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AP Business News
10/07/2008 04:14:25
| Asian markets mixed after Australia's big rate cut
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Asian markets showed signs of life Tuesday as investors cheered a big interest rate cut by the Australian central bank aimed at alleviating the unfolding global credit crisis that has battered global markets. A late rally on Wall Street that pared earlier huge losses also gave investors a bit of sorely needed confidence, analysts said. More » | Fed eyes plan to fund short-term business loans
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is weighing a bold plan to buy massive amounts of unsecured short-term debts in a dramatic effort to break through a credit clog that is imperiling the economy. The Federal Reserve is working with the Treasury Department on the plan to buy ``commercial paper,'' a short-term financing mechanism that many companies rely on to finance their day-to-day operations, such as purchasing supplies or making payrolls, according to a person with knowledge of the plan. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan is still being put together. More » | Paulson turns to Goldman to unclog credit markets
WASHINGTON (AP) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson turned to a familiar source when he picked a director for the government's $700 billion bailout program: his former Wall Street firm, Goldman Sachs. Neel Kashkari, a former Goldman executive who has worked with Paulson at the department since July 2006, was chosen Monday as the interim head of the government's unprecedented effort to unclog the credit markets. More » | Iceland's banks falter
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - Iceland's banks face a battle for survival Tuesday after government introduced emergency legislation to give itself sweeping new powers over its collapsing financial sector. Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde warned late Monday that the heavy exposure of the tiny country's banking sector to the global financial turmoil was raising the specter of ``national bankruptcy.'' More » | Slow economy hits state sales tax revenue
NEW YORK (AP) - State tax revenue rose slightly in the second quarter, but revenue from sales tax, fuel tax and property tax all dropped compared to a year ago, according to a report released Tuesday. The report warned that states and cities would be forced to cut spending as tax revenues dropped further. Total tax revenue for the states was up 3.6 percent in the second quarter compared to the same quarter last year, according to the report from the State University of New York's Rockefeller Institute of Government entitled ``The Damage is Just Beginning.'' Adjusted for inflation, revenue rose 1.6 percent versus the year-ago quarter. More » | Oil rebounds to $90 after falling to 8-month low
SINGAPORE (AP) - Oil prices rebounded to above $90 Tuesday in Asia after plunging to an 8-month low the previous day on concerns a significant slowdown in global economic growth will undermine demand for crude. ``Prices have moved so far, so fast,'' said David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. ``I certainly wouldn't say the bounce today is indicative that we've reached a bottom in oil prices.'' More » | Rescue plan disappointment contributes to sell-off
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government's $700 billion rescue, aimed at rebuilding economic confidence, appeared to sound a global alarm instead on Monday, triggering a fearful international sell-off as the U.S. began work on a plan that investors feared would be too little and too late to stave off a worldwide recession. As markets around the world tumbled amid fast-spreading anxiety, officials in Washington worked quickly to put the new financial plan into effect and to shovel more money into the banking system. More » | Lehman sought millions for execs while seeking aid
WASHINGTON (AP) - The now-bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers arranged millions in bonuses for fired executives as it pleaded for a federal lifeline, lawmakers learned Monday, as Congress began investigating what went so wrong on Wall Street to prompt a $700 billion government bailout. The first in a series of congressional hearings on the roots of the financial meltdown yielded few major revelations about Lehman's collapse, and none about why government officials, as they scrambled to avert economic catastrophe, declined to rescue the flagging company while injecting tens of billions of dollars into others. More » | Dow finishes below 10,000 for first time since '04
NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street joined in a worldwide cascade of despair Monday over the financial crisis, driving the Dow Jones industrials to their biggest loss ever during a trading day. Even a big afternoon rally failed to keep the Dow from its first close below 10,000 since 2004. The sell-off came despite the $700 billion U.S. government bailout package, which was signed into law Friday after two weeks in which traders had appeared to count on the rescue as their only hope to avoid a market meltdown. More » | Bank of America reports profit drop, capital raise
NEW YORK (AP) - Bank of America Corp. on Monday reported third-quarter results earlier than planned, revealing a wider-than-expected profit drop and plans to boost capital by selling $10 billion stock and halving its dividend. Like most other major financial institutions, Bank of America has been hit by significant losses in mortgages, credit cards and other souring debt. Its CEO also decided to acquire Countrywide Financial Corp., Merrill Lynch and La Salle Bank over the past year, three deals that are driving the need for extra cash. More » |
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