Business-news- at Simplenewz your social news reader

February 2009

simpleNewz

your social news reader

Find and read news in one place.
Share and comment the news you love.
Travel back in "news time".

Business News
for 02/04/2009

(last updated 7:30am EST 02/04/2009)

Custom Search

• Mitsubishi expects 60-bln-yen loss, with... Mitsubishi expects 60-bln-yen loss, withdraws from Dakar Rally
02/04/2009
Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Wednesday it anticipates a group net loss of 60 billion yen (674 million U.S. dollars) for the current fiscal year through March, its first red ink in three years due to slumping global auto sales and a stronger yen. The expected loss compares with its October forecast of 20 billion yen in net profit and a profit of 34.71 billion yen the previous year. As part of cost-cutting efforts, the automaker said it will withdraw from the Dakar Rally. ... (6 h ago)

• Chinese shares add 2.28% on upbeat inves... Chinese shares add 2.28% on upbeat investor confidence
02/04/2009
Chinese shares went up 2.28 percenton Wednesday led by blue chips amid a booming confidence. The Shanghai A-share index rose 46.94 points, or 2.28 percent, to close at 2,107.75, while the Shenzhen Component Index gained 211.22 points, or 2.91 percent, to finish at 7,477.63. Power stocks outperformed on news that China will invest 580 billion yuan (85.3 billion U.S. dollars) this year in the sector. Gains outnumbered losses by 714 to 97 in Shanghai and 600 to 86 in Shenzhen. ... (6 h ago)

• Bank of China has the most international... Bank of China has the most international settlement transactions in the world
02/04/2009
Bank of China had an accumulated amount of 1.7 trillion USD in international settlements, an increase of over 21 percent year-on-year, ranking first among all banks in the world in 2008, according to the Bank of China. Meanwhile, the factoring business of the Bank of China Group also developed fast. The amount of international factoring business of the whole bank increased by over 50 percent year-on-year and the amount of export double-factoring business exceeded 2.1 billion USD, distinctly r ... (6 h ago)

• Chinese foreign traders to get easier re... Chinese foreign traders to get easier registration
02/04/2009
Foreign trade operators will be allowed to register at city-level commerce authorities this year, so that it will be easier for them to enter the business, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on February 2. The document issued by the Ministry on Jan. 23, 2009, reiterated the criteria and procedures of establishing registration offices at local level. So far, China’s Ministry of Commerce authorized 228 local commerce departments in China (among which 180 are at prefecture and cit ... (6 h ago)

• S Korean President highlights China, Jap... S Korean President highlights China, Japan as new export opportunities
02/04/2009
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak spurred businesses to focus on China, Japan, and South American markets for export opportunities, as the country's products are at a price advantage due to the weak local currency, the president's aides said. The president highlighted China and Japan as possible markets where South Korean products could find new outlets when inspecting the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy. The president's remarks apparently come as the South Korean won plummete ... (6 h ago)

• ILO: 170,000 Indonesian workers to face ... ILO: 170,000 Indonesian workers to face layoff in 2009
02/04/2009
The International Labor Organization (ILO) predicted over 170,000 Indonesian workers to lose jobs this year, a paper said here Wednesday. Economist at the organization Marcus Powell was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia as saying that the figure was an initial prediction of the ILO. The global financial recession has slowed down the world economy. The recession has trimmed demand and slumped prices of Indonesia's export products, including textiles, coal, palm oil, rubber and fabri ... (7 h ago)

• S Korean gov't to help firms under debt ... S Korean gov't to help firms under debt workout
02/04/2009
The South Korean government decided to help local firms under debt workout programs by providing guarantees for overseas contracts and clarifying guidelines on distributing funds to troubled firms, the country's financial watchdog said on Wednesday. "The government plans to call for creditor banks to accelerate their due diligence on troubled firms and to help them graduate from the debt rescheduling programs as soon as possible," the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a statemen ... (7 h ago)

• China Mobile subsidizes 10 bln yuan to p... China Mobile subsidizes 10 bln yuan to promote 3G business
02/04/2009
China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the company plans to increase mobile phone subsidies by 25 percent this year, from an average of around 8 billion yuan in previous years to around 10 billion yuan. This is expected to attract more customers to use third-generation (3G) services. Wang said, "To advance its 3G business, the company will increase subsidies on mobile phones with subsidies totaling around 10 billion yuan. The subsidies will also cov ... (7 h ago)

• Expert: three reasons why China's econom... Expert: three reasons why China's economy will be the first to recover
02/04/2009
Which country will be the first to recover from the financial crisis? This clearly is a question that has greatly attracted the world’s attention. Zuo Xiaolei, chief economist at Galaxy Securities, recently wrote an article for People’s Daily explaining three reasons why she chose China. Zuo said that three aspects support the fact that China will take the lead in achieving economic recovery in front of the developed countries of Europe and the Americas. The first reason lies in Chin ... (7 h ago)

• Report: Sharp to log first loss in 50 ye... Report: Sharp to log first loss in 50 years
02/04/2009
Japan's electronics giant Sharp Corp. is likely to incur a group operating loss of around 10 billion yen(112 million U.S. dollars) in fiscal 2008, falling into the red for the first time since it was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1956, Kyodo News reported Wednesday. The Osaka-based consumer electronics maker previously projected130 billion yen in consolidated operating profit for the current business year through March 31. The downgrading of Sharp's earnings forecasts is du ... (7 h ago)

• S Korea, U.S. agree to extend currency s... S Korea, U.S. agree to extend currency swap by six months
02/03/2009
The Bank of Korea (BOK) announced on Wednesday that it agreed with the U.S. Federal Reserve to extend the currency swap deadline by six months in order to relieve market shake-ups over dollar shortages. The central bank said that the deadline, which was set to expire on April 30, will be extended until Oct. 30. The size of the swap facility is left intact at 30 billion U.S. dollars. "This action of extending its swap agreement with the Federal Reserve should contribute to improving ... (8 h ago)

• Panasonic expects net loss of $4.2 bln Panasonic expects net loss of $4.2 bln
02/03/2009
Japan's electronics giant Panasonic Corp. said Wednesday it expects a net loss of 380 billion yen (4.2 billion dollars) in the current financial year through March because of the ongoing global economic crisis. &$ &$Source: Xinhua&$ &$ ... (8 h ago)

• Saudi Arabia to cut one-third of flights... Saudi Arabia to cut one-third of flights linking Bangladesh
02/03/2009
Saudi Arabian Airlines moves to cut one-third of its passenger flights between the country's major cities and Bangladesh's capital Dhaka in April, leading English daily The Financial Express reported on Wednesday. The leading Arab carrier has drawn a plan to cut back its flights to eight from 12 as the passengers' traffic slid on the back of a freeze on manpower recruitment from Bangladesh, the newspaper quoted travel traders as saying. A Dhaka-based airline official told the newsp ... (9 h ago)

• Import-export in bonded zones in China i... Import-export in bonded zones in China increased in 2008
02/03/2009
On February 3 the General Administration of Customs of the PRC announced that, in 2008, the total value of imports and exports for the special customs supervision zones reached 299.4 billion USD, an increase of 16.89 percent year-on-year, accounting for 28.42 percent of the nation-wide value of processing trade. Of that, total exports for the zones reached 152.6 billion USD, up by 21.74 percent year-on-year, while total imports reached 147 billion USD, up by 12.23 percent year-on-year. S ... (9 h ago)

• South Korea lifts barriers between finan... South Korea lifts barriers between financial businesses
02/03/2009
South Korea lifted barriers between financial business on Wednesday as an effort to promote integration of financial market. The Capital Market Consolidation Act, which was made to break down barriers between financial businesses, deregulate the financial industry, and strengthen protection of investors, goes into effect starting from Wednesday, South Korea's Maeil Business reported. The new act is basically about integrating financial businesses that have been divided into subcate ... (9 h ago)

• Mechanical and electrical products still... Mechanical and electrical products still the biggest potential for China's export growth
02/03/2009
China's exports of mechanical and electrical products will slow down and face increased pressure in 2009, especially in the first half of the year when the export growth rate may fall back sharply and some sectors may even suffer from negative growth, a senior official with China's Ministry of Commerce said on February 2. However, in the long run China will continue to maintain a comparative advantage in such products. Mechanical and electrical products have been China's largest export commod ... (9 h ago)

• Pakistan to import 200,000 tones refined... Pakistan to import 200,000 tones refined sugar
02/03/2009
The Pakistani government has permitted the import of 200,000 tones of refined sugar due to the massive deficit of the commodity in the country, local newspaper The News reported on Wednesday. The decision to import sugar came at the Economic Coordination Committee meeting which was held here on Tuesday with Adviser on Finance Shaukat Tarin in the chair, said the report. There is a deficit of more than one million tones of sugar as the demand stands at 4.5 million tones and the prod ... (10 h ago)

• Indonesia central bank cuts rate by half... Indonesia central bank cuts rate by half point to 8.25%
02/03/2009
Indonesian central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate for the third straight month by a 50 basis points to 8.25 percent on Wednesday to lessen the deepening fall out of the global recession, a senior official of the bank said here. Governor Boediono and his seven colleagues lowered the rate following the improving outlook of inflation in recent months as an effort to boost credits to spur business sectors which then is expected to increase economic growth, an analyst from Standard c ... (10 h ago)

• CME trading volume slides further as rec... CME trading volume slides further as recession deepens
02/03/2009
CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, said Tuesday its trading volume in January decreased 41 percent year-on-year. The falling trading volume is a result of the current global recession as credit was no longer easily available, which limited the amount of borrowed money used in trading. CME Group's interest rate trading volume averaged 3.6 million contracts per day in January, down 59 percent compared with the same period last year. E-mini eq ... (11 h ago)

• High street shakeup ahead as House of Fr... High street shakeup ahead as House of Fraser investor Baugur collapses
02/04/2009
The future of Baugur, the Icelandic group that holds stakes in many British high street retailers, was thrown into confusion today after efforts to restructure its debts collapsed. The company, which owns stakes in Hamleys , House of Fraser, Debenhams, French Connection, Karen Millen and Goldsmiths, has applied for bankruptcy protection in the Icelandic courts. It blamed the move on Landsbanki, the Icelandic bank that was nationalised late last year . Baugur said the move would protect its assets as well as the interests of its creditors, who are owed around £1bn. Analysts said the collapse of Baugur will prompt a major shakeup on the UK high street. Nick Bubb, retail analyst at Pali International, believes Baugur's assets will be in demand despite the recession. "There should be enough interest in most of its chains to attract buyers, perhaps from private equity firms," Bubb predicted. Another City retail analyst said the collapse of Baugur would prompt "the sale of the century" of high street store chains. Likely buyers for some of the businesses include Sir Philip Green, who tried to buy Baugur's debt last year , private equity groups like John Moulton's Alchemy and Theo Paphitis, the owner of Rymans and one of the BBC's Dragons' Den entrepreneurs. He added: "Baugur own very few of the fascias outright. They have about 30% of House of Fraser and 30% of Iceland. House of Fraser could be broken up. Hamleys is a trophy asset, so will be picked up by someone. Philip Green will be all over Mosaic and he is a cash buyer. He had already been linked to the Principles fascia." Finding a buyer for the Aurum businesses - jewellers Goldsmiths, Mappin & Webb and Watches of Switzerland - might be more difficult in the current climate. "I wouldn't want to be selling luxury watch retailers in this market," the analyst said. A Baugur spokesman explained that talks with the Icelandic banks had collapsed last night. He said that the application "to enter into the moratorium process" - the equivalent of America's Chapter 11 protection - would give the company protection from its creditors for three weeks. The spokesman also insisted that the day-to-day operations of the companies owned by Baugur would not be affected by today's news. "The last thing we want to do is fuel fear on the high street that jobs will be lost," he said. One rival retail executive said selling any retail businesses would be a tough task: "Most of these businesses are doing okay and their managements have been trying to organise buyouts for some time. But it is just impossible to get any financing. The banks just aren't doing any lending. The private equity people have got money but they are still dependent on being able to put debt in as well." Shares in French Connection slumped by 10% this morning. More than 20% of its shares are owned by a group of Icelandic investors including Baugur. Debenhams shares slipped by 3% this morning. Baugur built up its clutch of assets, which also includes the frozen food chain Iceland, during the credit boom, a time in Icelandic banks borrowed six times the country's GDP . Its executive chairman Jon Asgeir Johannesson was lauded as a major player in the retail sector, and last year the company was awarded the President of Iceland's Award for Export Achievement. But Iceland is now suffering deeply from the credit crunch and global slowdown. Its three biggest banks have all been nationalised, and the International Monetary Fund has provided an emergency loan to prop the country up. Baugur has been talking to its bankers about restruring its debts for weeks, and is understood to have been determined to hold onto its stakes in the UK retail sector . It had already taken the decision to axe half its London staff, and close its office in Reykjavik. Baugur owns almsot half of Mosaic Fashions, whose brands include Oasis, Principles and Karen Millen. In a statement this morning, Mosaic said Baugur's court filing would "in no way affect the future strength of the group or the operations of the business." House of Fraser told the stockmarket that its trading and banking position was not affected by Bauger's difficulties. What Baugur owns: Companies related to Baugur employ some 50,000 people worldwide in over 3,500 stores, and have a total turnover of £5.4bn. Fashion: French Connection Mosaic Fashions Coast Karen Millen Oasis Odille Principles Shoe Studio Group Warehouse Whistles Jane Norman All Saints Day Birger et Mikkelsen Matthew Williamson Steinunn SD&R Arcticgroup Department stores: Debenhams House of Fraser Illum Magasin Du Nord Souk Saks Food: Iceland Speciality: Hamleys Aurum Goldsmiths Mappin & Webb Watches of Switzerland Wyevale Garden Centres eCommera Baugur Iceland Retail industry Debenhams Mosaic Fashions guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (3 h ago)

