Finance news

• FIS head laments drop in recreational skiers

  16-02-2015 23:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Steve Keating BEAVER CREEK, Colorado (Reuters) - Sitting on a terrace on a bluebird day overlooking the Birds of Prey finish line, International Ski Federation (FIS) chief Gian Franco Kasper scanned the horizon for recreational skiers that never appear. "Even in the cold countries like Switzerland and Austria the number of kids being involved in skiing goes down," Kasper told Reuters during a piste-side interview. "Those generations we have lost." The alpine world champion
  
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• Development bank EBRD underscores support for Ukraine

  16-02-2015 23:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expressed "strong support" for Ukraine and its programme of reform on Monday in a Kiev meeting with President Petro Poroshenko. Ukraine's economy has been left "severely weakened" after 10 months of conflict with pro-Russian rebels and the country faces a "sharp contraction" this year, according to an EBRD statement. EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti "discussed latest economic developments and expre
  
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• Sonic on track to lift full year earnings

  16-02-2015 23:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Pathology and medical centres operator Sonic Healthcare says it is on track to lift full year earnings despite a slide in first half profit.
  
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• Record 10.1 million tourists visit Wyoming in 2014

  16-02-2015 22:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A record 10.1 million people visited Wyoming last year, accounting for an estimated $3.3 billion of the state's economy, and the state tourism director is hopeful that lower gasoline prices will result in more tourists spending more money in the state this year.
  
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• Apollo and CVC in talks to sell London insurer Brit: FT

  16-02-2015 22:45
  (Reuters) - Private equity funds Apollo and CVC are in a plan to sell insurer Brit Plc , the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
  
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• Greece can survive till summer without EU deal: analysts

  16-02-2015 22:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Cash-strapped Greece can survive financially until the middle of the year after its EU bailout technically ends on February 28, analysts believe, despite the abrupt failure of talks with its eurozone partners on Monday. The Greek government appears unlikely to do so, because it has rejected the Eurogroup's demands that it continue the bailout, arguing that the attached conditions have plunged the country into poverty. Speaking before the talks ended, Panagiotis Petrakis, a professor of econ
  
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• Under Xi, China's defense budget seen defying economic slowdown

  16-02-2015 21:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Megha Rajagopalan BEIJING (Reuters) - President Xi Jinping is expected to authorize robust defense spending for this year despite China's slowing economy, determined to strengthen the country's armed capabilities amid growing unease in Beijing at Washington's renewed focus on Asia. While China keeps the details of its military spending secret, experts said additional funding would likely go toward beefing up the navy with anti-submarine ships and developing more aircraft carrie
  
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• Racial gaps in diabetes not tied to social, economic status

  16-02-2015 21:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Kathryn Doyle Social and economic status does not explain the racial gaps in the care and outcomes of kids with type 1 diabetes, according to a new study. The finding suggests researchers look to other factors that may explain the racial gap in type 1 diabetes care, such as the perceptions of doctors and families, write the researchers in the journal Pediatrics February 16. Previous studies done in much smaller populations have had somewhat similar findings, wrote lead author Dr. Steven Willi
  
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• WRAPUP 8-Greek debt talks with euro zone break down, way forward uncertain

  16-02-2015 21:25
  * No appetite to give Greece money without guarantees- Schaeuble
  
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• Greek finance minister says willing to sign different finance deal

  16-02-2015 21:22
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Monday he had been prepared to agree to a deal with creditors that would have given Athens four to six months additional...
  
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• Eurogroup head gives Greece until 'this week' to ask for bailout extension

  16-02-2015 20:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Eurozone ministers handed Greece an ultimatum Monday to request an extension to its hated debt bailout programme, deepening a bitter stand-off that risks seeing Athens tumble out of the eurozone. Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Greece had the rest of the week to request an extension to the programme, which expires at the end of the month. "Given the timelines we have... we can use this week but that is about it," said Dijsselbloem, who is also Dutch finance minister, after crun
  
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• WRAPUP 7-Greek debt talks with euro zone break down, way forward uncertain

  16-02-2015 20:20
  * No appetite to give Greece money without guarantees- Schaeuble
  
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• Any new Greek bailout would not be very different -Dijsselbloem

  16-02-2015 20:04
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - If Greece sought a third emergency aid programme, it would not be radically different, a senior euro zone official said on Monday, adding that there would still be...
  
