03.16.10

Lehman and affiliates file bankruptcy plan

Posted in .com, hot news, money, top, world of money tagged , , , , at 7:18 am by carydalton

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and 22 affiliates filed a bankruptcy plan Monday to repay creditors of the failed brokerage firm.

“The proposed plan represents a fair economic resolution for all Lehman creditors and will accelerate recoveries to creditors,” said Bryan Marsal, chief executive and chief restructuring officer of Lehman Brothers Holdings, in a statement.

Has Wall Street dodged the bullet?

Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd unveils details of a bill aimed at overhauling financial regulation. The News Hub discusses the impact on Wall Street. Plus, WSJ’s Darren Everson joins the News Hub to discuss this year’s brackets for the NCAA tournament and potential upsets in the making.

The plan also tries to avoid “unnecessary, extended and expensive litigation that could adversely impact recoveries to creditors,” Lehman Brothers added in its filing fast cash without a hassle. Yet the firm will likely object to many claims and fight with creditors over what they’re owed, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Lehman collapsed in September 2008 in the largest bankruptcy in history, triggering the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The firm faces about 65,000 claims from creditors totaling about $875 billion.

The plan, filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, comes on the 18-month anniversary of Lehman’s demise; Monday marked the deadline for filing the plan.

Lehman and affiliates file bankruptcy plan

03.14.10

Euro zone agrees bailout for Greece: report

Posted in .com, All, Free blog Tips, shortly, world of money tagged , , , , at 10:06 am by carydalton

LONDON (Reuters) – The euro zone has agreed a multi-billion euro bailout for heavily indebted Greece as part of a package to support the euro, the Guardian newspaper reported on Saturday.

The 16 euro zone members have agreed on "coordinated bilateral contributions" in the form of loans or loan guarantees to Greece if Athens is unable to refinance its debts and asks the European Union for help, the Guardian quoted a senior European Commission official as saying.

The agreement was reached despite strong resistance by Germany, and Berlin has played the pivotal role in organizing the deal, the paper quoted other sources as saying.

Euro zone finance ministers will finalize the package on Monday, the paper said.

The aid to be made available by the bailout could reach 25 billion euros, the paper quoted its sources as saying. Greece's borrowing needs for the whole of 2010 total 53.2 billion euros.

Greece, laboring under a crippling debt burden, announced a 4.8 billion euro package of austerity measures last week designed to reduce its budget deficit to 8.7 percent of GDP this year from 12.7 percent in 2009.

It has been paying a high premium over benchmark European bonds to raise funds, the yield spread of 10-year Greek government paper over bunds topping 400 basis points in January.

The bailout "will be a coordinated approach of bilateral contributions … a bilateral contribution can be a loan or a loan guarantee. The guarantees will facilitate the kind of funds potentially needed in this context," the paper quoted the senior Commission official as saying auto loans.

The agreement has been tailored to avoid breaking the ban, in the rules governing the operation of the euro currency, on a bailout for a country on the brink of bankruptcy, and to avoid a challenge by Germany's supreme court, the official said.

The Commission is also rushing through tougher rules for the euro zone to set up rigorous "budgetary surveillance" of the 16 member states, the Guardian said. Greece has in the past provided the European Union with misleading economic statistics.

"The Greek case is a turning point for the euro zone," the Guardian also quoted EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn as saying in an interview with it and other European papers.

"If Greece fails and we fail, this will do serious and maybe permanent damage to the credibility of the European Union. The euro is not only a monetary arrangement but a core political project of the European Union … in that sense we are at a crossroads."

Rehn said he would propose next month a regime of "rigorous surveillance of national budgets" including giving Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, big new auditing powers over the accounts of euro zone member states.

(Reporting by Tim Pearce)

Euro zone agrees bailout for Greece: report

02.24.10

Despite a Price Gain in December, Signs of Worry on Housing

Posted in business, money, online, shortly, world of money tagged , , , , at 7:12 am by carydalton

The wobbly state of the housing market was made clear on Tuesday with the release of data showing that home prices managed a modest increase in December even as many more Americans owed more on their properties than they were worth.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas rose 0.3 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, with most of the cities improving from November.

