Finance & Business World

Embattled Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson told company employees late Monday that he is sorry for the distraction his resume padding scandal has caused — without commenting on what role his own actions might have played in creating the drama.

"I want you to know how deeply I regret how this issue has affected the company and all of you," Thompson said in a memo obtained by CNN. "We have all been working very hard to move the company forward, and this has had the opposite effect. For that, I take full responsibility, and I want to apologize to you."

The scandal erupted late last week, when activist shareholder group Third Point first alleged that Thompson lied about his college degree. Thompson’s published bios have claimed that he holds a Bachelor’s degree in both accounting and computer science from Stonehill College, but his degree is actually only in accounting.

Yahoo (, Fortune 500) said that it had incorrectly stated Thompson’s academic credentials, claiming the mistake was an "inadvertent error."

On Tuesday, the Yahoo announced that Patti Hart, the director who led the search committee that picked Thompson, will soon leave the board.

First reported by tech blog AllThingsD, the news was later confirmed by Yahoo, which said Hart is stepping down at the behest of her own company, International Game Technology (). Hart, who joined Yahoo’s board in 2010, serves as CEO of IGT.

"The IGT board requested that she not seek reelection as a Yahoo director," Yahoo said in a written statement.

Yahoo’s board said also Tuesday that it has hired an outside counsel to conduct a review of the false statement. It appointed the company’s three independent directors to oversee the investigation.

All three directors were named to Yahoo’s board under Thompson’s watch, after a board shakeup that wiped out most of Yahoo’s previous directors.

Thompson said he would cooperate fully with the board’s review, and the CEO urged a "prompt" conclusion to the probe.

Thompson’s memo to Yahoo’s staff included no explanation for how the mistake happened. His apology was solely for the impact the scandal has had on the company, not for the act itself.

That didn’t impress the troops.

A senior Yahoo executive, who spoke to CNN on the condition that his name not be used, said: "Thompson has quickly lost the confidence of many employees, who think he has to go."

False statements about Thompson’s degree predate his tenure at Yahoo, which began in January. References to a "computer science" degree also appeared in his online biographical information on PayPal’s website when he was president of the eBay (, Fortune 500) subsidiary.

Thompson’s degree information is actually correct in eBay’s regulatory filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission and in the bio featured in filings for F5 (), where he serves as a director quick payday loans. In both cases, the companies state: "Mr. Thompson holds a B.S. in Accounting from Stonehill College," with no reference to a computer science degree.

Related story: Résumé padding: inconsequential or inexcusable?

But the false statement about his degree appeared in Yahoo’s latest annual report filed to the SEC: "Mr. Thompson holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and computer science from Stonehill College."

Critics like Third Point seized on that line and are demanding answers about how it made its way into Yahoo’s regulatory filings. CEOs are required to personally certify that their company’s statements are accurate.

The annual report Yahoo filed last month includes this line, directly above Scott Thompson’s signature: "This report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact."

A spokeswoman from Third Point declined to comment on Thompson’s apology.

The investment group said earlier on Monday that it wasn’t satisfied with Yahoo’s review process. It sent Yahoo’s board a letter demanding that it be allowed to inspect books and records relating to Thompson’s hiring, and it urged the company to make details of the review public.

Yahoo’s board "will make an appropriate disclosure to shareholders" upon conclusion of its review, Yahoo said in a statement e-mailed statement to CNNMoney.

Yahoo typically uses the headhunting firm Heidrick & Struggles for its executive searches. But AllThingsD says the firm wasn’t involved in the search for Thompson — he reportedly reached out directly to company directors to pitch himself for the CEO job.

CNNMoney has reached out to Heidrick & Struggles to find out if the firm was involved in vetting Thompson’s background. The firm declined to comment, but a source close to the company said Heidrick & Struggles was not involved in Thompson’s appointment in any way.

Meanwhile, Thompson said he would continue pushing forward on the company’s latest attempt to rebuild.

