Posts on ‘August 18th, 2009’

A federal appeals court has tossed out the criminal conviction of the first Silicon Valley executive to go to trial in a stock options scandal that triggered investigations at hundreds of companies and charges against at least a dozen executives.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new trial Tuesday for Gregory Reyes, [...]

When Jenny Iverson and her husband left Utah last year, they didn’t just lose a tight-knit community of relatives. They lost their network of free baby sitters.
To make occasional “date nights” with her husband affordable, Iverson made a pitch to her new friends in Massachusetts: If you watch my kids, I’ll watch yours.
Six months [...]

Pulte Home Inc.’s $1.53 billion takeover of rival Centex Corp. was approved by shareholders of both companies Tuesday, creating the largest homebuilder in the United States.
The deal matches Pulte’s division for retirement-age homebuyers with Centex’s focus on young first-time buyers. By absorbing Centex, Pulte is now positioned to sell homes in 29 states and Washington [...]

Shoppers are snapping up cars and trucks so quickly that General Motors Co. is boosting production for the rest of the year to keep up with Cash for Clunkers demand.
It’s another sign that automakers believe consumers are returning to showrooms after a yearlong slump. Ford Motor Co. last week moved to increase its output, and [...]

Inflation was a no-show in July and likely will stay away for months to come, giving the Federal Reserve room to keep invigorating the economy with record-low interest rates.
“In this economy, there really is no pricing power at all,” said Brian Bethune, chief U.S. financial economist at IHS Global Insight.
The Labor Department said wholesale prices [...]

Retailers that reported their second-quarter earnings Tuesday made big strides in profitability from a year ago by slashing inventory and other costs, but executives predicted shoppers will remain tightfisted.
At Target Corp. and Home Depot Inc., profit fell but beat Wall Street expectations, while luxury merchant Saks Inc.’s second-quarter loss widened, though cutting costs helped it [...]

Retailers that reported their second-quarter earnings Tuesday made big strides in profitability from a year ago by slashing inventory and other costs, but executives predicted shoppers will remain tightfisted.
At discounter TJX Cos., which operates T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores, the benefit of offering low prices during the recession was clear: Profit rose 31 percent.
At [...]

After months of rumors and anticipation, Sony Corp. is slashing the price of the PlayStation 3 by $100 in hopes of boosting sales of the console ahead of the important holiday season.
Tuesday it will cut the price of the currently available 80 gigabyte PlayStation 3 effective immediately, to $299. It is also launching a [...]

At least the market for new homes isn’t getting worse anymore, and that’s the first step to getting better.
In fact, the overall economy is actually getting a small boost as more buyers walk into model houses ready to sign contracts and builders hire workers to pour foundations and pave roads.
Construction of single-family homes rose in [...]

Hewlett-Packard Co.’s profit dropped 19 percent in the latest quarter, dragged down by ongoing weakness in sales of personal computers and printer ink.
company reported Tuesday that consumer spending on PCs is improving, and business in China was particularly good. Corporations are still being tightfisted, though.
Because of the recession, 2009 is shaping up to be [...]