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• Citigroup Economist Sees 50% Chance of Greece Exiting Euro
  Citigroup Inc. Chief Economist Willem Buiter said the possibility that Greece will leave the euro area in the next 18 months has increased to 50 percent from 25 percent to 30 percent.The willingness of creditors to support Greece has fallen substantially, economists...
• MF Had $190 Million of Insurance for Corzine, Professionals
  MF Global Holdings Ltd. s insurance unit issued $190 million of liability policies for Jon Corzine and other professionals through May to cover costs of defending against allegations of wrongdoing, according to a court filing. The wholly owned unit, MFG Assurance, provided...
• Greeks Delay Bailout Talks as Merkel Demands Action
  German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece on Monday to make up its mind fast on accepting the painful terms for a new EU/IMF bailout, but the country's political leaders responded by delaying their decision for yet another day. Failure to strike a deal to secure the 130...
• Fed Should Raise Rates in 2013, Bullard Says
  The Federal Reserve should start raising interest rates next year, a top Fed official said on Monday, arguing that many years of near-zero rates will do little to return economic output to pre-recession levels and risks causing disaster. St. Louis Fed President James...
• Time Running Out for Greece as Leaders Haggle, Merkel Says
  European leaders stepped up pressure on Greek politicians to meet the conditions of a 130 billion-euro ($171 billion) bailout, saying time was running out. French President Nicolas Sarkozy met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris today as Greece s interim prime...
• Greece Lets Another Deadline Slip in Bailout Poker
  Greece let yet another deadline slip on Monday for responding to painful terms for a new EU/IMF bailout as patience in Brussels wore thin over drawn-out negotiations among its feuding political leaders. Failure to strike a deal to secure the 130 billion euro ($170 billion)...
• Greek Talks Are Suspended amid Austerity Doubts
  Crisis talks on a debt deal for Greece among the three leaders of parties supporting the coalition government were suspended and will continue Monday. Greece is racing to finalize austerity reforms needed for a new 130 billion ($171 billion) bailout without which it would...
• Singapore PM: China’s Economy May Face ‘Rough’ Landing
  China s economy may be headed for a rough landing, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said. They ve built a lot of infrastructure. They have built a lot of capacity in many industries, autos, some of the electronics industries, Lee said, according to a transcript...
• Newspaper Poll: Most Germans Want Greece to Quit Eurozone
  The majority of Germans feel the euro currency bloc would be better off if debt-crippled Greece left it, a poll published in mass-selling newspaper Bild am Sonntag showed on Sunday. The Emnid poll said 53 percent of Germans surveyed thought Greece should return to its...
• Over 750 Banks at Risk of Failing, Stress-Tester Warns
  While last year's 92 bank failures seemed like progress when compared to the 157 that closed their doors in 2010, there's more trouble ahead. At least 758 lending institutions are at risk of failure over the next two years, a stress-tester has warned. Invictus Consulting...
• BofA, JPMorgan Chase Sued by New York Over Mortgage Registry
  Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo Co. and JPMorgan Chase Co. were sued by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over the creation and use of a mortgage database. The banks use of the database, known as MERS, has led to deceptive and fraudulent foreclosure...
• Fed Still Divided as Fisher Sees No Need for More Easing
  A third round of large-scale asset purchases by the Federal Reserve is not needed and would compound the difficulties of tightening monetary policy when the time finally comes, a top Fed official said. Personally I don't see how you can justify it given the state of the...
• Swiss Launch Competition Probe Against UBS, Credit Suisse
  The Swiss Competition Commission said Friday it has launched an investigation into possible cartel behavior by a dozen banks including the country's two biggest institutions UBS and Credit Suisse.The banks are suspected of colluding to influence key interest rates and the...
• Swiss Bank Wegelin Charged With Helping US Clients Evade Taxes
  The United States indicted Wegelin, the oldest Swiss private bank, on charges that it enabled wealthy Americans to evade taxes on at least $1.2 billion hidden in offshore bank accounts, the U.S. Justice Department said. . The announcement, by federal prosecutors in...
• Wall Street Split as Money Managers Fault Bank Foreclosure Deal
  Wall Street s biggest lobbying group is split over a proposed settlement of state and federal foreclosure probes, after a committee of money managers signaled it opposes terms letting banks push some costs onto bondholders.The Securities Industry and Financial Markets...
• Bernanke: I Won’t Tolerate Inflation to Boost Employment
  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the central bank s newly established price goal and rejected suggestions he was prepared to allow higher inflation to create jobs. We are not seeking higher inflation, Bernanke said yesterday in response to questioning from...
• Former MF Global Official: I Warned Corzine of Risky Bets
  The former chief risk officer of MF Global says he warned then-CEO Jon Corzine in late 2010 of the risks in large bets on European government debt. Those bets sank the brokerage firm last fall.Michael Roseman, who left MF Global in January 2011, testified Thursday at a...
• Rate on 30-Year Mortgage Falls to Record 3.87 Percent
  The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the...
• Bernanke Defends Fed's Rate Policy, Urges Caution in Deficit Cutting
  Ben Bernanke defended the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates at record-low levels for the next three years, during a contentious hearing before federal lawmakers. The Fed chief told the House Budget Committee Thursday that the central bank's plan is an...
• Deutsche Bank Results Hit by Eurozone Debt Crisis
  The eurozone debt crisis took its toll on Germany's Deutsche Bank and its investment banking businesses, sending fourth-quarter net profits down 69 percent to 186 million euros ($245.06 million).Net profits fell far short of analyst estimates of 492.5 million euros, as...
• Facebook Surrenders Its Privacy in IPO Documents
  Facebook is baring its business soul.The unveiling came late Wednesday when the company that depends on people to share their lives online filed its plans to raise $5 billion in an initial public offering of stock. It's a revelatory moment that prospective investors,...
• Wealthy Investors Shrug at Facebook IPO After Private Purchases
  Wealthy investors aren t clamoring for a piece of Facebook Inc. s initial public offering because some own the stock through private transactions while others shy away from risky technology deals, according to advisers. It s kind of the late arrivals who get excited around...
• US Weighs 30% ‘Buffett Rule’ Tax on Millionaires
  Millionaires would pay a minimum 30 percent effective tax rate under a law introduced on Wednesday in the Senate with the backing of President Barack Obama and named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Nicknamed the Buffett Rule, the tax bill reflects Democrat...
• Mortgage Deal May Give States Sweeping Power
  A proposed settlement to resolve mortgage abuses by top U.S. banks will give states broad authority to punish firms that mistreat borrowers in the future, according to documents seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Under the settlement, which states are currently reviewing to...
• BofA Tumbles to 5.6% Share of Mortgages
  Bank of America Corp. lost about three-quarters of its market share in U.S. home mortgages since 2007 as the firm grappled with defective loans, while Wells Fargo Co. s presence almost doubled, FBR Capital Markets said.Bank of America saw its share of originations drop to...

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