Financial news on December 18, 2008

Business and Financial news
A Keyboard for Gamers, Stripped Down to the Keys You Need (Joystick Included)

The Logitech G13 Gameboard has an LCD screen that connects to most games and can display game statistics, system information or even messages from your in-game friends. Read more..

By JOHN BIGGS - The New York Times

A Wireless Modem Comes Ready for WiMax

Sprint’s new U300 wireless modem offers Wi-Fi-like connection speeds without the need to be close to a base station. Read more..

By MARTY KATZ - The New York Times

Eating Healthy, Even at Your Desk

A new program by FreshDirect sends experts into offices to offer tips to employees who want to stay healthy while dining at the desk. Read more..

By DOUGLAS QUENQUA - The New York Times

Fed Cut Pressures Japan and China to Follow Suit

Analysts, however, were uncertain about the timing of the rate cuts, with many saying sometime next year. Read more..

By BETTINA WASSENER - The New York Times

Movie Power for a Long Haul

Is there a way to make my laptop battery last through an entire DVD during a long plane flight, or do I have to get an extended battery? Read more..

By J. D. BIERSDORFER - The New York Times

On Wall Street, Bonuses, Not Profits, Were Real

As regulators sift through the financial rubble, there are questions about the role of lavish bonuses in the debacle. Read more..

By LOUISE STORY - The New York Times

Software That Opens Worlds to the Disabled

In an effort to help disabled people expand their capabilities, a software-writing competition was organized in Southern California to foster innovative ideas. Read more..

By JAMES FLANIGAN - The New York Times

Updating Automatically

Is there a better way to get the latest software updates than opening each application, one by one, and clicking “check for updates?” Read more..

By J. D. BIERSDORFER - The New York Times

With Little Optimism for 2009, Morgan Stanley Posts $2 Billion Loss

The bank closed out one of its most wrenching fiscal years ever with a $2.36 billion quarterly loss and downbeat forecasts for the year ahead. Read more..

By LOUISE STORY - The New York Times

Yahoo Limits Retention of Search Data

Yahoo said it would limit to 90 days the time it holds personal information related to searches to address privacy concerns. Read more..

By MIGUEL HELFT - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
General Electric GE 17.54 17.56 15.77 15.96 154M
Microsoft MSFT 19.86 20.02 18.99 19.30 80.8M
Intel INTC 15.06 15.19 14.09 14.26 74.2M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 30.26 31.41 29.21 29.65 62.9M
ExxonMobil XOM 80.56 80.98 76.20 77.00 59.7M
JPMorgan Chase JPM 32.16 32.59 30.12 30.21 57.5M
Pfizer PFE 17.34 17.57 16.94 17.12 52.8M
Cisco Systems CSCO 16.87 16.91 16.44 16.66 52.4M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 16.83 16.97 16.34 16.61 45.3M
Altria MO 14.88 15.24 14.85 15.18 33.7M
AT&T Inc. T 28.40 28.85 27.50 27.72 33.2M
Apple AAPL 89.31 90.83 88.44 89.43 30.6M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 22.60 23.46 22.53 22.86 27.3M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 55.46 56.21 54.78 55.41 26.9M
Home Depot HD 24.80 25.07 24.05 24.45 22.1M
Chevron CVX 76.50 76.74 72.23 73.03 21.5M
Comcast CMCSA 16.50 16.67 15.52 15.81 20.6M
Verizon Communications VZ 34.23 34.37 32.94 33.30 20.5M
ConocoPhillips COP 53.42 53.66 50.55 51.54 20.5M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 52.35 53.10 51.30 51.99 19.2M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 59.55 60.25 58.49 58.99 18.9M
Merck MRK 27.39 28.33 27.06 27.74 18.8M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 23.67 23.90 22.50 22.83 18.4M
HP Inc. HPQ 36.68 36.68 34.69 35.37 18.2M
Schlumberger SLB 42.48 42.51 39.29 39.43 17.6M
Procter & Gamble PG 61.00 62.17 59.50 60.31 17.2M
Coca-Cola KO 46.07 46.45 44.77 45.18 15.5M
Amgen AMGN 58.60 60.00 57.53 58.02 11.5M
McDonald's MCD 63.02 63.02 60.90 61.29 11.4M
Gilead Sciences GILD 47.64 49.77 47.54 48.78 10.3M
Pepsico PEP 54.62 55.38 54.38 54.71 10.3M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 24.16 25.08 23.69 24.91 10.1M
Alphabet GOOGL 316.70 320.35 309.11 310.28 9.52M
Boeing BA 41.31 41.75 40.69 41.07 8.65M
International Business Machines IBM 85.77 86.64 82.96 84.00 8.03M
United Technologies UTX 50.78 51.72 50.53 50.81 7.94M
Visa V 55.37 56.19 54.07 54.70 7.59M
Amazon AMZN 53.00 54.85 51.20 52.08 7.52M
Union Pacific UNP 49.14 49.92 45.75 46.59 6.72M
3M MMM 58.90 59.26 56.28 56.71 5.57M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 3315.00 3346.00 3190.00 3280.00 26.3K
Exchange Rates of December 18, 2008
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 89.410 JPY 1 JPY = 0.011 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 1.203 CAD 1 CAD = 0.832 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 1.083 CHF 1 CHF = 0.923 USD
US Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 USD = 6.835 CNY 1 CNY = 0.146 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 127.410 JPY 1 JPY = 0.008 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0.949 GBP 1 GBP = 1.054 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 2.074 AUD 1 AUD = 0.482 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.714 CAD 1 CAD = 0.583 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1.544 CHF 1 CHF = 0.648 EUR
Euro Chinese Yuan 1 EUR = 9.730 CNY 1 CNY = 0.103 EUR
Japanese Yen Pound Sterling 1 JPY = 0.744 GBP 1 GBP = 1.343 JPY
Japanese Yen Australian Dollar 1 JPY = 1.628 AUD 1 AUD = 0.614 JPY
Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar 1 JPY = 1.346 CAD 1 CAD = 0.743 JPY
Japanese Yen Swiss Franc 1 JPY = 1.211 CHF 1 CHF = 0.826 JPY
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 2.186 AUD 1 AUD = 0.458 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 1.806 CAD 1 CAD = 0.554 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 1.626 CHF 1 CHF = 0.615 GBP
Pound Sterling Chinese Yuan 1 GBP = 10.256 CNY 1 CNY = 0.098 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0.826 CAD 1 CAD = 1.211 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 0.744 CHF 1 CHF = 1.345 AUD
Australian Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 AUD = 4.683 CNY 1 CNY = 0.214 AUD
Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 CAD = 0.900 CHF 1 CHF = 1.111 CAD
Canadian Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 CAD = 5.673 CNY 1 CNY = 0.176 CAD
Swiss Franc Chinese Yuan 1 CHF = 6.310 CNY 1 CNY = 0.158 CHF

See what else happened on December 18, 2008