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Economy News
- Exiting watchdog sees flaws in SEC's rulewriting (Reuters) - Reuters - In his final act before departing the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the agency's inspector general, David Kotz, criticized how the agency analyzes the economic impact of some of its Dodd-Frank rules.
- Hotel industry looks for deal pace to pick up (Reuters) - Reuters - Hotel companies and real estate firms are optimistic that deal transactions will pick up this year despite concerns about Europe's economy and challenges in obtaining debt financing.
- Fitch warns Washington state over budget gap (Reuters) - Reuters - On the heels of a warning on Friday by Fitch Ratings that it could lower its rating on Washington state's general obligation bonds, a top lawmaker said talks on balancing the state budget would gain momentum after a key forecast next month.
- Some G20 countries soften stance on Europe: sources (Reuters) - Reuters - Some of the world's biggest economies want to move quickly on a cash injection for the International Monetary Fund to help rescue the euro zone, but hardliners may still scupper an early deal to boost the fund's war chest, G20 sources said on Friday.
- Houseboat industry eyes new venture for comeback (AP) - AP - Kentucky's houseboat manufacturers once thrived by churning out luxurious floating residences, but the industry was nearly capsized by the economic downturn. Now it's dabbling in a new venture as it looks for a different course — the construction of moderately priced, energy efficient landlocked homes.
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American economy not healthy yet, but it's healing
(AP)
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AP - The American economy may not be truly healthy yet, but it's healing.
- Vanishing inflation bolsters case for Fed easing (Reuters) - Reuters - It has only been a few days since the Federal Reserve adopted a formal goal for inflation, and already policymakers are missing their target.
- Quarterly GDP changes in past 4 years, at a glance (AP) - AP - Quarterly GDP changes in past 4 years, at a glance
- After 70 years, right-to-work impact still unclear (AP) - AP - The battle over the right-to-work issue may be reaching a conclusion in Indiana as the state prepares to adopt its law, but the argument over exactly what the measure means for a state's economy is likely to rage on, unresolved, as it has for 70 years.
- Business Highlights (AP) - AP - Economy grew 2.8 percent in Q4, but outlook is hazy
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Growth quickens, but speed bumps ahead
(Reuters)
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Reuters - The economy grew at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years in the fourth quarter, but a rebuilding of stocks by businesses and slower business spending warned of weaker growth in early 2012.
- A look at economic developments around the globe (AP) - AP - A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Friday:
- Economic growth for the past 4 years, at a glance (AP) - AP - Economic growth for the past 4 years, at a glance
- Occupy protesters barred from camping in DC squares (Reuters) - Reuters - The National Park Service will bar Occupy DC protesters from camping in the two parks where have been living since October, in a blow to one of the highest-profile chapters of the movement denouncing economic inequality.
- Fitch downgrades 5 eurozone nations (AP) - AP - Fitch Ratings downgraded the debt of Italy, Spain and three other countries that use the euro on Friday, a possible setback as European leaders work to contain the continent's debt crisis.
- Euro rises to 6-week high against dollar (AP) - AP - The euro jumped to a six-week high against the dollar after a European official said that Greece is close to reaching a deal with creditors to lower its debt.
- Reuters Magazine: Chrystia Freeland: The one percent war (Reuters) - Reuters - When Anders Aslund, a Swedish economist who has studied and advised most of the leaders in the former Soviet Union, visited Kiev in late 2004, at the height of the Orange Revolution, he returned to his office in Washington, D.C., with a surprising observation.
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Geithner presses Europe to increase crisis firewall
(Reuters)
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Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pressed Europe on Friday to boost its bailout fund resources, citing the euro zone debt crisis and oil prices as the two main factors influencing the pace of the United States' economic upturn.
- Gov. pitching Conn. to business leaders in Davos (AP) - AP - Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says he's pitching Connecticut as a good place to do business at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
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Japan prices fall, mild deflation to persist
(Reuters)
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Reuters - Japan's core consumer prices fell for the third consecutive month in the year to December, and mild deflation is expected to persist this year as energy prices stabilize and worries about Europe's debt crisis suppress wage growth and economic activity.
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Earnings News
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North America boosts Ford in 4Q
(AP)
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AP - Ford has shown it can make money even with U.S. car sales at depressed levels. Now it needs to show it can manage a myriad of challenges outside its home region.
