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Morningstar names top fund managers for 2010

Three fresh faces took top mutual fund industry honors when research firm Morningstar Inc. Wednesday named stock pickers at Ruane, Cunniff and Goldfarb and Janus Capital Group as its top stock managers of 2010.

Robert Goldfarb and David Poppe, who run the $3.4 billion Sequoia Fund, were crowned as the year’s best domestic stock pickers for their long-term success in picking top companies, like Berkshire Hathaway, at reasonable prices. Get the full story »

Goldman, Digital Sky invest $500M in Facebook

Facebook has raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies, in a deal that values the world’s No.1 Internet social networking company at $50 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. Get the full story »

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in $1.5B debt sale

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway opened 2011 with a $1.5 billion debt sale on Monday, tapping markets as it customarily does early in the year to refinance maturing notes. Get the full story »

Citadel investment banking unit loses 3

From Bloomberg News | Chris Boas, Brad Kurtzman and Carl Mayer, senior executives at the investment banking unit of Chicago-based Citadel LLC, have left the firm. Get the full story>>

Nuveen completes acquisition of FAF Advisors

Chicago-based Nuveen Investments, which serves the wealthy and institutions, has completed its acquisition of U.S. Bancorp’s FAF Advisors.

The deal, announced in July, called for U.S. Bancorp to get a 9.5 percent stake in Nuveen as well as an $80 million cash payment.

Nuveen is a portfolio company of Madison Dearborn Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm. Get the full story »

Fans of Bill Ackman boost Howard Hughes shares

Since U.S. mall owner General Growth exited bankruptcy last month, its stock has gotten a nice lift. But shares of its less noticed spin-off, Howard Hughes Corp, have really soared.

Since General Growth issued about $2 billion worth of shares at $14.75 in mid-November, the mall owner’s stock price has grown more than 6 percent — trading around $15.70 on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, Howard Hughes’ thinly traded shares have gained nearly a third, or 32.8 percent, in roughly the same period, now trading around $54.45. Get the full story »

Financier Rattner settles with Cuomo for $10M

The investment banker who helped lead the Obama administration’s auto industry overhaul has agreed to pay $10 million to settle influence-peddling allegations in New York.

Former “car czar” Steven Rattner admitted no wrongdoing as part of the deal, which was announced by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Thursday.

BioSante to sell $18M of securities to investors

Lincolnshire-based BioSante Pharmaceuticals has signed a $18 million deal with several investors to sell 10.6 million shares of its common stock. Get the full story »

What’s Groupon worth? Fundraising spurs debate

From DealBook | With the news that Groupon’s board has authorized the daily deal site to raise up to $950 million in funding, many investors and analysts are now debating what exactly Groupon is worth. The venture capital data provider VC Experts estimates that the new round of fundraising values Groupon at $6.4 billion, while TechCrunch, citing an unnamed source, pegs it at a more modest $4.75 billion.

Raymond James to buy brokerage Howe Barnes

Raymond James Financial Inc. said it has agreed to acquire brokerage firm Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett Inc., bolstering its booming private-client unit. Get the full story »

Treasury prices fall after disappointing auction

Treasury prices dropped Tuesday after results of the government’s $35 billion auction of long-term bonds disappointed traders.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note lost $1 per $100 invested in afternoon trading. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, rose to 3.46 percent from 3.34 percent late Monday. Get the full story »

Allstate sues BofA, Countrywide over losses

Allstate Corp.  has sued Bank of America Corp.  and the Countrywide Financial mortgage unit it acquired in 2008 regarding $700 million in residential mortgage-backed securities the insurer purchased, claiming Countrywide misrepresented the investments, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

“Countrywide was singularly focused on increasing its market share, off-loading the risk onto Allstate and other institutional investors that purchased securities backed by pools of Countrywide’s mortgages,” Allstate said in its civil suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Get the full story »

Massachusetts man charged in $9.6M fraud

A Massachusetts man is accused defrauding more than 50 investors by  running a Ponzi-style scheme with their $9.6 million.

Randy M. Cho, 39, told investors he was a self-employed securities trader who had a special relationship with Goldman Sachs and could buy discounted shares of well-known companies such as Google, Facebook and Rosetta Stone before their initial public offerings,  according to court documents. Get the full story »

Treasurys dip on China rate hike

Treasury prices picked up where they left off before Christmas: heading lower.

Investors sent bond prices down just a bit Monday, after a surprise interest rate hike in China and before a $99 billion auction of long-term government notes scheduled for this week. Get the full story »

Russian oil tycoon Khodorkovsky found guilty again

A Russian judge pronounced Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev guilty of embezzlement on Monday at the end of the jailed former oil tycoon’s politically charged second trial. Get the full story »