NEW YORK (AP) — Fitch Ratings on Wednesday cut the debt ratings of FGIC Corp. and its subsidiaries following a review of the bond insurance company’s finances.The move affects bond-insurance subsidiaries Financial Guaranty Insurance Company’s and FGIC UK’s insurer financial strength ratings, which were cut to BBB from AA, and remain investment grade.FGIC Corp.’s long-term [...]
NEW YORK (AP) — Some 200 protesters said Wednesday the government is bailing out Wall Street while abandoning Main Street.The demonstrators, wearing yellow T-shirts with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America logo, took their protest to the lobby of the struggling Bear Stearns (BSC, Fortune 500) investment bank.The group’s statement said the government continues to [...]
NEW YORK (Fortune) — WiMax may not be dead after all.Sprint and Clearwire may have found more partners for their broadband wireless joint venture as Comcast and Time Warner Cable are in talks to chip in $1.5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The cable companies would be teaming with Intel and possibly Google [...]
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Key senators are asking questions about the recent pennies-on-the-dollar sale of investment firm Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase, a transaction made possible after the Federal Reserve backed it with billions in taxpayer dollars.Economic times are tight on Main Street as well as Wall Street, and we have a responsibility to all taxpayers [...]
NEW YORK (AP) — Treasurys were mostly higher Wednesday after an unexpected drop in orders for big-ticket manufactured goods stirred concerns about the health of the economy. Strong demand at a 2-year note auction also lifted prices.The Commerce Department’s report that orders for durable goods fell 1.7% last month touched off fresh concerns about [...]
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Consumer confidence plunged to a five-year low Tuesday as tight credit markets, rising prices and worsening job prospects weigh on American consumers. But Gerri Willis is here to give us reasons for optimism.1. Low mortgage ratesThis is good news for homeowners who want to refinance into a fixed rate loan. Today, [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The crash of Wall Street’s once mighty Bear Stearns underscores the need to bring investment houses under the kind of federal oversight that has long been given to commercial banks, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday.In a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Paulson said the Bush administration will soon release [...]
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The federal government is keeping Bear Stearns out of bankruptcy. Are you next?Momentum for federal assistance to struggling homeowners, a non-starter with the Republican administration and many members of Congress only a few months ago, has picked up steam in Washington. The tipping point came March 16, when the Federal Reserve [...]
NEW YORK (Money) — Question: Recently I’ve been reviewing a few financial newsletters that provide market advice. I don’t trust most of them but have been intrigued by some. Would I just be wasting my money ($200 or $300 a piece) or could I actually see some better than average returns? How does the current [...]
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — If you’ve been pessimistic about the stock market, you would think you’d have plenty of reasons to gloat today.Influential bank analyst Meredith Whitney of Oppenheimer slashed her earnings targets for Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Wachovia (WB, Fortune 500). Whitney [...]
