Thursday, December 31, 2009

“Business owners are making New Year's resolutions - Boston Globe” plus 4 more

“Business owners are making New Year's resolutions - Boston Globe” plus 4 more

Business owners are making New Year's resolutions - Boston Globe

Posted: 31 Dec 2009 12:26 AM PST

But, "instead of dialing things back for a work/life balance, ramping it up seems to be the best strategy at this point," said Gibbs, president of Inkandescent Public Relations. Her Washington, D.C.-based company, which targets entrepreneurs, expects to have more work as more people start businesses.

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The coming Great Inflation, real or imagined - MoneyControl.com

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 10:25 PM PST

A historic economic crisis has left Americans with plenty of things to worry about. But is inflation one of them? And is there a risk that fretting over higher prices may actually bring them about?

The answers to these questions will help define the timing of the Federal Reserve's pullback from an unprecedented level of monetary stimulus, deployed to combat the worst financial panic since the Great Depression.

In justifying its pledge to leave interest rates near zero for the foreseeable future, the Fed takes comfort in inflation expectations, which policymakers deem comfortably restrained.


On the surface, that appears true. The most recent Reuters/University of Michigan consumer survey showed a 0.2 percentage point decline in expected inflation one-year out, to 2.5 percent. Market-based barometers have fluttered higher, though not alarmingly so.

Yet beneath the weak economic backdrop keeping prices in check, economists and consumers are increasingly uneasy about the prospect of a continuous loss of purchasing power -- the very definition of inflation.

"We have the most potentially inflationary policy I have ever observed in a developed country," said Alan Meltzer, a Fed historian and professor of political economy at the Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh.

According to widely used economic models, the way consumers perceive the prospect of future inflation has clear implications for prices themselves. Once higher costs are taken for granted, they are more easily tolerated.

Several indicators are already hinting at that possibility .

The price of gold, often viewed as a hedge against inflation, has set record after record, peaking above USD1,200 an ounce earlier this month before retreating to below USD1,100. A recent JPMorgan survey of clients found that 61 percent expected US inflation to be "above target" between 2011 and 2014.

Another consumer confidence survey, published by The Conference Board, showed Americans expect prices to climb a troubling 5.1 percent over the next 12 months.

And Google Trends, a websearch database, shows a sharp spike in the number of US users looking up the word "hyperinflation" in late 2008 and early 2009.

"There is a real risk that inflation expectations will rise above a certain threshold that suggests a loss of credibility of the Fed," said Laurence Meyer, a former Fed governor now at Macroeconomic Advisers in Washington, DC.

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Midwest Business Jumps Near Four-Year Highs in December - ABC News

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 07:16 AM PST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Business activity in the U.S. Midwest expanded far more than expected in December, hitting its highest in nearly four years on a massive recovery in employment and accelerating new orders.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said on Wednesday its business barometer rose to 60.0 from 56.1 in November, marking its highest reading since January 2006.

The result was much better than analysts' median forecast of 55.0, and was marked by an eye-popping jump in the report's gauge of employment, which has been the top worry as the economy slowly recovers from the worst recession in decades.

"The number is a lot above consensus and it bodes well for continued solid expectations as far as the economy and manufacturing goes. That's going to be a vital part of 2010," said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & Associates in Toledo, Ohio.

Economists' forecasts ranged from 52.0 to 58.0, according to a Reuters poll.

A reading above 50 in the report, also known as the Chicago PMI, indicates expansion in the regional economy.

Reaction was muted in financial markets, where trade has been thin due to the holidays. U.S. stocks were little changed after the data.

U.S. government bonds also showed little reaction, remaining unchanged on the day. The dollar, however, extended its gains versus the euro and yen.

The Employment index vaulted to 51.2 from November's 41.9. That was its highest since November 2007 and also the first time it has been in expansionary territory since then.

Boding well for the future, the new orders index rose to 63.5 from 62.8.

(Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Copyright 2009 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Business in brief: Nokia widens fight with Apple - The Spokesman-Review

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 09:46 AM PST

December 30, 2009 in Business

Business in brief: Nokia widens fight with Apple

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New York – Nokia Corp. is broadening a legal dispute it already has with Apple Inc. over the iPhone, saying almost all of the company's other products also violate the Finnish phone maker's patents.

Nokia said Tuesday that it has filed a complaint against Apple with the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging Apple's iPhone, iPods and computers all violate Nokia's intellectual property rights.

At issue are key features found in Apple products, including aspects of user interface, cameras, antenna and power management technologies, Nokia said. The company claims that the technologies in question help cut manufacturing costs, reduce gadget size and prolong battery life.

Apple has denied the charges and this month countered with its own lawsuit in the Delaware court, saying Nokia has copied aspects of the iPhone in its devices.

Associated Press

NBC criticized over plane trip

New York – The Society of Professional Journalists condemned NBC News for practicing "checkbook journalism" by chartering a jet that carried a New Jersey man involved in a bitter custody battle and his son home from Brazil.

David Goldman, who successfully fought the Brazilian family of his now-deceased ex-wife for custody of 9-year-old Sean, granted an interview to Meredith Vieira of NBC's "Today" show that aired Monday.

NBC said Goldman was booked for "Today" before the network invited him on the plane. The network had already arranged for the plane to bring its own employees home for Christmas, NBC News spokeswoman Lauren Kapp said.

Most news organizations say they don't pay for interviews. But critics say the commonly used practice of paying to license photos or video from a subject matter or paying for someone's travel is a way of getting around the restriction.

Associated Press

Mercedes misses MPG standard

The federal government says Mercedes-Benz of North America Inc. has paid a $6.8 million fine for failing to comply with federal fuel-efficiency requirements.

Mercedes, a division of Daimler AG, paid the fines for violations dealing with imported passenger cars for the 2008 model year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collected fines from six automakers in 2009 totaling more than $13 million.

Many manufacturers of luxury vehicles consider the fuel efficiency fines as the cost of doing business. The fines were created to ensure vehicles meet basic gas mileage standards. Mercedes paid a $28.9 million fine last year.

Associated Press

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Neb.'s TierOne gets delisting warning from Nasdaq - Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 11:40 AM PST

LINCOLN, Neb. - TierOne Bank's owners say they have received a Nasdaq delisting notice because the company's stock price has been below $1 for more than 30 consecutive business days.

TierOne Corp., the Nebraska-based parent of TierOne Bank, said Tuesday that it plans to comply with Nasdaq rules before the stock market's June 28 deadline, but the company is still evaluating its options.

TierOne's stock has closed below $1 every day since Nov. 12, and it was trading at 70 cents on Wednesday afternoon.

TierOne has also missed a deadline for filing its third-quarter earnings report.

TierOne holds about $3.1 billion in assets and 69 bank branches in Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas, but it has agreed to sell 32 of those branches to Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Great Western Bank.

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