More Breaking News

Unemployment Decreased in Nine U.S. States in January (Update2) The unemployment rate decreased in nine U.S. states in January and climbed in 30, signaling the thawing of the labor market is not broad-based.

Defaults Signal Bursting Muni Junk Bubble After Surge (Update1) Investors in search of better returns poured $7.8 billion into high-yield municipal bond funds last year, pushing assets to a two-year high. They may start experiencing losses as early as this year as default risks grow.

Pelosi Says Democrats Didn’t Push Massa to Resign (Update1) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed claims by former Democratic Representative Eric Massa that he was pressured to leave Congress because of his opposition to health-care legislation.

Loglisci Pleads Guilty in Pension Probe, Cooperates (Update1) David Loglisci, a former New York state deputy comptroller, pleaded guilty as part of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s probe of the state pension fund.

Len Blavatnik Said to Seek as Much as 15% Stake of New Lyondell Billionaire Len Blavatnik, who controlled LyondellBasell Industries AF before it went bankrupt, is seeking a 15 percent equity stake in the reorganized company, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction.

Ex-Cazenove Partner Calvert Convicted of U.K. Insider Trading A former partner at JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Cazenove unit was convicted of insider trading by a London jury, the third such case won by the Financial Services Authority in the last year.

Terra Industries Tells Yara That CF Bid Is Superior (Update2) Terra Industries Inc., the target of a bidding war, told suitor Yara International ASA that a $4.68 billion offer from fertilizer producer CF Industries Holdings Inc. is superior and asked for a counterproposal.

Hedge Funds Lose Money Even With Euro, Pound Tumbles (Update1) Hedge funds that trade currencies are taking hits from politicians casting them as speculators out to sink the euro and push Greece into insolvency. They are also losing money.

Sex Life Ends at 70 as Health Declines, Study Says (Update1) The average person’s sex life ends by the age of 70, according to a report published today in the British Medical Journal.

Lula Asks Obama to Negotiate ‘Quickly’ End to Cotton Dispute Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked U.S. President Barack Obama to “quickly” negotiate the end to a cotton dispute at the World Trade Organization.

Dubai Made Progress in Debt Talks, U.K. Minister Says (Update2) Dubai World, the state-owned holding company seeking to renegotiate terms on $26 billion of debt, made “some progress” in talks with creditors, U.K. Trade Minister Mervyn Davies said.

Argentine Senate to Oust Central Banker, Morales Says (Update1) Argentina’s Senate tomorrow will reject Mercedes Marco del Pont’s appointment as president of the central bank after she transferred $6.6 billion of reserves to the Treasury, said opposition Senator Gerardo Morales.

LBO Firms Can’t Spend $503 Billion as Deadlines Loom (Update1) Buyout funds sitting on half a trillion dollars committed by investors may need more than a decade to put the money to work if mergers and acquisitions continue at the current pace.

Biden Says Israel, Palestinians to Answer for Acts (Update1) Vice President Joe Biden said Israel and the Palestinians will be held “accountable” for actions jeopardizing peace efforts, such as Israeli approval of a plan for new homes in east Jerusalem.

MetLife Expands Beyond ‘Slow Growth’ U.S., CEO Says (Update1) MetLife Inc., the insurer spending $15.5 billion to buy an overseas unit from American International Group Inc., said lower growth in the U.S. market is prompting expansion abroad.

Spence Says U.S. Recovery Will Take ‘Several Years’ (Update1) The U.S. faces an extended recovery from the recession even after the government infusion of cash into stimulus programs and the banking system, said Andrew Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics.

AIG ‘Money in Door’ Deals Reap $3.2 Billion Bond Gain (Update2) American International Group Inc. bondholders reaped at least $3.2 billion after the bailed-out company announced deals to sell its two largest non-U.S. life insurance divisions for $51 billion.

Wholesale Inventories in U.S. Fell 0.2% in January, Sales Jump Inventories at U.S. wholesalers unexpectedly fell in January for a second month, signaling companies had difficulty keeping pace with demand.

Baltic Trading’s IPO Raises $228 Million at Low End (Update1) Baltic Trading Ltd., the New York- based shipping company formed to operate dry-bulk cargo vessels, raised $228 million in its initial public offering after selling shares at the low end of its price range.

Stocks Climb as Treasuries, Pound Retreat; Dollar Trims Gains Stocks rose, erasing losses for the year for a gauge of emerging markets, while Treasuries fell and the dollar trimmed gains as China said exports soared by the most in three years and concern over Greece’s deficit eased. The British pound weakened as U.K. manufacturing contracted.

