Go to http://news.google.com and click on "Business" on the left side of the screen. Once more, click on something that seems related to the Financial Market: something that has to do with banks, stocks, bonds, lending, depositing, interest rates, etc.
Then write about it. Don't use a story that has been used by someone else.
- 100 words minimum, 200 words maximum.
- Be clear, concise, concrete, and complete.
- Put the URL (web link) of the news story on the post.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/02/11/discover-says-potential-student-lending-changes-are-manageable/
ReplyDeleteThis article zeros in on the banking business called Discover and its student loans. Discover is among one of the few lenders that offer private-student loans that are not backed by the government. As this article points out, these loans are typically given to students to pay for the remainder of college costs after receiving federal loans, financial aid, and scholarships. Hochschild, President of Financial Services of Discover, said that he is very pleased with the returns they are receiving, which is likely because more than 90% of Discover loans are co-signed by a student's parent that has great credit scores (in the 700s). Discover's shares have risen more than 41% over the last year. As inferred by this article, Discover is eager to continue its student loan program. Hochschild states that the rising federal student-loan debt could be a "train wreck" for US taxpayers, and he subtly pointed his fingers at the federal government for lax underwriting.
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ReplyDeleteThe he broad-market index went up last week, pushing it to the highest level that it’s been since November 2007. Brian Gendreau says “if you compound the increase we've had so far, this year would be the best year ever for stocks. And nobody thinks that that's going to happen." The best year that the S&P 500 index had was 1933 in the middle of the great depression. Apple stocks rose from $4.95 $479.93. Over the weekend, this is due to the new smart watch that they are making. After the fiscal cliff was worked out the stock market rose in relief that the U.S was not going into another recession.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Stock-market-drifts-lower-to-start-the-week-4268474.php
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ReplyDeletehttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-11/home-prices-rise-in-88-of-u-s-cities-as-recovery-gains.html
ReplyDeleteThe article I read was about how the prices of single family homes have raised in eighty-eight percent of US cities in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter only one-hundred twenty of one-hundred fifty-two cities experienced an increase in prices for housing. Now, one-hundred thirty-three cities are experiencing an increase in housing prices. Because the job market is improving and the interest rates are low, there is a high demand for houses, but the supply of houses is decreasing. The median for single family homes is up ten percent compared to the same fourth quarter of last year. This is positive because it shows that people are starting to have more money to spend. It also shows that banks are lending, which means banks have money too. Even though high prices are something that no one wants to hear, these high prices are a sign of a growing economy.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/11/break-up-the-banks.html
ReplyDeleteMy article, by the Daily Beast, discusses the possibility of breaking up large banks or large bank companies. An idea that some may say will allow for a smaller and "more manageable" bank industry. George Will discusses the idea, arguing that by breaking up banks we will be allowing the free market to flourish by forbidding our government to be dependent on these big banking industries . These people believe that when banks become "Too big to fail" they can become a huge issue: Big cooperate companies take away chances for smaller companies to thrive.
However, in opposition, many say that big bank companies have gone under before, and the government has adjusted.
news.yahoo.com/opko-falls-company-addresses-execs-195109899.html
ReplyDeleteThis article talks about a sharp drop in Opko Health Inc. shares. While being an isolated incident the general principal behind it all is pretty interesting. Opko shares have been rising quickly; in fact, they have risen 60% from the months of December to February. However, Adam Logal, Opko’s vice president, treasurer, and chief accounting officer, sold 50,000 shares. He said that it was for family reasons, and none of the other employees have sold theirs. Despite reassurance people have momentarily lost confidence in Opko and their shares have dropped 5%. This just goes to show how a little thing can have such severe effects on the share market.
Home prices are up ten percent nationally, the biggest percent increase since 2005. The national median price for a single-family home is $178,900 as of the fourth quarter of 2012. Evidently, mortgage rates are going down, and homes are apparently becoming more affordable. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said, “Home sales are being fueled by a pent-up demand and job creation, along with still favorable affordability conditions and rents rising at faster rates.” Things are a little different in the New York metropolitan area, however; there prices are only up 0.6%, apparently due to the fact that, as Century 21’s John Pordon put it, “Unemployment is still high, and many people who want to buy can’t qualify due to the stringent lending standards of the banks.”
