Stories Report on Business is following today :
How well is the iPad selling?
Shares of Apple Inc. are flat after what was believed to be a strong weekend debut for the iPad tablet computer. Estimates this morning indicate sales in the United States surpassed projections by a wide margin. Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray & Co., for example, who had projected sales of 200,000 to 300,000, told Bloomberg initial sales may in fact have gone as high as 700,000. Piper Jaffray tracked lineups at five stores, suggesting stronger demand than initially estimated, though it appeared Apple had enough iPads on hand given they were still available late on Saturday. Some estimates were far lower. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its price estimate on Apple stock to $305 (U.S.) from $240. "Sales held relatively steady during the day," Mr. Munster told the news agency. "I have high expectations."
Apple said in a statement today it sold more than 300,000 iPads in the United States on Saturday, including those that were preordered, and that users of the new tablet downloaded more than one million apps from its App Store and more than 250,000 books from its iBookstore on the first day. Read the story
Related: Market Blog by David Berman - Analysts get busy with Apple targets
Related: A whole new iD
Video: Putting the iPad through its paces
Loonie continues to climb
The Canadian dollar is rising again this morning, continuing to outpace most other currencies amid renewed projections of hitting parity with its U.S. counterpart. Bloomberg News reported today that both the loonie, which reached 99.90 cents U.S., and the Mexcian peso are outdoing all other major currencies for the first time since at least 1998. Call it the NAFTA effect. "With U.S. growth resumption, we should see channels of support for the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso assert themselves," Scotia Capital currency strategist Sacha Tihanyi told the news agency.
The Canadian dollar has been climbing on rosy projections for the country's economy, speculation that the Bank of Canada will boost interest rates before the Federal Reserve moves, firm commodities prices, and what is deemed a strong fiscal position for the federal government.
Related: As parity beckons, firms rush to hedge
Related: The 'new normal' for the loonie
Cat:e528746c-3414-401a-b14b-50247e3bdf01Forum:e3bcf17c-2889-45a0-9941-0ad1b683e947
U.S. indicators better than expected
Economic indicators in the United States continue to come in better than expected. The National Association of Realtors said today that pending home sales - buyers agreeing to buy resale homes - rose 8.2 per cent in February. Economists had expected its index to dip, but it came in with a reading of 97.6, on a reading where 100 equals the level when the index was launched in 2001.
Separately today, the Institute for Supply Management said its index that measures activity in the service sector also rose more than expected, jumping to 55.4 in March from February's 53. The 50 level separates expansion from contraction, and today's reading is the best in at least more than two years.
Read: U.S. pending home sales rise sharply
Read: U.S. service sector grows faster in March
Related: U.S. economy turns a corner
Fed meets this morning
Markets are also watching a meeting of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors that was called unexpectedly, and some economists wonder if the U.S. central bank will again boost its discount rate. The Fed last hiked the discount rate by half a percentage point in mid-February, and today's meeting, which was scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET, is, according to the central bank a "review and determination by the board of governors of the advance and discount rates to be charged by Federal Reserve Banks. The discount rate, that charged by the Fed to commercial banks, could rise by a quarter of a percentage point to 1 per cent, economists said. The benchmark Federal funds rate, which filters through to all types of consumer loans, is expected to remain at its historic low even if the central bank boosts the discount rate. A hike in the discount rate would be yet another sign of how financial conditions are improving, though, Scotia Capital said, "this is just part for the course as the Fed continues to unwind many of the unconventional actions put in place during the recent crisis ahead of any change to the Fed's target rate and interest rate on reserves."
Cat:e528746c-3414-401a-b14b-50247e3bdf01Forum:d0fa4e14-88d2-41f9-8a19-896bdff9544b
Will China stay firm on yuan?
A Chinese government economist says it's still too soon for China to alter its policy on the yuan, though he gave a nod today to weekend developments that brought the simmering dispute with the United States down a notch. On Saturday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner decided to delay a mid-April decision on whether to label China a currency manipulator, though the United States still plans to push for a more flexible exchange rate policy. There was no official reaction from China today because of a public holiday. But Huo Jianguo, who heads the Chinese Commerce Ministry's think tank, told Reuters that Mr. Geithner's decision is "a positive signal" that allows for further talks. "But I don't think there will be a yuan adjustment in the near term," he told the news agency. "We need to see whether China's export recovery will be sustained and need to see whether companies can cope with a stronger yuan."
Read
China quiet on U.S. currency report delay
Geithner gives China room to move on yuan
GM to install new brake measures
General Motors Co. said today it plans to put new brake safety systems on all new vehicles by 2012, a move that would stop unintended acceleration. GM has not suffered any major issues, as has Toyota Motor Corp., but says it wants to give drivers peace of mind when it comes to the safety of its cars. U.S. regulators are studying possibly making such a system mandatory on all new vehicles. Read the story
New York doormen threaten strike
The doorman has a special place in the hearts of New Yorkers. They do just about everything for their charges, The Associated Press notes, including gathering laundry, babysitting and helping with groceries and other chores, along with opening doors. So it's no wonder some people are worried as the doormen, members of the Service Employees International Union, head toward what could be their first strike in almost two decades. The union representing some 30,000 doormen and other workers has set a strike deadline of April 21 in negotiations with the Realty Advisory Board. "I know them from birth," Willie Hawkins, who has worked as a doorman for 30 years, the last seven at a residential building for Wall Street professionals, told the news agency. "It's more than just a job. It's a relationship."
From today's Report on Business
Canada's pension funds perform, at a cost
Even Tiger can't lift the Masters
Quants accept no blame for financial crisis