Subprime and other residential mortgage bonds that helped trigger the financial crisis are back in vogue with long-term investors, in the latest sign that American credit markets are healing after the worst downturn in a generation. Get the full story »
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Fed reveals which banks borrowed during crisis
Foreign banks, regional U.S. banks, and banks fighting for their last chance at survival counted among the heaviest users of the Federal Reserve’s emergency discount lending window during the heat of the 2008 financial crisis. Get the full story »
Lightbank invests in San Francisco startup Qwiki
Lightbank, the Chicago investment firm run by Groupon backers Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, has invested $1 million in Qwiki, a San Francisco, Calif.-based startup. Get the full story »
Berkshire’s Sokol quits after stock purchases in takeover target
Former Berkshire Hathaway executive David Sokol, pictured here in 2009, said he did nothing wrong in buying stock in a company that he then suggested Berkshire acquire. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson)
The man widely seen as the leading successor to Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway has resigned after buying shares in chemical company Lubrizol Corp before pushing Buffett to acquire it.
David Sokol’s resignation is a reputational blow for Buffett, the 80-year-old “Oracle of Omaha,” who prides himself on his folksy fair-dealing image and handpicks managers who can run businesses in a similarly transparent manner. Get the full story »
Citadel closes $200M mortgage fund
Citadel LLC, the $11 billion hedge fund run by Ken Griffin, shut its residential mortgage funds after portfolio manager Bill King left the Chicago-based firm, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing three people familiar with the situation. Get the full story »
Buffett’s firm defends valuation of 5 stocks
Warren Buffett’s company offered a strong endorsement of five stocks it holds as part of discussions with regulators about how it should value Kraft Foods, Wells Fargo & Co., Sanofi Aventis, Swiss Re and US Bancorp. Get the full story »
Exelon gets $6.4B of loans to refinance credit lines
From Bloomberg News | Exelon Corp. said today in a regulatory filing that it refinanced revolving credit lines with $6.4 billion of new loans.
Nordex announces joint venture with Mich. firm
Nordex USA Inc. and Michigan-based Beebe Community Wind Farm are announcing plans for construction of a wind farm in central Michigan.
The turbines for the farm will be manufactured at Nordex’s plant in Jonesboro. The companies say in a news release that Chicago-based Nordex will provide 125 of its new wind turbines that are designed specifically for low wind sites.
Fed to release loan data after Supreme Court move
The Supreme Court has rejected banks' attempts to shield Federal Reserve lending data. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board on Monday said it is preparing to release sensitive emergency lending data from the peak of the 2008 financial crisis after the Supreme Court rejected a bid by major banks to keep the information secret.
The justices, in a short written order, left in place a 2010 federal appeals court decision that ordered the Fed to identify commercial banks that received emergency loans from the central bank during the crisis. Shortly after the announcement, a Fed spokesman said the central bank would release the information, but didn’t provide a time frame. Get the full story »
Schwab’s optionsXpress acquisition scrutinized
Charles Schwab is acquiring Chicago-based online brokerage optionsXpress Holdings Inc. for about $1 billion, the companies announced Monday.
OptionsXpress stockholders will receive 1.02 shares of Schwab stock for each share of optionsXpress stock, under the terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011. Get the full story »
Sara Lee, Mead Johnson may sell soon: Goldman
From Bloomberg | Goldman Sachs analysts named a group of companies Friday that they said have at least a 30 percent chance of being sold in the next 12 months. The list includes Downers Grove-based Sara Lee Corp., Glenview-based Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. and Allergan Inc.
Goldman cuts 5% of trading desk
Goldman Sachs Group laid off 5 percent of its trading desk staff on Tuesday as part of its annual review process, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Get the full story »
Fed to weigh in on bank dividends on Friday
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. (Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images)
Some of the largest U.S. banks will be notified on Friday whether they passed a second round of stress tests conducted by the Federal Reserve, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Get the full story »
Apple shares continue slide after downgrade
Apple Inc. shares slid for a second straight day after a rare broker downgrade stoked worries that the company’s torrid pace of growth will slow.
Shares in the world’s largest technology company were down 4.4 percent to $330.08 in early afternoon trading, a loss in market value of about $10 billion. The shares fell 2.3 percent Tuesday. Get the full story »
