Dutch bank rescue shows Europe's problems continue

Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the rescue will increase government debt

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The Dutch government was forced to rescue SNS REALL to protect savers' deposits after the banking and insurance group racked up huge losses on real estate lending. Attempts to find a private buyer or investor failed.

"I therefore had to use the instrument of last resort, which is nationalization," said Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, in a statement. "Nationalization would safeguard financial stability and prevent serious damage to the economy."

The government's intervention comes a day after two of Europe's biggest banks -- Santander and Deutsche Bank -- announced huge writedowns in a bid to reduce their exposure to the region's economic woes and move on from past mistakes.

More banks cleaned house Friday. Spain's second biggest lender BBVA reported a 44% drop in earnings in 2012 due to hefty real estate provisions and rival CaixaBank's earnings fell 78%. France's Credit Agricole announced a €2.7 billion impairment charge, including €852 million related to retail banking in Italy.

Related: Jury still out on eurozone - Draghi

While the investments of shareholders and subordinated creditors at SNS REALL will be wiped out, the rescue will still cost the Dutch state about €3.7 billion in capital injections and writedowns, pushing its budget deficit further above EU targets.

That will embarrass Dijsselbloem as he takes over as chairman of the group of finance ministers charged with policing fiscal policy among the 17 eurozone nations, and anger taxpayers who paid for a €40-billion bailout of the Dutch financial sector in 2008.

"I can well understand the aversion many people will feel because once again, a large sum of taxpayers' money is required," Dijsselbloem said. "This is why I want the private sector to contribute as much as possible."

A one-time levy of €1 billion will be imposed on Dutch banks in 2014 to help pay for the rescue.

Dijsselbloem said the EU needed to legislate to ensure that banks could be broken up more easily and that the cost of future rescues be borne largely by the private sector.

Related: Scandal at world's oldest bank

A working group led by European Central Bank governing council member Erkki Liikanen last October recommended separating investment and retail banking activities to protect taxpayers and savers.

But France has since countered with its own proposal that would stop short of forcing legal separation. So far, the EU has made only small steps toward a banking union -- agreement on a eurozone mechanism for winding up failing banks and protecting depositors is probably years away.

The EU, U.S. and U.K. are all discussing different ways to regulate banks to avoid costly bailouts in the future, leading some industry figures to warn that policymakers are creating unnecessary complexity, and potentially risk, with a confused approach.

UBS Chairman Axel Weber said last week the industry needed a global standard on the issue of separating customer deposits from trading activities.

First Published: February 1, 2013: 2:17 PM ET

12.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks: Will Dow stay above 14,000?

Click the chart for more stock market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But in the coming week, only a handful of economic reports and corporate earnings will trickle through to guide them.

U.S. manufacturing will be in focus, with factory orders, productivity, unit labor costs, ISM services and wholesale inventories on tap. Overall, economists surveyed by Briefing.com are expecting disappointing numbers.

The sector has stalled over the last year, vacillating between barely expanding and contracting. That's because demand has pulled back in recent months on slow economic growth overseas and worries over the federal budget mess in Washington.

The slowdown hurt manufacturing jobs, the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.

After generating nearly a quarter million jobs since the recession ended, the industry has seen zero job growth since the middle of last year.

Worldwide manufacturing has also shown a mixed picture in recent months. Activity in China, which is considered a barometer for global growth since it is the world's biggest exporter, revealed positive signs of a pick up last month, but reports hinted at continued weakness in export markets.

Investors will also get more data on how Americans are faring with their finances this week, with a consumer credit report out on Thursday.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

In corporate news, several key tech companies will report earnings this week, including Sony (SNE), Sprint Nextel (S, Fortune 500) and AOL (AOL).

Yum! Brands (YUM, Fortune 500), Time Warner (TWC, Fortune 500)and News Corp (NWS) are also on tap.

Despite the Dow's big gains on Friday, stocks ended last week only modestly higher. The Dow gained 0.8%, the S&P 500 increased 0.6% and the Nasdaq climbed 0.9%.

First Published: February 3, 2013: 12:07 PM ET

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Super Bowl showdown: SodaStream v. Pepsi and Coke

SodaStream says it was rejected from airing an ad during the Super Bowl that called out big soda companies, claiming that 500 million plastic bottles would be used during game time alone.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Apparently, they never get to hit the air.

SodaStream (SODA) learned that the hard way. The home soda maker had prepared to air an ad during the NFL showdown that took on soft drink giants Coca-Cola (CCE, Fortune 500) and Pepsi (PEP, Fortune 500). In the ad, SodaStream touts its reusable bottle by showing Pepsi and Coke deliverymen in such a rush to get into the supermarket that dozens of soda bottles pop and create a sticky mess. The ad then cuts to a man using a SodaStream, with a voice over saying, "With SodaStream, we could have saved 500 million bottles on game day alone."