Google CEO Says Something Will Happen Soon With China (Update2) Google Inc., in talks with China after saying it will stop censoring Internet search results there, said the discussions will yield results soon.

WellPoint CFO Says California Rates a ‘Preview’ of Obama Plan WellPoint Inc.’s plan to raise rates for some California customers by 39 percent, a rallying point for Democrats seeking a health overhaul, is a preview of the higher prices Americans will face if the proposal succeeds, the insurer’s chief financial officer said.

ECB’s Weber Says Volcker Rule Has ‘Significant’ Shortcomings European Central Bank council member Axel Weber said the so-called “Volcker Rule” proposal to forbid banks from engaging in proprietary trading has “significant” shortcomings.

Hurricane Season Poses ‘Above-Normal’ Threat, AccuWeather Says The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than last year’s and poses an “above- normal” threat to the U.S. Gulf and East coasts, AccuWeather Inc. forecasters said today.

Tullett Prebon Says It’s in Talks About Possible Sale (Update3) Tullett Prebon Plc, the British inter-dealer broker led by Terry Smith, said it’s in talks about a possible sale of the company.

Bernstein Said to Hire Zanardo for Bank Research (Update1) Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. hired Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ analyst Marcello Zanardo to head its European banking equity research team in London, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Florida Orange-Crop Estimate Increased After Freeze Assessment The Florida orange crop, the world’s second-largest, will be 1.6 percent bigger than estimated last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said after assessing damage from a January freeze.

Gates in Riyadh to Show Iran the Region Closing Ranks (Update1) U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Saudi Arabia on a mission to show officials in Tehran that their neighbors in the region are closing ranks in opposition to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.

Daimler Trucks Predicts Recovery From Crisis May Take Years Daimler AG, the world’s largest truckmaker, said worldwide demand for heavy vehicles may take years to return to levels from before the recession.

Myners Says U.K. Banks Must Disclose More Pay Details (Update1) The U.K. intends to force banks to increase disclosure on compensation, lowering the bar on reporting bonuses to 500,000 pounds ($746,000) from 1 million pounds, Treasury Minister Paul Myners said.

Barclays Faces ‘Reluctant’ Investors for Possible U.S. Purchase Barclays Plc, Britain’s second- largest bank, may struggle to convince investors and regulators if it wants to add a U.S. consumer unit to its North American investment bank, according to shareholders.

Man United Champions League Game ‘The Big One’ for Bondholders Manchester United bonds may drop as much as two cents on the dollar if the English soccer league titleholders lose to AC Milan in tonight’s European Champions League game, said Jonathan Moore at Evolution Securities.

UN Carbon Official Sees Limited Offset Growth, Higher Prices Credits from projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions under a UN program will increase by about a fifth this year, a member of the oversight board said, less than analysts have forecast.

Pink Floyd, Queen May Ditch EMI as Buyout ‘Implodes’ (Update1) Pink Floyd and Queen, bands that have been with EMI Music for about four decades, may head for the door, according to two people familiar with their talks, as concern mounts about the U.K. record label’s finances.

Russia Eurobonds Yield Under 5% for First Time Before Debt Sale Yields on Russian dollar bonds fell to less than 5 percent for the first time as oil rallied and investors’ appetite for riskier assets increased ahead of the country’s first foreign-currency bond sale in 12 years.

EMI Music Says CEO Leoni-Sceti to Step Down From Record Label EMI Music, the U.K. recording company controlled by Guy Hands’s Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd., said Chief Executive Officer Elio Leoni-Sceti will leave the company on March 31.

Dollar Optimism Soars to 18-Month High as U.S. Outpaces Europe Investors are the most bullish on the dollar since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on speculation the U.S. economy will expand at a faster pace than in Europe and Japan, a survey of Bloomberg users showed.

Global Confidence Dips as Greece’s Deficit Undermines Recovery Confidence in the world economy dropped for a second month in March amid concern the fallout from Greece’s budget crisis will undermine the global recovery, according to a Bloomberg survey of users on six continents.

Investors Turn Bullish on Stocks as Concern About Greece Wanes Investor confidence returned to stocks from New York to Paris to Tokyo on growing signs that the budget crisis in Greece won’t derail the global economy.

Treasury-Bund Yield Spread May Double This Year, F&C Says The premium investors demand to hold Treasuries over German bunds may double in 2010 as Europe’s central bank is forced to keep interest rates on hold while the Federal Reserve prepares to tighten, F&C Netherlands BV said.