News For Tuesday Sep 30, 2008 News For Tuesday Sep 30, 2008

Business Business

Bailout revival sought, with better deposit safety - Added 7 minutes ago

!!-- AUDIO:193,188,185,179,204 -->In a surprise move to resurrect President Bush's $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan, Senate leaders slated a vote on the measure for Wednesday _ but added a tax cut plan already...

With banks in miser mode, credit markets stay taut - Added 15 minutes ago

Stocks are rebounding and a new bailout package could be coming soon, but the credit markets _ where day-to-day borrowing occurs to keep the gears of the economy turning _ are still stuck. Even relatively healthy...

Stocks surge higher, but credit worries persist - Added 30 minutes ago

Wall Street snapped back Tuesday after its biggest sell-off in years amid growing expectations that lawmakers will salvage a $700 billion rescue plan for the financial sector. But the seized-up credit markets where...

Gas lines shorter in largest city hit by shortage - Added 39 minutes ago

Lines eased somewhat Tuesday in Atlanta, the largest city hit by a hurricane-induced gas shortage in the southeast, as Georgia's governor waited for a White House answer to his request to release more crude oil. Gov....

Global stocks volatile on bailout rejection - Added 48 minutes ago

Volatile world stock markets showed mixed reactions Tuesday to U.S. lawmakers' rejection of a $700 billion economic rescue plan, with global investors turning from sellers to buyers as the day progressed. Asian stocks...

Volatile 3rd quarter for stocks ends on up note - Added 1 hour ago

Investors looking at their 401(k) statements for the quarter that ended Tuesday may be tempted to bail out of stocks entirely. Who can blame them? With share prices down and daily triple-digit swings in the Dow Jones...

Consumers in gloomy mood on cusp of holiday season - Added 1 hour ago

With the holiday shopping season about to start, consumer confidence is hovering near the lowest it's been since President Bush's father was commander in chief. It may dip further as Americans open their 401(k)...

The new bailout pitch: It's NOT a bailout - Added 2 hours ago

The Bush administration is searching for a new way to sell its financial rescue plan after acknowledging some blunders and missteps in presenting it the first time around. One big key: Insist it's not a Wall Street...

Credit crunch makes borrowing harder for Florida - Added 2 hours ago

The nation's credit crunch has frozen Florida's ability to borrow money, but that isn't yet causing problems for the state, a top state money manager said Tuesday. Florida has been unable to borrow money for nearly...

Pfizer, Microsoft, Huntsman among big movers - Added 2 hours ago

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE Pfizer Inc., up 79 cents at $18.44 The world's biggest drug maker is shifting its research focus...

Pfizer shifts focus to cancer and biotech drugs - Added 2 hours ago

Pfizer Inc. is shifting its research focus to diseases that have high potential for big profits and for treatment improvements, such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. The world's biggest drugmaker also is ending new...

Judge holds Hexion to Huntsman buyout proposal - Added 2 hours ago

A Delaware judge has refused to allow Hexion Specialty Chemicals to walk away from a $6.5 billion buyout of chemicals maker Huntsman Corp. In a ruling late Monday, Vice Chancellor Stephen Lamb ordered Hexion, an...

FDIC urges temporary hike in insured deposit limit - Added 3 hours ago

The agency that protects U.S. bank deposits is asking Congress for temporary authority to boost deposit insurance limits as the government works to contain the financial crisis. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp....

TVA rate changes since 1967 - Added 3 hours ago

Tennessee Valley Authority increases in base electric rates since 1967, unless otherwise noted, affecting 8.8 million residents in Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia: July...

Agriculture futures trade mostly lower on CBOT - Added 3 hours ago

Agriculture futures traded mostly lower Tuesday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for December delivery rose 12 cents to $6.80 a bushel; December corn fell 25.5 cents to $4.875 a bushel; December oats declined 2...

ALL BUSINESS: Fair-value accounting rules a must - Added 3 hours ago

How can lawmakers make the financial crisis disappear _ without a $700 billion taxpayer bailout and all those pesky political ramifications? Suspend accounting rules that are forcing financial firms to give a...

