Senate report faults SEC on hedge fund probe

(Reuters) - The report from the Senate Finance and Senate Judiciary committees, released late on Friday, ends a year-long inquiry into the dismissal of former SEC staffer Gary Aguirre.




Aguirre says he was forced out of the agency after a probe he was leading got too close to prominent Wall Street banker John Mack. His claims prompted three Senate hearings and drew heavy press coverage.


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GLOBAL MARKETS-Darker credit mood hits stocks, dollar; bonds up

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - Deteriorating credit market
sentiment and unexpectedly weak economic data hammered U.S.
stocks and the dollar, while safe-haven government bonds
surged on Friday.




Worries over a potential liquidity crunch escalated as a
top executive at Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns
described the fixed-income market turmoil as the worst
in 22 years.


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US jobs data hit stocks, dollar, boost bonds

(Reuters) - Stocks and the dollar fell while safe-haven government bonds rallied on Friday after weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data fanned concerns about a U.S. economy already struggling with credit liquidity fears.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a weaker open on Wall Street while European stocks moved deeper in negative territory after data showed U.S. employers boosted payrolls in July at the slowest pace since February, adding 92,000 jobs.


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US STOCKS-Futures fall on news of slow jobs growth

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - U S. stock index futures fell
on Friday after a government report showing
weaker-than-expected job growth last month added to nervousness
on Wall Street about losses in the mortgage industry.




American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. was the
latest casualty of the housing market downturn. The company
said it plans to close most operations on Friday and lay off
nearly 7,000 employees. For details, see [ID:nN02455089].


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Marathon 2nd-qtr earnings fall

(Reuters) - Net income slipped to $1.55 billion, or $2.25 a share, from
$1.75 billion, or $2.08 a share, last year.




Excluding one-time items, the company said it earned $2.25
a share. On that basis, the average forecast of Wall Street
analysts was $2.13 a share, according to Reuters Estimates.


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UPDATE 1-Valero posts record quarter profit; margins strong

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - Leading refiner Valero Energy
Corp. posted record quarterly earnings on Tuesday,
topping Wall Street forecasts, on soaring refining margins
fueled by high gasoline prices.




Those margins, which rose by 45 percent for Valero on the
Gulf Coast, have benefited all refiners in the past several
months as steady growth in demand, coupled with
higher-than-normal refinery maintenance, led to higher gasoline
prices and unprecedented profitability for the industry.


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U.S. Stocks Rebound on Upgrades; KB Home, Nordstrom, Bank Shares Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rebounded from the worst
two-day skid since 2003 after Wall Street's biggest securities
firms, led by Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank
of America Corp., said the sell-off made banks, homebuilders and
retailers relative bargains.

Nordstrom Inc., the Seattle-based luxury retailer, climbed
the most in almost two years. Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase
& Co. and American Express Co. carried financial shares to their
biggest advance since July 12. KB Home gained for the first time
in seven days after Citigroup said ``hysteria'' has driven the
36 percent drop in shares of construction firms this year.


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US STOCKS-Profit optimism lifts Wall St gloom

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 30 - U.S. stocks rose in choppy
trade on Monday after Wall Street's worst week in nearly five
years as optimism about the earnings outlook offset concerns
about the deteriorating credit market.




Expectations for quarterly earnings growth by Standard &
Poor's 500 companies were raised to 6.8 percent compared with
the year-ago period from 6.0 percent expected one week earlier,
according to Reuters Estimates.


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Dow Jones family owners face deadline on bid-source

(Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., owner of Fox News, the New
York Post and a sprawling global media empire, made its $60 a
share bid for Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street
Journal, on May 1.




The board of Dow Jones endorsed the offer two weeks ago,
sending the deal to the Bancroft family for approval.


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TREASURIES-Steady in Asia, credit crunch fears supporting

(Reuters) - The credit crunch fears have fuelled safe-haven flows to
shorter-dated Treasuries and stirred speculation the Fed could
cut rates, pulling the two-year yield down to some 75 basis
points below the current federal funds rate of 5.25 percent.




