Archive for June, 2008

Florida sues Countrywide over mortgages (Reuters)

A Countrywide branch location is seen in Burlington, Massachusetts May 5, 2008. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)Reuters – Florida sued mortgage lender Countrywide
Financial Corp on Monday for predatory lending
practices, alleging the company at the center of the U.S.
mortgage crisis made subprime loans to people who could not
repay them.

Chrysler to shut minivan plant as sales slump (Reuters)

The Chrysler logo is seen on the back of a 300C during the Chicago Auto Show February 6, 2008. (John Gress/Reuters)Reuters – Chrysler LLC will shut its St Louis
minivan plant, cutting production of its top-selling vehicle
and 2,400 factory jobs in a sign of the automaker’s troubles
with a market reeling from record gas prices.

Economy – Monday (Investor’s Business Daily)

Investor’s Business Daily – Treasury Sec’y Henry Paulson will reveal more details about his accelerated plans for the Fed to assume a larger regulatory role in maintaining financial-system stability in a London speech Wed. “I will be expanding on the role of the Fed as a macro stability regulator to look across the entire financial system, but will be emphasizing how this just has to be paired with market discipline,” he told reporters.

Stocks end difficult first half with quiet session (AP)

REFILE - CORRECTING NAME OF TRADING FLOOR<br />
Traders can be seen on the floor of the crude oil futures pit of the New York Mercantile Exchange in New York, June 30, 2008. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson  (UNITED STATES)AP – Wall Street ended a grueling first half quietly Monday, closing mixed as investors again based their trades on what has become the dominant force in the market: the price of oil. The major indexes closed out the first six months of 2008 with double digit declines, and are perilously close to the levels of a bear market.

Ford had talks with Renault to sell Volvo: sources (Reuters)

The 2009 Volvo XC60 is seen during the 2008 New York International auto show March 19, 2008. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Reuters – Ford Motor Co has had
exploratory talks with French automaker Renault SA to
sell Volvo, but the talks ended quickly due to price
differences, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters.