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Stories 181 - 200 | << Prev   Next >>

Virtual Bank Collapse Causes Real Pain

$750K losses in Second Life prompt calls for federal regulation

(Newser) - Ginko Financial, an unregulated investment bank that promised returns of up to 60%, collapsed recently, costing its customers 200 million Lindens—the currency of online virtual universe Second Life, where the bank existed. While the bank, managed by a mysterious, anonymous owner, catered only to computer-generated avatars in its 3...

Smaller Lenders Feel the Credit Squeeze

Boutique banks on the edge as liquidity crisis wears on

(Newser) - As the subprime fallout continues and the credit squeeze tightens, thousands of smaller-scale mortgage banks find themselves in dire straits. The Wall Street Journal reports that small- and medium-sized lenders, even those with excellent credit quality, are suspending funding and laying off employees, which leaves giant corporations to grab more...

Fed Pumps $19B Into Market
Fed Pumps $19B Into Market
Aug 10, 2007 8:39 AM CDT

Fed Pumps $19B Into Market

Will add $19B in temporary funds to bolster credit markets

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve pumped $19 billion in temporary funds into the banking system today by buying up mortgage-backed securities. The move is aimed to insure that there is enough cash available in the credit markets and keep the interest rate close to the Fed's target of 5.25%. It also...

BNP Paribas Halts Fund Withdrawals
BNP Paribas Halts Fund Withdrawals
Aug 9, 2007 12:35 PM CDT

BNP Paribas Halts Fund Withdrawals

France’s biggest bank can’t value holdings after credit collapse

(Newser) - France's largest bank today froze three investment funds threatened by the subprime mortagage collapse, claiming it can’t “fairly” place a value on their rapidly declining assets. Citing the “complete evaporation of liquidity” in the US securities market, BNP Paribas halted withdrawals from the funds, which were worth...

Will That Be Credit, Debit, or Cellphone?

Next-gen tech gives cash-free shoppers more options

(Newser) - Shoppers in the not-too-distant future may have a new option when they get to the checkout line: their cell phones. Many retailers are warming up to the idea of consumers using "contactless" payment methods—cellphones or cards with a built-in wireless chips that can process transactions with a simple...

Big Biz Lobbyists Sit Out Private Equity Tax Fight

Other bankers unmoved to defend their tax advantages

(Newser) - Two big business lobbying groups are sitting out the fight in Congress over increasing taxes on private-equity earnings—in part, the Financial Times reports, because many of their members are threatened by the rise of private equity.  Big firms like Blackstone pay traditional banks hefty fees for the underwriting...

Wall Street Jittery After Drop
Wall Street Jittery After Drop
Jul 30, 2007 4:47 AM CDT

Wall Street Jittery After Drop

Markets jittery after stock drop

(Newser) - Wall Street has a case of nerves. After last week's market drop, the worst in five years, investors shouldn't expect any more "Merger Mondays" for some time to come, the New York Times predicts. Instead opening the week with big new deals, to send the market to new highs,...

Barclays Bid Gets Backing From the East

China, Singapore put up cash for ABN Amro takeover offer

(Newser) - The Chinese and Singaporean governments have invested almost $5 billion in Barclays, helping the firm float more cash for its bid for ABN. The state-run companies would invest even more if the bid succeeds, which would leave the Chinese state with a holding of 7.7% of the world's new...

CEO Passes Reins at Wells Fargo
CEO Passes Reins at Wells Fargo
Jun 28, 2007 6:01 AM CDT

CEO Passes Reins at Wells Fargo

Successor will continue bank's strategy

(Newser) - Dick Kovacevich, the CEO of Wells Fargo, stepped down yesterday after an enviable run at the helm of the country's fifth-largest bank. His successor will be COO John Stumpf. At a time when most financial institutions are seeking global acquisitions, the San Francisco-based bank has outperformed larger rivals while shunning...

Supremes Side With Banks in Antitrust Action

Credit Suisse, Goldman won't face class action suit over late-'90s IPOs

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has broadened the shield protecting companies from antitrust lawsuits, ruling in a 7-1 decision this morning that investors cannot sue 16 banks they accuse of rigging Internet-boom-era IPOs. The majority said the SEC had adequately regulated banks' actions and that opening them up to this type of...

