The Wall Street Journal-20080117-Business and Finance
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Business and Finance
The Dow industrials closed down 34.95 at 12466.16 after being up more than 112 points at their intraday high, amid mixed news about corporate profits, oil prices and the economy. Hopes for a rate cut by the Fed tempered stock declines. The Nasdaq shed 1% and bond prices declined.
Consumer prices edged up in December, but wages failed to keep pace. Bernanke is expected to back a stimulus package in testimony before Congress.
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J.P. Morgan is "very open-minded" about acquisitions, CEO Dimon said, despite a 34% drop in profit and a $1.3 billion write-down. Its stock rose 5.8%.
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Developer Ian Bruce Eichner defaulted on a $760 million loan from Deutsche Bank for a Las Vegas casino-resort project after he failed to get refinancing.
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The Treasury Department is proposing softening its regulatory grip on Fannie and Freddie, reflecting a growing reliance on them to provide mortgage money.
Countrywide said it modified loan terms and took other steps to avoid foreclosing on 81,266 mortgage borrowers last year.
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Oracle forged an $8.5 billion deal to acquire rival software maker BEA. Sun agreed to buy Swedish start-up MySQL.
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Brocade ex-CEO Reyes was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $15 million for backdating stock options.
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Air France-KLM could play a key role in a possible Delta deal with Northwest by providing cash in return for a stake.
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The White House said "there's a hope" of OPEC boosting output after Bush's talks with Saudi King Abdullah. Oil fell below $91.
Global oil-field output is declining at a rate of about 4.5% a year, a new study concludes.
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EU investigators raided drug companies in several countries in a probe of possible anticompetitive behavior in the industry.
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Ambac and MBIA shares tumbled after S&P raised its projection for subprime-mortgage losses and Ambac warned of a big loss.
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Beijing moved to exert more control over food-price increases and reduce bank lending, signaling concern over inflation.
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American parent AMR swung to a $69 million loss on record fuel prices. It forecast that jet fuel will get more expensive.
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A law firm hired by Siemens said it has developed leads on the possible involvement of top executives in a bribery scandal.
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Rio Tinto plans to charge steelmakers higher prices for iron ore, despite long-term contracts.
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P&G has decided to spin off its Folgers coffee unit to shareholders instead of selling the brand.
