Reuters: Business News

Wall St flat as economy sends mixed signals

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:14:44 -0500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks closed little changed on Friday after mixed consumer and retail data, but major indexes edged higher for a second straight week.

Cheap cigars, politics and the Volcker Rule

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:17:32 -0500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In mid-January, a who's who of Wall Street gathered to hear Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman whose role in the White House seemed at best unclear.

Yellen leads picks for Fed seat

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:53:21 -0500

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen, a monetary policy dove, tops President Barack Obama's list to be No. 2 at U.S. central bank, the White House said on Friday.

Treasury says 1 million homeowners in loan modifications

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:38:16 -0500

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Obama administration program to help struggling homeowners modify their mortgages has more than one million active borrowers, though fewer than 10 percent have obtained permanent loan modifications, according to a Treasury Department report released on Friday.

Calif. lawsuit claims Toyota hid defect evidence

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:05:46 -0500

SANTA ANA, California (Reuters) - Southern California prosecutors filed the first U.S. consumer protection lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corp on Friday, claiming it had engaged in "fraud" by hiding evidence of dangerous vehicle defects.

Retail sales rise as shoppers fight winter blues

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:27:14 -0500

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales rose unexpectedly last month despite heavy snow storms and a drop in vehicle purchases by consumers spooked by Toyota recalls, bolstering hopes of a sustainable economic recovery.

Slow financial regulatory reform irks industry

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:54:36 -0500

BOCA RATON, Florida (Reuters) - The pace of financial regulatory reform remains slow even as the global economy struggles to recover from a crisis that many say was caused by inadequacies in the current system, attendees at an annual financial conference said this week.

"Cash for keys" aids home borrowers, investors

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:21:19 -0500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jon Daurio, chief executive officer of mortgage investor Kondaur Capital Corp., recently offered a $4,000 check to Barry Culver for the deed to his Bryan, Ohio house.

WaMu deal resolves fallout from record bank failure

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:47:04 -0500

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc said on Friday that it reached a deal that will bring it roughly $6 billion and help resolve its bankruptcy, but it could leave shareholders in the cold.

Wells Fargo, Baltimore in talks after mortgage suit

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:31:44 -0500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co said on Friday it is in talks with Baltimore officials that could avert further litigation by that city over the bank's mortgage lending practices.