Thursday, February 25, 2010

“Obama pushes ties with business - Tulsa World” plus 3 more

“Obama pushes ties with business - Tulsa World” plus 3 more

Obama pushes ties with business - Tulsa World

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 01:36 AM PST

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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Wednesday rejected charges that his agenda would lead to socialism and challenged some of the nation's foremost corporate leaders to join him in powering the country to a robust future.

In a speech to the Business Roundtable, Obama tied together and defended the widespread threads of his reform agenda, describing them as a unified push to help the United States compete abroad and rebound at home.

On a particularly sore point for business leaders who have or are planning to ship jobs overseas, Obama was unapologetic for his policy of rewarding industries that choose to remain at home.

"As president of the United States, my interest is to reward or at least not disadvantage companies who are creating more jobs and doing more business within the borders of this country," Obama said. "That's not antibusiness, it's pro-America, and I don't apologize for it."

In addressing the roundtable, one of the capital's most influential business groups, the president essentially reprised his State of the Union talk.

Obama said those points needed repeating "because we have arrived at a juncture in our politics" where any reform efforts are "too often greeted with cries of 'government takeover' or even 'socialism.' "

Reminding his audience he is the president of a people with widely varying interests and needs, Obama told the business leaders, "We are all in this together."

Of the daunting array of troubles still facing all the country,

Obama said that could be overcome only "if we all pick up an oar and start rowing in the same direction."

The group's support is crucial to Obama's agenda as he faces a rough road heading toward November's midterm elections. He has wooed roundtable leaders since the start of his presidency, including an hour-plus speech to them last year and a private White House dinner Tuesday.

His top advisers have spent hours hearing the group's viewpoints and weaving their opinions into the White House's agenda, including a new push to make it easier for U.S. firms to compete abroad.

Obama also gave a nod to the Senate's having passed just hours earlier a new bill to invest $15 billion to create more jobs in the United States through a series of tax incentives to businesses.

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Business briefly: Hummer closing after China sale misses deadline - Everett Herald

Posted: 24 Feb 2010 11:56 PM PST

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Hummer, the off-road vehicle that once symbolized America's love for hulking SUVs, has hit a dead end after its sale to a Chinese heavy equipment maker collapsed late Wednesday. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. pulled out of the deal to buy the company from General Motors Co. Tengzhong failed to get clearance from Chinese regulators within the proposed timeframe, the Chinese manufacturer said Wednesday. GM said it will continue to honor existing Hummer warranties. "GM will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner," said GM's John Smith.

Nintendo readies latest game system

Nintendo plans to launch the latest version of its popular handheld video game system, the DSi XL, on March 28 in North America. The XL will cost $190. It will have two screens like its predecessors, but as the name suggests, the device and screens will be larger than available versions. Nintendo also said it's launching "Super Mario Galaxy 2" for the Wii console on May 23.

Verizon CEO pay drops 14 percent

The total compensation of Verizon Communications Inc.' chief executive fell 14 percent in 2009 amid layoffs that accompanied the decline of the company's fixed-line phone business, according to an analysis of a regulatory filing Wednesday. Ivan Seidenberg, 63, received compensation in fiscal 2009 valued at $17.5 million, down from $20.2 million the year before. The second largest U.S. phone company, which has its Northwest headquarters in Everett, saw revenue grow 11 percent to $107.81 billion last year. But its net profit fell 18 percent to $10.36 billion. Seidenberg's annual salary was unchanged at $2.1 million and he received no bonus. His nonequity incentive plan compensation, which is tied to the company's performance, fell 21 percent to $3.0 million from $3.7 million the year before. The value of Seidenberg's performance stock units declined to $11.1 million from $13.1 million a year ago. All other compensation, including for personal use of company aircraft and company contributions to savings plans and life insurance, fell to $880,282 from $946,754 a year ago.

Profits quadruple for Washington Post

The Washington Post Co., which owns The Herald, said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter profit more than quadrupled. Kaplan, its education division provided most of the lift, although the publishing segment also made money after large cost cuts. The Post is unique in that it has its cable TV and Kaplan education services businesses, which account for nearly three-quarters of the company's revenue and continue to grow. Overall, the company earned $81.7 million, or $8.71 per share. That was up from $18.8 million, or $2.01 per share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 6 percent to $1.24 billion.

From Herald news services

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Citi Set To Dump Its Hedge Fund Business - The Business Insider

Posted: 24 Feb 2010 06:23 AM PST

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sky-bridge

A Malaysian sky bridge

Image: AP

According to the Wall Street Journal's sources, SkyBridge Capital is talking with Citi about buying Citi's fund of funds business.

Citi plans to offload their $4 billion hedge fund investment business as part of a plan designed to unwind $715 billion in non-core assets, said the WSJ. The pool is currently down to $547 billion.

Apparently the current plan is to keep Citi's employees in place. Citi's core fund of funds earned 21% last year.

Read the full story on the Wall Street Journal.

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Consumer Confidence Collapses, Missing Expectations Big Time As ... - The Business Insider

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 07:15 AM PST

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Consumer confidence missed consensus expectations by a wide margin, coming it at just 46.0 vs. 55.0 expected. This was also a substantial drop form January's 56.5 reading.

Markets are tanking.

The worst part of the report appears to be the Present Situation Index, which collapsed to a 27-year low:

Conference Board:

The Present Situation Index decreased to 19.4 from 25.2. The Expectations Index declined to 63.8 from 77.3 last month. The Consumer Confidence Survey® is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS. TNS is the world's largest custom research company. The cutoff date for February's preliminary results was February 17th.

Says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center: "Consumer Confidence, which had been improving over the past few months, declined sharply in February. Concerns about current business conditions and the job market pushed the Present Situation Index down to its lowest level in 27 years (Feb. 1983, 17.5).

Moreover, there seems to have been a decline in near-term forward expectations as well.

Consumers' short-term outlook also took a turn for the worse, with fewer consumers anticipating an improvement in business conditions and the job market over the next six months. Consumers also remain extremely pessimistic about their income prospects. This combination of earnings and job anxieties is likely to continue to curb spending." Consumers' assessment of current-day conditions soured in February. Those claiming conditions are "good" decreased to 6.2 percent from 8.5 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "bad" increased to 46.3 percent from 44.7 percent. Consumers' assessment of the labor market was also more pessimistic.

Perceptions of the jobs market worsened as well.

Those saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 47.7 percent from 46.5 percent, while those saying jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 3.6 percent from 4.4 percent. Consumers' short-term outlook, which had been improving, lost considerable ground in February. The percentage of consumers anticipating an improvement in business conditions over the next six months decreased to 16.7 percent from 20.7 percent, while those anticipating conditions will worsen increased to 15.3 percent from 12.7 percent. Regarding the outlook for the labor market, the percentage of consumers expecting fewer jobs increased to 24.6 percent from 18.9 percent. Those anticipating more jobs will become available in the months ahead declined to 13.4 percent from 15.8 percent. The proportion of consumers anticipating an increase in their incomes declined to 9.5 percent from 11.0 percent.

See the full release here >

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