Business briefs October 2, 2012
Madoff fraud stretched back to the 1970s
NEW YORK - New York prosecutors say the multibillion-dollar fraud carried out by Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff began as far back as the early 1970s.
The revelation comes in a rewritten indictment boosting charges against four longtime employees of the investment firm Madoff ran from his Manhattan offices.
A November 2010 indictment alleged a conspiracy to defraud Madoff's clients began in 1992.
The newly written indictment was revealed Monday. It adds new charges of bank fraud and new tax offenses to several people who worked with Madoff.
Authorities say thousands of investors lost roughly $20 billion in the fraud as Madoff failed to put their money into markets. Madoff pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is serving a 150-year prison sentence in Butner, N.C.
Yahoo CEO adds motherhood to list of challenges
SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer gave birth to a boy late Sunday, shining a spotlight on her ability to steer the struggling Internet company in a new direction while adjusting to the challenges of being a first-time mother.
The birth came a week ahead of the Oct. 7 due date that Mayer shared with the public in July. She announced her pregnancy on her social networking accounts just a few hours after Yahoo hired her as its third full-time CEO in less than a year.
The pregnancy news amplified the buzz about Mayer's defection from Google Inc., where she spent 13 years as a key executive overseeing some of the services that helped to drag down Yahoo.
Yahoo's decision to anoint a soon-to-be mom as its CEO was hailed as a breakthrough for women seeking to prove men aren't the only ones who can balance a high-powered executive lifestyle and early parenthood.
Stocks rise due to expansion in manufacturing
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks mostly rose on Monday as growth in manufacturing provided more evidence that the economy may be picking up, or at least not getting any worse. The gains came after news that U.S. manufacturing grew in September for the first time in four months.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, also said its gauge of manufacturing employment rose following a decline in August. That's a hopeful sign that the government's monthly employment report, due out Friday, could come in better than analysts have been expecting.
Also Monday, the government said U.S. builders spent more on home construction in August, the latest positive sign for the housing market.
- The Associated Press