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Announcements |
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| ROHERA Business Network International
Thursday, April 26, 2007Romanian Heritage Assn. - ROHERA Business Network is made up of businesspeople and professionals of Romanian background or anyone who supports Romanian economic activity. There is no charge to register your Contact Info online to stay informed about business get-togethers, to post your specialty on this website, and promote Romanian economic activity. Join ROHERA for $50 a family or $25 a person & you can post your enhanced business entry (logo and full-profile). 2007 is the year of Romania's integration into the EU & the World - let's join hands and move forward together - Hai sa dam mana cu mana!
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Market Commentary |
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Why every nation cooks its books
As we see with Greece, lying can be a recipe for disaster. But for politicians, the advantages of deception far outweigh any rewards for honesty. (And are we ready for the bitter truth?)
The No. 1 key to long-term investing
Let the profitability of a company's investment in itself guide your stock picking. For an example, look at how McDonald's matches up against its competitors.
Merger for them, less money for you?
Recent news of mergers and acquisitions could be a sign of weakness in sectors desperate to expand. And a CEO's bold move can prove costly to investors.
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Finance Tips |
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Save like the rich and famous
In a down economy, how are the wealthy protecting their money? Let the same advice they are receiving guide you through these hazardous financial times.
Lessons of a $618,616 death
Two years after her husband's death and almost 10 years after his cancer diagnosis, a woman examines the wrenching emotional and financial costs of keeping him alive.
Credit card debt: How to cut a deal
More than ever, credit card companies are ready to negotiate with borrowers who are in over their heads. But know your options before you commit.
Does your car insurer hate you?
Insurance companies won't randomly decide to drop you or raise your rates. But many things could put you on your insurer's bad side.
Time to dump the housing tax credit?
Government support that artificially props up home values is forestalling a real recovery for the housing market.
Stuck with student loans for life?
Your college debts may not be toxic, but making the wrong choice between federal and private loans can be a life-altering decision. Here's what to look out for.
Your 6 secret credit card perks
You may not know you have them, but your card issuer provides free protections and services that could cost you hundreds of dollars elsewhere.
Free tax help is waiting for you
There are numerous programs available to help taxpayers who qualify, including outlets for filing online. The big question: Why don't more people use them?
Uninsured? Where to get health care
Depending on your medical needs, you have several levels of health care available, from relatively inexpensive retail clinics to lifesaving, but expensive, emergency rooms.
The student-loan morass: How to fix it
Borrowing money to go to college is not the problem -- borrowing money at relatively high rates is. Private interests have given student loans a bad name.Â
Home sellers finally get real
Listing prices are drawing increasingly closer to what the market will bear. As a consequence, buyers are facing a new reality of their own: Less bargaining power.
24% of home mortgages 'underwater'
That's an increase from over the third quarter and a year ago. Five states, including Nevada and California, continue to have most of the problems.
Can stores really ask you for that?
It has become common for retailers to request your ID, your e-mail address and even your Social Security number. Are you obligated to provide them?
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Economy News |
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Worries Rebound on Bull's Birthday
Uncertainty has fueled a debate between two old friends, renowned economists Robert Shiller, who is worried about the market's future, and Jeremy Siegel, who is bullish.
Job Market Shows Signs of Gains
Two new reports show that the job market continues to make small gains, though employers will have to do a lot more hiring before a dent is made in the nation's 9.7% unemployment rate.
Europe Bailout Fund Gains Backing
The European Union's executive arm said it is preparing proposals that could lead to the creation of a bailout fund for financially troubled euro-zone countries.
L.A. Wary of Scaring Off Business
Los Angeles, like many local governments, is struggling to fill a budget gap but loath to raise fees that could scare off employers and shrink the tax base.
Fed to Expand Counterparties for Reverse Repos
The move, beginning with money-market funds, will help the New York Fed drain cash from the financial system when the time is right, the bank said.
U.K. Trade Gap Widens
The U.K.'s global goods trade deficit in January widened unexpectedly to its largest level since August 2008 due to a sharp drop in exports.
Fed Battle Rages Over Bank Regulation
The Fed is battling to keep Congress from cutting its supervisory power and simultaneously working to step up its regulatory vigor.
U.K. Economic Data Show Caution
U.K. consumers are more confident than a year ago but are still cautious over their spending amid the fragile economic recovery, two surveys show Tuesday.
German Industrial Output Rises
German industrial production rebounded in January from December, but was held back by a construction slump caused by an unusually cold winter in Europe.
Taiwan Exports Jump
February exports rose 32.6%, suggesting strong economic growth, but economists said the figures were unlikely to spur an interest-rate hike.
U.K. Maintains Liquidity Rules
The FSA said it would be premature to increase the size of liquidity buffers that banks currently need to hold, giving the sector some breathing room in a still early economic recovery.
Portugal Unveils Budget-Cuts
Portugal's government presents opposition parties with its proposals to cut the country's budget deficit for the period of 2010 to 2013.
China Airs Concerns Over Debt
Signs mounted of Chinese authorities' concern about the risk from debt incurred by local governments in projects to help China's economy recover—an issue that is a hot topic at the National People's Congress, now meeting in Beijing
Districts Explore Shorter School Week
A growing number of school districts across the country are moving to four-day school weeks, in a shift they hope will help close gaping budget holes and stave off teacher layoffs, but that critics fear could hurt students' education.
