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Bullard: As goes centrist Bernanke, so goes Fed

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said Friday he sees risks to further unconventional monetary easing by the U.S. central bank.

“There are risks to the balance sheet expansion policy, and you’ve got to balance those risks,” Bullard told CNBC. Get the full story »

FDIC ready to take execs of failed banks to court

More than 50 lawsuits against officers and executives of failed banks have been authorized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as the agency tries to recoup more than $1 billion in losses from the credit crisis, Bloomberg News reported Friday. Get the full story »

Madigan sues Enbridge over Romeoville oil spill

The Illinois attorney general sued  Enbridge Inc.’s U.S. affiliate Enbridge Energy Partners Thursday, as the state seeks to have the company pay the costs to clean up an oil pipeline spill last month.

Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan and James Glasgow, the state’s attorney for Will County, filed an eight-count complaint against the company. Get the full story »

Consumer credit declines again in August

U.S. consumer credit outstanding declined for the seventh straight month in August as credit card debt continued to fall.

The Federal Reserve said Thursday that total outstanding credit, which covers everything from car loans to credit cards, fell by $3.34 billion after dropping $4.09 billion in July. Get the full story »

White House presses China on yuan

China needs to take steps on foreign exchange reform and the Obama administration is monitoring Beijing’s progress on this issue, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday.

“You have heard the secretary of treasury and the president and others in the administration discuss the need for China to take steps as it relates to its currency,” he told reporters. Get the full story »

Tax-table delay to show up in take-home pay

From the Wall Street Journal | Congress’ delay in voting on 2011 income taxes could wind up taking a bigger bite out of worker’s paychecks if the Treasury doesn’t have enough time to figure out the tax-withholding tables.

Fed orders HSBC to shape up risk management

The Federal Reserve said Thursday that it issued an order against HSBC North American Holdings Inc. requiring the bank to improve company-wide risk management, including practices to prevent money laundering.

It said that within 30 days, the bank’s board must submit a plan for strengthening oversight of its compliance risk-management program. The plan must show how risk is being managed within and across business lines, legal entities and jurisdictions in which the bank operates. Get the full story »

Obama rejects bill that could ease foreclosure

President Barack Obama will not sign legislation that could have made it more difficult for homeowners to challenge unjustified foreclosure actions, the White House said on Thursday.

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said Obama was sending the bill back to the House of Representatives for further discussion of how it would affect the foreclosure crisis, which has become a political lightning rod amid media reports that banks acted improperly to evict struggling borrowers. Get the full story »

New jobless claims dip to July level

In a good sign for the job market, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week to their lowest level since July 10.

Initial unemployment claims dropped 11,000, to 445,000, in the week ended Oct. 2, the Labor Department said in its weekly report Thursday. New claims for the previous week, ended Sept. 25, were revised upward slightly to 456,000 from 453,000. Get the full story »

McPier sells first $1.12B in bonds

The agency that runs McCormick Place got long-awaited financial relief Wednesday with the sale of $1.12 billion in bonds to restructure old expansion debt and finance an addition to the convention center hotel.

The bond deal, which represents the second step toward a state-mandated revamp of the convention center, also will restore depleted reserves and provide a short-term operating subsidy. Get the full story »

Cisco unveils $599 home videoconference system

Cisco Systems Inc. launched a $599 home version of its TelePresence videoconference system as the network equipment maker seeks to expand in the consumer market. Get the full story »

U.S., Asia air alliances expected to win OK

U.S. regulators say they are likely to approve antitrust immunity for two major airline alliances carrying travelers to Asia.

The tentative approval from the Transportation Department on Wednesday would let American Airlines and Japan Airlines coordinate routes and schedules and share revenue on flights across the Pacific. A similar arrangement between United Continental Holdings Inc. and All Nippon Airways also won tentative approval. Get the full story »

FTC sets down rules on ‘eco’ advertising

Advertisers should steer clear of saying their products are “environmentally friendly” or “eco-friendly,” the Federal Trade Commission said in proposed rules put out Wednesday.

The agency, however, did not weigh in on other terms — “sustainable,” “natural” and “organic” — because they are the purview of the Agriculture Department. Get the full story »

FTC shuts down TV ‘tax relief’ outfit

By Gregory Karp | American Tax Relief LLC, which claims in TV ads that it can reduce your tax debt, has been shut down after bilking consumers nationwide out of more than $60 million, the Federal Trade Commission alleged Wednesday.

“For people having a tough time paying their taxes, the last thing they need is to lose more money to a fraud,” said David C. Vladeck, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Get the full story »

Report: Recession hit midsize cities harder this time

U.S. cities suffered more harm to their fiscal condition in the latest recession than during any other economic decline in nearly a quarter of a century, a survey released by the National League of Cities on Wednesday found.

And cities are just beginning to see the effect of the downturn that began at the end of 2007 on property taxes, though the recession officially ended in June 2009. Property taxes, a key revenue generator for cities, fell 1.8 percent in 2010 from 2009, according to the survey. Get the full story »