International Business News - FRE http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Oil prices tumble in biggest weekly drop ever NEW YORK (AP)--The price of oil recorded its biggest weekly drop ever, and a gallon of gas finally pulled back from its record high. So is it time to declare the energy bubble popped? Experts won't go that far just yet. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/business-highlights.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:34:42 EDT Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive John Thain is making a pitch to Wall Street: Buy the brokerage's shares while they're still cheap. But investors don't seem ready to listen. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/bank-stocks-look-cheap-but-buyers-remain-cautious.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:45:42 EDT Freddie Mac Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Syron pocketed nearly $19.8 million in compensation last year, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday, even though the mortgage company's stock lost half its value in 2007. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/freddie-mac-ceo-gets-19-8-million-in-2007.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:30:57 EDT Federal rescue plans are all the rage in Washington right now, for what seems to be everything but the dollar. The U.S. currency is not going to get a bailout, even though its steep decline is feeding inflation and straining the economy. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/all-business-dont-count-on-ailing-dollar-bailout.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:28:50 EDT Most rural bank CEOs surveyed in eleven Midwestern and Plains states support a federal bailout of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the event of financial collapse. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/bankers-survey-shows-support-for-mortgage-bailout.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:09:13 EDT Wilmington Trust Corp. said Friday it fell to a second-quarter loss as the value of major investments declined, leading the regional bank to record hefty charges. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/wilmington-trust-falls-to-2q-loss-on-big-charges.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:10:15 EDT Mortgage financier Freddie Mac took a step toward issuing common and preferred stock to help bolster its balance sheet Friday when the Securities and Exchange Commission accepted its registration statement filed earlier in the day. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/93866-freddie.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/freddie-mac-takes-step-toward-issuing-stock.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/freddie-mac-takes-step-toward-issuing-stock.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:17:57 EDT The chief executive of troubled mortgage finance company Fannie Mae said Thursday his company is financially strong and "very unlikely" to need a cash infusion from the government to survive the housing bust. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/fannie-mae-ceo-says-company-unlikely-to-need-aid.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:50:35 EDT So far, the nation's major banks have announced some very comforting earnings numbers for the second quarter. But Wall Street is worried that the next big report will create alarm rather than provide more reassurance. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/investors-brace-for-citigroup-to-post-another-loss.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:00:21 EDT Wall Street firms and banks stepped up their borrowing over the past week from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program. A Fed report released Thursday said the investment firms averaged $9 million in daily borrowing over the past week. Investment firms didn't draw such loans in the prior week. Such borrowing rose as high as $38.1 billion in early April. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/investment-firms-banks-step-up-fed-loans.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:11:02 EDT Congress wants to require executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to have their pay packages approved by the government as part of a bill to throw a federal lifeline to the mortgage giants. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/93211-fannie-and-freddie.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/govt-ok-sought-for-top-pay-at-mortgage-giants.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/govt-ok-sought-for-top-pay-at-mortgage-giants.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:39:44 EDT Mortgage rates fell this week with 30-year mortgage rates dropping to the lowest level in six weeks as investors became less worried that the Federal Reserve would soon tighten credit policy to stall inflation. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/rates-sink-on-all-types-of-mortgages.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:30:17 EDT Fitch Ratings on Thursday affirmed long-term issuer default ratings on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's, but cut Fannie's preferred stock rating and put Freddie's on watch for a possible downgrade. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/fitch-affirms-fannie-freddie-long-term-ratings.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:00:25 EDT The Bush administration lobbied skeptical lawmakers Wednesday to support a rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as lawmakers weighed how to protect taxpayers while still giving the government unfettered power to pour money into the mortgage giants. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/administration-presses-for-mortgage-giant-rescue.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:13:44 EDT A beat-the-deadline rush to file permits for apartment construction in New York City lifted housing starts to unexpectedly high levels in June, but it was no cause for rejoicing. Construction of single-family homes nationwide fell to the slowest pace in 17 years. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/single-family-construction-fell-5-3-pct-in-june.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:05:32 EDT Wall Street shot higher Thursday, extending its rally into a second session as tumbling energy prices bolstered an already upbeat mood that followed stronger-than-expected quarterly reports from big names like JPMorgan Chase and United Technologies. The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 200 points, bringing their two-day advance to more than 480. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/92932-wall-street.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/stocks-head-for-higher-open-ahead-of-earnings-data.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/stocks-head-for-higher-open-ahead-of-earnings-data.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:39:14 EDT The banking sector looked a little brighter for a second straight day Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported better-than-expected results despite a spike in mortgage and other loan defaults. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/92943-jpmorgan-chase.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/jpmorgan-chase-profit-falls-pct-loan-losses.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/jpmorgan-chase-profit-falls-pct-loan-losses.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:36:45 EDT For years, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tenaciously worked to nurture, and then protect, their financial empires by invoking the political sacred cow of homeownership and fielding an army of lobbyists, power brokers and political contributors. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/92873-germany-market.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/fannie-freddie-spent-millions-on-lobbying.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/fannie-freddie-spent-millions-on-lobbying.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:13:17 EDT Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Wednesday that troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in "no danger of failing." The Fed chief made his remarks to the House Financial Services Committee, his second day on Capitol Hill where he briefed lawmakers on the problems plaguing the economy. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/92668-bernanke-us-economy.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/bernanke-fannie-freddie-in-no-danger-of-failing.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/bernanke-fannie-freddie-in-no-danger-of-failing.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:55:24 EDT The Bush administration lobbied skeptical lawmakers Wednesday to support a rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as lawmakers weighed how to protect taxpayers while still giving the government unfettered power to pour money into the mortgage giants. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080716/administration-presses-for-mortgage-giant-rescue.htm Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:14:37 EDT