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Facebook and Zynga tear up their contract

Written By limadu on Jumat, 30 November 2012 | 14.44

Facebook formerly had a unique deal with Zynga, but the amended contract makes the partnership much more similar to that of other developers.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Facebook and Zynga have always been deeply intertwined, but the companies signed paperwork this week to make their relationship a bit more distant.

A pair of regulatory filings submitted late Thursday revealed that Facebook and Zynga have significantly revised the terms of a five-year deal they signed in late 2010. The new arrangement relaxes restrictions on both Facebook and Zynga, the gamemaker that drove 13% of Facebook's revenue for the first nine months of 2012.

Facebook will no longer be prohibited from developing its own games. That part of the deal isn't great for Zynga, which slashed both its workforce and its 2012 outlook last month after announcing disappointing performance for some games.

But Facebook released a statement saying the company is "not in the business of building games and we have no plans to do so. We're focused on being the platform where games and apps are built."

Despite that, Zynga investors sent the FarmVille maker's shares plummeting 11% in after-hours trading.Facebook (FB) shares remained flat.

Much of the deal was positive for Zynga (ZNGA), which shook off a few Facebook shackles.

The company won't have to use Facebook as the exclusive way to log into games on the newly launched Zynga.com, which Zynga hopes to build into a standalone gaming destination.

Even sweeter: Zynga won't be required to use Facebook's ads or virtual payment system on Zynga.com. That system typically gives Facebook a 30% cut of all sales that flow through it.

Finally, Zynga is no longer required to use Facebook "as its primary non-Zynga platform." But any new game must launch on Facebook "concurrent with, or shortly following" its debut on Zynga.com or any other social platform.

One especially provocative tidbit: As Zynga moves into "real money gambling games," Facebook wants to follow.

In countries where Zynga offers such games (they're banned in the U.S.), the new rules say Zynga must make those games available on Facebook if Facebook's local site allows them. Zynga struck its first real-cash gaming deal last month with bwin.party, an international gaming operator. It plans to launch poker and casino games in the U.K. early next year.

In an emailed statement, Zynga chief revenue officer Barry Cottle said the amendment "continues our long and successful partnership while also allowing us the flexibility to ensure the universal availability of our products and services." To top of page

First Published: November 29, 2012: 6:42 PM ET


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Yum shares drop on weak China sales

Same store Yum sales in China will decline in the fourth quarter.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- Shares of Yum Brands dropped 7% in off-hours trading after the company said it expects sales at restaurants in China to fall in the fourth quarter.

Sales at existing locations in China will drop by 4% in the quarter, the Kentucky-based company said. Last year, sales grew by 21% -- a difficult performance to replicate.

China is an increasingly important market for the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, which has placed big bets on future growth in the world's second largest economy. The company operates more than 4,000 KFC restaurants in China, and around 750 Pizza Huts. It plans to open hundreds more.

Yum (YUM, Fortune 500) CEO David Novak said the fast food purveyor is making up for the disappointing sales.

"Stronger than expected operating performance from Yum! Restaurants International and our U.S. division is offsetting softer sales in China," he said in a statement.

Related: McDonald's, KFC, Burger King workers protest in NYC

The slack sales might be attributable to macro conditions in China, where the government reported gross domestic product growth of 7.4% in the most recent quarter -- a number that disappointed analysts. Since then, early data points to stronger expansion in coming quarters -- but too late for Yum's fourth quarter figures.

"Next year will be another strong year for our China division, given this year's record development of at least 800 new units," Novak said. To top of page

First Published: November 29, 2012: 10:38 PM ET


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GDP growth slows in India

India GDP grew at 5.4% in the latest quarter.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- The pace of economic growth in India slowed during the latest quarter, the government's ministry of statistics said Friday.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of a nation's economic health, grew at a rate of 5.3% from June to September compared to the previous year, the government said.

The slowdown marks the third straight quarter of GDP growth below 6% for India, which has struggled recently to resolve political disputes over proposed economic reforms. At 5.3%, the rate also matches a three-year low for the key indicator.

Still, the slower rate was in line with analyst expectations.

The International Monetary Fund said last month that the growth outlook for India is "unusually uncertain" after a disappointing first half of the year, caused in part by a sharp drop in consumer confidence. After years of rapid growth, the economy is expected to expand by only around 5% this year.

Related: India reforms entice foreign retailers

India's currency, the rupee, has lost value against the dollar in recent months, and elevated inflation levels have limited calls for lower interest rates.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has tried to institute reforms that would attract more foreign investment, but his efforts have been met with resistance from political opponents. To top of page

First Published: November 30, 2012: 1:29 AM ET


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Groupon CEO: I'm not surprised about firing rumors

Written By limadu on Kamis, 29 November 2012 | 14.44

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason says "if I ever thought I wasn't the right guy for the job, I'd be the first person to fire myself."

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Rumors are swirling that Groupon's board is considering replacing founder and CEO Andrew Mason with a more experienced leader, but he's not surprised. Or even particularly upset.

"Our stock is down 80% [year-to-date] ... it would be weird for the board not to be asking that question," Mason said at the Business Insider Ignition conference in New York City on Wednesday.

"It would be more noteworthy if the board wasn't discussing it," Mason added.

Mason's Ignition appearance was scheduled long before rumors of board members' discontent appeared in an All Things D article Tuesday, later echoed by other media outlets. Moderator Henry Blodget kicked off the discussion by asking about the rumors, and that line of questioning continued throughout their talk.

Mason wiggled out of questions about whether he would "fight" to keep his job, shifting the focus instead to the company overall.

"I care far more about the success of the business than I do about my job as a CEO," Mason said at one point. Later, when pushed specifically on whether he really does want to keep the CEO title, Mason said simply: "I want what's best for Groupon."

Still, he insisted that "if I ever thought I wasn't the right guy for the job, I'd be the first person to fire myself."

Blodget also grilled Mason on Groupon's flagging reputation. The CEO has stayed relatively quiet while Wall Street and the media piled on "an incredible amount of scorn," Blodget suggested.

Shares of Groupon are currently trading around $4, compared with their IPO price of $20 in November 2011.

Mason replied: "Our stock is going to reflect our long-term performance. I don't think you can talk the stock back up to 20 bucks. You have to deliver."

He acknowledged that Groupon (GRPN) has work to do on that front, but he simultaneously downplayed the importance of critics' complaints.

"We've built up a resiliency to the external noise," he said. "We'll look back at these war stories and be glad we went through that ... there's something romantic about proving the naysayers wrong."

Mason was far less impressed by Blodget's next question, which devolved into a long diatribe about Blodget's own "fall from grace" after being charged with securities fraud in 2003 for his actions as a stock analyst. Blodget talked about how the accusations "hurt," and he asked Mason how the firing rumor "feels ... you know, when you're at home."

Mason held for an awkward beat, and when his answer came, it was clear he found the question silly.

"I don't really know what you want me to say...." he trailed off. "'Sure, Henry, it feels great'? I mean, obviously, no. It doesn't feel good." To top of page

First Published: November 28, 2012: 2:14 PM ET


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Customer complaints soar at Toys R Us

Toys R Us shoppers are taking to the retailer's Facebook page to complain that the store couldn't keep up with the swell of holiday shoppers.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Toys R Us may have bitten off more than it can chew.

Since the beginning of the holiday shopping season, the toy store has unveiled one incentive after another this year, from price matching to layaways to earlier openings than ever on Thanksgiving, to lure in customers. But it seems the retailer may have pushed a little too hard, and has found it hard to keep up with demand.

The retailer's Facebook page is teeming with dozens of customer service complaints after the Black Friday shopping weekend. Many shoppers claimed that they had placed orders to take advantage of some of Toys R Us' hottest deals, only to find out later that they were canceled because there weren't enough items in stock.

"I ordered a train table for my son on Saturday for a price of $39.99. The item was in stock for me to place the order but received an email last night that my order was canceled because the item is no available," Tara Dohn posted. "Had this item not showed in stock for shipping, I would have just gone to the store on Saturday when the sale price was still effective. Now 3 days later, when the sale is over, I'm told I'm out of luck."

Related: Toys R Us shoppers choose deals first, turkey later

Many other shoppers echoed Dohn's sentiment, disappointed that they missed out on Black Friday deals because the retailer couldn't keep up with the traffic.

A spokeswoman for the retailer admitted that the holiday rush caught up with the stores.

"This week is one of the busiest for online shopping across the industry -- and Toysrus.com is no exception," said Toys R Us's Jennifer Albano. "The number of questions to our call center increases proportionately with the increased business."

Toys R Us didn't say if it would offer anything to make up for disappointed customers.

The customer service snafu comes as Toys R Us has been pushing hard to drive customers into its stores and onto its website for their holiday shopping. Stores opened at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, making it the earliest retailer, along with Wal-Mart, (WMT, Fortune 500) to offer its doorbuster deals to customers.