It was the seventh consecutive month that the index showed rising prices, a welcome respite after several years of wrenching declines. But another 600,000 households slipped underwater during the fourth quarter, with their homes valued at less than their mortgages, according to the data firm First American CoreLogic, a real estate research company.

The total number of households with negative equity is now 11.3 million, or 24 percent of all residential properties with mortgages, up from 23 percent in the third quarter, First American said.

Negative equity is a major concern among policy makers because it can compel disillusioned borrowers to forsake their properties, contributing to the foreclosure problem. The breaking point for homeowners, research shows, is when negative equity reaches about 25 percent.

Five million people are now at or beyond that point, First American estimates, up from 4.5 million in the third quarter.

The research firm recalibrated its data in the third quarter, which means earlier negative equity numbers are not comparable. But it said that the number of severely underwater borrowers was growing even faster than it expected a few weeks ago.

“Home prices in the worst areas — Florida, Nevada and Arizona — fell more than we had expected, increasing the amount of negative equity,” a First American senior economist, Sam Khater, said.

First American’s home price index, released last week, fell for both December and the fourth quarter. That contrasted with the improving Case-Shiller numbers.

The two firms measure different groups of homeowners using different methodologies. The disparate results indicate how difficult it is at the moment to get a fix on the housing market.

There is a widespread feeling among analysts that the market is being kept afloat by the government’s emergency measures, especially the tax credit for buyers. The market’s true level will become apparent only after the tax credit ends in the spring — assuming it is not renewed as it was in the fall payday loans.

Prices in the West Coast cities tracked by Case-Shiller, including Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Diego, increased the most in December. Laggards were Chicago, New York and Tampa, Fla.

“The recovery has slowed since the summer months, but it has not completely fallen apart,” Maureen Maitland, S.& P.’s vice president for index services, said. “We’re in a bit of a flat period.”

Las Vegas, the worst hit of all the major housing markets, managed its second consecutive monthly gain. “Vegas was so battered there is now a tiny bit of hope,” Ms. Maitland said. “You can only fall so much.”

In the case of Las Vegas, that was apparently a drop of 57 percent from its peak. Seven of 10 homeowners with mortgages in Nevada owe more on their properties than they are worth, according to the First American data. In Arizona and Florida, about half the owners are underwater.

Further price declines could give many of these owners the impetus to walk away. If interest rates rise and the tax credit is not renewed, another slump is expected. Nationally, prices are already about where they were in summer 2003. Further declines could add up to a lost decade for housing prices.

Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist for MFR Inc., said he expected the market to drop after the tax credit expired. At that point, he said, “more of the true fundamentals will come through on pricing.”

In the spring, the seasonal adjustment factors will tend to weigh on Case-Shiller prices, rather than bolster them as they do now. Without the adjustments, most of the cities in the index fell in December. The composite dropped 0.2 percent for the second consecutive month.

On an annual basis, the 20-city index was down 3.1 percent. That figure has improved consistently for a year. Only three cities — Detroit, Tampa and Las Vegas — are still showing double-digit annual declines.

The quarterly return for the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of national home prices, which incorporates data from a broader slice of the country, was also released on Tuesday. That index fell 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the same period in 2008.

Despite a Price Gain in December, Signs of Worry on Housing

02.21.10

Pilots offer to talk with Lufthansa before strike

Posted in .com, business, money, shortly, top tagged , , , , at 4:06 pm by carydalton

BERLIN – The Cockpit pilots union offered Saturday to meet with the chief of Lufthansa AG to try to head off a four-day strike beginning Monday that could cause headaches for thousands of travelers.

The union offer to meet with Lufthansa Chief Executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber came after Germany’s transport minister urged the two sides to return to talks and avoid a strike that could damage the country’s economy.

Lufthansa has said it is willing to talk, but not without conditions. It was not immediately clear if the meeting would take place.

Lufthansa has already canceled some 600 flights ahead of the strike and is scrambling to rebook travelers on partner airlines or trains.

“Lufthansa is doing everything in its power to inform its customers as soon as possible and offer them alternative travel options,” the company said on its Web site.

Travelers who are unable to reschedule are being reimbursed for their tickets, it said guaranteed pay day loans.

The airline, Germany’s largest, estimates the strike could cost it as much as euro100 million ($135.19 million).

