Business with Reuters - International Herald Tribune

P. Müller/European Space Agency

A Soyuz rocket blasted into space from a site in Kazakhstan, carrying one of two test satellites for the European Union's Galileo navigation system.

Chinese square off with Europe in space

By DAN LEVIN

China is set to claim a radio frequency that Europe wanted to use for its Galileo navigation satellites.

U.S. plans sweeping overhaul of financial regulations

By STEPHEN LABATON

The White House will reportedly urge increased oversight of hedge funds and new rules for executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies.

U.S. Treasury hopes to lure private equity

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS, ERIC DASH AND GRAHAM BOWLEY

A proposal is expected soon to buy as much as $1 trillion in troubled mortgages and related assets from financial institutions.

Abu Dhabi invests in Daimler

By DAVID JOLLY

Daimler, the German maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, said Sunday that it would sell about €1.95 billion of new shares to Abu Dhabi, making the emirate its largest shareholder.

Paris prosecutors investigate Madoff-linked funds

By DAVID JOLLY

BNP Paribas, reported to be one of the banks under investigation, stressed Sunday that it never counseled clients to invest in a Madoff fund.

India's ultracheap car arrives with load of uncertainties

By HEATHER TIMMONS

Six years after the idea was hatched, India's much-hyped $2,500 Tata Nano comes to the market.

Honda hybrid poses threat to costlier Prius

A food revolution seems to be in season

By ANDREW MARTIN

Alice Waters, the executive chef and owner of Chez Panisse in California, at a farmer's market in Washington on Jan. 18.

After being largely ignored for years by Washington, advocates of organic and locally grown food have found a receptive ear in the White House, which has vowed to encourage more nutritious and sustainable food.

Back to the future in Hollywood

By BROOKS BARNES

Returning to the middle ground, the producer Marc Abraham is planning a prequel to "The Thing," a 1982 horror film about scientists in the Antarctic who are confronted by a shape-shifting alien.

For more than a decade Hollywood has relied on DVD sales to make money. Now, with DVD sales falling, it is back to the multiplex.

China chooses car and steel makers to dominate

Reuters

The State Council said it would push five steel makers and two or three car companies to take dominant positions in their respective industries.

Thai unemployment expected to double

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced measures to battle Thai economic woes, which include unemployment that is expected to rise to at least one million workers this year.

Supply glut cuts natural gas prices

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

A liquefied natural gas plant on Sakhalin island near the town of Korsakov, Russia.

Six giant plants capable of cooling and liquefying gas for export are due to come on line this year, just as the economy slows.

FAIR GAME

A market that leaves investors in the dark

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

Protection for Americans who invest in municipal bonds is so spotty that there is potential for much mischief.

Indian banks expected to raise cash

By NARAYANAN SOMASUNDARAM AND MICHAEL FLAHERTY / Reuters

As so many of their peers across the world have done, Indian banks appear ready to tap investors for more cash.

African will lead Prudential Plc

By LORRAINE TURNER / Reuters

Tidjane Thiam is a high-flying executive heralded as the first black boss in the FTSE 100.

Politics hinders plans to bailout U.S. banks

By EMILY KAISER / Reuters

Barack Obama and Ben S. Bernanke have even tried to make their case on popular television shows.

Fed move is a market-changer as the dollar sinks

By JEREMY GAUNT / Reuters

A significantly different market landscape greets investors this week, courtesy of the Federal Reserve's decision to buy up U.S. Treasury securities.

World Bank chief sees economy shrinking 1 percent to 2 percent in 2009

By MARK JOHN / Reuters

The global economy is set to shrink 1 percent to 2 percent this year, Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, said Saturday, adding that the depth of the slowdown was unprecedented since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

U.S. House approves tax on bonuses for bailout recipients

By CARL HULSE AND DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

House Financial Services Committee members met in the Capitol Thursday to discuss taxing bonuses at some firms.

Spurred by anger over A.I.G. bonuses, the House voted to levy a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid by any company accepting more than $5 billion in bailout money.

