Business News

U.S. Treasury Starts Last Measures to Preserve Borrowing Authority

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 19:37:54 -0400

The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday started using its last tools for pushing back the day when the government will run out of legal borrowing authority, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said.

4 Things Congress Can Get Away With but You Can’t

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:49:04 -0400

No viable company would arbitrarily shut itself down, leaving customers, suppliers and employees in the lurch.

Empire State IPO Prices at $13 Per Share, Low End of Range

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:19:17 -0400

The company that owns New York City's Empire State Building skyscraper priced its initial public offering at $13 a share on Tuesday, a price on the low end of the expected range.

Twitchy Traders Overstate Market Alarm Over DC Noise

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 14:38:56 -0400

Even when “the markets” purportedly freak out over exasperating political headlines and the impassivity of Congressional adversaries, only a tiny cohort of traders presumes to express alarm on behalf of investors.

Wall Street Ends Up as Government Shutdown Expected to Be Short-Lived

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 16:48:15 -0400

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as investors appeared confident that the first partial government shutdown in nearly two decades would be short-lived.

Detroit Defaults on More Than $600 Million of 'Unsecured' GO Bonds

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 18:07:43 -0400

Detroit on Tuesday defaulted on more than $600 million of general obligation bonds deemed unsecured by the city's emergency manager, a city spokesman said.

JC Penney Is Sued Over Share Sale, Stock Plunge

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:34:14 -0400

A JC Penney Co shareholder on Tuesday sued the struggling retailer over its surprise decision to issue more than $810 million of stock to shore up liquidity, which led to a steep drop in its share price.

U.S. Republicans Float Plan to Fund to Some Government Agencies

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:47:53 -0400

Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are floating a plan to reopen some shuttered federal agencies by passing small, individual funding bills for them, a senior House Republican aide said on Tuesday.

Postal Service Defaults on $5.6 Billion Payment

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 14:21:00 -0400

The U.S. Postal Service has defaulted on a $5.6 billion payment for retiree health benefits that was due on Monday, just as the Postmaster General had warned it would.

Obamacare: The World’s Most Complex Health Care System

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 12:33:35 -0400

Obamacare insurance exchanges are now live and open for enrollment despite reports of technical glitches in certain states. So what does this mean for consumers and for health care insurance more broadly?

Scribd, HarperCollins Offer E-Book Subscriptions

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 16:58:46 -0400

Online document-sharing site Scribd is taking a page from Netflix's success story as it sets out to create the world's largest subscription service for digital books. The opening chapter in Scribd's quest ...

How Buffett’s 'Golden Rules' Garnered Big Goldman Profit

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 11:35:24 -0400

Warren Buffett wins again! At some point today Warren Buffett is set receive 13.6M shares of Goldman Sachs for no money down.

MoneyGram to Stay Public as Buyout Talks Fail

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 15:00:58 -0400

MoneyGram International Inc has decided to remain public after talks with private equity firms over a leveraged buyout did not result in an offer in line with its expectations.

Ford Up, GM Down in September U.S. Auto Sales

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 16:12:05 -0400

U.S. consumer demand for new vehicles cooled slightly in September, as expected, as Ford Motor Co topped analysts' expectations, but General Motors Co fell short. The annual auto sales rate was 15.28 million ...

Why the Microsoft Surface Tablet is ‘Awkward and Confused’

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 10:39:55 -0400

While other tablets are coming of age it appears that the Surface is stuck in its awkward stage, says Yahoo Finance senior columnist Aaron Pressman.

Merck to Slash Annual Costs by $2.5 Billion, Cut 8,500 Jobs

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 14:08:04 -0400

Merck & Co, taking a cue from rival drugmakers that have slashed research spending to bolster earnings, said it will cut annual operating costs by $2.5 billion and eliminate 8,500 jobs, or more than 10 ...

U.S. Treasury: Brief Shutdown Would Not Buy Much Time on Debt Ceiling

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 16:49:06 -0400

The partial shutdown of the U.S. government would probably not buy the U.S. much more time to raise its limit on borrowing in order to avert a default on the nation's obligations, according to a Treasury spokesperson.

Gold Hits 8-Week Low, Loses Steam Built on U.S. Gov't Shutdown

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 10:02:51 -0400

Gold slid quickly below $1,300 per ounce to its lowest since early August on Tuesday, unwinding much of the steam built up as investors had anticipated a partial U.S. government shutdown, with most betting it would be resolved shortly.

Shutdown Wouldn't Delay Twitter's Public IPO Filing

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 10:27:00 -0400

The U.S. government is shut down, but that won't stop Twitter from posting its documents on a government website for an upcoming initial public offering.

Long Government Shutdown May Finish Companies Like J.C. Penney and BlackBerry

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 06:29:24 -0400

How long is too long before the shutdown of the federal government begins to batter U.S. gross domestic product and the fortunes of a number of industries?

