Latest News In StockMarketInvestment Research – Jan 16, 2009

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Airlines employed 6.5% fewer workers in November

16 Jan 2009 at 10:41am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The number of people working for the nation’s passenger airlines fell 6.5% in November from a year ago to 392,185 full-time employees, according to a Friday report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The seven network carriers, which includes Southwest and Alaska Air , employed 265,227 people, with American Airlines employing the most workers.

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Pfizer to reduce sales force by a third: WSJ

16 Jan 2009 at 10:29am

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Drug maker Pfizer Inc. will lay off a third of its sales force, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday on its Web site. The cuts could affect as many as 2,400 employees, according to the newspaper. Earlier in the week, the Journal reported that Pfizer was cutting its research and development staff by 8%, or by 800 positions. Pfizer has just over 86,000 employees.

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AMD to cut 1,100 jobs in first quarter

16 Jan 2009 at 10:09am

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Friday said it plans to cut its workforce by 9%, or roughly 1,100 positions, in the first quarter. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chip giant also said Executive Chairman Hector Ruiz and Chief Executive Dirk Meyer will each take a temporary 20% cut in base salary. The semiconductor maker is also suspending its 401(k) company match.

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Bush White House releases rosy economic forecast

16 Jan 2009 at 10:04am

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The recession may be sharp but it will be short and a vigorous recovery will unfold in 2010 and 2011, according to the last economic forecast released by the Bush White House on Friday. Interest-rate sensitive sectors will lead the second-half recovery this year and consumers will be aided by low gasoline prices, the report said. Data show that the size of the recovery is loosely related to the depth of the proceeding recession, the report said. As a result, the Bush administration forecasts real GDP growth averaging almost 5% in 2010 and 2011. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to an annual average of 7.7% this year before declining. Overall CPI inflation is projected at 1.7% in 2009 and 2010. The forecasts were included in the latest Economic Report of the President.

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U.S. stock rally fades as financial shares fall

16 Jan 2009 at 10:03am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks shed early Friday gains to turn mildly lower as financials faltered. Up more than 100 points at the start, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 11.23 to 8,201.26. The S&P 500 shed 3.94 points to 839.80, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.87 points to 1,505.97.

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Hertz to cut more than 4,000 jobs

16 Jan 2009 at 10:00am

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said Friday that it will cut more than 4,000 jobs because of reduced rental car demand. The cuts are planned for positions in Hertz’s car and equipment
rental businesses, and corporate and support areas worldwide, the rental car company said. Hertz will take a charge of $20 million to $25 million in the fourth quarter, and expects the cuts will save $150 million to $170 million in 2009. The company has just under 30,000 employees. Shares of Hertz fell 12.2% to $4.73 in recent trading.

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Circuit City to seek court approval to liquidate

16 Jan 2009 at 9:12am

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Circuit City Stores Inc. , which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, said Friday it will seek Bankruptcy Court approval to liquidate the company. Circuit City does not expect any value to remain for shareholders at this time. The retail chain had employed more than 30,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada.

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CEO confidence at all-time low: Conference Board

16 Jan 2009 at 9:01am

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Severe economic problems have slashed the confidence of chief executives, and their confidence reached an all-time low in the fourth quarter, according to survey results released Friday. “The erosion in CEO confidence is a reflection of the rapid and severe deterioration in economic conditions experienced in the final months of 2008,” said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center. “Looking ahead, CEOs remain extremely pessimistic about overall economic prospects in the first half of 2009.” Not one of the business leaders said conditions have improved, and only about 11% of respondents expect conditions to improve in the next six months, according to the survey. The Conference Board’s measure of CEO confidence goes back to 1976 and includes about 100 business leaders.

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Mexico’s central bank cuts rates by 50 basis points

16 Jan 2009 at 8:59am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Mexico’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 7.75% on Friday. The rate cut was in line with market expectations. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets believe that Banco de Mexico (Banxico) will continue cutting the interest rate, ultimately bringing it to 5.75% by the middle of the year. “The shocking deterioration in economic indicators globally since November, signs of increasing comfort at Banxico to lower rates and larger-than-expected rate cuts throughout the emerging markets world over the past few weeks has triggered our call for a deeper and more-accelerated rate cutting cycle in Mexico,” the analysts said. RBC Capital Markets recently further revised down their Mexico 2009 GDP growth forecast to -2% from -1%.

