Target to reduce 2013 holiday hiring

A Target store in Daly City, Calif. advertises for employment.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The discount store chain said Friday that it plans to hire about 70,000 temporary workers this year, down from 88,000 a year ago.

Target said it planned to offer more holiday hours to full-time staff members -- "as much as five to 10 percent more for the busiest periods around Black Friday and the week before Christmas."

"This approach takes into account recent trends that are becoming more and more pronounced—the busy periods are busier than ever, while the early part of December is quieter," Target (TGT, Fortune 500) said. "And with year-round team members looking for more hours, we want to accommodate their requests first."

Related: Hot toys for the 2013 holidays

Off the 88,000 seasonal workers hired last year, Target said 34,000 were offered year-round roles.

Industry tracker ShopperTrak said this week that it expects retail sales to rise 2.4% versus last year in November and December.

"Although the economy continues to recover slowly, consumers remain cautious about spending and are not ready to splurge," ShopperTrak Founder Bill Martin said .

Retailers have to contend with a shorter peak-shopping season this year. Black Friday doesn't fall until Nov. 29, compared with Nov. 23 in 2012.

First Published: September 20, 2013: 4:24 PM ET

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BlackBerry slashes staff, warns of $1 billion loss

Click the chart to track shares of BlackBerry.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Shares of BlackBerry (BBRY) were halted at about 3:30 p.m. ET and plunged 20% when trading resumed. For the day they closed down 17%. BlackBerry's stock is down 26.5% this year.

The news of 4,500 job cuts came late Friday afternoon, confirming layoff rumors that have been swirling about problems at the smartphone maker. It attributed the loss to a charge it will take to restructure its business as well as an "increasingly competitive business environment."

It also said it will offer just four smartphones instead of six.

The anticipated operating loss is about three times larger than the consensus forecast of analysts. The company is due to report financial results on September 27.

"We expected bad results but the device sales are pretty bad," said James Moorman, analyst with S&P Capital IQ. "I like their strategy of cutting back, but it's kind of late. This should have been done about a year ago."

Neeraj Monga, analyst with Veritas Investment Research, says that BlackBerry made a stunning admission about the lack of demand for its new BlackBerry 10 upon which it has placed so much hope. Normally companies book revenue when they ship products to retailers but Friday's statement said it will instead wait to book revenue from those phones until they're sold to customers.

"It's a bigger flop than anybody thought it could be," he said. "They expect 80% (of shipped phones) to come back."

The company reported last month that it is exploring ways to keep itself afloat -- including a possible sale of the company.

Related: BlackBerry explores a sale of the company

Moorman said the constant drumbeat of bad news is scaring away potential customers, and added that taking the company private would be the best course of action.

"Now with the stock taking a hit, that's more attractive," he said. "Going private takes you out of the spotlight. When you're on CNBC every day talking about a death spiral, that's not good. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy if you stay public."

There have been rumors that Toronto-based investment firm Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) might be interested in taking the company private. It's already Blackberry's largest shareholder, with nearly a 10% stake.

But Monga said he thinks that time is running out for BlackBerry.

"I do not believe this business can be turned around. I don't think an acquisition is in the offering. This suggests the end is coming pretty soon," he said.

Experts predict that BlackBerry would have a tough time finding a buyer for the entire company, since no suitor is likely to be interested in its hardware business.

But BlackBerry does possess some lucrative patents that could be attractive to a potential buyer or partner. That's a massive advantage in the competitive and highly litigious world of smartphones, and it could be attractive to a big rival like Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) or Samsung.

At least BlackBerry has some breathing room: The company has $2.6 billion in cash. But that's down about $500 million from the previous quarter, a cash burn rate that Moorman described as "shocking."

If BlackBerry's smartphones themselves are a deal-killer, peeling off the company's software business could help gain interest from a number of buyers. BlackBerry's brand has lost consumer cachet, but it still holds a strong reputation for corporate security.

- Julianne Pepitone contributed to this report.

First Published: September 20, 2013: 3:39 PM ET

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Father and son charged in $6.5 million deathbed bond scam

The SEC says the two men "exploited the tragic circumstances surrounding a terminally ill diagnosis and turned the misfortune of others into a profit-making enterprise for themselves."

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The dying people were accessories to a scheme that defrauded banks and bond issuers by taking advantage of features in some corporate bonds known as "survivor's options," the Securities and Exchange Commission said. A survivor's option requires bond issuers to repay the full principal amount before maturity if an owner of the bonds dies.

