Shares of iron ore miner Vale (VALE ) of Brazil are off 31 cents, or 1%, at $30.41 after UBS Securities analyst Rene Kleyweg cut the stock to “Neutral” from “Buy,” citing a disappointing Q4 report a month ago (revenue down by about a billion dollars, year over year), and [...]
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said on Wednesday the company's latest decision to eliminate overdraft fees on debit card transactions will "give up a lot of revenue," for the largest U.S. bank by assets.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Ten years ago today, before the dot-com bubble burst, the Nasdaq composite index hit a record 5,132.52 points -- a peak that the technology-heavy market shows no sign of scaling again any time soon.

‘Canadian consumers lose out if competition is constrained in the interest of protecting the national carrier,' airline argues
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The former chief investment officer for New York State's comptroller on Wednesday pleaded guilty to helping favored firms gain access to the state's $129 billion pension fund.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States posted a record $220.91 billion budget deficit in February, Treasury Department data showed on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday said the Obama's administration's strategy to halt recession and contain the financial crisis has been effective, but vowed to continue stabilization efforts.

Ibaraki Airport, which opens Thursday north of Tokyo, aims to be a completely new type of Japanese hub.
AP - A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Wednesday:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. wholesale inventories fell unexpectedly in January and sales hit their highest in more than a year, suggesting businesses will soon need to begin restocking, which would support economic growth.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An influential Republican in U.S. Senate talks on financial regulatory reform said on Wednesday there are no special exemptions for particular institutions in a proposed new government financial watchdog agency.

Investors bought shares of firms bailed out by the government amid speculation that their balance sheets would substantially improve.
A total of 30 states and Washington, D.C., reported rising unemployment rates in January, down from the number in the previous month, according to a government report released Wednesday.
Royal Dutch Shell has stopped selling gasoline to Iran, the company confirmed Wednesday, adding to a list of oil giants that have stopped sales after a threat of future U.S. sanctions.
All-cash transaction values U.S. company at $240-million; Canadian agrifood firm reports quarterly profit of $10.7-million
It's time to start paying attention to the financial sinkhole that Iceland is trying to climb out of -- the view from inside of it is eerily similar to our own.
Oil prices fell Wednesday, after a closely watched report showed a smaller than expected increase in oil supplies and a dip in gasoline inventory.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday as investors snapped up shares of bailed-out financial companies on hopes the sector may be poised for a recovery as the U.S. economy improves, while a drop in oil producer Chevron's stock pushed the Dow slightly lower.

Wholesale inventories declined 0.2 percent in the first month of the year, as businesses remained cautious about restocking their depleted shelves.
The Bank of Canada named Jean Boivin as deputy governor on Wednesday and announced another vacancy on the rate-setting council will open up in July. (Reuters)
Further stress-testing of UK banks will take place to ensure they can survive a 'double-dip' recession, regulators say.
U.S. federal regulators said they were looking into a report of another runaway Toyota Prius, this one in Westchester County, New York, where police said a woman pulling out of a driveway zoomed across a busy street and into a stone wall. (Reuters)
Firm has complained about being left out of the bidding, and in court documents on Wednesday called it ‘a remarkable abuse of the CCAA's process'
The loonie is likely to rise above parity with the U.S. dollar by the summer as higher interest rates, demand for commodities and the perception of Canada as financially solid push up the currency, CIBC World Markets said in a report. (Money)
British Gas workers are to vote in a strike ballot over allegations of bullying by management, and on changes to working conditions.
Uh-oh.
“Some froth may be building” in the trade in large-cap banks, according to a note today from Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher Mutascio, writing that the rally is not doomed, but that there are reasons for concern.
His principal concern is the focus on banks’ projected tangible book value, with seeming disregard [...]
Ten years to the day after the Nasdaq hit its peak of 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000, the technology industry is learning to do more with much less
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will ask an Ontario appeals court judge to overturn a decision allowing Shaw Communications to buy the broadcast business of Canwest Global Communications, according to reports. (Money)
Administrators at Portsmouth FC start to make employees redundant, with 85 people losing their jobs.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation that would write into law and widen the proposed "Volcker rule" to limit proprietary trading was unveiled in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday with the support of five Democratic senators.

Dear readers, from time to time it is important to emphasize that I have no personal interest in the movement of securities up or down, neither directly nor indirectly.
I hold no individual securities and I trade no securities whatsoever. My only investment in the market is in a Dow Jones [...]





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