World Business News Headlines for July 26, 2008

Business Letters

The July 23 Business section reported some disturbing news: " United, Jet Blue to cut flights " and the effect these and other airline cutbacks are having on local airports; " 2 banks post billions in losses "; and that " Bush sees a ‘hangover’ in economy " and notes problems in the housing market.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

Build good credit, then house hunt

Dear Liz: How can I build credit so that I can buy a house?

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

Scammers exploit online trust factor

Buyers should be wary, even on reputable websites, and know how to respond if they become victims.

When Pierre Omidyar founded the EBay auction website in 1995, he built it around a simple core value: "People are basically good."

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

Beware of the 'I found your lost dog' scam

Scam Watch The pitch: "I found your lost dog!"

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

His is an all-American toy story

Isaac Larian, who emigrated from Iran as a youth, built Bratz doll maker MGA Entertainment into a major force in the toy industry.

Less than a couple of hours after a resounding defeat in federal court, Isaac Larian -- the blustery chief executive of MGA Entertainment Inc. -- sounded like a man getting into the ring, not one who had just gotten a legal beating.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

The IRS wants you -- to receive your economic stimulus check

People who normally don't have to file tax returns may be losing out on $300 or more.

The Internal Revenue Service is going after about 5 million retirees and disabled people.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 27 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

World trade talks stretch round the clock in battle to reach Doha deal

Hopes that a breakthrough could be achieved at the world trade talks in Geneva galvanised the top negotiators yesterday evening to continue talks into the night on the expectation that a deal could be sealed on the Doha trade round within four days.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:02 pm

NewsWatch: U.S. stocks brace for more earnings, jobs report on tap

The market will try to regain some momentum next week, another week heavily loaded with earnings, with investors also awaiting the June jobs report and second-quarter growth figures for an update on the health of the economy.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2008 | 1:00 pm

Auto Review: 2009 Nissan GT-R -- Breathtaking bargain

The anticipated Nissn GT-R not only goes head-to-head with the Porsche and Corvette, but beats them and at a good price. Car writer Ron Amadon takes us along for the terrific ride.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2008 | 1:00 pm

Hope of deal in world trade talks

Global trade talks that earlier looked near collapse have made progress and a deal might now be possible.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:12 pm

GE (GE) Restructuring May Take A Number Of Quarters To Bear Fruit

GE (GE) has elected not to sell any of its really core assets. Instead, it has elected to resturcture its major divisions and shuffle management. The move may work, but it could be a year of more until Wall St. knows that. GE is big enough so that it could take several quarters for the new structure to bear results.

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:02 pm

Personal Finance Daily: The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories: July 21-25

In case you missed them, here are the top 10 Personal Finance stories from MarketWatch for the week of July 21-25:

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:01 pm

As Two More National Banks Fail, Crisis Picks Up Speed

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency revoked the charters of two national banks and the FDIC moved in to protect their depositors. First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank of Newport Beach failed. According to The Wall Street Journal, The FDIC was appointed receiver of both banks. The Nevada bank has over $3 billion in deposits.

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 26 Jul 2008 | 11:37 am

Siemens unit head says sees slower growth in 08/09

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Siemens' head of industry division expects growth to slow in the next fiscal year and said the company would increase capacity with caution in the coming year,...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 11:33 am

Siemens unit head says sees slower growth in 08/09

Source: Reuters: Business News | 26 Jul 2008 | 11:33 am

XM (XMSR) Merger With Sirius (SIRI) Approved With Industry Already Dead

The FCC, after one-and-half years of deliberation, finally approved the merger between XM Satellite (XMSR) and Siruis (SIRI). It does not matter much. The business is dying.

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 26 Jul 2008 | 11:26 am

Senate set to pass housing bill

In a rare weekend session, the Senate on Saturday is expected to pass a landmark housing bill that will offer up to $300 billion in loans for troubled homeowners and establish a government rescue plan for mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 26 Jul 2008 | 10:37 am

India's ICICI Bank profit dips six percent

India's largest private lender ICICI Bank on Saturday showed a lower-than-expected 6.06 percent dip in first-quarter net profit, hit by slowing credit growth. Net profit for...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 9:49 am

WTO ministers look to capitalise on new optimism

A new sense of optimism surrounded WTO negotiations on a new global trade pact Saturday amid hopes of a breakthrough after seven years of deadlock. Ministers from 35 leading...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 9:21 am

Nike to drop Hyperdunk ads some see as homophobic

Nike said Friday it would pull its ads for its Hyperdunk basketball shoes, responding to criticism that they fed homophobic views. Nike previously defended the ads, but said it would...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 9:21 am

Beers with more alcohol, flavor gain market share

Tucked in a corner at the Deschutes Brewery, barrels that once aged fine wines and whiskeys are nurturing beverages that are challenging drinkers to think of beer more like wine. ...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 9:19 am

Police say blasts in Indian IT city were 'professional'

Police in India's IT capital Bangalore were on Saturday looking for clues to a "professional" string of bombings that left one dead and seven wounded. "They appear to be the...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:50 am

Screen Actors Guild faction names slate of candidates for upcoming election

Membership First holds a slim majority on the 71-member board and dominates the union's contract negotiating committee, which called the studios' 'final offer' inadequate. ...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

Judge in Bratz case says juror remark didn't affect verdict

Slurs about Iranians were made 'after the jury had already come to unanimous agreement on key issues,' he says. Isaac Larian, the Iranian-born chief of MGA, which lost to Mattel, staunchly disagrees. ...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

MGA asks for mistrial in Bratz case over juror remark

A female is removed from the panel for making an ethnic slur about Isaac Larian, the Iranian-born chief executive of the toy company that lost a legal battle to Mattel. ...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

Sunday night NFL games to stream online

The move, which will begin in September, is an attempt by the football organization to transition the nation's most popular sport on television into the digital age by attracting younger viewers. ...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

NFL to stream Sunday-night football games online

The live feeds, which start in September, will bring the nation's most popular TV sport into the digital age.

