Financial news on January 21, 2010

Business and Financial news
China on Path to Become Second-Largest Economy

If China keeps up its growth rate, it will likely replace Japan as the world’s second-largest economy this year. Read more..

By EDWARD WONG - The New York Times

China to Slow Lending to Fight Inflation

The bank regulator said it expected Chinese banks to extend loans totaling about $1.1 trillion this year, a decline of nearly 22 percent from 2009. Read more..

By BETTINA WASSENER - The New York Times

Earbuds That Dance or Not, and Have Artificial Intelligence

Sony offers $300 headphones with artificial intelligence while two other companies offer headphones that do or don’t move to the music. Read more..

By STEPHEN WILLIAMS - The New York Times

F.B.I. Charges Arms Sellers With Foreign Bribes

The case against 22 top-level arms industry executives is the biggest prosecution of individuals for foreign corporate bribery ever pursued by the Justice Department. Read more..

By DIANA B. HENRIQUES - The New York Times

Guilty Plea in Sale of Products With Steroids

VMG Global, a California sports nutrition company, admitted in federal court that it illegally put steroids in its dietary supplements. Read more..

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and NATASHA SINGER - The New York Times

How Fast Is Your Web Connection?

Internet service providers and various sites offer tests that measure the speed of a Web connection, which could help you get faster service. Read more..

By PETER WAYNER - The New York Times

If Your Password Is 123456, Just Make It HackMe

People favor simple passwords, despite Internet security scares like the recent attacks on Google’s e-mail service. Read more..

By ASHLEE VANCE - The New York Times

Obama’s Move to Limit ‘Reckless Risks’ Has Skeptics

The president on Thursday proposed legislation to limit the scope and size of large financial institutions. Read more..

By SEWELL CHAN and ERIC DASH - The New York Times

Packing a Series of Pluses

New versions of the Pre and Pixi can become personal Wi-Fi hot spots, at a price, of course. Read more..

By DAVID POGUE - The New York Times

Screen Language, Deciphered

I’m shopping around for a laptop, but get confused at the different type of L.C.D. screens offered. For example, I have a choice of C.C.F.L. or LED — what does that even mean? Read more..

By J. D. BIERSDORFER - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
JPMorgan Chase JPM 43.04 43.15 40.32 40.54 138M
General Electric GE 16.47 16.48 15.95 16.02 99.2M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 27.98 28.50 27.18 28.00 90.2M
Pfizer PFE 20.04 20.15 19.17 19.24 77.2M
Intel INTC 21.15 21.31 20.68 20.84 73.6M
Microsoft MSFT 30.61 30.72 30.00 30.01 73.1M
Cisco Systems CSCO 24.51 24.65 23.86 23.98 54.8M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 25.19 25.54 24.59 24.83 41.8M
AT&T Inc. T 25.92 25.98 25.40 25.67 40.1M
ExxonMobil XOM 68.12 68.15 66.50 66.70 39.1M
Comcast CMCSA 16.52 16.58 15.84 16.00 32.9M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 35.43 35.69 33.00 33.10 29.2M
Merck MRK 41.08 41.56 40.05 40.08 25.6M
Verizon Communications VZ 30.79 30.97 30.26 30.63 23.6M
Altria MO 20.33 20.37 19.81 19.89 21.9M
Apple AAPL 212.08 213.31 207.21 208.07 21.7M
ConocoPhillips COP 53.03 53.27 52.06 52.24 20.7M
Home Depot HD 28.63 29.06 28.32 28.48 18.9M
HP Inc. HPQ 52.41 52.47 50.89 51.29 18.5M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 56.21 56.50 55.00 55.56 17.3M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 25.42 25.64 24.89 24.95 16.8M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 54.07 54.07 52.84 52.92 16M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 31.14 31.42 30.57 30.61 15.4M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 65.07 65.47 63.80 63.97 14.5M
Procter & Gamble PG 60.56 60.93 59.45 59.84 14.3M
Coca-Cola KO 55.55 55.58 54.19 54.37 13.7M
Alphabet GOOGL 583.44 586.82 572.25 582.98 12.6M
Chevron CVX 78.15 78.18 76.06 76.24 12.6M
Gilead Sciences GILD 46.24 46.50 45.19 45.78 12.2M
McDonald's MCD 62.97 63.60 62.80 63.20 11.7M
Schlumberger SLB 69.02 69.49 67.52 68.31 11.6M
Amazon AMZN 127.26 128.15 125.00 126.62 9.97M
International Business Machines IBM 130.47 130.69 128.06 129.00 9.61M
Union Pacific UNP 63.75 67.48 63.15 65.45 8.74M
Pepsico PEP 62.01 62.16 60.74 60.94 7.12M
Visa V 87.45 87.90 84.12 84.45 7.04M
Amgen AMGN 57.43 57.56 56.31 56.63 5.83M
Boeing BA 60.30 61.26 58.90 59.20 5.4M
United Technologies UTX 71.45 71.85 69.75 70.13 5.11M
3M MMM 84.60 84.60 82.57 82.70 4.78M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 71.13 73.43 70.51 72.72 290K
Exchange Rates of January 21, 2010
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 90.450 JPY 1 JPY = 0.011 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 1.052 CAD 1 CAD = 0.951 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 1.043 CHF 1 CHF = 0.959 USD
US Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 USD = 6.828 CNY 1 CNY = 0.146 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 127.370 JPY 1 JPY = 0.008 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0.870 GBP 1 GBP = 1.150 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.565 AUD 1 AUD = 0.639 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.481 CAD 1 CAD = 0.675 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1.468 CHF 1 CHF = 0.681 EUR
Euro Chinese Yuan 1 EUR = 9.619 CNY 1 CNY = 0.104 EUR
Japanese Yen Pound Sterling 1 JPY = 0.682 GBP 1 GBP = 1.465 JPY
Japanese Yen Australian Dollar 1 JPY = 1.228 AUD 1 AUD = 0.815 JPY
Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar 1 JPY = 1.163 CAD 1 CAD = 0.860 JPY
Japanese Yen Swiss Franc 1 JPY = 1.153 CHF 1 CHF = 0.868 JPY
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 1.799 AUD 1 AUD = 0.556 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 1.704 CAD 1 CAD = 0.587 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 1.688 CHF 1 CHF = 0.592 GBP
Pound Sterling Chinese Yuan 1 GBP = 11.048 CNY 1 CNY = 0.091 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0.947 CAD 1 CAD = 1.056 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 0.938 CHF 1 CHF = 1.066 AUD
Australian Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 AUD = 6.148 CNY 1 CNY = 0.163 AUD
Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 CAD = 0.991 CHF 1 CHF = 1.009 CAD
Canadian Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 CAD = 6.489 CNY 1 CNY = 0.154 CAD
Swiss Franc Chinese Yuan 1 CHF = 6.547 CNY 1 CNY = 0.153 CHF

See what else happened on January 21, 2010