Finance news. My opinion.

Traders doubled bets on Israeli interest rate cuts in the past two weeks, speculating the central bank will act to insulate the economy from a global slump as inflation slowed to a one-year low.

The Bank of Israel may lower the 2.75 percent key rate 41 basis points over the next 12 months, compared with 21 basis points of cuts priced in on Dec. 8, according to interest-rate swaps, an indicator of investor expectations. Policy makers review borrowing costs today, with 12 out of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecasting a 25 basis-point reduction.

Facebook has opened its new Timeleine feature to all 800 million of its users, the social network announced on Thursday morning.

The new feature replaces a user

Lee Enterprises, owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other newspapers, filed for prepackaged bankruptcy early today in an effort to refinance about $1 billion in debt.

The bankruptcy was expected. Two weeks ago, the Davenport, Iowa-based publisher announced it would file for bankruptcy “on or about Dec. 12″ as part of a debt refinancing plan it had successfully negotiated with creditors.

Lee filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the Wilmington, Del., bankruptcy court, becoming the latest newspaper publisher saddled with debt to seek the court to help its finances. Though based in Iowa, the publisher is incorporated in Delaware.

The company said that the bankruptcy will have no impact on its business and that its papers will continue to publish. Vendors, advertisers, subscribers, employees and the company’s operations will not be affected.

In its bankruptcy filing, Lee lists $1.15 billion in assets and $994.5 million in liabilities.

When the publisher announced its bankruptcy plans, Lee said had secured agreements with nearly all of its creditors, which it predicted would allow an exit from bankruptcy in 60 days or less.

The filing is unusual in that the company plans to shed no debt and pay a higher interest rate to all lenders.

In return, lenders agreed to extend the loans - now due in April - until at least December 2015. The plan also preserves most of the stock’s value, allowing Lee to continue trading on the New York Stock Exchange during the bankruptcy process.

Lee also previously said it would cede a 13 percent ownership stake to three creditors, Goldman Sachs, Monarch Master Funding Ltd., and Franklin Templeton/Mutual Quest Fund.

The newspaper publisher says the refinancing plan is needed to keep it in business.

“Our ability to operate as a going concern is dependent on our ability to obtain approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the refinancing plan approved by creditors and to generate cash flows and maintain liquidity sufficient to service our debt,” the company said Friday in its annual report.

Though the refinancing plan will increase its higher interest payment - it would pay an average of 9.2 percent interest rate on its debt versus 5.1 percent currently - the publisher said it can pay that level of interest while also paying down the principal.

Lee’s newspapers turn an operating profit, and Lee has been making its debt payments. But the company, one of the nation’s largest newspaper chains, has been struggling for months to refinance the debt before it comes due in April.

Like other newspaper chains, Lee piled on debt to make acquisitions, then only to suffer from declining circulation and advertising revenue brought on both by the sluggish economy and the migration of advertising revenue and readers to the Internet.

Without refinancing, Lee would not have the cash to repay the maturing debt.

An effort to issue junk bonds in the spring failed, forcing the company to negotiate a refinancing plan this summer with creditors. Those negotiations led the refinancing plan with two groups of creditors.

One group holds about $865 million in debt secured by properties that Lee owned before 2005. Most of that debt was assumed that year when Lee bought St. Louis-based Pulitzer Inc., then the owner of the Post-Dispatch, for $1.5 billion.

The company said 94 percent of those debt holders have agreed to the deal. At one point, Lee hoped to borrow money to redeem the debt of those creditors not consenting to the refinancing, but those plans fell through.

A second group of creditors holds $138 million in debt, which Lee inherited with the Pulitzer deal. That debt is secured by the old Pulitzer properties, including the Post-Dispatch. All of those creditors agreed to the deal.

To deal with creditors not agreeing to the refinancing, the Lee has resorted to a prepackaged bankruptcy, in which a company works out terms with most creditors in advance. This allows the debtor to quickly reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy. The company then uses the bankruptcy proceedings to force its plan on lenders who didn’t agree to the refinancing.

In order to gain approval of the prepackaged plan, at least 50 percent of each class of creditors must vote to approve it, and those voting for it must own two-thirds of the dollar amount of the debt.

Dissenters can object, but they must convince the court that the deal is not fair and equitable.

Lee newspapers have a combined daily circulation of 1.3 million and Sunday circulation of 1.6 million, as of the end of September. Lee also owns nearly 300 specialty publications, including the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, Ladue News, and Feast and St. Louis’ Best Bridal magazines.

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Federal authorities are investigating a suspected embezzlement of potentially millions of dollars from a St. Louis area medical practice, according to a source close to the investigation.

The FBI and U.S. attorney’s investigation comes on the heels of the termination by Metropolitan Urological Specialists PC of Dunard Morris, who until recently served as its chief executive. The investigation focuses in part on whether money was diverted from the firm’s bank loans, the source said. The amount of missing money isn’t known but could be millions, the source said.

The medical practice also maintains that Morris subleased a $5,475-a-month luxury apartment using company funds without approval of the firm’s board of directors.