The National Football League, signaling a major shift in strategy, will stream live broadcasts of Sunday-night football games beginning in September, making the contests widely available on the Internet for the first time.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

Screen Actors Guild faction tries to hold on to power

Membership First names a slate of board candidates in an effort to fend off a challenge to its leadership as a stalemate in negotiations with studios continues. ...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

Deposit insurance limits make sense -- at least in principle

Faced with a run on the Northern Rock bank last fall, the British government threw out convention -- and deposit insurance limits -- and declared that all depositors in the bank would be fully protected...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

FDIC closes First Heritage Bank, 1st National Bank of Nevada

Branches of the banks owned by First National Bank Holding Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz., are scheduled to reopen Monday as Mutual of Omaha Bank, federal regulators say. ...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

Mild slide in sales of new homes spurs hopes

Sales of new homes fell in June for the seventh time in the last eight months, but the decline was less than expected, raising faint hopes that the nation's severe housing recession could be approaching...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

FDA says to avoid jalapenos from Mexico, not U.S.

Only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico are implicated in the nationwide salmonella outbreak, the government announced Friday in clearing the U.S. crop.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

Gas for less than $4 a gallon returns to Southern California

Prices have been falling for five consecutive weeks and could be headed even lower. Gas prices at service stations...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am

Banks rally as CEOs hold off on issuing shares

With many banks still reporting massive writedowns and even quarterly losses from bad mortgage investments, it certainly seems like an odd time for financial stocks to rally. But, amid...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 5:36 am

FDIC takes over 2 more banks, closing 28 branches

The 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operating in Nevada, Arizona and California, were closed Friday by federal regulators. The banks, owned by...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 4:49 am

FDIC takes over 1st National Bank of Nevada

Twenty-eight branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operating in Nevada, Arizona and California, were closed Friday by federal regulators. The banks, owned by...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 26 Jul 2008 | 4:40 am

Rethinking solutions to the plastic bag problem

It was business as usual last week at Huntington Park's Crown Poly Inc., where workers in the brightly lit factory scurried around large, loud machines churning out hundreds of thousands of clear plastic bags per hour.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 4:10 am

U.S. regulators seize two more banks, engineer sale (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. regulators took over two banks on Friday and sold them to Mutual of Omaha Bank, the sixth and seventh bank failures this year as financial institutions struggle with a housing bust and credit crunch.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 4:08 am

U.S. regulators seize two more banks, engineer sale

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators took over two banks on Friday and sold them to Mutual of Omaha Bank, the sixth and seventh bank failures this year as financial institutions struggle with a housing bust and credit crunch.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 26 Jul 2008 | 4:08 am

Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks brace for more earnings, jobs report on tap

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2008 | 4:02 am

Stocks to Watch: Stocks in focus for Monday

Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are Verizon, Kraft, Amgen and Tyson.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 26 Jul 2008 | 4:01 am

Clock Ticks on Manny Moments

I once asked a prominent relief pitcher to describe the most idiotic thing he had witnessed in the big leagues. "That's easy," he said, and launched into the story of a former teammate—an All-Star outfielder—who refused to use toilet paper. A clubhouse attendant supplied the player with a daily ration of hand towels, which, when soiled, would be flushed.

One afternoon the reliever came in from batting practice to find the locker room awash in frantic maintenance workers. When he asked a plumber what all the fuss was about, he was told that a washcloth-clogged toilet had overflowed and was threatening to submerge the bathroom stalls. "Of all the dumb stuff I've seen that particular outfielder do," the stopper told me, "that was the dumbest."

That particular outfielder was, of course, Manny Ramirez.

Of all the dumb stuff the Boston slugger has done since then—playing left field with a water bottle jammed in his back pocket (2003); diving to cut off the center fielder's relay throw; allowing a batter to score on an inside-the-park home run (2004); climbing into the Green Monster and chatting on a cell phone during a pitching change (2008)—he has never topped his hand towel hijinks. Until last week, that is, when the future Hall-of-Famer swung weakly at Boston management over his contract status.

The Red Sox hold $20 million options on Ramirez for 2009 and 2010, and are under no obligation to act until November. Yet the outfielder wants the team to either renew the first option or offer him a new multiyear deal.

"I want no more shit where they tell you one thing and behind your back they do another thing," Ramirez told the Boston Herald. "I think I've earned that respect, for a team to sit down with me and tell me this is what we want, this is what we want to do."

Principal owner John Henry has called Ramirez's remarks "personally offensive," but has promised to sit down with the 36-year-old after the season. Privately, front-office officials say the 2009 option will not be exercised. If the club does fail to re-up, Ramirez—who says he wants to stay in Boston—will become a free agent.

Ramirez, in the eighth and final guaranteed season of a $160 million pact he signed in 2000, is batting .301 with 19 homers and 62 R.B.I.'s. But while he ranks fourth in the American League in on-base percentage and 10th in slugging, his many Manny Moments have been about as endearing as a brimming commode.

"The guy is totally passive-aggressive," fumes a member of the Red Sox hierarchy.

Ramirez showed his aggression on June 5, when he was caught on camera backhanding and grabbing teammate Kevin Youkilis in the dugout. Three weeks later he pushed 64-year-old traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the ground in an argument over free game tickets. He later apologized to McCormick, and was fined some $15,000.

Ultimately, passivity may make the franchise pass on Ramirez. During the ninth inning of a July 6 game at Yankee Stadium, he was called on to pinch hit against closer Mariano Rivera. With two out and the go-ahead runner on third base, he watched three called strikes to end the threat.

"Doing nothing was Manny's way of slapping us in the face," says a team executive. The Yanks won the game in the 10th inning. "I was surprised he didn't take the bat off his shoulder," Rivera said. "I don't know what he was thinking."

