Dec. 17, 2010 at 11:24 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Government
By Reuters
U.S. regulators have opened a new line of inquiry in their mortgage foreclosure probe and are asking big Wall Street banks about the beginning stages of mortgage securitization, two sources familiar with the probe said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission launched the new phase of its investigation by sending out a fresh round of subpoenas last week to big banks including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co., the sources said. Get the full story »
Dec. 15, 2010 at 10:21 a.m.
Filed under:
Credit Cards,
Economy
By Reuters
Credit-card delinquency rates fell at major U.S. lenders in November as fewer consumers fell behind on their bill payments, signaling that they are recovering from the stress of the financial crisis.
But consumers are also avoiding racking up more debt on their credit cards, even during the holiday shopping season, in a sign that lenders will be struggling to rebuild their businesses for some time. Get the full story »
Dec. 6, 2010 at 5:58 p.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Litigation,
Media,
Newspapers
By Michael Oneal
The judge in Tribune Co.’s contentious bankruptcy case signaled his approval Monday to send four competing restructuring plans out for vote by the Chicago-based media company’s creditors.
If he issues the formal order by Wednesday, which will mark the two-year anniversary of the case, solicitation packages containing disclosure documents explaining the four plans will likely be mailed on Dec. 22, said a Tribune Co. lawyer.
Creditors will then have until Jan. 28 to cast their votes and the judge will use those results to gauge support for the various plans ahead of a five-day confirmation hearing set for early March. Get the full story »
Dec. 6, 2010 at 3:58 p.m.
Filed under:
Energy,
M&A
By Julie Wernau
Nicor Inc.’s stock price rose 4.24 percent to $46.76 today on reports that the Naperville energy company is set to announce a deal to be acquired by Atlanta-based AGL Resources.
The company has been shopping itself for months, courting regulated utilities and infrastructure funds with little success. Speculation arose last week that Integrys Energy Group Inc., parent of People’s Gas, was a considering a bid. AGL surfaced as Nicor’s likely buyer Monday in a report by Mergermarket, which tracks such deals and cited sources close to the situation. Get the full story »
Dec. 2, 2010 at 2:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Energy,
M&A
By Dow Jones Newswires
Nicor Inc. is seeking a buyer and has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. to run the auction, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Get the full story »
Dec. 2, 2010 at 2:05 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Litigation
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
The trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff’s scheme sued JP Morgan Chase & Co. for more than $6 billion on Thursday, claiming the bank enabled his massive fraud.
Get the full story »
Nov. 17, 2010 at 11:47 a.m.
Filed under:
Real estate
By Reuters
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief financial officer on Wednesday joined a growing chorus of industry executives calling for a speedy resolution of the probes into the industry’s foreclosure practices as a settlement may be on the horizon. Get the full story »
Nov. 12, 2010 at 8:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Media,
Newspapers
By Reuters
Tribune Co. creditors asked a Delaware judge to let them try to recover millions of dollars awarded to insiders in the year prior to the media company’s bankruptcy, saying they can do a better job than Tribune can.
In a Thursday court filing, Tribune’s official committee of unsecured creditors said it wants current and former Tribune officers and directors to return more than $250 million of awards, including bonuses and restricted stock. Get the full story »
Nov. 11, 2010 at 6:18 a.m.
Filed under:
Real estate
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
A sharp uptick in initial foreclosure filings in Illinois meant the state did not follow the pattern of the nation as a whole, which saw a 4 percent decrease in foreclosure filings in October.
The number of homes that received an initial notice of default in Illinois, the first step in the foreclosure process, rose 24 percent in October, to 8,388 Illinois homes, from 6,780 in September. Altogether, the number of all types of foreclosure filings in Illinois totaled 16,969 last month, an increase of almost 7 percent from September but down almost 15 percent from a year ago. Get the full story »
Nov. 9, 2010 at 8:42 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Litigation,
Real estate
By Reuters
JPMorgan Chase & Co. faces two possible class action lawsuits alleging common law fraud and misrepresentation, as well as violations of state consumer fraud statutes, the U.S. bank said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
In September, JPMorgan temporarily halted home seizures after finding glitches in foreclosure documents. Last week, it said it planned to start refiling the foreclosure documents within weeks.
Nov. 8, 2010 at 5:42 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Credit Cards
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
Less than a year after the passage of new laws limiting banks’ ability to impose certain fees on credit and debit cards, Bank of America Corp., Discover Financial Services, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and other lenders are using different tactics to boost their fee income.
Some are raising minimum payments on certain customers’ accounts in order to increase late penalties. Others are ramping up credit-protection insurance programs and charging customers for coverage without permission. Still others are pushing aggressively into high-fee prepaid cards, which are exempt from most of the new rules. Get the full story »
Nov. 5, 2010 at 5:47 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Credit Cards
By Becky Yerak
Chase plans to stop issuing new debit rewards cards in February. An executive from the bank disclosed the plans Thursday at a banking event.
A Chase spokesman said Friday that the bank is still reviewing the program for existing debit reward customers. Get the full story »
Nov. 2, 2010 at 7:27 a.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Media,
Newspapers,
Radio
By Reuters
Tribune Co. creditors filed sprawling lawsuits on Monday that take aim at Sam Zell, his banks and advisers for the disastrous leveraged buyout that plunged the publisher into bankruptcy two years ago.
The lawsuit accuses billionaire Zell and the Tribune board of defrauding Tribune’s creditors by pursuing the buyout of the owner of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune knowing it would lead to bankruptcy. Get the full story »
Oct. 27, 2010 at 3:09 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Housing,
Real estate
By Bob Goldsborough | JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon on Wednesday closed on the sale of his 18-room Gold Coast mansion for $6.8 million.
The buyer’s identity was not immediately available. Get the full story »
Oct. 18, 2010 at 9:48 a.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges,
Investing
By Reuters
CME Group Inc. said on Monday that it had begun clearing interest rate swaps, the largest of the over-the-counter derivatives markets that lawmakers are forcing through more transparent venues.
The giant futures exchange operator named as participants in the clearinghouse five buyside firms, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and PIMCO, and 10 dealers, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase and Co. Get the full story »