The union is urging some 4,500 pilots who fly for Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings to walk off their jobs from February 22-25 to press the airline for increased job security.

Cockpit accuses the airline of outsourcing more and more flights to pilots employed by other companies, who work for less pay and under worse conditions.

Also Saturday, German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer warned the strike could seriously damage the German economy.

“It can not be that the largest German air fleet is grounded for four days,” Ramsauer told the Bild am Sonntag weekly.

___

On the Net:

http://www.lufthansa.com

Pilots offer to talk with Lufthansa before strike

02.16.10

Global oil refining sector needs consolidation: BP

Posted in All, money, news, shortly, world of money tagged , , , , at 10:48 am by carydalton

LONDON (Reuters) – Consolidation is needed in the global oil refining sector, the chief economist of BP Plc (BP.L) said on Monday, indicating more tough decisions ahead for an industry beset by poor margins.

Oil companies including BP and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) have reported billions of dollars of losses from their refining business in the fourth quarter 2009 as the economic crisis hit fuel demand.

"To put it bluntly and shortly, there will have to be some consolidation in the global refining industry," BP's Christof Ruehl said at the IP Week oil and gas industry conference.

Oil refiners faced a double blow in 2009 when world demand for fuel fell because of recession just as a host of new refining projects planned during the boom years came on stream, squeezing margins.

Additions to global oil refining capacity in 2009 were the highest in 30 years, Ruehl estimates.

Shell is looking to divest 15 percent of its global refining. U.S. rival Chevron (CVX.N) plans to close some of its refineries but has yet to say where.

The BP official said so-called simple refineries — without the capacity to convert heavy oil products into lighter fuels such as gasoline — would be most likely to close. Still, it was not simply a matter of closing plants for good.

"This is most likely to be not just about permanent shutdowns — it's about mothballing, running down crude runs, changing configurations," he told reporters.

DISADVANTAGE

Refineries in developed markets will be at a disadvantage compared with those in emerging markets, where governments often subsidies fuel prices, BP's Ruehl said payday loans.

"You would expect the impact on refiners to be worse in countries where there is no protection," he said.

Ruehl said he expected global refining utilization rates to fall in 2010.

Oil demand in developed OECD countries has peaked, according to BP and some other forecasts, while consumption is still expected to rise in emerging economies, such as China, for the foreseeable future.

Ruehl said he expected oil majors to seek acquisitions in China and other parts of Asia.

"These are the growing markets," he said.

An Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) executive attending the conference said the company was always reviewing the profitability of its assets worldwide, but any sale of the Exxon's Fawley refinery in the UK was not on the agenda.

"We continue to look at the economics of our operations around the world," Brad Corson, chairman of Exxon Mobil International, said when asked if the company planned any refinery sales.

"We currently have the largest refinery in the UK, Fawley refinery. We pride ourselves on being one of the most cost-effective refineries in the European region and as such we have no imminent plans in that regard."

(Editing by James Jukwey)

Global oil refining sector needs consolidation: BP

Hot News: China Sees Growth Engine in a Web of Fast Trains

02.09.10

Zebra posts 4Q profit of $17.6 million

Posted in All, Free blog Tips, economic, money, top tagged , , , , at 5:35 pm by carydalton

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. – Zebra Technologies Corp. made a profit in the fourth quarter, free of the one-time expenses that left it with a loss a year ago.

The company, which makes bar code and plastic card printers, also offered a first-quarter forecast above Wall Street expectations.

Its shares rose 7 cents to $27.41 in midday trading.

Zebra earned $17.6 million, or 30 cents per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31. It lost $117.4 million, or $1.88 per share, a year ago, when the company booked hefty charges related to restructuring and the falling value of its assets.

Zebra said the latest results included 3 cents per share in restructuring costs.

Revenue slipped 4 percent to $222.5 million from $232.6 million a year ago best payday advance.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time costs, expected lower earnings of 25 cents per share and lower revenue of $206.6 million.

Full-year earnings came to $47.1 million, or 79 cents per share, compared with a loss of $38.4 million, or 60 cents per share, in 2008. Revenue fell to $803.6 million from $976.7 million.

Zebra said it expects a first-quarter profit of 25 cents to 32 cents per share, including 2 cents worth of restructuring charges. It expects sales of between $217 million and $230 million.

