Come for the billionaire (not so?) odd-couple story, stay for the bizarre ping-pong photo! A fun read, and I've bee… https://t.co/DhHNksco1x— 6 days 23 hours ago via@theofrancis
The science behind the Biden administration’s plan to sharply cut nicotine in cigarettes -- very smart & informativ… https://t.co/6irDxpBf8g— 1 week 3 hours ago via@theofrancis
@TimJHanrahan They have the pay the guy with the fishing pole, and it isn't easy keeping track of that mayo if you aren't going to cage it.— 1 week 9 hours ago via@theofrancis
RT @EmilyGlazer: Buffett hasn’t revealed publicly how his estate will be divided but officials at the Gates Foundation & Susan T. Bu… https://t.co/qO8NAxW129— 1 week 9 hours ago via@theofrancis
A little-known Buffett family foundation that supports abortion rights is making plans for a possible windfall afte… https://t.co/jDMBGN4536— 1 week 9 hours ago via@theofrancis
Deprecated function: Array and string offset access syntax with curly braces is deprecated in include_once() (line 20 of /usr/home/theofrancis/public_html/theofrancis/includes/file.phar.inc).
It has been a big week so far for the market cops at the Securities & Exchange Commission: Each day brought a new multimillion-dollar settlement, most involving high-profile people or companies—Bank of America (BAC), General Electric (GE), and two former executives of American International Group (AIG), plus two smaller trading firms.
Regulators, investors, and policymakers are breathing a sigh of relief about the banks. Profits are up. Bank share prices are surging. And on June 9 Uncle Sam gave 10 banks the go-ahead to pay back $70 billion in bailout funds. "These are early signs of repair and improvement," Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said in a press briefing.
That didn't take long. The economy hasn't yet recovered from the implosion of risky investments that led to the worst recession in decades—and already some of the world's biggest banks are peddling a new generation of dicey products to corporations, consumers, and investors.
At first glance, banks seem to be recovering nicely from the financial crisis. But investors cheered by optimistic earnings reports could soon face a painful surprise.
Rosel Patton, a 49-year-old switch engineer in Marlboro, Mass., doesn't realize it, but when she saves for retirement by contributing to her 401(k), she's also helping her company save money.
The loud message comes from one company after another: Surging health-care costs for retired workers are creating a giant burden. So companies have been cutting health benefits for their retirees or requiring them to contribute more of the cost.
Some of America's biggest banks -- including Bank of America Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Bank One Corp. -- hold billions of dollars in so-called janitors insurance on their present and former employees. But investors may have a hard time finding much information in their Securities and Exchange Commission filings.