Strumors - Tim's Feedhttp://strumors.com/user/timhttp://strumors.com/1883Bernanke stated that 19 of the nations largest financial institutions will be eligible to replace the government's preferred shares into common stock as losses continue to mount. Under the program, financial institutions with more then $100 million in assets who received federal funding would qualify. The move would place the government owning a large percentage of the financial institutions.Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:01:03 -0500http://strumors.com/1883http://strumors.com/1882Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer warned that all of Microsoft's businesses will be effected by the current recession in the months to come. Ballmer also reiterated today that although a full acquisition of Yahoo was not currently a possibility they would like to continue conversations with Yang's replacement Carol Bartz.Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:01:03 -0500http://strumors.com/1882http://strumors.com/1881As consumer spending continues to decline, large retailer target posted a 41 percent drop in profits. The company stated that large losses in its credit card business and weak consumer spending for its clothing products led the losses.Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:01:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1881http://strumors.com/1880Office Depot posted a $1.5 billion quarterly loss and warned that it would need to seek new liquidity sources in 2009. The news sent the company's shares down 26 percent.Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:01:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1880http://strumors.com/1879According to the Wall Street Journal, Dell maybe be prepared to launch a high-end smart phone as early as next month. The report indicated that the mobile phone will feature a touch screen similar to Apple's iPhone.Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:02:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1879http://strumors.com/1878This week investors will deal with the largest drop in GDP in 26 years, and are expecting lower earnings as 137 companies from the S&P 500 index report earnings this week. This quarter may be shaping up to the worst quarter for corporate profits in nearly a decade.Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:01:03 -0500http://strumors.com/1878http://strumors.com/1877Shares of Microsoft plunged to a 11 year low as the company reported disappointing earnings for the quarter and announced that it would be laying off 5,000 workers. Microsoft reported earnings of 47 cents per share slightly lower than the 50 cents per share they reported for the same quarter a year prior.Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:00:09 -0500http://strumors.com/1877http://strumors.com/1876Circuit City, whom filed for bankruptcy protection back in November, is now closing all of its stores as it has failed to attract any potential buyers. The company said it has reached an agreement with Hudson Capital Partners, SB Capital Group, and Tiger Capital Group to liquidate its 567 U.S. stores.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:01:08 -0500http://strumors.com/1876http://strumors.com/1875Toyota Motor Co. has issued a recall in the U.S. of 214,000 Lexus vehicles. The company stated that the vehicles could have a potential problem with corrosion in the pipe that delivers fuel to the engine, which could lead to leaks overtime.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:01:08 -0500http://strumors.com/1875http://strumors.com/1874Bank of America is currently in negotiations with the U.S. Treasury for more funding for its Merrill Lynch acquisition. Bank of America has already received $25 billion in government capital, and the Treasury Department now has less than $60 billion as part of the original bailout package in order to supply financial institutions. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:02:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1874http://strumors.com/1873Motorola stated that it will need to cut another 4,000 employees, nearly 6 percent of its workforce, and issued a warning that it post a loss for its fourth quarter. The company indicated that its mobile phone sales were significantly weaker than expected as the continues to lose market share in the mobile market to Nokia.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:02:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1873http://strumors.com/1872CEO Steve Jobs will take a medical leave of absence from Apple until the end of June. Jobs stated that his health has become too distracting for the company. Tim Cook will lead Apple's day to day operations. Jobs didn't provide any specifics but indicated that his health-related issues "are more complex than I originally thought."Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:02:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1872http://strumors.com/1871Seagate technologies announced Monday that Stephen Luczo will be replacing its chief executive William Watkins, and that the company will be reducing its workforce by 10 percent. The hard drive industry has seen lackluster sales due to the economic slowdown, and at the same time Seagate has lost nearly 79.2 percent of its market share over the past 12 months.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:02:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1871http://strumors.com/1870The Chinese stole the spot light at this years auto show in Detroit. Shenzhen-based BYD Auto revealed 5 new electric hybrids that the company plans to begin selling in the U.S. by 2011. Another Chinese auto manufacture, Brilliance Auto, displayed four of its models. Brilliance Auto declined the company's American timetable. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:02:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1870http://strumors.com/1869Toyota Motor Company revealed its 2010 Prius, as the company aims to hold its number one spot for top selling hybrid. Prius sales declined 45 percent in December as fuel prices dropped and consumers cut back on purchases; however, the company remains confidence that the new Prius will be able to increase demand.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:02:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1869http://strumors.com/1868As the economy continues to worsen, Obama's economic advisors have been hard at work raising its target to create 4.1 million new jobs. The news comes out just one day after reports were released that the nation lost 524,000 jobs in December bringing the total job loss for 2008 to 2.6 million. Thus far Obama has remained relatively private on the details of its $775 billion plan. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:01:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1868http://strumors.com/1867Dieter Zetsche, Daimler AG's CEO, stated that the company is opening to selling off its remaining 19.9 percent in Chysler LLC to Cerberus Capital Management. CEO Zetsche told reporters that contacts between the two companies had been made; however, no formal negotiations has been resumed.