Google paid clicks data are generating debate

SAN FRANCISCO - New data confirming slowing growth in Google Inc.'s paid clicks renewed debate Thursday on Wall Street over whether the Internet search company's revenue can quickly adjust to changes it made in how it generates clicks.

Citing data that comScore Inc. released after the market closed on Wednesday, analysts said growth in Google's click-through rate has nearly ground to a halt.

Google's stock dropped $16.09, more than 3.5 percent, to $442.10 in afternoon trading.

The click-through rate grew 3 percent in February compared to a year earlier, and January saw no increase compared to January 2007. Several months earlier, the rate was growing 25 percent to 40 percent compared to a year earlier. The new data is in line with click-through declines Google reported last quarter.

Google, which gets paid when users click on a sponsored ad that comes up as the result of a Google search, has reported steadily rising per-click revenue.

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Because of how vastly used Google is, advertisers paid large bucks to have there high motion, eye popping or just plain regular ads on Google webs sites, such as blogs, You-tube, etc. Everytime a web site visitor clicks on an ad Google rating go up and more advertisers will pay more to place there ads on Google sites. Google will also pay site and blog owners if there site generates clocks galore. The click rate has recently level off and Google are saying that they are going to lower it themselves in order to generate more meaningful clicks. This encourages better ads which consumers will investigate further and possibly buy from; Google wants to discourage the ads which lead to more ads, which get in the way of web viewers desired content. Basically Google wants to sift out the ads and self-clickers that corrupt the click and pay system.

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Rising rice prices spark concerns across Asia

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine activists warn about possible riots. Aid agencies across Asia worry how they will feed the hungry. Governments dig deeper every day to fund subsidies.

A sharp rise in the price of rice is hitting consumer pocketbooks and raising fears of public turmoil in the many parts of Asia where rice is a staple.

Part of a surge in global food costs, rice prices on world markets have jumped 50 percent in the past two months and at least doubled since 2004. Experts blame rising fuel and fertilizer expenses as well as crops curtailed by disease, pests and climate change. There are concerns prices could rise a further 40 percent in coming months.

The higher prices have already sparked protests in the Philippines, where a government official has asked the public to save leftover rice. In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a ban on rice exports Wednesday to curb rising prices at home. Vietnamese exporters and farmers are stockpiling rice in expectation of further price increases.

Prestoline Suyat of the May One Labor Movement, a left-wing workers group, warned that "hunger and poverty may eventually lead to riots."

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The current situation in Asia is a dangerous and volitale one. With rising gasoline prices and the falling U.S. dollar (which directly affects various Asian currencies), the over priced rice is greatly affecting the Asian area. Rice cash crop countries are put under heavy stress because disease and overall rising global prices have crippled there normal supply of rice. Because rice is the main food in Asia, many are starving and threatening to riot. The demand for rice has remained the same but the sharp decrease in supply has left Asia in a deadly shortage.

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New Home Sales Hit 13-year Low

New home sales fell to their lowest level in 13 years in February, according to a key government report on the battered housing market released Wednesday.

February sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 590,000, the Census Bureau report showed, down 1.8% from a revised 601,000 in January and down 29.8% from a year earlier.

Read the full story here.

This article addresses the continued decline of housing prices and the housing market as a whole in the United States. This article also asserts that despite continued price declines, the number of homes sold continues to decrease. This shows the struggle of the United States's economy in multiple facets, including the housing market. According to the article, in order to stabilize the market, prices must continue to decline into 2009. These struggles show the decline of the US economy as a whole, and it is the government's duty to do whatever it takes to stabilize the economy.

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Diesel: The Truck Stops Here

The kid who delivers your pizza may be charging you an extra buck for gas, but for the guy that trucked the tomatoes, hauled the dough or milked the cows, passing along the fuel increase isn't as easy as pie.

From truckers and farmers to loggers, construction workers and fishermen, skyrocketing diesel prices are pushing what many consider the backbone of the American economy right up to the breaking point.

Read the full story here.

