Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) — South Korea’s economy expanded in the third quarter at the fastest pace in seven years, stoking speculation the central bank will raise borrowing costs. Gross domestic product increased 2.9 percent from the second quarter, when it expanded 2.6 percent, the central bank said in Seoul today. That was the fastest pace [...]

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Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) – New Jerseytaxpayers are sending almost $1 million a month to a partnership run by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for protection against rising interest costs on bonds that the state redeemed more than a year ago.

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By Dakin Campbell and Michael McKee Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) — U.S. regulators closed more than 100 banks in a single year for the first time since 1992, signaling the financial crisis hasn’t abated for lenders struggling with mounting losses tied to commercial real estate. Seven banks — three in Florida and one each in Georgia, Wisconsin, [...]

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By Seah Chiang Nee. Sept 12, 2009 “We sat through a talk yesterday on land investment in Birmingham and was shocked when my friend immediately ploughed in S$25,000 to buy a 1,076 sq ft parcel,” an Internet surfer recently wrote. “It had no planning permit and might take seven years to get one,” he added. [...]

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cnbc.com, 21 Oct 2009 The dollar slumped to a new 14-month low Wednesday, and it could continue floundering well into next year. The green back was trading at $1.50 to the euro Wednesday, a key psychological milestone. It also fell to a level near 75 on the dollar index, well below its year high of [...]

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Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) – Morgan Stanleyreported its first profit in a year, surpassing analysts’ estimates as underwriting fees climbed and an increase in risk-taking boosted trading revenue to the highest in 12 months. Third-quarter earnings fell to $757 million, or 38 cents a share, from $7.7 billion, or $6.97, a year earlier, the New York-based company said [...]

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Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) — Builders in the U.S. broke ground on fewer homes than forecast and wholesale prices unexpectedly fell in September, giving the Federal Reserve more reason to keep interest rates low to ensure an economic recovery. Housing starts rose 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 590,000 from a 587,000 pace in August [...]

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Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) — A 40 percent jump in Wall Street bonuses this year may bring relief to New York City and Albany as the state and its biggest metropolis struggle with a combined $14 billion in budget deficits this fiscal year and next. New York investment houses will dole out $26 billion in bonus [...]

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This article is the winner in the university category of the Plus new writers award 2009. On a sunny morning in 2001, a piece of investment plan landed on the desk of Dick Fuld, the then Chief Executive of Lehman Brothers. The document, compiled by a team of maths and physics PhDs, included a calculation to [...]

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SHE’s a 27-year-old whose job it is to advise bank clients and sell them investment products. Her job title is bank relationship manager. But, going by her own investments, she now jokingly refers to herself as a “relationship damager”. Reason: She’s lost about $90,000 of her own money in the stock market. And she managed [...]

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