Fed offers to lend hard-hit banks $260 billion The Federal Reserve has provided a total of $260 billion in short-term loans to squeezed banks since December to help them overcome credit problems. The central bank Tuesday announced results of its most recent auction -- the eighth since December -- where commercial banks bid to get a slice of $50 billion in short-term loans. Commercial banks paid interest of 2.615 percent, the lowest rate so far for any of these auctions.
Clear Channel shares fall as buyout looks shaky Shares of Clear Channel Communications Inc. plummeted in late trading Tuesday, following a report that the media company's private buyout is on the brink of collapse. Shares of the radio station operator and billboard giant closed at $32.56, off $1.89 or 5.5 percent, then fell more than 21 percent in after-hours trading to $25.60. The Wall Street Journal website said Tuesday that private equity firms leading the $19.5 billion buyout were having trouble reaching terms with banks committed to financing the deal. Calls to the firms, Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital Partners LLC, were not immediately returned.
Court: Airlines not obligated to stranded flyers A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down a state law requiring airlines to give food, water, clean toilets and fresh air to passengers stuck in delayed planes, saying the measure was well-intentioned but stepped on federal authority. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said New York's law -- the first of its kind in the country -- interferes with federal law governing the price, route or service of an air carrier. It was passed after thousands of passengers were stranded aboard airplanes for up to 10 hours on several JetBlue Airways flights last year. The law was challenged by the Air Transport Association of America, a U.S. airline industry trade group.
Delta urges its attendants not to unionize Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) has told flight attendants they'd be better off if they didn't unionize, a month before they begin voting whether to become the second major work group at the carrier to be represented by a union. The Atlanta-based company said Tuesday it has learned from the National Mediation Board that voting for a union election among Delta's flight attendants has been scheduled for April 23 to June 3. If they vote to unionize, Delta's 12,000 active flight attendants would be represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.
FDIC needs more help handling bank failures Anticipating a surge in troubled financial institutions, federal regulators will increase by 60 percent the number of workers who handle bank failures. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. wants to add 140 workers to bring staff levels to 360 workers in the division that handles bank failures, John Bovenzi, the agency's chief operating officer, said Tuesday. There have been five bank failures since February 2007.
Oil prices slip back to $100-a-barrel mark Oil futures wobbled Tuesday, while gas and diesel prices retreated further from recent their record levels. Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 57 cents to $100.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The average national price of a gallon of gas fell 0.5 cent overnight to $3.255, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel prices slipped 0.3 cent to a national average of $4.026 a gallon.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank picks new chief The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has selected James Bullard as its new president, the regional bank announced Tuesday. Bullard, 47, will take the helm on April 1, succeeding William Poole, who is retiring after 10 years as president.
Two Chinese banks set profit record in 2007 Major Chinese lenders Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Bank of China posted record profits in 2007, as gains in interest income and fee-based businesses offset losses from the global mortgage-lending crisis. Bank of China, the country's most international bank, reported that its net profit rose 31 percent to 56.3 billion yuan ($8 billion) in 2007, despite its nearly $5 billion in investments in mortgage-backed securities. Fellow state-owned lender ICBC said its net profit rose 65 percent to 81.5 billion yuan ($11.6 billion) in 2007.
