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Geithner says strong dollar is U.S. policy

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:29:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that a strong dollar remained U.S. policy. "I deeply believe that," Geithner said. "Our commitment is to the world and, of course, the American people that we are going to make sure we put in place the policies that can sustain confidence in this economy and this financial system," Geithner said. The Treasury Secretary said he was not worried about talk of a new global reserve currency. He noted that global demand remains strong for Treasurys. Geithner made the comments in an interview with CNN that is scheduled to be aired on Sunday. A copy of the transcript was obtained from CNN.

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Government report questions value of wiretapping

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:46:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- It is unclear whether the program of wiretapping without warrants has aided the federal government's efforts to combat terrorism, according to joint report of five federal agencies released late Friday. Most intelligence officers interviewed "had difficulty evaluating the precise contribution" of wiretaps in their probes, the report concluded. Agents said wiretaps were simply one tool among many available for investigations. The report was mandated by Congress.

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Obama: Africa's promise yet to be fulfilled

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:17:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- President Obama said Saturday that Africa's promise has yet to be fulfilled. In a speech in Accra to Ghana's Parliament, Obama called on leaders of Africa to commit to a broad new program to spur development. He said that "good governance" was the cornerstone to progress. "You have the power to hold your leaders accountable and to build institutions that serve the people," Obama said. Obama said the road ahead would not be easy. "America will be with you every step of the way," Obama said.

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Wyoming bank is 53rd failure of 2009

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:17:03 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Thermopolis, Wyo.-based Bank of Wyoming was closed by regulators Friday, marking the 53rd U.S. bank failure of 2009 as the credit crisis continues to claim victims. Bank of Wyoming, the first bank in that state to fail this year, had $70 million in assets as of June 30, and $67 million in deposits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said. The FDIC estimated that the cost of the bank's failure to its deposit insurance fund will be $27 million.

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Gov't mulls plan to aid small businesses: WashPost

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:58:05 GMT

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- The Obama administration is working on a plan that would make available funds from the $700 billion banking-system bailout package to millions of small businesses, according to a report late Friday in the online edition of the Washington Post, which cites sources familiar with the matter. The initiative would expand a Small Business Administration lending program called 7(a), which helps companies borrow money from banks at low rates to keep their businesses running. Talks about the plan, which is aimed at reviving the economy by saving jobs, have reached the highest levels of the administration. The plan is being proposed by senior officials at the Treasury Department, according to the report.

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Delphi: No alternative bid to Parnassus' received

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:08:35 GMT

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Delphi Corp. said late Friday that no potential alternative bids to the proposed transaction with Parnassus Holdings LLC announced on June 1 have been submitted by the time a set deadline passed. Parnassus is an affliate of Platinum Equity LLC and GM Components Holdings LLC, an affiliate of General Motors Corp. The auto parts maker said it has received noticed from JP Morgan Chase Bank that it may submit a credit bid. If a pure credit bid support letter is delivered, Delphi said it will conduct an auction on July 17.

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Nasdaq short interest total 6.7 bln shares June 30

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:27:09 GMT

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Short interest in 2,456 Nasdaq securities totaled 6.73 billion shares at the end of the June 30 settlement date, compared with 2,471 issues and 6.53 billion shares on June 15, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said in a statement late Friday. The short interest positions reported reflect the total number of shares sold short by all brokers and dealers. A short sale generally refers to the sale of a security that the seller does not own.

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U.S. stocks end mostly lower on recovery worries

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:10:48 GMT

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks finished mostly lower on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index both down for a fourth straight week. Investors remain cautious ahead of earnings reports next week and ongoing worries about the pace of an economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36.65 points, or 0.5%, to end at 8,146.5, leaving it with a weekly decline of 1.6%. The S&P 50 Index shed 3.55 points, or 0.4%, to 879.13, off 1.9% from the week-ago close. The Nasdaq Composite gained 3.48 points, or 0.2%, to 1,756.0, with the technology-laden index left with a decline of 2.3% for the week.

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California delays $4 bln education system payment

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:39:03 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- California delayed a $4 billion payment to its Department of Education system on Friday as the state continues to struggle with a budget shortfall of more than $25 billion. The payment, known as the Principal Apportionment, is the largest annual payment of state funds to California's public education system. The money goes to schools to pay for a wide range of things including salaries. The payment was scheduled for today, which is the last payment for the 2008-09 fiscal year, but will instead be issued on July 30, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and State Controller John Chiang said Friday in a statement. California has also issued 91,000 IOUs totalling $354 million as of late Wednesday.

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Treasury eyes proposal to help SEC help investors

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:30:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The White House on Friday released a legislative proposal seeking to strengthen the Securities and Exchange Commission's authority to protect investors. The proposal includes a measure that would empower the agency to examine and ban forms of compensation that encourage financial intermediaries to steer investors into products that are profitable to the intermediary, such as a broker-dealer, but are not in the investor's best interest. The legislative proposal also seeks to give the SEC authority to prohibit or limit mandatory arbitration, which the Treasury argues could undermine investor interests. The Treasury also seeks to empower the SEC to give investors better disclosures. It would also set up a fund to pay whistleblowers for information that leads to enforcement actions that result in financial awards.

