Entries from September 2009 ↓

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) — The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Board on Tuesday proposed new rules to protect consumers who use credit cards from a number of potentially costly practices.

“This proposal is another step forward in the Federal Reserve’s efforts to ensure that consumers who rely on credit cards are treated fairly,” said Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth A. Duke. “The rule bans several harmful practices and requires greater transparency in the disclosure of the terms and conditions of credit card accounts.”

The proposal, issued for public comment, represents part of the Fed’s implementation of the Credit Card Act, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in May.

Among other things, the proposed rule would protect consumers from unexpected increases in credit card interest rates by generally prohibiting increases in a rate during the first year after an account is opened and increases in a rate that applies to an existing credit card balance.

It will prohibit creditors from issuing a credit card to a consumer who is under the age of 21 unless the consumer has the ability to make the required payments or obtains the signature of a parent or other cosigner with the ability to do so.

The proposal will require creditors to obtain a consumer’s consent before charging fees for transactions that exceed the credit limit payday loans for bad credit. It limits the high fees associated with subprime credit cards.

The new rules will also ban creditors from using the “two-cycle” billing method to impose interest charges and prohibit creditors from allocating payments in ways that maximize interest charges.

In December 2008, the Federal Reserve adopted final regulations prohibiting unfair credit card practices and improving the disclosures consumers receive in connection with credit card accounts. This proposal would amend aspects of those regulations to incorporate provisions of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit Card Act), which was enacted in May 2009.

The proposed rule represents the second stage of the Federal Reserve’s implementation of the Credit Card Act.

On July 15, 2009, the Board issued an interim final rule implementing the provisions of the Credit Card Act that went into effect on Aug. 20, 2009. The proposed rule would implement the provisions that go into effect on Feb. 22, 2010. The remaining provisions of the Credit Card Act go into effect on Aug. 22, 2010, and will be implemented by the Federal Reserve at a later date. Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

U.S. Federal Reserve launches new credit card rules

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) — Apple Inc. on Monday said more than 2 billion applications have been downloaded from its App Store, a service for the company’s iPhone and iPod Touch media player which now has over 85,000 applications available.

“The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone,” Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

“The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it,” he noted instant credit report.

According to Apple, it has sold more than 50 million iPhones and iPod Touch media players in 77 countries and regions. Its App Store now has 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.

App Store currently generates 60 million to 110 million U.S. dollars in quarterly revenue for Apple, Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst from financial research firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., estimated in a report released last Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks jumped on Monday as more merger and acquisition activity in the last days of the third quarter encouraged investors following three sessions of losses.

Xerox Corp (XRX.N) will buy Affiliated Computer Services Inc (ACS.N) for $6.4 billion in a cash-and-stock deal that expands the copier company into technology outsourcing and data management.

Xerox shares fell 13.4 percent to $7.77 while ACS shot up 16.7 percent to $55.06.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) said it would buy the drugs unit of Solvay (SOLB.BR) in a $6.6 billion deal, giving Abbott full control of its Belgian development partner's cholesterol treatments and exposure to emerging markets.

Abbott stock rose 3.7 percent to $49.11.

"Deal announcements are helping the market off to a good start, especially as we had a bit of selling off last week," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

"People were waiting for a time to get in, and now, they have it."

With Monday's gains, the Dow Jones industrial average is up more than 15 percent for the quarter so far, which would make it its best such period since the fourth quarter of 1998.

A Jewish holiday observed Monday and the end of the third quarter two days later could translate into thin volume and volatility as fund managers reposition their assets amid fewer market participants, investors said.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) rose 118 fast cash without a hassle.28 points, or 1.22 percent, to 9,783.47. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) gained 14.76 points, or 1.41 percent, to 1,059.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) jumped 35.48 points, or 1.70 percent, to 2,126.40.

GenTek Inc (GETI.O) shares soared nearly 40 percent to $37.75 after the maker of specialty chemicals and vehicle engine components said it agreed to a takeover by a subsidiary of private equity firm American Securities LLC for $411 million in cash.

The Dutch biotechnology firm Crucell (CRCL.AS) (CRXL.O) said Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) bought 14.6 million new Crucell shares for over $400 million as part of a flu vaccine development deal [ID:nLS661406].

