News In Brief
Thank you for your submission!
From This Collection
What's up with ... capital goods orders?
by
Paddy Hirsch
Aug 24, 2011
--Not much. They're actually down this month.
--OK, well, what are capital goods, anyway?
--They're durable goods.
--So what the heck are dura...
Companies buy less capital goods
by
Paddy Hirsch
Aug 24, 2011
Capital goods are the things that companies buy to make stuff. Like factories, machinery, tools, equipment, and buildings. Unfortunately, compani...
Consumer confidence slumps in Europe
by
Paddy Hirsch
Aug 24, 2011
European consumer confidence dropped the most in 20 years this month. The European Commission said the decline was steeper than the one after...
What's up... with the Baltic Dry Index?
by
Paddy Hirsch
Aug 23, 2011
It's higher, that's what. And that's good news (maybe!). The Baltic Dry tracks the cost of shipping, and a 16 percent bump in the Index has jazze...
Fill 'er up: Coffee prices begin to drop
by
Bob Moon
Aug 23, 2011
A final note. Coffee prices have been percolating up for almost a year and a half now. But it looks like the cost of your morning brew might have...
Are the banks lending more?
by
Paddy Hirsch
Aug 23, 2011
Banks lent more money in the last quarter, the FDIC said in a press release today. Total loans and leases increased by 0.9 percent, $64.4 billion...
You think it's tough doing business here?
by
Paddy Hirsch
Aug 23, 2011
Try Kyrgyzstan. At least one major foreign-run gold mining operation had its license suspended there, another was slapped with a $5 million fine,...
For public good, not for profit.
The shipping news
by
Paddy Hirsch
Aug 23, 2011
Some good news on international trade from Egypt, home of the Suez Canal....
Word on the street
by
Paddy Hirsch
Aug 22, 2011
I'm still on the fence on the issue of whether we should spend our way out of the economic doldrums or cut back and save, to prevent even more...
Looks matter -- even for annual company reports
by
Bob Moon
Aug 22, 2011
A final note. There's an old saying in business: "You can try putting lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig."
Well, maybe it depends on what c...