• Telecoms giant Alcatel-Lucent posts £4.6... Telecoms giant Alcatel-Lucent posts £4.67bn loss
02/04/2009
Alcatel-Lucent, the world's biggest telecom equipment producer, today reported a €5.2bn (£4.67bn) net loss last year after writing down assets in the final quarter by €3.9bn. The Franco-American group, which has made losses every quarter for the last two years, blamed the deteriorating economic environment for a €3.89bn net loss in the final three months of 2008. The group, forged from the $11.4bn merger of Alcatel and Lucent in 2006, is now headed by former BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen. He aims to cut 5,000 jobs, shed management and reduce costs by a further €750m by the end of 2009 in a renewed effort to turn the company around. He said today of the writedowns: "Yes, it's a big number. But the impairment charge reflects the market." His chief financial officer Paul Tufano rejected suggestions the company would have to raise fresh capital. Verwaayen, who replaced Pat Russo last summer, said the writedown of assets – mainly older technologies – "was made necessary by the drastic deterioration of the global economic outlook during the fourth quarter as well as our decision to shift to a more focused portfolio". The group, which reported annual revenues of €17bn, down 4.5%, also rejected suggestions it would have to put more cash into its pension fund and other "post-employment liabilities", which showed a deficit of €429m at year-end, after a surplus of €3bn at the end of September. Alcatel-Lucent is forecasting the global telecoms equipment market will decline 8-12% this year and downgraded its own guidance to an operating break-even. But its shares rose 7% after it reported a forecast-beating operating profit of €297m in the final quarter, bringing full-year operating earnings to €466m or 2.7% of sales. Telecommunications industry Global recession guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (4 h ago)

• Rate of decline in services sector eases Rate of decline in services sector eases
02/04/2009
The slump in Britain's services sector eased last month, but firms still slashed prices and laid off workers at a record pace. A monthly index measuring activity in the service industries from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and data analysts Markit Economics rose to 42.5 from 40.2 in December. That was above City forecasts and the best figure since September, the month Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection. But it was still well below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. "While improvements in the activity and new business indices are encouraging, the sector remains in a very weak state," warned Paul Smith, senior economist at Markit. "Companies are increasingly using discounting strategies in a desperate bid to stimulate demand and jobs are being slashed at a record rate." A sub-index measuring employment in services dropped from 40.5 to 40.2 – the lowest since the survey began in July 1996. Firms also cut their prices at the fastest pace on record. The slight improvement mirrored trends in the manufacturing and construction industries: CIPS surveys published earlier this week showed both sectors are still contracting, but at a slower pace. Markit said the figures, taken together, suggested the economy was shrinking at an annual rate of more than 2%. The services sector, which makes up three-quarters of Britain's economy, has been contracting since last May. Recession Economics guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (4 h ago)

• Panasonic to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide Panasonic to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide
02/04/2009
Panasonic is to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide over the next year in a drastic effort to reduce costs after the Japanese electronics manufacturer said it would suffer its first annual loss for six years. About half of the redundancies would be in Japan, company spokesman Akira Kadota said, but was unable to reveal where overseas cuts would be made. The move will lead to the closure of 27 manufacturing sites, 13 of them in Japan, and the loss of about 5% of Panasonic's global workforce of 300,000. Its British headquarters are located in Bracknell, Berkshire, and it has several manufacturing plants in the UK, employing about 4,000 people, according to its website. "The company's business conditions have worsened particularly since last October, due mainly to the rapid appreciation of the yen, sluggish consumer spending worldwide and ever intensified price competition," Panasonic said in a statement. The firm became the latest Japanese manufacturer to announce massive job cuts as the recession tightened its grip on exporters in the world's second biggest economy. Last week Japan's exporters announced at least 30,000 job cuts worldwide, including 20,000 at NEC and 7,000 at Hitachi . Sony, meanwhile, plans to shed 16,000 employees . The firms are all expecting full-year losses. To compound their misery, analysts say the consumer electronics sector is unlikely to mount a recovery until April next year at the earliest. US manufacturers have been forced to follow suit, with the computer giant Dell recently announcing the loss of 1,900 jobs over the next year at its plant in Ireland. The need to dramatically reduce costs was underlined by figures showing that Panasonic, the world's biggest maker of plasma televisions, posted a net loss of ¥63bn (£490m) for the October to December quarter compared with a profit of ¥115.2bn last year. The firm forecast losses of ¥380bn for the year to the end of March as a result of a slowdown in sales sparked by the financial crisis and a drop in orders for its range of factory equipment and manufacturing tools. The firm was predicting a profit of ¥30bn as recently as November. "Sales fell in all our business segments in the third quarter," Panasonic's director, Makoto Uenoyama, told reporters. "We expect sharper sales declines in this quarter, and profits are likely to shrink in every segment." Panasonic has also been hit by the dive in its share price, which has lost around 54% over the past 12 months. In addition, the yen's appreciation has eaten into earnings exports and handed an advantage to overseas rivals such as Samsung in South Korea. Panasonic said it hoped the measures would reduce costs by ¥100bn next year. Panasonic Global recession Japan Technology guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (5 h ago)

• Bank of England must act fast to stop pl... Bank of England must act fast to stop plunging inflation
02/04/2009
The Bank of England's monetary policy committee begins its latest monthly interest rate meeting today with a widespread expectation in the City that it will cut the Bank rate another half a percentage point, taking it to a new all-time low of just 1% . In the wake of a downgrade by the IMF of its UK growth forecast to a post-war low, a huge 1.5% contraction in gross domestic product in the fourth quarter, and thousands of job cuts in recent weeks, a half-point cut looks a done deal. But it is quite possible that the MPC will decide a bigger cut is required than most people are expecting. Why? Because the committee has been drawing up its quarterly inflation report, due out next week, which must have presented it with a big problem. With the economy contracting so fast, and inflation headed into negative territory, it is hard for the MPC to present growth and inflation forecasts for two years (its preferred time horizon) that show growth at anything like its trend rate of around 2.5% – or inflation anywhere near the 2% target – without rates a lot lower than they are now. The Bank's inflation target is symmetrical, meaning an undershoot is considered as bad as an overshoot. The CPI (consumer price index) measure of inflation fell back to 3.1% in December while the wider retail price index (RPI), which includes a measure of house prices and mortgage rates – both of which are falling fast – is down at just 0.9%. The RPI measure is likely to go negative very soon and the CPI not long afterwards. The interest rate cuts have been designed to drive it back up above zero again as soon as possible and towards the 2% target. So there seems little good reason for the MPC to hold back. It needs to get rates to zero or thereabouts as soon as possible and start taking the "unconventional measures" it has talked of, such as buying up corporate bonds. Of course, the argument goes that it is the quantity of credit available, rather than the price, that matters and thus some economists are arguing against further rate cuts and in favour of the unconventional measures. But there is always the chance that cutting rates further will feed through beneficially to the economy – think of all those tracker mortgages. The MPC has already slashed rates by 3.5 percentage points since October and in November cut them by 1.5 points in a single stroke. That move is now known as the "Blanchflower cut" since it was engineered by external MPC member David Blanchflower , who had long argued that rates needed to be cut sharply and swiftly. Although the committee only cut by half a point last month , to 1.5%, which took rates down to their lowest level in more than 300 years , that doesn't mean it can't speed up the pace of easing this time. There is a risk that such a move risks undermining sterling even further than it has been already, but markets also dislike it when they think a central bank is "behind the curve", as the Bank certainly has been until recently. Now it is the European Central Bank that is looking slow to act, with rates at 2.5% and no indication that it will cut them this week. There is some surprise among British officials that the IMF ranked Britain the worst performer of the major economies, given that Japan and the eurozone look to be in an even worse state. If the MPC were to slash rates down to 0.5% or even 0.25%, it would suddenly look to be ahead of the curve – and way, way ahead of the ECB. That could then help to support the pound, rather than undermine it. Interest rates Interest rates Inflation Bank of England guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (6 h ago)

• Poll points finger at Greenspan Poll points finger at Greenspan
02/04/2009
The people have spoken – and have named the guilty man. So step forward Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, and take your bow as the chap most people blame for this fine financial mess we are in. Nearly a third of people (31.9%) who responded to a guardian.co.uk poll have pointed the finger at the man once dubbed "The Oracle" and at one time so revered by financial markets that a single utterance might prompt – to borrow a Greenspan phrase – an outbreak of "irrational exuberance". The committed free marketeer and staunch defender of derivatives is not alone in carrying the can in the eyes of those who responded – George W Bush and Gordon Brown have a lot to answer for too, as do the American public, who took on mortgages that they could never, ever afford to repay. They collected 16.7%, 14% and 11% of the vote respectively. The only other real villain of the piece, as assessed by the 8,500 people who cast their vote, was Icelandic premier, Geir Haarde, whose fellow countrymen seemed to concur and have now removed him from office. But that may be only be part of the story. Many of the readers who commented on the article in which I attempted to identify 25 people to blame for the global meltdown , reckon I got it all wrong. Badly wrong. It was, I am told, "shoddy reporting". For a start where were Thatcher, Bush Snr and Reagan, they asked? Well, those readers have a point, but the Thatcher/Reagan era seems so long ago, and there were so many other names to choose from, especially when you are limiting the list to just 25. Just as many readers wanted Blair in the line-up. They too, have a point. Then again, more than one respondent dismissed the lot of them as "minor players, every one", pointing their fingers instead at Milton Friedman, the grandaddy of monetarism. Unfortunately I missed him out as well. I also (stupidly, according to some respondents) blanked Russian-American novelist and screenwriter Ayn Rand (1905-1982) too, and her philosophy of objectivism – small government, laissez-faire capitalism. There were plenty of other suggestions for inclusion in the list of shame: the bankers who signed the Basle Accord (Basle 1), Von Hayek, Foxtons estate agency founder Jon Hunt, the Chicago school of Economics, the National Association of Realtors in the US, Hillary Clinton, "the shape-shifting alien reptiles from the lower fourth dimension" (something to do with David Icke), Peter Mandelson, the Rothschild banking dynasty, the Bilderberg group and "the entire government from the 1980s to the present day". I might have needed a little more space for that lot. For others, I was ignoring the obvious. "Don't forget all the financial journalists", said a comment from Reith . "Didn't notice them saying the sky was about to fall in". Reith should maybe read the back columns of the Guardian's economics editor Larry Elliott a little more often. The Reasoner needs to read a little more widely too. "How come no one every mentions the debt rating agencies to blame?", they enquire. Read on, Reasoner. Especially the words relating to Kathleen Corbet, former CEO, Standard & Poor's. There are some Americans that are clearly a little touchy about their part in this downturn. Nothingbettertodo , who was probably shouting as he composed his reply, says: "Excuse me. Why just the American public? Are we the ONLY greedy, irresponsible pigs on the planet? Last I heard, the British, Irish, French, and citizens of pretty much every country did just as we did – spend too much, buy houses we couldn't afford, and so on ... If this is really the way you folks over there see it, then I hope that the recovery passes you by, because clearly you don't need it." AlieninDC had not dissimilar thoughts: "I guess it was hoping for too much that the blatant anti-Americanism would have stopped with the inauguration. You blame the US public, who, I agree are responsible, but what about the UK public, who while watching property porn shows unlike anything broadcast in the US, taking out liar loans, and mortgage equity withdrawing to finance consumption, have driven up house prices to income multiples far in excess of those seen in the US market?" So much venom – if only Nothingbettertodo and AlieninDC had read to the end of the paragraph, to the bit where I wrote: "The British public got just as carried away. We are the credit junkies of Europe and many of our problems could easily have been avoided if we had been more sensible and just said no." Back in the actual poll, however, other familiar scapegoats are dismissed as mere bit part players. Who really thinks that Sir Fred Goodwin, now cast as the prince of darkness in British banking, had a big role in creating the current economic turmoil? He may have done some hugely expensive deals, he may have sanctioned some dodgy-looking loans running into billions, he may have brought a once world-class bank to its knees and now be under pressure to hand back his knighthood. But only 119 respondents to our poll reckon Goodwin was really bad. What about Dick Fuld, the Lehman Bros bank boss, who piled investors' money into property and raked in some $300m for the Fuld family coffers before presiding over the precipitous collapse of his bank? Surely he must share the blame for this global crisis? Er, no. In fact a rather measly 102 people blamed the man once affectionately known as The Gorilla. As for Adam Applegarth, the cricket-loving chap behind Northern Rock? Just 34 respondents, presumably angry Rock investors or former employees, wanted to pin the tail on that particular donkey. Credit crunch Global recession Global economy guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (6 h ago)

