| Wall Street falls for 3rd day, Nasdaq off 1 percent Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were on track for a third day of losses on Thursday after jobless claims data failed to meet heightened market expectations as stocks come off their best first quarter in 14 years. New U.S. jobless claims fell to a 4-year low last week but still missed forecasts, while the prior week's number was revised up. After a period of improvement, analysts said the report showed signs of stalling, a worry for investors. "The data today is evidence that we're not going to have the robust recovery we had been expecting. ...
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| Household income trending up, boost for spending Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Household income grew at a faster pace in the fourth quarter than previously thought, which should help underpin spending this quarter. The Commerce Department said on Thursday personal income increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $13.162 trillion, $3.3 billion more than reported last month, likely reflecting the strengthening labor market. Growth in disposable income was $10.6 billion more than previously estimated. While the government's final estimate left gross domestic product growth at an unrevised 3. ...
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| Best Buy sales, restructuring disappoint Posted:  (Reuters) - Best Buy Co posted weaker-than-expected sales for the key holiday quarter and said it would close 50 large U.S. stores, sending shares of the world's largest consumer electronics chain down 9 percent on Thursday. Analysts and investors expected more aggressive restructuring efforts from the chain, whose large-format stores have often been termed "white elephants." While most industry insiders welcomed Best Buy's decision to reduce its retail footprint at a time when many shoppers buy their gadgets online, they expected the retailer would have done more. ...
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| Goldman board meets in India amid talk of splitting top jobs Posted:  MUMBAI (Reuters) - Half a world away from Wall Street, the board of directors of embattled Goldman Sachs Group Inc were meeting in India amid reports that senior executives have talked about splitting the roles of chief executive and chairman, both held now by Lloyd Blankfein. The meeting is the first in India for the directors of the investment bank. Access to the presidential suite hired by Goldman Sachs at Mumbai's landmark Taj Mahal Palace hotel, which was heavily damaged during the deadly November 2008 militant attack on the financial capital, was blocked to non-guests on Thursday ...
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| Tim Tebow apparel sales halted in Nike-Reebok feud Posted:  (Reuters) - Nike Inc has won a court order blocking rival Reebok International Ltd from selling New York Jets apparel bearing the name of the popular quarterback Tim Tebow, in a battle over licensing rights. The order issued late Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel prevents Reebok from manufacturing, selling and shipping the alleged unauthorized apparel for the National Football League team and bearing Tebow's name. It also requires Reebok to offer to buy back such apparel from retailers, and recall the products from shipping channels. ...
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| Billionaire Kwok brothers arrested for graft in Hong Kong Posted:  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption on Thursday arrested the chairmen of Sun Hung Kai Properties, brothers Raymond and Thomas Kwok, on suspicion of corruption, the company said. The Kwoks own $18.3 billion, the second-biggest family fortune in Hong Kong after Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, founder of rival developer Cheung Kong (Holdings), according to Forbes magazine. ...
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| Analysis: To Canada and back again: a new U.S. oil pipeline race Posted:  HOUSTON (Reuters) - Even as big U.S. oil pipelines invest billions of dollars to ship booming oil production south from Canada and North Dakota, a new race is underway in the opposite direction. Two of the country's biggest pipelines, both now underutilized, are competing to pump a special type of ultra light oil from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest, betting on growing demand from Canadian producers for the "diluent" necessary to get their heavy oil sands bitumen flowing to refiners. ...
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| Euro zone lagging behind in shaky G7 recovery: OECD Posted:  PARIS (Reuters) - Euro zone nations are falling far behind the United States and Canada as a fragile recovery takes root in advanced economies, the OECD said on Thursday, advising central banks to keep easy money flowing so the rebound does not prove short-lived. The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast that the Group of Seven advanced economies were on course for average annualized growth of 1.9 percent in both the first and second quarters although rates varied widely. "There is a recovery which is firming with respect to past numbers. ...
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| Russian Railways placing $1 billion Eurobond at 5.7 percent Posted: MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state-owned transport monopoly Russian Railways, or RZhD, is placing a $1 billion, 10-year dollar-denominated Eurobond at a yield of 5.7 percent, down from initial guidance of 5.875 percent, a financial market source said on Thursday. The placement yield was tightened again by 5 basis points on strong demand in the wake of Russia's $7 billion, three-tranche sovereign Eurobond offering this week - the largest by an emerging-markets sovereign since at least 2000. "Demand is exceeding $3 billion," a source said earlier. ... |
| Murdoch's media empire strikes back Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - An angry Rupert Murdoch on Thursday declared war against "enemies" who have accused his pay-TV operation of sabotaging its rivals, denouncing them as "toffs and right wingers" stuck in the last century. Separate reports by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Financial Review newspaper this week said that News Corp's pay-TV smartcard security unit, NDS, had promoted piracy attacks on rivals, including in the United States. ...
