BofA to exit British and Irish card marketsBank of America, the biggest U.S. bank, said Monday it has agreed to sell an $8.6 billion Canadian card unit to Toronto-Dominion Bank and exit British and Irish card markets as it seeks to comply with new capital requirements. TD will pay $7.6 billion in cash for Bank of America's MBNA Canada unit and assume about $1.1 billion in liabilities, the Toronto-based bank said in an investor presentation on its website. The Canadian bank paid what it called a "modest premium."
New York Fed sees greater use of credit cardsConsumers' willingness to use plastic may again be on the rise, a new government report suggests. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's household debt study for April, May and June showed that credit card limits increased by $60 billion or about 2 percent in that time, marking the second straight quarterly increase. The number of open credit card accounts rose by 10 million, to 389 million. The study, based on Equifax credit report data, showed "continued signs of healing" in credit markets and "a modest increase in the willingness of consumers to borrow and banks to lend," the federal agency said.
Judge sides with Pfizer's patent on ViagraA federal judge sided with drugmaker Pfizer Inc. as it tried to fend off a generic version of its erectile dysfunction drug Viagra in a patent-protection lawsuit. The suit pitted two of the world's biggest drugmakers: Pfizer and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Pfizer is the global leader in pharmaceutical sales and Teva leads the pack in generic drugs, which now account for about 75 percent of the market. "This court finds that Teva has not shown by clear and convincing evidence" that the patent is invalid, according to the ruling issued Friday and made public Monday by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Builder confidence still down in the dumpsA measure of confidence in builders for new single-family homes remained stuck at very low levels during August, according to a report released Monday. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo home market index remained at 15 in August on a seasonally adjusted basis. Readings over 50 are considered "good," which hasn't been the case since April 2006.
Fund manager pleads guilty to insider tradingA former portfolio manager for the hedge fund FrontPoint Partners pleaded guilty Monday to insider trading, less than a year after the charges that rocked the hedge fund first surfaced. The portfolio manager, Joseph F. Skowron, known as Chip, admitted before a federal judge in Manhattan that he had avoided $30 million in losses by trading on tips leaked by a consultant for an expert network about the results of a clinical drug trial. He also admitted that he and the consultant, Dr. Yves Benhamou, agreed to mislead the Securities and Exchange Commission about their actions. Skowron, 42, faces as much as five years in prison for the one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and obstruct justice and will pay a $5 million fine.
Japan's second quarter results beat estimatesJapan's economy contracted less than economists estimated in the second quarter as reconstruction work limits the slump from the record earthquake and tsunami on March 11. Gross domestic product shrank at an annualized 1.3 percent rate in the three months ended June 30, marking three consecutive quarters of declines, the Cabinet office said Monday in Tokyo. The median forecast of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 2.5 percent drop.
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