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Continental: DOT OKs Star Alliance participation

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:27:28 GMT

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Continental Airlines said Friday that it has received antitrust immunity from the Department of Transportation which would allow it to be a part of a joint venture with Star Alliance member carriers. Tentative approval of the proposal was given by the government agency in April. Continental said it's working to provide a seamless transition for its customers from the SkyTeam alliance to Star Alliance this fall.

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IMF reaches agreement with Ukraine on loan review

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:38:36 GMT

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The International Monetary Fund's mission to Ukraine said Friday it has reached staff-level agreement with the authorities in Kiev and will recommend that the fund's executive board approves the third tranche of a $16.5 billion loan to the Eastern European country. The completion of the review by the IMF's executive board would release a tranche of about $3.3 billion, "pending the completion of prior actions," said Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, IMF mission chief, in a statement. The IMF now expects Ukraine's gross domestic product to contract by 14% in 2009 against 8% at the time of the first review. The mission also revised the general government deficit target in 2009 from 4% to 6% of GDP.

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Eli Lilly: European Commission OKs use for Alimta

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:02:58 GMT

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Eli Lilly and Co. said Friday that the European Commission has granted approval for the use of Alimta, an injectable chemotherapy agent, as a maintenance treatment for patients with advanced, nonquamous non-small cell lung cancer whose disease hasn't progressed immediately following platinum-based chemotherapy. In maintenance therapy, said Eli Lilly, rather than halting further treatment until disease progression, patients who respond to a first-line therapy are treated immediately with a maintenance regimen. The company said Alimta is the first therapy shown to improve overall survival in a maintenance setting in patients with the disease.

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Ameriprise in SEC settlement over REIT sales

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:50:28 GMT

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday said Ameriprise Financial Inc. has agreed to pay $17.3 million to settle charges it received undisclosed compensation for selling real estate investment trusts to its clients. Ameriprise has settled without admitting or denying the findings, said the SEC, adding its investigation is continuing. Ameriprise shares were off 1% in recent trading.

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Russia's central bank reduces interest rates

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:37:45 GMT

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Russia's central bank on Friday cut its key refinancing rate by 50 basis points to 11%, according to a statement posted on its Web site. The rate cut will be effective on Monday. The "latest interest rate cut is unlikely to do much to help the ailing economy," said Neil Shearing, Emerging Europe economist, in a note to clients. "In order to keep ruble liquidity tight the CBR [central bank of Russia] will continue its policy of hiking reserve requirements as interest rates are cut. Moreover, problems in the banking sector mean that credit conditions in the real economy are likely to remain tight for some time to come."

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Sprint, Qwest, Ericsson, decline; Qualcomm gains

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:13:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Phone stocks mostly declined in Friday trades but network-equipment vendors were narrowed mixed in a scattershot trading session. Sprint Nextel Corp. and Qwest Communications International Inc. each fell more than 2% while Verizon Communications Inc. dipped a lesser 0.9%. In the equipment group, Qualcomm Inc. rose 0.5% and Motorola Inc. was a few pennies higher. Ericsson fell 1%.

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FDIC reportedly won't back CIT debt; shares fall

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:02:41 GMT

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of CIT Group Inc. were off more than 20% in premarket trading Friday after Bloomberg reported the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is unwilling to back the lender's bond sales because its credit quality is worsening. Fitch Ratings cut the lender's debt rating further into junk territory on Wednesday. Reuters had reported late Thursday that CIT may seek a debt exchange or asset sale if access to the government-supported lending program wasn't successful. (Updated to correct typographical error.)

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U.S. stocks mostly off as consumer sentiment down

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:01:38 GMT

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Friday pulled mostly lower after a preliminary index of consumer confidence fell more than expected in July. After paring early losses ahead of the data, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 36.65 points at 8,146.5. The S&P 500 Index declined 3.24 points to 879.44, while the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite remained 5.35 points higher at 1,757.9.

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Retail stocks fall on consumer-sentiment drop

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:02:26 GMT

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Retail stocks fell Friday after consumer sentiment in July fell more than expected. The S&P Retail Index fell 0.7% to 309.45.

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July UMichigan consumer sentiment falls to 64.6

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:59:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. consumer sentiment fell sharply in early July, according to a survey released Friday by the University of Michigan and Reuters. Sentiment fell to 64.6 from 70.8 in June. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting consumer sentiment to decline slightly to 70.5.

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Geithner defends White House plan for derivatives

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:00:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Friday defended the White House's plan for heightened regulation of over-the-counter derivatives, in anticipation of opposition by some lawmakers who believe there is a loophole when it comes to trillions of dollars in opaque, tailored over-the-counter swaps contracts. Geithner's plan calls for greater reporting and capital and leverage standards for all derivative traders and dealers, but some lawmakers are seeking to have specialized OTC derivatives be cleared through clearinghouses, which serve as an intermediary between buyers and sellers in transactions. "Our plan will provide for strong regulation and transparency for all OTC derivatives, regardless of the reference asset, and regardless of whether the derivative is customized or standardized," Geithner wrote in testimony to lawmakers.

