December 31st, 2011 by InvestorPoint

PARIS, Dec. 31 (UPI) — The message might be predictable, but the number of texts sent on New Year’s Eve in France is expected to be enormous, records indicate. On New Year’s Eve in 2010, about 930 million text messages were sent in France, testing the capacity of the country’s three largest phone services, Orange, SFR and Bouygues, The Local in France reported Saturday. Some customers then found their next bills included charges of $518 for texts that were sent several times erroneously, the newspa…continued

December 31st, 2011 by InvestorPoint

LONDON, Dec. 31 (UPI) — An insolvency program in Britain that caters to those with low incomes is proving most attractive to wage earners ages 25-34 years, records show. The Debt Relief Orders process, dubbed “bankruptcy light,” which began in April 2009, has had 44,000 applicants, more than a quarter of whom are under 34 years old, The Independent reported Saturday. The process was designed to offer protection from creditors for those with debts of less than $23,300 and who own assets worth no mor…continued

December 31st, 2011 by InvestorPoint

ROME, Dec. 31 (UPI) — Purchasing power for Italians has gone down significantly in the past 10 years, a consumer group said. The group Codacons said the average family of four has lost $14,052 in purchasing power over 10 years, due to rising prices for goods and housing and cutbacks in government programs, ANSA reported Saturday. Prices for electricity are scheduled to rise an additional 4.9 percent in the new year, while gas prices will go up 2.7 percent. Over the course of the year, the average f…continued

December 31st, 2011 by InvestorPoint

ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 31 (UPI) — The International Monetary Fund in an official report said Greece’s financial situation is worse than previously thought. With a new estimate on the country’s economic growth, the IMF said even a 50 percent write-off on Greek debt would be insufficient for Greece to avoid default, Ekathimerini reported Saturday. To dig Greece out of its financial trough “requires either a deeper haircut or additional loans from Europe,” an IMF official said. While the Greek economy…continued

December 31st, 2011 by InvestorPoint

Today is Saturday, Dec. 31, the 365th and last day of 2011. This is New Year’s Eve. The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter and Venus. Evening stars are Mercury, Saturn and Mars. Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include French explorer Jacques Cartier in1491; Charles Edward Stuart, Scotland’s “Bonnie Prince Charlie,” in 1720; French painter Henri Matisse in 1869; U.S. Army Gen. George Marshall, formulator of the Marshall Aid Plan for Euro…continued

December 30th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

CUPERTINO, Calif., Dec. 30 (UPI) — While Apple is still selling millions of the iPad 2 tablet, speculation is already swirling about an iPad 3, tech industry observers say. With the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show and MacWorld/iWorld — billed as “the world’s ultimate fan event” for Apple lovers — both scheduled for January, observers are debating whether Apple could soon roll out the third generation of the device, CNN reported. Apple debuted the iPad, introducing the world to the concept of a…continued

December 30th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif., Dec. 30 (UPI) — An unseasonably warm and dry December in Northern California has ski resort operators worried about a lack of snow, but they say they’re staying optimistic. While last year’s snowfall brought huge totals — 65 feet fell on the mountains around Lake Tahoe resorts, well above the typical 50 feet — the snow so far this year is being measured in inches, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. It’s had an impact on the holiday season business, ski resorts say. …continued

December 30th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

BRASILIA, Brazil, Dec. 30 (UPI) — Brazil may have passed Britain to claim the No. 6 spot in the world’s largest economies, but incomes per capita still lag far behind, data shows. In Britain, the per capita income is about $34,600, while in Brazil it is about $10,100, Forbes magazine reported Friday. Although income per capita has jumped from 2006, when it was $5,793, the country is still many years away from developing a strong middle class, Forbes said. The image of the average Brazilian shoppi…continued

December 30th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

BEIJING, Dec. 30 (UPI) — An index of China’s manufacturing showed the sector contracted in December, financial research firm Markit said Friday. With numbers below 50 indicating a contraction, the HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose from November to December, climbing from 47.7 to 48.7, but still remaining below the break-even point, Markit said. The index in the fourth quarter averaged its lowest reading since the first quarter of 2009, Markit reported. The report blamed slack “ext…continued

December 30th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (UPI) — Stocks on Wall Street turned lower Friday in midmorning trading with the year hanging in the balance for the broad-shouldered Standard & Poor’s 500 index. For the week, the S&P 500 has been trading on both sides of its Jan. 1 starting point, which was 1,257.64 points. It closed at 1,263.02 Thursday and went south Friday morning, dropping 1.27 points or 0.09 percent to 1,261.75. HSBC reported Friday China’s diffuse Purchasing Managers Index of manufacturing activity…continued

December 30th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

The idea of China hiding in the shadows is the equivalent of a hippopotamus in a cartoon hiding behind a lamp post. Nevertheless, all eyes spent most of 2011 focused on Europe, leaving China to waft along on its own. Most recently, the U.S. Treasury Department once again let China off the hook regarding its currency policy. In a semi-annual report, the department said the Obama administration would “press for policy changes that yield greater exchange-rate flexibility” in the yuan, but without givin…continued

December 30th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

GARLAND, Texas, Dec. 30 (UPI) — Raytheon is enhancing its cybersecurity business for the U.S. military and intelligence community with the acquisition of Henggeler Computer Consultants Inc. Raytheon’s purchase of Henggeler is completed, Raytheon said, but terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. Henggeler is a Maryland private company that specializes in the development of analytics, software and enterprise architecture essential to intelligence systems. “The addition of Henggeler will further…continued

