Financial Service News

“He had problems, but he was never violent”

Fair, 36F, feels like 29F, wind is from the southeast at 9 gusting to 16 mph, visibility is 10 miles SUNDAY: SUNDAY: weekly poll We have 425 guests online Written by Colleen Long and Adam Goldman, AP NEW YORK ... via Indiana Gazette Online

“Wal-Mart has a higher proportion of essentials and groceries, so they definitely would maintain their sales better in a slowing environment”

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's renewed focus on low prices amid a slowing US economy may have revived sales at the world's largest retailer. via Shanghai Daily

“There were people who wanted it quickly, in a less convenient form, and that was clearly a different market from the people who wanted the traditional book.”

Financial guru Suze Orman watches an outdoor concert of the "Today" show in New York's Rockefeller Center, in this May 31, 2007 file photo. via The State

“The investigation is continuing and no assurance can be provided that additional fraudulent certificates will not come to light”

DES MOINES, Iowa - A northwest Iowa bank holding company said Friday it has discovered that a former employee at a bank subsidiary may have issued bogus certificates of deposit valued at about $3.8 million. via Quad-City Times

“With what's going on, it seems like a smart business decision”

FGIC Corp, a bond insurer that has lost its top credit ratings, has told New York regulators it wants to split into two companies, a spokesman for the state insurance regulator said on Friday. via Earth Times

It's been more than 25 years since the Magrath sisters - Lenny, Meg and Babe - made their Broadway debut, but the gentle Southern-tinged eccentricities of Beth Henley's "Crimes of the Heart" remain as appealing ... via The Chronicle-Journal

“I take full responsibility for my actions.”

Former Refco Chief Executive Phillip Bennett pleaded guilty on Friday to fraud and other charges stemming from the 2005 collapse of the futures and commodities broker. via Earth Times

Morgan Stanley on Friday said Chief Executive John Mack received compensation valued at about $41.7 million in 2007, a regulatory filing showed, a year when the investment bank's profit plunged 57 percent.

Mack, one of the highest paid bankers on Wall Street, did not receive a bonus in 2007 because of the company's losses due to the subprime crisis. Morgan Stanley lost $3.59 billion during the fourth-quarter because of risky bets on mortgage-backed securities.

None of the executive committee members at Bear Stearns Cos., the fifth-biggest securities firm, are taking bonuses after a $1.9 billion write-down during the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch & Co. CEO Stan O'Neal was ousted from his job and didn't receive any 2007 bonus. Read more

Published: February 15th, 2008 11:42 AM Last Modified: February 15th, 2008 11:43 AM Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke consulted with predecessor Alan Greenspan, major financial players and even a speech ... via Anchorage Daily News

“He was more bearish on the economy than he was before”

Wall Street retreated Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted a "sluggish" economy until later in the year and more mortgage-related losses at banks. via Times Leader

Countrywide Financial Corp, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, said on Friday foreclosures and late payments rose in January to the highest on record, reflecting the nation's deepening housing and credit crunch. via Reuters

“The fact of (Buffett's) offer has been very affirmative for the marketplace”

Lawmakers on Thursday said government intervention may be needed to ease financial strains in the bond industry that are unsettling other areas of the economy. via The Post-Standard

Rates on 30-year mortgages rose to the highest level in five weeks but still remained below the 6 percent level.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.72 percent this week, up from 5.67 percent last week.

The 30-year mortgage started the year at 6.07 percent but dropped the next week to below 6 percent and has remained below that threshold for six straight weeks, raising hopes that lower rates will help spur a rebound in the battered housing industry. Read more

“My proper position would be to vote the wishes of my constituents.”

In a fresh sign of trouble for Hillary Rodham Clinton, one of the former first lady's congressional black supporters intends to vote for Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention, and a second, more ... via The Olympian

Ferris Baker Watts, the century-old brokerage with deep Baltimore roots, has agreed to sell itself to Minneapolis-based RBC Dain Rauscher, a division of the Royal Bank of Canada, the companies said this morning.

The firms said the deal is expected to close by the middle of this year. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

The transaction will make Ferris, which has 42 branch offices in 10 states and the District of Columbia, part of a global financial institution and Canada's largest bank. Dain Rauscher has 3,600 employees and administers $154 billion of assets compared with Ferris' 900 employees and $18.5 billion in assets under administration. Read more

Bradford & Bingley downgraded by UBS on loss; Nordea downgraded to 'sell' at UBS; Goldman Sachs replaces Intel with Repsol on buy list via ClipSyndicate

“Last year was one of the most difficult in our history”

By ERNST E. ABEGG The Associated Press Thursday, February 14, 2008; 6:46 AM ZURICH, Switzerland -- UBS AG on Thursday posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $11.28 billion, and a loss for the entire year, besieged ... via Washington Post

Feb 13, 2008 - Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. , a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today announced that the ... via Med Ad News

The head of the nation's largest consumer bank said Wednesday there is an ``even chance'' the nation's economy is in a mild recession, comparing last year's credit crunch and ongoing turmoil in the nation's ... via WBT-AM Charlotte

“While this has been a difficult time for the investment bank because of the losses in fixed income, we have continued to see strong performances in both in both our equities and investment banking divisions”

UBS AG on Wednesday named Jerker Johansson of Morgan Stanley as new head of its investment banking unit, which is being revamped following the company's problems with U.S. subprime investments. via International Business Times