• With Morgan Stanley’s (MS) $2.2 billion loss in the third quarter, the carnage from the credit crisis passed the $1 trillion mark. About 67% of that came from U.S. financial firms, and about 30% from European firms, Bloomberg reported.

• A day after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s deepest rate cut in history, the dollar fell hit fresh lows against other currencies. It fell toward a 13-year low against the yen and a two-and-a-half-month low against the euro, Reuters reported.

• Gold and silver prices rallied yesterday (Wednesday) as the dollar declined. February gold futures climbed 4% to $872.90, while silver for March delivery climbed 7% to $11.45 an ounce on Globex, MarketWatch reported.

• A strengthening yen and plummeting car sales forced Honda Motor Co. (ADR: HMC) to slash its full-year profit forecast by 62%. Japan’s second-largest automaker may also post its first half-year loss in 11 years, Bloomberg reported.

• Trying to cut costs, troubled cell-phone maker Motorola Inc. (MOT) will suspend 401(k) contributions to worker retirement plans, freeze its pension plan, stop some raises and skim the salaries of two top executives.  “It’s a small step in the right direction, but it’s not going to save them either,” Nomura Securities technology specialist Richard Windsor told Reuters. “If you look at the degree the market has deteriorated since they last spoke to the Street, you could conclude that they will need more aggressive actions.”

• Europe auto parts supplier Valeo SA said it will cut 5,000 jobs, 9.3% of its workforce, in face of slowing demand for cars, Bloomberg reported. “For 2009, Valeo anticipates no improvement in production levels compared with the fourth quarter of 2008,” the company said in a statement.

• British retailer Woolworths will close its doors Jan. 5, leaving 27,000 people without jobs unless it finds a buyer. The 99-year-old retail company will close its 807 stores in tranches of 200 starting Dec. 27, Reuters reported.

• Online brokerage E-Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) said it added a net of about 26,000 new accounts in November. However, total customer assets fell 42% since November 2007, and 8% from October, the Associated Press reported.

Global Investing Roundups Thursday, December 18th, 2008

• American Express Co. (AXP) said yesterday (Thursday) that it plans to cut 7,000 jobs, or 10% of its global work force, in an effort to reduce costs by $1.8 billion in next year, The Associated Press reported. The company will also suspend management-level salary increases next year and institute a hiring freeze. American Express has reported four straight quarters of profit declines.

• Oil prices fell more than 2% yesterday (Thursday), after economic data showed a 0.3% decline in gross domestic product (GDP). Light, sweet crude fell $1.54 at settle $65.96 a barrel, after trading as high as $70.60 earlier in the day. Oil is down 55% from the record high $147.27 a barrel reached in July. It is down 30% in October alone.

• The governors of six states have sent a letter to federal officials asking that they take “immediate action” in assisting troubled domestic automakers, The Associated Press reported. The governors of Michigan, Delaware, Kentucky, New York, Ohio and South Dakota all asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to extend America’s domestic car companies the same kind of aid offered to financial institutions.

• Motorola Inc. (MOT) yesterday (Thursday) said its fourth-quarter results would miss expectations and that its mobile phone business would deteriorate even further in 2009, forcing the company to delay its plan to spin off the unit, Reuters reported. Motorola Co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha outlined a plan to save the company $800 million in costs in 2009, by cutting 3,000 jobs, or 4.5% of the company’s workforce.

• Eastman Kodak Co (EK) yesterday (Thursday) cut its 2008 revenue growth and earnings forecast after posting a slide in third quarter revenue. The company now sees revenue declining by 3% to 5%. Kodak’s third-quarter revenue fell 5% to $2.41 billion. Net income was $96 million, or 34 cents a share, up from $37 million, or 13 cents a share, one year ago.

• Waste Management Inc (WMI) yesterday (Thursday) posted an 11.5% jump in third-quarter earnings.  The company reported net income of $310 million, or 63 cents per share, compared with $278 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 3.6 % to $3.53 billion.

Source: Global Investing Roundups Friday, October 31st, 2008