Here are 10 things worth reading for Thursday:
• Insight: Cause for caution on US earnings (FT) The cloud of euphoria that followed recent results had more to do with extraordinarily low expectations, than to any meaningful and lasting improvement in prospects, which still require a rapid recovery in economic activity. This suggests the recent equity rally off the back of these results is overdone.
• Unfinished Business for Wall Street’s ‘Death Panel’ (MarketWatch/WSJ) Recent evidence suggests not only has Wall Street survived, but it is essentially unchanged. The casino ethos is alive and well in the record value-at-risk numbers at some firms and the hand-wringing at rivals that temporarily short-leashed trading desks and suffered lower profits as a result. Bonuses are rising and banks are hiring again to capture gains in the volatile commodities and other speculation-fueled markets.
• George Soros: U.S. economy has bottomed (Reuters)
• $2BTARP SURPLUS MAY GO TO STOP APT BUILDING FORECLOSURES (NY Post) First it was the banks and automakers that got a helping hand from Uncle Sam — and soon some New York City apartment complexes could get one, too.
• $599 All-You-Can-Fly: JetBlue Deal Relaunches Business (Washington Post) JetBlue has launched a $599 promotion that lets you fly as much as you want between September 8 and October 8. The offer lets you book any available seat on a flight as long as you give three days notice ahead of departure. If you book a flight but don’t show up, you pay a $100 penalty fee.
• So Much For That; EPA Won’t Back Up GM’s 230 MPG Claim (Reuters) EPA has not tested a Chevy Volt and therefore cannot confirm the fuel economy values claimed by GM.
• Nokia Rocks the World: The Phone King’s Plan to Redefine Its Business: Nokia’s Comes With Music service, which offers unlimited downloads of more than 6 million songs (Fast Company)
• Stephen Hawking both British and not dead (Register): In perhaps the most amusing effort to discredit US President Barack Obama’s plan for nationalized health care – if not the most ridiculous – US financial newspaper Investor’s Business Daily has said that if Stephen Hawking were British, he would be dead.
• 10 Steps to Better Health Care (NYT) There is a far more desirable alternative: to change how care is delivered so that it is both less expensive and more effective.
• Actually, Bill, Amsterdam is very nice (boingboing)
Have I missed anything good?
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