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Tokyo, Japan — Hitachi changed their forecast from profitability to a 4.1-billion-dollar quarterly loss.

Hitachi is one of the world’s largest corporations. It was founded in 1910 by Namihei Odaira as an electrical repair shop. They succeeded in manufacturing three 5hp (3.6775 kW) electric motors as the company’s first products.

Today, they manufacture consumer products:
* Home Appliances
* AV Products
* Personal Computer / Mobile Phones
* Home Equipment / Life service

And, business products:
* Information Technology
* Security
* Electronic Devices / Materials
* Public / Urban / Transportation
* Medical / Health Care / Biotechnology
* Environment / Power / Industrial

Because of economic conditions, they plan to lay-off 7,000 workers.

n the weekly address, President Barack Obama addressed the latest economic news and urged the passing of an America Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

He also announced that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is preparing a new strategy for reviving our financial system — which will not only ensure that CEOs aren’t abusing taxpayer dollars, but also get credit flowing and lower mortgage costs.

ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT
TO THE NATION
January 31, 2009

This morning I’d like to talk about some good news and some bad news as we confront our economic crisis.

The bad news is well known to Americans across our country as we continue to struggle through unprecedented economic turmoil. Yesterday we learned that our economy shrank by nearly 4 percent from October through December. That decline was the largest in over a quarter century, and it underscores the seriousness of the economic crisis that my administration found when we took office.

Already the slowdown has cost us tens of thousands of jobs in January alone. And the picture is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Make no mistake, these are not just numbers. Behind every statistic there’s a story. Many Americans have seen their lives turned upside down. Families have been forced to make painful choices. Parents are struggling to pay the bills. Patients can’t afford care. Students can’t keep pace with tuition. And workers don’t know whether their retirement will be dignified and secure.

The good news is that we are moving forward with a sense of urgency equal to the challenge. This week the House passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, which will save or create more than 3 million jobs over the next few years. It puts a tax cut into the pockets of working families, and places a down payment on America’s future by investing in energy independence and education, affordable health care, and American infrastructure.

Now this recovery plan moves to the Senate. I will continue working with both parties so that the strongest possible bill gets to my desk. With the stakes so high we simply cannot afford the same old gridlock and partisan posturing in Washington. It’s time to move in a new direction.

Americans know that our economic recovery will take years — not months. But they will have little patience if we allow politics to get in the way of action, and our economy continues to slide. That’s why I am calling on the Senate to pass this plan, so that we can put people back to work and begin the long, hard work of lifting our economy out of this crisis. No one bill, no matter how comprehensive, can cure what ails our economy. So just as we jumpstart job creation, we must also ensure that markets are stable, credit is flowing, and families can stay in their homes.

Last year Congress passed a plan to rescue the financial system. While the package helped avoid a financial collapse, many are frustrated by the results — and rightfully so. Too often taxpayer dollars have been spent without transparency or accountability. Banks have been extended a hand, but homeowners, students, and small businesses that need loans have been left to fend on their own.

And adding to this outrage, we learned this week that even as they petitioned for taxpayer assistance, Wall Street firms shamefully paid out nearly $20 billion in bonuses for 2008. While I’m committed to doing what it takes to maintain the flow of credit, the American people will not excuse or tolerate such arrogance and greed. The road to recovery demands that we all act responsibly, from Main Street to Washington to Wall Street.

Soon my Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, will announce a new strategy for reviving our financial system that gets credit flowing to businesses and families. We’ll help lower mortgage costs and extend loans to small businesses so they can create jobs. We’ll ensure that CEOs are not draining funds that should be advancing our recovery. And we will insist on unprecedented transparency, rigorous oversight, and clear accountability — so taxpayers know how their money is being spent and whether it is achieving results.

Rarely in history has our country faced economic problems as devastating as this crisis. But the strength of the American people compels us to come together. The road ahead will be long, but I promise you that every day that I go to work in the Oval Office I carry with me your stories, and my administration is dedicated to alleviating your struggles and advancing your dreams. You are calling for action. Now is the time for those of us in Washington to live up to our responsibilities.

by RomBox.com

CKX, Inc. owners of American Idol, Elvis Presley, Graceland, Muhammad Ali, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Woody Allen, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry and Carrie Underwood announced their director had resigned.

CKX, Inc. (Nasdaq: CKXE) and 19 Entertainment Limited announced today that last night’s Wednesday premiere of American Idol drew approximately 30.3 million viewers, retaining 100% of the Tuesday night audience for the first time in five years, and for the first time ever, surpassing the Tuesday night season premiere in the key 18-34 adult demographic. In addition, this is the first time in five years that American Idol’s Wednesday premiere has increased over its Tuesday debut in Adults 18-49. The Wednesday show was the highest rated telecast of the season on any net among Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34.

Get the full article.

Markets around the world are falling. This could be the first time that so many countries have slid into recession at the same time. The United States has been in a recession for the past year. Great Britain announced that it, too, had fallen into recession. In Korea, Samsung posted its first ever quarterly loss. Japan’s Sony saw its first quarterly loss in fourteen years. Canada went from predicting a positive GNP to revising the projection to a recession. Even China is seeing a slowdown with growth going into the single digits for the first time in many years.

The price of Microsoft stock fell to a 20 year low as their proprietary opperating system, Vista, continues to have trouble.

