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Wall St closes lower on banks

2012-02-22T21:06:08Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Banks led stocks lower on Wednesday as the S&P 500 stalled near a 10-month-high after signs of weak European business activity rekindled concerns about a recession overseas. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 26.72 points, or 0.21 percent, at 12,938.97. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 4.57 points, or 0.34 percent, at 1,357.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 15.40 points, or 0.52 percent, at 2,933.17. (Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Fitch downgrades Greece on debt swap plan

2012-02-22T14:04:45Z

ATHENS (Reuters) – Fitch cut Greece’s long-term ratings on Wednesday to its lowest rating above a default, becoming the first ratings agency to make the widely expected downgrade after the country announced a bond exchange plan to ease its massive debt burden. It said Greece would be designated as having technically defaulted after the bond exchange is formalized, but the new bonds would be give and new rating. …

Home resales at 1-1/2 year-high, supply falls

2012-02-22T21:27:00Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Home resales rose to a 1-1/2-year high in January, pushing the supply of properties on the market to the lowest level in almost seven years in a hopeful sign for the housing sector. The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday existing home sales increased 4.3 percent to an annual rate of 4.57 million units last month, the fastest pace since May 2010. It was the latest indication the housing market may be coming off the floor. While economists attributed some of the rise to unseasonably warm winter weather, they also said it signaled genuine improvement. …

Citi, UBS provide keys to interest rate-rigging probe: sources

2012-02-22T15:17:02Z

(Reuters) – Citigroup Inc and UBS AG , in a series of disclosures to law-enforcement officials, have provided crucial information to investigators in multiple countries as part of inquiries into whether the world’s biggest banks manipulated a global benchmark interest rate, according to people familiar with the situation. The two banks, linked by a trader who worked at both, have provided closely guarded details to U.S. …

JPMorgan, Citi, BofA sued for $949 million by Sealink

2012-02-22T16:17:14Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and more than a half dozen other major banks are being hit with a new lawsuit over $949 million in residential mortgage-backed securities. A summons was filed Tuesday by Sealink Funding Ltd, an Irish entity that oversees risky RMBS, in New York state Supreme Court. Sealink has filed numerous other lawsuits against major banks over billions in residential mortgage-backed securities it bought. New York attorney Joel H. …

Peugeot and GM in alliance talks: sources

2012-02-22T16:40:05Z

FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) – General Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroen are discussing a manufacturing alliance designed to stem losses in Europe and reduce production costs elsewhere, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Talks between GM, the world’s biggest automaker, and European No.2 Peugeot are focused on sharing vehicles and parts rather than swapping stakes, according to the people. Any new shareholdings that emerged would be small and symbolic. …

UBS to issue more loss-absorbing capital

2012-02-22T15:54:48Z

ZURICH/LONDON (Reuters) – UBS might struggle to attract big institutional investors for more loss-absorbing bonds it wants to sell, after investors voiced distaste for the structure and price of an initial $2 billion deal announced on Wednesday. UBS’s new bonds are designed to help bolster the bank in tough times by absorbing losses. Their value can be written down if the bank’s common equity Tier 1 ratio — a measure of financial strength — falls below 5 percent or hits non-viability. …

Analysis: Goldman’s top brass gun for cash bonuses

2012-02-22T19:35:55Z

(Reuters) – While Wall Street slashes pay and freezes cash awards, Goldman Sachs Group’s top five executives may reap special bonuses of $10.5 million apiece if the firm hits historically easy profit targets over the next two years. Many companies have long-term incentive plans, but Goldman’s program is notable for dangling hefty cash payouts at a time when banks are tilting toward deferred-stock awards. …

Exclusive: Palo Alto Networks, other tech firms tee up IPOs

2012-02-22T20:49:35Z
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A series of technology companies, including security software maker Palo Alto Networks, are preparing to go public on the heels of Facebook’s $5-billion filing, sensing a window of opportunity as the stock market rallies. Technology management software maker ServiceNow, human resources software provider Workday, machine data software company Splunk and flash memory maker Violin Memory are also in various stages of planning public offerings this year, sources familiar with the matter said. These companies are expected to be valued at $1 billion and higher, they said. …

Greece pores over bailout laws amid protests

2012-02-22T19:17:17Z

ATHENS (Reuters) – Trade unionists, communists and pensioners angry at punishing spending cuts in Greece marched through central Athens on Wednesday as lawmakers set to work on legislation needed to secure payment of a second bailout for the debt-laden country. Ringed by riot police, parliament debated a string of measures demanded by euro zone states in exchange for a 130 billion euro rescue, endorsed by finance ministers on Tuesday after hours of torturous negotiation in Brussels. …

