Finance news

• UPDATE 2-Argentina bond top-up disappoints, pressure still on reserves

  12-12-2014 23:56
  BUENOS AIRES, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Argentina's first dollar-denominated bond issue since it defaulted on its debt in July has flopped, dealing a blow to government efforts to shore up its low foreign...
  
  Read more

• Court lets Pennsylvania widow keep home sold over interest on $6.30 tax bill

  12-12-2014 23:53
  PITTSBURGH, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A widow whose western Pennsylvania home was sold by the county after she failed to pay interest accrued on $6.30 in late tax fees was overjoyed when a court ruled she...
  
  Read more

• Canadian medical marijuana company PharmaCan to go public next week

  12-12-2014 23:49
  TORONTO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - PharmaCan Capital, a holding company focusing on the Canadian medical marijuana market, is set to go public next week, opening up for investors a basket of licensed...
  
  Read more

• Colombia central bank sees 2014 current a/c gap rising to 4.4-4.8 pct GDP

  12-12-2014 23:47
  BOGOTA, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Colombia's current account deficit will likely grow to between 4.4 and 4.8 percent of gross domestic product for this year, the board of the central bank said in minutes of...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Wall Street Weekahead - The Federal Reserve's language lessons

  12-12-2014 23:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Will they or won't they?" is the question on investors' minds as the Federal Reserve policy-setting committee meets next week for the last time this year. Markets have followed Fed speakers closely in recent weeks for clues on whether the U.S. central bank will change key language in its post-meeting statement regarding how long it will keep benchmark interest rates near zero. ...
  
  Read more

• UBS brokers' pay could reach all-time high under tweaked bonus plan

  12-12-2014 23:25
  NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) - UBS AG's Wealth Management America on Thursday made it easier for brokers to earn a key bonus in 2015 under its revised compensation package, which could boost top...
  
  Read more

• UPDATE 1-Congress authorizes $577 billion in U.S. defense spending

  12-12-2014 23:22
  WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress approved an annual defense policy bill on Friday that authorizes American training for Iraqi and Syrian forces fighting Islamic State rebels and sets...
  
  Read more

• Fitch downgrades France's credit rating

  12-12-2014 23:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ratings agency Fitch cut France's credit grade by one notch to "AA" on Friday, saying Paris's efforts to trim its fiscal deficit have fallen short to avoid a downgrade. "The weak outlook for the French economy impairs the prospects for fiscal consolidation and stabilizing the public debt ratio," Fitch said. The AA grade -- two steps below the top triple-A rating -- was decided despite France having reduced its projected deficit for fiscal 2015 to 4.1 percent of GDP,
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• U.S. Congress approves land swap for Rio-BHP copper mine in Arizona

  12-12-2014 23:19
  
  WASHINGTON/TORONTO (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress has cleared the way for global miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton to swap land with the government, which will allow them to build a long-delayed...
  
  Read more

• U.S. bond issuance to drop next week; Pennsylvania delays deals

  12-12-2014 23:16
  Dec 12 (Reuters) - Issuance of U.S. municipal bonds and notes next week is expected to drop to about $4.7 billion, after a second week of robust issuance despite the delay of a $750 million...
  
  Read more

• Canada housing agency raises fees to encourage private sector

  12-12-2014 23:15
  OTTAWA, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Canada's federal housing agency, CMHC, is raising, in some cases tripling, the fees it charges to guarantee mortgage-backed securities, part of a move to limit government...
  
  Read more

• New York lawyer charged in $5 mln fraud outlined in suicide note

  12-12-2014 22:59
  NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A New York lawyer left a suicide note admitting that he had run a $5 million Ponzi scheme and called the investments "all an illusion," prosecutors said on Friday.
  
  Read more

• UPDATE 1-Fitch downgrades France ratings to 'AA'

  12-12-2014 22:59
  Dec 12 (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings cut its ratings on France to AA from AA+ on Friday, saying the country's revised deficit-reduction target was not enough to avoid a downgrade.
  
