WikEmacs - User contributions [en]

User:CollingsNygaard326

2013-06-21T12:45:18Z

86.152.122.237: Created page with "Bank of America has reported a $2bn (�1.2bn) profit for the three months to the end of 2011, compared with a $1.2bn loss in the same period in 2010. It signals continued re..."

Bank of America has reported a $2bn (�1.2bn) profit for the three months to the end of 2011, compared with a $1.2bn loss in the same period in 2010.

It signals continued recovery for the US' second biggest lender.

For the full year, the company reported net profits of $1.4bn compared with a net loss of $2.2bn in 2010.

Meanwhile Morgan Stanley, the world's largest broker, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $250m compared with a profit of $836m a year earlier.

Despite the loss, the results at Morgan Stanley beat analysts' expectations since it was able to increase its share of the equity trading market in the period.

For the full year, Morgan Stanley said its net revenues were $32.4bn compared with $31.4bn in 2010.

Recent results from American banks have been mixed with Goldman Sachs announcing on Wednesday that it made 47% less in profits than in 2010 whilst Citigroup posted a 6% rise on the previous year.

Bank of America chief executive Brian Moynihan said: "We enter 2012 stronger and more efficient after two years of simplifying and streamlining our company."

"Reflecting a gradually improving economy," continued Mr Moynihan, "we saw solid business activity by companies of all sizes, with commercial and industrial loan balances rising."

Bank of America was one of the worst performers on Dow Jones Industrial Average index of leading companies in 2011, losing 58% of its share value over the year.

The lender has been hit by lingering concerns about bad mortgage loans on its books in the wake of the 2008 sub-prime crisis when it was bailed out by the US government.

The bank has been building up its reserves, known as Tier 1 capital, to protect itself against the risk of further bad loans.

"Our fourth-quarter results reflect the aggressive steps we have been taking to strengthen the balance sheet and position the company for long-term growth," said chief financial officer Bruce Thompson in a statement.

"During the quarter, we significantly increased capital and liquidity. For 2012, our focus is to continue to build capital and liquidity and manage expenses."

User:SchneckSpaulding550

2013-06-18T14:10:27Z

86.152.122.237: Created page with "Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) has reported a quarterly loss, due in part to falling revenues on the back of weak smartphone shipments. The Canadian company..."

Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) has reported a quarterly loss, due in part to falling revenues on the back of weak smartphone shipments.

The Canadian company made a net loss for the three months to 3 March of $125m (�78m), compared with a profit of $934m a year earlier.

Revenues fell to $4.2bn from $5.2bn.

The firm also suggested it would refocus on the corporate market rather than on individual consumers.

It also announced the resignation of former co-chief executive Jim Balsillie.

Chief technology officer David Yacht will also be standing down.

Shares in the company fell as much as 9% in after-hours trading following the trading statement. They have fallen by 80% over the past year.

Shipments of BlackBerry smartphones in the quarter fell to 11.1 million, down 21% from the previous three-month period.

Shipments of the company's PlayBook tablets hit 500,000, largely due to substantial discounting.

For the full financial year, the company made a net profit of $1.2bn, down from $3.4bn in the previous year.

The results were worse than analysts had expected and RIM shares fell sharply in after-hours trading.
Corporate focus

RIM has struggled to keep up with rivals in the smartphone market, such as Apple's iPhone and handsets running on Google's Android operating system.

It has also struggled to gain a foothold in the tablet market.

User:MaggieTidwell368

2013-06-18T12:26:35Z

86.152.122.237: Created page with "The number of homes sold for more than �2m - now subject to a higher stamp duty rate - fell at the end of last year, new figures show. There were 103 �2m-plus homes sold ..."

The number of homes sold for more than �2m - now subject to a higher stamp duty rate - fell at the end of last year, new figures show.

There were 103 �2m-plus homes sold in December in England and Wales - an 18% drop from the same month a year earlier, the Land Registry said.

Of these, 80 were sold in London, where prices have been rising the fastest.

The sales came before Chancellor George Osborne introduced a new 7% stamp duty rate in Wednesday's Budget.

There are various rates of stamp duty land tax - paid by the buyer of a property - already in place, depending on the cost of the home.

