Archive for the 'Finance' Category

Victory for Students as Obama Unveils Loan Forgiveness Plan

By: alex.chrum, October 27, 2011 in Finance, Government, News and Politics. Closed Tags: , , , , .

When it comes to student loans, I’ve been luckier than most. Federal financial aid and academic scholarships paid for almost all of my college education. Even so, a majority of students in America today will earn their Bachelor’s degrees and consequently face roughly $25,000 in debt. For those who decide to go to graduate or law schools, that amount is often tripled.

An Occupy Wall Street protestor shows his dissatisfaction with the current student loan program

This leaves young people with an unrealistic burden to carry. After all, it is next to impossible to find a job without a college degree. Higher education has become almost as crucial to social survival as elementary and high schools. Yet with today’s economic climate, jobs have never been harder to come by. Those who graduate with a degree often cannot find careers until several years after they have completed their schooling. Without a legitimate income, how can they pay back the thousands of dollars it took for them to get their education in the first place?

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Hey AT&T, Whatever Happened to Capitalism?

By: Suzanne Obszanski, March 21, 2011 in Finance, News and Technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Hey AT&T, Whatever Happened to Capitalism?

Let’s play math games.  Capitalism is a social system based on the principle of individual rights. The absolute foundation of capitalism is competition.  The entire essence of our free market system lies in consumer choice.  Take away that choice and the consumer becomes powerless.

AT&T acquires T-Mobile for $39 billion, effectively overtaking Verizon Wireless as the world's leader in mobile-phone service.

AT&T recently announced the acquisition of T-Mobile, the fourth largest mobile-phone company, for $39 billion.  The move effectively combines the second- and fourth-largest mobile-phone companies, allowing AT&T to add 34 million customers and surpass Verizon Wireless as the world’s leader.

The total transition is expected to take at least 12 months as government officials must approve the acquisition and iron out many of the details; however, some federal lawmakers immediately expressed concern that the merger would dampen competition and lead to fewer options and higher prices for mobile services.

Uh…you think?  The cellular market used to have upwards of five local providers to choose from and is now left to three (ATT, Verizon and Sprint).  The presence of those smaller companies is needed to keep the large companies semi-honest (maybe).  If you thought the companies were cocky before, just wait till they’re down to three.  After this, they will do to you whatever tickles their fancy.

Count on it.

Press release follows:

AT&T TO ACQUIRE T-MOBILE USA FROM DEUTSCHE TELEKOM

Provides fast, efficient and certain solution to impending spectrum exhaust challenges facing AT&T and T-Mobile USA in key markets due to explosive demand for mobile broadband

Enhances network capacity, output and quality in near term for both companies’ customers

AT&T commits to expand 4G LTE deployment to an additional 46.5 million Americans, including in rural, smaller communities, for a total of 294 million or 95% of the U.S. population

Provides 4G LTE service for T-Mobile USA’s 34 million subscribers

More than $8 billion in incremental infrastructure spend by a U.S. company over seven years, enabling nation’s high-tech industry, innovation and economic growth

Creates substantial value for AT&T shareholders through large, straightforward synergies

NYSE Euronext, Deutsche Boerse to Merge

By: Max Turnier, February 15, 2011 in Finance and News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

NYSE Euronext, Deutsche Boerse confirm merger

German Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext have agreed to a merger which will create the world’s largest cross-border financial exchange giant.

Instability and rapid change in world economic markets seems to have created a need for a more homogeneous system for trading fixed-income and equity-index futures, according to the Wall Street Journal. NYSE Euronext reported last week that its fourth quarter profit declined by one-fifth compared to the year prior, citing the decline of the U.S. Dollar and weak trading in the U.S. and Europe. The merger will combine to create the world’s biggest financial trading apparatus, and according to leaders with the two trading giants, will save $400 million as well as create “substantial opportunities for incremental revenues,” according to WSJ.

Terms of the merger say 60% of the company will be owned by Deutsche Boerse and a 40% stake will go to NYSE Euronext shareholders, according to a press release.

Exxon Reports Huge Profits

By: Max Turnier, January 31, 2011 in Finance and News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Exxon reports big 4th quarter

Quarterly statements for Exxon Mobil Corporation show a profit increase of 53 percent. Market analysts cite an improving economy and increased demand for anything and everything petroleum. By the end of 4th quarter 2010, the oil giant reported net profits of $9.25 billion compared to $6.05 billion for the same quarter a year prior.

This news had Exxon shares up 1.4 percent prior to the opening bell.

Chevron Corporation also reported dramatic increases in profit late last week, up 72 percent to roughly $5.2 billion.  

