Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Middle East’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is demanding that Citigroup (NYSE:C) scrap a deal that would see the fund incur a heavy loss on a $7.5 billion investment in the bank. The fund, controlled by the oil-rich leaders of the Persian Gulf city-state of Abu Dhabi, is seeking more than $4 billion in damages from Citi if the deal to invest in the bank is upheld for what it alleges were "fraudulent misrepresentations" of the original agreement, according to the lender. –The Wall Street Journal
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) board was so split over whom to hire as chief executive officer that the top external candidate, Robert Kelly, withdrew instead of trying to unite the factions, people familiar with his thinking said. Kelly, chairman and CEO at Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK), dropped out earlier this week after coming to the conclusion that directors were divided between those who sought an outsider and those who preferred an internal choice, said a person speaking anonymously because the talks were private. Kelly also questioned Bank of America’s decision in April to separate the chairman and CEO roles, others said. –Bloomberg
Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) stated that it expects to earn between $2.20 and $2.40 per share in 2010 on sales in a range of $31.3 billion to $32.3 billion. On an adjusted basis, the aerospace, automotive and control technology company said it projected a profit of $3 to $3.20 per share. Analysts had forecasted an average 2010 earnings of $2.52 per share. For 2009, Honeywell reaffirmed its guidance of $2.85 per share on sales of about $31 billion. Analysts are looking for 2009 earnings of $2.84 per share. -MarketWatch
The Federal Reserve is expected to maintain the current target interest rate of 0% to 0.25% when it meets today. We’ll know for sure when the Federal Open Market Committee releases its policy statement around 2:15 p.m. this afternoon. But with the unemployment rate at 10% and analysts predicting it will barely drop to 9.9% by the third quarter of 2010, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would be committing political suicide if he raised rates now, just as Congress decides whether or not to support his second term as chairman. –Daily Finance
Unilever (NYSE:UL) named Jean-Marc Huet as its new chief financial officer, following the resignation of James Lawrence last week. Huet is currently CFO of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), which had already announced earlier in the week that Huet would be returning to Europe. –MarketWatch
The U.S. balance of payments deficit widened sharply in the third quarter to $108 billion from $98 billion in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported today. The increase in the second quarter deficit was primarily due to a larger deficit on goods. The current account deficit totaled 3.0% of gross domestic product, up from 2.8% in the second quarter, which was the smallest percentage since the first quarter of 1999. The deficit peaked at 6.5% of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2005. -MarketWatch
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