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• Italy sees Greek debt deal, hopes Greece asks for extension

  16-02-2015 19:50
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said he was "not worried" after inconclusive Eurogroup talks with Greece and said he hoped Athens would eventually request an...
  
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• IMF will not pay Greece if reform progress not made

  16-02-2015 19:49
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund will not disburse more funds to Greece if Athens does not make progress with its reforms, the head of the Washington-based lender said on...
  
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• Slovakia's Kazimir: Eurogroup can meet Friday if there is prospect for deal

  16-02-2015 19:43
  PRAGUE, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers can meet again as soon as on Friday if there is strong chance for a deal with Greece on its bailout programme, Slovak Finance Minister Peter...
  
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• EMERGING MARKETS-Mexican markets fall as Greece rejects bailout proposal

  16-02-2015 19:43
  MEXICO CITY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Mexican markets dipped on Monday after Greece rejected a proposal by its euro zone partners to accept a six-month extension of its international bailout program, which...
  
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• TEXT-Draft Eurogroup statement rejected by Greece

  16-02-2015 19:37
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Text of a draft statement which Greek officials showed to reporters, saying it was proposed by the Eurogroup on Monday and rejected by the Athens government:
  
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• Dijsselbloem: Greece has until Friday to request bailout extension

  16-02-2015 19:34
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Greece needs to seek an extension of its international bailout this week, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chaired a meeting of euro zone finance ministers, said on Monday.
  
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• "Disaster" if Greece won't request bailout extension -Malta

  16-02-2015 19:27
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - If Greece does not request a bailout extension it will face "disaster", Maltese Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said after an inconclusive Eurogroup meeting on Monday.
  
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• "Everyone's disappointed", minister says after Greek talks fail

  16-02-2015 19:17
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - "Everyone's disappointed," Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling said on Monday after an inconclusive Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.
  
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• African presidents create $87 million emergency fund to fight Boko Haram

  16-02-2015 19:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Presidents from the 10-nation Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) pledged in an extraordinary meeting on Monday to create an $87 million emergency fund to fight the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. "My counterparts from the CEEAC and I decided to create an emergency fund of 50 billion CFA francs ($86.72 million) to fight Boko Haram," Gabon's President Ali Bongo, who attended the one-day summit in Cameroon, said on his personal Twitter account. ...
  
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• Big Three ratings agencies defy new curbs to regain pre-crisis clout-watchdog

  16-02-2015 19:11
  LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Revenues and margins at Europe's "Big Three" credit rating agencies (CRAs) are back to pre-financial crisis levels and the trio are in line for more business, despite a...
  
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• UPDATE 1-Up to Greece to ask for bailout -EU's Dombrovskis

  16-02-2015 19:10
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers are ready to hold further talks with Greece if and when it is willing to request an extension to its bailout package, European Commission Vice...
  
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• Up to Greece to ask for bailout -EU's Dombrovskis

  16-02-2015 19:08
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers are ready to hold further talks with Greece if and when it is willing to request an extension to its bailout package, European Commission Vice...
  
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• Fresenius Kabi sells German oncology compounding business

  16-02-2015 19:04
  BERLIN (Reuters) - Fresenius Kabi has sold its German oncology business CFL GmbH to fellow compounding company NewCo Pharma GmbH for an undisclosed amount, the company said on Monday.
  
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• Greece says negotiations continue in Eurogroup

  16-02-2015 18:54
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Greek officials said they were still negotiating with euro zone finance ministers on Monday after Greece rejected a draft proposal under which it would agree to extend...
  
