IN BRIEF

BofA will pay penalty for misleading investors

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to pay a $33 million penalty to settle government charges that it misled investors about Merrill Lynch's plans to pay bonuses to its executives, regulators said Monday.

In seeking approval to buy Merrill, Bank of America told investors that Merrill would not pay year-end bonuses without Bank of America's consent. But the Securities and Exchange Commission said Bank of America had authorized New York-based Merrill to pay up to $5.8 billion in bonuses.

That rendered a statement Bank of America mailed to 283,000 shareholders of both companies about the Merrill deal "materially false and misleading," the SEC said in a statement.

DETROIT

General Motors buyout offers fall short of goal

About 6,000 General Motors Co. blue-collar workers have taken the latest round of early retirement and buyout offers, but it fell short of the company's goal, meaning more layoffs are likely.

GM has about 54,000 factory workers and wants to end the year with 40,500, a cut of about 13,500. Monday's report means that about 7,500 too few workers took the offers, setting the stage for more layoffs.

The automaker announced in June and July that it would close 15 U.S. factories employing about 22,000 workers by the end of 2012.

Pulte Homes says loss widens for quarter

Pulte Homes Inc. said its second-quarter loss widened from a year ago, but the homebuilder's results improved over the first quarter as the housing market started to recover.

The Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based company on Monday said it lost $189.5 million, or 74 cents a share, in the three months ended June 30, compared with a loss of $158.4 million, or 63 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue fell 58.3 percent to $679 million from $1.63 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 57 cents a share on revenue of $647.1 million.

NEW YORK

Google CEO quits post on Apple board

Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple Inc.'s board because of the companies' conflicting interests as competition between the one-time allies heats up.

The split announced Monday comes just a few weeks after Google unveiled plans for a personal computer operating system that could siphon sales from Apple's Mac line and just a few days after the Federal Communications Commission contacted the companies about Apple's decision to block a Google application from its popular iPhones.

Regulators from the Federal Trade Commission had already been looking into whether Schmidt's dual role on the boards of Google and Apple would make it easier for the technology trailblazers to collude in ways that would diminish competition.

Thorny questions about corporate governance could remain, even though Apple and Schmidt mutually agreed to sever their ties. That's because another Google director, Genentech Inc. Chairman Arthur Levinson, remains on Apple's board.

Securities earnings lift HSBC Holdings' profits

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, posted a first-half profit as earnings from its securities unit more than doubled and bad loan charges increased more slowly than expected.

Net income fell to $3.35 billion from $7.72 billion, with Asia accounting for 52 percent of earnings, the London-based bank said in the statement. HSBC set aside $13.9 billion to cover bad loans, compared with a median estimate of $15.3 billion.

Pretax profit at HSBC's securities unit, led by Stuart Gulliver, more than doubled to $6.3 billion, as revenue from underwriting bond sales and foreign exchange trading increased. Barclays Plc said first-half earnings rose 10 percent as profit from investment banking almost doubled.

Barclays said first-half net income rose to 1.89 billion pounds from 1.72 billion pounds a year earlier. Lloyds Banking Group Plc will report earnings on Aug. 5, followed two days later by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.

NEW YORK

Madoff's wife must report $100-plus buys

Bernard Madoff's once free-spending wife has suffered another financial indignity: She now must report any purchases over $100 to a trustee.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Burton Lifland signed off on an agreement last week that imposed the monthly reports while freezing Ruth Madoff's assets in response to the court-appointed trustee's $45 million claim against her.

The order in the Manhattan court allows Ruth Madoff only to pay "reasonable" legal and living expenses and up to $589,000 in back taxes until the matter is resolved.

Mrs. Madoff's lawyer, Peter Chavkin, declined comment on Monday.

NEW YORK

Marathon Oil earnings decline by 47 percent

Marathon Oil Corp. said Monday its second-quarter profit fell 47 percent from a year ago when crude barrels fetched twice the price.

The results still beat Wall Street expectations, and shares rose 39 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $32.64.

Houston-based Marathon said net income was $413 million, or 58 cents a share for the three months ended June 30, down from net income of $774 million, or $1.08 a share, a year earlier.

Adjusted for one-time items, second-quarter earnings totaled $251 million, or 35 cents per share, compared with $858 million, or $1.20 per share, in the second quarter of 2008.

Quarterly revenue fell about 40 percent to $13.4 billion from $22.2 billion a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items, predicted earnings of 53 cents per share, on revenue of $11.1 billion.

COLUMBUS, Ohio

Weakening U.S. dollar sends oil prices higher

Oil prices rose sharply Monday on the weakening dollar and on new signs of life from manufacturers that suggest the recession may be loosening its grip.

Benchmark crude for September delivery rose 3 percent, or $2.13, to settle at $71.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the third straight day of substantial increases on the energy futures markets and the first time in a month that crude traded above $70.

Retail gasoline prices also rose, adding 1.1 cents overnight to $2.549 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.

AIG Group selects former MetLife boss

American International Group Inc. named former MetLife Inc. Chairman and CEO Robert Benmosche Monday as its new president and chief executive.

Benmosche, 65, will replace CEO Edward Liddy, former CEO of Allstate Corp., who took over last fall after the government bailed out the New York-based insurer.

In May, Liddy said he would step down from the chairman and CEO roles at AIG. His announcement came at the same time the company said it would split the roles of chairman and chief executive, similar to what many other financial firms have done in recent months. The company has said he would remain chairman until a successor is found.

AIG said Benmosche, who is also joining the company's board, will take his new positions next Monday, Aug. 10.

"It sounds like they are pulling from a place that there is talent," said Russell Walker, a risk management professor at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Buffett fund back at $100,000 a share

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reached $100,000 a share for the first time since January as its derivative bets and holdings in firms including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. gain in value.

Berkshire, the most expensive stock on the New York Stock Exchange, gained $3,000, or 3.1 percent, to close at $100,000. Berkshire shares are up more than 40 percent since reaching a six-year low in March. The company's highest closing price is $149,200 on Dec. 10, 2007.

Berkshire, where Buffett is chairman and chief executive officer, is benefiting as equity markets recover. Stocks the Omaha, Neb.-based firm held at the start of the second quarter gained about $11 billion over three months, and losses from derivative bets tied to the world's stock markets may be reversing.

"People's fears about the derivatives were all based on the perception from six months ago that the world was ending," said Michael Yoshikami, chief investment strategist at Walnut Creek, Calif.-based YCMNet Advisors.

"They're starting to recognize that Warren Buffett knew what he was doing there, and the performance of the financials in the investment portfolio has just been massive."