Home » Archive for December, 2012
SeaWorld Files for IPO
SeaWorld Entertainment is the operator of aquatic amusement parks owned by buyout firm Blackstone Group LP. It filed for an initial public offering last December 27. It hoped to raise $100 million from the IPO, which is the placeholder... More of this article »
French Actor Says No Thanks to Returning
World-renowned French film and stage star Gerard Depardieu has said he will remain living in Belgium even after the government in France stopped its plans to increase taxes by as much as 75% for its rich citizens. The government in... More of this article »
New York City Man Pushed into Oncoming Train
A man in New York City was killed after being pushed on the subway tracks in front of an oncoming train in Queens, near the Sunnyside neighborhood, said police. The man’s death was the second of its kind during December. The victim... More of this article »
Amazon Records Best Holiday Season
Amazon has a lot to thanks about in 2012. It recently announced that the Kindle Fire HD was the top selling, most gifted, and most wished for product on Amazon. It also said that the company topped in customer satisfaction during the... More of this article »
Target (NYSE: TGT), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), and Lowes (NYSE: LOW) Brace for East Coast Port Strike
Strikes at the docks are something often not on the national conscience, but for retailers, any rumbling at the ports is significant enough to send shockwaves through stocking plans. For the Minneapolis based discount giant Target... More of this article »
MasterCard (NYSE: MA) Report Dims Holiday Retail Expectations
The holiday season is now over, and retailers are left to count the receipts as the market eagerly awaits the results. Overall, the numbers are mixed, and it is difficult to get a clear picture of the fourth quarter performance. National... More of this article »
Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) Lead Financial Sector Higher in 2012
Despite a year plagued by lawsuits and fretting over the cost of regulation, financial firms have performed solidly in the stock market during 2012. In fact, the sector as a whole has rebounded from being the worst industry to invest... More of this article »
Shares in Citigroup (NYSE: C), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) Fall As Fiscal Cliff Looms
The fiscal cliff appears to be an impending calamity, and financial markets seem to be responding now, even if they largely ignored it during the previous twelve months. If a deal is not reached, within the next few days the United... More of this article »
Fines Top $10Bn for Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Barclays (NYSE: BCS), and Competitors
When we look back at the year 2012, we may one day consider it the year of bank lawsuits. There have been literally thousands of lawsuits filed against the nation’s largest banks. That lawsuits have stemmed from a myriad of issues... More of this article »
NFC East Title on the line when Dallas meets Washington
One week of the regular season remains in the NFL and two NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys take on the Washington Redskins to see who will win the NFC East title. For Dallas it is a win on Sunday or their season ends whereas Washington... More of this article »
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Closing Branches in Massachusetts
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), the Charlotte based banking giant, continues its reorganization plan to cut costs heading into 2013. Part of that plan is the closure of branches, in an effort to consolidate and raise profits in their... More of this article »
Citigroup (NYSE: C) Website Plagued By Denial of Service Errors
Bank websites have been plagued by outages in recent months, with waves of hackers seemingly targeting the sites and causing DNS errors to sprout up again and again. While the denial of service attacks haven’t actually resulted in... More of this article »
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Others Taking SeaWorld Public
SeaWorld is going public. Earlier today, the Orlando based SeaWorld Entertainment filed for an initial public offering, paving the way for an offering in 2013. SeaWorld, owned by Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX), has long been rumored... More of this article »
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) Wins in Appeal
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), the San Francisco based banking giant, has been plagued by lawsuits for most of the past four years, along with its rivals. While many judgments have gone against them, some reprieve is coming. After getting... More of this article »
Former Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) Director Rajaratnam Settles SEC Lawsuit
Former Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) director Raj Rajaratnam has settled the civil suit pending against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The former director continues his prison sentence for insider trading, but has a litany... More of this article »