• Aviva does U-turn on £1,000 windfall Aviva does U-turn on £1,000 windfall
02/04/2009
Aviva has backtracked on a pledge to hand 1 million policyholders a windfall payment of an average £1,000 each. Britain's largest insurer said this morning that sharp falls on the stockmarkets and in the property sector had slashed its reserves of surplus capital. It claimed the original offer was no longer fair to its shareholders. The deal was first announced last July , following long discussions between Aviva and Clare Spottiswoode, the former gas industry regulator who represents the interests of Aviva's Norwich Union policyholders. The money was due to come from the insurer's "inherited estate" - surplus money that has built up in the with-profits funds over many years. Since last summer the world's stockmarkets have tumbled, with the FTSE 100 index losing31%. Property values have continued to slide and the recession has forced businesses to cut staff and halt expansion plans. "Continuing market volatility and uncertainty means that the original reattribution offer for the inherited estate no longer meets our critical test of being fair to both policyholders and shareholders," said Aviva this morning. "We are working closely with the policyholder advocate to see how we can restructure our offer. While we realise this will be disappointing for our eligible policyholders, it does reflect the nature of the current exceptional investment market conditions," the company added. Chief executive Andrew Moss refused to say what the new payout might be, explaining that the company was in "constructive discussions" with Spottiswoode. A decision on any lower payout is not expected for several months. Around 700,000 people had originally been told they would receive between £400 and £1,000 if they accept the offer, while a further 220,000 would get between £1,000 and £3,500. Today's U-turn is the second blow to Norwich Union investors in recent weeks. Last month it emerged that returns on its with-profits policies fell by up to 16% last year . Aviva has also prevented investors from quitting one of its property funds . An earlier deal to distribute £2.1bn between policymakers is not affected by today's move. Moss said that £1.5bn has now been distributed to policyholders. The Financial Services Authority has been criticised in the past for not regulating inherited estates better. Consumer group Which? has said the FSA should have stopped insurance groups using this surplus capital to cover expenses such as compensation to customers who were mis-sold a policy. Shares in Aviva, which is dropping its Norwich Union brand after 200 years, rose by over 6% this morning to 353p. Analysts were encouraged that the company has said its dividend policy would remain unchanged despite the market turbulence. Aviva With-profits funds Insurance industry Endowments Investments guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (7 h ago)

• Project Kangaroo blocked by Competition ... Project Kangaroo blocked by Competition Commission
02/03/2009
Project Kangaroo, the online TV joint venture between ITV, Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide, has been blocked from launching by the Competition Commission. The beleaguered venture, which late last year lost chief executive Ashley Highfield barely four months into the job , has been deemed too much of a threat to competition in the nascent UK video-on-demand market. Up to 50 jobs will be lost following the decision, against which it is thought the project's backers are unlikely to appeal. The Competition Commission, which in an interim report in December looked at remedies including stopping the partners joint selling prime catch-up TV content, ruled that none of its prospective remedies went far enough. "After detailed and careful consideration, we have decided that this joint venture would be too much of a threat to competition in this developing market and has to be stopped," said Peter Freeman, the chairman of the Competition Commission, in its final report on Project Kanagaroo. The commission said the case surrounding Kangaroo was about the control of valuable UK-originated TV content. "BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 together control the vast majority of this material, which puts them in a very strong position as wholesalers of TV content to restrict competition from other current and future providers of video-on-demand services to UK viewers," said Freeman. "We thought viewers would benefit from better video-on-demand services if the parties – possibly in conjunction with other new and/or already established providers of VOD – competed with each other." Michael Grade, the ITV executive chairman, said he was "surprised" at the decision and would give an update on the broadcaster's plans with its annual results on 4 March. "We are surprised by this decision because we believed that the Kangaroo joint venture, competing in a crowded online world against dominant global brands, was an attractive UK consumer proposition, free at the point of use," he said. "However, in the two years since the idea for Kangaroo was born, the success of ITV.com has proved that our UK content is attractive enough to stand on its own and we remain focussed on our online growth. We will provide a further update on our online plans with our full-year results on March 4." A statement from all three joint venture partners expressed "disappointment" at the decision. "We are disappointed by the decision to prohibit this joint venture," they said. "While this is an unwelcome finding for the shareholders, the real losers from this decision are British consumers. This is a disproportionate remedy and a missed opportunity in the further development of British broadcasting." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". Television ITV Channel 4 BBC ITV Media business Project Kangaroo guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (8 h ago)

• Detroit carmakers' sales plummet to 26-y... Detroit carmakers' sales plummet to 26-year low
02/03/2009
The woes of Detroit's crisis-stricken carmakers deepened yesterday with figures showing that US sales of new vehicles have collapsed to their lowest rate for 26 years as fleet buyers such as car rental agencies slash spending. Chrysler saw its sales plummet 56%, General Motors sales plunged 49% and Ford's deliveries of new vehicles dived 39% year on year, with larger vehicles such as pickup trucks faring particularly badly. The drop was partly down to an extended Christmas closure for many factories. Chrysler shut its entire manufacturing operation for a month, laying off thousands of workers to slow a steady drainage in cash. But if the January rate continued for this year, sales of new vehicles would drop below 10m in the US - the first time the annualised rate has fallen so low since August 1982 when the US was mired in a deep recession. The fall-off comes at a critical time for GM and Chrysler, which have until mid-February to produce plans for the US government showing that they have long-term viability prospects. The two companies are relying on billions of dollars of emergency loans from the US treasury to avoid bankruptcy. Speaking to reporters outside a meeting with car dealers at a Detroit airport hotel, Chrysler's vice-chairman, Jim Press, insisted that $3bn of recent cost cuts had put the firm in a "good cash position". "We feel we're on a firm footing financially. The fact is, through this whole thing, we've been investing in improving our manufacturing, improving our quality, improving our products and we have a renaissance of products coming." Car rental agencies, usually among the top buyers of new vehicles, are suffering a particularly tight financial squeeze. Ford said its sales to rental firms had tumbled by 90% while GM said its sales to fleet buyers were at their lowest level since 1975. Ford saw some signs of stabilisation in demand from individual customers. The company said the rate of sales decline slowed slightly in showrooms, while prices for second-hand cars levelled off at auctions. This pushed Ford's shares slightly higher, up 4.2% to $1.96. Ford's senior US economist, Emily Kolinski Morris, said the recession was taking its toll as unemployment soared following a 3.8% decline in US gross domestic product in the final quarter of 2008. "We're in the vortex of the economic downturn and it's far too early to talk about recovery," she said. Dismal trading is by no means restricted to domestic manufacturers. The Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda said their US sales had fallen by 32% and 28% respectively for the month. Subaru, however, bucked the trend with an 8% rise and Korea's Hyundai managed a 14% increase in sales. More than 100,000 jobs have been lost over the past three years in Detroit's deeply depressed motor industry. Carmakers have been hit by a combination of high petrol prices, weak consumer confidence and a freeze in car loans from the banks which are reluctant to take on new risks. Automotive industry US economy United States General Motors Chrysler Ford guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (15 h ago)

• Downturn will bring big fall in migrant ... Downturn will bring big fall in migrant workers, says CBI
02/03/2009
The use of migrant labour in Britain will decline abruptly as companies face a sharp fall in demand for their goods and services, the Confederation of British Industry told MPs yesterday. John Cridland, the CBI's deputy director general, told the Commons home affairs committee that the first response of many firms to the downturn was to reduce their dependency on agency staff, many of whom are migrant workers. He said that there was evidence that many nationals of new EU states were going home as unemployment rose in Britain and suggested that the flow of skilled migrants from outside Europe would also decline. He added: "I expect that, when we have the next report from the [Home Office's] migration advisory committee on the needs for skilled labour, we will not see the same need for non-EU labour in the same numbers because of the need to provide as many employment opportunities as possible for the unemployed. All I'm suggesting is that the market will correct itself, but what we cannot avoid is a significant increase in unemployment, which is a sad but inevitable consequence of recession." The remarks came after the issue of migrant workers taking British jobs erupted into a spate of wildcat strikes in sympathy with oil refinery staff in Lincolnshire who believe they have been unfairly excluded from jobs given to Italian workers. The home affairs committee also heard evidence from NHS employers that a third of the 91,000 hospital doctors in Britain, but only 16% of the 33,000 GPs, came from outside Europe. While this proportion has changed little since the NHS was established in 1948, the number of overseas nurses working in the NHS has fallen in recent years: 14,000 nurses were recruited from overseas and 14,000 domestically in 2004, but by 2008 overseas recruits had fallen to 4,800, whereas those recruited in Britain remained at 14,000. The MPs heard evidence from the social care sector and the farming industry, however, that they still needed to expand the use of migrant labour from outside Europe. Mandy Thorn, of the Social Care Association, said that about 12% of those who worked in social care came from outside Europe. She said that if there were new restrictions on the ability to recruit from abroad it would have a huge impact, with the Commission for Social Care Inspection estimating that the sector's workforce would expand by between 50% and 80% by 2025."What we are seeing is not just a skill shortage but a shortage in the supply of labour that is prepared to do what is an extremely difficult job," said Thorn. "People are not prepared or not able to do the very personal, intimate care that is needed, and that is particularly where wages are lower than we would like to pay." The Commons inquiry into the operation of the new points-based immigration system also heard representations from the farming industry about its dependence on migrant labour. Paul Temple, of the National Farmers' Union, said the temporary nature of the work and the fact that many unemployed people in Britain were in "the wrong place with the wrong skills" deterred them from taking the jobs. The MPs heard evidence that jobless workers in Britain had higher expectations about the work they should be doing. The evidence about the impact of possible new restrictions on migrant workers coming to Britain follows a warning from the Institute of Public Policy Research earlier this week that measures to curb other Europeans working in Britain could jeopardise the position of an estimated one million to one and half million Britons who are already working in other EU countries. Asked by Labour MPs on the committee whether the CBI supported the EU's posted workers directive, which lies at the heart of the current strikes against migrant workers, Cridland said that while he sympathised with the workers, as far as he was aware, the companies involved were acting lawfully and there was no evidence of discrimination against British workers. He said that there was a long-running union campaign to amend the posted workers directive to overturn two technical rulings about its operation. He said that they amounted to whether or not collective bargaining arrangements covered the workers concerned, and that was dependent on how the directive was operated in a particular EU member state. The CBI saw no need to amend the directive. The Labour MP for Walsall, David Winnick, described as "apologists" those who argued that British workers could move to other European states for work and asked: "What use is that to somebody with a family and a mortgage?". Cridland replied that it was particularly important at a time of rising unemployment to improve the skill levels of British workers to ensure they could take advantage of the vacancies that did exist. Recession Economics Economic policy guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (15 h ago)

