Toyota Motor Corp Plans to Temporarily Close One of its Domestic Assembly Lines in Japan in an Effort to Cut Excess Capacity and Return to Profitability Japan’s Exports Slip 1.3% in July from June to Record the First Decrease in Two Months, a Sign that the Effect of Stimulus Measures May be Fading Heineken NV [...]
After being hit hard by the downturn in the construction industry, Toll Brothers Inc. received yet another blow yesterday, as the luxury homebuilder was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” at Citigroup Inc. – which cautioned investors should “wait for a more compelling entry point” to purchase the stock. Added to this, many analysts are not [...]
It seems as though Nokia Corp. is pulling out all the stops in order to boost its bottom-line by the end of the year. Yesterday, Nokia announced that it will re-enter the personal computer (PC) market with a 10-inch laptop that boasts built-in 3G and wi-fi connections, as well as a battery life of up [...]
US President Obama to Reappoint Ben Bernanke for Second Term as Federal Reserve Head UK Mortgage Approvals Rise to 38,181 in July from June’s 35,564, Highest Level Since February 2008 Staples Inc Posts 38% Plunge in Second Quarter Net Income to USD 92.4mm as Companies Reduced Spending on Office Supplies Lowe’s Cos Inc Enters into [...]
Centrica Group PLC Gains Majority Control (50.3%) of Venture Production PLC after 5-Month Takeover Battle UK Business Confidence Up for First Time in Two Years with Institute of Chartered Business Accountants’ Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) Rising to 4.8 in Second Quarter from -28.2 in First Quarter Toyota Motor Corp Recalls 690k Vehicles Manufactured in China [...]
Despite being the world’s largest energy producer, foreign companies seem to have taken a cautious approach towards Russia. The oil-driven economy announced that its Foreign Direct Investment plummeted a record 45% to US$6.1B for the first half of 2009 (when compared to the same period last year). This adds to the already gloomy economic reports [...]
The JM Smucker Co. saw its earnings more than double on higher volumes as well as its acquisition of the Folgers coffee brand last year. For the quarter ended July 31, 2009, Smucker posted a profit of US$98.1M, versus $42.3M year-over-year, beating estimates. On releasing the results, Smucker affirmed its full-year EPS is likely to [...]
It looks as though nothing is working in Sears Holding Corp’s favor. A weak housing market hit sales at its home-improvement and appliance segments, and clothing sales continued to be less than satisfactory. Coupled with a hefty US$0.32 per share charge for store closings and severance, as well as a US$0.22 per share cost for [...]
Switzerland turned a profit of CHF 1.2B after selling its stake in UBS AG. The Swiss Government sold 332.2M units of UBS for CHF 16.50 apiece to institutional investors after buying CHF 6B worth of UBS mandatory convertible notes last year, in the peak of the global financial crisis so the Bank could offload toxic [...]
The US Government to End its USD 3B “Cash for Clunkers” Auto Rebate Program on Monday, August 24, 2009, a Month After Launching The US Justice Department Approves USD 7.4B Deal to See Oracle Corp Acquire Sun Microsystems Inc, Approval from the European Commission Still Pending German Services Index Unexpectedly Rises in August to 54.1 [...]