Financial Dispatch: iPhone owners say, “What recession?”
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/TECH/07/20/apple.report/art.iphone.cnn.jpg]
Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer
In these tough times, we’re all cutting back on everything from eating out to taking a vacation. But there’s one thing that millions of us seem to be able to afford: an iPhone.
We spent $1.7 billion dollars on iPhones in just the last three months.
Apple sold 5.2 million iPhones last quarter, including the new 3GS model. That’s more than seven times the number the company sold a year ago.
Sales are so strong that Apple’s having a hard time keeping up with iPhone demand. And even though iPod sales slipped from a year ago, they still topped 10 million players.
Heath care in the spotlight
President Obama holds a prime time press conference at the White House tonight amid his continued push for health care reform legislation.
So what does health care reform mean for you? More than 160 million Americans get their health insurance through work. 14 million Americans buy health insurance on their own. And 49 million Americans have no coverage at all.
How will the health care bills moving through Congress affect these groups? Will it lower premiums? CNNMoney.com has the breakdown.
Stocks churn on Wall Street
Stocks bounced in and out of positive territory this morning as investors took a breather from the recent run-up to sort through earnings reports from the likes of Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Apple.
Stocks rallied Tuesday, with the Dow ending at its highest close in six months as better-than-expected quarterly results overshadowed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on the economy. Bernanke is back on the Hill today, testifying before the Senate Banking Committee.
Gas prices reverse course
After 30 consecutive days of declines, gas prices climbed 3- tenths of a cent overnight to $2.461.
Still, the average price of a gallon of gas is down $1.65 or 40.2 percent from the record high price of $4.114 that AAA reported on July 17, 2008.
The highest gas prices are in Hawaii ($3.169). The cheapest are in Missouri and South Carolina ($2.226 in both states).
Pay hikes on the way
Pay raises are expected to rebound next year after being severely stunted by the recession, according to a new survey.
Companies are planning median merit increases of 3% for 2010, according to human resources consulting firm Watson Wyatt, which polled 235 large U.S. employers in May.
While that's below the 3.5% raise workers received in both 2008 and 2007, it would be an improvement over the 2% salary increase employers plan to give out this year.
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Filed under: Economy • Finance • Gas Prices • Technology • Unemployment • Wall St. |
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The"Health Care Bill" will only give congress a,"refill"on the already depleted Medicare,Medicaid,and Social Security programs, that they've used as a personal "Piggy Bank" to help supplement off-budget over-spending programs to balance the books. I'll bet within five-years,once this bill passes (if it passes,...?) that they'll (Congress) be dipping into it's coffers. Just today we learned that the "TARP money will not be (approx.$700bn.) suspended,or money's turned back into the US Treasury,but will still be available once paid-off ( yea,in full?) to be used indiscriminatly by congress in a new "Resolution Trust Program" (whatever,...?) to broker all the failed regional-community,and small to medium size banks that will be going belly-up soon! Please note, the FDIC has only $10bn-$12bn left on it's positive balance sheets to supplement the onslaught of failures coming soon in the "Commercial Real-Estate Markets"! Just look at GE Capial,...?
Obviously, these people still have jobs and no worries. What's a recession mean if you still have job? Not much.
Curious I was thinking exactly that a few days ago. Despite the recession (U.S. and Brazil) how I know people who already have or just buy an iPhone.
I am one. My excuse is that I work and I love technology. The iPhone is an expensive toy and I always hear people are saying that despite the crisis they gave up the luxury of having an iPhone. iPhone is great, but expensive. It is worth!!!
My iPhone has become an appendage.:)
That's my motto, though I don't own a iphone ipod or any of those other smazzy gadgets.
Lord knows, a so-called "recession" hasn't stopped me from contributing to the economy as much as I can.
I buy other "essentials" like DVDs and CDs and beads and stuff for my scrapbooks, and puzzle books. You know, things that some people call a want instead of a need. Well a want and a need is relative to whom it applies to, of course.
This person must be a relative.