The accused are 62-year-old Benjamin S. Staples and his son, 28-year-old Benjamin O. Staples, both of Lexington, S.C.

Related: Beanie Babies creator pinched for tax evasion

The alleged scheme, the SEC says, worked like this: First, the Staples would find people close to death who were concerned about being able to afford their funerals. The pair allegedly offered to pay for the funerals if the terminally ill agreed to open joint brokerage accounts with them.

In setting up the accounts, the Staples are accused of requiring the sick to sign agreements relinquishing any ownership interest. Then, they allegedly purchased discounted corporate bonds through the accounts.

Upon the deaths of the individuals they recruited, the Staples wrote to brokerage firms asking to redeem the discounted bonds at full value pursuant to the survivor's option, the SEC said.

The profits the pair earned came from the difference "between the discounted price of the bonds they purchased and the full principal amount they obtained when redeeming the bonds early," the SEC said.

Related: Still no charges for Wall Street execs five years after crash

All told, the Stapes are alleged to have recruited at least 44 dying people and purchased $26.5 million in bonds, earning at least $6.5 million in profits.

"The Stapleses deceived brokerage firms and bond issuers by casting themselves as survivors of a joint ownership situation when the deceased had no legal ties to the bonds at all," Kenneth Israel, director of the SEC's Salt Lake regional office, said in a statement.

Attorneys for the two men did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

First Published: September 20, 2013: 6:37 PM ET

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BlackBerry slashes staff, warns of $1 billion loss

Click the chart to track shares of BlackBerry.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Shares of BlackBerry (BBRY) were halted at about 3:30 p.m. ET and plunged 20% when trading resumed. For the day they closed down 17%. BlackBerry's stock is down 26.5% this year.

The news of 4,500 job cuts came late Friday afternoon, confirming layoff rumors that have been swirling about problems at the smartphone maker. It attributed the loss to a charge it will take to restructure its business as well as an "increasingly competitive business environment."

It also said it will offer just four smartphones instead of six.

The anticipated operating loss is about three times larger than the consensus forecast of analysts. The company is due to report financial results on September 27.

"We expected bad results but the device sales are pretty bad," said James Moorman, analyst with S&P Capital IQ. "I like their strategy of cutting back, but it's kind of late. This should have been done about a year ago."

Neeraj Monga, analyst with Veritas Investment Research, says that BlackBerry made a stunning admission about the lack of demand for its new BlackBerry 10 upon which it has placed so much hope. Normally companies book revenue when they ship products to retailers but Friday's statement said it will instead wait to book revenue from those phones until they're sold to customers.

"It's a bigger flop than anybody thought it could be," he said. "They expect 80% (of shipped phones) to come back."

The company reported last month that it is exploring ways to keep itself afloat -- including a possible sale of the company.

Related: BlackBerry explores a sale of the company

Moorman said the constant drumbeat of bad news is scaring away potential customers, and added that taking the company private would be the best course of action.

"Now with the stock taking a hit, that's more attractive," he said. "Going private takes you out of the spotlight. When you're on CNBC every day talking about a death spiral, that's not good. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy if you stay public."

There have been rumors that Toronto-based investment firm Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) might be interested in taking the company private. It's already Blackberry's largest shareholder, with nearly a 10% stake.

But Monga said he thinks that time is running out for BlackBerry.

"I do not believe this business can be turned around. I don't think an acquisition is in the offering. This suggests the end is coming pretty soon," he said.

Experts predict that BlackBerry would have a tough time finding a buyer for the entire company, since no suitor is likely to be interested in its hardware business.

But BlackBerry does possess some lucrative patents that could be attractive to a potential buyer or partner. That's a massive advantage in the competitive and highly litigious world of smartphones, and it could be attractive to a big rival like Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) or Samsung.

At least BlackBerry has some breathing room: The company has $2.6 billion in cash. But that's down about $500 million from the previous quarter, a cash burn rate that Moorman described as "shocking."

If BlackBerry's smartphones themselves are a deal-killer, peeling off the company's software business could help gain interest from a number of buyers. BlackBerry's brand has lost consumer cachet, but it still holds a strong reputation for corporate security.

- Julianne Pepitone contributed to this report.

First Published: September 20, 2013: 3:39 PM ET

12.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Target to reduce 2013 holiday hiring

A Target store in Daly City, Calif. advertises for employment.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The discount store chain said Friday that it plans to hire about 70,000 temporary workers this year, down from 88,000 a year ago.

Target said it planned to offer more holiday hours to full-time staff members -- "as much as five to 10 percent more for the busiest periods around Black Friday and the week before Christmas."

"This approach takes into account recent trends that are becoming more and more pronounced—the busy periods are busier than ever, while the early part of December is quieter," Target (TGT, Fortune 500) said. "And with year-round team members looking for more hours, we want to accommodate their requests first."

Related: Hot toys for the 2013 holidays

Off the 88,000 seasonal workers hired last year, Target said 34,000 were offered year-round roles.

Industry tracker ShopperTrak said this week that it expects retail sales to rise 2.4% versus last year in November and December.

"Although the economy continues to recover slowly, consumers remain cautious about spending and are not ready to splurge," ShopperTrak Founder Bill Martin said .

Retailers have to contend with a shorter peak-shopping season this year. Black Friday doesn't fall until Nov. 29, compared with Nov. 23 in 2012.

First Published: September 20, 2013: 4:24 PM ET

12.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Musk says Tesla is at work on autopilot feature

Elon Musk holding court.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Wednesday that there is an "intense effort underway at Tesla to develop a practical autopilot system for Model S," the company's plug-in luxury sedan. He invited engineers interested in working on autonomous driving to apply for positions at Tesla that would report directly to him.

Tesla (TSLA) did not respond to a request for a follow-up comment.

Tesla doesn't appear to be targeting completely automated driving just yet. Musk told the Financial Times this week that he thought fully autonomous cars were "a bridge too far." He said he thought Tesla could get its vehicles to 90% of miles driven autonomously within three years.

"It's incredibly hard to get that last few percent," he was quoted as saying.

Related: GM wants to build a Tesla-beater

In an additional tweet Wednesday, Musk said Tesla's approach involved the use of radar and tiny flush-mounted cameras.

A number of cars now on the market, including the Mercedes-Benz S-class, already have features like active cruise control, which automatically keeps an even distance between cars in traffic, along with automatic braking and parking. The new Q50 from Nissan's Infiniti luxury division has some of these features as well.

Nissan said last month that it planned to sell self-driving cars by 2020.

General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Toyota and Audi are also working on self-driving cars, and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) has been experimenting with the technology for years as well.

First Published: September 18, 2013: 7:16 PM ET

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Asian markets gain following Fed decision

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Japan's Nikkei opened 1.2% higher and the Australia ASX All Ordinaries index added 1.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng increased 1.7%. At the same time, the U.S. dollar was weaker against most major currencies.

Major exchanges in South Korea, Taiwan and Shanghai are closed Thursday for a holiday.

The Fed's decision could have the biggest impact in emerging markets, where investors had been pulling their money and returning to the U.S. in search of higher yields.

Indonesia's stock market surged more than 4%, while the principal Philippines exchange jumped 3% and futures indicated a strong start for Indian stocks.

Markets were responding to the Fed's decision to continue its bond-buying program at full blast for at least another month, as the economic outlook remains too tepid to satisfy the central bank.

The central bank said Wednesday that it had decided to "await more evidence that progress will be sustained before adjusting the pace of its purchases."

Frederic Neumann, an economist at HSBC, said that "markets are thrilled" with the Fed decision. The delay, he said, will provide a "much needed reprieve for battered emerging markets investors."

Since last September, the Fed has been buying $85 billion in bonds each month in an effort to lower long-term interest rates, particularly on mortgages. The Fed plans to keep that strategy in place for the time being, and will re-evaluate the policy at its next meeting at the end of October.

The program, which is the third round of a controversial policy known as quantitative easing, still doesn't have a scheduled end date. But Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has previously said he expects the Fed to begin tapering off the purchases later this year, and to end them completely by the middle of 2014.

Related: Dear Mr. President: Name Yellen now!

Investors largely assumed that the taper would begin this month, and have sent bond yields and mortgage rates soaring. But Wednesday's announcement caused stocks to rally as bond yields fell.

In the U.S., the S&P 500 immediately jumped to a new record high, and the Dow quickly followed. The Nasdaq also moved up after the Fed's surprise announcement. All three indexes closed up more than 1%.

First Published: September 18, 2013: 9:42 PM ET

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