Kraft Recalls Velveeta Shells & Cheese

Kraft Foods (KFT) is recalling certain batches of Velveeta Shells & Cheese Microwaveable Cups because they might be tainted with wire-bristle pieces, the company announced Friday afternoon.

About 137,000 cases of the potentially affected products were distributed throughout the United States. The company said it has received no reports of injuries or complaints, and that it was voluntarily issuing the recall to be on the safe side.

Consumers who purchased the products stamped with the "best when used by" dates listed here, along with their UPC codes, should return the products to the store for an exchange or full refund. Or they can contact Kraft Foods Consumer Relations Monday through Friday at 1-800-308-1841.

The shipments involve Velveeta Shells & Cheese Original Microwaveable Cups, Velveeta Shells & Cheese Made With 2% Milk Microwaveable Cups, and Velveeta Rotini & Cheese Broccoli Microwaveable Cups. The best-if-used-by dates range from March 30, 2012 to May 16, 2012.

The chart below, from Kraft's press release, details the items subject to recall.

Name of Product	Size	Best When Used By Dates	UPC
Velveeta Shells & Cheese Original Microwaveable Cups Velveeta Shells & Cheese Original Four Pack Microwaveable Cups	2.39 oz. cup 4 x 2.39 oz. cup	16 MAY 2012 24 APR 2012 to 16 MAY 2012	2100002322 2100002339
Velveeta Shells & Cheese Made with 2% Milk Microwaveable Cups Velveeta Shells & Cheese Made with 2% Milk Four Pack Microwaveable Cups	2.19 oz cup 4 x 2.19 oz cup	25 MAR 2012 to 30 MAR 2012 29 MAR 2012 to 12 APR 2012	2100002323 2100002946
Velveeta Rotini & Cheese Broccoli Microwaveable Cups	2.44 oz cup	29 APR 2012 to 14 MAY 2012	2100002318

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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/30/kraft-recalls-velveeta-shells-and-cheese/

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This Week's Leaders and Laggards

After a wild third quarter, the market seems to have popped a few Peptos and stabilized at least a little bit this week, although a late Friday drop sent the S&P 500 lower for the week. With little macro data news, investors turned their focus overseas (to Europe's debt crisis) and on third-quarter earnings season, which kicks off in just over a week.

Company-specific news is mostly what drove stocks this week. Here's a closer look at some of the S&P 500's most notable movers.

Still Getting Off the Mat

A few companies continued to struggle this week as expectations for the third quarter were revised. These three companies led the laggards this week:

Company	Sector	Sept. 23	Sept. 30	Performance
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)	Technology	$6.17	$5.08	(17.7%)
MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR)	Technology	$6.11	$5.24	(14.2%)
	Services	$129.36	$113.27	(12.4%)

Source: Finviz.com

The chips are down: Chipmakers came under pressure this week when AMD lowered guidance for the third quarter and Micron Technologies (MU) reported a loss for the fiscal fourth quarter. AMD is still expecting revenue growth but at a more modest rate of 4% to 6%. So far this week, shares have fallen 17.7%.

Solar burn: Any company involved in the solar industry had a rough time this week, and MEMC Electronic Materials was no different. Polysilicon prices continue to be under pressure, which helped send MEMC down 14.2% for the week. There doesn't appear to be much light at the end of the tunnel for suppliers, which are being squeezed by lower module demand and more vertical integration at solar manufacturers.

Flixbuster sequel: The mess at Netflix continued this week as investors bet against the company's plan to split into streaming and DVD businesses. Shares fell 11% yesterday alone, and investors who were once giddy about Netflix's future have turned into the company's biggest haters.

It's Good To Be On Top

On the other end of the spectrum, some companies bucked the bear trend and rose. Several financial stocks, in particular, got a nice lift. Minor steps toward allaying the market's concern over Europe's debt problems led to some financial stocks bouncing higher this week. Here are three of the notable movers.

Company	Sector	Sept. 23	Sept. 30	Performance
	Financial	$5.09	$5.74	+12.8%
	Services	$52.55	$57.52	+9.5%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT)	Consumer goods	$9.86	$10.07	+2.1%

Source: Finviz.com

Fizzy financials: Genworth Financial and Aflac traded significantly higher this week as the market's concerns about Europe took a temporary break. Germany's Parliament voted to expand a bailout fund for Europe's most troubled countries. This seems to be an up-and-down sector every week, but this week Genworth Financial climbed 12.8%.

Loving the leases: Every few quarters, the real estate value argument is recycled with Sears Holdings as a way to unlock value. This week, that thesis may have turned into more of a reality as the company opened up most of its locations to leases from interested retailers. Investor Eddie Lampert has not been able to turn the retailer around and may be trying to cash out any value that's left. So far, investors like what they see.

