NewsDaily: Business Headlines

Wall Street firms skittish about RUSAL IPO: report (Reuters)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:24:45 EST

CHICAGO, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- Wall Street firms are in a quandary about getting involved with a planned public offering of Russian aluminum producer UC RUSAL because its founder has been barred from getting a U.S. visa on account of allegations that he is connected to organized crime, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. ... > read full story

Corruption costs poorer states up to $40 billion a year (Reuters)

Tamara Walid — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:47:38 EST

DOHA, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- Corruption costs developing nations $20 to $40 billion each year, while emerging markets and financial centers are increasingly havens for stolen assets, a top World Bank official said Saturday. ... > read full story

Geithner says need to keep stimulus on (Reuters)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:14:49 EST

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said high unemployment rates show that economic recovery is still perilous and governments need to maintain stimulus as long as necessary to ensure sustained growth. ... > read full story

UK gives ground on global tax on banks (Reuters)

Huw Jones — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:14:28 EST

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- World governments should consider urgently a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, departing from London's longstanding resistance to a global tax. ... > read full story

U.S. regulators close Gateway Bank, Prosperan Bank (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:45:18 EST

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Bank regulators closed Gateway Bank of St. Louis, in St. Louis, Missouri, and Prosperan Bank, of Oakdale, Minnesota, on Friday, the 118th and 119th U.S. bank to fail this year. ... > read full story

Stocks eye retailers as jobless ranks swell (Reuters)

Edward Krudy — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:59:07 EST

NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- As unemployment in the United States edges above 10 percent, anxious investors will look to earnings reports from major retailers for signs of life in the beaten-up consumer. ... > read full story

U.S. closes Home Federal Savings in Detroit (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:42:02 EST

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Bank regulators closed Home Federal Savings Bank, of Detroit, on Friday, the 117th U.S. bank to fail this year as deteriorating loans continue to take their toll on financial institutions. ... > read full story

Freddie Mac posts $5 billion loss (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:57:09 EST

NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Freddie Mac <FRE.N> <FRE.P>, the second largest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding, said on Friday it lost $5 billion in the third quarter and predicted it would require further support from the Treasury amid a "prolonged deterioration" in housing. ... > read full story

Warren Buffett's Berkshire says net income triples (Reuters)

Jonathan Stempel and Lilla Zuill — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:33:44 EST

NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc <BRKa.N> <BRKb.N> on Friday said third quarter net income tripled, as rising stock markets boosted its investment holdings and a quiet hurricane season contributed to higher insurance profit. ... > read full story

Sun Micro sales fall, Oracle deal delay stings (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:57:18 EST

NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc <JAVA.O> suffered a 25 percent fall in quarterly revenue, as uncertainty over its delayed sale to Oracle Corp <ORCL.O> hurt its business. ... > read full story

Harvard biz grads send neutral signal on stocks (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:16:39 EST

NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Harvard Business School is sending 28 percent of its 2009 graduating class onto careers in finance, a mildly bullish sign for the economy, said Ray Soifer, an independent bank consultant. ... > read full story

SEC sees evolution in insider trading (Reuters)

Jonathan Stempel and Rachelle Younglai — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:21:14 EST

NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- A top U.S. securities regulator said some funds may now view insider trading as a central tenet of their business models, rather than as a one-time opportunity for big rewards as sometimes happened in the 1980s. ... > read full story

BofA CEO search to drag until Thanksgiving: report (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:41:08 EST

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Bank of America Corp's <BAC.N> CEO search could last until Thanksgiving, the New York Post reported on Friday. ... > read full story

Blackstone posts profit; sees more deals ahead (Reuters)

Megan Davies — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:14:45 EST

NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP <BX.N> posted a quarterly profit, topping expectations and reversing a year-earlier loss, and said it expects to do more deals following an improvement in the lending markets. ... > read full story

Kraft in waiting game as Cadbury deadline nears (Reuters)

Victoria Howley and David Jones — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:09:18 EST

LONDON, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Kraft Foods <KFT.N> is persisting in its waiting game as a deadline for its acquisition of British confectioner Cadbury <CBRY.L> nears, and many see a formal bid coming in close to its tight first offer. ... > read full story

AIG posts second consecutive quarterly profit (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:26:11 EST

NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- American International Group Inc <AIG.N>, the insurer bailed out by the U.S. government, posted its second-straight quarterly profit on Friday, helped by recovery in the value of its investments. ... > read full story

Calpers knew in 2003 about forex trading hits: report (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:36:43 EST

, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- California Public Employees' Retirement System, knew it was paying uncompetitive rates on foreign-exchange trades as early as 2003, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a consultant who advised the largest U.S. public pension fund. ... > read full story

G20 finmins to pledge stimulus stays, look at growth (Reuters)

Sumeet Desai — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:28:00 EST

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- The Group of 20 leading nations will agree this weekend it is too early to pull the plug on emergency support for the global economy and launch a new system of checks to help rebalance world growth and prevent future crises. ... > read full story

BA sees improved outlook, swings to H1 loss (Reuters)

Rhys Jones — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:17:27 EST

LONDON, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- British Airways Plc fell to a worse than expected first-half loss and forecast annual revenue would be 1 billion pounds lower than last year, but said traffic volumes and yields had stabilized. ... > read full story

RBS's Q3 loss halves but more bad debts to come (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:18:30 EST

LONDON, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> more than halved its operating losses to 1.5 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in the third quarter as impairments fell, but less favorable trading battered investment banking profits. ... > read full story