Financial crisis is political opportunity for New York attorney general

By MICHAEL POWELL, DANNY HAKIM AND LOUISE STORY

Andrew M. Cuomo, attorney general of New York State, turned his focus to Wall Street last year as decay in the financial system was exposed.

As attorney general of the state of New York, Andrew M. Cuomo turned his attention to Wall Street in 2008, giving a political voice to those disgusted with the abuses. Will it help him run for governor?

Regulators shore up U.S. credit union network

Reuters

Regulators have seized the top clearinghouse for U.S. credit unions, citing a critical deterioration in the finances of the provider of services to thousands of retail credit unions.

Young and old battle for jobs in U.S.

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

Since losing his job as a carpenter 13 months ago, Arnold Stone, 69, has applied, without success, for jobs as diverse as grocery bagger and construction worker.

In a depressed U.S. job market, tensions have swelled as young and old say that employers improperly favor the other.

Video: Jousting for jobs

A reborn U.S.town faces a new threat

By JODI RUDOREN

John Gilvey, left, and Michael Benzer of Hudson Beach Glass transfering a bottle from one pole to another as part of a glass blowing demonstration at the store in Beacon, New York.

Dozens of small-shop owners are struggling through the recession in Beacon, New York, a faded factory town on the Hudson River that had been reborn through retail.

U.S. auto companies' plans seen as being too 'ambitious'

By JOHN HUGHES / Bloomberg News

General Motors and Chrysler may need "considerably" more than the $21.6 billion in aid they requested, which was based on optimistic recovery plans, according to Steven M. Rattner, the U.S. Treasury's chief auto adviser.

Auto parts suppliers may get aid

New Honda takes on the Prius

By HIROKO TABUCHI

Starting Tuesday, Honda Motor will offer American consumers what it bills as "the world’s first affordable hybrid."

MARKETS

Wall Street drops as financial shares lead the way

By JACK HEALY

Financial shares pulled down the broader U.S. markets, with the The Dow Jones industrial average closing down 122.42 points or 1.7 percent, at 7,278.38, giving back many of the gains from earlier in the week.

Rapid declines in manufacturing spread global anxiety

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ

A steel factory in Salzgitter, Germany. In Europe, industrial production is down 12 percent from a year ago.

The depth and speed of the manufacturing plunge are striking, and recall conditions that led to the Great Depression.

Priests become bankers for Italy's neediest

By FLAVIA KRAUSEJACKSON AND FLAVIA ROTONDI / Bloomberg News

As Europe's most indebted country faces its worst recession since 1975, the Catholic church is stepping in to help cash-strapped Italians.

Goldman Sachs tries to tamp down ties to A.I.G.

By PETER EDMONSTON

Goldman Sachs said its direct losses would have been minimal if the vast insurance conglomerate had failed.

DEALBOOK

Citigroup names new finance chief

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Citigroup said Friday that it has named a new financial chief as its current one becomes the chairman of a collection of assets it hopes to dispose of.

G.E. makes the case for its finance unit

By STEVE LOHR

Executives from General Electric doggedly made the case that the company’s huge finance arm was not just a troubled bank in disguise, as investors have feared.

Madoff must stay in prison, court says

By LESLIE WAYNE

The appeals court order upheld an earlier Federal District Court decision that Mr. Madoff represented a flight risk and should not be released on bail.

Auto parts suppliers may get aid

By BILL VLASIC

Rick Wagoner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors, listens during a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and business leaders.

The administration of President Barack Obama has signaled its intent to provide broad relief to the American auto industry with the creation of a $5 billion fund to aid troubled parts suppliers.

Audio: Today's Business (mp3)

SPOTLIGHT

A staunch advocate of globalization and trade

By MATTHEW SALTMARSH

Victor Fung, chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, says he is concerned about recent moves by Western leaders toward putting up trade barriers.

Victor Fung, head of the International Chamber of Commerce, has a simple message to the global leaders who will soon try to set a new path for the economy: "Please deliver."