This article addresses the effects of rising diesel prices on many businesses. Many businesses are forced to pay the high prices unless they want to complete shut down because they must use the gas to do what they are supposed to. However, because of serious competition, business owners are not able to raise their prices to consumers because they would lose business if they did so. The rise in diesel prices is attributed to the rising demand for diesel. Many business owners have done all that they can to cut back on prices, and for many of them there is no plan b or anything to fall back on. So what will they decide to do?

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Starbucks Must Pay $100 Million in Back Tips!

March 22nd (Starbucks) Thursday a Superior Court Judge ordered Starbucks to pay its California baristas over $100 million back in tips that Starbucks had paid to shift supervisors. Baristas was entitled to $86 million in back tips plus interest, as well as setting this San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett also issued an injunction preventing Starbucks' shift supervisors from sharing in future tips. There was a state law broke in which the managers and supervisors were sharing in employee tips.

Of course the Starbucks Corporation spokes woman, Valerie O'Neil, said the company planned an immediat appeal, calling the ruling "fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason." 

The lawsuit was filed in October 2004, it finally gained ground in 2006, and included 100,000 former and current baristas in Starbuck's California stores. The corporation earned more than $672 million on revenue of $9.4 billion during its fiscal 2007, which ended September 30. The coffee company also took issue with the brevity of Cowett's ruling, saying the judge failed to notice the unfairness to shift supervisors

Mayfield, I Bet you wont Click Here!

Starbucks needs to start to treat their baristas with the respect they deserve. Not paying them the full tips they are earning is very wrong. They have to do all the dirty work of the store and don't get all what they have earned, that is cruel. The supervisors need to start showing the respect to these hard workers, if they don't they should be let go and investigated even harder. Starbucks will start to struggle financially if they do not fix this problem soon.

The 10 biggest blunders ever in business

A wise man once said that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Entrepreneurs will need every drop of hard-earned wisdom to navigate the coming year — by all accounts, a challenging one, with a deepening credit crisis and potential recession.

With those dangers and the above adage in mind, we canvassed the last four centuries for the biggest business blunders of all time, in terms of wealth destroyed and opportunity lost.

The stories span industries from technology to real estate. Market miscalculations, short-term thinking and rotten ethics are the broad themes. Taken together, the collective devastation of these miscues in current dollar value creeps into the trillions.

To be fair, some of these blunders were more unforeseen — and the blunderers more naturally disadvantaged — than others.

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It is interesting that this article has emerged during this point in time. With the market down and oil prices only increasing, entrepreneurs are certainly not emerging from every street corner. Even with the recent interest cut by the Fed, many are reluctant to take that risk due to inflation and the general aggregate surplus after the past expansion. Hopefully, the author will not have another business blunder come from this volitale market.

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A revolution at the Federal Reserve

Bernanke reinvents central bank to avoid catastrophe

The current financial crisis—perhaps the biggest since the Great Depression—has turned Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke into a reluctant revolutionary. The quiet academic who wanted to make the post of Fed chairman less heroic is leading a dramatic expansion of the central bank's role. In the process, he is setting the stage for the next big boom—or bubble.

In the short run, Bernanke is waging a war to keep the financial markets from collapsing. The biggest move so far: On Sunday, Mar. 16, the Fed brokered the fire sale of troubled investment bank Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase and announced that it would be willing to lend directly to major Wall Street brokers, which have never before had access to loans from the central bank.

The two moves represented a new level of direct Fed involvement in the financial markets and made it clear that Bernanke would take any step needed to prevent a financial catastrophe. These maneuvers should work, says Julian Jessop, chief international economist of London-based research firm Capital Economics. "At the end of the day, the Fed can provide a lot of support," he says. "It certainly won't prevent a sharp downturn, but it should prevent a debt deflation spiral."

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Are Bernanke's actions actually helping the economy? By helping the Bear Stearns financial corporation, he is just keeping the weak afloat. The mass surge of money he is pumping into the economy is simply increasing inflation; therefore, consumers and bankers are slow to release their own money because they know that they are paying more for things than they normally would. The picture is best displaying Bernanke in front of red because his actions

destroying the U.S. dollar like any foreign communist would do. His actions are far too extreme to render a stable economy immediately after this "R" word is over.

