Archives for January 2011
A Chance to Veto a CEO’s Bonus
Investors are getting more "say on pay." Before you start warming up your vocal cords, you should know a few things about using your new rights intelligently. Under rules adopted this week by the Securities and Exchange Commission, companies whose stock-market value exceeds $75 million must give shareholders the opportunity, at least once every three years, to voice their approval or disapproval of how top management is being paid. Shareholders have always been able to call for such a vote, but now it will be mandatory. The vote remains "advisory"; companies will be free to ignore the results. So you…
Gold Drops to Three-Month Low as Investor Demand Slumps; Silver Declines
Gold futures fell to the lowest in almost three months as demand waned for precious metals as alternative investments. Global investors are becoming more confident about the economic outlook, according to a quarterly poll of 1,000 Bloomberg subscribers. Almost twice as many of those surveyed said they will cut gold holdings in the next six months, instead of increasing them. More than half said the gold market is a bubble. “Our urge to be long gold has fallen quite sharply, and the trend has turned rather badly against the longs,” said Dennis Gartman, an economist and the editor of…
Consumer Confidence Index hits 8-month high
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumer confidence hit an eight-month high in January. The increase suggests the rising spirits that fueled a holiday shopping boom are carrying over into the new year as people feel better about the job market. The Conference Board said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index climbed to 60.6 this month from 53.3 in December. While confidence is still far from the 90 that signals a healthy consumer mindset, the January improvement was better than expected. Some economists said the big tax relief package Congress passed in late December may have helped. "So much for a ho-hum January," said…
Jobless claims fall more than expected
By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. claims for initial jobless benefits last week posted their biggest decline in nearly a year, erasing a holiday-related spike to show a trend toward a healthier labor market remained intact. The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits dropped sharply to 404,000 from a downwardly revised reading of 441,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The 37,000 drop in claims was the biggest since the week that ended February 6, when claims fell by 51,000. Analysts had expected weekly jobless claims to fall to 420,000. "The trend of…
Jobless claims post biggest jump in 6 months
On Thursday January 13, 2011, 9:58 am By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. jobless claims jumped to their highest level since October while food and energy costs boosted producer prices, pointing to lingering headwinds for an economic recovery that had been showing renewed vigor. A surge in exports to their highest level in two years helped narrow the trade deficit, however, an encouraging sign. Despite the more positive outlook for growth in recent weeks, the job market still appeared to be struggling. The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly to 445,000 from 410,000…