"I feel I owe it to all of you to make sure that nothing disrupts the progress we’ve made in just a few short months due to all of your focus, commitment, and hard work," he said. "We have a lot of work to do. We need to continue to act as one team to fulfill the potential of this great company and keep moving forward. You have my word that all my energy and attention will be on that mission."

– CNN’s Dan Simon and Katy Byron contributed reporting to this article. 

Source

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the U.S. faces risks from the crisis in Europe while the confrontation with Iran has helped drive up oil prices.

Oil prices hovered above $104 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed U.S. crude supplies jumped more than expected for a fourth week, suggesting demand remains weak.

Benchmark oil for May delivery was up 17 cents to $104.37 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.27 to settle at $104.20 in New York on Tuesday.

Brent crude for June delivery was down 34 cents at $118.44 per barrel in London.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories rose 3.4 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had predicted an increase of 400,000 barrels.

Inventories of gasoline fell 2.6 million barrels last week while distillates tumbled 2.4 million barrels, the API said.

The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration reports its weekly supply data later Wednesday.

Crude has traded above $100 most of this year as an improving U.S. economy has bolstered investor confidence. However, crude demand has remained tepid.

“We look for a sizable U.S. crude supply surplus during the coming months to take some steam out of crude strength,” energy trader and consultant Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report guaranteed fast personal loans. “We still see fresh lows to below the $100 mark by next week.”

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama urged Congress to give oil market regulators more muscle to deter price manipulation by speculators amid rising gasoline prices.

Obama called on Congress to strengthen federal supervision of oil markets, increase penalties for market manipulation and empower regulators to increase the amount of money energy traders are required to put behind their transactions.

“Although President Obama’s comments on oil price regulation will occupy much headline space, it shouldn’t have much impact on oil pricing over the near term,” Ritterbusch said.

In other energy trading, heating oil was down 0.1 cents at $3.13 per gallon and gasoline futures slid 0.5 cents at $3.17 per gallon. Natural gas rose 0.2 cents at $1.95 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Source

China is slowing, inflation is sleeping, bank stocks are slipping and Google is splitting. Got all that?

There’s a lot of economic and market news to digest on this frenetic Friday the 13th. Stocks were lower after a big move up Thursday.

Here’s why.

China’s gross domestic product grew at an 8.1% annualized pace in the first quarter. While that’s obviously a fantastic level of growth, it’s down from the 8.9% pace in the fourth quarter. And it’s disappointing, considering that Thursday’s market rally was partly due to whispers that China’s growth may not slow after all. Oops.

The China GDP number may not be a cause for alarm yet. But it will not silence the chorus of China critics who think that nation’s economy is destined for a hard landing.

The slowdown may also put more pressure on China’s central bank to lower its reserve requirement ratio for banks again — or even cut interest rates.

"It is important for global sentiment that China’s growth remains strong," said John Derrick, director of research for U.S. Global Investors. "If China were to be more aggressive with easing, that would be good for stocks."

Speaking of interest rates, the Federal Reserve has more justification to leave rates near zero for awhile thanks to the March consumer price report. Consumer prices rose 2.7% year-over-year through March, down from a 2.9% pace a month earlier.

The Fed can continue to keep monetary policy loose as long as inflation remains low. But while the latest round of job market data — a pullback in hiring in March and a pickup in weekly unemployment claims — is disheartening, those numbers are probably not weak enough to give the Fed good reason for further bond buying.

Correction? Perhaps. But investors shouldn’t panic

What’s more, even though inflation is low, the price of consumer goods is still rising at a higher clip than wages. So the Fed can’t completely write off concerns about inflation just yet. The market seems to sense that, and that may be another reason why stocks are down Friday.

"The Fed can keep current policy in place, but there is nothing hinting at deflation. So there is no ammunition for more easing right now," Derrick said.

Finally, there’s earnings. Profits at JPMorgan Chase (, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo (, Fortune 500) did both top estimates. That’s the good news. But both stocks were lower Friday, as were shares of Citigroup (, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (, Fortune 500), which are each set to report results next week.

