Latest the Times Stories

American Council of Life Insurers President Frank Keating said the U.S. government's bailout plans had left the insurance industry out in the cold. As we say in the monastic life, it's the magnum silencium -- the great silence, Keating told The New York Times. Regarding the insurers' ability to participate the TARP program, in spite of a massive rescue deal for American International Group, we have not had our phone calls answered, Keating said. Several insurance companies scrambled to make...

The British government has sharply curtailed the bonus system at the Royal Bank of Scotland, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said. In an article published in The Times of London, Brown wrote that the government won't pay for one-way bets. Although RBS -- now 70 percent controlled by the government -- planned on paying $1.42 billion in cash bonuses this year, the Treasury has reduced that sum to $248.79 million, The Times said. A year ago, the bank handed out $3.55 billion in bonus pay....

Annual retail inflation in Britain fell to its lowest rate in 49 years in January, staying just above zero, the National Statistics Office said. The Retail Price Index fell to an annual rate of 0.1 percent during the month, down from December's 0.9 percent, The Times of London reported Tuesday. The retail inflation rate was 0.5 percent in March 1960, The Times said. Much of the month's price decline came from falling oil prices and mortgage interest rates declining in the wake of the Bank of...

Virgin Megastores announced Tuesday that it will mark the closing of its iconic Times Square store in New York with the biggest sale in music retail history. The company said its staff at the Times Square Virgin Megastore has been working around the clock to prepare for the event, which is to begin Thursday. This sale will give our loyal shoppers one last chance to browse the world's largest music store, Simon Wright, chief executive officer of Virgin Entertainment Group, said in a...

Virgin Megastore Times Square Offers Consumers Deep Discounts as it Prepares to Close its Doors Forever NEW YORK, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin Megastores announced today that it will mark the closing of its iconic Times Square store with the biggest sale in music retail history. The staff at the Times Square Virgin Megastore has been working around the clock to prepare for this major event, which will begin February 19, 2009. "This sale will give our loyal shoppers one last chance to...

A recent settlement in Britain may have opened the floodgates for airlines compensating passengers for canceled flights, an industry expert said. After months of negotiations, British Airways agreed to pay 21 passengers an average of $550 each for canceling their flights, The Times of London reported Thursday. The settlement is the a first for British passengers, The Times said. But, it may not be the last. This could open the Pandora's box for retrospective pay-outs and an ongoing loss of...

Singer Rihanna is working with Los Angeles police in developing a domestic violence case against singer Chris Brown, police source said Thursday. Citing the source, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday that Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, is providing ongoing cooperation with detectives. Brown, 19, was arrested Sunday night, booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, and released after posting $50,000 bail. He is being investigated for allegedly attacking Rihanna, his...

A financial plan the U.S. government is to unveil Tuesday will include a guarantee of frozen assets meant to push private firms into action, officials said. By creating a floor value for complex securities through government purchases, it is hoped the reluctance of hedge funds and private equity firms to purchase assets will begin to thaw, The New York Times reported Monday. Details of the plan were to be unveiled Monday but the Obama administration backed off for a day to concentrate on...

Women may soon outnumber men in the U.S. workforce for the first time, U.S. Labor Department statistics show. Women were employed at 49.1 percent of the non-farm jobs in the United States, The New York Times reported Friday. Using data that include farm workers and self-employed wage earners, women make up 47.1 percent of the workforce, the Times said. But the recession and general employment trends have hastened the possibility that women may overtake men in employment figures. While...

Swiss Reinsurance said U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett would invest $2.6 billion in the company, after it lost $861 million in 2008. Swiss Re said it would also consider raising about $1.72 billion more in capital markets, The New York Times reported Thursday. The deal allows Buffett's holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, to buy bonds that will be converted into Swiss Re shares in three years at about $21 each, the Times said. The billionaire's holding company currently owns 3 percent of the...