U.S. markets close mixed Monday
NEW YORK, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. markets closed mixed Monday after Ireland said it would apply for international assistance to curb its bank crisis.
The size of the loan is not known, but it is expected to be a three-year package of around $110 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.
On Sunday, Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the deal would include a mandate to have the Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks PLC sell its "non-essential assets."
By close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 24.97 points or 0.22 percent to 11,178.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 1.89 or 0.16 percent to 1,197.84. The Nasdaq composite index added 13.90 or 0.55 percent to 2,532.02.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,520 stocks rose and 1,453 declined on a volume of 4 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 20/32 to yield 2.806 percent.
The euro fell to $1.3628 from Friday's $1.3685. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 83.32 yen from Friday's 83.48 yen.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.93 percent, 92.80, to 10,115.19.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.91 percent, 52 points, to 5,680.83.
FTC tightens debt collections post-mortem
WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Consumer advocates say the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has asked for trouble by revising rules for collectors chasing debt from people who have died.
The new rules allow for a wider circle of people to be contacted, beyond family members and the legal executor of the estate. There is also the term "spouse" that some advocates say is inaccurate as a marriage ends when one of the partners dies. The Washington Post reported Monday.
Some advocates warn that some debt collectors will press even friends to pay the debts of someone who has died, using a "moral obligation" argument, the Post said.
Robert Hobbs, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center said the FTC should "strengthen protections for grieving families and friends, not open the door to debt-collection efforts."
"Presumably we're dealing with elderly people at the most vulnerable time that you could imagine," said attorney Richard Rubin, a consumer rights advocate in New Mexico.
"The debt doesn't disappear when the person dies. It's still a valid debt, and the collector can still collect it," said Joel Winston, FTC associate director of financial practices, the Post reported.
"We are determined to ensure that the collectors play by the rules," he said.
The FTC has extended the deadline to Dec. 1 for the public to comment on proposed rule changes.
FBI confirms raid of two hedge funds
STAMFORD, Conn., Nov. 22 (UPI) -- The FBI confirmed Monday that it raided the office of two hedge funds in Connecticut as part of an insider-trading probe.
The Wall Street Journal reported the raids were conducted at Level Global Investors LP in Greenwich and Diamondback Capital Management LLC in Stamford as part of the largest insider trading investigation the FBI has ever tackled.
A spokesman for Level Global said "agents … visited our offices this morning as part of what we believe to be a broader investigation of the financial services industry."
The spokesman said the firm was "cooperating fully … and, at the same time, we are fully operational and continue to work diligently for the benefit of our investors."
The firm manages about $4 billion in assets. Diamondback Capital, which had yet to return phone calls for comment, manages about $5 billion in assets, the Journal said.
The FBI did not comment beyond confirming it had "executed court-authorized search warrants in an on-going investigation," the Journal said, quoting FBI spokesman Richard Kolko.
Layoffs on track for fewest since 2000
CHICAGO, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Announced company layoffs in 2010 in the United States are on track to fall to the lowest level since 2000, a private outplacement firm said Monday.
In October, U.S. firms announced 37,986 job cuts, just slightly ahead of the 37,151 announced in September, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported.
Through October, each month of the year has had fewer layoffs than the same month of 2009, the firm said.
In October, 81 chief executive officers left their posts, a 27 percent drop from the 111 CEO departures in the previous month and the lowest level in 18 months.
