Reuters: Business News

S&P 500 rises 1 percent

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:54:03 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose more than 1 percent in afternoon trading on Wednesday, while the Dow and Nasdaq added to gains as worries about Europe's banking system decreased, easing risk aversion.

BP blames contractors for oil spill

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:56:00 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - BP attempted to place much of the blame for the rig blast that led to the United States' worst-ever oil spill on its contractors, Transocean and Halliburton.

Economists further scale back U.S. growth outlook

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:41:37 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stubbornly high unemployment and signs of persistent weakness in the housing market have prompted economists to further cut their outlook for U.S. growth in the second half of the year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

Obama pitches road spending and tax incentives

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:35:23 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will push billions of dollars in new business tax incentives and spending on big construction projects on Wednesday, as he tries to convince a balky Congress to pass measures intended to spur the economy and create jobs.

Goldman NY proprietary traders consider next move

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:37:03 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Members of Goldman Sachs Group Inc's New York Principal Strategies team are in talks with several groups, including KKR, Perella Weinberg and BlackRock Inc, to possibly join one of them, a source familiar with the matter said.

Oracle offered Hurd pay package with $10 million bonus

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:28:41 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oracle Corp offered its new president, Mark Hurd, former head of Hewlett-Packard Co, a salary of $950,000 and a bonus of up to $10 million for fiscal 2011, plus stock options.

California seeks to fine UnitedHealth up to $9.9 billion

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:53:05 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California regulators are seeking fines of up to $9.9 billion from a unit of health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc, citing mismanaged medical claims, failure to pay doctors and other lapses.

Sanofi pitched $71 offer to Genzyme: report

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:52:22 -0400

BOSTON (Reuters) - Sanofi-Aventis SA (SASY.PA) pitched a new offer to acquire U.S. biotechnology company Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O) for $71 a share in exchange for the opportunity to conduct "partial due diligence," according to DealReporter, which cited a source close to the discussions.

Former AIG CEO Sullivan joins Willis Group

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:59:14 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former AIG (AIG.N) Chief Executive Martin Sullivan is getting another chance.

HSBC faces thorny issues in hunt for new chairman

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:20:18 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - For a bank that prides itself on smooth successions, HSBC (HSBA.L) (0005.HK) is suddenly scrambling to pick its next chairman.

Factbox: Obama, Republican offer competing economic plans

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:35:22 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and House of Representatives Republican Leader John Boehner on Wednesday offered competing plans to boost the lackluster economy, setting the stage for an intense debate over tax and spending policies as campaigning for November 2 congressional elections heats up.

Foster's knocks back $2.5 billion offer for wine

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:18:35 -0400

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Foster's Group Ltd (FGL.AX), Australia's largest brewer, rejected a private equity offer worth up to $2.5 billion for its wine business as too cheap, sending its shares up as much as 6 percent on hopes of higher bids.

PersonalFinance: Shopping for dividends

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:16:18 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dividends are nice -- especially when bank accounts are paying less than 1 percent in interest. If you can buy shares of a company like General Electric, Kellogg or Waste Management and pick up an immediate yield of more than 3 percent, why wouldn't you?

BP says Transocean didn't test blowout shut off

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:19:52 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - BP Plc officials said on Wednesday there was "no indication" that Transocean Ltd tested the automatic shut off function on the blowout preventer before it was used on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig the company leased to BP.

Glaxo hires Goldman Sachs banker as new CFO

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:34:56 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L) insisted there would be no change to its cautious stance on deal-making after hiring one of Europe's top M&A bankers as its finance chief.

Factbox: Key findings of BP probe

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:51:06 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - BP Plc's internal investigation blames a series of human and mechanical failures by BP and its contractors, Transocean Ltd and Halliburton Co, for the April 20 blowout at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. and euro zone economies to slow, recession remote

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:41:27 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Major developed economies are poised for a marked slowdown in coming quarters, led by the United States, although another recession still looks unlikely, a Reuters poll of 250 economists showed on Wednesday.

ECB's Weber hopeful of Basel III deal at weekend

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:32:32 -0400

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Talks on the way banks around the world gird themselves for shocks can be wrapped up at the weekend, the head of Germany's Bundesbank Axel Weber said on Wednesday, warning no country should stand in the way of a deal.

Airgas spurns latest Air Products offer

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:27:03 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Industrial gas supplier Airgas Inc (ARG.N) rejected the latest takeover offer from rival Air Products and Chemicals Inc (APD.N) on Wednesday, saying $65.50 per share is not an "appropriate value" or "sensible starting point for negotiations."

Talbots sales disappoint; analysts still like stock

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:46:01 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Talbots Inc (TLB.N) missed quarterly sales estimates and issued a weaker-than-expected profit forecast in the current quarter, sending shares of the women's clothing retailer down 3.3 percent.