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| Analysis: Spain's banks may need more public cash Posted: MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish banks, already hurting from a property crash, are facing a new wave of loan defaults as the economy sinks into recession and the government may have to find more money or ask Europe for help in filling the funding gap. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has ruled out asking for European aid which would come with difficult conditions and injecting more state money would also be unpalatable given the bad fiscal situation and rising borrowing costs. But both ideas have resurfaced due to fresh concerns over Spain's lenders. ... |
| Analysis: Emerging bond sales, returns face US yield hurdle Posted: LONDON (Reuters) - Emerging market borrowers may have to hurry to secure cheap funding on global debt markets as rising U.S. yields push up costs and hit anticipated returns on emerging debt. Treasury bond yields and the dollar have risen in recent weeks on signs of an economic upturn which many fear might rule out further money printing by the Federal Reserve or even shake its resolve to hold interest rates at rock-bottom until 2014. ... |
| Exclusive: Investors press U.S. shale oil drillers to control flaring Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investors representing $500 billion in assets are pushing energy companies in the shale oil rush in North Dakota and other states to disclose the amount of natural gas they burn - a practice they see as a wasteful financial risk. "We want to encourage companies to articulate plans for resolving this issue while shale oil production is still in its relative infancy," said Karina Litvack, the head of governance and sustainable investment at F&C Asset Management. ... |
| Jobless claims fall to 4-year low in latest week Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefits fell to a fresh four-year low last week, according to a government report that showed ongoing healing in the labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000, the lowest level since April 2008, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The report included revisions for claims data from 2007 based on updated seasonal adjustment calculations. New seasonal adjustment factors were also introduced for 2012. ...
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| Fourth-quarter GDP unrevised at 3.0 percent Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economy expanded as expected in the fourth quarter while personal income grew at a much faster pace than previously thought, which should help underpin spending this quarter. Gross domestic product increased at a 3.0 percent annual rate, the quickest pace since the second quarter of 2010, the Commerce Department said in its final estimate on Thursday, unrevised from last month's estimate. That was in line with economists' expectations. The economy grew at a 1.8 percent rate in the third quarter. However, personal income was $13. ...
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| Fukushima operator Tepco seeks $12 billion government rescue Posted: TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co has asked the government for an injection of 1 trillion yen ($12 billion) in what would be Japan's biggest public bailout outside the banking sector, as it struggles with the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear crisis. The utility, widely known as Tepco, said on Thursday it had also sought 845.9 billion yen from a government-backed bailout body to help compensate victims of the tsunami-triggered accident - the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years. ... |
| German jobless rate falls to new record low Posted: BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's jobless rate dropped to a new post-reunification low of 6.7 percent in March, bucking the trend in other euro zone countries and bolstering hopes that private consumption will underpin Europe's largest economy this year. Seasonally-adjusted data from the Labor Office showed that unemployment dropped for a fifth consecutive month in March by a stronger-than-expected 18,000 to a total of 2.841 million. The consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of 35 economists was for joblessness to drop by 10,000. ... |
| Air China says no change in Airbus orders Posted:  HONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) - Air China Ltd has not cut or cancelled any Airbus orders and is sticking to the delivery plan for the aircraft, it said on Thursday, adding that it plans to expand capacity. China has suspended the purchase of a total 55 Airbus jets, including 45 long-haul A330s and 10 Airbus A380 superjumbos worth a total of $14 billion amid a trade row over European Union airline emissions charges. "The stand of our central government is consistent, that is to oppose firmly the EU's unilateral move to impose a carbon tax. ...
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| Analysis: Canada's "Cushing moment": A northern pipeline crisis looms Posted:  CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Oil traders still grappling with an unprecedented pipeline bottleneck in the U.S. Midwest that roiled global energy markets last year should beware: Canada may be next. The pipelines that carry crude from Alberta's oil sands and the Bakken shale fields of North Dakota to U.S. refiners may run out of capacity as soon as 2015, some analysts now warn. Fears that the export of Canadian crude will be constrained have risen recently as a result of pipeline project delays and the unyielding growth of North Dakota output. ...
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| Exclusive: Hawker Beechcraft readies bankruptcy filing Posted:  NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hawker Beechcraft Inc, the aircraft manufacturer owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc's private equity arm and Onex Corp , is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection in the next several weeks, according to several people familiar with the matter. Hawker, which was bought by the private equity firms in 2007 for $3.3 billion, is negotiating a prearranged bankruptcy with its largest lenders, which include Centerbridge Partners, Angelo Gordon and Capital Research & Management, these sources said on Wednesday. Hawker and Onex declined to comment. ...