Andrew Zimbalist has a pretty good idea what the Sox are thinking. The Smith College sports economist notes that stats wonk Bill James, an adviser to the team on player personnel, says performance peaks at age 28. "The Red Sox have become very cautious about signing older players," says Zimbalist. "They spent $8 million on Curt Schilling last November, and got burned when it turned out his shoulder injury would cost him the entire 2008 season."

On the debit side, Zimbalist calls Ramirez a "loose cannon" and an adequate, injury-prone left fielder whose sentimental value isn't in the same ballpark as, say, Big Papi's. "Manny's popularity with Boston fans is not what Derek Jeter's is to New York's," he says. "The Fenway faithful have become more and more willing to say goodbye to him."

The Sox have tried to bid farewell to Ramirez on numerous occasions. They put him on waivers after the 2003 season, then tried to trade him for Alex Rodriguez. Today, Zimbalist says, Ramirez would fetch about $13 million a year on the free-agent market—as much as $15 million if the Yankees entered the bidding. Rivera notwithstanding, over the last three seasons Ramirez has hit .467 versus the Bronx Bombers. Only Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams have more career home runs against them.

Ramirez grew up in Washington Heights and would no doubt love to be a Yankee. But would the Yankees love to have him? With 37-year-old designated hitter Jason Giambi almost certain to be set free, Ramirez would make a solid replacement. Still, in 2009, the club will already have three brittle 35-or-older regulars whose best position is D.H.: Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Jorge Posada. If Ramirez were to rotate with Damon in left, an awful lot of salary would be left on the bench.

On top of that, Ramirez's new agent is the dreaded Scott Boras. Last year Boras counseled Rodriguez to opt out of the final three years of a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Yanks. When no other team even made an offer, A-Rod hired a managing director of Goldman Sachs to negotiate a deal with New York. The team had refused to speak with Rodriguez if Boras were involved.

"For years, the Red Sox have enabled Manny's most outlandish behavior," says a rival agent. This time around, the front office seems unwilling to take his crap.

Related Links
Clock Ticks on Manny Moments
Yankees Payroll No Longer Number 1?
ARod Opts Out as Red Sox Win World Series... Is It 2008 Yet?

Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 26 Jul 2008 | 4:00 am

US regulators seize two more banks

The FDIC sells First National and First Heritage as financial institutions continue to struggle against the housing bust and credit crunch
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 26 Jul 2008 | 3:21 am

BA executives face price-fixing charges: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Four past and present British Airways executives will be charged with fixing the price of passenger fuel surcharges on transatlantic flights, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 2:39 am

BA executives face price-fixing charges: report

LONDON (Reuters) - Four past and present British Airways executives will be charged with fixing the price of passenger fuel surcharges on transatlantic flights, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 26 Jul 2008 | 2:39 am

BA executives face price-fixing charges: report

Abbott gets U.S. subpoena on bile-duct stents

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories said on Friday that it received a subpoena last month from the U.S. Department of Justice related to the sales and marketing of its bile-duct stents.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 26 Jul 2008 | 2:14 am

Sirius, XM tie-up gets FCC approval

Read full story for latest details.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 26 Jul 2008 | 2:01 am

FCC approves Sirius Satellite acquisition of XM (Reuters)

Reuters - Sirius Satellite Radio Inc's $3.3 billion purchase of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc was approved with conditions by U.S. communications regulators on Friday, clearing the way for a deal that will leave just one U.S. satellite radio service.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 1:14 am

FCC approves Sirius Satellite acquisition of XM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sirius Satellite Radio Inc's $3.3 billion purchase of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc was approved with conditions by U.S. communications regulators on Friday, clearing the way for a deal that will leave just one U.S. satellite radio service.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 26 Jul 2008 | 1:13 am

Buyouts In A Fragmented Market Energize This Connector Maker

Ah, the joys of a well-executed roll-up strategy in a growing but fragmented market.

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 26 Jul 2008 | 1:12 am

Business Briefs - Friday

The defense contractor said Q2 EPS rose 29% to $1.19 ex items, beating views by 9 cents. Revenue grew 38% to $3.06 bil, above forecasts. ITT ITT...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 26 Jul 2008 | 1:12 am

Tech's Global Assembly Line

What you see: a sleek technological wonder of engineering that changes the way you work and play. What you don't see: the grunt manufacturing work...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 26 Jul 2008 | 1:12 am

In Brief - Friday

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), the tech giant, said the European Commission has OK'd its $13.9 bil acquisition of tech services firm Electronic Data...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 26 Jul 2008 | 1:12 am

Trends & Innovations - Friday

Engine heat harnessed for power

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 26 Jul 2008 | 1:12 am

TTM Posts Big Gains By Keeping In Focus

Electronic manufacturing service (EMS) providers are an unheralded bunch of companies. Their products are everywhere -- inside computers, cell...

Source: Investor's Business Daily: BUSINESS | 26 Jul 2008 | 1:12 am

British Airways chiefs face price-fix charges

The Office of Fair Trading may bring a prosecution against four executives from British Airways over allegations they were involved in price-fixing.
Source: Telegraph Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:13 am

Consumers, home sales paint less gloomy picture

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment rebounded in July from a 28-year low and business investment rose unexpectedly last month, according to data on Friday that showed rare signs of resilience for the U.S. economy.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:11 am

How to survive the credit crunch, Sloane-style

The shops are a lot quieter on the King's Road than they used to be, but I'm not really letting it stop me spend money - I'm still going out to Mamilanji's Club tonight
Source: Telegraph Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:01 am

Insurers' strength is sapped by warning

The insurance sector dragged the market lower as the interim reporting season got underway with a profits warning from Germany re-insurance giant Munich Re.
Source: Telegraph Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:01 am

Former bosses blamed for Rentokil woes

Rentokil Initial, the rat-catching-to-lavatory-cleaning group, has attacked its former management as it issued its fourth profits warning in eight months.
Source: Telegraph Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:01 am

Sir Martin Sorrell is not swayed by tax U-Turn

WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell has said he is unimpressed by the Government's promise to scrap plans for a special new tax on multinational companies.
Source: Telegraph Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:01 am

Sloanes: It's hard below the £15m watershed

They come bedecked in pearls and clad in Barbour jackets, exuding an unshakeable sense of privilege: it's fair to say that according to the stereotype, Sloanes do not usually need our sympathy.
Source: Telegraph Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:01 am

TNK-BP row 'is bad for Russia' says British Foreign Office

The British Foreign Office has weighed into the row over the forced departure from Russia of Robert Dudley, chief executive of BP's joint venture in the country, describing the dispute as "bad news" for the Russian economy and calling on President Dmitry Medvedev to uphold the rule of law.
Source: Telegraph Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:01 am

Harbinger seeks approval for Inmarsat bid

Hopes of a bid for Inmarsat were reignited after US hedge fund Harbinger said it plans to make an offer for the UK satellite company, pending regulatory approval, and combine the group with its SkyTerra business.
Source: Telegraph Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:01 am

Rio Tinto targets potash as fertiliser sales soar

Rio Tinto wants to grab 10pc of the world potash market as demand for the fertiliser grows in step with biofuel production, Preston Chiaro, chief executive of Rio's energy and minerals unit said.
Source: Telegraph Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:01 am

Rentokil is in need of a good clean-up

Rentokil has finally caught a rat - a king-sized sewer-dwelling creature with fleas. Alan Brown, the company's new rat catcher general, was holding it up by the tail yesterday, nose pinched between two fingers as shareholders were overcome by the fumes. The rotting rodent is its own business, specifically "UK Washrooms" although other divisions are wriggling in Brown's rat trap, including delivery service City Link.
Source: Telegraph Business | 26 Jul 2008 | 12:01 am

Feeling better about the economy? Nobody believes you

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:51 pm

Banks brace for more pain

With the latest earnings season in the rearview mirror for most of the nation's banks, investors can breathe a little easier.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:51 pm

Klein to leave Citi with more than $42m

Citigroup will pay Michael Klein more than $42m in cash and stock after the high-profile banker decided to leave the financial services group and pledged not to work for a rival until October of next year
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:48 pm

GE launches radical shake-up

General Electric launched a radical restructuring of its sprawling business, in the latest attempt by Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive, to revive its flagging share price and regain the trust of disgruntled investors
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:34 pm

Chrysler financial arm to stop leasing vehicles (Reuters)

Reuters - Chrysler LLC said its financing arm would stop offering vehicle leases to U.S. consumers, a sharp break in strategy in response to tighter credit and the plunging resale prices for gas-guzzling trucks.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:33 pm

Chrysler financial arm to stop leasing vehicles

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC said its financing arm would stop offering vehicle leases to U.S. consumers, a sharp break in strategy in response to tighter credit and the plunging resale prices for gas-guzzling trucks.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:33 pm

WaMu reveals $10bn capital buffer

The troubled US regional lender revealed it had taken steps to bolster its available liquidity since the end of June in an effort to quell continued speculation over its financial health
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:14 pm

FDA warning narrowed to Mexico jalapenos

U.S. health officials are urging consumers to avoid only raw jalapeno peppers from Mexico due to concerns about salmonella illness, according to a media report.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:07 pm

Japan faces surge in prices amid export gloom

Inflation in Japan is rising at its fastest pace in 15 years, reducing the prospect of any serious decoupling from American and European woes and pushing the world's second-largest economy closer to the brink of stagnation.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

British Airways executives face charges over collusion to fix prices

Four British Airways executives, past and present, could be charged with price-fixing and face up to five years in jail, according to a report last night.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

A look at this year's Comic-Con

A funny thing happened on the way to the annual comic book mecca going on in San Diego, where geeks and fans gather to talk and dress up like their favourite characters and meet the people who create them: a few years ago what is known as Comic-Con was co-opted by Hollywood and turned into what is arguably - in this age of films such as Iron Man and The Dark Knight - the studios' biggest marketing event of the year.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

Mitchells & Butlers benefits from high price of food in shops

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the Harvester and All Bar One operator, claimed that the rising cost of shopping for fresh food in supermarkets was persuading some consumers to eat out at its pubs.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

Total of Americans facing foreclosure doubles

The American housing slump is showing no signs of abating with the number of homeowners facing foreclosure more than doubling in the second quarter of the year.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

Halifax and Bank of Scotland cut loan rates for third time this month

Halifax, the country's biggest mortgage lender, will make cuts of up to 0.3 percentage points on 16 of its home loan products today and Bank of Scotland (BoS), its sister company, is reducing rates on 29 products by up to 0.45 points.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

Paying the price for Russia's 'loveable rogues'

Russian stocks are in freefall, spooked by threats of anti-trust inquiries by Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister, falling oil prices and the chicanery over TNK-BP. Foreign investors have been patient optimists, preferring to turn a blind eye to the mounting chaos in Moscow while keeping a steady gaze on commodity price indices. Yesterday, they lost their bottle and began to sell - and the selling may continue. It is a reminder that reputations built over several years can be lost in a day.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

Fourth profit warning by Rentokil hits shares

Alan Brown, the chief executive of Rentokil Initial, the troubled rat catcher to parcel delivery company, refused to rule out further woes for its shareholders after issuing the fourth profits warning since December.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

Growth slump moves UK to the brink of a recession

The economy all but ground to a halt in the past three months, sparking warnings that over the present quarter it may shrink - for the first time since 1992 - taking it to the brink of recession.
Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

Hedge funds have worst month since 2000

Hedge funds are having their worst month in eight years after popular bets against banks and in favour of rising commodity prices went badly wrong
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

Economy - Friday (Investor's Business Daily)