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Social Security's Running Out of Time

March 19 (Social Security) Social Security is beginning to run out of time. The talk of social security is okay until 2040 is utter nonsense. The real problem is going to happen in about a decade or so. This problem will start when they start to take in less money then they give out.

The $2.3 Trillion trust fund owned by Social Security is nothing but Treasury securities. Treasury securities are the safest thing you can hold in a retirement account but Social Security's Treasuries won't help cover the program's shortfall. The shortfall comes because having one arm of the government (The treasury) loan another part of the government (Social Security) money does not cover all of the governments bills. Say for example that Social Security calls the Treasury and says they need $15 billion of securities to cover benefit checks. The only way that they can pay them this money is for the rest of the government to cut their spending by $15 billion. Them cutting spending, collecting more taxes, and borrowing money from another country are all things that they could do to pay for the Social Security bill. These are also things we would do with no trust fund. Therefore, the trust fund we have in our government is not making it any easier for the government to pay for Social Security's shortfalls. 

It read it all click here

The whole idea of Social Security being okay until 2040 is bull. The real problem is gonna come in about a decade. Therefore the government needs to find a way to help this problem other than a trust fund because the trust fund is already doing much of nothing for them. If they do not fix this problem people who have been paying social security since they got their first job and expecting to use it in about a decade are going to be screwed. This will be unfair to every American who does not receive what they deserve in about a decade. 

Mega Brands Plummets After Recalling Magnetic Toys

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Mega Brands Inc., the world's second-biggest maker of snap-together blocks for children, fell as much as 14 percent in Toronto trading after recalling about 2.4 million magnetic toys.
Mega Brands lost 66 cents to C$4.45 as of 2:05 p.m. in Toronto Stock Exchange trading, the lowest intraday price since Nov. 22. The shares lost 18 percent this year before today.
The MagnaMan Action Figures and Magtastik and Magnetix Jr. Pre-School Magnetic Toys contain magnets that can detach and be swallowed by children, Mega Brands said today in a statement. The company said it is cooperating with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in the voluntary recall.

Read more at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a24kWKe3mGDI&refer=canada.

Mega Brand Incorporated fell about 14 percent after recalling 2.4 million magnetic toys causing Mega Brands to lose 66 cents to C$4.45 in the Toronto Stock Exchange trading. The toys were recalled because of more than 44 reports filed about the magnets coming detached and harming children. The consumers were allowed to return the magnetic play toys for a replacement resulting in over $7 million in merchandise- a major fallback for the second largest producer of childrens snap-together toys.

The next shoe to drop in housing

Investors are now shunning mortgage-backed securities issued by government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been critical in keeping the real estate market from completely falling apart.

Some fear this development will make it harder for people, even those with strong credit histories, to get a home loan.

"Even if you have good credit, you don't know if they are going to give you a loan or not," said Joseph Mason, a senior fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

And for those who can still get a loan, the tremors in the mortgage-backed securities market has made loans more expensive for borrowers. As the prices of mortgage-backed securities have fallen, their yields have risen, leading to higher mortgage rates.

The national average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.96% Thursday, after jumping to 6.08% earlier this week, according to Bankrate.com. Rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage were about 5.90% a week ago. A borrower looking for a 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage would pay 5.71% today, up from around 5.03% a week ago.

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The real estate market has been close to falling apart for sometime and the two enterprises that have kept the market somewhat stable, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are being ignored by investors. This development will make it harder for people, even those with strong credit histories, to get a home loan. For those people who can somehow receive a loan, the price of receiving that loan will be more expensive. Because mortgage-backed securities have fallen, yields have risen, therefore, mortgage rates are higher.

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Caution: Crumbling Wall Street earnings ahead

The analysts have been preparing us for months. This quarter's Wall Street bank earnings are going to be bad - real bad.

Bear Stearns is in the center of the bulls eye. On Friday, the brokerage firm said a serious liquidity crisis had prompted it to secure an emergency loan from rival JPMorgan Chase. Bear's stock plummeted 47% and ended the week imperiled.

