Financial News Headlines

Memphis-based Mueller Industries reports 44 percent jump in 2Q earnings

July 24th, 2011

Mueller Industries Inc. this morning reported a 44 percent jump in second quarter earnings on rising sales.

The Memphis-based manufacturer said net ie rose to $22.3 million, or 59 cents per diluted share, up from $15.6 million, or 41 cents, in the year-ago period.

Net sales were $652.9 million for the quarter, up nearly 21 percent from year-ago net sales of $540.4 million.

Much of the growth in sales, an estimated $90 million, was attributed to the continuing rise in the cost of copper, which averaged $4.16 per pound in the recent quarterpared with $3.19 a year ago, thepany said.

Despite the still-weak construction market, Mueller’s “financial condition remains strong,”pany chairman Harvey L. Kar

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Tags: 44 Percent, 44 Percent Jump, Earnings, Percent Jump

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Handling Out-of-Reach Goals

July 24th, 2011

A few weeks ago, I put out a call on Twitter and on Facebook for detailed posts that people would like to see. I got enough great responses that I’m going to fill the entire month of July – one post per day – addressing these ideas.

On Facebook, Joan wondered “What do you do when your financial goal seems out of reach?”

Goals that feel too out of reach are certainly a challenge. They can leave the goal-setter demoralized and feeling as though the goal will never really be accomplished, so why try at all.

I’ve fallen into this trap myself, often with fiction writing. I’ll have s

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PepsiCo woos Hollywood Theaters, Stevi B’s away from Coca-Cola

July 24th, 2011

Six months after Coca-Cola won the rights to sell beverages at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, wrenching back the account from its main rival, PepsiCo has a couple of small wins of its own to brag about. One of them came right in Coca-Cola’s backyard.

Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo will be the exclusive beverage provider in all 44 locations of Stevi B’s, a pizza buffet chain that had been a Coca-Cola customer since 1996.

In the second quarter, PepsiCo’s global beverage sales rose 5 percent as the company raked in revenue of $16.8 billion and profit of $1.9 billion — increases of 14 percent and 18 percent, respectively. But in North America, beverage sales slipped 1 percent despite growth from Sierra Mist, Pepsi Max, Gatorade and Trop50. <

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Tags: Pepsico, Pepsico Woos

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What Do Rising Oil Prices Mean For The U.S. Economy?

July 23rd, 2011

The recent rise in gasoline prices have U.S.

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Tags: Economy, Oil Prices, Oil Prices Mean, Prices Mean

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L.E.A.D. Team Interns Get Motivated

July 23rd, 2011

What do Bill Cosby, Rudy Giuliani, John Walsh, Colin Powell, and Krish Dhanam all have in common? Besides being very successful business leaders, each of these individuals were speakers at the Get Motivated Business Seminar held June 29, 2011 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. As intended, the event was both motivational and informational. I had the distinct pleasure of accompanying the Quicken Loans Leadership Education and Development (L.E.A.D) Team to the event. The seminar was surely entertaining and nothing short of dramatic. With the vibrant pyrotechnics, introductory musical selections, giveaways, and crazy dance contest, I was not sure if I was at a business seminar or the circus. Read more…

Tags: Lead, Lead Team

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Eurobond is the only salvation

July 22nd, 2011

Last week Italy’s 10-year bonds were threatened and the finance minister, Giulio Tremonti, responded by proposing a €40-billion austerity ­package.

Greece totters on the verge of default, Portuguese and Irish bonds have already been downgraded to “junk” status and the spread between French and ­German bonds is widening ominously. To paraphrase American economist Thomas Palley, the euro’s neoliberal architecture has traded currency stability for financial instability. Bond traders have become the masters of Europe.

The sovereign debt crisis has been brewing for some time, fuelled in part by the sheer incompetence of the eurozone’s political class. Cen Read more…

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