Obama fails to warm Wall Street stocks

Obama’s inauguration did not manage to prevent Wall Street index S&P 500 from falling 8.7%, reaching its lowest levels in fourteen years.

The worst performers in the United States markets today were banks where doubts were raised on the results Wells Fargo is expected to issue tomorrow. Wells Fargo was one of the better managed banks during the financial crisis.

Banks, or rather, the duration of their bailout, was also a cause of concern in Britain where The Guardian reports that banks in Britain may be nationalised for as much as ten years. 

This shows us that all that long-lasting change needs is a signature on a piece of paper. If it’s for the better, then that’s a different question.

When investment in innovation pays off

You might ask: But how has Fiat managed to buy 35% of Chrysler in the midst of a crisis hardly hitting car makers all around the world?

The answer is the successful launch of two models onto the market – the Fiat 500 and the Fiat Punto – and a successful investment in making its operations more efficient, says Forbes.com.

How much has Fiat paid for its stake in Chrysler? Fiat has paid technology.

In fact, Fiat did not even pay  single cent into the company but has instead agreed to transfer its technology in the production of small and mid-sized cars.

Simply put, this is an example of the benefits of years of investment in innovation.

If Fiat can do it, everyone can.

Euro car industry, Latvia are running low on fuel

€40 billion is needed to save the European car industry from collapse, European car maker association president Carlos Ghosn said today. This news came as reports suggest that more than 1,300 employees could face the sack in troubled car make Jaguar-Land Rover.

Car makers in Europe were urged to keep a close eye on the outcomes of the proposed plan by President Obama to bail out US car makes, argued EU Industry Commissioner Geunter.

Latvia is also in need of help. The Finance Ministers of the European Union agreed to give the troubled Baltic EU member state a €3.1 billion loan.

Meanwhile, Fiat announced it acquired a 35% stake in Chrysler. The New York Times reported, Sergio Marchionne,  the chief executive of Fiat saying in a statement:

“This initiative represents a key milestone in the rapidly changing landscape of the automotive sector and confirms Fiat and Chrysler commitment and determination to continue to play a significant role in this global process,”

Jurys Inns, a small British hotel chain, was a rare source of good news as it announced the creation of 300 jobs as it intends to build new hotels in Newcastle-upon-Thyne, Portsmouth and Glasgow.

Jobs and Cars trouble continues as Wall Street waits

Everyone’s waiting for what Obama will say, and do, on the economy even stock traders as CNNMoney reports that stocks on Wall Street are set to go down in value today.

Meanwhile there’s a mix of bad and good news on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean as Times reports that inflation in Britain has stumbled to 3.1% in the last three months of 2008. RBS’ shares, which yesterday announced the biggest loss in British corporate history, are today trading at higher prices. 

This is however overshadowed by news that food firm Vion and clothing firm Burberry are set to axe jobs. 

European car-makers urgently need money, said Renault’s Chief Carlos Ghosn at a summit in France today. More than 10% of France’s workforce is employed in the car industry. France is preparing a plan to inject more cash in the industry.

Toyota’s also in trouble as it fired its President today after the company reduced its sales by 4%.

Deutsche Bank to set up shop in Malta?

Deutsche Bank is showing an interest in setting up operations in Malta, timesofmalta.com reports.

The news comes as the same web site reports that Malta’s Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is currently in a meeting with top officials of the bank.

Deutsche Bank warned shareholders last week it lost more than $6 billion in the last three months of 2008, sending shockwaves on the stock exchange where its shares lost more than 8% in value.

Fiat confirms it’s in talks with Chrysler

Fiat just confirmed it’s in talks with American carmaker Chrysler.

‘Journey to Gaza’ – Welcome to Malta’s first beat-blog

Finally, a media organisation has launched its first beat-blog.

Media and blogs are not yet in love in Malta. The power of blogging, especially beat-blogging, is in fact underestimated by most, if not all, media organisations in Malta. However, MediaToday has launched yesterday its first beatblog – Journey to Gaza.

Journey to Gaza, penned by Karl Schembri, MaltaToday deputy editor, shall follow the journey of  Sanaa el-Nahhal, a Palestinian from Gaza.She has ‘single-handedly collected humanitarian aid from the [Maltese] public last week’, the blog states.

Just a small comment on the title. There’s an epic feel to the blog title, ‘Journey to Gaza’. It reminds me of The Odyssey. And in fact, the story Karl’s following is living up to the title’s expectations as the Maltese embassy in Cairo took  nothing less than 26 hours to issue a document which the convoy needed to go into Gaza.

I shall be closely following this blog in the following days and encourage you to do so as well.