Analysts expected 26 cents per share and $203.7 million.

Zebra posts 4Q profit of $17.6 million

02.01.10

Help wanted to sustain the recovery

Posted in All, Free blog Tips, hot news, money, news tagged , , , , at 10:06 am by carydalton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The economic recovery is suddenly looking more robust. If it is going to stay that way, the labor market will need to catch up soon.

In the United States, Canada and China, 2009 ended with a surprisingly strong burst of growth. Some of that was driven by fleeting factors, particularly in the United States where shifts in business inventories accounted for more than half of the fourth quarter's 5.7 percent annual rate of growth.

The next big test of the revival's staying power comes on Friday when the U.S. employment report for January is released. Economists polled by Reuters are looking for a slim gain, probably not enough to put a dent in the 10 percent unemployment rate.

"Employment growth may never have been more important for a recovery than in the current one," said Sal Guatieri, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. "With bank credit still tight and households rebuilding savings, income growth is badly needed to drive spending higher."

A high jobless rate breeds a host of other ills, including sluggish consumer spending, rising credit defaults and foreclosures, all of which puts a drag on global growth. Consumer spending accounts for roughly 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

Elevated unemployment is also a big factor in why central banks in the world's major advanced economies are not in a hurry to raise interest rates. Wages are typically the biggest driver of inflation, and with so many people out of work labor costs are unlikely to spike.

The U.S. Federal Reserve said last week that it would probably keep short-term borrowing costs unusually low for some time. The European Central Bank and Bank of England hold their policy-setting meetings on Thursday, and both are expected to keep rates at record lows.

WHEN WILL JOBS RETURN?

With interest rates already about as low as they can go, there is not much more that monetary policy can do to encourage hiring. Using fiscal policy to help create jobs opens up a whole new set of problems.

Government budgets were battered by costly crisis-fighting efforts, and concerns have been growing over the state of public finances across the developed world.

Those worries will be on display when the White House unveils its budget proposals on Monday fast payday loans. President Barack Obama has already said he plans to freeze spending for three years starting in 2011, although he excluded two of the biggest expenses — defense and health-care programs.

At the same time, Obama has pledged an assortment of tax breaks and spending programs to try to bring down the jobless rate, which has become a political imperative with many lawmakers facing elections in November.

There is a debate brewing among economists about how quickly the U.S. job market will recover. Some argue that because companies slashed payrolls so aggressively in the darkest days of the recession, they will need to rapidly rehire now that demand is beginning to revive.

"Since employment and hours worked were cut sharply below levels warranted by the decline in output, we expect a stronger-than-consensus jobs recovery," Ethan Harris, head of North American economics for BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research, wrote in a note to clients.

Others say that while this may be true for larger manufacturers, there is evidence that small businesses — typically the biggest source of U.S. job creation — remain reluctant to hire.

A survey in January by the National Federation of Independent Business of small businesses showed that 15 percent expected to cut jobs in the next three months, and just 8 percent planned to create new jobs.

Confidence in the sustainability of the economic recovery is low, and credit remains tight. Some who want to expand and hire can't get loans, and many who can are wary of taking on more debt.

Kate Drew-Wilkinson, who designs and makes jewelry that she sells at her store in Bisbee, Arizona, said she had been thinking about hiring as many as four more workers, and was encouraged by Obama's pledge to focus on job creation. Yet the thought of taking on more debt to expand gave her pause.

"One hates to borrow, but I suppose if there was some kind of financial incentive that made sense to me… I would do it," she said.

(With additional reporting by Tim Gaynor in Phoenix, Arizona; editing by Leslie Adler)

Help wanted to sustain the recovery

01.27.10

Williams-Sonoma says longtime CEO Lester to retire

Posted in .com, economic, news, shortly, world of money tagged , , , , at 8:00 am by carydalton

SAN FRANCISCO – Williams-Sonoma says its longtime chief, Howard Lester, will retire from the posts of CEO and chairman after 31 years leading kitchenware retailer.

After his retirement in May, Lester will continue to be an adviser to the company until December 2012 as chairman emeritus, Williams-Sonoma Inc. said Tuesday.

Lester has run the San Francisco company since 1978, when he bought it from founder Chuck Williams and it had four retail stores no fax pay day loans. It now has more than 600 stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico; it also owns the upscale Pottery Barn and West Elm housewares chains.