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• Eurogroup meeting with Greece over -EU official

  16-02-2015 18:54
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers concluded their meeting on Monday with Greek negotiators after less than four hours of talks, an EU official said.
  
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• Canada introducing legislation to end rail strike

  16-02-2015 18:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  OTTAWA, Canada (AP) — Canada's Conservative government on Monday was introducing legislation to force an end to a strike at Canadian Pacific Railway by more than 3,000 Teamsters members, saying the rail strike poses a threat to the economy.
  
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• Greece rejects "draft" calling for bailout extension, conclusion

  16-02-2015 18:39
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Greek officials said they rejected a draft proposal from euro zone finance ministers on Monday that called for Athens to "successfully conclude" its current bailout...
  
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• UPDATE 2-Nigeria sells FX outside target band, sparks devaluation talk

  16-02-2015 18:31
  * Analysts predict another devaluation (Adds analysts, forex reserves details)
  
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• Greece rejects Eurogroup text, saying cannot accept bailout extension

  16-02-2015 18:01
  BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - A Greek government official said that a draft text presented to euro zone finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday spoke of Greece extending its current bailout...
  
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• UK's FTSE slips off five-month highs as Fresnillo falters

  16-02-2015 17:58
  LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index retreated from five-month highs on Monday, with leading companies such as miner Fresnillo and utility Centrica hit by broker downgrades.
  
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• Greece battles eurozone in bailout showdown

  16-02-2015 17:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Greece faced a wall of opposition at crucial talks on Monday with eurozone finance ministers dead set against scrapping the country's massive bailout programme as a bitter stand-off deepened. The hard-left government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is trying to win a radical overhaul to the terms of its 240 billion euro ($270 billion) bailout which it says has damaged the Greek economy after years of imposed austerity. Tsipras swept into power after elections last month on a promise to tea
  
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• Battle lines drawn as euro zone starts Greek debt talks

  16-02-2015 17:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Yann Le Guernigou and Renee Maltezou PARIS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Debt-laden Greece and EU paymaster Germany drew firm battle lines as euro zone finance ministers began crunch talks on Monday on the future of an unpopular international bailout for Athens, with EU officials pessimistic about any early deal. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Greece had lived beyond its means for a long time and there was no appetite in Europe for giving it any more money without guarantees. The Gree
  
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• Forces loyal to president seize parts of Yemen's economic hub

  16-02-2015 17:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Mohammed Mukhashaf ADEN (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Yemen's president said they seized strategic buildings in the southern city of Aden on Monday after a five-hour battle, escalating a civil conflict that threatens to split the country in two. The militias supporting Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi wrested control of parts of Yemen's economic hub from security forces allied to the Houthi movement, including its main power station and intelligence headquarters, sources said. The country'
  
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• Record number of 97 million tourists visited Florida

  16-02-2015 17:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A record number of tourists flocked to Florida last year as the nation's economy continued its recovery after the Great Recession.
  
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• From Grand Theft Auto to Wall Street: Trading apps woo gamers

  16-02-2015 16:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON (Reuters) - Twenty-something consumers raised on video games such as Grand Theft Auto and Angry Birds are being wooed by financial trading apps, keen to build bridges with a post-crisis generation that is disinterested in financial services or plain mistrustful. Bright colours, cartoon graphics and the ability to trade risk-free with virtual credits are features of apps such as BUX and Kapitall, which eschew financial lingo and complex charts in favour of competitive he
  
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• Aldermore Cuts IPO Valuation As Profit Soars

  16-02-2015 16:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  One of Britain's fastest-growing challenger banks will unveil a surge in profits on Tuesday even as it draws up plans to float on the stock market at a significant discount to a previous attempt last year. Sky News has learnt that Aldermore is to announce that annual pre-tax profit in 2014 more than doubled to approximately £50m for the first time, up from £22.4m the year before. Insiders said the figures would include a return on equity for the second half of the year of about 19% - high
  
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• UK's FTSE 100 edges down from five-month highs

  16-02-2015 16:35
  LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index retreated from five-month highs on Monday, with leading companies such as miner Fresnillo and utility Centrica hit by broker downgrades.
  
