Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 71
August 24, 2011
Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO
(Updates after hours trading.) Steve Jobs has resigned as Apple's CEO, and the technology company said it named Tim Cook to succeed him. Jobs, Apple's founder, built the technology firm into one of the world's second-most valuable company behind Exxon Mobil. In a brief letter to Apple's board, distributed by Business Wire, Jobs said: I [...]
Signs of labor discord at Southwest Airlines — sort of
Yes, pilots held a demonstration outside Southwest Airlines' Dallas headquarters yesterday. And yes, it's related to Southwest's acquisition of AirTran Airways. But it's not what you might think. Southwest pilots held the rally in support of Chairman Gary Kelly and Southwest's management, after AirTran's union leaders decided last week to not present to members a [...]
Who got what from Fed bailout
As the culmination of almost two years of legal wrangling, which included a U.S. Supreme Court decision and a special provision of the Dodd-Frank reform law, Bloomberg News is sifting through the Federal Reserve's unprecedented lending program from 2007 to 2010. The Fed has been forced to reveal the banks and other institutions that got [...]
August 23, 2011
Cotton farmers worry that drought will persist
Dahlen Hancock expects to harvest about half his normal crop of cotton this year, and he's already worried about next year. Hancock farms more than 5,800 acres near Ropesville southwest of Lubbock. Of that, 3,000 acres are dry land cotton, which is a total loss. About 25 percent of his remaining acreage has what he [...]
August 22, 2011
Cotton: the king is desperate for water
I'm in Lubbock today meeting with cotton farmers and seeing first-hand the effects of the drought. The landscape here is usually stunning for its flatness, but what's striking this year is the brownness. Field after field has been plowed under as the drought has taken its toll on dry land cotton. Even in irrigated fields, [...]
August 18, 2011
Today's stock fall underscores Fed's dilemma
Stocks are falling again on renewed fears of weakening economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 454.40, or almost 4 percent, to 10,955.80 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 51.31, or 4.3 percent, to 1,142.58 in late morning trading. European banks remain a big concern, but there's also a growing realization among [...]
Gulf of Mexico standoff: Exxon, U.S. battle over big find
Oil companies are once again squaring off with government regulators in the Gulf of Mexico. This time, its Exxon Mobil. The giant oil company is fighting to retain leases for the Julia field, what could be the biggest oil discovery in the Gulf ever, or at least since BP's Thunder Horse field in 1999. The [...]
TV appearance: Talking about Warren Buffett
My appearance on Fox 26 last night, talking about Buffett's "coddled billionaires" comment: Warren Buffett Suggests 'Super Rich' Pay Their Fair Share: MyFoxHOUSTON.com
August 17, 2011
Will market swings help Williams' bid for Southern Union?
It's been a while since we looked in on the battle to buy Houston-based Southern Union. Both potential buyers have been sticking to their bids for several weeks, but Williams Cos. is hoping the recent market swings will rally investors to support its offer. Williams argues its $44-a-share all cash offer is a better value [...]
What's eating Warren Buffett?
In a New York Times op-ed piece earlier this week, Warren Buffett declared that he and his mega-rich friends have been "coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress" and that it was time to raise taxes on wealthy people like him. Ironically, these sorts of declarations, which Buffett and other billionaires have made before, generally [...]
