Posts Tagged ‘political

16
Mar

Dodd Lays Out Details of Financial Overhaul Bill

By alfredlester Closed
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WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats, with the backing of the Obama administration, took a big step forward on Monday toward adopting the most sweeping overhaul of financial regulations since the Depression, calling on Republicans to join them to adopt the measure in the thick of an election year.

Exactly 18 months since Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, setting in motion a financial crisis that required a federal bailout of unprecedented scope, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee laid out a bill that aims to ensure stability for the financial system; close regulatory loopholes that had allowed excessive risk-taking; and protect consumers from the kinds of abusive loans that brought down the housing market.

The bill would enshrine Washington’s role in policing Wall Street, creating a nine-member council, led by the Treasury secretary, to detect systemic risks to the markets and placing the Federal Reserve in charge of all of the nation’s largest and most interconnected financial institutions.

The banking committee chairman, Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, noted that negotiators from the two parties were not far apart when he announced last week that Democrats would proceed with their own bill.

“We will have financial reform adopted this year in the Congress of the United States,” Mr. Dodd said.

Even so, the measure’s prospects remained far from certain.

The major flashpoints will include, among other things, the scope of authority for a new Consumer Financial Protection Bill to be established within the Fed; the scope of exemptions under new rules governing the trade of derivatives; and the mechanism by which the government could seize and dismantle a large company on the verge of failure.

Another provision is one intended to curb Wall Street’s influence over the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Its president would be appointed by the president of the United States, not by a board that includes representatives of member banks business card design.

Mr. Dodd estimated that there was substantial bipartisan agreement on 9 of the bill’s 11 titles, the exceptions being consumer protection and corporate governance.

The bill “reflects an awful lot of work that has gone on between Democrats and Republicans on this committee,” Mr. Dodd said, taking pains to praise the top Republican on the committee, Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, and another member, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, who had spearheaded Republican negotiations in recent weeks.

The bill quickly attracted praise from observers — if not lawmakers — on both sides of the aisle.

“This will ensure that large financial institutions face the same resolution process as small banks and eliminate the possibility of future government bailouts,” said Sheila C. Bair, a Republican who is chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard law professor who is chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel that oversees the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said in a statement, “Despite the banks’ ferocious lobbying for business as usual, Chairman Dodd took an important step today by advancing new laws to prevent the next crisis. We’re now heading toward a series of votes in which the choice will be clear: families or banks.”

Douglas J. Elliott, a former investment banker and now a fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the proposal appeared to “represent a major improvement to the status quo, but political compromises significantly diminish its effectiveness compared to an ideal set of reforms.”

Dodd Lays Out Details of Financial Overhaul Bill

14
Mar

Retail sales rise as shoppers fight winter blues

By alfredlester Closed
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. retail sales rose unexpectedly last month despite heavy snow storms that were thought to have kept shoppers at home and bolstered hopes of a sustainable economic recovery.

Optimism about Friday's report was tempered by a slip in consumer confidence early this month. Worries about stubbornly high unemployment held back sentiment, even though the economy appears to be on the cusp of creating jobs.

"The manufacturing recovery is starting to broaden out to the key consumer area of the economy. Consumers are keeping up their end of the bargain to ensure the recovery from recession is a sustainable one," said Chris Rupkey of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in New York.

Sales rose 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said, as consumers bought an array of goods from necessities to luxury items. Analysts had expected sales to slip 0.2 percent. January sales, however, were revised down to a gain of 0.1 percent from the previously reported 0.5 percent rise.

U.S. stocks initially rose on the retail sales data but lost steam, and major indexes ended flat on the surprise drop in consumer confidence. U.S. government debt prices rose as investors focused on the weak sentiment data, while the dollar tumbled to a one-month low against the euro.

The sales report was the latest in a series of data hinting at building underlying strength in an economic recovery that has been largely driven by government stimulus and a swing toward inventory building by businesses.

Officials from the Federal Reserve meet on Tuesday and are expected to hold overnight interest rates in a range of zero to 0.25 percent and maintain a pledge to keep them ultra-low for an "extended period" to foster a more robust recovery.

Stronger data, however, could spark a lively discussion at the meeting, as some officials have raised concerns about the inflationary impact of keeping rates too low for too long.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Friday the economy was gradually strengthening across the board, but cautioned it would take time to fully recover.