Big wheels turning: This week, reports that China's auto market was seeing record demand sent Goodyear higher as tire makers expect to sell a record number of tires. Rubber prices also increased, but tire manufacturers should be able to pass on the increased cost to customers. J.D. Power estimates that global car and light commercial vehicle sales will rise 4% this year and 10% in 2012, so investors are trying to beat the rush into the sector.

One Eye on the Past, One Eye on the Future

The third quarter has been rough for most investors, but tomorrow starts a whole new quarter. Earnings season truly gets under way when Alcoa (AA) releases earnings on Oct. 11, and that's when we'll find out if this quarter's fears were truly justified. Something tells me there will be a lot of companies that will surprise investors on the upside.

Motley Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool and check out his personal stock holdings. The Motley Fool owns shares of Aflac. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Netflix and Aflac, as well as creating a bear put spread position in Netflix.

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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/30/this-weeks-leaders-and-laggards/

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How the major stock indexes fared Tuesday (AP)

The Fed's decision to buy long-term Treasurys and sell short-term ones to help get the economy back on its feet was expected. Stocks sank anyway on fears the Fed's statement showed economy was in dire shape.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 283.82 points, or 2.5 percent, and closed at 11,124.84.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 35.33, or 2.9 percent, to 1,166.76.

The Nasdaq composite fell 22.59, or 0.9 percent, to 2,590.24.

The Nasdaq composite fell 52.05, or 2 percent, to 2,538.19.

For the week to date:

The Dow is down 384.25, or 3.3 percent.

The S&P 500 is down 49.25, or 4.1 percent.

The Nasdaq is down 84.12 or 3.2 percent.

For the year to date:

The Dow is down 452.67, or 3.9 percent.

The S&P 500 is down 90.88, or 7.2 percent.

The Nasdaq is down 114.68, or 4.3 percent.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110921/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wall_street_box

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National Oilwell Varco Passes This Key Test

There's no foolproof way to know the future for National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV��) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result.

A cloudy crystal ball
In this series, we use accounts receivable (AR) and days sales outstanding (DSO) to judge a company's current health and future prospects. It's an important step in separating the pretenders from the market's best stocks. Alone, AR -- the amount of money owed the company -- and DSO -- the number of days' worth of sales owed to the company -- don't tell you much. However, by considering the trends in AR and DSO, you can sometimes get a window onto the future.

Sometimes, problems with AR or DSO simply indicate a change in the business (like an acquisition), or lax collections. However, AR that grows more quickly than revenue, or ballooning DSO, can also suggest a desperate company that's trying to boost sales by giving its customers overly generous payment terms. Alternately, it can indicate that the company sprinted to book a load of sales at the end of the quarter, like used-car dealers on the 29th of the month. (Sometimes, companies do both.)

Why might an upstanding firm like National Oilwell Varco do this? For the same reason any other company might: to make the numbers. Investors don't like revenue shortfalls, and employees don't like reporting them to their superiors.

Is National Oilwell Varco sending any potential warning signs? Take a look at the chart below, which plots revenue growth against AR growth, and DSO:

Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. FQ = fiscal quarter.

Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. FQ = fiscal quarter.

The standard way to calculate DSO uses average accounts receivable. I prefer to look at end-of-quarter (EOQ) receivables, but I've plotted both above.

Watching the trends
When that red line (AR growth) crosses above the green line (revenue growth), I know I need to consult the filings. Similarly, a spike in the blue bars (DSO) indicates a trend worth worrying about. As another reality check, it's reasonable to consider what a normal DSO figure might look like in this space.

Company	LFQ Revenue	DSO
�National Oilwell Varco	$3,513	73
�Cameron International (NYSE: CAM��)	$1,741	57
�Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL��)	$5,935	66
�Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI��)	$4,741	85

Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. DSO calculated from average AR. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. LFQ = last fiscal quarter. Dollar figures in millions.

Differences in business models can generate variations in DSO, so don't consider this the final word -- just a way to add some context to the numbers. But let's get back to our original question: Will National Oilwell Varco miss its numbers in the next quarter or two?

I don't think so. AR and DSO look healthy. For the last fully reported fiscal quarter, National Oilwell Varco?s year-over-year revenue grew 19.4%, and its AR grew 19.4%. That looks OK. End-of-quarter DSO decreased 0.1% from the prior-year quarter. It was down 6.4% versus the prior quarter. Still, I'm no fortuneteller, and these are just numbers. Investors putting their money on the line always need to dig into the filings for the root causes and draw their own conclusions.

What now?
I use this kind of analysis to figure out which investments I need to watch more closely as I hunt the market's best returns. However, some investors actively seek out companies on the wrong side of AR trends in order to sell them short, profiting when they eventually fall. Which way would you play this one? Let us know in the comments below, or keep up with the stocks mentioned in this article by tracking them in our free watchlist service, My Watchlist.

