- Bernanke Grilling May Weaken Case for Fed as Risk Regulator
- Stanford Pleads Not Guilty, May Be Released on Bail Today
- UBS Raises $3.5 Billion in Share Sale, Expects Quarterly Loss
- Citigroup Ordered to Suspend Some Operations in Japan
- Pang Took $83 Million From Firm, Filings Say
- Three-Month Dollar Libor Falls Below 0.6% for the First Time
- PDVSA to Borrow as Much as $3 Billion, Merentes Says
- Micron 3Q Loss Widens On Lower Sales, Write-Down
- Delphi Fires Back in Asset Fracas
- Delphi attacks challenge by hedge funds
- Lear Nears Chapter 11 as Car-Parts Turmoil Rises
- Qantas Cancels Order for 15 Boeing Planes
- Sulzberger Says Boston Globe May Need More Cost Cuts
Bernanke Grilling May Weaken Case for Fed as Risk Regulator – Bloomberg
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s grilling by legislators over Federal Reserve conduct in Bank of America Corp.’s takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. may reduce the odds the central bank will win new powers in a regulatory overhaul.
Bernanke failed to resolve some lawmakers’ questions on whether the Fed bullied executives and stepped over other regulators in the name of financial stability in a three-hour congressional hearing yesterday. Republicans asserted the Fed interfered with commercial decisions, and Democrats said it should have wrung more concessions in return for taxpayer aid…..
Stanford Pleads Not Guilty, May Be Released on Bail Today – Bloomberg
R. Allen Stanford, after pleading not guilty to accusations he swindled investors in a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, won the right to be released on bail before trial.
Stanford, 59, in handcuffs and wearing an orange prison- issued jumpsuit, entered his plea yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy in Houston. Stacy set bail at $500,000 and required the Texas financier to post a $100,000 deposit in cash. Stanford was returned to jail, at least for the night, to allow prosecutors to file an appeal……
UBS Raises $3.5 Billion in Share Sale, Expects Quarterly Loss – Bloomberg
UBS AG, the European bank with the biggest credit-crisis losses, raised about 3.8 billion Swiss francs ($3.5 billion) by selling shares to boost capital and said it expects a second-quarter loss.
The bank sold 293.3 million shares for 13 francs apiece to a “small number of institutional investors,” the Zurich-based company said late yesterday. UBS shares closed at 13.97 francs in Zurich trading…..
Citigroup Ordered to Suspend Some Operations in Japan – Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. was ordered by Japan’s financial regulator to suspend marketing of banking services to individuals for a month, after failing to put in place adequate internal controls to prevent money laundering.
The Financial Services Agency told Citibank Japan Ltd. to halt retail banking sales from July 15 to Aug. 14, except in cases where the company is approached by customers, the regulator said in a statement in Tokyo today. It also ordered the bank to improve governance and control systems….
Pang Took $83 Million From Firm, Filings Say – Wall Street Journal
California financier Danny Pang extracted at least $83 million in allegedly inflated fees, loans and salary from his investment firm before it was seized in April by federal regulators who accused him of a massive international fraud, according to filings unsealed Thursday……
Three-Month Dollar Libor Falls Below 0.6% for the First Time – Bloomberg
The cost of borrowing in dollars for three months in London dropped below 0.6 percent for the first time as central banks offered cash to financial institutions and signaled interest rates will stay at record lows.
The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, that banks charge for three-month loans fell half a basis point to 0.598 percent today, according to the British Bankers’ Association, taking its decline this year to 83 basis points. The rate, a benchmark for about $360 trillion of financial products around the world, peaked at 4.82 percent on Oct. 10 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on Sept. 15…..
PDVSA to Borrow as Much as $3 Billion, Merentes Says – Bloomberg
Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state oil company known as PDVSA, will sell as much as $3 billion in dollar bonds, which local investors will be able to buy with bolivars, Central Bank President Nelson Merentes said today.
The zero-coupon debt will come due in 2011, Merentes told reporters at the Central Bank.
PDVSA, based in Caracas, is borrowing to help cover debts to suppliers that grew to more than $7 billion last year. The company has paid $2 billion and expects to eliminate remaining accounts payable by the end of July, Venezuela Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said earlier this month…..
Micron 3Q Loss Widens On Lower Sales, Write-Down – Bloomberg
Micron Technology Inc.’s (MU) fiscal third-quarter loss widened on lower sales and a write-down on the value of its imaging unit, but its gross margin turned positive after three negative quarters as the cost of producing chips fell below their selling price.
The loss was the 10th consecutive quarterly loss for the memory-chip maker.
Micron, the last U.S. maker of dynamic random-access memory chips, has suffered from three years of oversupply. Cuts in manufacturing capacity across the sector have helped to stabilize prices, but demand remains depressed…..
Delphi Fires Back in Asset Fracas – Wall Street Journal
A battle over the sale of Delphi Corp. intensified Thursday as the bankrupt auto supplier fought back accusations that it struck a sweetheart government-orchestrated deal to sell most of its assets to a private-equity firm.
After Delphi announced a June 1 plan to sell its assets to buyout firm Platinum Equity and former parent General Motors Corp., several hedge funds have complained about the arrangement. They argued that the company — in league with Platinum, GM and the federal government — blocked them from the sales process and trampled on their rights as lenders…..
Delphi attacks challenge by hedge funds – Financial Times
Delphi and its backers have accused a group of hedge funds of holding General Motors and the US government to ransom by challenging a deal to sell the bulk of the bankrupt parts maker’s assets to Platinum Equity , a California-based private equity firm.
n filings with a New York bankruptcy court yesterday, Delphi, Platinum and their advisers insist the deal is the only realistic option that has emerged in almost four years since Delphi, GM’s biggest supplier, sought Chapter 11 protection….
Lear Nears Chapter 11 as Car-Parts Turmoil Rises – Wall Street Journal
Lear Corp., the world’s second-largest auto-seat maker, is preparing to file for bankruptcy as soon as next week, said people familiar with the matter.
Lear would become the eighth major car-parts supplier to file for Chapter 11 protection since 2005 as the car industry has struggled. Since one parts maker often supplies a variety of car companies, any trouble in shipping parts can lead to disruptions, including the shutdown of auto plants….
Qantas Cancels Order for 15 Boeing Planes – Wall Street Journal
Qantas Airways Ltd. said Friday it deferred delivery of some Boeing 787 aircraft and canceled orders for others, reflecting a dramatic downturn in the industry since the orders were placed.
The airline said it delayed by four years delivery of 15 Boeing 787-8 aircraft and canceled orders for 15 787-9 aircraft that were scheduled for delivery in 2014-15…..
Sulzberger Says Boston Globe May Need More Cost Cuts – Bloomberg
New York Times Co. Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said the publisher’s unprofitable Boston Globe will probably need more cost reductions on top of the $10 million in wage and benefit cuts its largest union is already considering.
“There will be still more to come,” Sulzberger said today in a memo to employees co-written by Chief Executive Officer Janet Robinson. “The Globe is on a path to a more secure financial future.”….
Tags: Allen Stanford, Autos, Ben Bernanke, Citigroup, Fed, Headlline Roundup, iDelphi, ponzi schemes
