Move aimed at containing market bubble; could trigger serous sell-off
New York Times May 30, 07 8:53 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Chinese stocks plummeted today, after the finance ministry tripled a tax on trades in an effort to deflate a worrisome stock market bubble. A week ago, the ministry publicly pledged not to raise the tax. The reversal opens the government to heavy criticism if it triggers a serious rout.
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Gap between the CEO and the cubicle
is wider than ever
New York Times May 25, 07 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The top bananas of the corporate world are taking in more income in relation to their immediate subordinates than ever before, the Times reports. Wealth is concentrating among the business elite but staying somewhat stagnant among more middling execs—the average gap between #1 and #3 has more than tripled over the last 30 years.
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Study shows American men in their 30s earning 12% less than dads did study,
Wall Street Journal May 25, 07 7:03 AM CDT
(Newser)
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American men in their 30s are doing worse than their fathers did financially, a change from just 10 years ago and a reversal of the expectation that each generation will exceed the success of their parents. In 2004, the median income for a man in his 30s, adjusted for inflation, was 12% less than for men in their 30s in 1974, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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National minimum
goes to $7.25 by 2009, small business gets
tax breaks
New York Times May 25, 07 5:08 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Congress has raised the national minimum wage for the first time in 10 years, from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour. The hike, part of a compromise between the White House and Congress over Iraq funding, will take effect in three stages over the next two years. It will mean bigger paychecks for an estimated 5.6 million American workers.
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Returns are down
as more cautious investors hold sway
BusinessWeek May 22, 07 11:52 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Are hedge funds going soft? The swashbuckling industry has long been known for its high-risk, high-rewards MO, but returns are down, on average trailing the S&P 500 last year. The reason, BusinessWeek suggests, may be that alternative investments are no longer so alternative. And other non-traditional investments, like private equity, are feeling the same push.
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Briefings reveal expanding concern
over financial terror
Reuters May 21, 07 2:03 PM CDT
(Newser)
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For the first time in history, the SEC is being briefed on a different kind of security: homeland security. Barron's revealed that the CIA is filling in the SEC every month about terrorists and other criminals who might affect world stock markets.
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Bin Laden search finds money trail leading from various sources
Los Angeles Times May 21, 07 4:52 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A stepped-up CIA effort to hunt down Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan hasn't succeeded in locating the terrorist, the LA Times reports, but it has uncovered evidence that cash is being funneled from Iraq to keep Al Qaeda alive and well. "Iraq is a big moneymaker for them," a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official told the Times .
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Currency move may be concession to US—or attempt to pop a stock market bubble
Bloomberg May 18, 07 10:40 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Just days before a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, China is taking baby steps toward letting its currency trade more freely. The government also raised interest rates and the reserve on bank loans today, signaling concern over the country's red-hot economy. China's trade surplus—which some American politicos say the undervalued yuan fuels—rose 74% last year.
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From private equity
to speaking tours:
how the candidates made their money
Washington Post May 17, 07 11:44 AM CDT
(Newser)
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No surprise that they're wealthy—at least 10 of this year's presidential candidates are millionaires. But how they brought in the big bucks is the focus of the Washington Post 's analysis of their latest financial disclosure forms and other documents. Rudy Giuliani, for instance, made $11 million last year from speaking engagements alone.
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Berkshire owns
$3.3B stake in firm
said to fund militia
Los Angeles Times May 4, 07 1:57 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A Berkshire Hathaway investment in a Sudanese oil company is posing thorny problems for the Gates Foundation, the Los Angeles Times reports. Warren Buffet's investment outfit is the largest independent shareholder in PetroChina, whose parent company the U.N. and U.S. say funds Sudan's janjaweed militia—a stark contrast to the foundation's mission.
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“I’m sometimes frustrated by the long stories," would-be owner says
New York Times May 4, 07 8:39 AM CDT
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Rubert Murdoch sometimes finds Wall Street Journal stories a little long. He'd like to see more politics on the editorial page, and to launch a glossy magazine for the Saturday edition . The Aussie tycoon wasn't shy about sharing plans for the paper, should he succeed in buying parent company Dow Jones, in a lengthy sit-down with the Times.
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Education Department under Bush is cozy with the loan industry, critics say
Washington Post May 1, 07 11:25 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Bush officials killed a proposal to clamp down on sleazy practices in the student loan industry in 2001, the Washington Post reports. The proposals, drafted under Clinton and circulated to the Bush team, was aimed at curbing the kind of abuses now being investigated, in which loan companies pay universities to help get students' business.
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Weak home sales,
high oil prices
drive slowdown
Bloomberg Apr 27, 07 11:11 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The country's economic growth has dwindled to its lowest rate in four years, with the housing slowdown, high energy prices, and a looming trade deficit driving lower-than-expected numbers released today. The economy grew 1.3% in the first quarter of 2007, down from 2.5% in the last three months of 2006, and below the rate of inflation.
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Carlyle chief: All the big players will do
IPOs within 5 years
Financial Times (UK) Apr 25, 07 2:09 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Private equity giant Carlyle Group will likely go public within five years, its co-founder said at a conference yesterday. David Rubenstein predicted a sea-change for the industry, as fund founders cash out before they retire, the FT reports.
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