Source: http://feeds.fool.com/~r/usmf/foolwatch/~3/OrqcTxJ7MWo/national-oilwell-varco-passes-this-key-test.aspx

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Bipartisan support grows for capital-raising bills (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Federal lawmakers expressed bipartisan support on Wednesday for several legislative proposals to ease regulatory burdens for small companies struggling to raise capital in the face of a battered economy.

At a hearing before a House Financial Services panel, Democrats and Republicans said momentum is growing toward enacting at least some proposals that would modernize securities laws governing issues such as registration and filing requirements, as well as the triggers for a company to go public.

"I agree we should be moving in the direction of reducing unnecessary regulations on particularly smaller entities," said House Financial Services Ranking Democrat Barney Frank.

The bipartisan tone at Wednesday's hearing is a stark contrast to the rancorous debates over the scope and costs imposed on businesses by last year's Dodd-Frank Wall Street overhaul law.

The discussion over whether to loosen capital-raising restrictions gained momentum earlier this year after Goldman Sachs Group Inc decided to exclude U.S. investors from an offering of Facebook shares due to concerns about running afoul of outdated rules on general solicitation. The decision by Goldman sparked a debate in Washington and helped spur the Securities and Exchange Commission to review its securities offering rules.

Recently, the agency launched a new small business advisory committee to explore policy issues such as whether to raise the thresholds that trigger a company going public and easing rules to permit "crowd funding" -- a capital-raising strategy that lets investors take small stakes in private start-ups over the Internet.

Meredith Cross, the SEC's director of corporation finance, testified on Wednesday that the agency has not yet taken a position on the various bills, but acknowledged there are "a number of very important ideas" in them.

One legislative proposal is a bill previously approved by the House Financial Services Committee that would make it easier for companies to take advantage of the SEC's "Regulation A" exemption, which permits them to avoid filing costly and time-consuming paperwork.

A similar bipartisan measure has already been introduced in the Senate and Frank said the House version will put to a floor vote soon.

Other proposals that received fairly broad support include two related bills that would raise the threshold for the number of "shareholders of record" a company has before it must start filing financial disclosures.

One bill would broadly impact all kinds of companies by raising the threshold to 1,000 shareholders from the current 500. Another is more narrowly tailored to help small banks avoid triggering the reporting requirements.

Still, some Democrats suggested there is work to be done to tackle some lingering disagreements, such as exactly how to craft exemptions permitting crowd funding -- a concept that has been supported by Republicans as well as President Barack Obama in his recent jobs plan.

Under one legislative plan floated by Republican Representative Patrick McHenry, crowd funding would be permitted by letting companies pool donations up to $5 million without registering with the SEC.

Frank said he supports the concept of the bill, but noted there is "room for debate" about the proposed $5 million threshold. But he added: "I generally agree with the thrust of increasing it."

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; editing by Andre Grenon)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110921/pl_nm/us_sec_capitalraising

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Let's hope this economic crisis doesn't turn into a record-breaking recession

It's true there are plenty of parallels between now and the financial crisis of 2008. But there's also one big difference. Post Lehman Brothers, there was a global political attempt to address the problem. This time, our so-called leaders are taking their cue from the eurozone's bickering politicos ? the ones who disappeared on holiday when Greece defaulted on July 21.

Until the eurozone's 17 members fix Ouzoland ? which needs another ?159bn (�139bn) on top of the first ?110bn bailout ? chaos will reign. Chancellor George Osborne might make himself feel better by giving the 17 states "six weeks to resolve the eurozone crisis" but he's pretty powerless. Every one of them has to ratify an increase to the region's ?440bn bailout fund ? and, politically, few can face it.

Meanwhile, the uncertainty is feeding into real economic activity. Royal Bank of Scotland economists, spooked by this week's PMI data, now reckon Europe is heading for "a full-blown recession" ? not surprising, perhaps, when US money market funds won't lend to the region's banks (particularly French ones) because of their exposure to Greece. Across the Atlantic, the Fed's warnings of "significant downside risks to the economic outlook" overshadowed the tricksy "Operation Twist" ? swapping $400bn (�259bn) short-dated bonds for longer-dated ones.

With nothing but inanities from political leaders, no wonder the VIX volatility index ? a popular gauge of market fear - has shot up almost 35pc this week.

It's times like these that you really need someone like Lee Hang Chai, who has just set a new world record for the number of teleportation illusions performed in one minute. Maybe someone should put him in charge.

Not such an easy time with Stelios

That said, at least we've had one Greek bail-out this week.