It even offered to match online prices from competing stores like Wal-Mart and Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), and free layaway plans as early as September for customers who want to reserve a toy online or in stores and pay it off by Christmas time.

It also dabbled in the digital world by launching a kid-friendly tablet and a movie and TV show streaming service geared toward children. To top of page

First Published: November 28, 2012: 5:06 PM ET


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SEC closer to taking action against SAC Capital

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission is getting closer to taking enforcement against SAC Capital related to the largest insider trading case ever.

SAC Capital, a $14 billion hedge fund run by billionaire Steven A. Cohen, received a Wells notice from the SEC late last week, according to a source familiar with the situation. The SEC issues Wells notices to warn firms that they are likely to bring an action against them.

Cohen and SAC's President Tom Conheeney informed SAC Capital's investors of the Wells notice on a conference call Wednesday morning, according to the source.

A spokesperson for SAC Capital would not comment on the Wells notice or on details of the conference call.

"Mr. Cohen and SAC are confident that they have acted appropriately and will continue to cooperate with the government's inquiry," the SAC spokesperson said.

The SEC also declined to comment about the matter.

Several SAC employees have already been charged with insider trading, including former portfolio manager Mathew Martoma.

Related: Feds pressure Martoma with threat of long sentence

Cohen defended the hedge fund's actions on the conference call, said the source.

Investors did not have the chance to ask follow-up questions on the call, according to the source. SAC currently has no plan to let investors redeem their funds from the hedge fund before the pre-arranged time in the middle of the first quarter of 2013, according to the source.

The SEC has been circling SAC Capital for several years. By charging Martoma in a $276 million alleged insider trading case, the SEC appears to be getting closer to charging Cohen.

Related: a who's who of Steve Cohen's web

The SEC did not specifically name Cohen in its complaint against Martoma but it appeared to indicate that it has its eye on Cohen. The SEC's complaint also referred to the "owner and founder" of the fund in question and said he worked closely with Martoma.

Seven other employees of SAC Capital have been targeted by the SEC and the U.S. Attorney in the past two years.

CNNMoney's Aaron Smith contributed to this story. To top of page

First Published: November 28, 2012: 5:24 PM ET


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Green Mountain jumps 23% on rosy outlook

Written By limadu on Rabu, 28 November 2012 | 14.44

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Green Mountain Coffee Roasters issued a better than expected outlook for the company's upcoming fiscal year, sending shares up 23% after the closing bell on Tuesday.

The maker of K-cup single-serving coffee drinks said it expects to earn between $2.64 and $2.74 per share in 2013. Analysts had projected full-year earnings between $1.80 and $2.65 per share, according to estimates gathered by Thomson Reuters.

Green Mountain also predicted that net sales growth in the range of 15% to 20%, also topping analysts' expectations.

Shares of Green Mountain (GMCR) jumped $6.78, or 23%, to $35.73 in extended trading.

For the fourth quarter, Green Mountain reported net income of $101 million, or 64 cents per share, up from 75.3 million, or 47 cents per share, in the same period last year. Sales rose 33% in the quarter to $946.7 million.

Green Mountain had stronger-than-expected cash flow in the fourth quarter and expects to have up to $150 million in cash next year, according to chief financial officer Frances Rathke. "We expect to continue to strategically invest in the business as demand warrants," Rathke said in a statement.

Green Mountain's shareholders have been on a wild ride since October 2011, when David Einhorn, the hedge fund manager best known for being one of the first to shed light on the extent of Lehman Brother's troubles, delivered a scathing rebuke of the company's accounting practices.

Following Einhorn's comments, Green Mountain has stumbled, repeatedly missing sales targets in its quarterly earnings. The stock has been heavily shorted and remains well below its 2011 peak, when it traded as high as $108 per share.

Green Mountain recently named Brian Kelley, a former Coca-Cola (CCE, Fortune 500) executive, as its next president and chief executive. Kelly will take over when the current CEO, Lawrence Blanford, steps down next month.

Related: Green Mountain names new CEO

Over the past year, Green Mountain has introduced a host of new products, including most recently an at-home espresso machine.

So far, none of those products have ignited much interest from consumers and the company continues to wrestle with new competition for single serve coffee makers.

Coffee giant Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500)became a formidable competitor in March, when it introduced its own Verismo machine.

-- CNNMoney's Maureen Farrell contributed to this report. To top of page

First Published: November 27, 2012: 5:42 PM ET


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Tobacco companies ordered to advertise smoking risk

A man smokes a cigarette in San Francisco last year.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A federal judge ordered the nation's major tobacco companies on Tuesday to take out advertisements acknowledging the health risks of smoking.

The decision stems from a lawsuit federal prosecutors filed back in 1999 alleging that the companies violated racketeering statutes, deceiving the public about the consequences of smoking. The judge ruled against the defendants in a 2006 decision that set out the advertising requirements finalized Tuesday.

The case followed the tobacco industry's landmark $206 billion settlement in 1998.

Related: Asia lights up tobacco giant's sales

The defendants included Philip Morris and its parent, Altria Group (MO, Fortune 500).; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco; Lorillard Tobacco (LO); and British American Tobacco (BTI). The firms were ordered to publish statements on their websites, as well as in ads in newspapers and on television and as inserts in cigarette packaging, acknowledging smoking's consequences. Among other things, the companies must say:

- "Smoking kills, on average, 1,200 Americans. Every day."

- "More people die every year from smoking than from murder, AIDS, suicide, drugs, car crashes, and alcohol, combined."

- "Secondhand smoke kills over 3,000 Americans each year."

Altria spokesman Brian May said the company was "studying the court's decision." Bryan Hatchell, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds, said his firm, too, was "reviewing the judge's ruling and considering next steps."

The other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment or could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

The companies had argued that some elements of the forced statements violated their First Amendment rights, a claim the judge rejected. The firms were ordered to begin discussions on how to implement the ruling next month, though that timeline could be extended with additional appeals. To top of page

First Published: November 27, 2012: 6:57 PM ET


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Federal Reserve official aims for 6.5% unemployment

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans has been urging his colleagues to adopt clear economic targets that would determine the central bank's policies.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Just how far should the unemployment rate fall before the Federal Reserve raises interest rates?

Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Fed, wants the central bank to keep the federal funds rate near zero until unemployment falls to 6.5% -- a jobless rate not seen since 2008.

Evans is not a voting member this year, but in January he will rotate into a voting role on the Fed's policymaking committee. For about a year, he has been urging his colleagues to publish clear economic targets that would guide the central bank's policies.

Known as the 7/3 rule, his initial suggestion would have kept interest rates near zero until the unemployment rate falls to 7% or inflation exceeds 3% a year.

Now, he's changing that proposal, suggesting the central bank keep low interest rates in place even longer. He wants to see the unemployment rate fall to at least 6.5% and inflation not exceed 2.5% a year.

The hope behind the policy is that numerical targets will lift some of the mystery surrounding the Fed's decisions. As economic data is released, the public can base their expectations for Fed policy on a clearer picture of the central bank's goals.

"If the extended period of low policy rates is well communicated, then uncertainty regarding future interest rate movements can be reduced," Evans said in prepared remarks to be presented before the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto, Canada, Tuesday.

Related: Check the unemployment rate in your state

The idea of adopting numerical targets is gaining some sway within the Fed. Janet Yellen, second in command to Chairman Ben Bernanke on the Federal Reserve Board, supported the idea in a speech two weeks ago.

"I support this approach because it would enable the public to immediately adjust its expectations concerning the timing of liftoff in response to new information affecting the economic outlook," Yellen said, adding that this market response would serve as an "automatic stabilizer for the economy."

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren -- who like Evans, will rotate into a voting role next year -- has also thrown his support behind the idea, advocating for a 7.25% target for the unemployment rate.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota -- who won't have a vote again until 2014 -- has suggested thresholds of 5.5% for unemployment and 2.25% for inflation.

The Fed has kept interest rates near zero since late 2008 in an effort to stimulate the economy. While the unemployment rate has since fallen slightly to 7.9%, the Fed is still unsatisfied with that level and has been pursuing additional alternative policies to boost the economy further.

At its September meeting, the Federal Reserve launched a third round of quantitative easing, which entails buying $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities each month. The Fed has said it plans to keep that policy in place until the outlook for the job market improves "substantially."

The Fed's policymaking committee is next scheduled to meet Dec. 11-12. To top of page

First Published: November 27, 2012: 8:44 PM ET


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Troubled broker Knight Capital may be for sale

Written By limadu on Selasa, 27 November 2012 | 14.44

Knight Capital's shares are down more than 75% following its $440 million trading glitch.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It hasn't been business as usual for Knight Capital since a massive software glitch in August nearly felled the 15-year old trading firm. Knight Capital is now weighing offers for individual business lines and hasn't ruled out a sale of the entire firm.

According to an email sent by Knight Capital's CEO Thomas Joyce to employees on Saturday that was obtained by CNNMoney, Knight said the company will only consider a sale if the terms are right.