• Seeing double: Avoidance scheme allegedl... Seeing double: Avoidance scheme allegedly used by UK ads agency
02/03/2009
The "double Luxembourg" sounds as though it might be a wrestling hold. Or possibly something that you could order at Starbucks. In fact, it is a sophisticated - perfectly legal - tax avoidance scheme, alleged to have been operated by Britain's biggest advertising agency. Think of an ad campaign, and a WPP firm was probably behind it - from BP's "green" flower logo on its petrol stations, to the women of all shapes and sizes who were used to promote Dove soap. This FTSE 100 company controls some of the most famous international names in advertising, lobbying and PR: Ogilvy & Mather; J Walter Thompson; Young & Rubicam; Burson-Marsteller; Hill & Knowlton, Bell Pottinger. Its chief executive, the much-admired British businessman Sir Martin Sorrell, is one of the company bosses most adept at promoting the business line on tax. BBC News quoted him last year saying that Gordon Brown was threatening corporation tax rises which would cost millions, hit WPP's profitability, and force it to move overseas. A confused BBC reporter managed to get the impression that WPP "currently pays £200m a year in tax to the Treasury", which could be lost. But the surprising truth is, that far from forking out £200m a year to the UK in corporation tax, WPP has paid very little on that score in recent years. It has instead made acquisitions and piled up debt in the UK, enabling it to claim large amounts of tax relief on the interest. WPP's £200m tax payments went almost entirely to other countries. The company does have large overseas operations. But critics say WPP has also spent the past decade successfully running a series of elaborate avoidance schemes, involving billions in assets held in low-tax regimes in Luxembourg, Ireland and the Netherlands. Overseas company filings show that over the years, in response to the UK revenue blocking a loophole, WPP appears to have ingeniously reorganised itself with even more hard-to-grasp spiders' webs of legal entities. Sources close to the Revenue say that the main techniques used were the "Irish Branch", the "Dutch Partnership", and, perhaps most difficult of all for outsiders to unravel, the "Double Luxembourg". Sorrell's company first set up WPP Luxembourg in 1999, the same year he was knighted by the Blair government. This holding company was followed by a score of other entities with obscure and often confusing names, registered in the low-tax EU micro-state on the borders of France and Germany. The conjuring into existence of the Luxembourg companies with "Irish branches" enabled WPP to fund UK and US operations through loans, tax experts say. Interest payments they made could be kept out of Britain and finish up as profits in Dublin where corporation tax was a mere 12.5%. Gordon Brown blocked this loophole in the 2000 budget. WPP is then alleged to have set up the "Double Luxembourg" scheme. This enabled income received by one Luxembourg subsidiary from another to be classed as "local", and still escape the UK tax net. In the 2005 budget, that scheme too was stopped. WPP then began to set up a series of "Dutch partnerships", registered in Rotterdam. The partners were the Luxembourg companies. This structure was similar to schemes also used by the supermarket chain Tesco. It enabled UK tax to be escaped, thanks to the peculiarities of Luxembourg. In the eyes of the UK Revenue, no taxable profits are made by partnerships, only by their members. However, the UK tax rules followed Luxembourg accounting rules, which provide that the Luxembourg corporate members did not show their share of the partnership profits until they were distributed. By keeping the profits undistributed in the partnership they remained free of UK tax. This would not have prevented the partnerships using the money by, for example, making further loans. These schemes too, were closed down in last year's budget. WPP had no UK corporation tax to pay last year. Its average UK tax charge over the last six years, taking into account claimed reliefs, has been less than £5m, against global profits averaging £500m a year. We calculate that there could be a notional "tax gap" of some £100m between the UK tax charge declared by WPP over the last six years and a commonsense view of the total amount one might expect such a company to pay in proportion to its UK presence. WPP itself estimates, for example, that 15% of its profits come from the UK. On this basis, one might expect it to have paid a total of around £126m. In fact, the company paid only £27m. It would take the average income tax paid in a year by 20,000 individual households to fill up such a tax gap. WPP sources say a reason for low charges was it incurred external debt in the UK and claimed tax relief on the interest. The company will not comment about its Luxembourg schemes, consequent tax savings or any "tax gap". But sources at the company say its annual tax filings have now been accepted by the Revenue as far as 2005, and that it has now been awarded a "low to medium" risk rating by HMRC. This shows, those sources say, that it currently has a "proactive and transparent" relationship with the British tax authorities. None the less, WPP's latest move has been to move the company's official tax residence to Ireland. Experts close to the Revenue say Ireland not only has its low tax rate, but is also far more lax than Britain in taxing foreign subsidiaries. An Ireland-based WPP could use offshore regimes to carry on cutting its taxes not only in the UK, but also in the US, where the corporation tax rate is 35%. WPP's prospectus said of the move last autumn: "This should provide the opportunity to reduce the overall tax rate." When it went to Dublin, WPP at the same time offshored some valuable "intellectual property" in the shape of trademarks. Rights to the J Walter Thompson agency name, the Grey group and the Hill & Knowlton PR firm now belong to an obscure entity called "WPP Luxembourg Gamma Sarl", which will be liable to low taxes in both Luxembourg and Ireland. Revenue sources say that once rights to a brand have been shifted, royalties can be charged to other companies in the group for use of the name. This too, can help to shift profits offshore. Here are some tax techniques used by different companies over the years • Cross-border tax arbitrage • Hybrid debt instruments • Hybrid entities • Thin capitalisation • Thick capitalisation • Debt dumping • Loss buying • Outward domestication • Corporate inversions • Tax-efficient supply chain management • Intangibles fragmentation • Dividend buying • Company migrations • Dividend traps • Dutch sandwich • Swiss roundabout (long obsolete) • Value shifting • Defeased leasing • Capital allowance buying • Rent factoring Advertising Media business WPP guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (15 h ago)

• Private equity 'next bubble to burst' Private equity 'next bubble to burst'
02/03/2009
The private equity industry poses a "looming disaster" to the economy as firms struggle to refinance billions of dollars of loans taken out during a buyout boom earlier in the decade, a transatlantic coalition of unions warned today. Britain's Unite union joined forces with the US Services Employees International union (SEIU) to kick off a campaign for greater transparency and tighter regulation over the finances of powerful, low-profile private equity firms. The unions warned of "crippling defaults around the world" as more than $500bn (£346bn) of private equity debt needs to be renegotiated by 2010. They cited a prediction by Alchemy Partners' boss Jon Moulton that up to 30% of mid-market buyouts could end in default. "The next bubble to burst will be private equity," said Jack Dromey, deputy general secretary of Unite. "There's no question but that we have a looming disaster in our economy." In a surge of deals between 2005 and 2008, scores of household names were swallowed by private equity including Hilton Hotels, Boots the Chemist, the carmaker Chrysler and Harrah's casinos. Unite and the SEIU say that nearly 10 million people in Britain and the US now work for firms under private equity ownership. They want full disclosure by private equity firms of their debt situation including loan repayments, debt-to-equity ratios, the identity of lending banks and the structure of covenants. "Buyout firms have been part of the problem, not part of the solution," said Andy Stern, the SEIU's president, who called on the industry to "come forward and be part of a dialogue" over concerns for the future. Unions are hoping that the Obama administration will take a tougher line on private equity than the Bush regime by abolishing preferential tax treatment used by the industry and by introducing requirements for greater transparency. But the Private Equity Council, which speaks on behalf of buyout firms, roundly dismissed the unions' comments and said it was "patently absurd" to suggest that the industry was partly to blame for the present financial crisis. "Private equity partnerships invest in bricks, mortar and people, not complex financial instruments," said the council's president, Douglas Lowenstein. "Private equity partnerships are one of the few sources of capital that can help get the economy back on track. This seems to be the right time to encourage private equity investment, not slow it down." Leading firms concede that they face several years of meagre opportunities as the credit crunch takes its toll, with their focus likely to be on managing existing portfolios rather than new deals. Speaking at the industry's annual gathering in Berlin, Henry Kravis, cofounder of US private equity firm KKR, said he planned to focus on extracting profit from companies it already owned as the US and Europe fell deeper into recession. "Nothing, I mean nothing, is more important than effectively managing our portfolio companies right now," he told hundreds of private equity executives at the Super Return International conference. "It means efficiently managing balance sheets, preserving capital and seeking new opportunities." Kravis was one of the few "titans" of the private equity world to venture to Berlin, compared to the celebratory jamboree in Frankfurt two years ago, which provoked mass protests by unions and politicians who accused the industry of asset stripping, cutting wages and financial engineering to extract profits. These days, private equity firms struggle to finance acquisitions after banks cut off the debt financing that fuelled a two-year buyout boom. Investors have also become wary and in many cases have withdrawn the promise of funds to private equity buyout vehicles. The recession and last year's stockmarket losses have forced firms to write down a considerable proportion of the value of some of the $1.5tn of investments they made between 2006 and 2007. Echoing the comments of industry rivals, Kravis said: "We have to accept the fact that deals will be smaller. The financing for large transactions simply is not available in the current environment. That's a fact." Investments with "defensive outlooks, superior management teams and a proven method of value creation" have contributed to the long-term strength of KKR's portfolio, Kravis said. He pointed to Alliance Boots as an example of the long term investments that can survive in a downturn. He said the chemist chain, which KKR bought for £11.1bn in 2007, had "historically held up well during periods of economic weakness". Private equity Trade unions guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (17 h ago)

• Creditors demand investigation over timi... Creditors demand investigation over timing of Woolworths collapse
02/03/2009
Angry creditors of Woolworths, Britain's biggest retailing failure, have demanded administrators investigate why the business was not declared bust sooner than the end of November. They were told at a creditors' meeting today that internal management forecasts had been projecting the 807 shops to make an operating loss of about £50m for the year to January 31 compared to a £4m profit for the previous year. Despite this internal forecast, last summer chairman Richard North rejected a bid approach led by Iceland food store founder Malcolm Walker reportedly worth "tens of millions" of pounds. Yesterday, Neville Kahn, joint administrator from Deloitte, said more than one creditor had asked why management had not declared the business bust sooner than November. Kahn told creditors he was required by law to look into directors' conduct prior to the business failing and to file a report on the subject with the department for business. In addition, he said, "we will feed back to creditors on the result of that investigation". Asked what difference calling in the administrators earlier might have made, Kahn said: "There would have been a different mix of creditors and, potentially, that would have given more time to sell the business." Kahn said it was now "highly unlikely" that unsecured creditors would receive any of £1.1bn owed to them by Woolworths retail stores or by the group's CD and DVD wholesaling arm Entertainment UK. Among secured creditors, six bank lenders, led by GMAC, are expected to receive in full £335m owed to them. Kahn said it remained unclear how much would then be available to pay next-in-line creditors — two unnamed hedge funds owed £40m — followed by £63m of secured credit due to the group's pension fund. In any event a payout to the pension fund, if it materialises, will pale in comparison to the fund's wind-up deficit, calculated at "more than £200m". The shortfall, which affects 9,000 former staff, is expected to be plugged only in part by the government's Pension Protection Fund in what could rank as one of its largest ever cash injections. Kahn expects between 200 and 300 of the group's stores to generate some modest return, though Woolworths owns the freehold on only a small number. Negotiations to sell those businesses not in administration — including publishing joint venture 2 Entertain — were ongoing. Meanwhile the administration of Entertainment UK has been mired by disputes over whether suppliers owned the rights to warehoused stock as well as rows over how much was owed to the wholesaling business by customers. Zavvi, formerly known as Virgin Megastore, was among the business's largest customers but it too has since gone bust . Woolworths Credit crunch Zavvi guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (20 h ago)

• BP dividend pledge cheers pension funds BP dividend pledge cheers pension funds
02/03/2009
BP pledged to protect its dividend payments today after confirming a £7bn bumper payout to shareholders – which now accounts for more than a tenth of cash returned in the UK market. Underlining its importance to the country's struggling pension industry, chief executive Tony Hayward said that the oil group had paid out some $10bn to shareholders in dividends along with $3bn in share buybacks. Estimates by the Guardian show that, excluding credit crunch- hit banks Barclays, RBS and Lloyds, the oil company makes up 11.5% of dividend payments to shareholders in the FTSE All-Share index. When its oil rival Shell is included, the figure is more than 20%. In words that will cheer pension fund managers who have seen dividend payments from the once mighty banks disappear, Hayward said: "Our priorities are clear: continue to invest in safe and reliable operations, pay the dividend, and invest to grow our business." Despite the record profits of £18bn and a 40% dividend increase, shares in BP initially fell by more than 4% yesterday amid concern from investors about worse-than-expected fourth quarter figures and accusations from environmental campaigners that the figures showed the company's strategy was flawed. The latest results were hit by the fall in the crude oil price from last summer's peak of $147 a barrel and a $700m loss at TNK-BP, where BP fought a bitter battle last year with the four Russian billionaires who are its fellow shareholders. BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, said the underlying picture was "continuing to show powerful recovery". Hayward said the company was committed to cutting costs in response to weaker crude prices. "The mantra in BP today is: 'every dollar counts, every seat counts'." BP is already seeking to beat its target of cutting 5,000 jobs by the summer. Benchmark Brent crude was trading yesterday at $44.22 a barrel. Richard Griffith, oil analyst at broker Evolution Securities, described the figures as "fairly uninspiring". He warned: "The market won't like the fourth-quarter results or the increased tax guidance for 2009 to 36-39%." Keith Bowman of Hargreaves Lansdown said 2008 had been a year of two halves for BP. "The group's refining business remains under pressure, whilst weather-hit production has been restored at a time of lower oil prices. Furthermore, challenges still exist for the group's Russian business." Gordon Grey, at Collins Stewart, said BP was showing "a solid recovery from its recent operational problems," but he warned: "We see significant challenges ahead in terms of the visibility of its growth post-2009 and its susceptibility to prolonged sub-40 dollars crude prices."Environmental campaigners Greenpeace and Platform said the record results masked serious flaws in the company's long-term investment plans, indicating a vulnerability to movements in the oil price as long as BP remained wedded to an "oil at any cost" strategy. The environmental campaigners singled out BP's investment in Canadian tar sands for particular criticism. Greenpeace's chief climate change advisor, Charlie Kronick, said: "The results prove that BP's investment decisions are going in the wrong direction. The Canadian tar sands project is a clear threat to investors, while the alternative energy division has been left to wither on the vine despite the urgency of climate change." Last year BP raised production from 3.84m barrels of oil equivalent from 3.82m barrels, after two years of falling production. Hayward said BP expected output to increase and for BP to have replaced all the oil it pumped in 2008 from new finds. Both Shell and Exxon Mobil have recently reported lower fourth quarter profits prompting questions as to whethere a lower oil price will bring industry consolidation, as when BP bought Amoco and Exxon acquired Mobil during the last period of falling prices.Yesterday Hayward dismissed the prospect of a new round of mergers between the big quoted oil companies. He argued the challenge was to gain access to resources, rather than putting together big companies without boosting underlying reserves. "I'm not certain that the industrial logic is terribly compelling," he said, adding that it would be more sensible for companies like BP to use their technology and capability in cooperation with national oil companies. Hayward said talks on the sale of the Kovykta gas field in Siberia to Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom had effectively ground to a halt. "It's not on the back burner but rather in the deep freeze," Hayward told a conference call. "We'll see whether we can reinvigorate that conversation but I wouldn't hold out too much hope." BP's Russian joint venture TNK-BP holds a controlling stake in the giant gas field. BP Oil Russia Alternative energy Fossil fuels guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (20 h ago)

