News Digest for November 3, 2006

By Dominic Jones on November 3, 2006

There are 7 items… America’s Corporate Bond Sales Surpass Record | Japan’s Nomura to acquire Instinet | New York says Grasso should return $112.2 mln | Review: Microsoft improves Web browser | What’s Next for Boards? Ten Landscape-Altering Trends | Study says rich’s slice of the wealth pie gets bigger | Canada’s Senate Probes Hedge Fund Regulation

America’s Corporate Bond Sales Surpass Record
America’s corporate bond sales hit a record $677 billion, with some of the biggest offerings still scheduled for the final two months of the year.

Japan’s Nomura to acquire Instinet
Instinet, which handles electronic trading for institutional investors, was established in 1969 and has 1,500 clients with 605 employees and offices in 13 cities, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo and London.

New York says Grasso should return $112.2 mln
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, in a state court filing on Thursday, said former New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso should return $112.2 million in compensation to the Big Board.

Review: Microsoft improves Web browser
The long-awaited upgrade to Microsoft’s Web browser is here, introducing the masses to features available for years in rival products.

What’s Next for Boards? Ten Landscape-Altering Trends
Here is an optimist’s view of 10 trends that will shape boardrooms and the governance landscape in the years ahead, by John C. Wilcox, SVP, Head of Corporate Governance TIAA-CREF.

Study says rich’s slice of the wealth pie gets bigger
The median value of stock holdings for the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans was $110,000 per household in 2004, according to Morgan Stanley, the banking giant. The value of stocks held by the other 90 percent of Americans averaged $8,350.

Canada’s Senate Probes Hedge Fund Regulation
The Senate’s standing committee on banking, trade and commerce will conduct three days of hearings, beginning today in Ottawa, to determine whether enough oversight of hedge funds exists in Canada and whether they should be regulated.