"There is no need for Knight to pursue a partnership, transaction or any other undertaking. We would only move forward with such an initiative if it makes strategic sense for our shareholders and our business," Joyce wrote in the email.

Shares of Knight Capital (KCG) jumped nearly 20% Monday, as investors weighed reports of a potential deal.

Whether or not Knight can finalize a sale, the firm is widely expected to restructure its business in the coming months and cut a large amount of its 1600 employees, according to several analysts.

"Whether someone comes in and buys Knight or if there's a scenario where nothing happens, there has to be a sizeable restructuring of the company to improve the profitability of the business," said Chris Allen, an analyst at Evercore.

Knight could fetch roughly $1.1 billion in a sale, Allen estimates. Nearly all of the value would come from its electronic trading business Hotspot and its market making business.

Knight spokesperson Kara Fitzsimmons declined to comment on a potential sale or layoffs.

Related: Trading plummets at Knight Capital

Knight's institutional stock trading division, which accounts for roughly 41% of Knight's revenues, has been unprofitable in recent years. Potential buyers are expected to dismantle that unit shortly after buying it, analysts said.

And even with Monday's pop, shares of Knight are down 75% in 2012. Following the trading glitch, Knight was forced to launch a frantic bid for capital. A consortium of companies, including TD Ameritrade (AMTD), Blackstone Group (BX), Getco, Stifel Nicolaus, Jefferies Group (JEF) and Stephens, put in $400 million to rescue Knight. In doing so, they diluted the trading firm's existing shareholders.

Knight has been beset by other issues since then. Its trading volume has dropped. Most recently, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Knight was forced to reroute trades after a power outage knocked out its computer systems.

Knight's newest shareholders are said to have different opinions on how long they want to hold onto their stake in the firm. Allen said that Blackstone and Getco, partially owned by private equity shop General Atlantic, would be more likely to hold onto their investment for the long-term. But Jefferies and TD Ameritrade are more likely to be pushing for a quick sale.

Getco and Virtu are said to have approached Knight about buying the company, according to news reports. Getco declined to comment. Virtu did not return calls for comment.

Blackstone and Jefferies could consider their own offers Knight, according to analysts. Neither firm returned calls for comment.

Knight's competitor Citadel, which made two bids for the company in August, is not expected to put in an offer for the company now, according to a source familiar with the process. Citadel declined to comment.

Related: Knight's costly trading glitch: $440 million

Although Knight is better capitalized now than it was before the trading glitches, investors are still wary.

Michael Wong, an analyst with Morningstar, said that "Knight's excess capital is weighing on its returns." But he pointed out that the company needs that extra cushion to prove to its partners that it is on solid financial footing. Knight could be more valuable as a private company, several analysts said. The company could benefit from not having to disclose as much about its finances.

Joyce's future at the firm is also at stake. His employment agreement only extends through December 31st. Analysts said that if the firm is sold, the new owners would decide whether or not he should remain at the helm in 2013. To top of page

First Published: November 26, 2012: 3:49 PM ET


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Cyber Monday off to a strong start

Cyber Monday shoppers are flocking to their computers and smartphones to take advantage of discounts at their favorite retailers.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Cyber Monday is off to a strong start, with shoppers flocking to their computers and smartphones to grab online deals.

By Monday evening, online sales rose nearly 27% from Cyber Monday last year, according to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, which tracks more than one million e-commerce transactions per day from more than 500 retailers.

"Cyber Monday is the Super Bowl day of online shopping ... all signs point to that being the case again today," said Jay Henderson, strategy director at IBM Smarter Commerce.

The 27% increase eclipses both the 21% jump in online sales seen on Black Friday and the 17% increase on Thanksgiving day, IBM found. It's also in line with estimates from data tracking firm ComScore, which put sales at $1.5 billion for Cyber Monday -- a 20% rise from the same day last year.

Related: Black Friday: Crowds grow, but sales are a question

Many retailers rolled out earlier online discounts this year, contributing to the strong start to holiday sales.

A growing number of people are also using their mobile devices to make purchases. Nearly a quarter of all online traffic this holiday season has come from consumers using smartphones and tablets, according to IBM. On Cyber Monday, about 20% of shoppers used their mobile devices to look at deals online, and 10% made purchases on their phones or tablets -- up from 12% and 7% last year.

Cyber Monday traditionally refers to the Monday following Black Friday and is typically the day many retailers offer online-only deals. This year many companies didn't wait for Monday and instead began rolling out their online discounts on Thanksgiving or earlier.

Related: 7 apps to find holiday deals

The retailers that popped up as most-frequently searched by users on Cyber Monday include Walmart (WMT, Fortune 500), Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500), Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500). The products that were searched the most online were Amazon's Kindle and Kindle Fire, Uggs, iPads, the iPod Touch, Legos and the Wii, according to Experian Marketing Services.

This year, online sales have outpaced in-store sales. Retail sales at stores on Black Friday declined nearly 2%, according to ShopperTrak, while online sales posted double-digit growth.

-- CNNMoney's Laurie Segall contributed to this report To top of page

First Published: November 26, 2012: 4:58 PM ET


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IMF, eurozone reach deal on Greek debt

A key hurdle has been removed for the next Greek bailout package.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund announced Monday they had reached an agreement that moves Greece closer to receiving a massive bailout payment.

The deal includes lower interest rates for Greece, a debt buyback and more time for the debt-laden country to repay its rescue loans. The measures could help cut Greek debt to targets of 124% of GDP by 2020 and lower than 110% in 2022.

But plans to forgive Greek debt, a step some negotiators think is necessary to restore fiscal balance in the country, were shelved .

"I welcome the initiatives agreed today by the Eurogroup aimed at further supporting Greece's economic reform program and making a substantial contribution to the sustainability of its debt," Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, said in a statement.

"This builds on the significant efforts by the Greek government to carry forward its fiscal and structural reform agenda," she said.

The meeting between the eurozone finance ministers and IMF officials, which dragged on for around 10 hours in Brussels, was the third round of talks in recent weeks.

"This is not just about money," said Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker. "This is a promise of a better future for the Greek people and for the Euro area as a whole, and a break from the era of missed targets and loose implementation."

The agreement moves Greece toward the release of a 44 billion euro bailout to be paid in several installments. Much of the bailout money will be used to recapitalize Greek banks in a bid to revive lending to companies and households.

Greece received its first bailout two and a half years ago, but worries persist that the country's still-massive debt levels could lead to a messy exit from Europe's monetary union.

Still, investors greeted the news with enthusiasm, boosting Asian stocks and U.S. market futures.

Related: Service sector adds to eurozone gloom

In Greece, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has won parliamentary support for new spending cuts, tax rises and labor market reforms aimed at reining in Greece's debt -- seen soaring to 190% of GDP in 2013 -- and restoring growth to an economy about to enter its sixth year of recession.

The latest austerity drive has sparked violent protests in Greece, where unemployment now stands at 25% and where living standards for many have plunged as the economy has shrunk by a fifth.

But Greece's resolve has reassured the troika of international lenders -- the EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund -- and won Athens two more years to meet a budget deficit target contained in its second bailout program agreed earlier this year. To top of page

First Published: November 26, 2012: 9:11 PM ET


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Black Friday: Crowds grow, but sales are a question

Written By limadu on Senin, 26 November 2012 | 14.44

Lots of holiday shoppers hit the stores, such as Toys R Us in New York's Times Square, on Thanksgiving night.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- There were more shoppers in the nation's malls and big-box stores on Black Friday than there were last year, according to a report issued Saturday. But retailers still aren't sure that starting the holiday shopping season on Thanksgiving night proved successful.

ShopperTrak, which measures and analyzes foot traffic at more than 50,000 retail locations nationwide, says Black Friday store visits climbed 3.5% from last year to more than 307.67 million.

But Black Friday retail sales fell 1.8% to $11.2 billion, the firm said.

"While foot traffic did increase on Friday, those Thursday deals attracted some of the spending that's usually meant for Friday," said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak's founder, in a statement.

ShopperTrak said foot traffic rose in most of the nation except for the West, where it was down more than 11%.

"Black Friday shopping continues to expand into Thanksgiving Day and will impact the way we look at all of the 'Black' weekend results, since more shopping hours allows for more shopping visits and a smoothing of sales across all of the days," said Martin.

Shoppers took advantage of early Thanksgiving night openings by retailers such as Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Target (TGT, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and Toys R Us.

Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force

"By opening even earlier, the retailers have been able to attract a broader spectrum of consumers to participate in Black Friday -- not everyone is willing to wake up at 4 a.m.," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group. "They definitely got a lot more business early and upfront."

Shoppers started lining up at the Sears at North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Ga., around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, and by the time the retailer opened, there was a crowd of about 500 people, said Nick Nicolosi, the mall's general manager. When the clock struck midnight and other stores opened, Nicolosi estimated that about 5,000 people were waiting to storm the stores -- the biggest Black Friday crowd North Point has seen since it began hosting its Rockin Shoppin Eve event five years ago.

