International Business News - Consumer Services http://www.ibtimes.com/rss/feed/consumerservices.rss All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 120 30 http://www.ibtimes.com/rss/feed/consumerservices.rss http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said it plans to limit the amount of business underwritten by its reinsurance operations, as it prepares to spend roughly $26 billion to buy railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/berkshire-reinsurance-volume-limited-burlington.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/223706-berkshire-reinsurance-volume-limited-by-burlington.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/berkshire-reinsurance-volume-limited-burlington.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/berkshire-reinsurance-volume-limited-burlington.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:46:57 EST Citigroup Inc said on Friday that new accounting rules for securitization trusts may prevent the bank from funding some of its assets with a top debt rating. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/citigroup-says-rules-may-hit-securitization.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/223704-citigroup-says-new-rules-may-hit-securitization.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/citigroup-says-rules-may-hit-securitization.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/citigroup-says-rules-may-hit-securitization.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:37:39 EST Freddie Mac, the second largest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding, on Friday posted a loss of $5 billion in the third quarter and predicted it would need more government support amid a "prolonged deterioration" in housing. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/freddie-mac-postsbln-loss-predicts-weak-housing.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/223703-freddie-mac-postsbln-loss-predicts-weak-housing.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/freddie-mac-postsbln-loss-predicts-weak-housing.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/freddie-mac-postsbln-loss-predicts-weak-housing.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:32:44 EST Dollar General is set to go public next week, but the discount retailer could see mixed results in its closely watched initial public offering as its private equity backers have valued the company richly. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/dollar-general-set-price-rich-valuation.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/dollar-general-set-price-rich-valuation.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:26:59 EST Home goods retailer A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts Inc posted a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss as same-store sales fell and increased promotional activities hurt margins, sending its shares down as much as 18 percent. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/amoore-posts-wider-than-expected-q3-loss-shrs-fall.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/amoore-posts-wider-than-expected-q3-loss-shrs-fall.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:51:53 EST AES Corp said it will raise $1.58 billion by selling a nearly 15 percent stake in the company to a unit of China Investment Corp (CIC), and the power company posted a higher third-quarter profit. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/aes-sell-15-pct-stake-chinas-cic-for58-bln.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/aes-sell-15-pct-stake-chinas-cic-for58-bln.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:27:37 EST A founder of part of payments processing business RBS WorldPay is interested in buying all of the business back from Royal Bank of Scotland after the UK bank was told to sell it by European competition authorities. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/former-worldpay-boss-keen-buy-rbs-worldpay.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/223672-former-worldpay-boss-keen-to-buy-rbs-worldpay.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/former-worldpay-boss-keen-buy-rbs-worldpay.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/former-worldpay-boss-keen-buy-rbs-worldpay.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:04:56 EST The Carlyle Group said on Friday it would buy a Japanese restaurant chain operator in a 21 billion yen ($230 million) management buyout, its second deal in Japan in two weeks. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/carlyle-buy-restaurant-chain-232-mln-mbo.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/carlyle-buy-restaurant-chain-232-mln-mbo.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:10:56 EST Bank of America's consumer banking chief, tipped to be a leading candidate to replace outgoing chief executive Kenneth Lewis, said he is keen to step into the top job but will stay on if he misses out, addressing one of Wall Street's most talked-about issues. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/bofas-consumer-bank-chief-eyes-ceo-job.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/223623-bofas-consumer-bank-chief-eyes-ceo-job.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/bofas-consumer-bank-chief-eyes-ceo-job.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/bofas-consumer-bank-chief-eyes-ceo-job.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:04:51 EST Korea Life Insurance Co., the country's No. 2 life insurer, may raise around $2 billion through its public offering, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, in what would be Korea's largest IPO since 2006. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/korea-life-may-raise-aroundbln-ipo-sources.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/korea-life-may-raise-aroundbln-ipo-sources.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:01:56 EST Five years after retiring from Japan Airlines Corp, former pilot Tsutomu Watanabe is fighting to protect the pension he was promised but that the airline can no longer afford to pay. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/japan-airlines-survival-hinges-on-pension-cuts.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/223620-japan-airlines-survival-hinges-on-pension-cuts.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/japan-airlines-survival-hinges-on-pension-cuts.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091106/japan-airlines-survival-hinges-on-pension-cuts.htm Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:38:10 EST Thomson Reuters Corp reported that quarterly revenue in its markets and legal businesses fell as customers cut costs in the wake of the financial crisis, but its CEO said the worst was ove http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/thomson-reuters-ceo-says-worst-over.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/thomson-reuters-ceo-says-worst-over.htm Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:16:03 EST Four former dealers at UBS plundered customer accounts to trade and dumped the resulting losses on them, Britain's financial regulator said, further denting the battered Swiss bank's reputation. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/ubs-traders-dumped-losses-on-duped-rich-clients.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/223549-ubs-traders-dumped-losses-on-duped-rich-clients.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/ubs-traders-dumped-losses-on-duped-rich-clients.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/ubs-traders-dumped-losses-on-duped-rich-clients.htm Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:13:36 EST Deutsche Post DHL raised its 2009 outlook when posting third-quarter earnings that beat forecasts, saying on Thursday cost cuts were helping offset stubbornly weak volumes. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/deutsche-post-ups-outlook-on-swift-cost-cuts.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/deutsche-post-ups-outlook-on-swift-cost-cuts.htm Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:11:03 EST Online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide posted a quarterly profit, helped by lower expenses, on Thursday, but the results missed expectations and shares fell more than 9 percent in early trading. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/orbitz-posts-profit-misses-estimates-shares-fall.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/orbitz-posts-profit-misses-estimates-shares-fall.htm Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:57:34 EST Japan Airlines Corp, which is seeking a state bailout, said it would hold a briefing on changes to its route and flight frequency plans on Thursday at 2 a.m. EST. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/jal-brief-on-route-flight-changes.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/223529-jal-to-brief-on-route-flight-changes.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/jal-brief-on-route-flight-changes.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/jal-brief-on-route-flight-changes.htm Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:38:59 EST Australian toll road operator Transurban Group rejected a $4.4 billion buyout approach from two Canadian pension funds on Thursday, but left the door open to a better offer, sending its shares up 20 percent. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/australias-transurban-spurns4-billion-buyout-bid.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/223530-australias-transurban-spurns4-billion-buyout-bid.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/australias-transurban-spurns4-billion-buyout-bid.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/australias-transurban-spurns4-billion-buyout-bid.htm Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:36:27 EST Thomson Reuters Corp's quarterly revenue fell but profit beat Wall Street estimates, helped by foreign currency rates and cost cuts, and the company affirmed its 2009 outlook. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/thomson-reuters-q3-profit-beats-forecast.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091105/thomson-reuters-q3-profit-beats-forecast.htm Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:32:02 EST Banco Macro, one of Argentina's largest private banks, reported a third-quarter net profit of 190.9 million pesos ($49.8 million), compared with 163.3 million pesos a year earlier, the company said on Wednesday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091104/argentinas-banco-macro-posts-3rd-qtr-net-profit.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091104/argentinas-banco-macro-posts-3rd-qtr-net-profit.htm Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:59:29 EST Upscale grocer Whole Foods Market Inc posted higher profit as sales "stabilized and officially turned the corner" but shares fell 8.7 percent after its fiscal 2010 profit outlook missed analysts' views. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091104/whole-foods-sales-profit-rise-but-outlook-misses.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20091104/whole-foods-sales-profit-rise-but-outlook-misses.htm Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:58:14 EST