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KB Home Posts $268 Million Loss - Wall Street Journal
KB Home Posts $268 Million LossWall Street Journal - 1 hour agoBy DONNA KARDOS KB Home swung to a fiscal first-quarter loss on charges related to write-downs and the abandonment of certain contracts, as the housing downturn and credit crisis continued to take their toll on the residential builder.KB Home posts quarterly loss ReutersKB Home swings to 1Q loss; revenue falls, misses expectations CNNMoney.comNewsweek - Centre Daily Timesall 100 news articles

Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods 4Q Profit Rises - CNNMoney.com
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods 4Q Profit RisesCNNMoney.com - 2 hours agoNEW YORK Associated Press - Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC said Friday its fourth-quarter profit rose 18 percent as sales grew across all segments.Wimm-Bill-Dann - CFO FOXBusinessUPDATE 1-Wimm-Bill-Dann Q4 net profit up 18% to $34.4 mln ReutersInternational Herald Tribune - Houston Chronicle - just-food.com subscription - RTT Newsall 59 news articles

Holiday Sales Predicted to Increase 4%
DMNews reports that the National Retail Federation NRF is predicting holiday sales to increase by 4% this year to $447.5 billion. Technology will once again be a hot item. Even fashion is getting more high tech this year according to the NRF.In the fashion and apparel categories, expect to see evening wear and diamonds driving sales. In addition, tailored denim products - across mens, womens and childrens wear - will be a hot item. Womens boots also will help drive sales this holiday season, with a focus on three-quarter length boots rather than knee length.Interestingly, fashion will be getting more high tech this season.Technology is having an impact on fashion, said Dan Butler, VP of retail operations and merchandising at the National Retail Federation. Whether its sweaters or vests designed to hold handheld accessories and iPods, or handbags, which are designed for these devices, we are going to see a lot more of these kinds of products this season.IPod and cell phone accessories will be popular tickets this year, including a new breed of accessories designed to hold these items in the home. Expect to see more widescreen televisions under the tree this year, along with widescreen computer monitors, as the prices of these products have come down.Online sales - which have been rising year after year - will surely grow again this year.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

Stocks & Bonds A Middling Week, but a Good One for 2008 - New York Times
Nightly Business ReportStocks & Bonds A Middling Week, but a Good One for 2008New York Times - 19 hours agoBy JEFF SOMMER It was a so-so week for the stock market. The broad market declined modestly, but the Nasdaq composite index, which is heavily laden with technology stocks, managed a slight gain.Stocks end the week down Los Angeles TimesTHE WEEK IN STOCKS: Adding to a bad quarterly performance NewsdayInternational Herald Tribune - The Associated Press - Inside Futuresall 632 news articles

Markets React to Bear Sterns, Weekend Fed Action
JP Morgan Chase has snatched up Bear Sterns in a rapid transaction for a huge discount of $2 a share. JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to buy Bear Stearns Cos. for $240 million, about 90 percent less than its value last week, after a run on the company ended 85 years of independence for Wall Streets fifth-largest securities firm.Shareholders of Bear Stearns will get stock in JPMorgan equivalent to about $2 a share, compared with $30 at the close on March 14, the New York-based companies said in a statement late yesterday. The Federal Reserve is providing financial backing to JPMorgan, the second-biggest U.S. bank, and also cut the rate on direct loans to banks in its first emergency weekend action in almost three decades to stave off a broader market panic. The Fed also moved in with a rare weekend move and dropped the emergency lending rate a quarter of a point. President Bush also weighed in predicting a turnaround. President Bush rushed to strike a note of calm to the turbulent situation on Monday morning, hailing the Feds action and saying: Weve taken strong decisive action. The president spoke after meeting at the White House with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other members of his economic team. Were in challenging times, Bush said.Despite all the action to help prevent losses stocks are still in negative territory again today. The Financial Times says investors are waiting for the next domino to fall.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

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

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

Mercantile Bank Corporation Announces First Quarter Provision ... - FOXBusiness
Mercantile Bank Corporation Announces First Quarter Provision ...FOXBusiness - 40 minutes agoGRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Mar 28, 2008 PrimeNewswire via COMTEX -- At a meeting held March 27, 2008, the Board of Directors of Mercantile Bank Corporation Nasdaq:MBWM determined that deteriorating economic conditions and real estate valuations have had ...Mercantile Bank expects 1Q provision BusinessWeekUPDATE 1-Mercantile Bank to post Q1 loss on increased provision ReutersForbes - MLive.com - Trading Markets press release - Business Wire press releaseall 21 news articles

JC Penney Plunges After Cutting Profit Forecast (Update1) - Bloomberg
CNBCJC Penney Plunges After Cutting Profit Forecast Update1Bloomberg - 1 hour agoBy Lauren Coleman-Lochner March 28 Bloomberg -- JC Penney Co., the third-largest US department-store chain, plunged the most in more than 20 years in New York trading after the retailer cut its sales and earnings forecasts on slower consumer spending ...JC Penney cuts first-quarter forecast MarketWatchJP Penney Slashes Guidance, Wall Street JournalReuters - CNNMoney.com - Conde Nast Portfolio - RTT Newsall 112 news articles

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

Many U.S. Citizens Think Recession is Already Here
The dreaded R word is now being used commonly in news stories and polls. A new AP-Ipsos poll has found that 61% of U.S. citizens believe the country is already in a recession. 59% are worried about their stocks and retirement investments. Technically the economy needs to shrink for two consecutive quarters or six straight months see recession definition for it to count as a recession but for the people suffering in a struggling economy the technical definition doesnt really matter. Another poll found that most people think a Democrat and not a Republican would best be able to get the nation out of a recession - that might be a sign of the way the election is going to go in November. Even author Stephen King is weighing in. Hes slamming the economic pundits who think a recession would help purge the system.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com