"Wallstreet" Reader

"Wallstreet" Reader

Fleet Owners Embrace Wireless Monitors

Posted: 31 May 2011 05:00 PM PDT

Electronic devices for remote monitoring of how construction and other fleet vehicles are being used and sometimes abused is gaining as businesses look to cut their fuel and maintenance costs.

Asian Shares Lower; China PMI Eyed

Posted: 31 May 2011 06:43 PM PDT

Asian share markets were lower, as many investors were cautious ahead of key manufacturing data from China, while political woes hurt Tokyo stocks. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.1%.

Lady Gaga Album Sells More Than 1 Million Copies

Posted: 31 May 2011 05:54 PM PDT

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" sold 1.11 million copies its first week in North America, giving the pop singer the largest sales week since 2005.

Exxon Fuels a Chemicals Drive

Posted: 31 May 2011 07:10 PM PDT

Exxon Mobil is nearing completion of one of the biggest projects in its corporate history in a big bet that Asian consumers will have a long-term demand for diapers and dent-resistant auto bumpers.

Lehman Veteran Is Back in Game

Posted: 31 May 2011 07:49 PM PDT

As the financial crisis recedes, Ex-Lehman executive Mark Walsh is mounting a low-key comeback at a new real-estate firm by leaning on connections made before the real-estate bubble burst.

Schwab's Bold Bet on ETFs

Posted: 31 May 2011 05:06 PM PDT

Schwab plans to offer 401(k) retirement plans stuffed solely with exchange-traded mutual funds—and let investors trade them without charge.

EU Mulls Wider Tax Mandate

Posted: 31 May 2011 03:22 PM PDT

The European Commission is considering laying claim to tens of billions of euros in tax revenues from across the EU, a change that would significantly boost the commission's financial power.

Doha-Lite Trade Deal Clears Hurdle at WTO

Posted: 31 May 2011 07:43 PM PDT

The World Trade Organization's 153 members in Geneva agreed to a less-ambitious Doha round of global trade talks, stripping away enough contentious issues that it now appears feasible to finish a deal by the end of 2011.

NCR Sues Blockbuster Over Movie Kiosks

Posted: 31 May 2011 05:51 PM PDT

NCR is suing Blockbuster, to thwart a move to terminate its right to use the Blockbuster Express trademark on movie-rental kiosks. NCR, which makes the vending machines, said it has permission to use the trademark until 2016.

Muni-Bond Group Bans Dual Roles

Posted: 31 May 2011 01:05 PM PDT

A key municipal-bond trade group prohibited institutions from serving as both financial adviser and underwriter on new bond issues.

Defense Rests in Insider Case

Posted: 31 May 2011 12:17 PM PDT

Defense lawyers for former trader Zvi Goffer and two others accused of insider trading rested their case with none of the defendants taking the stand.

Lehman Presses Banks on Derivatives Pact

Posted: 31 May 2011 01:37 PM PDT

Lehman Brothers is proposing a wide-ranging settlement of its unresolved derivatives trades with more than a dozen of its big-bank counterparties.

Toyota Lifts Output View

Posted: 31 May 2011 04:17 PM PDT

Toyota said Tuesday that it expects to resume production at 90% of normal capacity in June and match last year's output this year, a move signaling a sharp rebound from its post-earthquake doldrums.

Beijing Cautiously Raises Power Prices

Posted: 31 May 2011 02:42 PM PDT

China plans to apply the first broad electricity price increases in around 18 months amid warnings of looming energy shortages.

Asian Growth Engine Is Slowing

Posted: 31 May 2011 07:54 PM PDT

Asia's emerging-market growth engines appear to be downshifting in the face of rising inflation and interest rate hikes.

Car Makers Plan Russian Investment

Posted: 31 May 2011 09:48 AM PDT

Six auto makers, including Ford and Volkswagen, are finalizing agreements to invest between $4 billion and $4.5 billion with their local partners in Russia.

Court Rejects Halt of Massey Sale

Posted: 31 May 2011 07:47 PM PDT

A Delaware judge denied a last-minute request by investors to block the $7.1 billion sale of Massey Energy to Alpha Natural Resources. Separately, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals denied a request for an injunction by another group of institutional investors.

Apple Readies iCloud Service

Posted: 31 May 2011 07:54 PM PDT

Apple has reached terms with major recorded-music companies to allow it to launch a digital locker service that would be more robust than those currently offered by Google and Amazon. Steve Jobs will show off iCloud next week.

Obama Taps Bryson for Commerce Post

Posted: 31 May 2011 09:51 AM PDT

Obama will nominate John Bryson, the former chairman of a California power company and an environmental advocate, to be his next commerce secretary, White House officials said.

Karzai Demands NATO Ends Strikes on Homes

Posted: 31 May 2011 08:07 AM PDT

Afghan President Karzai called for an immediate halt to coalition airstrikes on civilian homes and threatened to take unilateral action to block such attacks.