Senate confirms Federal Reserve nominees

The Federal Reserve will soon have a full roster, the first time in six years, as the Senate confirmed Thursday two of President Obama’s nominees to the central bank.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Economy, Business And Finance Stories

Aiming to leave least developed country list

The government of Laos has taken the unique step of stating its ambition to graduate from the UN list of Least Developed Countries list by 2020. LDCs exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, and have the lowest rating in the Human Development Index of the world’s countries.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Economy, Business And Finance Stories

Bret Michaels settles lawsuit over Tony awards injury

Poison front man Bret Michaels agreed for a settlement reported Tuesday regarding his lawsuit against Tony Awards and CBS following a serious injury during a performance in 2009.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Economy, Business And Finance Stories

JC Penney store sales plunge nearly 20 percent

Linda Young – Fourth Estate Cooperative Writer
New York, NY, United States (4E) – J.C. Penney’s stock shares tumbled in price Wednesday after the company announced sales had dropped by 18.9 percent and that it was eliminating its dividend to fund the company’s ongoing makeover. Suspending the dividend of 20 cents per share will give Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) about $ 175 million. Apple’s (AAPL, Fortune 500) former retail chief Ron Johnson is at the helm of Penney’s. Under his leadership, the retail giant is not only struggling not to lose its existing customer base, but it is failing to bring in new ones. The 18.9 percent drop in sales was for stores that have been [...] Continue Reading…

Skechers to pay $40 million to settle false ad claims

Skechers will pay $ 40 million to settle charges that the company made false claims that its Shape Up shoes would work wonders for wearers.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Economy, Business And Finance Stories

French lingerie exhibit gets intimate

An intimate display of intimate wear will open next month in Paris, it will trace the evolution of France’s storied lingerie industry from the creation of the country’s corsetry industry in 1880 to the present.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Economy, Business And Finance Stories

Facebook raises IPO price range

Diane Alter – Fourth Estate Cooperative Reporter
New York, NY, United States (4E) – With its highly anticipated IPO just a few days away, Facebook has raised the target price range for its initial public offering to $ 34 to $ 38 a share, up from the original $ 28 to $ 35 range set by the social network giant earlier this month. Facebook executives and a plethora of underwriters have spent the past two weeks on a road show talking up potential investors and determining the demand for the company’s stock. One investor told CNN Money that investor response has been “nothing short of pandemonium.” If Facebook, which will trade under the [...] Continue Reading…

FBI probes JPMorgan’s $2 billion trading loss

The Justice Department is investigating the $ 2 billion trading loss of financial firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. with its sub-agency Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) leading the inquiry, according to an unnamed source cited by the Wall Street Journal.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Economy, Business And Finance Stories

LightSquared Technologies files Chapter 11

LightSquared Technologies, as widely expected, filed for bankruptcy late Monday.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Economy, Business And Finance Stories

JP Morgan exec steps down following bank’s $2 billion loss

Diane Alter – Fourth Estate Cooperative Reporter
New York, NY, United States (4E) – Following JP Morgan Chase’s admitted $ 2 billion blunder, the bank’s chief investment officer has stepped down. The bank behemoth announced Monday that Ina Drew resigned following the bank’s $ 2 billion loss caused by a trade involving derivatives that was intended to hedge the bank’s risk. Instead, the company’s stock spiraled downward and sent shock waves through global markets. The botched trade, which CEO Jamie Dimon called “sloppy and stupid,” gives lawmakers and advocates fresh ammunition to persuade regulators to implement tighter restraints on a bank’s in-house, or proprietary, trading activities. According to JP Morgan, Drew “has made the decision [...] Continue Reading…