Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil made $40.6B in profit in 2007. That was a record annual profit for a U.S. company. The number is so astronomically high that it's almost impossible to grasp. Here's another, simpler way of looking at it. Exxon made $1300 a second in 2007. So in the 10 seconds or so it took to read this blog, Exxon made about 13 thousand dollars.

For more on this story, check out my segment on BNN by copying and pasting the following link.
http://broadband.bnn.ca/bnn/?id=2238&vid=29359

Bristol-Myers

Bristol-Myers Squibb lost 89 million dollars in the fourth quarter. The biggest contributing factor? Generic competition for its Plavix drug? A big payout on a patent dispute? Nah. The culprit was subprime. Specifically losses on rotten subprime investments. Pretty incredible considering Bristol-Myers is a pharma company. This has to be subprime contagion at its best or its worst depending on your viewpoint.

For more on this story, check out my segment on BNN by copying and pasting the following link.

http://broadband.bnn.ca/bnn/?id=2223&vid=29124

Sit tight

Forget the relentless equity market selling in 2008. The single biggest factor in the capital markets right now is volatility. One day the equity markets are up, the next day, markets are down. Yesterday the TSX lost 605 points, its biggest points decline in 30 years. Breathtaking stuff. Today the index gained back nearly all of those losses. Pity the panic-stricken investor that sold near the bottom yesterday and then watched stock prices almost universally recover today. So when markets dive is the only sane advice to sit tight?