Investor's Business Daily - In a turnaround from a week of deadlock, the U.S. and 6 other key nations began to talk about possible success at the World Trade Organization talks. Officials said progress has been made on trade for both agriculture and industrial goods between developed nations and emerging economies. It includes a further cut to the cap on U.S. farm subsidies, a source said. WTO's chief had voiced concerns earlier Fri. that the long-running Doha round may collapse. An anti-trade Congress would have to approve any deal.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:53 pm

Chrysler quits vehicle leasing business

Chrysler's financing arm is pulling out of the vehicle-leasing business, underlining growing strains in the US car finance market caused by a dramatic slide in used-vehicle values and tightening credit conditions
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:48 pm

Oil falls $5 for the week

Oil prices sank Friday, settling down more than $5 for the week, after two stronger-than-expected economic reports calmed nervous investors. Lingering concerns over a drop in demand also pressured prices lower.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:44 pm

Oil prices slip to seven-week low

Oil prices tumble to seven-week lows amid concern that the slowing US economy will weaken demand.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:30 pm

Chrysler Financial to drop leasing business

Read full story for latest details.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:29 pm

Will effects of downturn hit Disney?

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) - Wall Street will be waiting to see whether the nation's current economic woes will hit Walt Disney Co.'s third-quarter results when it reports on Wednesday.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:23 pm

Citi paying departing Klein $42.6 million

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc agreed to pay departing executive Michael Klein about $42.6 million, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:22 pm

Curbs on US energy speculators halted

A US Senate proposal designed to curb speculation and increase transparency in the energy markets was blocked by Republican legislators
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:13 pm

GE restructures, but investors still on edge (Reuters)

Reuters - General Electric Co kicked off a major round of restructuring on Friday, giving its booming infrastructure business -- which is riding a wave of emerging-market investment in energy and aviation projects -- a more prominent role, and combining its sprawling finance operations into one unit.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:11 pm

GE restructures, but investors still on edge

BOSTON (Reuters) - General Electric Co kicked off a major round of restructuring on Friday, giving its booming infrastructure business -- which is riding a wave of emerging-market investment in energy and aviation projects -- a more prominent role, and combining its sprawling finance operations into one unit.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:10 pm

GE restructures units in bid to squeeze out inefficiencies

General Electric will reorganize its operations by folding its six business segments into four, in a bid to improve future growth and prop up a slumping share price.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 10:08 pm

Canadian Markets: Energy, commodities rally to lift Toronto stocks

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Rallying energy and resource shares helped lift Canadian stocks despite a drop in oil price on Friday.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:54 pm

Judge halts Bratz copyright trial

Read full story for latest details.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:47 pm

Chrysler to stop leasing; GM extends employee prices

Two Detroit automotive powerhouses made moves in attempt to stanch their bleeding as gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs continue to sit idly on U.S. car lots.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:40 pm

Global oil prices continue fall

NEW YORK - Oil prices sank to their lowest point in weeks Friday as investors questioned whether crude has cooled enough to reflect a serious deterioration in demand. Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell US$2.23 to settle...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:39 pm

Stocks manage gains in uneven trading

Wall Street endured a choppy session Friday, but finished higher as encouraging economic indicators outweighed investors' fears about financials.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:34 pm

Rolling Stones switch label to Universal

Read full story for latest details.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:18 pm

Some Energy ETFs Post Gains As Oil Falls (Daily ETF Wrap-Up)

Bargain hunters dig coal fund as crude price falls, but financials come down to earth.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:10 pm

Summer School: Naked short selling

We're taking you back to the basics with our summer refresher course on finance terms. Today, we expose ourselves to naked short selling.
Source: Marketplace Money | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:06 pm

Letters from our listeners

Host Tess Vigeland reads listener comments on a few of our recent stories. This week: Nationalizing Fannie & Freddie, credit card perks, target date funds and Marketplace Money makes a new friend.
Source: Marketplace Money | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:06 pm

Data ease fears over US economy

Hopes for the US economy were lifted by new data pointing to lower inflation expectations, stabilising new home sales and a stronger manufacturing sector
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:06 pm

Estate planning: Your questions

Kiplinger's John Ventura joins host Tess Vigeland a final time in our series about planning for the end. This week: John answers your questions about estate planning.
Source: Marketplace Money | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:05 pm

Day in the Work Life: Projectionist

On this week's "A Day in the Work Life," we get a peak at this summer's blockbusters from a slightly different angle with a projectionist.
Source: Marketplace Money | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:05 pm

Getting Personal

In this edition of Getting Personal, Chris and Tess talk about securing investments over $100,000, consolidation loans, options for borrowing against your home and record keeping.
Source: Marketplace Money | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:05 pm

Trading in your gas guzzler

Eager to unload that big truck or SUV and start saving at the pump? Not so fast. The cost of dumping your inefficient vehicle may be more than you end up saving. John Dimsdale reports.
Source: Marketplace Money | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:05 pm

More families turning to food banks

Host Tess Vigeland introduces us to Elaine, just one of the many people pushed from financial security to barely getting by by tough economic times.
Source: Marketplace Money | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:05 pm

Straight Story: Bailout

Fewer jobs, less health care, pricier food and gas and dependence on the federal government to bail us out in the end. Economics editor Chris Farrell sets the story straight on the state of the economy.
Source: Marketplace Money | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:05 pm

Calming your economic fears

With portfolios flopping and the market fluctuating, it's hard to not be frightened. Host Tess Vigeland talks to columnist Jason Zweig about how to make good decisions despite economic anxiety.
Source: Marketplace Money | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:05 pm

Making safe deposits at your bank

Big losses at banks across the country have depositors nervous. How can you make sure that your bank is secure? Mitchell Hartman reports.
Source: Marketplace Money | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:05 pm

Destination retailers feel gas price pinch (AP)

AP - Consumer spending is down and gas prices are up. That's bad math for the scores of destination retailers across the country that want customers to fill up the tank for a gas-guzzling day of retail therapy.