Retailers Remain Hopeful about Post-Christmas Sales
The report on the holiday retail season showed bleak results and made people wonder about the economy’s recovery. Local and national retailers are still hopeful that the next couple of days of post-Christmas shopping could bring... More of this article »
Aegerion Has Cholesterol Drug Approved by FDA
On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved Juxtapid, an Aegerion Pharmaceutical drug that is used to treat a very rare cholesterol disease. Due to the potential toxicity in the user’s liver, the drug requires... More of this article »
Holiday Sales Do Not Increase Like Expected
Holiday sales in the U.S. saw a growth of less than half after the Washington gridlock over the fiscal cliff helped sour consumers’ moods and shopping was disrupted due to Hurricane Sandy. Between the end of October and December... More of this article »
Drought Threatens to Shut Down Shipping on Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is still open for shipping at present but that would not be the case in January. A drought in the Midwestern has brought the water level in the river to a very low level that it threatens to shut down shipping. The... More of this article »
Research in Motion Cuts Fees, Stock Falls
Research In Motion, the Canadian based manufacturer of the Blackberry smartphone, announced a decision to end certain service fees for users, which threatens its most profitable income source. Following the announcement, RIM stock... More of this article »
Divorce Papers Filed by Kutcher
Actor Ashton Kutcher who is well known for comedy sitcoms, successful movies and is starring in the hit CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, filed papers on Friday to divorce Demi Moore. Kutcher filed the divorce papers at a court in Los... More of this article »
Favor Hamilton Was $600 an Hour Escort
Former three time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton admitted this week that she had been working as an escort and she had charged clients up to $600 an hour. Hamilton’s admission set off great controversy and a myriad of questions for... More of this article »
Europe Made Progress according to IMF
The International Monetary Fund said that the European Union has made progress in solving its financial crisis. But it also warned the member states to keep with their commitments to end the uncertainty regarding the future of the... More of this article »
Four Thousand or more Errors Annually During Surgery
A new study by John Hopkins School of Medicine shows that surgeons in the U.S. make 4,000 errors each year. Researchers also estimate that surgeons leave foreign objects, like a towel or sponge, inside their patient’s body following... More of this article »
FTC Updates Online Privacy Rules for Children
Parents have been given more control over data collected about their children online Wednesday when the Federal Trade Commission broadened several privacy rules regarding children’s mobile apps and web sites. The rules were updated... More of this article »
First Woman President Elected in South Korea
Park Geun-hye the conservative Saenuri Party candidate made history by being elected as the first female president in South Korea after she defeated Moon Jae-in her liberal rival from the Democratic United Party. Her win was by several... More of this article »
GM Offers Big Cash Incentives for Pickup Trucks to Attract Buyers
General Motors Co. found itself stuck with too many trucks in its inventory. The company now offers discounts of as much as $9,000 in order to get rid of its supply of GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks as it gets ready... More of this article »
World’s Top Cell Phone Maker is Now Samsung
South Korea based Samsung Electronics has overtaken Nokia, the Finnish phone maker, for just the time since 1998 as the world’s top maker of phones for 2012. At year’s end, Samsung will account for close to 29% of all shipments... More of this article »
Sprint Bid for Clearwire will Face Opposition from Investors
Sprint Nextel Corp offered to buy Clearwire Corp for $2.2 billion but it would likely to face opposition from Clearwire’s minority shareholders. But analysts said that investors’ best option is to accept the offer. Clearwire Chief... More of this article »
FDA Approves New GlaxoSmithKline Vaccine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a seasonal flu vaccine that is four-strain by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, it was announced Monday. Fluarix Quadrivalent was approved by the FDA to be used for immunization of... More of this article »
Millions to Pay Higher Taxes Soon
If the lawmakers from Congress and the White House don’t come up with a compromise soon, millions of families and businesses would have to pay bigger taxes in 2013. More than 70 tax breaks enjoyed by businesses and individuals have... More of this article »
House Speaker Boehner Willing To Increase Taxes for Millionaires
