Finance news

• Justice Department probing Moody's for mortgage deal grades: WSJ

  01-02-2015 22:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Moody's Investors Services for issuing favorable grades on mortgage deals in the lead-up to the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the situation. The federal probe of the ratings agency, a unit of Moody's Corp , comes as the Justice Department nears a settlement with Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, a unit of McGraw Hill Financial Inc , over similar conduct, th
  
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• EU's Juncker wants to scrap troika's mission to Greece: Handelsblatt

  01-02-2015 22:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker wants to scrap the troika mission from international lenders that governs Greece's 320 billion euros ($360 billion) bailout, German daily Handelsblatt reported, quoting unnamed Commission sources. Berlin was also prepared to reform arrangements between the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Athens, seen by its new government as "insulting" to Greek sovereignty, and establish more general economic
  
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• Justice Department investigating Moody's for mortgage deal ratings: WSJ

  01-02-2015 21:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Moody's Investors Services for issuing favorable grades on mortgage deals in the lead-up to the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The federal probe comes as the Justice Department nears a settlement with Standard & Poors Ratings Services over similar actions, the Journal reported. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn)
  
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• CRH confirms $7.34 billion deal to buy assets from Lafarge SA, Holcim: WSJ

  01-02-2015 19:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Irish building materials company CRH Plc confirmed that it agreed to pay $7.34 billion for assets from cement companies Lafarge SA and Holcim Ltd , the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. CRH will fund the deal with cash, debt and a 9.99 percent equity placing, the Journal reported. A Holcim spokesman confirmed that the company received a binding offer from CRH, according to the Journal. The newspaper reported on Saturday that Lafarge and Holcim were nearing a deal to sell at lea
  
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• France offers support for Greece amid bailout tensions

  01-02-2015 19:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  PARIS (AP) — France's Socialist government is offering support for Greece's efforts to renegotiate debt for its huge bailout, amid renewed fears about Europe's economic stability.
  
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• Ford CFO says sees ongoing problems in Russia: Handelsblatt

  01-02-2015 17:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The finance chief of Ford Motor Co expects ongoing problems in Russia where the decline of the rouble and the struggling economy was weighing on its market share, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt. Russia's currency and economic woes were cited last week by Ford as major reasons the company lowered expectations for its European business in 2015. Other carmakers have incurred losses and closed production plants in Russia for the same reason. "2015 does not look good," Ford
  
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• Obama plans 19 percent tax on U.S. companies' foreign earnings

  01-02-2015 17:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President Barack Obama's fiscal 2016 budget proposes a 19 percent tax on U.S. companies future foreign earnings and a one-time 14 percent tax on roughly $2 trillion of profits being held offshore, the White House said on Sunday. The White House has long been critical of practices by U.S. companies that it views as avoiding tax responsibilities at home. The proposals are part of a broader tax reform package that the Obama administration hopes will re-focus tax advantages toward middle-income
  
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• Obama plans 19 pct tax on U.S. companies' foreign earnings

  01-02-2015 17:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jeff Mason and Kevin Drawbaugh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's fiscal 2016 budget proposes a 19 percent tax on U.S. companies future foreign earnings and a one-time 14 percent tax on roughly $2 trillion of profits being held offshore, the White House said on Sunday. The White House has long been critical of practices by U.S. companies that it views as avoiding tax responsibilities at home. The proposals are part of a broader tax reform package that the Obama administratio
  
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• California suffers dry January, prolonging devastating drought

  01-02-2015 16:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California has experienced one of the driest Januarys on record, and the lack of rain during a time of year when the weather is usually wet indicates the state is likely headed for a fourth straight year of drought, officials said. A prolonged drought could portend further economic and environmental setbacks for the nation's most populous state, which has already lost both crops and jobs to the dry weather. The state's driest January on recor
  
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• UPDATE 2-Greece starts drive to sell new debt deal to doubting Europe

  01-02-2015 16:08
  * Collective wage bargaining, minimum wage hike planned (Adds quotes from French minister, tax amnesty proposal)
  
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• Greece starts drive to sell new debt deal to doubting Europe

  01-02-2015 16:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Angeliki Koutantou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's leftist government on Sunday began its drive to persuade a skeptical Europe to accept a new debt agreement while it starts to roll back on austerity measures imposed under its existing bailout agreement. After a turbulent first week in office, the new government has made clear it wants to end the existing arrangement with the European Union, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund "troika" when its aid deadline ex
  
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• Irish PM wants "cast iron" guarantees on Aer Lingus sale

  01-02-2015 15:31
  DUBLIN, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The owner of British Airways must provide some sort of "cast iron permanent guarantee" on flights to Ireland if the government is to even consider its bid for Aer Lingus,...
  
