The New York Times-20080124-Today in Business- -Business-Financial Desk-

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Today in Business; [Business/Financial Desk]

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CRISIS FOR BOND INSURERS State regulators met with representatives of a dozen banks to defuse a crisis facing two large, weakened bond insurers, MBIA and Ambac. A default by the two companies could leave buyers of the bonds on the hook for billions of dollars in losses.

A MOVING TARGET A day after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates, the Dow Jones industrial average swung like a yo-yo, diving nearly 250 points in the opening minutes, and eventually closing up -- way up -- with a gain of nearly 300 points, snapping a five-day losing streak. [C1.]

REPEATING MISTAKES? Some economists warned that the Federal Reserve, which slashed its benchmark interest rate on Tuesday to head off a possible recession, was in danger of invoking the same remedies that it did after the dot-com bubble burst seven years ago. News Analysis. [C1.]

Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, quashed hopes that the bank would follow the Fed in cutting interest rates. [C9.]

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, the United States has taken on a new role: wounded giant. [C9.]

PROGRESS ON STIMULUS PLAN Congressional leaders and the Bush administration are close to reaching a deal on a $145 billion economic stimulus package. [A19.]

STICKY OIL PRICES An American recession would probably reduce demand for oil, but that doesn't necessarily mean that energy prices would go down, some economists said. [C1.]

MOTOROLA STRUGGLES Motorola said demand for its cellphones had slowed, and acknowledged that it had yet to develop a worthy successor to its popular Razr. Investors sent Motorola stock plummeting; shares fell $2.31, or 18.8 percent, to $10.01. [C3.]

AND THE WINNER IS ... General Motors ended up in a virtual tie with Toyota in last year's hard-fought global sales race. But by beating back expectations that Toyota would take the crown, G.M. felt like a winner. [C2.]

SELLING $6 BILLION IN SHARES The Bank of America Corporation announced that it planned to raise $6 billion by selling preferred shares, one day after reporting a 95 percent decline in quarterly profit. [C7.]

WAL-MART MANIFESTO Wal-Mart pledged to cut the energy used by many of its products 25 percent, to force suppliers to meet stricter ethical standards, and to apply its legendary cost-cutting skills to help other companies deliver health care for their employees. [C3.]

HEART ASSOCIATION'S SPONSOR The American Heart Association, which last week came to the defense of Vytorin, an expensive cholesterol medication whose value was recently questioned, receives $2 million a year from the drug's maker. [C1.]

The Food and Drug Administration is now requiring drug makers to study whether patients become depressed or suicidal during clinical trials. [A1.]

CHINA'S ELECTRICITY SHORTAGE The Chinese government issued an urgent notice to the country's power generators, coal companies and railways to address an electricity shortage that has led to rationing in more than a third of China's provinces in recent weeks. [C4.]

A BIG LOSS FOR SALLIE MAE Sallie Mae, the embattled student lending giant, said that it lost $1.6 billion in its fourth quarter as it prepared for a jump in student loan defaults and took a hit from bad bets on its stock price. [C4.]

AT EBAY, A NEW EMPHASIS John Donahoe was named the new chief executive of Internet giant eBay and quickly announced changes in spur growth at the core eBay site, emphasizing fixed-price listings rather than auctions. [C3.]

FREE MUSIC ON THE WEBCBS said that it would expand its Internet music service, Last.fm, giving a lift to the idea that music through the Internet can be similar to radio -- free and supported by advertising -- yet give users a choice of what they want to listen to. [C10.]

BRUSH TEETH, USE ROGAINE Rogaine has a new marketing campaign that attempts to position it as an everyday bathroom essential -- like deodorant or toothpaste -- rather than a medication that helps grow hair. Advertising. [C10.]

AN ECONOMY'S TEMPERATURE Seasonal changes in the economy can pose a special challenge to running a small business. But it can be especially difficult in Alaska, which loses about 10 percent of its jobs from August to January. Small Business. [C5.]

OVERRIDE BID FAILS An effort in the House to override President Bush's veto of a bill to provide coverage to nearly four million uninsured children fell 15 votes short. [A18.]

BIG DIG TOLL: $400 MILLION The companies that designed and managed the costly Big Dig project -- Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation and Parsons Brinckerhoff -- will pay Massachusetts more than $400 million to settle litigation over leaky tunnels and a fatal ceiling collapse. [A17.]

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