News For Saturday Oct 11, 2008 News For Saturday Oct 11, 2008

Business Business

3 Asian central banks slash interest rates - Added 2 days ago

South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong all slashed interest rates Thursday, joining in a chorus of cuts by central banks around the world aimed at fighting the global financial crisis. The moves follow Wednesday's...

European central banks offer combined $120 billion - Added 2 days ago

European central banks continued to push liquidity at the financial sector Thursday, offering $120 billion to prop up lending between banks. The European Central Bank, representing the 15 countries that use the euro...

Kansas farmers harvesting bountiful fall crops - Added 2 days ago

Kansas farmers are well into their harvest of what is an anticipated to be a record corn crop. Kansas Corn Growers Association spokeswoman Sue Schulte said this week that corn growers are very optimistic about their...

Fed grants AIG $37.8 billion loan - Added 2 days ago

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday agreed to provide insurance giant American International Group Inc. with a loan of up to $37.8 billion, on top of one made to the troubled company last month. Under the new program, the...

Oil falls below $88 on US, Europe recession fears - Added 2 days ago

Oil prices fell below $88 a barrel Thursday in Asia on investor fears that crude demand will weaken as turmoil in the financial system pushes economies in the U.S. and Europe into recession. Light, sweet crude for...

Fed works toward an agreement on Wachovia - Added 2 days ago

Federal officials continued their fervent quest Wednesday to reach an agreement between Citigroup and Wells Fargo over the fate of Wachovia Corp. _ which could include the splitting up of the bank. Discussions between...

Wood as a power source may be making comeback - Added 2 days ago

The push for more power from renewable fuels has renewed interest in one of the oldest energy sources: wood. While airwaves have been permeated by advertisements for solar and wind power, last year wood generated more...

Japan's core machinery orders plunge in August - Added 2 days ago

A key barometer of corporate capital spending in Japan plunged in August to its lowest level in more than five years, the government said Thursday, as business investment retreated sharply amid fears of a broader global...

Indonesia may halt stock trading all week - Added 2 days ago

Trading on the Jakarta Stock Exchange was canceled Thursday and may remain suspended through the week as officials try to quell a stampede of selling that has sent the country's main stock index skidding more than 20...

Retailers report weak September sales - Added 2 days ago

American consumers went into hiding in September, leaving retailers with dismal sales and an uncertain future well beyond the holiday season as the fallout from the financial meltdown pushes spending even lower. As...

Bank of America, RBC settle securities cases - Added 2 days ago

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to buy back up to $4.7 billion in auction-rate securities to settle charges it misled thousands of customers about the risky investments, federal and state regulators said Wednesday. ...

Stocks zigzag, end lower after emergency rate cut - Added 2 days ago

A stock market empowered by an emergency interest rate cut tried to find some stability Wednesday, rallying several times before another late-day drop left Wall Street down for the sixth straight day. Still, the...

Gold prices jump above $900 after Fed cuts rates - Added 2 days ago

Gold prices shot up above $900 an ounce Wednesday after the Federal Reserve slashed its key interest rate, undercutting the dollar and boosting demand for hard assets as an inflation hedge. Silver also rose. In a...

Higher sales boost Costco Wholesale 4Q results - Added 2 days ago

Warehouse-club operator Costco Wholesale Corp. said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter profit rose 7 percent as consumers shopped for bargains in the tough economy. Shoppers flocked to the warehouse club for necessities...

Credit markets see a few, tentative signs of thaw - Added 2 days ago

The squeezed credit markets saw just a few hints of easing on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve slashed the target fed funds rate by a half-point to 1.5 percent. The Fed also reduced its emergency lending rate to...

Walgreen withdraws $2.8B offer to buy Longs Drug - Added 2 days ago

Drugstore chain Walgreen Co. has withdrawn its $2.8 billion bid to acquire Longs Drug Stores, apparently helping to ease the path for Longs' $2.7 billion acquisition by CVS Caremark Corp. Longs had already accepted CVS...

