Goldman agonized over pay cuts as profits suffered

(Reuters) - Top executives at Goldman Sachs have been considering deep cuts to staffing levels and pay for at least two years, but feared too many layoffs would leave the firm unprepared for an eventual pickup in business, people familiar with the bank said.They instead chipped away at staff levels and focused on non-personnel expenses that are less painful to cut.But investors pressured the bank...

Read More..

Consumer bureau issues rules to clean up mortgage servicing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced new rules for mortgage servicers on Thursday to help prevent the sloppy practices that aggravated the U.S. foreclosure crisis.Mortgage servicers collect monthly payments from borrowers on behalf of the investors that own the loans. That often involves letting borrowers know about the status of loans, modifying the loans...

Read More..

Feds finalize protections for mortgage borrowers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government's consumer lending watchdog finalized new rules Thursday aimed at protecting homeowners from shoddy service and unexpected fees charged by companies that collect their monthly mortgage payments.Mortgage servicing companies will be required to provide clear monthly billing statements, warn borrowers before interest rate hikes and actively help them avoid foreclosure,...

Read More..

iPhone demand said to be ‘robust,’ recent cuts don’t reflect weak demand

Following recent reports from Nikkei and The Wall Street Journal that suggested Apple (AAPL) slashed iPhone 5 component orders in half due to weak demand,  the company’s stock fell significantly and opened below $500 for the first time in nearly a year. The reports have been called into question, however, with many believing they do not represent true consumer interest. Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee...

Read More..

Facebook unveils social search feature

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new search feature that's designed to entice people to spend more time on his company's website and will put the world's largest online social network more squarely in competition with Google and other rivals such as Yelp and LinkedIn.Called "graph search," the new service unveiled Tuesday lets users quickly sift through their social...

Read More..

Toys and video games hook up on new Disney game platform

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Children will be able to move plastic toys that look like pirate Captain Jack Sparrow and other movie characters into a virtual world on a computer or TV screen in a game platform Walt Disney Co unveiled on Tuesday in hopes of boosting revenue at a loss-making division.Disney's new "Infinity" concept, to be released in June, comes with games inspired by "Monsters University,"...

Read More..

49ers rout Packers to book spot in NFC title game

(Reuters) - Quarterback Colin Kaepernick set an NFL rushing record as he outplayed reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a 45-31 playoff win over the visiting Green Bay Packers on Saturday.Fueled by a sensational 181 yards gained on the ground by second-year player Kaepernick, the 49ers broke the game open in the second half for an emphatic win that put...

Read More..

NFL-Bold move pays off with record-breaking Kaepernick

Jan 12 (Reuters) - San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh went against the book when he stayed with second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick as starting quarterback even after regular Alex Smith was fit to return.Kaepernick made the move look like a stroke of genius as he wrote a brilliant opening chapter to his playoff career with a record-breaking performance in a 45-31 victory over the visiting...

Read More..

Bold move pays off with record-breaking Kaepernick

(Reuters) - San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh went against the book when he stayed with second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick as starting quarterback even after regular Alex Smith was fit to return.Kaepernick made the move look like a stroke of genius as he wrote a brilliant opening chapter to his playoff career with a record-breaking performance in a 45-31 victory over the visiting Green...

Read More..

Seahawks coach hails team's spirit after crushing loss

(Reuters) - Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll hailed his team's never-say-die attitude after they fell just short of an extraordinary playoff comeback against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.The Seahawks erased a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit to grab the lead with 31 seconds left but that proved just enough time for Atlanta to win it with a 49-yard kick from Matt Bryant."I can't imagine that anyone...

Read More..

Falcons survive Seattle rally in thriller

(Reuters) - The top-seeded Atlanta Falcons needed a last-minute field goal to claim a nerve-jangling 30-28 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday despite squandering a 20-point lead in an exhilarating fourth quarter.Atlanta will now host the San Francisco 49ers on January 20 in the National Football Conference championship game with a berth in the Super Bowl on the line.Matt Bryant's 49-yard field...

Read More..

Brady powers Patriots past Texans into AFC title game

(Reuters) - Tom Brady set a record for most playoff wins by a quarterback in leading the New England Patriots to a 41-28 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday to move one win away from a second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl.Brady, who surpassed Hall of Famer Joe Montana with his 17th playoff win, completed 25-of-40 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns in the divisional playoff, setting...

Read More..

PREVIEW-NFL-Texans' Schaub facing big test against Patriots

Jan 11 (Reuters) - Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub starts his first road playoff game, at the New England Patriots on Sunday, with the pressure on.The Patriots, corning in from a bye week, loom as favorites in the American Football Conference (AFC) divisional round clash as they look to go one better than last season when they lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.New England crushed...

Read More..

Texans' Schaub facing big test against Patriots

(Reuters) - Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub starts his first road playoff game, at the New England Patriots on Sunday, with the pressure on.The Patriots, corning in from a bye week, loom as favorites in the American Football Conference (AFC) divisional round clash as they look to go one better than last season when they lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.New England crushed Houston...

Read More..

