June 2008

Americans in this century have been barraged with more economic data than the prior four centuries combined, according to one analysis. That information overload is fast turning into a form of information pollution. Some economists and experts now say the government consciously and systematically manipulates important economic data. One of those experts who thinks the US let its economic ... read more

The embarrassing shareholder class action lawsuit filed by the pensions funds for Detroit policemen and firemen as well as its city workers against Yahoo! spells out not just what it calls a web of cushy interlocking relationships and rich pay for the board members, but what it says is the real reason why Yahoo!'s board rejected Microsoft's $33 a share offer to buy the Internet giant. Read on. ... read more

The US housing data is all over the map. The disparate data comes as federal regulators grow increasingly concerned that banks with swelling portfolios of troubled loans tied to land and housing are struggling to unload some of their real-estate debt. Exactly where house prices are is important information the markets need now. Goldman Sachs looked at 24 house price busts with declines of more ... read more

Lehman Brothers is considering releasing its second-quarter earnings a week earlier, tying that announcement to news about a plan to raise capital, as the embattled investment bank looks to quiet doubts about its future. Lehman (LEH) could announce a $5 bn capital raise early next week in advance of what may be its first quarterly loss since going public in 1994. Talk is that Lehman is ... read more

Lehman's second quarterly earnings, due the week of June 16, are expected to be vastly more negative than its prior quarter, in which Lehman beat earnings expectations and told Wall Street it has lots of liquidity to weather the credit storm. The markets then heaved a sigh of relief, given the suicidal feeling on Wall Street at the time due to Bear Stearns' near collapse. Though Lehman is ... read more