05 Aug
NASA counting down to nail-biting Mars plunge
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Breaking News- Jobs, housing data show economy has some muscleBy Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to resilience in the labor market despite belt-tightening by Washington. The improving employment picture is helping to prop up housing, with rising home prices keeping domestic consumption supported, limiting the drag from tighter fiscal policy that is dampening factory activity. "All the eggs are in housing and the consumers' baskets this quarter. ...
- Dow, Nasdaq edge up in choppy tradingNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks hit session highs in a volatile session on Thursday with the Dow industrials posting a second straight swing of more than 160 points as investors digest the Federal Reserve's evolving policy stance. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 20.81 points or 0.14 percent, to 15,327.98, the S&P 500 lost 1.98 points or 0.12 percent, to 1,653.37 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.03 points or 0 percent, to 3,463.33. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
- SAC lawyers met with prosecutors to argue against charges: sourcesBy Emily Flitter and Matthew Goldstein NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers for SAC Capital Advisors called a meeting with U.S. prosecutors and FBI agents in April to argue that there should be no insider trading charges filed against the $15 billion hedge fund or its founder, Steven A. Cohen, according to sources familiar with the matter. Lawyers for the firm made an "aggressive presentation," according to the sources, reviewing the government's investigation in detail to support their claim that the government did not have enough evidence to charge Cohen. ...
- Goldman Sachs banker settles SEC 'pay-to-play' chargesWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Goldman Sachs banker Neil Morrison agreed to pay $100,000 to settle charges for his role in a pay-to-play scheme involving a Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign, the largest such penalty paid by an individual, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday. Morrison also was barred from the securities industry for five years in the first industry ban for violating municipal bond market rules on "pay-to-play," or the making of campaign donations in exchange for political favors, the SEC said. ...
- Icahn seeks up to $7 billion for Dell bidBy Michelle Sierra NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activist investor Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management Inc have initiated talks with banks and asset managers to line up commitments for as much as $7 billion in bridge loans to back their leveraged recapitalization proposal for Dell Inc, banking sources told Thomson Reuters LPC on Thursday. Jefferies & Co is leading the deal. Icahn and Southeastern are looking to lock in the financing before Dell shareholders meet in July to vote on a rival take-private offer from CEO Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners. ...
- Who repaid U.S. loan first? Chrysler, Tesla don't see eye to eyeBy Deepa Seetharaman DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC and Tesla Motors Inc , both led by media-savvy executives, are trading public jabs over the definition of payback. Tesla wired $452 million on Wednesday to repay the remaining portion of its U.S. Department of Energy loan with interest. The company described itself as "the only American car company to have fully repaid the government. Chrysler's snappy rejoinder came four hours later: "Not exactly, Tesla." In 2009, Tesla won a federal loan as part of a DOE program to promoted advanced vehicle development. That same year, the U.S. ...
- EU wants big companies to reveal national tax billsBy John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's top regulatory official is seeking to force large companies to disclose how much tax they pay in each country where they operate, a measure some politicians say could curb tax avoidance. Michel Barnier, the European commissioner in charge of drafting business regulation, said in a speech in Amsterdam that rules which will force banks to report their profits, taxes and subsidies by country from 2015 should be extended to cover other companies. "We will expand these reporting obligations to large companies and groups," he said on Thursday. ...
- Apple enjoyed Irish tax holiday from the startBy Poornima Gupta and Padraic Halpin SAN FRANCISCO/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Apple has operated almost tax-free in Ireland since 1980, welcomed by a government keen to bring jobs to what was then one of Europe's poorest countries, former company executives and Irish officials have said. Chief Executive Tim Cook faced criticism from a Senate subcommittee in Washington on Tuesday over the iPad and iPhone maker's tax practices, which had been shrouded from full view behind secretive tax-exempt Irish-based corporate entities. ...
- Pentagon sees slight drop in F-35 acquisition costs: sourcesWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon's annual report to Congress shows a decline of $4.5 billion, or just over 1 percent, in the projected development and acquisition cost of the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet program, sources familiar with the data said on Thursday. The U.S. Defense Department now projects the cost of developing and building the new radar-evading jet - the largest U.S. weapons program - to be $391.2 billion, down from last year's estimate of $395.7 billion, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak on the record. ...
- Ally to pay $2.1 billion to settle claims tied to ResCapBy Tom Hals (Reuters) - Ally Financial Inc agreed on Thursday to pay $2.1 billion to settle legal claims tied to its bankrupt Residential Capital LLC unit, nearly triple the amount it initially offered to creditors of the subprime mortgage business. Ally hopes the deal will finally end allegations that ResCap was stripped of choice assets such as its online bank, Ally Bank, before being put into bankruptcy, leaving the mortgage unit's creditors empty-handed. Putting the issue behind it will help Ally focus on its core business of auto lending and on repaying the U.S. ...
- Jobs, housing data show economy has some muscle
