Business - Page 15

Business

Reuters - The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and said it remained concerned about inflation, but dropped its reference to the possibility of pushing rates higher, leaving its options open.

Reuters - Morgan Stanley posted a 60 percent jump in quarterly earnings on Wednesday, beating expectations with record results boosted by strong debt and equity trading, and its shares gained 7 percent.

AFP - British finance minister Gordon Brown announced on Wednesday that he would cut the basic rate of income tax in Britain from 22 percent to 20 percent in April 2008.

FT.com - Wall Street stocks moved in and out of positive territory on Wednesday as investors awaiting the Federal Reserve statement on interest rates pondered strong earnings at Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) and signs of weakness at FedEx (NYSE:FDX). More Info...  

AP - New home construction rebounded in February following a steep January slide. But analysts pointed to a further decline in building permits as a worrisome signal of future problems for the troubled housing industry.

AP - Claire's Stores Inc. agreed to a $3.1 billion takeover proposal from New York-based private equity firm Apollo Management LP, the costume jewelry retailer said Tuesday. More Info...  

Business

Reuters - Business software maker Oracle Corp. posted quarterly profit and revenue on Tuesday that topped Wall Street forecasts on strong sales of new software applications, lifting its shares by 3 percent.

Reuters - A federal judge on Tuesday postponed the trial of a $40 billion lawsuit filed by Enron Corp. investors, a day after an appeals court ruled the complaint could not proceed as a class-action claim.

Reuters - New Century Financial Corp., once the largest independent provider of subprime mortgages, was dealt a fresh setback on Tuesday when Fannie Mae said it would no longer buy its loans made to borrowers with poor credit, while another big subprime lender filed for bankruptcy.

Reuters - Software maker Adobe Systems Inc. posted on Tuesday a rise in quarterly net profit despite declining sales ahead of an upgrade to its Creative Suite software bundle for Web, video and mobile device content.

AP - Mutual fund investors hoping to mimic the success of Wall Street's best-known prognosticator don't need a crystal ball perhaps as much as an iron stomach. More Info...  

Reuters - Federal Reserve policy-makers opened a two-day meeting on Tuesday likely to feature discussions about rising mortgage defaults and softer economic growth, but no change in U.S. interest rates.

Reuters - Investment banks Merrill Lynch and Co. Inc. and Credit Suisse Group won a huge victory when a $40 billion class-action lawsuit filed by Enron Corp. investors was blocked by a federal appeals panel in New Orleans on Monday.

Reuters - Shipping company EGL Inc. said on Monday it agreed to be bought by an investor group led by CEO James Crane for $38 per share, or around $1.7 billion, in Crane's second attempt to take the company into private ownership. More Info...  

Business

Reuters - Dutch bank ABN AMRO and British bank Barclays are in exclusive talks for a possible $160 billion merger that would be Europe's biggest financial services deal, they said on Monday.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rallied on Monday after Britain's Barclays Plc and Dutch bank ABN AMRO confirmed they were in talks to merge, helping the financial sector recover from its recent hammering in the subprime mortgage market turmoil.

Reuters - Triad Hospitals Inc. has agreed to be bought by Community Health Systems Inc. for $5.1 billion in a deal that will create the biggest publicly traded U.S. hospital chain, the companies said on Monday.

Reuters - ServiceMaster Co. , which owns TruGreen LawnCare and Terminix pest control, said on Monday that it had accepted a $4.7 billion takeover bid from a group led by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc.

FT.com - The yen weakened on Monday as a strong performance from Asian stock markets encouraged investors to take on risk, reversing the currency's earlier gains following a rise in Chinese interest rates. More Info...  

AP - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's radical policies pose "substantial risk" for private firms and are expected to undermine the South American country's economic growth in 2007, the world's leading banking organization said Sunday. More Info...