The rise in spending came even as consumers were turning more sour. Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers' index on consumer sentiment slipped to 72 cash advance to savings account.5 from 73.6 in February. That was below market expectations for 73.6.

LABOR MARKET KEY

Economists, however, warned against placing too much weight on the dip in sentiment, saying it was not a good predictor of future sales. Consumer spending has continued to surprise on the upside even with confidence trending lower.

"What is more important is what happens in the job market and that market is improving. February was distorted by storms, but the underlying trend is up and March will be strong," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services in Boston.

Sluggish consumer spending had fed worries the economy's recovery from the worst downturn in seven decades could falter when support from government stimulus and the swing in the inventory cycle disappears.

Motor vehicle and parts purchases extended their decline last month, falling 2 percent, likely reflecting a drop in demand by consumers nervous about vehicle recalls by Toyota Motor Corp. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales rose 0.8 percent, building on a 0.5 percent rise the prior month.

Even more encouraging, core retail sales — which correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of the government's gross domestic product report — increased 0.9 percent after rising 0.6 percent in January.

"This implies that personal consumption is on track to exceed 2.0 percent for the first quarter of the year and bodes well for a greater than 3.0 percent print on gross domestic product," said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at Brusuelas Analytics in Stamford, Connecticut.

A second report from the Commerce Department showed business inventories were unchanged in January after falling by 0.3 percent in December.

Inventories are a key component of gross domestic product changes over the business cycle and a sharp slowdown in the pace of inventory liquidation handed the economy its fastest growth rate in six years in the fourth quarter.

(Additional reporting by Glenn Somerville in Washington and Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Retail sales rise as shoppers fight winter blues

10
Mar

Senate to pass jobless aid, business tax breaks

By alfredlester Closed
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WASHINGTON – Legislation blending help for the jobless with popular tax breaks for businesses and individuals is slated to pass the Senate Wednesday over protests from conservatives who say it adds too much to the $12.5 trillion national debt.

But compassion for the jobless and the political power of an annual package of tax breaks is likely to produce a bipartisan vote to pass the measure, even though it would add more than $130 billion to the budget deficit over the next year and a half.

The bill would provide unemployment benefits of up to 99 months in many states for people mired in joblessness as the economy slowly recovers from the worst recession in decades. The measure easily cleared a procedural hurdle Tuesday by a 66-34 vote, with eight Republicans voting with Democrats to break a GOP filibuster.

The measure illustrates the great extent to which direct help for the jobless and the poor makes up a large portion of Democrats’ election-year agenda on jobs — and threatens to squeeze out other items amid concerns about a budget deficit projected at a record $1.6 trillion this year.

The sweeping bill cleans up a host of unfinished congressional business from last year that languished as the Senate focused on health care. It would also prevent doctors from absorbing a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments and extends through December a generous 65 percent subsidy of health insurance premiums for the unemployed under the COBRA program, at a cost of $10 billion.

Democrats also hope to finish work this week on a far smaller job-creation measure blending additional highway spending with new tax breaks for companies that hire the unemployed inferred heaters. The Senate could clear the measure for President Barack Obama’s signature by Friday.

Wednesday’s larger bill also provides the annual extension of $26 billion worth of tax breaks for businesses and individuals that are popular with senators in both parties.

The $66 billion cost of providing additional months of unemployment checks — the core benefit is 26 weeks — is added directly to a budget deficit expected to hit $1.6 trillion this year. Federal cash to help states with Medicaid adds about $25 billion more.

“Even though these programs may be good for your state, a senator has an obligation to stand up and say ‘no more,’” said freshman GOP Sen. George Lemieux of Florida. “No more spending our kids’ future. No more bankrupting the promise of this country.”

But Democrats said it would be heartless to cut off unemployment benefits to the long-term jobless and contended that the benefits inject demand into the economy, helping to lift it.

“This is not just some technical bill,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. “This bill helps real people. Failure to enact this bill would cause real hardship. Failure to enact this bill would cost jobs.”

The tax breaks include a property tax deduction for people who don’t itemize, lucrative credits that help businesses finance research and development and a sales tax deduction that mainly helps people in the nine states without income taxes.

Senate to pass jobless aid, business tax breaks

01
Feb

News Analysis: Is the Day of Tiny Ads Finally Here?

