Bernanke: Fed ready to act to boost economy

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress that the nation is in for a period of sluggish business growth and sent a fresh signal Wednesday that interest rates will again be lowered to steady the teetering economy.

“The economic situation has become distinctly less favorable” since the summer, the Fed chief told the House Financial Services Committee.

Since Bernanke’s last such comprehensive assessment last summer, the housing slump has worsened, credit problems have intensified and the job market has deteriorated. Bernanke said that the confluence of these factors has turned people and businesses alike toward a more cautious attitude toward spending and investment. This, he said, has further weakened the economy.

Bush Enacts Economic Aid Package

WASHINGTON (Feb. 13) - The checks aren't in the mail, but they will be soon. President Bush signed legislation Wednesday to rush rebates ranging from $300 to $1,200 to millions of people, the centerpiece of government efforts to brace the wobbly economy. First, though, you must file your 2007 tax return.

 

With his signature, President Bush makes the $168 billion economic stimulus bill official. The package may not prevent a recession, but analysts generally believe it could help suppress an economic crisis.

Will News Corp ride to the rescue of Yahoo?

 

News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) is in talks with Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) in a deal that would combine the company's MySpace site and other Internet sites with the pioneering Internet portal, according to The Wall Street Journal [subscription required].
Under the terms of the deal, News Corp. would get a more than 20% stake in Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company. No doubt that Rupert Murdoch, New Corp's CEO, would want to buy all of Yahoo at some point, probably after it's completed the integration of Dow Jones, publisher of the Journal.
For now, the ball is in the court of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), whose $44.6 billion unsolicited bid for Yahoo was rejected as being being too low. Unless News Corp is prepared to buy the whole thing, Yahoo will have little choice but to agree to Microsoft's buyout. Murdoch, though, may have a few tricks up his sleeve.
"News Corp. has been reaching out to private equity firms since the day Microsoft's bid was first announced, according to one person familiar with the matter," the paper said. "The company had been originally reluctant to press forward with a deal until waiting for a sign from the Yahoo board that they were interested, according to another person."

Tags: interent media, InterentMedia, Internet advertising, InternetAdvertising, inthenews, msft, MySpace, nws, Rupert Murdoch, RupertMurdoch, yhoo

Dollar gains ground against euro

LONDON: The dollar rose against the euro on Wednesday despite growing fears of a US recession and ahead of European interest rate decisions and a weekend meeting of world finance chiefs, dealers said. They said trade was muted as the markets monitored the results of the 'Super Tuesday' voting to nominate the candidates for the US presidential elections later this year. The dollar was finding some support on the view that despite the expected US slowdown, other countries will be equally affected and so the US currency still offered safe haven, defensive qualities at a time of great uncertainty.