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Altria 4Q profit falls 9 pct, CEO to retire
(AP)
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AP - Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. said Friday that its fourth-quarter profit fell about 9 percent on lease, legal and restructuring charges even as higher prices and gains from its smokeless tobacco products helped bolster its sales.
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As US slows, P&G turns to developing markets
(AP)
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AP - Emerging markets are playing a bigger role in Procter & Gamble Co.'s growth, in another sign that U.S. companies are courting new customers overseas as American shoppers get tapped out.
- Ford Motor Co.'s 2011 profits at a glance (AP) - AP - Ford Motor Co.'s 2011 profits at a glance
- Chevron's 4Q profit drop highlights hurdles ahead (AP) - AP - Satisfying the world's growing energy appetite isn't easy.
- Correction: Earns-Starbucks story (AP) - AP - The Associated Press, relying on information supplied by a company executive, erroneously reported Jan. 26 that Starbucks Corp. in its fiscal first quarter had its biggest quarterly revenue gain since 2007. It was the company's biggest quarterly revenue gain since the fourth-quarter of 2010.
- AEP's 4Q profit jumps 75 percent thanks to ruling (AP) - AP - American Electric Power Co. said Friday that its fourth-quarter earnings surged 75 percent, largely due to a court decision in Texas that went in the company's favor.
- Summary Box: North America props up Ford in 4Q (AP) - AP - FORD EARNINGS: Ford Motor Co. earned $1.1 billion in the first quarter, excluding a big accounting gain. North American profits jumped 33 percent. They fell elsewhere because of the European debt crisis and slower sales in China.
- Summary Box: Chevron 4Q profit down 3 pct. (AP) - AP - STRUGGLING REFINERIES: Rising crude prices cut into fourth-quarter profits at Chevron Corp.'s refineries, which must buy crude to make gasoline and other fuels.
- Charges weigh on Procter & Gamble profit (Reuters) - Reuters - Procter & Gamble Co's quarterly profit plunged 49 percent, as the world's largest household products maker wrote down the value of its appliance and salon professional products businesses, and it said this year's profit would come in lower than previously expected due to the strong dollar.
- D.R. Horton profit beats on higher home orders (Reuters) - Reuters - D.R. Horton Inc , the top U.S. homebuilder, posted a first-quarter profit that beat market expectations, helped by a surge in orders indicating a stabilizing housing market, and said it was looking at spring selling season with "cautious optimism."
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Samsung 4Q profit rises 17 pct on smartphone sales
(AP)
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AP - Samsung Electronics Co. reported a 17 percent jump in fourth quarter profit on the strength of smartphone sales even as the company battled claims it had copied Apple's iPhone.
- Smartphones drive record Samsung profit (Reuters) - Reuters - Samsung Electronics Co posted a record $4.7 billion quarterly operating profit, driven by booming smartphone sales, and will spend $22 billion this year to boost production of chips and flat screens to pull further ahead of smaller rivals.
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Amgen 4Q profit down 9 pct, but sales up 3 pct
(AP)
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AP - Amgen Inc. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 8.5 percent as its expenses for taxes and for producing and selling drugs rose faster than its revenue.
- Starbucks profit beats, Europe weakness hurts (Reuters) - Reuters - Starbucks Corp reported a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street's view, but its shares fell as investors in the world's biggest coffee chain focused on softness in Europe rather than strength in the United States.
- Motorola suffers 4Q loss as Google sale looms (AP) - AP - Motorola Mobility sank to a fourth-quarter loss while trying to close its proposed $12.5 billion sale to Google. The setback, announced Thursday, came amid fierce competition in the markets for smartphones and tablet computers.
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Caterpillar 4Q profit rises, tops Wall St. view
(AP)
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AP - Caterpillar Inc. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit jumped 60 percent, boosted by pent-up demand for new equipment and continuing growth in developing countries.
- Motorola posts loss, awaits Google deal approval (Reuters) - Reuters - Mobile phone maker Motorola Mobility Inc posted a fourth quarter loss on weak revenue on Thursday in what could be its last report before a planned takeover by Google Inc.
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Colgate hikes prices at home; 1st attempt in years
(AP)
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AP - Colgate-Palmolive is navigating a delicate tightrope, as it raises prices in North America for the first time in more than two years.
- Bristol-Myers reports rise in 4th-quarter profit (AP) - AP - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. reported a 76 percent increase in the fourth-quarter profit Thursday, driven in part by sales of a recently-approved diabetes drug and hefty charges a year earlier, though the drugmaker still fell short of Wall Street's expectations.