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:03 pm

Hot Jobs: Mountain Jeep tour guide

There are a lot of places in this country where the season for fun in the sun can be kind of short. Colorado is one of them. So to truly enjoy the great outdoors you might want to hop in a Jeep with Roger Kirby.
Source: Marketplace | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:02 pm

How far can money go toward healing?

It's been almost a year since Canada agreed to pay nearly $2 billion to survivors of its Indian Residential Schools who suffered physical and sexual abuse. Sean Cole reports on how whether money can truly right a wrong.
Source: Marketplace | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:02 pm

Week on Wall Street

Stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson chats with host Bob Moon about what happened on Wall Street this week and what may lie ahead.
Source: Marketplace | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:02 pm

Movies put big profits in comics' books

The big annual comic conference, Comic-Con, is underway in San Diego. Host Kai Ryssdal talks Joe Field, president of the comic retailer's trade group ComicsPro, about the summer blockbuster movies' impacts on comic book sales.
Source: Marketplace | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:02 pm

Congress is on empty for energy bills

The number of energy bills Congress has passed comes to exactly zero. So if $4-a-gallon gas and oil at $125 a barrel isn't enough of a crisis to get lawmakers going, what is? Sam Eaton reports.
Source: Marketplace | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:02 pm

Stockton: America's foreclosure capital

Stockton, Calif., tops a list of cities with the most home foreclosures, with 1 out of 25 homes in trouble. Host Kai Ryssdal talks with Bob Bressani, Stockton's interim housing director, about why the city has been hit so hard.
Source: Marketplace | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:02 pm

VIX Index of U.S. Stock Option Prices Retreats 2.3% to 22.91

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 25 Jul 2008 | 9:01 pm

Harry Clark of Clark Capital Likes Biotechnology ETFs

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 25 Jul 2008 | 8:54 pm

The 52-Week Low Club 7/25/2008 (SSP)(MNI)(CVG)(ATI)(CROX)(AFFX)

Scripps (SSP) Newspaper stock takes big hit on earnings. Falls to $7.17 from 52-week high of $147.78. McClatchy Newspapers (MNI) Another newspaper company with problems. Sells down to $4.30 from 52-week high of $26.43. Convergys (CVG) Still dropping after downgrade, to $11.77 against 52-week high of $20.

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 25 Jul 2008 | 8:49 pm

Market rises as data eases economic fears

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Friday as a drop in oil prices, and stronger-than-expected data on consumer sentiment and housing blunted the latest concerns about the health of U.S banks.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 25 Jul 2008 | 8:31 pm

Stocks Finish Higher

The major indexes posted modest gains on housing data a day after a selloff that sent them tumbling.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 8:08 pm

Mortgage industry grilled in Washington

A key House committee was set to grill home lenders and housing advocates on Friday about mortgage industry efforts to work out affordable loans for troubled homeowners.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 8:04 pm

Putting a Price on Innovation

Founded 30 years ago at the dawn of biotech, Genentech is a legend in an industry where companies yearn to do what it does: make billions of dollars from novel drugs while remaining true to innovation and science.

Unfortunately, it's also a legend being positioned for a fall.

That's because the Swiss drug giant Roche, which has owned a majority of Genentech shares since 1990, wants to buy the 44 percent of shares in the company that it does not already hold. Late Thursday, Genentech said it had formed a special committee to evaluate the $89-per-share offer, which many analysts and shareholders believe is too low.

At any price, this whopper of a deal could mean an end to Genentech's distinctive culture of innovation, despite promises from Roche not to meddle.

It would also provide more evidence that the days of "Big Biotech"—a relatively small subset of successful companies in an industry that takes years to develop products and to become profitable—are over. Big Biotech is being swallowed by Big Pharma.

Facing slender pipelines for new drugs and expiring patents for blockbusters, big pharmaceuticals are snapping up medium and large biotechs with abandon. Biotech's bestselling product line this year will not be new meds for cancer or Alzheimer's, but deals.

Roche's initial Genentech offer is $43.7 billion, equal to over half of all of biotech's revenues last year. The offer was 9 percent over premium last Friday, but the share price has quickly risen to $95, signaling that shareholders want more. Analysts expect Roche to pay $100 a share if they are serious about the purchase.

"The special committee intends to proceed in a timely manner to review the Roche proposal, which was both unsolicited and unexpected," said committee chairman Charles Sanders in a statement. "The outcome of this process has not been predetermined, and there can be no assurance that the special committee will approve any transaction with Roche."

In the past, pharma companies have been content to support certain biotechs like farm teams in baseball through licensing and milestone deals, worried that engulfing them might destroy the innovation.

No more. In April, Japanese pharma giant Takeda bought Millennium Pharmaceuticals for $8.8 billion, and last year biotech biggies such as MedImmune were sold for billions of dollars. And remember Chiron? Another biotech pioneer for the San Francisco Bay Area, Chiron was purchased by Novartis in 2005, and now seems to have vanished.

Nobody seems as intent on buying new companies as Roche. Already this week it has bought Canada's Arius Research for $189 million, and Mirus Bio of Madison, Wisconsin, for $125 million, on top of the Genentech offer late last week. Apparently, new Roche C.E.O. Severin Schwan likes to shop.

Roche argues that duplications in the two companies are costing hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and efforts to keep the two companies separate keep operations from being as smooth as they might be.

But critics of the deal insist that this is really about Roche taking advantage of a weak dollar and a declining stock market.

One thing is likely: There may not be another Genentech for a long time. Any company with the potential will be snatched before it has a chance.

This may not be healthy for the larger pharma industry, which not only needs more novel drugs, but it also desperately needs new business strategies and new cultures that are able to keep the innovations coming even in a huge company.

Genentech was the most important player in this experiment to find a new way to incorporate both.

