| S&P edges toward 1,400, Apple hits new high Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index continued to rally toward the 1,400 level and was on course to post its best week in over a month on Thursday after data showed the U.S. economy continuing to improve. Shares in Apple Inc hit a new all time high above $600 in early trading, with some analysts predicting the stock will move to $700 within 12 months. Trading was volatile at the start of "quadruple witching", the expiration and settlement of four types of equity futures and options contracts. ...
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| Jobless claims fall, manufacturing holds up Posted:  WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell back to a four-year low last week and manufacturing in the Northeast held up in March, providing more signs the economy was firmly on a self-sustaining growth path. But a jump in prices paid by manufacturers in New York state and the biggest gain in five months for producer prices in February hinted at potential headwinds facing the economy. The recent gains in oil and gasoline prices have raised concerns the higher costs could start to squeeze businesses and consumers and put a dent in the recovery. ...
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| Exclusive: U.S., Britain to agree emergency oil stocks release Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has decided to cooperate with the United States in a bilateral agreement to release strategic oil stocks, two British sources said, in an effort to prevent high fuel prices derailing economic growth in an election year. A formal request from the United States to the UK to join forces in a release of oil from government-controlled reserves is expected "shortly" following a meeting on Wednesday in Washington between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron, who discussed the issue, one source said. Britain would respond positively, the two sources said. ...
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| Apple continues to defy gravity, stock hits $600 Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Every couple of weeks it's nice to look back and see just how far Apple has come. Shares of the iPad and iPhone maker eclipsed the $600 barrier for the first time on Thursday, only about a month after topping the $500 mark for the first time. Just a day before Apple's new iPad becomes available in stores the stock ticked up to $600.01 at Thursday's open before selling off. The new iPad, at a starting retail price of $499 is cheap compared with one share of stock. Apple's rally has been stunning - the stock is up 47 percent for the year and nearly 10 percent for the month. ...
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| China resumes Treasury purchases in January Posted: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Foreigners began 2012 by buying U.S. Treasuries, Treasury data showed on Thursday, with China resuming purchases and Japan's holdings climbing to a record. Net purchases of U.S. Treasuries rose to $82.96 billion in January after net selling of $14.90 billion in December. China, the biggest foreign U.S. creditor, increased Treasury holdings by $7.6 billion in January to $1.16 trillion. Bank of New York Mellon termed China's January's purchases a significant improvement as China was a net seller of Treasuries from August to December, "selling a staggering $102. ... |
| Philly Fed factory activity grows in March Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The pace of factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region improved in March, though new orders slowed, a survey showed on Thursday. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's business activity index rose for a fifth month in a row to 12.5 from 10.2 in February, topping economists' expectations of 12.0. A gauge of new orders declined to 3.3 from 11.70, while employment gained to 6.8 from 1.10. Any reading above zero indicates expansion in the region's manufacturing. The survey covers factories in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. ...
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| BP probes corruption claim in shipping unit Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil company BP said it was investigating possible impropriety after a whistleblower sent a letter making "serious" allegations to Chief Executive Bob Dudley. "We received a letter last week that contained serious allegations, and, as we always do with such matters, we will investigate them," a spokesman said. Details of the probe were earlier reported in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, which said they related to the company's tanker chartering division and that a copy of the letter was also sent to the Serious Fraud Office. ...
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| Intesa books big writedowns, to cut targets Posted: MILAN (Reuters) - Intesa Sanpaolo , Italy's biggest retail bank, posted a 10 billion euro ($13.07 billion) loss in the fourth quarter as it joined domestic rival UniCredit in writing down billions of euros of goodwill to repair a balance sheet damaged by the euro zone debt crisis. The lender said in its results statement that it will have to revise its business plan targets because of market turmoil and amid expectations the Italian economy could shrink as much as 2.2 percent this year. ... |
| SEC-Citigroup fraud settlement gets new life Posted:  (Reuters) - A federal appeals court stopped just short of throwing out a judge's controversial rejection of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's $285 million settlement with Citigroup Inc in a fraud case. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan appeared to have failed to give proper deference to the SEC, and may have overlooked the potential that Citigroup did nothing wrong. While saying it needed to hear further arguments, the 2nd Circuit said there was a "strong" likelihood that Rakoff's decision would be overturned. ...
