| BUSINESS CHANGE NEWS |
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Slowly, Americans are regaining their lost wealth
(AP)
AP - Americans are recovering their shrunken wealth — gradually. Household net worth rose last quarter, mainly because the healing economy boosted stock portfolios. But the gain was slight. And it was less than in the previous two quarters.
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Gov't may seek more authority on vehicle safety
(AP)
AP - Government vehicle safety regulators may seek greater authority to investigate defects in cars and trucks and are weighing a range of new safety requirements in response to Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles over brake and acceleration problems.
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FTSE 100 opens lower
(AFP)
AFP - Leading shares weakened on Thursday after unconvincing gains overnight on Wall Street as investors mulled the latest economic data and company news.
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Citigroup sees return to sustained profitability
(Reuters)
Reuters - Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit told investors on Thursday the bank is on track to return to sustained profitability and losses from some of its worst assets should be manageable if the economy does not deteriorate.
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| STOCKS NEWS |
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Summary Box: Regulators appeal on swaps
(AP)
AP - WARNING ON DERIVATIVES: The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is calling anew for Congress to impose new oversight on financial derivatives. Mary Schapiro warns that allowing risky instruments like credit default swaps to continue unfettered could bring further economic damage.
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Summary Box: S&P 500 index closes at 17-month high
(AP)
AP - JUST BY A HAIR: The Standard & Poor's 500 index inched just above its recent peak in January to set a new 17-month high. The achievement is a welcome sign for traders who were concerned the market would stall around the January levels.
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SEC head urges Congress to act on derivatives
(AP)
AP - The government's top securities regulator called Thursday for Congress to impose new oversight on financial derivatives, warning that allowing risky instruments like credit default swaps to continue unfettered could bring further economic damage.
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| BONDS NEWS |
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Summary Box: Rate on 30-year falls after auction (AP)
STRONG DEMAND: A government auction of $13 billion in 30-year bonds drew the highest demand since September. DESPERATELY SEEKING YIELD: The yield on the 30-year bond that matures in February 2040 fell to 4.67 percent from 4.69 percent late Wednesday as its price rose.
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Second guilty plea in US muni contract probe (at Reuters)
* 2nd guilty plea in muni bid-rigging case * Trial for top executives is February next year WASHINGTON, March 11 - A second former employee of CDR Financial Products pleaded guilty on Thursday to bid-rigging, fraud conspiracy and wire fraud that has been the subject of a nearly four-year federal probe into contracts to invest monies from municipal bonds, the Justice Department said.
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| COMMODITIES NEWS |
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Uranium mining focus of Va. forum (AP)
Opponents of uranium mining in Southside Virginia and the people who want to end a state moratorium on mining the fuel for nuclear power plants have one more difference of opinion: the size of the deposit.
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Movie Avatar has few fans among mining execs (Reuters)
It s enough to make a mining executive grit his teeth or his kids to give him the silent treatment. In a case of art imitating life -- with perhaps a little poetic license -- Oscar-winning movie Avatar paints big mining companies as the villains of the future.
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