financial crisis

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Netanyahu Calls 'Fanatical' Iran World's Biggest Danger

(Newser) - Barack Obama may be making overtures to Iran, but Benjamin Netanyahu wants none of it. The front-runner in the race to become Israel's next prime minister said the global economic crisis pales in comparison with the threat of a nuclear Iran and its "pre-medieval view of the world,"...

Struggling Airlines Pitch Clean(er) Planes

As customers become more valued, so does customer service

(Newser) - United Airlines used to give its planes’ interiors a thorough cleaning only every 6 months to save cash. But with carriers now fighting for every passenger, cleanliness has become a crucial weapon, the Chicago Tribune reports. Some United planes now get “heavy” cleans every two weeks. “People don’...

GOP Proposes Alternative Stimulus
GOP Proposes Alternative Stimulus
Jan 29, 2009 10:54 AM CST

GOP Proposes Alternative Stimulus

$478B plan, about half the cost of Obama's, said to create 6.2M jobs

(Newser) - House Republicans, fresh from unanimously opposing President Obama’s stimulus package, have proposed their own rescue bill, even as the White House promises retaliation, Politico reports. GOP leaders say their version would cost $478 billion—just over half the Obama price tag—and create 6.2 million jobs, a third...

Feds Bail Out Credit Union Network With $80B Guarantee

US injects $1 billion into nonprofit company that provides services to credit unions

(Newser) - Federal regulators yesterday expanded their bailout of the financial sector, injecting $1 billion into one of several nonprofit companies that services credit unions nationwide and offering a guarantee of up to $80 billion for uninsured deposits at the “wholesale” credit unions, reports the Wall Street Journal. Regulators acted after...

Sony's Profit Off 95% in Q4
Sony's Profit
Off 95% in Q4
Jan 29, 2009 6:46 AM CST

Sony's Profit Off 95% in Q4

Company blames slow economy, strong yen for 25% sales slump across the board

(Newser) - Slumping demand, a strong yen, and increased competition knocked Sony’s third-quarter profits off 95% from a year ago, reports CNN. Sony reported profits of $110 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, down from $2.2 billion a year ago. Sony’s gaming segment was hit especially hard, with...

'Black Thursday' Strike Staggers France

Biggest action in decades tests President Sarkozy

(Newser) - More than a million protesters in France are taking to the streets today in the country's biggest general strike in decades, reports the Times of London. The so-called "Black Thursday" job action is bringing together public and private sector workers, along with students, who are angered by President...

Wall Street Bonuses Fall 44%
 Wall Street Bonuses Fall 44% 
Jan 28, 2009 4:58 PM CST

Wall Street Bonuses Fall 44%

State may lose $1B in tax revenue

(Newser) - Wall Street firms still dished out end-of-year bonuses in 2008, but they were a lot smaller. Cash bonuses fell 44% from the year prior, from a total of $33 billion to $18 billion, Reuters reports. That drop may take $1 billion in tax revenue from New York state, which is...

Female Perspective Sorely Lacking at Davos

Gender equality slow to scale the Alps forum—and everyone's the worse for it

(Newser) - Women may be the ticket out of the global recession, but World Economic Forum leaders wouldn’t know it. The predominantly male organizers have invited few women—5% of announced attendees—to the exclusive Davos forum, a misstep for a meeting billed “Shaping the Post-Crisis World,” Morice Mendoza...

Postmaster Wants to Drop Delivery 1 Day a Week

Deficits, declining volume could lead to drastic cut

(Newser) - Massive deficits could force the postal service to cut out 1 day of mail delivery per week, the postmaster general told Congress today. John Potter asked lawmakers to lift the requirement that the agency deliver mail 6 days a week. "It is possible that the cost of 6-day delivery...

Fed Leaves Rate Unchanged, Will Try Other Tactics

Economy has weakened further, committee concludes at meeting

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve said the US economy has weakened further and signaled it will keep a key interest rate near zero for quite "some time" to cushion the fallout. The Fed agreed—with one dissenting vote—to keep the targeted range for the federal funds rate at a record...

To Consume or Not to Consume, That Is the Question

(Newser) - As Americans cut back on spending, a certain dread creeps in—not of having less, but of what curtailed consumption could mean for the future, Douglas Coupland notes in the New York Times. Sure, “a big drop in consumption sounds like the advent of a new utopia where people...

