| Wall Street takes breather; Fed minutes ahead Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Tuesday as the market showed signs of fatigue after major indexes hit multiyear highs. Financial and energy stocks were the biggest decliners. But Apple Inc was up 1.8 percent near $629.59, supporting the Nasdaq as it outperformed other indexes. Wall Street had a strong start to the second quarter on Monday, with the S&P 500 marking its highest close since mid-May 2008. The Dow scored its highest finish since December 31, 2007, while the Nasdaq once again closed at levels not seen since late 2000. ...
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| Auto sales up as consumer confidence rises Posted:  (Reuters) - Auto sales continued a robust pace in March, boosted by consumers with more confidence in a recovering U.S. economy who want to buy fuel-efficient cars and trucks in the face of rising gasoline prices. Ford Motor Co's U.S. sales rose 5 percent from a year earlier. Ford, No. 2 in the U.S. market, reported its best March for new auto sales in five years on strong sales of small cars such as its Focus sedan and its F-Series pickup trucks. Chrysler Group LLC, No. 4 in U.S. sales, reported a 34 percent increase, led by its Chrysler brand, which had a sales increase of 70 percent. ...
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| Factory orders rebound in February, up 1.3 percent Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for U.S. factory goods rebounded in February and firms increased orders for capital goods, suggesting manufacturing held on to some momentum early in the year. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday new orders for manufactured goods rose 1.3 percent, just below the 1.5 percent gain expected by private forecasters in a Reuters poll. Growth in the U.S. economy likely slowed in the first quarter as weaker restocking of companies' shelves kept factories less busy. ...
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| Top JP Morgan banker quits after market abuse fine Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - One of London's most prominent bankers was fined 450,000 pounds ($720,000) for passing on inside information in a case that will embarrass his employer J.P. Morgan Cazenove and which marks a push by British regulators to target high-profile figures. Top "rainmaker" Ian Hannam resigned on Tuesday, to fight the fine imposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in relation to 2008 emails that contained information about one of his clients, Heritage Oil . ...
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| Molson Coors to buy StarBev for $3.5 billion Posted:  (Reuters) - Molson Coors Brewing Co said it will buy brewer StarBev from private equity fund CVC Capital Partners for 2.65 billion euros ($3.52 billion) to expand in central and eastern European beer markets. "The acquisition of StarBev fits squarely into Molson Coors' strategy to increase our portfolio of premium brands and deepen our reach into growth markets around the world," Molson Coors' Chief Executive Peter Swinburn said in a statement. StarBev, which owns Czech lager Staropramen, will be run as a separate business unit within Molson Coors after the deal closes. ...
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| Small business lending barely grew in February Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lending to small business in the United States barely grew in February, supporting the view that economic growth was lackluster at the start of the year. The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, which measures the overall volume of financing to U.S. small businesses, edged up to 98.3 in February from 98.2 a month earlier, PayNet said on Tuesday. Borrowing rose 14 percent from a year earlier, the lowest 12-month growth rate since September. "It's pretty uninspired," PayNet founder Bill Phelan said in an interview. ... |
| Fed targets Morgan Stanley over home loans Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday said it would seek damages from Morgan Stanley due to "a pattern of misconduct and negligence" in the handling of home loans by one of the investment bank's mortgage servicing units. The Fed wants Morgan Stanley to review foreclosures overseen by the mortgage-servicing unit to ensure documents were not mishandled and borrowers didn't wrongfully lose their homes as a result of improper documentation. The Fed's action seeks unspecified monetary damages in addition to changes in mortgage-servicing practices. ... |
| Apple shares to soar to $1,001, says analyst Posted: (Reuters) - Apple Inc shares are set to rocket to $1,001 within the next 12 months as it branches into new markets and expands its footprint in China, predicted Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White. "Driven by an ever expanding portfolio of innovative products, a growing integrated digital grid, unmatched aesthetics and a brand that is able to touch the soul of consumers of all backgrounds, Apple fever is spreading like a wildfire around the world and we see no end in sight to this trend," White wrote in an April 2 note initiating coverage of Apple. Shares of Apple are trading up about ... |
| Arrested Hong Kong billionaires say did "nothing wrong" Posted:  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's billionaire Kwok brothers, whose arrest last week on suspicion of corruption has gripped the financial hub, said on Tuesday they had done nothing wrong and insisted it was business as usual at the family conglomerate they jointly run. The investigation into Raymond and Thomas Kwok, co-chairmen of Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd , is the biggest case launched by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) since it was set up in 1974 to root out graft. ...
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| Starbucks' job creation fund finds first partners Posted:  (Reuters) - Google Offers and Banana Republic are the first businesses to join Starbucks Corp in raising money for a U.S. job creation fund started by the world's biggest coffee chain late last year. Starbucks and the Opportunity Finance Network, a group of private financial institutions that make affordable loans to individuals and communities, introduced the "Create Jobs for USA" fund in October. Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz said the fund would help compensate for a lack of national political leadership on unemployment. "We can't wait for Washington," he said. ...