La Plaza Mall in McAllen, Texas, had to use its off-duty police officers and security to control traffic outside of stores.

"Many stores including Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) had to close their store entrances temporarily as they had reached capacity with hundreds of shoppers waiting to enter the stores," said Isabel Rodriguez-Vera, area director of marketing.

Related: Cyber Monday is already here

Not everyone was willing to wait in line. Online sales soared over the two-day shopping period, climbing more than 17% from last year on Thanksgiving and nearly 21% on Black Friday, according to IBM Benchmark. Sales made from mobile devices grew by nearly two-thirds over 2011.

A long list of online retailers -- including Wal-Mart, Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and The Disney Store -- unveiled "pre-Black Friday deals" even before Thanksgiving.

"We've absolutely seen this whole weekend turn into one big promotional event," said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. "Black Friday deals are no longer just for the [brick-and-mortar] store, and Cyber Monday deals are no longer just for Monday."

However, the initial surge is likely to be temporary. By Sunday morning, Cohen expects shopper traffic to fall back to normal pre-holiday sales levels. "There are more hours to shop, but consumers don't have more relatives or more money in their pocket, so once all the dust settles, we won't see too much growth overall," he said. To top of page

Julianne Pepitone and Hibah Yousuf contributed to this article.

First Published: November 24, 2012: 6:12 PM ET


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Stocks: Focus back on U.S. economy

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As confidence builds over lawmakers' ability to reach a deal on the "fiscal cliff," investors will turn their attention to U.S. economic reports on the housing market, manufacturing and consumer data this week.

"The U.S. stock market has recovered a little from its post-election hangover, as expectations of a compromise over the fiscal cliff have grown," said John Higgins, senior markets economist at Capital Economics.

Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended the week up more than 3%, racking up five straight days of gains. The Dow closed above 13,000 for the first time since the election.

Two broad measures of the U.S. economy are due out this week. The first comes on Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve releases its latest snapshot of economic conditions across its 12 districts. Last month, the Beige Book showed that economic activity had expanded at a modest pace.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

An estimate of the nation's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic health, is due out on Thursday. A first estimate, released in October, showed the economy had grown at a 2% rate, thanks to an increase in defense spending, an improving housing sector and stronger consumer spending.

This week, investors also get a feel for the pulse of the American consumer, a key gauge during this time of the year, when retailers are in the midst of the holiday shopping season. Consumer spending drives about 70% of the U.S. economy and in play this week are consumer confidence, personal income and spending numbers.

Last month, consumer confidence rose to its highest level in four years, boosted by improvements in the job market.

Economists are expecting reports on the housing markets to boost markets again this week. Investors will have data to digest on housing prices from the Case-Shiller 20-city index, mortgage rates, and pending home sales.

The housing market has been a bright spot in an otherwise slowly recovering economy. In the last month, existing home sales, home prices and new construction showed upticks. The nation's extremely favorable mortgage rates also sank even lower last week, setting records for both the 30-year and 15-year fixed rate loans.

Investors will also get a look at U.S. manufacturing this week from reports on durable orders and the Chicago purchasing managers index.

Global manufacturing data has shown a mixed picture this month. China's manufacturing industry exhibited signs of improvement in November. But a report last week showed that the European manufacturing sector was contracting, and eurozone service industry companies are more pessimistic about their prospects than at any time since early 2009. To top of page

First Published: November 25, 2012: 11:52 AM ET


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Black Friday shopping hits a new record

Total spending over Black Friday weekend hit a record $59.1 billion, up from $52.4 billion last year. The number of shoppers in store and online also hit a new record.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Apparently, full stomachs after Thanksgiving dinners get people in the mood for some real shopping.

Customers flocked in to early store openings on Thanksgiving day to scoop up "doorbuster" deals. A record 247 million shoppers visited stores and websites in the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday weekend this year, up 9% from 226 million last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation released Sunday.

Individual shoppers also shelled out more money -- spending $423 this weekend, up from $398 last year. Total spending over the four-day weekend reached a record $59.1 billion, a 13% increase from $52.4 billion last year, according to the NRF.

The survey found that retailers' push to open stores earlier appealed to customers. Stores like Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Toys R Us, Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500), that ushered in customers just as Thanksgiving meals wrapped up, saw a boost. About 10% of this weekend's shoppers were out at stores by 8 p.m. on Thursday and an estimated 28% of weekend shoppers were at the stores by midnight, compared to 24.4% last year.

"The only way to describe the Thanksgiving openings is to call them a huge win," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. "Thanksgiving shopping has really becoming an extension of the day's activities. Whole families are going."

Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force

In a separate survey, ShopperTrak found that the number of people shopping in stores climbed 3.5% from last year to more than 307.67 million.

Bill Martin, ShopperTrak's founder, said that traffic hasn't been this high since 2006. He said that the return to pre-recession levels indicates a real recovery in consumer behavior.

"We've seen that consumers are willing to shop a few extra stores," Martin said. "This could translate into more impulse buying and stronger sales."

But not everyone wanted to wait in line. Online sales soared more than 17% on the Thursday of Thanksgiving, followed by a nearly 21% increase on Friday over last year, according to IBM Benchmark. Sales made from mobile devices climbed by 16%, with more than 24% of consumers using mobile devices to visit a retailer's website.

The NRF had predicted that looming fears over the "fiscal cliff" and the struggling jobs market could weigh on holiday spending. That's why it estimated that holiday sales will rise by 4.1%, which is slower than the 5.6% increase last year.

Shay said that between 65% and 80% of shoppers factor overall economic conditions into holiday spending decisions. Its survey found that two thirds of shoppers will pay with cash or debit, highlighting people's aversion to taking on too much debt in a still slow-recovering economy.

But retailers are hopeful that these strong Black Friday figures set a tone for a solid season of spending ahead. The Thanksgiving shopping tradition kicks off the holiday season sales blitz, wherein stores can make up to 40% of their annual sales in the November-December period.

"A single day doesn't make up a holiday season, but if you don't start off well on that day, you have trouble catching up," Martin said. To top of page

First Published: November 25, 2012: 2:37 PM ET


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Wal-Mart protests draw hundreds nationwide

Written By limadu on Minggu, 25 November 2012 | 14.44

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hundreds of people -- including some employees -- have taken part in Black Friday demonstrations at Wal-Mart stores nationwide, protesting what they say is the retailer's retaliation against speaking out for better pay, fair schedules and affordable health care.

According to organizers from the union-backed group OUR Walmart, hundreds of workers and thousands of supporters rallied across 100 cities, including Landover Hills, Md., Miami, Oakland, Calif., Chicago, Danville, Ky., Dallas and Kenosha, Wis.

Wal-Mart pushed back, saying it knew of only a "few dozen" protests, and that most of the protesters were not its employees

In one of the biggest protests, nine people were arrested outside of a Paramount, Calif., Wal-Mart store for failing to disperse, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department statement. An OUR Walmart spokesman said three of those arrested were Wal-Mart workers. Those arrested were to be released without bail, unless they had previous arrest warrants.

The sheriff's department said about 1,000 people arrived by bus and private vehicles to participate in the Paramount protest, which was characterized as peaceful.

In Landover Hills, near Washington. D.C. ,organizers said about 350 people participated, although video of the event showed around 100 participants. Dawn Le, who works for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which backs OUR Walmart, would not say how many of those taking part were Wal-Mart employees.

Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), in a statement late Friday, said worker absenteeism was down more than 60% from last year.

"We had our best Black Friday ever and OUR Walmart was unable to recruit more than a small number of associates to participate in these made for TV events," said David Tovar, vice president of corporate communications, in the statement. "Press reports are now exposing what we have said all along -- the large majority of protesters aren't even Walmart workers."

Janna Pea, an OUR Wal-Mart organizer in Dallas, said about 40 workers and about 150 supporters took part in a protest Thursday night.

One of those with her was Josue Mata, who says he walked off his job as an overnight maintenance employee to protest retaliation against people who want to speak out.

"I have four kids and I don't want them to grown up in a society where people disrespect them," he said. "This is a never-ending fight and we're never going to stop."

Related: Wal-Mart: Crowded, and not everyone is smiling.

Mata said he plans to return to work for his next scheduled shift on Sunday evening.

Pea said her protesters went to four Wal-Mart stores across the Dallas area, and while they were able to picket and speak to customers at half of them, they were asked to leave immediately by police at the others.

"We were still able to talk to customers and educate them about what was going on," she said. "We saw one person who was planning to go shopping, but then didn't end up going in. Instead, they rallied with us."

Muhammed Malik, who helped organize a protest at a Miami Wal-Mart, said roughly 70 workers participated in their hour-long demonstration Thursday night. He said one worker walked off his shift as he saw others rallying outside.

Wal-Mart has denied that it has retaliated against protesting workers, and said Friday that it has offered special holiday discounts to its employees for their efforts this season.

