Word: quarterly
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...fourth quarter earnings which are coming out now and the forecasts for next year are as useless as a boat in a drought. Google (GOOG) has a quarter which was better than expected. Because it is in a fast-growing segment of the internet, it would be reasonable to assume that its trajectory would continue up. Actually, there is just as much of a chance that the slowdown in advertising spending will damage Google's business. (See pictures from Google's candid camera...
...Microsoft (MSFT) said its last quarter was bad, and looking out over the next six months, its businesses will probably deteriorate further. With sharp personnel cuts and the sale of its video game operation, the fortunes at the world's largest software company could rapidly change and the stock could outperform the market. Of course, management may be stubborn and there may be no restructuring at all. (See pictures of Bill Gates: The Early Years...
...export items, including consumer goods like toys. The rebates could make Chinese exports even cheaper, but that doesn't mean cash-strapped shoppers in the U.S. and Europe will exercise their credit cards. HSBC estimates China's exports could contract by as much as 19% in the first quarter of 2009. "The international financial crisis is deepening and spreading, with continuing negative impact on the domestic economy," Ma Jiantang, the head of China's statistics bureau, told reporters...
...Still, the transition from an outward-oriented growth model won't be easy. Though consumer spending has remained healthy - retail sales grew 19% in the fourth quarter - economists don't think the average Chinese has a big enough wallet to make up for weak demand overseas. "The reliance on the U.S. consumer as the buyer of last resort is going to have to change," says Michael Buchanan, chief Asia economist at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong. He says "China has a long way to go in adjusting" to this fundamental change in the world economy...
...among the most bearish: 6%. If he's right, that would be the lowest rate since 1990. But the data released Thursday did show some unexpected signs of life. Industrial production revived slightly in December, and loan growth surged. Merrill Lynch said in a report that the fourth quarter of 2008 and this current quarter could be "the trough of this growth cycle," as government stimulus and loose monetary policy begin to boost domestic demand. The data gave enough hope to Credit Suisse's Tao to convince him to keep his 8% GDP growth estimate for 2009. "Double-digit growth...