Economy and Investing
A Big Bet on Inflation. Can last year’s star manager repeat his success?
“Mark Spitznagel made a fortune predicting the ‘black swan’ that hit markets last year. Now the relatively unknown hedge-fund manager is emerging from the shadow of his collaborator, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, with a big bet inflation will soar. The 38-year-old Mr. Spitznagel managed the Black Swan funds to triple-digit returns last year with a bet [...]
What the Obama Plan Means for Business
Taking apart the new financial regulations. New York Times’ columnist Joe Nocera takes several shots at President Obama’s financial regulatory plan in today’s paper. The gist of his argument is that while the plan includes an impressive number of proposals, few if any of them would prevent a similar meltdown from happening. The main failings: [...]
Adult stem cells are a promising market
Amid controversies over embryonic stem cell research, drugs using adult cells are already bearing fruit.
NEW YORK (Fortune) — When it comes to stem cells, the public — and the media — tend to focus on embryos. But researchers and analysts say marketable therapies already are emerging from less controversial work with adult stem cells.
Adult [...]
Obama urges biggest financial reforms since 1930s
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama laid out his vision for recrafting U.S. financial regulation on Wednesday, vowing to halt “a cascade of mistakes … over the course of decades” that eroded bank and market oversight.
A centerpiece of the plan is vesting the Federal Reserve with new powers over “systemic risk” in the economy with [...]
Alvarion wins $100 mln contract, shares surge
Contract from U.S.-based Open Range Communications. Deal for 4G network across 17 U.S. states
TEL AVIV, June 17 (Reuters) – Alvarion Ltd. (ALVR.O), an Israeli maker of WiMAX and wireless broadband equipment, said on Wednesday it had won a 5-year, $100 million-plus contract from U.S. broadband wireless operator Open Range Communications Inc.
Alvarion (ALVR.TA) shares surged 11.8 [...]
U.S. credit card defaults rise to record in May
U.S. credit card defaults rose to record highs in May, with a steep deterioration of Bank of America Corp’s (BAC.N) lending portfolio, in another sign that consumers remain under severe stress.
Bank of America Corp (BAC) — the largest U.S. bank — said its default rate, those loans the company does not expect to be paid [...]
Spike in Interest Rates Could Choke Recovery
Rising long-term interest rates are making it more expensive for home buyers, corporations and the U.S. government to borrow money, threatening to further stifle an already weak economy.
In just the past two weeks, the rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has risen to 5.6 percent from 4.9 percent, ending a boom in refinancing and [...]
