Commze

U.S. stocks fell, capping a second monthly drop for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after economic growth trailed forecasts, jobless claims rose to a five-year high and Exxon Mobil Corp.’s profit missed analysts’ estimates.

“The data put the market on notice that the economy is slowing,” said Quincy Krosby, who helps manage $380 billion as chief investment strategist at the Hartford in Hartford, Connecticut. “It’s not equity friendly.”

Caterpillar Inc., Boeing Co. and Walt Disney Co. led the retreat after the Commerce Department said the economy grew at a 1.9 percent rate last quarter and contracted at the end of 2007. Exxon Mobil fell, extending the worst monthly slump for S&P 500 energy companies since at least 1989, after declining production slowed earnings growth. Benchmark indexes extended their tumble late in the day as former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the housing slump will worsen.  Read more…

The 2008 tennis season has already been filled with excitement. Rafael Nadal won the French Open for the 4th straight year and then he came back to win the Wimbledon just 2 weeks later. The upset against defending champ Roger Federer proved to be one of the best tennis matches in history.

The U.S. Open will be played immediately following the tennis portion of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. The U.S. Open tennis new coverage will most likely show yet another match between Nadal and Federer. But the Olympics will be especially interesting because of the closeness in schedule to the Olympics.

Many players will not get the rest they need and are used to getting in between tournaments. The injuries that were healing will be re-injured and many new injuries will be incurred. Beijing will be interesting to say the least this year.

Today, BusinessWeek brought to our attention the devaluation of The New York Times Company. Just last year, the paper and its respected firm were worth double what stock prices show today. It isn’t just the respected New York Times that suffers. All newspaper stocks have not been favorably valued for quite some time. According to the article, the attributed culprit is a decrease in advertising revenue. During the dot com boom, traditional media companies were hit hard. Today, the Times has transitioned itself into the Internet era by establishing its online presence and garnering substantial website traffic. Adapting to the current technology has been a step in the right direction, but media companies throughout the industry are still struggling. It will be interesting to see how the Times Co. will adjust to this stressed economy and bring back the value associated with its revered reputation.