Far from winding down, as some of the optimistic had predicted last year, the credit crisis has engulfed even more sectors of the financial services industry since the start of 2008. Investors now are second-guessing the value of debt backed by student loans, municipal bonds, commercial real estate and even mortgages issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. On top of this, the trading of leveraged loans, a popular way for companies with weak credit ratings to finance the high-flying corporate buyouts of recent years, has lost its appeal.

As the contagion spread, analysts started furiously lowering earnings expectations. Goldman (GS, Fortune 500), which had largely escaped the subprime mortgage bloodbath of 2007, started the year with analysts predicting first-quarter earnings would come in at $5.64, on average, according to Thomson Financial. Now, the average earnings estimate is $2.59.

The weak overall market is not making it any easier for the Wall Street firms. Mergers and initial public offerings have dried up, eliminating a source of lucrative fees the companies could have used as a buffer against loan losses. Also, last year's strong first-quarter performance will make next week's announcements look even worse.

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When this quarter's earnings are reported later next week it will be clear how bad the market is doing at the moment. It was previously predicted that this credit crisis was going to slowly come to an end, but since the start of the new year, the crisis is affecting more people and more financial services. Due to the fact that the overall market is weak, the situation is even more dire. When the reportrs come out next week, they will apppear even more severe than they are because of last year's strong first-quarter performance. One example of this earning issue is Goldman (GS, Fortune 500), which had largely escaped the troubles of 2007. They started the year with analysts predicting first-quarter earnings would come in at $5.64, on average, according to Thomson Financial. Now, the average earnings estimate is $2.59.

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Talbots reports loss, plans more store closures

The Talbots Inc. said Wednesday it has slowed its growth plans for this year and will close about 20 underperforming Talbots brand stores in light of the economic challenges to the company.
The news comes on the heels of Talbots' previous announcement that it will shut 78 Talbots kids and men's stores, and the company's preliminary year-end and fourth-quarter earnings.
The Hingham, Mass.-based specialty retailer (NYSE: TLB) of women's classic fashions reported a $171 million loss in sales for the fourth quarter in 2007, which ended Feb. 2, 2008. Sales for the full year 2007, however, increased 2.5 percent to $2.289 billion, up from $2.231 billion in 2006.
Talbots operates a Wichita store, in Bradley Fair at 21st St. North and Rock Road.

Read more at http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2008/03/10/daily17.html

Talbots Incorporated plans to close 20 of their stores that have been doing poorly with sales-- a lesser amount than they previously announced. The CEO claims that 2007 was a difficult year for Talbots financially and that the company will focus on transitioning and repairing in 2008 as part of a 3 year project. In 2008, they plan to open only 48 stores versus the 75 stores opened in 2007.

Dollar's Fed-inspired rally gives way

The euro broke above the $1.55 level for the first time in early North American trading, and peaked at $1.5524 -- its highest level since the European unit began trading in January 1999.
The dollar also sank inversely to crude-oil futures, which hit a record high of $110.20 a barrel Wednesday. See Futures Movers.
Crude oil is traded in dollars. As the dollar declines in value, so does the price of oil in non-dollar terms, making it more appealing to speculators.
The Fed's announcement Tuesday of a coordinated plan with other central banks aimed at keeping prices of illiquid securities from plunging gave the dollar a lift Tuesday, and boosted the stock market as well.

Read more at http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/dollars-fed-inspired-gains-fade-euro/story.aspx?guid=%7BA107DF34-4456-4713-9D90-45926494B4C6%7D

This article is about how the dollar is dropping against the euro and the actions that the Fed is taking in order to help the problem. They devised a plan along with the central banks to keep illiquid security prices from falling in order to "give a boost" to the dollar and in return, the stock market benefitted as well. The influence on the stock market carried through Wednesday, however the dollar dropped again proving the plan insufficient.

As oil powers upward, stocks end day lower

Market update
Index Dow NASDAQ S+P 500
Last 11740.15 2169.34 1273.37
Change -153.54 -43.15 -20.00
% change -1.29% -1.95% -1.55%

NEW YORK - Wall Street sank Monday as oil’s surge above $108 a barrel and more worrisome signs for the financial sector led investors to extend last week’s losses. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 150 points, bringing its three-day loss to nearly 515, while broader indexes showed steeper percentage losses.

