Monday

Ford (F) swung to a profit of almost $1 billion in its third quarter, easily beating Wall Street expectations.  This was helped by the “cash for clunkers” program and cost cutting, according to the auto maker.  Ford was the only major U.S. auto maker that did not accept government aid in the form of emergency loans.

Holiday sales over the Internet are expected to rise 8%, according to Forrester Research, which said mass market retailers will likely have the best performance.  The firm expects sales in November and December to hit $44.7 billion, up from $41.4 billion last year, when overall holiday sales were at their worst in over 40 years.

Ford CEO: Customer Focus Pays Off

Mayor: California is Un-Governable

Elections Setting the Tone

The Importance of Elections

Nationwide Average
$2.68 a gallon

Tuesday

Brain Drain Dept.: Compensation restrictions put in place by the Obama Administration’s pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, has pushed out some executives from top spots.  More than 40 executives at the seven firms receiving the most government bailout money have taken off.  And many lower-level employees have left those companies as well.

Warren Buffett is going into the railroad business, thought by many to be a dying industry.  In the largest deal the billionaire has ever made, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) is buying Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $44 billion.  Berkshire already owned 22.6% of the company, but will be purchasing the rest of the shares for $34 billion, plus $10 in debt. 

Gettelfinger on Ford Deal

Buffett on Economy, Health Care

Wilder: Need Leadership in Recession

Wilder: Politics = Money

Wednesday

The FOMC decided to keep the federal funds rate at a range of 0% to 0.25% Wednesday.  And the Federal Reserve said it sees rates staying near zero for a while.  The central bank, however, said that the economy is continuing to “pick up.”

Meanwhile, the New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed an antitrust suit against Intel (INTC), accusing the company of using threats to keep its dominance in the computer chip market and paying kickbacks to makers of computers so they would keep using Intel chips, hurting its rival AMD.  It’s worth pointing out, however, that Intel and many computer makers are not New York-based companies, and have their headquarters in California.

Radio Host: Christie Owes his Win to Imus

Edmunds vs. NADA: Clunkers Cost

Big-Time Payback

Health Care No Longer the Deal?

Thursday

Last month Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam was arrested on charges of involvement in an illegal insider trading scheme, bringing in $40 million in profits to insiders.  The case expanded Thursday as 14 more people were arrested in a wide probe by the SEC.  Those arrested include a corporate executive, a Ropes & Gray law firm attorney, and several traders at Schottenfeld Group, a brokerage house.

Meanwhile, Congress approved an extension of the homebuyers tax credit and unemployment benefits.  In an attempt to continue to prop up the U.S. economy, the bill was passed in the House by a vote of 403 to 12.  It had already passed in the Senate and President Obama is expected to sign the legislation.  Some critics were quick to point out the fraud found in the homebuyer tax credit program, as there were children who apparently applied for and received the tax credit.

Dow 10000 Dept.: The Dow retook the 10000 mark Thursday afternoon after a bullish earnings report from Cisco (CSCO).  Encouraging productivity and labor reports also helped push the average up.  The Dow rose 204 points, closing at 10006.

Yale's Shiller: Optimism Lifting Home

Goldman Sachs to Buy Low Income Tax Credits

Google CEO: Recession is Behind Us

Google CEO on Future of Technology

Friday

Friday began with a sobering report on the nation’s jobless numbers.  The Labor Department reported that the economy lost 190,000 nonfarm jobs in October, pushing the unemployment rate from 9.8% to 10.2%, the highest it’s been since August of 1983.  This was even worse than expectations of economists who predicted a loss of 175,000 jobs during the month.

Meanwhile, Democrats in the House were scrambling to get enough votes for their health-care legislation, for which a vote was planned on Saturday.  Debate over the legislation could continue until Sunday or next week, according to the House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer.  It would take 218 votes for the bill to pass in the House and it would then go over to the Senate, which is preparing its own version.  Republicans are objecting to the legislation over its massive costs and the increased government interference in health-care markets.

Solis: Good Time for Education, Job Training

Citigroup Takes Steps for Turnaround

Strategy Behind Wal-Mart’s Price War

What's More Important: Jobs or Health Care?