By alfredlester Closed
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Every year around this time, a few brave forecasters declare that advertising on mobile devices is poised to become the next big thing in marketing. And every year, the results disappoint.

But this year, with technology powerhouses like Apple and Google introducing whole new mobile devices and buying up ad firms specializing in the small screen, the forecasts may finally be right.

By now, the sales pitch is familiar: The mobile phone offers advertisers all the benefits of traditional Internet ads, including the ability to track their effectiveness. And it lets marketers reach consumers on the go, on a gadget they clutch intimately.

Why, then, according to Juniper Research, did worldwide spending on mobile advertising last year amount to only $1.4 billion — less than one third of one percent of total ad revenue?

For one thing, some marketers remain wary about trying it, for fear of annoying consumers by intruding on their personal space. A technical toolbox poorly equipped to work with small screens has also hurt; after all, banner ads the size of thumbnails don’t make a big impression.

Industry analysts say that now, with the introduction of Apple’s iPad tablet, an entirely new approach to mobile ads could be near.

That is because the iPad, a cross between a laptop and an iPhone, looks more like an iPhone from an ad perspective. It does not support Adobe Flash, the software used for much PC-based advertising. So, to make their ads available to iPad users, marketers may have to develop new kinds of ads, rather than simply adapting existing Web ads no faxing payday loan.

Apple, seeing big potential in mobile advertising, recently agreed to acquire a specialist in that business, Quattro Wireless. That followed a deal by Google to buy one of the largest players in the field, AdMob. The combined $1 billion-plus cost was of a scale not previously seen in the world of advertising on the tiny screen.

“It’s a pretty exciting time for the market,” said Oliver Roxburgh, managing director of the British operations of YOC, a mobile ad agency. “It’s starting to grow up a little.”

Mr. Roxburgh’s enthusiasm has been buoyed by the efforts of Apple and Google and is shared by a growing chorus of industry experts.

Indeed, Windsor Holden, a principal analyst at Juniper Research, predicts that mobile ad spending worldwide will more than quadruple, to $6 billion, by 2014. And he does not shrink from the prediction.

“Everybody has been hoping for about the last five years that the next year would be the one when mobile advertising takes off,” Mr. Holden said. “There are a number of pointers to the possibility that this will be the year when we get some significant traction.”

News Analysis: Is the Day of Tiny Ads Finally Here?

Hot News: Economic Preview: Too soon to say recovery will last

25
Jan

Geithner warns of Bernanke fallout

By alfredlester Closed
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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned that the financial markets would view a Senate rejection of Ben Bernanke's renomination as "very troubling" but said he's sure the embattled Federal Reserve chairman will prevail.

"We're very confident that the chairman will be reconfirmed by the Senate, and we think it's very important he be reconfirmed by the Senate," Geithner said Friday in an interview at the Treasury for POLITICO's new video series, "Inside Obama's Washington," debuting Monday.

"He's done a remarkable job of helping steer this economy out of the great recession. And I think he'll play a very important role in helping in the success of our efforts to try to make sure we are bringing this economy back to durable growth."

Asked about possible market reaction to a defeat, Geithner said: "I think the markets would view that as a very troubling thing to the economy as a whole. But, as I said, I don't think they should be uncertain. I think they should be confident because we are very confident he will be reconfirmed."

Bernanke is having such a rough time, Geithner suggested, because the country is "in a moment where people are incredibly angry and frustrated by the damage this crisis caused."

"You see that across the country," Geithner said. "That's perfectly understandable, and everybody involved in this effort is bearing a lot of the brunt of that frustration and anger."

The Bernanke nomination is the latest headache for the nation's 75th Treasury secretary, who has kept his dry sense of humor while juggling some of the Obama administration's highest-stakes crises — winding down financial bailouts and trying to get banks lending again, instilling confidence despite data that are mixed at best and serving as a public face (and sometimes punching bag) for an economic team often accused of being too close to Wall Street.

He sees his biggest challenge as getting the right incentives in place to help spur private-sector job creation through tax, export and research-and-development policies. And he continues to shepherd the financial reregulation that was a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's first-year agenda. The House has passed a version, and the Senate will continue working on it this winter.