• Buy the flat and we'll throw in a job Buy the flat and we'll throw in a job
02/03/2009
For young homebuyers facing the downturn, the offer from the Shanghai Sanxiang Co was unmissable. Buy a flat – and we'll give you a job to go with it. The developers, who have so far hired eight buyers, say the deal demonstrates their sense of social responsibility. Others think it says as much about the fear gripping the market as house prices in China tumble after soaring growth. Other Shanghai companies are slashing as much as 30% from the price of flats. British estate agents might wonder what the fuss is about. China's urban house prices fell 0.4% in December; the first year-on-year decline since records were first published in 2005, but hardly disastrous in the global context. Yet the headline rate disguises huge disparities within the market; while some cities in the centre and west of China are still enjoying growth, the "first-tier" cities such as Shanghai and Beijing have already been hit. Official estimates this week suggest that 20 million migrant workers have returned to the Chinese countryside from the big cities because of the economic downturn, reducing the demand for accommodation. The worst market of all is the export-led Pearl river delta; last month Shenzhen prices saw a drop of almost 18% year-on-year – and experts warn that things are going to get much worse. 'Sellers were not willing to come to the realisation that the market was changing, so they haven't dropped their prices significantly yet – but that's what we are starting to see in '09 and I think we will see further drops. "I'm sure it's going to be a difficult time for China over the next year, and therefore for the property market' James MacDonald The effects are beginning to be felt far beyond the glossy offices of developers: on empty building sites, in quiet factories, and in distant rural villages where families depend on the wages of migrant labourers. Tens of millions work in construction. Fewer house sales mean less demand for builders, materials, appliances and furniture – and a smaller chance of the government hitting its 8% growth target this year. According to Macquarie Securities, commercial, industrial and residential construction rose by more than 32% in 2007 and another 9% between January and September last year. But in October it fell by more than 16%. This year it will shrink another 30%, the firm predicted. Ma Jun, Deutsche Bank's chief economist for China, has warned that falling property prices would contribute to the worst deflation in a decade. Experts believe steep falls are inevitable because transaction volumes have plummeted, with a year-on-year drop in sales of about 20% for the first 11 months of last year. A report from the UK property consultancy DTZ Holdings this week said that unsold residential property in nine of China's biggest cities now totalled 38m square metres. James MacDonald, the Shanghai-based senior manager of China research for Savills, said: "Sellers were not willing to come to the realisation that the market was changing, so they haven't dropped their prices significantly yet – but that's what we are starting to see in '09 and I think we will see further drops. "I'm sure it's going to be a difficult time for China over the next year, and therefore for the property market." It is in stark contrast to the halcyon days of 2007, when prices went through the roof – rising by as much as 60% in fashionable areas of central Shanghai. Record growth and export values and chunky salary increases fuelled the market, and rising prices themselves drew more buyers in. Some saw property as a sure-fire way of making money, while others wanted to buy a home while they could still afford one. The government tried to rein back the market but the impact of its policies may have coincided with the start of the downturn, creating a bumpier landing than anticipated. More recently it has introduced measures to help purchasers, cutting property taxes and loosening mortgage policies for second-home buyers. Zhang Haiqing, of the real estate research centre at Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants, said it would take time to feel their effects, adding: "In the short term, the downturn will last and the prices will even keep dropping. In the middle of this year, we believe the market will become better again." Savill's MacDonald said he would "probably" predict an upturn late this year or in early 2010, depending on the state of the global economy. But no one expects a return to the frenzy of 2007. Developers draw faint hope from the likes of 40-year-old Li, a banker who splashed out on a second flat in Shanghai last month, in part because of the new incentives. "I thought about buying in August or September but I felt the price was higher than it should be, so I waited for a few months till it dropped another 10%. Then I figured it was the right time to buy," he said. "In Shenzhen, more people bought as an investment, but here people buy places to live in. In the long term I believe that Shanghai prices will go up again." Additional research by Chen Shi. Credit crunch Global recession China guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (23 h ago)

• Ryanair: £30 charge if you can't fit dut... Ryanair: £30 charge if you can't fit duty free in your hand luggage
02/03/2009
It could be the most expensive bottle of asti spumante you'll ever buy. Ryanair has confirmed passengers will be charged £30 if they cannot fit their duty free purchases into their single piece of hand luggage. The low-cost carrier, which makes sizeable profits from its add-on fees, said it would make no exceptions to its carry-on bag allowance that limits passengers to one piece of luggage. Industry observers said the move could be a blow to the dozens of small airports around Europe that rely on retailing profits to subsidise their cut-price deals with Ryanair, which drives a hard bargain with any airport that takes its planes. Ryanair defended the charge, which it said "ensured fairness to all passengers". The airline was not the first carrier to enforce check-in fees and extra baggage charges, but it has pursued them vigorously to drive down baggage handling costs. A Ryanair spokesperson said the £30 charge was introduced to stop blatant flouting of hand luggage rules which, the airline claims, has seen one passenger attempt to board with five pieces of hand luggage. The Ryanair chief executive, Michael O'Leary , has admitted that the airline cannot eliminate hand luggage entirely but justifies the extra charges as "behavioural" because lower baggage handling costs would ultimately lead to lower fares. However, one industry consultant warned that regional airports might be damaged by the move. "It will dissuade people from buying duty free. It could impact airports that are dependent on people spending at their shops. You are eating into an airport's ability to generate revenues when low-cost carriers want lower fees from them," said Chris Tarry, chairman of the CTAIRA consultancy. Under the hand luggage rules, any passenger who attempts to board with more than one piece of hand lugage will be charged £30 at the departure gate. If they refuse to pay the extra fee, they have the option of dumping their purchases at the gate or missing their flight. The hand luggage weight limit is 10kg, with maximum dimensions of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm. As well as duty free purchases, laptops and handbags will have to be contained in the single piece of hand luggage to avoid the fee. Ryanair Airline industry BAA Budget travel Travel & leisure Transport Consumer affairs guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (1 d ago)

• Johnny Rotten boosts butter sales Johnny Rotten boosts butter sales
02/03/2009
It has been one of the more unlikely celebrity endorsements; John Lydon, a member of the seminal punk band the Sex Pistols, advertising Country Life butter. But it appears to have worked. Dairy Crest today said the campaign, featuring a spiky-haired Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, dressed in tweeds , had helped lift sales of the brand by 85% in the most recent quarter. Lydon, once better known for sending chills down the spine of middle Englanders, now appears adept at sending them to the chiller cabinet. The performance of the brand helped to steady Dairy Crest after being forced to issue a profit warning in November . The business has been hit by spiralling milk prices, and sought to keep its costs down by laying off staff at its head office in Esher, Surrey. In an interim management statement, Dairy Crest said group sales for the nine months to the end of December had improved by 4% compared with the same period in the previous year. Another key brand, Cathedral City cheese, was also a strong performer, increasing sales by 14%. The company said it had also captured a larger share of the Marks & Spencer cheese business, which would improve results next year. Dairy Crest Sex Pistols Advertising guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (1 d ago)

• Vodafone boosted by weak pound Vodafone boosted by weak pound
02/03/2009
The weakness of the pound has led Vodafone to raise its annual sales forecasts after reporting a 14.3% jump in revenues in the last three months of last year. Vodafone, which dropped its revenue forecast twice last year because of increasing competition, said it expects revenues for the year to the end of March of between £40.6bn and £41.5bn compared with its previous estimate of £38.8bn to £39.7bn. It reckons annual operating profits will be £11.5bn to £12bn, an increase of £500m, while free cash flow will be £5.5bn to £6bn, an increase of £300m. But the positive impact of the weak pound masks serious weakness in Vodafone's underlying business. Quarterly revenues of £10.5bn were up 14.3%, but 12.8 percentage points of that rise were caused by foreign exchange movements and 2.5 percentage points were the benefit of merger and acquisition activity, primarily in India. Service revenues were up a mere 1.4%, and on a like-for-like basis were up just 1%. The company, which has 289 million customers worldwide, has been looking for growth from emerging markets to offset the mature markets of Europe , where most people already have a phone. The company reported record customer growth in India, where it added 6.3 million during the quarter to take its base to over 60 million – with service revenue growth of 29.6% at constant exchange rates. But in Europe Vodafone actually saw like-for-like service revenues fall 1.4%. Solid results in Germany and Italy and stabilised results in the UK offset continued weakness in Spain, where revenues plunged 5.8% - a faster rate than in the previous quarter. The company lost customers in Germany and Italy but added 449,000 in the UK in the run-up to Christmas – compared with 180,000 last year - as a result of the launch of the BlackBerry Storm and strong take-up of SIM-only deals and mobile broadband "dongles". It now has 19.16 million UK customers. In the UK, Vodafone saw service revenue declined at a lower rate than in the previous quarter as the company grew its wholesale revenues by leasing its network to so-called mobile virtual network operators such as Lebara Mobile . The company also saw an increase in the number of people using its network to access the internet with data revenue growth of 30.9% in the quarter. The company continues to struggle in Turkey, though, where it lost 643,000 customers in the quarter. In local currencies, average revenue per user was down in all of Vodafone's major markets except South Africa during the three months to the end of December as a result of fierce competition and increased regulation. To combat the competition that is plaguing the business, not just in Europe but in other parts of the world such as India, Vodafone announced plans to save £1bn of costs back in November. Today it said cost savings of approximately £500m are expected to be generated by the end of the 2010 financial year, with the full £1bn generated by the 2011 financial year. Vodafone's original financial guidance was based upon full-year foreign exchange assumptions of €1.26 and $1.80 to the pound; it now reckons the full-year average rates will be €1.20 and $1.45. Vodafone Telecommunications industry India guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (1 d ago)

