Financial Markets

BUDAPEST — Hungary’s government yesterday tried to calm investors and distanced itself from earlier comments by officials claiming that the country was close to defaulting on its debts. State Secretary Mihaly Varga, a former finance minister, described talk of a default as “exaggerated . . . and unfortunate,’’ adding that the new, center-right government of the Fidesz party was committed to the 2010 budget deficit of 3.8 percent of GDP set by the previous administration even if “immediate and urgent’’ steps were needed to achieve it. “The situation is...

Stocks fell for a sixth day as Facebook's IPO failed to boost confidence in a market rattled by Europe's debt. Concern about the continent's debt woes drove the S&P 500 down 4.6 percent in six days. One German official said turmoil in the financial markets caused by the crisis may last another two years, as G8 leaders prepared to discuss Greece.

Shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. climbed nearly 1.5 percent Wednesday despite a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee vote that dealt a setback to the first cancer-fighting drug developed by the Cambridge biotechnology company. The 13-to-1 vote to recommend against approval of Ridaforolimus, a treatment for metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma and bone sarcoma being marketed by drug maker Merck & Co., sent shares of Ariad down in after-market trading Tuesday. But investors apparently viewed the decline as a "buying opportunity" as they looked ahead to the company's...

The unending turmoil in Greece spread fallout across the financial markets Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell for the ninth day out of 10, and gold, oil, and the euro all dropped to multi-month lows. Greece called a new round of elections for June 17 after coalition talks to form a government fell apart. The president said depositors were pulling hundreds of millions of euros out of banks, weakening the country's strained financial system. The main cause for investor worry was that Greece would pull out of the group of countries that use the euro, and that that would...

Financial markets slumped after Europe's central bank president said there was no plan to purchase government bonds, as many had expected. The remarks made investors nervous that Europe will again fail to adequately address its sovereign debt crisis. Overlooked was good news on the US economy as jobless claims fell and wholesalers increased inventories.

The Bank of England's nine-member rate-setting panel voted unanimously to keep its main interest rate at the record low of 0.5 percent in August because of slowing growth and heightened tensions in financial markets. Minutes to the Aug 4. meeting, released Wednesday, show that the two members who had previously voted to increase rates changed their minds. This was the first unanimous vote for unchanged rates since May last year. One member, Adam Posen, continued to vote for a 50 billion pound ($80 billion)

Stocks fell for a sixth day as Facebook's IPO failed to boost confidence in a market rattled by Europe's debt. Concern about the continent's debt woes drove the S&P 500 down 4.6 percent in six days. One German official said turmoil in the financial markets caused by the crisis may last another two years, as G8 leaders prepared to discuss Greece.

Natick medical device giant Boston Scientific Corp. said Thursday that it is exercising an option to buy Cameron Health Inc., a privately held company that is developing an implantable heart defibrillator, in a deal that includes an upfront payment of $150 million. The buyout could eventually be worth as much as $1.3 billion, if San Clemente, Calif.-based Cameron wins Food and Drug Administration approval for its defibrillator, called the S-ICD System, and achieves sales targets in the six years after it goes on the market.

The 17 countries that use the euro are debating building up their new rescue fund to its full (EURO)500 billion ($670 billion) capacity faster than originally planned as part of a broader effort to beef up the currency union's financial firewalls. The European Stability Mechanism will have a capital base of (EURO)80 billion, paid in by eurozone governments. This (EURO)80 billion — together with (EURO)620 billion in a form of payment guarantees from the member governments — can then be used to raise up to (EURO)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a bid to save financial markets and economy from further turmoil, the U.S. government agreed Tuesday to provide an $85 billion emergency loan to rescue the huge insurer AIG. The Federal Reserve said in a statement it determined that a disorderly failure of AIG could hurt the already delicate financial markets and the economy. It also could "lead to substantially higher borrowing costs, reduced household wealth and materially weaker economic performance," the Fed said.