But the ad won't be aired. SodaStream claims television network CBS (CBS, Fortune 500) rejected it for directly attacking two big beverage companies who are also its big advertisers. Pepsico is sponsoring this year's halftime show and has said it will air ads during commercial breaks, as has Coke.

CBS did not respond to requests to comment on the story. Pepsi and Coke also did not return requests.

"Our ad confronts the beverage industry and its arguably outdated business model," SodaStream's CEO Daniel Birnbaum said in a statement. "One day we will look back on plastic soda bottles the way we now view cigarettes."

Birnbaum said plastic bottles cause untold damage to the environment, and the ad showed that there is a more eco-friendly alternative.

Advertisers are paying big bucks for Super Bowl commercials this year. The price of a 30-second spot hit a record high of at least $4 million, blowing past last year's record of $3.5 million.

Related: Why football is still a money machine

Each year, many viewers tune in just to see the spots rather than the big game. Some ads create enough noise to be replayed and rehashed for days.

In years past, other rejected ads from Bud Light to PETA, have turned their airtime loss into publicity by posting the would-be commercials online for millions to see.

SodaStream doesn't want to miss out either.

Though its commercial won't air on TV, the company posted it online under the headline, "Watch the SodaStream commercial they wouldn't let you see during the big game." The ad has gotten more than 2 million views on YouTube.

"We understand that the...ad may be uncomfortable to the big soda companies, but we are proud of the ad and the truth that it brings to the American consumer," Ilan Nacasch, SodaStream's chief marketing officer, said.

First Published: February 3, 2013: 4:40 PM ET

12.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dutch bank rescue shows Europe's problems continue

Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the rescue will increase government debt

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The Dutch government was forced to rescue SNS REALL to protect savers' deposits after the banking and insurance group racked up huge losses on real estate lending. Attempts to find a private buyer or investor failed.

"I therefore had to use the instrument of last resort, which is nationalization," said Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, in a statement. "Nationalization would safeguard financial stability and prevent serious damage to the economy."

The government's intervention comes a day after two of Europe's biggest banks -- Santander and Deutsche Bank -- announced huge writedowns in a bid to reduce their exposure to the region's economic woes and move on from past mistakes.

More banks cleaned house Friday. Spain's second biggest lender BBVA reported a 44% drop in earnings in 2012 due to hefty real estate provisions and rival CaixaBank's earnings fell 78%. France's Credit Agricole announced a €2.7 billion impairment charge, including €852 million related to retail banking in Italy.

Related: Jury still out on eurozone - Draghi

While the investments of shareholders and subordinated creditors at SNS REALL will be wiped out, the rescue will still cost the Dutch state about €3.7 billion in capital injections and writedowns, pushing its budget deficit further above EU targets.

That will embarrass Dijsselbloem as he takes over as chairman of the group of finance ministers charged with policing fiscal policy among the 17 eurozone nations, and anger taxpayers who paid for a €40-billion bailout of the Dutch financial sector in 2008.

"I can well understand the aversion many people will feel because once again, a large sum of taxpayers' money is required," Dijsselbloem said. "This is why I want the private sector to contribute as much as possible."

A one-time levy of €1 billion will be imposed on Dutch banks in 2014 to help pay for the rescue.

Dijsselbloem said the EU needed to legislate to ensure that banks could be broken up more easily and that the cost of future rescues be borne largely by the private sector.

Related: Scandal at world's oldest bank

A working group led by European Central Bank governing council member Erkki Liikanen last October recommended separating investment and retail banking activities to protect taxpayers and savers.

But France has since countered with its own proposal that would stop short of forcing legal separation. So far, the EU has made only small steps toward a banking union -- agreement on a eurozone mechanism for winding up failing banks and protecting depositors is probably years away.

The EU, U.S. and U.K. are all discussing different ways to regulate banks to avoid costly bailouts in the future, leading some industry figures to warn that policymakers are creating unnecessary complexity, and potentially risk, with a confused approach.

UBS Chairman Axel Weber said last week the industry needed a global standard on the issue of separating customer deposits from trading activities.

First Published: February 1, 2013: 2:17 PM ET

12.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Google stock hits all-time high

Click chart to see more information about Google's stock.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Google's stock rose 2.6% to close at $775.60, topping the all-time high of $774.38 it reached in October 2012. The stock went as high as $776.60.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) has been the subject of a three-year European Union probe into its search business. Despite emerging scot free from a similar multi-year investigation in the United States last month, many industry analysts and antitrust experts had expected the European probe to be harder for Google to wriggle out of.

Antitrust laws are stricter in Europe, and Google maintains a 90% share of the search market there -- significantly higher than the two-thirds share it commands in the U.S.

