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Jobs Report Shows Weakening Economy
Yesterdays jobs report told a tale of weakness. The U.S. economy lost over 60,000 jobs in the short month of February and over 20,000 jobs in January. An AP article says the pink slips have increased and some economists hear the recession bell ringing.The grim snapshot of the countrys employment climate underscored the heavy toll the housing and credit debacles are taking on companies, jobseekers and the economy as a whole.It sounds like the recession bell is ringing for the U.S. economy, although it is still faint, said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.On Wall Street, stocks tumbled. The Dow Jones lost 146.70 points, a little more than 1 percent to close at 11,893.69. The Dow was down 370 for the last two days of the week.The worsening situation will prompt the Federal Reserve to cut a key interest rate deeply -- perhaps by as much as three-quarters of a percentage point -- at its next meeting March 18, or possibly sooner, to help brace the teetering economy, analysts predicted.The shower of pink slips was widespread. Factories, construction companies, mortgage brokers, real-estate firms, retailers, temporary-help firms, child day-care providers, hotels, educational services, accounting firms and computer designers were among those shedding jobs. All those cuts swamped job gains at hospitals and other health care sites, bars and restaurants, legal services and the government.President Bush was quick to reassure everyone that the economy is not in a recession. Bush said, I know this is a difficult time for our economy, but we recognized the problem early and provided the economy with a booster shot. We will begin to see the impact over the coming months.Less and less people are expecting the quick recovery that President Bush is. With the DOW falling under the 12,000 mark Friday next week could be a difficult one.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

Bank of America to Buy Countrywide
Reuters reports that Bank of America is buying Countrywide for $4 billion.The purchase marks another acquisition for Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis, who has spent more than $100 billion since 2004 to create the second-largest U.S. bank and the nations largest consumer bank.It also provides a lifeline for Countrywide, which became a poster child for what critics say were lending excesses that fueled the housing and credit meltdown.The largest U.S. mortgage lender has been convulsed by mounting losses and defaults, a loss of access to credit markets, and a slew of lawsuits and regulatory probes into its lending practices and Chief Executive Angelo Mozilos pay. On Tuesday, it denied rumors that it might go bankrupt.Countrywide has been hit very hard by the housing and credit problems. The deal is a big save for them and their shareholders but there are questions about what it means for Bank of America. SeekingAlpha says Bank of America will lose billions in the deal to acquire Countrywide. The Economist calls BofAs purchase a big gamble. Time will tell but it does sound like a risky acquisition.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

Economy Growing Very Slowly
The GDP grew 2.2% in 2007 and slow 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2007. Raw Story says economists were expecting 1.2% growth in Q4.For all of 2007, the economy grew by just 2.2 percent, the weakest performance in five years, when the country was struggling to recover from the 2001 recession. The housing collapse dealt the economy its biggest blow last year. Builders slashed spending on housing projects by 16.9 percent on an annualized basis, the most in 25 years.The economy has been subject to something of the perfect storm here. It has been hit by the housing slump the credit squeeze, the subprime slime and stock price declines on Wall Street, said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. The economy is weathering some pretty stormy seas but it is weak.The fourth-quarters performance was much weaker -- half the pace -- than economists were expecting. They were forecasting growth to clock in a 1.2 percent pace.The 0.6 percent annualized increase in gross domestic product GDP marked a big loss of momentum from the third quarters brisk, 4.9 percent showing. The fourth-quarter pace was the slowest since the first quarter of last year.IDEAglobals chief U.S. economist calls it stall speed according to MarketWatch.com. The GDP hit stall speed, wrote Joseph Brusuelas, chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal.GDP hadnt been any slower since the end of 2002, when the economy was struggling to recover from the recession a year earlier.The 1st quarter 2008 GDP is going to be interested. Will the economy tread along, pick up speed or start to step into a recession?Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

Apple Takes a Drubbing
Apple AAPL has been taking a beating on Wall Street today. The stock is down over 10%. The reason isnt the companys holiday performance but the possibility of a weaker future. Forbes is asking if one bad Apple could spoil the bunch - meaning could Apple weakness spill over into other tech stocks. Its hard to see gadgets having as good a year this year as they did last year if we are heading into a recession.To some extent, its a case of one bad Apple AAPL spoiling the bunch. Steve Jobs & Co. is seen as the most innovative, growth-producing group in tech. And if the U.S. consumers economic troubles are starting to rattle mighty Apple, high fliers like Research In Motion RIMM and Google GOOG might not be immune, either.Indeed, Apples holiday performance showed signs that the companys not unstoppable in 2008. In particular, Apples cautious outlook, weakness in U.S. iPod growth and the unpredictability of iPhone sales left Wall Streets pessimists plenty of reason to doubt. And in this jittery market, those pessimists have a lot of power.First, a recap of Apples good news - and there was plenty of it. Apple turned in revenue of $9.6 billion and profit of $1.6 billion for the holiday quarter, blowing past the average analyst estimate. The company shipped a record 2.3 million Intel INTC-based Macs during the period, and actually sold as many iPhones as computers. In the process Apple generated $2.7 billion in cash, bringing its war chest to $18.4 billion.But there was troubling news, too. On the conference call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer admitted that iPod sales merely met the companys expectations, rather than exceeding them. Part of the reason, he said, was that U.S. iPod sales weakened in December - it took overseas sales to make up the difference. In the U.S., in the gift-buying season, we saw a slightly different curve, he said. That was made up for in our very, very good growth internationally.Apple did have a great holiday quarter but what will happen to Apple in the first three quarters of this year with consumers fighting off a recession and rising prices? Thats the question investors are asking about Apple and many other gadget manufacturers. There are also concerns that if people already have any iPod will they might not be as excited about owning the latest and greatest iPod - especially if things get tight.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

