Daily Wrap Up August 14 – Finance
BB&T Corp. and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have reached an agreement to take over Colonial BancGroup in Alabama the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported citing anonymous sources. Colonial is Alabama's second-largest bank with $26.4 billion in assets and 355 branches in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Nevada and Texas. The takeover would make BB&T the ninth-biggest U.S. bank by assets.
Spotlight on Usain Bolt as World Championships kick off
Sprinter Usain Bolt, the track and field star of the Beijing Olympics, last year will be appearing at the track and field 12th World Championships in Athletics in Berlin which begins this weekend.
Obama interviewed by 11 year old reporter (Video)
Damon Weaver the sixth grade student, who had been seeking to interview President Barack Obama for several months, finally sat with the President at the White House.
Octomom Nadya Suleman: 'I screwed myself' (Video)
In an interview that will air on Fox on August 19, Octomom Nadya Suleman admits she
Bulked-up Canadian Hydro increases sales, suitors
A bulked-up Canadian Hydro Developers Inc said on Friday it is big enough to pursue large renewable power projects on its own and has no need for an inadequate takeover bid from TransAlta Corp.
SNC-Lavalin buys stake in Russian engineering firm
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc said on Friday it has bought a 48 percent stake in a Russian engineering company, a deal the Canadian company hopes will help it become a leader in that country's oil and gas market.
Allied Nevada to raise C$100.4 mln in equity financing
Allied Nevada Gold Corp said it would raise about C$100.4 million ($92.45 million) by selling 11.2 million common shares to a syndicate of underwriters co-led by GMP Securities LP and Genuity Capital Markets.
Blackstone to launch 5 bln yuan Shanghai fund
Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP plans to launch a 5-billion-yuan ($732 million) fund that will primarily invest in the city of Shanghai, the city said in a statement on Friday.
Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman tops list of highest paid CEO's
Blackstone's chief executive officer, Stephen Schwarzman, tops the list of top 10 highest-paid executives in the U.S. last year with a staggering package of $702 million according to reports from the Corporate Library.
Obama says insurance companies holding U.S. hostage
U.S. President Barack Obama, pushing for healthcare reform during a trip to conservative Montana, said on Friday the country was held hostage by insurance companies that deny coverage to sick people.
UBS tax deal seen involving big accounts
A landmark settlement that will spare UBS a lengthy and damaging U.S. tax trial is set to be signed next week and will involve the disclosure of the biggest holders of secret Swiss accounts.
U.S. consumer morale sags, industrial output rises
U.S. consumers' gloom deepened in early August as worry about scarce jobs and falling income overshadowed positive news that industrial output in July grew for the first time in nine months.
Eunice Shriver Kennedy funeral service took place on August 14 (Pictures)
Eunice Shriver Kennedy's funeral service took place on Friday August 14 at Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
Allied Irish Banks gets approach, shares up 6 percent
Allied Irish Banks received an approach from a third party for a minority stake, it said on Friday, in what could indicate scope for recovery among Irish banks which have been pummeled by the credit crisis.
Wall St snaps 4-week winning streak as data weighs
U.S. stocks fell broadly on Friday, as the major indexes snapped a four-week streak of gains after weak consumer sentiment data fueled concerns about the strength of an economic recovery.
Billion-dollar IPOs set to return to U.S.
Investors lured by healthier stock markets and private equity firms eager to unload stakes in their portfolio companies are setting the stage for the return of billion-dollar-sized initial public offerings to the United States.
Da Vinci's mechanical lion walks
An idea described by Leonardo Da Vinci for mechanical lion is turned into reality by a French museum dedicated to the Italian artist.
BB&T set to buy Colonial Bank: Reports
BB&T Corp. and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have reached an agreement to take over Colonial BancGroup in Alabama the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported citing anonymous sources.
Da Vinci's lion prowls again after 500 years
A mechanical lion invented by Leonardo da Vinci to entertain the King of France has sprung back to life in the Renaissance genius's last home.
BB&T to buy Colonial assets in FDIC-backed deal: reports
U.S. Southeast regional bank BB&T Corp will buy deposits and branches of Colonial BancGroup Inc following a move by regulators to take the struggling lender into receivership, media reports said, citing people familiar with the matter.
NASA gets 1 million downloads for TV program online
NASA's television program, showing how the space agency makes contributions to everyday life, has been downloaded more than one million times.
'Ukraine's Got Talent' show winner amazes with sand art (VIDEO)
Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who was crowned as the winner of the show, uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and
U.S. says ex-Credit Suisse broker in bait-and-switch
A former Credit Suisse Group AG broker used bait-and-switch tactics in fraudulently steering corporate clients into risky mortgage investments they did not want, federal prosecutors said on Friday.
Obama interviewed by 11-year-old journalist (Full video)
President Barack Obama was interviewed on Thursday night at the White House by an 11-year-old journalist from Florida.
Carey Mulligan joins
English actress Carey Mulligan will play Gordon Gekko's daughter in
Obama grilled by 11-year-old
Student Damon Weaver gives U.S. President Barack Obama a hard time over education, school meals and bullying.
Oil posts biggest loss in two weeks
Oil prices posted their biggest loss in more than two weeks on Friday after a report showing weak U.S. consumer confidence darkened the economic outlook and tanked stocks on Wall Street.
Polish village prays for Madonna to visit
Pop diva Madonna may have upset some Catholic Poles by timing her debut Polish concert to coincide with a big religious holiday on Saturday, but she is sure of a warm welcome if she visits the tiny village of Rumin.
Google users search more, very loyal: comScore
Search market leader Google Inc holds greater loyalty among its users, who conduct more searches a month than those on Yahoo! and Microsoft, new data issued on Friday showed, posing a challenge for the new team of rivals to Google.
After long ban, some Cubans sample tourism luxury
Floating, cocktail drink in hand, in the pool of a five-star hotel in Cuba, Alexis basks in a holiday experience that for years was out of reach for him in his own homeland.
