"Wallstreet" Reader

"Wallstreet" Reader

Regions Financial Board Probes Executives

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 07:30 PM PDT

The board of Regions Financial is investigating whether executives delayed public disclosure of loans that were going sour during the financial crisis.

Easy Credit Fuels, Hurts Brazil Boom

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 07:32 PM PDT

Critics of the Brazilian National Development Bank say its extensive lending in an already fast-growing economy fans inflation and forces the central bank to push up interest rates.

In China, Women Begin Splurging

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 06:30 PM PDT

A growing number of luxury brands in China have revamped their marketing tactics to also appeal to self-made female entrepreneurs.

IMF Mum on Details of Network Cyberattack

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 06:44 PM PDT

The International Monetary Fund wouldn't say if any confidential information had been compromised in a recent cyber attack that infiltrated its computer network.

In Africa, a Cellphone, a Shack, a Banking Solution

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 05:13 PM PDT

Lenders in South Africa are turning to a new method—using phones and humble "bank shops"—to tap a growing middle class.

Gold Miners Wield Dividend in ETF Fight

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 06:19 PM PDT

Gold miners are striving to outshine the metal they produce, raising their dividends to win back investors who have been flooding to bullion-backed funds.

Rattled by Lehman Again

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 06:09 PM PDT

Nearly three years after its collapse threatened the global financial system, Lehman Brothers Holdings can still move markets. This time, it is the battered municipal-bond market.

IBM Crafts Succession Plan

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 04:31 PM PDT

The contest to become IBM's ninth chief executive is heating up, with sales chief Virginia Rometty, the top candidate to succeed Samuel Palmisano. Services boss Michael Daniels is seen as the No. 2 choice.

Pfizer Goes to Court to Protect Viagra

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 04:38 PM PDT

Pfizer could extend its monopoly on Viagra until 2019 if it is successful defending a patent in a federal trial slated to begin Wednesday.

Harvard Business School Class Changes Its Look

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 05:29 PM PDT

Harvard Business School's incoming class will have a substantially smaller percentage of finance professionals than in previous years. Instead, a higher number of students will have manufacturing and technology backgrounds.

Turks Vote in Parliamentary Elections

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 01:18 PM PDT

Turkey's Islamic-leaning ruling party appeared to be headed for a resounding victory in national elections Sunday, although it remained unclear whether it would secure enough seats in parliament to rewrite the country's constitution.

Fischer Sets Up Comparison With Lagarde

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 01:18 PM PDT

Israeli central banker Stanley Fischer said his training as an economist would be "essential" to running the IMF and handling economic crises, setting up a sharp comparison with his major rival, France's Christine Lagarde, a lawyer by training.

Fischer's Entry Adds Twist To IMF Race

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 12:28 PM PDT

Israeli central banker Stanley Fischer is positioning himself as a dark-horse candidate to head the International Monetary Fund as the race enters its final stages.

Pandora Plays a Hot Tune

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 02:58 PM PDT

The IPO of Internet radio company Pandora Media is taking hold of investors' minds this week like a hit single—but it's unclear whether the company's business career will endure like the Rolling Stones or fizzle out like The Vapors.

Dollar Poised for Gains if U.S. Data Improve

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 05:28 PM PDT

With worries about Greece weighing on the euro, it wouldn't take much improvement in U.S. indicators to lift the dollar, analysts say. This week will bring a slew of important data.

Subprime Debt's Siren Call

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 05:26 PM PDT

Prices for the riskiest mortgage-backed securities have fallen so much in recent weeks that some money managers are starting to talk about returning to the market, despite expectations of a softening economy and increased supply.

Crack Between Oil Contracts Grows

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 02:54 PM PDT

Two futures contracts used to set the price of crude oil world-wide are spinning further out of sync, and traders in both markets are struggling to explain why.

Four Firms to Join TMX Bid

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 12:26 PM PDT

A group of Canadian banks and pension funds bidding for the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange confirmed that four other financial-services firms will join the consortium's bid.

Mongolia Moves Ahead With Coal Mine Auction

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 04:34 PM PDT

Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold said that his government hopes to finalize the first round of negotiations with bidders to pick the operator of the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine project by the end of June.

First Photos of Giffords Released

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 01:52 PM PDT

Two photos of a smiling Rep. Gabrielle Giffords were released early Sunday by her office, her hair shorn short but few other telling signs of her gunshot wound to the head.