Business, Economy, and Finance Discussion

Welcome to Curka

Curka — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 02:17:01 +0000

Curka is a new business and finance discussion blog that helps you stay on top of the latest news and buzz in the business world. I will be updating on a daily basis financial topics which will be up for discussion that I find interesting - I’ll try not to bore you guys, promise All comments are more than welcome so if you’d like to have your say, make a post and interact with other people who share similar interests as you do, Enjoy & Stay tuned as we will be doing lots of great financial topic coverage!

Google Talk Launch

Curka — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:31:09 +0000

The biggest search engine giant Google has announced that it plans on launching its own instant messenging service called Google Talk as early as today. The software is suppose to also provide the ability for people to communicate with others via Voice chat.

So what’s suppose to be different with Google Talk as opposed to rivals AIM (AOL’s software) or MSN?

Google says their software will have no popups or ads shown on their interface like AOL dose for instance and have a much cleaner interface. This version will be in beta at first and is available for Windows 2000 and Windows XP, with no support for Mac OS X systems yet.

There is some speculation that Google can cause a threat to its rivals because of its loyal user base. Its something similar to having a GMAIL account when they first became available, people were selling them on ebay, and everyone wanted one!

Home Sales Rise

Curka — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 14:29:04 +0000

Home sales rose 6.5% in the month of July as mortgage rates fell below 6%. The average price of a home as of now is near $203,800, the lowest since December of 2003 from $219,500. Demand still continues to be strong according to National Association of Home Builders and the number of home sales continue to rise. Consumer spending is on the rise and is expected to grow 3.6% this year.

Kmart Trouble

Curka — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 18:57:50 +0000

Two former K-Mart officials have been charged by the FCC with making “materially false and misleading” disclosures to individuals who hold stock in the company right before the bankruptcy filing that occured in 2002. U.S. District Court located in Detroit, charges both Charles C. Conaway, former chairman and John T. McDonald (former CFO) with security fraud and accuses them with abetting violations requiring companies that are traded publicly to file quarterly reports. FCC says KMart failed to disclose reasons for a huge inventory buildup in 2001 which impacted the company’s liquidity. The complaint states that both McDonald and Conaway withheld $570 million in vendor payments by end of 2001’s third quarter. They are being charged with lying relating to vendors not being paid on time and the SEC is currently working on brining civil penalties against both McDonaland and Conaway.

Oil Prices hit record high

Curka — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 12:41:16 +0000

Oil prices hit $68 a barrel today due to the growing threat to oil facilities. This is just getting rediculous and it doesn’t help that I drive a Ford Mustang Cobra, and do about 60 miles per day and have to fill up every 3 days - But I guess I shouldn’t be complaining because If i wanted to save gas I would have gotten a hybrid, right?

AOL Fined

Curka — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 14:55:36 +0000

America Online (AOL) has been fined and ordered to pay $1.25 million dollars for concellation policy related issues. AOL has agreed to pay the fine and said it will change the way they handle business when it comes to discouraging their customers from cancelling service.

AOL denies wrongdoing but has agreed to alter the way they do their practices. The company will refund 4 months of service to everyone who is a New York Citizen and filed a complaint on these improper cancellation procedures. America Online plans to change its services within the next several months and they believe this new agreement will improve quality assurance.

Finance Calculator

Curka — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 18:01:36 +0000

I found a real cool website that lets you use a finance calculator to calculate just about anything. Click here to try out the calculator.

If you have concerns about what it will cost to be a college student, take out a loan, or need a cost trust fund calculator this website will do all the work for you. The website is great and makes everything easy by explaining in detail how to use each finance calculator properly. Hopefully this was a good tip for you guys.

Six Flags For Sale

Curka — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 02:44:06 +0000

It has been decided that Six Flags company would be put up for sale on auction. Six flags is the world’s 2nd biggest theme park, followed by Walt Disney. Shares of the stock rose 72 cents, closing at $7.26 at the end of the day. There has been no details given out on the auction as of yet.

More Vioxx Lawsuits

Curka — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 12:05:05 +0000

Merck Pharmaceuticals will face at least 3 federal trials the upcoming year over claims that drug painkiller Vioxx was the cause of strokes and heart attacks in some individuals. Trial is scheduled to begin on February 13, March 13, and April 3, 2006. Merck was ordered to pay $253 million dollars on August 19th over the claim that Robert Ernest, age 59 died as a result of taking Vioxx after 8 months. There are a total of 4,100 more lawsuits pending towards Merck as of now, with a $675 million budget set aside in Merck’s defense.

Kodak Cuts Jobs

Curka — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 13:06:21 +0000

Kodak company has announced that it will be eliminating 1,000 jobs due to the drop in demand for photographic film and paper. Kodak plans on consolidating its North American color photographic paper facilities in Windsor, Colorado and Harrow, England, with plans to shut down operations in Rochester at the end of October. The film product manufacturing will be cut in China. Kodak shares fell 4 cents on Thursday on NYSE, and closed at $25 dollars.