| HSBC banks £12.2 billion profit
Banking giant HSBC has seen profits rise 10 per cent to £12.2 billion despite having to write off £8.7 billion from bad debts and investments linked to the credit crunch. The UK's largest banking business said it was "continuing to face challenges" in North America as a result of the housing market troubles and associated credit crunch. HSBC also warned that the credit outlook in the US may "get worse before it gets better". HSBC said overall performance during 2007 was bolstered by "exceptionally strong" results in the emerging market regions of Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. In the UK, profits from commercial banking topped the £1 billion mark for the first time. But the group's US consumer business - comprising mortgages, credit cards and personal loans - suffered from high bad debt charges, with write-offs in this area increasing 80 per during 2007 to £5.9 billion.
K.J. gets overlooked, but shouldn't | Braves
Ready for some 6:30 a.m. wakeup calls, foggy early morning drives to the ballpark, music and cigars filling the rental car, and sun shining on the dew of a freshly mowed ballfield. K.J. ready for more: With the moves made this offseason — Tom Glavine's return, Yunel Escobar replacing Edgar Renteria at short, Mark Kotsay replacing Andruw Jones in center — and contract discussions regarding Mark Teixeira and Jeff Francoeur, it's been easy to overlook 2B Kelly Johnson. But I've got a feeling that's going to change soon. As many of you already understand, this is another Texan (nod to Hoss) who can flat-out hit. And until his late-season difficulties with backhanded plays, Johnson played steady defense at second base in his first season at the position after moving from the outfield.
Macedonia's Report Card - 10 Things that Could Go Wrong
Like Blanche Dubois in "Streetcar Named Desire", Macedonians now prefer fantasy over harsh reality. They lash against anyone who wishes to offset their euphoria with a long, hard look at hazards, real achievements, and true future prospects.
Under the tutelage of the Gruevski government, Macedonia made great strides in a surprisingly short period of time. The government should be lauded and complimented for its energy and initiative and its inordinate ability to transform Macedonia into a modern participant in globalization. The pace and extent of its accomplishments in incredible.
Yet, Macedonia faces 10 risks and the government is doing precious little to confront them:
1. Asset Bubbles
At a multiple of 37, the Macedonian Stock Exchange is a bubble, by any definition of the word.
Nick Robinson's Newslog
Don't shoot the messenger, boys, it's bad form. I don't understand why Peter Kilfoyle's got his knickers in a twist. According to the 'They Work for You' site he's not at all bothered about 'transparency' in governmentas he's never voted on it, either for or against! .
Technology foe, pal to postal agencies
Marty Sellers used to need about a hundred postage stamps every three months. These days, he can stretch that supply to last a year.
Sellers, 40, now pays most bills online and receives financial statements electronically. The owner of Sellers Photo in Huntsville, Ala., he also has cut down on mailing clients CDs, transferring images over the Internet instead.
"Even things like a birthday card, I will just send a happy birthday e-mail," he said.
Because many people around the world are like Sellers, the U.S. Postal Service and its counterparts in other countries are tapping technology to cut costs and expand into electronic services -- including services designed to attract more "junk" mail.
In the United States, first-class mail volume has dropped 7 percent since 2001 -- an average of 1.3 billion fewer letters, postcards and bills each year.
With Costco thirsty for her drink, Bellevue CEO sees big things for ...
Yi moved into energy drinks in 2006 after trying to sell Sea2O as a low-calorie energy drink for women. She reformulated it after learning an organic product with a natural sweetener would be more popular. She estimates 2008 sales could soar to $7 million, from less than $1 million last year. Yi still co-owns Lotte Beauty Salon in the Washington State Convention & Trade Center and sells supplements through a company called BioSea, but she is focused on the energy-drink business now. Yi touts the value of seaweed — the "sea" in Sea2O — as a health-savvy ingredient popular in Asia, including her home country of South Korea. Sea2O is marketed to women, especially mothers looking for a healthful option to caffeine- and sugar-laden energy drinks.
Estacada schools announce more closures amid wintry weather
The Estacada School District has canceled all classes and parent/teacher conferences for Thursday as snowy conditions persisted. However, the central office will remain open, and evening athletics will be held Thursday. Friday already was scheduled as having no school or conferences. But again, evening athletics will be held. -- Staff reports .
Viewing all entries for: January 2008
I THINK it's safe to say that some aspects of global trade and finance may be in the process of readjusting, perhaps as a result of some sizable imbalances. Not swiftly enough for Atlantic correspondent James Fallows, however, whose latest missive on China misses the mark. It's very fair to harbour concern over China's yuan policy, its massive accrued reserves, and the resulting effects on American consumers, but Mr Fallows mistreats the economics involved in order to spin a potential disaster scenario--a rather nasty hypothetical meltdown, if not outright war. The economic misunderstandings are bothersome. Mr Fallows writes, for example that: For China, [currency manipulation] has helped the regime guide development in the way it would like—and keep the domestic economy’s growth rate from crossing the thin line that separates "unbelievably fast" from "uncontrollably inflationary." This is not at all the case.
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