China Unicom (0762.HK), that country's No. 2 mobile carrier, said Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) popular iPhone would be sold in China starting in October at a retail price of about $730. [ID:nHKG249644]. France Telecom's (FTE.PA) Orange also said it would sell iPhones later this year.

Apple shares edged 1.3 percent higher.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said its National Activity Index was minus 0.90 in August, down from a revised minus 0.56 in July, but its three-month moving average of economic indicators improved for the seventh straight month to its highest level since June 2008.

(Additional reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

M&A boosts Wall Street on deals from Xerox, Abbott

MOSCOW, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) — Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus will seek to join the World Trade Organization simultaneously and on equal terms as members of a customs union, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said Saturday.

“It is our principle that we should join (the WTO) as a single customs union,” Shuvalov told Mir TV one day after attending a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Community’s Integration Committee in the Kazakh city of Almaty.

Other options are possible, Shuvalov said, “but that is purely a head-of-state level of decision making.”

Shuvalov said the three former Soviet republics have worked hard on the formation of the customs union, and a customs code would be presented for approval to the countries’ presidents in November payday loan.

“In general, there is nothing in the way of the creation of a customs union,” he said.

Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan agreed in June to form a customs bloc and seek joint accession to the WTO. Unified customs regulations are due to take effect at the start of 2010.

Russia, which has been seeking WTO membership for more than 15 years, is the largest economy still outside the global trade organization.

Russia reaffirms decision to join WTO with Belarus, Kazakhstan

Kevork S. Hovnanian, who came to the United States from Iraq and started a construction company that became one of the nation’s largest home builders, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 86 and lived in Rumson, N.J.

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. of Red Bank, N.J., announced his death on its Web site but did not disclose the cause. He founded a building company, with his three brothers in 1959.

Last year, Hovnanian, a publicly traded company that operates in 18 states, was the sixth-largest builder of homes and residences in the country, based on revenue. Affected by the nationwide housing downturn, it reported a net loss of $1.1 billion for the year that ended in October 2008.

Mr. Hovnanian was among the developers who transformed the shape of suburbia in the 1970s and 1980s by building inexpensive town houses and condominiums for young families who were first-time buyers.

Even among competitors, he gained a reputation as a builder of bare-bones homes who kept prices low. In the early 1980s, for example, the typical Hovnanian condominium residence was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom dwelling that cost about $30,000. In his developments, Mr. Hovnanian kept prices down by omitting the amenities, like swimming pools and community buildings, that other builders used to attract buyers.

“There are limited recreation facilities going in because people have little time for socialization,” Mr. Hovnanian told The New York Times in 1983, explaining his philosophy.

By 1989, his company had sold more than 30,000 condominiums and other residences in states stretching from New Hampshire to Florida. The projects were so popular that they sometimes sold out over a weekend. Mr. Hovnanian also operated a finance company that made loans to buyers, who sometimes bought more than one residence, including some as investments cash advance payday loans.

Since then, the company has built more than 200,000 other homes. And in recent years, it has expanded its portfolio to include the construction of medium-price homes, luxury homes and retirement communities with recreational facilities.

Mr. Hovnanian, who was of Armenian descent, fled Iraq with his brothers and other family members in the late 1950s as a result of political upheaval there. In 1986, he fulfilled a promise he had made to himself during his escape by building an Armenian Apostolic church in Long Branch, N.J.

He also contributed money to help build medical facilities in the New York area, including the K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, N.J.

Mr. Hovnanian and his three brothers, Hirair, Jirair and Vahak, put in $1,000 each, plus a borrowed $20,000, to start the company, Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. said in a news release on its 50th anniversary. The other brothers left the business in 1969. Hirair and Vahak, both of Middletown, N.J., survive.

In 1988, his son, Ara K. Hovnanian, succeeded him as president of Hovnanian Enterprises, replacing his father as its chief executive in 1997. The elder Mr. Hovnanian remained chairman of the company’s board until his death. Besides his son, who lives in New York, he is survived by his wife, Sirwart; four daughters, Sossie Najarian, Esto Barry and Lucy Kalian, all of Rumson, N.J., and Nadia Rodriguez, of Boston; and 13 grandchildren.

