Copyright 2012 The New York Sun Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:38:19 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Business :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/business admin@nysun.net (Seth Lipsky) webmaster@nysun.com en-us JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/business/bailout-failure-puts-mccain-on-the-spot/86864/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The surprise defeat of the $700 billion bailout plan before the House of Representatives will soon show what downside, if any, Senator McCain faces for his bold gambit last week declaring his campaign suspended as he briefly jumped into the thick of negotiations over the proposal. Lawmakers said yesterday it was uncertain whether the House would try for a second vote on the proposal in the coming days or return to the drawing board and come up with something new. The bailout plan was voted... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/business/citigroup-rescues-wachovias-bank-unit/86849/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Citigroup Inc., the biggest American bank by assets, will pay about $2.16 billion for banking operations of Wachovia Corp. after shares of the North Carolina lender collapsed under the weight of overdue mortgages. While regulators said the Charlotte-based bank hadn't failed, Wachovia will lose its biggest unit and investors will get only about $1 a share for the bank, whose stock topped $59 in April 2006. All depositors will be protected, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which... JULIE SATOW http://www.nysun.com/business/after-the-congressional-failure/86847/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The Next Stop: The Federal Reserve With Congress unable to pass the $700 billion bailout, it is likely that the next stop in the race to quell the market chaos will be the Federal Reserve. Expectations are rising that the Federal Open Market Committee could cut its benchmark lending rate at its October 29 meeting, while some are predicting it could institute an emergency rate-cut as soon as next week. Interest rate futures listed on the Chicago Board of Trade are pricing in a 50% chance that... SCOTT LANMAN and CRAIG TORRES http://www.nysun.com/business/fed-pumps-630-billion-into-system/86848/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The Federal Reserve will pump an additional $630 billion into the global financial system, flooding banks with cash to alleviate the worst banking crisis since the Great Depression. The Fed increased its existing currency swaps with foreign central banks by $330 billion to $620 billion to make more dollars available worldwide. The Term Auction Facility, the Fed's emergency loan program, will expand by $300 billion to $450 billion. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of... JULIE SATOW http://www.nysun.com/business/talent-flight-feared-by-city-firms/86785/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST With New York's top investment banks either converting into commercial banks or bankrupt, the city is poised to lose revenue and talent, industry analysts said. The prediction is that many of the highest-paid traders, analysts, and portfolio managers, frustrated with lower earnings potential at commercial banks — the banks are permitted to use only about one-third the leverage of investment banks and so often post lower returns — will leave to start their own hedge funds and investment... TIM PARADIS http://www.nysun.com/business/stocks-plummet-on-bailout-anxiety/86800/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:03:26 EST Wall Street's worst fears came to pass today, when the government's financial bailout plan failed in Congress and stocks plunged precipitously - hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 780 points in their largest one-day point drop ever. Credit markets, whose turmoil helped feed the stock market's angst, froze up further amid the growing belief that the country is headed into a spreading credit and economic crisis. Stunned traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, their faces... STEVENSON JACOBS http://www.nysun.com/business/oil-falls-on-demand-outlook/86802/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:41:09 EST Oil prices tumbled more than $6 a barrel today, briefly slipping below the $100 level as traders bet that global demand for petroleum products will keep falling despite a planned $700 billion American financial bailout. A stronger dollar also weighed on crude prices as investors who bought oil and other commodities as a hedge against inflation sold their contracts. Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell as low as $99.80 a barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange... DAN DORFMAN http://www.nysun.com/business/bailout-could-spur-a-new-gold-rush/86693/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST A James Bond villain who would be overjoyed today if he hadn't met the fate of all 007 adversaries is Goldfinger. The words vary, but that's essentially the message from several market watchers who say they see sizable market risk in Uncle Sam's bailout — a $700 billion rescue package they call heavily flawed, strongly indicating the prospects of further dollar weakness and higher inflation. That, in turn, could trigger a new gold rush. One money manager critical of the rescue package, Leonard... JULIE SATOW http://www.nysun.com/business/derivatives-pose-new-wrinkle-in-lehman-case/86595/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Bankruptcy lawyers and law professors are preparing for a journey into uncharted territory as the credit default swaps market gets dragged into the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy proceeding. "The courts have dealt with credit default swaps very infrequently, and certainly not at the scale they are now out there," a lawyer at Washington, D.C.