Archive for March, 2008

Google Seeks To Boost Ad Revenue By Boosting Quality

Monday, March 31st, 2008

Google has been making the bulk of their money from their Google Adsense program, and now the company is forced to recognize signs that the gravy train is slowing down. In an attempt to bolster their results, GOOG plans on making advertisers pay for few, but supposedly "higher quality" ...

Housing Declines, But Signs Of Reaching A Bottom Loom

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

The housing business is still hurting bad, but there is at least one sure sign things are starting to move in a positive direction. Houses are selling again, despite being priced as much as 10% lower than last year. The Case-Shiller index takes a look at home sales ...

JP Morgan Ups Bear Stearns Offer To $10 Per Share

Monday, March 24th, 2008

Last week it was beginning to look like Bear Stearns (BSC) was being purchased for the rock bottom price of just under $250 million. However, a number of BSC shareholders were quite aggrieved at the thought of letting the venerable company go so cheap, despite a number of long ...

Oil Falls Below $100 Per Barrel

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

Oil has dipped below $100 per barrel on news of diminishing demand. Year over year, crude oil consumption saw a 3.2% decline. This was enough to send speculators running for the hills on an orgy of profit taking. Demand for gasoline also fell 1% for the same period. ...

Winnebago Profit Down 67% In Q2

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

In a sure sign the economy is tanking, Winnebago announced a 67% reduction in profits for Q2. Consumer confidence is down, so less people are buying recreational vehicles. The Forest City-based company said Thursday it cut employment by 9 percent, or about 300 people during the quarter to bring production ...

Bear Stearns Sales Worries Stock Market

Monday, March 17th, 2008

J.P. Morgan took over Bear Stearns in a deal that highlights just how trouble the financial sector really is. In two weeks, Bear Stearns lost over 98% of its' market value, and JPM is picking up the pieces. The news has hit Asian markets particularly hard. Bear ...

Gas Prices Are 9 Cents Higher In Past Two Weeks

Monday, March 10th, 2008

People, on average, are paying 9 cents more per gallon of gas in the United States in the last two weeks. Oil prices have shot up to as high as $106 per barrel in recent trading, and the effect is certainly trickling down to users at the pumps. The Lundberg Survey looks ...

Retailers Report Consumers Have Returned To Malls

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

Major retailers are reporting that February saw a return of consumers to the nation's shopping malls. WalMart, in particular, announced a solid month. Despite people being out there shopping, many of them are not spending on big ticket items. Of course people continue to purchase staples, but ...

Google Hits 52 Week Low

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

At one point today, Google traded at $435.78, which as low as the company has traded for in the last 52 weeks. The news that affected the company today was that top executive Sheryl Sandberg was leaving the company to join rival FaceBook. Investors didn't care for that ...

Mortgage Crisis To Continue

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

If you were worried that the mortgage crisis was coming to an end, fear not. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is embracing for a long one. Bernanke spoke to a group of mortgage industry professionals in Orlando, Florida. He urged them to do more to prevent a larger ...