Career
European Business
Yahoo! News: Business - European Economy
Business - European Economy
- Fitch cuts Italy, Spain, other euro zone ratings (Reuters) - Reuters - Fitch downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain on Friday, indicating there was a 1-in-2 chance of further cuts in the next two years.
- Some G20 countries soften stance on Europe: sources (Reuters) - Reuters - Some of the world's biggest economies want to move quickly on a cash injection for the International Monetary Fund to help rescue the euro zone, but hardliners may still scupper an early deal to boost the fund's war chest, G20 sources said on Friday.
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AP Exclusive: Vatican rewrites money launder law
(AP)
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AP - The Vatican has rewritten its 2010 anti-money laundering law after European inspectors found that it didn't fully meet their tough standards to combat the financing of terrorism.
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Iran hits back at EU with own oil embargo threat
(Reuters)
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Reuters - Fighting sanctions with sanctions in a test of strength with the West over its nuclear ambitions, Iran warned on Friday it may halt oil exports to Europe next week in a move calculated to hurt ailing European economies.
- Greece locked in parallel talks over debt (AP) - AP - Greece was locked in a twin effort Friday to placate its creditors, seeking to secure a crucial debt relief deal with private investors while also tackling pressing demands from its European partners and the IMF for deeper reforms.
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Spain unemployment hitting nearly 1 of 4 workers
(AP)
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AP - Spain's brutal unemployment rate soared to nearly 23 percent Friday and closed in on 50 percent for those under age 25, leaving more than 5 million people — or almost one out of every four — out of work as the country slides toward recession.
- Fitch downgrades 5 eurozone nations (AP) - AP - Fitch Ratings downgraded the debt of Italy, Spain and three other countries that use the euro on Friday, a possible setback as European leaders work to contain the continent's debt crisis.
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Finance chiefs reassure CEOs over European crisis
(AP)
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AP - Leading finance chiefs sought to reassure anxious global business leaders on Friday that Europe is on track to solve its crippling debt crisis before it drags the world's economies down. Europe's top banker said investors, burned after trusting the region's governments too much, now trust them too little.
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Roubini holds little hope of global economic fix
(AP)
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AP - The economist widely acknowledged to have predicted the financial crash of 2008 holds little hope that global economic troubles will be fixed anytime soon and warns that without major policy changes things can still get much worse.
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Ukraine's president firm against Tymoshenko
(AP)
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AP - Ukraine's president showed no mercy Friday for imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, despite increasing fears that her case will hurt his country's struggling economy and its relations with the European Union.
- Euro ministers upbeat on Greece, crisis solution (Reuters) - Reuters - Euro zone finance officials voiced optimism on Friday that a deal to avert a disorderly Greek default was imminent and that key building blocks to resolve Europe's sovereign debt crisis are gradually fitting into place.
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Geithner presses Europe to increase crisis firewall
(Reuters)
- Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pressed Europe on Friday to boost its bailout fund resources, citing the euro zone debt crisis and oil prices as the two main factors influencing the pace of the United States' economic upturn.
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Wall Street cuts losses on late buying
(Reuters)
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Reuters - Stocks trimmed losses to end little changed on Friday, as investors saw dips in the market as an opportunity to buy into what has been a strong first month of 2012.
- Investors cue up Portugal as the next Greece (Reuters) - Reuters - Investors are betting that after cap-in-hand Greece comes Portugal, selling off its stocks and bonds in the belief that the euro zone laggard cannot avoid a default without a second bailout.
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European leaders stress the positive at Davos
(AP)
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AP - Europe's financial chiefs tried Friday to soothe the fears of global chief executives and other political leaders, insisting they have a handle on the eurozone's troubles.
- Polish economy grows 4.3 percent in 2011 (AP) - AP - Despite the European debt crisis, Poland's economy grew a brisk 4.3 percent in 2011, even more than its strong 3.9 percent growth rate for 2010.
- Business, social media to prevent babies with HIV (AP) - AP - Business and social media leaders are teaming up to tackle the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies, saying the medicine and the money are largely in place and with the right organization they can eliminate HIV-infected births by 2015.
- UN refugee chief: economic crisis fueling conflict (AP) - AP - The U.N.'s refugee chief has warned leaders meeting in Switzerland this week that the global economic crisis is fueling conflicts around the world.
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Portugal and Greek concerns weigh on world stocks
(Reuters)
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Reuters - World stocks fell from a 5-1/2 month high on Friday as gains spurred by the Federal Reserve's pledge of low interest rates gave way to concerns about Portugal, seen as the next domino in the euro zone crisis, and uncertainty over Greek debt talks.