Investors may be looking beyond the first-quarter results and worrying about whether credit quality is deteriorating once again. The level of so-called non-performing assets at JPMorgan and Wells rose slightly from the fourth quarter. That could be an ominous sign, especially if the job market loses more momentum in the coming months.

"Earnings quality is poor and non-performing assets are up, which will scare people. Charge-offs and credit costs could go up," said Christopher Whalen, senior managing director with Tangent Capital Partners, a New York firm that focuses on banks.

And then there’s Google (, Fortune 500). The company’s sort-of evil stock "split" is overshadowing its latest earnings. When you look at those numbers closely, there is cause for concern.

Sure, earnings topped estimates. But sales narrowly missed forecasts. And a key gauge of how much advertisers are paying Google, the cost per click, fell from both the end of the fourth quarter and the first quarter of last year.

Sell in April and hide under the table?

Shares of Google slipped nearly 3% Friday. Combine Google’s lackluster numbers with the banks’ and it is reasonable to wonder if first-quarter earnings won’t be as strong as some people thought they might be after Alcoa (, Fortune 500) reported a surprise profit and much better sales Tuesday.

"Profit levels are already at record highs. So Corporate America has to start showing sustainable revenue growth to justify current stock valuations. That is key. And there are considerable headwinds for companies to digest," said Adrian Cronje, chief investment officer at Balentine in Atlanta.

Add this all up — slowing growth in China, worries about the U.S. economy and concerns that earnings can’t get that much better — and it’s clear that investors still have plenty to worry about this year. And we didn’t even tackle the fact that Europe’s debt crisis is rearing its ugly head again.

The recent slump may still turn out to be a correction as opposed to a major market rout. But anyone that still thinks there’s nothing but blue skies ahead for stocks and the economy is kidding themselves.

"There was too much enthusiasm about the economy at the beginning of the year," said Milton Ezrati, senior economist and market strategist with Lord Abbett in Jersey City, N.J. "This is a plodding recovery and earnings should reflect that. This is a wake-up call."

Best of StockTwits and reader comment of the week: The Google stock split has made some investors angry while others don’t seem to care too much about it.

bradloncar: $GOOG supposedly worrying about shareholder activism is such a red herring. It’s a $200B company!

The new C class of non-voting shares is strange. As I said in today’s Buzz video, it may not be "evil" but it is "devious." Google’s co-founders and chairman Eric Schmidt already have voting control of the company through the B shares — which is why there is virtually no way the plan to split the stock will be defeated.

And with a $200 billion market cap, who could really buy up enough of the A shares — with limited voting power by the way — to make a difference? This isn’t Yahoo (, Fortune 500).

OptionsHawk: $GOOG trades like 8X earnings ex-cash - that is about all u need to know…

JoshPritchard: $GOOG saw 34% growth in FCFO, but no one’s talked about it. Great Fundamentals. At 12% discount rate, current mkt cap implies <5% LT growth

That is true. As I wrote in my Google earnings preview piece Wednesday, the stock is cheap and the company is still growing rapidly. But the latest results show some cracks. Anyone who’s worried about competition from Facebook and Apple still has reasons to be doubtful.

Nokia launched its new Lumia smartphone in the United States on Easter. A few days later, it warned that it would report a bigger quarterly loss. Shares plunged, leading some to wonder if CEO Stephen Elop, who joined the company from Microsoft (, Fortune 500) last year, can really turn the ship around.

Douglas Blake gets the reader comment of the week award for referencing a blunt term that Elop used in a memo to Nokia () employees last year.

"$NOK forgot to jump off the burning platform!," he tweeted.

Ouch. I keep waiting for Research in Motion () to come up with a disaster metaphor of its own as well to describe the BlackBerry. Iceberg straight ahead!

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, and Abbott Laboratories, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks. 

Source

Spending on prescription drugs in the U.S. was nearly flat in 2011 at $320 billion, held down by senior citizens and others reducing use of medicines and other health care and by greater use of cheaper generic pills.

Last year, spending on prescription drugs rose just 0.5 percent after adjusting for inflation and population growth, according to data firm IMS Health. Without those adjustments, spending increased 3.7 percent last year. The volume of prescriptions filled fell about 1 percent.