• The Arctic blast that could cost £1.2bn The Arctic blast that could cost £1.2bn
02/02/2009
The arctic weather that struck Britain yesterday could cost the UK economy about £1.2bn, piling further difficulty on firms already struggling in the recession. The Federation of Small Businesses estimated that one in five commuters did not get to work, leaving many companies with a reduced staff. Some shops and bank branches were shut. In the City many dealing rooms were half-empty, and trading on the stock market was thin. Trader David Buik of BGC Partners described it as "moribund", comparing it with the mood on Christmas Eve. In the circumstances, some City workers took the opportunity to make snowmen in Paternoster Square. The federation calculated that the 20% of staff not at work will cost British firms £1.2bn, based on £6bn for a bank holiday. Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said that, especially if the cold continues, an extra 2,000 or 3,000 firms may go bankrupt in the first quarter. "If it leads to delayed payments, the combined hit on profits and cashflow could send many businesses who might be close to the brink into premature bankruptcy. Many are in retail and construction, sectors likely to be most affected by snow and transport disruption." One uncertainty is how much the damage is softened by the internet; many people will carry on jobs from home, or shop online. The centre suggested a 20% reduction in productivity would cost £900m, but pointed out some firms actually benefit. "Consumers spend more on heating and on warm clothes, and any accidents or structural damage leads to increased spending on repairs," said McWilliams. According to him, the extreme cold winter of 1962-1963 cut manufacturing output in February 1963 by 75%, but higher spending on heating meant that, overall, GDP was unaffected. Industry Businesses across the south-east with large fleets of vans and trucks were struggling with the icy conditions on many roads. A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We are doing everything possible to keep the mail moving and our people safe. Some deliveries are still taking place and where this is not possible our people are processing the mail to help us ensure we deliver it as quickly as possible." BT engineers were out on the roads in the freezing conditions. A spokeswoman admitted that the cold snap had stopped some of its Openreach engineers getting to their jobs. "It is particularly challenging in London and parts of the south-east in areas where the roads are impassable because of the snow." Many of its managers and support staff were working from home, which is a regular occurrence for tens of thousands of BT's 110,000 workforce. BP said it had experienced some problems with petrol deliveries in the south-east of England but none anywhere else in the country. Transport Large swaths of Britain's transport infrastructure were shut down or operating vastly reduced services yesterday and Heathrow airport suffered its worst day since the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Motorists endured miles of tailbacks on motorways and thousands of rail services were delayed or cancelled. Some local authorities were forced to ask the Highways Agency for grit after their supplies ran out. Rail journeys in and out of London, which account for more than two-thirds of all services in Britain, were badly affected by the freezing conditions and lack of staff. Bus and tube services in London also suffered mass cancellations. Network Rail said bad road conditions had stopped train drivers, signallers and maintenance staff from getting to work. One of the worst affected franchises, the London-to-Brighton Southern service, said frozen points and tracks had been the main cause of massive disruption. The Highways Agency, which maintains motorways and major A-roads in England, said it was satisfied with its response and had deployed gritters on roads over the weekend and yesterday morning. "It has been a busy and difficult day but we do not feel that we have been caught out," said a spokesman. Retail Retailers were hard hit as staff struggled to reach work and shoppers opted for snowball fights rather than bargain hunting. Marks & Spencer closed 75 stores in London and south-east England because of staff shortages. The Marble Arch store in the West End closed early so staff could get home, while the early finish meant a branch near Victoria station could supply unsold cakes and sandwiches to nurses at nearby St Thomas' hospital when their delivery did not arrive. Most shops at the new Westfield shopping centre in west London were closed, reflecting the picture at malls around the capital. At 3pm only six stores out of 265 were open. The centre closed at 5pm but promised a standard 10am-9pm today. In the supermarkets, Asda reported a 40% leap in sales of Ribena and Vimto and a 10% pick-up in whisky sales. Tesco launched Operation Snowplough to ensure soup, pies, custard and brandy, as well as scrapers and thermal socks, were on the shelves. It was, a spokesman said, "easily the biggest operation we have mounted in nearly 20 years". At Sainsburys sales were up for "classic British ready-made meals such as bangers and mash," said a spokeswoman. Councils Local authorities in the south and Midlands yesterday insisted essential services were maintained despite the snow that left millions of workers stranded at home. Meals on wheels services were given priority, together with the work of core social work teams, said the Local Government Association, which represents 500 councils in England and Wales. In many cases staff struggled to work only to find health and safety considerations forced them to suspend their work. Refuse collection was abandoned by most councils along with parking enforcement once it became obvious the roads would be treacherous and staff could be in danger. Thousands of schools and hundreds of libraries, including the British Library, closed after staff phoned in to say they were unable to travel to work. Insurance Shunting and skidding prompted a doubling in car insurance claims yesterday, while calls to breakdown and recovery services rocketed as drivers failed to cope with the worst road conditions - in the south-east at least - for more than a decade. The AA said it received around 16,000 calls, compared with 11,000 on a normal day. The RAC said it took 2,000 calls in one hour, but some parts of the country were "eerily quiet" as drivers heeded widely-broadcast appeals not to take to the roads. Insurance claims for minor collisions soared as drivers slid across icy roads. The AA said claims were double normal levels. "On a normal Monday we receive around 1,600 claims but by 10am we had already received 500. We expect to have received as many as 3,000 claims by the end of the day," said an AA spokesman. Norwich Union added that it had seen a 40% surge in claims yesterday. Media They may be reporting on the weather, but media companies are also caught up in the story as they battled with inclement conditions across London and the south-east. Newspapers pulled copy deadlines forward to mid-afternoon yesterday in anticipation of further bad weather, which will slow their delivery trucks to a snail's pace overnight. The Times, for instance, will have just one edition today while the Daily Mail made its deadline so early in the day that many reporters filed and went home after lunch. But at least they got lunch. Journalists at News International's Wapping headquarters went hungry after the snow left its canteen without supplies. Sky News anchor Colin Brazier, meanwhile, walked four miles yesterday morning from his home in Twickenham to the satellite broadcaster's Isleworth centre for his mid-morning show. Weather Transport Retail industry guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (1 d ago)

• Former Citigroup boss drops company jet Former Citigroup boss drops company jet
02/02/2009
In times of recession we all have to make sacrifices and Sanford Weill, the former chief executive at Citigroup, is hearteningly no different. Weill sparked a furore over the weekend in the United States, when it emerged that he had borrowed one of the bank's corporate jets to take his family to Mexico for the new year, just weeks after the firm averted collapse with a $45bn (£32bn) federal bail-out and at the same time as the bank announced plans to cut 75,000 jobs. But Weill last night, after intense criticism, said he would give up his right to use one of the five company jets. A statement issued by his office said: "Mr Weill cares deeply about the future of Citi and recognises the extraordinary commitment by the American taxpayer. In light of the unprecedented circumstances that Citi finds itself in, Mr Weill has voluntarily decided that, effective immediately, he will waive his contract providing for the use of any corporate aircraft." The financial crisis has put Wall Street compensation under intense scrutiny in recent months, with a string of revelations about the profligate spending of some top bankers causing anger among politicians and the public as taxpayers are forced to bail the industry out and millions are losing their jobs. It is barely a week since former Merrill Lynch boss John Thain was forced to apologise for spending $1.2m on antique furniture, carpeting and curtains for the troubled bank's executive offices, as the bank lost $15bn in a single quarter. He has promised to pay back the money personally. Barack Obama attacked Wall Street last week accusing the banks of displaying "the height of irresponsibility" and of letting down the American people. He expressed outrage at the $18.4bn paid in bonuses last year, singling out Citigroup for criticism for trying to buy a new $50m executive jet after receiving the $45bn in rescue money. "Part of what we're going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline, show some sense of responsibility." The bank has since cancelled the purchase. In another case, Dick Fuld, the former head of the defunct bank Lehman Brothers was last week accused of transferring assets into his wife's name to avoid claims on his assets by possible angry Lehman shareholders. Fuld, who led the bank until its bankruptcy in September, recently sold his seaside mansion in Florida to his wife, Kathleen, for just $100, according to property transaction records. Under the terms of his 2006 retirement package, Weill, whose personal fortune was estimated at $1.3bn in 2008, was guaranteed access to the firm's corporate jets until 2016. At the end of last year, Weill volunteered to terminate a Citigroup consulting contract that paid him $175,000 a year. In addition to access to company aircraft, Weill's compensation into retirement included provisions for $525,000 of transportation costs, $300,000 of security expenses, $86,000 of financial and tax-planning fees, $62,000 of medical and dental insurance premiums and $901,000 of tax reimbursements. The tenure of Weill, who built Citigroup into the largest bank in the world, was marked by controversy. He was the architect of the $140bn merger of Citicorp, the biggest banking group in America, and Travelers Group, an insurance company in 1998, to create the then largest banking group in the world. He served as chief executive until he was forced out amid a series of scandals in 2003, although he remained chairman until 2006. The bank lost $8.3bn in the final quarter of 2008 , and Citigroup announced last week that it was splitting its operations into two, to separate high-risk assets from everyday commercial operations. In his weekly radio address, President Obama underlined his determination to curb excesses. He said his reform of the $700bn troubled asset relief programme would "insist on unprecedented transparency, rigorous oversight and clear accountability so taxpayers know how their money is being spent and whether it is achieving results". Citigroup Banking United States guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (2 d ago)

• Obama to announce limits on executive pa... Obama to announce limits on executive pay
02/04/2009
The Obama administration plans to mandate new executive pay limits on Wednesday for government-assisted financial institutions in a new get-tough approach to bankers and Wall Street. (5 h ago)

• Automakers see big sales declines in Jan... Automakers see big sales declines in January
02/03/2009
General Motors’ U.S. vehicle sales plunged 49 percent in January while Ford’s sales dropped 40 percent, starting 2009 at an abysmal pace for the auto whole industry. (14 h ago)

• Wells Fargo cancels Las Vegas trip Wells Fargo cancels Las Vegas trip
02/03/2009
Wells Fargo & Co. abruptly canceled Tuesday a pricey Las Vegas casino junket for employees after a torrent of criticism that it was misusing $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money. (14 h ago)

• Obama’s green dreams Obama’s green dreams
02/03/2009
President Barack Obama has big plans to help curb our dependence on foreign oil and clean up the environment, and that should mean good things for a host of green industries. (15 h ago)

• Mets, Citigroup: Stadium deal still on Mets, Citigroup: Stadium deal still on
02/03/2009
Citigroup said Tuesday its deal to pay $400 million for naming rights to the New York Mets' new baseball stadium is still on. (15 h ago)

• Spectrum Brands files for bankruptcy Spectrum Brands files for bankruptcy
02/03/2009
Spectrum Brands Inc., the maker of Rayovac batteries and Remington shavers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday under a heavy debt load. (17 h ago)

• 'Peanut town' worries about economic fut... 'Peanut town' worries about economic future
02/03/2009
As the nationwide salmonella outbreak spreads, Blakely — the self-proclaimed “Peanut Capital of the World” — has found itself defending the peanut, not celebrating it. (18 h ago)

• Obama nominates Gregg for Commerce head Obama nominates Gregg for Commerce head
02/03/2009
The president nominated a Republican to be Commerce secretary, a bipartisan gesture that the Democratic president stressed was necessary with the economy in a virtual free fall. (20 h ago)

• GM to offer buyouts to all hourly employ... GM to offer buyouts to all hourly employees
02/03/2009
General Motors Corp. says it will offer buyouts to all of its hourly employees as the troubled automaker continues to slash costs. (21 h ago)

• Citigroup commits to lending $36.5 billi... Citigroup commits to lending $36.5 billion
02/03/2009
Citigroup says it will spend $36.5 billion to issue mortgages, make credit card loans and buy distressed assets in the tight credit markets in the coming months. (23 h ago)

• Rebuilding America's job machine Rebuilding America's job machine
02/03/2009
Industrial policy isn't dead. It's thriving in the states — and may be the start of a U.S. comeback strategy (1 d ago)

• A value meal at Starbucks? Coming right ... A value meal at Starbucks? Coming right up
02/03/2009
As the dismal economy slurps up profits, Starbucks Corp. is hoping to find some sales salvation in its own value meal variety. (1 d ago)

• Feds may limit pay at banks that get aid Feds may limit pay at banks that get aid
02/03/2009
Administration officials said executive pay limits for banks that take bailout money could be announced this week. (1 d ago)

• Despite aid, many banks fail to revive l... Despite aid, many banks fail to revive lending
02/03/2009
The federal government has invested almost $200 billion in U.S. banks over the last three months to spark new lending to consumers and businesses. So far, it hasn't worked. (1 d ago)

• Macy's slashing up to 7,000 jobs Macy's slashing up to 7,000 jobs
02/02/2009
Macy’s announced that it will cut 7,000 jobs, almost 4 percent of its work force, and reduce its contributions to its employees’ retirement funds and slash its dividend to preserve cash. (1 d ago)

• Who had the best Super Bowl ad? Who know... Who had the best Super Bowl ad? Who knows?
02/02/2009
At a cost of about $100,000 per second, the best advertisement in this year's Super Bowl belongs to CareerBuilder.com — or was it Pedigree, or Budweiser, or maybe Doritos? (1 d ago)

• Amateurs beat the pros in Super Bowl ads Amateurs beat the pros in Super Bowl ads
02/02/2009
Two amateur filmmakers took up the Doritos Super Bowl and challenge, and the chip-maker had to write a check for $1 million. (1 d ago)

• Times may change, but Super Bowl ads don... Times may change, but Super Bowl ads don’t
02/02/2009
With the economy in the doldrums and the nation’s future uncertain, it’s nice to know that some things never change. (1 d ago)

• Madoff tipster criticizes SEC Madoff tipster criticizes SEC
02/04/2009
The man who tried to alert regulators to problems in the operations of now-disgraced financier Bernard Madoff is assailing the Securities and Exchange Commission for ignoring his warnings. (3 h ago)

• Obama’s green dreams Obama’s green dreams
02/04/2009
President Barack Obama has big plans to help curb our dependence on foreign oil and clean up the environment, and that should mean good things for a host of green industries. (3 h ago)

• NYT: Both parties move to aid homeowners NYT: Both parties move to aid homeowners
02/04/2009
Four months after Congress tried to rescue the economy with a $700 billion bailout for the financial industry, Republicans and Democrats are suddenly competing to bail out struggling homeowners. (4 h ago)

• Panasonic cuts 15,000 jobs Panasonic cuts 15,000 jobs
02/04/2009
Panasonic Corp. said Wednesday it will slash 15,000 jobs and shut down 27 plants worldwide to cope with plunging demand for its TVs, semiconductors and other electronics products. (5 h ago)

• Layoffs spike and there's no end in sigh... Layoffs spike and there's no end in sight
02/03/2009
Layoffs are spiking as the recession rips through the country. It's inflicting a painful toll on workers, and there's little relief in sight. (15 h ago)

• FDIC: Cost of bank failures to exceed $4... FDIC: Cost of bank failures to exceed $40B
02/03/2009
Federal regulators believe U.S. bank failures will cost the deposit insurance fund more than $40 billion over the next four years as the economy weakens, a government official said. (16 h ago)

