Archive for August 14th, 2009

Economic indicators may point to gradual economic improvements but to consumers facing weak wages, default, unemployment and eroding asset values, there’s little comfort in a “less-bad” economy. With private consumption accounting for roughly 70% of U.S. economic activity, a recovery without the consumer doesn’t promise to be much of a recovery at all. The consumer… »

A young engineer slips a glove on his right hand and wiggles it around at the wrist, then curls in his fingers. A shiny, black robotic hand mounted upright on his desk whirs and clicks as it mirrors his “real” hand with rapid movements. Very cool. But ask any of the other engineers what they… »

HONG KONG – Once again, South Korea showed the world that its judicial system seems to favor protecting influential billionaires over safeguarding stockholders. Former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee was found guilty on Friday of breach of trust for illegally transferring below-market-price bonds to his children. The deal caused huge monetary losses to a Samsung affiliate…. »

Europe’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, is finally taking over Porsche after agreeing on Thursday to buy a 42% stake in the sports car unit of debt-ridden Porsche, ending months of fractious relations between the two companies. Volkswagen expects the deal to be completed by 2011 and provide a total of 700 million euros in savings from… »

Europe’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, is finally taking over Porsche after agreeing on Thursday to buy a 42% stake in the sports car unit of debt-ridden Porsche, ending months of fractious relations between the two companies. Volkswagen expects the deal to be completed by 2011 and provide a total of 700 million euros in savings from… »

It had seemed like a done deal. Canadian auto parts supplier Magna said it had reached an agreement in principle with General Motors’ management over a contract to buy a stake in GM’s European unit Adam Opel. But on Friday, Opel’s other bidder, Belgium-listed holding RHJ International, said it is still “very much” in the… »

Pity Spain. While stimulus packages offered by the German and French governments quickly helped lift those nations out of recession in the past quarter, Spain had no such luck, and shrank by a more-than-expected 1% quarter-on quarter, its National Statistics Institute said Friday.It also doesn’t look like the situation will pick up any time soon…. »

Here’s more evidence of risk-taking’s rebirth: Sales of the riskiest, speculative debt has already surpassed last year’s total. Corporations have sold 88 billion in junk bonds worldwide, up from 49.5 billion in 2008, according to data provider Dealogic. The 4.2 billion bond sale by Canadian miner Teck Resources Limited in May is the year’s largest.Telecommunication… »

Another month, another hit to an industry that once seemed immune to the financial distress afflicting broad segments of the economy. Sales of video games, both hardware and software, fell 29% in July compared to the same month in 2008, according to research group NPD. That’s the fifth consecutive monthly decline, although a smaller one… »

Concerns about speculative buying continues to temper optimism regarding strengthening base metal prices as the market seeks to differentiate real metal demand from stockpiling and other conjectural buying. According to a recent report, one sector boasting solid demand is steel.Metal demand from China during the first half of the year bolstered steel demand, likely accounting… »