Geithner is most grateful that his strategy to bring private capital in to stabilize the markets has worked effectively. Banks have raised about $200 billion in nongovernment equity and debt, effectively taking the government out. Last year, most everyone assumed the U.S. would have to pony up a lot more taxpayer money. In fact, the government has gotten most of the bank money back and is on track to make a profit on that part of the bailout. Treasury’s view is that without that stability in the system, no progress on the broader economy would have been possible.

Geithner, 48, came up as a staff guy, working in three administrations for five Treasury secretaries. And he was president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York during the financial meltdown of 2008. So this is the second time that he's been one of a handful of officials charged with staving off a depression.

Despite the sudden pressure from Bernanke's renomination, Geithner chatted calmly in the Treasury's Diplomatic Reception Room. He joked that he'd like to do a segment explaining the economy on ESPN's "SportsCenter" (he can't tell the anchors apart) and was looking forward to a birthday dinner with his wife, Carole, at Rasika, a hip Indian restaurant in Penn Quarter.

The question hanging over the pleasantries: Is there any way that Bernanke could lose?

"I don't believe so," Geithner replied. "We are very confident that this will happen, and he will have the support he needs to continue in this important role."

On Saturday, Obama made what a White House aide called "a few check-in calls to senators and members of leadership to make sure Bernanke was on track, and he was assured he was."

The White House was rushing to shore up Bernanke as the stock market was dropping, after Obama's announcement that he wanted further restrictions on the activities of the biggest banks. Geithner rejected the banks' contention that the proposed rules could mean thinner markets and less money available for lending.

"That's the argument you're always going to hear when you try to change things," he said no fax pay day loan. "But I do not believe that there is a credible risk of that in the reforms we are pursuing."

One of the most surprising — and persistent — critics of the administration's economic team has been Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, who has taken a boisterously populist tack that includes a Move Your Money campaign to get depositors to move their money from big banks to neighborhood banks.

Geithner didn't endorse her idea. But he did say that customers of financial institutions "should be very demanding in the kind of service they expect, the kind of products they get, the disclosure banks offer to basic fairness and dealings."

"I'm very supportive of customers of banks, other investors of banks, creditors of banks holding them to very high standards — that's something that's very appropriate," Geithner said. "I'm not concerned about her campaign, and I agree with the basic principle … that we've been through a period where I think people are right to expect more of their financial institutions."

Huffington had an off-the-record dinner with Geithner shortly after Thanksgiving and gave him some advice he clearly has not taken. Dodging a question about their conversation, the secretary said that his approach of "trying to fix [the system] quickly and cleanly" should have appeal for both ends of the political spectrum.

"If you're on the right, you should be relatively pleased with our strategy, because we were able to pull the government out of the financial system much more quickly than people thought," he said. "We have a much, much smaller footprint today than when I came into office. And if you're from the left, you should be able to look at the strategy and say, by solving this today at much lower cost, we have more resources available to do things that many people think are important for the government to do better."

Other key points by Geithner:

— On whether he remains confident a clear recovery will be under way by this spring: "Very confident. The economy is healing. It's growing. It's more broad-based. You see the classic signs of greater confidence among consumers and businesses now. They see stronger orders. So I think we've been successful in breaking the momentum of the worst recession in generations. But this crisis caused a lot of wreckage.There's still a lot of damage out there. Unemployment is still very, very high, and we have a lot of work to do to make sure that we're restoring confidence, getting people back to work, making businesses comfortable to make the kind of decisions that are necessary to grow the economy. … I think most business economists, most businesses, would say now that you'll probably start to see positive job growth sometime in the spring."

— On when people are going to start to feel better about the economy: "The turn really came in the second quarter of last year — really in the spring and early summer. That's when the economy started to bottom. That's when the financial markets started to show the classic signs of confidence and hope. And there's been a steady, gradual improvement since then. … I just want to emphasize that this crisis caused an enormous amount of damage not just to people's lives and to businesses but to their confidence in how this country is being run. And we need to restore that, rebuild that. That's going to take a lot of effort over time."

— On his philosophy for the job: "The most important thing — and the really only source of credibility and confidence — is to be honest with people about the challenges we face, to try to be open about how we think it's best to solve them and then to act."

— On his own job security: "I'm going to do this as long as the president wants me to help contribute to fixing this mess, and I'm very proud of what he's been able to accomplish in this first year under enormously difficult conditions."