The company’s board plans to appoint Laura Alber its new CEO. She joined the company in 1995 and is now president.

Williams-Sonoma says longtime CEO Lester to retire

01.21.10

Initial jobless claims unexpectedly rise

Posted in .com, Free blog Tips, hot news, shortly, top tagged , , , , at 6:36 pm by carydalton

WASHINGTON – The number of newly-laid off workers seeking jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, as the economy recovers at a slow and uneven pace.

Layoffs have slowed and the economy began to grow in last year’s third quarter, but companies are reluctant to hire new workers. The unemployment rate is 10 percent and many economists expect it to increase in the coming months.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 482,000. Wall Street economists expected a small drop, according to Thomson Reuters.

The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, rose for the first time since August, to 448,250.

The weekly claims figure is volatile and it can take time for trends to emerge. A Labor Department analyst said that much of the increase last week was due to administrative backlogs leftover from the winter holidays in the state agencies that process the claims.

Claims have dropped steadily since last fall, as companies cut fewer jobs. That has caused some economists to hope that hiring may increase soon. Initial claims have dropped by 50,000, or almost 10 percent, since late October.

Still, the economy is not consistently generating net increases in jobs. The Labor Department said earlier this month that employers cut 85,000 jobs in December, after adding only 4,000 in November. November’s increase was the first in nearly two years.

Many economists say the four week average of claims will need to fall to below 425,000 to signal that the economy is close to generating net job gains free credit score online.

Meanwhile, the number of people continuing to claim regular benefits dropped slightly to just under 4.6 million. The continuing claims data lags initial claims by a week.

But the so-called continuing claims do not include millions of people who have used up the regular 26 weeks of benefits customarily provided by states and are now receiving extended benefits for up to 73 additional weeks, paid for by the federal government.

More than 5.9 million are receiving extended benefits in the week ending Jan. 2, the latest data available, an increase of more than 600,000 from the previous week. The data for emergency benefits lags initial claims by two weeks.

The increasing number of people claiming extended unemployment insurance indicates that even as layoffs are declining, hiring hasn’t picked up. That leaves people out of work for longer and longer periods of time.

Among the states, California saw the largest increase in claims, with 16,160. Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Georgia saw the next largest increases. The state data lags the initial claims data by a week.

Oregon saw the biggest drop in claims, of 5,784, followed by Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan and Massachusetts.

Initial jobless claims unexpectedly rise

01.10.10

Taxing Times: Good news for taxpayers, but dont celebrate yet

Posted in .com, money, shortly, top, world of money tagged , , , , at 12:06 am by carydalton

Don’t miss these top stories:

Your January tax to-do list

The IRS is too busy to talk

Estate-tax repeal affects spouses

Taxpayers got some good news this week: At long last, the IRS said it will regulate tax preparers, including the big companies like H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt and the small storefront shops that pop up this time of year. While certified public accountants, tax attorneys and enrolled agents already are subject to professional standards, hundreds of thousands of tax preparers haven’t been regulated at all, until now.

So, yes, overall that’s good news. But there are a few things that could stand improvement. For one, the new rules — including passing a competency exam and taking continuing-education classes — don’t go into effect until 2011. You’re on your own this year to make sure you find a competent professional.

Also, the new rules don’t cover online and store-bought software products — a huge and growing portion of the tax-preparation field.

And, as some commentators pointed out this week, regulating tax preparers is just a symptom of a very deep problem: the extreme complexity of the U.S. tax code. If the rules weren’t so complicated, we wouldn’t have to pay someone else to try to figure it out for us. And we wouldn’t have to hope and trust that they get it right. Keep in mind that no matter who does your taxes, the IRS considers you, the taxpayer, responsible for getting it right, not the preparer.

But hey, we’ll take what we can get. I for one am glad to hear that preparers will be required to update their education. Given lawmakers’ penchant for fiddling with the tax code, I’m not sure how you could be a tax practitioner without continuing classes.

Enough of that. It’s January, and MarketWatch is here to help you through the tax season ahead. Taxing Times goes back to its weekly schedule starting today, arriving in your inbox every Friday through tax season. Check out Eva Rosenberg’s story today on what you need to do this month to make sure you’re all set come April.