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Q2 GDP would turn out to be positive on trade data

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:57:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Second quarter gross domestic product could turn out to be positive because of the help received from the May trade data, according to the economic team at RDQ Economics. The trade deficit surprised economists and narrowed to $26.0 billion in May from $28.8 billion in April. Imports fell 0.6%, while exports rose by 1.6%. "The narrowing of the average real trade deficit in the first two months of the quarter versus the first quarter...puts trade on course to add as much as two percentage points to second-quarter real GDP growth," RDQ Economics said in a note to clients. "We think that a drop of 0.5% rather than 1.5% in the second quarter is now a central forecast for GDP and there is a significant possibility that real GDP could actually grow slightly in the second quarter, which would further add to our view that the recession ended last quarter," the RDQ team said.

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Energy stocks open lower as crude falls below $60

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:49:32 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Oil and gas stocks headed lower at the open Friday, moving in tandem with the continued slide in crude oil prices. The NYSE Arca Oil Index was off 1.7% at 850.4 points in early trades, with refiner Hess Corp. leading percentage decliners on a 3% drop. Chevron Corp. warned late Thursday that weak refining margins and a strong dollar were offsetting recent gains in oil prices. Chevron shares were off 2.2%. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index was off 1.8% at 382 points and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index was down 1.3% at 147.8 points. August crude oil futures were off $1.12 at $59.29 a barrel in New York, keeping downward pressure on the sector.

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Tech stocks rise in early action

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:48:46 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks tried to find their footing in early trading Friday, with gains from Dell Inc. , Oracle Corp. , Hewlett-Packard Co. and Apple Inc. . Yahoo Inc. shares rose 52 cents,or 3.7%, to $15.09 after Thomas Weisel analyst Christa Quarles raised her rating on Yahoo's stock to market weight from underweight. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 4 points to 1,756.

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Rosetta Stone sues Google over trademarks

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:49:12 GMT

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Rosetta Stone said Friday that it has filed a lawsuit against Google Inc. , seeking to prevent Google from infringing upon its trademarks. Rosetta Stone asserts that Google allows third parties including individuals involved in software piracy operations to purchase the right to use Rosetta Stone trademarks or other terms confusingly similar in Google's Adwords advertising program. "Google's search engine is helping third parties mislead consumers and misappropriate Rosetta Stone trademarks by using them as 'keyword' triggers for paid advertisements and by using them within the text or title of paid advertisements," said Michael Wu, Rosetta Stone general counsel.

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Dell upgraded to conviction buy at Goldman

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:46:09 GMT

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Goldman Sachs analysts upgraded Dell to conviction buy from neutral "given its outsized operating leverage and exposure to the improvement we expect in corporate demand." In a research note dated Thursday, Goldman also downgraded International Business Machines Corp. to neutral from buy as it expects "the market focus to begin to shift from earnings resiliency to growth and leverage."

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Airline stocks open lower

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:42:56 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Airline stocks opened lower Friday, led by declines from almost all major U.S. carriers. The NYSE Arca Airline Index fell 0.6% to 16.76 points. American Airlines parent AMR Corp. eked out a slight gain, while Continental Airlines , US Airways , and JetBlue all fell.

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U.S. stocks start lower amid economic unease

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:39:03 GMT

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, with the broad market heading to a fourth consecutive week of losses, as investors faced uncertainty about the economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 46.02 points to 8,137.1. The S&P 500 Index shed 4.78 points to 877.9, while the Nasdaq Composite fell fractionally to 1,751.6.

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B. of A. to report "messy" but profitable 2Q: JPM

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:24:58 GMT

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Analysts at J.P. Morgan upwardly revised their 2009 earnings estimates for Bank of America Corp. Friday just a week before the bank announces results from the second quarter. For the period ending June 30, J.P. Morgan now expects B. of A. to report earnings of 38 cents a share, up from a previous estimate of a loss of 3 cents a share. Full-year 2009 earnings were revised upwards to 78 cents from 21 cents a share. The second quarter will be positively impacted by a $4.5 billion gain on the sale of China Construction Bank shares, along with a $1.2 billion gain on merchant processing joint venture, according to the bank's report. That said, "Bank of America's second quarter results will be very messy with a number of one-time items and due to several capital actions executed in response to test results," they wrote in a note to clients

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GM pledges 'new beginning' as it exits Chapter 11

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:14:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- General Motors Corp.'s chief executive pledged a "new beginning" for the storied U.S. automaker as it exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday. Fritz Henderson said GM's new priorities are customers, cars and culture, and said the company's quick exit from Chapter 11 showed GM can move fast. Henderson said GM will work hard to repay trust, and money committed to the struggling company by the U.S. government.

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