Author: usfinancereviewer

Apple Struggles to Meet Market Expectations

Apple Inc.’s third quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street’s projections as iPhone sales begin to falter. Investors are beginning to hesitate as Apple loses stature in the mobile industry.

Company shares fell 10% to $463 from $514, bringing the market value down by $50 billion.

This past week, Apple said it shipped a 47.8 million iPhones, a company record, during the December quarter. Though the figure was 29% higher than last year, analysts had predicted 50 million shipments for that period.

Shaw Wu analyst Sterne Agee said: “It’s going to call into question Apple’s dominance in the space. It’s still one of the strong players, the others being Samsung and Google. It’s still a two-race, but Android continues to grow rapidly.

“If you step back a bit, it’s clear they shipped a lot of phones. But the problem is the high expectations that investors have. Apple’s conservative guidance highlights the concerns over production cuts coming out of Asia recently.”

This is certainly the case for Apple, which predicted revenue of $41- $43 billion for the current quarter, while analysts marked their expectations at $45 billion.

Christmas, a Boost to the US Economy

santaCertainly, as the fear of the fiscal cliff looms, everyone has their ears and eyes set on Christmas and the holiday season in general. Typically, this is the largest economic stimulus time of the year, as people come out to purchase Christmas gifts and to enjoy before the New Year. The US retail industry generated approximately 2.88 trillion US dollars during the holidays in 2011. This reflects approximately 19.5% of the entire retail industry total sales for the year.

These numbers also have a great impact on the regional employment figures, as 608 thousand employees were hired last year to deal with the holiday rush. All eyes are on the stores today, and during this time in general, to see what this year will bring for the economic forecast.

Small Business Trends of 2012

Small businesses and startups have earned a significant role in the U.S. economy, creating tens of thousands of jobs across the nation and assisting in community growth.

There are currently several leading trends in the sector. According to Fox Business, these include:

  • SBA Boosts Small Business Lending

The Small Business Administration had its second-highest lending volume level in 2012, reaching $30 billion in loans.

  • Incorporation of Technology in Small Business Lending

Online platforms have been launched to enable small business owners to compare and apply for loans over the internet, instead of visiting numerous banks to compare deals.

  • Crowdsourcing Campaigns

“Crowdsourcing”, the use of social media to encourage friends, acquaintances and other lenders to donate modest amounts of money to small business owners, became popular in 2012. Legislations were even passed in order to ease this process and boost capital.

  • Alternative Lenders

Big banks, small banks and credit unions all have low approval rates. This has opened to doors to a whole new approach to lending, including cash advance companies, accounts, receivable financers, factors and micro lenders.

 

IMF and U.S. Worried As Recession Looms Closer

The United States are struggling with internal and external stressors, as critics claim that failure to implement a new plan will result in another worldwide recession.

George Osborne, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, said “People are concerned.” He added that there “was quite a lot of discussion” at the annual IMF meeting this week.

The current plan lingers around the idea of the U.S. incurring $100 billion in automatic spending cuts, as well as over $5 billion in expiring tax reductions in January. This week, the IMF claimed such a deal will undoubtedly tighten fiscal policy by 4% of GDP, the most since the 40s.

“It’s a very serious situation for all of North America and for the entire world,” said Jim Flaherty, Canadian Finance Minister. “It means we’ll all go into recession. So it’s important this gets dealt with.”

Big-Name Retailers Extend Hours for Holiday Shoppers

Big-name retailers are upping their appeal to last minute holiday shoppers by offering extended hours, sometimes even staying open for more than 24 hours straight.

Macy’s was the first to announce such a policy, broadcasting last week that its stores will be open in the 48 hours leading up to Christmas Eve. The department locations will open on Friday, Dec. 21st through Sunday, December 23rd.

Other retailers are following in Macy’s footsteps, hoping to draw last-minute gift buyers and other shoppers.

Toys “R” Us announced that its stores would remain open for 88 hours straight in preparation for Christmas Eve. It also kept its Times Square location open for 24 hours for the past few weeks, and will continue to do so until Christmas. Target is also extended its hours.

Macy’s chief stores officer explained:

“We hope to make it easy for our customers across the country to finish their shopping at any time of day or night, and with the benefit of the great deals and value they count on from hour One Day Sales when must see here.”

Richard Clarida on Fed Policies and the U.S. Economy

According to Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Richard Clarida, Federal Reserve policy is incapable of eliminating the biggest obstacle of U.S. economic recovery.

“The main challenges facing the U.S. are not monetary, he said. “We have the headwinds from the fiscal cliff, from the slowdown in China, from the turmoil in Europe. None of those are monetary-policy issues.”

The U.S.’s GDP fell to 1.5% in the second quarter according to a recent report by the Commerce Department. Unless Congress takes action, the nation is likely to grapple with a ‘fiscal cliff’ of heightened taxes as well as spending reductions on defense and government programs.

Clarida said: “At the margin, I think the Fed believes where it can make a difference it will. But it recognizes that this is not ultimately going to be a monetary-policy solution for these challenges.”

US Stocks Rise as Central Banks Consider Joint Efforts

The thought of American and European central banks joining China to boost the economy has triggered the best weekly gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since last year.

In fact, all ten of the index’s stock groups rose this week, adding almost 5%. Though Facebook continued its three-week slide, Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Home Depot were two companies who reported significant gains.

Altogether, the S&P 500 climbed 3.7% to 1,325.66, a large improvement to last week’s 3% slump. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose to 12,554.20.

“The optimism comes from the belief that there is going to be some kind of coordinated activity from central banks,” said Mariner Wealth Advisors’ Bill Greiner.

“The question in my mind is how close to the edge do the world of investors have to move before the central banks start to move in the direction that they need to,” he added.

International Personal Finance on First Quarter Profits

According to International Personal Finance, or IPF, pretax profit in the first quarter fell significantly as a result of weak exchange rates and high prices.

IPF revealed that their profits, before tax, dropped to $9.7 million, while first quarter revenue fell as well.

“We have made an encouraging start to the year and are on track to perform well in 2012,” said Gerard Ryan, CEO. “The result for the quarter includes the impact of higher rebate costs and weaker foreign exchange rates, which are in line with previous guidance.”

Meanwhile, the company shares rose 4% to $3.92 in London, bringing the market value to over $100 million.

IPF is a leading home credit provider, working across the globe for over 130 years. The firm prides itself on its personal relationships, fast and flexible approach, and accessible loans.

According to their website, “Loans are arranged and delivered by our agents in the convenience of our customer’s home, at a time that suits them.”

They also consider themselves to be all-inclusive, stating: “Our customers are often not well served by banks. They may have no credit history and prefer to use cash. Our loans appeal to those who want smaller loans and manageable repayments.”

 

Gold Investing: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Those investors who took a chance with gold in 2011 saw that overall gold’s performance was positive. There is no denying that it was a volatile year, but when compared to the international market indexes, gold proved to be a powerful commodity.
According to many analysts and those that watch the markets on a professional level, the prediction for 2012 is that gold will most likely perform well again. One way for investors to get involved in the gold market is by seeking out the services of companies that specialize in gold and other precious metals.
The overall view of gold’s potential growth for 2012 is a positive one, although it is certainly hard to know exactly how positive. The forecasts for gold prices are not always consistent. Among those venturing a guess are BNP Paribas, who reduced their prediction for 2012 by $250 to $1,775. Other investment firms, such as Barclays and UBS have higher hopes, setting their sights at $2,000, at least. What most companies can agree on however is that gold will be a good investment this coming year.