McCain housing proposal: Easier said than done - Added 2 days ago

Ordering the government to buy up bad mortgages to cut homeowners' monthly payments might sound good, but experts are skeptical. They say the plan John McCain is promoting is unlikely to solve the housing crisis that's...

Monsanto, Alcoa, MetLife, RIM among big movers - Added 2 days ago

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE Monsanto Co., up $7.26 at $81.44 The world's largest seed maker's quarterly loss narrowed on...

Meltdown 101: How can the Fed's rate cut help? - Added 2 days ago

Will U.S. consumers benefit from the interest rate cuts announced Wednesday by the Federal Reserve and several other countries' central banks? For most people, probably not much, at least for a while. But people with...

Oil prices skid to 2008 low on falling demand - Added 2 days ago

Oil prices closed down Wednesday after touching their lowest level this year, pressured by a huge jump in U.S. crude inventories and more signs of dwindling demand. Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell $1.11...

Agriculture futures trade mostly higher on CBOT - Added 2 days ago

Agriculture futures traded mostly higher Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for December delivery rose 4.75 cents to $6.08 a bushel; December corn added 10.5 cents to $4.275 a bushel; December oats fell...

September sales reflect shoppers' pain - Added 2 days ago

WHAT HAPPENED: The nation's retailers reported dismal sales for September as the financial meltdown took its toll on shoppers. THE NUMBERS: Thomson Reuters estimates that its final sales tally for September will be up...

Iceland plunges further into financial turmoil - Added 2 days ago

Iceland plunged further into financial turmoil _ and muddled into a diplomatic spat with Britain over its handling of the crisis _ on Wednesday as the country's third-largest bank went into receivership and the...

Biofuel plants hit economic road block - Added 2 days ago

It's one of the newest buildings in this small agricultural town. Aligned between two city water towers, the 120-foot long biodiesel plant gleams in the sun. The paint on its sign hasn't even chipped. But weeds have...

Imperial Sugar begins rebuilding after explosion - Added 2 days ago

The nation's second-largest sugar refinery is being rebuilt in Georgia after a deadly dust explosion in February killed 14 workers. Texas-based Imperial Sugar broke ground Wednesday on three storage silos near...

Pending home sales up 7.4 percent in August - Added 2 days ago

Pending home sales rose 7.4 percent from July to August, an unexpected piece of positive news for the battered U.S. housing market. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday its seasonally adjusted index of...

Linens 'N Things says bidder would liquidate co. - Added 2 days ago

Specialty retailer Linens 'n Things, which filed for bankruptcy protection in May, said Wednesday it is scrapping a reorganization plan and will put itself up for sale in an auction occurring Tuesday. The company...

Dollar trades mixed, gold rises in Europe - Added 2 days ago

The U.S. dollar was mixed against other major currencies in European trading Wednesday. Gold rose. The euro traded at $1.3679, up from $1.3645 late Tuesday in New York. Later, in midday trading in New York on...

IMF: World economy to slow sharply, led by US - Added 2 days ago

The world economy will slow sharply this year and next, with the United States likely sliding into recession reflecting mounting damage from the most dangerous financial jolt in more than a half-century. The...

Correction: Hot Toys glance - Added 2 days ago

In an Oct. 6 story about hot toys for the holiday season, The Associated Press, relying on information on Timetoplaymag.com, erroneously reported facts about Techno Source's toy. It is called the Clickables Fairy...

Treasury to sell more debt to deal with borrowing - Added 2 days ago

The Treasury Department, facing huge borrowing needs because of the government's $700 billion rescue program, said Wednesday it will increase the size of Treasury securities being sold to the public. The Treasury said...

Central banks, governments try to contain crisis - Added 2 days ago

European governments sought to contain the deepening world financial crisis on Wednesday, with Britain stepping in to help its hard-pressed banks and Russia shutting down its biggest stock market for two days. But the...

Wachovia cuts prime lending rate to 4.5 percent - Added 2 days ago

Wachovia Corp. said Wednesday it lowered its prime lending rate to 4.5 percent from 5 percent. The cut in the prime rate matches the 0.5 percent rate cut in the fed funds rate which the Federal Reserve Board announced...