Wall Street had no bleak economic data to contend with Monday, but instead faced a steady drumbeat of negative news on companies exposed to mortgages.

Mortgage lenders dropped after Thornburg Mortgage Inc. was downgraded by a Jefferies & Co. analyst and Countrywide Financial Corp. was reported to be under investigation by the government for securities fraud.

Then, Bear Stearns Cos. dropped as Moody’s Investors Service downgraded a batch of Bear securities backed by Alt-A mortgages, which are home loans given to people lacking proof of income or with minor credit problems.

The slew of downbeat financial news overshadowed a strong February sales report from McDonald’s Corp., and led restless investors to proceed cautiously ahead of big economic reports later in the week: Thursday’s report on retail sales and Friday’s report on consumer prices. Those two readings will give Wall Street a better idea of how much the average American is struggling with falling home values and rising costs, and how aggressively the Federal Reserve will need to act when it meets next week.

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Is the rising price of oil truly the common denominator for the lack of success in the stock market? Companies costs of production are jumping as the the prices of oil rises and consumers have less money to spend if a larger portion of it is going to gasoline. The rising prises of oil are hitting both sides of supply and demand - the lessening of a supply of goods as well as a decrease in demand. Lets take a company like McDonalds for example. McDonalds, for say, has to rise the price of everything on the menu $0.05 to accomodate for a rise in oil prices. On the other side, consumers are wondering where there $1.05 (after oil) went for a double cheesebuger. Much, if not all, went to their tanks. Companies, like McDonalds, are taking hits from the rising oil prices and the stocks are showing it.

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Economic woes lead to retail retrenchment

The signs that smaller retailers are struggling are unavoidable at malls across America: “Going out of business” sales at many Wilsons Leather stores. “Up to 70 percent off” at KB Toys.

At the once-sizzling Paradise Valley Mall in Phoenix, the space formerly occupied by Bombay Co., the furniture chain that went bankrupt last year, is empty. Wilsons just finished liquidating its inventory. KB Toys, Ann Taylor and American Eagle feature bold posters advertising steep discounts.

“I don’t think it brings much business when all these stores are closed,” said Michelle Green, a sales clerk at Fred Meyer Jewelers.

Around the country, mall centers are starting to feel the recoil from a rapid expansion in recent years that allowed retailers to aim stores at almost every niche, from shoppers who wanted Talbots clothes for their children to those who craved Bombay’s little wood tables.

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Because of the expansionary period in the last few years, chain stores have become ubiquitous. Now that we are in a contractionary period, the over supply of these chain stores are becoming more and more apparent. Along with the peak in gas prices, aggregate demand has decrease and consumers will only buy the products that they need most right now. One figure in the article noted that we are undergoing "economic Darwinism." Stores can only slash prices so much and some have closed down temporarily because of the lack of business. Currently, the malls and their stores are taking a large hit due to the current lack of demand.

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Fed Loans Not Easing Credit Crunch

Banks could very well trip over themselves Monday as they bid on $50 billion in loans in the latest Federal Reserve auction.

But despite this eagerness to accept the government's "liquidity" injections, banks aren't significantly increasing their lending, experts said. In fact, some banks seem to be pulling back even further - for example, Citigroup Inc.'s (C, Fortune 500) last week said that it will scale back its mortgage business.

"It's still not enough to get the banks to loosen their lending terms," said Walker Todd, a research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research and former attorney and economist at the New York Fed.

Banks have already borrowed a total of $160 billion since the Fed started holding these auctions in December as a way to ease the credit crunch, which began last year when mortgage defaults and foreclosures began to skyrocket. Since then, the crisis has extended far beyond the residential home loans, roiling the markets for everything from municipal bonds to student loans to auto financing.

Read the full story here.

