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| Santander boss planning to appeal court's pardon ruling Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 11:22 AM PST MADRID (Reuters) - The Chief Executive of Spain's Santander , Alfredo Saenz, is planning to appeal a court ruling that reinstated his criminal record, according to a source at the bank with knowledge of his legal team's thinking. Spain's Supreme Court this month partially annulled a 2011 pardon of a conviction held by Saenz, 70, reviving a long-running case. The Supreme Court's ruling two weeks ago has created a headache for Saenz and authorities at the Bank of Spain, which has to decide Saenz's fate as CEO of the euro zone's biggest bank. The Bank of Spain declined to comment on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| First spill trial witness: BP put cost cuts over safety Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 11:21 AM PST  NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - BP Plc fostered a culture that put cost-cutting over safety before the deadly 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a noted forensic engineer said in the first day of testimony in the federal civil trial centered on the disaster. "There is ample evidence of intense pressure within the system to save time and money," said Bob Bea, co-founder of the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management at the University of California, Berkeley. "With stress and pressure come sacrifices to safety." Bea was the first witness for the plaintiffs, the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Home prices cap year with biggest rise since 2006 Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 11:21 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home prices closed out 2012 with the biggest annual gain in more than six years while sales of new homes spiked in January, the latest sign that the long-suffering housing market was on the mend, data showed on Tuesday. American consumers, meanwhile, grew more optimistic in February even as payroll taxes rose and about $85 billion worth of government spending cuts were due to take effect on March 1. "The numbers are all pretty strong. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four Spanish lenders set to pass properties to bad bank Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 10:56 AM PST  MADRID (Reuters) - Four mid-sized Spanish banks are poised to transfer 14 billion euros ($18.30 billion) of soured property assets to a government-backed "bad bank", which on Tuesday issued bonds to give to the banks as payment and completed a capital hike. The bad bank, known as Sareb, was launched at the end of 2012 as a condition of a 40-billion-euro European rescue of the country's ailing lenders. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clinton aide returns to Morgan Stanley Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 10:50 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley has rehired Tom Nides to a senior position after he served as deputy to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for two years. Nides, who previously worked for Morgan Stanley from 2005 to 2010, will work with clients and management as vice chairman and report directly to Chief Executive Officer James Gorman, the bank said in a press release. Nides rejoins Morgan Stanley at a time when it is trying to boost returns and Wall Street must implement a raft of new rules to avoid a repeat of the devastating financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tribune Co hires bankers to sell newspapers: source Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 10:48 AM PST  (Reuters) - Tribune Co has hired investment bankers to sell off its newspaper unit, which includes The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, according to a person familiar with the situation. The company has hired Evercore and J.P. Morgan to run an auction for the newspapers, the person said. Tribune, J.P. Morgan and Evercore declined to comment. A move to sell the newspapers has been widely expected since Tribune emerged from a four-year bankruptcy process late last year. Tribune's new chief executive and some of its board directors have broadcasting backgrounds. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street cash bonuses seen up in 2012: NY comptroller Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 10:38 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street cash bonuses are forecast to have risen in 2012 to their highest since 2010, but are still below pre-crisis levels, New York state's comptroller said on Tuesday. The securities industry's bonus pool was expected to total $20 billion, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said at a press conference on Tuesday, up 8 percent from 2011 but below levels seen in 2006 and 2007, before the financial crisis. The estimate is based on income tax withholdings and would include bonuses that were deferred from earlier years. ... Full Story | Top |
| February auto sales data expected to show sustained recovery Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 10:20 AM PST  DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales in February were expected to show a fourth straight month of seasonally adjusted annualized sales above 15 million vehicles for the first time since early 2008, a sign of a sustained recovery after the recession. Forty-one analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast on average a 4 percent rise in February sales, to an annualized rate of 15.1 million vehicles. The forecasts ranged from 14.9 million to 15.75 million vehicles, on an annualized basis. February sales will be reported by automakers in the U.S. market on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street up as Bernanke defends policy, warns on cuts Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 10:19 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks advanced on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed's bond-buying stimulus before Congress, but he warned forced spending cuts that could be triggered this week represented a headwind for the economy. Gains in homebuilders and other consumer stocks, following strong economic data, kept the S&P 500 up slightly and a 5 percent jump in Home Depot lifted the Dow industrials. The PHLX housing sector index rose 2.6 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada regulators to propose extended poison pills: paper Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 10:09 AM PST TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian securities regulators want to change the rules on takeover defenses to make it more difficult for hostile bidders to buy Canadian companies, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. The plan being floated would allow companies to keep "poison pill" defenses in place almost indefinitely, greatly enhancing their protection against unwanted suitors, according to the Globe and Mail, which cited sources it did not identify. Poison pills effectively raise the price of a hostile takeover by enabling shareholders to buy additional stock in the target company at a discount. ... Full Story | Top |
| GM says did not request 2013 pay bump for CEO Akerson Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 09:47 AM PST  DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co denied that it asked U.S. officials to allow for a pay increase of more than 20 percent for its top executive and said its request was misinterpreted for "political points" ahead of a congressional hearing on executive pay. GM submitted a request to U.S. officials to pay Chief Executive Dan Akerson $9 million for 2013, about the same as his 2012 and 2011 pay packages, GM said in a statement on Tuesday. The largest U.S. automaker's statement came in response to media reports that GM wanted to pay Akerson $11.1 million for 2013. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bernanke says Fed stimulus benefits clear, budget cuts a risk Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 09:17 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke strongly defended the U.S. central bank's bond-buying stimulus before Congress on Tuesday, easing worries monetary policymakers might be getting cold feet. The Fed chairman also urged lawmakers to avoid sharp spending cuts set to go into effect on Friday, which he warned could combine with earlier tax increases to create a "significant headwind" for the economic recovery. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. appeals court voids Encore debt settlement Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 09:16 AM PST (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday voided a controversial $5.2 million settlement intended to resolve allegations that Encore Capital Group Inc used false affidavits and other illegal tactics to collect debts from 1.44 million consumers. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati said U.S. District Judge David Katz abused his discretion in August 2011 when he approved the settlement with Encore and its Midland Funding and Midland Credit Management units as "fair, reasonable and adequate," and certified a nationwide settlement class. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. banks in 2012 post highest profits since '06 -FDIC Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 08:53 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. banking industry in 2012 recorded its highest earnings since before the 2007-2009 financial crisis, according to data released on Tuesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The FDIC said the industry's full-year earnings were the second-highest on record at $141.3 billion, an increase over 2011 of $22.9 billion, or 19.3 percent. But the head of the agency said growth would probably slow this year, and warned that bank profits could dive if Congress does not reach a federal budget agreement that prevents automatic cuts. Bank earnings peaked in 2006 at $145. ... Full Story | Top |
| Google and Spain wrestle over EU privacy law Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 08:47 AM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google did battle with Spain's data protection authority in Europe's highest court on Tuesday, in a case with global implications that poses one of the toughest questions of the Internet age: When is information really private? The issue before the European Court of Justice boils down to this: If a person fails to make social security payments and their house is auctioned as a result, do they have the right to force Google to delete such damaging information from search results? Behind that question lie complex arguments over freedom of information, the right to protect ... Full Story | Top |
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