News and Finance

Regulators in individual European Union countries would get enhanced authority to police banks' foreign subsidiaries under a draft proposal before the EU.
Conceived in the months before the worsening of the current financial crisis, the plan is intended to make it easier for regulators to identify troubled banks earlier by giving the authorities a […]

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have prohibited some of the lending practices advocates say contributed to the downturn in California’s housing market.
The legislation would have banned negative amortization loans, in which homeowners pay less than the interest on their loan and can end up owing more than their homes […]

On the day of the first public discussion between lawmakers and the administration about the Treasury’s $700 billion financial rescue proposal, the debate is being framed by a few key issues.
Lawmakers from both parties, while acknowledging the urgency of the moment, nevertheless object to giving what they characterize as a "blank check" to Treasury […]

Experts are cautiously optimistic that the massive federal bailout of the nation’s financial sector will solve the credit crisis that hit Wall Street this week.
But questions remain about whether it will prevent more failures of banks and Wall Street firms and many doubt this will lead to a quick turnaround for the battered housing […]

The dollar tuned mixed Friday after rallying early in the day following the government’s announcement that it was putting together a plan to help banks get rid of bad debts.
Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission early Friday moved to halt short selling in 799 financial securities, while the Treasury Department said it would provide […]

The disruption tearing through financial markets bounced from Wall Street down to Charlotte, N.C., and out to St. Louis on Thursday.
Wachovia Corp. of Charlotte, one of the nation’s biggest banks, is reported to have held preliminary merger talks with Morgan Stanley, one of the nation’s most storied investment houses. A deal could be […]

German producer prices rose less than economists expected in August, evidence that inflation pressures are easing in Europe's largest economy.
Producer prices rose 8.1 percent from a year earlier after increasing 8.9 percent in July, which was the fastest pace since October 1981, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. Economists forecast prices […]

Italy’s labor minister said on Thursday that the liquidation of Alitalia was a “very real risk” later in the day when an investor group offering to rescue the state-controlled airline was due to make its final decision.
“I really think the future of Alitalia is hanging by a thread,” Minister Maurizio Sacconi said on a […]

Capping an extraordinary day in financial markets, authorities pieced together an emergency $85 billion rescue of insurance company American International Group Inc to stave off a bankruptcy that could have thrown world markets into deeper turmoil.
AIG’s rescue calls for the Federal Reserve to lend up to $85 billion to AIG for two years in […]

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said investors shouldn't expect taxpayers to bail them out when financial markets are in turmoil and proposed closer scrutiny of credit-ratings services.
The Illinois senator, reacting to the collapse of New York- based Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., said regulation of Wall Street needs to “catch up'' with changes in […]