Finance Globe

Despite concerns over the swine-flu outbreak, the markets reacted positively to a report that signals the public's pessimism about the economy may be easing.Consumer confidence had its biggest one-month jump in four years, from 26.9 in March to 39.2 in April, according to data released today from a survey. The expectations index rose from 30.2 in March to 49.5 in April, signaling that consumers feel better about the direction of the economy and see better days...

Struggling auto giant General Motors announced a plan on Monday to exchange 225 shares of common stock for every $1000 of outstanding notes in an effort to reduce its debt costs - "a vital component of GM's overall restructuring plan to achieve and sustain long-term viability," as stated by the company. In addition to the exchange, GM will also pay, in cash, any accrued interest on the outstanding notes. The exchange will commence only if 90%...

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a federal court imposed a judgement of $18.9 million against operators of an internet business opportunity scam. The federal court found the scam operators violated the FTC Act and the agency's Franchise Rule by duping hundreds of consumers into buying "Internet kiosk" business opportunities while promising lucrative earnings. The Internet kiosks are free-standing machines that house a computer and a mechanism to accept payments from users. The...

Numbers released by the government on Friday on new-construction home sales indicate that the U.S. housing market may be nearing a turnaround.Sales of new single family homes in March 2009 were a seasonally-adjusted annually rate of 356,000, according to a joint release by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is a slight drop of .6% from the revised numbers from February, but the slowing decline gives a hint that...

The Labor Department reported on Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending April 18 rose to 640,000, up by 27,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 613,000.The four-week moving average - which smooths out volatility - was 646,750, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 651,000. The advance seasonally-adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.6% for the week ending April 11, a .1% increase from the previous week.The advance number for...

President Obama on Thursday met with executives of credit card divisions for major banks to discuss the impact of the economic crisis on consumers.Afterward, Obama said that he had a "constructive meeting" with the heads of card issuers. The President addressed the credit card industry's role in building a "sustainable model for economic growth that wasn't based on bubbles and over-leveraging on the part of businesses and consumers."Obama also communicated that "credit cards are an important...

Exxon Mobil Corp. bumped Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. out of the number one position in the 2009 Fortune 500 list released on Sunday. Fortune's list ranks companies by their annual revenue. Exxon-Mobil surpassed the retail giant's revenue by bringing in $45.22 billion in profit for 2008, up by almost 19% from 2007. Exxon-Mobil managed to post record gains for the fourth year in a row, according to the magazine. Though slowing demand and lower oil prices hurt...

Bank of America, which has received $45 billion of the Treasury's $700 billion financial rescue package, surprised investors today by announcing first-quarter 2009 net income of $4.2 billion. Investors may have been surprised, but they weren't reassured - BAC shares slid from $9.75 at market open and are down over 18% this afternoon.The company's diluted earnings per share were $.44 after preferred share dividends, including $402 million paid to the U.S. government. Analysts had expected a...

Citigroup surprised Wall Street on Friday by ending their five-quarter losing streak and reporting a better-than-expected loss per share. The New York-based bank posted a net income of $1.6 billion for the first quarter of 2009. The company reported an $.18 per-share loss due to costs relating to preferred share dividends. Analysts had expected a loss of $.32 per share. Revenues of $24.8 billion, driven by strong results in the Institutional Clients Group, were partially offset...

In an effort to demonstrate President Obama's commitment to openness and transparency, the tax returns of the President and Vice President were released to the public on April 15. The President and First Lady filed jointly and reported an adjusted gross income of $2,656,902. The vast majority of their 2008 income was from the sale of the President's books, almost $2.5 million. The Obamas reported donating $172,050 - about 6.5% of their gross income - to...