The consultation document was launched jointly by HM Treasury, the Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England. It builds on issues such as proposals for financial stability and depositor protection. The proposals will be subject to a period of consultation before the introduction of legislation later in this Parliamentary session.

via yourmortgage.co.uk

Lawmakers on Thursday demanded a detailed explanation of what went wrong with the Air Force's management of a $35 billion tanker contract awarded to Northrop Grumman Corp. and its European partner over Boeing Co. "This isn't the first time the acquisition system has failed," said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, chairman of a House Armed Services subcommittee. Congress sought clarity from a Defense Department official and congressional investigators on whether the recent competition's failure was confined to the Air Force.

via businessweek.com

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker (non-voter) said economic growth should pick up next year and that withdrawing the fiscal stimulus as growth risks fade makes "eminent sense". Speaking at the National Economics Club of Washington, D.C., Lacker said the inflation outlook has "deteriorated", but that the Fed should still remain vigilant and try to limit a rise in inflation expectations.

via mortgagenewsdaily.com

A last-minute no-interest financing offer and strong sales of some cars helped General Motors Corp. keep its U.S. sales over Toyota Motor Corp. last month, but it was still the worst June for the industry in 17 years and a harbinger of more misery ahead. "We're going to continue to see declines for the rest of the year," predicted Jesse Toprak, chief industry analyst for auto information site Edmunds.com.

via chron.com

Kazakhstan's central bank lowered the reserve ratio for commercial banks and cut the benchmark interest rate to help ease a credit squeeze threatening its economic boom. The reserve requirement for lenders will fall by 1 percentage point, starting on July 29, to free up 90 billion tenge ($745 million) in new lending, the Almaty-based bank said in a statement Wednesday. The bank also reduced the refinancing rate to 10.5 percent from 11 percent effective July 1.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

Average airfare costs increased more than 14% in the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and prices rose more steeply for certain destinations. There is likely more pain ahead for budget-minded leisure travelers once airlines reduce their capacity this year. To add insult to injury, there is the long litany of fees, with some airlines hitting you for any checked bags, and one charging for a bottle of water. (There is some variation among airlines: Southwest Airlines Co. doesn't charge for checked bags.)

via online.wsj.com

Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. said Wednesday it no longer thinks that will be able to acquire fellow chemicals maker Huntsman Corp. because of the deterioration of Huntsman's finances. Huntsman shares fell nearly 38 percent. Columbus, Ohio-based Hexion, which is controlled by an affiliate of Apollo Management LP, said it filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery to declare its contractual rights with respect to its $6.5 billion offer for the company.

via chron.com

The French bank Société Générale and the U.S. wealth manager Rockefeller Financial Services have formed an alliance in private banking, an area that has remained relatively resilient to the global credit crunch.
As part of the deal, SG Private Banking has bought a 37 percent stake in Rockefeller Financial Services, the companies said Tuesday. They did not say how much the French bank paid for the stake, but a person with direct knowledge of the matter said it had bought the stake for "around $100 million."

via iht.com

An investor group led by NBC Universal moved closer to buying The Weather Channel Friday after Time Warner Inc. dropped out of the bidding. NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co., said late Friday that it had entered exclusive negotiations to buy The Weather Channel from its owner, Landmark Communications Inc. NBC is working on the bid together with the private equity investment firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital.

via businessweek.com

Belgian brewer InBev on Sunday warned Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. against doing a reported deal with Mexico's Grupo Modelo SAB, saying it could endanger the premium price it's willing to pay for the King of Beers. In a letter to Chief Executive Officer August Busch IV, InBev's Chief Executive, Carlos Brito, said that his company's proposed $46 billion offer for the nation's largest brewer was based on Anheuser-Busch's current assets, business and capital structure.

via businessweek.com

The widow of Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay has reached an agreement with neighbors in her upscale Houston high-rise over a lawsuit that claimed she didn't pay more than $109,000 in building dues. Attorneys for both sides jointly filed a motion in federal court Tuesday to dismiss the suit, saying Linda Lay had paid all amounts due to The Huntingdon. The suit was originally filed in January by the Huntingdon Council of Co-Owners.