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| China halts 10 more Airbus orders in EU row: sources Posted:  PARIS (Reuters) - China has suspended the purchase of 10 more Airbus long-haul jets, raising the stakes in a row with the European Union over an airline emission levy, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The move to delay the purchase of the A330 planes brings to $14 billion the value of European aircraft caught up in growing trade tensions over the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, which is opposed by China and a group of other trade powers. China has ordered its airlines not to comply with the EU scheme which came into force for aviation in January. Airbus declined to comment. ...
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| Cisco to buy software developer NDS for $5 billion Posted:  (Reuters) - Cisco Systems has reached a $5 billion deal to buy NDS, which makes set-top box software for cable and satellite TV companies, a move the network equipment maker said would accelerate its expansion into the video communications market. NDS technology, which is used by BSkyB and Sky Italia in Europe, is expected to complement Cisco's Videoscape video delivery system. In North America, the company's customers include Cablevision Systems Corp, Comcast Corp, and Rogers Communications Inc. ...
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| Goldman banker always stuck to principles: former teacher Posted:  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Greg Smith was a principled and competitive student, the kind of person whose strong sense of right and wrong probably pushed him to resign from Goldman Sachs in a scathing letter to an international newspaper, his former teacher and coach said. A quiet, unassuming child, the South African first attended the private Jewish King David's High School in suburban Johannesburg before winning a scholarship to Stanford University in the United States. ...
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| China wealth fund nears buying assets in Poland Posted: WARSAW (Reuters) - China Investment Corp has signed a deal with Poland's foreign investment body PAIiIZ that could see China's $410 billion sovereign wealth fund snap up assets in the European Union's largest eastern member in the coming years. Warsaw, looking for buyers for state assets, has recently reached out to Chinese players to bring funds to Poland, giving the Asian giant an opportunity to test the investment waters in the real economy in Europe. ... |
| Departing Goldman banker slams "rip-off" culture Posted:  LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs faced an unprecedented assault from one of its own on Wednesday after a banker published a withering resignation letter in the New York Times, calling the Wall Street titan a "toxic" place where managing directors referred to their own clients as "muppets." It was the latest blow for the investment bank. The company -- dubbed a "great vampire squid" in a 2009 article in Rolling Stone magazine -- has been embroiled in the biggest-ever insider trading scandal on Wall Street. ...
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| Dozens queue to greet Apple's new iPad in Australia Posted:  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Apple Inc's new iPad went on sale in Australia early on Friday, greeted by throngs of fans hungry to get hold of the U.S. consumer giant's latest, 4G-ready tablet computer. While numbers were down on launches of earlier iPads, the still-solid turnout reflects demand for Apple products, even though analysts say the new version is a collection of incremental improvements rather than a major technological innovation. ...
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| EU watchdog allows U.S. ratings use in Europe Posted: LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union's markets watchdog said on Thursday it would allow the continued use of U.S. credit ratings in the 27-nation bloc as regulators tighten scrutiny of a sector partly blamed for the financial crisis. The decision is a relief for banks in Europe, large users of ratings from the United States, which feared big costs from having to find alternative ratings for calculating their regulatory capital buffers. ... |
| China's BoCom raises $8.9 billion in private placement Posted:  HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's fifth-largest lender, Bank of Communications Co Ltd , will raise $8.9 billion to meet tighter capital requirements by placing shares with existing shareholders such as HSBC and the country's finance ministry. China is set to see a flurry of fund-raising this year, with state-run China Securities Journal saying in December that publicly traded banks were expected to raise more than 100 billion yuan in share offerings. ...
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| Greek jobless rate hits new record in Q4 Posted:  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's jobless rate rose to a fresh quarterly record of 20.7 percent in the last three months of 2011, reflecting the country's deep economic malaise, exacerbated by austerity to repair public finances and emerge from a debt crisis. Greece secured a new 130 billion euro bailout from its euro zone partners and the IMF this week, after agreeing further painful budget cuts. But the labor market's sharp deterioration is feeding public discontent and hurting consumer confidence. ...
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| Finnish government forces overhaul of Finnair board Posted:  HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's government is forcing the country's flag carrier Finnair to overhaul its board after a scandal over executives' benefits, a minister said on Thursday. Heidi Hautala, the minister responsible for state ownership in Finnish companies, said six out of eight board members will be replaced due to lack of openness in decisions regarding management compensation made in 2009. "I think the credibility of the company has been damaged," Hautala told Reuters. "So now the only chance for me is to take very drastic measures and renew most of Finnair's board." Finnair, 55. ...
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| United Therapeutics sues Sandoz over hypertension drug Posted: (Reuters) - United Therapeutics Corp said it filed a lawsuit against Novartis AG's generic unit Sandoz, alleging infringement of the biotechnology company's patent on its pulmonary hypertension drug. In January, Sandoz filed a marketing application with the Food and Drug Administration to sell a copycat version of United Therapeutics' pulmonary hypertension drug Remodulin. Since United Therapeutics has responded within 45 days of the receipt of Sandoz's notice, the FDA will automatically stay approval for the generic version for up to 30 months under the Hatch-Waxman Act. ... |
| Russia to sell $6 billion stake in Sberbank Posted:  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's biggest lender Sberbank plans to start a roadshow for the sale of a $6 billion government stake on April 16, in a move that underscores its arrival as a major player in a European industry decimated by the global financial crisis. Two banking sources told Reuters on Thursday that Sberbank, which postponed the plan last September due to weak markets, hopes to sell the 7.6 percent stake in a deal that would also help Europe's second-largest bank broaden its investor base. ...
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| EU watchdog allows U.S. ratings use in Europe Posted: LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union's markets watchdog said on Thursay it would allow the continued use of U.S. credit ratings in the 27-nation bloc. The decision will be a relief for banks in Europe, large users of ratings from the United States, which feared they could face big costs from having to find alternative ratings for themselves and their products. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said it had ruled that the regulatory regime for credit rating agencies in the United States, as well as Singapore, Canada and Hong Kong, are in line with rules in the EU. ... |
| U.S. data boost yields; Apple rises Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Treasury yields hit five-month highs on Thursday as jobs and manufacturing data showed gathering momentum in the world's biggest economy, while Apple hit the $600-per-share mark for the first time. U.S. stocks opened slightly higher but saw choppy trading soon after, with key indices going into negative territory. Demand for safe-haven government debt weakened in the face of a recent spate of positive economic data as well as a modestly improved outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve this week. Data on Thursday added to views that the U.S. ...
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| UBS highest-paid banker is U.S. brokerage head Posted:  ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS paid U.S. brokerage chief Robert McCann nearly 9.2 million Swiss francs ($9.9 million) overall last year, with the executive usurping investment banking head Carsten Kengeter as the Swiss bank's highest earner. Pay for McCann and other top executives and board members was revealed in UBS's annual report on Thursday. UBS said last month Kengeter agreed to forgo his bonus for last year after a $2 billion rogue trading scandal. As a result, UBS does not have to reveal Kengeter's pay. ...
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| Insight: Pre-IPO stock trading boom could be scary for investors Posted:  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The voicemail from Felix Investments broker Jared Carmel sounded like a typical cold-call from an aggressive stock salesman. "What's interesting is some of the access to opportunity that we have, i.e. companies like Groupon, Facebook, we had LinkedIn before the IPO, things of that nature," Carmel told a prospect he had never met, according to court documents. "So if you have a moment or two, if you could give me a buzz, I'd love to touch base." But Carmel, who does not dispute making the call, was touting companies that were not publicly traded. ...