If the deal gets done, the ball will be in Roche's court to see if its buying sprees will help it become more like Genentech, or will turn Genentech into another disappearing act like Chiron.

Related Links
Buying the Pharma Team
Eye on a Huge Deal
Welcome to the Future

Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 25 Jul 2008 | 7:00 pm

Munich Re warns on profits

Munich Re raised fresh concerns about insurers' ability to weather the financial crisis, with a surprise profits warning
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jul 2008 | 6:47 pm

Foreclosure filings surge 120%

Foreclosures continue to soar, with 220,000 homes lost to bank repossessions in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest statistics from RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed homes. That's nearly triple the number from the same period in 2007.

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 6:14 pm

Stones roll from EMI to Universal

The Rolling Stones have abandoned EMI, the British recording label that has been their home for most of the past 30 years, for American rival Universal Music
Source: FT.com - US homepage | 25 Jul 2008 | 6:14 pm

Shepherdson Predicts U.S. Unemployment Above 7% in 2009

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:48 pm

25 Funds With Good Returns Since Inception (Fund Screen)

These mutual funds have been posting good average returns since Day 1.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:38 pm

Coal Stocks Key Off Arch Report (ACI, FCL, BTU, CNX)

This morning we saw Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) report a tripling of earnings for the second quarter, $113 million compared with $37.6 million for the same period a year ago. The company reported EPS of $0.78, also up three-fold from $0.26 EPS last year. The stock was up more than 3% in pre-open trading and is up 9% mid-day. Arch's report is also boosting Foundation Coal (NYSE:FCL) by about 8% and Peabody (NYSE:BTU) by more than 2.5%. Last week, Foundation posted a loss of $4.4 million for the second quarter, and Peabody posted a 143% gain in earnings. CONSOL Energy inc....

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:04 pm

Questions asked over finance firm hangover

Hanover Finance co-owner Mark Hotchin says that he and Eric Watson won't leave investors out of pocket. They've got a restructuring plan and they'll pour in money to make it work, Hotchin says. It's a promising start to one...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:00 pm

Liam Dann : Winter of discontent proves too tough

In 1812 Napoleon forged on to Moscow firm in the view that his "Grand Army" was of a size and strength to withstand any conditions. That cast-iron self-belief, crucial to his success, was also his undoing. The Russian winter was...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:00 pm

Danger signs were there in good times

"I told you so" is a tiresome phrase, but Hanover's troubles come as no surprise to anyone with even a passing interest in the finance company sector over the past few years. In July 2003, Weekend Herald columnist Brian Gaynor...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:00 pm

Trading banks tremble as mezzanine lenders topple

Property financing this decade has protected trading banks but exposed finance companies like Bridgecorp and eventually Hanover to extreme risk. The danger could now be creeping closer to our main banks as the mezzanine financiers...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:00 pm

Brian Gaynor : An open letter to Lianne Dalziel

Hon Lianne Dalziel, Minister of Commerce, Wellington. Dear Ms Dalziel, I am writing to you to express my dismay and disappointment over the establishment of the Capital Market Development Taskforce, particularly its composition. The...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:00 pm

Ninety billion barrels of oil revealed in fragile Arctic

The future of the Arctic will be less white wilderness, more black gold, a report on oil reserves in the High North has signalled this week. The first comprehensive assessment of oil and gas resources north of the Arctic Circle,...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:00 pm

A leader with plenty of bottle

Good leadership, says Brian Blake, should see managers pressured by their staff. "You need people in the organisation lighting fires. In companies these days, whilst the senior team can set the strategic direction, the real momentum...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:00 pm

Trading places in tight market

The "trade" market, in which sellers and buyers offer to exchange properties or other assets to help conclude a property transaction, is coming back into prominence again. Bayleys Real Estate has established a national database...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:00 pm

Mortgage fund suspends payouts

Another mortgage fund has been forced to suspend payouts to its 2400 investors. The Totara First Mortgage fund, which has $60 million invested, yesterday announced it would freeze redemptions while it decided what to do with the...
Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 25 Jul 2008 | 5:00 pm

On the Ball: Giant's Personal Seat Licenses, Gossage's Career

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 25 Jul 2008 | 4:55 pm

Best and Worst S&P 500 Index Funds by Cost (The Irritable Investor)

They all hold the same stocks, but some funds charge more. We found the five cheapest.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 4:42 pm

Author Mayer Says Torture Doesn't Necessarily Extract Truth

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 25 Jul 2008 | 4:36 pm

A Stupid Call On Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) Bail-Out

I will preface this by saying that I'm a big fan of David Dreman. I read his column in Forbes regularly, and his book Contrarian Investment Strategies is an all-time classic.

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 25 Jul 2008 | 4:24 pm

Take Public Transit, Earn Cash and Other Rewards (Deal of the Day)

Commuters can earn cash and other awards just for taking the subway or bus to work.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 4:06 pm

Harvard's Glaeser Says Home Prices Need to Fall Further

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 25 Jul 2008 | 4:05 pm

Rentokil falls on profit warning

Shares in Rentokil Initial tumble 30%, after the firm cut its profits forecast for 2008 by £35m to £115m.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jul 2008 | 3:57 pm

Getting No Satisfaction From EMI

Guy Hands might be close to his 19th nervous breakdown.

EMI Group, the music label his private equity firm Terra Firma bought last year, is losing one of the music industry's top-earning acts.

The Rolling Stones confirmed it has dropped EMI after 20 years and is signing on with Vivendi's Universal Group. In addition to future albums, the deal includes distribution of the Stones' entire back catalog, including the classic albums Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street. New releases will come under Universal's Polydor label.

"EMI Group wishes the Rolling Stones well in their new venture and looks forward to a continuing relationship with the band through their long-term agreement with EMI Music Publishing," the record label said in a statement. "EMI Music will only ever conclude mutually beneficial agreements with its artists."

