DailyFinance

Disney Reports Flat Earnings But Sees Conditions Improving

Lita Epstein — 2010-02-09T23:23:00Z

Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) fiscal first-quarter net income showed a net profit of $844 million, or 44 cents per share, down slightly from $845 million, or 45 cents are share, a year earlier. Revenues were up 1% to $9.7 billion for the quarter ending January 2, up from $9.6 billion in the quarter ending Dec. 27, 2008.

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Disney Reports Flat Earnings But Sees Conditions Improving originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:23:00.

Filed Under: Columns, Investing, Earnings, Walt Disney

Google's Bad Buzz: Microsoft, Yahoo Mock New Social Product

Sam Gustin — 2010-02-09T23:15:00Z

Can there be such a thing as bad buzz? If so, web giant Google (GOOG) may have just stepped into it, with the unveiling of a new social networking product unfortunately called Google Buzz. (Memo to Mountain View, Calif: Yahoo (YHOO) already has a product called Buzz, geniuses.) Initial reactions to Buzz were not positive -- and Google received a spirited mocking from rivals Yahoo and Microsoft (MSFT), which backs Facebook. In fact, Google's new social offering may be too little, too late to stem the explosive growth of Facebook and Twitter.

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Google's Bad Buzz: Microsoft, Yahoo Mock New Social Product originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:15:00.

Filed Under: Google , Microsoft, Facebook

Paulson Predicts U.S. Will Recover 'Every Penny' of Bank Bailout Cash

Matthew Scott — 2010-02-09T22:30:00Z

In a one-on-one conversation with billionaire Warren Buffett on Tuesday, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson defended the government bank-bailout program and the other policies put in place to keep the U.S. financial system from collapsing. "We will get every penny we put into the banks back and with a profit," he said . Paulson (pictured, right) also called for Congress to enact real financial regulatory reforms that would allow a special authority to wind down any troubled financial institution without using taxpayer-funded bailouts.

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Paulson Predicts U.S. Will Recover 'Every Penny' of Bank Bailout Cash originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:30:00.

Filed Under: People, Berkshire Hathaway

The Dow's Jump Doesn't Mean All's Well in Europe

Dan Burrows — 2010-02-09T21:20:00Z

The Dow surged Tuesday on reports the European Union is hatching a plan to end the debt crisis in Greece, but just because the blue-chip index sits once again above 10,000 doesn't mean the latest threat to equities is over. Greece, after all, is but one wobbly domino in Euroland -- and that means investors should brace themselves for more tremors to come.

Continue reading The Dow's Jump Doesn't Mean All's Well in Europe

The Dow's Jump Doesn't Mean All's Well in Europe originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:20:00.

Filed Under: Economy, Investing

Hermes Opens Store Just for Men

Carrie Coolidge — 2010-02-09T21:10:00Z

It may seem an unlikely time for a global super luxury brand to launch a new concept on Madison Avenue of all places. Indeed, take a stroll up Madison Avenue and one will see a number of vacant storefronts with "for lease" signs in the windows that are too numerous to count. But that is where Hermès diverges from the rest of the luxury industry.

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Hermes Opens Store Just for Men originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:10:00.

Filed Under: Company News, Retail

PepsiCo Earnings Preview: Company Is a Mirror of the Economy

Joseph Lazzaro — 2010-02-09T20:51:00Z

When beverage/snack giant PepsiCo (PEP) reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday morning, institutional investors will be hoping to see MOTS -- "more of the same."

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PepsiCo Earnings Preview: Company Is a Mirror of the Economy originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:51:00.

Filed Under: Company News, Earnings, Pepsico

Toyota Adds Some 2010 Camry Models to Recall; Feds Looking into Corolla Steering

David Schepp — 2010-02-09T20:50:00Z

Already besieged by two recalls this year, Toyota Motor (TM) said Tuesday it is recalling 7,300 of its 2010 Camry sedans for possible braking problems, raising the number of cars the world's largest automaker has recalled to more than 8.5 million since last fall.