Here is an email from the CEO:

From: Steve Ballmer
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 6:07 AM
Subject: Realigning Resources and Reducing Costs

In response to the realities of a deteriorating economy, we’re taking important steps to realign Microsoft’s business. I want to tell you about what we’re doing and why.

Today we announced second quarter revenue of $16.6 billion. This number is an increase of just 2 percent compared with the second quarter of last year and it is approximately $900 million below our earlier expectations.

The fact that we are growing at all during the worst recession in two generations reflects our strong business fundamentals and is a testament to your hard work. Our products provide great value to our customers. Our financial position is solid. We have made long-term investments that continue to pay off.

But it is also clear that we are not immune to the effects of the economy. Consumers and businesses have reined in spending, which is affecting PC shipments and IT expenditures.

Our response to this environment must combine a commitment to long-term investments in innovation with prompt action to reduce our costs.

During the second quarter we started down the right path. As the economy deteriorated, we acted quickly. As a result, we reduced operating expenses during the quarter by $600 million. I appreciate the agility you have shown in enabling us to achieve this result.

Now we need to do more. We must make adjustments to ensure that our investments are tightly aligned with current and future revenue opportunities. The current environment requires that we continue to increase our efficiency.

As part of the process of adjustments, we will eliminate up to 5,000 positions in R&D, marketing, sales, finance, LCA, HR, and IT over the next 18 months, of which 1,400 will occur today. We’ll also open new positions to support key investment areas during this same period of time. Our net headcount in these functions will decline by 2,000 to 3,000 over the next 18 months. In addition, our workforce in support, consulting, operations, billing, manufacturing, and data center operations will continue to change in direct response to customer needs.

Our leaders all have specific goals to manage costs prudently and thoughtfully. They have the flexibility to adjust the size of their teams so they are appropriately matched to revenue potential, to add headcount where they need to increase investments in order to ensure future success, and to drive efficiency.

To increase efficiency, we’re taking a series of aggressive steps. We’ll cut travel expenditures 20 percent and make significant reductions in spending on vendors and contingent staff. We’ve scaled back Puget Sound campus expansion and reduced marketing budgets. We’ll also reduce costs by eliminating merit increases for FY10 that would have taken effect in September of this calendar year.

Each of these steps will be difficult. Our priority remains doing right by our customers and our employees. For employees who are directly affected, I know this will be a difficult time for you and I want to assure you that we will provide help and support during this transition. We have established an outplacement center in the Puget Sound region and we’ll provide outplacement services in many other locations to help you find new jobs. Some of you may find jobs internally. For those who don’t, we will also offer severance pay and other benefits.

The decision to eliminate jobs is a very difficult one. Our people are the foundation of everything we have achieved and we place the highest value on the commitment and hard work that you have dedicated to building this company. But we believe these job eliminations are crucial to our ability to adjust the company’s cost structure so that we have the resources to drive future profitable growth. I encourage you to attend tomorrow’s Town Hall at 9am PST in Cafe 34 or watch the Webcast.

While this is the most challenging economic climate we have ever faced, I want to reiterate my confidence in the strength of our competitive position and soundness of our approach.

With these changes in place, I feel confident that we will have the resources we need to continue to invest in long-term computing trends that offer the greatest opportunity to deliver value to our customers and shareholders, benefit to society, and growth for Microsoft.

With our approach to investing for the long term and managing our expenses, I know Microsoft will emerge an even stronger industry leader than it is today.

Thank you for your continued commitment and hard work.

Steve

Citibank reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $8.29 billion (its 5th straight quarterly loss.) They also announced they are splitting into 2 seperate businesses.

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) posted its first quarterly loss in 17 years. First, they obtained an additional $20 billion from the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Then, they reported a quarterly loss of $1.79 billion.

Toyota is likely to report its first quarterly loss in 70 years.

Financial Times
By Stephen Roach
Published: January 13 2009 17:08 | Last updated: January 13 2009 17:08
No one in their right mind thinks the United States could fall victim to a Japanese-like lost decade. After all, the argument goes, US policymakers have the advantage of knowing what their counterparts in Japan did wrong.

If only it were that simple. For starters, the parallels between crises in the two economies are striking. Both suffered from the bursting of two major bubbles – property and equity in the case of Japan and property and credit in the US. Both had broken financial systems stemming from egregious risk management blunders. Both were victimised by a reckless lack of oversight – regulatory failures, misdirected rating agencies, and central banks that ignored asset bubbles. And the twin bubbles ended up infecting the real side of both economies – the corporate sector in Japan and the consumer sector in the US.

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January 14, 2009

Harrisburg, PA — At a time when consumers are struggling to manage volatile energy costs and America’s national security is jeopardized by its continuing dependence on foreign oil, Pennsylvania is investing $665.9 million to spur the development of alternative and renewable energy sources and help families and small business conserve energy and use it more efficiently.

The $650 million Alternative Energy Investment Fund and the nearly $16 million Alternative Fuels Investment Fund include $237.5 million specifically targeted toward helping consumers conserve electricity and manage higher energy prices, and $428.4 million to spur the development of alternative energy resources and create good-paying, skilled jobs for Pennsylvania’s hard-working men and women.

The package includes incentives to help households and small businesses take advantage of solar energy technology – a key resource for reducing electricity demand during times of peak demand when rates are most expensive – and make improvements to their homes or buildings that conserve energy.