BofA to buy back nearly $5 billion in securities Bank of America Corp. agreed to buy back as much as $4.7 billion in auction-rate securities to settle charges that it misled thousands of customers about the risky investments, federal and state regulators said Wednesday. They also announced similar settlements with RBC Capital Markets Corp., which agreed to buy back about $850 million worth of auction-rate securities from roughly 2,200 investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and a group representing other state regulators announced the settlements with Bank of America, which joins nine other investment banks that will buy back a total of more than $50 billion of the securities. Bank of America also agreed to "use its best efforts" to provide as much as $5 billion in cash to other businesses that bought them. The bank is paying a $50 million civil penalty, but has admitted no wrongdoing.
Bad news from MetLife puts stock in nose-dive U.S. life insurance company MetLife Inc. said it will cut an unspecified number of jobs by year-end, and announced plans to sell common stock to bolster its capital amid rising losses on investments. The New York-based insurer also said its third-quarter results will be marked by a drop in investment income and fee revenue amid the downturn in world financial markets. The news, announced late Tuesday, sent MetLife shares down $9.87 on Wednesday, or 26.8 percent, to close at $27, after sinking to a 52-week low of $25.76 earlier in the session.
Pending sales a bright spot in housing market Pending home sales rose 7.4 percent from July to August, an unexpected piece of positive news for the battered U.S. housing market. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes rose to 93.4, from an upwardly revised July reading of 87. The reading was the highest since June 2007. Home sales are considered pending when the seller has accepted an offer, but the deal has not yet closed.
A touch-screen phone from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd., which makes of BlackBerry, is taking on Apple Inc. with a touch-screen phone that puts a new twist on the technology. With the new model announced Wednesday, the Storm, RIM is giving up the physical keypad in favor of a large screen, like the one on Apple's iPhone. But RIM said that it has listened to users who find the iPhone's glass screen awkward to type on because its virtual buttons give no tactile feedback. The Storm's whole screen is backed by springs, and when pressed, gives to the touch. The Storm will be available domestically from Verizon Wireless before the holidays, the companies said. No price was disclosed.
Walgreen pulls its offer for Longs Drug Stores Drugstore chain Walgreen Co. has withdrawn its $2.8 billion bid to acquire Longs Drug Stores, apparently helping to ease the path for Longs' $2.7 billion acquisition by CVS Caremark Corp. Longs had accepted the CVS Caremark bid in a deal already approved by antitrust regulators.
Volvo says it plans to cut 13% of its workforce Ford-owned automaker Volvo Cars said Wednesday that it will slash more than 13 percent of its workforce because of falling global demand. The Goteborg, Sweden-based company said it would cut about 3,300 jobs, of which 2,000 would be blue-collar and 700 of them white-collar positions in Sweden.
![Hildie Edwards with sister Dahlia take time from school to advocate for the "trans refuge" bill up for vote in the Senate at the Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday, April 21, 2023. In the background are signs opposing and supporting the issue. Hildie Edwards is a transgender activist who has helped pass legislation making Minnesota a refuge for transgender individuals. ] RICHARD TSONG-TAATARII • richard.tsong-taatarii@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/MLXISPSWNLOGYAK77CQ7GAL7B4.jpg?&w=252&ar=3:2&fit=crop)
