US-BUSINESS Summary
Asia shares gain but Nikkei hits 4-month low
HONG KONG - Asian stocks climbed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised U.S. growth forecasts for 2010 but Japanese shares fell to a four-month low on worries about capital raisings and government economic policy. The dollar fell to a seven-week low 88.20 yen in morning Tokyo trade as Japanese exporters sold the U.S. currency and the greenback also fell against other currencies.
AIG board OKs CEO pay, as Benmosche agrees to stay
NEW YORK - American International Group Inc <AIG.N>, the insurer that received billions of dollars in a U.S. bailout, has been authorized by its board to pay Chief Executive Robert Benmosche's $7 million compensation, after it laid to rest concerns that he may quit the post. The approval, which the company announced on Tuesday, means that AIG can pay Benmosche an already agreed annual salary of $3 million in cash and $4 million in fully-vested AIG stock.
Aware of policy risks, Fed sees firmer growth
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve officials are increasingly confident the U.S. economic recovery will be durable, but do not see employment or inflation picking up soon, minutes from their November meeting showed. Senior Fed officials, meeting on November 3-4, also expressed concern their plans to keep interest rates low for a prolonged period could have negative repercussions, including possible speculative activity in financial markets.
World Bank: Raising rates quickly may cause slump: report
SINGAPORE - Swift interest rate hikes aimed at containing inflation in product and asset prices could cause another downturn in the slowly recovering economies of the United States and Europe, the head of the World Bank said. "Waiting for bubbles to burst and then cleaning up the aftermath is now a new lesson of what not to do," World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in an article published in Wednesday's Financial Times.
Starbucks sees China as next key market after U.S.
SHANGHAI - Starbucks <SBUX.O> will see China become the company's next major market after the United States in the near future, the firm's China chairman said on Wednesday. "It's absolutely very, very important. This has really become our second home market," said Wang Jinlong, the company's head for Greater China.
Privately held Facebook sets up dual-class stock
SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook has established a dual-class stock structure to ensure voting control by existing owners, but has no plans to become a public company, it said on Tuesday. "We did introduce a dual class stock structure because existing shareholders wanted to maintain control over voting on certain issues, to help ensure the company can continue to focus on the long term to build a great business," said Larry Yu, a Facebook spokesman. "Facebook has no plans to go public at this time."
Microsoft CFO to leave, look for bigger job
NEW YORK - Microsoft Corp's <MSFT.O> Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell is to leave the company at the end of the year, indicating that he is looking for a bigger job at another company. Liddell, 51, has been CFO at the world's largest software company since May 2005, after joining from paper and packaging maker International Paper Co <IP.N>, where he was also CFO.
J Crew full-price sales spur profit beat, shares up
SAN FRANCISCO - J Crew Group Inc <JCG.N> reported a quarterly net profit far above Wall Street estimates due to strong autumn sales of clothing and expanded profit margins from depressed year-ago levels. The shares of the upscale apparel retailer rose 7 percent in after-hours trading.
Stocks dip on revised GDP; Fed's view curbs loss
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday on lackluster economic data in a session marked by low volume and choppy trading, but losses eased after the Federal Reserve raised its expectations for growth in 2010. Stocks fell early in the session as revised government data on gross domestic product showed the U.S. economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the third quarter.
FDIC fund falls into red, Bair urges lending
WASHINGTON - The government-run fund that safeguards U.S. bank deposits tumbled to a negative balance of $8.2 billion in the third quarter, as the number of problem banks surged by a third to 552. It was the first shortfall since 1992 when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp was dealing with the failure of hundreds of small savings institutions known as thrifts.