Continue reading Toyota Adds Some 2010 Camry Models to Recall; Feds Looking into Corolla Steering

Toyota Adds Some 2010 Camry Models to Recall; Feds Looking into Corolla Steering originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:50:00.

Filed Under: Company News, Technology, Toyota, Autos

The Wages of Recession: Average 2010 Raises Will Barely Cover Inflation

Matthew Scott — 2010-02-09T20:10:00Z

Salaried employees hoping their 2010 annual raise will provide some relief as they attempt to recover from the worst economic downturn in 80 years are likely to be disappointed: Raises for U.S. workers may barely keep pace with inflation this year.

Continue reading The Wages of Recession: Average 2010 Raises Will Barely Cover Inflation

The Wages of Recession: Average 2010 Raises Will Barely Cover Inflation originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:10:00.

Filed Under: Economy

The Tough Choice Facing SAP's New Leaders: How to Cut Costs

Steve Rosenbush — 2010-02-09T20:00:00Z

As a rule, it's a good sign when a struggling company invests for the long term, emphasizing research and development over cost-cutting, and customers over Wall Street. SAP, the giant German software company that replaced its CEO in a management shakeup over the weekend, seems to be veering down that sensible path.

In SAP's case, however, a hard look at costs might be unavoidable. Expenses are way out of line compared to those of rivals such as Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG)

Continue reading The Tough Choice Facing SAP's New Leaders: How to Cut Costs

The Tough Choice Facing SAP's New Leaders: How to Cut Costs originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:00:00.

Filed Under: Company News, Technology, IBM, Google , Microsoft, Apple, SAP

House Panel to Ask Experts About Unwinding Stimulus

Lita Epstein — 2010-02-09T19:18:00Z

The House Committee on Financial Services, chaired by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) will soon meet to consider when would be the best time to unwind the stimulus by the Federal Reserve. The hearing, titled "Unwinding Emergency Federal Reserve Liquidity Programs and Implications for Economic Recovery," was scheduled for Wednesday, but was postponed because of weather conditions in Washington, D.C. The capital is forecast to receive 10 to 20 inches of snow between Tuesday and Wednesday, on top of the 2 feet that fell last weekend.

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House Panel to Ask Experts About Unwinding Stimulus originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:18:00.

Filed Under: Economy, People, Investing, Credit

Avast, Ye Scurvy Dogs! America's Cup Hijacked By Lawyers, Billionaires

Bruce Watson — 2010-02-09T18:50:00Z

The 33rd America's Cup taking place this week in Valencia, Spain, already seems destined to be remembered as one of the most vicious and brutal sporting events in history. For 30 months, competitors Ernesto Bertarelli and Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison have duked it out in court and the media, battling over every detail of the contest and dragging each other through the mud. In the process, they have driven away sponsors and fans: The 2007 race attracted more than $200 million in sponsorship money, but the 2010 has pulled in just $11 million.

Continue reading Avast, Ye Scurvy Dogs! America's Cup Hijacked By Lawyers, Billionaires

Avast, Ye Scurvy Dogs! America's Cup Hijacked By Lawyers, Billionaires originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:50:00.

Filed Under: Technology, People, Media, Oracle

Coke Gets Lots of Pop from China and India

Pallavi Gogoi — 2010-02-09T18:20:00Z

As Americans struggled amid the worst recession in decades, beverage giant Coca-Cola (KO) relied on its large global operations to pick up the slack. It turned its laser focus on the two big international markets where the growth is: India and China. The strategy has paid off as consumers in the two giant Asian nations responded by buying its beverages with gusto. In its fourth-quarter earnings report, Coke says sales skyrocketed 29% in China, and 20% in India.

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Coke Gets Lots of Pop from China and India originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:20:00.

