June 25, 2010 at 10:37 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Exchanges,
Government,
Policy,
Politics,
Regulations
By Tribune newspapers
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) talks with a group including Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), left, during a recess from a committee conference on Wall Street reform. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Ending more than two weeks of often-contentious negotiations, House and Senate lawmakers reached agreement early Friday on the most far-reaching rewrite of financial rules since the Great Depression.
The final details, including creation of an agency to protect consumers in the financial marketplace and new regulations to reduce risk-taking by large banks and limit their trading of complex derivatives, were hashed out in a marathon 20-hour session that began Thursday morning.
Lawmakers on a joint conference committee labored until dawn reconciling House and Senate versions of the legislation in time for President Obama to brief foreign leaders on the completed deal at a major economic summit in Canada starting Friday.
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June 25, 2010 at 6:00 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Jobs/employment
By Reuters
A Democratic plan to provide additional aid to jobless workers, businesses and cash-strapped states and raise taxes on investment fund managers failed in the U.S. Senate.
The bill, which also would have provided more aid to cash-strapped states for the Medicaid health program for the poor, fell a few votes short of the 60 needed to advance in the 100-member Senate. One Democrat, Ben Nelson, joined 40 Republicans to block the measure. Get the full story »
June 24, 2010 at 1:21 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Mortgages
By Dow Jones Newswires
Mortgage rates fell slightly the past week, with three of the four rates Freddie Mac (FRE) tracks — including the 30-year fixed — at record lows, according to Freddie’s weekly survey of mortgage rates.
The rates on all but 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages hit the lowest point since Freddie began tracking them — 1971 for the 30-year loans, 1991 for 15-year fixed and 2005 for 5-year adjustables. The 1-year set yet another 6-year low in the latest week. Get the full story »
June 24, 2010 at 1:07 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Privacy issues,
Telecommunications
By Reuters
Microblogging service Twitter has agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over charges it put its customers’ privacy at risk by failing to safeguard their personal information.
The settlement announced by the FTC Thursday stems from a series of attacks last year on Twitter, the three-year old phenomenon that lets people send short text messages to groups of followers. Under the agreement, Twitter is creating an independently audited security program, among other measures. Get the full story »
June 23, 2010 at 1:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Policy
By Reuters
The Federal Reserve acknowledged a faltering pace of U.S. economic recovery on Wednesday as it renewed its vow to hold benchmark interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period.
In a statement at the end of a two-day meeting, the Fed scaled back its assessment of the pace of recovery, taking note of pockets of weakness, and issued a cautionary note about volatile financial markets in light of Europe’s debt woes. But it stuck to its expectation that the economy will continue to gradually emerge from the worst recession in decades. Get the full story »
June 22, 2010 at 1:12 p.m.
Filed under:
Energy,
Government
By Reuters
The U.S. government will immediately appeal a U.S. judge’s ruling Tuesday against the Obama administration’s six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
“The president strongly believes … that continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense, and puts the safety of those involved … and the environment in the Gulf at a danger that the president does not believe we can afford right now,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Get the full story »
June 22, 2010 at 12:42 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Associated Press
Hurt by the still-sluggish economy, Rust Belt cities and other U.S. manufacturing regions are suffering the biggest population losses as people search elsewhere for jobs.
New census estimates for 2009 highlight the continuing effects of the recession on the nation’s cities.
Still the numbers show New York remained the nation’s most populous city, with 8.4 million residents. It was followed by Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston. Others in the top 10 included San Antonio; San Diego, Calif.; Dallas; and San Jose, Calif.
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June 21, 2010 at 6:22 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Health care,
Pharmaceuticals
By Tribune staff report
The Postal Regulatory Commission heard testimony Monday from businesses that oppose an end to mail delivery on Saturdays, a move the postal service says would save more than $3 billion annually.
Among them, CVS Caremark Co. said a five-day delivery service would impede the growth of mail-order pharmaceuticals and keep vital medications from patients. Get the full story »
June 21, 2010 at 6:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Health care,
Pharmaceuticals
By Reuters
Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. is pulling a decade-old leukemia medicine off the U.S. market after a study found a higher death rate and no benefit for patients.
Mylotarg won approval under an abbreviated process to help bring treatments for serious diseases to patients more quickly. Medicines cleared in that way must pass follow-up tests to confirm they work. Get the full story »
June 21, 2010 at 3:54 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Policy
By Associated Press
Americans aren’t convinced new Wall Street rules will prevent a future financial crisis.
An Associated Press-Gfk Poll finds that 64 percent of those surveyed aren’t confident that a financial regulation overhaul before Congress will prevent another meltdown. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
The Illinois Department of Health is investigating a salmonella outbreak that has sickened almost 100 people who have reported eating at Subway sandwich restaurants in 28 counties around the state. Get the full story »
June 21, 2010 at 2:29 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Government
By Associated Press
House and Senate lawmakers have tentatively agreed on how to regulate fees that banks charge merchants who accept payment with debit cards. Get the full story »
June 21, 2010 at 2:08 p.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Government,
Media
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
From the Wall Street Journal | The owner of a small newspaper in Connecticut has joined the chorus in opposition to Tribune Co. transferring its FCC licenses to the reorganized company when it emerges from Chapter 11. Tribune owns The Hartford Courant and is seeking to hang onto two TV stations in the same market.
June 18, 2010 at 3:25 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Credit Cards,
Government
By Tribune staff report
FDIC Deputy Director Robert W. Mooney tells a conference of banking risk managers that U.S. consumers need federal protection from a financial services industry that has exposed them to inappropriate mortgages, credit cards and other practices.
June 18, 2010 at 1:42 p.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges,
Government,
Investing
By Dow Jones Newswires
The head of a new exchange fighting to keep Congress from halting his plans to list movie futures is offering an advisory board seat to the head of the Hollywood opposition.
Robert Swagger, chief executive of the Trend Exchange, discussed the idea in Washington this week when he met with the lawmakers negotiating a final financial regulatory bill. Get the full story »