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Geithner warns of Bernanke fallout

21
Jan

Fed defends actions in AIG case, invites inquiry

By alfredlester Closed
Categories: Free blog Tips, blog, business, economic and online
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday launched a vigorous defense of their dealings with American International Group (AIG.N), calling for a Congressional audit and denying any inappropriate action with respect to payments the bailed-out insurer made to banks.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke invited a full Congressional audit of the U.S. central bank's dealings with AIG and the New York Fed turned over 250,000 pages of documents to a House committee that has scheduled a hearing on the matter next week.

The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee is investigating whether the New York Fed improperly limited public disclosures about payments to banks to unwind $62.1 billion in AIG credit default swaps.

In a lengthy memo posted on its website, the New York Fed contested a number of basic points that had been reported earlier after a batch of emails was released by a lawmaker that appeared to show the New York Fed counseled AIG not to reveal it was paying banks 100 cents on the dollar on credit default swaps it had written.

The New York Fed said it was "incorrect" to say that as a result of its actions, AIG did not tell the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was paying banks including Goldman Sachs Inc (GS overnight pay day loans.N) 100 cents on the dollar for swaps contracts.

AIG, in filings with the SEC, said the securities were being bought by letting banks retain collateral and by making cash payments that — taken together — roughly equaled the full value of the swaps, the Fed said.

The New York Fed also disputed charges that it leaned on AIG not to make required disclosures to regulators about the transactions.

"Some have … suggested that the (New York Fed) pressured AIG not to make required disclosures about material elements of the Maiden lane III transactions," the Fed said, referring to the special entity it set up to fund the rescue of AIG swaps contracts.

"This is also incorrect," the New York Fed asserted.

The central bank further denied that it was as a result of pressure from it that AIG sought to keep the names of the counterparties under wraps.

When pressed to disclose the names by the SEC, AIG sought confidentiality, fearing those firms and others might sever businesses ties over a breach of trust, the New York Fed said.

Fed defends actions in AIG case, invites inquiry

15
Jan

Waning volatility favors Gap, Ford stocks: analyst

By alfredlester Closed
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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — A calmer environment for stock trading, illustrated by the VIX near mid-2008 lows, should benefit stocks distinguished by potential earnings strength and price momentum — a varied group including Gap Inc., Ford Motor Co. and Goldman Sachs, say analysts at Bank of America Merrill-Lynch.

Stock Market Volatility Suggests Higher Prices

Key measures of stock market volatility, such as the Vix and VStoxx, indicate that stocks are likely to climb. But a consensus view of a 10% rise could be wrong.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index , which uses options contracts based on the S&P 500 index to measure market expectations of near-term volatility, has fallen 18.6% since the start of the year to 17.65. Earlier this week it breached the 17 level, a first since May 2008.

The decline in the index, often dubbed Wall Street’s fear gauge, reflects a steep rise in investor confidence as stocks rebounded from multiyear lows hit in March 2008, battered by the credit crisis and U.S. recession.

U.S. stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, have gained 36% in the past year and have surged 72% off their March lows. The VIX, meanwhile, has fallen 64% in the past year.

Cyclical sectors — or industries seen as benefiting from the early stages of an economic recovery — have led the way. Of the S&P 500’s 10 industry groups, tech, materials and consumer discretionary sectors have gained the most in the past year.

The drop in the VIX “has been associated with the outperformance of pro-economy types of sectors and the lagging behavior of healthcare, staples and more defensive stocks,” said Myles Zyblock, chief institutional strategist at RBC Capital Markets.

He thinks that trend has more room to run.

But further declines in the VIX could lay the groundwork for a different type of stock-picking strategy.

Focus on fundamentals

B. of A. quantitative strategist Savita Subramanian wrote Wednesday that “the likeliest direction for the VIX is a continued decline over the next 12 months” and suggested this extended drop will favor investing strategies that select stocks attractive in terms of their price momentum and their prices compared to past earnings no teletrack payday loans.

A focus on more fundamental measures contrasts with last year, when the dramatic drop in the VIX favored stocks seen as riskier, such as those with small sizes, and those that carried high betas. A high beta indicates a stock tends to make wilder swings than the broader market.

To pick the best stocks for a period of low volatility, B. of A. analysts screened stocks using strategies that seemed to work best in the 2004 to 2006 period.

