From the Atlanta Business Chronicle | A new Atlanta-based real estate company will market the assets and loans from Chicago’s failed Corus Bank.
Filed under: Investing
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Aug. 27, 2010 at 11:07 a.m.
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Filed under: Bank failures, Banking, Investing, Real estate New Atlanta-based company rises from Corus Bank
Govt. wants bond revoked for fraud mastermind
The government is asking a federal court judge to revoke the bond of accused investor David Hernandez, saying he attempted to delay his sentencing by fabricating a letter from a doctor that said he was starting treatment for cancer.
Hernandez pleaded guilty in January to a Ponzi-style scheme that bilked more than 200 people of their savings. The swindle allegedly garnered $6.3 million for Hernandez, which he used to bankroll a now-defunct Chicago sports-talk radio station and other personal purchases.
Federal prosecutors say Hernandez who lives in Downers Grove and is free on bond until a sentencing that could mean up to 14 years in prison — should be locked up because he is a flight risk. Get the full story »
Aug. 25, 2010 at 5:45 p.m.
Filed under: Bankruptcy, Entertainment, Investing, Management, Media, Newspapers, Radio, TV, Updated Will Eisner be Tribune Co.’s next chairman?
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner on July 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Michael Oneal and Sallie Hofmeister
Former Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Michael Eisner is in discussions that could lead to his return to the media spotlight — as chairman of the now-bankrupt Tribune Co.
The Chicago-based media company’s largest creditors are having preliminary conversations with prospective candidates who could operate Tribune Co. once it emerges from bankruptcy, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.
Eisner, who has been dabbling in the digital world as an investor since stepping down from Disney in 2005, is among the candidates under consideration to replace Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell as chairman of the reorganized company. Get the full story »
Aug. 25, 2010 at 1:34 p.m.
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Filed under: Corporate governance, Government, Investing, Policy Investors get more power to nominate directors
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved changes that make it easier for shareholders to nominate directors of public companies.
The 3-2 vote allows groups that own at least 3 percent of a company’s stock to put their nominees for board seats on the annual proxy ballot sent to all shareholders. The new financial overhaul law enacted last month gave the SEC the authority to make the change. Get the full story »
Politics, job rates shake millionaires’ confidence
The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index fell to its lowest level in more than a year in August as wealthy U.S. investors worried about politics and unemployment, according to Spectrem Group.
The index fell 11 points in August to -18, its lowest level since June 2009, when it fell a record 18 points to -20 shortly after the S&P 500 index hit a 12-year low. Get the full story »
Barnes & Noble says Burkle not fit for board
Barnes & Noble Co. said activist investor Ronald Burkle was unqualified to be on its board and accused the billionaire of trying to take over the bookseller through a proxy battle without rewarding shareholders. Get the full story »
SEC charges 2 with insider trading on BHP-Potash
Federal regulators say two Spanish investors made illegal profits of $1.1 million by trading on secret information about BHP Billiton PLC’s bid to acquire Potash Corp. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Juan Jose Fernandez Garcia and Luis Martin Caro Sanchez bought investments that became valuable after the mining company offered $38.5 billion to take over fertilizer maker Potash. Garcia heads the research arm of a bank that was advising BHP on the deal.
Rates on Treasury notes fall to new low
Interest rates fell again in the Treasury market, sending the yield on the two-year note to another record low, after a sharp drop in sales of existing homes added to worries about the economy.
The yield on the 10-year note continued to hover near levels not seen since March 2009. Get the full story »
Savings rates drop below 1%
The national average rate for checking, savings and other deposit products has dropped below 1 percent for the first time in at least a decade, according to an analysis released Monday by Market Rates Insight.
The survey also includes money-market accounts and certificates of deposit.
In July 2010, the national average rate was 0.99 percent, Market Rates found. The closest dip in deposit rates occurred in January 2004, when the national average rate was 1.88 percent. Get the full story »
Warren Buffett’s man in Chicago retiring from Geico
Lou Simpson, the Chicago-based investor with such a stellar track record he once was considered the successor to Warren Buffett, is retiring at the end of the year after decades managing Geico’s investment portfolio.
Geico is owned by Buffett’s investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway. Simpson, 73, who grew up in Highland Park, is the only person other than Buffett who controls Berkshire investments.
“I wish he weren’t” retiring, Buffett told me. “Obviously, I would keep him employed till he was 100. I was very surprised when he called me a month ago and said, ‘At 74, I’d just as soon turn it over to somebody else.’ It was not a happy day at Berkshire. But I’m happy for him.” Get the full story »
Commodities prices retreat on economic worries
Most commodities prices have closed lower as traders worry that global demand for raw materials will drop because of the slowing economy. Metals and energy prices are down while grains have closed mixed. Get the full story »
More U.S. debt staying here
In a reversal of a long trend, most U.S. debt in the first half of this year stayed here rather than being bought by foreign governments.
401(k) hardship withdrawals at 10-year high
In the wake of news about a spike in new applications for unemployment benefits comes another potentially troubling sign: A record number of workers made hardship withdrawals from their retirement accounts in the second quarter.
What’s more, the number of workers borrowing from their accounts reached a 10-year high, according to a report issued Friday by Fidelity Investments. Get the full story>>
Aug. 19, 2010 at 12:15 p.m.
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Filed under: China, Government, International, Investing, Manufacturing Chinese steelmaker hailed for dropping U.S. deal
Lawmakers from U.S. steel-producing states on Thursday welcomed a decision by China steel company Anshan Iron and Steel Group to put its investment in a U.S. steel plant on hold.
“Not only would this venture have set a dangerous precedent further undermining our domestic steel market, but it posed serious national security concerns,” Rep. Tim Murphy, a Pennsylvania Republican, said in a statement. Get the full story »
