Business and Finance news

The Philippine central bank may cut its benchmark interest rate to a 17-year low to prop up an economy battered by falling exports amid the global recession.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will lower the rate it pays lenders for overnight deposits a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 percent, according to 10 of […]

Mounting layoffs of temporary workers as the recession deepens have catapulted unemployment to the top of Japan’s political agenda in an election year, raising fears of a regulatory backlash that could drive firms offshore.
The timing of the debate, which is intensifying as lawmakers gear up for an election that could see the long-ruling Liberal […]

The financial crisis is recasting the league table of economies, with the U.K. sliding behind its European neighbors and China gaining on its richer rivals, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research Ltd.
A recession and a decline in the sterling’s value pushed the U.K.’s gross domestic product below France’s this year […]

Finance officials from the Group of 20 nations will press their European colleagues to join a coordinated stimulus plan to tackle an impending recession when they meet in Sao Paulo this weekend.
U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday urged countries to heed the International Monetary Fund's call for coordinated action, even as other European […]

Wells Fargo said Thursday that it priced its $11 billion stock offering at $27 per share.
Wells will spend the proceeds to help pay for its planned purchase of Wachovia (NYSE: WB). The bank sold 407.5 million shares in the offering, which includes an option for the underwriters to purchase an additional 61 million shares to […]

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's decision to seize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may choke off the biggest source of funding for financial companies suffering from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.
When Paulson took control of Fannie and Freddie on Sept. 7, he scrapped dividends on the preferred stock of the government- sponsored […]

Less than one-third of U.S. banks will be fully compliant with the U.S. government’s identity theft prevention rules by the Nov. 1 deadline, according to a new study.
With the deadline looming, research by Needham, Mass.-based TowerGroup found that many U.S. financial services institutions have mistakenly considered compliance with the “Red Flags Rules,” as they are […]

Manufacturing in China contracted for a second month in August, underscoring the risk of a slump in the world's fourth-biggest economy.
The Purchasing Managers' Index was a seasonally adjusted 48.4, unchanged from July, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today in an e-mailed statement.
China has halted gains by the yuan and […]

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; […]

Hawaii interisland airline go! announced Wednesday it will begin charging $25 for a second checked bag.
The fee, which will take effect July 15, is to help cover rising fuel costs, the company said. Go! is Hawaii's second largest interisland carrier, well behind Hawaiian Airlines, which has about 85 percent of the market. […]