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AP Business NewsBrief at 8:14 a.m. EST
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Citigroup to lower some mortgage paymentsNEW YORK (AP) _ Struggling bank Citigroup Inc. said Tuesday that it will lower mortgage payments for some homeowners to an average of $500 a month for three months as part of a new program to help the unemployed. The struggling bank makes the move as President Barack Obama looks to lenders to adjust the way loans are handled.
Toyota in talks for Japan government loanTOKYO (AP) _ Toyota's financing unit is in talks with a Japanese government-backed bank on possible lending, the automaker said Tuesday, underlining the serious woes facing the car industry amid plunging global sales. Toyota Motor Corp. said no details had been decided. Kyodo News and NHK TV reported earlier in the day, without identifying sources, that Toyota's auto loan unit, Toyota Financial Services, had asked for a 200 billion yen ($2 billion) government loan.
Mortgage delinquencies up for 8th straight quarterCHICAGO (AP) _ The number of people who were late making their mortgage payments shot up 53 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 from the same period in 2007, according to data provided by TransUnion LLC. The credit reporting agency said its database shows delinquencies _ or the percentage of mortgage holders at least 60 days behind on payments, considered a precursor to foreclosure _ jumped to 4.58 percent nationally, from 2.99 percent for the 2007 fourth quarter.
Wall Street heads for modest bounce after big dropNEW YORK (AP) _ Wall Street is headed for a modest bounce Tuesday as investors recover from a massive selloff and await data on home and auto sales. The Dow Jones industrial average on Monday plunged far below the 7,000 mark to end at 6,763 _ the lowest close for the Dow since April 25, 1997. The Dow has fallen more than 52 percent since hitting a record high of 14,164.53 in October 2007.
Oil hovers near $41 after US news spurs big dropOil prices crawled up to near $41 a barrel Tuesday after grim U.S. economic news and tumbling stock markets sparked a huge drop Monday. Benchmark crude for April delivery was up 74 cents to $40.86 a barrel by midday in Europe on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Pfizer, Aurobindo in deal to sell generic drugsTRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ Pfizer Inc. will begin selling dozens more generic drugs in the U.S. and Europe through new deals with an Indian generic company, part of a recent trend of brand-name drugmakers expanding in a growing generics market. Pfizer's Greenstone subsidiary already sells more than 300 Pfizer medicines that have lost patent protection but still brought in a combined $10 billion last year. Those include former blockbusters Zoloft for depression, Norvasc for high blood pressure, Zithromax for bacterial infections and Medrol for inflammatory and immune conditions such as asthma, arthritis and lupus.
World markets slide again amid financial fearsLONDON (AP) _ World stock markets fell further Tuesday as investors continued to fret about the global financial sector after American International Group Inc. reported the biggest quarterly loss in corporate history, and HSBC Holdings PLC slashed its dividend and revealed it needed to raise nearly $18 billion from shareholders. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares fell below the 3,600 mark for the first time since the start of the Iraq war in 2003. By mid-morning London time, it was down 44.17 points, or 1.2 percent, at 3,581.66.
Gazprom's 3Q net profit up 16 pctMOSCOW (AP) _ Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said Tuesday its net profit rose 16 percent to 132 billion rubles ($3.6 billion) in the third quarter of 2008 from a year earlier, boosted by high market prices. Net sales in the July through September period rose to 830 billion ($23 billion) from 516 billion rubles in the same period a year earlier, according to a statement by the company.
Madoff seeks to keep NYC penthouse, $62M in assetsNEW YORK (AP) _ Bernard Madoff is seeking to keep a $7 million Manhattan penthouse and an additional $62 million in assets, saying they are unrelated to the fraud that authorities say cost victims more than $50 billion. In court papers filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Madoff and his lawyer claim the apartment, $45 million in municipal bonds and $17 million more in a separate account all belong to Madoff's wife, Ruth. The bonds in an account held by Ruth Madoff at COHMAD Securities Corp. and about $17 million held by her in a Wachovia Bank account "are unrelated to the alleged Madoff fraud and only Ruth Madoff has a beneficial interest in these assets," Bernard Madoff and lawyer Ira Sorkin said, according to the papers.
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