-based Caplin & Drysdale, James Wehner, said. "We have a new law and a new financial phenomenon, so there is a lot of uncertainty." In recent weeks, regulators... LIZ PEEK http://www.nysun.com/business/why-wall-street-is-ready-to-rise-again/86585/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Happily, I can say with some confidence that we've reached the bottom of this particular Wall Street meltdown. Why? Because Warren Buffett told us so, and I'm easily influenced by people who have made billions of dollars. Mr. Buffett, for all his "I don't know which fork to choose" folksiness, is a hard-nosed investor and a veteran Wall Streeter. Having bought a 12% interest in Salomon Brothers in 1987, he took charge of the firm when it had a little dust-up with regulators and ultimately sold... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/business/bernanke-paulson-face-tough-audience/86508/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Key lawmakers are ignoring a warning by the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, that "absent a plan," the financial markets will worsen. Most members of the Senate's Banking Committee yesterday told Mr. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson, who had come to Congress seeking $700 billion in bailout money, either that they disapproved of a bailout in general, or that they were against the one the Bush administration was pitching. Some senators balked at the idea of making taxpayers... JESSE WESTBROOK and DAVID SCHEER http://www.nysun.com/business/cox-says-congress-should-regulate-credit-default/86488/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Christopher Cox, said Congress should "immediately" grant authority to regulate credit-default swaps amid concern the bets are fueling the global financial crisis. "Neither the SEC nor any regulator has authority over the CDS market, even to require minimal disclosure," Mr. Cox told the Senate Banking Committee yesterday at a hearing on the government's $700 billion financial rescue plan. Lawmakers should provide the authority "to enhance... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/citigroup-to-buy-wachovia-banking-operations/86799/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:28:45 EST In the latest byproduct of the widening global financial crisis, Citigroup Inc. will acquire the banking operations of Wachovia Corp. in a deal facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Citigroup will absorb up to $42 billion of losses in the deal, with the FDIC covering any remaining losses, the government agency said today. Citigroup also will grant the FDIC $12 billion in preferred stock and warrants. The deal greatly expands Citigroup's retail outlets and leaves it among the... DAN DORFMAN http://www.nysun.com/business/rescue-plan-may-not-rescue-wall-street/86772/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST News of the $700 billion rescue package intended to bail out the country's floundering financial system was greeted with both cheer and fear by Wall Street's fraternity of market-watchers. The cheer stems from a belief that the rescue plan is a much-needed confidence builder. The fear reflects the awareness that, Washington's life preserver notwithstanding, there is no overnight cure for the bevy of ills that have plagued markets since last October, stripping it of more than $3 trillion of... JON MENON and POPPY TROWBRIDGE http://www.nysun.com/business/britain-plans-to-take-over-biggest-lender/86784/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Bradford & Bingley Plc, Britain's biggest lender to landlords, may be taken over by another bank or nationalized today under a British government-backed plan to protect $39 billion of customer deposits. The chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, will announce details of the plan before 8 a.m. today, his office said late yesterday. Treasury officials worked through the night on a partial government takeover, acquisition by a rival bank or a break-up and purchase of assets by several... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/three-european-governments-will-baill-out-fortis/86732/ Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:35:44 EST BRUSSELS, Belgium — The Belgian prime minister says the troubled Dutch-Belgian banking and insurance giant Fortis NV will be partially nationalized. Prime Minister Yves Leterme says the deal was reached during talks today between E.U. and national banking officials and ministers from the Belgian, Dutch, and Luxembourg governments. The deal will see the three governments pour 11.2 billion euro ($16.4 billion) into the bank. Fortis will also be forced to sell off its stake in Dutch bank ABN Amro... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/report-wachova-in-talks-for-sale/86753/ Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:58:44 EST At least two major banks were reportedly in talks today to buy Wachovia Corp., the latest U.S. bank to be the focus of investor anxiety over mounting losses tied to toxic assets. The New York Times reported on its Web site that Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are bidding in a possible emergency takeover of Wachovia, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Wall Street Journal also listed Spain's Banco Santander SA as a possible bidder. In London, meanwhile, British media reports... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/government-ends-oversight-for-wall-street-banks/86723/ Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:24:16 EST WASHINGTON —The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday it was ending a program of voluntary oversight for Wall Street investment banks that its chairman said clearly has not worked. It was the latest shift in the regulatory landscape stemming from the financial crisis that has gripped the markets and thrown Washington into fevered negotiations over a $700 billion bailout plan. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox announced the agency's decision to end the program under which SEC examiners... TIM PARADIS http://www.nysun.com/business/stocks-open-down-on-bailout-clash-wamu-failure/86711/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:41:39 EST Stocks have turned in a lopsided finish as investors nervously wait for more news on the government's financial bailout plan. The Dow Jones industrials rose 118 points to the 11,140 level, lifted by big national banks like Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. Although investors are very nervous about the financial sector, they were gravitating toward companies they believe are in more secure financial positions. Smaller banks and tech stocks led the day's selling, which came on very light... ARI LEVY and ELIZABETH HESTER http://www.nysun.com/business/wamu-fails-jpmorgan-to-buy-deposits/86687/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third-biggest American bank by assets, agreed to acquire the deposits of Washington Mutual Inc. as the thrift was seized by regulators in the biggest bank failure in American history. JPMorgan will pay $1.9 billion, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement yesterday. It won't acquire liabilities including claims by equity, subordinated, and senior debt holders, the FDIC said. WaMu, based in Seattle, collapsed after its credit rating was slashed to junk... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/chrysler-to-cut-300-white-collar-jobs/86690/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Chrysler LLC is expected to fire about 300 salaried employees Friday, according to published reports, as it tries to meet its goal of cutting its white-collar work force by 1,000 workers. The automaker has been offering buyouts and early retirement packages to employees to get them to leave the company but so far hasn't gotten enough takers, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site yesterday, citing unnamed people at the company. Some department directors were telling employees to... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/state-to-auction-off-greenhouse-gas-credits/86609/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:55:58 EST ALBANY — Greenhouse gas is on the auction block as a coalition of 10 northeastern states holds the nation's first sale of pollution credits aimed at curbing global warming. The three-hour Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction, starting at 9 a.m. today, is being run by World Energy, an operator of online green exchanges. It will be conducted online among approved bidders. At the end, bids in the system will be used to determine a clearing price based on supply versus demand. Results will be... TIM PARADIS http://www.nysun.com/business/cheered-by-bailout-prospects-market-leaps/86610/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:48:04 EST Financial markets grew more upbeat today as political leaders said they struck an agreement in principle on a massive spending plan to revive the crippled financial system. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped about 200 points on optimism about the bailout, and demand for safe-haven assets remained high but eased slightly as some investors placed bets that a deal would help unclog credit markets. Stock market investors got a lift when key lawmakers said they would present the $700 billion... JOSHUA FREED and HARRY R. WEBER http://www.nysun.com/business/northwest-shareholders-approve-combination-with/86613/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:01:16 EST Northwest Airlines shareholders today approved a proposed combination with Delta Air Lines, bringing the carriers one step closer to creating the world's biggest airline. Delta shareholders are scheduled to meet near Atlanta this afternoon to vote on whether to issue stock to Northwest shareholders as part of the transaction. Four shareholder advisory firms have recommended votes in favor of the combination. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/report-jpmorgan-to-buy-wamu-deposits-branches/86624/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:07:03 EST WASHINGTON — JPMorgan Chase & Co. Inc. acquired the assets of Washington Mutual Inc.'s banking operations today after federal regulators seized the ailing thrift, the company's largest. The deal marks the second time in six months that JPMorgan Chase has taken over a financial institution crippled by bad mortgage bets. The deal will cost JPMorgan Chase $1.9 billion. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures bank deposits, said it would not have to dip into the insurance fund as a... ELIZABETH STANTON http://www.nysun.com/business/stocks-decline-on-warnings-of-grave-threats/86583/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Stocks on Wall Street fell for a third day on concern lawmakers will derail a White House plan to bail out banks even as the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, warned of "grave threats" facing the American economy. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index swung between gains and losses more than 40 times as Mr. Bernanke fended off congressional criticism of the $700 billion rescue proposal and investors weighed the benefits of Warren Buffett's $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs Group Inc... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/business/lehmans-neuberger-sales-hits-a-snag/86584/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s plan to sell its investment-management division has been held up by wrangling over how to run the business and pay fund managers, according to three people familiar with the talks. The bankrupt securities firm had aimed to announce the sale to Bain Capital LLC and Hellman & Friedman LLC by last week, said the people, who declined to be named because the negotiations with the buyout firms are private. Sticking points include the new company's management structure... JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and DAVID ESPO http://www.nysun.com/business/consensus-grows-to-limit-executive-pay-in-bailout/86511/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:07:43 EST WASHINGTON — Democrats won a major concession from the White House on the financial bailout plan today and sought to slash drastically the $700 billion size of the rescue package. President Bush readied a television speech in a push to persuade resistant lawmakers to back his proposal to stave off a deepening economic crisis. Treasury Secretary Paulson agreed to demands from critics in both parties to limit the pay packages of Wall Street executives whose companies would benefit from the... SARA KUGLER http://www.nysun.com/business/palin-tells-couric-us-at-risk-of-another/86519/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:02:45 EST The Republican vice presidential nominee, Governor Palin, says America could be headed for another Great Depression if Congress doesn't act on the financial crisis. Mrs. Palin's comments came in an interview today with "CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric. Asked whether there's a risk of another Great Depression if Congress doesn't approve a $700 billion bailout package, Mrs. Palin said: "Unfortunately, that is the road that America may find itself on." Mrs. Palin said the answer to the... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/bush-pledges-passage-of-robust-bailout/86512/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:25:52 EST President Bush says that despite congressional debate over his proposed $700 billion financial bailout plan, "a robust plan" will be passed. The president spoke today before a meeting to discuss free trade with leaders of other Western Hemisphere nations. It was one of his final events in his three-day trip to attend the U.N. General Assembly. He said the leaders can see clearly that the legislative process in America is "give and take." Mr. Bush added: "I am confident when it's all said and... TIM PARADIS http://www.nysun.com/business/buffett-goldman-deal-gives-small-boost-to-markets/86513/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:38:53 EST Tension grew in the financial markets today, sending stocks mostly lower as investors worried about the effectiveness of a still-emerging government plan to rescue banks from crippling debt. The credit markets also showed added strain, with rising demand for short-term Treasury bills, considered the safest of investments. Wall Street was calmer than during the first two days of this week, with stocks meandering in and out of positive territory while investors tried to determine what shape the... JEANNINE AVERSA http://www.nysun.com/business/bernanke-warns-lawmakers-of-economic-deceleration/86515/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:47:32 EST WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, said today that the worsening financial crisis could prove a major weight on American business growth and pledged to "act as needed" to brace the wobbly economy. Mr. Bernanke and his Fed associates are fighting the biggest financial debacle since the Great Depression. Today, the Fed chief faced a second straight day of tough questioning on Capitol Hill about the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion bailout plan. Lawmakers have... ELIZABETH STANTON http://www.nysun.com/business/stocks-fall-on-fears-of-stalled-bailout/86479/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST American stocks fell in the market's worst two-day slump in six years on concern Congress will hold up a $700 billion bank bailout that the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, said is critical to preventing a recession. General Motors Corp., Dillard's Inc., and Regions Financial Corp. tumbled more than 7% after members of the Senate Banking Committee expressed skepticism about Treasury Secretary Paulson's plan. General Electric Co., the world's third-biggest company, retreated 4.6%... JIM ABRAMS http://www.nysun.com/business/in-effort-to-right-economy-senate-passes-tax/86480/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a