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:01:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1867http://strumors.com/1866According to two people familiar with the mater, Morgan Stanely may pay between $2 to $3 billion for a controlling stake in Citigroup's Smith Barney retail brokerage business. The cash would help out Citigroup, who is coming under mounting pressure to clean up its balance sheet after borrowing $45 billion from the government last year. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:01:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1866http://strumors.com/1865Job losses in the U.S. continue to mount with employers cutting nearly 524,000 positions in December. The December job losses make 2008 the worst year for job losses since World War II. Overall, 2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008 with 1.9 million wiped out in just the last 4 months.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:01:06 -0500http://strumors.com/1865http://strumors.com/1864Google has just released a pre-beta version of Chrome 2.0, Google's new web browser. In the new version Google changed the network protocol to HTTP network protocol from the current WinHTTP library. The HTTP network protocol is compatible across multiple platforms including Mac and Linux. Currently, Mac and Linux support are the top requested features for Google chrome. The new browser, released late last year, has already claimed nearly 1 percent of the total browser market.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:01:06 -0500http://strumors.com/1864http://strumors.com/1863Boeing announced Friday that it will need to cut 4,500 employees this year. Boeing was one of the few employers who added workers throughout last year. The cuts will bring the company's employment figures back to 63,500 about where it began 2008.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:01:06 -0500http://strumors.com/1863http://strumors.com/1862At the 2009 CES conference today, Microsoft announced its new IPTV platform named Anytime TV. Anytime TV allows users to access previously aired shows directly from its integrated program guide at any time without any preplanning or any prior DVR recording.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:01:07 -0500http://strumors.com/1862http://strumors.com/1861Consumer borrowing dropped by $7.9 billion in November, as American continue to cut back and boost savings. The drop in consumer borrowing fell at a 3.7 percent annual rate in November, the largest percentage decline since January 1998. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:01:06 -0500http://strumors.com/1861http://strumors.com/1860Macy Inc. stated that it plans to close 11 of its stores as a cost cutting move. For the month of December, Macy's reported a 4 percent drop in same store sales, leading the company to slash its earnings estimates for its fourth quarter to 90 cents to $1 from its previously announced $1.10 to $1.30.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:01:06 -0500http://strumors.com/1860http://strumors.com/1859Steve Ballmer stated in an interview that the acquisition of Yahoo Inc by Microsoft is "a thing of the past." The news puts an end to recent rumors that talks between the two companies had been revived.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:01:06 -0500http://strumors.com/1859http://strumors.com/1858EMC, the world largest supplier of external storage devices, plans to cut 2,400 people or 7 percent of its workforce in order to reduce costs. The news comes in spite of the company announcing projected fourth-quarter results in-line with expectations.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1858http://strumors.com/1857Verizon has decided to partner with Microsoft as its default search engine for search services on its mobile devices. The news strikes a large blow against Google and Yahoo, after nearly a year of speculation on which company would become the key search provide for Verizon Wireless.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1857http://strumors.com/1856Intel reported that it's fourth quarter sales dropped 23 percent more than previously projected. Intel sited that the global recession significantly lowered demand for personal computers. The news hit the entire economy as more investors became nervous that the recession may be far from over.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1856http://strumors.com/1855Doug Shulman, the commissioner for the federal tax office, stated that the IRS is set to announce a number of steps in order to work with tax payers who maybe unable to pay their taxes for the first time this year due to recent issues in the economy. IRS agents are set to suspend collection actions, reduce monthly tax payments, or allow skipped payments when necessary in order to avoid a default. Those who believe they cannot pay their 2008 taxes should contact the agency in order to possible avoid penalties. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1855http://strumors.com/1854According to an Verizon Wireless Executive, the company is set to provide service to allow Kindle competitors to use Verizon's network to deliver download material including books and newspapers. Tony Lewis, who runs a program to certify third party vendors' products to work on Verizon's network, stated that he expects 2009 to be the year for competitor Kindle devices.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1854http://strumors.com/1853Adobe and Broadcom announced the integration of Adobe Flash support into Broadcom's latest digital television and set top box system-on-a-chip platforms. The collaboration between the companies brings the way to deliver rich flash based entertainment to new television sets.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1853http://strumors.com/1852Sales of semiconductors dropped 9.8 percent in November, as consumers halted their spending habits. The world wide economic crisis is having an impact on the demand for semiconductors; however, to a lessor degree than many other sectors. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:01:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1852http://strumors.com/1851Higher gas taxes are needed In order to repair aging roads and bridges and ease congested highways. The transportation commission is set to proposal higher taxes on gasoline later this month. The commission is looking to raise the gas tax by as much as 10 cents per gallon.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:01:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1851http://strumors.com/1850President-elect Obama is considering extending unemployment benefits to part-time employees as well as covering the cost of health insurance for laid-off employees. The proposal are part of Obama's two-year stimulus package, which is likely to cost over $775 billion. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:01:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1850http://strumors.com/1849Best Buy is starting to sell hand held video game consoles and games in vending machines at airports to consumers who frequently travel. The new vending machines, entitled Best Buy Express, offer a variety of hand held devices also including digital cameras and headphones. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:01:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1849http://strumors.com/1848It is no secret that Google is hoping that its new mobile Android operating system based on Linux can be used for more devices other than just mobile phones. And according to recent reports, Google's new OS already contains policies in the operating system for phones as well as MID. Intel refers to MID as mobile internet devices, commonly marketed as netbooks. Enthusiasts are hoping that 2009 maybe the year that a Google desktop operating system comes to life.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:01:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1848http://strumors.com/1847Panasonic EV Energy Co announced that its new industrial plant in Sendai is set to open a month ahead of schedule. The company, an affiliate of Toyota Motor Co, will manufacture batteries for Toyota's Prius at the new plant. The company will be aggressively manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles as Toyota continues to shift its line-up towards energy efficient vehicles.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:01:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1847http://strumors.com/1846Chrysler LLC received $4 billion in a low-interest loan Friday. The initial loan will provide the company with enough liquidity in order for it to continue its operations. Chrysler has been impacted more then GM and Ford as it makes 90 percent of its sales in North America. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:01:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1846http://strumors.com/1845The Dow Jones Industrial average soar over 3 percent to close over 9,000 Friday, its best close in over two months. Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson, stated, \"It feels good to get off to a good start on the first trading day of the year.\" Investors hoping to get in at what may be bargin prices ignored news released from the Institute for Supply Management indicating that overall manufacturing shrunk to a 28-year low in December.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1845http://strumors.com/1844A group of private equity firms including Dune Capital Management and J.C. Flowers have agreed to put up $1.3 billion in cash to acquire IndyMac. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, who has operated the bank since its failure on July 11th values the deal at $13.9 billion. Neither the agency nor the FDIC provided details on how the rest of the deal will be financed.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1844http://strumors.com/1843GMAC, whom for years paid GM an annual fee for exclusivity, relinquished its exclusive rights to provide financing to consumers purchasing General Motor vehicles. The move was done as part of its condition in order to receive nearly $6 billion in federal aid from the financial bailout package. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1843http://strumors.com/1842Bank of completed its acquisition of Merrill Lynch today. Bank of America now has the largest wealth management business in the world with nearly 20,000 financial advisors managing over $2 trillion in client assets. Under the terms of the acquisition each Merrill Lynch shareholder will receive 0.8595 shares of Bank of America for every share of Merrill Lynch they own.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:01:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1842http://strumors.com/1841The stock market closed yesterday with its worst year since 1931 leaving many analysts wandering what's next. The Dow Jones Industrial average dropped 34% for the year; however, most broader market indexes, including the S&P 500, lost much more than the Dow as nearly $7 trillion of shareholder wealth was wiped out. In the past stocks have rebound after large sell offs; however, analysts caution that this years losses were significantly different than most indicating that the market may not follow its historical trends.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:01:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1841http://strumors.com/1840Wells Fargo & Company stated today that is has completed its merge with Wachovia. Wells Fargo now has banks in 39 states with 11,000 stores and 12,260 ATMs. At closing Wells Fargo acquired all of Wachovia's shares in a stock for stock transaction. Wachovia shareholders received 0.1991 shares of Wells Fargo for every share of Wachovia stock they owned.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:01:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1840http://strumors.com/1839The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment dropped below 500,000 for the first time since November. The initial jobless claims for the week ending December 27th across the U.S. dropped by 94,000 to 492,000. Sat, 03 Nov 2007 07:01:06 -0400http://strumors.com/1839http://strumors.com/1838As corporate spending on computers, software, and information technology continues to drop, rumors of layoffs at Microsoft are continuing to mount. An employee of Microsoft posted on a blog that, "Just heard on the finance grapevine. MSFT layoffs are coming on January 15th. They are substantial.". Just a few days ago Oppenheimer & Co stated in a report to Microsoft that a layoff of as much as 10 percent would be beneficial for the company.Sat, 03 Nov 2007 07:01:06 -0400http://strumors.com/1838http://strumors.com/1837Crude oil prices jumped 13 percent Wednesday, after a government report indicated a smaller than expected gain in U.S. fuel supplies. Ehsan Ul-Haq stated, "we are very near the bottom in oil prices, or will reach the bottom in the next few weeks." Oil is expected to rebound to $60 a barrel next year as OPEC continues to cut production.Sat, 03 Nov 2007 07:01:06 -0400http://strumors.com/1837http://strumors.com/1836Within hours of receiving $5 billion in loans from the U.S. Treasury, GMAC began offering five year interest free loans. The company hopes that the move will put a stop to the company's huge slide in sales, which dealers have blamed on the lack of financing. Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:01:07 -0400http://strumors.com/1836http://strumors.com/1835Former AIG CEO, Robert Willumstad, declined an award of 1.05 million restricted shares. Willumstad led the company for just three months, before the government appointed Liddy in September. Willumstad previously declined severance pay of $22.5 million stating that it was unfair while employees have lost considerable value in their AIG shares.Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:01:07 -0400http://strumors.com/1835http://strumors.com/1834The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 184 points Tuesday following the Treasury's move to provide $5 billion to GMAC, the financial arm of General Motors. Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:01:07 -0400http://strumors.com/1834