"Wallstreet" Reader

"Wallstreet" Reader

Fed Unveils More Details of Crisis Loans

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:55 PM PDT

Goldman Sachs borrowed $15 billion from the Federal Reserve in late 2008, the biggest single loan in a crisis-era program for which previously secret details were disclosed Wednesday.

Paramount Starts Animation Unit

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:24 PM PDT

Viacom's Paramount Pictures is starting an animation division, highlighting the growing importance of the family-film genre for Hollywood.

A Hedge Fund's Unorthodox Practices

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT

Fletcher Asset Management made three public pension boards in Louisiana an eye-catching offer: assured 12% returns. The deal has thrown light on the hedge fund's unorthodox methods.

Web Growth Sparks Data-Center Boom

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 05:40 PM PDT

Many investors continue to pile into the data-center business, one of the few hot spots in real estate, but others fear the peak in the market for the giant, air-conditioned computer warehouses may be past.

Frisbee Caught in Patent Battle

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:41 PM PDT

Wham-O, maker of Frisbees, will go to court to argue against a law that has prompted lawsuits against companies for labeling items with numbers for expired patents.

401(k) Law Undercuts Savings Rate

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:51 PM PDT

A 2006 law designed to boost employees' retirement-savings is having the opposite effect for some people.

Fuel Law Looms Over Luxury Cars

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:58 PM PDT

Fans of German high performance cars may find those vehicles harder to find if proposed U.S. emissions and fuel-economy rules take effect.

Movement in Budget Impasse

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 05:34 PM PDT

A senior House Republican said his party would consider scaling back tax breaks identified by the White House, a move that could help pave the way for a sweeping budget deal that would raise the federal borrowing limit.

Cantor Spells Out Possible Tax Compromise

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 03:21 PM PDT

The House majority leader says Republicans could endorse ending some business tax breaks targeted by Democrats if they also agreed to renew other business-backed tax benefits.

Obama Holds Forth in Twitter Town Hall

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:07 PM PDT

President Barack Obama, in a town-hall meeting conducted using Twitter, said the housing market has been the most "stubborn" area of the economy's recovery.

SEC Leasing Flap Intensifies

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:27 PM PDT

The SEC has voluntarily relinquished its power to negotiate its own property leases after a high-profile blowup. Also, the agency's inspector general referred a matter from the scandal for possible criminal investigation.

Antitrust Chief to Step Down

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 05:34 PM PDT

U.S. antitrust chief Christine Varney plans to join New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore as a partner later this year.

Blackstone in Talks to Buy Kinetic

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 05:00 PM PDT

Blackstone Group is in talks to buy Kinetic Concepts Inc. in a deal that could be worth about $5 billion, making it one of the largest leveraged buyouts since the financial crisis, according to a person close to the matter.

Brokerage Says Client-Data CDs Lost

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 03:50 PM PDT

Brokerage Morgan Stanley Smith Barney says two CDs containing personal information belonging to 34,000 investment clients were lost in transit to a government office.

Corus Bankshares Plots a Rarity---Bankruptcy Exit

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 03:51 PM PDT

After its liquidation proposal was rejected, Corus Bankshares, an Illinois holding company that had its primary asset—its bank—stripped from it nearly two years ago, reversed course and is poised to pitch creditors on a plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

German Move Roils Talks on Greece

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:49 PM PDT

European governments' plan for private-sector creditors to help Greece's next bailout without triggering a default were thrown into doubt, as senior German officials resurrected a once-rejected proposal that would cost investors more.

Facebook Adds Skype Video Chats

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:28 AM PDT

Facebook said it is integrating Skype video chat into its social network, a move that mirrors a similar function rolled out by competitor Google last week as part of its new social service.

Merrill Loses Crisis-Era Arbitration Case

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:53 PM PDT

An arbitration panel has awarded $63.7 million to a California hedge-fund manager that said its broker, Merrill Lynch, caused losses as it struggled to deal with the 2008 financial crisis.

Sheila Bair's Legacy: An FDIC With Teeth

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:30 PM PDT

Sheila Bair, who is stepping down as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. this week, leaves behind an agency transformed from a sleepy bank overseer into a financial regulatory powerhouse focused on preventing another financial crisis.

Lagarde Vows to Diversify Voices at IMF

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:35 PM PDT

The International Monetary Fund's new managing director, Christine Lagarde, pledged to diversify the institution and give emerging markets a greater voice within it.