Reuters Business Summary

Central banks fire new round at credit crisis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S., European, and Swiss central banks on Wednesday extended emergency lending facilities for investment banks and expanded other liquidity programs to ease credit market strains that have weighed on the global economy for nearly a year. The joint measures helped lift share prices in the United States and Europe, and were a factor in pushing up U.S. bond yields and the U.S. dollar.

Merrill CDO sale not as good as it looks: analyst

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch's agreement to sell $30.6 billion of toxic securities gives away the bank's potential profits on the securities and leaves it on the hook for most of the risk, strategists at Bank of America wrote on Wednesday. Merrill Lynch & Co Inc MER.N has financed 75 percent of the sale of the securities, meaning it is on the hook if the assets decline by more than 5 cents on the dollar, Bank of America strategist Jeffrey Rosenberg wrote.

Wall Street loses ground on oil, financials

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq turned negative on Wednesday, while the Dow and the S&P 500 pared gains, as a rebound in oil prices and a drop in financial shares punctured Wall Street's earlier rally. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 48.04 points, or 0.42 percent, to 11,445.60. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX inched up 4.22 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,267.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC shed 7.11 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,312.51.

Fannie Mae portfolio rose at fastest rate since '03

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fannie Mae, the largest provider of funding for U.S. residential mortgages, on Wednesday said it grew its investment portfolio in June at the fastest annualized rate in nearly five years. Fannie Mae's (FNM.N: 行情) mortgage portfolio increased at a 22.8 percent annualized rate to $749.6 billion in June, from $736.9 billion in May, the Washington-based company said in a statement.

Comcast profit up on phone, Internet gains

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O: 行情), the larger U.S. cable service provider, posted a higher quarterly profit as it gained market share in phone and Internet services and controlled expenses, sending shares up 6 percent. Comcast reported a tripling of its free cash flow - a measurement of net cash the company prefers, largely due to a drop in capital expenditure as a slowdown in U.S. homebuilding meant that it spent less expanding its cable systems to new communities.

E*Trade to pay $1 million for money laundering lapse

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - E*Trade Financial Corp (ETFC.O: 行情) agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations that two of its brokerage firms failed to follow U.S. rules designed to thwart money laundering, securities regulators said on Wednesday. E*Trade Clearing LLC and E*Trade Securities LLC, without admitting or denying wrongdoing, agreed to settle an administrative proceeding brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency said.

Private sector gains 9,000 jobs in July: report