"Wallstreet" Reader

"Wallstreet" Reader

A Glimpse Inside Libya's Finances

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:37 PM PDT

International bankers have flocked to Libya in recent years to advise the country on how to invest its oil riches. Now, a previously undisclosed audit of the country's investment fund depicts a portfolio in chaos.

China Manufacturing Growth Slows

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:54 PM PDT

China's official Purchasing Managers' Index, a gauge of manufacturing activity, fell for the third straight month in June, indicating a continued slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Asian Shares Mostly Higher; Tokyo up After Tankan

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:56 PM PDT

Asian stock markets were mostly higher on the back of Wall Street's strength, while the Bank of Japan's second-quarter tankan survey showing that big firms plan to boost capital expenditure underpinned gains in Tokyo. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.5%.

Opening Bidder Picked for Borders

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:51 PM PDT

Borders Group chose Direct Brands, a company owned by private-equity firm Najafi, as the opening bidder in a looming bankruptcy-court auction of the big bookseller.

Antitrust Regulator Makes Twitter Inquiries

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:42 PM PDT

Antitrust regulators are reviewing messaging-service Twitter and its interactions with a company that builds programs using Twitter data.

Paulson Urged BofA to Fight Investor Claims

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:46 PM PDT

Hedge-fund manager John Paulson was among the shareholders that urged Bank of America not to give in to claims involving mortgage-backed securities. The Wall Street bank initially listened, but its views evolved, eventually resulting in this week's $8.5 billion settlement.

First Solar Wins Loan Help

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 05:10 PM PDT

The U.S. Energy Department said it is offering to guarantee about $4.5 billion in loans for First Solar to finance three renewable energy projects in California that the solar-panel maker is developing.

Citi in Talks to Sell Consumer Finance Unit

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 05:40 PM PDT

Citigroup has entered into exclusive talks with one bidding group for the long-delayed sale of its OneMain consumer financial-services business formerly known as CitiFinancial.

American Airlines Strains for Lift

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 05:06 PM PDT

American Airlines, now weighing a major aircraft order, is 18 months into a turnaround plan that has yet to take off. But executives say they are taking the right steps to end the losses and improve revenue.

Regulators Back 'Fracking' in New York

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:54 PM PDT

New York state regulators plan to recommend that the use of hydraulic fracturing to drill for natural gas be allowed in much of the state, but remain banned in areas that supply drinking water to New York City and Syracuse.

Medicare to Cover Drug for Prostate Cancer

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:35 PM PDT

The federal Medicare agency said it approved nationwide coverage of the Dendreon medicine Provenge in certain prostate-cancer cases.

African Tax Group Stepping Up Efforts To Control Tax Avoidance

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 03:18 PM PDT

Senior tax officials from Tanzania, Zambia and South Africa are working to establish a cross-border agreement that would enable revenue authorities to share information about specific taxpayers.

Chrysler Cites 35% Drop in Labor Cost

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 02:20 PM PDT

Chrysler's average hourly cost for union workers dropped 35% between 2006 and 2010 as a result of cost-cutting deals with the United Auto Workers, the company said.

Citigroup Buys Into Vietnamese Brokerage

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:52 PM PDT

Citigroup took a 9.9% stake in Horizon Securities, a Ho Chi Minh brokerage firm, for an undisclosed amount on a bet that investor will return to the market once inflation is tamed.

Spain's Bankia Starts Wooing IPO Investors

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:52 PM PDT

Spanish bank Bankia sought to reassure potential investors through its Spanish-language prospectus for a $6.50 billion IPO, but the document also raised questions about how well the so-called "good bank" will be protected from a separate pool of bad assets.

BofA Hopes Mortgage-Security Loss Estimate Is on the Mark

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 04:37 PM PDT

Bank of America this week said it had finally fenced off its losses from the now-toxic, mortgage-bond deals. However, it is not the first time the bank has claimed to have the losses penned in.

Ex-Lawyer Gets 2½-Year Sentence

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 02:08 PM PDT

A former patent lawyer was sentenced to 2½ years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal charges as part of a broad probe into insider trading on Wall Street.

Pension Rulings Could Aid Cutbacks

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:06 PM PDT

In rulings that may bolster efforts to roll back public pensions nationwide, judges in Minnesota and Colorado have thrown out lawsuits challenging recent cuts to retiree benefits.

Court Rules for MBIA in Mortgage Suit

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 10:58 AM PDT

A New York appeals court denied Countrywide Home Loans' motion to dismiss bond insurer MBIA's claims of fraud over pools of securitized mortgages.

Ex-Taylor Bean Chairman Gets 30-Year Term

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 12:24 PM PDT

A federal judge sentenced former Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Chairman Lee Farkas to 30 years in prison for running a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme.