"Wallstreet" Reader

"Wallstreet" Reader

Banks Exit From Embassy Business

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 07:50 PM PST

Some top banks are scaling back dealings with embassies and missions in the U.S. due to anti-money laundering rules.

Junk-Bond Boom Takes a Timeout

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 06:13 PM PST

After easily finding buyers for a flood of new debt sales to fund leveraged buyouts or dividend payments, private-equity firms and other junk issuers found the going tougher this past week.

MSNBC Suspends Scarborough for Donations

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 05:39 PM PST

MSNBC suspended Joe Scarborough for making $4,000 in political donations without permission, its second suspension of a host over contributions in two weeks.

SAP Readies Software for RIM's New Tablet

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 04:11 PM PST

Business software developer SAP said it will offer its applications on Research in Motion's coming Playbook Tablet computer in a sign of support for the iPad rival.

Three Banks Fail; Year's Total at 149

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 04:22 PM PST

U.S. regulators announced the failure of two more banks Friday, bringing the total number for the year to 148, eight more than in all of 2009.

Petrobras to Leave Ecuador as Contract Talks Fail

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 03:13 PM PST

Brazilian energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro plans to pull out of Ecuador after failing to reach an agreement with the government on changing its oil-sharing deal to a services contract.

Rino Says Results Unreliable

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 11:15 AM PST

Rino International said it didn't enter two contracts for which it reported revenue, meaning financial statements for the past two years aren't reliable.

Chrysler to Make SUV Under Maserati Brand

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 04:06 PM PST

Chrysler Group is making plans to market a new SUV using its latest Grand Cherokee design and a Maserati nameplate.

Approval Seen for Novartis Gender-Discrimination Pact

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 11:16 AM PST

A federal judge said she will likely approve a $175 million settlement of a gender-discrimination lawsuit involving Novartis's U.S. unit and its female sales force.

California Begins Last Leg of Bond Sale

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:58 PM PST

California, having completed the second leg of a three-prong $14 billion-plus note and bond offering, embarked on the third leg, offering $1 billion of tax-exempt bonds with yields of up to 5.375%.

States Boost Payroll Taxes to Repay Loans

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 05:42 PM PST

State governments are borrowing heavily from Washington to keep paying unemployment-insurance benefits and, even with the weak job market, most states are raising payroll taxes to pay off the loans.

Trader Convicted of Code Theft

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 06:59 PM PST

Former Société Générale trader Samarth Agrawal was convicted of stealing the French bank's code for its high-frequency trading business.

Harrisburg Secures Payroll

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 11:09 AM PST

Employees in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania capital city teetering on insolvency, won't have to worry about their paychecks for the rest of the year as city officials moved to transfer funds to cover the city's 543 workers.

Jilted in Deal, Citi Will Get $100 Million

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 05:40 PM PST

Wells Fargo agreed to pay $100 million to Citigroup to settle all claims related to its $15.4 billion deal to acquire Wachovia in the midst of the financial crisis.

Device Designed to Resemble Bomb

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:13 AM PST

Namibian police said a suspicious suitcase discovered Wednesday at a Namibia airport was a fake device designed to resemble a bomb, though it remained unclear who placed it there.

Palladium Keeps Climbing; Gold Soft

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:17 AM PST

Palladium has rallied almost 12% over the past two days, spurred by fears that Russia, the world's largest producer, has exhausted state stockpiles of the precious metal.

Housing Inventory Declines

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:20 PM PST

After rising for nine straight months, the number of homes listed for sale fell for the first time in October across many U.S. markets.

Hong Kong Imposes More Property Curbs

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 07:27 AM PST

Hong Kong's government took some of its toughest measures yet to cool the city's red-hot real-estate market by significantly raising transaction costs for speculators.

Hotshot Funds' New Rules

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 05:15 PM PST

Venture-capital firms and hedge funds would face a new requirement to supply financial data to government regulators, under an SEC proposal that drew fire from some officials.

BP Faces New Hit Over Spill in Alaska

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 07:35 PM PST

A federal officer asked a judge to revoke BP's criminal probation stemming from a Prudhoe Bay oil spill in 2006, a move that could lay BP open to new penalties in addition to the conviction it received after the incident.