Jerome Powell, Jeremy Stein Chosen by Obama to Fill Fed

President Barack Obama said he will nominate two former U.S. Treasury Department officials for the Federal Reserve Board, including one who served in a Republican administration.
Jerome Powell, an attorney who was a Treasury undersecretary for former President George H.W. Bush, and Jeremy Stein, a Harvard University economist who has advised the current administration, are […]

First Solar cuts 2011 financial estimates

First Solar Inc. on Wednesday cut its earnings and revenue estimates for 2011 due to weather delays and other unspecified issues with some company projects.
The Tempe, Ariz. solar manufacturer said it expects to earn between $5.75 and $6 per share on revenue of $2.8 billion to $2.9 billion in 2011. That’s down from an already […]

Germany denies ‘elite bonds’ plan

Germany insisted Monday that it has no plans to float bonds together with the eurozone’s five other triple A rated nations and use the proceeds to provide assistance to some of the single currency bloc’s indebted members, such as Italy and Spain.
The Finance Ministry’s denial came as the International Monetary Fund also dismissed reports it […]

Portugal

LISBON, PORTUGAL

Eurozone recession signals mounting

Any hopes that the 17-country eurozone will avoid sliding back into recession in the wake of a debt crisis that’s shown alarming signs of spreading to the bigger economies appeared to have been dashed Wednesday.
A couple of indicators show that the eurozone economy is in deep trouble and that the debt crisis is denting confidence […]

Ex-UBS banker gets 5 years’ probation in tax case

A former banker at Switzerland’s UBS AG has been sentenced to five years’ probation and no jail time for tax fraud because of his assistance in uncovering other tax evasion cases.
A federal judge in Miami agreed Friday that 45-year-old Renzo Gadola deserved leniency. He pleaded guilty in 2010 to tax fraud conspiracy and has been […]

Berlusconi’s party backs Monti to be new PM

Economist Mario Monti won pledges of support Sunday to lead a new technocratic government to try to rescue Italy from financial disaster, including from Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative party.
But Berlusconi’s ally, the Northern League, said it would become an opposition party rather than back Monti.
After days of being pummeled by international investors skittish about Italy’s massive […]

Leather chairs, soft lighting, Wi-Fi: Welcome to the new Tim Hortons

Canadians may not associate espresso, arm chairs and soft lighting with Tim Hortons, but the upscale fixtures are part of the brand

Peabody Energy, partner take control of Macarthur Coal

A year and a half after beginning its pursuit of Macarthur Coal Ltd., St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp. has gained control of the Australian mining company.
Peabody, which teamed with one of Macarthur’s largest shareholders, steelmaker ArcelorMittal, to buy the coal producer, said Monday that they control almost 60 percent of the company and plan to […]

The new normal: Higher bank fees are here to stay

Higher bank fees are here to stay.
The latest third-quarter earnings reports from this week confirm that banks are struggling to make money the old-fashioned way, by lending money to consumers and businesses. The main reason: interest rates are at historic lows. That makes it harder for banks to charge high rates on loans.
New rules have […]