Josephe Lewis becomes largest shareholder with $860M buy

Reuters Sep 10, 07 3:30 PM CDT
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Billionaire Joseph C. Lewis has bought enough stock to become the largest single shareholder in embattled investment bank Bear Stearns, Reuters reports. The reclusive British-born currency trader bought up $860.4 million in shares over the last month, nabbing a 7% stake. Putnam Investing, the second largest shareholder, owns a 6% stake.
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Key interest rates left unchanged in effort to reduce turmoil

Bloomberg Sep 6, 07 1:25 PM CDT
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The European Central Bank pumped $57.7 billion of emergency cash into the markets today and left their key interest rates unchanged, in an effort to ease the cost of borrowing and calm markets made volatile by the US subprime collapse, Bloomberg reports. The ECB action followed a day in which borrowing costs reached their highest point in six years.
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A look at the individuals who are changing the way money changes hands

BusinessWeek Jul 18, 07 5:16 PM CDT
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Not only are these investors sitting on mountains of doubloons—a sure sign of financial savvy—but they have also changed the way people think about money and investing. John Bogle, founder, the Vanguard Group. Now president, Bogle Financial Markets Research Center. Warren Buffett, CEO and chairman, Berkshire Hathaway. David Shaw, chairman, president, and CEO, D.E. Shaw & Co. Also founder, adviser, and partner in firms including IDEXX Laboratories, Black Point Partners, Stanford Systems, and Attenuon. G. Kenneth Heebner, chairman, Capital Growth Management Limited. Bill Gross, chief investment officer, Pacific Investment Management Co., which he helped found in 1971.
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Judge cites insufficient evidence in 25-year-old mafia hanging

Times (UK) Jun 6, 07 9:17 PM CDT
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A judge in Rome exonerated five suspects on trial for the 1982 murder of Roberto Calvi, citing a lack of evidence. Calvi—known as "God's banker" for his closeness to the Vatican— was found hanged under Blackfriars Bridge in London in a presumed suicide. Newly discovered forensic evidence led authorities to suspect foul play and reopen the case.
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Wall Street Journal May 21, 07 5:23 AM CDT
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Italian lenders UniCredit and Capitalia yesterday inked a $29.7 billion deal to create a bank with the world's fifth (and Europe's second) largest market cap. The hurried Rome merger indicates, according to the Wall Street Journal , a rush to consolidate Europe's banking sector, but also the persistent challenges to cross-border deals within the EU.
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The secret agent take on fraud: passwords that self-destruct

InformationWeek May 2, 07 1:39 PM CDT
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Hello, Mission Impossible: Credit cards may soon feature tiny LCD screens that display a temporary password at the push of a button. The password, valid for only 30 seconds, is meant to deter online fraud and identity theft.
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Yahoo! Mar 18, 07 10:53 PM CDT
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Wal-Mart has withdrawn its controversial application for a bank charter, ending a potential foray into the retail bank market. The big-box retailer’s plans to set up its own bank had drawn fire from banking and consumer groups, who feared it would stifle competition. The company, for its part, calls the protests "manufactured controversy."
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