"Wallstreet" Reader

"Wallstreet" Reader

Sears Names New CEO

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 07:43 PM PST

Department store operator Sears named former technology company executive Lou D'Ambrosio as its chief executive, tapping a permanent replacement after three years under an acting chief.

Rising Oil Prices Threaten Recovery

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 07:24 PM PST

A sustained and significant rise in oil prices could derail the U.S. economic recovery by stirring inflation and putting the brakes on spending.

EPA Eases Stance on Boilers

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 05:55 PM PST

The EPA relaxed rules designed to cut pollution from the industrial boilers used at oil refineries, chemical plants and other manufacturing sites, responding to an industry outcry over the cost of its original plans.

Berkshire Buoyed by 'Float'

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 06:02 PM PST

Berkshire Hathaway is likely to report improved fourth-quarter results, helped by growth in its pool of funds from insurance, which it puts to work in stocks and long-term investments.

Toyota Quietly Tackles Quality

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 11:49 AM PST

One year after a bruising series of recalls, Toyota has quietly implemented a number of new quality and safety-related reforms to its operations, even as it denies its vehicles are prone to defective parts or engineering flaws.

Court Clears Way for Seat-Belt Lawsuits

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 03:52 PM PST

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal vehicle-safety regulations don't protect car makers from product-liability lawsuits over lap-only seat belts.

Asia Inflation Concerns Rise

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 07:26 PM PST

Tens of thousands of people protested rising food prices in India and inflation rates jumped in Singapore and Vietnam, underscoring how food costs represent an increasingly difficult challenge for some Asian governments.

Overstock Penalized in Google Search

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 06:00 PM PST

Google has penalized Overstock.com in its search results after the retailer ran afoul of Google policies that prohibit companies from artificially boosting their ranking in the Internet giant's search engine.

Miner Ivanplats Heads Toward IPO

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 07:20 PM PST

Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum, the mining company known as Ivanplats, plans to go public this year in an offering that could raise as much as $1 billion.

Pritzkers Near $1 Billion Triton Sale to Warburg

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 02:54 PM PST

riton Container International Ltd., which is owned by the wealthy Pritzker family, is expected to announce as early as Thursday its sale to private equity firms Warburg Pincus LLC and Vestar Capital Partners for about $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

Oil Hits $100

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 02:27 PM PST

Oil prices surged, propelled by upheaval in Libya and disruptions to its crude supplies. Nymex futures rose to $100 a barrel, the contract's highest price since 2008, before easing.

GE, Siemens Prep Electric-Car Charger Entries

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 03:41 PM PST

General Electric and Siemens are preparing to release their own lines of electric-car charging stations, injecting big name competition into a nascent business now dominated by little known start-ups.

Transocean Books $1 Billion Charge

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 01:43 PM PST

Transocean swung to a fourth-quarter loss on a write-down of more than $1 billion, as the offshore driller also saw its utilization rate and average daily revenue decline.

Priceline.com's Net Up As Revenue, Margins Rise

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 01:47 PM PST

Priceline.com Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit jumped 73% as a surge in international bookings fueled top-line growth and margins surged.

Coke Tweaks Bottle Sizes in Pricing Move

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 01:55 PM PST

Coca-Cola plans to offer its beverages in a widening variety of sizes in the U.S. this year as it tries to boost its pricing power while grappling higher costs and price-sensitive consumers.

Wall Street Bonuses Head South

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 07:52 PM PST

Wall Street cash bonuses shrank by roughly 8% last year despite strong profits, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, reflecting the changing compensation culture on Wall Street.

Hoenig: Fed Risks Another Crisis

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 11:29 AM PST

A top Federal Reserve official said that the central bank was risking a new financial crisis with its easy-money policies and that the U.S. must end its implicit "too-big-to-fail" guarantee for the biggest financial institutions.

Google Tool to Move Microsoft Files to Web

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 06:57 PM PST

Google, taking aim at Microsoft's Office franchise, plans to release a free tool allowing users to transfer files from the software suite to the Web so that multiple people can edit and collaborate on them.

Illinois Bond Sale Gets Done at a Cost

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 08:06 PM PST

Illinois enticed hedge funds, mutual funds and non-U.S. buyers to purchase $3.7 billion in new pension bonds, but the cash-strapped state had to pay dearly to get the deal done.

Greener Ketchup Bottle

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 09:43 AM PST

Heinz plans to begin using a new ketchup bottle partially made from plant materials, a technology that it's getting from Coca-Cola Co.