Euro zone teetering on brink of recession

2012-02-22T12:28:27Z
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro zone economy is in danger of tipping into recession, with the services sector shrinking this month along with manufacturing, tempering a wave of optimism after a new bailout deal for Greece struck this week. Surveys of purchasing managers published on Wednesday showed unexpectedly weak activity in the region’s most powerful economy, Germany, and in France. …

Garmin profits from higher PND prices

2012-02-22T15:28:32Z
(Reuters) – Garmin Ltd’s quarterly results blew past estimates as revenue from personal navigation devices grew on improved pricing, and demand for its outdoor and fitness GPS products rose, sending its shares to their highest in nearly four years. The No. 1 U.S. navigation device maker also forecast 2012 results well ahead of consensus estimates, suggesting its strategy of bundling personal navigation devices with high-margin mapping services was beginning to pay off. …

Shell to buy Cove Energy for $1.6 billion

2012-02-22T13:49:11Z

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc has made an agreed 992.4 million pounds ($1.6 billion) bid for Mozambique-focused Cove Energy , offering a full price to open up a new gas frontier for the Anglo-Dutch oil major in East Africa. Cove’s main asset is an 8.5 percent stake in the Rovuma Offshore Area 1, in Mozambique, where operator Anadarko said recoverable reserves could top 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The project partners plan to build plants to freeze the gas into liquefied natural gas (LNG) and ship it to Asian markets. …

Swiss take steps to clean up tax-haven image

2012-02-22T14:11:27Z
BERNE (Reuters) – Switzerland announced plans on Wednesday to force banks to do more to make sure foreign clients’ money is taxed in an attempt to shake off its past as a haven for untaxed funds as it seeks to put an end to a damaging U.S. tax probe. “The focus is on enhanced due diligence requirements for banks when accepting assets as well as a requirement for foreign clients to make a declaration on the fulfillment of their tax obligations,” the cabinet said in a statement. …

France Telecom takes knife to dividend

2012-02-22T14:39:06Z

PARIS (Reuters) – France Telecom is cutting its dividend and putting off a promised share buyback to conserve cash in the face of brutal competition from a new mobile player and Europe’s ongoing debt crisis. France has been locked in a mobile price war since mid-January, when Iliad launched its ultra low-cost mobile offers, leading France Telecom to lose 201,000 customers to date. …

Business – Google News

Ex-mine official charged in fatal West Virginia blast – Reuters

USA TODAY
Ex-mine official charged in fatal West Virginia blast
Reuters
(Adds details, company comment, stock movement) By Bob Bird CHARLESTON, W.Va. Feb 22 (Reuters) – The former superintendent of the West Virginia coal mine where 29 workers died in a 2010 explosion was charged on Wednesday with felony conspiracy by …
W.Va. Mine Boss Charged With Fraud in Deadly BlastABC News
Mine disaster: Official accused of blocking inspections; 29 diedLos Angeles Times
Feds charge W.Va. mine boss with fraud, highest-ranking to face prosecution in …Washington Post
New York Times
all 421 news articles »

Posted on 22 February 2012 | 9:01 pm

Wal-Mart, Dell Lead Stocks Lower – Wall Street Journal

CBC.ca
Wal-Mart, Dell Lead Stocks Lower
Wall Street Journal
By JONATHAN CHENG Stocks were on pace to post their first decline in four days amid uncertainty about the implementation of Greece's debt deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 19 points, or 0.2%, to 12947, in late Wednesday afternoon trading.
Stocks Lower Day After Dow's Blip Above 13000ABC News
Stocks Slip as Economic Data Come Into FocusFox Business
Stocks edge lower as worries persist over hammering out details in Greece's …Washington Post
San Francisco Chronicle -USA TODAY
all 1,833 news articles »

Posted on 22 February 2012 | 8:39 pm

Cable cos. shut down interactive ad venture – Sydney Morning Herald

Cable cos. shut down interactive ad venture
Sydney Morning Herald
The country's largest cable TV companies are shutting down the bulk of a venture that let viewers interact with TV ads, laying off 120 employees. Four-year-old Canoe Ventures in New York made it possible for viewers of eight cable networks, …

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Posted on 22 February 2012 | 8:35 pm