— Andrea Coombes, assistant personal finance editor

Tax moves to make in January

The tax laws are still in flux. We’re waiting for the estate-tax law to be written, and Form 5405 for the home-buyer’s credit isn’t ready yet. To top it off, IRS started the year by announcing a major step-up in enforcement of tax preparers. This is going to be an interesting tax season. Are you ready? See TaxWatch.

IRS too busy to talk, watchdog says

An expanding slate of duties is stretching the Internal Revenue Service too thin, leading to poor customer service and undermining its ability to collect taxes, a government watchdog said Wednesday. See full story.

Estate-tax repeal means some spouses are left out

Spouses of those wealthy who die this year might find themselves with nothing if the family will isn’t revised–a major wrinkle that could follow Friday’s repeal of the federal estate tax guaranteed payday loan. See full story.

Workers get lower mileage rate in 2010

Millions of workers who use their cars for work will get a smaller tax deduction next year. Under tax rules, they can choose to deduct their actual expenses, or they can use the Internal Revenue Service’s optional standard mileage rate. Using the IRS rate generally is simpler and saves recordkeeping hassles. See Tom Herman’s Tax Report.

CONVERTING TO A ROTH IRA Avoid these Roth IRA conversion mistakes

As years go, 2010 is on course to be a blockbuster for retirement-account owners. Starting in January, all Americans who own a traditional IRA — not just those who have modified adjusted gross income under $100,000 — will be able to convert their accounts to a Roth IRA. But don’t rush for the doors just yet. There’s plenty of slip between cup and lip waiting for those unaware of the conversion mistakes to avoid. See Robert Powell.

Tips for converting IRA assets to Roth

When considering converting investments to a Roth IRA from a traditional individual retirement account, past performance is less important than what you anticipate in the future. See full story.

POLITICS AND TAXES ‘Carried-interest’ tax gains traction

The “carried-interest” tax debate has re-emerged in Congress, threatening to more than double taxes on some of the country’s wealthiest individuals–private-equity and hedge-fund managers. See full story.

Biodiesel industry stunted as tax credit expires

The biodiesel industry is revving up efforts to reinstate the U.S. biodiesel tax credit, warning that as many as 23,000 jobs could be at risk if lawmakers don’t revive the program that expired on Jan. 1. See full story.

TAX TIPS FROM BANKRATE 10 astute tax moves in 2010

To put the struggling economy back on track, Congress has passed several new tax laws in recent years. The good news is some tax breaks will still be around in 2010 while new ones are in the works. Here are 10 tax laws that could help you lower your IRS bill in the New Year. See full story.

2009 exemption amounts

You can take an exemption deduction for yourself, your spouse and each dependent you claim. On 2009 returns, this exemption amount is $3,650 per person. Some taxpayers, however, will see their personal exemption amount reduced if they make over a certain limit that is adjusted annually for inflation. See full story.

10 key tax terms to know

One of the hardest things about taxes is learning the language. You’ve got all the forms and instructions, but it seems they’re harder to decipher than that first lesson in your high school Latin class! Here are 10 key tax terms to help you start talking taxes. See full story.

Taxing Times: Good news for taxpayers, but don’t celebrate yet

12.27.09

Simmons Bedding financiers seek Chinese bidder: report

Posted in Free blog Tips, business, hot news, money, shortly tagged , , , , at 3:30 am by carydalton

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A group of financiers is trying to put a U.S. mattress maker now under bankruptcy court protection into play by encouraging Chinese bidders to top an already arranged offer for Simmons Bedding Co. (SIMBB.UL), the Wall Street Journal reported late on Saturday.

Success looks unlikely for the eleventh-hour effort to encourage a Chinese bidder to challenge a deal already worked out between Simmons, its creditors and new investors, the report said, quoting sources involved in the effort.

It is the first attempt by the government-linked Chinese financiers behind the Simmons push, as well as the Pennsylvania-based bankruptcy lawyer trying to find similar deals for them, to help Chinese bidders shop for acquisitions in U.S. bankruptcy courts, the newspaper said.

Simmons discounted the move.

