WASHINGTON (AP) -- Moving with lightning speed, Congress and the
White House agreed Wednesday on a compromise $790 billion economic stimulus
bill designed to create million jobs in a nation reeling from recession.
President Barack Obama could sign the measure within days.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was joined by moderates from
both parties whose support is essential for the legislation's final passage at
a Capitol news conference to announce the agreement.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,
Reid's partner in negotiations over more than 24 hours, initially withheld
public approval in a lingering dispute over federal funding for schools. But
her spokesman, Brendan Daly, said more than two hours after Reid's announcement,
"We are moving forward with this legislation."
The emerging legislation is at the core of Obama's economic
recovery program, and includes help for victims of the recession in the form of
expanded unemployment benefits, food stamps, health coverage and more, as well
as billions for states that face the prospect of making deep cuts in school aid
and other programs.
Regulator: Madoff's wife pulls $10M
before arrest
Secretary of State William Galvin said Ruth Madoff,
67, withdrew $5.5 million on Nov. 25 and $10 million on Dec. 10 -- the day
before Bernard Madoff was arrested -- from Cohmad Securities Corp., a
The secretary cited wire transfer records produced by Cohmad as proof of the withdrawals. They came as Madoffs' scheme was unraveling as investors filed $7
billion worth of redemption requests.
They also appeared to follow what authorities consider a
disturbing trend on the part of the Madoffs to hide
money that could be used to reimburse burned investors.
With contrition, bankers say bailout has helped
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's top
bankers came to account for themselves Wednesday to a wary public, displaying a
blend of financial might and humility as they pledged to build public trust
with greater lending and fewer perks.
Eight chief executives sat at a witness table for more than six
hours Wednesday assuring lawmakers that an infusion last fall of $165 billion
in taxpayer money to their banks was good for consumers. The money was part of
a $700 billion financial rescue approved by Congress in October.
Lending has increased, they told the House Financial Services
Committee, and CEO bonuses have been eliminated.
And while some lawmakers said they hoped that by their testimony
the bankers could gain some credibility, some of their inquisitors weren't
convinced.
Stocks end higher on agreement on stimulus bill
News in late afternoon that key lawmakers agreed on a $789
billion economic stimulus plan sent stocks moderately higher in a partial
rebound from a plunge Tuesday that took the Dow Jones industrials down 380
points. Stocks meandered for much of Wednesday's trading as investors struggled
for a second day over what to make of developments in
The government has been the biggest player on Wall Street this
week.
Cuomo blasts Merrill executives on bonus plan
Cuomo detailed the size and scope of the bonuses in a letter sent
to
In the letter, Cuomo said he requested information on Merrill's
expected bonuses as early as Oct. 29, but never received any details about the
size of the bonus pool and criteria it planned to use to make the payments.
Cuomo said in the letter that Bank of
Peanut Co. owner refuses to testify to Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Summoned by congressional subpoena, the owner
of Peanut Corp. of America repeatedly invoked his right not to incriminate
himself at the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on the salmonella
outbreak that has sickened some 600 people, may be linked to nine deaths -- the
latest reported in Ohio on Wednesday -- and resulted in one of the largest
product recalls of more than 1,900 items.
The owner of the peanut company at the heart of the massive
salmonella recall refused to answer the lawmaker's questions -- or any others
-- Wednesday about the bacteria-tainted products he defiantly told employees to
ship to some 50 manufacturers of cookies, crackers and ice cream.
"Turn them loose," Parnell had told his plant manager
in an internal e-mail disclosed at the House hearing. The e-mail referred to
products that once were deemed contaminated but were cleared in a second test
last year.
KBR pleads guilty in Nigerian bribery scheme
HOUSTON (AP) -- A former Halliburton Co. subsidiary pleaded
guilty Wednesday to bribing Nigerian government officials to obtain contracts
valued at more than $6 billion.
Kellogg, Brown & Root LLC pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act by authorizing and paying bribes from 1995 to 2004 for
contracts to build liquefied natural gas facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria.
Most of those fines, however, will be paid by Halliburton.
In addition to the fine, KBR agreed to cooperate with ongoing
investigations and have an independent monitor review and report on the
company's compliance program for three years.
Justice Dept. to probe Ticketmaster deal
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice
Department will investigate the proposed merger of ticketing giant Ticketmaster
Entertainment Inc. with Live Nation Inc. to see if the combined company would
create an unfair monopoly in the ticket-selling business.
The deal would match the world's dominant ticket seller,
Ticketmaster, with Live Nation, which was once it's
biggest client and is the world's No. 1 concert promoter.
A Justice Department investigation could take months or longer,
and the department has probed Ticketmaster in the past.
Some lawmakers are already urging the government to reject the
deal.
Trade deficit drops to $39.9B; lowest in 6 years
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the deficit in
December fell 4 percent to $39.9 billion, from $41.6 billion in November. It
was slightly higher than the $36 billion deficit economists expected.
For the year, the deficit shrank by 3.3 percent to $677.1
billion. It was the second straight annual decline after five straight years of
record deficits.
Oil prices tumble below $36 on bulging inventories
Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $1.61 to settle at
$35.94 a barrel on the
Oil closed under $40 Monday for the first time in several weeks,
and has closed lower every day since.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50.65, or 0.64 percent, to
7,939.53.
Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500
index rose 6.58, or 0.80 percent, to 833.74, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.77, or 0.38 percent, to
1,530.50.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $1.61 to settle at
$35.94 a barrel on the
In other Nymex trading, gasoline
futures jumped 2.6 cents to settle at $1.2698 a gallon. Heating oil gained 1.5
cents to settle at $1.3164 a gallon, while natural gas for March delivery fell
less than a penny to settle at $4.532 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In