Archive for October, 2008

Small Florida bank is 17th bank failure in ‘08

Friday, October 31st, 2008

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. bank regulators on Friday closed Freedom Bank in Florida, the 17th bank to fail this year as the weakening economy and falling home prices take their toll on financial institutions.

Ugly October ends with an upbeat day on Wall St

Friday, October 31st, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended one of their worst months on record, but signs of further thawing in credit markets lifted battered shares on Friday.

Auto aid pleas mount; Treasury says no GM talks

Friday, October 31st, 2008

DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Six U.S. governors and a group of chief executives on Thursday urged the Bush administration in a letter to aid the embattled auto industry while the White House rebuffed a request for direct support of a merger between GM and Chrysler.

Bernanke says GSE debt backing must be maintained

Friday, October 31st, 2008

BERKELEY, California (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday that U.S. backing for the debt issued by home mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in their current form must stand firm, even though it is appropriate to debate their future.

Airlines seen facing winter survival battle

Friday, October 31st, 2008

PARIS (Reuters) - European airlines face a cut-throat battle to survive the winter as recession threatens the recipe many have used to ride out a spike in oil prices -- sharing the pain with consumers by slapping on fuel surcharges.

AIG’s aircraft lessor OK’d for Fed funding facility

Friday, October 31st, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American International Group Inc's aircraft leasing unit has been approved to participate in the U.S. Federal Reserve's commercial paper funding facility.

Oil prices up after record falls

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Oil rises almost 3% on Friday - but falling demand pushes crude prices to their biggest monthly drop in October.

Rep. Frank says bailout funds must be for lending

Friday, October 31st, 2008

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Companies receiving public money under a U.S. government financial rescue program must use it for lending or they will be violating the law, the powerful chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee said on Friday.

Fire fear sparks battery recall

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Laptop-makers including Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba are recalling 100,000 Sony batteries over fears they may catch fire.

Biotech IPOs dying on the vine

Friday, October 31st, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters) - While the market for initial public offerings has shut down in all industries, with no deals in the United States in nearly three months, biotechnology companies desperate for capital will likely be waiting in line far longer than others when it does re-open.