Economy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Economy: September 27th, 2012
- Fiscal cliff dims business mood
- Investors Cheer China Cash Injection
- Banks Must Come Clean on Assets, BOE Says
- M&A Slumps to Lowest Level Since Financial Crisis Nadir
- Durable-Goods Orders Drop; GDP Lower
Excerpts and More Top News and Analysis:
FISCAL CLIFF: Fiscal cliff dims business mood - FT
Survey of executives is the strongest sign yet that the looming ‘fiscal cliff’ is hurting companies’ ability to plan and make investment decisions.
FISCAL CLIFF: Fiscal Confrontation Undermines the U.S. - NYT
The continuing failure to address government debt, and the looming fiscal cliff, threaten the status of the dollar.
MARKETS: Investors Cheer China Cash Injection - WSJ
China’s central bank injected a record amount of cash into its banking system this week, helping to inspire a rally in an otherwise depressed local stock market.
MARKETS: Wall Street investors focus on eurozone - FT
US investors continue to monitor developments in the eurozone’s debt crisis closely amid recent signs of instability in Greece and Spain.
BONDS: Fix a Bond, Build a Bridge, Help Taxpayers and Investors - BLOOMBERG, EDITORS
In 2009, with the U.S. roiled by recession and investors fleeing the municipal-bond market, President Barack Obama started a program that allowed cities and states to sell taxable bonds on which the federal government would offer an interest subsidy of 35 percent.
BANKING: Banks Must Come Clean on Assets, BOE Says - WSJ
Uncertainty about the value of bank assets is hindering lenders’ ability to raise capital, the Bank of England said, signaling it may take a tougher line on controversial methods banks use to calculate the value of their portfolios.
BANKING: Discover Profit Exceeds Estimates as Fewer Borrowers Default - BLOOMBERG
Discover Financial Services, the credit-card lender that struck a partnership with EBay Inc.’s PayPal unit, posted a fiscal third-quarter profit that beat Wall Street estimates as fewer loans soured. The stock jumped.
BANKING: Why No One Has Gone to Jail Yet Over Libor - BLOOMBERG, OPINION
Jonathan Weil: A friend of mine who would prefer not to be named sent me a note a couple of months ago, when the Libor scandal at Barclays was hitting a crescendo, that captured the prevailing mood perfectly.
M&A: M&A Slumps to Lowest Level Since Financial Crisis’s Nadir - BLOOMBERG
Global mergers and acquisitions slumped this quarter to a level not seen since the aftermath of the financial crisis amid increasing concern the economic recovery is deteriorating.
ECONOMY: Durable-Goods Orders Drop; GDP Lower - WSJ
Orders for long-lasting goods plunged in August due mostly to the volatile commercial-aircraft sector but demand for other items tailed off as well. GDP growth in the spring, meanwhile, was revised down.
ECONOMY/INSOURCING: How ‘Made in the USA’ can cut costs for new businesses - WP
Here are five ways turning against the outsourcing tide and manufacturing here in the United States can save your business money.
ELECTIONS 2012/ECONOMY: Henninger: It’s Always the Economy, Stupid - WSJ
Barack Obama wants to talk about his windmill economy. Next week’s debate should discuss the one we’ve got now.
HEALTHCARE: Big Firms Overhaul Health Coverage - WSJ
Sears Holdings and Darden Restaurants are planning a radical change in the way they provide health benefits to their workers, giving employees a fixed sum of money and allowing them to choose their medical coverage and insurer from an online marketplace.
UNEMPLOYMENT: Claims for U.S. Jobless Benefits Fall More Than Forecast - BLOOMBERG
Fewer Americans than forecast filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments last week, a sign the labor market is getting back on track.
HOUSING: US home sales near two-year peak - FT
Record-low borrowing costs continue to attract home buyers, spurring sales as well as demand for homebuilders to construct new houses
HOUSING/MORTGAGE SCAMS: Mortgage settlement attracts scams - WP
Con artists try to take advantage of desperate homeowners by offering bogus deals, cash payments.
HOUSING: New-Home Sales Fall, but Prices Jump - WSJ
Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. fell slightly 0.3% August, but prices posted their largest gains since late 2004.
COMMUTING: The Commute of the Future - WSJ
To woo workday commuters, Cleveland and select cities across the U.S. are trying to replace the image of the gritty, crowded bus by sending sleeker, more spacious and trainlike buses onto certain commuter routes.
SEC: Schapiro Lieutenants Depart From SEC - WSJ
In recent months, several senior officials have left the SEC or the chairman’s office, which has fueled speculation that Schapiro could step down as well.
PERSONAL FINANCE: Sean Fieler: Easy Money Is Punishing the Middle Class - WSJ
A policy of low but persistent inflation anesthetizes workers to declining real wages.
QE3: The Economist explains Quantitative easing - ECONOMIST
Following the Federal Reserve’s latest round of quantitative easing, The Economist’s Buttonwood columnist Philip Coggan explains how easing monetary policy works
TAXES: US tax policies delay $2bn Chinese loan - FT
Package from China Development Bank to finance housing development in San Francisco Bay Area is held up by worries over controversial legislation.
ENERGY/POLLUTION: EPA Says Wyoming Fracking Results Are Consistent - WSJ
The EPA said new government tests of groundwater near Pavillion, Wyo., have yielded results similar to data it released last year, when it suggested chemicals in the water were linked to hydraulic fracturing.
MUNICIPAL FINANCE: California City May Declare Fiscal Emergency - WSJ
Atwater, a city in California’s Central Valley, may declare a fiscal emergency as soon as next week, but is trying to avoid becoming the fourth city in the state to file for municipal bankruptcy this year.
IMPORTS: US to ease Myanmar import ban - FT
Secretary of state Hillary Clinton says gradual lifting of ban is response to continued implementation of reforms by the south-east Asian country
STARTUPS: ‘Next Big Thing’: The Top 50 Start-Ups - WSJ
The Journal’s third annual ranking of the top 50 venture-capital-backed companies shows a crop of contenders that overall are focused less on online consumers than in years’ past.
BUSINESS NEWS
TECHNOLOGY: Apple weighs joining content scramble - FT
Content is likely to become the next important competitive battleground, as underscored by Google’s acquisition of Frommer’s and Zagat
AUTOMOTIVE: Autoworkers Reach Deal With Chrysler - NYT
IAN AUSTEN: Chrysler’s Canadian unit is the last of the Detroit automakers to agree on a tentative contract with the Canadian Auto Workers Union.
PEPCO: Pepco workers union rejects contract - WP
The union representing Pepco workers overwhelmingly rejected what the company called its final contract offer Wednesday, putting the electric utility that serves much of the Washington region on the brink of a strike.
YAHOO CEO: Yahoo CEO Mayer hires Fortinet’s Goldman replacing CFO Morse - WP
Yahoo! Inc. hired Ken Goldman, a technology-industry veteran with three decades of experience in software and Internet companies, to succeed Tim Morse as chief financial officer, the biggest management switch yet by Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer.
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