Related: Economic Di$ingenuou$ne$$
"Global markets sent into tailspin on concerns about Greek debt" by Bernard Condon Associated Press April 18, 2015
NEW YORK — Fear that Greece could default on its debt and abandon the euro rattled global financial markets Friday.
News that negotiations between Greece and its international lenders are making little progress sent European stock markets down sharply, and the selling spread across the Atlantic. By the close of US trading, stocks across industries were lower, with four of five stocks down. Investors shifted money into German government bonds, a perceived haven in troubled times.
In the United States, disappointing first-quarter financial results from several big companies fed the selling. After American Express reported revenue that fell short of expectations, investors drove down its stock more than 4 percent.
‘‘The day of reckoning’’ for Greece is fast approaching, said Uri Landesman, president of investment fund Platinum Partners. ‘‘People thought everyone would work it out, but if no one caves, there won’t be a deal.’’
For all the turmoil in the markets, major US stock indexes closed the day with relatively modest losses.
Oh, okay, sigh, everything's all right, everything's fine, we want to go back to $leep, banker's pre$$ says clo$e your eyes.
At one point, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 357, heading for its worst day in six months. The Dow regained some of those losses toward the close of trading, ending down 279.47 at 17,826.30, a drop of 1.5 percent.
That was only the worst drop since March 25. The Dow has struggled since reaching a record high March 2 and is now back where it started the year.
Hmmmm. Looks like the bubble popped again.
Is this the other $hoe dropping that the alternative to the propaganda pre$$ has been warning about?
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In corporate news....
WTF do they think I'm reading?
Investors have been bracing themselves for a disappointing earnings season....
WHAT? That's not what I've been reading regarding profit reports, what little I see, in my Globe.
Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, said stocks are now somewhat expensive compared with earnings and, along with a list of other concerns, the news from Greece on Friday proved just too much to bear.
‘‘When you have more nervous investors, news becomes magnified,’’ he said.
Worrisome news from China also weighed on investors.
See: China’s economic growth hits six-year low
Doing what the Fed has done didn't seem to work. Now what?
After markets closed in Asia, Chinese financial regulators issued warnings about that country’s soaring stock market. Regulators said they will tighten rules on borrowing to buy stocks. They also plan to make it easier for investors to bet against the market there, The Wall Street Journal reported. Shanghai’s stock market has more than doubled in the last year.
Related: Paulson's Palace
‘‘People are thinking maybe the party is over in China,’’ said Doug Cote, chief strategist for Voya Investment Management. ‘‘China recognizes that it could be creating a bubble, and now it wants to slow down. It’s trying to rein back risk.’’
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Investors piled into German government debt, which is perceived as being among the safest investments denominated in euros....
Yeah, the German will guarantee that their taxpayers will be bent over for bankers -- as well as waging a war against Russia on behalf of them.
The price of oil fell nearly 3 percent Friday on a slowdown in the reduction of working drilling rigs, but finished the week sharply higher.
Then why did gas shoot up 8 cents here yesterday?
The flip side of that is Saudi overproduction to hurt Russia, Iran, and Venezuela has had the ancillary effect of killing the U.S. shale market (was already drying up anyway, and too late to get those fracking poisons out of the groundwater, but.... in either case this government more concerned with war agenda than anything else).
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Gee, one country far away having such an effect on us.
Who designed this pos globalist economic $y$tem, anyway, and who has benefitted from it all these years?
Related: Banker's Debt Keeping Greece Down
Hey, at least none of that touches here where the economy is roaring and $7 million dollar condos are the "new norm":
"Waltham defense giant Raytheon Co. has agreed to sell $2 billion of Patriot missile-defense systems to an undisclosed foreign buyer. “In the past five months, Qatar, Korea, and now this international partner have all chosen Raytheon’s Global Patriot solution because they have confidence in the world’s most advanced air and missile defense system,” Daniel J. Crowley, a Raytheon executive, said in a statement. Raytheon has made sales to undisclosed customers in the past."
JWho could the buyer be?
At least the doll market is doing fine:
"Barbie shows signs of life as Mattel plots comeback" Associated Press April 18, 2015
NEW YORK — Things are finally looking up for Barbie.
I haven't played with her in a while.
Mattel, the toy company behind the plastic dolls, said there were some signs of improving demand for Barbie ahead of its planned makeover of the brand, including Barbie dolls with different skin tones, eye colors, and nose shapes to better relate to multicultural girls and their mothers.
How are sales doing?
The El Segundo, Calif., company also reported better-than expected financial results for the first quarter and its shares rose more than 5 percent on Friday.
They were apparently one of the $elect few.
Mattel said late Thursday that more people were buying Barbie dolls in US stores. BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson said the rise was a ‘‘positive’’ development, in a note to clients. However, Mattel said overall sales of the brand including sales to retailers were still down 14 percent, largely because of the stronger dollar.
Oh.
Barbie sales have fallen as kids turn to tablets and other toys. Mattel hopes to reinvent the brand this year.
Gee, all of a $udden Barbie not looking to good.
In June, Barbie will have 23 new looks with different skin tones and hair colors. One has freckles, a wide nose, and curly hair. Another has almond-shaped brown eyes and dark skin. Mattel said it wants to make dolls that girls and their moms can better relate to. The dolls will be part of its core Fashionista line.
What took you so long?
‘‘This will be an important cultural milestone for the brand,’’ said Richard Dickson, Mattel’s president and chief operating officer, in a conference call with investors on Thursday.
What if it has moved pa$t you?
As part of the launch, Barbie will also get a photo spread in Italian version of fashion magazine Vogue.
Angel in a centerfold?
Mattel said that it will also release three Barbie movies this year, one more than usual. The movies, which will air on cable channel Nickelodeon and be released on DVD, can increase sales of the doll, the company said.
To develop new toys, Mattel announced Friday that it will partner with Quirky, a company that helps inventors bring their ideas to life.
Like GE?
With the partnership, Mattel and Quirky will seek ideas from customers for new toys and games. ‘‘This marks a new era for Mattel,’’ said Dickson, in a written statement.
During the first quarter, the company reported a loss of $58.2 million from a year ago, but its adjusted earnings beat Wall Street expectations. Revenue fell 2.5 percent to $922.7 million in the period, but still beat Wall Street expectations.
Mattel, which also makes Hot Wheels cars and Fisher Price toys, named Christopher Sinclair as its permanent CEO earlier this month. He replaced Bryan Stockton, who resigned from the top job as the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter results.
Not a good Chri$tmas for Barbie?
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NDUs: Rockland mourns teen who died while on trip to Greece
Just a quirk I have.
Crash reveals industry’s failure to address pilot suicide
Didn't make the web version for some reason. Globe must have wanted to keep it private, and that seems to be a problem for everyone but those violating it.
What's with all the pieces in the photo anyway? Can we even be sure that photo is of what the propaganda pre$$ says anymore? Rule of thumb now is to dismiss their version no matter what it is. Good rule.