December 30th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

APIA, Samoa, Dec. 30 (UPI) — Time leaped forward for the island nation of Samoa and New Zealand-administered Tokelau, which skipped Friday to align with their regional trading partners. At midnight, the islands’ time zone shifted west of the International Date Line, reversing 120 years of being east of the marker, Voice of America reported Friday. Officials said the change corrects a calendar issue that had Samoa on Sunday while its trading partners were working on Monday. Similarly, when Samoa was…continued

December 30th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 30 (UPI) — The hollowing out of the U.S. middle class is a potent campaign issue. Almost everyone — even affluent professionals and entrepreneurs — want to identify with the middle class but, increasingly, the genuine middle is a tough place to be. Since 2000, the median income of working age households has fallen more than 10 percent. With the top 25 percent of earners grabbing a much larger slice of a shrinking pie, income losses for folks in the middle and working classes…continued

December 30th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

Today is Friday, Dec. 30, the 364th day of 2011 with one to follow. The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter and Venus. Evening stars are Mercury, Saturn and Mars. Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include British author Rudyard Kipling in 1865; Canadian economist and humorist Stephen Leacock in 1869; Japan’s World War II Prime Minister Hideki Tojo in 1884; TV personality Bert Parks in 1914; actor Jack Lord in 1920; rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Bo D…continued

December 29th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

HAVANA, Dec. 29 (UPI) — As seismic shifts go, Cuba’s embrace of a socialist-coated market economy is going ahead in full stream as if it was the most natural thing for its authoritarian government to do in between Communist Party conferences and populist pep talkathons. After many fits and starts, Cuba the emergent capitalist economy is about as real as its platoons of card-carrying Communist Party members. No one — except those out of Cuba — seems perturbed by what, at the very least, would appear…continued

December 29th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

TOKYO, Dec. 29 (UPI) — Wendy’s officials said it plans to expand the restaurant overseas, but the $16.50 top shelf burger on sale at a Wendy’s in Japan was none of its doing. Officials at company headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, said they “really don’t have anything to do with it,” referring to a burger sold with goose liver pate and truffles at a Wendy’s in a posh section of Tokyo. The gourmet burger is part of Wendy’s return to Japan, a market it had abandoned two years ago, the newspaper said. Th…continued

December 29th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (UPI) — The average fixed mortgage held close to historic lows in the week ending Thursday, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said. The 30-year fixed rate rose slightly off an all-time low of 3.91 percent in the previous week to 3.95 with 0.7 points, Freddie Mac said. The 15-year fixed rate rose from a record low of 3.21 percent to 3.24 percent with 0.8 points. Five-year adjustable rate mortgages averaged 2.88 percent for the week, coming off a record low of 2.77 percent fr…continued
FMCC 

December 29th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (UPI) — A pending U.S. home sales index climbed 7.3 percent in November, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. The Pending Home Sales Index jumped 10.4 percent in October after three months of declines. November’s increase put the index at 100.1, up from 93.3 in October. From November 2010, the index is up 5.9 percent, the NAR said. “Housing affordability conditions are at a record high and there is a pent-up demand from buyers who’ve been on the sidelines, but c…continued

December 29th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

NEW YORK, Dec. 29 (UPI) — U.S. stock markets rose Thursday in midmorning trading after a trade group said pending home sales rose to the highest level in 19 months. The National Association of Realtors said pending contracts rose by 7.3 percent in November after a 10.4 percent month-to-month gain in October. The Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose by 15,000 in the week ending Saturday to 381,000, but layoffs are expected as the Christmas shopping season winds down…continued

December 29th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

What a difference a year makes, eh? Well, maybe not so much as one would think. Take the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, for example. As of Tuesday, the index was in the red for the year and as of Wednesday it was back in the black. The index, teetering on 12 months of trading, is all but literally where it left off on Dec. 31, 2010. On that date, the broad-shouldered index closed at 1,257.64. On Tuesday it closed at 1,249.64. The Dow Jones industrial average on the year is about 5.5 percent hi…continued

December 29th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 29 (UPI) — Americans should be thankful that the values that define the United States — personal liberty and individual pursuit of happiness — are increasingly embraced around the globe. The Arab Spring and upheavals in Russia are affirmations that even more of humanity finds hope in democracy. The remarkable economic progress of Brazil, China and others are tangible proof of the power of individual enterprise and ambition. For much of the last century, America has used it…continued

December 28th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

NEW DELHI, Dec. 28 (UPI) — India and Japan have concluded a $15 billion currency swap that leaders of both nations said will help support the depreciating Indian rupee. The agreement, signed Wednesday in New Delhi during the visit by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, renewed a similar $3 billion bilateral arrangement that has already expired. Noda and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “decided to enhance the earlier bilateral currency swap arrangement from $3 billion to (U.S.) $15 billion,…continued

December 28th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

CHICAGO, Dec. 28 (UPI) — Grain futures were mixed Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade with the dollar index up 0.84 percent. Corn was up 7 to up 9 1/4, soybeans were off 1 1/2 to off 1 3/4, wheat was up 6 1/4 to up 6 3/4 and oats were off 1 1/2 to up 1/4. Corn futures rose despite a negative influence from equities and precious metals. Price support came from continued dry weather in Argentina. Wheat extended a rally to the eighth trading session, March wheat reaching 66 1/2 cents higher than t…continued

December 28th, 2011 by InvestorPoint

NEW YORK, Dec. 28 (UPI) — Gold prices dropped sharply Wednesday taking the precious metal below $1,560 per troy ounce as equities fell on Wall Street and the dollar made gains. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.14 percent, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 1.25 percent. The dollar index rose 0.84 percent to 80.51. Gold shed $37.70 to settle at $1,557.80 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange while silver dropped $1.64 to close at $27.09. The euro fell to…continued