More Breaking News

Societe Generale Hires Bond Veteran Craig Overlander (Update1) Societe Generale SA, France’s second-largest bank, hired Craig Overlander as deputy chief executive officer of its investment banking division for the Americas, a new position.

Bankrupt Art Dealer Will Plead Guilty to Fraud, Lawyer Says New York art dealer Lawrence B. Salander plans to plead guilty this afternoon to grand larceny and a scheme to defraud, his lawyer, Charles Ross, said in an interview.

Most U.S. Stocks Fall on Speculation Fed to Lift Discount Rate Most U.S. stocks fell, pulling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index down from a 17-month high, and the dollar rose on speculation the Federal Reserve will increase the discount rate it charges on loans to banks.

Banks Win Bar to Instant News Reports on Stock-Price Analysis TheFlyonthewall.com, the online financial news service, was barred by a judge from issuing immediate online reports about three banks’ stock upgrades and downgrades.

Health Bill Said to Add 3.8% Medicare Tax on Unearned Income Congressional leaders are raising to 3.8 percent their proposed new Medicare tax on investment income in the final health-care overhaul plan, a Democratic leadership aide said.

El-Erian Says IMF to Aid Greece After ‘Chicken’ Game (Update1) The International Monetary Fund will come to the rescue of debt-strapped Greece after a “game of chicken,” according to Mohamed El-Erian, co-chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co.

Lehman Shows Auditors Fail Investors Eight Years After Reforms Eight years after Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to clean up the accounting industry, Ernst & Young LLP’s audit work for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. may show firms still put client interests ahead of investors.

U.S. Economy: Consumer Prices Stagnate, Leading Index Climbs The U.S. economy will keep expanding without a pickup in inflation that would require the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, reports today indicated.

Traders’ Cell Phones Would Be Recorded Under U.K. FSA Proposals Traders’ cell-phone conversations should be taped in an effort to stamp out insider trading, according to proposals from the U.K. financial regulator.

Ford Cites Progress on Volvo as Geely Sees ‘Very Tough’ Talks Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said talks to sell the automaker’s Volvo unit to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. are proceeding, while the chairman of the Chinese company raised doubts about a deal.

Argentine Bonds Jump After Government Files Debt Swap Update Argentina’s benchmark dollar bonds rose to a two-month high after the government filed an updated $15 billion debt shelf offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, fueling speculation the country is moving closer to restructuring its defaulted securities.

U.S. Stocks Retreat Amid Speculation Fed to Lift Discount Rate U.S. stocks retreated and the dollar rallied amid speculation the Federal Reserve will increase the discount rate it charges on direct loans to banks.

RBS Hires Ex-BofA Executive Jablansky in Asset-Backed Expansion RBS Securities Inc., a unit of Britain’s biggest government-owned bank, hired former Bank of America Corp. executive Paul Jablansky amid a planned fivefold expansion of the team providing clients with investment ideas for U.S. mortgage- and asset-backed securities.

UBS Is Said to Hire HSBC’s Wolfe, Banker to Saudi Arabia, BP UBS AG hired Philip Wolfe, an adviser to some of the world’s largest oil companies who had been HSBC Holdings Plc’s head of oil and gas investment banking, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

Lehman Seeks a Total of $11 Billion From Barclays (Update1) Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the investment bank liquidating in bankruptcy, said it was seeking a total of $11 billion from Barclays Plc, including a $5 billion “windfall” allegedly gained by the U.K. bank when it bought Lehman’s North American brokerage, according to a court filing today.

Papandreou Seeks EU Aid Deadline, Challenging Merkel (Update3) Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou set a one-week deadline for the European Union to craft a financial aid mechanism for Greece, challenging Germany to give up its doubts about a rescue package.

Jerome York, Apple Director and Chrysler, IBM CFO, Dies at 71 Jerome York, a director of Apple Inc., former chief financial officer at Chrysler Corp. and International Business Machines Corp., and adviser to investor Kirk Kerkorian, died in Pontiac, Michigan. He was 71.

EADS Says 60 Days Insufficient for New Tanker Bid (Update2) European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. Chief Executive Officer Louis Gallois said that 60 days isn’t enough time for the company to compose another bid for the U.S. Air Force refueling tanker contract.

Brazil Rate Future Yields Sink Most in Nine Months, Real Drops Brazil interest-rate futures sank the most in nine months and the real fell after central bank President Henrique Meirelles held off raising borrowing costs ahead of his decision on whether to run for elected office.

CIT’s Thain Will Retain Aircraft Finance Unit, Executive Says CIT Group Inc., the commercial lender being restructured by Chief Executive Officer John A. Thain, will retain its aircraft finance unit during the coming round of asset sales, an executive told an industry gathering.

