Financial news on August 12, 2008

Business and Financial news
Analyzing Wall Street’s Research

Since 2002, when research was formally separated from investment banking, the quality of research on Wall Street has deteriorated, and many top analysts have left the business. Read more..

By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN - The New York Times

Auditors Question Blackwater Contracts

The contractor, whose provision of private security in Iraq has come under scrutiny, may have improperly obtained $100 million in contracts meant for small businesses. Read more..

By ELIZABETH OLSON - The New York Times

Caring for a Special Needs Child Can Be Difficult for Business Travelers

Business travel is never easy for a parent. But business travel for the parent of a child with special needs is another story. Read more..

By MICHAEL T. LUONGO - The New York Times

Cost-Cutting in New York, but a Boom in India

Wall Street’s losses are fast becoming India’s gain, as jobs higher up the financial food chain are being exported to India and places less costly than New York and London. Read more..

By HEATHER TIMMONS - The New York Times

Delays Keep Fliers Waiting and Guessing

When bad weather rolls in, planes are forced to wait on the tarmac for extended periods, pushing the air traffic control system to its limits. Read more..

By JOE SHARKEY - The New York Times

For Retired Olympians, Marketing Is the Game

Even for alumni, the ability to cash in on one’s former fame comes only once every four years, because corporate sponsors prefer to work with athletes when their signature sports are in the news. Read more..

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD - The New York Times

Garbage Collector Raises Bid for a Rival

Seeking to pry Republic Services away from an all-stock deal with Allied Waste Industries, Waste Management raised its hostile bid for Republic to $6.73 billion in cash. Read more..

By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED - The New York Times

Global Trail of an Online Crime Ring

Prosecutors say their own informant stole millions of credit card numbers in a case that reveals how the Internet is enabling new crimes on a vast scale. Read more..

By BRAD STONE - The New York Times

Leaving Wall Street for a Job Overseas

As Wall Street’s troubles deepen, big investment banks are seizing the moment to ask high-value employees to move to financial hubs in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Read more..

By LOUISE STORY - The New York Times

Recall Leads Whole Foods to a Change

Scrambling to contain fallout from a recall that threatens its reputation for quality, Whole Foods said it would tighten oversight of suppliers to keep unsafe products out of its stores. Read more..

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
JPMorgan Chase JPM 40.99 41.01 37.02 37.92 65.2M
Microsoft MSFT 27.78 28.36 27.58 28.12 62.8M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 31.00 31.52 30.09 30.38 54.3M
Intel INTC 24.30 24.59 24.05 24.52 51.9M
Cisco Systems CSCO 24.68 24.78 24.35 24.50 41.2M
General Electric GE 29.92 30.18 29.57 29.74 37.8M
Pfizer PFE 19.83 20.03 19.67 19.72 35.7M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 22.98 23.01 22.68 22.90 30M
Apple AAPL 173.52 179.29 173.51 176.73 29.9M
Home Depot HD 27.35 27.76 27.18 27.48 27.2M
ExxonMobil XOM 78.57 78.65 76.51 76.88 26M
AT&T Inc. T 31.94 31.95 31.50 31.65 23.6M
Comcast CMCSA 21.76 22.08 21.45 21.83 21M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 58.71 59.74 58.40 59.25 20.3M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 32.86 32.92 32.06 32.16 14.8M
Procter & Gamble PG 69.22 70.53 69.10 70.34 14.4M
Altria MO 21.30 21.81 21.13 21.71 14M
Verizon Communications VZ 35.25 35.26 34.61 34.82 13.7M
Union Pacific UNP 79.54 80.15 73.53 76.14 13.6M
ConocoPhillips COP 80.89 81.29 79.68 79.95 13.4M
McDonald's MCD 65.21 65.43 63.62 63.94 13.2M
Chevron CVX 84.84 84.84 83.12 83.56 12.7M
Merck MRK 35.60 36.34 35.60 36.17 11.6M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 58.52 59.30 58.52 58.88 10.6M
Schlumberger SLB 93.50 94.99 92.02 92.65 10.1M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 71.47 71.87 71.29 71.70 8.7M
HP Inc. HPQ 45.63 45.99 45.08 45.68 8.49M
Visa V 74.20 74.80 72.60 72.80 8.43M
Coca-Cola KO 55.19 55.82 54.12 54.79 8.35M
Amazon AMZN 87.32 88.48 86.10 87.25 8.03M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 31.39 31.94 31.18 31.48 7.48M
Amgen AMGN 63.79 64.04 63.12 63.55 7.04M
International Business Machines IBM 126.01 126.50 124.40 125.22 7M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 22.47 22.53 22.09 22.20 6.49M
Boeing BA 66.89 66.95 65.57 65.93 6.42M
Gilead Sciences GILD 56.39 57.30 56.35 57.10 6.11M
Alphabet GOOGL 502.00 506.13 498.00 502.61 5.51M
Pepsico PEP 69.40 69.85 68.95 69.62 5.34M
United Technologies UTX 66.96 67.24 66.30 66.51 4.39M
3M MMM 74.54 74.54 73.38 73.60 4.09M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 3930.00 3935.00 3825.00 3838.00 17.7K
Exchange Rates of August 12, 2008
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 109.290 JPY 1 JPY = 0.009 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 1.065 CAD 1 CAD = 0.939 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 1.087 CHF 1 CHF = 0.920 USD
US Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 USD = 6.866 CNY 1 CNY = 0.146 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 163.000 JPY 1 JPY = 0.006 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0.787 GBP 1 GBP = 1.271 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.712 AUD 1 AUD = 0.584 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.587 CAD 1 CAD = 0.630 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1.620 CHF 1 CHF = 0.617 EUR
Japanese Yen Pound Sterling 1 JPY = 0.482 GBP 1 GBP = 2.073 JPY
Japanese Yen Australian Dollar 1 JPY = 1.050 AUD 1 AUD = 0.953 JPY
Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar 1 JPY = 0.973 CAD 1 CAD = 1.027 JPY
Japanese Yen Swiss Franc 1 JPY = 0.994 CHF 1 CHF = 1.006 JPY
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 2.177 AUD 1 AUD = 0.459 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 2.018 CAD 1 CAD = 0.496 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 2.059 CHF 1 CHF = 0.486 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0.927 CAD 1 CAD = 1.079 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 0.946 CHF 1 CHF = 1.057 AUD
Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 CAD = 1.020 CHF 1 CHF = 0.980 CAD

See what else happened on August 12, 2008