The Wall Street Journal-20080130-Business and Finance
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Business and Finance
Full Text (395 words)Societe Generale's board is expected to discuss today the possible ouster of Chairman and co-CEO Daniel Bouton. Foreign and domestic predators are circling the bank, but France is likely to rebuff any overtures from abroad. The French government tried to set the agenda, all but demanding Bouton's resignation.
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New York state regulators are rethinking a decade-old loophole that allows bond insurers to venture into derivatives.
Regulators are pursuing a plan to shore up bond insurers, but the firms that would put up the cash are wrangling over details.
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The Dow industrials rose 96.41 points to 12480.30 as positive economic data lifted the index. Investors hope the Fed cuts rates by half a percentage point.
Durable goods rose 5.2% in December, driven by robust foreign demand. Home prices dropped 8.4% in November.
Global economic growth will slow significantly to 4.1% this year, but the U.S. will avoid a recession, the IMF forecast.
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The FBI opened criminal inquiries into 14 companies as part of a wide-ranging probe of the subprime-mortgage crisis.
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Yahoo posted a 23% drop in net and issued a sober revenue outlook, saying it faces "head winds" in 2008. The company said it will cut about 1,000 jobs.
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Clear Channel's stock declined 7.2% amid investor jitters about its $19 billion buyout. Executives were silent about the deal.
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Comverse's former top executives routinely manipulated earnings to meet Wall Street expectations, an internal probe found.
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Sprint revived talks with WiMax start-up Clearwire to form a joint venture that would bring in outside funding from Google, Intel and others.
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Countrywide posted a loss of $421.9 million as rising defaults and declining home prices battered the mortgage lender.
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U.S. Steel reported an 88% profit drop, hurt by weakening U.S. and European economies and higher raw-material costs.
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Eli Lilly's net income surged as increased sales of drugs for mental illness and cancer helped bolster revenue.
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EMC's net climbed 35% amid higher revenue, but the company's shares fell 6% on concerns of slowing growth at VMware.
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Sears Chairman Lampert said in an interview that he should have moved faster to revamp the retailer. He bristled at critics who have lost faith in the company.
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E*Trade plans to spend up to $4 million for two ads airing during the Super Bowl in a push to restore the company's image.