Export Rise Tips Japan to Surplus
A record rise in exports helped Japan's current-account balance swing back to surplus in January, adding to hopes that overseas demand will continue to support a recovery.
WTO Has Obstacles to Trade In Retreat
Protectionism by national governments began to decline in the fourth quarter of 2009 but remains a major threat to the global economy.
Outlook Brightens for Jobless
The economy lost 36,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate was steady at 9.7%. Stormy East Coast weather last month may have temporarily hit payrolls and work hours.
Dow Bounces on Jobs News
Signs of slowing job losses in the U.S. sparked the best one-day gain in stocks in more than two weeks as investors bet more aggressively on economic recovery.
Retail Crocuses in the Snow
Many U.S. retailers reported improved sales in February, thanks to easy year-ago comparisons and despite winter storms that crippled large swaths of the country.
OECD Sees Continued Recovery
The OECD said that the world economy is in recovery, with no indication that leading economies will slip back into recession.
China Budget Eases Back
Beijing unveiled a conservative budget for 2010 that reinforces its gradual shift away from stimulus programs adopted during the crisis.
China: Economy Still Needs Support
China's government pledged to keep prices stable this year as it tries to rein in lending, but said it will continue to support the economy.
BOJ Faces Tough Choices
Japan's central bank looks more likely to ease monetary policy further in coming months, though the finance minister offered few hints on the possibility of additional monetary easing steps at the BOJ's next policy board meeting.
Taiwan, Philippines Prices Surge
Inflation rose at a brisk pace in February in Taiwan and the Philippines, in the latest sign that Asia is pacing global economic growth and scrutiny is turning to price increases.
House Passes Jobs Bill
The House passed a $15 billion bill aimed at stimulating private-sector job creation. The measure now returns to the Senate for lawmakers' final approval.
Jobless Claims Fell Last Week
New claims for jobless benefits fell last week, but the number of workers filing first-time claims remains stubbornly high as many employers resist adding jobs in the face of a tepid economic recovery. Pending home sales slipped.
Iceland GDP Rises From 3rd Quarter
One-time investments helped Iceland's economy grow on a quarterly basis in the fourth quarter but the annual slump was still severe.
Markets Welcome Greece Plan
The Greek government's new austerity measures drew a positive response from European credit and currency markets, further allaying fears that Greece might default on its debt obligations.
India PM: Economy Likely to Grow By 7.2% This Year
India's economy is likely to expand by at least 7.2% in the current financial year through March and the pace is expected to accelerate to 8% next year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
Beige Book: Economy Improving
U.S. economic conditions kept improving slightly at the start of 2010, but the blizzards that hit the East Coast hurt several areas, the Fed said in its beige book report.
Greece Expects Two-Year Recession
The Greek government expects the economy to contract for two years after the adoption of a tough austerity program that will substantially cut consumer spending, two people familiar with the government's thinking said Thursday.
Russian Economy Wavers
Plagued by unemployment and weak business activity, Russia's economic recovery wavered for the first time since July.
U.S. Job-Loss Rate Falls
The service sector grew for the second straight month in February and shed jobs at a diminished pace, a sign the U.S. economic recovery is building momentum.
Japan Capital Spending Drops
Japanese business investment remained depressed late last year, but showed signs of recovering as companies put cash into maintaining factories that make electronics, automobiles and chemicals to meet surging Asian orders
Euro-Zone GDP Growth Slows
Economic growth in the 16 countries that use the euro slowed as expected in the fourth quarter, with the fragile recovery entirely dependant on exports, revised official data showed.
U.K. House Prices Slip
U.K. house prices fell in February for the first time since June last year, as an increase in the number of properties for sale coupled with the bad weather and changes in land-tax thresholds combined to weigh on the market, Halifax reported.
Australian Economy Bounces Back
Australia's economy grew at its fastest quarterly pace in almost two years in the fourth quarter of 2009, confirming its place as one of the strongest growing countries globally.
Indonesia Keeps Rates Steady
Indonesia's central bank Thursday kept its key policy rate steady for a seventh straight month and signaled it will likely keep interest rates low for the next few months given the benign inflation outlook.
Malaysia Raises Rates
Malaysia's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate Thursday and noted the "economic recovery is firmly established," in another sign of the rapidly improving economic fortunes across Asia.
Euro-Zone Retail Sales Slip
Retail sales in the 16 countries that use the euro fell in January, indicating that the currency area's economy is unlikely to grow much more strongly at the start of 2010 than it did at the end of 2009.
Singapore, EU to Talk Trade
Singapore said it will start talks with the European Union on a free-trade agreement this month, a day after the EU announced that it would start similar talks with Vietnam.
U.K. Service Sector Expands
Britain's dominant service sector rose to an over three-year high in February, adding to evidence that first-quarter GDP grew at a faster pace than in the final three months of 2009.
Indonesian Bailout Splits Panel
An Indonesian parliamentary committee failed to arrive at a consensus on a high-profile inquiry into a $700 million bank bailout, adding to recent political tensions in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
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