The protests were limited in scope, occurring at a handful of the company's approximately 4,000 U.S. stores. One employee at a store near Pittsburgh told CNNMoney he had heard of the protests only through the media.

Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force

In an effort to stop the protests, Wal-Mart filed a complaint last week with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that the demonstrations violated labor laws.

The retailer said the actions have disrupted business, and that the workers' ongoing actions violate the National Labor Relations Act, which prohibits picketing for any period over 30 days without filing a petition to form a union.

On Tuesday, OUR Walmart filed its own charge with the federal agency, claiming that Wal-Mart tried to deter workers from participating in the protests and interfered with their right to speak up.

But the NLRB was not able to rule in time or issue an injunction. Nancy Cleeland, a spokeswoman for the NLRB, said the complaint is too complex to make a ruling so soon.

Despite the talk of the protests, Wal-Mart reported larger Thanksgiving and Black Friday crowds than last year. As of Friday morning, the company said it had processed nearly 10 million register transactions.

Shares of Wal-Mart rose 1.9% in Friday trading. To top of page

First Published: November 23, 2012: 11:48 AM ET


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Cyber Monday starts early this year

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Post-Thanksgiving online discounts were once relegated to Cyber Monday -- but these days, websites are launching deals even before Black Friday. And the resulting shopping frenzy is expected to set records.

IBM Benchmark reported total online sales for Black Friday were up nearly 21% from last year. On Thanksgiving, sales rose more than 17% compared to 2011. Black Friday was the stronger of the two days, eclipsing Thanksgiving by 4:10 p.m. ET.

And a long list of retailers -- including Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and Ann Taylor (ANN) -- unveiled "pre-Black Friday deals" even before Thanksgiving. Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) posted its one-day online shopping discounts on Black Friday, as did beauty brand MAC Cosmetics.

"We've absolutely seen this whole weekend turn into one big promotional event," said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. "Black Friday deals are no longer just for the [brick-and-mortar] store, and Cyber Monday deals are no longer just for Monday."

Related: 7 apps for holiday deals

Cyber Monday's original appeal, as the first weekday after Thanksgiving, was access to quick Internet speeds while at work. But now broadband at home is ubiquitous, and consumers can also shop on a slew of mobile devices.

And so retailers' online deals stretch well ahead of Cyber Monday -- in some cases, nearly a full week before.

"Retailers are trying to draw consumers in earlier, and one way to do that is to stagger the deals: Pre-Thanksgiving, some on Thanksgiving Day, another set over the weekend, and finally the big bang to close it out on Cyber Monday," Henderson said.

Mobile devices have become increasingly important during that week before Cyber Monday. The number of consumers using their mobile device to make a purchase on Black Friday this year increased by nearly two-thirds from 2011, IBM data show.

Apple's iPad made up nearly 10% of online shopping traffic on Black Friday this year, according to IBM, while the iPhone brought in almost 9% and Android devices comprised 5.5%.

And IBM said shoppers are taking advantage of the technology to find better deals. Despite spending more overall, the average online order fell 4.7% to $181.22, and the number of items in each order decreased 12% to 5.6.

Retailers are taking note. Companies like Macy's (M, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500) developed special Black Friday mobile apps featuring exclusive deals and store maps.

Still, despite the expanded schedule, Cyber Monday itself remains an important part of the holiday shopping season.

Related: Holiday shopping forecast: Stronger, and predictably crazy

Andrew Lipsman, an industry analyst at data tracking firm ComScore, said he expects sales for the one-day Cyber Monday shopping event to be around $1.5 billion this year. That's up from his calculations of $1.3 billion in 2011.

It will be a few weeks before full details on Thanksgiving week's sales are made clear, but last year both Black Friday and Cyber Monday broke records. Total spending over the four-day weekend after Thanksgiving 2011 reached a record $52.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

Black Friday 2012 was shaping up to be robust, with shoppers turning out even on Thanksgiving Day at stores including Toys R Us and Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500). To top of page

First Published: November 23, 2012: 12:08 PM ET


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Black Friday: Crowds grow, but sales are a question

Lots of holiday shoppers hit the stores, such as Toys R Us in New York's Times Square, on Thanksgiving night.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- There were more shoppers in the nation's malls and big-box stores on Black Friday than there were last year, according to a report issued Saturday. But retailers still aren't sure that starting the holiday shopping season on Thanksgiving night proved successful.

ShopperTrak, which measures and analyzes foot traffic at more than 50,000 retail locations nationwide, says Black Friday store visits climbed 3.5% from last year to more than 307.67 million.

But Black Friday retail sales fell 1.8% to $11.2 billion, the firm said.

"While foot traffic did increase on Friday, those Thursday deals attracted some of the spending that's usually meant for Friday," said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak's founder, in a statement.

ShopperTrak said foot traffic rose in most of the nation except for the West, where it was down more than 11%.

"Black Friday shopping continues to expand into Thanksgiving Day and will impact the way we look at all of the 'Black' weekend results, since more shopping hours allows for more shopping visits and a smoothing of sales across all of the days," said Martin.

Shoppers took advantage of early Thanksgiving night openings by retailers such as Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Target (TGT, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and Toys R Us.

Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force

"By opening even earlier, the retailers have been able to attract a broader spectrum of consumers to participate in Black Friday -- not everyone is willing to wake up at 4 a.m.," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group. "They definitely got a lot more business early and upfront."

Shoppers started lining up at the Sears at North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Ga., around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, and by the time the retailer opened, there was a crowd of about 500 people, said Nick Nicolosi, the mall's general manager. When the clock struck midnight and other stores opened, Nicolosi estimated that about 5,000 people were waiting to storm the stores -- the biggest Black Friday crowd North Point has seen since it began hosting its Rockin Shoppin Eve event five years ago.

La Plaza Mall in McAllen, Texas, had to use its off-duty police officers and security to control traffic outside of stores.

"Many stores including Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) had to close their store entrances temporarily as they had reached capacity with hundreds of shoppers waiting to enter the stores," said Isabel Rodriguez-Vera, area director of marketing.

Related: Cyber Monday is already here

Not everyone was willing to wait in line. Online sales soared over the two-day shopping period, climbing more than 17% from last year on Thanksgiving and nearly 21% on Black Friday, according to IBM Benchmark. Sales made from mobile devices grew by nearly two-thirds over 2011.

A long list of online retailers -- including Wal-Mart, Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and The Disney Store -- unveiled "pre-Black Friday deals" even before Thanksgiving.

"We've absolutely seen this whole weekend turn into one big promotional event," said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. "Black Friday deals are no longer just for the [brick-and-mortar] store, and Cyber Monday deals are no longer just for Monday."

However, the initial surge is likely to be temporary. By Sunday morning, Cohen expects shopper traffic to fall back to normal pre-holiday sales levels. "There are more hours to shop, but consumers don't have more relatives or more money in their pocket, so once all the dust settles, we won't see too much growth overall," he said. To top of page

Julianne Pepitone and Hibah Yousuf contributed to this article.

First Published: November 24, 2012: 6:12 PM ET


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RIM jumps 14% on BlackBerry 10 hopes

Written By limadu on Sabtu, 24 November 2012 | 14.44

RIM, and CEO Thorsten Heins, have spent months assuring that BlackBerry 10 is worth the wait -- and investors appear optimistic.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hating BlackBerry has become something of a bloodsport, but Research in Motion shares have been on an incredible tear for the past two months -- and the RIM rally continued Friday after a bullish analyst report.

National Bank Financial analyst Kris Thompson upped his price target on the stock and his predictions for product shipments in 2014. RIM (RIMM) shares closed 14% higher Friday as a result.

Last week, RIM announced that its long-delayed BlackBerry 10 operating system will finally debut on January 30, a year after the company's next-generation smartphones and software were slated to go on sale.

RIM initially said its new BlackBerry 10 software and devices would be available at the beginning of 2012. The company first delayed that to the end of 2012, and then again to the beginning of 2013.

The new operating system is meant to be the crown jewel of the company's turnaround, so the delays were incredibly troublesome. Some critics wondered if RIM would even survive long enough to launch BlackBerry 10.

Related story: RIM's fate hangs on BlackBerry 10

RIM CEO Thorsten Heins has spent the past few months assuring naysayers that the software will launch in early 2013, and that it will be worth the wait.

Investors appear to be growing more optimistic as well. RIM shares have gained an astounding 59% over the past two months.

That jump is even more remarkable when compared with the slump Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) suffered in the same two-month period. The smartphone king hit bear-market status this month, falling to an intra-day low of about $506 last Friday -- down nearly $200 from the all-time high it hit on September 21.

The Apple sell-off comes after an incredible runup over the past few years -- and during a tumultuous time in the broader stock market on concerns about the fiscal cliff and Europe's continued debt crisis. To top of page

First Published: November 23, 2012: 9:56 AM ET


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Cyber Monday starts early this year

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Post-Thanksgiving online discounts were once relegated to Cyber Monday -- but these days, websites are launching deals even before Black Friday. And the resulting shopping frenzy is expected to set records.

