Coverage of Facebook’s strong — or were they? — earnings
Facebook’s earnings for the third quarter rose on the strength of mobile advertising, which as several outlets reported, was good for Twitter’s upcoming initial public offering. But coverage, especially the headlines on the stories, differed in what part of the earnings they chose to emphasize. The New York Times story, which had a stilted lead […]
Home prices rise, but for how long?
The good news: August home prices were up. The bad news: The gains are slowing, indicating that prices may have peaked. After a government shutdown in October, it’s also likely that growth – if there was any – slowed again. The Associated Press had this story via the New York Times: Home prices rose in […]
Apple profit down despite higher sales
In one of the more closely watched technology earnings, Apple Inc. said Monday that profit for the fourth fiscal quarter dropped despite higher iPhone sales. Let’s take a look at the coverage. The Wall Street Journal has a mostly positive lead, pointing out pricing and sales were stabilizing: Apple Inc. reported a third consecutive quarter of declining […]
An in-depth look at Goldman’s giving
A New York Times story over the weekend took a look at corporate giving at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Once the poster child for greed and excess, Goldman is working to rehab its image by giving away more than $1.6 billion since 2008, the Times said. It’s an interesting trend and the story takes a […]
Icahn wants Apple to buy back $150 billion in stock
Activist investor Carl Icahn wants Apple Inc. to spend $150 billion on its own stock, returning some of its cash to holders. In a letter on his website to CEO Timothy Cook, Icahn even set the price he wants to see. Here’s the story from the New York Times: When Carl C. Icahn starts making noises about […]
European Central Bank to start bank reviews
Stories about bank reviews and stricter requirements have been in the news for years, and Wednesday was no exception. The European Central Bank announced it would begin a comprehensive review of banks throughout the continent. What remains to be seen is if this will actually inspire confidence. Here’s the story from the Wall Street Journal: […]
Jobs data will weigh on Fed decisions
The release of the latest jobs numbers showed that while unemployment declined, the government shutdown would have an affect on the results in the coming months. What was clear from several news stories was that the Federal Reserve Board will likely have to continue its stimulus program. Here’s the story from the Wall Street Journal: […]
Athlete’s IPO hits a snag
Recently, one of the more interesting initial public offerings filed was for a share in the future earnings of Houston Texans running back Arian Foster. The company would allow investors to buy stakes in professional athletes and other notable names. But it may have hit a snag this week. Here is the story from the […]
JPMorgan to pay $13 billion fine
The biggest business story of the weekend was JPMorgan Chase’s agreement to pay $13 billion fine to settle civil investigations into the bank’s mortgage practices. The New York Times had these details: JPMorgan Chase and the Justice Department have reached a tentative $13 billion settlement over the bank’s questionable mortgage practices leading up to the financial […]
Goldman revenue drop signals weakness in banking
Goldman Sachs posted a 20 percent decline in third quarter revenues, signaling that the economic recovery may still have a ways to go and that banking still has some hurdles to overcome. But, of course, the more entertaining part of the stories were about banker pay. First, here’s the Wall Street Journal with the basic earnings […]
