Archive for April, 2011
Boeing Delays Some 787 Deliveries
According to an article in Singapore Business, Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) will delay delivery of the first part of an order for 20 of its 787-9 Dreamliners to Singapore Airlines. The delay is the result of the “manufacturer’s production technicalities.” A spokesman for Singapore Airlines said, “We can confirm that our first 787 delivery will [...]
Investing China’s Forex Reserves
The People’s Bank of China is considering the establishment of a new fund that would use the country’s $3 trillion in forex reserves to invest in something other than the dollar. One possibility being bandied about is that the country will use some of its reserves to purchase gold or silver or other commodities, reducing [...]
Dollar Outlook Continues Bearish
If there are any remaining dollar bulls out there, they seem lonelier than the Maytag repairman featured years ago in TV ads. Following the US Federal Reserve Bank’s latest decision to maintain its loose monetary policy and to let the QE2 program run to its scheduled June ending, the greenback has dipped again to less [...]
Sovereign Debt Worries Curb Euro
The EURUSD posted a new high for 2011 of 1.4651 before pulling back somewhat on rising concern about sovereign debt in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal. And not without reason. In Greece, the debt-to-GDP ratio now tops 140%. In Ireland the ratio is above 95%, and in Portugal the ratio now stands at 93%. The odds [...]
Netflix: Earnings Hot, Outlook Not
When Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) reported first quarter 2011 earnings, the company posted EPS of $1.11 on revenue of $719 million. Analysts were expecting EPS of $1.07 on $706.1 million in revenue. For just about any other company, that kind of performance would push the share price up. Not so for Netflix. In addition to [...]
Airlines Seeking Soft Place to Land
US air carriers have begun reporting first quarter earnings and the results are less than uplifting. United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) has posted a worse-than-expected EPS loss of $0.65, on quarterly revenue of $8.2 billion. The general story for carriers is that revenues are on target, but profits are dipping on rising fuel costs. [...]
UK Miffed as EU Proposes Spending Hike of 4.5%
The European Union’s budget commissioner Janusz Lewandowski has proposed to increase EU spending by 4.5% next year, even as many member nations have been forced to adopt austerity measures. One EU member, the United Kingdom, attacked the budget proposal almost instantly. The UK’s conservative government had promised a flat or lower budget during the last [...]
China Cautiously Opening Its Currency
Starting in late 2009, the Chinese government allowed mainland-based companies to issue yuan-denominated debt in Hong Kong. Since then, so-called “dim sum” bonds valued at more than 51 billion yuan (about $7.8 billion) have been issued. Although the bonds are popular, the government has not made it easy to return the proceeds of the bond [...]
Wal-Mart Buys Into Social Media
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has acquired social media start-up Kosmix Corp. for a price thought to be around $300 million. Kosmix was founded in 2005 and builds a social media platform organized by topic. The Kosmix platform, according to the Wal-Mart announcement, “searches and analyzes connections in real-time data streams to deliver highly personalized [...]
Dollar Gets Beaten Up Again
Just one day after the US dollar made some solid gains in the forex market, the greenback took another beating yesterday, following upbeat news from Europe, inflation news from Canada, and a surprise sale of Greek debt. The March European purchasing managers index, PMI, came in higher than expected, at 57.7, up from 57.5 in [...]