Kevork S. Hovnanian, Construction Company Founder, Dies at 86

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Financial and consumer-related shares rose in Asia and the U.S. dollar turned lower on Friday as G20 leaders pledged in a draft statement to keep some stimulus supports in place until a recovery is clearer.

Major European shares were expected to open higher, according to financial bookmakers, following the draft statements that were obtained by Reuters. U.S. stock futures reversed early losses and rose 0.3 percent.

Japan's Nikkei share average (.N225) led declining equity markets in Asia, falling 2.5 percent.

Bank shares dropped after Nomura Holdings (8604.T) said it would raise in an equity offering up to $5.6 billion, what one broker pointed out was 24 times its average daily turnover.

Banks in Japan also received a blow from financial services minister Shizuka Kamei who expressed interest in introducing a moratorium on the repayment of the principal on mortgages and bank loans to help small and midsize businesses.

"Worries about the moratorium idea and the news about Nomura's financing are weighing down on the financial sector," Junichi Misawa, senior fund manager at STB Asset Management in Tokyo said.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was largely unchanged, not far from a 13-month high hit on Wednesday.

The consumer discretionary sector was a clear favorite among investors in the wake of the draft G20 statements to promote more balanced current accounts.

A Thomson Reuters index of regional shares (.TRXFLDAXPU) was also nearly unchanged.

WORLD INDEX DOWN

The MSCI all-country world index (.MIWD00000PUS) is down 1.7 percent so far this week, on track for the biggest weekly decline since the week of July 12. The index is up 25 percent year-to-date, but the likelihood that economic news will continue to deliver positive surprises and trigger more buying was smaller.

"Our trading stance remains 'pro-risk,' reflecting our view that this pullback — like those before it — will likely be temporary," said Dominic Wilson, director of global macro and markets research with Goldman Sachs, in a note payday loans with no fax.

"But industrial news is undershooting a bit lately relative to high expectations and it is less clear what will take the market higher in the very near-term."

Despite an eight-week streak of outflows from safe haven money market funds being broken, equity funds took in $5.42 billion in the week to September 23, with emerging market equity funds having their biggest week of inflows since early June, fund tracker EPFR Global said in a note.

In currency markets, the dollar was down against most major currencies. The euro was up 0.1 percent to $1.4685 after climbing to the highest in a year above $1.48 on Wednesday.

Sterling continued to be an open target after Bank of England's Mervyn King said on Thursday that a weak currency was helping the domestic economy. After dropping 1.8 percent on Thursday, the pound fell a further 0.4 percent to $1.5991.

The Australian dollar, which has maintained a tight relationship with global equity markets, rose 0.3 percent to US$0.8682

U.S. Treasuries were steady after a rush out of equities on Thursday weighed on yields. Japanese government bonds gained after the overnight Treasuries rally, with the December 10-year JGB future up 0.22 point after earlier hitting the highest since September 15.

U.S. crude futures recovered after tumbling over 4 percent to an eight-week low the previous day when weak U.S. home sales increased fears about the pace of economic recovery in the world's top oil consumer nation.

U.S. crude for November delivery was up 0.7 percent at $66.33 a barrel, after settling down $3.08 on Thursday, when the housing data added to demand worries following a report earlier in the week of a large build in oil stockpiles.

(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi in Tokyo; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

G20 stimulus pledge helps stocks, hurts dollar

Hot News: Market flat before Wednesdays Fed statement

LONDON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve is studying the idea of borrowing from money market mutual funds as part of eventual steps to withdraw stimulus, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

The Fed would borrow from the funds via reverse repurchase agreements involving some of the huge portfolio of mortgage-backed securities and U.S. Treasuries that it acquired as it fought the financial crisis, the newspaper reported, without citing any sources.

This would drain liquidity from the financial system, helping to avoid a burst of inflation as the economy recovered.

The FT said Fed officials had in recent days held discussions with market participants on how it might implement such a scheme.

The Fed is considering whether to conduct a pilot scheme, but worries such a test might be seen as a signal that the central bank was about to drain liquidity on a large scale, the newspaper said. In the near term, a big drain remains unlikely, it added.

