Economy Blog

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) By Priya Nigam So, the government has finally decided to hike petrol and diesel prices. While global oil prices have been flirting with the $100 per barrel mark, the Indian government was still on tenterhooks about the hike. Petrol prices were upped by Rs2 per litre and diesel prices were raised by Re1 per litre. While this may not be good news for you and me, the decision offers some respite to companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which produces around 80% of the country’s crude oil. …
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By Vipin Agnihotri The India street is back …
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U.S. economic growth will slow to a crawl but avoid recession during the first half of this year while inflation will continue to rise, economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics said.
The association’s latest quarterly survey shows 55% of respondents expect the nation will avoid a recession. But they expect growth of the gross domestic product of just 0.4% at an annual rate in the first three months of 2008, followed by a 1% pace over the following three months.
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It is really hard being right, but someone has to do it. Now we see that some Yahoo shareholders are getting really pissed off with the Board and simply aren’t going to take it any more. This from the AP via Yahoo News:…
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Disclaimer #1: I’m not an online ad expert. Disclaimer #2: I’m not an online ad expert. That said, I’m not a dummy, either, and do have a direct view into the area through my investment in Buddy Media. And I am also an active Facebook user, blogger and blog consumer, so I think I get the big picture. And what mystifies me about the big picture is this: why are so many so amped up about things like downloads (applications) and users (Facebook) without a clear discussion of their ability to be monetized?
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From the Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds.
Sheep in human clothing – scientists reveal our flock mentality
Results from a study at the University of Leeds show that it takes a minority of just five per cent to influence a crowd’s direction – and that the other 95 per cent follow without realising it….
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addslashes(LL Cool J: Mama Said Check This Out

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This week will be an important earnings week for building supply and home improvement companies. We’ll get to see earnings out of Lowe’s Co. (NYSE: LOW) and out of Home Depot (NYSE: HD). Monday will kick off with earnings out of Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) and First Call has estimates at $0.25 EPS and $10.63 Billion in revenues. Estimates for next quarter are $0.41 EPS and $12.6 Billion in revenues, while fiscal January-2009 targets are $1.76 EPS on almost $51 Billion in revenues. On Tuesday, we’ll see earnings out of Home Depot (NYSE: HD). First Call has estimates at $0.43 EPS…
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On Friday, after a potential deal may be struck to save the monolines, we had been pondering the overall recovery of the healthy banks in the sector. We have covered “the banks that will make it” before, and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) is one that we think will get to be a selective acquirer after the recent malaise. Then this weekend we saw that Wells Fargo is actually the cover story on Barron’s, and we have noted how Warren Buffett added to his holdings on last look. We look at Wells Fargo as one of the winners in a crowd…
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Short interest in companies traded on the NYSE increased for a number of financial firms based on positions as of February 15. The data compares to numbers on January 31 Shares sold short in Citigroup (NYSE: C) rose 10.9 million shares to 92.8 million. Shares short in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) moved up 6.3 million to 68.8 million. Shares sold short in Wachovia (NYSE: WB) jumped 16.3 million to 96.8 million. Shares short in Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) increased by 8.8 million to 51.8 million. Other significant short stakes: Largest positions in shares sold short Company Shares Short Ford…
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addslashes(China Watch: Mailbag

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We Just Don’t Get Buffett!

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If you thought that health and fitness was a secular trend, you wouldn’t know it if you looked at Life Time Fitness Inc. (NYSE: LTM). The health club operator found itself in a precarious spot Friday. Life Time’s earnings weren’t a problem, but the guidance is. Its earnings were in-line at $0.48 EPS as expected and $171.1 million in revenues versus $171.9 million. The company gave forecasts of $2.05 to $2.08 EPS on revenue of $780 to $800 million for 2008, while First Call had estimates at $2.18 EPS on $806.8 million in revenues. Shares fell as hard as a…
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Next Thursday we’ll get to see earnings out of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). The estimates for the turnaround computer giant from First Call are $0.36 EPS on $16.23 billion in revenues. Next quarter estimates are $0.35 EPS on $15.86 billion in revenues. Estimates for fiscal Jan-2009 are $1.57 EPS on $65.35 billion in revenues. Analysts have an average price target north of $29.00 on last look, which would imply a 50% expected price gain if the turnaround comes about. Interestingly enough, we may finally get to see how much of that monster $10 Billion stock buyback the company has used….
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addslashes(Ratings Upgrades and Downgrades

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addslashes(News You Need: Weekend Edition

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Being at CI Foo is a kind of an out-of-body experience for me. As a “Wall Street guy,” my experiences, my mind-set and my DNA is a world away from most of these dudes. That said, given my experiences as an entrepreneur and as an investor over the past 3.5 years, I am in tune with the pulse of the conversation. It just feels odd being part of it and contributing. But I am and it is very, very cool. It is always a thrill being around so many super smart people whose intelligence is so different than mine. I love filling in gaps in my knowledge by being near people who are smarter than me. And there are plenty of those people here at CI Foo.
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Being at CI Foo is a kind of an out-of-body experience for me. As a “Wall Street guy,” my experiences, my mind-set and my DNA is a world away from most of these dudes. That said, given my experiences as an entrepreneur and as an investor over the past 3.5 years, I am in tune with the pulse of the conversation. It just feels odd being part of it and contributing. But I am and it is very, very cool. It is always a thrill being around so many super smart people whose intelligence is so different than mine. I love filling in gaps in my knowledge by being near people who are smarter than me. And there are plenty of those people here at CI Foo.
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Monolines: Breaking up is hard to do, yet Bond Insurer Plans a Split to Protect Ratings
Outdated Prices Blamed in Credit Suisse Error…
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