“We’re not the sole answer to the problem in Ohio”

As state lawmakers rush to reform lending practices that have contributed to a recent surge of mortgage defaults and foreclosures, consumer advocates say these efforts fall short of what is truly needed: a … via Forbes

Original post by Forbes

“We know there is a long and variable lag between growth and employment, and we’re in that period, where it’s like ‘It’ll show up any month now,’”

The S&P 500 joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average in achieving a nice round centennial milestone Thursday, closing above 1500 for the first time since September 2000. via KIAK-AM Fairbanks

Original post by KIAK-AM Fairbanks

“The second quarter is off to a very good start on the services side and the manufacturing side”

The U.S. service sector expanded at a faster rate in April after hitting a four-year low in March, a trade group said Thursday, though concerns about energy costs persist.

The Tempe, Ariz.-based Institute for Supply Management, an organization of corporate purchasing executives, said its index of business activity in the non-manufacturing sector registered 56 in April, up from 52.4 in March. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.

Analysts said the report, in conjunction with a brightening outlook in the manufacturing sector, shows the economy may be recovering from the first quarter, when gross domestic product grew at an anemic 1.3 percent annualized rate. Read more

Original post by The Associated Press

“I was just wonderin’ if you were considerin’ castin’ your vote for the SNP”

It was on the low cliffs looming over the white-capped Firth of Forth here that Alexander III, the last of Scotland’s Celtic kings, plunged from his horse to his death one inky night 721 years ago. via Seattle Times

Original post by Seattle Times

“We think MTC will go above four dinars in the coming few days”

DUBAI * Shares of Mobile Telecommunications Co rose to a record close for a third day yesterday, powering Kuwait’s bourse to a near 14-month closing high in a rally that an analyst said has yet to lose steam. via The Peninsula

Original post by The Peninsula

“We’re seeing Prudential emerge as a company that will displace some of the other popular names in the portfolio.”

Insurance and investment giant Prudential Financial Inc. said Wednesday that profit from financial services soared 52 percent in the first quarter of 2007.

Prudential said its financial services profit in the quarter was $1.03 billion, or $2.18 a share, compared with $675 million, or $1.38 a share, for the same period in 2006.

For the three months ended March 31, after-tax adjusted operating profit was $868 million, or $1.85 a share, compared with $669 million, or $1.36 a share, a year earlier. That beat the $1.65 consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Read more

Original post by The Associated Press