John Boehner the Republican House Speaker proposed an increase in tax rates for people who earn over $1 million, said a source familiar with the ongoing talks on Capitol Hill. This new developmental might be a sign that some sort of... More of this article »
UBS LIBOR Deal to Include Charges against Bankers
Prosecutors from the United States are planning to file charges against several bankers connected with UBS AG’s manipulation of Tokyo interbank lending rates. The charges would be the first to be brought by the US Department of Justice... More of this article »
Twenty-seven Killed by Gunman in Newtown, Connecticut
Friday December 14, 2012 will be one of the saddest and most tragic days in the history of Newtown, Connecticut, as early Friday morning, Adam Lanza, a 20-year old, walked calmly into Sandy Hook School and opened fire. After he was... More of this article »
Distress Can Increase Stroke Risk
Adults who are older and have high distress levels are more apt to have a certain form of stroke than those people who are not as troubled, a recent study indicates. Distress is made up of a measure of depression, stress, dissatisfaction... More of this article »
Political Intern Arrested for Being Illegal Immigrant
Senator Robert Menendez had an unpaid intern employed in his Senate office who was a registered sex offender and illegal immigrant. Authorities from immigration services have arrested the intern. The Department of Homeland Security... More of this article »
Delta Purchase Stake in Virgin Atlantic
Delta Airlines has announced it has agreed to acquire the 49% stake Singapore Airlines has in Virgin Atlantic Airlines. The majority owner of Virgin Atlantic is Richard Branson. Delta will be paying $360 million for the 40% share of... More of this article »
Holiday Retail Hiring Reaches Record Level
Holiday hiring by retailers is approaching record level that was set 12 years ago. This was according to an analysis of government numbers made by Consultancy Company Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Retailers have added 619,700... More of this article »
Under Weight Newborns Might get Help through Iron Supplements
A link has been found between the low birth weight of a baby and a higher risk of health problems over the long term during childhood. Those problems included learning disabilities and delays in development. A study that was just published... More of this article »
Austerity Measures Protested By Spain Healthcare Workers
Thousands of residents and medical workers in Spain angered by the plans to privatize part of the National Health Service and by the huge budget cuts marched on Sunday through many of the most famous squares located in Madrid. Over... More of this article »
Senate Fails Bob Dole and US Businesses
The US Senate turned down the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities last December 4. The Convention is already ratified by 126 countries and made to help protect people with disability from discrimination... More of this article »
Chronic Leukemia Slowed Down by New Ariad Drug
Ariad Pharmaceuticals new experimental drug for leukemia succeeded in eliminating the cancer from the bone marrow of close to 50% of the patients who had a chronic type of the blood disease and had stopped responding to other medications. The... More of this article »
Athletes Discouraged to take Painkillers prior to Workout
Taking painkillers like ibuprofen to prevent pain while exercising is a common practice today amongst athletes at many different levels of ability. A number of athletes believe the painkillers will improve their performance as it lessens... More of this article »
Illegal Immigration Drops in U.S.
Over the last several years, illegal immigration has dropped rapidly, which has led to a significant drop in the number of undocumented immigrants in the country. It is estimated that 11.1 million undocumented immigrants live in the... More of this article »
Healthy Diets Lower Risk of Recurrence of Heart Disease
A recent study shows that older people who have an established heart disease and ate a heart healthy diet that was rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts and fish were at a much lower risk of having a follow up heart attack or dying than... More of this article »
Big Expansion Plan Announced by Seattle-based Starbucks
Starbucks, the biggest coffee business in the world, announced it was planning to add up to 1,500 new cafes over the next five years in the U.S. The new plan, which would increase the number of cafes in the U.S. by 13%, will be officially... More of this article »
Rodriguez to have Hip Surgery
Veteran New York Yankee Alex Rodriquez will miss up to six months due to extensive hip surgery he will have in January. Nevertheless, doctors said Rodriquez should be back playing this summer for the team. General Manager Brian Cashman... More of this article »
Manufacturing in U.S. Shrinks In November
The manufacturing sector of the U.S. shrank in November and employment weakened, according to new data on Monday. The Institute of Supply Management’s purchasing managers’ index fell unexpectedly to 49.5 during November from October’s... More of this article »