This article addresses the "liquidity" that the government says it has and the lack of increase in the bank's lending. Many banks even seem to be decreasing their lending. The Federal Reserve has been holding auctions since December in an attempt to ease the "credit crunch" that began as a result of mortgage defaults and foreclosures increasing dramatically. This "crunch" has grown to include municipal bonds, students loans, and auto financing. This "credit crunch" has even called to securities backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been called into question. Because of this, the auctions are anticipated to continue for at least six more months. According to Tom Schlesinger, the Fed's actions are showing a "deepening sense of anxiety." The Fed has taken many steps to ease this credit crunch that the United States's economy is experiencing. Some believe that the problem is not with the liquidity; however, it is with the fear of rising defaults which causes them to "shy away" from offering credit. Another issue facing banks is the low capital standing that they have. Banks and the Federal Reserve have partnered and are making attempts to increase bank's capital standing. If the capital standing is raised, then banks may be more likely to lend money which can begin to reverse the credit crunch.

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Gasoline's Price Spike Has Only Just Begun

Gasoline hit record levels Tuesday - and experts say it will likely continue to soar in tandem with the skyrocketing price of crude.

The national average retail price for gas has risen 27 cents in the last month to $3.227 a gallon, matching the all-time high set on May 24, 2007, according to the motorist organization AAA.

And experts say motorists should prepare to pay nearly $4 a gallon - and in some places even more than that - before the price of gas finally comes down in the late spring as high prices crimp demand.

Read the full story here.

This article addresses the continued rise in gas prices, and this rise is expected to continue as the price of crude oil continues to rise. According to the article, gas buyers should expect to pay almost four dollars a gallon before they can see any decline in prices. The price of oil increased dramatically when the economy worsened and the Federal Reserve cut interest rates in an attempt to reverse the worsening state of the economy. This shows that many times we must pick our battles, and because the federal reserve took these steps to reverse the state of the economy to some degree, an aspect of our economy (the price we pay for oil) was raised. According to the article, gas prices must rise so that the producers will make a profit and continue to produce the oil. These prices show the true value of a dollar and the possibility of the severity of inflation.

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Assessment Complete

Big Pharmacy Opens Wallet to Democrats

Democrats have long served as the traditional enemy of Big Pharma, but in this presidential campaign, the left is taking the lion's share of drugmaker money.

Democratic senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are the top recipients of donations from the pharmaceutical industry, according to The Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit, non-partisan research group in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, donations to Sen. John McCain, who was recently endorsed by President Bush as the official Republican candidate, pale in comparison.

Obama maintains a slight edge over his Democratic rival, with $181,000 in Big Pharma donations through Jan. 31, compared with Clinton's $174,000, according to the center. McCain is far behind with $44,000.

This is in spite of the fact that all three candidates have consistently bashed the pharma industry and vowed to lower drug prices, which would take a bite out of corporate profits.

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In this election, donations from large pharmaceutical companies have shifted from the Republican candidates in past elections to the two remaining Democratic candidates remaining in this year's election. One reason for this shift is that although Republicans still control the White House the Democrats have taken over the Senate and the pharmaceutical companies could be trying to secure access to the ruling party by funding their traditional enemies. Secondly, the distinctions have blurred between the two parties' relationship with big business. Democrats have traditionally been seen as enemies to the pharmaceutical industry, while Republicans are supposed to be their allies. With Mccain acting as the conservative candidate the situation is no longer clear cut. The policies of all three remaining candidates uniformly unfriendly to Big Pharma.

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Bush: 'Economy has slowed'

President Bush said Friday that "it's clear our economy has slowed," hours after a government report showed a decline in payrolls for the second straight month.

But he said the long-term outlook is good, with a stimulus package enacted last month by Congress providing support for the economy.

"I know this is a difficult time for our economy," the president said. "But we recognized the problem early and we provided the economy with a booster shot."

Bush said the effects of the stimulus package are "just starting to kick in" and that the plan will "put money into the hands of American workers and businesses."

Earlier in the day, Bush's chief economic adviser Edward Lazear said that the nation's economy could contract in the current quarter. But he added that, "we expect that the economy will get stronger, primarily in the third quarter."

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On Friday, President Bush finally explained a piece of news to America that has been clear for a number of months now, that the economy is performing poorly. However, Bush also said that he believes that the economy is in good shape over the long term due to the stimulus package that was enacted last month. Because we wiill not see the effects of the stimulus package for a couple months the economy will probably contract this quarter, but by the time the third quarter rolls around, the economy is expected to get stronger. The statements come after the Labor Department said employers made their deepest cut in staffing in almost five years during February, showing concerns that a recession is coming. It doesn't help the matter that oil prices are at record highs and that stocks have fallen to their lowest value in 18 months.

