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Friday, Jul 30, 2010 |
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Weather Forecast |
| Cities / State |
°C |
°F |
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Atlanta
(Georgia) |
24.6 |
76.2 |
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Charleston
(South Carolina) |
27.6 |
81.7 |
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Charlotte
(North Carolina) |
24.3 |
75.8 |
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Columbia
(South Carolina) |
26.6 |
79.8 |
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Dallas
(Texas) |
26.2 |
79.2 |
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Miami
(Florida) |
27.4 |
81.3 |
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Nashville
(Tennessee) |
24.1 |
75.4 |
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News » Home
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| Brian Moynihan to succeed Ken Lewis as BofA CEO |
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Date: 17-12-2009
Bank of America's new CEO says he doesn't expect to lead a major shift in strategy at the nation's largest bank when he takes over from Ken Lewis on Jan. 1. But with loan losses continuing to mount amid double-digit unemployment rates, it remains to be seen whether investors will embrace staying the course.
Bank of America's board late Wednesday named its 50-year-old consumer and small business banking chief, Brian Moynihan, as president and CEO. The promotion ended a months-long search complicated by pay restrictions imposed by government pay czar Kenneth Feinberg before the bank repaid $45 billion of federal bailout loans needed to prevent its failure over the past year.
"I am pleased that it's finally over," said Nancy Bush, managing member of NAB Research LLC in Annandale, N.J. Bush said there will be divergent opinions both on Wall Street and within the bank about Moynihan, but overall, she feels it was the smart move.
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| 5 pct. of Americans plan to buy a home next year |
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Date: 11-11-2009
Just one in 20 Americans say they plan to buy a home within the next year, and they're most likely to be 34 years old or younger and living in the South or West, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Roughly a quarter of potential buyers said the No. 1 reason they would buy now is because prices appear to have bottomed out. That reason topped bargain-priced foreclosures, worries about rising interest rates and a wide selection of homes.
The survey, conducted for Move.com, a real estate listings site, reveals how Americans are responding to a nascent and fragile housing recovery after three years of staggering price declines. The percentage of buyers thinking of jumping into the market was down slightly from a March survey, but up about 1 point from a poll in June.
Home prices rebounded this summer at an annualized pace of almost 7 percent, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index. But with high unemployment and foreclosures clouding the picture, economists debate whether prices will dip again.
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| Fed says economy leveling out; rates stay at lows |
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Date: 13-08-2009
The Federal Reserve delivered a vote of confidence in the economy Wednesday, saying it would slow the pace of an emergency rescue program and indicating the recession appears to be ending.
The central bank also held interest rates steady at record lows, with a closely watched bank lending rate near zero, and again pledged to keep them there for "an extended period" to nurture an anticipated recovery.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues said the economy appeared to be "leveling out" — a considerable upgrade from their last meeting in June, when the Fed observed only that the economy's contraction was slowing.
"We're no longer at DEFCON 1," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research, referring to the defense term used to indicate being under siege. "The Fed is pulling in some of its life preservers now that the economy is no longer sinking."
The more optimistic tone lifted Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrials gained about 120 points, or 1.3 percent, to close above 9,360 — near their highest level since the market bottomed out in early March.
The Fed said it would gradually slow the pace of its program to buy $300 billion worth of Treasury securities and shut it down at the end of October, a month later than previously scheduled.
It has bought $253 billion of the securities so far. The program is designed to force interest rates down for mortgages and other consumer debt and spur Americans to spend more money.
"I think the Fed is feeling increasingly comfortable about where the economy is going," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "For the first time in two years, the Fed is taking one step — a baby step — toward unwinding the massive stimulus."
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| Banks report using govt. assistance for loans |
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Date: 20-07-2009
The internal watchdog overseeing the government's financial bailout is pressing Treasury to seek more information from banks that receive taxpayer assistance, brandishing his own bank survey as evidence that such data can be obtained.
More than eight out of 10 banks responding to Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky's survey said money they received from the government had been used for loans or to avoid reduced lending.
Fewer than a third of the 360 banks surveyed said their lending levels would have been lower without money from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Banks also reported using the money to provide additional cushions of capital or to buy other institutions.
The law that created the bailout fund did not require banks to segregate the government's assistance or to track how it was used, though Congress' intent was to increase loans, either directly or by unclogging credit markets. But there is no process in place to make sure the money is specifically used to boost lending and there are no consequences for banks that don't use it to that end.
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| Big tech earnings week will reveal economic trends |
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Date: 20-07-2009
The technology sector is often talked about as if it were a unified front, an easy-to-define monolith. People say technology stocks rose or technology stocks fell. Tech helped drive a huge boom in the 1990s, and when that collapsed in 2001, tech contributed to the last recession.
In reality, technology companies have about as much in common as Toyota Motor Corp., Boeing Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp. Sure, all three play a part in getting you places, but their customers are different, as are their sales cycles and the metrics used to measure their prospects.
When some of the biggest technology names post earnings this week, investors shouldn't expect one clear picture to emerge. The reports, however, are a revealing proxy for the broader economy.
Two chip makers, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc., could provide early evidence of a recovery when they report results this week. They make the silicon building blocks of computers, cell phones and other gadgets. Manufacturers of those devices are assessing what consumer demand will be several months from now, and their level of confidence can be reflected in the orders they place with suppliers like AMD and Texas
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| Investors look to companies for clues on economy |
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Date: 12-07-2009
Investors are about to get some of the economic data they've been craving — from the country's big corporations.
Hundreds of earnings reports from the April-June quarter will begin flowing in this week, helping investors answer questions about how soon the economy will start growing. With the economy not gaining momentum after some early signs of recovery, investors are worried that they bet too soon on a rebound during the market's spring rally.
The early part of the rally came as data showed the pace of the economy's slide was slowing. But the euphoria has given way to a realization that just because the economy isn't collapsing, it isn't necessarily going to shift into growth anytime soon.
No one expects any obvious signals, such as a sudden pop in corporate profits. Instead, investors will pore over companies' forecasts.
"Investors are hungry for a sense that things have turned, or are about to turn, and want to see some validation of that," said Michael Cuggino, president and portfolio manager at Pacific Heights Asset Management in San Francisco.
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| Geithner: Stimulus is working and on right path |
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Date: 11-07-2009
Despite persistently high unemployment, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Friday the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan is on the "expected path."
"There's been substantial improvements in arresting what was the worst recession globally we've seen in generations," Geithner told lawmakers Friday.
Geithner's remarks came amid waning public support for President Barack Obama's economic policies. Republican critics say the rising unemployment rate is proof that the $787 billion stimulus has not helped reverse the effects of the recession.
"I was just wondering, where do you think your plan went wrong?" asked Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla.
About 2 million jobs have been lost since Congress passed Obama's stimulus package in February. Unemployment now stands at 9.5 percent, the highest in 26 years. Some Obama allies have been calling for Congress to pass a second stimulus package.
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| Identity Thieves Target Job Seekers |
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Date: 08-07-2009
Never mind landing the job. Now people on the lookout for employment have another cause for worry: identity theft. As the joblessness rate soars, scammers are ginning up fake Web sites or posing as recruiters to trick job seekers into giving up sensitive personal information.
Corneilus Allison became a potential target after he applied for a position at Aetna (NYSE:AET - News) in January, court documents show. In hopes of securing a position at the insurer, he entered required personal information into Aetna's job Web site. In May he received a response -- but it wasn't an offer of employment. Aetna instead told him that his personal information, including his Social Security number, might have been compromised.
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