These included those that were in the top quartile of the S&P 500 based on price momentum, which essentially shows how much these stocks have started to rise; whether Wall Street stock analysts were increasing their earnings estimates for the companies; and valuation based on earnings and cash flow yield. They also had to be rated “buy” by B. of A. stock analysts.

The list includes a handful of consumer oriented stocks — including Gap , Priceline.com , and Ford Motor Co. — as well as miner Freeport McMoRan , brokerage Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , paper company MeadWestvaco and energy company Anadarko Petroleum Corp. .

Shares in Gap have gained 72% over the last 12 months. Priceline has surged 202%; Ford Motor shares have ballooned 420% and Goldman Sachs shares have gained 123%.

The S&P 500, in contrast, has gained 36%.

In Thursday’s trading, major stock indexes rose to new 15-month highs, though most sectors struggled for direction as investors awaited the after-hours release of Intel Corp. .

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 30 points, or 0.3%, to 10,711. The Nasdaq Composite gained 9 points, or 0.4%, to 2,317. The S&P 500 added 3 points, or 0.2%, to 1,148.

Waning volatility favors Gap, Ford stocks: analyst

Hot News: Techs lead Wall St higher; Intel up after results

03
Jan

Business Briefing | Labor: Contract Talks at Chilean Copper Mine Break Down

By alfredlester Closed
Categories: blog, market, online, power and world
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Union representatives for Codelco’s Chuquicamata copper miners in Chile said that last-minute contract talks broke down, ending an effort to head off a strike set to begin on Monday. Negotiations had resumed on Friday, the last day of the current contract, according to a union official, Miguel Lopez. “We are not going to sign today,” Mr. Lopez said by telephone. “We will just have to carry out the strike.” Chuquicamata is part of the state-owned Codelco’s Norte unit, which accounted for almost half of the company’s copper output of 1 payday advance.55 million metric tons in 2008. Codelco is one of the largest copper producers in the world. Worldwide production this year is estimated at 18.1 million tons, according to Barclays Capital.

Business Briefing | Labor: Contract Talks at Chilean Copper Mine Break Down

27
Dec

Christmas and Boxing Day shoppers defy British recession

By alfredlester Closed
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By Peter Barker

LONDON, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) — Despite the continuing recession, shoppers in Britain took to the Internet on Christmas Day and the High Street on Boxing Day in the search for bargains.

On Christmas Day all shops, banks and transport were shut, but the first shopping days after Christmas now see big discounts from high street retailers large and small, known as the Sales.

Up until the late 1990s virtually no high street chains were open on Boxing Day, December 26. After that retailers quickly seized the opportunity to be open for customers keen to find bargains.

This year supermarket chains like Tesco and Sainsbury’s opened stores, but other famous chains like Marks & Spencer and Waitrose remained shut. Some household names, like Debenhams and Next, opened earlier than usual, at 8 a.m..

The Guardian newspaper reported on its website that in London, hundreds of people queued outside Selfridges’ flagship store before the doors opened at 9 a.m.. When the doors opened shoppers rushed for bargains and stewards were used to control the crowd.

Richard Brasher, Tesco’s commercial and trading director, said in a statement: “Boxing Day is a key time for customers looking to save on electrical items, homeware and clothing. We will cut prices on big brand homeware and electricals.”

Online retail is an area which barely existed 10 years ago, but with the greater penetration of broadband and the increasing e-retail awareness of businesses, it is fast becoming an important source of income and is breaking down the old tradition that Christmas Day was a day when no shopping was done.

Internet retailing is driven by infrastructure and demand. According to the Office of National Statistics, at the end of 2008,the last period statistics are available for, 95.1 percent of all Internet connections were broadband, with 59.6 percent at speeds of more than 2 Mbps (megabytes per second).

Advertisers recognize this, and in 2008 the Internet took 23.2 percent of total ad spend, according to Ofcom, the communications industry regulator in Britain. This was beaten only by newspapers (28.4 percent) and TV (26.4 percent). The proportion of ad spend on the Internet in Britain was far higher than in any other major developed nation, with France and Germany next on 15.6 percent and15.3 percent respectively.

Robin Goad, research director at Experian Hitwise, said: “Last year Christmas Day was the seventh busiest online day of the year for online retailers, while Boxing Day was the busiest Same day payday loans.

