Jill Schlesinger of CBS' MoneyWatch joins the show to talk about the economy. So it turns out that things aren't going to collapse, and we're not going to have to sell our bodies in a barter system. That doesn't mean, however, that we're out of the woods, and Jill is here to show us the way out. Throw in a little bit of health care, a little bit of Social Security, and a garlic smell? Only on The 404!
(Credit:
Jill Schlesinger/CBS)
For the last couple of months, stocks have been soaring more than 50 percent since their March low. Jill says all that means is that the market doesn't think we're headed for Great Depression 2.0, but that doesn't mean we're out of trouble. In the dark, we imagine what V-, U-, and W- recoveries would look like. Strange... Justin, is that your hand on my leg?
Further down the line, we jump into the health care debate. Jill tells us her generation is screwing our generation and not in a good way. Essentially, they took all the good health care, and we (the 20-somethings) will just not be able to afford the premium "best health care" in the world, when we really need it. And somehow, Wilson reveals some of his Republican leanings? Say what?
Finally, we get into personal savings for the future, and we pick up the ashes of our 401(k)s. So while your parents may have lost a bundle on their retirement funds, we 20-somethings still have another 40 years before we really have to worry about our returns. Meanwhile, Social Security is a toss-up. Jill wants to advise President "Barry" Obama that the easy solution to fixing the "Third Rail" of American politics is just tying benefits to an age index. People are just living too long...death panels, any one?
Wow! So we hope you finally learned something on The 404. We sure did! Send in your feedback to the usual at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com. Follow Jill on Twitter. Or leave us a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET, and you can debate us on the finer points of the liquidity of the money supply and U6 unemployment figures.
Episode 416
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... Read more
This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.
Wall Street analysts, still upbeat about the Pre's prospects, are beginning to fall in love with Palm.
Palm hasn't put a date on the Pre launch.
(Credit: Corrine Schulze/CNET)These folks are betting that demand for the Pre--and the WebOS that rides shotgun--will be strong enough to make Palm a strong market player again. However, if you follow the money, it's clear that Palm doubters abound.
Simply put, Palm garners Wall Street kudos even as much stronger companies, such as Research In Motion, fall out of favor. According to Thomson Reuters data, there are eight analysts rating Palm shares a "buy." Three months ago, there were only two analysts in the buy camp. One analyst calls Palm a "strong buy." Thirteen analysts call Palm a "hold."
On Wednesday, Deutsche Bank upped Palm's price target to $12 and reiterated its "buy" rating. Why? The Pre phone is likely to be released on time and may emerge before June 30.
That take isn't surprising to anyone who listened to Palm's earnings conference call. Executives were confident that they could deliver the Pre and nail the launch. Traders, however, are anything but confident about Palm's prospects.
As a percentage of float--shares outstanding--Palm is the sixth most heavily shorted company, according to data released through Tuesday. In fact, 45.6 percent of Palm's float is short. Short sellers bet that a stock is going to fall.
Here's a look at Palm's standing via The Wall Street Journal's data:
As a percentage of float--shares outstanding--Palm is the sixth most heavily shorted company, according to data released through Tuesday.
(Credit: The Wall Street Journal)If Palm does manage to save itself with its Pre launch, all of the shorts betting against it are going to get squeezed. But if Palm fumbles, it will be time to look out below.
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EPISODE 116 |
Sheruken Magnets (thanks Shalin!!)
Bellysonic speaker pouch will soothe you and your pregnant belly
New baby storage concept: Wall mounting (thanks Shalin!)
Snore Pro to help frazzled wives
Remote, sound-emitting anti-barking devices
For the romantically inclined: Thermal leak detector
... Read moreThings are getting worse at Circuit City.
The embattled electronics retail chain was notified October 24 by the New York Stock Exchange that its stock listing price is so low it's on the verge of being delisted.
(Credit:
Circuit City)
According to a form Circuit City filed with the SEC Thursday, the NYSE said the company's stock was "below criteria" because the average closing price was less than $1 per share for the 30 previous days. NYSE requires any company's minimum average over that time period to be $1.
Circuit City's stock closed Friday down 4 cents to reach 26 cents.
Now that Circuit City has received the notice, it has six months to get the stock's act together. As long as the average 30-day closing price is more than $1 sometime during the next six months, it can stay listed.
Circuit City has 10 days to respond to the NYSE that it plans to get its stock back above $1. In the meantime, the company's CC ticker symbol will be followed by a ".BC" to show it's below continued listing standards.
The country's second-largest electronics retail chain behind Best Buy has been in turmoil since posting a huge loss at the end of 2007. The CEO recently stepped down, and the company is looking at ways to turn itself around, including shutting some stores.
Boo! This episode is all about the scariest of scary gadgetry. Listen, if you dare!
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EPISODE 112 |
Bomb baby stroller ensures your baby grows up strong and warlike
Look at the legs on that: Walking house looks like giant metal beetle
Netflix streaming comes to TiVo
Dubai’s newest insane skyscraper to house a restaurant in a glass pod at 2,150 feet
Scariest jack-o’-lantern of 2008 - The stock-market pumpkin
Pink Watch
These belong in Hell: Half Croc, half Ugg (thanks, phatemokid!)
Why didn’t I think of that?!
