| Stocks surge on econ, Merrill reports
Stocks jumped Friday following a better-than-expected rise in profits at Research in Motion Ltd. and on word that Merrill Lynch may have lined up a big cash infusion from a Singapore fund. As the Associated Press reported. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 200 points and, along with the other major indexes, posted a gain of more than 1.5 percent. Continue reading "Stocks surge on econ, Merrill reports" » .
Sunny outlook for Thomas Cook
The group's €200m (£148.7m) merger savings would now be achieved a year ahead of schedule, Thomas Cook said. By 2010, group operating margins should reach 4.8 per cent, with operating profit reaching €620m on sales of €13bn. The group is also bringing forward a plan to buy back €375m worth of shares at a special meeting in early March. The group released results in line with its trading update in December, with pro-forma operating profit of €375.3m, up 26 per cent. The statutory profit before tax rose 30 per cent to €284.3m on revenues up 21 per cent to €9.4bn. The company is paying a 5p final dividend out of earnings per share of 33 cents. The shares rose 3p to 263p. .
Home Turf: Mellow Malacca
A week prior to my trip to Malacca, my parents filled me in every single day with a list of must-dos and must-sees. You have to go to Jonker Street. You know the A Famosa building, right? Well, what about the temple - the colourful one? You must go to Jonker Street. Did I tell you that already? My parents, who were both born and raised in the city, can give you a virtual tour of Malacca as they remember it - as if things have not changed much over the years. And visitors to Malacca will discover that indeed, it hasnt, as it still retains the status of being Malaysias cultural melting-pot and historical time capsule. A feeling of something old, something new fills the air of Malacca. Being a city, Malacca town is, of course, equipped with your requisite shopping mall, coffee joints, city landscapes and the unavoidable traffic.
China can build things. Why can't India?
India's top science and technology official is in China, making excuses about why his country's infrastructure is so shoddy. Shanghai has brilliant new skyscrapers and museums and parks and trains – and Bombay can't manage to have a decent airport. According to Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal, it's all because of democracy. “There is a different model of growth in our country," Sibal told reporters in Beijing, according to this report from wire service PTI carried on Indian portal Rediff.com. “We can't, for example, build a Pudong overnight." Well, neither did the Chinese. Pudong today is the result of more than a decade's worth of work and planning and investment. The place is hardly paradise; Pudong can feel overwhelming, especially along the district's broad boulevard.
Bridal mall hits downtown for one-stop wedding shopping
On a shoestring budget and a wealth of experience in the bridal business, David Gaffke has made his vision of a one-stop shopping mall for brides a reality. With no real capital, but a solid name in the industry, the Sleepy Hollow native secured several Chicago-area businesses, which have each taken up space in the new 16,000-square-foot bridal palace. .
FBI investigating 14 companies for mortgage fraud
On insider trading, we're looking in some cases at whether executives were aware that the value of their holdings would be going down and the executives traded on that information," said Power. "On accounting fraud, we're looking at housing developers who may have reported cash reserve accounts to reflect falsely inflated values," he told CNN. Power and other senior officials said the number of suspicious activity reports they review for potential investigation skyrocketed from 3,000 in fiscal year 2003 to about 35,000 in 2006, to 48,000 in 2007. And in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, Power said, officials have already received 15,000 such reports, putting them on pace to receive 60,000 complaints this year. The FBI said it investigates only cases involving losses of $500,000 or more, and last year 56 percent of all cases had losses of more than $1 million.
Asian stocks slump on US recession fears
HONG KONG: Asian stocks slumped on Thursday after weak US manufacturing data and record oil prices renewed fears that the world's top economy was heading into recession, sending investors towards the safety of gold. US crude oil futures eased in Asia after briefly touching a record $100 a barrel on Wednesday, while gold steadied below an all-time high of $861 an ounce hit in the previous session.
Asian companies face the prospect of higher energy costs just as data on Wednesday showed a key US manufacturing index shrank in December for the first time in nearly a year, darkening the outlook for Asia's top export market. "People are showing concern about the overall global growth outlook.
Oil is an underlying cost that a lot of companies face," said White Funds Management portfolio manager Angus Gluskie.
Eddie Bauer closing mall store
Thirteen years after it opened, the Eddie Bauer store at Tippecanoe Mall in Lafayette will soon be closing its doors. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company has decided not to renew the lease on its 5,500-square-foot space in the Lafayette mall and will close the store on Jan. 25. "As part of Eddie Bauer's annual review of real estate lease holdings, we look at each of our stores in the U.S. and Canada to determine whether we should review existing leases. We have decided not to renew the existing lease at Tippecanoe Mall," the company said in a statement. "Leases are evaluated on several different levels including, but not limited to, the placement of new stores, current store sales and square foot performance, the competitive makeup of the retail environment, market trends and overall economics." Established in 1920, Eddie Bauer is a specialty retailer that sells casual sportswear and accessories that relate to an outdoor lifestyle.
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