On Monday September 13, 2010, 6:11 pm EDT
Banks get years to adjust
to new global rules
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) --
Bankers and analysts said new global rules could mean less money available to
lend to businesses and consumers, but praised a decision to leave plenty of
time -- until 2019 -- before the financial stability requirements come into
full force.
The so-called Basel III
rules, which will gradually require banks to hold greater capital buffers to
absorb potential losses, are likely to affect the credit industry by imposing
stricter discipline on credit cards, mortgages and other loans.
Requiring banks to keep
more capital on hand will limit the amount of money they can lend, but it will
make them better able to withstand the blow if many of those loans go sour.
US budget deficit on pace
to hit $1.3 trillion
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
federal government is on track to record the second-highest deficit of all time
with one month left in the budget year.
The deficit totaled $1.26
trillion through August, the Treasury Department said Monday. That puts it on
pace to total $1.3 trillion when the budget year ends on September 30, slightly
below last year's record $1.4 trillion deficit.
Soaring deficits have
become a major issue with voters heading into the midterm elections.
Republicans say the deficits illustrate the growth of spending under Democrats
and show their poor handling of the economy.
The Obama administration
contends the record deficits were necessary to combat the most serious economic
crisis since the Great Depression.
Stocks climb on bank
reform, China growth, deals
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors
looking for reassurances about the health of the global economy received just
that Monday.
Stocks extended their rally
into a third week after global regulators agreed to new rules for how much
money banks must hold in reserves, China reported its economy remains robust
and companies announced a flurry of new takeovers.
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 81 points for its eighth gain in the past nine days. The Dow did
close off its high after some traders pulled money out of retail stocks ahead
of the government's monthly retail sales report due out Tuesday.
Dollar Thrifty deal could
boost rental car prices
DALLAS (AP) -- While
corporate travelers have been grounded by the slow economy, a lot of
vacationers have still been renting cars. That says a lot about why Hertz and
Avis are fighting over Dollar Thrifty, a chain known for lower rates that
appeal to leisure travelers.
Dollar Thrifty Automotive
Group Inc. has accepted Hertz's latest bid of about $1.56 billion for the
chain. That would top Avis' latest offer of more than $1.3 billion.
Whoever wins the fight for
Dollar Thrifty, renting a car or SUV on vacation might cost a bit more.
Ex-IBM exec gets 6 months
prison in Galleon case
NEW YORK (AP) -- A tearful
former IBM executive who has admitted that romance clouded his judgment was
sentenced to six months in prison Monday for his role in what prosecutors call
the biggest hedge fund insider trading case in history.
Robert Moffat, 54, of
Ridgefield, Conn., was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine by U.S. District
Judge Deborah A. Batts following his guilty plea earlier this year to
securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
The sentence came in a case
that resulted in charges against 21 defendants last fall. Already, a dozen
people have pleaded guilty.
FDA mulls pulling diet pill
linked to heart attack
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Almost a
year after studies showed the diet pill Meridia increases heart attack and
stroke risk, U.S. health regulators announced they will consider pulling the
Abbott Laboratories' drug off the market.
Meridia has been sold since
1997, but data released in November showed patients with heart disease taking
the drug had a more than 11 percent risk of cardiovascular risks compared with
10 percent of those taking a placebo. European regulators pulled the product
off the market in January.
However, the FDA said
Monday that it is considering a range of options for the drug, including simply
adding more warning labels.
PG&E sets up $100
million fund to help San Bruno
SAN BRUNO, Calif. (AP) --
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said Monday it has set aside up to $100 million to
help San Bruno, California residents recover from last week's natural gas
pipeline explosion.
The utility said it will
help residents with immediate cash payments and pay for costs that aren't
covered by insurance. Residents will get $15,000, $25,000 or $50,000 depending
on the damage to their homes.
PG&E says residents
won't be asked to waive legal claims to get the money. PG&E is partnering
with government officials, community leaders and organizations, including the
American Red Cross and the United Way of the Bay Area to administer the funds.
Hewlett-Packard buying
ArcSight for $1.5 billion
NEW YORK (AP) --
Hewlett-Packard Co. wants to have the answer to all of its customers'
technology problems. So it is buying network-security provider ArcSight Inc. to
help them respond to the growing threat posed by hackers, computer viruses and
digital fraud.
The $1.5 billion deal
announced Monday extends HP's recent spate of acquisitions and could help
signal that even after ousting CEO Mark Hurd, it hasn't lost its footing in the
effort to win fatter profit margins beyond the personal-computer business.
HP continued to brush off
concerns that it is paying too much to grow in new areas. The new deal came
just weeks after HP won a bidding contest with Dell Inc. over the data-storage
company 3Par Inc., agreeing to pay $2.07 billion, or $33 per share.
Oil, gasoline up on US
crude pipeline leak
NEW YORK (AP) -- Retail
gasoline prices increased Monday as crews continued to work on a broken Midwest
pipeline that transports a quarter of the oil imported from Canada to the U.S.
In its weekly report on
gasoline pump prices, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration
said Monday that the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular was
$2.721, up about 4 cents from a week ago.
The broken Enbridge Energy
crude oil pipeline is in Romeoville, Ill., about 30 miles from Chicago. It is
part of a system that transports oil from western Canada to U.S. refiners.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 81.36, or 0.8 percent, to 10,544.13. The S&P 500 index rose
12.35, or 1.1 percent, to 1,121.90, while the Nasdaq composite rose 43.23, or
1.9 percent, to 2,285.71.
Benchmark crude for October
delivery added 74 cents to settle at $77.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. In London, Brent crude rose 87 cents to settle at $79.03 a barrel on
the ICE Futures exchange.
In other Nymex trading in
October contracts, heating oil rose 1.83 cents to settle at $2.1227 a gallon
and gasoline added less than a penny to settle at $1.9806 a gallon. Natural gas
gained 5.5 cents to settle at $3.938 per 1,000 cubic feet.