Finance Matters

Archive for January 26th, 2010

In anticipation of Thursday’s Carabobo oil field auction, outspoken Marxist president Hugo Chavez quietly pleaded for foreign investment.

“”Investment and experience from foreign oil firms is necessary in Venezuela. We need it,” Chavez said, according to Dow Jones.

The statement is a serious turnaround for a government that has nationalized dozens of foreign oil companies in recent years. But they ‘need’ foreign investment because mismanagement is turning the country into just another failed petro-state.

This is also the second instance of Chavez backtracking today, as it was earlier announced that Chavez has reversed a six-year ban on the sale of U.S. dollars by Venezuela’s central bank.

The president withdrew from his previous threat to “burn the hands” of speculators who bought the dollar against the bolivar when it became clear that vast amounts of money were leaving the country through unregulated exchange, according to Bloomberg. The sale of dollars by the central bank will attempt to lower rampant inflation by limiting the exchange rate.

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See Also:

• Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela Is Now Just Another Failed Petro-State
• Venezuela’s 28% Inflation Is The Highest In The World
• China Buys More Oil: Investing $16 Billion In Venezuela

From the NYT:

Roger D. Hodge, who has been the editor of Harper’s Magazine since 2006, will be stepping down effective next Monday.

…

John R. MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper’s, said in an interview that the decision to leave was Mr. Hodge’s. “It’s his choice, and it’s personal, and I just don’t want to go into it because it’s not something I can elaborate on,” he said.

However, a person at the magazine with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, said that was not the case. Mr. Hodge had been dismissed Monday evening, this person said, and Mr. MacArthur’s claim that the decision was his choice, and personal, was incorrect.

Continue reading at the New York Times»

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See Also:

• CHART OF THE DAY: Magazines’ Winners And Losers In Ad Revenue
• Magazines Launch iPhone App Editions, But They’re Not Big Sellers
• More Stuff You Won’t See on Tablet Day: Conde Nast Magazines

The mutated version of the H1N1 Swine Flu is truly wrecking havoc throughout Eastern Europe, with the Ukrainian death toll now clocking in at 1005 dead, according to Before It’s News.

And to make matters worse, over 250,000 have been hospitalized over the deadly flu strain; that number is set to rise.

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See Also:

• Ignore The Flu And The Russia Problem, And Keep Gambling On The Ukraine
• Ukraine Flu Death Toll Hits 400
• Over 100,000 People Infected By Ukrainian Black Lung In Just Two Days!

Guitarist Pete Townshend told Billboard that The Who will play a mash-up of songs from Baba O’Riley, Pinball Wizard, Tommy, Who Are You, and Won’t Get Fooled Again during their Super Bowl halftime show.

Townsend said: “Hopefully it will hit the spot” for the crowd. But it might be a sweet spot for their new album.

Bruce Springsteen’s Working On A Dream album hit stores the week before his Super Bowl performance. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 the week before that Super Bowl Sunday, and stayed at No. 2 the following week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Super Bowl XLIV, between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, will air Feb. 7 on CBS.

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See Also:

• ESPN America Can’t Sell Out The Super Bowl
• The Biggest Super Bowl Loser Might Be You
• Super Bowl Ad Prices Drop For Second Time In History; Pepsi, GM Pass

Maybe Google’s Nexus One won’t be coming to Walmart after all.

Earlier today we noted that the Nexus One was featured on Walmart’s wireless site. 

According to Walmart, that was a mistake. It says it has “no plans to carry Nexus One” in its stores or online.

Here’s Walmart spokesman Ravi Jariwala:

“Due to a technical error, this item erroneously was displayed on our site. We’re working with our partner Let’s Talk to have it removed as quickly as possible. We have no plans to carry Nexus One in Walmart stores or online at Walmart.com at this time.”

See Also: Apple Tablet Rumors: Everything You Want To Know

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See Also:

• Google Nexus One Coming To Walmart
• Canceling A Nexus One Contract Can Cost More Than A Nexus One
• The Nexus One Bombs: Only 20,000 Sold In First Week