IBM Benchmark reported total online sales for Black Friday were up nearly 24% from last year, as of 6 p.m. ET. On Thanksgiving, sales rose more than 17% compared to 2011. Black Friday was the stronger of the two days, eclipsing Thanksgiving by 4:10 p.m. ET.

And a long list of retailers -- including Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and Ann Taylor (ANN) -- unveiled "pre-Black Friday deals" even before Thanksgiving. Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) posted its one-day online shopping discounts on Black Friday, as did beauty brand MAC Cosmetics.

"We've absolutely seen this whole weekend turn into one big promotional event," said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. "Black Friday deals are no longer just for the [brick-and-mortar] store, and Cyber Monday deals are no longer just for Monday."

Related: 7 apps for holiday deals

Cyber Monday's original appeal, as the first weekday after Thanksgiving, was access to quick Internet speeds while at work. But now broadband at home is ubiquitous, and consumers can also shop on a slew of mobile devices.

And so retailers' online deals stretch well ahead of Cyber Monday -- in some cases, nearly a full week before.

"Retailers are trying to draw consumers in earlier, and one way to do that is to stagger the deals: Pre-Thanksgiving, some on Thanksgiving Day, another set over the weekend, and finally the big bang to close it out on Cyber Monday," Henderson said.

Mobile devices have become increasingly important during that week before Cyber Monday. The number of consumers using their mobile device to make a purchase on Thanksgiving this year increased 66% from 2011, IBM data show.

Apple's iPad made up nearly 11% of online shopping traffic on Thanksgiving this year, according to IBM, while the iPhone brought in 9%.

Retailers are taking note. Companies like Macy's (M, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500) developed special Black Friday mobile apps featuring exclusive deals and store maps.

Still, despite the expanded schedule, Cyber Monday itself remains an important part of the holiday shopping season.

Related: Holiday shopping forecast: Stronger, and predictably crazy

Andrew Lipsman, an industry analyst at data tracking firm ComScore, said he expects sales for the one-day Cyber Monday shopping event to be around $1.5 billion this year. That's up from his calculations of $1.3 billion in 2011.

It will be a few weeks before full details on Thanksgiving week's sales are made clear, but last year both Black Friday and Cyber Monday broke records. Total spending over the four-day weekend after Thanksgiving 2011 reached a record $52.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

Black Friday 2012 was shaping up to be robust, with shoppers turning out even on Thanksgiving Day at stores including Toys R Us and Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500). To top of page

First Published: November 23, 2012: 12:08 PM ET


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Wal-Mart protests draw hundreds nationwide

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hundreds of people -- including some employees -- have taken part in Black Friday demonstrations at Wal-Mart stores nationwide, protesting what they say is the retailer's retaliation against speaking out for better pay, fair schedules and affordable health care.

According to organizers from the union-backed group OUR Walmart, hundreds of workers and thousands of supporters rallied across 100 cities, including Landover Hills, Md., Miami, Oakland, Calif., Chicago, Danville, Ky., Dallas and Kenosha, Wis.

Wal-Mart pushed back, saying it knew of only a "few dozen" protests, and that most of the protesters were not its employees

In one of the biggest protests, nine people were arrested outside of a Paramount, Calif., Wal-Mart store for failing to disperse, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department statement. An OUR Walmart spokesman said three of those arrested were Wal-Mart workers. Those arrested were to be released without bail, unless they had previous arrest warrants.

The sheriff's department said about 1,000 people arrived by bus and private vehicles to participate in the Paramount protest, which was characterized as peaceful.

In Landover Hills, near Washington. D.C. ,organizers said about 350 people participated, although video of the event showed around 100 participants. Dawn Le, who works for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which backs OUR Walmart, would not say how many of those taking part were Wal-Mart employees.

Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), in a statement late Friday, said worker absenteeism was down more than 60% from last year.

"We had our best Black Friday ever and OUR Walmart was unable to recruit more than a small number of associates to participate in these made for TV events," said David Tovar, vice president of corporate communications, in the statement. "Press reports are now exposing what we have said all along -- the large majority of protesters aren't even Walmart workers."

Janna Pea, an OUR Wal-Mart organizer in Dallas, said about 40 workers and about 150 supporters took part in a protest Thursday night.

One of those with her was Josue Mata, who says he walked off his job as an overnight maintenance employee to protest retaliation against people who want to speak out.

"I have four kids and I don't want them to grown up in a society where people disrespect them," he said. "This is a never-ending fight and we're never going to stop."

Related: Wal-Mart: Crowded, and not everyone is smiling.

Mata said he plans to return to work for his next scheduled shift on Sunday evening.

Pea said her protesters went to four Wal-Mart stores across the Dallas area, and while they were able to picket and speak to customers at half of them, they were asked to leave immediately by police at the others.

"We were still able to talk to customers and educate them about what was going on," she said. "We saw one person who was planning to go shopping, but then didn't end up going in. Instead, they rallied with us."

Muhammed Malik, who helped organize a protest at a Miami Wal-Mart, said roughly 70 workers participated in their hour-long demonstration Thursday night. He said one worker walked off his shift as he saw others rallying outside.

Wal-Mart has denied that it has retaliated against protesting workers, and said Friday that it has offered special holiday discounts to its employees for their efforts this season.

The protests were limited in scope, occurring at a handful of the company's approximately 4,000 U.S. stores. One employee at a store near Pittsburgh told CNNMoney he had heard of the protests only through the media.

Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force

In an effort to stop the protests, Wal-Mart filed a complaint last week with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that the demonstrations violated labor laws.

The retailer said the actions have disrupted business, and that the workers' ongoing actions violate the National Labor Relations Act, which prohibits picketing for any period over 30 days without filing a petition to form a union.

On Tuesday, OUR Walmart filed its own charge with the federal agency, claiming that Wal-Mart tried to deter workers from participating in the protests and interfered with their right to speak up.

But the NLRB was not able to rule in time or issue an injunction. Nancy Cleeland, a spokeswoman for the NLRB, said the complaint is too complex to make a ruling so soon.

Despite the talk of the protests, Wal-Mart reported larger Thanksgiving and Black Friday crowds than last year. As of Friday morning, the company said it had processed nearly 10 million register transactions.

Shares of Wal-Mart rose 1.9% in Friday trading. To top of page

First Published: November 23, 2012: 11:48 AM ET


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Fitch cuts Sony, Panasonic debt to junk

Written By limadu on Jumat, 23 November 2012 | 14.44

Sony and Panasonic were downgraded Thursday by Fitch.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- Fitch Ratings downgraded Sony and Panasonic debt to junk status Thursday and said the ailing Japan-based consumer electronic makers both needed radical restructuring to improve their prospects.

Panasonic's rating was cut to BB from BBB-, while Sony was moved to BB- from BBB-, with a negative outlook. Both companies now carry speculative, or junk, ratings.

The downgrades are the latest in a string for Sony and Panasonic, which have been haemorrhaging money and struggling to find positive momentum.

The companies, once the crown jewels of the high-tech Japanese economy, have been hit in recent years by a strong yen and weak demand for televisions. Sony now has a market cap of just more than $10 billion, and hasn't turned a profit in four years.

Its shares are trading near their lowest levels in three decades, and even closed below the 800 yen mark in Tokyo earlier this month.

"We think there is little headroom for Sony," Fitch's Steve Durose said in a statement.

"Without a radical change to the structure of their businesses it is difficult to see profitability improving enough for [Sony and Panasonic] to regain investment-grade ratings," Durose said.

Related: Something is rotten in Japan

Panasonic seems to be in better shape than Sony, and less dependent on its struggling core electronics business. Sony is the subject of frequent speculation as a possible takeover target, with cash-rich competitors like Apple, Google and Microsoft all reported as possible suitors.

Related: Can Sony be saved?

Sony made a play of its own in recent months, taking a stake in Olympus, the scandal-plagued company embroiled in an epic accounting fraud. But analysts remain skeptical that Sony will be able to achieve a long-term turnaround.

"The future of both companies will depend on their ability to curb loss-making segments and rediscover the kind of technological leadership which historically enabled them to develop must-have products," Durose said. To top of page

First Published: November 22, 2012: 5:39 AM ET


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Service sector adds to eurozone gloom

Germany's services sector is increasingly gloomy about its prospects

LONDON (CNNMoney) -- Service industry companies in the eurozone are more pessimistic about their prospects than at any time since early 2009, pointing to little chance of a return to growth for the region soon, according to business surveys published Thursday.

Preliminary data showed the weakest reading for service sector activity in 40 months, and expectations for the year ahead were at their lowest since March 2009. Sentiment in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, fell particularly sharply.

Markit's composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) for November stood little changed at 45.8, compared with 45.7 in October.

A fall in the services PMI to 45.7 from 46 was partly offset by a slower rate of decline in manufacturing. Any reading below 50 signals contraction. Markit said the surveys pointed to contraction of 0.5% in the eurozone economy in the fourth quarter.