That continues a trend of restrained spending that began in 2007, when prescription spending dipped 0.2 percent. Before then, IMS generally reported annual increases of several percent. But since the Great Recession started, prescription spending has fallen or risen only slightly each year except for 2009.

IMS said Wednesday that it appears patients are still rationing their health care, with visits to doctors down 4.7 percent and hospital admissions down 0.1 percent. However, emergency room visits jumped 7.4 percent, a sign some people aren’t seeking care until they are very sick.

“We think we’ve reached a tipping point, where people are thinking they’re paying too much and they’re changing their behavior,” said Michael Kleinrock, head of research development at the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.

Fewer visits to doctors and other health care providers results in fewer prescriptions, which holds down spending in the short term. But that doesn’t bode well for future health care costs, because many of the medicines people are doing without are taken for years to prevent heart attacks and other expensive complications of chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, Kleinrock said.

“The ultimate result is that we will have more sick people driving health care costs” down the road, he said.

People 65 and older cut back on the number of prescriptions filled by 3.1 percent last year, particularly for medicines for high blood pressure. That was despite a 10 percent decline in average prescription co-payments under the Medicare Part D program, to $23.31, due to bigger discounts when patients hit the so-called doughnut hole coverage gap.

Only one group increased prescription use last year. People 19 to 25, now able to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans under a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, boosted their use by 2 percent. That was led by more use of antidepressants and attention deficit disorder drugs.

Kleinrock noted the company’s data indicate both people with and without insurance are having trouble paying for medicines and other health care, and so are limiting or postponing treatments. For instance, insured patients spent $1.8 billion less out of pocket last year, at a total of $49 billion.

Meanwhile, use of inexpensive generic medicines continues to climb, hitting 80 percent of all prescriptions filled last year.

Source

Nike is suing rival Reebok for selling New York Jets uniforms and other Jets apparel with the name of its new quarterback Tim Tebow on them.

Nike (, Fortune 500) says it is the only company authorized and licensed to use Tim Tebow’s name on clothing. Reebok, a unit of German sporting equipment and apparel-maker adidas (), did not respond to requests for comment.

Tebow was traded from the Denver Broncos to the Jets on March 21, creating a media frenzy and a huge spike in demand for Tebow-related Jets apparel in the New York market.

But the trade came during a rare month when no company has the rights to sell licensed NFL apparel with both the team’s name or logo and a player’s name on it.

That’s because the rights deals are in the process of switching from Reebok to Nike. Two different agreements cover licensing: one for players’ names, which switched over on March 1; and one for the NFL teams, which goes into effect on April 1.

Lin merchandise booms

"There’s generally nothing going on this time a year," said Matt Powell, analyst with SportsScanINFO, which tracks sales of licensed apparel. "A dead zone like this normally wouldn’t matter in March, unless there’s Tebow-mania."

Lin files to trademark ‘Linsanity’

To sell a piece of licensed apparel with both a team’s name and a players’ name, a company needs a rights agreement with both the National Football League and either the licensing arm of the NFL Players Association or the player himself cash advance america.

Nike’s suit says that it already has such a deal with Tebow, as well as with the union. But the NFL’s own 10-year licensing deal doesn’t change from Reebok to Nike until Sunday, April 1.

So right now Reebok can sell uniforms and other apparel with team name and logo, but not with a player’s name, unless it has a deal with that player, according to Nike’s suit. But Nike can’t sell any apparel featuring any team names or logos until this Sunday.

Tebow’s uniform was the second most popular of any NFL player last season, according to Nike’s suit. And according to SportsScanINFO, demand for Jets apparel soared last week after the trade was announced.

Tebow’s Super Bowl appearance

"Reebok has sought to take advantage of this unique, short-lived opportunity by supplying, without authorization or license, Tebow-identified New York Jets apparel to retailers in New York and elsewhere around the country," said the suit.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league does not have a comment on the suit.

