International Business Times

Chinese Banks Offered Fewer Wealth Management Products In Response To Recent Regulation

s.song — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:24:59 GMT

Chinese banks are offering fewer wealth-management products amid a decline in yields in May following implementation of a policy that aims to tighten regulation of the sector, Xinhua News reports.

US Consumer Price Index (CPI) Decreased 0.4% In April

s.song — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:37:29 GMT

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased 0.4 percent in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, the CPI to fall by 0.2 percent from the March level.

Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.1 percent before seasonal adjustment.

HSBC, Europe’s Largest Bank, Will Lay Off 5.5% Of Its Global Workforce In Latest Phase Of Strategic Overhaul

Angelo.Young — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:15:18 GMT

Britain’s HSBC Holdings PLC (LON:HSBA), Europe's largest bank by market capitalization, says it's laying off 14,000 of its employees worldwide -- or 5.5 percent of its total workforce -- as it seeks to reduce expenses.

The London-based financial giant said late Wednesday the cuts would save up to $3 billion by 2016. The layoffs represent 5.5 percent of the bank’s 254,000 employees, which is down from 302,000 in 2011, according to the Financial Times.

US Stock Markets Book Another Record High, Intra-Day Records Also Set By Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500

mikeobel — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:07:21 GMT

U.S. stocks notched yet another high Wednesday, with both the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ascending to new peaks as investors piled into defensive shares and bank stocks.

Shortly after the 4 p.m. closing, the broad-based S&P 500 added 8.44, or 0.51 percent, to close at 1,658.78, and the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial increased 60.44, or 0.40 percent, to settle at 15,275.69. The final closing figures could be fractionally different from these numbers.

European Commission Antitrust Officials Raided Offices Of BP, Shell, Statoil and Platts Over Possible Price Manipulation In Big Oil Industry

msingleton — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:13:05 GMT

The European Commission's antitrust authorities carried out unannounced inspections at offices of at least three oil companies in three countries on Tuesday as part of a probe into suspicions of price-fixing.

BP PLC (BP), Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) and pricing agency Platts all confirmed that their offices had been raided. The raids also included Norway's Statoil ASA (STL.OS). Norway is not a member of the EU but abides by its competition rules as part of its membership in the larger European Economic Area.

US Stocks Set Yet Another Record As Equity Bull Market Shows No Signs Of Weakening

mikeobel — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:43:36 GMT

U.S. stocks climbed to another record high on Tuesday as shares of the largest publicly traded corporations jumped on expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain its loose monetary polity.

The broad-based Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 16.57 points, or 1.01 percent, to finish at a record 1,650.34. The gain was the S&P 500's eighth record close in nine days, according to the Wall Street Journal.

US Probing Legality Of Vast Number Of Commodities Trades: Report

ericlinton — Tue, 14 May 2013 05:25:37 GMT

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is conducting a broad inquiry into the legitimacy of more than 1 million energy and metals transactions by the biggest traders in commodities markets over the past two years.

The CFTC has issued a “special call” asking Wall Street banks and other traders to provide documents that would prove recent derivatives transactions known as “exchanges of futures for swaps” were legal, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. Lawyers at the agency’s enforcement division are also checking the trades for possible violations.

Coinbase, The PayPal Of Bitcoin, Eyes Europe As A Potential Hotbed

Alexander Kaufman — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:09:48 GMT

Fred Ehrsam, the first employee hired by Coinbase, has his eyes on Europe.

The former Goldman Sacks foreign exchange trader said the startup, which functions as a PayPal-like platform for buying, selling and accepting Bitcoin, said that his company, which last week secured a $5 million Series A round of funding, sees a growing demand for the peer-to-peer digital currency in debt-ravaged markets.

Top Hedge Funds Look To Profit From Greece's Alpha Bank Rescue

Cvand003 — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:04:02 GMT

Photo: Reuters Some of the world’s top hedge funds are investing in the Greek banking sector in hopes of big money returns, despite the country's lackluster economy and looming government spending cuts.