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• Obama proposes 14 percent tax on U.S. companies' untaxed foreign earnings

  01-02-2015 15:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President Barack Obama's fiscal 2016 budget would impose a one-time 14 percent tax on some $2 trillion of untaxed foreign earnings accumulated by U.S. companies abroad and use that to fund infrastructure projects, a White House official said. In the future, the budget proposes that U.S. companies pay a 19 percent tax on all of their foreign earnings as they are earned, while a tax credit would be issued for foreign taxes paid, the official said.
  
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• MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets surge on stronger oil, big Saudi payout

  01-02-2015 15:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  * Gulf petrochemicals rise sharply * Saudi Arabia also boosted by lavish royal payout * Retailers surge, likely to see stronger sales * Dubai Investments soars after hiking dividend * Egypt pulls back after fresh violence in Sinai By Olzhas Auyezov DUBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock market rose sharply on Sunday after King Salman ordered a lavish payout to state employees and oil prices jumped on reports of declining U.S. drilling activity. Most other Gulf markets also climbed in symp
  
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• Saudi Aramco stops Red Sea deepwater exploration work -sources

  01-02-2015 14:40
  KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, Feb 1 (Reuters) - State oil giant Saudi Aramco has put on hold its deepwater oil and gas exploration and drilling activities in the Red Sea because of high costs as it...
  
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• Germany's Otto says currencies weigh on earnings - Handelsblatt

  01-02-2015 14:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Otto , Europe's second-biggest e-commerce company, expects a "painful drop" in earnings for the 2014/15 fiscal year as the weak Russian rouble and euro weigh,...
  
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• Antibiotics firm Motif Bio to tap UK market for cash

  01-02-2015 14:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Motif Bio, which is working on a range of antibiotics, is planning to raise at least 4 million pounds - and potentially up to 16 million - through a stock market listing in London. Motif Bio said it was in talks with investors ahead its move to list on the AIM market as it seeks funding to advance its experimental drugs. Motif Bio, which is led by former Merck executive and one-time vet Graham Lumsden, is buying rights to iclaprim through the purchase of U.S. firm Nuprim in a deal that will be c
  
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• UPDATE 1-France's Sapin says Greece has no future outside the euro

  01-02-2015 14:01
  PARIS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Greece has no future outside the euro but it is legitimate for the country to want to discuss ways to reduce the weight of its debt, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said...
  
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• Greek turmoil an unexpected boon for German AfD eurosceptics

  01-02-2015 13:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Michelle Martin BREMEN, Germany (Reuters) - The new Greek government's anti-bailout stance has sent shudders through much of Europe but Germany's euroskeptic AfD party can hardly believe its good fortune ahead of a regional election as a breakup of the euro zone suddenly appears possible. "We all obviously want Greece to leave the euro zone," AfD founder Bernd Lucke told Reuters. "Now we're a bit more hopeful that this could even come true." A central elemen
  
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• France's Sapin says Greece has no future outside the euro

  01-02-2015 13:41
  PARIS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Greece has no future outside the euro but it is legitimate for the country to want to discuss ways to reduce the weight of its debt, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said...
  
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• Greek coalition ally seeks tax amnesty to get cash back to banks

  01-02-2015 13:41
  ATHENS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The junior partner in Greece's ruling coalition plans to propose a tax amnesty on undeclared income deposited in Greek banks in a bid to reverse the rising tide of funds...
  
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• UPDATE 1-A week in and Greece's new leftist PM sticks to tough line, for now

  01-02-2015 13:20
  ATHENS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - While it sent conflicting messages, Greece's new left-wing government spent most of its first week signalling determination to take the hard-line, anti-bailout stance that...
  
