| Recession Fear Sends Wall St. Reeling...Again
NEW YORK (Reuters) Stocks fell on Thursday, with the benchmark S&P 500 plummeting to a 15-month low, as news of a plunge in regional factory activity and a hefty loss at Merrill Lynch further clouded an increasingly dire view of the economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke echoed the bleak assessment of the economy in comments to lawmakers, reiterating that the Fed was ready to act aggressively and throwing his support behind other efforts to counter the risk of recession. In one of the strongest signals yet that the economy is at high risk of contracting, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said mid-Atlantic factory activity has slowed much more than expected to levels that typically signal recession. That extinguished Wall Street's early attempt at a rally, with shares of companies most sensitive to the economy's ups and downs suffering the most.
Couple's decision to co-sign kids' loan backfires
I hope their own house can be sold for enough to fund the retirement move. Otherwise, they promised to pay that debt, and all I can offer is sympathy. Q. My friend has a house that is paid for, but some time ago, she fell ill. She added her son's name to the deed so that he could handle her estate if she did not fully recover. However, she did and is just fine now. She would like to sell and move into a senior citizens facility. The problem is that her son had some business problems and ended up with a big tax bill, so the IRS placed a lien on the property. Are there any options available to resolve this? A. Your friend has more problems than just that lien. If the house were entirely in her own name, she could use the home sellers tax exclusion on her profit when she sold.
Ed Mitchell's 'debt' problem: the full story
A debt problem apparently took former ITN newsman Ed Mitchell from a £100,000-a-year job to a park bench in Hove. Yes, he had 25 credit cards, but he forgot to mention the drinking and gambling. In an inteview with his wife Judy, we reveal the full story of his plunge into debt... .
Hicks says he discussed selling part of Liverpool to Dubai consortium ...
I've put in a lot of money, we will put in more if we need to," Hicks said. "We're going to plan the best football stadium in the world and will get our permanent capital when we need to further down the run." The deal was reached with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia Bank, replacing a previous financing arrangement that was due to expire next month. It is expected to help Hicks and Gillett repay the money borrowed for their 218.9-million-pound (then US$431 million; €333 million) takeover of Liverpool in March 2007. But the package leaves the 18-time English champion club with debt topping 105 million pounds (US$205 million; €141 million). Hicks denied any split with Gillett, whose name didn't feature in the two-page statement announcing Friday's deal.
Bank's billions burnt in 10 days
The aim was to get bad news out of the way so that Soc Gen, whose shares had halved in value in six months, could begin a recovery. Kerviel’s rogue trades threatened to capsize the carefully crafted plans. If news leaked out that Soc Gen was facing other huge hidden losses, it could destroy the bank’s most precious asset: the confidence of its customers. The directors faced a stark choice. They could let Kerviel’s trades - essentially bets that the market would rise - run in the hope of markets recovering. But that risked even greater losses if shares continued to fall. Or they could close the positions and take the hit. It was no choice really. The potential losses if shares continued downwards could destroy the bank. "I did my duty and decided to unwind these positions," said Daniel Bouton, the chairman.
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