Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 72

Blame Obama for National Oilwell Varco's $1.5 bln Brazil deal

The emails still come in at least a couple of times a month, although what once was a flood has, thankfully, slowed to trickle. The argument is this: President Obama gave $2 billion of our tax money to Brazil so it can expand its offshore oil industry while he opposes drilling at home. The Brazil's [...]

Stocks' wild ride: was it really so bad?

It's official. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has returned to the level it closed at on Aug. 5, hours before Standard & Poor's downgraded America's credit rating. As I write this, the Dow is trading at 11,449.45, up 179.90. On Aug. 5, it closed at 11,444.61. The market's recovery could, of course, be fleeting. After [...]

Bank of America takes its name too literally

Last week, amid all the stock market gyrations, the government orchestrated another bank bailout. You probably didn't notice, which may have been the idea.  This time, the tab was about a half billion dollars, and the recipient was Bank of America, one of the biggest basket cases among the Bailout Brigade. The latest deal underscores [...]

New book update

I just reviewed the jacket text for my next book, "The Man Who Thought Like a Ship." It's scheduled to be published early next year by Texas A&M University Press.

Unlike my current book, "Drowning in Oil," this next one is personal and has nothing to do with business. It's the story of my father and how he went from being a small-town electrician to become the first person in the world to rebuild ancient ships.

I actually began work on this project before "Drowning in Oil" so it's exciting to be in the home stretch.

Insiders buying at fastest clip in 3 years

Economists now are forecasting slower economic growth for the second half of the year, and perhaps next year as well. As part of that slowdown, many investors are questioning if the strong corporate earnings from the second quarter will weaken as well. Apparently, corporate executives aren't so worried. Insiders have begun buying shares of their [...]

Retail sales: one positive in a sea of economic worry

Retail sales rose 0.5 percent in July,matching what most economists were expecting, and the numbers for June were revised to 0.3 percent, a bigger gain than previously estimated. The numbers reflect stronger auto sales, which had already shown up in results of some dealerships. Houston-based Group 1 Automotive, for example, reported record second-quarter results late [...]

Stocks resume declines on signs of faltering economy

(Updates market activity.) U.S. stocks plunged today after another rollercoaster session following Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt late last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 519.83, or 4.6 percent, to 10,719.90 and the S&P 500 Index dropped 51.77, or 4.4 percent, to 1,120.76. Oil recovered from its declines earlier in the week, [...]

Stocks falling again, giving up half of yesterday's rally

U.S. stocks are falling again this morning as the market rollercoaster prompted by Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt late last week continues. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 291.19, or 2.6 percent, to 10,948.58 in mid-morning trading. The S&P 500 Index fell 27.04, or 2.3 percent, to 1,145.49. Maybe investors read the announcement [...]

A divided Congress and now a fractured Fed?

In the crush of the market's 600-point swing yesterday, the dissent within the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee got overlooked. Three members of the committee — Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser — all dissented from the FOMC's position. That's a significant minority of the [...]

S&P accused of conflict of interest

Just when it seemed the whole S&P-downgrades-America story couldn't get any wilder, this happens. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-OH, wrote to the chief executive of McGraw-Hill, the parent of Standard & Poor's, raising issues of a possible conflict of interest in the downgrade decision. Here's the rationale According to the 2010 Annual Report, McGraw-Hill held $1.5 [...]