Author's posts
Jun 30 2010
News at Noon
| From Reuters |
Ex-AIG’s Cassano defends no-losses proclamation
By Steve Eder and Kim Dixon
June 30, 2010
| (Reuters) – The former head of the American International Group unit that precipitated a $182 billion bailout pledge from taxpayers stood by a 2007 proclamation that the insurer would not lose even a dollar on a portfolio of securities that included subprime mortgages.
Joseph Cassano, the much-maligned ex-chief of AIG’s Financial Products division, told a congressionally appointed commission on Wednesday that he truly believed what he told an earnings call with analysts and investors. “I meant exactly what I said in August 2007,” Cassano said, according to prepared testimony for the hearing held by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. |
Jun 29 2010
News at Noon
| From Reuters |
Home prices climb on tax credit push
By Reuters
June 29, 2010
| (Reuters) – Single-family home prices unexpectedly climbed in April from March, driven by a final sales push before tax credits expired, but signs of a sustained recovery have yet to emerge, Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller home price indexes showed on Tuesday.
“Inventory data and foreclosure activity have not shown any signs of improvement,” David Blitzer, chairman of S&P’s index committee, said in a statement. “Consistent and sustained boosts to economic growth from housing may have to wait to next year.” The S&P composite index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas for April rose 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis after a downwardly revised 0.2 percent drop in March, compared with a 0.1 percent decline forecast in a Reuters survey. March prices were previously reported as unchanged. |
Jun 28 2010
News at Noon
| From Reuters |
Supreme Court pick Kagen faces Senate hearing
By Thomas Ferraro
June 28, 2010
| (Reuters) – Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan faces a grilling at her Senate confirmation hearing that opens on Monday but President Barack Obama is rejecting criticism of his high-court pick as “pretty thin gruel.”
Republicans have questioned whether Kagan, a former Harvard law school dean who has served in the past two Democratic administrations, is driven more by politics than law. Democratic backers call the 50-year-old nominee, who last week received the American Bar Association’s top rating, a perfect fit for the highest U.S. court. Related Stories Factbox: Kagen will face questions on host of issues |
Jun 25 2010
News at Noon
| From Reuters |
Kyrgyz troops vote in first stage of referendum
By Maria Golovina
June 25, 2010
| Kyrgyzstan (Reuters) – Kyrgyz soldiers voted on Friday in the first stage of a referendum to create the first parliamentary democracy in Central Asia, two weeks after ethnic clashes killed more than 250 people.
Nearly 2,000 soldiers filed into polling booths in a university in Osh, epicenter of the bloodshed, two days before the main round of voting which the interim government hopes will cement its rule of the poor but strategic country. “The boys are voting today so they can be on high alert on election day,” said Abdykalyk Boltabayev, a local election commission official. |
Jun 24 2010
News at Noon
| From Reuters |
Wall Street reform bill goes into final hours
by Andy Sullivan
June 24, 2010
| (Reuters) – With the historic overhaul of U.S. financial rules nearly complete, lawmakers have waited until the final, frantic hours to sort out the most controversial provisions in the bill.
Democrats in charge of the process appear likely to retain tough restrictions on banks’ trading and investment activities that could crimp profits for the foreseeable future. But with a self-imposed deadline of Thursday evening, last-minute dealmaking could lead to exemptions for mutual funds, manufacturers and other business interests. |