Chiefs announce coordinators, assistant coaches

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid is wasting about as much time putting together his first coaching staff in Kansas City as he did in finding his new job.The Chiefs coach announced Friday that former Eagles coach Doug Pederson would be his offensive coordinator and longtime Jets assistant Bob Sutton the defensive coordinator, along with the majority of the staff Reid hopes will turn around a 2-14...

Read More..

Analysis: In battle for the car, Sirius faces fight from Pandora

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sirius XM Radio Inc's grip on drivers is under an increasing threat as the availability of Internet connections in more cars is helping Pandora Media Inc counter some of its rival's big selling points.In a sign of how important drivers are to the two companies, each of their top executives made the trek to Las Vegas this week to court automakers at the annual Consumer Electronics...

Read More..

CES 2013: Shhh, don’t tell, but Las Vegas likes secrets, even at a trade show

LAS VEGAS—In a leather banquette in a sparkling Las Vegas club, a knockout blonde discreetly kicked the Louis Vuitton bag at her feet.“It’s in there,” she whispered to me, conspiratorially. I followed this dame’s fishnet-clad legs down to her shoe’s pointed toe. Beautiful bag. “I call it the football,” she said. “I’m not going to bring it out yet.”Leslie Bradshaw’s honey-colored Cali perfection brings...

Read More..

Whitman says it will take five years to turn HP around

Whitman says it will take five years to turn HP aroundTo understand what an unholy mess HP (HPQ) is in right now, consider that CEO Meg Whitman says she needs more time to fix the company than she would have had to fix the entire California economy if she’d been elected governor. In a long Businessweek article about HP’s current turmoil, Whitman says that it will take her five years to execute her...

Read More..

New York governor wants casinos to spur upstate economy

(Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed on Wednesday dozens of new initiatives for the state, including new casinos and other measures aimed at helping upstate areas regain their financial footing after decades of economic decline.Cuomo, in his annual State of the State address, proposed locating up to three casinos upstate to increase tourism and provide some local property tax relief...

Read More..

ECB to hold fire as euro zone economy shows glimmers of hope

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.75 percent on Thursday, refraining from a cut as the euro zone economy shows some signs of stabilising and inflation still tops its target.The 17-country euro zone is in recession, but recent data points to some stabilisation, and ECB President Mario Draghi could strike a slightly more positive...

Read More..

Asia stocks rise on positive start to US earnings

BANGKOK (AP) — A positive start to U.S. corporate earnings season helped boost Asian stock markets Thursday.Major regional benchmarks rose on the heels of a handful of better-than-expected results that also lifted Wall Street.Consumer products maker Helen of Troy, whose brands include Dr. Scholl's and Vidal Sassoon, reported a 15 percent profit increase. Electronic payments processor Global Payments...

Read More..

Venezuela postpones inauguration for cancer-stricken Chavez

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will postpone the inauguration of President Hugo Chavez for a new term due to health problems, the government said on Tuesday, another sign the socialist leader's cancer may be bringing an end to his 14 years in power.The 58-year-old former soldier who has dominated the South American OPEC nation since 1999 has not been heard from since surgery on December 11 in Cuba...

Read More..

Officials: US may leave no troops in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration gave the first explicit signal Tuesday that it might leave no troops in Afghanistan after December 2014, an option that defies the Pentagon's view that thousands of troops may be needed to keep a lid on al-Qaida and to strengthen Afghan forces."The U.S. does not have an inherent objective of 'X' number of troops in Afghanistan," said Ben Rhodes, a White...

Read More..

Rwanda opposes use of drones by the U.N. in eastern Congo

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Rwanda on Tuesday opposed the use of surveillance drones in eastern Congo as proposed by the United Nations until there is a full assessment of their use, saying it did not want Africa to become a laboratory for foreign intelligence devices.Envoys said U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the Security Council during a closed-door session that the U.N mission in the...

Read More..

U.S. health cost growth slowed in 2011 but with signs of pickup

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. healthcare spending rose at a historically low rate of 3.9 percent for the third consecutive year in 2011, but showed underlying signs of acceleration as the economy recovered from recession, the Obama administration said on Monday.The report, released by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and published in the journal Health Affairs, said the sprawling...

Read More..

UK stores suffer lacklustre Christmas sales - BRC

LONDON (Reuters) - British retailers suffered from lacklustre sales last month, as a tough economy limited consumer spending in the run-up to Christmas when many stores make most of their profits, a leading trade body said on Tuesday.The British Retail Consortium said the total value of goods sold was up just 1.5 percent from December 2011, while on a like-for-like basis which excludes new floorspace...

Read More..

Asia stocks down ahead of US corporate earnings

 Asian stock markets headed lower Tuesday as investors turned cautious before U.S. earnings season kicks off this week.Investors will get a feel for corporate America's outlook as earnings reports start coming. Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. will launch the reporting season for the fourth quarter of 2012 on Tuesday after U.S. markets close. Events during the quarter such as Superstorm Sandy, the...

Read More..

AP Interview: Palestinian PM warns of cash crisis

The Palestinian self-rule government is in "extreme jeopardy" because of an unprecedented financial crisis, largely because Arab countries have failed to send hundreds of millions of dollars in promised aid, the Palestinian prime minister said Sunday.The cash crunch has gradually worsened in recent years, and the Palestinian Authority now has reached the point of not being able to pay the salaries...

Read More..