Financial markets will likely stumble this week after elections in Greece and France cast a pall of uncertainty over Europe's efforts to solve its debt crisis. On Sunday night, the euro plunged to $1.2988, a nearly five-month low. Greek voters on Sunday voted mostly for two parties that want to change the nation's international bailout terms or even overturn its rescue deal, according to early projections of the election results. Greece won't have a government until parties with divergent worldviews can form a governing coalition.

A downgrade of Spain's debt and another increase in the country's unemployment rate kept sentiment in financial markets in check Friday ahead of the first estimate of U.S. economic growth in the first quarter of the year. Spain's economic problems have become the epicenter Europe's debt crisis in recent weeks as investors worry over Spain's ability to push through austerity and reforms at a time of recession and mass unemployment. On the unemployment front, there was some further grim news with the national statistics agency reporting that the jobless...

The 17 countries that use the euro are debating building up their new rescue fund to its full (EURO)500 billion ($670 billion) capacity faster than originally planned as part of a broader effort to beef up the currency union's financial firewalls. The European Stability Mechanism will have a capital base of (EURO)80 billion, paid in by eurozone governments. This (EURO)80 billion — together with (EURO)620 billion in a form of payment guarantees from the member governments — can then be used to raise up to (EURO)

WASHINGTON - The nation's top economic policy makers said Wednesday that although Europe's long-simmering sovereign-debt crisis continues to weigh on growth, its threat to the US economy has diminished significantly in recent months. Testifying before the House oversight committee, Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, and Timothy F. Geithner, the Treasury secretary, said Europe had made progress in assuring investors of the safety of the euro currency and ensuring market access for all eurozone economies.

Shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. climbed nearly 1.5 percent Wednesday despite a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee vote that dealt a setback to the first cancer-fighting drug developed by the Cambridge biotechnology company. The 13-to-1 vote to recommend against approval of Ridaforolimus, a treatment for metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma and bone sarcoma being marketed by drug maker Merck & Co., sent shares of Ariad down in after-market trading Tuesday. But investors apparently viewed the decline as a "buying opportunity" as they looked ahead...

WASHINGTON - The Treasury Department has finished selling the $225 billion in mortgage-backed securities it bought to help stabilize the markets during the worst of the financial crisis. The government said Monday that it ended up making a $25 billion profit on the securities, which are guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-owned mortgage finance companies. The profit came from interest payments, principal, and rising prices for the securities. "The successful sale of these securities marks another important milestone in the wind-down of the...

Billionaire Warren Buffett's company is expected to file a quarterly update on its U.S. stock portfolio Tuesday after financial markets close. In November, Buffett surprised many by revealing that Berkshire Hathaway had spent $10.7 billion to buy more than 5 percent of IBM's stock. Investors watch what Buffett is buying and selling closely because of his extremely successful record. Berkshire owns major stakes in in Coca-Cola Co., American Express Co., Wells Fargo amp; Co. and other companies.

NEW YORK - The dollar plunged to its lowest point ever against the euro yesterday amid speculation the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates and on a warning from the US treasury secretary that turbulence in financial markets may linger. The 13-nation euro rose as high as $1.3914 in New York trading - topping its previous record of $1.3852 reached July 24. It later fell back to $1.3908, still up from $1.3832 in New York late Tuesday. The euro surged after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, speaking to officials from some of the biggest financial firms in the United...

NEW YORK (AP) — Bank stocks turbocharged a rally across the financial markets Tuesday, and all three major stock indexes posted their biggest gains of the year. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 218 points and closed at its highest level since the end of 2007. The Nasdaq composite closed above 3,000 for the first time since December 2000, during the collapse in dot-com stocks. The market rallied from the opening bell Tuesday after the government said February retail sales gains were the strongest since September.

Bank stocks turbocharged a rally across the financial markets Tuesday, and all three major stock indexes posted their biggest gains of the year. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 218 points and closed at its highest level since the last day of 2007. The Nasdaq composite closed above 3,000 for the first time since December 2000, when dot-com stocks collapsed. There was already plenty of good news driving the market higher Tuesday: Retail sales in February increased the most since September, and the Federal Reserve said it expected the unemployment rate to...