Financial news on December 16, 2008

Business and Financial news
As Orders Decline, Industrial Production Drops 0.6%

The country’s output of cars, automotive goods, home electronics, appliances and furniture tumbled in November in the face of declining orders. Read more..

By JACK HEALY - The New York Times

Big Oil Projects Put in Jeopardy by Fall in Prices

Price cuts are welcome at the pump, but delays may cut future supplies, setting the stage for another price surge. Read more..

By JAD MOUAWAD - The New York Times

Fed Cuts Key Rate to a Record Low

Having reduced its key rate to a record low, the Fed said that it would use “all available tools” to fight the recession and downward pressure on prices. Read more..

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and JACKIE CALMES - The New York Times

Global Car Industry Fearful for Detroit

There are growing concerns that the automakers’ problems in the United States will weigh down their more successful units in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Read more..

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ - The New York Times

GMAC Closer to Goal of Being a Bank

GMAC investors holding about $10.5 billion in bonds agreed to new terms of a debt swap, bringing the company closer to becoming a bank and getting a bailout. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

Inquiry Finds No Signs Family Aided Madoff

Investigators have found no evidence so far that members of Bernard L. Madoff’s family aided in what may be the largest financial fraud in history, according to a person briefed on the case. Read more..

By ALEX BERENSON and DIANA B. HENRIQUES - The New York Times

Murdoch Investors Are Groaning

Though it may count as a corporate finance achievement, Rupert Murdoch’s gambit for Dow Jones has played out poorly for his investors. Read more..

By ROB COX and LAUREN SILVA - The New York Times

S.E.C. Image Suffers in a String of Setbacks

The Securities and Exchange Commission is finding itself conducting autopsies of financial institutions after failing, in the first instance, to perform adequate biopsies. Read more..

By STEPHEN LABATON - The New York Times

Siemens to Pay $1.34 Billion in Fines

By agreeing to the record fines, the German engineering conglomerate closes the book on wide-ranging criminal investigations in the United States and Germany. Read more..

By ERIC LICHTBLAU and CARTER DOUGHERTY - The New York Times

Wall St. Fraud Leaves Charities Reeling

Around the country, nonprofits are reeling from the Madoff scandal. Read more..

By STEPHANIE STROM - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

StockTicker symbolOpenHighLowCloseVolume
General ElectricGE17.1318.1317.0117.92119M
IntelINTC14.7215.6814.6215.64101M
MicrosoftMSFT19.2120.1819.0020.1197.7M
Cisco SystemsCSCO17.0417.4516.6917.4277.8M
JPMorgan ChaseJPM29.0132.7528.8432.3575.8M
PfizerPFE16.7517.5716.7417.3666.5M
Wells Fargo & Co.WFC26.4729.8226.4529.7864.9M
ExxonMobilXOM80.4183.6480.0783.1458.5M
Oracle Corp.ORCL16.6217.4016.5117.2757.3M
AltriaMO15.2915.3614.4214.5450.8M
AT&T Inc.T27.2528.4027.0628.2344.7M
AppleAAPL93.9896.4892.7595.4339.1M
ComcastCMCSA15.4516.5015.4316.4531.9M
Verizon CommunicationsVZ32.7534.3032.2533.5030.8M
Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY22.2322.8722.0822.5029.2M
Home DepotHD23.7324.5922.8824.3226.2M
ChevronCVX78.9580.0677.9679.0123.3M
Wal-Mart StoresWMT55.0155.9754.1455.2423M
Walt Disney & Co.DIS23.0424.1722.5723.7822.3M
Abbott LaboratoriesABT52.0353.4451.6753.1620.1M
HP Inc.HPQ35.3336.5534.9436.3219.5M
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ58.4559.7557.6359.6017.9M
ConocoPhillipsCOP52.7154.3652.3054.1317.8M
Procter & GamblePG59.9061.7559.5861.6217.8M
Coca-ColaKO45.2746.7944.7346.4617.5M
SchlumbergerSLB43.6243.9041.1542.8815.9M
MerckMRK27.0528.1026.4827.9115.8M
Gilead SciencesGILD45.2247.9545.2247.8714.2M
AlphabetGOOGL314.52329.50311.27325.2814.1M
McDonald'sMCD61.1463.0060.9162.9213.5M
UnitedHealth GroupUNH23.0624.8922.5024.3511.9M
International Business MachinesIBM83.1186.8482.8786.4011.6M
BoeingBA39.2142.0038.2041.9011M
PepsicoPEP52.9154.4252.5154.219.41M
3MMMM55.5758.6055.3158.329.33M
United TechnologiesUTX50.6551.8249.0851.679.02M
AmgenAMGN57.8959.5057.8459.388.88M
AmazonAMZN49.6252.9649.2952.638.86M
Union PacificUNP43.9747.4543.9746.907.87M
VisaV53.3054.7852.7454.777.68M
Berkshire HathawayBRK.B3170.003342.003166.003328.0043.1K
Exchange Rates of December 16, 2008
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US DollarJapanese Yen1 USD = 89.040 JPY1 JPY = 0.011 USD
US DollarCanadian Dollar1 USD = 1.205 CAD1 CAD = 0.830 USD
US DollarSwiss Franc1 USD = 1.124 CHF1 CHF = 0.890 USD
US DollarChinese Yuan1 USD = 6.846 CNY1 CNY = 0.146 USD
EuroJapanese Yen1 EUR = 124.780 JPY1 JPY = 0.008 EUR
EuroPound Sterling1 EUR = 0.900 GBP1 GBP = 1.112 EUR
EuroAustralian Dollar1 EUR = 2.018 AUD1 AUD = 0.495 EUR
EuroCanadian Dollar1 EUR = 1.688 CAD1 CAD = 0.592 EUR
EuroSwiss Franc1 EUR = 1.575 CHF1 CHF = 0.635 EUR
EuroChinese Yuan1 EUR = 9.607 CNY1 CNY = 0.104 EUR
Japanese YenPound Sterling1 JPY = 0.721 GBP1 GBP = 1.388 JPY
Japanese YenAustralian Dollar1 JPY = 1.617 AUD1 AUD = 0.619 JPY
Japanese YenCanadian Dollar1 JPY = 1.353 CAD1 CAD = 0.739 JPY
Japanese YenSwiss Franc1 JPY = 1.262 CHF1 CHF = 0.793 JPY
Pound SterlingAustralian Dollar1 GBP = 2.242 AUD1 AUD = 0.446 GBP
Pound SterlingCanadian Dollar1 GBP = 1.876 CAD1 CAD = 0.533 GBP
Pound SterlingSwiss Franc1 GBP = 1.751 CHF1 CHF = 0.571 GBP
Pound SterlingChinese Yuan1 GBP = 10.646 CNY1 CNY = 0.094 GBP
Australian DollarCanadian Dollar1 AUD = 0.836 CAD1 CAD = 1.197 AUD
Australian DollarSwiss Franc1 AUD = 0.780 CHF1 CHF = 1.283 AUD
Australian DollarChinese Yuan1 AUD = 4.760 CNY1 CNY = 0.210 AUD
Canadian DollarSwiss Franc1 CAD = 0.932 CHF1 CHF = 1.073 CAD
Canadian DollarChinese Yuan1 CAD = 5.682 CNY1 CNY = 0.176 CAD
Swiss FrancChinese Yuan1 CHF = 6.089 CNY1 CNY = 0.164 CHF

See what else happened on December 16, 2008