Continue reading U.S. consumer confidence resumes its upward trend in October U.S. consumer confidence resumes its upward trend in October originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Microsoft - News Corp. deal could face legal challenges November 24, 2009 at 11:00 am Filed under: Google , Microsoft, News Corp. Cutting a deal with Microsoft (MSFT) to block Google (GOOG) in exchange for cash may or may not be a viable way for Rupert Murdoch to improve the economics of his media outlets. But before he can find out, Murdoch will have to answer a different question: Is it even legal? It may not be, according to several legal experts contacted by DailyFinance. A potential News Corp.-Microsoft pact, as sketched out by the Financial Times, could run afoul of the law in several ways. For starters, it could violate anti-trust laws, says to Michael J. Thomas, a principal at the St. Louis law firm Harness Dickey. "Anti-competitive behavior is where you're trying to impair or eliminate someone's ability to compete against you," says Thomas. "The fundamental principle is that competition is good for consumers." For Microsoft to pay News Corp. (NWS) specifically to withhold its content from Google while making it available to other search engines "strikes me as more anti-competitive than competitive," he says. Continue reading Microsoft - News Corp. deal could face legal challenges Microsoft - News Corp. deal could face legal challenges originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Housing rebound continues: Prices rose for fifth straight month in September November 24, 2009 at 10:30 am Filed under: Economy The U.S. housing sector's long and winding road back to health continues: U.S. home prices in 20 cities rose for the fifth straight month, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price survey. "We have seen broad improvement in home prices for most of the past six months," David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, said in a statement. "However, the gains in the most recent month are more modest than during the seasonally strong summer months. Nationally, the U.S. National Composite rose by 3.1% in both the second and third quarters of 2009. Both the 10-City and 20-City Composites posted their fifth consecutive monthly increase with September's report." Continue reading Housing rebound continues: Prices rose for fifth straight month in September Housing rebound continues: Prices rose for fifth straight month in September originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments U.S. third-quarter GDP growth is revised downward, but it's still growth November 24, 2009 at 10:10 am Filed under: Economy More decent news for the economy: U.S. GDP increased a revised 2.8% in the third quarter, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Tuesday. That's down from the government's initial 3.5% GDP growth estimate, but it's a level that still indicates an adequate expansion of commercial activity. A Bloomberg News economists survey had expected the revised quarterly figure to increase 2.8%. The Commerce Department revises its GDP estimate for each quarter as it receives more complete information than was previously available. Continue reading U.S. third-quarter GDP growth is revised downward, but it's still growth U.S. third-quarter GDP growth is revised downward, but it's still growth originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Will Oprah's long goodbye doom her career as literary tastemaker? November 24, 2009 at 10:00 am Filed under: People, Media When America's wealthiest and most influential media star calls it quits on her talk show, it's great fodder for several news cycles. But two years will pass between Oprah Winfrey's announcement last Thursday and the September 2011 air-date of her final syndicated show. And that gives the publishing industry plenty of time to fret about life after its most important tastemaker leaves daytime broadcast TV. "There's no question that when it comes to books, she has been the premier influencer of our era," says a publicist at Simon & Schuster, which benefited greatly when Winfrey featured Rhonda Byrne's self-help smash The Secret on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007. Even Jonathan Franzen, who famously rejected Oprah's selection of his 2001 novel The Corrections, told The Daily Beast he was "sad" about the news: "Oprah's show is the last place on the networks where serious books still sometimes get a hearing, so it's sad to learn of her impending retreat to cable." Continue reading Will Oprah's long goodbye doom her career as literary tastemaker? Will Oprah's long goodbye doom her career as literary tastemaker? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments TARP repayment plans: Too late now to change public sentiment? November 24, 2009 at 9:40 am Filed under: Company News, Economy, Investing, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo & Co. As TARP nears it's end on Dec. 31, discussions about extending it -- or killing it -- are flooding the halls of Congress and the White House. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner can ask to extend TARP until October 2010, but he'll do so with a lot of objection from members of Congress. In fact Republicans are so disappointed in Geithner's performance that they're calling for his resignation. Now, the Federal Reserve is asking the big banks that were part of the stress tests to submit plans for repaying TARP, according to a report from Bloomberg. These banks include: Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), GMAC, KeyCorp (KEY), PNC Financial Services (PNC), Regions Financial Corp. (RF), SunTrust Banks (STI) and Wells Fargo (WFC). All either declined to comment to Bloomberg or didn't call back. These nine banks received about $142 billion of the $700 billion bailout. Continue reading TARP repayment plans: Too late now to change public sentiment? TARP repayment plans: Too late now to change public sentiment? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Playboy outsources magazine's business operations November 24, 2009 at 9:20 am Filed under: Company News Things are so bad at Playboy (PLA), once one of the largest magazines in America by paid circulation, that the company is outsourcing a number of critical functions, including ad sales, to save money. Several media outlets have reported that Playboy will enter into a five-year partnership with American Media Inc., which publishes Star and Men's Fitness, to handle some key functions of publishing the magazine. Most of the 30 Playboy staffers in those business areas will be fired. The men's magazine firm started by Hugh Hefner says that the move will help its flagship publication return to profitability by 2011. Continue reading Playboy outsources magazine's business operations Playboy outsources magazine's business operations originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Stocks in the news: Hewlett-Packard, Heinz, Medtronic, Hormel Foods November 24, 2009 at 9:10 am Filed under: Company News, Investing Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) reported quarterly results Monday after the bell. There were few surprises, because the company had pre-announced them last week when it acquired 3Com, so the 14% profit rise boosted by China sales and better profit margins was mostly expected. However, H-P also announced it had tripled the size of its share repurchase program to $12 billion. Shares declined 0.8% ahead of the bell. H.J. Heinz Co. (HNZ) posted a 14% lower quarterly profit of $231.4 million, or 73 cents, on Tuesday, hurt by sales declines in North America and Europe, but said it is optimistic about its sales momentum heading into the second half of its fiscal year and raised its full-year profit forecast. Sales rose 2.5% to $2.67 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company beat estimates on both the top and bottom line. Shares fell over 1% in pre-market trading. Continue reading Stocks in the news: Hewlett-Packard, Heinz, Medtronic, Hormel Foods Stocks in the news: Hewlett-Packard, Heinz, Medtronic, Hormel Foods originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Daily Blogwatch: Why all the anger towards Goldman Sachs? November 24, 2009 at 8:30 am Filed under: Company News, Columns, Economy, People Roger Ehrenberg is one of the more astute ex-Wall Street guys now blogging. His plan for fixing Wall Street is the clearest I've seen. _____________ How Jim Rogers made his first million. _____________ I'm getting a little tired of all the anger towards Goldman Sachs (GS). The Atlantic says what the media doesn't get about GS and AIG (AIG). _____________ Continue reading Daily Blogwatch: Why all the anger towards Goldman Sachs? Daily Blogwatch: Why all the anger towards Goldman Sachs? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Investors await economic data; stocks seen opening flat November 24, 2009 at 8:00 am Filed under: Economy, Investing U.S. stocks look ready for a flat open after investors pushed markets to a new 13-month high Monday. Stock futures traded in a tight range as investors await several key economic reports, including GDP and housing. Recent tech earnings and more bank news have also captured the headlines. More here: Before the bell: Stock futures steady ahead of GDP, housing data Investors await economic data; stocks seen opening flat originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Asian markets: Warning by Chinese regulator sends banking, retail stocks plummeting November 24, 2009 at 7:00 am Filed under: Economy, Investing Shares in Asia headed south Tuesday. In China, the Shanghai Composite index plunged 3.5% to 3,224, its largest drop in nearly three months. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.5% to end the day at 22,423 and in Japan, the Nikkei Index lost 1% to close at 9,402. Banking shares suffered losses today as China's banking regulator warned lenders that they must comply with rules requiring them to have adequate amounts of cash held against the loans they have made. The Wall Street Journal reports that in the first six months of this year, Chinese banks have issued loans worth $1.1 trillion -- an amount equal to half of China's GDP for the same period -- and that some have fallen below the required capital adequacy rates, having lent enormous amounts of money, which have helped speed the growth of the Chinese economy. Continue reading Asian markets: Warning by Chinese regulator sends banking, retail stocks plummeting Asian markets: Warning by Chinese regulator sends banking, retail stocks plummeting originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Infant deaths prompt biggest crib recall in U.S. history November 24, 2009 at 6:41 am Filed under: Company News More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft Manufacturing are being recalled, the biggest crib recall in U.S history, following reports of four infant suffocations. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said late Monday the recall involves 1.2 million cribs in the United States and almost 1 million in Canada, where Stork Craft is based. Sales of the cribs being recalled go back to 1993. Continue reading Infant deaths prompt biggest crib recall in U.S. history Infant deaths prompt biggest crib recall in U.S. history originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Nearly a quarter of all U.S. home mortgages are underwater November 24, 2009 at 5:00 am Filed under: Real Estate There have been a number of attempts to come up with a figure about how many U.S. home mortgages are underwater -- in other words, the value of the home loan is more than the value of the house. All estimates are bound to be wrong because no one has had the time or money to appraise every house in America and match it with the value of its mortgage plus any second mortgages. But, The Wall Street Journal has asked First American CoreLogic, a real estate research company, to give it a try. The report, which is available free online, says that that 23% of mortgages were underwater at the end of the third quarter. Continue reading Nearly a quarter of all U.S. home mortgages are underwater Nearly a quarter of all U.S. home mortgages are underwater originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments What's really in Glade, Windex and Pledge? SC Johnson will finally tell you November 23, 2009 at 9:00 pm Filed under: Wal-Mart Stores, Procter & Gamble The dirty little secrets of Glade, Pledge and Windex are all coming clean courtesy of venerable consumer products company SC Johnson. The Racine, Wis. outfit said last week it had launched a new website that lists the ingredients of more than 200 of its products. The WhatsInsideSCJohnson site represents the most significant disclosure to date of the ingredients found in household cleaning products. Lack of disclosure has been a key complaint of green activists who have often alleged that many household cleaners contain toxic ingredients. Equally important, these environmental do-gooders have charged that some supposedly green products contain ingredients that are either unsafe or suspected of having strong health effects on people. As SC Johnson is the first major consumer products company to take this step, its move puts huge pressure on Clorox (CLX), Colgate-Palmolive (CL) and Procter-Gamble (PG) to make similar information available online to consumers. Continue reading What's really in Glade, Windex and Pledge? SC Johnson will finally tell you What's really in Glade, Windex and Pledge? SC Johnson will finally tell you originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. 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