With no major economic data due in the session, traders said
they would be keeping a close eye on how U.S. stocks move later
in the session, with Asian equity markets initially falling
about 1 percent following the tumble on Wall Street last Friday.


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PRESS DIGEST - Washington Post Business - July 28

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON - Wall Street heard good news about the economy
but didn't pay it much heed: The Dow Jones industrial average
shed an additional 200 points to finish its worst week in more
than four years, potentially creating a snowball effect that
could continue next week.




---


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Ingersoll-Rand 2nd-quarter net profit triples

(Reuters) - Excluding the gain on the sale of a business, Ingersoll
earned 95 cents per share, matching Wall Street expectations.




Revenue rose 9 percent to $2.23 billion.


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Wall Street Analysts Failed to Foresee Rally in Amazon Shares For 2nd Time

(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc.'s second-quarter
profit surprised Wall Street analysts, prompting at least six to
raise their rating on shares of the biggest online retailer.

Shares of Amazon.com, which climbed as much as 28 percent
today, have more than doubled over the past year. Just eight of
the 25 analysts who cover Amazon recommend that investors buy the
stock, according to Bloomberg data.


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Cheesecake Factory 2nd-qtr earnings top estimates

(Reuters) - LOS ANGELES, July 24 - Restaurant operator Cheesecake Factory Inc. reported on Tuesday slightly higher quarterly earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations, helped by a recent price increase.



Shares of the company rose 2.4 percent in extended trading following the announcement.


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US CREDIT-Credit weakness may scuttle McClatchy LBO fears

(Reuters) - But the risk of activism to lift the newspaper publisher's
share price, which is lagging that of its rivals, keeps the
risk of leveraged buyout on the table, and operational
challenges at the company may continue to weigh on its debt.




McClatchy on Thursday said quarterly profit fell 9.3
percent because of weaker newspaper advertising sales, but
expense-cutting helped the company beat Wall Street's
expectations. For details, see [ID:nN19408499]


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`Overlooked Asset,' Rupee Effect, Harry Potter and the Aftermath: Timshel

(Bloomberg) -- If Rupert Murdoch changed his mind
and bought Dow Jones & Co. in a stock swap, the purchase would
hardly dent News Corp.'s treasury.

The $5 billion that Murdoch has offered for the publisher
of the Wall Street Journal is equivalent to 204 million of his
company's Class A shares, which include voting rights, or 220
million non-voting Class B shares.


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UPDATE 1-Ventana posts flat profit on Roche bid costs

(Reuters) - Second-quarter profit was $7 million or 20 cents per share,
compared with $7.2 million, or 20 cents per share, a year
earlier.




Excluding items, it earned 22 cents per share, surpassing
Wall Street analysts' average expectation of 18 cents per
share, according to Reuters Estimates.


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McClatchy profit falls but beats forecasts

(Reuters) - By Robert MacMillan



NEW YORK, July 19 - McClatchy Co. said on Thursday quarterly profit fell 9.3 percent because of weaker newspaper advertising sales, but expense-cutting helped the company beat Wall Street's expectations.


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No changes to U.S. 30-year mortgages this week

(Reuters) - "In a week marked by stock indexes reaching new highs on
Wall Street, mortgage rates lingered near the previous week's
level as the latest economic indicators did not affect
inflation expectations significantly," said Frank Nothaft,
Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.




He also said the mortgage giant does not believe the
tumbling housing market has yet reached a "trough," with the
Commerce Department reporting this week that building permits
fell by 7.5 percent in June to the lowest level in 10 years.


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McDonald's sees profit above Street as sales jump

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 16 - McDonald's Corp. said on Monday it expects to report quarterly earnings above Wall Street estimates on its strongest quarterly sales in three years.



The world's largest restaurant chain operator said it expected to earnings of 71 cents per share before costs related to the sale of businesses in Latin America.


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