Trading on both Russian stock markets halted - Added 2 days ago

Trading on both Russian stock markets was halted on Wednesday after shares plunged within an hour of opening on fears the credit crisis will take a heavy toll on growth. MICEX, where most trading takes place, was shut...

EU proposes increased rights for Internet shoppers - Added 2 days ago

The European Commission wants to give Internet shoppers more rights and better protection, in an effort to boost Internet shopping across the continent and provide consumers with more competitive prices. EU Consumer...

US retains top spot in competitiveness poll - Added 2 days ago

The U.S. still has the world's most competitive economy, despite the recent turmoil that has seen some Wall Street giants tumble and others turn to the Federal Reserve for financial bailouts, according to a survey...

Volvo Cars to slash more than 3,000 jobs - Added 2 days ago

Ford-owned carmaker Volvo Cars said Wednesday it will slash more than 13 percent of its work force because of falling global demand. Citing a "rapidly deteriorating market situation in the global car industry," the...

European markets recover after shock rate cuts - Added 2 days ago

European markets fell, then recouped most of their losses Wednesday after six central banks jolted markets by cutting interest rates together in an attempt to shore up confidence in the world's crisis-stricken financial...

Toyota fighting US woes to meet global sales goals - Added 2 days ago

Shares of Toyota Motor Corp. plunged Wednesday following a major business daily report that Toyota may have trouble meeting global vehicle sales targets. But Toyota declined to comment on the report, while Senior...

Dollar falls as central banks cut interest rates - Added 2 days ago

The dollar fell against the other major currencies as the Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world cut interest rates in an effort to counteract a global financial meltdown. The Fed cut its key rate to...

Britain's HBOS sells 2 Australian units - Added 2 days ago

Australia's largest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd., said Wednesday it had agreed to buy Bank of Western Australia Limited and St. Andrew's Australia from troubled British bank HBOS for $1.4 billion. ...

Wal-Mart's same-store sales rise in September - Added 2 days ago

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says hurricanes hurt its September results, causing same-store sales to miss analyst expectations. The world's largest retailer said Wednesday that same-store sales rose 2.4 percent during the...

Fed orders emergency rate cut, other banks follow - Added 2 days ago

The Federal Reserve, acting in coordination with other global central banking authorities, cut a key U.S. interest rate by half a percentage point Wednesday to steady a teetering economy. The Fed reduced its key rate...

Bank of England cuts base rate half a point - Added 2 days ago

The Bank of England has surprised the market by cutting its base lending rate by half a point to 4.5 percent. A rate cut had been expected, but Wednesday's action was a day earlier than scheduled and followed the...

AP Executive Morning Briefing - Added 2 days ago

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Wednesday, October 8, 2008: European markets tumble after Asian slide LONDON (AP) _ European markets tumbled in early trading Wednesday amid ongoing...

US credit crisis threatens New Orleans' recovery - Added 2 days ago

A prolonged recession and a tight credit market would cripple New Orleans' still-fragile recovery from Hurricane Katrina, delaying or eliminating road work, new construction and repairs to homes and businesses that have...

Retirement accounts have lost $2 trillion _ so far - Added 2 days ago

Americans' retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months _ about 20 percent of their value _ Congress' top budget analyst estimated Tuesday as lawmakers began investigating how turmoil in the...

British government steps in to help banks - Added 2 days ago

The British government announced a 50 billion pounds ($87.5 billion) plan on Wednesday to partly nationalize major banks, with taxpayers taking stakes in a bid to shore up a financial sector hard hit by the world...

European markets tumble after Asian slide - Added 2 days ago

European markets tumbled in early trading Wednesday amid ongoing fears about the state of credit markets despite the British government's 50 billion pound ($87.5 billion) rescue package for the banking system. In Asia,...

Hong Kong cuts interest rate by 1 percentage point - Added 2 days ago

Hong Kong's de facto central bank said Wednesday it would trim its benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point to 2.5 percent to encourage lending amid the global credit crunch. The move by the Hong Kong Monetary...