The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Thursday, March 26, 2009:
Treasury head Geithner unveiling regulatory agenda
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Obama administration is proposing an extensive overhaul of financial regulations in an effort to prevent a repeat of the banking crisis last fall that toppled once-mighty institutions and wiped out trillions of dollars in investor wealth. Officials said the administration will seek to regulate the market for credit default swaps and other types of derivatives and require hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Asian stocks gain as US data boost recovery hopes
HONG KONG (AP) _ Asian markets gained Thursday, building on this month’s rally as better-than-forecast economic data in the U.S. buoyed hopes that government stimulus measures are starting to heal the global economy. Every major market across Asia advanced as investors took relief in figures showing orders at U.S. factories for cars, household appliances and other durable goods climbed 3.4 percent last month. Also, new home sales rose 4.7 percent in February. The figures _ better than the market’s expectations _ lifted optimism that demand in the world’s largest economy might bottom out in the coming months.
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Oil rises in Asia on positive US data, stocks
TOKYO (AP) _ Oil prices rose above $53 a barrel in Asia Thursday as encouraging U.S. data on durable goods orders and home sales spurred hopes for a recovery in crude demand. Gains in U.S. and Asian stock markets also supported oil prices, and the uptick in sentiment appeared to be enough to temper concerns over sharply accumulating inventories in the U.S.
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Bill to appease public without peeving investors
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Democrats are looking for a way to respond to the public’s outrage over taxpayer money being used to bankroll big bonuses for financial executives without alienating an industry whose cooperation is crucial to the nation’s economic recovery. The House Financial Services Committee planned to endorse on Thursday a bill that would let Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and financial regulators decide whether an institution was spending too much money rewarding its employees.
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Bold claims of stimulus jobs can’t be measured
WASHINGTON (AP) _ If space exploration were conducted like the job forecasts under the government’s new stimulus law, man surely would have missed the moon. But this isn’t rocket science. No promise from President Barack Obama is more important to the wounded economy than his vow to save or create some 3.5 million jobs in two years. In support of that bottom line, the government even tells states how many jobs they can expect to see from the spending and tax cuts.
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Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz 1Q profit falls
STOCKHOLM (AP) _ Swedish fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz AB Thursday said its first-quarter net profit fell by 12 percent due to unfavorable currency exchange rates and lower consumer spending amid the global economic downturn. The company said net profit for the three months ending Feb. 28 fell to 2.6 billion kronor ($321 million) from 2.9 billion in the same period a year earlier.
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Toyota to sell 2 Prius models in hot hybrid battle
TOKYO (AP) _ Toyota will continue to sell the current Prius when the revamped version goes on sale in May in an unusual move likely to help the top-selling hybrid ride out a threat from rival Honda. Toyota Motor Corp. President Katsuaki Watanabe said Thursday there is demand in the Japanese market for both the third-generation Prius and the smaller model that’s already on sale.
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Obama budget on the march through Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) _ For now, President Barack Obama’s Democratic allies are endorsing his ambitious budget plan, but general agreements on fighting global warming and boosting health care promise to be severely tested later in the year as details are penciled in. The Senate Budget Committee was poised to adopt Obama’s budget plan Thursday after approval by a companion House panel on a party-line vote late Wednesday.
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Striking French workers release 3M manager
PARIS (AP) _ French workers released a manager of U.S. manufacturer 3M held hostage for two days in a labor dispute over layoffs, the company said Thursday, amid rising French unemployment and public outrage at employers. A new poll indicated that French worker frustration remains high, with a majority of respondents predicting more violent incidents in response to the economic crisis. The hostage-taking was one of many recent efforts by French workers to protest the downturn.
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Former AIG chief Greenberg criticizes bonuses
HONG KONG (AP) _ Former AIG chief executive Maurice “Hank” Greenberg slammed the company for paying out millions in bonuses to its controversial financial unit after wracking up massive losses that prompted a bailout by the U.S. government. “Why would you pay them a bonus to make up for the losses?” Greenberg said in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. “There was no reason to pay them bonuses … It didn’t make any sense.”
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Japan Markets
TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese shares rose sharply Thursday with sentiment turning upbeat as investors took heart from better-than-expected key U.S. economic data. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gained 156.34 points, or 1.84 percent, to 8,636.33. The broader Topix index added 1.02 percent to 826.81.
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Dollar-Yen
TOKYO (AP) _ In currencies, the dollar rose to 97.97 yen in Tokyo Thursday from 97.63 yen in New York late Wednesday.
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A service of The Associated Press. Copyright 2009 All rights reserved.
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