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• Greece promises to boost minimum wage as debt talks loom

  01-02-2015 12:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Angeliki Koutantou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's leftist government outlined plans to lift the minimum wage on Sunday, continuing a roll-back of the austerity terms of its international bailout and underlining the balancing act it faces to persuade a skeptical Europe to agree a new debt accord. After a turbulent first week in office, the new government has made clear it wants no extension of the current arrangement with the European Union and International Monetary Fund "troika"
  
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• UPDATE 1-Abu Dhabi's Waha Capital to invest $870 mln cash bounty - CEO

  01-02-2015 12:11
  * Q4, FY profits jump, bolstered by AerCap deals (Recasts, adds CEO's comments, context)
  
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• UPDATE 3-MIDEAST STOCKS-Dubai surges on stronger oil, dividends, Saudi payout

  01-02-2015 11:24
  DUBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Dubai's stock index rose sharply on Sunday after oil prices surged and Saudi Arabia's new King Salman ordered a lavish payout to state employees.
  
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• Greece on European charm offensive in search of debt relief

  01-02-2015 11:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Greece's new anti-austerity government was set to kick off its European charm offensive in Paris on Sunday seeking to renegotiate its 240-billion-euro ($270 billion) bailout, though Germany has already refused to consider any debt relief. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, who is looking to write down half of Greece's debt, was scheduled to meet with French Finance Minister Michel Sapin and Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron in the afternoon, before heading on to London and Rome. Greece&
  
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• A week in and Greece's new leftist PM sticks to tough line, for now

  01-02-2015 10:36
  ATHENS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Judging from Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' first week in office, Greece's new leftist government is determined to take the hard-line, anti-bailout stance that international...
  
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• Egypt's Global Telecom to sell Djezzy majority stake for $2.6 billion

  01-02-2015 10:23
  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Global Telecom (GTH) will sell a 51 percent stake in Djezzy for $2.6 billion while keeping operational control of the Algerian mobile operator, Global said in a statement on...
  
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• Greece shakes Europe's political kaleidoscope: expect the unexpected

  01-02-2015 10:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Paul Taylor LONDON (Reuters) - By catapulting to power an improbable alliance of the hard left and nationalist far right, Greece has shaken up Europe's political kaleidoscope and may have signalled the end of an era of centrist consensus. With eight general elections due in the European Union this year, as well as regional votes, the earthquake in Athens may be a harbinger of other shocks to come. Expect the unexpected in 2015 from Britain to Finland and Denmark to Spain as voters who have en
  
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• Fed's 'solid' growth view faces test as Greek drama unfolds

  01-02-2015 10:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's upgraded view that growth in the world's biggest economy is "solid", and so capable of withstanding an interest rate rise this year, will be put to the test by U.S. jobs data this week. The Federal Reserve last week lifted its assessment of the U.S. expansion to "solid" from "moderate", with jobs growth now seen as "strong". "Interest rates then were 6 percent. In an encouraging
  
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• UPDATE 2-MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi Arabia surges on royal payout, oil rebound

  01-02-2015 09:21
  DUBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock index surged in early trade on Sunday after King Salman ordered a lavish payout to state employees and oil prices jumped on reports of declining U.S....
  
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• Right-wing firebrand shakes up cosy Swiss politics

  01-02-2015 09:00
  MAENNEDORF, Switzerland, Feb 1 (Reuters) - As a child growing up near the Swiss border with Germany in the early 1940s, Christoph Blocher remembers soldiers camping out in his family's garden, ready...
  
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• New Saudi regulator says market-opening plan on track

  01-02-2015 08:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The new head of Saudi Arabia's securities regulator said the kingdom remained on track to open its $510 billion stock market to direct foreign investment in the first half of this year. Mohammed Al-Jadaan, founding partner at law firm Al-Jadaan & Partners in Riyadh, was named head of the Capital Market Authority in a cabinet resuffle by King Salman on Thursday. He replaced Mohammed bin Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh, who also had a lawyer's background. "I look forward to increasing the number of listed co
  
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• Greece offers olive branch as search for allies begins

  01-02-2015 06:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Greece's anti-austerity government was to begin a European charm offensive Sunday aimed at building consensus on renegotiating its 240-billion-euro ($270 billion) bailout, even as Germany insisted it would not support any debt relief. Just hours before Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis headed to Paris to seek support for a renegotiation of the bailout, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he believed a deal could be reached with the EU and IMF. Varoufakis has talks scheduled with French Finan
  