Health-Care Bill to Cost $940 Billion, Reduce Deficit (Update1) Legislation to overhaul the U.S. health-care system will cost $940 billion over 10 years and cut the federal deficit, budget experts said, meeting targets set by Democratic Party leaders seeking to win votes for the bill.

Florida Suspends Build America Sales, Official Says (Update2) Florida temporarily suspended the sale of Build America Bonds because it is concerned that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service may withhold interest-cost subsidies available through the federal program, according to Ben Watkins, who oversees the state’s debt sales.

Interbank Repos Show European Money Market Recovery (Update2) The European repurchase market grew between June and December, showing an improvement in interbank lending as central banks prepare to withdraw liquidity measures, the International Capital Market Association said.

Niger to Review Areva Uranium Accords, Ministry Says (Update1) Niger, the world’s sixth-largest uranium producer, will review mining agreements with companies including Areva SA to ensure they’re fair to the West African country, an adviser to the mines minister said.

‘Jihad Jane’ Pleads Not Guilty to Terror Plot Charges (Update1) A Pennsylvania woman who used the alias “Jihad Jane” pleaded not guilty to charges she plotted to recruit jihadist fighters and conspired to murder a Swedish resident.

IDB Management Questioned as Funding Increase Pared (Update1) The Inter-American Development Bank may get $50 billion to $100 billion in funding when shareholders meet this week, according to President Luis Alberto Moreno -- as little as a third of what an advisory panel recommended for Latin America’s biggest infrastructure lender.

Montclair Sees Schools ‘Bludgeoning’ as Christie Cuts (Update1) Montclair, the northern New Jersey town with a median income almost twice the U.S. level, may fire more than 5 percent of its workers because of Governor Chris Christie’s proposed $29.3 billion budget. The Chathams, 15 miles southwest, may lose state funds that could pay for 45 teachers.

General Growth to Submit New Proposal, Lawyer Says (Update1) General Growth Properties Inc. will submit by next week a new proposal to reorganize its holding company that would give it more than $6 billion in cash and another $250 million to back a rights offering. It also won permission to reorganize five property-owning units.

Graco Recalls 1.2 Million High Chairs After Children Fall Graco Children’s Products Inc. recalled 1.2 million high chairs because screws can loosen in the legs, causing the product to tip and children to fall, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Birinyi Likes Google, ‘Well-Managed’ Goldman Sachs (Update1) Investors should buy shares of Google Inc. because of its growth opportunities and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. given that it’s a “well-managed company,” said Laszlo Birinyi, the founder of research firm Birinyi Associates Inc.

Gaza Rocket Attack Kills Foreign Worker in Israel (Update2) A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip killed a Thai worker in Israel, the first such fatality since Israel ended a military operation against Hamas in January 2009.

Merkel Favors IMF in Greece Crisis as Germans Oppose Bailout Chancellor Angela Merkel is moving toward an International Monetary Fund-led solution to the Greek budget crisis as she navigates between European Union leaders who say the EU should take charge and a German public unwilling to foot the bill.

UN Convention Rejects Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Trade Ban (Update1) The United Nations-sponsored Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora rejected a proposal to ban trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, after less than three hours of debate.

Barnes & Noble Names Lynch as CEO in Digital Push (Update1) Barnes & Noble Inc., the largest U.S. bookstore chain, promoted the head of its Web site, William Lynch, to chief executive officer, deepening a push into digital retail.

Pope Urges Investing in Economy, Not ‘Quick Return’ Markets Pope Benedict XVI called on businessmen to put profits earned from production and services back into the “real economy” rather than seeking a “quick return on the financial markets.”

Factories in Philadelphia Region Grow at Faster Pace (Update3) Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded in March at the fastest pace so far this year as factories lead the U.S. economic recovery.

Hungarian Broker Says Large Trader Bought Recycled CO2 Credits One of “the biggest trading houses” in the European Union bought used UN credits coming from Hungary before they re-entered the bloc’s emissions market, intermediary Hungarian Energy Power Kft said today.

Delta Petroleum Surges After Agreement to Sell Vega Interest Delta Petroleum Corp., the U.S. energy producer whose largest shareholder is Kirk Kerkorian, soared as much as 43 percent, the most since September, after agreeing to sell a stake in Colorado natural-gas fields for $400 million to revive drilling in the area.

AstraZeneca Wins Trial on Seroquel Diabetes Claim (Update1) AstraZeneca Plc’s Seroquel antipsychotic drug isn’t responsible for a Vietnam veteran’s diabetes, a jury decided in the first case over the medicine to go to trial.

Leading Economic Index in U.S. Rose 0.1% in February (Update2) The index of U.S. leading indicators rose 0.1 percent in February, the smallest gain in almost a year, pointing to an economy that may expand at a slower pace in the second half of 2010.