“Over the last few years the importance of these two days has been increasing, and we see no reason for it to be any different this Christmas. We have already seen that shoppers are willing to hold out longer for a bargain this year, with ‘Cyber Monday’ moving a week closer to Christmas.

“This behavior is likely to carry through to the post-Christmas period, with people logging on after Christmas lunch to find the best discounts before hitting the high street and shopping malls the following day (Boxing Day).”

Cyber Monday is the name given to the busiest Internet shopping day of the year, usually the first Monday in December as customers place orders for their Christmas presents in time for them to be delivered.

E-retail industry body IMRG estimated that on Christmas Day 4.3million shoppers went on-line - spending 120 million pounds (about191.5 million U.S. dollars), at an average of 27.90 pounds each.

The year-on-year growth in sales value for December is expected to be around 14 percent, with around 5.2 billion pounds (about 8.3billion U.S. dollars) expected to be spent online this month.

Christmas Day sales online are boosted by the presents given earlier in the day.

David Smith, director at IMRG, described what happens. He said: “A lot of purchases are for downloads be it films or computer games. If you have received a games console or computer for Christmas one of the first things you want to do is download something.”

Brian McBride, managing director of Amazon.co.uk Ltd, said: “In2008, we saw a 150 percent increase in sales on Christmas Day compared to the previous year. One of the great things about the advent of Internet shopping is that you now have stores that are open 24/7, every single day of the year.

“We saw high volumes of gift certificates being redeemed on Christmas Day as well as a substantial number of MP3 tracks being purchased, with people presumably logging on to get content for the MP3 player that they had received as a gift earlier that day.”

McBride said that when the figures for Christmas Day 2009 were known, he expected them to be even better.

Christmas and Boxing Day shoppers defy British recession

22
Dec

Wall Street gains on optimism after home sales jump

By alfredlester Closed
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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks logged another 14-month high on Tuesday as a surge in existing home sales indicated more stabilization in housing and boosted optimism about the economic recovery.

Housing stocks led the way up with the Dow Jones U.S. home construction index (.DJUSHB) up 3.9 percent following data that

showed U.S. existing home sales rose in November at the fastest pace since February 2007.

Shares of D.R. Horton Inc (DHI.N) rose 3.8 percent to $11.15, while Toll Brothers Inc (TOL.N) gained 4.5 percent to $19.21.

"We definitely had a positive reaction off the housing numbers," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati.

Any sign of stabilization in housing lends a big boost to investor sentiment. It was the fallout from that sector's downturn that recently drove the economy into its worst recession since the 1930s and propelled the U.S. unemployment rate above 10 percent to a 26-year high.

"The housing numbers were very, very strong," Detrick added, "and that's what we've been seeing for several months."

Technology bellwethers also underpinned the market and helped the Nasdaq log a fresh 15-month high. International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) shot up 1 percent to $129.93 on the NYSE after the blue-chip company scored a 10-year outsourcing deal valued at $83 million. Among the Nasdaq's main advancers, Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) was up 1 percent at $30.81.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) rose 50.79 points, or 0.49 percent, to end at 10,464.93. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) added 3.97 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,118.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index ( saving account payday loan.IXIC) gained 15.01 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,252.67.

The CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) or VIX, Wall Street's favorite barometer of investor fear, fell below a key psychological level of 20 to its lowest level since August 2008. The Vix slid 4.6 percent to close at 19.54.

Earlier in the session, the S&P 500 (.SPX) hit a technical milestone, surging to an intraday high of 1,120.27. The index failed to hold that level, but it did reach a 14-month closing high.

Year-end window dressing — where portfolio managers sell laggards and buy shares that have gained recently — gave an extra boost to stocks that have led the rally.

Market technicians have said a breakout in the S&P 500 above the 1,120 level would signal more gains for the broader market and could help the S&P 500 take aim at the 1,200 level.

The S&P 500 has risen 65.3 percent since hitting a 12-year closing low on March 9. For the year, the S&P 500 is up 23.8 percent.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O), which has surged 134.8 percent this year, was up 1.1 percent at $200.36, not far below its 52-week high set on October 21.

Boeing Co (BA.N) gave the Dow one of its biggest lifts, rising 1.5 percent to $55.10 after it bought a stake in a U.S. plant that assembles the fuselage for its 787 Dreamliner.