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Financial sector needs more capital injections, Paulson says

16 Jan 2009 at 8:45am

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The second half of the financial industry bailout fund should be used mostly for direct capital injections into troubled banks and financial firms, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday. “At least in my judgment, a good portion of the TARP resources have to be used for capital programs,” Paulson told reporters in a final press conference. Congress is working quickly on releasing the second half of the $700 billion war chest. Paulson said he understood the public’s impatience that the massive spending has not solved the financial crisis. But he said the plan has been essential for financial market stability. Paulson defended his record, saying that the thrust of his efforts to combat the credit crunch and financial market failure was correct. He said lending was naturally lower in a recession.

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Fitch downgrades Textron’s rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB+’

16 Jan 2009 at 8:12am

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Fitch Ratings on Friday lowered Textron Inc.’s issuer default rating to BBB from BBB+ and affirmed its short-term ratings at F2. The downgrade partly reflects Fitch’s concerns about the impact of slowed demand for business jets at Cessna on Textron. The rating outlook is negative.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

UMich consumer sentiment rises in January: report

16 Jan 2009 at 8:02am

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Consumer sentiment rose in early January to a reading of 61.9 from 60.1 in late December, according to a media report of a survey released Friday by the University of Michigan and Reuters. Analysts polled by MarketWatch were looking for a January result of 59. While sentiment remains at relatively low levels, lower prices have provided some relief, even as worry persists over ongoing job losses.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Retail sector rises as Saks plans job, cost cuts

16 Jan 2009 at 7:43am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) – Retail stocks opened higher Friday as the Labor Department said U.S. consumer prices rose at their smallest pace in 54 years. The S&P Retail Index rose 0.6% to 276.47. Saks Inc. shares climbed 2.3% to $3.53 after the luxury retailer said late Thursday that it’s cutting about 1,100 corporate support and store positions to lower costs against the economic downturn that’s hurt product demand.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Time Warner shareholders authorize reverse stock split

16 Jan 2009 at 7:39am

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Time Warner shareholders voted to authorize a reverse stock split of either 1-to-2 or 1-to-3 once the separation of Time Warner Cable has been completed. About 84% of the holders of Time Warner’s common stock voted in favor of the proposal, according to preliminary results. Time Warner Inc. Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes says the company’s competitive position in films, television, publishing and other areas should equate to a higher stock price. He noted that Time Warner’s stock decline in 2008 was about equal with that of the S&P 500 — 40% — while some of its peers saw much steeper declines than that benchmark index. Bewkes also pointed out that Time Warner’s peers who are in the broadcast television business have seen more skepticism from the investment community, due to their dependence on advertising amid eroding broadcast viewership. Time Warner’s mix of businesses, including DVDs and movies, offers more “resilience” in a time of economic downturn than does broadcast television, Bewkes said. The CEO’s comments came during a special shareholder meeting in New York that was Webcast.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Citi, B of A lift sector in case of “good news, bad news”

16 Jan 2009 at 7:38am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Rising shares of Citigroup Inc and Bank of America lifted the broader financial sector on a day when both firms reported bad news in the form of dismal financial results, but also unveiled some better news, about plans to restructure and to receive money from the government. Citigroup shares rose 14% after it said Friday that it will realign into two businesses, Citicorp and Citi Holdings, in effect reverting to running a banking business similar to its operations before Sandy Weill and his team turned the firm into a financial supermarket over the last decade. And, Bank of America shares rose about 6% after The U.S. government on Friday announced it was injecting $20 billion into Bank of America and guaranteeing losses on over $400 billion of assets from both Citigroup and the Charlotte, N.C. lender. In the broader financial sector, the Financial Select Sector SPDR , an ETF that tracks the financial stocks in the S&P 500, added about 3%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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January 16 2009 10:03 am | Stock Market News

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