- RBS chief's taxper-funded bonus angers Britons (AP) - AP - The chief executive of the part-nationalized Royal Bank of Scotland PLC will get a bonus worth about 963,000 pounds ($1.51 million), the bank announced Thursday, drawing the ire of many Britons and reviving questions over whether top finance figures are rewarded for failure.
Business News
Yahoo! News: Business News
Business News
- Wall Street Week Ahead: Quest for the golden cross (Reuters) - Reuters - January has turned out strong for equities with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.
- Exclusive: Germany wants Greece to give up budget control (Reuters) - Reuters - Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source told Reuters on Friday.
- Exiting watchdog sees flaws in SEC's rulewriting (Reuters) - Reuters - In his final act before departing the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the agency's inspector general, David Kotz, criticized how the agency analyzes the economic impact of some of its Dodd-Frank rules.
- Goldman, Berkshire names surface in Gupta case (Reuters) - Reuters - The names of a Goldman Sachs board member and a top executive of Berkshire Hathaway surfaced on Friday as potential witnesses in the insider trading trial of Rajat Gupta, a former director of Goldman, Procter & Gamble and other companies.
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Citigroup cut investment bank bonuses by 30 percent: report
(Reuters)
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Reuters - Citigroup has cut bonuses for its investment banking division by about 30 percent on average, Bloomberg said, citing a person briefed on the matter.
- SEC charges trader with hijacking accounts (Reuters) - Reuters - Securities regulators charged a Latvian trader with reaping more than $850,000 in illegal profits by hacking into online brokerage accounts and manipulating more than 100 securities.
- Economic growth for the past 4 years, at a glance (AP) - AP - Economic growth for the past 4 years, at a glance
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North America boosts Ford in 4Q
(AP)
- AP - Ford has shown it can make money even with U.S. car sales at depressed levels. Now it needs to show it can manage a myriad of challenges outside its home region.
- Fitch cuts Italy, Spain, other euro zone ratings (Reuters) - Reuters - Fitch downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain on Friday, indicating there was a 1-in-2 chance of further cuts in the next two years.
- How Fastenal Is Vending a Success Story (The Motley Fool) - The Motley Fool - Industrial and construction materials supplier Fastenal (Nasdaq: FAST - News) has significantly upped its market presence lately with the expansion of its industrial vending machines -- dubbed a "one-stop shop" to replenish supplies.
- Greece, creditors laboriously piece together debt deal (Reuters) - Reuters - Greece and its private creditors head back to the negotiating table on Saturday to put together the final pieces of a long-awaited debt swap agreement needed to avert an unruly default.
- Wal-Mart puts U.S. marketing under merchandising (Reuters) - Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday that its U.S. marketing team would now work under the leadership of its chief merchandising officer rather than as a separate group as the world's largest retailer works on improving its communication with shoppers.
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Obama administration bolsters homeowner lifeline
(Reuters)
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Reuters - The Obama administration, in an election-year bid to help distressed homeowners, on Friday expanded its main foreclosure prevention program, and pushed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive mortgage debt.
- PG&E fined $16.8M for shoddy gas leak surveys (AP) - AP - State regulators plan to fine Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $16.8 million for failing to perform gas leak surveys in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in a San Francisco suburb in 2010.
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Tired and trailing, Santorum goes home to do taxes
(AP)
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AP - Rick Santorum is tired, trailing — and going home.
- Flint, Mich., One of Nine Cities Devastated by Recession (ContributorNetwork) - ContributorNetwork - 24/7 Wall St. analyzed a report commissioned by the United States Conference of Mayors that looked at how cities are faring economically and getting unemployed residents back to work. The news isn't good for Flint, Mich. The former auto industry stronghold is in the top five of metropolitan cities ruined or nearly destroyed by the recession. Here are details from that report created by IHS Global Insight.
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Stock Markets News
- Exiting watchdog sees flaws in SEC's rulewriting (Reuters) - Reuters - In his final act before departing the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the agency's inspector general, David Kotz, criticized how the agency analyzes the economic impact of some of its Dodd-Frank rules.
- Wall Street Week Ahead: Quest for the golden cross (Reuters) - Reuters - January has turned out strong for equities with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.
