4th of July

A slightly shortened version due to it being the Fourth of July so here’s your holiday news:

Friday Reading

Advertising firm WPP launch a revised bid for Taylor Nelson.

Four largest Bradford and Bingley shareholders confirm bailout strategy yet shares fall due to mortgage lender TPG pulling out. 

Britain is veering closer towards a recession.

John Lewis sales dive 8.3% at beginning of summer sale.

US employers cut jobs for sixth month in a row as 62,000 are sacked.

“Mainstream fund managers lack appetite for complex financial instruments”

Yahoo market overview - monitor this to view the recession in real time!

European Central bank raises interest rates by 0.25 up to 4.25 due to inflation fears.

Lehman Brothers hand out mid-season bonuses in bid to retain key staff.

Households are, on average, 15% worse off than they were in 2003.

The silver lining to the cloud of recession: bargains abroad.

Story of the Day

Have fun on the 4th of July without breaking the bank with MSNBC’s Ten Top Tips.

This is not just a collapse – this is an M&S collapse

I’m screwed. Some time in the next few weeks i’m going to receive a politely worded yet patronisingly sinister letter complaining about my having downloaded ’House of the Rising Sun’ online for free. I will read it apprehensively and calmly yet at the same time with fear that my front door will be battered down and agents with white gloves will search my house and destroy everything in their path until they have found that song. I have no way of keepin them out. I would buy a safety catch but inflations driving up the prices of metal. I was going to run away with Sam Israel until i got the news.  I guess i’ll have to try and weather the storm. I’m screwed.

Henry Paulson, US treasury secretary, warns that ’inflation is world’s biggest worry’.

Former Bayou Group hede fund manager, Samuel Israel III, hands himself into police having spent a month on the run and is due to face New York judges today.

Asian stocks fall and Japanese stocks post longest losing streak in half century, on fears of stagflation.

Marks and Spencers profit warning causes collapse in retail market as City loses faith in Rose.

Oil prices continue to rise above $145 a barrel.

Game groups shares fall despite profits due to concerns that demands had peaked.

“Merrill advises Fortis on sale of businesses to Deutsche.”

The standard of living for British families will fall for the next year at least.

How to save money and still have an enjoyable 4th July.

 Story of the Day 

Gold mine found in Ireland. Unbelievable. I spent half my childhood trying to find a gold mine and now i find out that i was looking in the wrong place…I’m off now, i’m catching the 10:50 to Dublin from Gatwick to see some relatives…Its been planned for a long time…seriously…

Helter-Skelter

What ever happened to all of the Heroes? It’s all very well having superheroes saving children from being hit by cars and rescuing people form burning buildings but when was the last time a superhero propped up the economy? They’re quick to come running to the hot chicks having problems tying her laces but when Bear Stearns falls off a twenty storey building, they’re less keen. It’s time for them to get their priorities right or they might as well hang up their capes…   

Wednesday Reading

The FTSE 100 drops 2.6% as fears of recession hit markets and those with pensions are beginning to worry.

Not looking good for housebuilder Taylor Wimpey as they fail to secure deal to raise £500 million and shares in the company fell 49.7% on Tuesday.

Globally we are still pouring money into renewable energy sources as almost $150 billion was spent in 2007, despite markets crashing.

New car sales have reached a ten year low due to rising oil prices and a weak economy

However, General Motors claims its sales are slowing in China due to increased competition.

Marks and Spencers sack food chief Steve Esom and issue profit warning due to ‘market deterioration’.

Is a failure always bad?

Full statement from Taylor Wimpey – Live!

“Lloyd’s of London ‘names’ face bankrupty after court loss”

Starbucks raise number of branches being closed in US from 100 to 600 amid weak economy.