A separate economic report that gave the final estimate of gross domestic product showed that GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the third quarter — below the forecast for a gain of 2.8 percent.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Wall Street gains on optimism after home sales jump

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15
Dec

Chinas centrally-administered SOEs expect 750 bln yuan in annual profits

By alfredlester Closed
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BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) — China’s centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are expected to reap 750 billion yuan (110.29 billion U.S. dollars) in profits this year as their business operations improve, the state assets watchdog announced Monday.

In the first 11 months, the 131 SOEs saw a 3.4 percent year-on-year growth in operation revenues to 11.1 trillion yuan and in profits to 710.9 billion yuan, according to figures released by the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).

Li Rongrong, director of the SASAC, announced the figures at a conference attended by senior executives of the centrally-administered SOEs online payday loans.

“We overcame great difficulties and maintained stable profit growth this year though the economic crisis dampened external demand,” he said.

Li also stressed that companies should enhance innovative capacity, strengthen core competitiveness and avoid blind expansion in 2010.

The SOEs made profits of 696.2 billion yuan in the corresponding period last year, said the SASAC. Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

China’s centrally-administered SOEs expect 750 bln yuan in annual profits

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08
Nov

G20 agrees to maintain support for global recovery

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St ANDREWS, UK, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — G20 policymakers agreed to maintain support for the recovery until it is assured in order to restore the global economy and financial system to health, according to the communique released after the two-day G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor Meeting ended here on Saturday afternoon.

Though a series of positive signs have shown that global economy is in the recovery process, the G20 policymakers said “while we will continue to provide support for the economy until the recovery is secured, we also commit to develop further our strategies for managing the withdrawal from our extraordinary macroeconomic and financial support measures” in the communique. Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren (C) walks with other representatives after the G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor Meeting in St. Andrews, Britain, Nov. 7, 2009. (Xinhua/Zeng Yi)
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The G20 hoped the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to develop principles for exit. “The IMF and FSB will continue to assist us in reviewing strategies and implementation, identifying areas where coordination is particularly important and providing assessments of their collective impact on the global economy and the financial system”, said the communique

They emphasized the importance of putting more flesh into the Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth (the Framework), which was signed at the Pittsburg Summit held in September, and adopting a detailed timetable and initiating a new consultative mutual assessment process to evaluate whether policies would collectively deliver the agreed objectives. Zhou Xiaochuan (R), governor of the People’s Bank of China (the central bank), talks to his South African counterpart Gill Marcus after the G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor Meeting in St. Andrews, Britain, Nov. 7, 2009. (Xinhua/Zeng Yi)
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So they agreed to set out national and regional policy frameworks, programs and projections by the end of January 2010 and conduct the initial phase of cooperative mutual assessment process, supported by IMF and World Bank analyses, of the collective consistency of national and regional policies in April 2010 bad credit payday advance.

They also agreed to develop a basket of policy options to deliver the above-mentioned objectives for Leaders to consider at their next Summit in June 2010; and to refine mutual assessment and develop more specific policy recommendations for Leaders at their Summit in November 2010.

“Our first challenge in using the Framework will be the transition from crisis response to stronger, more sustainable and balanced growth, consistent with our goals of sustainable public finances; price stability; stable, efficient and resilient financial systems; employment creation; and poverty reduction”, said the communique. G20 urges to push forward climate change financing but fails to reach agreement St ANDREWS, Britain, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — The G20 policymakers urged to push forward climate change financing but failed to reach an agreement on how to fund policies to tackle climate change at the two-day G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor Meeting (the Meeting) that ended here on Saturday afternoon. They have committed to work for an “ambitious outcome” at the upcoming Copenhagen climate change conference, but they could not agree on how to fund poor countries to deal with climate change. Full story G20 hopes to develop stronger standards for financial system St ANDREWS, UK, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — The G20 policymakers emphasized the need for the Basel Committee to develop stronger standards by end-2010 to be phased in with the aim of implementation by end-2012 as financial conditions improve and the economic recovery is assured, according to the communique issued after the two-day G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Central Governor Meeting was ended here on Saturday afternoon. It is commonly believed that the shortage of supervision and regulation is a key factor leading to the happening of the global financial crisis. So the financial watchdogs within the G20 nations and international financial institutions have called for strengthening the system in order to prevent financial crisis from taking place again. Full story

G20 agrees to maintain support for global recovery

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