GMAC applies for bank holding status GMAC Financial Services, the financing arm of General Motors, said Thursday that it applied to become a bank holding company, making it eligible for aid under the government's $700 billion bank rescue plan. GMAC also is launching cash tender offers to buy or swap $38 billion of debt held by its divisions and mortgage business, Residential Capital, for cash, new notes or preferred stock.
Citigroup shares hit 15-year low Citigroup Inc. shares closed Thursday down 26 percent, at $4.71, the worst one-day percentage decline ever. The Wall Street Journal reported that Citigroup executives began weighing the possibility of auctioning off pieces of the financial giant or even selling the company outright, according to people familiar with the matter. The internal discussions are preliminary and don't signal that the board and management are backing down from their insistence that the New York company has ample capital, funding and strategic direction, these people said.
Quarterly online ad revenue up 11 percent Despite the bad economy, U.S. Internet advertising revenue rose in the third quarter, according to an analysis released Thursday. The report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers said that online advertising revenue totaled almost $5.9 billion in the third quarter, up 11 percent from the same period last year.
Wal-Mart invests in wind-energy supply Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it has invested in a wind-energy farm in Texas that will generate enough power to light 15 percent of its Texas operations. The world's largest retailer said Thursday that the Duke Energy farm is being built in Notrees, Texas, and is to start production in April.
China calls its jobs outlook 'grim' Chinese officials warned Thursday that the country faces a "grim" employment outlook with demand for workers falling and job seekers in cities outnumbering new jobs by 2-to-1. China's economic growth fell to 9 percent in the latest quarter.
Rolls-Royce plans to cut 2,000 jobs in 2009 Rolls-Royce Group, the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines, said it plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs next year.
At least 2,700 at Peugeot-Citreon to lose jobs French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen said Thursday it plans to cut at least 2,700 jobs.
Japan's October exports off most in 7 years Japanese exports fell 7.7 percent in October from a year earlier, the biggest drop since 2001. Japan posted its second trade deficit in three months, according to government figures.
