I can count on one hand the number of economists who were expecting the holiday shopping season to be a good one. But even the generally grim consensus forecasts apparently weren’t grim enough, according to early sales results. Here are some more details from the Wall Street Journal …
“Price-slashing failed to rescue a bleak [...]
From the monthly archives:
December 2008
It looks like a stupor-inducingly dull day in the market. I survived Christmas, though my Aunt’s dog, Sidney, did not. In fact, it died at my house yesterday afternoon. Sidney was a very old dog, a good dog, and very loved, and will be missed very much.
Earlier in the day, we had fun. [...]
The following poem was cut from the top of my MoneyandMarkets.com column (”3 Stock-ing Stuffers,”) today …
Twas the eve before Christmas, and all through the night Sean’s mind was whirring, With stocks that could ignite
Poetry is subjective, and everyone’s a critic.
Before we get to the serious stuff, here’s some Christmas cheer [...]
Interesting article worth reading about the Philippines.
Roughly 10% — nine million people — of the Philippines population has left the country to take overseas jobs, primarily as maids, nannies, and nurses.
There are only two Philippine stocks listed on U.S exchanges (Etelcare Global Solutions and Philippine Long Distance Telephone) so I haven’t paid [...]
We got a two-fer today: Data on both new and existing home sales for the month of November. So what did the numbers from the Census Bureau and the National Association of Realtors show?
NEW HOMES: * New home sales dropped 2.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 407,000 from 419,000 in October (originally [...]
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Merry Christmas-Eve-Eve! Or Happy Festivus, if you’re so inclined. Let the Airing of Grievances begin!
Here’s my chart for today — a monthly chart of gold. Note how the recent uptrend has been tested but hasn’t broken (yet anyway). In fact, RSI, a measure of momentum, is now giving a “buy” signal. I [...]
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I almost didn’t believe the number when I saw it: Japanese exports plunged by 26.7% in November.
Exports to the U.S. were even worse: exports to the U.S. dropped by 34%.
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We all know that Toyota makes great cars but they also make great profits. For the last 70 years in a row, Toyota has made money. Not anymore.
Toyota is forecasting that it will lose money in 2009 because of plunging demand and a strong yen.
“The tough times are hitting us far faster, wider [...]
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At a cross-straits conference in Shanghai, the Chinese government pledged to help Taiwan through any economic slowdown. Part of that pledge included $2 billion of orders for the flat panel monitors/TVs from Taiwan manufacturers.
Think AUO Optronics (NYSE:AUO) is happy about this news?
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The news has been filled with stories about tapped out consumers and weak holiday sales. The retail situation in couldn’t be more different.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce reported that China’s retail sales broke the 10-trillion-yuan (about $1.5 trillion U.S. dollars) for the first time, which works out to roughly a 21% increase over [...]
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