The chancellor said that those who bought the most expensive homes should contribute more. This will mean the buyer of a home at a cost of more than �2m must pay at least �140,000 in stamp duty.

The Treasury expects the measure to raise �150m in the next financial year, rising to �300m by 2016-17.
First-time buyers

The Land Registry provides the latest accurate data on the sales of homes at certain price bands.
Continue reading the main story
Current stamp duty thresholds

* 1%: Properties of �125,000 to �250,000, but first-time buyers are exempt until 24 March
* 3%: �250,000 to �500,000
* 4%: More than �500,000
* 5%: More than �1m, residential property only
* 7%: More than �2m, residential property only

In December, the biggest proportion of homes were sold for between �100,000 and �150,000, with a total of 14,385 sold.

Any first-time buyers who bought homes at this price would have been exempt from stamp duty at the time.

However, from Saturday, all buyers of homes sold for more than �125,000 will have to pay stamp duty because this exemption is coming to an end after two years. Mr Osborne said it had been "ineffective" in increasing first-time buyer numbers.

In the Budget, the chancellor also announced that the level of stamp duty on residential properties over �2m which were bought via a company would increase to 15% with immediate effect.

In addition, overseas companies that already own UK residential property worth more than �2m will be subject to capital gains tax from April 2013.

Overall, the Land Registry said house prices in England and Wales rose by 0.1% in February compared with the previous month.

However, prices were down 0.6% compared with February 2010. The average home cost �161,588.

User:RahalProbst851

2013-06-17T22:26:44Z

86.152.122.237: Created page with "BARELY a week goes by without a report on the level of confidence among consumers, businesspeople and investors. Optimism is what�s wanted�Keynes talked of the �animal s..."

BARELY a week goes by without a report on the level of confidence among consumers, businesspeople and investors. Optimism is what�s wanted�Keynes talked of the �animal spirits� that influence economic activity. Pessimists are routinely denounced as Jeremiahs. Those who try to bet on falling prices find their activities are restricted.

A cheery disposition may be necessary for societies to function. Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist and Nobel economics laureate, has a chapter in his book �Thinking Fast and Slow� which describes overconfidence as �the engine of capitalism�. No entrepreneur can be sure that his planned investment will succeed but if no one took a risk, new products and jobs would never be created. A certain blindness to the odds may be necessary. According to Mr Kahneman, the chances of an American small business surviving for five years are just 35%. But ask individual entrepreneurs about their prospects and 81% think they have a better than seven-in-ten chance of success.

This self-confidence may be innate, just as most people think they are better-than-average drivers. And it would seem logical that the most optimistic people gravitate towards entrepreneurship. That is good for consumers, who can select from a wider variety of products. Even the failed businesses serve a purpose. Daniel Gross, a journalist, wrote a book claiming that bubbles were good for economies since they leave behind infrastructure (canals, railways, fibre-optic cable) that can last for generations.

But it is hard to make such a case for all bubbles. Anyone who has driven past a row of empty houses in the Irish countryside will realise that optimism can lead to wasteful investment. And Mr Kahneman cites studies that show how overoptimistic chief executives (as measured by the amount of stock they own) were more likely to gear up their balance-sheets and pay too much for acquisitions.

The problem with overoptimism was illustrated by the investment-bank collapses of 2008. The men who reached the top of such risk-taking organisations had, by definition, been successful in their previous bets. They believed this was due to skill, not luck, making them too sanguine about their ability to ride out the crisis.

A further problem with optimism is thus that it is pro-cyclical. The greatest moment of success for optimists will occur at the peak of a boom, when they will feel their instincts have been justified. Previous house-price rises will make buyers more optimistic about borrowing more money; and banks will be more optimistic about the prospect of being repaid.

Financial assets are highly unusual in that rising prices tend to elicit higher demand. Analysts extrapolate recent rapid profits growth into the future, even though profits cannot rise faster than GDP indefinitely. If markets were truly efficient, price-earnings ratios should be lower than average at the top of the cycle, since investors should anticipate a reversion to the mean. Instead, high p/e ratios and rapid profits growth tend to go together.