Financial news on February 18, 2010

Business and Financial news
Apple’s Prices for E-Books May Be Lower Than Expected

Apple wanted publishers to discount best sellers, so its $12.99-to-$14.99 range is merely a ceiling, according to people familiar with talks with publishers. Read more..

By MOTOKO RICH - The New York Times

Fed Board Diverged on Timing of Policy Shift, Minutes Show

The committee had different opinions as to the timing and order of the Fed’s plans to begin tightening monetary policy. Read more..

By SEWELL CHAN and JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ - The New York Times

In Ponzi Case, Judge Denies a Motion to Dismiss

J. Ezra Merkin, a prominent hedge fund manager linked to Bernard L. Madoff, had said that a civil fraud complaint against him did not meet state standards. Read more..

By DIANA B. HENRIQUES - The New York Times

Judge Denies a Dismissal in a Suit Against MBIA

The suit, brought by several of the largest financial companies, challenges MBIA’s move to split into two units. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

Navigating the Shifting Tax Landscape

Retirement accounts, charitable gifts and taxes faced by retirees on Medicare are all in dispute on Capitol Hill. Read more..

By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON - The New York Times

Safe Travels for You and Your Data

There are common-sense measures you can take to keep your data secure when using your computer on the road. Read more..

By RIVA RICHMOND - The New York Times

Saying ‘No Thanks’ to a Bequest

Turning down an inheritance may seem to be an alien concept. But with the estate tax in flux, this process can provide needed flexibility. Read more..

By DEBORAH L. JACOBS - The New York Times

Signs of Rebound in Antiques Market

After 12 months in which antiques sales were down and prices fell, collectors and dealers again flocked to antique shows last month in New York. Read more..

By WILLIAM L. HAMILTON - The New York Times

Trade Commission, Citing Deception, Sues Seven Job Placement Operators

The Federal Trade Commission announced seven civil suits as part of a crackdown, which officials said deceive job seekers by falsely promising work as federal employees. Read more..

By SEWELL CHAN - The New York Times

Up to Date on Facebook

On the new version of Facebook, how can I make it just show my friends’ status updates and not all that other stuff in my News Feed? Read more..

By J. D. BIERSDORFER - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
Pfizer PFE 17,68 17,75 17,55 17,73 57.1M
General Electric GE 16,10 16,29 16,08 16,24 47.3M
Microsoft MSFT 28,59 29,03 28,51 28,97 42.9M
Intel INTC 20,64 20,85 20,55 20,84 42.6M
Cisco Systems CSCO 24,05 24,36 23,90 24,28 41.2M
JPMorgan Chase JPM 39,94 40,51 39,77 40,41 31.8M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 24,11 24,57 24,06 24,52 31.7M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 27,30 27,57 27,16 27,34 30.3M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 53,20 53,50 52,91 53,47 29.5M
AT&T Inc. T 25,40 25,53 25,16 25,24 27M
HP Inc. HPQ 50,38 50,96 49,87 50,81 23.5M
ExxonMobil XOM 65,80 66,09 65,35 65,96 22.5M
Procter & Gamble PG 62,73 63,50 62,35 63,39 17.7M
Home Depot HD 30,02 30,38 29,87 30,30 16.6M
Apple AAPL 201,63 203,89 200,92 202,93 15.1M
Gilead Sciences GILD 48,75 49,50 48,66 49,45 12.9M
Comcast CMCSA 15,70 15,80 15,60 15,73 12.7M
ConocoPhillips COP 48,62 49,16 48,53 48,87 12.6M
Merck MRK 37,28 37,50 37,03 37,29 12.3M
Verizon Communications VZ 29,14 29,26 28,94 29,15 11.9M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 24,51 24,88 24,42 24,84 11.3M
Altria MO 19,75 20,08 19,73 20,00 11.2M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 54,69 55,00 54,67 54,97 11.2M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 32,23 32,99 32,12 32,69 10.3M
Chevron CVX 72,69 73,72 72,34 73,62 9.85M
Amazon AMZN 115,84 118,51 114,82 118,08 9.8M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 76,19 76,70 75,86 76,64 9.29M
Coca-Cola KO 55,15 55,92 55,15 55,91 8.63M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 63,98 64,70 63,95 64,04 8.26M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 30,86 31,07 30,68 31,02 8.21M
Amgen AMGN 57,30 57,44 57,10 57,27 8.12M
Schlumberger SLB 65,88 66,33 65,09 65,81 7.7M
Pepsico PEP 61,97 62,72 61,97 62,53 6.94M
International Business Machines IBM 126,13 128,00 126,00 127,81 5.53M
McDonald's MCD 64,11 64,62 64,00 64,48 4.98M
Alphabet GOOGL 537,54 545,01 536,14 543,22 4.67M
Boeing BA 61,78 63,01 61,72 62,89 4.39M
United Technologies UTX 67,53 68,29 67,42 68,11 4.12M
Visa V 86,00 87,45 86,00 86,96 3.82M
3M MMM 80,06 81,18 80,06 81,11 2.7M
Union Pacific UNP 64,78 65,42 64,60 65,31 2.53M
Exchange Rates of February 18, 2010
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 91,740 JPY 1 JPY = 0,011 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 1,047 CAD 1 CAD = 0,955 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 1,084 CHF 1 CHF = 0,923 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 124,100 JPY 1 JPY = 0,008 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0,871 GBP 1 GBP = 1,148 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 1,513 AUD 1 AUD = 0,661 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1,416 CAD 1 CAD = 0,706 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1,466 CHF 1 CHF = 0,682 EUR
Euro Chinese Yuan 1 EUR = 9,252 CNY 1 CNY = 0,108 EUR
Japanese Yen Pound Sterling 1 JPY = 0,701 GBP 1 GBP = 1,426 JPY
Japanese Yen Australian Dollar 1 JPY = 1,219 AUD 1 AUD = 0,821 JPY
Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar 1 JPY = 1,140 CAD 1 CAD = 0,877 JPY
Japanese Yen Swiss Franc 1 JPY = 1,181 CHF 1 CHF = 0,847 JPY
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 1,736 AUD 1 AUD = 0,576 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 1,624 CAD 1 CAD = 0,616 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 1,682 CHF 1 CHF = 0,594 GBP
Pound Sterling Chinese Yuan 1 GBP = 10,615 CNY 1 CNY = 0,094 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0,936 CAD 1 CAD = 1,069 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 0,969 CHF 1 CHF = 1,032 AUD
Australian Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 AUD = 6,127 CNY 1 CNY = 0,163 AUD
Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 CAD = 1,035 CHF 1 CHF = 0,966 CAD
Canadian Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 CAD = 6,539 CNY 1 CNY = 0,153 CAD
Swiss Franc Chinese Yuan 1 CHF = 6,312 CNY 1 CNY = 0,158 CHF

See what else happened on February 18, 2010