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Forbes says Gates is no longer the world's richest man

Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates is no longer the richest man in the world, according to Forbes magazine's rankings.
In fact, he's not even in the top two anymore.
Warren Buffet, helped by a rising price of his Berkshire Hathaway shares, is atop the list at $62 billion. It's the first time in 13 years that Gates didn't top the magazine's list.
At No. 2 is Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helú, with an estimated net worth of $60 billion.

Gates isn't struggling at No. 3 with $58 billion, according to the magazine's list, and is worth $2 billion more than last year. Paul Allen, who co-founded the Redmond computer giant (NASDAQ: MSFT) with Gates, is No. 41 on the list at $16 billion. And Microsoft's current CEO, Steve Ballmer, is No. 43 on the list at $15 billion.

Read more at http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/03/03/daily29.html

This article explains that Forbes magazine rankings claims that Bill Gates is not the richest man in the world anymore. Warren Buffet is number one followed by Carlos Slim Helu- both worth around $60 billion each. Gates sits at number three, worth around $58 billion and the article ranks the other men closely affiliated with Gates.

New Recession Worry: Bank Failures

As if the economy wasn't already fighting enough strong headwinds, the risk of capital shortfalls and outright failure of the nation's banks is rising.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the federal agency that backs bank deposits, last week reported the biggest jump in "problem institutions" it has seen since the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s. While the extent of the problem is still low by historic standards, it identified 76 banks as in trouble - a 52% increase from a year ago.

Read the full story here.

According to the article, there is an increased risk for bank failures in the United States due to the current state of the economy. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) cited that largest increase in "problem institutions" since the crisis of the 1980s; there has been a 52% increase in "problem institutions" from last year. Many people believe that these seventy-six are just a slight representation of the large number of bank that are on the verge of failing. Many regulators are expecting around two hundred banks to fail within the next few years. The FDIC reassured people that despite the large number of "problem institutions," not that many banks will actually fail if the same thing happens that did last year (fifty "problem institutions," only three failed). Despite this hope that not many banks will fail, the FDIC plans to hire twenty-five staffers so that they will be prepared if and when the bank failures occur. This article shows the current state of the economy in that many banks are on the verge of failure because they do not have adequate resources in order to survive; however, the leaders of organizations that influence the banks are remaining optimistic while still preparing for the worst.

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Productivity Slows, Labor Costs Rise

Readings on worker productivity and labor costs in the final three months of 2007 were both revised higher, according to a government report Wednesday.

The Labor Department said productivity rose at a rate of 1.9% in the fourth quarter, up from an initial reading of 1.8%

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected the reading to remain unchanged.

The revised growth rate is still sharply lower than the 6.3% productivity growth rate posted in the third quarter of last year.

Read the full story here.

This article addresses the recent observations of the rising productivity and labor cost rates; these numbers were increased from the initial projection. Despite the rise of the observation for the fourth quarter, the productivity rate remains much lower than that of the third quarter. According to Sam Bullard, an economist with Wachovia, believes that this decrease in productivity is representative of the current state of the United States's economy. The Labor Department believes that the great increase in labor costs (2.1% to 2.6%) counteracts the slight rise in productivity rates (1.8% to 1.9%). According to the article, inflation will not rise to an outrageous amount if the labor costs remain steady. These percentages show the current state of the US economy, and it is now the government's job to be sure that these rates remain steady.

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Bush Refuses to Promise More Troop Returns From Iraq Before He Leaves Office

Decisions about troop cuts beyond those planned through July would be based on generals' recommendations for what levels are necessary to ensure success in Iraq, the president said.
"There is going to be enormous speculation," he said in a joint appearance at his ranch with Denmark's prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Bush strongly suggested Iraq's provincial elections in October may mean that bringing more troops home would have to wait until after the voting.
"I think our generals ought to be concerned about making sure there's enough of a presence so that the provincial elections can be carried out in such a way that democracy advances," he said. "I'll wait and hear what they have to say. But yes, that ought to be a factor in their recommendation to me."
On Friday, a senior administration official told reporters during a briefing at the White House, "I fully expect there to be more reductions this year — and so does the president."