Amazon to Hire 70,000 Seasonal Workers

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 12:36:03 -0400

Amazon.com says it is hiring 70,000 full-time seasonal workers around the U.S. to fill orders during the holiday season.

Chrysler U.S. Sales Rose Slightly in September

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 08:35:29 -0400

Chrysler's U.S. sales rose 1 percent in September on strong performances from the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram pickup truck. The gain may be an outlier as major automakers announce sales Tuesday.

Jobs Report May Be a Shutdown Casualty

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 20:42:40 -0400

If Congress fails to reach a budget accord and government operations are halted for more than a day or two, the monthly jobs report is unlikely to be released on Friday, as scheduled.

Wells Fargo to Pay Freddie Mac $780M to Settle Mortgage Claims

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 19:16:07 -0400

Wells Fargo & Co said on Monday it will pay $780 million in cash to Freddie Mac to resolve substantially all repurchase liabilities on home loans sold to the government-controlled mortgage company prior ...

Dimon, Other Bankers to Meet Obama Wed: Report

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 06:39:35 -0400

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Jamie Dimon, the chairman and chief executive officer of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and other bank executives are scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama on Wednesday, according ...

Google Offer May End Search Engine Case, Says EU Antitrust Chief

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 08:57:16 -0400

An offer by Google to modify how it displays Internet search results could settle a long-running antitrust dispute with the European Union, the EU competition chief said on Tuesday.

Nestle Says Looks to Shake up its Portfolio of Brands

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 06:57:30 -0400

Nestle, the world's largest food company, is working harder to manage its portfolio, its chief executive said, as some businesses have underperformed for too long.

No Limit on Strikes for JPMorgan Chase

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 11:35:57 -0400

Simply paying money to get rid of investigations raises questions about whether JPMorgan Chase should be viewed as a recidivist, and if so how the law should treat the bank.

Ex-NBA player Tate George convicted of fraud

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 07:02:23 -0400

A former NBA player best known for his 1990 tournament buzzer-beater for the University of Connecticut was convicted Monday of four counts of federal wire fraud in a Ponzi scheme that netted him $2 million. ...

Euro Zone Factory Growth Eases but Strong Demand Enables Price Hikes: PMI

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 06:13:53 -0400

Euro zone factory activity grew for the third month running in September as stronger demand enabled manufacturers to raise prices for the first time since mid-2012, a survey showed on Tuesday. Although ...

More universities now admitting undocumented students

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 07:14:00 -0400

More top U.S. universities are now admitting undocumented students. Just last month, the University of Notre Dame said undocumented students who apply for undergraduate admission would now be accepted. ...

Dollar, U.S. stock futures steady; U.S. government shutdown seen short

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 19:40:45 -0400

The dollar and U.S. stock futures held steady on Wednesday as investors bet the first partial U.S. government shutdown in 17 years will be short-lived. Sentiment was also supported by robust U.S. manufacturing ...

Exclusive: Time for Gates to go, some top Microsoft investors tell board

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 19:44:56 -0400

Three of the top 20 investors in Microsoft Corp are lobbying the board to press for Bill Gates to step down as chairman of the software company he co-founded 38 years ago, according to people familiar ...

Bitcoin buzz grows among venture investors, despite risks

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 19:47:03 -0400

Venture capitalists show no sign of shying away from investing in startups related to Bitcoin even as authorities step up their scrutiny of the virtual currency and its possible connection to money laundering ...

Some U.S. industries say Wall Street commodity bets a help

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 19:42:43 -0400

Several of America's largest enterprises including Boeing Co and United Parcel Service Inc warned the Federal Reserve on Tuesday that restricting Wall Street's trading in physical commodity markets could ...

Texas drops out of suit to halt US Air-American deal

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:15:20 -0400

The U.S. Department of Justice, fighting a proposed merger of US Airways Group Inc and American Airlines parent AMR Corp , lost a bid to delay the case on Tuesday, and share prices for both companies jumped ...

Exclusive: Blackstone's La Quinta attracts buyout interest - sources

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:20:42 -0400

La Quinta Inns & Suites has attracted interest from a number of potential suitors that could value the Blackstone Group LP -owned budget hotel chain at as much as $4.5 billion, three sources with knowledge ...

Brazil's Odebrecht plans $8.1 billion landmark investment in Mexico

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 18:27:37 -0400

Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht plans to spend $8.1 billion in Mexico in the next five years in what appears to mark the biggest investment pledge yet from a Brazilian firm in Latin America's No. 2 economy. ...

Japan's tax, spending plan double-edged sword for central bank

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:02:10 -0400

The Japanese prime minister's policy mix announced on Tuesday of giving to the economy on the one hand and taking away with the other is set to complicate life for the central bank next year. It had already ...

Obamacare Launch Poised to Reach Millions Despite Shutdown Drama

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 19:18:33 -0400

Millions of Americans will learn on Tuesday what President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law actually means for them, as the administration opens new insurance marketplaces in 50 states despite the government shutdown.