• Housing, earnings news help stocks end d... Housing, earnings news help stocks end day up
02/03/2009
Some heartening news on housing and corporate earnings helped Wall Street set aside a little of its angst about the economy Tuesday as stocks closed higher. (17 h ago)

• Pending home sales rise 6.3 percent Pending home sales rise 6.3 percent
02/03/2009
An index that tracks signed contracts to purchase existing homes rebounded in December, as buyers snapped up properties at deep discounts, especially in the South and Midwest. (21 h ago)

• New series: How to Save Money on... New series: How to Save Money on...
02/03/2009
Maybe two years ago you could let that $10 late fee slide or forget to question that $29 overdraft fee. But the world has changed. (1 d ago)

• Panasonic to Cut 15,000 Jobs Panasonic to Cut 15,000 Jobs
02/04/2009
Panasonic said it was cutting 15,000 jobs in the second mass layoff for Japan’s electronics sector in less than a week. (6 h ago)

• SAS Cuts 3,000 Jobs and Seeks New Cash SAS Cuts 3,000 Jobs and Seeks New Cash
02/04/2009
The troubled Scandinavian airline said that it would cut 3,000 jobs and ask shareholders for more cash as it seeks to ride out the global economic crisis. (7 h ago)

• BHP Billiton Profits Plunge BHP Billiton Profits Plunge
02/04/2009
A sharp drop in commodity prices triggered a 56.5 percent decrease in first-half profits at BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company. (7 h ago)

• Spain’s Unemployment Rose Sharply in Jan... Spain’s Unemployment Rose Sharply in January
02/03/2009
The number of unemployed people in Spain rose by nearly 200,000 in January, the fastest monthly increase in more than a decade. (8 h ago)

• A Push in Europe to Oversee Derivatives ... A Push in Europe to Oversee Derivatives Trading
02/03/2009
A top European official said binding rules on the trading of certain instruments was needed after an agreement to produce a timetable for oversight fell apart. (8 h ago)

• Australia and Japan Offer New Stimulus P... Australia and Japan Offer New Stimulus Plans
02/03/2009
Australia announced a $26.5 billion stimulus plan and a deep interest rate cut as the Japanese central bank said it would start buying shares held by financial institutions. (8 h ago)

• BP Posts 1st Quarterly Loss in 7 Years BP Posts 1st Quarterly Loss in 7 Years
02/03/2009
The British energy giant reported a fourth-quarter loss of $3.3 billion and warned that demand would probably continue to drop as the global recession deepened. (9 h ago)

• In Bolivia, Untapped Bounty Meets Nation... In Bolivia, Untapped Bounty Meets Nationalism
02/03/2009
Bolivia will not easily surrender its massive reserve of lithium, the mineral needed to power electric vehicles. (16 h ago)

• In Shift, Chinese Move More Money Overse... In Shift, Chinese Move More Money Overseas
02/03/2009
The challenge for economists is figuring out why money is leaving China, and how long the trend will last. (1 d ago)

• Chrysler’s New Ally Takes a Pragmatic Ap... Chrysler’s New Ally Takes a Pragmatic Approach
02/02/2009
Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of the Fiat Group, is blunt in assessing a prospective alliance with Chrysler. (1 d ago)

• China Puts Joblessness for Migrants at 2... China Puts Joblessness for Migrants at 20 Million
02/02/2009
China’s government announced at a briefing that more than one in seven rural migrant workers have been laid off or are unable to find work. (1 d ago)

• Kazakhstan Takes Control of 2 Banks Kazakhstan Takes Control of 2 Banks
02/02/2009
Officials said they would bail out BTA Bank and Alliance Bank in exchange for shares, and later sell the shares when the market recovers. (1 d ago)

• Global Update: Global Fund Is Billions S... Global Update: Global Fund Is Billions Short
02/02/2009
Rajat Gupta, chairman of Global Fund.The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is running short of money, global business and health leaders said last week. (1 d ago)

• Chinese Cautious on Treasury Notes Chinese Cautious on Treasury Notes
02/02/2009
China’s willingness to continue buying United States Treasury securities in large numbers will depend on its need to protect the value of its foreign investments, the Chinese premier said. (1 d ago)

• Bringing the Internet to Remote African ... Bringing the Internet to Remote African Villages
02/02/2009
When Internet connections arrive in small towns like Entasopia, Kenya, they put new tools into the hands of people hungry to use them, and for some there, that has had wide repercussions. (1 d ago)

• World Leaders Wary of U.S. Economic Meas... World Leaders Wary of U.S. Economic Measures
02/02/2009
A reservoir of good will for President Obama at the economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, has failed to quell concern over American protectionism. (1 d ago)

• London Paper Tries to Decipher a Russian... London Paper Tries to Decipher a Russian Owner
02/01/2009
Over all, staff reaction to The Evening Standard’s new owner has been mixed. (2 d ago)

• Disney Plans to Cut Costs and Release Fe... Disney Plans to Cut Costs and Release Fewer DVDs
02/03/2009
The global slowdown took a toll on DVD and television ad sales, but marketing promotions helped the company avoid dramatic declines at its theme parks. (9 h ago)

• Magazines Aimed at Bankers Shut Down Magazines Aimed at Bankers Shut Down
02/03/2009
Boom times have dried up and employees are asked to take unpaid leaves. (9 h ago)

• Advertising: In Campaign Wars, Apple Sti... Advertising: In Campaign Wars, Apple Still Has Microsoft’s Number
02/03/2009
While other technology companies curtail their ad budgets, Apple has increased marketing and advertising, hammering away at its major competitor. (10 h ago)

• Screen Actors Guild Takes Its Feud to Co... Screen Actors Guild Takes Its Feud to Court
02/03/2009
An internal feud among the leadership of the Screen Actors Guild spilled into court on Tuesday. (10 h ago)

• Executive Is Leaving CNBC News Executive Is Leaving CNBC News
02/03/2009
Jonathan Wald, the senior news executive at CNBC said Tuesday that he would leave the job next month, in the midst of one of the biggest stories in the channel’s history. (10 h ago)

• Big Audience, but Not the Biggest Big Audience, but Not the Biggest
02/02/2009
Pittsburgh’s 27-23 win over Arizona in the Super Bowl on NBC attracted average viewership of 95.4 million, the second most for the game after last year’s 97.5 million for the Giants’ upset over New England. (1 d ago)

• Advertising: Close Super Bowl Helps Late... Advertising: Close Super Bowl Helps Late-Game Spots
02/02/2009
The commercials that NBC broadcast during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl fared well in many postgame polls and surveys. (1 d ago)

• The Media Equation: When Even Condé Nast... The Media Equation: When Even Condé Nast Is in Retreat
02/02/2009
The recent closing of Domino magazine shows that even Condé Nast’s legendary patience to turn a profit is now meeting the pull of economic gravity. (1 d ago)

• Advertising: Ads That Pushed Our Usual (... Advertising: Ads That Pushed Our Usual (Well-Worn) Buttons
02/02/2009
Few of the commercials during Super Bowl XLIII offered anything special. (2 d ago)

• Los Angeles Steps Up Fight on Large Ads Los Angeles Steps Up Fight on Large Ads
02/01/2009
The city ordered building owners to remove advertisements draped across multistory structures after deeming them fire hazards. (2 d ago)

• Lucky Magazine’s iPhone Tool Is All Abou... Lucky Magazine’s iPhone Tool Is All About Shopping
02/01/2009
A Condé Nast magazine is introducing an iPhone application, Lucky at Your Service, that ties into stores’ inventories. (2 d ago)

• As Journalist, a Doctor Trips Over Ethic... As Journalist, a Doctor Trips Over Ethics
02/01/2009
British Columbia’s medical licensing body censured Kevin Lee Patterson last week because of an article the doctor wrote about working for the Canadian military. (2 d ago)

• The Political Suspicions of 9/11 The Political Suspicions of 9/11
02/01/2009
An upcoming episode of the FX drama “Rescue Me” will tackle what may sound like a far-fetched plot line: that the attacks of Sept. 11 were an “inside job.” (2 d ago)

• To Relive the Inauguration, a Wave of Ne... To Relive the Inauguration, a Wave of Network DVDs
02/01/2009
Television executives are hoping that consumers will want digital memories of Inauguration Day. (2 d ago)

• Despite iTunes Accord, Music Labels Stil... Despite iTunes Accord, Music Labels Still Fret
02/01/2009
The tension between Apple and the music industry stems from Apple’s power over the industry, but it also echoes the traditional divide between suppliers and distributors. (2 d ago)

• NO PEOPLE AT WAL-MART NO PEOPLE AT WAL-MART
02/04/2009
CHAOS from the ongoing maga zine wholesaler war has officially arrived, and it looks likely that many celebrity weeklies won't be heading to many local Wal-Marts this week. Wal-Mart, the single-biggest magazine retailer in the country, will be... (7 h ago)

• HUDSON YARDS DEAL DELAYED HUDSON YARDS DEAL DELAYED
02/03/2009
Tough economic times have put off the closing of a $1 billion deal to build office towers and apartments over a huge stretch of railyards, transit officials said yesterday. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city's mass... (9 h ago)

• EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS, IT SEEMS EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS, IT SEEMS
02/03/2009
YESTERDAY, The Post had a list of all 24,111 properties in the city that owe back taxes and large water bills, and as such are facing foreclosure. We reviewed the list and found a few interesting addresses. The Macklowe family's financial mess... (9 h ago)

• WALD PLANS CNBC EXIT AFTER LOSING TO HOF... WALD PLANS CNBC EXIT AFTER LOSING TO HOFFMAN
02/03/2009
A years-long battle between CNBC President Mark Hoffman and business news chief Jonathan Wald over who saved the business cable channel ended yesterday when Wald threw in the towel. CNBC insiders said Wald and Hoffman had long tussled over who... (9 h ago)

• UK ATT'YS CA$H IN ON MADOFF UK ATT'YS CA$H IN ON MADOFF
02/03/2009
Bernard Madoff's bankruptcy could mean big bucks for British lawyers, who soon might be hired at rates approaching $800 per hour to help liquidate the overseas assets of the alleged arch-Ponzi schemer. Irving Picard, the American lawyer appointed... (9 h ago)

• NY METS BANKING ON CITI NY METS BANKING ON CITI
02/03/2009
Both Citigroup and the New York Mets yesterday insisted that their $400 million stadium-naming-rights deal is still on, while the team's owners blasted opponents of the plan, saying other banks getting government money have similar deals. "It's... (9 h ago)

• LIZ SET TO FASHION 725 JOB CUTS LIZ SET TO FASHION 725 JOB CUTS
02/03/2009
Liz Claiborne said it will cut 725 jobs, or 8 percent of its work force, as demand for department-store fashions continues to tank. The owner of Juicy Couture, Kate Spade and Lucky Brand said yesterday it will suspend merit-pay increases for all... (9 h ago)

• JAN. AUTO SALES TANK JAN. AUTO SALES TANK
02/03/2009
Detroit's wrecked sales of autos continued to litter the profit highway with some of the worst January results in 27 years. General Motors, Ford Motor, Toyota and Nissan were among auto giants yesterday reporting wipeouts, raising prospects of... (9 h ago)

• TIMES MAY REVIVE ITS FAILED PAY-FOR-WEB ... TIMES MAY REVIVE ITS FAILED PAY-FOR-WEB EXPERIMENT
02/03/2009
The New York Times is still debating whether to ask readers to pay for access to its Web site, two years after the paper ended a controversial experiment to charge for some of its content. Bill Keller, The Times' executive editor, said the paper... (9 h ago)

• ECONOMY HITS DISNEY ECONOMY HITS DISNEY
02/03/2009
The Walt Disney Co. finally succumbed to the effects of the souring economy, reporting a 32 percent drop in fiscal first-quarter profit as its movie studio, TV networks and theme parks all got slammed by the decline in consumer spending. Disney... (9 h ago)

• BLOOMBERG TO CUT TV, RADIO STAFF BLOOMBERG TO CUT TV, RADIO STAFF
02/03/2009
Bloomberg LP's long-running streak of no layoffs will end today as the company founded by Mayor Mike Bloomberg hands out pink slips to 60 people in the company's unprofitable TV and radio operation. As part of the wave of cuts, the company... (9 h ago)

• OBAMA EYES EXECUTIVE PAY LIMITS OBAMA EYES EXECUTIVE PAY LIMITS
02/03/2009
The Obama administration today is set to unveil a plan to cap at as much as $500,000 salaries of executives at companies that are receiving rescue money from Uncle Sam. "If the taxpayers are helping you, then you've got certain responsibilities... (9 h ago)

• JUST THE TICKET JUST THE TICKET
02/03/2009
In a blockbuster deal that will realign the music industry's balance of power, concert-promotion giant Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment, the nation's largest ticketing operation, are planning to merge, The Post has learned. According to... (9 h ago)