  Read more

• Paul Ryan's bid to overhaul Medicare to resurface in new Congress

  12-12-2014 22:50
  WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The next Republican budget will look a lot like those written by exiting House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, eliminating deficits in 10 years and calling again...
  
  Read more

• Crude slump slams stocks; safe-haven assets shine

  12-12-2014 22:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil's relentless slide pounded energy stocks and currencies exposed to crude exports on Friday, doused the appetite for riskier assets and pushed investors into the safety of government debt despite strong U.S. consumer sentiment. The Dow industrials and major European equity indexes posted their biggest weekly losses in three years, as shares in Europe fell more than 2 percent and stocks on Wall Street, with the exception of Nasdaq, fell nearly as much.
  
  Read more

• CANADA FX DEBT-Oil rout pulls C$ to its weakest close in 5-1/2 years

  12-12-2014 22:46
  (Adds comment, closing figures and details) * Canadian dollar at C$1.1572 or 86.42 U.S. cents * Bond prices higher across the maturity curve By Solarina Ho TORONTO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The Canadian...
  
  Read more

• Fitch downgrades France rating to AA

  12-12-2014 22:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ratings agency Fitch cut France's credit grade by one notch to "AA" on Friday, saying Paris's efforts to trim its fiscal deficit have fallen short to avoid a downgrade. "The weak outlook for the French economy impairs the prospects for fiscal consolidation and stabilizing the public debt ratio," Fitch said. The AA grade -- two steps below the top triple-A rating -- was decided despite France having reduced its projected deficit for fiscal 2015 to 4.1 percent of GDP,
  
  Read more

• GLOBAL MARKETS-Crude slump slams stocks; safe-haven assets shine

  12-12-2014 22:45
  * German 10-year bond yield at record low (Adds close of U.S. markets)
  
  Read more

• Fitch cuts France to 'AA'

  12-12-2014 22:39
  Dec 12 (Reuters) - Fitch ratings has cut its ratings on France to 'AA', after having put the country on 'Ratings Watch Negative' in October, saying the country's revised deficit-reduction target was...
  
  Read more

• SeaWorld and Adobe are big market movers

  12-12-2014 22:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., down 32 cents to $15.77 The theme park operator's ...
  
  Read more

• Oil slump leads Wall Street to worst week in 2-1/2 years

  12-12-2014 22:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday, leaving the benchmark S&P 500 with its worst weekly performance since May 2012, as investors pulled back from the markets in response to oil's free-fall and more weak data out of China.
  
  Read more

• CORRECTED-CANADA FX DEBT-Sinking crude pushes C$ to 5-1/2-year lows near C$1.16

  12-12-2014 22:32
  (Corrects third paragraph to say stock index has fallen about 5 percent, not 10 percent) * Canadian dollar at C$1.1558 or 86.52 U.S. cents * Bond prices higher across the maturity curve By Solarina...
  
  Read more

• Argentina says receives offers worth $286 mln for dollar bond issue

  12-12-2014 22:19
  BUENOS AIRES, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Economy Minister Axel Kiciloff said on Friday Argentina had received offers worth just $286 million in its first dollar-denominated debt sale since it defaulted in...
  
  Read more

• Fitch Affirms South Africa at 'BBB'; Negative Outlook

  12-12-2014 22:10
  (The following statement was released by the rating agency) LONDON, December 12 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has affirmed South Africa's Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at...
  
  Read more

• Pain looms for some US energy firms as banks reassess credit

  12-12-2014 21:38
  HOUSTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Banks are responding to tumbling crude prices by trimming the value of oil reserves tied to credit lines, possibly causing a cash crunch for some highly-leveraged U.S....
  
  Read more

• Crude rout slams stocks; safe-haven assets sought

  12-12-2014 21:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil's relentless slide pounded energy stocks and currencies exposed to crude exports on Friday, while dousing the appetite for riskier assets and encouraging investors to seek safety in core government bonds. Major European equity indexes, some of which posted their biggest weekly losses in three years, fell more than 2 percent. Stocks on Wall Street, except for Nasdaq, fell more than 1 percent before paring some losses. In Europe, the sell-off gathered
  
  Read more

• Oil, materials lead Wall Street towards weekly loss

  12-12-2014 21:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday, putting the benchmark S&P 500 on track for its first weekly decline since mid-October after a further drop in oil prices and disappointing data out of China pushed investors away from the raw materials sector.
  
