Archive for July 22nd, 2009

NEW YORK (Reuters) — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. this week lowered its stake in credit ratings provider Moody’s Corp. to 16.98% from 20.4%, the first reported reduction since 2000.Moody’s shares fell slid 2.57, or 9.7%, to 23.95 in after-hours trading after Berkshire disclosed the sale in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.Berkshire said… »

WASHINGTON: One of the signature proposals in the Obama administration’s efforts to reshape the regulatory framework for banks has been slowed as supporters regroup in the midst of mounting opposition.The creation of a new consumer protection agency to regulate mortgages, credit cards and credit insurance was never going to be easy. But the forces trying… »

NEW YORK: Amazon.com has reached an agreement to purchase Zappos.com, the online retailer known for its selection of shoes, for 807 million, according to a statement released Wednesday.Zappos.com will get approximately 10 million shares of Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500), which is equal to approximately 807 million, based on the average closing price for the 45… »

NEW YORK: A Chrysler Group executive, testifying before a Congressional committee hearing on Chrysler and General Motors’ auto dealership cuts, warned that being forced to reinstate dealers could force Chrysler out of business.The House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would require GM and Chrysler to reinstate the contracts of dealers that were recently… »

NEW YORK (Fortune) — Goldman Sachs gave taxpayers their due Wednesday. Now, legislators are pressing Treasury to get other banks to do the same. Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) said it paid the government 1.1 billion to redeem the stock-purchase warrants it issued Treasury last fall. The payment marks the first time taxpayers have recovered… »

NEW YORK: Retirement dreams are quickly fading for thousands of older workers, as the severe market losses that ravaged once-healthy retirement accounts over the last year force many seniors to work longer.There were 430,000 people age 65 and over actively looking for work in June, a whopping 46% increase from a year ago, according to… »

NEW YORK: The first big government bailout of the financial crisis — the takeover of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — is poised to be the most expensive and complicated to complete.Since Congress essentially wrote a blank check to the Treasury Department in July 2008 to do what needed to be done… »

NEW YORK (Fortune) — Goldman Sachs has wised up. Just a few days ago, the firm was haggling with the government over how much to pay for the stock-purchase warrants it gave the government as part of the deal under which it got 10 billion from the Toxic Assets Relief Program, which it has since… »

NEW YORK (Fortune) — President Obama’s rush to rescue his health-care plan is coming just in time, because its critics are starting to give it a bad rap. On Monday, the Republican National Committee unveiled an ad that lumps the President’s health-care reform efforts with the bank and auto bailouts. As forlorn looking children stare… »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. regulators asked a court Wednesday to order the former head of CSK Auto Corp. to return more than 4 million in bonuses and stock sales that he received at a time when CSK was allegedly misleading investors about the company’s finances.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a federal court in… »