Oil prices rebound above $100 after huge sell-off - Added 3 hours ago

Oil prices swung back above $100 a barrel Tuesday following a precipitous plunge a day earlier, with a growing consensus among investors that Congress will resurrect a failed U.S. financial bailout plan. Light, sweet...

Huge TVA electric rate increase takes effect - Added 3 hours ago

The Tennessee Valley Authority's largest electric rate increase in more than three decades takes effect Wednesday as thousands of consumers already are struggling to pay their power bills and avoid service cutoffs. A...

S&P: Home prices post 16 pct annual drop in July - Added 5 hours ago

A closely watched index released Tuesday showed home prices tumbling by the sharpest annual rate ever in July, and though the monthly rate of decline is slowing, there is no turnaround in sight. The Standard &...

Dexia bank gets multi-nation $9.2B bailout - Added 5 hours ago

Dexia became the second Belgian bank this week to get a government and shareholder bailout Tuesday when Belgium, France and Luxembourg said they would inject almost $9.2 billion to keep it afloat. Dexia's CEO Axel...

Dollar stores help shoppers stretch for deals - Added 6 hours ago

A buck will still buy you a bottle of shampoo, two rolls of paper towels or four containers of generic breath mints at some dollar stores. It even buys a bit of excitement in the hunt for a deal. But it won't buy motor...

Germany's Merck interested, but not ImClone bidder - Added 7 hours ago

The German drug and chemical maker Merck KGaA isn't the "white knight" suitor pursuing ImClone Systems Inc., according to the head of Merck KGaA, which has a partnership with the biotech company on cancer drug Erbitux. ...

Gustav, Ike damage costs to Entergy - Added 8 hours ago

Damage estimates to Entergy Corp. utility units from hurricanes Ike and Gustav: IKE: Entergy Arkansas _ $14 million to $20 million Entergy Gulf States Louisiana _ $65 million to $75 million Entergy Louisiana _ $10...

Army awards SAIC 2 orders worth up to $160M - Added 9 hours ago

Defense contractor Science Applications International Corp. said on Tuesday it won two task orders by the Army's Aviation and Missile Command to provide modeling and simulation support. Each order runs for five years...

Bailout bill defeat could cause painful recession - Added 10 hours ago

The fallout from the vote against a bailout package for the U.S. financial system may well dig deep into the economy. The House's stunning defeat of a $700 billion package urgently championed by President Bush, sent...

Dollar up, gold falls in European morning trading - Added 12 hours ago

The U.S. dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies in European trading Tuesday morning. Gold fell. The euro traded at $1.4371, down from $1.4472 late Monday in New York. Other dollar rates: _105.20...

Russian exchanges fall - Added 12 hours ago

Russian stock indexes sank Tuesday despite the federal market regulator ordering a two-hour trading halt in anticipation of massive fallout from the rejection of a bank bailout in the U.S. Congress. The...

Japan's unemployment rises, spending falls - Added 12 hours ago

Japan got a triple dose of bad economic news Tuesday when numbers showed that family spending dropped sharply, the jobless rate rose to a two-year high and industrial production at the nation's vital manufacturers...

Strike puts 787 delivery to Japan on hold again - Added 12 hours ago

Delivery schedules for Boeing's repeatedly delayed 787 mid-sized jet are now up in the air because of a strike that has shut down production, the manufacturer's executives said Tuesday. Japan's All Nippon Airways Co....

Volvo to cut 1,400 staff at European truck plants - Added 12 hours ago

Swedish truck and bus maker Volvo AB announced Tuesday it plans to lay off around 1,400 workers at truck plants in Belgium and Sweden to adjust to falling demand in the European market. The company said the cutbacks...

AP Executive Morning Briefing - Added 13 hours ago

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Tuesday, September 30, 2008: White House, lawmakers plan new bailout deal WASHINGTON (AP) _ Top congressional and White House officials, stunned when...

Asia urges action on US bailout as shares plunge - Added 14 hours ago

Asia was shaken Tuesday by the collapse of the U.S. financial bailout effort, with the region's political leaders expressing hopes for a quick solution and Japan's central bank injecting more cash into money markets to...

Fannie, Freddie disclose subpoenas, investigations - Added 14 hours ago

Adding to their woes, mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are facing a federal grand jury investigation into their accounting practices. The mortgage finance companies said Monday that a federal grand...

