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RiskMetrics Preps $300M IPO

RiskMetrics Group Inc. is prepping a $306 million initial public offering that will raise about $165 million for the company.

The IPO will let RiskMetrics pay off a $125 million credit facility that is scheduled to mature on July 11, 2014. Additionally, RiskMetrics will add to its working-capital pool.

RiskMetrics also owns Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., a proxy advisory services known as ISS.

RiskMetrics is an
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LinkedIn Preps New Features

LinkedIn, the online networking site often used by bankers, is expected to introduce several new features that could make it even more popular.

The site’s new homepage will add several new applications, such as a news feature that will automatically feed members with information based on their profiles and connections. LinkedIn hopes its new features will turn in into more of a destination site.

The social networking site
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M&A Volume Poised for Decline in 2008

Skyrocketing financing costs have slowed the pace of leveraged buyouts 33% since midyear, and the reduced pace -- which will continue into 2008 -- will likely cut into investment banks’ fee income.The value of LBOs may drop 20% this year, analysts predict. The reason: Financing costs have more than doubled since June."It's the end of an era for a while for the very large LBOs," said Piero Novelli, head of global mergers and
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UnitedHealth Exec to Repay $620 Million

A year after his ouster for allegedly backdating stock options to maximize returns, former UnitedHealth Group Chief Executive William McGuire has agreed to forfeit $620 million in stock-option profits and retirement pay.Despite the payback, McGuire retains 24 million stock options that could be cashed in for about $800 million. Plus, he earned $530 million when he ran the Minnetonka, Minn.-based insurance company from 1991 until 2006. Earlier
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Bear Stearns CEO to Resign

James Cayne will resign as CEO of Bear Stearns Companies Inc. as early as today, according to an unnamed source close to the matter.

This likely comes as a reaction
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Banks Rally to Rescue Endangered Insurer

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., Bear Stearns Companies Inc. and other major banks are in talks on how to save a struggling bond insurance company that has guaranteed $26 billion in mortgage securities.

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Insurer Aon Sells Units to Fund Share Buyback

Ace Ltd. and Munich Re AG are shelling out a combined $2.75 billion to buy two insurance units from Aon Corp.Chicago-based Aon plans to use the funds to repurchase shares, a reflection of the company’s "ongoing belief in the underlying positive momentum of the business," said President and CEO Greg Case.Ace will buy Aon’s Combined Insurance Company of America for $2.4 billion, while Munich Re will acquire Sterling Life
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Fed, 4 Central Banks Team for Funds Auction

The Federal Reserve has coordinated a temporary funds auction facility to keep capital flowing to cash-strapped businesses and consumers. The move comes a day after Fed governors cut the fed funds rate 25 basis points to 4.25%.In the newly inked arrangement, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, and the Swiss National Bank will contribute to a temporary auction for funds. The first two auctions, for $20 billion
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Quicken Leaves Out the Social Network

Intuit unvieled its new Quicken online personal finance application, with one element missing: full community integration.

The new application looks a like like Mint’s or Buxfer’s. It has full budgeting capabilities, and the same "upload your accounts" features. Whether they work as well, we don’t know, but the user interface appears comparably elegant.

But what is missing from Quicken Online is community.
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Rulings May Lower Insurance Payouts in Katrina Lawsuits

The tables have turned in favor of insurers, after a series of rulings in appeals court tackle whether provisions in homeowners’ contracts excluding flood damage are enforceable.Last year and early this year, insurers like Allstate Corp., Nationwide Mutual Insurance Cos., and State Farm Insurance Cos., were on the losing end of the lawsuits. State Farm, for one, was hit with a $1 million judgment for a single home.In January, insurers
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