What's New in the Financial World (8/14/2012)

Americans should avoid a number of high-end cars, if their primary interest is passenger safety. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported that “only 3 of 11 midsize luxury and near-luxury cars evaluated earn good or acceptable ratings.”

The Acura TL and Volvo S60 earn good ratings, while the Infiniti G earns acceptable. The Acura TSX, BMW 3 series, Lincoln MKZ and Volkswagen CC earn marginal ratings. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Lexus IS 250/350, Audi A4 and Lexus ES 350 earn poor. All of these cars are 2012 models.

The data is particularly surprising since the best-selling luxury cars did the worst. Honda Motor Co. Ltd.’s (NYSE: HMC) Acura sales fall well below those of BMW, Mercedes and Audi. And Volvo sells barely any cars in the United States. On the other hand, the Mercedes C-Class is its best-selling model. Audi and Lexus occupy the annual luxury sales volume slots in the U.S. just below Mercedes and BMW. All of these luxury cars are supposed to be among the best engineered in the world. It looks like that assumption is a fantasy.

Apple Puts Pressure on Samsung

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) tried to increase the pressure on rival Samsung as a patent legal case draws to a close in court. The U.S. company said that a quarter of the $30.4 billion in sales of Samsung tablets and smartphones are based on Apple technology. According to the Guardian:

Accountant Terry Musika, citing Samsung records and testifying as an Apple expert witness, estimated that $8.16bn in revenue, or 22.7m of those total unit sales over that two-year period, came from products that infringed Apple patents, such as the first Galaxy S smartphone in July 2010.

Apple is only seeking $2.75 billion in damages. Based on the new testimony and evidence, that figure might go higher.

AT&T Readies for iPhone 5 Launch

BGR (Boy Genius Report) posted an exclusive that says that AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has begun a period of strenuous training for its retail employees as its clears out inventory of current iPhones to prepare for the arrival of the iPhone 5. The target date for the launch has been pinned down to the third or fourth week of September.

BGR reports:

According to a trusted AT&T (T) source, the carrier is currently planning to launch Apple’s (AAPL) next-generation iPhone during the third or fourth week of September, with an all-hands-on-deck policy in place for employees that will extend through to the middle of October. A second AT&T source confirms that a large training event for regional employees has been rescheduled from the first week of October due to a conflict with a “huge announcement.” Apple is expected to introduce the “iPhone 5″ alongside other new iOS devices at a press conference on September 12th.

Douglas A. McIntyre