PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - July 15
July 15 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in the New York Times business pages on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
* Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) posted the richest quarterly profit in its 140-year history and, to the envy of its rivals, announced that it had earmarked $11.4 billion so far this year to compensate its workers.
* Mortgages have switched from a bane to a boon for U.S. banks in the second quarter because of a refinancing wave.
* Markit, a U.S. data warehouse controlled by several big banks, said it had been notified that it was the subject of an inquiry.
* The California Public Employees Retirement System (Calpers), United States' largest public pension fund, has filed suit in California state court in connection with $1 billion in losses that it says were caused by "wildly inaccurate" credit ratings from the three leading ratings agencies.
* Engineers from Chrysler, looking for guidance, have been visiting a Fiat (FIA.MI) plant in Poland that is churning out autos and profits.
* Intel Corp (INTC.O) reported second-quarter sales of $8 billion, which analysts say indicate how well the overall computer industry is doing.
* U.S. President Barack Obama's plan for a single consumer financial protection agency to regulate mortgages, credit cards, payday loans and other financial products met with stiff opposition from Republicans and industry representatives in Congressional hearings on Tuesday.
* A former military doctor and Medtronic Inc (MDT.N) consultant at the center of a research scandal did not tell his medical school employer for a year about his Medtronic ties even as he was conducting company-sponsored research, according to that institution, Washington University in St. Louis.
* The New York Times Co (NYT.N) will sell WQXR-FM to WNYC Radio and Univision in a deal that preserves WQXR as the only station devoted solely to classical music in New York City.
* Keith Mills, a British investor, has started a public advertising campaign against a venerable private bank over soured investments in AIG (AIG.N) funds.
* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairwoman, Mary L. Schapiro, said the agency had been revamping itself, buttressing enforcement efforts and taking initiatives to protect investors in the wake of both the financial crisis and the Madoff fraud.
* U.S. retail sales rose 0.6 percent, slightly more than economists expected, as car dealerships enjoyed their best month since January and oil prices lifted receipts at gas stations, the Commerce Department reported.