US Retail Sales Rise Unexpectedly In April; 'Core' Retail Sales Do Particularly Well In Another Sign Economy Continues To Rebound

mikeobel — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:43:27 GMT

U.S. retail sales rose last month more than expected, the Commerce Department said Monday, suggesting that lower gasoline prices and rising home and stock prices are offsetting the effect of the payroll tax hike and sequester.

Retail sales, which account for about 30 percent of consumer spending, in April rose 0.1 percent after a 0.5 percent fall in March. Analysts expected a 0.3 percent decline.

Core sales, which do not include sales of automobiles, building materials or gasoline, rose 0.5 percent, up from March's 0.1 percent increase.

Bank of England Decides To Keep Its Key Interest Rate Steady At 0.5% And Maintain Target For Big Asset Purchase Program

mikeobel — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:14:51 GMT

The Bank of England voted Thursday to maintain its stimulus program rather than increase it, keeping its key interest rate at 0.5 percent. The vote reaffirmed the BoE's plan to buy 375 billion pounds ($584 billion) of debt after the economy narrowly avoided a triple-dip recession.

US Stock Market Indexes Set Another Record High, Global Shares Also Surge, DAX Closes At Record High

mikeobel — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:43:58 GMT

The two most closely watched U.S. stock market indexes set intraday record highs Tuesday on a strong economic report from Germany, an interest rate cut in Australia and surging Japanese and European stocks.

In midday trading, the widely followed blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks the 30 largest U.S. industrial corporations, climbed 0.3 percent to 15,017.93. The broad-based S&P 500 increased 0.4 percent to 1,623.10, breaking an intraday record set 24 hours earlier. By early afternoon some of those gains had been slightly pared.

State-Owned Bank Of China Halts Dealings With North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank

Cvand003 — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:06:42 GMT

Photo: Reuters The Bank of China announced on Tuesday that it had terminated all dealings with a key North Korean bank.

Portugal Sells 10-Year Benchmark Bonds, Yield Is About 5.5%, As It Returns To The Market Two Years After Being Financially Rescued

mikeobel — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:18:44 GMT

Debt-burdened Portugal on Tuesday sold benchmark 10-year bonds worth 3 billion euros ($3.93 billion) in its first such offering since it was financially rescued two years ago.

The sale signals that the nation, which had its credit worthiness recently downgraded to junk status by the world's three major ratings agencies, is on track to exit its three-year, 78 billion euro bailout program within the scheduled June 2014 time table.

The yield on Portugal's 10-year bonds has been falling and on Monday was hovering around 5.5 percent, its lowest level since September 2010.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) Stock Up 9% In 3 Weeks, Expected To Continue Climbing In Q2 As Economic Recovery Gains Momentum

msingleton — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:39:22 GMT

Investors with a one- to two-year time horizon would be well-advised to buy shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), the world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment, thanks to a share buyback, a reviving U.S. economy, more fiscal stimulus by non-U.S. governments and the stock's relatively low price, financial magazine Barron's said.

France Cheers Extension Of Deficit Reduction Deadline, Calling It 'End Of Austerity,' But German Lawmakers Are Scoffing

Angelo.Young — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:39:39 GMT

The finance ministers and central bank chiefs of Germany and France are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Berlin to discuss the two countries’ roles in solving Europe’s economic crisis. This meeting will likely focus on the recent decision by the European Commission to extend to 2016 the time France has to hit a deficit reduction target of no more than 3 percent of gross domestic product.

Dow Jones Industrial Average Crosses 15,000 For First Time; Strong Jobs Reports Provide Big Lift

mikeobel — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:56:19 GMT

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday topped 15,000 as an unexpectedly robust monthly jobs report from the Labor Department eased fears of a spring swoon. The broader S&P 500 index also crossed into uncharted territory, going over 1,600 for the first time ever.

The surge on Wall Street followed a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that 165,000 jobs were created in April and the employment rate went down to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent.

