UPI NewsTrack Business
Published: March 26, 2008 at 5:36 PM
U.S. markets lose ground Wednesday
NEW YORK, March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. markets remained in negative territory Wednesday on news that new house sales slumped in February and durable goods orders were down.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.88 percent Wednesday, down 109.74 points to 12,422.86.
The Standard and Poor's 500 index dropped 11.86 points to 1,341.13, down 0.88 percent.
The Nasdaq composite index also fell, down 16.69 points to 2,324.36, down 0.71 percent.
On the New York Stock Exchange 1,312 stocks advanced and 1,828 declined on a volume of 1.430 billion shares traded.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note gained 10/32 to yield 3.473 percent.
The dollar weakened. The euro traded at $1.5838 from Tuesday's $1.5611, while the dollar traded at 99.10 yen from Tuesday's 100.16 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei index lost 38.59 points Wednesday to close at 12,706.63, down 0.3 percent.
In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 28.50 points to 5,660.60, down 0.5 percent at the close on Wednesday
Bank of England rejects rate cut option
LONDON, March 26 (UPI) -- Bank of England Governor Mervyn King told Britain's Treasury Select Committee Wednesday he would not use aggressive interest rate cuts to rescue banks.
"Two principals would underlie any central bank role," King told the committee. "First, the risk of losses on their lending should remain with the banks' shareholders. Second, a long-term solution must focus on the overhang of assets and not subsidies issues of new assets," he said.
Mortgage finance providers "underestimated the risks, and hence the true costs of the securitization process," King said.
The Bank of England has moved to pump cash into the economy, but not by reducing lending rates, which have remained at 5.25 percent since December, The Times of London reported.
Last week, the bank initiated a series of injections of nearly $10 billion into the economy that will continue until the next meeting of the banks monetary committee.
King said, "the heart of the problem is not the real economy; it is in the financial sector itself," the newspaper reported.
Milan architects chosen to design city
MILAN, Italy, March 26 (UPI) -- Italian architects have been chosen to design a $154 billion futuristic city on the banks of the Volga River in Russia.
The city will be called Globe Town named after a huge illuminated globe that will cover museums, a theater, a cinema and shopping centers, Ansa reported.
The design for the northern city, across the Volga from Nizhni Novgorod, Russia's third largest city, includes an underground cooling and heating system, use of pollution-digesting photocatalytic asphalt and cement, and a system to convert household rubbish into fuel.
The city, designed to replace the current town of Bor, will be approximately the size of the New York City borough of Manhattan and include a park four times bigger than New York's 843-acre Central Park, Ansa said.
A team of 50 architects from Milan working "round the clock" put their plans together in two months, said Luca Gonzo senior partner at the firm Dante O. Benini.
The plan for the city includes a series of canals to avoid the problem of the Volga overflowing its banks, the report said.
Union leaders unswayed by Air France-KLM
ROME, March 26 (UPI) -- Stock in Italy's Alitalia rose Wednesday, but the union leaders remained skeptical about a scheduled meeting with Air France-KLM's president.
Alitalia's share process climbed 32 percent on Jean-Cyril Spinetta's announcement Tuesday he planned to offer unions "a very detailed" transfer plan, should Air France-KLM proceed with plans to buy Alitalia.
Spinetta said the plan included an offer by Air France-KLM to hire 60 Alitalia pilots each year until 2010.
"It's not a concession," said pilots union chief Massimo Notaro, noting Alitalia pilots could apply for work at Air France-KLM "on their own."
Industry analysts predict 2,100 jobs would be lost if the airlines merged.
Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa has said Alitalia needs to merge or fall into receivership, which would force financial limits on the company and lead to an immediate loss of 5,000 jobs.
The move would eventually force liquidation to resolve the airline's $2.16 billion debt, the report said.
NEW YORK, March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. markets remained in negative territory Wednesday on news that new house sales slumped in February and durable goods orders were down.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.88 percent Wednesday, down 109.74 points to 12,422.86.
The Standard and Poor's 500 index dropped 11.86 points to 1,341.13, down 0.88 percent.
The Nasdaq composite index also fell, down 16.69 points to 2,324.36, down 0.71 percent.
On the New York Stock Exchange 1,312 stocks advanced and 1,828 declined on a volume of 1.430 billion shares traded.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note gained 10/32 to yield 3.473 percent.
The dollar weakened. The euro traded at $1.5838 from Tuesday's $1.5611, while the dollar traded at 99.10 yen from Tuesday's 100.16 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei index lost 38.59 points Wednesday to close at 12,706.63, down 0.3 percent.
In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 28.50 points to 5,660.60, down 0.5 percent at the close on Wednesday
Bank of England rejects rate cut option
LONDON, March 26 (UPI) -- Bank of England Governor Mervyn King told Britain's Treasury Select Committee Wednesday he would not use aggressive interest rate cuts to rescue banks.
"Two principals would underlie any central bank role," King told the committee. "First, the risk of losses on their lending should remain with the banks' shareholders. Second, a long-term solution must focus on the overhang of assets and not subsidies issues of new assets," he said.
Mortgage finance providers "underestimated the risks, and hence the true costs of the securitization process," King said.
The Bank of England has moved to pump cash into the economy, but not by reducing lending rates, which have remained at 5.25 percent since December, The Times of London reported.
Last week, the bank initiated a series of injections of nearly $10 billion into the economy that will continue until the next meeting of the banks monetary committee.
King said, "the heart of the problem is not the real economy; it is in the financial sector itself," the newspaper reported.
Milan architects chosen to design city
MILAN, Italy, March 26 (UPI) -- Italian architects have been chosen to design a $154 billion futuristic city on the banks of the Volga River in Russia.
The city will be called Globe Town named after a huge illuminated globe that will cover museums, a theater, a cinema and shopping centers, Ansa reported.
The design for the northern city, across the Volga from Nizhni Novgorod, Russia's third largest city, includes an underground cooling and heating system, use of pollution-digesting photocatalytic asphalt and cement, and a system to convert household rubbish into fuel.
The city, designed to replace the current town of Bor, will be approximately the size of the New York City borough of Manhattan and include a park four times bigger than New York's 843-acre Central Park, Ansa said.
A team of 50 architects from Milan working "round the clock" put their plans together in two months, said Luca Gonzo senior partner at the firm Dante O. Benini.
The plan for the city includes a series of canals to avoid the problem of the Volga overflowing its banks, the report said.
Union leaders unswayed by Air France-KLM
ROME, March 26 (UPI) -- Stock in Italy's Alitalia rose Wednesday, but the union leaders remained skeptical about a scheduled meeting with Air France-KLM's president.
Alitalia's share process climbed 32 percent on Jean-Cyril Spinetta's announcement Tuesday he planned to offer unions "a very detailed" transfer plan, should Air France-KLM proceed with plans to buy Alitalia.
Spinetta said the plan included an offer by Air France-KLM to hire 60 Alitalia pilots each year until 2010.
"It's not a concession," said pilots union chief Massimo Notaro, noting Alitalia pilots could apply for work at Air France-KLM "on their own."
Industry analysts predict 2,100 jobs would be lost if the airlines merged.
Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa has said Alitalia needs to merge or fall into receivership, which would force financial limits on the company and lead to an immediate loss of 5,000 jobs.
The move would eventually force liquidation to resolve the airline's $2.16 billion debt, the report said.
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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