Archive for June 18th, 2008

Profits at Morgan Stanley fell by more than half last quarter, hurt by a decline in its investment banking and sales and trading businesses, the company reported Wednesday.

In a nearly $5 swing from its lows, crude prices ended sharply higher Wednesday following a report that Nigerian oil workers are threatening to go on strike.

The United States can no longer afford to put off serious energy reform, presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Wednesday, advocating such moves as building nuclear plants and increased offshore oil drilling.

Susan Lyne, who quit the CEO post at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia last week, has been in touch with Oprah and her folks about running OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network.

This week's push for increased U.S. oil drilling, both offshore and in Alaska, is part of a longer-standing debate about the best way to solve the energy crisis - tap domestic reserves or put more emphasis on developing alternatives.

The general campaign is on, independent voters are up for grabs, and Barack Obama is toning down his populist rhetoric - at least when it comes to free trade.

Markets were down on Wednesday midway through the session after FedEx and Morgan Stanley both announced poor earnings Wednesday morning.

President George Bush, saying the United States "must produce more oil," called Wednesday for a lifting of the ban on offshore drilling.

It's another wild day in the oil markets: Crude prices turned sharply higher Wednesday afternoon after falling $2 earlier in the session following the government's weekly energy report and a speech by President Bush calling for expanded U.S. production.

Ever wonder why everything at the grocery store seems to cost more these days? Blame it on, what else? - the price of fuel. The cost of shipping food is skyrocketing. And it's a domino effect from the farmer, to the shippers, to your local restaurants and supermarkets.