The Wall Street Journal-20080122-Business and Finance
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Business and Finance
Stock markets dropped around the globe amid recession fears, casting doubt on the theory that foreign markets are immune to the economic troubles sweeping the U.S. The selloff reinforced fears that U.S. markets could be tested today as trading reopens.
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EBay CEO Meg Whitman is preparing to retire, and John Donahoe, president of eBay's auction business unit, has emerged as the leading candidate to succeed her.
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The credit crunch sparked by problems with residential mortgages is spreading to the broader economy -- with banks making it harder and more expensive for some small and midsize businesses to borrow.
A logjam of debt commitments remains on banks' balance sheets. That could constrain other lending, including loans to companies with solid credit.
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Brazil's Vale is in talks to buy Swiss miner Xstrata in a deal that could be valued at as much as $90 billion and create a new global mining powerhouse.
BHP is unlikely to sweeten its $99.22 billion unsolicited proposal to acquire mining rival Rio Tinto by a Feb. 6 deadline.
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Bank of China appears more likely to report a big write-down on its investments in U.S. mortgage securities, illustrating the downturn's global reach.
Investors are bracing for new disclosures that European financial firms made bigger bets on securities tied to U.S. mortgage loans than previously thought.
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James O'Shea became the second editor of the Los Angeles Times in 14 months to leave in a fight over budget cuts.
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Several European chemical firms face possible debarment by the World Bank amid allegations they colluded to overcharge an antimalaria program in India.
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U.K. banks, after coping with fallout from the U.S. housing bust, now must navigate a looming housing crunch at home.
The British government outlined a rescue package for Northern Rock aimed at drawing new offers for the mortgage lender.
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Teva is to pay $400 million for biopharma firm CoGenesys, stoking the debate about generic drug makers' role in the market for biological therapies.
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Microsoft will disclose new details of plans to take on VMware in virtualization, including the purchase of start-up Calista.
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Chemical firms' earnings will add insight into how much business they have gained abroad and which are best-positioned to weather a U.S. downturn.
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U.S. private-equity firm J.C. Flowers is considering buying British insurer Friends Provident, in a deal that could be valued at about $7.8 billion.