  Read more

• US STOCKS-Oil, materials lead Wall St towards weekly loss

  12-12-2014 21:16
  * Indexes off: Dow 1.2 percent, S&P 0.9 percent, Nasdaq 0.5 percent (Updates to early afternoon)
  
  Read more

• Oil plunges 3 percent to new five-year lows after bearish IEA outlook

  12-12-2014 21:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil markets fell 3 percent or more to plumb new five-year lows on Friday after the world's energy watchdog forecast even lower prices on weaker demand and larger supplies next year. Benchmark Brent oil settled at below $62 a barrel and U.S. crude slumped to under $58 to extend Thursday's landmark fall below $60. Surging crude inventories in the United States and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia's reiteration that it will not cut productio
  
  Read more

• Romania's government sets 2015 budget in line with IMF target

  12-12-2014 20:57
  * Budget set to easily clear parliament as cabinet has majority
  
  Read more

• Oil prices extend collapse; gold gains

  12-12-2014 20:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Global oil prices tumbled to fresh five-year low points this week, while gold won support from its tatus as a haven investment in times of economic unrest, traders said. European stock markets slumped, dragged down by oil's plunge and renewed concerns over the eurozone economy. The European Central Bank pumped more liquidity into the financial system Thursday via private-sector loans but analysts said uptake by banks was disappointing and increased pressure for it to do more. OIL: Prices no
  
  Read more

• Brazil watchdog investigating Petrobras staff over graft -sources

  12-12-2014 20:21
  SAO PAULO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Brazil's securities industry watchdog opened eight investigations into executives at state-controlled oil producer Petróleo Brasileiro SA related to a vast graft and...
  
  Read more

• ON THE MOVE-Raymond James hires advisers from Wells Fargo

  12-12-2014 20:13
  Dec 12 (Reuters) - Raymond James & Associates, a branch of Raymond James Financial Inc, said it hired two advisers from the advisory unit of Wells Fargo & Co.
  
  Read more

• Renzi reforms set to continue after Italy day of protest

  12-12-2014 20:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's ambitious plans to transform Italy remained on track Friday after a day of protest over his government's economic policies sent tens of thousands onto the streets but failed to deliver anything resembling a knockout blow. Labour unions said some 40,000 people had turned up in Rome to voice their opposition to Renzi's labour market reforms, while many more had stayed away from work across the country in response to their call for an eight-hour general
  
  Read more

• Mexico conflict of interest scandal snares finance minister

  12-12-2014 19:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's finance minister on Friday denied he faced a conflict of interest after he became embroiled in a scandal engulfing President Enrique Peña Nieto, and welcomed an investigation into his purchase of a home from a government contractor. On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Finance Minister Luis Videgaray had bought a house at an exclusive golf resort in the central state of Mexico from Bienes Raices H&G, which belongs to Juan Armando Hinojosa.
  
  Read more

• S&P doubts UK deficit target, says more tax revenue may be needed

  12-12-2014 19:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By William Schomberg and David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on Friday Britain's public borrowing was likely to be higher than the government had forecast and the country might need to find ways to raise more tax revenue to balance the books. Finance minister George Osborne has said he intends to balance Britain's budget over the coming years through spending cuts alone, a pledge which will be central to the campaign of Prime Minister David
  
  Read more

• Free-falling oil intensifies pain for U.S. inflation bonds

  12-12-2014 19:51
  * Five-year TIPS breakeven rate hits lowest in 4-1/2 years
  
  Read more

• Antibiotic developer Cempra's CEO says not looking for a buyer

  12-12-2014 19:42
  (Reuters) - Cempra Inc has no plans for now to sell itself, its CEO said, brushing off talk that the company is a potential target as big drugmakers set their sights on antibiotic developers.
  
