Economy
-Outstanding consumer credit rose in September in a positive sign for the economy. 11/8
-The number of job listing rose to its highest level since December 2008 with 4.2 unemployed people for every job posting. The level is down from a year ago where there was 5.4 job seekers per opening. 11/9
-China’ inflation rate dropped significantly in October potentially opening the door for China to loosen its financial tightening policies. 11/9
-Home prices fell in close to 75% of metro areas over the third quarter. The national median home price fell 4.7%. 11/10
-The U.S. saw its trade gap fall in September as exports rose 1.4% and imports increased by 0.3%. 11/11
-The EU dropped its growth forecast for 2012 and said there is the potential for a “deep and prolonged recession.” 11/11
-Consumer sentiment rose and was higher than estimates. 11/12
Corporate
-Toyota’s earnings sank 19% over the quarter due to the rising yen and production cutbacks. 11/9
-Fannie Mae posted yet another loss and will seek $7.8 billion in aid from the federal government. The mortgage finance company posted a $5.1 billion loss for its 16th loss in the last 17 quarters. 11/9
-Cisco saw profits sink for the quarter, but revenues rose and the firm had a positive earnings outlook. 11/10
-GM announced profits fell 12% in the third quarter. 11/10
-EADS increased its year outlook stating that commercial aircraft demand remains high. 11/11
-Disney’s profit shot up 30% in its fiscal 4th quarter on its theme parks and television divisions. 11/11
Regulatory
-Raj Rajaratnam recently convicted of insider trading, was ordered to pay a record penalty by the SEC of $92.8 million. 11/9
Market
-Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was in talks to try to save his coalition government as he faced increasing pressure to resign. Italy was also nearing a level of not being able to access the public markets to borrow as bond yields demanded by investors surged. 11/8
-Global markets ended the day in positive territory after news that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi would step down. The news was looked upon as a positive for resolving the debt crisis. 11/9
-Markets had their worst day since august over news Italy, the world’s fourth largest borrower was having trouble accessing the credit markets. Italian bond yields rose over 7% considered an unsustainable level that sunk other countries like Ireland and Greece. The development raises concerns that the European debt crisis was entering a new and even more difficult phase. Investors were concerned whether the Euro currency would continue to remain tenable. The Dow fell 3.2%, Asian markets fell over 2.5%, and Europe dropped 1.7%. 11/10
-Jefferson county Alabama filed for bankruptcy as the county owes more than $3 billion due to a sewer related debt issuance. 11/10
-After Greece and Italy both took steps to solidify their governments and pass budget reduction measures, markets responded positively. The Dow rose 2.2%, the S&P rose 2.0%, and Europe rose 2.4%. For the week the Dow was up 1.4%, Nikkei was down 3.3%, and Europe was up 0.5%. Italian debt yields dropped further from their highs earlier in the week on the news that Italy ratified an amendment of growth boosting measures. Greece, meanwhile, swore in its new Prime Minister and cabinet. 11/12