Eurozone gross domestic product shrank by 0.2% in the second quarter, and 0.1% in the third, leaving the 17-nation currency area stuck in recession.

Related: Eurozone risks rising as outlook darkens

"While it is reassuring to have seen signs of stabilization in some survey indicators, the overall rate of decline remains severe and has spread to encompass Germany, suggesting the situation could deteriorate further in the coming months," Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said.

Jobs were being shed at their second-fastest rate since January 2010 as companies become increasingly anxious about the economic outlook and seek to keep costs under control.

"All this suggests that any swift return to growth is unlikely," Williamson said.

Germany saw divergent trends in November, with manufacturing registering a slower drop in output compared with October, and new export orders declining at their lowest rate for six months helped by stronger demand from China.

The overall German PMI reading stood at 47.9, up from 47.7 in October. But the German services sector saw its fastest contraction since June 2009, and the outlook remains bleak.

"The survey panel noted widespread worries that client budgets will be cut in 2013, alongside expectations that the euro area crisis will further undermine the German recovery," said Markit senior economist Tim Moore.

The European Commission forecasts growth of 0.1% for the eurozone in 2013, but with more spending cuts and tax rises to come in countries such as France, Italy and Spain, and the prolonged wrangling over Greece's bailout holding back sentiment, many private forecasters are predicting another year of recession.

PMI data for France, which was stripped of its AAA credit rating Monday by Moody's, showed a mirror image to Germany, with manufacturing continuing to contract at a sharp pace while services sector firms reported a more moderate fall in output than October.

Still, the overall French PMI reading of 44.6, up from 43.5 in October, continues to reflect a marked rate of decline for Europe's second biggest economy, and was the ninth consecutive month of contraction.

Related: No deal for Greece as talks drag

A prolonged recession in 2013 would undermine many of the assumptions underpinning eurozone government budgets and bailout programs, and could lead to another flare up in the sovereign debt crisis if borrowing needs rise and investors lose faith in the ability of the region to chart a path back to growth.

Bond yields for some of the eurozone's more vulnerable states held steady Thursday, but have risen from lows posted in the wake of the European Central Bank's announcement in September that it was ready to buy bonds of eurozone nations if they signed up for formal bailout programs.

Markit said forward-looking indicators in the manufacturing sector also pointed to continuing weakness in the months ahead, with large falls in the volume of goods purchased and inventories.

Employment across the eurozone fell for the eleventh month in succession, with the rate of decline accelerating in services but easing in manufacturing. German employment dropped at the fastest rate since January 2010, while the eurozone periphery saw the fastest rate of job losses since July.

To top of page

First Published: November 22, 2012: 7:54 AM ET


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Toys R Us shoppers choose deals first, turkey later

Toys R Us opened early Thursday, allowing shoppers to get a jump on their holiday shopping.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Shop, eat turkey, then shop some more.

That was the game plan for many of the experienced Black Friday shoppers in line at Toys R Us in Times Square, after the store moved its holiday doorbusters up to the earliest time ever -- 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

"It's like a religion," said Danielle Crews, 30, who has shopped every Black Friday for the past five years. She waited in line at Toys R Us starting at 6 p.m. Thursday, then planned to make a pit-stop at home for a late evening dinner before heading out to Urban Outfitters, H&M and FootLocker.

"I'll squeeze in Thanksgiving, but then I probably won't get home again until 12 noon tomorrow."

At Toys R Us, the deals started with more than 200 doorbusters, including a $20 store gift card and $30 iTunes card with the purchase of an Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500)iPod touch.

Electronics like the Nintendo WiiU and a "buy one, get one for $1" deal on video games were some of the hot items that lured many of the early customers to the store.

"We called ahead to scope out how long the lines were," said Jeremy Gervais, a 24-year-old New Yorker, who planned to head straight to the electronics section for a doorbuster deal offering a free Air Flo Controller with the purchase of a Sony PS3 gaming console.

He had lined up four hours early to get the bundle.

Meanwhile, Heather Singleton, 34, also lined up early to get the WiiU, not to give as a gift -- but to sell on eBay.

"I heard it's really popular this year. We'll decide later if we want to keep it or sell it to pay for our other Christmas gifts," she said. She did the same with the Xbox and Wii in prior years, and was able to earn $50 to $100 each by reselling the items online after they were sold out in some stores.

Singleton also filled up two other shopping bags with toys for her son and 12 nephews and nieces, including flash card games, a mini plastic golf set for $7.50 and a Home Depot toy tool set, normally priced around $26, for $9.99.

Related: 7 hot toys for the holidays

Stores have been gunning to be the first to open for the big annual holiday sales. This year, Toys R Us and Walmart (WMT, Fortune 500) both opened at 8 p.m.

"Our customers love the earlier opening," said Toys R Us CEO Jerry Storch.

Nationwide, fewer shoppers are expected in stores this Black Friday weekend, but sales are nevertheless expected to be strong.

Johnny Prowitt, 21, plans to spend about $500 on gifts for his 4-year-old daughter Angelina, including a LeapPad 2 tablet, Disney Princess dresses and a mermaid Dora the Explorer doll.

He works at a shoe store in Times Square and headed over to Toys R Us as soon as his shift was over.

"I spoil her. She's my princess," he said. "I worked all day today and I missed Thanksgiving to make sure I can get gifts for her. But it's okay. There's a plate of leftovers waiting for me when I get home." To top of page

First Published: November 22, 2012: 11:44 PM ET


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Black Friday: Shorter lines, but bigger checks

Written By limadu on Kamis, 22 November 2012 | 14.44

Fewer shoppers are expected in stores this Black Friday weekend, but some experts are predicting big sales and deep deals on the retail holiday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Despite stores falling over themselves with incentives and earlier openings than ever this Thanksgiving, fewer people are expected to turn up for Black Friday sales.

An estimated 147 million shoppers plan to shop this coming weekend, down from 220 million last year, according to the industry trade group the National Retail Federation.

For many Americans, it's hard to make holiday shopping a priority in a year when the "fiscal cliff" and slow economic recovery are causing worry lines. They are less willing to spend freely with the looming specter of having to pay higher taxes after the end of the year, when the Bush-era tax cuts expire.

Many shoppers in the Northeast are also still dealing with the aftermath of of Superstorm Sandy, which has distracted residents and retailers alike from holiday preparation.

With the state of the economy and holiday budgets hanging in the balance, experts say it's hard to entice people with Black Friday deals. Others may be holding off for better deals later in the season.

"Consumers are continuing to put off purchases until they absolutely have to buy or they feel there are no better deals to be had," Robert Passikoff, founder and president of brand research consultancy Brand Keys. "People are waiting longer and longer for better sales, for the economy to turn, for electronic coupons."

But the more trepidation shoppers seem to have, the more retailers are pulling out all the stops to reel them in.

The holiday deal blitz started as early as September, with stores like Toys R Us, Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Kmart, Target (TGT, Fortune 500) and Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) offering incentives like layaway plans, price matching and apps.

Stores have also been gunning to be the first to open for the big annual holiday sales. As it stands now, Toys R Us and Wal-Mart will be the first to open their doors for bargain hunters at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 22, just as some people are tucking into desserts after their turkey dinners.

That's even earlier than last year, when the toy store opened at 9 p.m. and Wal-Mart at 10 p.m. Target will open at 9 p.m. compared to midnight last year. Macy's (M, Fortune 500) stores will open at midnight and JC Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) at 6 a.m on Friday.

Related: Black Thursday is the new Black Friday

Black Friday traditionally marks the start of the holiday shopping season each year. Stores consider it the most important time of the year, because they can make up to 40% of their annual sales in the November-December period.

Even with fewer shoppers headed to stores, some experts are predicting that sales will be strong. According to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, which estimates total U.S. retail sales across all payment forms including cash and check, Black Friday 2012 could exceed $21 billion in sales, up from $19.3 billion in 2011.

Also, the retail trade group NRF has been woefully wrong with its estimates before. Last year, it expected 152 million shoppers and 220 million showed up.

While people are more cautious about their spending, they are more confident than they have been over the last several years, some say.

"We could go back to pre-recession level retail sales this year," said Hana Ben-Shabat, a retail partner at consultant A.T. Kearney. "There's more comparison and sensitivity about prices, but eventually, they do buy what they want to buy. That's a very different reality than in 2008."

Many retailers are taking heat for their early opening times, since it means that workers have to miss out on Thanksgiving celebrations with their families. More than 40 petitions have been launched on Change.org asking retailers including Sears, Target, Wal-Mart and Kohl's to "give Thanksgiving back to families."

Related: Why is sucks to work Black Friday

At Wal-Mart, a group of workers are planning a protest on Black Friday, which could make for an unpleasant shopping experience for people headed to the stores of the nation's biggest retailer. Wal-Mart says that the protesters make up just a handful of its 1.3 million workforce, but organizers of the expected protests say more than 1,000 activities have been planned nationwide.

