Daniel Andersen, a promoter serving time in prison, was permanently barred from marketing fraudulent tax schemes by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle.
The Fed says industrial production rose 0.5 percent in July, after falling in 17 of the previous 18 months.
The Blackstone Group LP plans to sell bonds for the first time, but offered no details on how much or when.
The Vatican's newspaper on Thursday praised as a step toward "ethical finance" a deal announced by the Swiss and U.S. governments to settle American demands for the identities of suspected tax dodgers.
Foreclosure filings were up 32 percent from the same month last year, RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. More than 360,000 households, or one in every 355 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice.
The stock market is trying to reconcile some disappointing retail sales and jobs data with the Federal Reserve's more upbeat view of the economy.
Jackson National Life Insurance Co., buoyed by robust sales of annuities, saw its first-half sales and deposits reach $6.1 billion, up from $5.94 billion in the first six months of 2008.
Moody's Investors Service today said it would keep its A3 long-term issuer rating on American International Group Inc. after the insurance company reported its first quarterly profit in nearly two years.
A more upbeat Federal Reserve reassured investors that they've been making the right bets.
The Commerce Department says the deficit rose 4 percent to $27 billion, from May's $26 billion. The May imbalance had been the lowest deficit in nearly a decade.
