Dubai said on Wednesday two of its flagship firms planned to delay repayment on billions of dollars of debt as a first step toward restructuring Dubai World, the conglomerate that spearheaded the emirate’s breakneck growth.
The sudden move by the Gulf government led Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service to deeply downgrade several government-related entities. [...]
Archive for the ‘Economic Turmoil’ Category
Dubai seeks debt delay, some units cut to junk
November 25th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Tags: debt delay, dubai, global credit, islamic, real estate investment
more...Stocks rise after slew of economic reports
November 25th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Stocks rose in light volume Wednesday following a drop in weekly unemployment claims to the lowest level of the year and a rise in new home sales.
Trading volume was thin ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Light volume can exacerbate swings in the market.
The Labor Department said new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 35,000 last [...]
Tags: home sales, investors, stocks, thanksgiving holiday, unemployment
Banks earn $2.8B in 3Q; insurance fund in the red
November 24th, 2009 by Financial Writer
The apparent end of the recession and stabilizing financial markets have not cured the banking industry, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.
Banks earned $2.8 billion in the third quarter, but loan balances plummeted and the fund that insures their deposits was $8.2 billion in the red. Souring loans continued to hurt bank balance sheets, [...]
Tags: banking industry, banks, fdic, financial markets, loans outstanding, recession
Stocks climb on report showing jump in home sales
November 23rd, 2009 by Financial Writer
A weaker dollar and better-than-expected data on the housing market sent investors moving back into stocks Monday after a three-day losing streak.
Major stock indexes soared more than 1.5 percent in early trading, including the Dow Jones industrials, which rose about 170 points.
A report showing a big jump in home sales reinvigorated investors after disappointing reports [...]
Tags: central bank, Federal Reserve, home sales, interest rates, investors
Stocks fall in early trading as dollar rises
November 20th, 2009 by Financial Writer
The stock market lost ground for a third straight day as investors grew increasingly uneasy about a rising dollar and spiking demand for the safest government debt.
With little U.S. economic news to help sway the market Friday, the dollar again drove trading. A strengthening dollar curtails foreign demand for commodities, which are often traded in [...]
Tags: businesses, Debt, investors, rising dollar, us economic
Fed sees little risk of inflation in weak economy
November 19th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Senior U.S. Federal Reserve officials said on Thursday inflation is not an immediate threat as a weak economic recovery and a grim outlook for jobs keep price pressures in check.
Charles Plosser, head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Richard Fisher, his counterpart at the Dallas Fed, said the U.S. recovery was underway but [...]
Tags: economic recovery, fed, Federal Reserve, inflation, us recovery, weak economy
McDonald’s redesign aims for European lounge
November 19th, 2009 by Financial Writer
A McDonald’s in downtown Manhattan became the first in the U.S. this fall to undergo a sleek, European-style makeover similar to what McDonald’s has done at thousands of outlets around in France and the United Kingdom.
The eatery is outfitted with outlets for plugging in laptops, upholstered vinyl chairs instead of Fiberglas seats bolted to the [...]
Tags: danya proud, economy, mcdonald's, recovery economy, sales
Dollar mostly lower as Fed official says ‘2012′
November 18th, 2009 by Financial Writer
The dollar mostly declined Wednesday, with the euro bumping up near $1.50 as a Federal Reserve official said in a speech that interest rates could possibly not rise until 2012 from their current record low near zero — if the Fed acts as it has before.
Lower interest rates can drive down the value of a [...]
Tags: business leaders, economic, fed, Federal Reserve, recessions, the dollar
Banks, policymakers spar over new rules
November 17th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Big banks stepped up warnings on Tuesday that tightening capital rules too soon could stall economic recovery, but policymakers said the bailed out sector cannot rely on taxpayers again in future.
Regulators are drafting tough rules that will force banks to hold far more capital and lessen the need for the kind of public rescues seen [...]
Tags: banks, big banks, economic recovery, g20, HSBC, investors
GM reports $1.2B 3Q loss, says it shows progress
November 16th, 2009 by Financial Writer
General Motors Co. says it lost $1.2 billion from the time it left bankruptcy protection through Sept. 30, far better than it has reported in previous quarters and a sign that the auto giant is starting to turn around its business.
The company also says it will begin repaying $6.7 billion in U.S. government loans with [...]
Tags: business, general motors, GM's global, vehicles