Rob Urban

LPS Deal Would Finish Round Trip With Shares at No Gain

bloomberg.com — Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS), the company said to be in talks to sell itself to its former owner, could leave shareholders where they started in 2008 if the mortgage-services provider completes its round-trip journey. Title insurer Fidelity National Financial Inc.

Buzz Aldrin, Moonwalker, Says U.S. Must Shoot for Mars

bloomberg.com — May 24 (Bloomberg News) -- Buzz Aldrin was the second man to step onto the lunar surface, 19 minutes behind the late Neil Armstrong. That was July 20, 1969, nearly 44 years ago. Two years later, the Apollo 11 astronaut retired from NASA but still was thinking about space.

Denmark Shows Negative Rates Can Work, Central Bank Deputy Says

bloomberg.com — Denmark's experience with negative interest rates shows the policy can work well in helping an economy through extreme economic scenarios, central bank Deputy Governor Per Callesen said. "We were very careful to prepare market participants before taking this policy step," Callesen said at an International Capital Markets Association event in Copenhagen today.

Fisher Says BOE Policy Makers Must Keep Up Economic Stimulus

bloomberg.com — Bank of England Markets Director Paul Fisher said policy makers must continue to provide support to the British economy as companies and consumers reduce debts and rebuild confidence.

3i Makes Offer to Buy Barclays Infrastructure Funds Division

bloomberg.com — 3i Group Plc (III) said it offered to buy Barclays Plc (BARC) 's European infrastructure-fund business as the U.K.'s biggest publicly traded private-equity firm seeks to boost investments in the region's physical assets. Barclays Infrastructure Funds Management Ltd. has 780 million pounds ($1.2 billion) of assets under management, London-based 3i said in a statement today, without disclosing the offer price.

Sweating Bangladesh Surveyor Races to Avoid Next Tragedy

bloomberg.com — Amid an international outcry and promises by retailers to improve worker safety, Bangladesh is struggling to conduct even a crude assessment of the country's garment factories. To appreciate the Sisyphean task, spend a day with Mohammed Helal Ahmed, a 42-year-old-civil engineer in the Dhaka city government, as he struggles through cursory factory inspections.

Christie Jersey Shore Rebound Belied as Marinas Struggle

bloomberg.com — At Great Bay Marina in New Jersey's Little Egg Harbor, there'll be no calls for hamburgers in the restaurant and few revving motors will drown out seabirds' cries this holiday weekend, usually one of the year's busiest.

Fannie Mae Winning at the Alamo Prompts Lender Angst

bloomberg.com — Fannie Mae is snatching potential profits away from mortgage lenders as it posts record earnings that are fueling industry concern the government-backed company is regaining its swagger even as lawmakers plot its demise. The company has ramped up its purchases of home loans from lenders for cash, in the process cutting out originators from the more profitable business of creating and selling bonds backed by the debt.

Finland Must Cap Mortgages to Boost Stability, Central Bank Says

bloomberg.com — Finland 's financial regulator needs the power to impose a binding cap on mortgages to prevent household debt growth from threatening financial stability, the central bank said. "There are good reasons to ensure the readiness to make use of macro-prudential tools in time, such as loan-to-value regulation and a systemic risk buffer," Deputy Governor Pentti Hakkarainen, who's in charge of financial stability at the Bank of Finland, said in an e-mailed report today.

Home Supply Limited by Americans Lacking Equity to Sell

bloomberg.com — About 22 million Americans may lack enough home equity to move, keeping property listings tight and limiting sales as the housing market recovers, Zillow Inc. (Z) said. Forty-four percent of homeowners with mortgages owed more than their properties are worth or had less than 20 percent equity in the first quarter, the Seattle-based real estate data company said in a report today.