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| Ford to reduce debt 38% with tender offer
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| The automaker retired about $9.9 billion in securities issued by either the parent company or its finance arm in exchange for cash and shares under terms of the debt buybacks. Combined, the moves are expected to reduce Ford's interest expenses by more than $500 million this year. The Dearborn, Mich.-based company said it will pay a total of $2.4 billion and issue 468 million shares as a result of the offers.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 04/07/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Bigger paychecks coming
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| If you haven't already, you should be getting a fatter paycheck soon—if you're among the 110 million families to benefit from the government's economic stimulus plan. The government says the average family will get about $800 more in take-home pay this year. A single person, $400. The way the benefit works is that the Internal Revenue Service has issued new tax tables to employers, effective April 1. The tax tables reduce the amount of taxes withdrawn from your check. For example, a single worker making $50,000 and who gets a biweekly check should see about $20 more each paycheck.
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| @ Chicago Tribune
| Posted: 04/07/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Rockford Realtors have a better March in home sales
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| According to data released today by Rockford Area Realtors, 289 homes and condos were sold in March, up 60.5 percent over February’s 180. It’s the largest monthly sales total in the past five months, but down 1.4 percent compared with March 2008. The average home price rose 6 percent, from $112,460 in February to $119,262 in March. The sale price is down 13.6 percent compared with March 2008.
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| @ Rockford Register Star | Posted: 04/07/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Broward County - Ft. Lauderdale, mayor calls for random home testing for Chinese drywall
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| The political furor over defective Chinese drywall continued Monday, when Broward County Mayor Stacy Ritter called on Florida lawmakers to set aside $400,000 for health officials to begin statewide random testing of homes.
Ritter also is urging the Florida Legislature to halt foreclosures of homes that may contain the imported plasterboard. Some homeowners, fearing for their health, have moved out of their houses in Parkland, for instance.
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| @ Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel | Posted: 04/07/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Florida Senate panel rejects idea to allow automatic home insurance rate hikes
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| But the committee approved the rest of its property insurance package – which means the sweeping measure is now in play in both the House and Senate. The bill aims to reduce Florida’s risk if a major hurricane hits by gradually increasing state-backed Citizens Property Insurance rates and phasing out a portion of the state's hurricane catastrophe fund.
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| @ Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel | Posted: 04/07/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Tampa Bay-area hotels rated in world's top 10
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| Two Tampa Bay-area hotels -- the Ritz Carlton, Sarasota, and the Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater -- ranked among the top 10 hotels worldwide in a survey of 275,000 Expedia.com customer reviews and Expedia employee input. The Ritz-Carlton placed third worldwide and second in North America, while the Sandpearl ranked eighth worldwide and seventh in North America.
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| @ Miami Herald
| Posted: 04/07/09 at 0400 EDST
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| In Defense of Derivatives and How to Regulate Them
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| The dictionary defines a derivative in the field of chemistry as "a substance that can be made from another substance." Derivatives in finance work on the same principle. But if you read the headlines these days, you might think derivatives were made from arsenic by Wall Street institutions bent on causing financial destruction. The other side of derivatives, however, involves the less-publicized but widespread use of these financial instruments in ways that benefit companies. Derivatives have been immensely valuable tools and will be instrumental in providing the liquidity needed to jump-start the economy. Derivatives are used by a vast number of U.S. companies, both small and large, to manage various risks that arise in connection with their businesses.
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| @ Wall Street Journal | Posted: 04/07/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Plan to Expand Financial Oversight May Add New Risks
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| The Obama administration's plan for a sweeping expansion of financial regulations could have unintended consequences that increase the very hazards that these changes are meant to prevent. Financial experts say the perception that the government will backstop certain losses will actually encourage some firms to take on even greater risks and grow perilously large. While some financial instruments will come under tighter control, others will remain only loosely regulated, creating what some experts say are new loopholes. Still others say the regulation could drive money into questionable investments, shadowy new markets and lightly regulated corners of the globe. And a shortage of manpower raises questions about the government's ability to keep up with the vast and complex financial markets.
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| @ Washington Post | Posted: 04/07/09 at 0419 EDST
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| UK manufacturing decline worst in 40 years
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| Manufacturing output suffered its sharpest decline in at least 40 years in the three months to February, but the pace of decline appears to be slowing. Manufacturing production fell by a seasonally adjusted 6.5 per cent in the three months to the end of February compared to the previous three months. That is the biggest drop since monthly data on manufacturing output began in 1968.
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| @ Financial Times - UK | Posted: 04/07/09 at 0646 EDST
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| New UK car sales plunge in March
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| New car registrations in Britain fell by almost a third in March, prompting a renewed call by the industry for a “cash for bangers” vehicle scrapping scheme. Registrations of new vehicles fell by 30.5 per cent year on year, suggesting the UK market has not yet hit bottom. March has been the highest-volume month for UK car sales in six of the past 10 years.
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| @ Financial Times - UK | Posted: 04/07/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Obama faces Mexican stand-off on free trade
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| The dispute erupted after Mexico said it plans to slap US$2.4-billion worth of U.S. industrial and agricultural exports with tariffs in retaliation for the United States pulling a program that allows Mexican trucks to transport goods throughout the United States. The Obama administration, hit with its first dispute with a major trading partner, quickly offered assurances that it would work with the U.S. Congress to come up with new legislation to allow Mexican trucks back on U.S. highways.
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| @ Financial Post - CA | Posted: 04/07/09 at 0655 EDST
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