Anadarko blasts BP for ‘reckless actions’

Anadarko Petroleum, a minority partner in the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico, blamed BP for "reckless" behavior, seeking to distance itself from the worst oil spill in US history.
"The mounting evidence clearly demonstrates that this tragedy was preventable and the direct result of BP’s reckless decisions and actions," Anadarko chief executive […]

Chrysler’s coming product offensive

Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne must have gotten tired of all those questions about Chrysler’s empty product pipeline.
Because in a conference call with analysts and the media this week, he laid out Chrysler’s launch schedule for the rest of 2010 and dropped some hints about 2011.
If the pipeline isn’t exactly gushing, it is pumping a […]

St. Louis-area foreclosures ease in first quarter

Evidence continues to mount that the mortgage crisis may be easing.
The number of houses facing foreclosure in the St. Louis region dropped to its lowest level in at least two years in the first quarter, according to numbers out today from RealtyTrac.
While still high by historic standards, the number of St. Louis-area […]

Calpine narrows 4Q loss

Despite lower revenue due to sharply lower commodity prices and power generation nationwide, Calpine Corp. on Thursday said it had reduced its losses in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to the year-earlier period.
Houston-based Calpine (NYSE: CPN) reported a net loss of $43 million, or 9 cents a share, for the three months ended Dec. […]

Foreclosures drop in January - but don’t get excited

First, the good news: Foreclosure filings dropped nearly 10% between December and January.
That’s a total of 315,716 notices compared to 349,519 in December, according to RealtyTrac, which issues a monthly report on foreclosure activity.
Now, the bad news: Filings rose 15% compared to a year ago, and the number of people who actually had […]

Sovereign wealth funds on the hunt

After months of relative silence, sovereign wealth funds, the huge, state-owned vehicles that export-rich countries use to invest their reserves, are on the prowl again.
"[Funds] are researching deals and trying to get things lined up," says R.P. Eddy, CEO of Ergo, a research firm that advises some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth […]

Animatronic hamsters have stores scrambling

The hamsters are fake, with a coating of fuzz over a mechanized chassis and a small sound system. But when it comes to creating intense desire among kids — and desperation among shopping parents — Zhu Zhu Pets are the real deal.
When the Post-Dispatch profiled the electronic rodents eight weeks ago, toymaker […]

Why ’say on pay’ won’t work

Waiting for investors to slam the brakes on runaway executive pay? Don’t hold your breath. Although Congress may give shareholders more of a say on pay soon, big money managers seem content to keep their mouths shut.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D.-Conn., unveiled a financial reform plan this month that would give […]

Exchanges, under profit pressure, mounting defense

Two market operators, Nasdaq OMX and Deutsche Boerse, reported profit drops on Thursday, partly reflecting the price war between traditional players and younger challengers for market share and increasingly narrow margins.
Nasdaq OMX, which runs the U.S.-based Nasdaq Stock Market and venues in Nordic countries, said diluted earnings dropped 18 percent, while Deutsche Boerse, which […]

South Korea’s Consumer Confidence Climbs to Seven-Year High

South Korea’s consumer confidence rose to the highest level in more than seven years in October as the nation’s economic recovery strengthened.
The sentiment index climbed to 117 from 114 in September, the Bank of Korea said in Seoul today. The figure matched that of the first quarter of 2002, when the bank published […]