giant tax package yesterday that saves more than 20 million taxpayers from the bite of the alternative minimum tax. At a cost of more than $100 billion, the bill also nudges the nation toward greater use of alternative energy resources, renews popular tax breaks for businesses and individuals, and extends relief to disaster victims. It includes a provision to ensure that mental health problems get the same level of insurance benefits as other medical treatment... CHRISTINE HARPER http://www.nysun.com/business/goldman-sachs-to-raise-5b-from-buffett/86481/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will raise at least $7.5 billion from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and public investors in a bid to quell concerns that pushed up the Wall Street firm's borrowing costs and hurt its stock. Berkshire is buying $5 billion of perpetual preferred shares, New York-based Goldman said yesterday in a statement. Goldman, which this week transformed itself from the biggest American securities firm to the fourth-largest bank by assets, also plans to raise at least $2.5... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/business/recruiters-barclays-may-cut-5000-lehman-jobs/86482/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Barclays Plc, the British bank that bought parts of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s American businesses, may cut as many as 5,000 jobs at the bankrupt company, Wall Street recruiters said. The estimate, based on the $2.5 billion Barclays set aside for potential severance and retention costs, would mean half the Lehman employees transferred to the London-based company may be let go. Barclays, which agreed to pay $1.7 billion for the business, said it will decide in three months who will be... TIM PARADIS http://www.nysun.com/business/stocks-open-higher-ahead-of-bailout-hearing/86412/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:00:52 EST Financial markets have resumed their pullback as investors worry that lawmakers are losing a sense of urgency on a proposed bailout for financial institutions. Investors watched the Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, and the Federal Reserve Chairman, Hank Paulson, testify before Congress during the session. And as they watched, the market grew concerned that efforts to work out a $700 billion financial rescue plan are facing a greater degree of second-guessing from lawmakers than expected... ANNA JO BRATTON http://www.nysun.com/business/goldman-sachs-to-raise-75b-with-buffetts-help/86427/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:10:29 EST OMAHA, Neb. — Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is investing at least $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The announcement today from Goldman involves preferred stock that carries a dividend of 10%. Berkshire also will receive warrants to purchase $5 billion of Goldman's common stock with a strike price of $115 per share. The shares are exercisable at any time for a five-year term. Goldman's shares closed at $125.05 today, up $4.27. Goldman is also raising at least $2.5 billion in a... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/report-fbi-investigating-fannie-freddie-lehman/86430/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:09:35 EST WASHINGTON — The FBI is investigating four major American financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration. Two law enforcement officials said the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., and insurer American International Group Inc. A senior law enforcement official says the inquiries, still in preliminary stages, will focus on the financial institutions and... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/business/bailout-meets-resistance-from-congress/86405/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST President Bush's request for $700 billion to buy up mortgage-related assets from financial institutions is meeting resistance from both Republicans and Democrats. A key Republican on the Senate's banking committee, expressing worries that the Treasury Department would waste taxpayer money, counseled against swift passage of the plan. And Democrats tried to couple the bailout of Wall Street with more relief for those facing home foreclosures. The Democratic congressional leadership is warming to... LIZ PEEK http://www.nysun.com/business/financial-crisis-winners-and-losers/86401/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The move by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to become bank holding companies says a lot about who may emerge as winners when the dust settles from this mother of all storms. As analyst Richard Bove pointed out in a note over the weekend, several of the commercial banks, including U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo, PNC Financial, and JPMorgan Chase, traded at or near 52-week highs during the past seven days, a testament to the attractiveness of the commercial bank model in our timid new world. Simply... SHANNON D. HARRINGTON and CHRISTINE RICHARD http://www.nysun.com/business/credit-default-swaps-to-be-regulated/86402/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST New York State will start regulating a part of the $62 trillion market for credit-default swaps, calling it a culprit in the global financial crisis. Credit-default swap protection sold to investors who also own the security they're protecting will be treated as insurance, Governor Paterson said in a statement yesterday. State insurance regulators would require entities selling credit-default swaps in those cases to show they can actually pay the claims if there is a default. New York said it's... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/business/stocks-tumble-on-recession-worries/86400/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST American stocks tumbled, led by banks, retailers, and technology companies, as oil jumped 16% and investors speculated the Treasury's plan to buy toxic mortgage assets will fail to prevent a recession. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 3.8%. Sovereign Bancorp Inc., Marshall & Ilsley Corp., and Washington Mutual Inc. sank more than 21%, sending the S&P 500 Banks Index to a record plunge, on concern the government bailout will lower the value of mortgage loans they hold. Apple Inc. and Cisco... TIM PARADIS http://www.nysun.com/business/stocks-head-for-lower-open-after-bailout-plan/86337/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:52:31 EST Volatility again swept the financial markets today as investors grew nervous about an amorphous government plan to buy $700 billion in banks' mortgage debt. Stocks fell sharply, taking the Dow Jones industrials down more than 370 points, while investors sought safety in hard assets such as gold and oil, which at one point shot up more than $25 a barrel. The dollar skidded lower, contributing to oil's surge, while the credit markets were still uneasy but not showing the frantic trading they saw... JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS http://www.nysun.com/business/lawmakers-wrestle-over-terms-of-bailout-proposal/86340/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:49:44 EST WASHINGTON — Scrambling for a quick accord on the $700 billion bailout, the Bush administration and leading American lawmakers have agreed to include mortgage aid and strong congressional oversight along with unprecedented help for failing financial institutions, a key lawmaker said today. Unimpressed, investors sent stocks plummeting anew, pushed oil up $16 a barrel and propelled gold prices ever higher as they searched for a safe place to park their money. President Bush prodded Congress to... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/oil-spikes-on-anxiety-over-bailout-proposal/86344/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:52:09 EST Oil prices spiked more than $25 a barrel today — the biggest one-day price jump ever — as anxiety over the government's $700 billion bailout plan battered the dollar and touched off frenzied buying of safe-haven investments including crude. Light, sweet crude for October delivery jumped as much as $25.45 to $130 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling back somewhat to trade at $123.77, up $19.22. The contract was set to expire at the end of the day, adding to the volatility... JOHN PORRETTO http://www.nysun.com/business/hurricanes-leave-gas-stations-running-on-empty/86350/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:18:37 EST HOUSTON — Some gasoline stations in parts of America's Southeast are out of fuel and shortages could persist for days as refiners continue to recover from the one-two punch of hurricanes Ike and Gustav. Industry officials also say a crush of people topping off tanks — or panic buying in some cases — can worsen the problem. "The system is not equipped for that," a spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, which represents more than 2,200 gasoline retailers, Jeff Lenard, said... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/business/judge-approves-dan-rathers-lawsuit-against-cbs/86352/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:41:18 EST A New York City judge says news anchor Dan Rather can proceed with his $70 million lawsuit accusing CBS of violating its contract with him when the network fired him. Judicial Hearing Officer Ira Gammerman dismissed a fraud complaint against CBS Corp. today and a business interference complaint against CBS and former parent company Viacom Inc. No causes of action remain in the lawsuit against Viacom. A CBS lawyer, James Quinn, says Mr. Rather can't prove breach of contract because the network... MARTIN CRUTSINGER http://www.nysun.com/business/mint-lincoln-bicentennial-penny-design/86365/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:54:14 EST WASHINGTON — Next year, the penny will be getting not just one new look but four of them, the first changes to the 1-cent coin in 50 years. The U.S. Mint unveiled the new designs during a ceremony today at the Lincoln Memorial. The coin changes are part of the government's commemoration next year of the 200th anniversary of President Lincoln's birth. Mr. Lincoln's profile will remain on one side of the coin but the Lincoln Memorial will be replaced on the other side by the new images, with a... JULIE SATOW http://www.nysun.com/business/default-swaps-may-be-next-in-credit-crisis/86312/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The biggest Wall Street story most Americans haven't yet heard of is the $62 trillion unregulated credit default swaps market. Here is one scenario: A hedge fund buys insurance in case a company defaults on its bonds — a so-called credit default swap — when the hedge fund doesn't necessarily own the bonds. Then it immediately shorts the stock, driving down the company's share price, leading to a downgrade, and eventually triggering a default. It is the ultimate moral hazard, like taking out...