"In response to recent rumors … Simmons wants to reiterate that it is not contemplating any alternate bids in China or elsewhere nor has Simmons authorized any agent in China to solicit any such bids," the report quoted William S. Creekmuir, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Simmons, as saying in a written response to questions instant payday loans.

In November, Simmons, maker of the Beautyrest mattress and other bedding products, filed for bankruptcy protection and said it expects to be sold to two buyers in a transaction valued at roughly $760 million.

The Journal report said details of the pre-packaged reorganization plan, designed to reduce the company's debt $1 billion by more than half, were translated into Chinese and posted on the website of a government-owned registry in the southern city of Guangzhou where large corporate and government assets are put on sale.

The idea was to encourage potential Chinese bidders to offer Simmons creditors a better deal than the one presented to the bankruptcy court, and generate fees for themselves if such a bid were to proceed, the report said, citing people involved.

(Editing by Jerry Norton)

Simmons Bedding financiers seek Chinese bidder: report

12.23.09

David Weidners Writing on the Wall: The ghost of Wall Street future

Posted in .com, All, news, online, world of money tagged , , , , at 5:30 am by carydalton

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Sometimes, a little history gives you perspective. That’s why as 2010 comes to a close, it’s useful remembering what we were worrying about a year ago.

Gosh, we were more nervous than Lloyd Blankfein and Henry Paulson when the jury returned at the end of their trials.

Wall Street seemed like a place full of uncertainty at the end of 2009. Skeptics wondered whether the Dow Jones Industrial Average recovery to 10,000 was warranted, a concern that seems silly now, with most everyone abandoning the market for gold.

To be fair, there was no way investors of a year ago could have known the banks would collapse, this time for good, just three months into the year. It was a shock to the system, but one that helped people see value in precious metals and how foolhardy investing in innovation, industry and real estate truly are.

Also, working hard and saving money were overrated 12 months ago.

Consider the era, though. At the end of the decade, health-care reform was still being batted about in Congress. It looked as if any action would be watered down and expensive. Now, we have universal coverage from the state that pays for itself.

Had Ted Kennedy lived another 12 months, he might have made it another 12 years — if he could have stomached the 200% tax on fast food, cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and the elimination of health-industry lobbying.

A year ago, Afghanistan loomed as another Vietnam. That was until Wall Street’s best and brightest, lured by the nation’s lack of bonus restrictions and pay caps, began flocking to the country. This brought some social stability, but at a substantial price: The beach house shortage shows no signs of easing and takeout from the Four Seasons still costs well into five figures.

Revving up the earth

It seems equally as strange today, with the polar ice caps expanding at the fastest rate in centuries, that we worried about global warming. Or, maybe the fear was warranted. It’s hard to tell after China effectively traded our debt for the highly efficient and cheap solar panels produced by a company that finally got its stimulus money.

China’s reduction in carbon emissions combined with Chevy Volts, Ford Electric Explorers and the iCar started a reversal of the planet’s damage and, more importantly, shut up Al Gore and fueled a U.S. recovery.

Speaking of which, was it only a year ago that General Motors was limping along on a government bailout? Look at where it is today: scheduled to repay taxpayers early and at a substantial profit, giving hope that with the combined windfall from the bank asset liquidation, we will balance the federal budget in two years and eliminate all government debt in a decade instant personal loans guaranteed.

That prospect, too, has fueled a recovery in the dollar, which combined with nonexistent demand should have pushed oil prices into single digits. It didn’t happen, of course. Goldman Sachs analysts put a $300 price target on light sweet crude in August, a level prices broke through, even though inventories were so high Saudi Arabia sank under its own weight.

Overemployment

That global emergency would have cured the nation’s jobs ills if they already hadn’t been eliminated by the massive hiring by companies that make gold-laminated wind turbines, high-speed rail systems, transporters and hydrogen-powered leaf blowers. These new professions helped offset the losses among columnists, economists, financial advisers and credit officers and other unnecessary professions.

When unemployment hit 0.8% in October, President Obama bowed to pressure, mostly from Lou Dobbs, and opened the borders to immigrants.

It was a turnaround only rivaled by Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Dick Fuld and Bear Stearns Cos. chief Jimmy Cayne. Together they set a record for fundraising to back their prescient investments in Antarctica apartment complexes and the recently legalized marijuana farming.

