AP - China's inflation spiked higher in February, adding to pressure on Beijing to prevent overheating and keep the recovery in the world's third-largest economy on track.
AP - Information on 15,000 HSBC customers with Swiss accounts has been stolen, the British bank said Thursday, potentially exposing foreign clients to prosecution by tax authorities in their home countries.
AP - Global airlines are undergoing a surprisingly strong recovery with Asian and Latin American carriers leading the way, the leading industry group said Thursday as it halved its loss forecast for 2010 to $2.8 billion.
Reuters - The Senate on Wednesday passed a $149 billion package of jobless aid and tax breaks, as Democrats continued efforts to lower the 9.7 percent unemployment rate before congressional elections in November.
AP - The chief economist of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who is an expert on the financial instruments that figured largely in the 2008 crisis, is leaving his position for the private sector.
AP - Businesses trimmed inventories at the wholesale level again in January even though sales rose for a 10th consecutive month. The dip in inventories underscored that businesses remain cautious about restocking their depleted shelves.
AP - German carmaker BMW AG said Thursday its 2009 net income fell 36 percent to euro210 million ($286 million) because of lower demand for its cars and motorcycles during the economic downturn as well as a higher tax rate.
AP - Greek police fired tear gas to disperse protesters throwing rocks and firebombs outside Parliament as more than 20,000 people marched through central Athens during a nationwide strike against the government's harsh new austerity measures.
AP - Calling himself a realist, Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday scaled back his proposal to raise income taxes, shifting to a call for an increase of just one percentage point to be used solely for preventing deep cuts to education.
AFP - Japan vowed Thursday to fight a global trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna, the pricey mainstay of sushi and sashimi, as Europe and the United States step up moves to protect the species.
AP - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, spent nearly $1.78 million lobbying in the fourth quarter on a wide range of issues from health care reform to organized crime and food safety issues, according to a recent disclosure report.
Reuters - U.S. mortgage applications nudged higher last week, reflecting increased demand for home purchase loans even as interest rates trekked higher, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
AP - Oil company BP PLC said Thursday it will pay $7 billion to acquire exploration rights from US-based Devon Energy Corp. that will strengthen BP's dominant position in the Gulf of Mexico and give it access to a promising region off Brazil.
AP - Toyota's massive recalls are bringing new scrutiny to the government's auto safety agency, prompting Congress to look at how federal safety officials have lived up to their mission of protecting motorists.
BusinessWeek - It's no secret that small businesses in the U.S. face difficulties accessing credit. According to a survey of a random sample of 751 small businesses conducted by Gallup at the end of 2009 for the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation, 44% of small businesses seeking credit in 2009 received only some or none of the money they sought. This level of credit access compares poorly with mid-2000, when nine of every 10 companies seeking credit received it. While there is broad agreement that a small business credit problem exists, there is less consensus about its causes. ...
AP - Calling himself a realist, Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday scaled back his proposal to raise income taxes, shifting to a call for an increase of just one percentage point to be used solely for preventing deep cuts to education.
Reuters - U.S. mortgage applications nudged higher last week, reflecting increased demand for home purchase loans even as interest rates trekked higher, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
AP - Nationalized mortgage lender Northern Rock said Wednesday that it returned to profit in the second half of 2009 as interest income rose and losses on loans fell.
The Motley Fool - The first Friday of every month brings the all-important employment report. February's numbers were better than anticipated. The United States lost only 36,000 jobs, versus the 68,000 that experts expected. This compares with 651,000 jobs lost in February 2009. Still, the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%, with the unofficial rate stuck around a whopping 16%.
AP - Commercial mortgages were among the best-performing loans and leases held by banks and thrifts in the fourth quarter of last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday.
BusinessWeek - Who got us into this mess? It's not just greedy mortgage lenders and irresponsible economists who are responsible for the current financial crisis. Leaders, so called, have played a role too, by not managing their companies and so being detached from what was going on in them. And behind much of this has been an educational process that encouraged such detachment. As I've argued at length in my book, Managers not MBAs, the MBA is fine education -- but in the functions of business, not the exercise of managing. ...
AP - THE SALE: American International Group Inc. sold its American Life Insurance Co. division, or Alico, to MetLife Inc. for $15.5 billion. The deal is AIG's second big asset sale in two weeks. On March 1, it said it would sell its AIA Group unit to Prudential PLC for $35.5 billion.
AP - American International Group Inc. said Monday that it will sell its American Life Insurance Co. division for $15.5 billion to MetLife Inc. The government-approved deal, AIG's second big asset sale in two weeks, will give the insurer more cash to repay the billions of bailout dollars it still owes the government.
Reuters - MetLife Inc pursued AIG's foreign life insurance business for two years before finally clinching a $15.5 billion purchase that will give it beachheads in 47 nations from Peru to Bangladesh.
The Motley Fool - With the recent auction of Treasury's Bank of America (NYSE: BAC - News) warrants, the big bank joins Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - News), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS - News), and several other banks in completing its exit from TARP. But, is it a buy?
AFP - US life insurance giant MetLife will acquire a unit of American International Group in a 15.5-billion-dollar deal that will help AIG pay back part of its government bailout, the firms said Monday.
AFP - US insurance giants American International Group and MetLife will on Monday announce a $15.5 billion deal for AIG's second-largest foreign life-insurance business, The Wall Street Journal reported.
AP - American International Group Inc. will receive a termination fee of $230.6 million if the sale of its Asian life insurance business to Britain's Prudential PLC falls through.
AP - Consumer borrowing broke a record stretch of declines with a small increase in January as a boost in auto loans offset continued weakness in credit card borrowing.
Reuters - Total U.S. consumer credit rose $4.96 billion in January, its first rise in a year and the largest for any month since mid-2008, Federal Reserve data showed on Friday.
AFP - Borrowings by Americans rose for the first time in a year in January, the Federal Reserve said Friday in a sign that the US economic recovery is on track.
AP - The Treasury Department was forced Friday to reiterate its financial support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after a key lawmaker rattled investors by pointing out that their debt does not enjoy the explicit guarantee of the federal government.
Reuters - Stocks jumped and the Nasdaq hit an 18-month closing high on Friday as U.S. employers cut fewer jobs than expected last month and consumers showed signs of shedding their penny-pinching ways.
AP - A key lawmaker is working with banks, regulators and the Obama administration on a new way to boost the government's struggling foreclosure prevention effort by encouraging banks to reduce the total amount borrowers owe.