The European Commission has only said that its reviewing Google's proposals that the company delivered to it on Friday, and no settlement has yet been reached. But if the solutions Google proposes are in any way similar to the voluntary concessions Google offered in the U.S., they won't have a noticeable impact on the company's business.

Google's stock has been on a tear during the past few months. The company continues to activate a million Android devices a day, has successfully expanded into the broadband, cable and wireless arenas and remains the dominant search engine. Despite more competition from Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) and Facebook (FB), neither has yet threatened Google's top spot.

Google investors apparently also don't seem to be too nervous about any changes that ex-Googler Marissa Mayer might be making at Yahoo. Mayer left Google to become CEO of Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) last year, and even though she has won praise for changes she's been making to try and turn around Yahoo, the company still has a long way to go before it challenges Google for the online advertising market lead.

The surging price of Google is also in stark contrast to the big decline in Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500). Shares of Apple have plunged more than 35% since hitting an all-time high last September.

Related story: 5 reasons why Google has its mojo back

But concerns remain about Google, particularly with its mobile business. The amount that advertisers pay Google for clicks has continued to slip, and Google keeps losing money on its Motorola unit.

Google CEO Larry Page has said that he doesn't expect the cost-per-click issue to be a "long-term problem," but he also hasn't indicated when he thinks this figure would be more closely aligned with overall click growth.

First Published: February 1, 2013: 1:14 PM ET

12.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Auto makers post strong sales in January

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The world's major car makers reported strong U.S. sales for the month of January on Friday, providing further indication that demand for new vehicles that lagged amid the weak economic recovery in the past few years is starting to return.

January vehicle sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.3 million, according to Autodata, up from 14.0 million a year ago.

General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) led the way among the top four U.S. automakers with 194,699 vehicles sold, up 16% versus a year prior. Ford (F, Fortune 500) had 166,501, a 22% gain. Toyota (TM) sold 157,725 vehicles, up 27% versus a year prior, and Chrysler Group had 117,331, a gain of 16%.

Related: Consumer Reports says Toyota and Ford are best-liked car brands

Sales remained in high gear in January even after a strong December. Overall, industry sales rose 13% in 2012 to 14.5 million, the biggest increase since 1984.

CNNMoney's Chris Isidore contributed reporting.

First Published: February 1, 2013: 1:24 PM ET

12.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dutch bank rescue shows Europe's problems continue

Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the rescue will increase government debt

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The Dutch government was forced to rescue SNS REALL to protect savers' deposits after the banking and insurance group racked up huge losses on real estate lending. Attempts to find a private buyer or investor failed.

"I therefore had to use the instrument of last resort, which is nationalization," said Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, in a statement. "Nationalization would safeguard financial stability and prevent serious damage to the economy."

The government's intervention comes a day after two of Europe's biggest banks -- Santander and Deutsche Bank -- announced huge writedowns in a bid to reduce their exposure to the region's economic woes and move on from past mistakes.

More banks cleaned house Friday. Spain's second biggest lender BBVA reported a 44% drop in earnings in 2012 due to hefty real estate provisions and rival CaixaBank's earnings fell 78%. France's Credit Agricole announced a €2.7 billion impairment charge, including €852 million related to retail banking in Italy.

Related: Jury still out on eurozone - Draghi

While the investments of shareholders and subordinated creditors at SNS REALL will be wiped out, the rescue will still cost the Dutch state about €3.7 billion in capital injections and writedowns, pushing its budget deficit further above EU targets.

That will embarrass Dijsselbloem as he takes over as chairman of the group of finance ministers charged with policing fiscal policy among the 17 eurozone nations, and anger taxpayers who paid for a €40-billion bailout of the Dutch financial sector in 2008.

"I can well understand the aversion many people will feel because once again, a large sum of taxpayers' money is required," Dijsselbloem said. "This is why I want the private sector to contribute as much as possible."

A one-time levy of €1 billion will be imposed on Dutch banks in 2014 to help pay for the rescue.

Dijsselbloem said the EU needed to legislate to ensure that banks could be broken up more easily and that the cost of future rescues be borne largely by the private sector.

Related: Scandal at world's oldest bank

A working group led by European Central Bank governing council member Erkki Liikanen last October recommended separating investment and retail banking activities to protect taxpayers and savers.

But France has since countered with its own proposal that would stop short of forcing legal separation. So far, the EU has made only small steps toward a banking union -- agreement on a eurozone mechanism for winding up failing banks and protecting depositors is probably years away.

The EU, U.S. and U.K. are all discussing different ways to regulate banks to avoid costly bailouts in the future, leading some industry figures to warn that policymakers are creating unnecessary complexity, and potentially risk, with a confused approach.

UBS Chairman Axel Weber said last week the industry needed a global standard on the issue of separating customer deposits from trading activities.

First Published: February 1, 2013: 2:17 PM ET

12.08 | 0 komentar | Read More