Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 32

Jobs lost by the thousands, reinvented by the hundreds

A snapshot of the economy of many small towns across the country.

All eyes on the consumer as export growth sputters

Consumers seem to be spending again, but it's not clear how long the increased spending will last.

Fayez Sarofim & Co. eyes changes, job cuts

The firm is hiring an outside company to handle its technology, and some of the firm’s employees may lose their jobs.

Is the market telling us the economy has peaked?

Rather than thinking ahead, the market seems to be taking a wait-and-see attitude.

Political committees lose appeal of Stanford donations

Will the politicians will finally pay up or will they continue to hold onto stolen money and appeal the case again?

Reality finally catches up with stocks (Updated)

(Updates market activity, adds investor comment.) U.S. stocks plunged as the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank to its lowest since June as companies reported weak earnings. “It’s across all sectors, across all industries,” said Rick Kaplan, chief investment officer for Houston-based Legacy Asset Management. 3M, DuPont and Xerox all reported disappointing earnings today, and by  Read More

Reliant President Jason Few has left the company

The shakeup comes as NRG is completing its merger with Houston-based GenOn Energy, a $1.7 billion deal that will make NRG the country's largest independent power producer.

BP unloads Russian venture for stake in Rosneft

The deal enables BP to extract itself from TNK-BP, which had been plagued by operational disputes between the British oil company and the Russian oligarchs who controlled the other half of the venture.

`Gangnam Style’ triggers stock rally

Sometimes even the silly can become profitable. This clip from Bloomberg TV shows how the viral “Gangnam Style” music video is boosting shares of Korean companies that have nothing to do with the video or the music business. Shares of DI Corp., which makes semiconductor manufacturing equipment have surged almost 500 percent since mid-July because  Read More

Russia’s Rosneft close to sealing deal for TNK-BP

In the end, the venture became another symbol of BP's unrealized aspirations.