Reuters - Stocks rose on Thursday, building on their best day in eight weeks in the previous session, as data showed pending home sales improved and initial jobless claims declined.
Reuters - Burger King Holdings Inc , the No. 2 U.S. fast-food chain, agreed to be bought by investment firm 3G Capital for $24 per share, or about $3.26 billion.
Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday he could not have legally saved Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy and the firm's catastrophic failure in 2008 was a source of sadness.
Reuters - Hewlett-Packard Co raised its bid for data storage company 3PAR Inc to $2.4 billion, beating Dell Inc's latest offer in a bidding war that many analysts have said has gone too far.
Reuters - Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rebounded unexpectedly in July and new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, hopeful signs for the sputtering economic recovery.
AFP - Asian and European stocks rose on Wednesday, lifted by bargain-hunting and upbeat data, as dealers set aside Wall Street's worst August performance in nine years amid stubborn US recovery doubts.
AFP - The most important lesson to come from the financial crisis is that banks must not be allowed to become "too-big-to-fail," Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.
AP - Del Monte Foods Co. said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter profit edged up 1.4 percent, but revenue softened on weakness in the consumer business and the company trimmed its expectations for revenue growth this year.
AP - German car exports kept growing in August as a healthier global economy fueled sales abroad, helping push up production, an industry group said Thursday.
Reuters - U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows as yields on government debt dropped, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.
Reuters - World stocks hit a two-week high on Thursday and oil prices rose as optimism from strong U.S. and Chinese manufacturing data extended into a second day ahead of a euro zone interest rate decision and key U.S. jobs data.
AP - The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes increased in July but remained well below last year's levels, a sign that demand for housing remains weak.
AP - The cap that ended BP's three-month oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico was set to come off Thursday as a prelude to raising a massive, failed piece of equipment and preparing for a final seal on the broken seafloor well.
AP - A new Treasury Department program to give people without bank accounts faster access to their tax refunds will help some avoid costly short-term loans. But careless consumers could end up racking up fees and padding bank profits.
AP - Auto sales in China, the world's biggest car market, rebounded in August as subsidies for energy-efficient vehicles and a stronger currency spurred demand, while sales in the U.S. faltered.
BusinessWeek - The job hunt came as a shock. The 23-year-old job seeker graduated in June from a good school -- Beijing University of Technology -- with a bachelor's degree in materials science, a subject he figured would appeal to employers. Yet he had to go through scores of interviews and comb the online job sites endlessly before landing a job at a local trading company. Happy ending? Barely. The pay, $368 a month, is meager by Beijing standards, so he has had to move back in with his parents and he's too ashamed about the outcome of his job search to give his name. ...
Reuters - U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows as yields on government debt dropped, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.
AP - A new Treasury Department program to give people without bank accounts faster access to their tax refunds will help some avoid costly short-term loans. But careless consumers could end up racking up fees and padding bank profits.
U.S. News & World Report - American consumers hate being told what to do, and to prove it, we routinely make choices that are irrational and counterproductive. We make impulse purchases we can't afford. We build bigger houses than we need, chaining ourselves to an onerous mortgage for years. We drive rugged, four-wheel-drive vehicles even though we never leave the pavement. We buy Snuggies.
U.S. News & World Report - If you're combining your life with a new spouse, moving from one house to another, or just frustrated with the amount of documentation you have filed (or unfiled) in your basement, it's a good time to simplify your finances. Simplification is not only practical, it is beautiful. This is the concept of kanso, a Japanese aesthetic usually applied to gardens. Through a stretch of the mind, we can apply this beauty to our lives and our finances.
AP - Mortgage applications rose 2.7 percent last week as more borrowers took advantage of the lowest rates in decades to reduce their monthly loan payments.
The Motley Fool - When Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A - News) was buying railroad company Burlington Northern last December, Warren Buffett told Matt Rose: "I've seen what's been done here [in the U.S.]. I think I know how the country is going to develop. I think the West is going to do well. I'd rather be in the West than the East. So I really don't have much of a worry about that."
The Motley Fool - In coming up with ways to protect their portfolios, many investors draw on lessons learned from their most recent mistakes. Unfortunately, most people right now are taking the lessons they learned from the 2008 bear market and buying bonds, which could easily prove to be far riskier than they thought.
U.S. News & World Report - Most people think retirement planning is about saving, investments, and the timing of retirement account withdrawals and Social Security benefits. Ensuring you have sufficient income is definitely one of the most important aspects of retirement planning. But so is controlling your expenses. One way you can do that is by downsizing your current lifestyle. Here is how controlling costs can help you prepare for retirement and still enjoy a nice standard of living.
The Motley Fool - "The American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes. There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Period."-- President Barack Obama, after passage of financial reform legislation
AP - Taiwanese regulators on Tuesday rejected Primus Financial Holdings' planned purchase of AIG's Taiwan life insurance unit amid concerns that the Cayman Island-based firm may be backed by funds from rival China.
AP - The parents of six deceased U.S. soldiers are suing Prudential Financial, saying it paid paltry interest on military life insurance benefits while keeping more generous interest earnings for itself.
The Motley Fool - The recent pullback in the stock market has many investors running for cover. Meanwhile, fear of an imminent double-dip recession and concerns about renewed pressure in the housing market has pushed bond prices to historic highs, reducing bond yields and creating an income crunch for savers. Throughout 2010, billions of dollars have gone into bond mutual funds, and the trend shows no sign of reversing anytime soon.
U.S. News & World Report - The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is developing a new reverse mortgage product that sharply cuts up-front payments by home owners but also significantly reduces the percentage of a home's equity that can be paid to owners under the program. Reverse mortgages insured by the government are available on homes where the youngest owner is at least 62 years old. The program is called a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM).
The Motley Fool - For years, Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-A - News; NYSE: BRK-B - News) octogenarian co-chairman, has said that Berkshire would one day buy the remaining 20% of Wesco Financial (NYSE: WSC - News) it didn't already own.
Reuters - American International Group Inc has scrapped plans to sell a strategic stake in its Asian life insurance business, AIA, ahead of its initial public offering, a source familiar with the process said on Friday.
