U.S. consumer sentiment slipped this month as Americans fretted about personal finances and focused on paying down debt, a survey showed on Friday.
The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said its final index of sentiment for October slipped to 70.6 from 73.5 in September.
In spite of the decline, sentiment remained well above where it was [...]
Archive for October, 2009
U.S. consumer sentiment dips in Oct: survey
October 30th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Tags: Debt, finances, inflation, unemployment
more...Economy grows in 3Q, signals end of recession
October 29th, 2009 by Financial Writer
The economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes.
The Commerce Department’s report Thursday delivered the strongest signal yet that the economy entered a new, though fragile, phase of recovery and that the worst recession since the 1930s has [...]
Tags: businesses, consumers, economy, recession, unemployment
Ford: China’s Geely preferred bidder for Volvo
October 28th, 2009 by Financial Writer
A group led by China’s Geely Group is the preferred bidder for Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo Cars unit, the U.S. automaker said Wednesday.
Ford said the selection signals that it is conducting “more detailed and focused negotiations” with Zhejiang Geely Group Holding Co. Ltd. about selling the Swedish automotive business.
“Ford’s objective in our discussions with Geely [...]
Tags: automaker, business, cars, China, financial, ford motor, volvo
Patrick economic summit aims to kickstart Mass
October 27th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Massachusetts will consider a fund to provide capital to small- and medium-sized businesses, Gov. Deval Patrick announced Tuesday as he closed a one-day summit with government and business leaders.
The Democrat also said he would explore ways to provide strategic advice to smaller businesses, whose growth could play a pivotal role in the state’s recovery from [...]
Tags: business, businesses, economic, recession
Russia out of recession as economy grows in Q3
October 26th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Russia technically emerged from recession in the third quarter after official data on Monday showed economic activity grew 0.6 percent from the previous three months — the first quarterly rise since the crisis struck a year ago.
Despite the increase, gross domestic product was still 9.4 percent below year-earlier levels, underscoring the amount of damage the [...]
Tags: economic, economy, increase, recession, russia
Economy, cool summer hurt Exelon profit
October 23rd, 2009 by Financial Writer
Power generator Exelon said Friday that the weak economy and the cool summer dragged down its third-quarter profit.
Chicago-based Exelon, one of the nation’s largest power companies with 5.4 million customers, said that its earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30 fell 10 percent from a year ago.
Like other utilities, Exelon has been working to slash [...]
Tags: customers, economic, economy, exelon, financial
Stocks trade mixed on uneven profit, economic data
October 22nd, 2009 by Financial Writer
Stocks zigzagged Thursday as investors sorted through a disappointing reading on the job market and a pile of uneven earnings reports.
The modest moves came after a late-day slide pushed major indexes lower on Wednesday. Lingering concerns over whether investors had been too optimistic about an economic rebound fed into the drop. Overseas markets fell as [...]
Tags: economic, economists, economy, investors, unemployment
US lender Wells Fargo profit jumps $3.2 bln
October 21st, 2009 by Financial Writer
Wells Fargo said Wednesday its third quarter earnings rose to a record 3.2 billion dollars, as the banking giant managed to profit from mortgages and consumer credit despite a weak economy.
The profit was up 98 percent from a year ago and amounted to 56 cents a share, far ahead of analyst expectations for earnings of [...]
Tags: banking, business, dollars, economy, lender, mortgages
Stocks fall after mixed economic data, earnings
October 20th, 2009 by Financial Writer
A report on housing starts made investors nervous that the economy will be slower to recover even as companies post profits that exceed expectations.
Stocks fell Tuesday after the Commerce Department said home building rose less than expected in September, a discouraging signal for future construction activity.
Bond prices jumped after the Labor Department said lower energy [...]
Tags: economists, economy, investors, wall street
Icahn slams CIT restructuring, offers $6B loan
October 19th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn sent a scathing letter to troubled lender CIT on Monday, calling its restructuring plan “a bad-faith attempt to buy votes.”
Icahn, a legendarily activist investor, is a CIT bondholder and is trying to unseat what he calls the company’s “incompetent and unconscionable” board of directors.
Icahn’s letter skewered CIT’s (CIT, Fortune 500) $6 [...]
Tags: businesses, credit market, Debt, lenders, loan