” The first official warning of food price increases due to the U.S. drought came last month, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast an increase of 2.5% to 3.5% for food consumed at home in 2012, rising to an increase of 3%-4% in 2013. Beef and veal prices are expected to rise 4%-5% in 2013.”

Full article

“SYDNEY—Australia’s flag carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. QAN.AU +2.56% reported its first annual loss in almost two decades Thursday and canceled orders for 35 Boeing Co.BA -0.65% fuel-efficient aircraft with a list price of $8.5 billion in a bid to save money.

The biggest ever 787 order cancellation is a further blow to the U.S. aircraft manufacturer, following lengthy delays bringing the Dreamliner, a twin-engine super-light model, up to standard. Boeing last year delivered the first 787 to Japan’sAll Nippon Airways Co., 9202.TO 0.00%more than three years behind the original delivery schedule.”

Full article

Gapping up

HAIN +10.6%, PSUN +9.2%, STI +3.2%, SNPS +2.7%, INFY +2.3%, DB +2.2%,

SLV +2.1%, AG +1.9%, KKD +1.9%, ZNGA +1.8%, MT +1.4%, PSEC +1.1%, DEO +1%,

ROSG +15.9%, LMNX +1.2% , LMNX +1.2% , AONE +10.7%,  LOGI +7.6% ,  INFY +2.3% ,

KCG +1.8%, PAAS +3.6%, MCP +2.6%,

Gapping down

DLLR -9.6%, XOMA -6.5%, HPQ -5.2%, BIG -4.7%, KYAK -4.1%, WSR -4%,

SMTC -3.1%, IRF -1.3%, UPL -2.7% , ADTN -2.1%,  NUE -0.6%, AKS -2%,

TOT -0.9%,  DG -1.0%, DLTR -1.7%, FDO -0.7%, GES -15.9%, TLYS -2.3%,

GFI -1.8%, FRED -0.6%,

“Online payments provider PayPal will gain access to millions of physical stores in the U.S. under an agreement with Discover Financial Services.

Aldan Crawley | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Under the deal, unveiled on Wednesday, PayPal will issue payment cards to its more than 50 million active users in the U.S. next year.

The cards will let PayPal users buy from merchants that already use Discover Network, a payment network with more than 7 million U.S. retail locations.”

Full article

“Federal authorities in the U.S. are investigating Royal Bank of Scotland for possible breaches of Iran sanctions in a probe that has already led to the departure of a senior risk manager.

Getty Images The Royal Bank of Scotland Headquarters

The U.K. bank [RBS  7.46    0.01  (+0.13%)   ] is being probed by the Federal Reserve(explain this) and Department of Justice after volunteering information to them and U.K. regulators about 18 months ago, several people close to the situation said.

The bank uncovered the alleged failings after Chief Executive Stephen Hester initiated an internal review not long after his arrival three years ago.”

Full article

Gapping up

KTCC +15%, HNSN +10.7%, LZB +6.7%, WSM +5.9%, DEG +5.9%,

NOK +5.1%, FITB +3.5%, CS +1.7%, DB +1.6%,  CX +6.1%, YELP +2.5% ,

CNP +0.4%,  ZNGA +2.4% ,  LO +0.5%, BKD +10.5% , FVE +7% ,  ATPG +13.8% ,

Gapping down 

UCTT -17%, AONE -12.9%, MCC -4.6%, DELL -4%, CECO -3.7%, INTU -2.8%, CTL -2.1%,

CVI -1.1%, GSK -1.2%, CLWR -2.8% ,  BBY -1.7% ,  CTL -2.1% , MCC -4.6%,  CECO -3.7% ,

HPQ-2.2%,

“Berkshire Hathaway terminated a large wager on the municipal-bond market five years early, the Wall Street Journal quoted a person familiar with the transaction as saying.

CNBC

In a quarterly regulatory disclosure filed this month, the Warren Buffett-owned company terminated credit-default swaps insuring $8.25 billion of municipal debt.

The paper said the early termination is deepening questions among some investors about the risks of buying debt issued by cities, states and other public entities.”

Full article

“Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday it will spend about $4 billion at its chip plant in Austin, Texas, to renovate an existing chip producing line and boost production of system chips, widely used in popular smartphones and tablets.

Jung Yeon-Je | AFP | Getty Images Samung flag flies in Seoul

The investment comes on top of 2.25 trillion won ($1.98 billion) in spending that Samsungannounced in June to build a new logic chip plant in South Korea, and the conversion of two memory chip lines into logic chip production earlier this year to meet growing demand from mobile gadget customers such asApple [AAPL  673.31    8.16  (+1.23%)   ].”

Full article

“(Reuters) – General Motors Co <GM.N> will recall 249,260 midsize sport utility vehicles to correct a potential fire hazard, a U.S. government safety agency said.

GM, in a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the recall affected 2006-2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer and GMC Envoy SUVs, as well as certain 2006-2007 Buick Rainier, Saab 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender SUVs.

A possible electrical short could affect power windows and door locks, and in some cases could cause a fire, GM said in its August 17 letter to the NHTSA that was posted on the agency’s website.

The recall involves vehicles sold or currently registered mainly in the Northeast and Midwest states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.”