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| Daimler says Mercedes sales up 11 percent in March Posted: FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler said on Tuesday that sales of its Mercedes-Benz luxury brand rose 11 percent to 131,334 vehicles in March, extending the increase in year-to-date deliveries to 313,902. "The great customer response on the new models makes me very confident that we will achieve our goal to post a new sales record in 2012," sales chief Joachim Schmidt said in a statement. (Reporting By Andreas Cremer) |
| UK must sell RBS, Lloyds soon: taxpayer lobby Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain must sell its Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds stakes as soon as possible because keeping them is allowing politicians to gamble with people's money on bank shares, according to a lobby group representing taxpayers. "Clearly the best outcome for taxpayers would be if we don't make a loss on those shares, but we simply cannot predict what the share price will be tomorrow," TaxPayers' Alliance campaign director Emma Boon told Reuters. ...
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| EU probes Motorola after Microsoft, Apple complaints Posted:  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU regulators are investigating whether phone maker Motorola Mobility breached antitrust rules by allegedly over-charging Microsoft and Apple for use of its patents in their products, the European Commission said on Tuesday. The European Commission, the EU antitrust regulator in the 27-country European Union, said it had opened two investigations into Motorola Mobility based on Microsoft's and Apple's grievances. ...
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| Spain's debt on track for highest in 22 years Posted:  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's debt levels will jump to their highest since at least 1990 this year as the economy sinks into recession and borrowing costs rise. The rising debt levels add to a gloomy outlook for the Spanish economy, which is suffering as the government cuts spending in an effort to improve its finances and meet a strict European Union deficit goal next year. Spain's debt-to-gross domestic product ratio will soar to 79.8 percent in 2012, from 68. ...
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| Google to grow display, mobile ad businesses in China Posted:  TAIPEI (Reuters) - Google Inc will continue to invest in China, where it has a testy relationship with the government, with a focus on growing its fast-growing display and mobile advertising businesses, its Asia chief said on Tuesday. In a brief telephone interview during a visit to Taiwan, Google's APAC President Daniel Alegre said the company sees opportunities in connecting China's businesses with potential overseas customers. "We've never left China," Alegre said. ...
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| Abu Dhabi's Etihad wants answers on Airbus A380 cracks Posted:  ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi's flagship carrier which is due to get its first Airbus A380 superjumbo in 2014, said it wants more clarity from the plane maker about wing cracks on the aircraft. European air safety regulators ordered checks in February for Airbus A380 wing cracks for the entire superjumbo fleet after safety engineers found cracks in almost all the planes inspected. "Obviously we are very concerned about this defect. They have given us assurances that they've been rectified ... ...
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| Spain's debt to jump to 78 percent of GDP: De Guindos Posted: MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's public debt will surge to around 78 percent of gross domestic product this year, from 68 percent in 2011, Economy Minister Luis De Guindos told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. Spain's debt-to-GDP ratio is substantially lower than the other countries struggling most in Europe's debt crisis, but it is already well above the European Union's recommended 60 percent ceiling and will continue to rise largely due to its inability to generate growth while it cuts budget spending. ... |
| Whitbread appoints Rogers to drive Costa expansion Posted:  LONDON, APRIL 3 - Whitbread PLC said on Tuesday that Chris Rogers, currently group finance director, would take over as chief executive of its rapidly expanding coffee shop chain Costa Coffee in August, with a remit to drive international growth. Whitbread, which also owns budget hotel chain Premier Inn, said Rogers will head up Costa's global business to drive forward a five year plan to increase the size of the business to 3,500 stores worldwide. ...
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| China may allow more overseas investment: central bank head Posted:  BOAO, China (Reuters) - China may loosen overseas investment rules for private investors, the country's central bank chief said on Tuesday, less than a week after the government gave the go-ahead for pilot financial reforms in a coastal city. China's State Council, or cabinet, last week said it would study allowing direct investments overseas by residents in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou as part of a "general financial reform zone" experiment. That was seen as a significant step toward liberalizing capital account transactions. ...
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| Suntech "sun king" sees industry back in black, eyes U.S. duties Posted:  BOAO, China (Reuters) - Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd's chief executive said on Tuesday the Chinese solar company expects to return to profit, along with the entire industry, in the fourth quarter as prices stabilize on tighter inventories and improving demand. Suntech forecast its sales in the United States to grow a strong 40 percent this year, expecting little impact from a preliminary U.S. ruling on countervailing duties of less than 5 percent and possible higher anti-dumping duties later this year. The world's largest photovoltaic solar module maker would be able to skirt around the U.S. ...
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| Australia central bank holds rates, opens door to easing Posted:  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's central bank opened the door wide for a rate cut in May even as it held rates steady at 4.25 percent at a review on Tuesday, saying it wanted to see coming inflation data before deciding whether to ease policy. The Australian dollar slipped as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) sounded a more cautious note on the economy, acknowledging that growth had disappointed. ...
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| Manufacturing up, construction spending falls Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The pace of growth in manufacturing picked up last month, even as measures of new orders and exports eased, underscoring how the economy is recovering at a gradual clip. Separate data on Monday showed construction spending suffered its biggest drop in seven months in February, prompting some economists to lower their sights for first-quarter growth. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity rose to 53.4 from 52.4 in February, topping economists' expectations of 53.0. ...
