"Inverness posts gain in fourth quarter" by Associated Press | February 19, 2009
WALTHAM - Medical diagnostic products company Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. said it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter on a boost in sales and less severe charges. The company earned $16.4 million."
"Analog Devices net falls to $24.9m" by Bloomberg News | February 19, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO - Analog Devices Inc., the Norwood, Mass., maker of semiconductors for companies such as Cisco Systems Inc., reported its smallest quarterly profit in more than six years after the recession crimped demand for chips.
Net income fell to $24.9 million.... Shrinking demand for chips used in phone systems and industrial machinery is forcing Analog Devices to shut down production and cut jobs to prevent a buildup of inventory.... --more--"
Notice how they made $25 million but the business page tries to describe it as a loss?
"CVS profit climbs 17% in 4th quarter" by Bloomberg News | February 20, 2009
You'd think they could lower their "value' prices a bit more, no?
WASHINGTON - CVS Caremark Corp., the largest US drugstore chain, said fourth-quarter profit rose 17 percent after its pharmacy management business and new stores drew more shoppers filling prescriptions. Net income rose to $952.8 million....
WOW! Nearly ONE BILLION in a QUARTER?
CVS said it gained market share from rivals such as Walgreen Co. and Rite Aid Corp. as clients of its Caremark pharmacy management business moved prescriptions to its retail stores. Sale of pharmaceuticals, household goods, and food at its retail segment rose 19 percent as CVS opened 52 new stores and acquired 529 Longs Drugs....
--more--"
Considering what a rotten quarter the end of last year was, WTF?
Now the tally for the people:
"Credit card defaults expected to soar" by Bloomberg News | February 20, 2009
Related: Banks Cut Off Credit
NEW YORK - Credit card defaults may rise beyond 10 percent this year, breaking records and wiping out more than half of annual profit for lenders including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., analysts said.
Well, boo-hoo-hoo for the looters.
Loan failures are about to surpass a previous high of 7.53 percent as people losing jobs amid the US recession can't repay debt, according to Fitch Ratings.... Banks that already got cash from the US Treasury after losses tied to mortgage securities may have to add billions to reserves for credit card defaults, straining capital levels further. They are cutting credit lines, raising interest rates, and scaling back on mail solicitations to brace for future losses. Citigroup Inc., Bank of America, JPMorgan, American Express, Capital One Financial Corp., and Discover are the biggest card lenders....
That explains the light mail lately.
--more--"
"Circuit City to sell furniture, fixtures" by Associated Press | February 19, 2009
Now that's a true liquidation.
RICHMOND - Circuit City Stores Inc., once the nation's second-largest electronics retailer, is selling the furniture, fixtures, and equipment from its headquarters and distribution and service centers to help pay down its debt.... --more--"
Banks got everybody by the balls.
Electronics maker Jabil Circuit Inc. is shutting its plant in Billerica and laying off 300 workers there. The closure will start in May and wrap up by October.
The Billerica plant, which built electronic devices and systems under contract, opened in 1999, in a building previously owned by Raytheon Co. Plant manager Bill Frake said the deepening global recession has reduced demand. "You can see what's happening out there in the economy, can't you?" he said....
I know some people are making big bucks, yeah.
It's the latest bout of bad news for Billerica. Telecommunications company Nortel Networks, which employs 760 there, filed for bankruptcy in January, and The Boston Globe is shutting down its Billerica printing plant, which employs 200. Town manager Bill Williams called the Jabil closure "another bad sign," adding, "it just doesn't end."
Yup, the FAILING GLOBE is NO HELP and I WILL SOON STOP PURCHASING THEM!
Separately, Lycos Inc., a Korean-owned provider of social publishing, media, and search services, confirmed yesterday it eliminated 19 research and product development jobs in its US headquarters in Waltham.
--more--"Thank God the tried and true, New England-blue industries are still around:
"Community standards; Cape Cod fishermen are among first to share and better manage limits on their catch on cod" by Bina Venkataraman, Globe Correspondent | February 21, 2009
CHATHAM - .... Fishermen in Gloucester, New Bedford, and other New England communities are clamoring for this approach to be expanded, as they face the possibility of even stricter limits on their catch of Atlantic groundfish. Last month, a federal agency proposed reducing the number of fishing days by about 18 percent and closing vast stretches of ocean to protect cod, flounder, and other vulnerable species.
Most small-boat fishermen in New England have already gone out of business under the existing rules. Many others are in danger of losing their vessels....
Yeah, thanks to OVERFISHING by CORPORATE TRAWLERS and their OMNIPOTENT DRIFT NETS a WAY of LIFE that has been around for CENTURIES has been DESTROYED!!!!
For all its appeal, the community catch limit does not ensure that small-boat fishermen will stay in business. If there are fewer fish in the sea, the yearly quotas will continue to drop, which means that fewer fishermen will be able to make a living....
--more--"
Corporate killed the Gloucester fisherman.
And state fascistas are trying to kill our heroes.
"Public-safety officers converge on New Bedford to protest layoffs" by Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff | February 14, 2009
NEW BEDFORD - Dozens of New Bedford police officers and firefighters have received layoff notices this week, triggering a protest yesterday outside City Hall by public-safety officers from around the state who warned that this is just the beginning.
The 38 firefighters and 38 police officers laid off in New Bedford foreshadow cuts likely to follow in communities hardest hit by the economic crisis, which has caused the state to slash aid to cities and towns and which has battered local revenues as well....
Related:
The State Budget Swindle
Governor Guts State Services
Pigs at the State Trough
You ANGRY YET, Massachusetter?
"It's scary," said Shawn Robert, a 32-year-old New Bedford police officer who learned Thursday that his job will disappear later this month. Robert's job as a patrol officer accounts for the bulk of his family's mortgage payments and provides health benefits for Robert; his wife, who works as a receptionist; and their two young daughters. The cuts will eliminate nearly 15 percent of the officers in a city where police respond to about 100,000 calls and make nearly 6,000 arrests a year. More layoffs could follow in July.
Robert B. McCarthy, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, called this the bleakest time for public safety in Massachusetts since Proposition 2 1/2 passed in 1980, establishing a tax cap that forced cities and towns to lay off thousands of police officers and firefighters....
The TAX CAP ain't the problem! It is the LYING LOOTERS of this state and them SHOVELING MONEY OUT the DOOR to FAVORED CORPORATIONS and CONVERNS! But the ANTI-COP and ANTI-FIREFIGHTER PAPER will always make it seem like the UNIONIZED WORKERS are the DRAIN!!
--more--"
Yeah, I am sick of propaganda masquerading as "balanced" news coverage.