Political unrest and massive protests in Egypt have taken a more immediate toll on petroleum markets worldwide. Trading in the Egyptian stock market is frozen today after a 17 percent drop at the end of last week. While that may have some to do with fluctuating petroleum prices, broader effects are born out of the fact the Egypt is home to the Suez Canal, a major shipping route for oil and other products.

FCIC Says Economic Crisis Was Avoidable

By: Max Turnier, January 27, 2011 in Finance, News and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

FCIC says crisis was "avoidable."

First, lets remember some of the big corporate names which now bear iconicity with the economic collapse during 2007 and 2008. In no particular order: American International Group (AIG), Countrywide Financial, Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), etc.

According to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) report, the causes of the economic meltdown were a direct result of “human action and inaction.” The report goes further to say the crisis was avoidable, and in the years leading up to the crash so-called “captains of finance” had every opportunity to make preventative adjustments. This is no big surprise but it’s nice to have it on record.

One thing the report does not say directly, and at best merely suggests,  is that private sector financial leaders perhaps made decisions with intent or malice. An article from Market-Ticker.org sums up the report’s lack of teeth.

I find it incredibly offensive that financial kingpins dare hide behind a veil of legal negligence in such a perverted and seemingly blatant criminal economic ruse. It seems more likely that they were intimately involved in years of decision making and they knew very well what they were doing, but hey, I could be wrong.

More offensive, however,  is the government’s apparent inability to shoot to the core of the issue. To date, there have been many individual investigations but very few actual convictions. The reality is that the causes of the economic crisis are so complex, we may never see more than a few individual convictions. If or when we do, it could be many years and hundreds of court dates from now.

Having an official report on causes of the crisis should be reassuring but I’m afraid that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Panic! At The Stock Market

By: Sam, May 6, 2010 in Finance. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .
A group of rebellious-looking robots marches down a city street looking for trouble and stocks to trash.

Hide your stocks! The robots are coming for them!

In case you haven’t heard, at one point today the stock market dropped by about 1,000 points in the span of a few minutes. Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered to close down only 3.7% it’s still the worst day the market has had since February 2009. What the hell happened?

If you’re a casual market-watcher, you might guess, like we did, that some new tomfoolery was afoot in Greece, where the country is attempting to secure a bailout from the rest of the EU to avoid defaulting on its debts. On the other hand, if you’re more of a sci-fi buff concerned about Skynet and/or the coming singularity, you’d probably think that those evil computers had something to do with it. Who’s right?

Well, Greece did have something to do with part of the initial decline (they’re having a little trouble locking down the aforementioned bailout), but the huge fall you see between around 2:30 and 2:45pm eastern time today (1:30 and :245 central!) seems to almost-certainly be the fault of some stock trading algorithms gone haywire. Seriously. Sure, things weren’t look great in the markets today, but the real craziness started when a bunch of robots started unloading Procter & Gamble shares in massive quantities. From there a full blown panic took over before things got sorted out, and while some people are still blaming things on Greece, we can’t prove that this isn’t the first salvo in the coming war against the machines. While it might not quite be time for the likes of John Connor and Yoshimi, maybe it is time to look into some insurance.

Meet Your New 100 Dollar Bill

By: Sam, April 21, 2010 in Crime, Finance and Government. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .
The redesigned 100 dollar bill features vertical stripe and a big orange inkwell, both of which change from different viewing angles.

It's not your father's $100 bill. At this rate, it may not even be your older brother's $100 bill.

Remember the big deal around the new hundred dollar bill that was unveiled in 1996? It was new and improved and featured a much bigger Ben Franklin. A similar design has over the years trickled down through the fifty, twenty, ten and even five dollar bills in 2007. Well, instead of doing the logical thing and redesigning the two and one dollar bills to make them look like all the others, that wacky U.S. Treasury has gone and announced another new $100 bill today. While the Treasury maintains that this is part of a normal cycle of redesigns, the word on the street is that the new bills are a response to the emergence of”Superdollars,” which are counterfeit hundreds that are actually superior to authentic bills, rumored to be printed by the North Koreans or Iran. (See this New York Times article from 2006.)

All that said, the new note looks pretty cool, if you like money. It’s got a neat stripe right next to Franklin’s head that has little “100s” and bells that appear to move as you rotate the bill, as well as a big old orange inkwell that reveals a bell inside when tilted, both thanks to the amazing (and secret) technologies provided to the Bureau of Engraving & Printing by the folks at Crane & Co. Our only question is what’s with the bells? Is it because Franklin lived in Philadelphia, which in turn is associated with the Liberty Bell? The whole thing seems a bit off, but that probably won’t stop us from enjoying these new Benjamins when they hit the street.