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| Apple's iPad tops Consumer Reports' list despite heat issue Posted:  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's new iPad topped Consumer Reports' list of tablets despite the influential watchdog's having earlier stoked doubts about the latest iteration of the best-selling tablet by saying it threw off more heat when used heavily. The widely followed group that reviews a broad range of services and products -- including electronics and cars -- said on Monday it conducted additional tests on a number of tablets running Google Android software, including Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, and found higher temperatures common and not a cause for concern. ...
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| Oracle suit versus Google at settlement impasse: judge Posted:  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Oracle Corp and Google Inc have reached an "irreconcilable impasse" in settlement negotiations in a high-profile intellectual property lawsuit and the companies' lawyers should prepare for trial, a U.S. magistrate judge ruled on Monday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal said he would not convene any further settlement conferences in the patent and copyright lawsuit against Google over the Java programming language. A Google representative could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for Oracle declined to comment. ...
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| Avon rejects $10 billion takeover bid from Coty Posted:  (Reuters) - Coty Inc disclosed on Monday that it had offered $10 billion for Avon Products Inc but the larger company, which is grappling with sliding sales and a bribery probe, rejected the bid as too low and "opportunistic". Combining Coty, maker of Stetson aftershave and Beyoncé fragrances, with Avon, the world's largest direct seller of cosmetics, would give Coty less reliance on fragrances and a bigger share of growing overseas markets. Investors sent Avon's stock soaring as high as $23.38 on Monday after news of Coty's offer. The shares closed up 17.3 percent at $22.70. ...
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| GM March U.S. sales boosted by gas-sipping models Posted:  DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co passed an environmental milestone of sorts in March, when it became the first U.S. automaker to sell, in a single month, more than 100,000 cars that can achieve 30 miles per gallon in highway driving, the automaker said on Monday. About 40 percent of GM's March sales were of these fuel-efficient cars, said Mark Reuss, GM president for North America. Other major carmakers including Ford Motor Co and Hyundai Motor Co have also dramatically increased their sales of fuel-efficient cars in the wake of soaring gasoline prices. ...
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| MF Global judge weighs release of insurance money Posted:  (Reuters) - An MF Global bankruptcy trustee asked a judge on Monday to release $25 million in insurance money to pay defense costs for Jon Corzine and other former MF Global officers facing civil lawsuits over the broker's October collapse. If paid out now, the money, part of $375 million in total insurance funds from multiple policies, could save the broker from facing larger claims later, Lorenzo Marinuzzi, an attorney for trustee Louis Freeh, said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Freeh is managing the company's assets in bankruptcy. ...
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| IMF chief wants 'more firepower' to fight crises Posted:  The managing director of the International Monetary Fund called on the world's developed nations on Tuesday to "increase our firepower" to better confront global financial strains like those now in play in Greece and several other Eurozone nations.
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| Auto sales surge in March, led by small cars Posted:  The auto industry looks set to ride the appeal of smaller cars to its best monthly performance in almost four years.
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| US stocks mixed after strong auto sales report Posted:  U.S. stocks are trading lower at midday despite solid reports on auto sales and factory orders. Traders are waiting for news about the Federal Reserve's plans to nurture economic growth.
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| Morgan Stanley to pay for some US foreclosures Posted: The Federal Reserve says Morgan Stanley will review foreclosures carried out by its old mortgage subsidiary and reimburse any homeowners who were improperly forced out of their homes. |
| Obama denounces 'radical' Republican budget plan Posted:  In an election-year pitch to middle-class voters, President Barack Obama is denouncing a House Republican budget plan as a "Trojan horse," warning that it represents "an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country" that would hurt the pocketbooks of working families.
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| IMF director says global recovery very fragile Posted: The managing director of the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that the global economy is making some advances in digging itself out of a punishing recession, but that the recovery remains very fragile, especially in Europe. She suggested cutting government spending too quickly in developed countries like the United States and larger European nations could make things worse, not better. |
| Architects' answer to rising seas: floating homes Posted:  A floating mosque and golf course for the submerging Maldives islands. Amphibious homes in the Netherlands lifted to safety as waters surge beneath them. A hospital perched on 400 stilts to protect patients from Thailand's devastating floods and the encroaching sea.
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| Study: Lending to small business stalls in Feb. Posted: The pace of lending to small businesses appears to be at a standstill. A study by PayNet, a financial research firm, shows that lending was virtually unchanged in February. |
| IMF director cautions against big cuts in spending Posted: The managing director of the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that the global economy is making some advances in digging itself out of a punishing recession, but that the recovery remains very fragile, especially in Europe. She suggested cutting government spending too quickly in developed countries like the United States and larger European nations could make things worse, not better. |
| James Murdoch steps down as BSkyB chairman Posted:  Media executive James Murdoch, under pressure over his role in Britain's tabloid phone hacking scandal, has stepped down as chairman of British Sky Broadcasting PLC, the company announced Tuesday.
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