Economics

For the Jobless, Little U.S. Help on Foreclosure

The Obama administration’s main program to keep distressed homeowners from falling into foreclosure has been aimed at those who took out subprime loans or other risky mortgages during the heady days of the housing boom. But these days, the primary cause of foreclosures is unemployment. As a result, there is […]

Dams generate hopes and fears

by Julia Slater, in Lucerne, swissinfo.ch Concerns about both climate change and safe energy supply in the post-Fukushima world have given a new impulse to one of Switzerland’s specialities: hydroelectricity. About 900 experts in dams from all over the world converged on Lucerne this week for the annual symposium of […]

S.E.C. Case Stands Out Because It Stands Alone

At the height of the housing boom, the 26th floor of Goldman Sachs’s former headquarters on Broad Street in Lower Manhattan was the nerve center of Goldman’s fast-growing mortgage trading business. Hundreds of employees worked closely in teams, devising mortgage-based securities — billions of dollars’ worth — that were examined […]

Conference on Islamic finance in Bahrain

By MAHMOOD RAFIQUE | ARAB NEWS MANAMA: Bahrain has pioneered the modern Islamic finance industry in the region, as its history on Islamic finance goes back to more than 40 years, according to a senior central bank official. “We have continued to play a pioneering role in the Islamic finance […]

Intel posts possible future CEO to China

BEIJING – If you were the big boss of a world renowned technology firm, where would you send your potential successor? For Paul Otellini, chief executive officer of the world’s biggest chip maker Intel Corp, the answer is China. Intel announced on Tuesday that it has appointed Executive Vice-President Sean Maloney the […]

Swiss might not back European as IMF head

The Swiss representative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said a European may not be the best person for the vacant managing director’s position. René Weber is one of 24 IMF executive directors who will cast votes to decide the eventual replacement for former French managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, […]

New home sales at 4-month high, supply drops

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New single-family home sales rose unexpectedly in April to notch their second straight month of gains and prices increased, offering some hope for the stagnant housing market. The Commerce Department said sales increased 7.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted 323,000 unit annual rate, the highest level since […]