During the last two years, the company has shown signs of cash flow problems, including the buildup of about $1 paydayloans.3 million in delinquent federal, state and local taxes, interest and fees, St. Louis County records show.

Asked about the federal investigation, U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan said Thursday, “I don’t want to prejudge anything, but it is a matter that has our interest.”

Morris did not return phone calls Thursday. One of his lawyers, Patrick Smith at DLA Piper law firm in New York, has declined to comment. “I’m not authorized to talk with you,” he said. Morris’ local counsel, Richard Sindel, declined to comment.

Metropolitan’s attorney, Mayer Klein, said the medical firm “terminated” Morris in mid-September but would not detail why. He did confirm that the company is investigating the missing money.

“There were some concerns with regard to prior management, and we’re working with everyone involved

An investigator has denied any role in the death of ailing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky while he was imprisoned in a Moscow jail for tax evasion.

Oleg Silchenko, a senior investigator at the Interior Ministry’s Investigative Department, made his first public appearance at a news conference Thursday.

Magnitsky was imprisoned in 2008 and died of untreated pancreatitis in Nov. 2009. His family blame Silchenko for his continued detention.

Grilled by reporters, Silchenko said he had no powers to recommend the ailing lawyer for extra medical treatment and believed Magnitsky could have pressured witnesses if released us fast cash.

Silchenko is top of a list of dozens of Russian officials barred by the United States from entering the country for his alleged role in the death.

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ST. LOUIS

It’ll be a little easier for companies in St. Louis City and County to play in the global economy after the region’s Foreign Trade Zone was expanded to include all of both counties.

In an announcement Monday morning, city and county officials said that their application has been approved to grant Foreign Trade Zone status to the whole area. Previously, the region’s Foreign Trade Zone has been roughly 800 acres around Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Foreign Trade Zone status makes it easier and quicker for companies to get reduced customs duties on goods they ship to or from the U payday loan.S. The goal, said St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, is to help grow exporting, manufacturing and logistics companies in the region

Slay and Dooley applied to the Commerce Department for the larger trade zone last fall. The approval makes St. Louis one of a few dozen regions to have the new, expanded, status.

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At your Thanksgiving table, you may have joined millions of Americans giving thanks for the good health, happiness and love in your family.

Polls show that people have grown increasingly appreciative of these elements in their lives as financial matters have become shakier. Here are eight money matters that may make people thankful.

Retailers are reporting strong sales gains in November, boosted by a discount-fueled spending binge for the start of the holiday shopping season last weekend. Now, the challenge is to keep shoppers spending throughout the most important selling period of the year.

Macy’s Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp., Limited Brands Inc. and teen retailer Buckle Inc. all reported sales gains Thursday that beat Wall Street estimates. Target Corp., however, was a straggler, reporting a slim sales gain that was below what analysts had expected.

The figures are based on revenue at stores opened at least a year and are considered a key indicator of a retailers health.

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The UAE’s Central Bank governor said Tuesday that the oil-rich Gulf nation is committed to keeping its currency pegged to the U.S. dollar and is reinvesting in U.S. Treasury bills.

Sultan Nasser al-Suwaidi also voiced confidence in the long-term stability of the euro even as fears mount that Europe’s debt crisis could sink the 17-nation currency.

Al-Suwaidi, speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi, called the European Union a “very, very important bloc of countries” and predicted “everything will be fine in Europe.” In Brussels, eurozone finance ministers planned an emergency meeting to try to protect the currency through closer fiscal and political integration.

The exchange rate of the UAE’s currency, the dirham, is linked to the greenback. But some analysts have questioned the value of the keeping the policy as the U.S. economic struggles and the dollar remains weak.

Al-Suwaidi countered that the dollar link has served the Emirates well, adding that “we are very much with the peg.”

“There is absolutely no change … The fixed peg has served our economy for many years,” he said.

The central bank chief also noted that the UAE has begun buying up U.S. Treasurys after shunning them earlier this year, but is not as heavily invested as it once was.

The bank in August surprised investors by saying it no longer had any U.S. securities on its books because of the low return offered. Al-Suwaidi, however, didn’t say how much of the bank’s assets were invested in US T-bills.

“It’s fluctuating. It depends on the yield. But it’s not how it was,” he said.

Saif Hadef al-Shamsi, assistant governor for monetary policy and financial stability affairs, added that the Central Bank’s reserves were also invested in Japanese government securities.

U.S.-allied Gulf nations have traditionally been large buyers of U.S. government debt, which has long been viewed as among the world’s safest and most liquid assets.

Asked about the effect of sanctions ordered by the Arab League against Syria, al-Suwaidi said the Central Bank will comply if ordered to by the UAE government but has not yet received guidance on what measures to implement.

“There are procedural issues. They have to communicate that with us,” he said.

The Arab League on Sunday approved sweeping sanctions against the regime of Bashar Assad to seek an end to the violence against opposition groups. Syria’s foreign minister called the Arab move “a declaration of economic war” and warned of retaliation.

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