NATION

NATION

Treasury gives 10 banks $29.3M investment

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said Thursday it has pumped $29.3 million into 10 banks, which will be the last to receive investments as part of the taxpayer-funded program to shore up the financial system.

The aid comes from a $700 billion financial bailout program created last year during the height of the financial crisis.

The investments in the 10 banks are the last under Treasury’s so-called Capital Purchase Program, Treasury officials said. By law, the Treasury must report the transactions — which occurred on Tuesday — within two business days.

Marvel shareholders OK Walt Disney acquisition

NEW YORK — Shareholders of Marvel Entertainment Inc., home of Spider-Man and the Hulk, on Thursday approved the company’s acquisition by The Walt Disney Co., as expected.

Marvel said the $4.3 billion acquisition closed at the end of the day, bringing Spider-Man, Iron Man, and 5,000 other comic-book characters under the same roof as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

Approval of the deal was expected. Marvel Chief Executive Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, who owns 37 percent of Marvel stock, supported it. He will be overseeing the Marvel business after the acquisition.

Oil rises to $80 for first time since November

NEW YORK — Oil prices ended 2009 with a bang, surging by about $10 a barrel in the final two weeks as the country cut into its hefty crude supply.

On Thursday, benchmark crude for February delivery added 8 cents to settle at $79.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude barrels, which touched $80 earlier in the day, are 71 percent more expensive than they were at the beginning of the year.

Prices have rallied since March, moving opposite the dollar.

Associated Press