Read more at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334333,00.html

Bush implied that Iraq's provincial election would cause a postponement of troops returning to their homes. He explained that there should be enough troops there to secure that the process is carried out in the correct manner however, by July, there will be about 15 brigades in Iraq for a total of 140,000 men. A senior administration official reports that both he and the President plan to see a considerable reduction in the numer of troops in Iraq in 2008.

Pizza and beer now cost an arm and a leg

If you’re looking for a sure sign the U.S. economy is headed in the wrong direction, all you need to do is look at the skyrocketing price of “recession-proof” foods: pizza, hot dogs, bagels and beer.

For many Americans, the credit crunch and the mortgage mess have left their pocketbooks – and their cupboards – bare. These same consumers, many living paycheck to paycheck, have relied on these cheaper foods to keep their expenditures down. Not anymore.

In the past few months, the news has gone from bad to worse:

Pizza makers have seen their cheese costs soar this year from $1.30 a pound to $1.76 a pound. Even worse, the flour used to make the dough has gone from $3-$7 dollars a bushel to $25 a bushel in less than a year.

Beer makers have been forced to raise their prices because of the skyrocketing price of hops – one of the principle ingredients. The price of hops has gone from about $4 a pound in September to $40 a pound. The price of barley, beer’s other main ingredient, has nearly doubled.

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This article is especially true anywhere you go you can hardly find a good meal that won't empty your wallet. This inflation is largely due to rising oil prices since the trucks deliver the cheese, flour, sauce, and beer not to mention the custom napkins. The increased prices will cause a decrease in demand which will cause owners to stopping buying as much cheese and such, then causing truckers to deliver less and finally have cheese makers to make less. All owners, truckers, and cheese makers will then need to cut their costs of production. The situation is an example of wage price spiral largely due to oil as an increasing factor in costs of production.

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Independent truckers may be run off the road

Trucker Robert Griffith is on the road three weeks out of four, pulling oversize loads like crane booms, railroad ties and air conditioning ducts. One of his biggest worries: How he'll find the money to buy his daughter a prom dress.

As the cost of diesel doubled over the last four years, his take-home pay has plummeted, from $50,000 to $11,000 last year. He's literally burning money; he spent $64,000 on diesel in the last eight months. Since he canceled his satellite radio, he's on citizens band radio constantly (handle: Instigator) talking about what needs to change so truckers like him can survive.

"I had to learn to live totally different," said Griffith, 41, of Lebanon, Tenn. No more $150 family outings to Shogun sushi. No more weekly washes for his Western Star 4900 EX truck. No more health insurance for him and his family.

"It hurts," he said. "I'm a man who's trying to make a living for my family and I'm not succeeding."

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Due to many outside influences, such as rising diesel prises and decreasing aggregate demand, the truckers are taking a huge hit. They're like dentists trying to make a living in an area where everyone has perfect teeth. Thousands of products are transported via who? truckers. Since there is less of a need for products to be transported, a surplus of truckers exists. Along with rising diesel prices, the lessening need for truckers has created a population that are part of structural unemployment and they will now have the chance to go and become more educated: hopefully researching methods to reduce our dependence on oil.

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How Low will Interest Rates Go?

The leading Fed watchers say that the lowest interest rates will go is 2%. This will most likely happen by the summer. "For the rates to move lower, economic weakness would have to be much more intractable than now envisioned" they said. The Fed forecast is said to be for sluggish growth with downside risks. Everyone who is not in the Fed will experience a recession if this happens. There are not worries of inflation but worries of falling prices, especially in home values for example, which is a bigger worry. The forecast of a 2% Fed funds rate by the summer fits with the current expectation of financial markets, as measured by the Fed funds futures contract. Money market futures contracts expect a half-point reduction to 2.5% on March 18. 

A lot of chief economists seem upset with the actions taken by the feds. They see the fed to continue cutting the interest rates in the future. All of these cuts taking place will lower the values of homes and other things of that such. This can put a lot of people who are trying to move to another home in a bit of financial trouble when they go to sell their house. 

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