WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats on Tuesday proposed stripping
the Federal Reserve of its supervisory powers and creating instead three new
federal agencies to police banks, protect consumers
and dismantle failing institutions.
The 1,136-page bill, released by Senate Banking Committee
Chairman Chris Dodd, would represent a significant shift in power in federal
oversight of the
Housing plan reaches 1 in 5 borrowers
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama
administration's mortgage relief program has reached one in five eligible
homeowners, a government report says, but most of those borrowers are on
temporary trial plans that have yet to be made final.
As of the end of October, more than 650,000 borrowers, or 20
percent of those eligible, had signed up for trials lasting up to five months,
the Treasury Department said Tuesday. The modifications reduce monthly payments
to more affordable levels.
To make the change permanent, though, borrowers must complete a
big stack of paperwork and show they can make their payments on time. At the
beginning of September, only about 1,700 permanent modifications had been made.
The Treasury Department expects to release updated data later this month.
Median home prices fell nationwide in 3Q
A real estate group says home prices fell in eight out of every
10
But home sales continued their climb, with quarterly sales
outpacing the second quarter and the previous year's figures, the National
Association of Realtors said Tuesday.
The median sales prices of existing homes declined in 123 out of
153 metropolitan areas compared with the same period a year ago. Prices rose in
the other 30 cities.
The national median price clocked in at $177,900, or 11 percent
below the third quarter last year.
Stocks zigzag after rally as the dollar rises
Stocks ended mixed Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrials tacked on
20 points a day after shooting up 200 points for the second time in three days.
The market again took its direction from the dollar, as it has
for months. Stocks drove higher Monday as the dollar weakened and slipped
Tuesday as the currency rose.
The Dow swung in a range of about 60 points in light trading as
investors increased their buying of safe-haven assets like the dollar and Treasurys. The ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures
the dollar against other currencies, edged higher.
Job openings remain close to record-lows
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Job openings are at rock-bottom levels,
according to government and private surveys released Tuesday, a trend that
could keep the unemployment rate high even as layoffs slow.
Small businesses in particular are reluctant to add workers as
they struggle to obtain credit. Many are pushing their current employees to
produce more. Economists say small businesses account for about 60 percent of
new jobs.
Still, there are some pockets of hiring as demand for information
technology and sales professionals grows, according to government reports and
job search Web sites. And there are signs that companies are adding more human
resources personnel, which could signal more hiring down the road.
Madoff
associate wills bulk of fortune to charity
Jeffry Picower, 67, a prominent
philanthropist, drowned after suffering a heart attack in the swimming pool of
his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion on Oct. 25.
Unlike some other Madoff investors, he
died a rich man. The trustee unraveling Madoff's
financial web said Picower withdrew some $7 billion
from his Madoff accounts over the decades -- well
more than he invested.
2 ex-Bear Stearns hedge-fund managers acquitted
NEW YORK (AP) -- Two Bear Stearns executives who ran hedge funds
that collapsed after betting heavily on the shaky subprime mortgage market were
acquitted Tuesday of lying to investors -- a defeat in the government's bid to
punish fraud exposed by the financial crisis.
A jury in federal court in Brooklyn deliberated about eight hours
over two days before finding Ralph Cioffi and Matthew
Tannin not guilty of conspiracy and other charges in an alleged scheme that
cost 300 investors about $1.6 billion and nearly caused the demise of Bear
Stearns itself. The firm avoided bankruptcy in a rescue buyout by JPMorgan
Chase & Co.
Beazer Homes posts profit in fiscal 4th quarter
Beazer Homes USA Inc. reported its first quarterly profit since
2006 on Tuesday and credited more stable home prices and cost cuts for a marked
improvement in the homebuilder's gross margins.
The Atlanta-based company also posted an annual increase in new
home orders, as low mortgage interest rates and a first-time homebuyer tax
credit helped lure buyers. Beazer said it expects orders for the current fiscal
year to modestly outpace those of fiscal 2009.
The company said foot traffic slowed somewhat in October as
would-be buyers waited for word on whether the government would extend the tax
credit. That news came last week as Congress extended the tax incentive through
next June, as long as the buyer signs a binding contract by the end of April.
Fed officials warn weak recovery won't spur jobs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Unemployment likely will remain high for the
next several years because the economic recovery won't be strong enough to spur
robust hiring, Federal Reserve officials warned Tuesday.
The cautionary note struck by the presidents of regional Fed
banks in San Francisco and Atlanta were the first public remarks of Fed
officials since the government reported last week that the nation's jobless
rate bolted to 10.2 percent in October. It marked only the second time in the
post-World War II period that the rate surpassed 10 percent.
In separate speeches, Janet Yellen,
president of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Adobe to cut about 680 full-time jobs
Adobe Systems Inc., the maker of Photoshop, Flash and Acrobat
software products, said Tuesday it will record pretax charges of $65 million to
$71 million as a result.
The job cuts relate only to Adobe employees before the company,
based in
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 20.03, or 0.2 percent, to 10,246.97, its fourth
straight advance and its highest close since Oct. 3, 2008.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500
index fell 0.07, or less than 0.1 percent, to
1,093.01, after six straight days of gains. The Nasdaq composite index fell 2.98, or 0.1 percent, to
2,151.08.
Benchmark crude for December delivery fell 38 cents to settle at
$79.05 a barrel on the
Natural gas for December delivery plunged 4 percent, or 20.3
cents, to settle at $4.467 per 1,000 cubic feet on Nymex.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil
fell a penny to settle at $2.0523 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery fell
less than a penny to settle at $1.9774 a gallon.
In