SCREW WALL STREET - THEY CREATED THIS CRISIS!

SCREW WALL STREET - THEY CREATED THIS CRISIS!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/10/AR2009021001260.html

US-BUSINESS Summary

Reuters
Tuesday, February 10, 2009; 12:01 PM

Wall Street sinks as bank plan euphoria fades

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell to session lows on Tuesday, as investors worried the plan unveiled by Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner to shore up the banking system might not be enough to stem the worsening financial crisis. * The S&P financial index <.GSPF> fell more than 4 percent

U.S. lays out plan to mop up $500 billion in bad debts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury on Tuesday unveiled a revamped financial rescue plan to cleanse $500 billion in spoiled assets from banks' books and support $1 trillion in new lending through an expanded Federal Reserve program. The renamed "Financial Stability Plan," rolled out by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at the Treasury, will also devote $50 billion in federal rescue funds to try to stem home foreclosures and soften the crushing impact of the deep housing crisis now afflicting the entire economy.

GM to cut 10,000 salaried jobs

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co will slash its global salaried work force by about 10,000, or 14 percent, this year and impose pay cuts on most remaining white-collar U.S. workers as it scrambles to reduce costs under a restructuring mandated by its U.S. government bailout. GM, which was granted $13.4 billion of government loans in December, said on Tuesday it would cut its salaried work force to about 63,000 from 73,000 during 2009.

Live Nation to buy Ticketmaster

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The world's largest concert promoter Live Nation Inc plans to buy Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc for about $400 million in stock in a bid to create a company with dominant holdings in concert promotion and ticket sales. But shares of both companies fell on Tuesday, amid concerns the acquisition would be blocked by U.S. antitrust regulators under the new Obama administration.

UBS loss biggest in Swiss corporate history

ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS posted the biggest annual corporate loss in Swiss history and said it would cut a further 2,000 investment banking jobs as it looks to rebuild its damaged wealth management brand and overcome the credit crisis. Client withdrawals at the Swiss bank's core wealth management arm accelerated in the fourth quarter. But UBS said net new money turned positive in both wealth and asset management in January, a first positive indicator after three negative quarters.

Intel to invest $7 billion in U.S. plants

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Intel Corp plans to invest $7 billion over the next two years to build advanced manufacturing facilities in the United States that make faster, smaller chips that consume less energy. The announcement comes less than a month after the world's largest maker of microprocessors used in personal computers said it would close plants in Southeast Asia and scale back U.S. operations under a restructuring that affects as many as 6,000 employees.

Life insurance stocks fall on rating worries

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. life insurer shares fell sharply on Tuesday as investment losses triggered rating agency concerns. Late Monday, Fitch downgraded the insurer financial strength rating for Hartford Financial Services Group Inc's primary life insurance subsidiary, citing the company's "exposure to the currently volatile credit and investment market conditions."

RBS says to cut up to 2,300 UK jobs

LONDON (Reuters) - The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc could cut up to 2,300 jobs in Britain or around 2 percent of its local workforce of 106,000, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday. The lay-offs will not affect customer-facing staff, RBS added.

Molson Coors profit misses view

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Molson Coors Brewing Co reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, hurt by slowing beer sales, higher commodity costs and currency fluctuations, sending its shares down 8 percent. The maker of Coors Light and Molson Canadian beer said fourth-quarter income from continuing operations tumbled 49 percent to $90.7 million, or 49 cents per share, from $176.2 million, or 96 cents per share, a year earlier.

Oil falls towards $39 after U.S. bank rescue plan

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil turned negative on Tuesday, falling toward $39 a barrel, as investors' concern about weak fuel demand overshadowed the U.S. Treasury's financial rescue plan. The Treasury Department unveiled a revamped financial rescue plan to cleanse up to $500 billion in spoiled assets from banks' books and support $1 trillion in new lending through an expanded Federal Reserve program.