Support for the demonstrations have swelled as Black Friday approaches. More than 30,000 people "like" the organization's Facebook page and they have collected more than $60,000 to support workers who participate in the walk offs.

For extreme Black Friday shoppers like Joni Crothers, nothing will get in the way of her shopping mission. Last year, Crothers came away with $10,000 worth of goods for just $2,000. She donated everything she bought to local families in need.

"We need a way to stretch our money as quickly and as best as we can, and it's amazing how much money you can save," Crothers said.

Toys and electronics are usually the biggest draw for Black Friday shoppers. Toys R Us says it has already seen a shortage of this season's hot toys like the Hasbro's Furby and Hot Wheel's Power Wheels Dune Racer.

Related: Black Friday deals to avoid

Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart are offering steep discounts on electronics like iPads and LCD HDTVs.

If the possibility of scoring a deal isn't enough of a draw, for many people it's a tradition they are not willing to give up, says Trae Bodge, senior editor of RetailMeNot.com Insider. She said that for some people there's something compelling about waiting in long lines after Thanksgiving.

"Despite the rise of online shopping and the economy, there is still a strong interest to do that whole Black Friday thing," she said. "There's a weird tradition that goes on." To top of page

First Published: November 21, 2012: 3:03 PM ET


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China's factories show accelerated growth

Factory activity increased in China this month.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- China's manufacturing industry showed further signs of improvement in November, according to a key early indicator.

HSBC said its initial Chinese purchasing managers' index, or PMI, rose to a 13-month high of 50.4 in November from 49.5 last month. The reading ticked above the benchmark of 50, meaning that manufacturing is now in a state of accelerated expansion. The bank's final reading for the month will be released Dec. 1.

"This confirms that the economic recovery continues to gain momentum towards the year end," Hongbin Qu, an economist at HSBC, said in a statement.

"However, it is still the early stage of recovery and global economic growth remains fragile," Qu said. "This calls for a continuation of policy easing to strengthen the recovery."

China's economy has grown at an average of around 10% a year for the past three decades, allowing the country to rocket past international competition to become the world's second largest economy. Along the way, China's markets have opened to the rest of the world, trade has increased dramatically and many of China's citizens have joined an emerging middle class.

But last month, Beijing reported that GDP growth slowed in the third quarter to 7.4% as weak demand -- especially in the eurozone -- weighed on exports.

The downturn, however, is beginning to look like a temporary phenomenon. China's economy is heavily dependent on the manufacturing sector, which appears to be mounting a strong recovery.

Zhiwei Zhang, an economist at Nomura, said in a note that the new HSBC data bolsters forecasts of a GDP rebound in the fourth quarter.

Related: China's Communist Party anoints new leaders

The turnaround comes at a crucial time for China's Communist Party, which last week completed a once-per-decade leadership transition.

The party, meeting in Beijing, named seven men to its powerful Politburo Standing Committee. Xi Jinping, a chemical engineer with a prestigious pedigree, was installed as the next party boss and tapped to be China's next president. To top of page

First Published: November 21, 2012: 9:44 PM ET


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Wal-mart workers get ready for Black Friday protest

Wal-Mart employees in June joined a rally in Los Angeles to protest what they call retaliation from the nation's largest retailer.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Shoppers and stores around the country are preparing for big Black Friday sales, but a group of Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) workers are getting ready for a protest.

"I'll do whatever it takes to speak out about our concerns -- I'm willing to put my job on the line," says Monique Velasquez, a single mother of five who works in Wal-Mart's photo department in Pico Rivera, California. Velasquez plans to join the protest on Friday.

The union-backed group OUR Walmart, which has helped organize the post-Thanksgiving walk-out, expects thousands of workers around the country to participate. Workers say they are joining the protest to ask the country's largest employer to end what they call retaliation against speaking out for better pay, fair schedules and affordable health care.

In an effort to stop the workers from protesting, Wal-Mart filed a complaint last week with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that the protesters violated labor laws.

The federal labor agency, which was under pressure to act within 72 hours of getting the complaint, has said that it is "highly unlikely" to have a ruling on the complaint in time to stop the Black Friday protests. Nancy Cleeland, a spokeswoman for the NLRB said the complaint is too complex to make a ruling so soon.

Wal-Mart's complaint claimed that the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and its subsidiary OUR Walmart unlawfully organized picket lines and other demonstrations in the past six months. The retailer said the actions have disrupted business, and that the workers' ongoing actions violate the National Labor Relations Act, which prohibits picketing for any period over 30 days without filing a petition to form a union.

On Tuesday, OUR Walmart filed its own charge with the federal agency, claiming that Wal-Mart tried to deter workers from participating in the protests and interfered with their right to speak up.

The labor agency's Cleeland said that if it finds that Wal-Mart's claims have merit, it will go to court to seek an injunction on behalf of the retailer to stop the union-backed group from organizing the protests.

If the agency doesn't find merit, the charge will be dismissed or withdrawn, she said.

Labor law experts say that Wal-Mart could have a tough time winning this one. That's because the labor laws that prohibit picketing over 30 days applies only to protesters trying to form a union or gain collective bargaining rights, not employees who are protesting against retaliation.

If the employees' claims are true, Wal-Mart could itself be found in violation of the National Labor Rights Act, which protects workers against retaliation for speaking up, according to Angela Cornell, director of the Labor Law Clinic at Cornell University's law school.

For its part, Wal-Mart plans to go full steam ahead on Black Friday. It will start doling out its "doorbuster" deals at 8 p.m. on Thursday, just after shoppers finish their Thanksgiving feasts.

Related: Wal-Mart Black Friday deals

The retailer is offering special deals to customers who are in line inside its stores at 10 p.m., guaranteeing three special offers -- the Apple iPad2, an Emerson 32 inch TV and an LG Blu-ray player.

On Monday, the retailer tweeted: "Don't believe everything you read in the union press releases. We don't think their #BlackFriday activity will have an impact on customers."

OUR Wal-Mart, meanwhile, has more than 30,000 "likes" on its Facebook page, and has collected more than $60,000 in donations to support workers who walk off work in protest on Black Friday. To top of page

First Published: November 22, 2012: 12:06 AM ET


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New York sues Credit Suisse in latest mortgage lawsuit

Written By limadu on Rabu, 21 November 2012 | 14.44

A photo taken on November 1, 2011 shows the logo of the Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse in Zurich.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Credit Suisse, alleging that the bank repeatedly defrauded investors in sales of mortgage-backed-securities.

The suit marks the latest effort by government officials to hold Wall Street firms accountable in connection with the financial crisis. Schneiderman co-chairs a task force announced earlier this year by President Obama to address the issue, with a specific focus on mortgage-backed-securities.

These securities, which derive their cash flows from pools of mortgages, were a central part of the crisis, prompting huge losses for banks and investors when the housing market went bust. Schneiderman alleges that in 2006 and 2007, Credit Suisse sponsored mortgage-backed-securities worth $93.8 billion that, as of August, had suffered $11.2 billion in losses.

The lawsuit seeks damages to recoup these losses, as well as additional relief, meaning Credit Suisse (CS) could be on the hook for a massive penalty compared with most crisis-related cases.

Last week, Credit Suisse paid $120 million to settle allegations from the Securities and Exchange Commission that it failed to disclose its practice of collecting cash settlements from mortgage originators for loans that went bad without passing on the proceeds to the investors who bought the related securities. The bank was also accused making misstatements in its SEC filings about when it would repurchase problem loans from investors.

New York's new suit claims Credit Suisse deceived investors by leading them to believe that the loans in its mortgage-backed-securities "had been carefully evaluated and would be continuously monitored."

In fact, Schneiderman alleges, the bank "systematically failed to adequately evaluate the loans, ignored defects that its limited review did uncover, and kept its investors in the dark about the inadequacy of its review procedures and defects in the loans."

"It's not about one deal or five deals or ten deals," Schneiderman said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "It's about their entire course of conduct in the residential mortgage-backed-securities business."

Credit Suisse said it planned to fight the lawsuit in court.

"We firmly reject this complaint which recycles baseless claims from private lawsuits and uses an inaccurate and exaggerated number," spokeswoman Victoria Harmon said in an email.

Credit Suisse shares were down 1.8% on Tuesday afternoon.

Related: Shadow banking grows, regulation coming

Last month, Schneiderman sued JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500) over similar conduct, claiming that mortgage-backed-securities issued by Bear Stearns in the years 2006 and 2007 alone have suffered some $22.5 billion in losses. JPMorgan acquired Bear Stearns in 2008 in a deal backed by the government.

Some observers have criticized Obama's mortgage-fraud task force as a belated effort that so far has done nothing to reverse the failure to hold individuals from big banks responsible for contributing to the crisis. Schneiderman said Tuesday that there was "still an opening" to bring charges against individuals. To top of page

First Published: November 20, 2012: 3:59 PM ET


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