Business and Finance news

Grand View Hospital and Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network are opening their $9 million collaborative medical facility, the Upper Bucks Health & Diagnostic Center, Wednesday afternoon.
The 38,063-square-foot center in Quakertown, Pa., brings together primary and specialty-care services offered by each hospital.
Among the services are primary care for children and adults; obstetrics and gynecology services; […]

The International Monetary Fund said there's no end in sight to the U.S. housing recession and warned that deteriorating credit conditions for consumers and banks may prolong a period of slow economic growth.
“At the moment, a bottom for the housing market is not visible,'' the IMF said in its Global Financial Stability Report, […]

The fastest inflation in 17 years and a fourth straight quarter of U.S. profit declines are turning debt sold by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the favorites of the world's biggest bond investors.
Pacific Investment Management Co., T. Rowe Price Group Inc., RiverSource Institutional Advisors and U.S. Bancorp's FAF Advisors, which oversee more […]

Bank of Japan board member Atsushi Mizuno said interest rates should remain on hold for now because rising commodity costs are crimping domestic demand and slowing economic growth.
“The fog hanging over Japan's economy will stick around for the time being,'' Mizuno said today in a speech to business executives in Aomori, northern Japan. […]

First Hawaiian Bank said Monday its long-term credit rating from Standard & Poor's Rating Services has been affirmed as "AA-".
The bank said it was found by Standard & Poor's to have consistent earnings, a diversified loan portfolio and strong asset quality. First Hawaiian's long-term credit rating was upgraded from "A+" to "AA-" last […]

Colorado ranked sixth in the nation for an infusion of venture capital investments during the second quarter, according to a new report.
The MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data from Thomson Reuters, shows Colorado companies collected 2.5 percent of the nearly $7.4 billion invested across the country.
Colorado’s ranking trails […]

Watsco saw its second quarter earnings climb 14 percent as sales on replacement parts and high-efficiency air conditioning systems increased.
The Coconut Grove-based air-conditioning and heating equipment distributor said it earned $26.1 million, or 94 cents a share, on revenue of $509.8 million. In the prior-year quarter, it earned $22.9 million, or 82 cents […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke abandoned his June assessment that the threat of an economic downturn had diminished, telling lawmakers that growth and inflation risks are increasing.
There are “significant downside risks to the outlook for growth,'' and “upside risks to the inflation outlook have intensified,'' Bernanke said in semiannual testimony on the […]

Online video and audio entertainment site Mevio Inc. raised $15 million in its third round of venture funding.
Crosslink Capital led the round, while Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital, Sherpalo Ventures and DAG Ventures also gave money.
The company used to be named PodShow. Ron Bloom, who started it with […]

Americans signed fewer contracts to buy previously owned homes in May for the third month in four, a sign home prices have yet to touch bottom, economists said before a private report today.
The index of pending home resales fell 3 percent after a 6.3 percent gain in April, according to the median forecast […]