BNET Daily Dispatch: Economy Slows, Consumer Spending, MySpace, Citigroup
- The government said today that the economy grew at its slowest pace since 2003. GPD rose by 1.3 percent in the first quarter, which is less than what economists were expecting. A decline in residential real estate investment was a key factor in the slowdown.
- Economists are worried that consumer spending may take a dive if home prices fall for the first time in four decades. When home values were high, homeowners borrowed against their houses to pay for vacations or education. Economists say some homeowners may avoid this tactic in the future, and it may impact consumer spending, which makes up 70 percent of the economy.
- News Corporation signed a deal to bring MySpace.com to China. MySpace.com is breaking into China at a time when social networking sites, online games, and entertainment sites are already wildly popular. China has more than 137 million Internet users, second only to the U.S.
- Citigroup wrapped up its $7.7 billion acquisition of Nikko Cordial after a majority of shareholders in Japanese brokerage accepted a buyout offer. It's Citigroup's biggest Asian acquisition ever. Citigroup made its buyout bid last month when Nikko was still reeling from an accounting scandal.