News blog
Thousands more Missourians have had their natural-gas service shut off for nonpayment this year than in previous years, another sign of a faltering economy that’s left hundreds of thousands across the state without jobs and cost some residents their homes.
Statewide, more than 200,000 natural-gas customers were disconnected for nonpayment through October, according to […]
Filed under: legal by Wolf
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The U.S. Treasury Department’s appeal on Friday for the final $350 billion of a market bailout fund could finally push administration officials to finance a broad mortgage modification plan endorsed by a senior bank regulator.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair’s plan to spur mortgage modifications with a government promise to share the costs […]
Filed under: money by Wolf
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NEW YORK — A federal judge on Monday threw a lifesaver to investors who may have been duped in one of Wall Street’s biggest alleged frauds, saying they need the protection of a special government reserve fund set up to help investors at failed brokerage firms.
U.S. District Judge Louis L. Stanton ordered that […]
Filed under: online by Wolf
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U.S. retail sales in October suffered the worst monthly drop on record as more Americans shunned discretionary purchases amid accelerating job losses in a worsening economy.
It marked the fourth consecutive decline in monthly retail sales.
The Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales fell 2.8% last month, compared with a revised 1.3% drop in September. […]
Filed under: legal by Wolf
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President-elect Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary must be a regulator, diplomat, defender of the dollar and master of depleted coffers, all while figuring out how to escape a nasty recession.
The past 14 months of market turmoil have dramatically changed the job description, perhaps more so than at any time since William Woodin was appointed to […]
Filed under: term by Wolf
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Pressure is mounting on the Swiss central bank to cut interest rates as a surge in the franc threatens to derail exports, exacerbating the impact of the global financial crisis on Europe's eighth-largest economy.
An 8.7 percent gain in the franc against the euro this month is eroding the value of Swiss exports in […]
Filed under: news by Wolf
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Slashing government spending is certainly a phrase that plays well on the campaign trail.
But real spending cuts won’t mean fewer school administrators or less environmental red tape. Real cuts mean that you’ll have to live with a smaller military, put off your retirement and pay more for your health care - and that’s […]
Filed under: technology by Wolf
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Bank of England Governor Mervyn King should be replaced for reacting too slowly to the banking crisis that's helped push the U.K. into recession, the Daily Telegraph newspaper said in an editorial today.
King has been an “invisible man'' since the financial crisis started in August last year, said the paper, Britain's best-selling broadsheet. […]
Filed under: news by Wolf
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NEW YORK — Governments around the world have slashed interest rates and ramped up their lending to unprecedented levels, but banks are still charging each other extremely high borrowing rates — a bad sign for the credit markets that remain close to paralysis.
Traders will be closely monitoring the G-7 finance ministers meeting […]
Filed under: business by Wolf
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The world’s financial markets face an uncertain and possibly volatile week as investors await details about how the Treasury will implement the government’s financial rescue package - and watch for any further fallout from the credit crisis around the globe.
The markets have switched their focus to the world economy now that the $700 billion […]
Filed under: business by Wolf
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