Federal Reserve Open Market Committee To Extend Low Interest Rates, Purchases of Treasuries, Mortgage-Backed Securities

mikeobel — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:13:42 GMT

The powerful Federal Open Market Committee of the U.S. central bank said Wednesday it will continue holding interest rates at historic low levels and continue buying $85 billion in debt securities every month until the unemployment rate falls.

The FOMC said it will keep the federal funds rate at 0 percent to 0.25 percent as long as unemployment is above 6.5 percent. It is currently at 7.6 percent.

S&P 500 Stock Index Climbs To Record High Of 1,593.61 As Tech And Energy Sectors Boost All 10 Sectors

mikeobel — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:49:09 GMT

The broad-based S&P 500 stock index soared 11.37 points to a record high 1,593.61 on Monday led by a rally in technology and energy shares that lifted all 10 sectors.

The day's 0.7 percent gain for the index set a record that is slightly above the previous high of 1,593.61, which was reached April 11.

Technology stocks gained an average of 1.6 percent in value, while materials companies grew 1.5 percent and oil and gas stocks jumped 1 percent.

China's State-Owned Corporations Posting Heavy Losses For 2012 Despite High Government Subsidies

s.song — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:16:30 GMT

Chinese publicly traded companies recently reported their finances for 2012, and the 10 companies that posted the worst losses -- a combined 50 billion yuan ($8.11 billion) -- are all heavily subsidized, state-owned corporations, according to 163.com.

Gun Control Debate: Multiple Lenders And Investors, Including GE Capital (NYSE:GE-A), Cerberus Capital Management LP And Tiger Global Management LLC Are Backing Away From The Gun Business

msingleton — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:21:33 GMT

While the Newtown massacre and the subsequent extended gun-control debates have done nothing to slow business for gunmakers and sellers, these recent events seem to have made some investors and lenders a bit gun-shy.

A number of prominent hedge funds, pensions, financial institutions and private equity firms have withdrawn from the gun business recently. But based on the share prices of publicly traded gunmakers, gun show attendance and gun sales, these moves may be more of a social statement than anything else.

GE Capital

Jobless Claims Shrink As Job Market Slowly Improves

brettforman — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:03:04 GMT

Fewer Americans filed for new unemployment benefits than last week, indicating that the slow-but-steady improvement in the U.S. labor market is continuing apace.

The Labor Department said on Thursday that initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000. In addition, the previous week's jobless number was revised downward now that 3,000 more applications have been reported since last week.

The Labor Department's jobless number beat analysts' forecast for 351,000 new claims last week by about 12,000, Reuters reports.

Yahoo Japan Kicks In $20M To SoftBank Capital's Investment Fund To Promote US Startups In Japan

Angelo.Young — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:10:38 GMT

SoftBank Capital, the investment arm of Japan’s SoftBank Corp (TYO:9984), is receiving $20 million from Yahoo Japan Corp. (PINK:YAHOY) for its capital investment fund aimed at attracting and developing U.S. startups in Japan.

“Yahoo Japan is making a big effort to expand our venture capital impact in the United States, and we are firmly committed to helping companies at all growth stages get into the Japanese market,” Toshiaki Chiku, who will be head of U.S. operations in Manhattan, said.

TARP Oversight Official Says Banks Are Too Interconnected To Rule Out Future 'Too Big To Fail' Taxpayer Bailouts Of Nation’s Largest Banks

Angelo.Young — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:07:41 GMT

The inspector general of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program that Congress initiated during the financial crisis of 2008 said in her latest report to Congress that the nation’s largest financial institutions are still too interconnected and that more needs to be done break up their exposure to each other.

Dow Jones Industrial Average Plunges 145 Points After Fake Tweet That White House Had Been Attacked, President Obama Injured

mikeobel — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:52:07 GMT

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged about 145 points on Tuesday afternoon, surrendering the day's gains in a matter of seconds, after a newswires' server was hacked and a phony tweet issued about the White House being attacked.

The blue-chip index was at 14,699 when the AP's Twitter account was hacked and a tweet issued that the White House was being attacked. The broader S&P 500 also dropped into negative territory.