Financial news on February 22nd, 2008

Business and Financial news
A Google Competition, With a Robotic Moon Landing as a Goal

Ten teams from five countries plan to compete for $30 million in prizes in the Google-sponsored race to the moon. Read more..

By BRAD STONE - The New York Times

French Bank’s Troubles Now Include Record Loss

Société Générale blamed the rogue trading scandal and significant write-offs of United States subprime mortgage investments for the $4.95 billion quarterly loss. Read more..

By NICOLA CLARK - The New York Times

German Bank Offering Aid for Its Troubled Investments

Dresdner Bank said that it would bail out its investment vehicle for complex financial products, becoming the latest bank to take the step to avoid a forced sale of assets. Read more..

By CARTER DOUGHERTY - The New York Times

Microsoft to Share More Technical Secrets

Seeking to satisfy European antitrust officials, Microsoft said on Thursday that it would open up and share many more of its technical secrets with the rest of the software industry. Read more..

By STEVE LOHR - The New York Times

Not Your Ordinary Swap Meet

An obscure pressure point in the credit squeeze popped up this week when a boutique investment bank in Houston held a “public auction” for dozens of the most arcane products in the financial world. Read more..

By DIANA B. HENRIQUES - The New York Times

Profit Surges at MGM Mirage

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The casino giant MGM Mirage reported soaring fourth-quarter profit Thursday, including a hefty gain related to a foreign investment in its CityCenter project, which is under construction on the Las Vegas Strip. Read more..

By ASSOCIATED PRESS - The New York Times

Rescues for Homeowners in Debt Weighed

The government is considering proposals to rescue the nearly 8.8 million homeowners who are underwater. Read more..

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and LOUIS UCHITELLE - The New York Times

Suit Says Spinal Disk Maker Falsely Won F.D.A. Approval

The suit now says the original maker of the device and the investment firm that financed its development misled patients and federal regulators about the disk’s safety. Read more..

By REED ABELSON - The New York Times

When Bankers Fear to Act

In financial crises of the past, financial chiefs have managed to find a cooperative way to turn things around. These days, they seem afraid to do anything. Read more..

By FLOYD NORRIS - The New York Times

With Strike’s End, Oscars Regain Marketing Allure

The end of the strike has alleviated the fears of more than a dozen blue-chip advertisers, worried that their marketing plans centered on the Oscars would be disrupted. Read more..

By STUART ELLIOTT - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

StockTicker symbolOpenHighLowCloseVolume
IntelINTC20,4720,5019,5119,82134M
MicrosoftMSFT28,2428,3927,2027,68126M
Oracle Corp.ORCL18,9319,0218,1818,9061.6M
AppleAAPL122,48122,51115,87119,4654.6M
Cisco SystemsCSCO23,4623,6022,9023,6053.7M
General ElectricGE33,7733,8033,1533,5540M
AT&T Inc.T34,6835,0533,8334,9839.8M
PfizerPFE22,5022,5922,1622,5032.7M
JPMorgan ChaseJPM43,0344,0241,9143,9330.5M
Wells Fargo & Co.WFC30,8031,5830,3131,4428.8M
ExxonMobilXOM87,4887,7986,0387,1723.5M
Wal-Mart StoresWMT49,6550,2049,4749,9719.5M
Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY22,8823,0021,9822,5319M
Verizon CommunicationsVZ35,4936,2535,3536,2018.7M
ComcastCMCSA19,8720,1519,4720,1517.4M
ConocoPhillipsCOP80,4180,7078,8480,6114.2M
HP Inc.HPQ47,0047,4946,3547,4014.1M
Home DepotHD27,5127,8127,0027,7713.6M
Abbott LaboratoriesABT54,9055,3653,7354,5412.9M
MerckMRK46,2646,4845,3646,0712.4M
AmazonAMZN70,5472,2169,8672,0812.3M
ChevronCVX85,4285,7483,6985,4212.2M
Gilead SciencesGILD43,4043,5242,3742,9211.2M
Procter & GamblePG65,9766,4065,3566,2111.1M
AlphabetGOOGL502,06509,00497,55507,8011M
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ62,7763,2862,5063,1810.1M
AltriaMO73,3673,7172,5273,609.55M
Walt Disney & Co.DIS32,3632,6431,8032,578.81M
International Business MachinesIBM107,14108,48105,71108,077.92M
AmgenAMGN47,4847,4846,0146,437.69M
Coca-ColaKO58,0058,3357,3958,267.38M
SchlumbergerSLB84,0685,6382,2385,456.17M
McDonald'sMCD55,3555,6954,3955,695.96M
UnitedHealth GroupUNH47,5048,1146,7547,365.9M
BoeingBA82,5183,2181,7583,045.23M
PepsicoPEP71,2371,4970,5471,384.77M
United TechnologiesUTX71,3272,4470,6972,233.71M
Union PacificUNP123,86124,13121,92124,133.53M
3MMMM79,3279,8178,2479,673.49M
Berkshire HathawayBRK.B4701,004727,004600,004648,0012.9K
Exchange Rates of February 22nd, 2008
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US DollarJapanese Yen1 USD = 106,920 JPY1 JPY = 0,009 USD
US DollarCanadian Dollar1 USD = 1,015 CAD1 CAD = 0,985 USD
US DollarSwiss Franc1 USD = 1,084 CHF1 CHF = 0,922 USD
US DollarChinese Yuan1 USD = 7,142 CNY1 CNY = 0,140 USD
EuroJapanese Yen1 EUR = 158,890 JPY1 JPY = 0,006 EUR
EuroPound Sterling1 EUR = 0,754 GBP1 GBP = 1,327 EUR
EuroAustralian Dollar1 EUR = 1,606 AUD1 AUD = 0,623 EUR
EuroCanadian Dollar1 EUR = 1,502 CAD1 CAD = 0,666 EUR
EuroSwiss Franc1 EUR = 1,609 CHF1 CHF = 0,621 EUR
Japanese YenPound Sterling1 JPY = 0,474 GBP1 GBP = 2,109 JPY
Japanese YenAustralian Dollar1 JPY = 1,010 AUD1 AUD = 0,990 JPY
Japanese YenCanadian Dollar1 JPY = 0,945 CAD1 CAD = 1,059 JPY
Japanese YenSwiss Franc1 JPY = 1,013 CHF1 CHF = 0,988 JPY
Pound SterlingAustralian Dollar1 GBP = 2,130 AUD1 AUD = 0,470 GBP
Pound SterlingCanadian Dollar1 GBP = 1,992 CAD1 CAD = 0,502 GBP
Pound SterlingSwiss Franc1 GBP = 2,134 CHF1 CHF = 0,469 GBP
Australian DollarCanadian Dollar1 AUD = 0,935 CAD1 CAD = 1,070 AUD
Australian DollarSwiss Franc1 AUD = 1,002 CHF1 CHF = 0,999 AUD
Canadian DollarSwiss Franc1 CAD = 1,071 CHF1 CHF = 0,933 CAD

See what else happened on February 22nd, 2008