DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai World is likely to press for more time to restructure its $22 billion debt so markets can recover, which will ease credit conditions and enable it to sell assets at higher prices, bankers and analysts said. The Gulf emirate's debt-laden conglomerate has already put off asking formally for a debt standstill, telling creditors at a meeting on Monday that it would make its proposal in January. Attendees at the meeting said they expected the banks would be inclined to... Read Full Story
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of mass layoffs actions by U.S. employers fell in November to the their lowest level in 16 months, government data showed on Tuesday, offering more evidence of labor market stability. The Labor Department said the number of mass layoff actions -- defined as job cuts involving at least 50 people from a single employer -- dropped by 330 to 1,797 from October, the lowest since July 2008. A total of 165,346 workers affected, also the fewest number since July... Read Full Story
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The chief financial officer of CIT Group Inc <CIT.N> is retiring, the commercial lender said on Tuesday, adding another executive search to the list for a board that is already looking for a chief executive officer. CIT, which emerged from one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history earlier this month, is looking to re-establish itself as a lender to small and medium-sized businesses after a disastrous foray into subprime lending earlier this decade. CFO Joseph Leone... Read Full Story
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economy grew at a much slower pace than initially thought in the third quarter, restrained by weak business investment and a slightly more aggressive liquidation of inventories, according to data on Tuesday. The Commerce Department's final estimate showed gross domestic product grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate instead of the 2.8 percent pace it reported last month. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the report to show GDP, which measures total goods and... Read Full Story
BEIJING (Reuters) - France will continue to use data stolen from a Geneva private bank in its drive against tax evasion, its budget minister said on Tuesday, a day after French officials agreed to return the client lists to Switzerland. "Of course they can be used. The French judicial procedure will continue," Eric Woerth told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to China with Prime Minister Francois Fillon. Despite Swiss protests, French tax authorities have been using information secured... Read Full Story
(Reuters) - Apple's plan of offering television subscription via the Internet might receive a boost with U.S. media companies CBS and Walt Disney's probable participation in the venture, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The planned subscription service by Apple may offer television shows from major networks for a monthly fee, which could significantly alter the television business, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple is aiming to complete licensing deals... Read Full Story
DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co <F.N> said Monday it is offering its 41,000 U.S. factory workers buyouts and early retirement offers in a bid to reduce its payroll costs as it aims to return to profit by 2011. The buyouts mark the second round of such offers for Ford workers represented by the United Auto Workers union. About 1,000 workers took offers to leave the automaker in July. Ford workers have until late January to accept the offers, which include payouts of up to $70,000 cash for... Read Full Story
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co <GM.UL> said on Monday it had hired Chris Liddell, the chief financial officer of Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O>, as its new finance chief, filling a key position with the automaker's highest-profile hire since its July bankruptcy. GM said Liddell, 51, would start at GM in January. He had previously announced that he would be leaving Microsoft at the end of December. At Microsoft Liddell, a New Zealand native, had been responsible for the software giant's... Read Full Story
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Walgreen Co, the largest U.S. drugstore chain, reported a nearly 20 percent jump in quarterly profit as growth in sales of prescription drugs and flu shots offset the hit from consumers cutting back on buying candy and other discretionary items. The company, which operates more than 7,140 Walgreens drugstores, earned $489 million, or 49 cents per share, in the fiscal first quarter ended on November 30, up from $408 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier. Results... Read Full Story
LONDON (Reuters) - Bailed-out U.S. insurer American International Group <AIG.N> will take at least two years to repay its debt, but is benefiting from an aggressive management style, said Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche in an FT interview. AIG was propped up with $180 billion in taxpayer funds, but Benmosche said that repayment of debt through earning profits and selling off businesses is within his sights. "The more time we <have>, the greater the probability we'll pay back all of... Read Full Story