Caps Lock Key Trainer Key HAS GIGANTIC SPIKES (ow)
Gender Gap
Feel the throbbing with the shocking 'Thumbwars' game
Hot Asian Gadget
Tuttuki Bako
Tool Time
iPod Blazer from Park Avenue
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
The world of finance is sober, serious business, ever more so in a struggling through economy. Bloomberg's freeware application for the iPhone and iPod Touch gives information-seekers a clear view of the moment with financial headlines, a ticker finder, and a fleshed-out index of world markets.
An appealing dark-themed application, Bloomberg contains a read-only newsfeed and statistics on various exchanges in global markets. Highs, lows, and a graph of yearlong performance are displayed for each exchange--further charts and tables are available for industry and stock movers.
To discover individual stock performance, users simply enter the company name into the stock finder, which also keeps a short-term history of your past queries. Even better, entering stocks and your share holdings into the My Stocks folder creates a personalized portfolio you can watch for daily fluctuation.
No matter how this story ends, it will have a big impact on all Web users. If Microsoft takes control of Yahoo, for example, many of Redmond's Web properties will likely get scuttled while Yahoo's become even bigger. If Google and Yahoo do a deal, the price of Internet advertising will go up (since the combined network would control the majority of keyword advertising), and so on. For the full rundown of what could change, what's likely to happen, and all the latest news, check out News.com's complete coverage of Yahoo and its suitors.
PhotoShelter is beefing up its executive ranks with new hires from AMEX and Getty Images.
(Credit: PhotoShelter)While Getty Images continues to look around for someone to buy them, the rising Internet-based stock image house PhotoShelter today announced that it has hired two new executives, one of which it hired away from Getty. When it launched its stock image business called the PhotoShelter Collection late last year, the company promised to invest $1 million toward promoting the Collection's images among buyers of stock photography. As part of this effort, the company has hired former American Express Senior Product Manager Andrew Fingerman to be PhotoShelter's new vice president of marketing, and Getty Images' former market development executive Genevieve Harley as the PhotoShelter's new director of sales.
PhotoShelter's history with Getty has been slightly rocky. Having started their stock business at a time when Getty was feeling heavy pressure from microstock sites, PhotoShelter offered a new model for stock photography sales with a much larger percentage of sales going to the photographers themselves. At the time, Getty had made a drastic cut in prices for all its stock images, offering them all for $49 for online use, while keeping the percentage going to photographers the same. That decision angered many of the company's photographers, and Getty modified its pricing plan again. However, many photographers were still less than pleased. Given Getty's tumultuous situation, you have to wonder if Ms. Harley's departure marks the beginning of a coming exodus as the company's employees prepare for tough times at the photo giant.
As investors around the globe view the sputtering U.S. economy with fear and trembling, at least one maven of the market economy sees a reason for hope: Bill Gates.
At the Government Leaders Forum in Berlin, a student has a close encounter with Bill Gates and a tablet PC.
(Credit: Microsoft)Stopping in Berlin on his way to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he's expected to speak Thursday about the ways a more "creative capitalism" could benefit society's needier members, Microsoft's chairman told the German newspaper Bild that the best medicine to stave off a worldwide economic crisis is a good dose of new tech.
"I am an optimist. The U.S. economy could remain strong in the next few years because technological progress will urge it forward," Gates said. (Bild, of course, put his words into German.) He put current fears into the context of recent history--a U.S. economy that he said has been strong for the last 10 to 15 years. That statement glosses over the bursting of a certain dot-com bubble a few years back, mind you; no telling if that's Gates' omission, or an editorial one.
Of course, he's always been notoriously upbeat about the coming economic and societal benefits of technology. An op-ed piece by Gates in Thursday's Wall Street Journal reads like the stump speech he's given countless times over the last decade or more: "Together, hardware and software will be the catalyst for advances during the next 10 years that will far exceed the changes of the last 30 years."
But that's his role: As he told Bild, "I'm no stock expert--I'm a software person." Asked if he knows how much money he personally might have lost as markets have tumbled over the last few days, he again took the long view. "I look at Microsoft's stock performance every couple of weeks. The important thing is that in the past it's gone up more than it's gone down."
Gates was in Berlin for the Government Leaders Forum, at which he recommitted Microsoft to its Partners in Learning program, which provides software and training to educational efforts around the world.
Some may be thankful there are only three weeks left in the holiday shopping season, but many of you are panicking because there are only three weeks left. For you anxious-ridden procrastinators, we're here to help.
Holiday gift guide
(Credit: CNET Networks)CNET's holiday gift guide is packed with great tech gift ideas, and we're updating it as choice new items hit the shelves. If you just need a little something, check out our stocking stuffers and the tech gifts under $100.
If you're still seeking something perfect for that ubergeek on your list, we've got high-end tech sure to please those hard-to-shop-for folks. Or check out our editors' top picks for every gadget: For the media junkie, check out HDTVs or PVPs and MP3 players. We've got gaming gear and home theater for those tied to the glowing box. Or check out our green gift guide for your ecofriendly friends and family. Aside from that pile of present possibilities, there's lots more to tickle your fancy, including GPS and car tech or desktops and laptops. And if you know your budget but not what you want, we've broken everything down by price as well, so you can see what's best for your buck.