It wasn’t all good news. As expected, the newspaper industry died, save for those unwanted shoppers. Most people didn’t notice, they figured it was just another delivery glitch at the old folks’ home.

There were misperceptions too. A year ago, Tiger Woods looked like a serial womanizer, not the philanthropist and golf promoter we know today who took it upon himself to give lessons to even the most uninterested of students, turning them into PGA-caliber players and giving them new careers.

And even though Wall Street effectively disappeared and was remade, the Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission spent 2010 doing what they did in 2009: talking about a new regulatory framework and how Washington would police naked-short selling and high frequency trading.

They did so even though the industry had moved on to just plain trading naked and trading so fast it made the speed traders of yesteryear look slow.

Some things never change.

David Weidner’s Writing on the Wall: The ghost of Wall Street future

Hot News: Financial Stocks: Financials up as investors cheer State Street buy

12.18.09

Euro recovers, shares fall on earnings jitters

Posted in .com, Free blog Tips, business, top, world of money tagged , , , , at 8:18 am by carydalton

HONG KONG (Reuters) – The euro recovered from early losses on Friday after Pakistan dismissed rumors of a coup while Asian stocks fell as investors fretted about the outlook for corporate earnings.

European shares were set to open steady, according to financial spreadbetters, while U.S. equity futures were up 0.4 percent.

The dollar (.DXY) eased 0.2 percent against a basket of major currencies, pulling back from an overnight rally as investors unwound long dollar positions ahead of the year-end.

Greece's fiscal woes continued to weigh on the euro but the currency found support after Pakistan dashed rumors of a coup, which in early trade had sent it skidding to a nine-month low against the safe-haven Swiss franc.

By the afternoon the euro was up 0.3 percent at $1.4380, rebounding from a three-month low of $1.4304 on Thursday.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said there was no coup, dousing rumors that started after a government minister suspected of corruption was barred from leaving the country.

Asian stocks slipped as investors became cautious about companies' earnings prospects and shares of resources companies were sold in reaction to an overnight drop in the price of gold.

"We have already suggested that investors may be setting up for portfolio readjustments heading into the new year, and still believe we could see gold tumble considerably further before the year is done," Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd said in a research note.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), which has rallied more than 60 percent this year, was 0.6 percent lower.

In Japan, the Nikkei share index (.N225) dipped 0.2 percent, paring most early losses and the five-year government bond yield slid to a four-year low after the Bank of Japan said it would not tolerate deflation, suggesting further monetary easing was possible.

TELSTRA TUMBLES

Asian resources stocks were hit after gold fell 3 percent in New York while banking shares, including HSBC (0005 no fax payday advance.HK), lost ground after international regulators proposed tough new capital protection rules from 2012.

HSBC shares in Hong Kong fell 1 percent, extending a 3.5 percent slide in London.

The gold price stabilized, rising to $1,105 an ounce from a New York close at $1,097.80, but is about 10 percent below a record high of $1,226.10 reached on December 3.

Oil meanwhile edged up 0.4 percent to $72.96 a barrel, supported by positive U.S. factory activity data.

Asian equity investors are likely to remain cautious next week as they seek to hold onto stellar gains this year.

Nouriel Roubini, one of the few economists to have accurately predicted the magnitude of the global financial crisis, warned that global markets have rallied "too much, too soon, too fast."

However, he said an imminent correction was unlikely because a cheap dollar would continue to encourage investors to seek higher-yielding assets for a few months. Roubini sees a dollar rebound in 6-12 months.

In Australia, shares of phone company Telstra (TLS.AX) tumbled 3.4 percent after the company cut its sales revenue forecast.

The country's biggest brewer, Foster's Group (FGL.AX), saw its shares drop nearly 2 percent after warning that a strong Australian dollar and weak U.S. demand would cut profits at its wine business.

Some analysts have warned that investors of Australian equities have not sufficiently priced in the impact of the Aussie dollar's 40 percent surge this year.

"It's been pushed to the back of people's minds, but the currency is certainly coming home to roost. It is adding to the nervousness in our market," said Daniel Manley, a dealer at Burrell & Co in Australia.

(Additional reporting by Victoria Thieberger in MELBOURNE and Miho Yoshikawa in TOKYO; editing by Kazunori Takada)

Euro recovers, shares fall on earnings jitters

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