Financial news on September 24, 2010

Business and Financial news
Amid Tension, China Blocks Crucial Exports to Japan

Escalating a dispute over Japan’s detention of a Chinese fishing trawler captain, China halted exports of some crucial rare earth elements. Read more..

By KEITH BRADSHER - The New York Times

Banks Sitting Out Bond Surge as Lending Dries Up

Banks are sitting out the busiest September for corporate bond sales in a sign they may refrain from lending while the Federal Reserve considers how to jolt the economic recovery. Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

Blockbuster, Hoping to Reinvent Itself, Files for Bankruptcy

The chain wants to rid itself of almost $1 billion in debt so it can respond more effectively to a growing number of rivals. Read more..

By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED - The New York Times

China Is Blocking Minerals, Executives Say

Some industry executives and analysts said that China had suspended the shipments in response to a diplomatic dispute over Japan’s detention of a Chinese fishing trawler captain. Read more..

By KEITH BRADSHER - The New York Times

For Pandit, $1 This Year, a Big Bump in 2011

Vikram S. Pandit will again take a $1 salary for 2010, but Citigroup says it will increase his compensation in 2011. Read more..

By ERIC DASH - The New York Times

Frederick Jelinek, Who Gave Machines the Key to Human Speech, Dies at 77

Mr. Jelinek unlocked human speech for computers by thinking like a computer. Read more..

By STEVE LOHR - The New York Times

Madoff Trustee Mistreating Victims, Lawmakers Say

Victims of Bernard L. Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme are not being treated fairly by the court-appointed trustee liquidator, Irving H. Picard, Republican Representative Pete King said Thursday: “They should be treated as victims, not as criminals.” Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

Norris: Seeking to Protect Investors

Renewing the obligation for “best execution” of orders could help protect investors, Floyd Norris writes in his latest column in The New York Times. Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

Oracle Isn’t Interested in Services Deals, Chief Says

Oracle’s chief executive, Larry Ellison, says his company won’t follow one of the technology world’s hottest trends: buying services companies. Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

Rajaratnam: From Boastful Beginnings to Bail

Raj Rajaratnam is “a man of Falstaffian appetites and a craving for power,” Forbes writes, in a profile of the former billionaire hedge fund manager arrested last October and charged with running the largest insider-trading ring busted since the 1980s. Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
General Electric GE 16.33 16.66 16.30 16.66 85M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 27.44 27.50 26.74 26.96 58.1M
Intel INTC 19.23 19.45 19.18 19.42 55.7M
Cisco Systems CSCO 21.84 22.25 21.75 22.09 54.2M
Microsoft MSFT 24.64 24.80 24.58 24.78 51.9M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 25.46 25.73 25.33 25.59 46.5M
Pfizer PFE 17.22 17.41 17.15 17.40 33.7M
JPMorgan Chase JPM 39.51 39.80 39.30 39.75 28.9M
AT&T Inc. T 28.70 28.80 28.50 28.58 26.6M
ExxonMobil XOM 61.51 62.13 61.36 61.75 25.1M
HP Inc. HPQ 41.16 41.70 40.87 40.98 24.6M
Apple AAPL 292.10 293.53 290.55 292.32 23.2M
Comcast CMCSA 18.20 18.59 18.08 18.57 20.1M
Verizon Communications VZ 32.47 32.68 32.40 32.64 18.7M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 82.09 85.86 82.00 83.32 16M
Altria MO 23.74 24.02 23.69 24.00 15.7M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 51.99 52.33 51.75 51.94 13.7M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 61.98 62.40 61.83 62.14 12.6M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 27.75 27.93 27.57 27.62 12.5M
Merck MRK 36.82 37.39 36.73 37.34 11.6M
Home Depot HD 31.27 31.69 31.24 31.64 11.4M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 33.38 33.82 33.31 33.58 10.7M
Procter & Gamble PG 61.50 61.81 61.36 61.64 10.6M
Amazon AMZN 155.43 160.89 155.42 160.73 10.6M
ConocoPhillips COP 55.61 56.57 55.35 56.36 10.2M
Schlumberger SLB 59.12 61.06 58.91 60.64 9.84M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 53.95 54.39 53.84 54.08 9.77M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 35.94 35.94 35.60 35.73 8.56M
Chevron CVX 79.26 80.29 78.71 80.12 8.26M
Gilead Sciences GILD 36.36 36.76 36.01 36.55 7.68M
International Business Machines IBM 132.42 134.15 132.34 134.11 7.12M
Coca-Cola KO 58.32 58.80 58.23 58.62 6.91M
Alphabet GOOGL 521.74 527.83 518.26 527.29 6.71M
Pepsico PEP 66.10 66.41 65.83 66.13 6.37M
McDonald's MCD 75.40 75.44 74.94 75.10 5.84M
Amgen AMGN 55.78 56.37 55.30 56.32 5.29M
Visa V 71.75 72.37 71.36 72.37 5.26M
Boeing BA 63.52 64.83 63.33 64.60 4.63M
3M MMM 86.41 87.47 85.79 86.96 3.42M
United Technologies UTX 70.44 71.68 70.44 71.50 2.99M
Union Pacific UNP 79.97 82.15 79.64 82.10 2.74M
Exchange Rates of September 24, 2010
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 84.200 JPY 1 JPY = 0.012 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 1.024 CAD 1 CAD = 0.977 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 0.983 CHF 1 CHF = 1.018 USD
US Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 USD = 6.705 CNY 1 CNY = 0.149 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 113.580 JPY 1 JPY = 0.009 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0.853 GBP 1 GBP = 1.172 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.406 AUD 1 AUD = 0.711 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.381 CAD 1 CAD = 0.724 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1.326 CHF 1 CHF = 0.754 EUR
Euro Chinese Yuan 1 EUR = 9.043 CNY 1 CNY = 0.111 EUR
Japanese Yen Pound Sterling 1 JPY = 0.750 GBP 1 GBP = 1.333 JPY
Japanese Yen Australian Dollar 1 JPY = 1.237 AUD 1 AUD = 0.808 JPY
Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar 1 JPY = 1.216 CAD 1 CAD = 0.823 JPY
Japanese Yen Swiss Franc 1 JPY = 1.167 CHF 1 CHF = 0.857 JPY
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 1.650 AUD 1 AUD = 0.606 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 1.620 CAD 1 CAD = 0.617 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 1.555 CHF 1 CHF = 0.643 GBP
Pound Sterling Chinese Yuan 1 GBP = 10.599 CNY 1 CNY = 0.094 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0.982 CAD 1 CAD = 1.018 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 0.942 CHF 1 CHF = 1.061 AUD
Australian Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 AUD = 6.430 CNY 1 CNY = 0.156 AUD
Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 CAD = 0.960 CHF 1 CHF = 1.042 CAD
Canadian Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 CAD = 6.547 CNY 1 CNY = 0.153 CAD
Swiss Franc Chinese Yuan 1 CHF = 6.819 CNY 1 CNY = 0.147 CHF

See what else happened on September 24, 2010