International Banks Face Trial in Italian Court

Morgan Stanley, others indicted in wake of Parmalat bankruptcy

(Newser) - Four gold-plated investment banks have been ordered to stand trial for alleged market manipulation for their roles in advising Italian dairy giant Parmalat, which declared bankruptcy in 2003. Italian prosecutors say Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Citigroup allowed Parmalat to manipulate its finances, helping it to defraud investors even...

Next World Bank Prez Meets World
Next World
Bank Prez
Meets World
Jun 5, 2007 11:33 AM CDT

Next World Bank Prez Meets World

Zoellick begins circuit to meet and greet bank's poorest clients

(Newser) - Former trade rep Robert Zoellick embarked on a world tour yesterday, in advance of his likely ascension to president of the World Bank this month. Zoellick will stop in Africa to visit the bank's largest beneficiaries, and Europe to schmooze with its largest donors. "I want to leave no...

Wachovia Nabs A.G. Edwards
Wachovia Nabs A.G. Edwards
May 31, 2007 12:58 PM CDT

Wachovia Nabs A.G. Edwards

Deal takes aim at small investors, creates country's No. 2 retail brokerage

(Newser) - Wachovia will buy A.G. Edwards for $6.8 billion, forming the nation's number two retail brokerage. Wachovia's $89.50 per share offer for the historic Midwest brokerage—it survived the crash of '29—helps the bank further expand its growing securities arm. The combined company will manage over $1...

Zoellick Vows to Mend World Bank
Zoellick Vows
to Mend
World Bank
May 31, 2007 7:37 AM CDT

Zoellick Vows to Mend World Bank

Nominee sounds prepared to clean up Wolfowitz mess

(Newser) - Robert Zoellick knows he has his work cut out for him, and he says he will try to "calm the waters" if he is confirmed as World Bank president. "This institution has been through a traumatic period and there is a lot of anxiety, some frustration and anger,...

RBS Consortium Renews Bid for ABN Amro

$96B offer dwarfs Barclays proposal, but legal woes persist

(Newser) - Refusing to take no for an answer, a coalition led by Royal Bank of Scotland today submitted a renewed $95.6 billion bid for ABN Amro. The offer overshadows a competing $86 billion offer from Barclays, but legal wrangling over the sale of LaSalle Bank continues to bog down the...

Interest Rate Cut Triggers Panic in Iran

President goes over finance minister's head, ignites sell-off

(Newser) - Iran's erratic president has set off a stock market scare by ordering banks to slash interest rates, despite high inflation and lots of expert advice to the contrary. The move sparked panicked selling and fears of a full-blown financial crisis, the Guardian reports. The new decreed rate is 12%, down...

China Loosens Up on Yuan
China Loosens Up on Yuan
May 18, 2007 10:40 AM CDT

China Loosens Up on Yuan

Currency move may be concession to US—or attempt to pop a stock market bubble

(Newser) - Just days before a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, China is taking baby steps toward letting its currency trade more freely. The government also raised interest rates and the reserve on bank loans today, signaling concern over the country's red-hot economy. China's trade surplus—which some American politicos...

ABN Turns Down RBS Spoiler Offer
ABN Turns Down RBS Spoiler Offer
May 7, 2007 8:01 AM CDT

ABN Turns Down RBS Spoiler Offer

Dutch bank rejects $24 billion bid for LaSalle as no better than BofA's

(Newser) - Dutch bank ABN Amro has rebuffed a $24 billion offer for its American nephew LaSalle, from a consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland. ABN says the bid was no better than a previous one from Bank of America, and that the Scots had ignored "repeated requests for...

Dutch Court Blocks Bank Merger
Dutch Court Blocks Bank Merger
May 3, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

Dutch Court Blocks Bank Merger

Court rules ABN Amro can't sell LaSalle, which jeopardizes Barclay merger

(Newser) - A Dutch court has blocked the sale of ABN Amro's LaSalle Bank, throwing Amro's proposed merger with Barclays into jeopardy. The move—which the court says is intended to protect shareholder interests—could spark a new bidding war over the Dutch bank, whose $87.5 billion proposed merger with Barclays...

Euro Bank Giants to Merge
Euro Bank Giants to Merge
Apr 23, 2007 9:23 AM CDT

Euro Bank Giants to Merge

RBS, regulators may rain on Barclays-AMB AMRO parade

(Newser) - Britain's Barclays Bank and Dutch bank ABN Amro have agreed to merge, creating one of the world's largest banks. The $90 billion deal is far from a sure thing, however—it requires approval by shareholders and regulators, and a group led by Barclays' archrival, the Royal Bank of Scotland, has...

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