Step forward, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who's at last in line for a cash return from easyJet ? even if he has to share the �71m winging his way with his bruv and sis.

Please don't infer that the airline's Greek-born founder actually needs the money ? as space is tight on the desk for any more letters from Schillings, his libel lawyers. Oh no, Stelios is hugely wealthy. Literally. Even richer, probably, than Greece.

That caveat out of the way, isn't it amazing how all principles vanish when faced with a 37.4pc share of �190m? Earlier this month Stelios requisitioned an EGM in an attempt to boot his compatriot, non-executive Professor Rigas Doganis, off the easyJet board. The reason? The part the Prof played, apparently, in rubber-stamping an aircraft order from Airbus.

Asked why Doganis should be singled out for a decision taken by the entire board, including four other non-execs, Sir Stelios fumed: "I think it is about time that salaried employees pay for the mistakes they make with other people's money."

On Friday, 24 hours after news of the looming cash return, Stelios called off the EGM ? and then bravely ducked requests for an explanation.

Apart from the money, maybe he's finally worked out that he was bound to lose the vote. It's not that other investors do not share his concerns about easyJet's capacity growth in turbulent markets. Or his desire for higher returns on equity, and dividends. It's just that they object to random attacks on non-execs and debates conducted with all the finesse of a toddler on a supermarket floor denied a bag of fun-size Mars bars.

The worry for easyJet, of course, is that Stelios concludes his approach actually works ? and, like Greece itself, is quickly back for more. Though why would he do that ? he doesn't need the money, does he?

alistair.osborne@telegraph.co.uk

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568312/s/18d2b8e4/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cfinance0Ccomment0Calistair0Eosborne0C87856690CLets0Ehope0Ethis0Eeconomic0Ecrisis0Edoesnt0Eturn0Einto0Ea0Erecord0Ebreaking0Erecession0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Backlash against SNP �849 million business tax raid

Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Conservative leader, said: ?People are getting fed up of the barefaced cheek of Alex Salmond.

?In the week that his own Scottish budget is disintegrating before his eyes, he would be better advised to put his own house in order before he even thinks of criticising anybody else.?

Iain Gray, her Labour counterpart, said: ?Every time Alex Salmond opens his mouth about Plan MacB it is an embarrassment not just for him but the credibility of the Scottish government.?

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said: ?The CPPR report delivers a devastating demolition of Alex Salmond?s claims.

?The SNP are now undermining the efforts of the UK Government to create growth by ramping up business taxes in Scotland.?

Business group CBI Scotland backed Mr Salmond?s call for extra spending on capital projects, such as new roads and schools.

However, the CPPR report discovered that under the SNP?s plans capital spending is falling more quickly in Scotland this year and next than in the rest of the UK.

David Lonsdale, CBI Scotland?s assistant director, said: ?What we don?t agree with is the focus on extra business taxes, which threatens investment and job creation.

?We need the private sector to flourish to get the country out of the economic challenges it?s facing.?

The row broke out after the Prime Minister used a keynote speech to the Canadian parliament in Ottawa to warn the failures of leaders in the US and Europe to tackle government deficits now ?threatens the stability of the world economy?.

Mr Salmond has been highly critical of the Coalition?s austerity drive, but yesterday called for a new growth strategy despite admitting the markets are being ?spooked? by the size of some countries? deficits.

?It is not good enough for the Prime Minister to tell everyone else they are not doing the right thing, when policy is paralysed in the UK and the UK?s economy is stagnating,? the First Minister said.

?That is why David Cameron should follow the Scottish government?s ?Plan MacB? approach UK-wide.?

Mr Swinney wrote to a series of newspapers last night to try and restore the credibility of his 2012/13 draft budget and three-year spending review, both of which were unveiled on Wednesday.

The Finance Minister accused the CPPR of ?double and treble counting? to reach the �849 million figure, a claim the Glasgow University economists strenuously rejects.

Of the total, �110 million will be raised from a new levy on supermarkets selling alcohol and tobacco. A further �36 million will come from changes to the taxes businesses pay on empty properties.

But the balance is thanks to above-inflation increases in non-domestic rates. Mr Swinney said companies? annual bills will increase by �493 million by 2015.

As well as inflation, he said the ?apparent increase? reflects increasing business activity as the economy recovers.

?It is therefore grossly misleading to suggest that the changes in the income forecasts for these factors translate into increased business rates bills for existing businesses,? he concluded.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568312/s/18d352a8/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cnews0Cuknews0Cscotland0C87855610CBacklash0Eagainst0ESNP0E8490Emillion0Ebusiness0Etax0Eraid0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Crude oil back above $83

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NEW YORK, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices held above $83 per barrel in New York with a strong rebound from last week's trading turbulence.

Source: http://pheed.upi.com/click.phdo?i=e619ce92fa7d7deefe04ac31da8631fa

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Is Meg Whitman Taking Over from Leo Apotheker at HP? (NewsFactor)

With back-to-back poor quarterly earnings reports, Hewlett-Packard isn't willing to give Leo Apotheker any more time to turn the company around. Apotheker took the helm about 10 months ago -- soon after the board fired its last CEO, Mark Hurd, amid allegations of misconduct.

According to The New York Times, Meg Whitman is the leading candidate to replace the former SAP CEO. Whitman served as the CEO for eBay and currently sits on the board of directors at HP. The New York Times cited anonymous sources; if the rumors hold true, this will be the third CEO in a row HP has fired, dating back to Carly Fiorina.

Apotheker's moves in his 10-month tenure have included putting the kibosh on the webOS operating system (software for which HP paid $1.2 billion), the $11.7 billion acquisition of Autonomy (which analysts insist was overpriced), the failure of the TouchPad tablet, and the potential spinoff of the PC business. HP stock has dipped nearly 50 percent since Apotheker took over.

Mistrusting the Board

"Apotheker was brought on board to orchestrate a major change in the company. He's only been there 10 months," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group. "It would take at least two years for his changes to have effect. Anybody who thought changing HP from a hardware company to what is going to be largely a software company was going to be painless must have missed a few meetings."

Enderle is speculating about a possible unpleasant reality: someone from within the board is orchestrating this leak for their own stardom. In other words, an HP board member or group of board members may be unofficially jockeying to get Apotheker out to put in a favored candidate now rather than in two years. If that truth comes out, Enderle said, the people involved cannot be trusted.

"This is not the typical way a board replaces a CEO. The decision is made confidentially. The CEO is told first and then the announcement is made," Enderle said. "These leaks are trying to orchestrate something either from inside the board or inside Hewlett-Packard by someone who has designs on that job. And it's one of the series of leaks that have come out over time. It looks like there is a secondary agenda if not a mini-rebellion going on at HP."

HP's Most Serious Problem

Whitman has held key executive positions at some of America's most well known brands, including Disney, Stride Rite, FTD and Hasbro. She is also credited with steering eBay through the dot-com rise and fall and avoiding the crash and burn that was the fate of so many of its contemporaries.

When Whitman joined eBay in 1998, it had 30 employees and $4.7 million in revenues. In 10 years, she grew the company to nearly $8 billion in revenues with 15,000 employees worldwide. Whitman later ran for governor of California and lost.

According to The New York Times, if HP hires Whitman as CEO it would likely be for a permanent position, not interim. Part of the problem with Apotheker, as the Times reports, is his communication style. That stance is bolstered by a lawsuit filed against HP claiming execs misled investors about the company's state. But the company's biggest problem may be the reputation for board leaks.

"HP has an environment where leaks are apparently allowed and this practice has transitioned across board members. It's probably HP's most serious problem," Enderle said. "If they cannot contain the leaks, no CEO could be successful at running this company. Leaks create the impression that the board isn't behind its CEO, and it's very hard to get anything done when that's the case."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20110922/bs_nf/80302

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Stocks nosedive amid fears of new global recession (AP)

PARIS ? Mounting evidence that the world economy is slowing down sharply sent global stock markets spiraling down Thursday as investors brushed off the U.S. Federal Reserve's efforts to spur growth and focused instead on the central bank's gloomy outlook.

Oil and other commodities tumbled, too, in the face of several signs that economies are shifting into reverse: the Fed's assessment of the U.S. economy is gloomier than a month ago, while figures from Europe hinted that a recession is looming and a Chinese manufacturing survey suggested a sharp slowdown.

These concerns heap more misery on markets already skittish about Europe's debt crisis. France's CAC-40 led the retreat, diving over 5 percent.

The losses began Wednesday afternoon in the U.S. after the Fed announced a highly anticipated program to trade in $400 billion worth of short-term bonds for the same amount of longer-term bonds. The goal is to ensure low borrowing rates for a long period, thereby helping to stimulate the housing market and other economic activity.

The program ? known as Operation Twist ? was bigger than expected, but that seemed to work against the Fed: Investors took it as a signal that the central bank was growing more concerned about the economy. In its statement, the Fed noted "significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets."

"Confidence was already shaky, at best, and the Fed's words only heightened worries about the outlook," said Benjamin Reitzes, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

At the close, France's CAC-40 was down a hefty 5.3 percent at 2,781.68 while Germany's DAX slid 5 percent to 5,164.21. The FTSE index of Britain's leading shares ended down 4.7 percent at 5,041.46.

U.S. stocks took a battering too ? the Dow Jones industrial average was down 3.1 percent at 10,670 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.9 percent to 1,132.

The euro was also under severe pressure, trading 0.9 percent lower at $1.3457 as the dollar garnered support through its widely-percieved status as a a safe haven in times of financial turbulence.

Europe's single currency, which is used by 17 countries, is also being dragged down by concerns over Greece, which is currently in talks with its creditors about whether it has done enough to get the next slice of its bailout. If Athens doesn't get the euro8 billion ($11 billion) by mid-October, it will run out of money.

A Greek default would be disastrous for an already suffering eurozone.

Concerns about Greece have hit European banks, especially those in France, hard in recent weeks since the institutions hold a substantial amount of Greek debt.

On Thursday, the CEO of BNP Paribas was the latest to try to calm markets by declaring that his bank had a sufficient cushion of cash on hand. There had been reports that the bank was shopping around for investors in the Middle East.

"I formally deny it. We have no specific contact because we have no need for a capital increase," Baudouin Prot told BFM Business television. "With BNP Paribas, there is no particular problem. It's at the eurozone level that the concern rests and it's at that level that it needs to be solved."

The day also brought more bad news about the state of the eurozone economy there, with a closely watched survey from financial information company Markit indicating a recession could be on the way.

Markit's monthly purchasing managers index ? a gauge of business activity ? fell to 49.2 in September, its lowest level since July 2009, from 50.7 the previous month.

"The fall in the eurozone composite PMI below the theoretical 50 'no-change' barrier provides the strongest sign yet that the region is on the cusp of a recession," said Ben May of Capital Economics.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, also revealed that eurozone industrial orders plunged 2.1 percent in July alone, while the European Commission said its main measure of consumer confidence slid to a two-year low of minus 18.9 in September from -16.5 in August 2011.

A recession will only make it harder for Europe's heavily indebted countries to pay down their debts since it effectively means their governments are taking in less income.

Fears of a recession have driven down oil prices, which typically rise when economies are humming and their energy demands are increasing.

Benchmark oil fell a whopping $4.34 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $81.60. Brent crude was down $4.19 to $106.16. Several metals were dragged down multiple percentage points as well, including silver, which tanked nearly 9 percent.

Earlier in Asia, stocks also fell. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 2.1 percent to close at 8,560.26. South Korea's Kospi slid 2.9 percent to 1,800.55. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 2.6 percent down at 3,964.90.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng saw the biggest fall, diving over 900 points, or 4.9 percent, to close at 17,911.90.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 2.8 percent at 2,443.06.

___

AP Business Writer Pamela Sampson contributed to this report from Bangkok.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110922/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

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9 hard-to-fill jobs

There's a major dilemma facing the job market, and General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt is trying to bring it to light.

About 14 million Americans are unemployed, yet 3 million job openings remain unfilled -- an imbalance that Immelt has said is partly because employers can't find workers with the right skills.

The "skills mismatch" is a challenge even at GE, which has had a hard time finding the right employees.

Right now, GE is looking for Advanced Manufacturing Engineers, or AMEs, to work in Greenville, S.C. But the company says it takes between six to nine months to fill the positions.

That's because competition is fierce for engineers. GE prefers its AMEs have at least a Bachelor's degree and five years of experience in processes like coating, casting, welding and machining. Candidates with those skills are hard to come by, and the company often has to fill the gaps with extra training.

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Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_topstories/~3/thrL9WPxqho/index.html

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The 9 Top Value-Creating Pharmaceutical Companies

"I think I've been in the top 5% of my age cohort all my life in understanding the power of incentives, and all my life I've underestimated it," Warren Buffett's business partner, Charlie Munger, once said. "And never a year passes but I get some surprise that pushes my limit a little farther."

For corporate boards, using bad incentives for management pay can be disastrous. (Think Lehman Brothers.) Incentives based on singular metrics such as revenue growth, EBITDA, return on equity, or earnings per share are easily manipulated and gamed. Fortunately, EVA momentum provides a better alternative.

Creator Bennett Stewart of EVA Dimensions, who also co-created EVA (Economic Value Added), calls EVA momentum "the only percent metric where more is always better than less. It always increases when managers do things that make economic sense."

So what does this mean for investors? A positive reading on EVA momentum means a company has created value by increasing its EVA, and a negative EVA momentum means EVA has decreased and less value is being created. EVA momentum is one of the few performance measurements, if not the only one, with such a clear dividing line between good and bad performance.

The best companies, then, create value in excess of their cost of capital, as reflected by positive EVA momentum. The higher the EVA momentum, the faster management is creating value.

Let's look at the pharmaceutical industry and see the most effective producers of value as measured by EVA momentum over the past quarter and year, as well as the three-year trend. The companies are ranked by percentile versus the Russell 3000. The limitations I've set are that the company must have more than a $500 million market cap and be traded on a major U.S. exchange.

�	Company	Russell 3000 Percentile	3-Year Trend	Past Year	Past Quarter
1	Akorn (Nasdaq: AKRX��)	100	12.2%	39.5%	64.6%
2	Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: JAZZ��)	99	12.6%	12.6%	17.9%
3	Questcor Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: QCOR��)	97	11.9%	131.5%	162.4%
4	Salix Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SLXP��)	96	2.9%	13.4%	12.6%
5	ViroPharma (Nasdaq: VPHM��)	95	6.1%	6.3%	2.6%
6	Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO��)	93	2.4%	8.7%	11.5%
7	Optimer Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: OPTR��)	90	6.5%	30.0%	(33.2%)
8	Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY��)	88	2.4%	3.3%	2.8%
9	Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY��)	88	3.3%	2.9%	5.1%

Source: EVA Dimensions LLC.

Akorn leads the industry with a 39.5% EVA momentum in the past year, as well as with its three-year trend of 12.2%, placing the company in the top 1% of the Russell 3000.

Businesses with high EVA momentum are effectively creating value. It will be interesting to see how useful this extremely new metric proves to be for companies and investors. If it lives up to its promise, it will be an essential tool in investors' arsenals.

Another tool for better investing
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' fundamental value. That's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

If you're interested in continuing your research on a stock mentioned here, add it to My Watchlist to stay abreast of all of our Foolish analysis.

Source: http://feeds.fool.com/~r/usmf/foolwatch/~3/mfNVkUlkOuA/the-9-top-value-creating-pharmaceutical-companies.aspx

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BofA’s Boston Building Draws Protesters; 21 Arrests Are Made

October 01, 2011, 12:22 AM EDT

By Tom Moroney

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Twenty-one people were arrested as about 3,000 demonstrators converged on a Bank of America Corp. office building in downtown Boston yesterday, protesting the largest U.S. lender?s foreclosure practices.

Some participants were taken into custody after entering the building?s lobby and refusing to leave, said Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis. Those arrested were charged with trespassing, according to Officer Eddy Chrispin, a police spokesman.

The crowd had marched a half-mile from Boston Common to the building at 100 Federal Street while chanting, banging on drums and toting signs that read ?Stop Corporate Greed? and ?Bank of America: Guilty as Charged.?

The rally was organized by Right to the City Alliance and follows demonstrations in Manhattan, known as #OccupyWallStreet, which began 14 days ago to protest the influence of Wall Street money on politics. A second Boston protest group, Occupy Boston, held a rally at Dewey Square later, and from there protesters from both events made their way to the statehouse, according to Chrispin.

T.J. Crawford, a spokesman for Bank of America, called the protests ?aggressive public-relations stunts.?

?Bank of America has a lot to be proud of in Massachusetts, from modifying 18,000 mortgages since 2008 to lending nearly $400 million in the first half of 2011 to small businesses,? he said.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America is the largest U.S. lender by assets.

--With assistance from Hugh Son in New York. Editors: Sylvia Wier, Pete Young

To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Moroney in Boston at tmorrone@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sylvia Wier in New York at swier@bloomberg.net

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-01/bofa-s-boston-building-draws-protesters-21-arrests-are-made.html

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If leadership fails, prepare for recession

Even Europe's juniors are taking pot shots. Brazil's finance minister, Guido Mantega, singled out the eurozone for sharp criticism, warning that leaders there were jeopardising the developing world's growth. "The epicentre of this crisis is the EU. European countries are taking a long time to find a solution. We believe we can avoid this if we act quickly to avoid the sovereign debt crisis," he said.

Patience may be wearing thin, but time is also running out. After the G20 dinner, an impromtu communiqu� was issued that gave Europe six weeks to solve its problems ? to bolster the bail-out fund, recapitalise the banks, and lay out a clear and convincing strategy for indebted countries to cut their borrowings.

The deadline for a clear and agreed strategy will be the Cannes G20 summit on November 4. As has been hammered home at every opportunity at this meeting, the issue now is about leadership.

Can they deliver, though? On the streets of Washington, there is not much optimism. "This country is in a mess," said Jack Sneed, a taxi driver from Maryland who resents having to pay "$1,000 a month in taxes before I spend anything".

Increasingly, the message from President Barack Obama, and repeated religiously on the news, is that America's mess can't be cleared up unless Europe gets its act together. So, will strong leadership find a way? "Nah," said Mr Sneed resolvedly.

Others are more hopeful. The Chancellor sensed at the G20 dinner "that the leading lights of the eurozone were aware that time was running out for them". International pressure, he added, can help. Germany is facing fierce domestic resistance to any more eurozone bail-outs, while industrial action is making it harder for indebted countries like Greece and Portugal to push through austerity measures. Having the world's leaders publicly scold Europe and warn eurozone governments they will be held responsible for a second recession "helps national policymakers with their parliaments", Mr Osborne said.

The IMF and the G20 are also coming into their own. G20 summits in October and November will ensure pressure on the eurozone does not relent. Christine Lagarde, the IMF's new managing director, has also used the platform to draw attention to the issue of "political leadership ? for leaders to take bold action now". If they don't, she dramatically claimed, "40m people could be put back into poverty".

Time and again in the slow-motion car wreck that is the eurozone crisis, the only thing that has convinced leaders to act has been panic. This week they got panic in spades. Thursday's stockmarket crash ? the FTSE 100's biggest fall in almost three years ? was the clearest sign yet of the level of fear.

Events, though, have not yet overtaken policymakers. Greece has not defaulted, banks have not gone bust, countries are not in recession. There is a way out but, as Ms Lagarde said, the path is getting narrower by the day. And, as Brazil's Mr Mantega noted: "Every day the crisis broadens and becomes more costly to solve."

Countries, particularly the UK, are depending on the private sector leading them back to prosperity through investment and job creation. It worked in the 1990s and can work again. Companies have the cash, in the UK about �65bn of it, and have been creating jobs ? offsetting much of the damage caused by public sector cutbacks.

Exports are a key part of the strategy, driven largely by demand from the developing world. But if the eurozone fails, and a second credit crisis unleashed, that "could prompt slippage in developing countries' investment and a pull-back by their consumers", said Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank

"A fall in developing countries' domestic demand would mean we'd lose their economic engine as a driver of global recovery." In other words, if leadership fails, there will be another global recession.

In the current febrile environment, no business in their right mind would invest. As a result, the recession is edging closer. Leaders need to show the "political will", Ms Lagarde said, to fix the problems. That alone will end this self-destructive "crisis of confidence". Politicians simply need to give recovery a chance.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568312/s/18d1f1c7/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cfinance0Cfinancialcrisis0C87853930CIf0Eleadership0Efails0Eprepare0Efor0Erecession0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Big Banks Boost Fees Again: What Are You Going to Do About It?

Bank of America's (BAC) announcement this week that it would start charging a monthly $5 fee for using a debit card to make purchases is the latest in banking industry upcharges for services. In addition to debit fees, ongoing hikes in overdraft and ATM charges mean fewer fee-free options for banking services, and increased balance requirements to get them. The bottom line is that consumers are now paying more to use their own money.

Other large U.S. banks, including Wells Fargo (WFC), J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) and SunTrust (STI) are testing or planning monthly debit fees, according to Reuters. Citibank (C) has not announced a plan to charge for debit card use, but it has increased fees for checking accounts with low balances, and increased balance requirements for free services. For example, starting in November, holders of Citibank's EZ Checking accounts will have to maintain a balance of $6,000 across linked accounts or pay a $15 monthly fee.

Free checking accounts are increasingly rare. Two years ago, 76% of non-interest checking accounts were free. That figure has now dropped to only 46%, according to a recent survey by Bankrate.com. The survey also reported that overdraft fees are now an average of $30.83 and the average out-of-network ATM fee is $3.83.

The rising fees reflect the big consumer banks' efforts to offset billions in predicted losses due a fee-cap on merchant-processing fees under the Durbin Amendment. The new law goes into effect on Saturday, and caps interchange fees at 24 cents a swipe, previously that averaged 44 cents.

The net effect of higher fees for consumers, whether for debit card use or banking services, is especially troubling for younger people with lower incomes, says Andrew Schrage, 25, a personal finance blogger at MoneyCrashers. "These fees can severely hamper workers' ability to accomplish essential goals like saving for retirement or working to build an emergency savings fund," he said.

But the fees may not be a game changer for the debit card business, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. At least not yet.

"Fees are an exception, not a rule, and savvy consumers are not going to stand for new fees and higher fees," he says. "A lot of consumers will do a different method of payment or take their business elsewhere." His theory is that consumers will move to smaller or online banks, with lower fees, or use cash more often to avoid debit card and other fees.

According to the FDIC there more than 6,350 commercial banks in the United States. The debit swipe fee changes only affect institutions with at least $10 billion in assets -- less the 2% of them.

For consumers trying to navigate the new minefield of higher debit charges, the options include switching back to cash, using credit cards, or changing to a bank with lower or no fees. At DailyFinance, we'd like to know how these fees affect you, or if they've caused you to change your spending habits. Please share your experience in the comments section.

Catherine New is a staff writer with DailyFinance. You can reach her at catherine.new@huffingtonpost.com.

Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/30/big-banks-boost-fees-again-what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it/

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