Investors Business Daily:
Business

• U.S. Financial Firms Making Money, But 'Bad Banks' Rising (Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:12:00 GMT)
  Profits at financial institutions climbed the most in three years in the second quarter, but the list of bad banks also rose, suggesting the industry at the heart of the 2008 financial crisis remains in fragile health. Commercial banks and savings institutions had a net profit of $21.6 billion in the April-June period, reversing a $4.4 billion loss in the same period of 2009, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said. It was the best performance
  
  
  
• Rising Prices, New Mines Spell Profit Growth For Gold Producer (Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:01:00 GMT)
  Developing gold mines takes lots of capital and lots of patience. Even at sites that prove to house ample gold, extraction and processing problems can slow production, defying output forecasts. But it appears that Toronto-based Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) has survived the most stressful stages of new mine development. In less than three years, it has opened five new mines, all of which are now producing gold. The capital costs of those openings, says
  
  
  
• Priceline's Growth Gets A Kick From '05 Buy Of Booking.com (Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:00:00 GMT)
  It's always worth notice when a company finds success outside its original business model and markets. Such is the case with Priceline.com (PCLN), built around an innovative domestic online travel service. The cost-cutting Name Your Own Price service established Priceline as a major dot-com bubble survivor and a force in U.S. travel bookings. But it's in Europe, where Priceline operates on a more traditional online travel model, that Priceline has
  
  
  
• New Dimensions In Movies (Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:52:00 GMT)
  When times are tough, people seek out entertainment as a welcome distraction. With the U.S. still struggling to recover from the Great Recession, Americans are turning to movie theaters, DVDs and even "Shark Week" on cable TV for amusement. That explains why some entertainment stocks, such as Netflix (NFLX) and Discovery Communications (DISCA), are outperforming the overall market. New technologies such as digital 3-D movies in theaters and
  
  
  
• Endo Pharmaceuticals Looks For Acquisitions (Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:40:00 GMT)
  Looking at all of its recent acquisitions, you might think Endo Pharmaceutical's business model echoes another firm's. One like Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ). That makes sense. Endo's (ENDP) chief executive since 2008, David Holveck, is a J&J alumnus. He began climbing the J&J ladder in 1999, finally heading J&J's development corporation. An acquisition brought him to J&J. The diversified giant bought Centocor, where Holveck had been chief executive.
  
  
  
• Network Equipment Maker Awaits Release Of Federal Stimulus Funds (Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:26:00 GMT)
  Somewhere, billions of taxpayer dollars are waiting (and waiting, and waiting) to be spent on projects to expand and upgrade the nation's broadband and wireless Internet systems. The money is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the federal stimulus package. The stimulus package earmarked $7.2 billion for broadband and wireless Internet access. Much of that cash is still lying around in federal coffers. When
  
  
  
• Amazon's New Kindle Off To Fast Start (Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:59:00 GMT)
  Two compact Kindle e-readers started shipping on Wednesday, but Amazon.com says they're already the fastest-selling Kindle models ever, based on the first four weeks of preorders. The lowest-priced Wi-Fi-only version is just $139, while the Wi-Fi and free 3G wireless is $189. The new Kindles will help Amazon (AMZN) compete with Apple's (AAPL) fast-growing iPad tablet, which starts at $499 and features an e-reader among other functions, plus pure
  
  
  
• 'Flopper' Fraud Hits Short Sales, Spurring Federal Investigations (Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:05:00 GMT)
  "Flopping" is what law enforcement is calling the latest real estate scam. The FBI, Freddie Mac and state real estate departments are all probing flopping. Think of it as flipping without a fix-up, but with a fraud. Flopping scams prey on underwater homeowners and their lenders. A perpetrator may use a faulty appraisal or broker price opinion to try to buy a home at below market price, in a short sale negotiated with the lender. The scammer will
  
  
  
• Home Mortgage Rates Retrench To Lowest Ever (Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:53:00 GMT)
  U.S. mortgage rates fell in the latest week to the lowest on record and posted their ninth drop in the last 10 weeks, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most widely used home loan, averaged 4.36% in the week ended Aug. 26, down from 4.42% in the prior week and 5.14% from a year earlier, says the survey by Freddie Mac (FMCC), the second-largest provider of funding for residential loans. It began the survey in
  
  
  
• Tougher FHA Aids Loan Insurers (Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:53:00 GMT)
  Loss-making U.S. mortgage insurers such as John Paulson-invested PMI Group stand to gain as their bigger rival, the Federal Housing Administration, raises its premium rates to boost its cash cushion. Private players such as PMI (PMI), in which billionaire Paulson has a 3% stake, MGIC Investment (MTG) and Radian Group (RDN) were crowded out of the market by FHA-backed loans, which offered lower rates and affordable down payments to new homebuyers.
  
  
  
• Foreclosures Slip In Latest Report, But Ranks Of Newly Late Rise (Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:53:00 GMT)
  The number of U.S. homes headed for foreclosure fell in the second quarter for the first time since the housing slump began in 2006, but improvements may be fleeting as the number of newly delinquent homeowners rose, a banking group says. The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process declined last quarter to 4.57% from 4.63% in the first quarter, partially due to lender efforts to ease payments for homeowners and the impact of temporary home
  
  
  
• Medical Firm's Products Fight Skin Conditions Like Acne, Wrinkles (Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:11:00 GMT)
  It's the scourge of teenagers everywhere. But for Medicis Pharmaceutical, acne is no curse. It's a multibillion-dollar-a-year market opportunity. Medicis (MRX) develops and markets various drugs, gels and creams to treat a range of dermatological and aesthetic conditions. Its focus is helping people look healthy and youthful. The 22-year-old company also has wrinkle-fighting products for older adults, and is working on U.S. regulatory approval for
  
  
  

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