• BUSINESS BRIEFS BUSINESS BRIEFS
02/03/2009
Fortunoff Fortunoff, which The Post reported last week is close to bankruptcy, closed its Manhattan store and is in talks with companies to liquidate most of its merchandise. A spokeswoman for For tunoff owner NRDC Eq uity Partners LLC, de clined... (9 h ago)

• Your Money: How to Avoid a Tom Daschle T... Your Money: How to Avoid a Tom Daschle Tax Problem
02/04/2009
Tax problems brought down two of President Obama’s nominees on Tuesday. So what sort of mess is lurking in your return? (7 h ago)

• Health Insurance: What You Need to Know Health Insurance: What You Need to Know
02/03/2009
With Americans spending an ever increasing amount on medical costs, it’s more important than ever to have insurance that fits your health care needs. (23 h ago)

• Income Taxes: What You Need to Know Income Taxes: What You Need to Know
02/03/2009
When it comes to income taxes, there are different types of people. (1 d ago)

• A Month Free? Rents Are Falling Fast A Month Free? Rents Are Falling Fast
02/03/2009
When Sara Nuttall and her family went hunting for a rental, she said, incentives "made a big difference." In this painful economic climate of layoffs and shrinking investments, there is a sliver of positive news: it’s a good time to be a renter in New York City. (1 d ago)

• Consumers Are Saving More and Spending L... Consumers Are Saving More and Spending Less
02/02/2009
Economic data released on Monday shows consumers and businesses embarking on an era of thrift as the recession deepens. (1 d ago)

• Patient Money: Making the Most of Flexib... Patient Money: Making the Most of Flexible Spending Accounts
02/02/2009
Flexible spending accounts offer a tax break and can stretch health care dollars, if used wisely. (1 d ago)

• Shortcuts: The Popular Practice of Putti... Shortcuts: The Popular Practice of Putting Stuff Off
02/02/2009
There’s a little procrastinator in all of us, but delaying some tasks can be costly. (1 d ago)

• For Home Buyers, More Bank Roadblocks For Home Buyers, More Bank Roadblocks
02/02/2009
Norman Calvo, the president of Universal Mortgage, says banks are now requiring documentation from buildings as well as home buyers.Many banks are refusing to make loans if they don’t like what they find when they review the finances and bylaws of the building where the purchaser hopes to live. (1 d ago)

• Fundamentally: It’s a Great Time for a M... Fundamentally: It’s a Great Time for a Makeover
02/02/2009
Some planners say the bear market has given investors a rare opportunity: they can completely refashion their portfolios with little or no tax consequence. (1 d ago)

• Fisher Island: Still a Refuge, but Not F... Fisher Island: Still a Refuge, but Not From the Downturn
02/02/2009
About a quarter of the condos in one of the country’s wealthiest communities are for sale, and few are finding buyers. (1 d ago)

• It’s the Economy, Girlfriend It’s the Economy, Girlfriend
02/01/2009
A group called Dating a Banker Anonymous offers support to women whose romantic relationships have suffered from the economic downturn. (2 d ago)

• Bailed-Out Bank Nixes Lavish Vegas Junke... Bailed-Out Bank Nixes Lavish Vegas Junket
02/03/2009
Wells Fargo & Co. is canceling a pricey Las Vegas casino junket for employees after a torrent of criticism that it was misusing $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money. (13 h ago)

• GM Sales Plunge 49%; Ford Down 40% GM Sales Plunge 49%; Ford Down 40%
02/03/2009
Ford Motor Co. says its U.S. sales fell 40 percent in January, starting 2009 at an abysmal pace for the automaker and the industry. Japanese rival Toyota posted a 32 percent drop for the month but managed to outsell Ford. (14 h ago)

• Bank Failures Will Cost FDIC $40 Billion Bank Failures Will Cost FDIC $40 Billion
02/03/2009
Federal regulators now believe U.S. bank failures will cost the deposit insurance fund more than $40 billion over the next four years as the economy weakens. (17 h ago)

• Treasury Doles Out Another $1.15B To Ban... Treasury Doles Out Another $1.15B To Banks
02/03/2009
The Treasury Department says it has provided $1.15 billion to 42 banks in new payments from the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund. (20 h ago)

• GM, Chrysler Offer More Buyouts GM, Chrysler Offer More Buyouts
02/03/2009
General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are offering blue-collar employees another round of buyout and early retirement offers as the automakers try to cut their work forces and reduce expenses. (22 h ago)

• China: Up To 26M Migrants Now Jobless China: Up To 26M Migrants Now Jobless
02/02/2009
An estimated 26 million desperately poor rural Chinese are jobless after pinning their hopes on factory jobs that dried up. An official said widespread unemployment could threaten the country's social stability. (1 d ago)

• Super Bowl Ads Hits & Misses Super Bowl Ads Hits & Misses
02/02/2009
A lot of people tuned into the Super Bowl last night just to see the commercials. A Doritos ad was the hands-down fan favorite according to a "USA Today" consumer opinion poll. (1 d ago)

• Americans Are Saving More, Spending Less Americans Are Saving More, Spending Less
02/02/2009
Americans' savings rate as a percentage of after-tax incomes rose to 2.9 percent in the last three months of 2008. The Commerce Department also reported consumer spending fell for a record sixth straight month in December. (2 d ago)

• Bailout Banks Sought More Foreign Worker... Bailout Banks Sought More Foreign Workers
02/02/2009
Even as the economy collapsed last year and many financial workers found themselves unemployed, the dozen U.S. banks now receiving the biggest bailouts requested visas for tens of thousands of foreign workers to fill high-paying jobs. (2 d ago)

• Credit cards take swipes at stability Credit cards take swipes at stability
02/03/2009
With consumer credit-card debt climbing, banks are shifting marketing strategies to get their plastic in the hands of more financially stable customers. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports. (21 h ago)

• Credit cards often sell us on spending Credit cards often sell us on spending
02/03/2009
When it comes to spending money, some of us prefer the immediacy of cash, others the cushion of credit. That cushion is what credit card companies count on. But behavioral economist Dan Ariely tells Kai Ryssdal it skews our perception of spending. (21 h ago)

• Decoder: The value of 'goodwill' Decoder: The value of 'goodwill'
02/03/2009
Rico Gagliano explains what the term "goodwill" means in financial circles. (21 h ago)

• Letters: Your thoughts we can't refuse Letters: Your thoughts we can't refuse
02/03/2009
Kai Ryssdal reviews your comments on education, bar mitzvahs, mixed martial arts, our remarks about the Post Office, and an erroneous quote from "The Godfather." (21 h ago)

• Obama touts stimulus plan via e-mails Obama touts stimulus plan via e-mails
02/03/2009
President Obama is trying to turn his successful online political campaign into a movement. He's sent millions of e-mails to supporters, asking them to gather and talk about the economic stimulus bill in Congress. Steve Henn reports. (21 h ago)

• Avon's calling for more sales reps Avon's calling for more sales reps
02/03/2009
Avon announced higher fourth-quarter profits today. And its Super Bowl ad seeking sales reps caught a lot of attention. Is a recession the right time to start a home-based business? Janet Babin reports. (21 h ago)

• Source of crisis goes beyond banks Source of crisis goes beyond banks
02/03/2009
A new report says that throughout last year, even as the credit crisis took hold, banks were still extending credit -- plenty of it. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports that, while the U.S. credit market has gotten smaller, you can't blame it all on the banks. (21 h ago)

• Fed keeps pumping money into banks Fed keeps pumping money into banks
02/03/2009
The Federal Reserve says it's going to keep extending its lifeline of cash to the banking system, indicating it's nowhere near weaning banks off emergency treatment. Bob Moon reports. (21 h ago)

• Madoff madness Madoff madness
02/04/2009
Much has been said about the Securities and Exchange Commission's incompetence over fraudster Bernard Madoff and why it ignored all the red flags. Now whistleblower Harry Markopoulos, who warned... (5 h ago)

• US auto sales continue to shrink US auto sales continue to shrink
02/04/2009
US automakers are in serious trouble with the Financial Times reporting that China has overtaken the US in car sales. According to the FT, annualised US car sales slipped below 10 million last month... (5 h ago)

• Bank bailout failure Bank bailout failure
02/03/2009
If nothing else, the latest events are showing us that Bush's bank bailout strategy was a complete and absolute failure.First, we had the reports last week of four banks closing in January. The... (1 d ago)

• Global crisis creating turmoil Global crisis creating turmoil
02/03/2009
Last week, I did a blog entry looking at whether the riots in Paris would spread around the world. Will the economic meltdown create urban unrest and violence?Apparently it's happening right now.... (1 d ago)

• Citigroup greed Citigroup greed
02/02/2009
Citigroup has been in all sorts of strife since receivign a taxpayer funded $45 billion cash injection to keep the wolves from the door.At the end of last month, the world's biggest bank had to... (2 d ago)

• Does Sarbanes-Oxley mean audit offshorin... Does Sarbanes-Oxley mean audit offshoring?
02/02/2009
Offshoring has become more prevalent in recent years. Most firms send part of their operations to cheaper places overseas.But offshoring of audit functions is becoming more popular and, according to... (2 d ago)

Business

Technology

Sports

Entertainment

This is abundant, look forward to looking into ea...
John gogs :: 12/28/2009

Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?...
CocoChanels :: 07/03/2009

Hi, my friends!! I want to get program XRumer 5.0 ...
MagicOPromotion :: 05/03/2009

Where is this money coming from except from the mo...
carl allen :: 04/11/2009

out of control
staystrong :: 02/23/2009

The poor thing! Once so high and mighty and far ab...
leaf :: 02/22/2009

It always amazed me how eagerly people flocked to ...
David :: 12/23/2008

• Despite the economy, Uncle Sam is hiring Despite the economy, Uncle Sam is hiring
02/02/2009
The economic downturn has forced private industry and state and local government to shed jobs, but one major employer in the country is hiring: The federal government. (1 d ago)

• Your Career: Ace your job interview Your Career: Ace your job interview
02/01/2009
If there ever was a time to make yourself stand out during a job interview, this recession is it, because you’ll be up against a large pool of talented applicants. (2 d ago)

• From high-tech executive to Mr. Mom From high-tech executive to Mr. Mom
02/01/2009
In a year, Don McCoy has gone from being a top executive in a high-tech startup to Mr. Mom. Now he cares for his two children while his wife tries to make her fledgling walking tour business meet some of the financial demands left open by his long-term unemployment. (2 d ago)

• A health care headache A health care headache
02/02/2009
Your Biz blog: It’s getting ugly out there for small business owners struggling to keep on paying high health insurance premiums for themselves and their workers. (1 d ago)

• Answer Desk: Small business bailout? Answer Desk: Small business bailout?
02/02/2009
Small business owners are wondering: is there anything in this bailout that's going to help me? The answer, unfortunately, is: not much. The Answer Desk. (2 d ago)

• Video: Video: NFL boosts the bottom line Video: Video: NFL boosts the bottom line
02/01/2009
Feb. 1: Many large companies look to smaller shops to boost their own bottom line. One example is the NFL. They've recruited a team of small businesses for the biggest game of the year. (MSNBC) (3 d ago)

• Coke, Pepsi ready for new round of soda ... Coke, Pepsi ready for new round of soda wars
02/01/2009
Feeling bad about the economy? Indulge a little, have a soda. (2 d ago)

• 5 More Ways to Save on Heating Bills 5 More Ways to Save on Heating Bills
02/03/2009
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 278370 While I have already given you a number of tips about saving money on heating, I would like to give you a couple more. Once again, these tips are rather... (1 d ago)

• More Tips to Help You Save On Heating ... More Tips to Help You Save On Heating Costs
02/02/2009
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 6284593 With so many people laid off of work and having a hard time getting by, high heating costs is something you can do without. Most of these tips are rather... (1 d ago)

• Russian Investments and Hedge Funds Russian Investments and Hedge Funds
02/03/2009
The 11 year period of January 1998 through December 2008, which encompasses two market meltdowns and many other mini-crises, the Pharos Russia Fund has returned a total of 100.33%, against a gain of... (1 d ago)

• Credis Suisse sheds light on hedge fund ... Credis Suisse sheds light on hedge fund failure
02/02/2009
Credit Suisse Tremont Index LLC released a new research piece, 'One for the History Books: Hedge Fund Performance in 2008′, a review of the factors which contributed to hedge funds' dismal... (2 d ago)

• Stocks Are Mixed as Market Is Gripped b... Stocks Are Mixed as Market Is Gripped by 'Legislative Paralysis'
02/02/2009
NEW YORK, Feb. 2 -- Investors worried about the recession have turned to a strategy of cherry-picking stocks -- on Monday sending tech shares higher and industrials lower. (1 d ago)

• Tool Kit: Lessons Learned From Hard Time... Tool Kit: Lessons Learned From Hard Times Past
02/02/2009
Entrepreneurs say that it is even more important to keep learning and to strengthen relationships when the economy is in a downturn. (1 d ago)