Oil falls as traders weigh US bailout rejection - Added 15 hours ago

Oil prices fell to $95 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after plummeting overnight as investors weighed the fallout from U.S. lawmakers' rejection of a proposed $700 billion bank bailout aimed at stabilizing the teetering U.S....

Judge rules against bird waste injunction in Okla. - Added 17 hours ago

A federal judge has denied Oklahoma's request for a preliminary injunction to stop 13 Arkansas poultry companies from disposing of bird waste in the Illinois River watershed. Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who...

Bailout bill defeat could cause painful recession - Added 20 hours ago

The fallout from the vote against a bailout package for the U.S. financial system may well be lasting pain for the economy. The House's stunning defeat of a $700 billion package urgently championed by President Bush,...

Citigroup to buy Wachovia banking operations - Added 23 hours ago

Citigroup agreed Monday to buy Wachovia's banking operations for $2.1 billion in a deal arranged by federal regulators, making the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank the latest casualty of the widening global financial crisis. ...

Investors swarm T-bills as House rejects bailout - Added 1 day ago

The House's rejection of the financial bailout plan flung the credit markets into further disarray Monday, sending investors swarming again for the safety of Treasury bills. If the credit markets stay tight, it could...

Circuit City has bigger 2Q loss, withdraws outlook - Added 1 day ago

Circuit City Stores Inc. withdrew its outlook for the full year and posted a wider second-quarter loss Monday as it looks toward a holiday shopping season which has even the least vulnerable retailers worried. Shares...

Sales boost Walgreen fiscal 4th-qtr profit - Added 1 day ago

Shares of Walgreen Co. fell to their lowest price in almost five years Monday after the drugstore operator reported disappointing revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter, pointing to promotions that failed to pay off. ...

Cephalon to pay $425M for improper drug marketing - Added 1 day ago

Drug maker Cephalon Inc., completing a previously announced settlement, will pay $425 million for illegally marketing a highly addictive lollipop painkiller and two other drugs for non-approved uses. Federal...

Oil plunges $10 as US bailout plan voted down - Added 1 day ago

Oil prices tumbled more than $10 a barrel Monday, dropping back below $100 as a U.S. financial bailout failed to win legislative approval, raising fears of a prolonged economic downturn that could drastically erode...

Walgreen, Gentex, Citigroup among big movers - Added 1 day ago

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: Walgreen Co., down $1.73 at $31 The drugstore operator said revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter missed...

Fortis reshaped by government bailout - Added 1 day ago

Shares in troubled bank Fortis NV plummeted Monday despite a 1.2 billion euro ($16.4 billion) government bailout, amid growing signs European banks have been hit harder by the U.S. financial crisis than they have been...

Paulson vows continued efforts on rescue plan - Added 1 day ago

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said his agency would use "all the tools available to protect our financial system and the economy" in response to Monday's stunning defeat of the government's proposed $700 billion...

Gold prices jump after lawmakers reject bailout - Added 1 day ago

Gold prices bolted above $900 an ounce Monday after the legislative defeat of a U.S. financial bailout drove investors to pull money out of stocks and buy safe-haven assets. Other commodities traded mostly lower as...

Agriculture futures end trading lower on CBOT - Added 1 day ago

Agriculture futures traded lower Monday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for December delivery fell 48 cents to $6.68 a bushel; December corn lost 30 cents to $5.13 a bushel; December oats declined 13.25 cents to...

Report: Everglades in decline as restoration lags - Added 1 day ago

A multibillion-dollar effort to restore Florida's Everglades has made little progress amid funding shortfalls, bureaucratic red tape and disagreements, according to a congressionally mandated report that warns the vast...

ImClone could name $70-a-share bidder on Wednesday - Added 1 day ago

ImClone Systems Inc. said Monday it expects either a solid purchase proposal or formal rejection by Wednesday night from its mystery suitor, which ImClone says is offering $70 per share for the biotech company. That...

Walgreen settles Medicaid case for $9.9 million - Added 1 day ago

The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that drugstore operator Walgreen Co. paid $9.9 million to settle whistleblower allegations that it overcharged the Medicaid programs in Minnesota, Michigan, Florida and...