via businessweek.com

In a typical merger, the parties will sign a confidentiality agreement. It's serious stuff. In fact, if a public company is involved, there are insider trading laws that are triggered. Despite all this, there are often leaks. And, if they get some press, there's a good chance that the stock price will spike. Actually, a leak may mean that a deal falls apart. Now, we have some academic validation.

via bloggingstocks.com

If you're thinking of buying a Jaguar and Land Rover, you'll be purchasing an Indian car. Tata Motors has closed its $1.7 billion acquisition for these assets from Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), which can certainly use the cash (the firm recently announced it won't hit profitability in 2009). Actually, Ford purchased Jaguar in 1989 for $2.5 billion and acquired Land Rover in 2000 for $2.7 billion. In other words, the deals didn't work out so well.

via bloggingstocks.com

General Electric Co. (GE) and Banco Santander SA (STD) Monday said they signed a definitive agreement to swap certain previously announced European assets. In addition to the GE Money businesses announced in late March, Santander also will acquire GE Money's card business in Ireland. Under the agreement, GE will acquire Interbanca, the Italian commercial bank assigned to Banco Santander following the carve-up of ABN Amro last year.

via money.cnn.com

Here comes summer! For this work at home freelancer it means a mish mash of work, kids, birthday parties, and grass stains. And then there’s the shelling out of hard earned dollars for a variety of activities to keep the kids out of my hair long enough to earn some more dollars. The shining light of summer for the past two years has been Camp Invention, an amazing day camp where kids learn science and teamwork all while thinking they’re just having fun.

via businesspundit.com

The Business Roundtable is one of the most powerful forces in America that most people have never heard of. Comprised of the CEOs of some of America's largest companies, the group is ostensibly a "pro-business" advocate. In reality, it's often behaved like more of a "pro-CEO of large company" advocate. The Associated Press reports that the Business Roundtable spent $1.8 million on lobbying in the first quarter, including efforts to convince members of Congress to oppose providing shareholders with an advisory vote on executive pay. Pro-business indeed.

via bloggingstocks.com

General Motors Corp.'s string of labor problems could soon come to an end with a tentative agreement at a key assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan. GM reached the deal on a local contract with United Auto Workers Local 31 at the plant Tuesday evening, company spokesman Dan Flores said. About 2,500 workers have been on strike at the factory, which makes the hot-selling Chevrolet Malibu as well as the Saturn Aura, since May 5. Although the UAW settled its national contract with GM last fall, local contracts that govern work rules.

via chron.com

Striking United Auto Workers at three American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. plants have endorsed a tentative contract, according to published reports.
Workers struck Feb. 26 over company demands for deep concessions. The deal contains cuts that are somewhat less severe. The Associated Press has left repeated messages with UAW officials seeking results of the ratification votes.

via businessweek.com

A consortium led by Spanish infrastructure company Abertis (ABE.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) was named preferred bidder on Monday in the largest U.S. toll road deal ever after offering $12.8 billion to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) was also part of the group, which had pledged total investment on the road of $14.5 billion over the 75-year lifetime of the contract. However, the state legislature, which rejected previous privatization plans, still must approve this deal.

via uk.reuters.com

Most of the workers leaving Martin Luther King Jr. High School on Sunday were unhappy with the tentative agreement the United Auto Workers reached with parts maker American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. Yet as they streamed out of the school after hearing details from UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and other union officials, many said they'll vote for it anyway because it's the best the UAW could do with the U.S. economy faltering and the company threatening to move jobs to other countries.

via businessweek.com

Google Inc.'s top executives expressed hope Thursday that the Internet search leader will be able to form a potentially lucrative advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc. -- a deal that would lower the odds of Microsoft Corp. renewing its attempts to buy Yahoo. "We have been talking to Yahoo and we are very excited to be working with them," Google co-founder Sergey Brin told reporters before the company's annual shareholders meeting. "We share a lot of values with them." Neither Brin nor Google Chairman Eric Schmidt would indicate how far along the two sides are in their negotiations after a two-week test was completed last month. During the trial run.

via businessweek.com