Full article

“As you may recall, Groupon did a highly unusual stock deal about 10 months before its November 2011 IPO.

The company allowed its early investors to cash out big, selling $946 million-worth of stock to a host of new investors who were eager to get in on one of the fastest-growing companies in history.

This deal was a bonanza for early Groupon insiders and investors, including Chairman Eric Lefkovsky, who banked $318 million (to go with an earlier $67 million cash-out) and Andrew Mason, who took out a total of $31 million in that round and a prior round.

Importantly, the investors who bought this pre-IPO round weren’t idiots. Rather, they were a who’s who of smart money.

That pre-IPO cash-out was done at a split-adjusted share price of $7.90. ”

Full article

“ATP Oil & Gas Corp. (NASDAQ: ATPG) is joining the bankruptcy crowd. The oil company in the Gulf of Mexico filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in order to undertake a comprehensive financial restructuring.”

Full article

Gapping Up

CVH +20.2%, GOLD +2%, BCS +1.9%, FB +1.8%, PRU +1.6%, ARMH +1.4%,

TEF +1.4%, SAP +1.2%, NVS +0.9%,  AET +2.5%, CIS +5.9%, ROST +0.2% ,

SIRI +3.1%, FB +1.8% , PRU +1.6%,

Gapping Down 

ATPG -57.4%, ZAGG -5%, WM -3.3%, BBY -3.3%, ADES -2.9%,  STX -0.9%, TI -3.5%,

AZN -0.9%, ADES -2.9% , HD -0.9%, HLSS -1.6%,  ASX -8.5%,  BBY -4.3%

“CME Group Inc. (CME), owner of the world’s biggest futures exchange, plans a derivatives market in London by the middle of 2013, setting up in competition with Eurex and Liffe, the largest venues.

The exchange will start with currency futures, CME said in a statement today. CME’s European exchange will be led by Robert Ray as chief executive officer. CME Globex will be the electronic trading system for the new London exchange and CME Clearing Europe will process the transactions. Chicago-based CME plans to file with the U.K. securities regulator in the coming weeks as the first step in the process.”

Full article

“President Obama is proud of his bailout of General Motors.  That’s good, because, if he wins a second term, he is probably going to have to bail GM out again.  The company is once again losing market share, and it seems unable to develop products that are truly competitive in the U.S. market.

Right now, the federal government owns 500,000,000 shares of GM, or about 26% of the company.  It would need to get about $53.00/share for these to break even on the bailout, but the stock closed at only $20.21/share on Tuesday.  This left the government holding $10.1 billion worth of stock, and sitting on an unrealized loss of $16.4 billion.”

Full article

“A liberal-leaning think tank, the Institute for Policy Studies, yesterday released a 45-page studyblasting the corporate tax code. The study describes how tax policy subsidizes exorbitant CEO pay at 26 big U.S. companies, includingAT&T, Boeing and Citigroup, which paid their bosses more than they paid in federal income tax last year.

“Our nation’s tax code has become a powerful enabler of bloated CEO pay,” the study says.  It describes how deductions and credits allow companies to give bosses huge pay packages in order to cut tax bills, at a time when the government is running enormous deficits. That’s a controversial conclusion, but before I get into why, here are the 26 CEOs who made more than their companies paid in taxes last year. They took home average compensation worth $20.4 million, while their companies paid little or no federal tax on big profits, says the study.”

Full List

“Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s shares rose to a record and the company’s market value surpassed $600 billion on speculation that production has started on a smaller version of the iPad tablet as well as a new television product.

The shares climbed 1.9 percent to $648.11 at the close in New York yesterday, for a market capitalization of $602.3 billion. The stock of the world’s most valuable company has gained 60 percent this year.”

Full article

“Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) is among four European banks being investigated by U.S. regulators for alleged money-laundering violations, according to an attorney with knowledge of the matter.

Federal regulators, including the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Federal Reserve, the Justice Department and the New York District Attorney’s office are all involved in the probe of Deutsche Bank and three other European banks, said the attorney, who asked not to be identified because the investigations are confidential.”

Full article

“Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has begun the search for a chief operating officer who would be number two to new CEO Marissa Mayer. AllThingsD reports that the person would need turnaround and financial experience. Yahoo! has been turning itself around for years, so it may as well get someone who can do the job adroitly. The tech news site reports:”

Read more

“(CBS/AP) NEW YORK – Macy’s Inc. (M) is suing rival retailer J.C. Penney Co. (JCP), claiming Penney’s bid to sell products by Martha Stewart Living is a breach of an exclusive contract held by Macy’s and could cost it potentially billions in sales.

In the complaint filed Thursday in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Macy’s claims that J.C. Penney entered into an unlawful contract with Martha Stewart Living to sell some of its home products at its stores starting next February.”

Full article

“(AP) CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The founder an Iowa-based brokerage is expected to appear in court to face charges stemming from a suspected $200 million fraud scheme that drove his firm to bankruptcy and ripped off thousands of customers.

Peregrine Financial Group, Inc. CEO Russ Wasendorf Sr. is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in federal court in Cedar Rapids on an indictment that charges him with 31 counts of lying to regulators.”

Full article