Worldwide
Financial News
Citigroup's Pandit Will Reduce Headcount by 50,000, Lower Expenses by 20% Citigroup Inc., the U.S. bank with the most employees, plans to eliminate more than 50,000 jobs and cut expenses by 20 percent from their peak as the global economy contracts.
Stocks in U.S. Fall on Concern Recession to Deepen; Alcoa, Citigroup Slide U.S. stocks fell, extending a two- week drop, as a record contraction in New York manufacturing and Citigroup Inc.'s plan to cut 50,000 jobs spurred concern the recession will deepen.
Goldman Targeted by Investors' Complaints on Naked Short-Selling of Loans Investors in the $591 billion high- yield, high-risk loan market are accusing Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of naked short selling to profit from record price declines.
Mark Cuban Is Sued by SEC for Insider Trading in 2004 Sales of Mamma.com Billionaire Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, was sued by U.S. regulators over claims he made illegal insider trades four years ago in shares of Internet search company Mamma.com Inc.
Bush Administration Won't Seek Remaining $350 Billion in U.S. Bailout Fund The Bush administration will not seek the $350 billion remaining as part of the $700 billion financial-rescue package, leaving it to the next administration to request the funds, a person familiar with the matter said.
Putnam Fires 12 Money Managers, Merges Six Funds as Client Assets Fall 39% Putnam Investments fired 12 money managers after assets fell 39 percent in the past year, joining Fidelity Investments and Janus Capital Group Inc. in contracting amid the steepest stock-market losses since the 1930s.
Lincoln, Aegon May Buy S&Ls With `Unsafe' Practices to Get Taxpayer Funds Four of the world's biggest insurers may acquire small banks that regulators have cited for improper practices to improve their own chances of getting cash from the $700 billion U.S. government bailout fund.
Australia & New Zealand
Financial News
Total Eyes U.S., Australia for $15 Billion of Takeovers, Citigroup Says Total SA, France's largest oil company, is targeting $5 billion to $15 billion in acquisitions, possibly in the U.S. and Australia, Citigroup Inc. said.
Lion Nathan Offers $4.9 Billion for Coca-Cola Amatil to Add Sodas to Beer Lion Nathan Ltd., Australia’s second- largest brewer, offered to buy Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. for A$7.5 billion ($4.9 billion) in cash and stock to create the nation’s biggest beverage maker.
James Hardie Profit Drops 26% on U.S. Housing Slump; Dividend Is Suspended James Hardie Industries NV, the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., scrapped its first- half dividend as earnings dropped 26 percent in the second quarter amid the worst housing slump since the Great Depression.
Crude Oil Declines as Global Economic Slump Reduces Demand in China, Japan Crude oil fell, heading for the lowest close in 21 months, as Japan entered its first recession since 2001 and China’s largest oil producer said demand had declined “sharply.”
Babcock Slumps in Sydney After Wachovia Says It May Seize Loan Collateral Babcock & Brown Ltd., the worst performing stock on the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index this year, fell to a record low in Sydney after Wachovia Corp. said it may seize collateral on a $112 million loan.
Copper Futures Drop 3% Amid Signs Global Economic Slowdown is Deepening Copper prices fell more than 3 percent on signs that the global economic slump is deepening, damping demand for the metal used in pipes and wires.
Money-Market Rates in Australia Drop to Least Since Before Lehman Collapse Asian money rates declined, with Australian funding costs dropping to the cheapest since before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed, amid expectations central banks will extend reductions in interest rates.
Leighton, Mirvac to Work on $1.1 Billion Central Sydney Development Plan Leighton Holdings Ltd., Australia's largest construction company, and real estate investment trust Mirvac Group were picked to work on a A$1.7 billion ($1.1 billion) government-backed development in central Sydney.
General News
Australia Rainstorms Cut Power to 230,000 Homes, Businesses in Queensland More than 230,000 homes and businesses in the southeast of Australia's Queensland state lost power after high winds, lightning strikes and driving rain cut supplies, the region's electricity distributor said.
Western Australia Premier Ends State's Six-Year Ban on Uranium Production Western Australia, the state with as much as 10 percent of the world's known uranium reserves, ended a six-year ban mining the radioactive metal after a new government was elected.
Auto Dealers in Australia Sell at Cost as Crisis Freezes Access to Credit Australian auto dealers are selling
Stocks
Americas
U.S. Stocks Retreat on Economic Concerns; Alcoa, Citigroup Shares Decline U.S. stocks fell, extending a two- week drop, as a record contraction in New York manufacturing and Citigroup Inc.'s plan to cut 50,000 jobs spurred concern the recession will deepen.
Abercrombie, Alcoa, GM, Intuitive Surgical, Yum Brands: U.S. Equity Movers The following companies are having unusual price changes in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and share prices are as of 1:30 p.m. in New York.
Brazil Stocks Gain, Led by Electric, Phone Companies, Embraer; Ipsa Falls Brazil's Bovespa Index rose to the highest in a week, led by utilities and phone companies, on the prospect that companies focused on domestic growth will weather the global slowdown better than other industries.
Canadian Stocks Fall a Second Day, Led by Royal Bank, Potash; Cameco Gains Canadian stocks fell, pushing the main index toward the lowest this month, as mining and finance shares slid after Japan entered a recession and metal prices dropped, signaling weakening demand for raw-materials.
Immelt's GE Purchases Send Sell Signal as Insider Buying Hits 8-Month High General Electric Co. Chief Executive Offi