  Read more

• 10 Myths About Predictive Analytics

  12-12-2014 19:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Business is tough and competition can be brutal. With many economies still sluggish after the financial Armageddon that caused a mortgage meltdown and the stock market to experience the biggest losses since the Great Depression, it’s never been harder to make a buck. Businesses trying to gain whatever competitive edge they can turned to big […]
  
  Read more

• MIT study explains why stocks swoon when school vacation ends

  12-12-2014 19:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BOSTON (Reuters) - Why do stock markets tend to fall after long school breaks? Because investors need to catch up on all the bad news they missed while lounging on the beach or hitting the ski slopes with their kids. That is the conclusion of new MIT research into the effect of the academic calendar on markets. The results were released on Friday, days ahead of school winter break in the northern hemisphere. ...
  
  Read more

• After years of doubts, Americans turn more bullish on economy

  12-12-2014 19:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pessimism and doubt have dominated how Americans see the economy for many years. Now, in a hopeful sign for the economic outlook, confidence is suddenly perking up.
  
  Read more

• UPDATE 2-ChemoCentryx shares soar as lead drug succeeds in study

  12-12-2014 19:22
  * Shares jump 90 pct to 15-month high of $8.50 (Adds executive, analyst comment; updates shares)
  
  Read more

• Oil blackens European equities

  12-12-2014 19:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  London (AFP) - Oil prices tanked Friday to fresh five-year lows following a gloomy forecast for global crude demand and more weak Chinese economic data, sending European equities in a tailspin.
  
  Read more

• Crude rout hits stocks; safe-haven assets sought

  12-12-2014 18:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - The relentless slide in oil prices pressured energy stocks and currencies exposed to crude exports on Friday, while dousing the appetite for riskier assets and encouraging investors to seek safety in core government bonds. Major European equity indexes, some of which posted their biggest weekly losses in three years, fell more than 2 percent. Stocks on Wall Street, except for Nasdaq, fell more than 1 percent before paring some losses. In Europe, the sell-off
  
  Read more

• Oil plunges to new five-year lows as IEA cuts demand outlook

  12-12-2014 18:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell $2 a barrel to plumb new five-year lows on Friday after the world's energy watchdog forecast even lower prices on weaker demand and higher supplies next year. Benchmark Brent oil tumbled to below $62 a barrel and U.S. crude slumped to under $58 to extend Thursday's landmark fall below $60. Surging crude inventories in the United States and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia's reiteration that it will not cut production had roiled prices
  
  Read more

• S&P affirms UK's triple-A rating, doubts deficit target

  12-12-2014 18:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's maintained its triple-A rating for British sovereign debt on Friday but said that public borrowing was likely to be higher than the government has forecast and it might need more revenues from taxes. Finance minister George Osborne has said that he intends to balance Britain's budget over the coming years without raising taxes. S&P -- the only major ratings agency not to have cut Britain's AAA rating -- said the tax base might need to w
  
  Read more

• UPDATE 3-Adobe shares soar after Fotolia buy, Creative Cloud jump

  12-12-2014 18:42
  * Sees Fotolia boosting revenue per user on Creative Cloud
  
  Read more

• Santander UK appoints former govt adviser Vadera as chairman

  12-12-2014 18:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The British arm of Spanish bank Santander has named former government advisor Shriti Vadera as chairwoman, a role in which she is likely to oversee a stock market flotation of the lender some time in the ...
  
  Read more

• FTSE posts biggest weekly drop in three years, led by commodity stocks

  12-12-2014 18:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Atul Prakash and Francesco Canepa LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 share index posted its biggest weekly loss in more than three years on Friday as crude oil prices fell further and disappointing Chinese economic data hit commodity stocks. The FTSE 100 fell 161 points, or 2.5 percent, to 6,300.63 points, taking its weekly loss to 6.3 percent, the biggest since August 2011. The selloff gathered pace in late trade, mirroring falls on Wall Street. ...
  
  Read more

• FTSE posts biggest weekly drop in 3 years, led by commodity stocks

  12-12-2014 18:14
  * Biggest weekly percentage drop in three years at 6.3 pct
  
  Read more

Follow @FinanceUSA_News on Twitter!