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Financial Services Articles

• Clear Channel Parties Have Deal in Principle

  NEW YORK (Reuters UK) - The parties in the dispute over financing the $20 billion (10.3 billion pound) Clear Channel Communications (CCU) buyout reached an agreement in principle on Tuesday on settling the case and striking a new deal at a lower price, a source...

  Tue May 13, 2008 @ 1:30 PM PDT

  Tags: Bank, Bain, Financing, Agreement, Clear Channel Communications Inc., Chase General Corp., Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, Wachovia Corp.

• Housing Downturn Gathers Pace

  By Matt Falloon LONDON (Reuters UK) - House prices suffered their most widespread decline across Britain for 30 years and retail sales fell for a second consecutive month in April, surveys showed on Tuesday, in a sign the economic slowdown is worsening. The weak figures are...

  Tue May 13, 2008 @ 8:30 AM PDT

  Tags: Bank, Economist, Bank Of England, Figure, Inflation, Currency & Foreign Exchange, Sales Strategy, Sales

• Stock Futures Lower on Banks, Wal-Mart

  By Kristina Cooke NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell on Tuesday after Oppenheimer & Co slashed its price targets on a number of brokerages and on concern about Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT) outlook. A number of Federal Reserve speakers will be...

  Tue May 13, 2008 @ 5:36 AM PDT

  Tags: Bank, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Stock, Inflation, Windham Financial Services, Goldman Sachs & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., Morgan Stanley, US

• Westpac Deal Raises Hopes of Australia Bank Shake-out

  By Victoria Thieberger MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The largest banking takeover in Australia's corporate history has spurred investors to pile into shares of smaller banks in the hope of a sector shake-out. Westpac Banking Corp Ltd's (WBC) $17.6 billion all-share bid for smaller rival...

  Tue May 13, 2008 @ 12:15 AM PDT

  Tags: Bank, St George, Labor Government, Financial Services, Bendigo Bank, Dealtalk, Southwest Georgia Financial Corp., Sunoco Inc.

• Oil Retreats From Record While Asian Shares Gain

  By Rafael Nam HONG KONG (Reuters UK) - Oil prices retreated on Tuesday as some investors saw a recent rally to record highs as excessive, while Asian shares gained as banks were bolstered by further signals the worst of the credit crisis may now be over....

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 11:15 PM PDT

  Tags: Bank, Oil, Japan, Hong Kong, Financial Services, Investment, Finance, MBIA Inc.

• Australia's Westpac Bids $17.6 Billion For St George

  By Miranda Maxwell SYDNEY (Reuters) - Westpac Banking Corp Ltd (WBC) launched a $17.6 billion all-share bid for smaller rival St George Bank Ltd (SGB) in a tie-up that would create Australia's biggest bank by market value. Analysts said the deal could trigger...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 10:15 PM PDT

  Tags: Bank, Australia, St George, Westpac Banking Corp. Ltd., Bank Customer, Takeover Plan, Bendigo Bank, Southwest Georgia Financial Corp.

• Finmeccanica to Buy DRS For $5.2 Billion

  By Paolo Biondi and Robin Pomeroy ROME (Reuters) - Italy's Finmeccanica SpA (SIFI) reached a $5.2 billion deal to buy DRS Technologies Inc. (DRS) securing itself a bigger presence in the growing U.S. defense market which accounts for half the world's military spending....

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 7:00 PM PDT

  Tags: DRS Technologies Inc., Finmeccanica SpA, Investment, Corporate Governance, Asset Management, Goldman Sachs & Co., SI Financial Group Inc., US

• AIG Sees No Need to Honor Ex-CEO Request to Delay AGM

  By Lilla Zuill NEW YORK (Reuters) - Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, former chief executive of American International Group (AIG), has said the insurer is in "crisis" and urged a delay in its annual general meeting scheduled for Wednesday, according to a letter he sent...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 6:00 PM PDT

  Tags: Shareholder, Board, Insurance Company, Letter, AIG, American International Group, Greenberg, American International Group Inc.

• U.S. Victims of Attacks in Israel Sue Swiss Bank

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - American victims of bombings and rocket attacks in Israel have sued Swiss bank UBS AG for more than $500 million, accusing the bank of helping fund the militants behind the attacks through dealings with Iran. The lawsuit seeks damages...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 6:00 PM PDT

  Tags: Lawsuit, Israel, Iran, Attack, UBS AG, Hamas, Hezbollah, US

• MBIA Posts Huge Loss on Credit Derivatives

  By Dan Wilchins NEW YORK (Reuters) - MBIA Inc (MBI), the world's largest bond insurer, posted a quarterly loss of $2.4 billion on Monday as it took charges on billions of dollars of exposure to bonds linked to subprime mortgages. But MBIA's beaten-down...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 3:15 PM PDT