The central bank held interest rates at close to zero on Wednesday and upgraded its assessment of the U.S. economy, saying growth had returned after a deep recession.

The Fed also said it would slow its purchases of mortgage debt to extend that program's life until the end of March, in a move toward withdrawing the central bank's extraordinary support for the economy and markets during the contraction Low fee payday loans.

The idea of the Fed using reverse repos to help unwind policy is not new; Fed chairman Ben Bernanke identified them as a potential means of soaking up liquidity in July. But the market had previously expected the repos to be done with primary dealers, including former Wall Street investment banks.

The central bank is now considering dealing with money market funds because it does not think the primary dealers have the balance sheet capacity to provide more than about $100 billion, the Financial Times said.

Money market mutual funds have about $2.5 trillion under management so they could plausibly provide between $400 billion and $500 billion, it said.

The newspaper added that the Fed did not think it would need to drain liquidity all the way to where it was before the crisis, because it was confident it could raise interest rates even with a much larger amount of reserves in the system than existed before the crisis.

(Reporting by Andrew Torchia, editing by Mike Peacock)

Fed’s exit strategy may use money market funds: report

(Reuters) – Stock futures pointed to a flat to higher start for Wall Street on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, with Dow Jones futures up 0.2 percent, S&P 500 futures up 0.3 percent and Nasdaq futures flat at 4:15 a.m. EDT.

Economists forecast the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will hold the target range for overnight interest rates steady at zero to 0.25 percent until at least 2010. A statement outlining the Fed's policy decision was expected at around 2:15 a.m. EDT.

The dollar fell to a one-year low against a basket of currencies on Wednesday as speculators dumped the low-yielding greenback before the Fed decision.

AMR Corp (AMR.N), the parent of American Airlines, and US Airways Group Inc (LCC.N) moved to take advantage of rising airline stock prices on Tuesday by launching share sales to raise money for general corporate purposes.

In Frankfurt, AMR shares (AMR.F) were down 1.7 percent, while US Airways shares (LCC.F) shed 6.7 percent.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is developing a small tablet-style PC to rival a similar product that may be launched by Apple Inc (AAPL.O), technology blog Gizmodo reported on Tuesday.

Separately, the European Union's antitrust chief Neelie Kroes wants to reach a deal with Microsoft in a dispute over web browsers before she leaves her post later this year, she said in an interview published on Wednesday.

Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) expects its business in Asia to grow in the coming year and to increase its market share if the economy continues to recover, a senior executive told Reuters on Wednesday.

Intel Corp (INTC.O) rolled out a software developers' platform on Tuesday and said it will step up efforts to boost revenue from consumer electronics and other markets beyond its core, maturing personal computer business.

Bank of America (BAC.N) is reducing overdraft and other account fees on a swath of customer accounts in a two-stage process over the next year, the company announced late on Tuesday.

Separately, the bank agreed to turn over more documents to a congressional probe of its purchase of troubled investment bank Merrill Lynch, but some company material remains under wraps for now, a senior lawmaker said bad credit payday advance.

Lawmakers who back Boeing (BA.N) said they were considering legislative action to ensure the Pentagon did not exempt Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA) from U.S. export restrictions and other laws in a $35-billion competition to supply refueling aircraft that resumes this week.

Colon cancer drug Erbitux extends survival significantly in patients with a certain genetic profile, according to the final update from an international trial released on Wednesday. The finding is a boost for the drug sold by Merck KGaA (MRCG.DE), Eli Lilly (LLY.N) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY.N), which faces competition from Amgen's (AMGN.O) rival treatment Vectibix.

Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) $334 million investment in Geely Automobile (0175.HK) will boost the Chinese automaker's global ambitions, including a potential bid by its parent for Ford's (F.N) Volvo brand.

Oil and gas exploration and production firm SandRidge Energy Inc (SD.N) has struck a deal to buy bankrupt rival Crusader Energy Group for $230 million in a cash and stock deal.

U.S. companies reporting on Wednesday included Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O), Cintas Corp (CTAS.O), General Mills and Paychex (PAYX.O).

