Regulators | featured news

U.S. and European regulators have cleared the long-discussed Internet search partnership between Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc., enabling the rivals to form a tag team as they try to mount a more serious challenge to Google Inc....

Toy safety regulators say one of the holiday season's hottest toy crazes — Zhu Zhu Pets — do not violate federal safety standards after all.

California regulators appear to be on track to pass the nation's first ban on energy-hungry, big-screen TVs, the Los Angeles Times reports. The newspaper says the influential lobby group Consumer Electronics Association appears to be losing the battle and is asking the California Energy Commission instead to let consumers decide on their own whether to buy the most energy-saving new models of LCD and plasma high-def TVs.

The difficulties at Sheila Bair's regulator highlight just how distressed the U.S. banking system really is. Congress was told Thursday that the two government-sponsored mortgage enterprises (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) may need more public funds--but the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insists it can do without taxpayer dollars.

The Fed should be in charge of regulating financial institutions, but a council of regulators could monitor broader risks, the Fed chairman said.

Regulators shut down two banking units of Irwin Financial Corp. Friday, marking the 93rd and 94th failures this year of federally insured banks.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of Louisville, Ky.-based Irwin Union Bank FSB and Columbus, Ind.-based Irwin Union Bank and Trust Co.
As of Aug. 31, Irwin Bank FSB had $493 million in assets and $441 million in deposits, while Irwin Union Bank and Trust had $2.7 billion in assets and $2.1 billion in deposits.

American International Group Inc's former Chief Executive Hank Greenberg agreed to pay $15 million to settle regulators' allegations of improper accounting transactions, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.