Filed under: Company News After three better-than-expected bank earnings announcements, investors are beginning to act as if the worst is over for the financial crisis. But are these earnings reports based on a fundamental improvement in the business climate and the banks’ strategies, or one-time...

Filed under: Company News After three better-than-expected bank earnings announcements, investors are beginning to act as if the worst is over for the financial crisis. But are these earnings reports based on a fundamental improvement in the business climate and the banks’ strategies, or one-time...

Filed under: Company News , Healthcare From looking at the action on Dendreon Corp. ( DNDN ) shares today, you’d think the company found a cure to cancer. Well . . . not quite, but it may have definitely made a milestone when it comes to cancer therapy. Dendreon reported this morning that its...

Filed under: Company News , Technology , Earnings Intel Corp. ( INTC ) is scheduled to report earnings after the close of U.S. markets today. Its results may signal whether demand is returning to the technology industry. Although the world’s largest semiconductor chip maker is expected to report...

Filed under: Company News , Economy Early last year when the Bush Administration pushed through tax refunds, consumer spending ticked up as the money made its way into the retail markets. But the spending spree was short-lived and retail sales dropped as the recession took hold. The same principles,...

Filed under: Economy The pronounced recession that has created hardships in every quarter of U.S. society has led to one long-term benefit for the U.S. economy: a decreasing trade deficit. This will benefit the U.S. economy long-term if the present trend of lower imports continues. The other side of...

Filed under: Economy The numbers are big enough to get the attention of even the most experienced New York Stock Exchange trading specialist or jaded Washington public policy lobbyist: a $192.3 billion federal budget deficit for March and a nearly $1 trillion deficit . . . for just the first six months...

Filed under: Company News , Earnings Two big questions loom over Goldman Sachs’ first-quarter earnings announcement tomorrow morning. The first is obvious: How well did the company do? Rumors are already circulating that Goldman Sachs ( GS ) will post its second-most-profitable quarter ever, so...

Filed under: Company News Banks that have received TARP money have already run into problems with Congress and the public. Most of these have been due to what has been viewed as excessive executive pay and perks. The way that the firms operate day-to-day has not been a big issue, at least so far. The...

Filed under: Company News Toyota ( TM ) may have to pay its workers less than the U.S. car companies do. It may also make better cars. It is now the number one auto company in the world based on unit sales. None of that makes it entirely immune to the economic downturn. Toyota has grown so big that...