IACs Diller wins court battle with Liberty - Reuters
IAC's Diller wins court battle with LibertyReuters - 15 hours agoBy Michele Gershberg NEW YORK Reuters - IAC/InterActiveCorp IACI.O: Quote, Profile, Research chief Barry Diller on Friday won a bitter legal dispute with Liberty Media Corp's John Malone, paving the way for him to proceed with efforts to spin off ...Barry Diller Wins as Court Allows His 5-Way Division of IAC New York TimesBarry Diller Can't Be Ousted From IAC Board by John Malone BloombergCNNMoney.com - Wall Street Journal - Conde Nast Portfolio - FOXBusinessall 247 news articles

No Recession at Red Hat - New York Times
RTT NewsNo Recession at Red HatNew York Times - Mar 28, 2008By Steve Lohr Red Hat, the Linux software company, gave a nice welcome present today to its new chief executive, James Whitehurst.Red Hat gets lift following upbeat earnings report MarketWatchOut of the Gate: Red Hat Rises CNNMoney.comBizjournals.com - The Associated Press - Motley Fool - Forbesall 280 news articles

Bernanke Says Some Small Banks May Fail
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in testimony in front of U.S. Congress today that there could be some bank failures because of the ongoing credit crisis. The AP reports that Bernanke did says that the large U.S. banks will likely recover but it is disturbing to hear he expects some small bank failures.Bernanke, testifying before Congress, said that while the large U.S. banks will likely recover from the recent credit crisis, others could fail.Implying that some banks may fail stirs concerns for any investor whos familiar with financial and economic history, said Hugh Johnson, chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors. Investors have been very edgy about credit market conditions and banks financial conditions. Very edgy. And this doesnt remove that edginess.Earlier, stocks had fallen in response to a Labor Department report that first-time unemployment claims rose last week by 19,000 to 373,000, the highest level since late January.Scott Wren, equity strategist for A.G. Edwards & Sons, said he still believes theres less than a 50 percent chance of a recession, but that its clear employers are cautious about hiring.To consistently see claims up near 400,000, thats pretty telling often-times of a recession, he said.On the positive side Bernanke doesnt anticipate a return to the stagflation periods of the 1970s - although with gas forecast to exceed $4 a gallon not everyone is convinced. Marketwatch reports that stocks are lower today following Bernankes words and news that last years GDP growth was just 0.6%Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

Worst Day of 2008 For Stocks
Stocks plunge again as concerns about the economy continue. Marketwatch reports that the DOW is now at a 10-month low. Today was also the worst day of the year for the stock market. It has been a short year and it hasnt been a good year at all so far.When reminded about how bad things are, the market remembers it should go down, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co.And, it is going to take more than just monetary policy to clean up the mess weve made with this economy, Hogan said.The Philadelphia Fed Survey was a disaster, defying even the most pessimistic projections, said Frederic Ruffy, an analyst at Optionetics.Heres a look at the numbers.DOW - lost 300 points - 2.5%. Hits 10-month low.NASDAQ - lost 47.69 points - 2%S&P 500 - lost 39.94 points - 2.9%.The tumble began when the Philadelphia Fed reported dismal figures.Shortly before the Fed chairman spoke, the Philadelphia Fed said its measure of manufacturing activity feel sharply to a negative 20.9 from a revised reading of negative 1.6 in December. The report underscored the seriousness of the economic concerns that have in recent weeks drawn the focus of both Wall Street and Washington.The Philadelphia Fed just announced dreadful numbers, said John ODonoghue, co-head of equities at Cowen & Co. He said if you look back at Philadelphia Fed data for similar numbers, it takes you back to the 2001 to 2002 recession.Its not rocket science - the economy is slowing dramatically, and its being reflected in economic reports.Bloomberg says Merrill Lynchs huge 4th quarter loss also played a role in the bad day on Wall Street.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

Electricity Supplier Offers Ebay Auction
A Connecticut electricity supplier called MXEnergy has found an unusual way to sell energy - by auctioning it on eBay.MXEnergy, one of several electricity suppliers in the states deregulated market, is offering homeowners and small businesses electricity rates that are locked in, similar to power purchases by large commercial and industrial customers.To promote its business among United Illuminatings 320,000 customers, the Stamford-based MXEnergy is auctioning off 1 megawatt of electricity to the highest bidder before Dec. 13. As of Friday afternoon, the highest of 18 bids was $132.50.MXenergy will accept the highest bid on a megawatt, or 1,000 kilowatts, of electricity and divide it by 1,000 to determine the rate at which the winner can purchase up to 10 megawatts in a year after signing up with MXenergy.Thats about how much electricity an average household uses annually, said Jeffrey Mayer, president and chief executive of MXEnergy.MXEnergy has 500,000 customers according to the Fool.com story. The eBay auction listing can be found here.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com