BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund clinched agreement on a new debt target for Greece on Monday in a breakthrough towards releasing an urgently needed tranche of loans to the near-bankrupt economy, officials said.

ResCap Bankruptcy Examiner Says Report to Take Longer Bloomberg A report on Residential Capital LLC's pre-bankruptcy transactions with parent company Ally Financial Inc. (ALLY) and others will take about two months longer than planned, the retired judge conducting the probe said. Former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur J.

The following regulatory agencies have a renewal deadline on one or more license types on December 1st. Licensees should review Renewal requirements for more details. Agencies : Delaware, DC, Georgia, Kansas, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Vermont

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2012-240 Washington, D.C., Nov. 26, 2012 — After nearly four years in office, SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro today announced that she will step down on Dec. 14, 2012. Additional Materials SEC Accomplishments under Chairman Schapiro Chairman Schapiro, who became chairman in the wake of the financial crisis in January 2009, strengthened, reformed, and revitalized the agency. She oversaw a more rigorous enforcement and examination program, and shaped new rules by which Wall Street must play. “It has been an incredibly rewarding experience to work with so many dedicated SEC staff who strive every day to protect investors and ensure our markets operate with integrity,” said Chairman Schapiro. “Over the past four years we have brought a record number of enforcement actions, engaged in one of the busiest rulemaking periods, and gained greater authority from Congress to better fulfill our mission.” Chairman Schapiro is one of the longest-serving SEC chairmen, having served longer than 24 of the previous 28. She was appointed by President Barack Obama on Jan. 20, 2009, and unanimously confirmed by the Senate. During her tenure, Chairman Schapiro worked to bolster the SEC’s enforcement and examination programs, among others. As a result of a series of reforms, the agency is more adept at pursing tips and complaints provided by outsiders, better able to identify wrongdoers through vastly upgraded market intelligence capabilities, and more strategic, innovative and risk-focused in the way it inspects financial firms. In each of the past two years, the agency has brought more enforcement actions than ever before, including 735 enforcement actions in fiscal year 2011 and 734 actions in FY 2012. In addition, the SEC engaged in one of the busiest rulemaking periods in decades. Due to new rules now in place, investors can get clear information about the advisers they invest with, vote on the executive compensation...

The euro zone may be in recession but the region's efforts to repair budgets, cut labor costs and improve competitiveness is signaling a more dynamic future for its economy, according to a report commissioned by a European think tank The Lisbon Council and Germany-based Berenberg Bank.

Home Equity Loans Make Comeback Fueling US Spending: Mortgages Businessweek Home equity lines of credit that fueled a spending spree during the U.S. property boom are back. After six years of declines, lending for so-called Helocs will rise 30 percent to $79.6 billion in 2012, the highest level since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, ...

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday, after a senior Democratic Senator said on Sunday that little progress had been made in the last 10 days on solving the "fiscal cliff" of $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts set to start next year.