Nike’s suit, which was filed in federal court in New York, seeks to block Reebok from further sales, de story any existing Tebow-Jets apparel not yet sold, and compensate Nike with triple damages based on Reebok’s sales of the Tebow-Jets items. 

Source

The Senate voted Wednesday to overhaul transportation programs and keep aid flowing to thousands of construction projects while strengthening highway and auto safety.

The 74-22 vote stepped up pressure for quick action by House because the government’s power to collect about $110 million a day in federal gasoline and diesel taxes, the main source of revenue for highway and transit programs, is set to expire March 31. If a final bill isn’t on the president’s desk by then, Congress would have to approve a temporary extension to avoid a shutdown of the programs, including the furlough of Federal Highway Administration employees and the layoff of construction workers.

The White House praised senators for trying to address these critical national needs and expressed hope the House “will move swiftly” and follow suit.

The Senate’s measure would spend $109 billion over about two years and preserve or create an estimated 2.8 million jobs. It would increase the amount of money available for states by raising current spending levels to take into account inflation over the past several years. That’s still far short of the dollars that two congressional commissions have said are needed to maintain aging highways, bridges and rail systems while expanding the nation’s transportation network to accommodate population growth between now and 2050.

The measure would reduce the number of federal transportation programs by roughly two-thirds in an effort to eliminate duplication. Senators preserved bicycle, pedestrian, safe routes to schools and rails-to-trails programs, targeted for elimination by Republicans, under a compromise that means they would have to compete with other programs for money.

For transit commuters, the bill would extend, back to Jan. 1, a tax break that allows the deduction of up to $240 a month tax-free from their paychecks for expenses incurred traveling to work. That had expired at the end of 2011.

On the safety front, the bill would require stricter federal oversight of the long-distance and tour bus industries through deadlines for buses to have seat belts, stronger roofs, anti-ejection windows and rollover crash avoidance systems. The bus industry carries about 750 million passengers a year, roughly the same as the domestic airline industry.

Other safety provisions include requiring that automakers provide rear seat-belt reminder systems to get children and other backseat passengers to buckle up, and testing child safety seats in frontal and side impact crashes.

The bill would let Washington reward states with extra safety money if they require graduated licenses for teenage drivers, permit police to pull over and ticket drivers for seat-belt and booster-seat violations, and mandate that convicted drunken drivers use ignition-lock devices.

Safety advocates criticized the broad exemptions from federal commercial driver’s licensing, vehicle inspection and other safety requirements for agricultural trucks operating with 150 miles of their farms. Farm lobbies said the rules hinder farmers’ ability to get their products to market.

States would have greater discretion over how to spend federal aid. But the bill would mean new requirements aimed at preventing waste and ensuring that national goals are met.

A credit assistance program championed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that helps leverage private investment for transportation projects of national and regional significance would grow by tenfold to $1 billion. In the past, the program has generated as much as $30 in private capital for every $1 in aid.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., co-author of the measure, said the bill “”probably will go down as one of the most significant pieces of legislation this year.”

One thing the bill would not do is resolve how to keep the federal Highway Trust Fund solvent beyond next year.

The largest sources of money for the fund, which pays for highway and transit programs, are federal fuel taxes: 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents a gallon for diesel. Revenue from those taxes has declined since the economic downturn in 2008 and because the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks is increasing.

The bill would pay for highway programs through a combination of fuel taxes, cuts to other federal programs and tax changes, but also would drain the trust fund. Some senators have criticized provisions that are supposed to pay for transportation programs since they would raise about $10 billion over 10 years, but spend it in the first two years.

Efforts by House Republican leaders to pass their own, five-year bill without concessions to Democrats have fallen apart in recent weeks. The House returns next week from a weeklong recess.

Pointing to the large bipartisan vote in favor of the bill, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., urged House Republicans to consider passing the Senate measure as it is “to avert any crisis.”

“Why would they want to reinvent the wheel?” Boxer asked.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the House plan is to “take up something that looks like” the Senate bill “unless the House coalesces around a better alternative, which we are actively pursuing.”