- Summary Box: Dow slips; first losing week in 2012 (AP) - AP - STOCK SLUMP: Stocks mostly fell after the government said the U.S. economy grew more slowly than expected in the last three months of 2011. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 each fell less than 1 percent. The biggest losers were utility stocks, down 1.3 percent.
- What we worry about when we worry about Greek debt (AP) - AP - Remember Greece?
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Dow slips to first losing week of 2012
(AP)
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AP - The stock market closed mostly lower Friday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to its first losing week of 2012, after the government reported that economic growth was slower at the end of last year than economists expected.
- How the major stock indexes fared on Friday (AP) - AP - The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index fell after the government reported that economic growth was slower at the end of last year than economists had expected. The Nasdaq posted a small gain. The Dow had its first down week of 2012 following three weeks of gains.
- A look at economic developments around the globe (AP) - AP - A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Friday:
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Wall Street cuts losses on late buying
(Reuters)
- Reuters - Stocks trimmed losses to end little changed on Friday, as investors saw dips in the market as an opportunity to buy into what has been a strong first month of 2012.
- NYSE CEO sees low odds for D.Boerse deal but hopeful (Reuters) - Reuters - NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer sees a 10 percent to 20 percent chance that his $9 billion merger with Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) will be approved, but the low odds do not mean he is giving up hope yet.
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World stocks slide as US growth data disappoint
(AP)
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AP - World stocks turned lower on Friday after official data showed the U.S. economic recovery was not as fast as many had hoped.
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Portugal and Greek concerns weigh on world stocks
(Reuters)
- Reuters - World stocks fell from a 5-1/2 month high on Friday as gains spurred by the Federal Reserve's pledge of low interest rates gave way to concerns about Portugal, seen as the next domino in the euro zone crisis, and uncertainty over Greek debt talks.
- SEC charges trader with hacking into accounts (AP) - AP - Federal regulators have filed civil charges against a trader in Latvia whom they accuse of hacking into U.S. customers' online brokerage accounts and driving prices of more than 100 stocks up or down by making unauthorized trades.
- SEC charges trader with hijacking accounts (Reuters) - Reuters - Securities regulators charged a Latvian trader with reaping more than $850,000 in illegal profits by hacking into online brokerage accounts and manipulating more than 100 securities.
- Insight: How Allen Stanford kept the SEC at bay (Reuters) - Reuters - In 2009, federal investigators finally arrested Houston financier R. Allen Stanford. For twenty years, Stanford allegedly had run a $7 billion Ponzi scheme from his offshore bank on the Caribbean island of Antigua. U.S. authorities had been nosing around Stanford's empire for longer than a decade but hesitated to open a full-blown probe.
- Guidewire jumps 38 percent in stock market debut (AP) - AP - Guidewire Software quickly found a following in its stock market debut Wednesday.
- Government opens case against accused swindler Stanford (Reuters) - Reuters - Texas financier Allen Stanford used lies and bribes to steal the hard-earned savings of his customers, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
- EU exec to back veto on D.Boerse/NYSE merger: source (Reuters) - Reuters - The European Commission will follow EU antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia's advice to block the merger of Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) and NYSE Euronext next week, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
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Diamondback to settle insider-trading charges
(Reuters)
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Reuters - Diamondback Capital Management will pay more than $9 million to settle allegations of insider trading at the Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund.
- SEC, SIPC to argue in court over Stanford claims (Reuters) - Reuters - Securities regulators are due in court on Tuesday to argue that a brokerage industry-backed protection fund should let thousands of victims of Allen Stanford's alleged Ponzi scheme file claims for compensation.
- Olympus jumps 7 percent after Tokyo bourse keeps it listed (Reuters) - Reuters - Shares of scandal-hit Olympus Corp jumped more than 7 percent in heavy trade on Monday after the Tokyo bourse kept the company listed, but placed it on its "security on alert" list for firms needing to urgently improve their internal management.
Personal Finance
Personal Finance
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Personal Finance News
- How Fastenal Is Vending a Success Story (The Motley Fool) - The Motley Fool - Industrial and construction materials supplier Fastenal (Nasdaq: FAST - News) has significantly upped its market presence lately with the expansion of its industrial vending machines -- dubbed a "one-stop shop" to replenish supplies.
- Subpoenas issued to financial firms in expanded probe (Reuters) - Reuters - The Justice Department issued civil subpoenas to 11 financial institutions as part of a new effort to investigate misconduct in the packaging and sale of home loans to investors, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Friday.
