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    • NFIB business optimism index rises in April

      Reuters - Tue, May 8, 2012 7:39 AM EDT

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An index of confidence at small U.S. businesses rose in April to its highest in over a year as companies stepped up plans for hiring and investing, a survey released on Tuesday showed. The National Federation of Independent Business said its Small Business Optimism Index rose 2 percentage points to 94.5, its highest since February 2011. Pushing the labor component of the index higher, more firms reported they were planning to hire in the future. "Hopefully, this performance will hold in the coming months," said William Dunkelberg, chief economist at the NFIB. ... More »NFIB business optimism index rises in April

    • Factory growth best in 10 months; bolsters outlook

      Reuters - Tue, May 1, 2012 1:52 PM EDT

      NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manufacturing grew in April at the strongest rate in 10 months, easing concerns the economy had lost momentum at the start of the second quarter. The Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday its index of national factory activity rose to 54.8 from 53.4 in March. The figure topped expectations for the reading to decline to 53.0 and was also above the top end of forecasts in a Reuters poll. A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the manufacturing sector, while a number above 50 indicates expansion. ... More »Factory growth best in 10 months; bolsters outlook

    • Data points to weaker economic momentum

      Reuters - Mon, Apr 30, 2012 2:27 PM EDT

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy appeared to downshift as it entered the second quarter, with consumers increasing their spending only modestly last month and a gauge of business activity in the Midwest falling sharply in April. Consumer spending rose 0.1 percent in March from a month earlier when taking inflation into account, the Commerce Department said on Monday. Separately, a report from the private Institute for Supply Management-Chicago showed business cooled much more than expected in the Midwest during April. ... More »Data points to weaker economic momentum

    • Small business hiring takes step back in April

      Reuters - Mon, Apr 30, 2012 12:02 AM EDT

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Small business hiring slowed considerably in the April and employees saw a reduction in their hours, an independent survey showed on Monday, adding to signs of weakening in labor market conditions. Businesses added 40,000 new jobs, a step back from the 75,000 positions created in March, according to Intuit, a payrolls processing firm. The average workweek for small business employees dipped 0.14 percent. The pull back in hiring by small businesses is the latest indication that job growth is losing some momentum. ... More »Small business hiring takes step back in April

    • China's Big Four banks hit by slowdown, costs

      Reuters - Fri, Apr 27, 2012 8:18 AM EDT

      HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's Big Four banks' reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Friday, with the sector facing growing pressure from a slowing economy and rising funding costs. Regulators have also closed in on the banks' freewheeling practice of charging fees and commissions, after the volume of complaints from customers and politicians grew louder in the last year. ... More »China's Big Four banks hit by slowdown, costs

    • Small banks in bailout pool under pressure

      Reuters - Wed, Apr 25, 2012 12:07 AM EDT

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 100 smaller banks were able to tap government programs to pay off bailout money they received during the financial crisis but those still owing face a perilous future, a federal watchdog said on Wednesday. In its latest quarterly report to Congress, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, known as SIGTARP, noted that as of March 31 there were still 351 regional and community banks in the bailout program. ... More »Small banks in bailout pool under pressure

    • BofA replacing CIO with consumer banking executive

      Reuters - Wed, Apr 11, 2012 6:29 PM EDT

      (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp's chief information officer is leaving the company and will be replaced by a consumer banking executive, the bank said on Tuesday. Marc Gordon, the departing CIO, said in a statement that he was looking forward to a "personal change in direction" but didn't disclose his future plans. He joined the second-largest U.S. bank in 2004 from electronics retail Best Buy Co Inc . Last year, he announced a number of key hires, including a new chief information security officer and new chief data officer. ... More »BofA replacing CIO with consumer banking executive

    • CIT CEO Thain's 2011 pay rose 23 percent to $8.2 million

      Reuters - Thu, Apr 5, 2012 6:02 PM EDT

      (Reuters) - CIT Group Inc, the small-business lender that has been recovering from a 2009 bankruptcy, gave its chairman and chief executive John Thain a 23 percent rise in pay to $8.2 million in 2011, the company said on Thursday. Thain, the former chief executive of Merrill Lynch and NYSE Euronext, was given a bonus incentive of $1.9 million in cash - 125 percent of his target - for exceeding many of his performance goals, the New York-based company's compensation committee wrote in CIT's 2012 proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ... More »CIT CEO Thain's 2011 pay rose 23 percent to $8.2 million

    • Small business lending barely grew in February

      Reuters - Tue, Apr 3, 2012 9:25 AM EDT

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lending to small business in the United States barely grew in February, supporting the view that economic growth was lackluster at the start of the year. The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, which measures the overall volume of financing to U.S. small businesses, edged up to 98.3 in February from 98.2 a month earlier, PayNet said on Tuesday. Borrowing rose 14 percent from a year earlier, the lowest 12-month growth rate since September. "It's pretty uninspired," PayNet founder Bill Phelan said in an interview. ... More »Small business lending barely grew in February

    • Greek economy to slump 5 pct this year: IOBE think tank

      Reuters - Mon, Apr 2, 2012 2:00 PM EDT

      ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's most influential think tank projected the economy would contract by 5 percent this year, taking a more pessimistic view than the country's international lenders and casting a cloud over government efforts to meet fiscal targets. Athens is set to apply more fiscal austerity to shore up its finances as part of a new rescue package it agreed recently with its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund to avert a chaotic default. Its continued funding will hinge on meeting targets. ... More »Greek economy to slump 5 pct this year: IOBE think tank

    • Consumer confidence wanes, inflation a concern

      Reuters - Tue, Mar 27, 2012 1:52 PM EDT

      NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans were more worried about inflation in March than at any time in the last 10 months and consumer confidence waned in the wake of higher gasoline prices. Still, data on Tuesday suggested consumers did not feel the economic recovery was losing momentum, and their view of their present situation rose to the highest level since September 2008, the heart of the financial crisis. A separate report on Tuesday showed U.S. ... More »Consumer confidence wanes, inflation a concern

    • Nervous banks hold back Europe's revival strategy

      Reuters - Mon, Mar 26, 2012 7:11 AM EDT

      (Reuters) - Among the piles of papers on one European diplomat's desk in Brussels is a memo with the words "growth" and "jobs" scrawled in blue ink, followed by a large question mark. "I think we're missing something," said the diplomat as he sucked his pen. "There's a lot of talk about growth strategies, but what about the banks? They are still not lending." When EU finance ministers meet in Copenhagen on Friday, banks - and their reluctance to lend - will be high on the agenda as Europe looks to its economies at a time of austerity. ... More »Nervous banks hold back Europe's revival strategy

    • BofA testing investment advisers in mortgage offices

      Reuters - Fri, Mar 23, 2012 11:25 AM EDT

      CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp is putting investment advisers in mortgage offices, an unusual move that shows how far banks will go to "cross-sell" products and services to their customers. The pilot program, in seven offices in California, is part of the second-largest U.S. bank's effort to target its more profitable "preferred" customers, who have $50,000 to $250,000 in investable assets. For Bank of America, the pilot program could bring new revenue and aid larger efforts to turn around its disastrous Countrywide Financial mortgage unit, which it acquired in ... More »BofA testing investment advisers in mortgage offices

    • Regulator questions bill to ease capital raising

      Reuters - Sat, Mar 17, 2012 2:37 AM EDT

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top regulator on Friday slammed a House bill to boost small business growth, adding to the chorus of critics who appear poised to derail passage of a rare bi-partisan bid to spur growth in an election year. The House of Representatives last week overwhelmingly approved the JOBS Act to allow smaller companies to raise capital more easily and offer public stock offerings by relaxing filing requirements. But U.S. ... More »Regulator questions bill to ease capital raising

    • Senate Democrats agree to House bill on startups

      Reuters - Tue, Mar 13, 2012 6:54 PM EDT

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate, eager to notch an election-year victory by boosting small business growth, is moving toward prompt passage of a measure that overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives last week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said on Tuesday he would avoid a prolonged debate and accept the legislation that passed the Republican-controlled House by a vote of 390-23 last week. The bill aims to encourage job creation by making it easier for small firms to raise capital. But it is not expected to make a major dent in the high U.S. unemployment rate. ... More »Senate Democrats agree to House bill on startups

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