Source

U.S. local-government payrolls increased last month for the first time since August, easing the drag on the economy brought on by budget-cutting cities, counties and school districts.

The U.S. Labor Department reported today that local- government employment, adjusted for seasonal swings in hiring, expanded by 2,000 in February as school districts boosted hiring. State payrolls slipped by 1,000 after rising by 11,000 in January.

Jim Diffley, an economist with IHS Inc. who tracks regional growth, said it

U.S. stocks ended mixed Friday, with the Dow and S&P holding near their highest levels since 2008, as investors digested reports on consumer sentiment and home sales.

After climbing above 13,000 earlier in the day, the Dow Jones industrial average () eased 4 points, or less than 0.1%, to end at 12,983. The Dow last closed above 13,000 in January 2008.

While the Dow at 13,000 is not technically significant, it is a psychological milestone, said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research. Since the start of February, the Dow has been trading at its highest level in nearly four years.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 () edged up 2 points, or 0.2%, to 1,366. Earlier, the index rose to 1,369, the highest point since June 2008.

The Nasdaq composite (), which gained 7 points, or 0.2%, has also been at its highest level since December 2000.

For the week, all three indexes posted gains of less than 0.5%.

In the oil market, crude futures rose above $109 a barrel amid concerns about increased tensions between Iran and Western powers.

The Fed can’t fix housing

The recent rise in oil prices has translated into higher gas prices, with the national average climbing 12 cents this week.

U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday, despite looming worries about the Greek debt crisis, boosted by a strong report on Germany’s economy and a decent reading on U.S. unemployment.

Economy: While a reading on consumer confidence came in better than expected, investors’ enthusiasm was a bit dampened by a decline in new-home sales — another sign that the housing market remains troubled.

The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for February rose to 75.3, topping expectations of 73.

"Confidence has been slowly but surely coming back, and you’re seeing a reflection of that in the equity markets," Detrick said. "Just four month ago, people were talking about the chances for a double-dip recession, but that’s clearly not the case anymore."

While the housing market continues to recover at a "two steps forward, one step back" pace, it’s also headed in the right direction, said Detrick.

Companies: J.C. Penney (, Fortune 500) shares slipped after the department store chain beat earnings estimates, but fell short of sales expectations for the fourth quarter payday loans.

Shares of AIG (, Fortune 500) jumped after the company said late Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit surged to $19.8 billion, thanks to an accounting change.

Salesforce.com’s () stock also popped after the company topped earnings and sales expectations late Thursday, as customer billings surged 57% during the quarter — a sign of robust future sales growth.

Gap’s (, Fortune 500) stock fell after the retailer missed earnings and sales expectations for the fourth quarter. Gap also announced a $1 billion share buyback program and an 11% boost to its annual dividend.

Shares of Crocs () tumbled after the shoemaker issued a downbeat outlook for the first quarter of 2012.

Gingrich’s $2.50 gas promise

Citigroup (, Fortune 500) sold its stake in Mumbai-based Housing Development Finance Corporation. Citigroup said the sale should result in a pre-tax gain of $1.1 billion, and an after-tax gain of approximately $722 million.

Bank of America (, Fortune 500) announced plans late Thursday to freeze pension plans, effective in July, and increase its 401(k) contributions instead.

World markets: European stocks closed mixed. Britain’s FTSE 100 () edged slightly lower, while the DAX () in Germany rose 0.8% and France’s CAC 40 () added 0.6%.

Asian markets ended with solid gains. The Shanghai Composite () closed up 1.3%, the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong rose 0.1% and Japan’s Nikkei () gained 0.5%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro and the British pound, but rose versus the Japanese yen.

Oil for April delivery rose $1.94 to settle at $109.77 a barrel. Oil last traded above this price on May 3, 2008.

Check gas prices in your state

The price of regular unleaded gasoline jumped 3.5 cents overnight to $3.647 a gallon, according to motorist group AAA.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $9.90 to end at $1,776.40 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose slightly, with the yield holding steady around 1.98%.  

Source

South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan may push back next year