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| FDIC shoots to kill on "too big to fail" Posted:  NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Bank regulators are launching a campaign to sell the markets on the idea that "too big to fail" is dead. Martin Gruenberg, the acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, said the agency will soon be meeting with financial institutions, investor groups, public interest groups and academics. The goal, he says, is to shoot down the idea that the government does not yet have the smarts or the guts to smoothly dismantle failing financial firms that are so large and complex that their collapse would threaten markets. ...
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| VW Financial Services sees flat profits in 2012-2013 Posted: FRANKFURT, MARCH 15 - Volkswagen's Financial Services AG expects earnings to stagnate both this year and the next, the company said on Thursday. "Assuming slightly increasing refinancing costs and a highly uncertain environment with an impact on risk costs, among others, (...) earnings in 2012 are expected to be at the level of 2011," it said in its annual report. Although it expects a more stable economic environment next year "might have a positive effect on the development of risk costs in individual markets," overall profits nonetheless should still be flat in 2013, it said in the report. ... |
| Analysis: Higher gasoline prices becoming automakers' ally Posted:  DETROIT (Reuters) - Fire marshal Karen Alward thought of her 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe as a "resort on wheels" until gasoline prices changed her attitude toward the hulking SUV. Tired of paying $80 to $100 to fill the tank, the 34-year-old Connecticut resident traded in the SUV this month for a gas-sipping Toyota Prius. "I loved the Tahoe, but not the gas prices that came with it," she said. The rising cost of gasoline coupled with maintenance on aging cars and trucks is pushing consumers to a place many of them have avoided for five years: a new car dealership. ...
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| Analysis: Delta-Boeing clash threatens Obama bid to renew Eximbank Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Concerns raised by Delta Air Lines about the fairness of U.S. Export-Import Bank loans to help Boeing export aircraft are complicating President Barack Obama's push to quickly renew the bank's charter. The fight pits the second-biggest U.S. air carrier against the nation's largest exporter and is a fresh challenge to the export financing agency, which will have to shut down at the end of May unless there is congressional action. ...
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| Analysis: Goldman top brass takes another knock Posted:  (Reuters) - Every time Goldman Sachs Group Inc President Gary Cohn sticks his chin out, he seems to take another hit. The 51-year-old banker, widely seen as the natural successor to Goldman Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein, once again finds himself caught up in another public relations fiasco involving the storied Wall Street investment bank. ...
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| Oil drops on reports UK, US to release reserves Posted: Oil prices are falling on reports that Britain and the United States will release oil from government-controlled emergency reserves. |
| In first big 2012 foray, Biden defends auto rescue Posted:  Vice President Joe Biden made an aggressive entry into the 2012 campaign Thursday, calling out Mitt Romney and the other Republican presidential hopefuls by name for their failure to support the auto bailout.
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| Average US rate on 30-year loan rises to 3.92 pct. Posted: The average rate in the U.S. on the 30-year fixed mortgage hovered near historic lows this week, making home-buying and refinancing more attractive to those who can qualify. |
| James Cameron, others to explore the real abyss Posted:  The world's rich and famous will soon explore Earth's lost frontier, starting with "Titanic" director James Cameron.
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| US airlines post record on-time rating in January Posted: The government says that mild winter weather helped the nation's airlines post their best January on-time performance on record. |
| US mortgage rates for past 52 weeks, at a glance Posted: The U.S. average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hovered near historic lows this week, making home-buying and refinancing more attractive to those who can qualify. |
| Troubled Spain, Portugal now desperate for rain Posted:  Fernando Luna, a burly Spanish farmer, yanks a barley sprout from a field as dry as powder. He examines its roots, which are mostly dead, then tosses the stunted shoot away in disgust.
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| Iran cut off from global financial system Posted: Iran was effectively cut off from global commerce on Thursday, when the company that handles financial transactions said it was severing ties with many Iranian banks — part of an international effort to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. |
| Schools will get to opt out of "pink slime" beef Posted:  School districts soon will be able to opt out of a common ammonia-treated ground beef filler critics have dubbed "pink slime."
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| UP promotes top executives after CEO medical leave Posted: Union Pacific is promoting several executives as the railroad deals with its CEO's medical leave and the retirement of its top lawyer. |
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