Contents:
Stocks eye retailers as jobless ranks swell
(Reuters)
Reuters - As unemployment in the United States edges above 10 percent, anxious investors will look to earnings reports from major retailers for signs of life in the beaten-up consumer.
Stimulus, not transactions tax needed: Geithner
(Reuters)
Reuters - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Saturday stressed the necessity of keeping global economic stimulus in place until recovery is assured and opposed the utility of a tax on financial transactions as a way to dampen risky bank behavior.
UK gives impetus to global banks tax
(Reuters)
Reuters - Britain urged world governments on Saturday to consider a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, departing from long-held opposition, though there was little sign of the consensus needed to make it fly.
Wall Street firms skittish about RUSAL IPO: report
(Reuters)
Reuters - Wall Street firms are in a quandary about getting involved with a planned public offering of Russian aluminum producer UC RUSAL because its founder has been barred from getting a U.S. visa on account of allegations that he is connected to organized crime, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
Freddie Mac posts $5 billion loss
(Reuters)
Reuters - Freddie Mac , the second largest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding, on Friday posted a loss of $5 billion in the third quarter and predicted it would need more government support amid a "prolonged deterioration" in housing.
Stocks post modest gains as job losses slow
(AP)
AP - Investors undaunted by a surprisingly weak jobs report found enough positive news to nudge stocks higher Friday.
Freddie Mac loses $6.3B in 3Q
(AP)
AP - Freddie Mac's losses narrowed to $6.3 billion in the third quarter, but the government-controlled mortgage finance company didn't need a federal cash infusion.
Defense asks jury to clear ex-hedge fund managers
(AP)
AP - Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers charged with lying to investors always were honest about the risks of investing in securities linked to the volatile subprime mortgage market, a defense lawyer told a jury on Friday.
Staff at struggling German retail giant agree to tighten belts
(AFP)
AFP - Employees of the embattled German department store chain Karstadt, owned by the insolvent retail group Arcandor, agreed Saturday to take salary cuts as part of a last-ditch effort to save their jobs.
