Intersecting Minds: Education, Business and Technology at the North Carolina State Jenkins Graduate School of Management

Monday Morning Quick Hits

Blogging from the West Coast this week, so there will be some delay to the Morning Quick Hits.

Insurance giant AIG continues to suffer, reporting a $62B quarterly loss. The government will attempt to restructure AIG’s bailout in order to prevent the company from completely collapsing. The news has sent the stock market tumbling this morning as the DOW went below 7,000 and is now sitting at about 6800, its lowest level in almost 15 years.

Manufacturing output in the United States has dropped for the 13th consecutive month.

Automaker Volkswagen managed to buck the trend in 2008 and reported a 15% rise in net earnings. However, the company warned that revenues in 2009 would be down from last year.

Fast food restaurants have managed to thrive as consumers seek out more bang for the buck in their meal choices. Wendys could not follow suit though, posting a $400M net loss after a write-down tied to Arby’s, a subsidiary of the company.