Liquidators of failed Bear Stearns funds sue rating agencies
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The liquidators of two offshore Bear Stearns hedge funds have filed a $1.12 billion lawsuit accusing the major U.S. credit rating agencies of fraudulently issuing inflated ratings for securities that the funds owned.
IMF’s Lagarde may be called as Bankia probe witness
MADRID (Reuters) – A Spanish political party that triggered a high profile court investigation into the near collapse of bailed-out bank Bankia has asked for Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to testify as a witness….
Merrill Lynch makes big changes in managed account program
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Merrill Lynch is overhauling its $438 billion managed account business, spending more than $100 million to streamline how brokers open accounts, build portfolios and charge for their efforts.
Analysis: Euro zone’s queasy feeling as it looks in Japan mirror
LONDON (Reuters) – Monetary policy that cannot get traction; weak banks that cannot or will not lend; an economy trapped in a twilight world of low growth, haunted by the specter of deflation.
GM shifts production of Opel Mokka SUV from Korea to Spain
BERLIN (Reuters) – General Motors Co is moving a large chunk of production of the new Mokka subcompact sport-utility vehicle from South Korea to Spain, responding to a rare bright spot of growing demand in depressed core European markets.
Allscripts expects bookings to rise in second quarter; shares up
(Reuters) – Healthcare IT company Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc forecast its first quarterly growth in bookings in six quarters, sending up its shares by as much as 8.6 percent to a 15-month high.
Wholesale inventories drop most in over a year and half
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Wholesale inventories fell in May by the most in over a year and a half, the second straight monthly decline and a sign that restocking by businesses could weigh against economic growth in the second quarter.
UK to list Royal Mail, woos workers with free shares
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will list a majority stake in the Royal Mail postal service on the stock market in the next nine months, promising free shares for workers fiercely opposed to the country’s biggest privatization in around 20 years.
After boom years, some Chinese firms run into trouble in crisis-hit Sudan
OMDURMAN, Sudan (Reuters) – When Chinese clothing wholesaler Chan Cui Xiao signed a deal with a Sudanese businessman to export colorful bed sheets to the African country he was confident of making good money.
Senate to scrutinize Chinese purchase of pork producer Smithfield
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chinese plans to buy America’s Smithfield Foods – the world’s biggest pork producer – will face intense scrutiny on Wednesday when U.S. senators question Smithfield’s chief executive about food safety and foreign ownership.
