Chase to forgive military mortgage seizuresJ.P. Morgan Chase said it will forgive mortgages of military families whose homes were improperly seized and revamp its housing program for service members and veterans. Earlier this month, the New York-based bank told a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing in Washington that it returned 10 homes to families protected by a law designed to shield members of the military from financial stress. The homes were among 18 improperly seized, the lender said. Last month, the bank said it would return $2.4 million to about 4,500 service members overcharged on mortgages or who lost their homes.
Peltz makes bid to acquire Family DollarNelson Peltz, head of activist investment firm Trian Fund Management, offered to acquire Family Dollar Stores Inc. for $55 to $60 a share in cash, according to a regulatory filing late Tuesday. Peltz also offered Howard Levine, chief executive of Family Dollar, "the opportunity to participate as an investor alongside the Trian Group," the filing said. Peltz urged Levine to have Family Dollar's board set up a committee of independent directors to consider the acquisition offer, while noting that the ultimate decision on a sale of the company should be made by shareholders.
Bernanke defends actions as Lehman failedFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the commission probing the causes of the financial crisis that he would defend to his "deathbed" his actions prior to the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings. "I will maintain to my deathbed, that we made every effort to save Lehman, but we were just unable to do so because of a lack of legal authority," Bernanke said, referring to the 2008 failure that intensified a crisis that Bernanke said was the worst in history, according to an 89-page transcript of the interview by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.
Economic growth in Europe less than forecastEurope's economy expanded less than economists forecast in the fourth quarter as cold weather curbed German output and French growth unexpectedly stalled. Gross domestic product in the euro region rose 0.3 percent from the previous three months, when it increased at the same rate, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said Tuesday. Economists had forecast the economy to expand 0.4 percent, the median of 37 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. Exports fell 0.4 percent in December from the previous month, a separate report showed.
Apple to allow subscriptions from iPhoneApple Inc., breaking from its past practice, will soon allow customers to buy subscriptions and other digital content from its popular iPhone and iPad devices, but some of those changes may prove problematic for companies such as Amazon.com. Under the plan unveiled Tuesday by Apple, sales through the new service would be billed through the App Store, the same as regular applications. Apple said its new service will allow publishers to sell subscriptions from within their apps.
Cost of home insurance expected to rise againThe average cost of home insurance is expected to rise again in 2011 for the third straight year. The Insurance Information Institute expects that premiums will be up an average of 2 percent to 3 percent nationally, with coastal areas seeing the biggest increases. Hurricane losses have been low in recent years, but damage from rain and winter weather, as well as higher prices for materials to repair homes, have driven up costs. In turn, insurance premiums have been creeping up.
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