For the first time since 1992, federal regulators have closed over 100 banks across the United States, a sign that the financial crisis is not yet over for financial institutions that have suffered heavy losses from the weakness of the real estate market. Seven banks were closed just yesterday, which brings this year’s total to 106. While the situation is far from reaching 1992’s levels of bank closures, which topped 179 as the result of a savings-and-loan crisis, the fact that 106 banks have been closed spells a lot of trouble for the employees of the banks and the communities which the banks served. However, analysts stand by the fact that closing down failed banks is an important step in getting the economy back on its feet. The... [Read more]

Netflix Inc, which is the largest mail-order movie-rental system in the United States, has experienced significant 48 percent rise in profits in the third quarter off of an increased number of subscriptions. Net income has increased to $30.1 million, or 52 cents per share, from $20.4 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier, according to a statement released today by the company. Netflix’s results managed to surpass analyst expectations for its profit, with the average analyst estimate coming in at 47 cents across twenty-two predictions. While much of Netflix’s competition has been forced to shrink operations due to weak demand, Netflix has seen its subscriber base grow from 8.67 million last year to 11.1 million this year... [Read more]

A variety of groups have come together recently to try to do something about the fact that many pilots and flight attendants are worked so hard that they hardly have enough time to sleep, resulting in poorer job performance. This problem came to a head on Wednesday night when a Northwest Airlines flight ended up overshooting the airport by 150 miles because of the possibility that the pilot nodded off. Air traffic controllers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport lost contact with the Airbus A320 for more than an hour, the time period in which it is suspected that the pilot fell asleep in the cockpit and had the plane on autopilot. The plane eventually landed safely and without any injuries to the 147 passengers, albeit much later... [Read more]

Amazon.com has posted a third-quarter profit increase of 68 percent, a signal that things could be getting a lot better for online retailers as the holiday season remains just around the corner. A 44 percent rise in sales of electronics and general merchandise was one of the main factors in Amazon’s strong performance, a category that now comprises 43 percent of Amazon’s total sales. The company also posted a 17 percent increase in sales of media, a figure that was surprisingly low in the second quarter because of disappointing video game sales. This result was strengthened by the release of several popular books, such as Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. Amazon’s strong third-quarter results come at a time when the company... [Read more]

Despite Toyota’s high-profile decision to close an American auto plant and to delay the opening of another due to tepid auto sales, smaller competitor Nissan has decided that it has no plans to reduce its manufacturing capacity in the United States. However, analysts have expressed their concern that Nissan’s decision to maintain its American production capacity could end up harming the company. Currently, Nissan can produce 950,000 vehicles in the United States, but weak demand for its cars has led Nissan to only produce 360,000 vehicles in the same period. This means that Nissan has slowed its U.S. plants to 44 percent of their available production speed. Nissan has not commented on these numbers, but analysts have pointed out... [Read more]