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Justice unit to probe mortgage-backed securities
(AP)
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AP - Federal and state law enforcement officials announced Friday they have launched a fraud-fighting unit, starting with 55 prosecutors and investigators, to root out wrongdoing in the market for residential mortgage-backed securities.
- Analysis: Banks expect to spend less on bad mortgages (Reuters) - Reuters - Even as President Barack Obama is calling for more assistance for struggling mortgage borrowers, major banks are looking forward to spending less to handle problem home loans.
- Attention Investors: More Fruits and Veggies From ConAgra! (The Motley Fool) - The Motley Fool - Packaged foods giant ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG - News) looks set to expand its presence outside U.S. borders, as it plans to acquire Del Monte Canada from an affiliate of private equity firm Sun Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount.
- Rate on 30-year fixed mortgage rises to 3.98 pct. (AP) - AP - The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose this week for the first time this month, though it remained below 4 percent for the eighth straight week.
- Mortgage rates for the past 52 weeks, at a glance (AP) - AP - Mortgage rates for the past 52 weeks, at a glance
- Bank of America extends drop in mortgage rankings (Reuters) - Reuters - Bank of America Corp was the fourth-biggest U.S. mortgage lender in the fourth quarter of 2011, continuing its descent in the rankings after it stopped buying loans made by smaller banks.
- JPMorgan CEO says foreclosure deal threatened (Reuters) - Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said President Barack Obama's decision to expand investigations into home lending and sales of mortgage securities could stop settlement talks with the states over foreclosure practices.
- Illinois attorney general sues Standard & Poor's (AP) - AP - The Illinois attorney general filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Standard & Poor's of misleading investors by assigning its highest ratings to risky mortgage-backed investments during the years leading up to the crash of the housing market.
- California calls mortgage settlement "inadequate" (AP) - AP - California officials are refusing to sign a proposed settlement between U.S. states and the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over deceptive foreclosure practices, calling it "inadequate."
- GOP Candidates Spar on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (ContributorNetwork) - ContributorNetwork - American taxpayers have contributed more than $183 billion to bailout mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the years following the housing collapse, according to CNN. Given this considerable burden, the Republican presidential candidates were asked if they played any role in aiding these two firms and how they plan on helping distressed homeowners.
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Housing data points to slowdown in sales
(Reuters)
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Reuters - Signed contracts for the sale of existing U.S. homes retreated from a 1-1/2-year high in December and demand for home loans fell last week, pointing to a moderation in home sales after recent hefty gains.
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Mortgage applications retreated last week: MBA
(Reuters)
- Reuters - Applications for home mortgages retreated last week, giving back some of the previous week's surge as interest rates rose, an industry group said on Wednesday.
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Obama pitches tax, jobs ideas on campaign-style tour
(Reuters)
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Reuters - President Barack Obama began a campaign-style swing through political battleground states on Wednesday, pitching his State of the Union initiatives on taxes and jobs as he made his case for a second term.
- 2 Positives From BNY Mellon's Otherwise Timid Quarter (The Motley Fool) - The Motley Fool - A risk-averse environment and lower trading levels resulted in mediocre results for U.S. trust banks. The largest of them all, Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK - News), recorded a 26% fall in fourth-quarter profits on account of lower fee revenues.
- Consumer finance chief touts enforcement powers (AP) - AP - The government's new consumer finance watchdog agency is prepared to sue companies that offer unfair or deceptive mortgages and credit cards, its director said Tuesday.
- Romney's Taxes Will Hurt Him (ContributorNetwork) - ContributorNetwork - COMMENTARY | Mitt Romney has released his tax records, reports Reuters. The records, from 2010 and 2011, indicate he is paying an average tax rate of about 14.5 percent over the two years. The reason the tax rate is far lower than the maximum income tax rate of 35 percent is that Romney's income is primarily from investments, which are taxed at a lesser rate. For both years combined, Romney will pay around $6.2 million on $42.5 million in income. His net worth is estimated at $190 million to $250 million.
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Romney returns show low tax rate; questions linger
(Reuters)
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Reuters - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney bowed to political pressure and gave the public a glimpse inside his personal fortune on Tuesday, releasing U.S. tax returns showing he pays a lower effective tax rate than many top wage-earners.
- How did Romney's IRA grow so big? (Reuters) - Reuters - In the wake of news reports last week that presidential contender Mitt Romney owns an individual retirement account worth as much as $101 million, questions are growing over how it could have gotten so big when contribution limits are capped at $5,000 or $6,000 a year.
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