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By Frances Schwartzkopff
Central bankers across the globe need to plan for monetary tightening to avoid feeding asset bubbles, Danish central bank Governor Lars Rohde sai...
2/28/13
Regulators looking at a Heinz derivatives deal in London: NY Times
(Reuters) - U.S. authorities investigating possible insider trading in ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co (HNZ) are studying a derivatives bet that was routed through London, the New York Times reported, citing two people briefed on the matte...
Mikitani to Sell $328 Million Worth of Shares in Rakuten
By Taku Kato
Rakuten Inc. (4755) President Hiroshi Mikitani and his wife Haruko, who own 43 percent ofJapan’s biggest online retailer, plan to sell 36 million shares worth $328 million at yesterday’s price.
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd. was hired to make the transaction, according to a filing with Japan’s Finance Ministry yesterday. The contract with the bank runs from Feb. 21 to Dec. 27, according to the filing, which didn’t say why the shares would be sold. A companyspokeswoman declined to comment on the filing. Rakuten had surged 24 percent in 2013 before today, the fourth best performer on the 60-member MSCI World Retail Index (MXWO0RT) during the period, giving it a market value of 1.1 trillion yen ($12 billion). Mikitani is the largest stockholder...
European Union caps bankers' bonuses
By Alex Barker, FT.com(Financial Times) -- Bankers' bonuses are to be capped at two times bankers' salaries and banks will be subject to a strict transparency regime, under a provisional EU deal that includes minimal concessions to cushion the most severe pay crackdown since the 2008 financial cris...
Google Stock a ‘Buy’ at $800: Weiss
As Google stock broke above $800 per share Wednesday, Stephen Weiss of Short Hills Capital said that it was still worth buyin...
Wal-Mart's U.S. administrative chief to step down: WSJ
(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT) U.S. Chief Administrative Officer Tom Mars will step down in March after more than a decade with the company, in which he also served as general counsel, the Wall Street Journal reporte...
Analysis: Cuts unlikely to deliver promised U.S. budget savings
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On paper, there's one thing to like about the ugly spending cuts due to kick in on Friday: $85 billion in budget savings at a time when Washington continues to bleed red in...
European Stock Futures Rise With Asian Shares as Metals Advance
By Richard Frost & Adam Haigh
European stock-index futures gained and Asian stocks rose the most in five months as optimism grew Italy would form a coalition government, U.S. data pointed to strength in the world’s largest economy and Japan nominated a central bank chief. Metals and the Australian dollar advance...
2/27/13
StanChart Said in Talks for Morgan Stanley India Unit
By Anto Antony & George Smith Alexander
Standard Chartered Plc (STAN), the U.K bank that earns most of its profit in Asia, is in talks to buy Morgan Stanley (MS)’s Indian wealth management unit, two people familiar with the discussions sai...
Risk assets rise on Fed stimulus vow, Italy debt sale
By Chikako Mogi
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares, commodity currencies and oil rose on Thursday as sentiment improved after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reaffirmed his commitment to strong stimulus measures, while a smooth debt sale calmed nerves jangled by Italy's political deadloc...
Market Close Report: NASDAQ Composite index closes at 3,162.26 up 32.61 points
Wednesday's session closes with the NASDAQ Composite Index at 3,162.26. The total shares traded for the NASDAQ was over 1.69 billio...
uropean Stocks Advance Before Italian Debt Auction
European (SXXP) stocks rose, rebounding from yesterday’s selloff, before Italy auctions as much as $5 billion worth of long-term debt today. U.S. futures were little changed while Asian shares fel...
Hong Kong Economic Growth Picks Up to Fastest Pace in Year
By Stephanie Tong & Simon Lee
Hong Kong’s economic growth accelerated to the fastest pace in a year last quarter, signaling that the deepest slowdown since the 2009 global recession is abatin...
State firms win airport expansion project
A consortium of state and private companies have won the tender for the expansion of Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in a contract valued at Rp 4.7 trillion (US$484 million...
Russia Stocks Rise From Lowest This Year as Rosneft Gains on Oil
By Ksenia Galouchko
Russian stocks climbed from the lowest level this year as rising crude prices lifted OAO Rosneft, the country’s biggest oil produce...
Sriboga expects to raise $72m from IPO to finance expansion
Linda Yulisman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Major flour producer and food chain operator PT Sriboga Raturaya plans to float its shares on the bourse this year, aiming to generate up to Rp 700 billion (US$72.11 million) to support its expansion plan...
China Stocks Rise Most in 3 Weeks on Government Support Outlook
By Bloomberg News
China’s stocks rose the most in three weeks, led by financial and commodity companies, on speculation the government will take steps to bolster equitie...
JPMorgan to cut up to 17,000 jobs by end of 2014
By David Henry
NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) said on Tuesday that it plans to cut 17,000 jobs by the end of 2014, representing about 6.6 percent of the company's overall workforce, as the bank sheds staff that helped it deal with bad home loans.
The bank is optimistic that it can generate record income this year and is planning to add 4,000 employees in commercial and investment banking and credit cards to help it win business, bank executives said at an investor conference.
That hiring will be more than offset by job cuts in areas like mortgage servicing and retail banking, where the bank is positioning for a recovering housing market and new forms of branch banking. The net impact of the additions and cuts will be 17,000 fewer employees on the bank's payrolls.
The...
2/26/13
Standard Chartered Fined by Taiwan After Employee’s Embezzlement
By Andrea Wong & Stephanie Tong
Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) was fined NT$5 million ($168,500) for inadequate internal controls after an employee in Taiwan embezzled funds through a credit card business-related loophol...