Carpetright owner, Lord Harris of Peckham expects this year to be among the most ‘challenging’ he has ever experienced 

Story of the Day

Christian site OneNewsNow’s ban on ‘G’ word sends homosexual to the olympics.  I don’t really know what to say about this story…It’s funny…That’s pretty much it, although i will say this that this article does make a large point about sending a homosexual to the olympics as if that itself is a laughing matter, which it clearly isn’t…not at all…not even one tiny bit…well, i mean…no, no it’s not funny. End of story…

Loose Foundations

I’m tired. I was rudely awoken this morning by a fox who was having difficulty trying to sell his home and on the verge of a communication breakdown with his wife, Mrs. Fox. The kids had left the den to achieve greater things whilst he was left with issues to solve: how to pay the mortgage, how to save for his pension and what to eat for supper. His problem, not mine. Until he starts barking outside my window. Seems like noone can avoid the credit crunch…

Tuesday Reading

Yahoo release PowerPoint presentation in attempt to win over shareholders, about what went wrong in the attempted Microsoft takeover although it will be disputed by some… 

Oil prices rise again, over a dollar, due to Iran and Israel tension.

FTSE starts week on a high as metal groups like Anglo American and Rio Tinto boom, despite ‘a spate of horrendous corporate news’.

The UK’s largest car dealer, Pendragon, has had to cut 500 jobs in the wake of poor sales.

UBS are planning to sell Paine Webber, its US wealth management to raise ‘a significant amount of cash’.

Germany seem to be resistant to stagflation as unemployment levels reach lowest in 16 year, just 7.8%.

Why did Bear Stearns collapse?

5 things to do whilst in a ‘financial panic’.

42000: The number of UK mortgage approvals, down to a fifteen year low.

Initial public offerings fall to lowest in 5 years as signs of an economic slowdown play on companies’ minds.

Four of the longest serving directors quit UBS leaving it poised for a shake-up.

Storms and floods damage crops in US leaving panic over bio-fuels.

Story Of The Day

HMV records full-year profits due to surge of buyers in video games. OK, this could be the reason, or it could be due to their extortianate prices. I made the mistake in buying The Best Of Blur, the other day at HMV. There was no mistake in my choice of record but the £15 i paid for it was. To my horror, 5 days later i walk into the Zavvi, formerly Virgin Megastore, in Piccadilly Circus, and spotted the same CD for just £6. I walked home in a huff having been charged 250% more. This is why people download musi illegally, spite.

Further Sightings Of Bears

Monday’s Reading

Advisor to Gordon Brown claims housing market will not pick up again until 2015.

Dow Jones has its worst June since The Great Depression.

Lawrence Summers asks what can be done during this ‘most dangerous moment’.

Iron ore prices are set to nearly double as Rio Tinto Group sign agreement with Baosteel Group.

France Telecom abandon $42 billion bid for Nordic company Teliasonera.

Shares that are illiquid and rarely traded are the ‘roses among the wallflowers’

Central bank independance will come to an end…sooner than we realise.

Merrill Lynch, UBS and Goldman Sachs show ‘need to throw good money after bad’ 

Will Bear Stearns face more indictments after new charges are believed to be brought against them?

Bear Stearns aren’t the only ones in trouble as law suits have been filed against UBS, Merrill Lynch and One Source in the previous six months.

Young hedge fund managers are more dangerous than their elders due to risky behaviour being ‘rewarded in a bubble’.

An unopened copy of “Greed and Glory on Wall Street: The Fall of the House of Lehman”, regarding bank Lehman Brothers, is being sold on amazon.com for over $400.

Who benefitted and who was left worse off at the end of last week.

Story Of The Day

‘Family Guy’ creator Seth MacFarlane has completed an agreement with Google to create a new animation that will be released exclusively on the web.

As a ‘Family Guy’ fanatic this was quite exciting for me, especially since i don’t have the means to view Fox. The question is whether web exclusives will destroy televison networks or give the TV stations more of an incentive to attract the best programs to them. Frankly, as long as there are talking cartoon dogs and egomaniacal, psychopath babies somewhere in this world…Enough said.