Finance

London, 2 July 2008 -- JPMorgan today announced an agreement with Shell Asset Management Company (SAMCo), the asset management arm of Royal Dutch Shell, enabling a global provision to service Shell corporate pension and insurance plans with total assets in excess of $70 billion. With this relationship, JPMorgan launches a range of sophisticated services for SAMCo and participating Shell pension funds, including fund accounting, fund administration and certain securities lending services all from segregated and/or pooled accounts that will prove to be a new market milestone.    » read more »

May 29, 2008 - BOSTON - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office reached a settlement with New England Figure Skating Club, of Marlborough, relating to its financial practices. In the settlement reached late last week, the Club acknowledged that its record-keeping practices were inadequate and that it had failed to maintain accurate documentation of income and expenses.    » read more »

May 8, 2008 -- On the Today Show this morning, Cindy McCain defended the McCain campaign's decision to withhold her tax returns, saying they would never make her tax returns public--not even if she becomes First Lady. [See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXDV2kZX_MU]

John and Cindy McCain: Photo by Chris Dunn (CC)

Despite the accountability Americans expect from their elected officials and McCain's own calls for openness and transparency in government, John McCain has only released two years of his tax returns. No nominee from either party since Ronald Reagan in 1980 has disclosed that little information.    » read more »

Explores Challenges Policymakers Face in Seeking to Limit the Impact of Financial Turbulence

April 21, 2008 -- Europe is facing slower growth as a result of protracted financial turbulence, high inflation and spillovers from an expected mild recession in the United States.

IMF headquarters: Washington, D.C.

The IMF's Regional Outlook (REO) for Europe released today projects economic growth in advanced European economies to slow significantly over the next two years to 1.5 percent in 2008 and 1.4 percent in 2009, from 2.8 percent in 2007.

In Emerging Europe, growth is also expected to moderate, to 5.5 percent in 2008 and 5.2 percent in 2009, down from 6.9 percent in 2007.    » read more »

April 21, 2008 -- John McCain says that if he became president he would be "changing the way we do business in Washington" and put us "on a path to a balanced budget." But in reality, a McCain presidency would give us four more years of the same fiscal recklessness we got with the Bush Administration.

John McCain: Photo by Why Tuesday (CC)    » read more »

Alignment with Oracle brand reflects synergies of scale, resources, expertise and efficiency
MUMBAI, 03-APR-2008 -- The Board of Directors of i-flex solutions Ltd. (Reuters: IFLX.BO & IFLX.NS) at its meeting held today in Mumbai, approved a proposal to change the name of i-flex solutions Ltd. to Oracle Financial Services Limited, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

The proposed new name reflects the company's close strategic and operational alignment with its parent, Oracle Corporation, which owns 81 percent of the company. Oracle is the #1 enterprise software provider and counts 10 of the top 10 banks, insurance companies and securities firms among its more than 8,500 financial services customers across 145 countries.    » read more »

New research shows small and medium businesses in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland are ready to embrace new technologies

BUDAPEST, Hungary; PRAGUE, Czech Rep. & WARSAW, Poland - April 3, 2008 - Advanced information and communications technology is a key differentiator that can help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) grow their business, become more competitive and operate more efficiently within international supply chains. As part of Cisco's continued commitment to Central and Eastern Europe, Cisco CapitalTM today announced the availability of its EasyLease financing program through local finance organisations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.    » read more »

(As Prepared for Delivery)

April 2, 2008 -- Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this important and timely hearing. In recent weeks, we’ve seen a widespread breakdown in the financial markets. A massive housing bubble is collapsing. One of our nation’s largest investment banks nearly collapsed, and the Federal Reserve has put hundreds of billions of dollars on the line to preserve economic stability.

The crisis has had far-reaching effects on the rest of the economy as well, taking its toll on the job market and shaking the credit

market. 7.4 million Americans are now unemployed, and two million families are at risk of foreclosure.    » read more »

ACES, AGIA and Budget Reserves Credited

April 2, 2008, Juneau, Alaska – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced that national rating agency Standard & Poor’s is increasing its rating on the State of Alaska from AA to AA+. The last time the State’s rating was upgraded was on August 5, 1992 when Standard & Poor’s shifted from AA- to AA.

Trans-Alaska oil pipeline over the Tanana River: Photo by Frank K. (CC)    » read more »

March 31, 2008 -- Today’s Department of Treasury blueprint for regulatory reform broaches the issue of much needed financial market reform. However, it fails to provide either the transparency or regulation required for genuine financial market integrity. Nor does it do anything to resolve the current financial and economic crisis.

The Department of Treasury proposes both weakening the SEC’s enforcement philosophy and substantially stripping it of the power to regulate investment banks. That’s a mistake for our nation’s economy, and a mistake for America’s working families. Investors - - including workers with pensions and families with college savings - - need a strong SEC with comprehensive regulatory authority over the capital markets.    » read more »

March 31, 2008 -- Chicago, IL - Senator Barack Obama released the following statement this morning on the resignation of HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson:

"Secretary Jackson's resignation amid a housing crisis and charges of cronyism serves as a stark reminder of what's at stake in this election. It's harder than ever for working families to achieve the American Dream, and that's why we need a president who will cut ties with the special interests so that we can implement a plan that provides real relief to homeowners and prevents the lobbyists from writing the laws that regulate them.    » read more »

March 30, 2008 -- Chicago, IL -- Senator Barack Obama issued the following statement today in response to reports that two Countrywide executives, who are accused of exacerbating the ongoing home mortgage crisis, are slated to receive multi-million dollar payouts tied to the company's performance during their tenure:

"All across this country, we've seen how it's becoming harder and harder for working families to make ends meet. That's because for far too long, the rules in our economy have been written to benefit Wall Street at the expense of Main Street.    » read more »

Member of Senate Banking Committee says it is a step in the right direction but does not go nearly far enough

March 31, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – Today, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced his plan to increase oversight over financial markets. U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Banking Committee, released the following statement on the plan:    » read more »

March 31, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced a proposal by the Bush Administration to overhaul regulation of the financial markets:

"Congressional Democrats will continue to work to provide additional assistance to millions of families at risk of losing their homes, bring much-needed relief to consumers feeling the impact of the economic downturn, and ensure meaningful regulation of the financial system.    » read more »

March 31, 2008 -- "Today, Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson has offered a balanced and thoughtful approach to modernizing our financial system. Secretary Paulson rightly recognizes that we can help mitigate future market turmoil with smarter regulation, but that we must resist the growing political pressure to rush headlong into ill-considered regulations that would stifle innovation, drive jobs overseas, and hurt America's economic health.    » read more »