Business

JP Morgan Chase issued an apology on Thursday for the actions of two of its predecessor banks that accepted slaves as collateral on loans. Citizens Bank and Canal Bank in Louisiana, which were ultimately acquired by JP Morgan, accepted approximately 13,000 slaves as collateral and took ownership of approximately 1250 between 1831 and 1865, according to a memo to employees from CEO and Chairman William Harrison and President James Dimon. The memo was in response to a Chicago ordinance, which requires disclosure of slave ownership. "We apolog

Romania's National Institute for Statistics has announced a record growth of 8.3% in gross domestic product for the year of 2004, the highest growth since the fall of communism in 1989. This growth is surprising, seeing as most analysts predicted that GDP would grow by only 5-6% in 2004. Growth was driven mainly by domestic consumption, as well as by increased foreign investment and a good agricultural yield. The growth of 8.3% was also one of the highest in Europe, exceeding by far that of Romania's neighbours Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland. De

Jeff Tweiten, a 27-year-old graphic artist, is encamped in front of the Cinerama Theatre, on a blue sofa, in the northwest city of Seattle, Washington. Tweiten plans to wait 139 days for the premiere of "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," which opens May 19, 2005. He has received help from a community of friends and local business people who have supplied changes of clothes, coffee, food, and a nearby restroom. City authorities have chosen not to enforce vagrancy laws that would force Tweiten to move between the hours of 7AM and 9

The United States Government reported the largest trade deficit in its history today, totalling $60.3 billion for the month of November. The Commerce Department reported a rise of 7.7% from the previous month, in an announcement that had taken economists and analysts by surprise. The reading had been expected to fall to $54 billion, following a softening in oil prices. The trade deficit through November totaled $561.3 billion, far above the previous annual record of $496.5 billion set in 2003, and put the country on track to record a trade im

< 1 - 12 January 2005 • Index • 18 - 25 January> Major News Jan 13 Mexican candidate confident of winning OAS leadership race Bush pressured Israel to seize Chinese aircraft Third in line to British throne dresses as Nazi Jan 12 United States trade deficit reaches all time high 7.7% increase from previous month. Iraqi violence may restrict elections Continuing violence may hamper elections scheduled for January 30. Jan 11 Mamdouh Habib to be released from Guantanamo Bay without charge Australian anti-terror laws not retro-active; man accused of

Sunday Express, a tabloid newspaper from the UK reported an anonymous source claiming to be an insider to merger talks between Wells Fargo Bank and Barclays Bank. The rumoured merger would be a radical break in the kinds of mergers Wells Fargo has done and has said it will continue to do (it is assumed that Wells with the higher market capitalization would be the buyer). Wells Fargo has previously shown no desire to engage in retail banking outside the United States, and has only expanded internationally in its Consumer Finance business and

Thieves have gotten away with money believed to be in excess of £20m ($39m) from the headquarters of Northern Bank, a subsidiary of National Australia Bank, in Northern Ireland. Other sources have estimated the total to be as much as $58m. In what appears to be a meticulously planned operation, the families of two executives were held hostage on Sunday night by armed gunmen. The two executives were made to go to work yesterday as if everything was normal, after closing the bank they opened the vault for a number of robbers who then proceeded

European finance ministers at the G-20 meeting which opened Saturday, November 20th, are expected to discuss the current exchange rate of the euro vs. the dollar. The euro is currently trading high against the dollar, so that it takes around $1.34 (as of December 4, 2004) to buy one euro. This has the effect of making exports from Europe to the USA more expensive, increasing the likelihood that US consumers will buy from a non-EU country. The exchange rate is set by the currency markets, although it is heavily influenced by the current account

Reuters has reported that Philip Knight, co-founder of shoe giant Nike, Inc. will step down as the company's CEO and President on December 28. He will be replaced by William Perez, current CEO of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. While industry experts consider this to be a good move as the company looks to expand beyond its core market, analyst Jamelah Reddy expressed surprise that an individual from outside the company was brought in rather than tapping one of Nike's co-presidents. Reddy said Knight was "leaving big shoes to fill." The move is a blo

Sainsbury's, the UK supermarket chain, announced on Wednesday that it had made its first ever loss. For the six months to 9 October, it reported a pre-tax loss of £39m ($72m), compared with a profit of £323m the previous year. Excluding £168m of exceptional items, such as the clearance of surplus merchandise, Sainsbury's made a pre-tax profit of £131m for the first half of its financial year. The company had made a profits warning earlier in the year. The company's shares actually rose slightly on the news. This is due to the absence of any su

BRASÍLIA, Brazil – Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil, met with the President of the Republic of Korea Mr. Roh Moo-hyun at 5:30 PM at the Palacio do Planalto (Plateau Palace), the Presidential official residence, in Brasilia, Brasil. At 8:00 PM there was a dinner with Brazilian and South Korean Presidents and comitive. At the dinner Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said South Korea is a strategic partner in Asia and he also said that business between Brazil and Korea in 2004 will be US$3 billion. Mr. Lula said