Gold Miners Come Clean on Costs After Lost 6 Years: Commodities
By Liezel Hill
The gold-mining industry, which has underperformed the precious metal for each of the past six years, is pledging to report costs more accurately as part of its efforts to win back investor confidenc...
Analysis: Jumbo mortgages are back, but at far from 2007 levels
By Linda Stern
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Home sales and prices are rising briskly in those neighborhoods where the well-heeled like to plant their mailboxes: along Chicago's north shore, in the San Francisco Bay area and in the haute Hampton...
Italy Tests Market With Bond Sale Amid Vote Deadlock Concern
By Chiara Vasarr
Italy will test markets today with the sale of long-term debt after borrowing costs rose to the highest in four months yesterday as inconclusive elections triggered renewed concern Europe’s debt crisis may deepe...
Asian Stocks Outside Japan Advance on U.S. Economic Data
Asian stocks outside Japan gained after U.S. housing and consumer confidence data beat estimates. Japanese shares fell as the yen rose ahead of an Italian bond sale, with yields surging after the nation’s deadlocked election stoked debt crisis concer...
Bernanke says Fed stimulus benefits clear, downplays risks
By Pedro da Costa and Alister Bull
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke strongly defended the U.S. central bank's monetary stimulus before Congress on Tuesday, easing financial market worries over a possible early retreat from bond buy...
Market Close Report: NASDAQ Composite index closes at 3,129.65 up 13.40 points
Tuesday's session closes with the NASDAQ Composite Index at 3,129.65. The total shares traded for the NASDAQ was over 1.81 billio...
Wall Street rebounds on Bernanke comments, data
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rebounded from their worst decline since November on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed's bond-buying stimulus and sales of new homes hit a 4 1/2-year hig...
2/25/13
India’s Bond Yields at 31-Month Low Before RBI Debt Purchase
By V. Ramakrishnan
India’s bonds gained, sending the 10-year yield to a 31-month low, on optimism a central bank plan to buy debt this week will ease a cash shortage and spur deman...
Singapore to Raise Property Tax Rates for Luxury Homeowners
By Pooja Thakur & Sharon Chen
Singapore plans to raise property levies for luxury homeowners as it seeks to tax wealthy residents in the island-state after the government imposed more measures to curb property speculation last mont...
Market Close Report: NASDAQ Composite index closes at 3,116.25 down -45.57 points
Monday's session closes with the NASDAQ Composite Index at 3,116.25. The total shares traded for the NASDAQ was over 1.87 billion....
Exclusive: Goldman to begin fresh round of job cuts
By Lauren Tara LaCapra and Katya Wachtel
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc will begin its annual job cutting process as early as this week, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday, with its equities-trading business bracing for bigger cuts than fixed-income trading....
Asian Stocks Snap Two-Day Gain as Italy Elections Spur Concern
By Yoshiaki Nohara & Adam Haigh
Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index poised to close lower for the first time in three days, on concern Italy’s elections may reignite Europe’s debt crisi...
Gold’s Cycle Seen as Turned by Goldman as ETP Holdings Slump
By Glenys Sim
Gold’s price cycle has probably turned as the recovery in the U.S. economy gathers momentum and investment holdings collapse, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which reduced forecasts for the meta...
Wall Street trips and falls on cloudy Italian election
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks on Monday suffered their biggest drop since November after a strong showing in Italian elections by groups opposed to the country's economic reforms triggered worry that Europe's debt problems could once again destabilize the global econom...
2/24/13
Consumer Stocks Reflect Skepticism About U.S. Spending
By Anna-Louise Jackson & Anthony Feld
Chris Carlson/AP Photo
A shopping center in Newport Beach, Calif.
Investors are skeptical that U.S. retail spending will exceed forecasts this year, as some consumer-discretionary stock indexes have yet to reach new multiyear highs relative to their defensive counterpart...
Saudi Arabian Shares Advance as Banks, Petrochemicals Climb
By Deema Almashab
Saudi Arabian stocks added 0.1 percent to 7,041.58 by the close in Riyadh today, boosted by banks and petrochemical companie...
China’s New Leaders Plan First Government Overhaul in Five Years
By Bloomberg News
The new leaders of China’s Communist Party will this week discuss plans to restructure ministries and state institutions, paving the way for the first overhaul of the central government in five year...
Bernanke Said to Minimize Asset-Bubble Concern at Meeting
By Rich Miller
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke minimized concerns that the central bank’s easy monetary policy has spawned economically-risky asset bubbles in comments at a meeting with dealers and investors this month, according to three people with knowledge of the discussion...
Major Banks Aid in Payday Loans Banned by States
By JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG
Major banks have quickly become behind-the-scenes allies of Internet-based payday lenders that offer short-term loans with interest rates sometimes exceeding 500 percent. With 15 states banning payday loans, a growing number of the lenders have set up online operations in more hospitable states or far-flung locales like Belize, Malta and the West Indies to more easily evade statewide caps on interest rate...
2/23/13
Apple Loss to Einhorn Raises Pressure for Investor Payout
By Christie Smythe
Scott Eells/Bloomberg
David Einhorn, president and co-founder of Greenlight Capital Inc., on Bloomberg Television in New York, on Feb. 7, 2013. Einhorn and Greenlight have urged Apple to issue high-yielding preferred stock in order to help shift the value of a $137 billion stockpile of Apple's cash to investors.
David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital Inc. winning a court order blocking an upcoming Apple Inc. (AAPL) shareholder vote increases pressure on the iPhone maker to return some of its growing cash hoard to investors.&nbs...
