| Tech shares, optimism on "cliff" propel Wall Street higher Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:13 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Technology shares led a 1 percent rise in major stock indexes on Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 to its best levels since mid-October and erasing all of the post-election selloff. The Nasdaq was lifted by a 3 percent gain in Apple Inc's stock to $545.37. The company's shares had dropped last week as investors took profits before a possible tax rise next year. Coming into Tuesday's trading, Apple shares had lost 25 percent from an all-time intraday high hit in September. Other large tech stocks also rallied. Texas Instruments gained 3.5 percent to $30. ...
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| U.S. Treasury to sell remaining AIG shares for $7.6 billion Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:00 AM PST  (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury's sale of its remaining stake in American International Group Inc will fetch $7.6 billion, bringing the government a total profit of $22.7 billion from its crisis-era bailout of the insurer. The share offering will close the chapter on one of the most politically contentious rescues of 2008, which ultimately gave AIG up to $182 billion of government support. ...
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| Goldman lawyer says bank not liable for Dragon founders' losses Posted: 11 Dec 2012 08:38 AM PST  BOSTON (Reuters) - A Goldman Sachs Group Inc attorney argued on Tuesday that the bank cannot be liable for the losses of a husband and wife pair who sold their company to a Belgian software firm that collapsed in an accounting fraud, since Goldman had not been hired to seek out a fraud. The Wall Street giant is facing off in U.S. District Court in Boston against the founders of speech-recognition software company Dragon Systems, who contend they lost their life's work and about $600 million after selling their company to Lernout & Hauspie in an all-stock deal months before L&H collapsed. ...
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| HSBC to pay $1.9 billion U.S. fine in money-laundering case Posted: 11 Dec 2012 08:11 AM PST  (Reuters) - HSBC has agreed to pay a record $1.92 billion fine to settle a multi-year probe by U.S. prosecutors, who accused Europe's biggest bank of failing to enforce rules designed to prevent the laundering of criminal cash. The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday charged the bank with failing to maintain an effective program against money laundering and conduct due diligence on certain accounts. In documents filed in federal court in Brooklyn, it also charged the bank with violating sanctions laws by doing business with Iran, Libya, Sudan, Burma and Cuba. ...
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| India mulls probe into Wal-Mart lobbying Posted: 11 Dec 2012 08:30 AM PST  NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's government said it was prepared to launch an inquiry into lobbying by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., buckling under an opposition campaign to discredit a flagship economic policy. Opponents of reforms that allow foreign supermarkets to trade in Asia's third largest economy renewed pressure on the government after Wal-Mart disclosed that it had paid $25 million over four years to lobby U.S. lawmakers to help gain access to foreign markets, including India. ...
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| Three British men arrested in UK Libor probe Posted: 11 Dec 2012 08:35 AM PST  LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - Three British men were detained in London on Tuesday in the first arrests stemming from a global investigation into the manipulation of interbank lending rates. One of those arrested was former Citigroup and UBS trader Thomas Hayes, according to a source familiar with the situation. Hayes could not immediately be reached for comment and the identity of the others could not be determined by Reuters. ...
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| Weak exports, imports signal tepid economic growth Posted: 11 Dec 2012 07:29 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The trade deficit widened in October as exports suffered the biggest drop in nearly four years, indicating slowing global demand was spilling over into the already struggling U.S. economy. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday the trade gap increased 4.9 percent to $42.2 billion. In a sign of weak domestic demand, imports dropped to the lowest level in 1-1/2 years. Economists had expected the trade deficit to rise to $42.6 billion in October. The wider trade gap in October reflected a 3.6 percent fall in exports of goods and services to $180.5 billion. ...
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| Dollar General feels heat from competition, economy Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:16 AM PST  (Reuters) - Dollar General Corp said on Tuesday it remained cautious about the rest of the year, as heightened competition in pricing and ramped-up advertising could hurt sales and margins despite an encouraging start to the holiday season. The discount chain posted a bigger-than-expected increase in quarterly profit and total sales in line with Wall Street expectations. But sales at stores open at least a year rose less than some analysts expected, and its profit forecast suggested this quarter's profit will miss estimates. Shares of Dollar General slid 5.1 percent to $44. ...
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| Delta buys Virgin Atlantic stake to boost London access Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:26 AM PST  LONDON/ATLANTA (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines will buy Singapore Airlines' 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic for $360 million and has agreed to a transatlantic joint venture with the British carrier, expanding Delta's access to London's Heathrow airport and increasing competition in that crucial business market. The partnership, which is subject to government approval, would allow both carriers to expand their network at Heathrow, where slot constraints have limited growth. It will be similar to the arrangement operated by American Airlines and British Airways since 2010. ...
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| Greek banks seen topping up bids to meet buyback target Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:27 AM PST  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek banks are expected to have tendered most or all of their Greek sovereign debt by Tuesday's deadline, bankers said, suggesting Athens has hit targets under the bond buyback scheme needed to cut debt and unlock aid. Athens gave bondholders until 7 a.m. EDT on Tuesday to tender Greek debt under the scheme after the amount offered by Friday's initial deadline fell short of the targeted 30 billion euros. The cut-price buyback's success is crucial to putting Greece's debt back on a sustainable footing, which in turn allows lenders to disburse aid to Athens. ...
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| Mich. House approves right-to-work limiting unions Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:26 AM PST  The Michigan House approved the first of two right-to-work bills Tuesday that would weaken union power in the historical labor stronghold as hundreds of protesters rallied at the Capitol.
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| Govt outlines HSBC ties to drug money laundering Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:04 AM PST British bank HSBC violated the Bank Secrecy Act in connection with the laundering of money from narcotics drug traffickers in Mexico and intentionally allowed prohibited transactions with Iran and other nations that have been under sanctions, the Justice Department alleged Tuesday. |
| HSBC to pay $1.9B to settle money-laundering case Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:24 AM PST  British bank HSBC has agreed to pay $1.9 billion to settle a New York based money-laundering probe.
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| Boehner: Obama slow walking cliff talks Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:14 AM PST House Speaker John Boehner says President Barack Obama is slow-walking talks to avoid the fiscal cliff, and hasn't outlined spending cuts he's willing to support as part of a compromise. |
| NTSB: Require ignition locks for all drunk drivers Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:06 AM PST  A federal safety board is recommending that all states require ignition interlock devices for convicted drunk drivers, including first-time offenders.
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| Oil prices shift ahead of Federal Reserve meeting Posted: 11 Dec 2012 08:58 AM PST Oil is moving between small gains and losses ahead of a meeting of the Federal Reserve. |
| Stocks open higher ahead of Fed meeting Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:49 AM PST Stocks opened higher Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the Federal Reserve and possible additional steps to bolster the U.S. economy. |
| Delta buys 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic Posted: 11 Dec 2012 08:25 AM PST Delta Air Lines said it will buy almost half of Virgin Atlantic for $360 million as it tries to catch up to rivals in the lucrative New York-to-London travel market. |
| New tests could hamper food outbreak detection Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:20 AM PST  New tests that promise to speed up diagnosis of food poisoning pose an unexpected problem: They could make it more difficult to identify dangerous outbreaks like the one that sickened people who ate a variety of Trader Joe's peanut butter this fall.
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| Exxon: US energy revival has staying power Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:27 AM PST Exxon says the energy renaissance in the U.S. has staying power and predicts that North America will become a net exporter of oil and gas by the middle of the next decade. |
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