23 June 2008
News and Comments - 06/23/08
Posted by Roy Bischoff under: General; What's News .
11 Comments so far...
Jesse Says:
23 June 2008 at 1:14 am.
Citigroup to Cut 10%
of Investment Banking Jobs
By DAVID ENRICH and DENNIS K. BERMAN
June 23, 2008; Page C1
Citigroup Inc., in the latest sign of bloodletting on Wall Street, is set this week to embark on an aggressive round of layoffs within its investment-banking division, people familiar with the matter said.
[John Havens]
The New York bank, which has suffered $15 billion in losses over the past two quarters and is likely to rack up billions of dollars in additional write-downs in the second quarter, this week will dismiss thousands of investment-banking employees world-wide as part of a plan to cut the roughly 65,000-employee group by 10%, the people said. Pink slips are likely to be handed out Monday.
“Citi indicated earlier this year that it would be resizing this business in response to market conditions and as part of our ongoing re-engineering efforts,” spokesman Dan Noonan said, without confirming specifics.
Across Wall Street, investment banks are adjusting to meager times as they deal with drop-offs in everything from mergers to initial public offerings.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121416925522495095.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
Cameron Says:
23 June 2008 at 5:41 am.
One way to handle gas prices: Move
By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com
Jun 19th, 2008
It may seem a bit drastic, but more and more people are taking what is perhaps the ultimate step in cutting gas prices: They’re moving.
Peaches Stevens used to rent an old farm house in southern Indiana. She loved the setting, but her job as a high school science teacher was 62 miles to the north.
Coaching golf after school made carpooling difficult, and even though her Dodge Neon got an impressive 30 miles a gallon, she was still spending upwards of $400 a month on gas.
So she moved. Now Stevens, 49, rents a place eight miles away from school. Plus, she bough a Honda scooter that gets 80 miles a gallon. Now she can get to work and back for about $16 a month.
“I’m doing it all for economic reasons,” said Stevens, who figures she’ll save enough in gas to pay off the $2,400 scooter in under 7 months. “I loved [the farmhouse], but I do feel like I’m doing the right thing.”
Stevens is part of a national trend of high gas prices playing a major role in where people choose to live. Factors like distance from work, access to public transportation, and proximity to shopping are gaining ground on square footage and whether or not the home has a yard and pushing people into more densely packed areas.
http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/one-way-to-handle-gas-prices:-move.html
Matt Says:
23 June 2008 at 9:06 am.
Everything seemingly is spinning out of control
Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Air fares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism.
Horatio Alger, twist in your grave.
The can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in the American psyche is under assault. Eroding it is a dour powerlessness that is chipping away at the country’s sturdy conviction that destiny can be commanded with sheer courage and perseverance.
The sense of helplessness is even reflected in this year’s presidential election. Each contender offers a sense of order — and hope. Republican John McCain promises an experienced hand in a frightening time. Democrat Barack Obama promises bright and shiny change, and his large crowds believe his exhortation, “Yes, we can.”
Even so, a battered public seems discouraged by the onslaught of dispiriting things. An Associated Press-Ipsos poll says a barrel-scraping 17 percent of people surveyed believe the country is moving in the right direction. That is the lowest reading since the survey began in 2003.
An ABC News-Washington Post survey put that figure at 14 percent, tying the low in more than three decades of taking soundings on the national mood.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080621/ap_on_re_us/out_of_control
Benjamin Says:
23 June 2008 at 11:42 am.
Stocks struggle as oil prices advance
NEW YORK - Stocks struggled Monday, making only short-lived advances as investors anxiously watched the direction of oil prices and awaited the Federal Reserve’s meeting that starts Tuesday.
Disappointment over Saudi Arabia’s weekend announcement about plans to boost production sent oil prices higher. Light, sweet crude rose $2.21 to $137.57 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
With little economic data arriving, investors have little to focus on but the price of oil and the Fed’s two-day meeting, which lets out on Wednesday. Most investors expect the Fed to keep its key federal funds rate on hold, and in its economic statement, emphasize the rising threat of inflation.
Denis Amato, chief investment officer at Ancora Advisors in Cleveland, questions how the Fed will balance weakness in areas of the economy like the financial sector with concerns about the weak dollar and the rising inflation it causes.
“We think the Fed is sort of in a quandary here … if they raise rates, they run the risk of having some negative impact on the economy and if they don’t raise rates, they run the risk of negatively influencing the dollar. That trend is driving up oil, which is impairing the economy,” he said.
In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 21.66, or 0.18 percent, to 11,821.03.
http://real-us.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street
Cavetrollhead Says:
23 June 2008 at 1:01 pm.
Matt, that article left out the fact that Cats and Dogs are living together, in unholy catromony. (remember ghost busters.)
Cavetrollhead Says:
23 June 2008 at 1:02 pm.
Oh wait a minute, Stumpy is living in Catromony too. What is the world coming to.
Iffer Says:
23 June 2008 at 1:04 pm.
Lol. Cave you are pretty funny.
It really is crazy how out of control everything is getting. I liked the article on preparedness, we all should prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.
Concerned American Says:
23 June 2008 at 1:38 pm.
I’ve been surprised how much racism still exists and am thinking it is actually getting worse. I really don’t want to see race be part of this election but at the same time I agree with McCain. We should be able to talk about legitimate issues without that being labeled racist. It was like Hillary saying the campaign was about her being a woman when it wasn’t. Obama needs to be scrutinized without people being called racist when they aren’t.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_el_pr/obama_racial_ads
Obama braces for race-based ads
WASHINGTON - A presidential candidate who’s named Hussein and wears a turban? A building that’s called the White House but run by a black guy?
Those political images and ideas already have found their way onto TV airwaves and campaign buttons, possible harbingers of racially tinged messages in a general election involving the first black candidate to head a major party’s ticket.
Though the election is more than four months away, the campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are shaping their strategies for dealing with such appeals.
The Obama campaign vows to fight back fiercely and fast, not repeating John Kerry’s mistake of waiting to respond to the 2004 “Swift Boat” ads that Democrats saw as a smear of his military record. McCain’s camp is alert for attacks on its man, too.
The McCain campaign promises to condemn any race-based political appeals. But it also insists it won’t stand still for false charges of racism or for allegations merely aimed at preventing criticism of Obama on legitimate issues.
Bryon Says:
23 June 2008 at 4:45 pm.
I hate that Racism is being used as a tool by Obama. Concerned American I agree.I think McCain is stupid but his campaign managers wont be stupid enough to use racism or sexism against the other candidates. At the same time its not fair to use the flip side and claim victim when it is convenient. I will not vote for cowards who hide be hind that kind of shield.
Cavetrollhead Says:
23 June 2008 at 5:23 pm.
I think McCain will win. I don’t think the press can keep the truth about Obama’s racism hidden. His racism is woven through his writing and speeches, and spoken outright in his statement, “White Folks greed runs a world in need.” People aren’t going to ignore this.
Ghost Says:
23 June 2008 at 11:02 pm.
I hate the thought of Cindy McCain as first lady maybe even more than McCain as president.
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