  Tags: Bond, MBIA Inc., Insurance Company, Derivatives, Insurance, Investment, Business Operations, Corporate Insurance

• JPMorgan May Face SEC Civil Charges

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) said on Monday that it received a notice from federal regulators indicating that one of its units may face an enforcement action related to "the bidding of various financial instruments associated with...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 3:00 PM PDT

  Tags: J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., SEC, Financial Accounting, Security, Finance, Jpmorgan, xxBear Stearns Co.xx

• Clear Channel in Settlement Talks, Trial Delayed

  By Megan Davies and Leslie Gevirtz NEW YORK (Reuters) - Talks are underway to settle a dispute over financing the $20 billion leveraged buyout of U.S. radio operator Clear Channel Communications Inc (CCU), the company said in a statement on Monday. A trial...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 2:45 PM PDT

  Tags: Bank, Bain, Texas, Financing, Clear Channel Communications Inc., Blackstone Group LP, Chase General Corp., Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley, New York, Wachovia Corp.

• Comerica Index: Auto Affordability, Incentives on the Rise

  In a bit of good news for consumers -- and clearly bad news for the domestic carmakers -- vehicles were more affordable in the first quarter of 2008 than at any other time since immediately after the Sept. 11 terror attacks of 2001. "It's a buyers market and the producers...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 1:59 PM PDT

  Tags: Incentive, Comerica Inc., Comerica Affordability Index, Sales Force Management, Sales, Jim Henry

• Wachovia Cutting Fixed-income and Support Jobs

  By Joseph A. Giannone NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wachovia Corp (WB) Chief Executive Ken Thompson told investors on Monday his hard-hit U.S. regional bank was cutting back corporate and investment bank jobs to reduce costs. The Charlotte, North Carolina, bank reaffirmed plans to...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 1:16 PM PDT

  Tags: Bank, Job, Wachovia Corp., Mortgages, Recruitment & Selection, Financial Services, Finance, Capital Structures

• Long Slump May Follow Crunch: JPMorgan CEO

  By Joseph A. Giannone NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon on Monday told bank investors that while the current credit market crunch may soon be over, the U.S. economy could still face a deep...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 11:45 AM PDT

  Tags: Bank, Loss, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Financial Services, Mortgages, Finance, Capital Structures, Jpmorgan

• HSBC Profit Up But Bad-debts Jump

  By Steve Slater and Clara Ferreira-Marques LONDON (Reuters UK) - Europe's biggest bank, HSBC Holdings (HSBA), said its profit in the first quarter beat a year ago as growth in Asia helped counter some $5 billion (2.6 million pounds) in hits from bad debts on U.S....

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 7:30 AM PDT

  Tags: Asset, Bank, HSBC Holdings, GBM, Financial Services, Asset Management, Citigroup Inc., US

• Morgan Stanley Raises Billions For Infrastructure

  By Aarthi Sivaraman and Mathieu Robbins NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (MS) and a fund set up by General Electric (GE) and Credit Suisse (CSGN) said on Monday they had collectively raised almost $10 billion for funds to invest in infrastructure. Morgan...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 6:15 AM PDT

  Tags: Investment, Financial services, Morgan Stanley, real estate, Japan, Hong Kong, equity, Asia, India, China, property management, REIT, housing market, allocation, private equity, U.S., Thomson Reuters Corp., bank, asset, board

• Kingfisher Shares Jump on Bid Talk

  LONDON (Reuters UK) - Shares Kingfisher (KGF) jumped as much as 10 percent in mid-morning trade on Monday, as traders cited market talk of private equity interest in Europe's biggest home improvements retailer. Two traders said there was talk of a bid of around 195 ...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 3:30 AM PDT

  Tags: Trader, Lehman Brothers Inc., U.K., Home Improvement, Kingfisher, Retail, Oukbs

• Centrica Sees Lower Operating Profit

  By Mike Elliott LONDON (Reuters UK) - Energy company Centrica (CNA) said that, as expected, first-half group operating profit would be materially below that of last year due to lower profitability at its British Gas retail business, hitting its shares. Britain's biggest domestic energy supplier said...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 12:30 AM PDT

  Tags: Centrica, Operating Profit, Gas Production Business, Sales Strategy, Sales Force Management, Sales, CNA Financial Corp., Oukbs

• Circuit City opens books to Blockbuster and Icahn

  Circuit City will let Blockbuster conduct due diligence for a possible takeover deal, having received a letter of commitment from the rental giant's largest shareholder, US billionaire Carl Icahn. In the letter, Icahn writes he is ready to buy the electronics retailer in case Blockbuster fails to raise sufficient...

  Mon May 12, 2008 @ 12:00 AM PDT

  Tags: Circuit City Stores Inc., Blockbuster Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co.

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