ReplyDeletehttp://www.northjersey.com/news/190740771_Home_prices_up_0_6__in_region__10__nationwide.html
http://www.gobankingrates.com/mortgage-rates/bank-of-brodhead-3-250-apr/
ReplyDeleteAccording to the article that I read this week Mortgage interest rates have gone down. Not all institutions have thought this way. They haven’t lowered their interest rate thus lowering their chance for business. But there is the bank of Brodhead. They have their interest rate for mortgages at 3.250%. They say that this is an “amazing offer” and that no other bank will give as good a service as the bank of Brodhead. They are offering this with a 30-year fixed rate home loan. However, some terms and conditions may apply before getting this “awesome deal”.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/11/makers-mark-bourbon/1910773/
ReplyDeleteYes, I did find this article under the business section. The famous American whiskey company known as Maker's Mark is coming of a business year where they experienced an unexpected surplus in alcohol sold. The company saw their bourbon sales grow 7% in 2011. The former owner of the company, Bill Samuels Jr. said he failed anticipate the worldwide surge in demand for premium bourbon when he was still in charge of the brand about six years ago. Because of this lake of foresight, Samuels's son Rob is now being forced to reduce the percent of alcohol within Maker's Mark from 45% down to 42%. Samuels says he is doing this because it is the only way to effectively up production without compromising on the drink's quality taste. The other options the company was faced with included taking the whiskey out of the barrels early or buying whiskey from other suppliers. So when faced with these decisions, Samuels decided to simply add a little bit more water to his drink. The company swears that the 3% drop in alcohol content will not affect the taste of the drink; in fact that professional tasters were not even able to notice a difference in quality.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/market-news/
ReplyDeleteAccording to this article, fewer Americans were seeking unemployment benefits last week, suggesting that the there haven't been that many layoffs lately. Work productivity also "shrank" in the last three months of 2012. Stocks have been gaining and U.S. government bonds have declined due to investors moving their money to riskier assets. It explains how "the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, rose 1 basis point Thursday to 1.97 percent, keeping it close to a 10-year high." Which seems to be a good thing. Overall, the stocks have been maintaining a kind of steady pattern towards slow recovery.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324880504578297423431538306.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
ReplyDeleteThe article that I was privileged enough to read dealt with, as Dr. Martinez, asked the financial market. The stocks in Europe have recently slipped. Throughout my weekly posts, I have tended to pay special attention to Europe. My verdict about this faltering of European stocks is that it is nothing new. A meeting was just held in Brussels about how to help Cyprus, which has much impact on the bank in Greece. Novo Nordisk, the world’s largest insulin maker, is being hurt by a new FDA law. This hurt European economics greatly. France is also worried about the situation of its currency. On the contrary, France was just helped by a boost in mining. The Stox Europe 600 Index has recently taken a hit, and it will be interesting to see how it rebounds.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/samsung-emerges-potent-rival-apple-005226714.html
ReplyDeleteFrom this article, it is apparent that a company can become successful in at least one of two ways. Following the American dream, Apple pioneers the way in technological advancement, taking 72% of the cell phone industries prophets this year. Although Apple follows the philosophy of its founder Steve Jobs, that "consumers don't know what they want," Samsung, a power horse in the cell phone industry, the first to come close to apple, couldn't have taken a more different approach. Samsung works within the market, finding what the people want, and how to best execute it. In addition, Samsung is a testament to the fact that if a company spends more on advertisement and even on the process of making its goods, demand will go up on said goods, and that goods' stocks will be worth more. By beginning to challenge Apple's approach to the cell phone industry, Samsung has strengthened its stocks and become a powerhouse safe for stock investment.
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/barclays-to-cut-3700-jobs-in-restructuring-overhaul/
ReplyDeleteIn this New York Times article we learn that Barclays a major bank is planning to cut jobs. Not only would that hurt the economy and make the unemployment rates go way up but it also affects the financial sector. Barclays plans on eliminating around 3,700 jobs and it also plans on shutting down several business units. This is all due to the fact that the bank lost around 1.3 billion dollars in the last several months. The bank division that will mostly suffer is the investment division. It already lost 1,600 jobs in that unit and now they plan on cutting 1,800 more. Cutting 3,700 jobs is going to effect our economy a lot. Unemployment rates are going to go higher. And a lot of people are going to be left jobless.