It Also Pays To Listen To The Good News

• Dutch financial group ING reported quarterly net profit fell 25 pct but beat estimates as investments fell less than expected, and its underlying insurance and banking business remained solid.-Aug 13
• Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Gary Stern told CNBC that the decline in energy prices will slow inflation in the coming months, though the economy will remain weak. -Aug 12, 2008
• Oil edged slightly lower in choppy trade on Tuesday, below $114 a barrel, after a fall to a three-month low after a prediction for more comfortable supply next year. -IEA Aug 11,2008
• A stronger U.S. dollar also added to the earlier impetus of selling in oil and other dollar-denominated commodities, which become more expensive for non-dollar investors as the U.S. currency gains strength.-CNBC Aug 12
• LDK Solar on Monday posted quarterly earnings that blew past Wall Street estimates as a manufacturing capacity expansion allowed the company to sell more solar wafers, sending its shares up 18 percent in extended trade.
• Morgan Stanley to buy back auction-rate securities. Broker estimates it may repurchase up to $4.5 billion of troubled securities.-MarketWatch Aug 12, 2008
• The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in June as the biggest jump in exports in more than four years overwhelmed record imports of petroleum. -Bloomberg Aug 12
• U.S. farmers will reap their second-largest corn crop, a mammoth 12.288 billion bushels, despite spring rains and floods that raised fears of shortages and skyrocketing prices, the government said on Tuesday.-Reuters Aug 12
• House prices edged higher in June in another sign the market is clawing back some ground from its worst downturn in decades, according to an early reading of single-family home sales during the month.-Reuters Aug 12
• Citigroup and Merrill Lynch said they would buy back billions of dollars of illiquid auction-rate securities from retail clients, and Citigroup agreed to pay a $100 million fine to settle charges it fraudulently misled investors about the debt's risk.-Reuters Aug 7
• Engineering and construction company Fluor Corp posted a second-quarter profit that beat expectations, boosted by an asset sale and strong demand from the energy sector, and it raised its full-year profit forecast.-Reuters Aug 11
• Kraft Foods posted a rise of nearly 4% in profits for its second quarter despite rising commodity costs.-July 28
• McDonald's Corp. reported an 8% increase in July global same-store sales as results increased across all regions, including 6.7% in the U.S. due to a focus on breakfast, chicken, beverages and the Big Mac sandwich. -Dow Jones Wires Aug 8
• U.S. GDP Rises 1.9% in Q2. -July 31
• Smaller financial firms have found a way to capitalize on their larger rivals' woes, moving to snap up some of the top talent cast adrift by sweeping layoffs at leading investment banks. -CNBC Aug 12
• Nissan, General Motors and Ford are reserving 300 hybrids per month exclusively for New York City’s fleet of yellow taxis. The city plans to have the entire fleet of taxis made up of hybrid vehicles by 2012.-CNBC
• Already used in some traffic signals, more energy efficient LED lights are rapidly replacing older products -- even if they still cost more. -CNBC
• Methane gas derived from landfills and other sources has become a power source for companies like Anheuser-Busch and BMW.-CNBC
• San Jose has teamed up with Coulomb Technologies to build a curbside network of charging stations for electric cars.-CNBC