Financial Crisis Spreads From US to World Markets

The crisis in world financial markets began when prices started declining in the US real estate market in late 2006. So far, it is estimated that banks worldwide have had to writedown more than $550 billion in assets.

Here is a chronology of major events:

March/April 2007: New Century Financial corporation stops making new loans as the practice of giving high risk mortgage loans to people with bad credit histories becomes a problem. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns of risks to global financial markets from weakened US home mortgage market.

Microsoft Could Be a Winner in Sun-Oracle Deal

Microsoft has had few critics more vocal than Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Sun Chairman Scott McNealy. With their companies set to merge in a blockbuster US$7.4 billion deal announced Monday, is it time for Microsoft to worry?

In fact, the opposite may be true, some industry observers said.

Asian Shares Down As US Earnings Season Kicks Off

 

         

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)–Asian stock markets were lower on Wednesday, dragged by weakness on Wall Street and as Alcoa kicked off the U.S. earnings season on a sour note.

Sun and IBM Breaking Up: Who Wins?

 

                      

The news today about IBM and Sun possibly going separate ways leaves a door open for others to dodge what could have been a pretty blockbuster combination.  I remember back in late 90’s how cool Java was and what it meant for Sun.

Lynnfield to boost Intel quad core share

                   

Quads currently account for only 10% of total sales

Intel’s flagship Core 2 Quad 65nm, Core 2 Quad 45nm Yorkfield and Core i7 Bloolfield 45nm quad-core CPUs are currently at some nine percent of total Intel’s OEM guidance for consumer market.

Google Eyes Twitter

                

Google is rumored to be in talks with microblogging phenomenon Twitter on acquiring the latter. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch reported that news sources mentioned about Google’s interest in acquiring Twitter. Furthermore, it was rumored that Google was in “last-stage talks” to buy Twitter.

THE G-20 SUMMIT ENDS WITH HOPE TO END WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS

 

World leaders gathered in london for the G-20 Summit have agreed on measures aimed at shortening the global recession.

President Barack Obama leaves the G-20 Summit of world leaders with the agreement that other countries are committed to a global plan for economic recovery, but with the understanding that the United States doesn’t call all the shots.

Intel’s Share Of Chip Market Rises, AMD’s Falls

While Atom certainly contributed to Intel’s success, other brands and products in the desktop, notebook, and server segments added to its power.

ntel (NSDQ: INTC)’s share of the global microprocessor market increased every quarter of 2008, while rival Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) saw its share fall, a market researcher said Wednesday.

Protesters take to the streets of London

Ahead of the G-20 meeting of world leaders, the largely peaceful protests against unchecked capitalism, war, destruction of the environment and other ills are a sign of the populist anger in Europe.

China Boosts Yuan Swaps, Store Payments as Dollar Concern Grows

 

 

April 2 (Bloomberg) — China’s leaders, increasingly concerned about the nation’s $740 billion of U.S. Treasuries, are making it easier for trading partners and consumers to do business in yuan.

Bank of China Drops Rothschild Deal as Second Deadline Passes

                 

April 2 (Bloomberg) — Bank of China Ltd., the world’s third-largest by market value, said it scrapped a planned 236 million-euro ($313.3 million) investment in La Compagnie Financiere Edmond De Rothschild after a second deadline for getting government approval expired.

“The agreement has expired and has automatically become invalid,” Bank of China spokesman Wang Zhaowen said in a telephone interview from Beijing today. “We may in the future seek cooperation in other areas” with the French firm.

Bank of China was forced to extend an original Dec. 31 deadline for the deal, announced in September, by three months after failing to get state approval. The Chinese bank had agreed to purchase a 20 percent stake in the Paris-based asset manager.

By Zhang Dingmin

Toyota’s U.S. Sales Decline Less Than Forecast; Shares Surge

 

   

April 2 (Bloomberg) — Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. sales fell less than analysts predicted last month as the world’s largest carmaker offered near-record incentives to spur demand. The stock rose to the highest in almost five months.

U.S. Markets Wrap: Stocks Rise as Data Lift Optimism on Economy

 

    

April 1 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced for a second day as sales of existing homes unexpectedly increased and a manufacturing gauge topped economists’ estimates, bolstering optimism that the worst of the recession is over. The dollar strengthened against the euro and oil fell.

Global Economic Slide May Be Easing as G-20 Gathers

 

   

April 2 (Bloomberg) — Leaders of the most powerful nations meet today amid signs that the world economy is stabilizing after months of freefall.

The Group of 20 summit convenes in London as some reports suggest the pace of decline is easing. U.S. durable-goods orders and home sales rose in February, Chinese urban investment surged 26.5 percent in the first two months of the year, and German investor confidence in March reached its highest level since July 2007. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index last month rallied the most in seven years.

Obama Meets Hu as Stimulus Plans May Heat Clashes

 

  

April 1 (Bloomberg) — Presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao meet for the first time today to discuss a global economic crisis each is trying to combat with policies that may further complicate U.S.-China relations.

As they meet ahead of a gathering in London with other leaders from the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies, the two presidents are directing a combined $1.4 trillion of stimulus spending.

Online advertising up

               

NEW YORK – US INTERNET advertising revenue climbed in the fourth quarter in spite of the poor economy, but the growth rate was sluggish compared to previous years, according to an analysis released on Monday.

 

The report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers said that revenue from online ads – which companies like Google and Yahoo heavily rely on – totaled US$6 billion (S$9 billion) in the last three months of 2008.

Obama Gives Automakers a Short Lifeline

          

WASHINGTON — President Obama delivered an ultimatum toGeneral Motors and Chrysler on Monday, telling them to adopt radical changes in short order or face bankruptcy — a move that came after a series of somber discussions in which he concluded that a controlled bankruptcy might be the best way to reorganize the two ailing auto giants.

 

In the end, the president decided to throw the companies a short lifeline. He gave G.M. 60 days and Chrysler one month to avert bankruptcy and restructure on their own.

Google to Lay Off 200 Employees

 

 

Make it official: Google‘s not immune from the bad economy and plummeting ad market. We’ve been hearing for weeks that Google would have layoffs. Google is cutting 200 employees today, the company now confirms.

Google executive Omid Kordestani, the company’s sales chief, wrote in the offiicial Google blog that cuts are concentrated in Google’s sales and marketing operations, as tipsters told us earlier,

5,000 cuts coming to IBM

 

 

 

* Latest round hits more than 4 pct of U.S. workforce

 

* Job cuts mostly in IBM’s global services business

 

* Shares close down 0.42 pct (Adds analyst comment, details on IBM’s recent results)

 

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) – IBM (IBM.N) will cut about 5,000 jobs in the United States, adding to similarly large cuts in the past few months, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

What Did You Think of Obama’s News Conference?

 

              

In his second prime-time televised news conference, President Barack Obama on Tuesday night emphasized he has had to make a lot of important decisions just two months into the job, but none of them have been rash.

This theme of cautious action was driven home when CNN’s Ed Henry pressed the president on why it took the White House two days to comment on the shocking revelation that AIG executives had received large bonuses. “It took me a couple of days because I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak,” he replied pointedly.