Filed Under: Company News, Investing, Earnings, Coca-Cola Company

Amgen Says Its Drug Surpasses Rival in Preventing Fractures

Melly Alazraki — 2010-02-09T18:00:00Z

Much of Amgen's (AMGN) future rests on its experimental bone drug denosumab, to be sold commercially as Prolia. The drug has had its ups and downs, but Amgen, the largest global biotech company, said on Monday that a pivotal third Phase 3 clinical trial pitting denosumab against Novartis's (NVS) Zometa showed that denosumab worked better.

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Amgen Says Its Drug Surpasses Rival in Preventing Fractures originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:00:00.

Filed Under: Company News, Technology, Healthcare, Novartis, Amgen

SAP Needs to Get Into the M&A Game ... Fast

Tom Taulli — 2010-02-09T17:36:00Z

Enterprise resource planning software is a massive global business. Then again, it deals with the core functions of a company: payroll, compliance, inventory, sales, logistics and so on. By far, the dominant player is SAP (SAP), which has built its ERP business into a cash cow.

Continue reading SAP Needs to Get Into the M&A Game ... Fast

SAP Needs to Get Into the M&A Game ... Fast originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:36:00.

Filed Under: Technology, Microsoft, Oracle

The U.S. Needs an FDA for Auto Safety

Peter Cohan — 2010-02-09T16:30:00Z

If you thought free markets would protect you from cars that can accelerate out of control and slam you into a ditch, think again. Look no further than the latest news on Toyota's (TM) recalls. In recent weeks, the Japanese carmaker has recalled 8.1 million vehicles, and today it added 437,000 Prius and other hybrid models whose brakes don't work all that well (when traveling on a wet or potholed road, they can go about 50 feet without working).

Given the number of people who trust the lives of their families to vehicles every day, you'd think that cars would be subject to some kind of consumer protection agency to keep faulty vehicles off the roads until they had been thoroughly tested.

Continue reading The U.S. Needs an FDA for Auto Safety

The U.S. Needs an FDA for Auto Safety originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:30:00.

Filed Under: Company News, Columns, Ford Motor Co., Toyota, Autos

UBS Watches Wealthy Clients Walk as Swiss Secrecy Wobbles

Lita Epstein — 2010-02-09T16:23:00Z

Continuing pressure on UBS (UBS) from the U.S., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands to reveal information about its tax-evading account holders has taken a toll on the Swiss bank's holdings. With fear rising that the bank's promise of secrecy may not stand much longer, UBS's wealthy private banking clients pulled 33.2 billion francs ($31.13 billion) out of the institution in the fourth quarter of 2009. That's up from an outflow of 16.8 billion francs ($15.75 billion) in the third quarter.

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UBS Watches Wealthy Clients Walk as Swiss Secrecy Wobbles originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:23:00.

Filed Under: Company News, Investing, Taxes

Latest Legal News: In BofA Reality Show, It's Cuomo v. the SEC

Abigail Field — 2010-02-09T15:40:00Z

A daily look at legal news and the business of law:

BofA: Who Is Stating the Facts, the Attorney General or the SEC?

Both New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the Securities and Exchange Commission have sued Bank of America (BAC), but the "facts" each lays out in support of its suit differ sharply in legally important ways, as Judge Rakoff noted when discussing the SEC's revised settlement proposal yesterday.

Continue reading Latest Legal News: In BofA Reality Show, It's Cuomo v. the SEC

Latest Legal News: In BofA Reality Show, It's Cuomo v. the SEC originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:40:00.

Filed Under: Company News, Columns, Bank of America

Plastic Packaging Is Good for the Environment? Rubbish!

Sarah Gilbert — 2010-02-09T15:00:00Z

Sitting in my son's school lunchroom one day after a teacher conference, I mourned the loss of sanity in our food system. I was holding a plastic packet of apple slices and the ingredients were not just "apples" but included a chemical preservative. I could taste it and it wasn't good.

Continue reading Plastic Packaging Is Good for the Environment? Rubbish!

Plastic Packaging Is Good for the Environment? Rubbish! originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:00:00.

Filed Under: Green