Best Buy Profit Falls 77%; Goldman Sachs Posts $2.12 Billion Loss; New Permits and Starts at Record Low; Brazil Retail Rises 10.1%; Berkshire Buys NC Real Estate Brokerage; Crude Slides in Spite of OPEC

Profit at electronics retailer Best Buy Co. (BBY) fell 77% during the company’s fiscal third quarter ended Nov. 29. The company said it would offer buyout packages to nearly all corporate employees to save on costs as it trudges through a dismal holiday shopping season, the Associated Press reported. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) reported a $2.12 billion, or $4.97 a share, loss for its fiscal fourth quarter, Bloomberg reported. “Our results for the fourth quarter reflect extraordinarily difficult operating conditions, including a sharp decline in ...

Dateline Raleigh, NC, November 6, 2008: Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives discuss confiscating our 401(k)s and IRAs, by Carolina Journal Online reporter Karen McMahan.

This shocking pronouncement is certainly an attention grabber, which if even partially true, would have an impact on nearly every employed and retired American. The basis for the report is testimony before the House Committee on Education and Labor in early October.

Dr. Teresa Ghilarducci is one of many witnesses (scholars, retirees, activists, an investment mogul, and benefits experts) who were interviewed by the committee members. (I was skipped over once again, but a receptive person in the HCEL was willing to forward a listing of my articles to the right person. I expect an invitation to testify momentarily)

McMahan writes: “Dr. Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research, …

Red Hat’s Purchase; Toll Bros. NYC Worries; Dollar Rally; Unilever’s New CEO; Fed President Sees Room for Cut; Boeing’s Labor Woes Red Hat Inc. (RHT) yesterday (Thursday) announced it had purchased privately held software company Qumranet Inc. for $107 million in cash. The Raleigh-based software distrubutor expects the purchase to knock 5 to 6 cents off of its annual earnings per share, The Associated Press reported. Red Hat expects the deal to add $20 million in revenue by the next fiscal year. Homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) admitted to concerns about the New York City condo market, which has been one of the last holdouts of the current U.S. housing recession. “It has felt some of the storm that’s come to the residential real estate market in the country,” Chief Executive Bob ...