TheRepublic.com - Financial services News

IMF calls for urgent steps on Spain unemployment

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:07:28 -0400

MADRID - Spain faces the prospect of of high unemployment and sluggish growth lasting years unless the country and Europe take "urgent action" to slash the nation's crippling 27 unemployment rate and free frozen credit to businesses so they can expand, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.

UK banking commission urges better standards

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:02:26 -0400

LONDON - British bankers could soon be facing harsher penalties for behaving badly.

World Bank highlights climate-poverty link

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:13:41 -0400

STOCKHOLM - The World Bank says it will increasingly view its efforts to help developing countries fight poverty through a "climate lens."

Investors look for answers on economy from Fed

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:19:14 -0400

WASHINGTON - Worry and speculation have consumed investors since Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke to Congress last month about the Federal Reserve's drive to keep long-term interest rates at record lows.

Gov't report: Smooth launch unsure for health law

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:10:14 -0400

WASHINGTON - There's no guarantee that President Barack Obama's health care law will launch smoothly and on time, congressional investigators say in the first in-depth independent look at its progress.

Calif.-based burger chain Johnny Rockets sold

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:55:14 -0400

ALISO VIEJO, California - Johnny Rockets, the Southern California-based burger chain with 1950s flair, has been sold to a private equity firm that targets underperforming and specialty companies.

Icahn changes tack, seeks $16B Dell stock buyback

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:26:19 -0400

NEW YORK - Activist investor Carl Icahn on Tuesday proposed a $16 billion share buyback in his latest effort to thwart Dell Inc. founder Michael Dell's effort to take the struggling computer maker private.

Aetna to stop selling individual plans in Calif.

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:34:30 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - Aetna Inc. will stop selling individual health insurance policies in California next month, just weeks after opting out of the exchange that is being established as part of the national health care reforms, a state regulator said Tuesday.

Concern over 2002 DC protest led to deal with Navy

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:09:02 -0400

WASHINGTON - The District of Columbia police department arranged to use U.S. Navy satellite communications and video equipment as it prepared for a large 2002 demonstration that resulted in about 400 arrests and multi-million-dollar legal settlements, according to emails, invoices and other documents that shed new light on the collaboration between law enforcement and the military.

Waiting for word from Bernanke, stocks move higher

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:33:34 -0400

NEW YORK - It's all about the Fed. Still.

Metals decline as traders wait for Federal Reserve

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:22:25 -0400

Metal prices fell as traders anticipate that the Federal Reserve may start easing its support for the economy.

Oregon Editorial Rdp

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:25:51 -0400

Editorials from Oregon newspapers

Iowa health insurer to seek smaller rate hikes

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:13:19 -0400

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Months after customers blasted the company for years of skyrocketing rates, Iowa's dominant health insurer said Tuesday it will limit premium increases in 2014 to less than six percent for individual and small business policyholders.

Zimbabwe 'Cattle Bank' takes deposits that moo

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:01:50 -0400

MARONDERA, Zimbabwe - William Mukurazita's deposit at the bank has four legs and moos.

Reversing himself, US judge vacates fraud sentence

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:07:11 -0400

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - A judge is throwing out a 10-year prison term he gave to a former supervisor of a phony check-cashing scheme in Cedar Rapids.

Wis. Senate to take up venture capital bill

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:04:14 -0400

MADISON, Wisconsin - The state Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a bill that would invest millions of dollars in state and private money in Wisconsin startups.

Maine gov vetoes Medicaid expansion for 2nd time

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:22:16 -0400

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine Gov. Paul LePage on Monday vetoed a bill to accept federal dollars to expand health care coverage to 70,000 more Mainers, saying he fears the state will ultimately bear the financial burden for the new enrollees.

Sex charges fly in Menard-Hilbert legal battle

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:34:33 -0400

NOBLESVILLE, Indiana - A former Indiana business partner of hardware kingpin John Menard contends in a lawsuit that the Wisconsin billionaire pressured her to have sex with him and his wife and retaliated by firing her husband as a financial adviser and filing lawsuits against them and some of their friends.

Coastal insurance group expects surplus

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:40:10 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - The nonprofit, state-supervised property insurance agency for coastal Texas counties is expected to shore up its finances by the end of the year, the group told a state House panel on Monday.

World looks to Bernanke to clarify stimulus plans

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:42:30 -0400

WASHINGTON - Is the era of ultra-low interest rates nearing an end?

Starboard says Smithfield sale undervalues company

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:16:18 -0400

RICHMOND, Virginia - One of Smithfield Foods Inc.'s largest shareholders says a $4.72 billion takeover bid from China's largest meat producer falls short of what the company would be worth if sold off piece by piece.

Citizens Property Insurance CFO resigns

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:21:29 -0400

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Citizens Property Insurance Corp.'s chief financial officer is stepping down.

Man arrested in Tuscaloosa credit union holdup

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:25:04 -0400

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - Tuscaloosa police say they've arrested a man in a holdup at a credit union.

Idaho woman sentenced, credit union embezzlement

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:52:05 -0400

POCATELLO, Idaho - A former teller at an Idaho Falls credit union has been sentenced to two months in prison, followed by two months of home detention for embezzlement.

Credit union receives combat flag donation

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:57:47 -0400

GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado - A credit union in Grand Junction got an unexpected gift from one of its members: a combat flag that flew during combat in Afghanistan.