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| China raises foreign debt quota for foreign banks Posted:  BEIJING (Reuters) - China has bumped up the annual long-term foreign debt quota allocated to foreign banks to $24 billion, allowing them to bring more money into the country as growth slows in the world's No.2 economy. The National Development and Reform Commission, the powerful Chinese planning agency that announced the quota increase, also said it would launch a pilot project for increasing the debt quota. ...
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| MF Global execs ignorance, silence stymie Congress Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An MF Global executive who has become a central figure in the desperate shifting of funds before the brokerage's collapse, refused to answer questions from Congress on Wednesday, frustrating lawmakers probing why an estimated $1.6 billion of customer money is missing. The failure of Assistant Treasurer Edith O'Brien and her MF Global colleagues to clear up how the money seemingly vanished drew considerable mocking from lawmakers, who alternated between anger and disbelief. ...
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| U.S. investors urge "going concern" warning reform Posted:  (Reuters) - Regulators need to crack down on auditors who fail to warn investors and the public before corporations fail, investors told the main watchdog for U.S. auditors on Wednesday. Most big companies bailed out by the government in the 2007-2009 financial crisis had clean bills of health from their auditors and no auditors have been disciplined over this, investors told the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board at a meeting in Washington. ...
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| Goldman's deal with union: something for everyone Posted:  BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs' leadership restructuring deal with a powerful union allows Lloyd Blankfein to keep both his titles of chairman and chief executive officer and present a strong public face at a time when such dual roles are falling out of favor. But the deal also quietly opens the door for stronger corporate governance oversight within the giant firm, which faces long-running pressure to reform a corporate culture that has come to define Wall Street's resistance to change. ...
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| Facebook halts secondary market trading, plans for May IPO Posted:  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Social-networking site Facebook is halting the sale of its shares on secondary markets effective next week as the company prepares to hold its initial public offering in May, according to a person familiar with the matter. Facebook recently asked firms that arrange trading of its privately held shares to stop doing so, a move intended to reduce churn in its valuation that could complicate matters as it sets an IPO price, according to another person familiar with the matter. ...
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| Oil slips under $123, release talk continues Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell below $123 a barrel on Thursday amid signs the global economy may be slowing, while the prospect of a strategic oil reserve release in the West balanced against concerns about a loss of Iranian oil. U.S. unemployment claims fell to a four-year low but still failed to meet heightened market expectations, leaving investors to wonder whether the economy can sustain a rally. ...
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| Analysis: Hedge funds register, wait for SEC to visit Posted:  BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge fund managers are increasingly nervous about getting a knock on the door from securities regulators now that a new rule requires them to register as investment advisers and provide lots of data about their inner workings as a result. Hundreds of large managers, which already employ sizable legal teams, took the mechanics of meeting the March 30 deadline in stride, industry consultants say. ...
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| House passes bill to keep highway aid flowing Posted: The House has passed a stopgap three-month transportation bill to keep federal aid flowing to construction projects. |
| Guerlain cosmetic empire heir convicted of racism Posted:  A French court convicted longtime perfume maker Jean-Paul Guerlain on Thursday of making racist insults on national television and fined him €6,000 ($8,000).
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| US stocks fall on worries about Europe's economy Posted:  Stocks fell Thursday for the third day in a row as investors were daunted by reminders that Europe has not solved its debt crisis and the U.S. economy is far from healed, despite progress on both fronts.
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| CafePress shares jump in debut Posted: CafePress Inc.'s shares jumped in its market debut as the IPO market heats up. |
| US rate on 30-year mortgage back below 4 percent Posted: The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell back below 4 percent this week, staying near historic lows. |
| Chinese firm surpasses Exxon in oil production Posted:  A big shift is happening in Big Oil: An American giant now ranks behind a Chinese upstart.
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| Things are looking up for state budgets Posted: During the darkest days of the Great Recession, Ohio didn't have enough in its rainy day fund to buy even a candy bar. It held a balance of exactly 89 cents. |
| Making car payment takes priority, study finds Posted: The recession and its hangover may have turned bill-paying habits upside down. Cash-strapped Americans are paying off their car loans before they pay credit card bills and make mortgage payments, a study finds. |
| Katie Couric to guest-host 'Good Morning America' Posted:  Katie Couric will be an early riser all next week.
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| Unsinkable James Cameron refloats 'Titanic' in 3-D Posted:  There was a time when James Cameron's career looked as though it might join Titanic, down in the lower depths.
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