White House economic adviser Christina Romer declared the president’s stimulus plan "absolutely" is working to slow the economy’s decline, though she still held open the possibility of a second stimulus package a few months down the road.
Tag Archives: year
Lloyds results stung by bad loans at HBOS
Lloyds Banking Group Wednesday reported a loss of £4 billion ($6.8 billion) for the first half of 2009 — much of it incurred from its takeover of troubled UK rival HBOS earlier in the year. The banking group took a charge of $22.8 billion, mainly for bad loans — 80 percent of which came from HBOS. “Our first half loss was driven by the high levels of impairment,” Group Chief Executive J Eric Daniels said in a statement.
After the Oil Crisis, a Food Crisis?
Is the world headed for a food crisis? India, Mexico and Yemen have seen food riots this year.
Race to Dubai suffers prize money crisis
The European Tour looks set to suffer a major body blow this week when it announces a reduction in prize money for this year’s flagship $20 million Race to Dubai and Dubai World Championships. A golf insider from the region has told CNN that the impact of the credit crunch on Leisurecorp, the company behind the concept, and the fact the Dubai World Championship has not attracted the handful of marquee sponsors hoped for, has led to a decision to reduce the payout for one of golf’s most lucrative competitions. The running of Leisurecorp’s day-to-day business now falls under the control of Dubai real estate developer Nakheel
Forest fire rages in Spain’s Canary Islands
A massive forest fire continued to burn out of control on Monday on the island of La Palma, part of Spain’s Canary Islands, a regional government spokeswoman told CNN. Some 600 firefighters are battling the blaze, backed by aircraft dropping water on the flames, spokeswoman Ana Vidal said
Box Office Weekend: Apatow’s Funny Peculiar
The new Judd Apatow movie carried the perky title Funny People, but audiences quickly figured out it should really be called The Guy Who Thinks He’s Gonna Die and Isn’t Very Nice. Or Funny. It managed a decent $8.7 million on opening day, dropped 15% on Saturday and is expected to finish the weekend at $23.4 million
Why Netflix Stinks
It’s Friday night, and you want to watch a movie at home with that special someone. You could go to a video store and rent a film, and instantly it’s yours; popcorn extra.
Can China Save the World?
On a steamy saturday afternoon just outside Shanghai, Zhang Yi is in a blessedly cool General Motors showroom, kicking the tires of the company’s newer models. He’s not there to beat the heat. He drives a small Volkswagen now and wants to upgrade
Home Exchange: Trading (Vacation) Places
As the economy continues to flounder, many families are forgoing summer vacations in favor of staying at home. But there’s a more interesting option that is just as cheap: vacationing in someone else’s home.
French Small Business Booms with Auto-Entrepreneur Plan
“The problem with the French,” former U.S. President George W. Bush purportedly once said in a snarl of disgust, “is they have no word for entrepreneur.” That quote is probably apocryphal — which is a rather good thing for W.