Jumbo Mortgage Defaults Soar
 Jumbo Mortgage Defaults Soar 
Jan 28, 2009 8:33 AM CST

Jumbo Mortgage Defaults Soar

Banks and investors brace for a new wave of defaults as jumbo loans default

(Newser) - Jumbo mortgages are now going south at an alarming rate, reports the Wall Street Journal, as affluent Americans face mounting layoffs and see their stock portfolios shrivel. Nearly 7% of prime jumbo loans—which average $750,000—were at least 90 days delinquent at the end of 2008, up from...

AOL Explores Sale of Bebo: Sources
AOL Explores
Sale of Bebo: Sources
Jan 27, 2009 3:56 PM CST

AOL Explores Sale of Bebo: Sources

Networking site may be on block for $200M year after $850M sale

(Newser) - Less than a year after shelling out $850 million to acquire Bebo, AOL is looking to sell, sources tell TechCruch—though both AOL and the social-networking site are denying it. Bebo, with underwhelming numbers and buffeted by the spiraling economy, could go for $200 million.

Crisis Brings Day Traders Back to Wall Street
Crisis Brings Day Traders Back to Wall Street
GLOSSIES
Jan 27, 2009 3:34 PM CST

Crisis Brings Day Traders Back to Wall Street

Risk-loving market riders experience new heyday

(Newser) - Some traders like to buy and hold positions based on rational market fundamentals. Then there’s Peter Milman, who’s constantly making—or losing—tens of thousands of dollars, perched over his computer making a furious stream of bets like an arcade pinball wizard. Day traders like Milman are having...

Both Sides Wary of Blowback Over Stimulus
Both Sides Wary of Blowback Over Stimulus
analysis
Jan 27, 2009 2:00 PM CST

Both Sides Wary of Blowback Over Stimulus

Obama, Dems want GOP buy-in, Repubs seek constraints

(Newser) - As President Obama and congressional Republicans fight over the outline of an economic stimulus package, each side is wary of catching blame for a botched effort, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Obama can’t guarantee the $825 billion plan will actually work and seeks public GOP buy-in; Republicans want to...

Ousted Thain Subpoenaed on Early Merrill Bonuses

NY attorney general also calls BoA exec in probe of banks and TARP funds

(Newser) - New York’s attorney general issued a subpoena today to force John Thain to testify about his acceleration of bonus payments for Merrill Lynch employees last month, the Financial Times reports. A subpoena was also issued to a Bank of America executive thought to have consulted with Thain—then Merrill’...

Wall Street Loses Sex Appeal as Big Guns Struggle
Wall Street Loses Sex Appeal as Big Guns Struggle
Analysis
Jan 27, 2009 12:34 PM CST

Wall Street Loses Sex Appeal as Big Guns Struggle

Talented people risk little by trying out academia, government

(Newser) - The gravitational pull of Wall Street on the nation's best and brightest students has weakened dramatically, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in the New York Times, as ridiculous pay packages and the thrill of risk-taking give way to layoffs and anxiety. "The whole cult and ethos of Wall Street, which...

McMansions, Like Everything Else, Are Shrinking

Average home size declines in what analysts call 'right-sizing'

(Newser) - Confirming what industry professionals have long suspected, builders and buyers alike are foregoing super-sized “McMansions” for smaller, more economical homes, the Wall Street Journal reports. The average home started in 2008’s third quarter was 2,438 square feet, down from 2,629 in the second quarter. The median...

Boehner Rejects Stimulus as Obama Heads to Hill

Minority whip gets in line ahead of tomorrow's vote

(Newser) - President Obama is headed to the Capitol today to chat up House Republicans on the stimulus bill, but they may be tough to sway: House Republican Leader John Boehner has told them to vote against Obama’s pet package tomorrow, Politico reports. Minority whip Eric Cantor seconded the motion in...

Consumer Confidence Finds a New Low in January

Conference Board's index at half its year-ago value

(Newser) - Americans' mood about the economy darkened even more in January, sending a widely watched barometer of consumer sentiment to yet another new low as people worry about their jobs and watch their retirement funds dwindle. The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index edged down to 37.7 from a...

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