Monday started off with a report that the Internal Revenue Service is extending a tax amnesty program for taxpayers with offshore accounts that have not reported income on them. The program started last March after Swiss bank UBS gave the names of several account holders to U.S. authorities as part of a settlement. So far, over 3,000 people have utilized the program.
M&A Dept.: Dell (DELL) said it will buy Perot Systems (PER), a technology services company, for $3.9 billion. This would give Dell a share of the information-services industry, a growing sector. The deal values Perot at $30 a share.
Dell to Purchase Perot for $3.9B
Brian Moynihan to Succeed Ken Lewis?
Britain’s New Tax Strategy
Pataki: Obama Actions ‘Horribly Wrong’
Nationwide Average
$2.53 a gallonTuesday
FOX Business learned Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is getting ready to reveal changes to some of the more controversial parts of the Obama Administration’s proposed Consumer Financial Product Agency Tuesday. He said he’ll exclude many non-financial businesses from this regulation and take out a provision requiring companies to offer stripped-down financial products and assessing whether consumers understand the products they’re being offered.
Rather, he said, this agency will improve how disclosures are made in terms of clarity and simplicity. Opponents of the agency proposal say it gives this regulator too much power.
Meanwhile, Intel (INTC) CEO Paul Otellini was on FOX Business Network speaking about the company’s dealings with the European Union’s antitrust actions against it. He said, flat out, Intel did not offer rebates to companies that agreed not to buy competitor chips.
And markets hit new 2009 highs Tuesday afternoon, rallying around crude oil prices and rising financial stocks. The Dow rose 51 points, closing at 9830.
Dupont Chairman on Climate Change
DuPont Chair on Stepping Down as CEO
BofA Board Member Declines to Back Lewis
From Congress With Love
Wednesday
Amid heavy criticism on Capitol Hill over banks for charging overdraft fees on checking accounts, Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JMP) announced changes to their policies on these fees. Both banks will no longer automatically enroll customers in overdraft protection, which has resulted in some customers paying large amounts in fees when they didn’t carefully watch their account balances.
Bank of America said it would stop charging an overdraft fee for consumers overdrawing their accounts by less than $10 and for more than four overdrafts per day. And JPMorgan announced it will eliminate fees for overdrawing less than $5.
Federal Funds Rate Dept.: The FOMC voted to keep interest rates at their historical lows, Wednesday. The target rate will remain at a range of 0% to 0.25%, as Wall Street expected. This was the first FOMC meeting since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he believed the recession is over.
Yahoo CEO Announces Branding Campaign
Regulator to Oversee Financial System?
Humana Warns of Medicare Benefit Cuts
Ron and Rand Paul on Big Gov'tThursday
The Securities and Exchange Commission is bringing charges against an employee at Perot Systems who it accuses of illegal insider trading related to the company’s deal with Dell. Reze Saleh bought over 9,300 Perot call options between Sept. 4 and Sept. 18, according to the SEC. Once the Dell-Perot deal was announced, he sold the options and made $8.6 million.
Meanwhile, Citigroup (C) is reportedly closing branches across the U.S. in order to focus on its six major metropolitan areas: New York, Washington, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. This will reportedly help the bank focus more on its consumer credit card business and jumbo mortgages.
TARP Dept.: The TARP program’s inspector general, Neil Barofsky, said the program has played a large role in preventing a financial meltdown. However, he said, the chances of taxpayers getting a profit back on these loans are slim, as is the likelihood of more transparency.
Health Care: Privilege or Right?
Ferris Bueller House for Sale
GOP Stalling Health Care?
America's Superiority Tested at G-20
Friday
Leaders of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations are turning into the main body to set up global economic policy, said officials. Leaders working on ways to prevent future financial crises also agreed to give under-represented countries more voting power at the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, consumer sentiment in the U.S. hit its highest level since January of 2008. The index for September hit 73.5, up from 65.7 in August. This was higher than the 70.3 reading economists expected. Rising consumer sentiment could be a sign of economic rebound.
Improving Cities' Infrastructures
KB Founder's Toys to Be Auctioned
From Hero to Criminal?
When Will the Fed Raise Rates?
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FOXBusiness.com’s Week in Review: Sept. 14-18, 2009Banks relent on overdraft fees