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• Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing bets on Europe as China slows

  01-02-2015 06:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Famed for his sharp business acumen and knack for perfectly timed investments, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing is shifting away from a slowing Chinese economy and bargain hunting in Europe. Li's holdings are embodied in a striking 63-storey glass skyscraper in the heart of Hong Kong and his business decisions have the potential to affect property and utility prices for the city's seven million residents. The announcement just over a week ago that he plans to buy UK phone giant O2 for
  
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• New Jersey Governor heads to UK for trade, politics, soccer

  01-02-2015 06:01
  NEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a likely 2016 Republican presidential contender, will be promoting his state's life sciences industry in a trip to the United Kingdom...
  
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• China factory sector jolts by shrinking in January

  01-02-2015 05:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Koh Gui Qing BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory sector unexpectedly shrank for the first time in nearly 2-1/2 years in January and firms see more gloom ahead, an official survey showed, raising expectations that policymakers will take more action to forestall a sharper slowdown. The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.8 in January, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday, a low last seen in September 2012 and a whisker below the 50-point level that separat
  
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• UPDATE 2-China factory sector jolts by shrinking in January

  01-02-2015 05:43
  * Rate cut coming in first quarter- ANZ (Adds comment, details)
  
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• China manufacturing unexpectedly shrinks in January: govt

  01-02-2015 04:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  China's manufacturing activity contracted for the first time in more than two years in January, an official survey showed Sunday, signalling further downward pressure on the world's second-largest economy. The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) came in at 49.8 last month, down from 50.1 recorded in December. The index, which tracks activity in factories and workshops, is considered a key indicator of the health of China�
  
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• China's factory sector unexpectedly shrinks in January

  01-02-2015 03:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Activity in China's factory sector contracted in January for the first time in more than two years, an official survey showed, a far worse result than expected that will add to worries about the country's choppy economic outlook this year. The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.8 in January from December's 50.1, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday, a whisker below the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. A ho
  
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• Firms prepare for new tax rules as China vows crackdown

  01-02-2015 02:35
  BEIJING, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The Chinese government's vow to increase tax scrutiny of foreign companies has sent firms rushing to tax advisors ahead of the implementation on Sunday of new rules...
  
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• China official PMI falls to 49.8, lowest in over two years

  01-02-2015 02:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Activity in China's factory sector contracted in January for the first time in more than two years, an official survey showed on Sunday, which will increase gloom about the outlook for the world's second-biggest economy this year. A housing slump, erratic growth in exports and a state-led slowdown in investment to help restructure China's economy has hurt China's economy in the past year, when growth sunk to a 24-year low of 7.4 percent.
  
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• China official services PMI at one-year low in January

  01-02-2015 02:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BEIJING (Reuters) - Growth in China's services sector cooled to a one-year low in January, an official survey showed on Sunday, reinforcing expectations about the Chinese economy losing more steam in coming months.
  
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• REFILE--China official PMI falls to 49.8, lowest in over two years

  01-02-2015 02:18
  BEIJING, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Activity in China's factory sector contracted in January for the first time in more than two years, an official survey showed on Sunday, which will increase gloom about the...
  
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• Japan farming reforms a stiff test of Abe's resolve

  01-02-2015 02:00
  * Some fear Abe could backtrack to avoid clash before local elections
  
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• Lafarge SA, Holcim near deal to sell $7 billion in assets to CRH - WSJ

  01-02-2015 00:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Cement companies Lafarge SA and Holcim Ltd are nearing a deal to sell at least $7 billion (4.65 billion pounds) worth of assets to Ireland's CRH PLC, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Journal noted that the sale of the assets in Europe, Canada and elsewhere was a precondition of winning antitrust approval for the roughly $40 billion pending merger between France's Lafarge and Switzerland's Holcim. The newspaper said CRH was a finalist in an
  
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• RPT-New Jersey's Revel Casino sale delayed while judge reviews appeal

  01-02-2015 00:12
  PHILADELPHIA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal appeals court has delayed the sale of the shuttered Revel Casino in Atlantic City pending an appeal by a company that ran its nightclub and boardwalk...
  
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