This is just the latest setback for the troubled EMI label, which Terra Firma has failed to revive since its $6.3 billion takeover. Radiohead left the label last year, and other popular artists such as the band Coldplay have signaled frustration with their EMI relationships.

Earlier this year, Hands announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs from EMI's 5,500-person staff as the label tries to adapt to the new economics of the music industry.

Financial details of the Universal move were not disclosed. The move comes after being widely speculated following the band's decision to release its soundtrack album from Martin Scorsese's Shine a Light documentary with Universal earlier this year.

"Universal are forward-thinking, creative, and hands-on music people," the band said in a statement. "We really look forward to working with them."

Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 25 Jul 2008 | 3:30 pm

Ugandan urges weekday burial ban

Funerals should be limited to Saturdays to stop people missing work, a Ugandan official says.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jul 2008 | 2:56 pm

US home foreclosures rise

The number of homes in some stage of being repossessed more than doubled in the three months to June, a report shows.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jul 2008 | 2:53 pm

Housing, Job Data Signal Recovery, Not Recession (Ahead of the Curve)

The latest housing and jobs data signal an economic recovery, not a recession.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 2:52 pm

RadioShack (RSH): A Contarian View Of Earnings

Shares of RadioShack (RSH) soared nearly 14% on Thursday after the company reported revenue growth of 6% on a 6.9% increase in same store sales. Good initial sales of digital-to-analog TV converter boxes, video games, prepaid cellphones, and AT&T Wireless (T) drove results.

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 25 Jul 2008 | 2:37 pm

Which Tech Gadgets Can Survive the Outdoors? (SmartMoney Magazine)

From MP3 players to laptops, we see which devices can handle a summer vacation.

Source: SmartMoney.com | 25 Jul 2008 | 2:31 pm

Tiffany Cut to `Sell' From `Neutral' at Bank of America

Source: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 25 Jul 2008 | 2:19 pm

UK warns of damage in TNK-BP row

The British Embassy in Moscow accuses the Russian shareholders of TNK-BP of using the state in their dispute with BP.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jul 2008 | 1:56 pm

Traders Slamming GT Solar IPO (SOLR)

IPO traders and investors are probably wishing they never heard of GT Solar International Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR). The company fell roughly 12% yesterday but that is just the start of it. Right after the open today we are seeing an unbelievable drop of more than 30%. We questioned the timing of this one yesterday, but apparently not enough.

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 25 Jul 2008 | 1:46 pm

IPO FILING: AutoGenomics Inc.

Apparently the IPO filing hiatus isn't entirely a dead end story. A company called AutoGenomics, Inc. has filed a registration statement for a proposed initial public offering. It has applied for the ticker "AGMX" on NASDAQ. The share count and the pricing of this IPO are not yet determined, but it listed the "up to"amount as $86.3 million for filing purposes. All shares in the offering will be sold by the company rather than insiders.

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 25 Jul 2008 | 1:21 pm

Infineon to axe 10% of its staff

German chipmaker Infineon Technologies announces plans to cut 3,000 jobs as it reports a third-quarter loss.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jul 2008 | 1:09 pm

Lazard's Strong Defense of Capstone Turbine (CPST)

If you trade small-cap alternative energy (or less-brown energy stocks), then Capstone Turbine Corp. (NASDAQ: CPST) has likely come across your desk. Despite a recent pounding with a 35% pullback, shares are still up nearly 200% from last year's lows. We noticed a severe volume alert yesterday morning at Volume Spike which appears to be twofold with a market drop and lower energy prices and on what may have been an institution lightening up on its shares. Today we have Lazard Capital Markets' analyst Sanjay Shrestha coming to the defense of Capstone Turbine. Shrestha notes that yesterday's (and recent days)...

Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 25 Jul 2008 | 1:05 pm

A nose for money

Could a taste for fine wine help your bank balance?
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 25 Jul 2008 | 12:22 pm

High Anxiety

If the Dow crumbling almost 300 points yesterday wasn't enough to make Wall Street seem a little hotter and stickier on a summer Friday, climbing home-foreclosure results are setting up more pain for financial giants.

Plummeting home prices and a generally weak economy sparked Americans foreclosure filings to more than double in the second quarter compared to last year, RealtyTrac said today in a statement.

Those numbers, combined with home-sales reports and surely more public concern about banks, are setting up continued anxiety about the health of banks and securities firms. That concern—which led the sector to its worst single day since 2000—spread internationally as Asian and European markets were down. The only bright spot was that oil prices continued to slip.

Only CNBC's Larry "Drill, drill, drill" Kudlow seemed to think things were turning around for the financials and that the wide-ranging problems they were facing were 80 percent complete. While swirling rumors that Lehman Brothers was considering off-loading its Neuberger Berman asset-management unit to raise cash might have comforted its shareholders, it sent further scary signals to the rest of us.

And despite the recent investments in the sector, the housing market showed few signs of turning around despite the promise of help from Washington.

According to a Bloomberg report on the numbers, one in every 171 U.S. homeowners lost their house to foreclosure, received a default notice, or was warned of a pending auction—an increase of 121 percent from a year earlier and a 14 percent rise from the first quarter.

Almost 740,000 properties were in some stage of the foreclosure process, the most since January 2005, when RealtyTrac began tracking the numbers.

This latest set of stats is likely to send a bit of a shiver through a market already sweating the health of large financial companies. On Thursday, Citigroup, Washington Mutual, and Merrill Lynch led the way down. The pressure on Washington Mutual was such that the bank had to issue a public statement of financial health to quell rumors of deeper problems.

The pros are worried too. According to 24/7WallSt.com, Bill Gross, bond management genius and head man at Pimco, has recently said that the total write-offs for the mortgage disaster will total $1 trillion. At most, half of that has made it through the financial system.

Related Links
Subprime: The Class Action Suits
Another Day, Another Rout
Awaiting Citi's Big Number

Source: Portfolio.com: Top 5 | 25 Jul 2008 | 12:00 pm

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