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, as investors bet the U.S. Federal Reserve will stick to its accommodative policy to foster economic recovery, boosting growth-sensitive sectors such as financials, technology and industrials.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 51.01 points, or 0.52 percent, to end at 9,829.87. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 7.00 points, or 0.66 percent, to 1,071.66 — a fresh 11-month closing high. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 8.26 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,146.30.

(Reporting by Dominic Lau; editing by John Stonestreet)

Stock futures signal flat to higher start, Fed eyed

Hot News: Stocks and Bonds: Stocks Resume Rally; Dollar at Year’s Low

LONDON (Reuters) – World stocks climbed and the dollar fell on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, with investors' search for higher returns reflected in the New Zealand dollar's surge to 13-month highs.

European equities (.FTEU3) followed Asia markets (.MIAPJ0000PUS) higher in early trading, while safe-haven U.S. and German government bond prices and the U.S. dollar (.DXY) all retreated.

The dollar hit a one-year low against the euro at $1.4793 early in European trade.

New Zealand's dollar — often seen as a bellwether of global risk appetite — surged to a 13-month high above $0.7210.

The kiwi's move mirrored a wider bullishness.

World stocks, measured by MSCI's global index, were up 0.8 percent. The index has now risen over 26 percent this year, recouping more than half of last year's losses, underpinned by repeated pledges by G20 policymakers to keep emergency economic support in place.

The G20 summit in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday is expected to underline that commitment while the Fed's Open Market Committee is expected to do likewise when its latest meeting ends on Wednesday.

"The fundamental position for all equity markets has just been improving and we know that the central banks, particularly the UK and, importantly, the Federal Reserve, are committed to keep interest rates low for a long period of time," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin.

The Fed is expected to keep its benchmark Fed Funds rate unchanged at 0.25 percent but investors are looking for signs of how quickly it might remove its extraordinary programmes to revive lending and economic activity.

By 0735 GMT (3:35 a.m. EDT), the FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) rose 0.8 percent and U totally free credit score.S. stock futures were up 0.6 percent. Global emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF) climbed 0.8 percent.

Energy stocks advanced as crude oil climbed to $70 a barrel, bouncing back after its 3 percent decline on Monday.

BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), BG Group (BG.L), Tullow Oil (TLW.L), Repsol (REP.MC), Total (TOTF.PA) and StatoilHydro (STL.OL) added 0.5-2.1 percent.

DOLLAR WARY OF G20

Although trading volumes in Asia were capped by public holidays in Japan, G20 discussions on plans to rebalance the world economy were read by traders as dollar negative there and this sentiment spilled over to Europe.

A document outlining the U.S. position ahead of the summit said exporters, which include China, Germany and Japan, should consume more, while debtors like the United States ought to boost savings.

Some traders said the dollar retreat was exaggerated by technical trading. Options-related buying and strong demand from Asian accounts pushed the euro up toward $1.48, while the dollar also hit a 14-month low against the Swiss franc.

"Overall the trend for the dollar is still down," said Marcus Hettinger, global FX strategist at Credit Suisse in Zurich, adding he saw the euro at $1.50 by the end of the year.

Government debt markets were weighed down by a fresh wave of new debt sales this week.

A substantial $112 billion in two-year, five-year and seven year U.S. notes is due to come on stream this week, with a record $43 billion two-year bond sale on Tuesday.

(Additional reporting by Atul Prakash, Jamie McGeever and Jessica Mortimer in London; Susan Fenton in Hong Kong; Editing by Mike Peacock)

World stocks climb again

(Reuters) – Dell to acquire Perot Systems for $3.9 billion, creating comprehensive, customer-focused it-solutions company

* Says transaction is not subject to a financing condition.

* Says terms of the agreement were approved yesterday by the boards of directors of both companies

* Dell says will commence tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding class a common stock of Perot Systems for $30 per share in cash

* Says acquisition expected to be accretive to GAAP earnings in fiscal 2012

* Says Perot Systems will become dell's services unit

* Says companies together represent $8 billion in services revenue

* Says Dell directors expected to consider Ross Perot jr guaranteed payday loans., Perot chairman of

the board, for appointment to the Dell board

* Says will be led from Plano by Peter Altabef, the current Perot Systems chief

executive officer

Dell to buy Perot Systems for $3.9 billion