Despite freezes, US still
racking up foreclosures
MIAMI (AP) -- For most
Americans at risk of losing their homes, the brutal business of foreclosure
goes on.
Bank of America halted
foreclosures across the country to address paperwork problems, but three other
banks did so only in 23 states. Other banks holding millions of mortgages have
not suspended any foreclosures.
In the other 27 states,
judges don't have to review foreclosures. A homeowner must sue the bank for
that to happen. Paperwork mistakes and fraud are even harder to discover, legal
experts say.
States aim to force changes
in foreclosure process
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Attorneys general in up to 40 states want to force mortgage companies to revamp
the way they handle foreclosures, pay financial penalties for violations and
expand help to homeowners on the verge of foreclosure.
The attorneys general are
discussing the outlines of a settlement that would seek to correct the problems
with foreclosure documents that have surfaced in recent weeks, said Iowa
Attorney General Tom Miller, who will lead a joint investigation. The inquiry
is scheduled to be announced Wednesday morning.
Intel's net leaps 59 pct,
shares rise
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Intel
Corp.'s third-quarter results showed Wall Street something that many anxious
investors were itching to see: a sign that economic edginess hasn't ruined
consumers' appetite for new PCs as much as originally feared going into the
critical holiday shopping season.
Intel said Tuesday that its
net income leaped 59 percent and sales rose 18 percent, both topping analysts'
expectations.
Those expectations had been
tamped down in August when Intel cut its guidance, blaming weak consumer PC
demand that has rippled across the computer industry.
Fed Minutes: Consensus
builds for debt purchase
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Consensus is building at the Federal Reserve for a new program to pump up the
economy through the purchase Treasury bonds.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and
his colleagues appeared to be closing in on the idea at their September
meeting, according to minutes of the closed-door deliberations that were
released Tuesday. Economists predict Fed officials will approve the program at
their Nov. 2-3 meeting.
Stocks end higher after
release of Fed minutes
NEW YORK (AP) -- Traders
pushed shares higher Tuesday after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve
meeting kept hope alive that the central bank would take more action to
stimulate the economy.
The Fed had said after its
Sept. 21 meeting that it was concerned that inflation was too low, and
suggested it could step up its purchases of government bonds and take other
action to encourage lending.
Minutes from the September
meeting, released Tuesday afternoon, indicated that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke
and his colleagues were nearing a consensus on what steps to take. Traders are
hoping for more concrete news from the Fed following its next meeting in early
November.
Administration lifts
6-month oil drilling freeze
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
Obama administration, under heavy pressure from the oil industry and others in
the Gulf Coast, on Tuesday lifted the moratorium on deep water drilling that it
imposed in the wake of the disastrous BP oil spill.
The six-month ban had been scheduled
to expire Nov. 30, but Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he was moving up
that deadline because new rules imposed after the spill have strengthened
safety measures and reduced the risk of another catastrophic blowout.
GMAC enlists independent review
of foreclosures
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- GMAC
Mortgage said Tuesday that it has enlisted several legal and accounting firms
to conduct independent reviews of its foreclosure procedures nationwide as
questions grow over whether lenders improperly took back properties from
thousands of homeowners.
The company, a unit of Ally
Financial Inc., also said a review of cases in 23 states has found no evidence
to date that the company has conducted any inappropriate foreclosures.
GMAC and other mortgage
lenders have come under criticism as evidence has surfaced that they have been
using flawed court papers to evict homeowners. That has led state and federal
officials to ramp up pressure on the mortgage industry.
Pfizer will buy King
Pharmaceuticals for $3.6B
NEW YORK (AP) -- Pfizer
Inc. said Tuesday that it will buy a company specializing in pain drugs in a
$3.6 billion deal meant to shore up the portfolio of the world's largest drug
company.
The deal to buy King
Pharmaceutical Inc. is Pfizer's largest since it bought rival Wyeth for $68
billion in 2009. Pfizer already has a large stake in the pain drug market with
its drugs Lyrica and Celebrex, which combined for more than $5 billion in sales
in 2009. But now the company is betting that King's work on "abuse-resistant"
pain drugs will pay off and help make up for the revenue it will lose when top
sellers such as the cholesterol drug Lipitor no longer have patent protection
in a few years.
High hopes for iPad push
Apple shares near $300
SEATTLE (AP) -- Apple
Inc.'s stock flirted with $300 Tuesday as investors high on the iPad's promise
pushed shares to a record peak. Analysts see few reasons to believe shares will
stop there.
As was the case with the
iPhone, Apple's iPad is setting the standards for this generation of tablet
computers as competitors scramble to match the design and functions.
So far, no credible
challengers have hit the market. Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer has promised
Windows-based tablets, but so far there are no solid details. Meanwhile,
tablets based on Google Inc.'s Android system are starting to emerge, but they
have smaller screens than the iPad's.
Making sense of Google's
seemingly kooky concepts
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- In
its self-proclaimed drive to make the world a better place, Google has immersed
itself in far more than Internet search and online ads. But driverless cars and
a wind energy farm in the Atlantic Ocean?
It may not always be
immediately apparent to frustrated investors -- they wish management would be more
frugal and focus more on the stock price -- but there's usually some calculated
logic underlying Google's unconventional strategy.
Google's brain trust --
founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, along with CEO Eric Schmidt -- clearly
think differently than most corporate leaders, and may eventually encourage
more companies to take risks that might not pay off for years, if ever.
Lions Gate offers to
combine with MGM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Lions Gate
is offering to combine its business with MGM in a deal supported by billionaire
investor Carl Icahn, who owns stakes in both studios.
Lions Gate Entertainment
Corp. said Tuesday it has sent a proposal for a combination with financially
troubled Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Lions Gate said the
combined company would be owned by its shareholders and by MGM's creditors.
These include Icahn.
Terms weren't disclosed,
though a report in the Los Angeles Times said the deal would give MGM's lenders
a 55 percent in the combined company. Lions Gate and MGM declined to comment.
By The Associated Press
The tech-heavy Nasdaq
composite index rose 15.59, or 0.7 percent, to 2,417.92, while the Dow Jones
industrial average rose 10.06 points, or 0.1 percent, to 11,020.40.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index rose 4.45, or 0.4 percent, to 1,169.77.
Benchmark crude for
November delivery fell 54 cents to settle at $81.67 on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
In other Nymex trading in
November contracts, heating oil fell 1.65 cents to settle at $2.2625 a gallon,
gasoline dropped 4.16 cents to settle at $2.1239 a gallon and natural gas rose
2.8 cents to settle at $3.629 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude fell
22 cents to settle at $83.50 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.