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• UPDATE 2-Conwert shares trade above Deutsche Wohnen bid price

  16-02-2015 16:33
  * Deutsche Wohnen CEO says offer is fair (Adds quotes from news conference)
  
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• Ukraine's goods trade deficit narrows sharply in 2014 as imports plunge

  16-02-2015 16:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ukraine's trade deficit for goods narrowed sharply last year to $468.3 million, official data showed on Monday, but that was due to a drop in imports following a gas pricing row with Russia and a sharp depreciation of the hryvnia currency. Ukraine's economy has been hammered by a year of political upheaval and war, putting the former Soviet republic on the brink of bankruptcy. The conflict with pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine's industrial eastern regions has hit the country's main exports such as
  
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• Nigeria says its forces recapture towns from Boko Haram

  16-02-2015 15:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Nigerian troops backed by air strikes recaptured the northeastern towns of Monguno and Marte from Islamist Boko Haram insurgents on Monday, the military said in a statement. Boko Haram fighters had seized Monguno on the shores of Lake Chad last month in an offensive that also targeted a town called Konduga and the outskirts and the airport of the main northeastern city of Maiduguri. The conflict with Boko Haram has intensified in the past year and is a major issue in campaigning for a presidenti
  
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• Norwegian oil exports plunge as crude crisis hits

  16-02-2015 14:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Norway's oil exports have plunged by more than a half since early 2014, authorities said Monday as deeply depressed crude prices dragged down the wealthy country's trade surplus. The Nordic country exported 13.2 billion kroner ($1.74 billion, 1.53 billion euros) worth of oil in January, a drop of 55 percent from the same month in 2014, according to figures from Statistics Norway. "You have to go back to November 2001 to find a month where the value of oil exports was lower,"
  
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• Amount of next tranche of IMF aid for Ukraine has not been discussed: minister

  16-02-2015 14:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalia Yaresko said on Monday the government had not yet discussed the exact amount of the next tranche of financial aid from the International Monetary Fund. Last week the IMF proposed a bigger, longer-term financing package to shore up Ukraine's war-torn economy. The four-year program amounts to $17.5 billion and Kiev would like to receive $10.8 billion, the maximum allowed under IMF rules, in the first year, Yaresko said in televised briefing. (Rep
  
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• Greece's Varoufakis says 'no more loans' until credible growth plan: NYT

  16-02-2015 14:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said his government was not asking for a way out of repaying the country's debt, but wanted a few months of financial stability. In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Varoufakis also said Greece should not take any more loans until it had a credible plan for achieving economic growth. "Our government is not asking our partners for a way out of repaying our debts," he said in the article, published before he meets fellow euro zone finance ministers in
  
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• South Africa's Impala flags lower H1 earnings

  16-02-2015 14:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Impala Platinum said on Monday it expected first-half earnings to fall by up to 63 percent due to impairments at its Zimbabwe operation and the fallout of a five-month strike at its Rustenburg mine. The world's No. 2 producer of platinum said in a statement that headline earnings per share was expected to be between 55 and 77 cents lower than the six months to December 2013. Headline EPS are the main profit gauge in South Africa and exclude certain one-tim
  
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• Burundi trade deficit narrows in 2014 on firmer currency, lower imports

  16-02-2015 13:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Burundi's trade deficit narrowed to $640 million in 2014 from $717 million a year earlier after the local currency strengthened against the dollar and the volume of imports fell, its central bank said on Monday. The landlocked east African country of nearly 10 million has struggled to boost its economy following a chronic imbalance between imports and exports, in a nation where coffee and tea account for 85 percent of total export revenues. From January to December 2014, Burundi's fran
  
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• Orascom to split construction, fertiliser units for separate listings

  16-02-2015 13:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Orascom Construction has started proceedings for the demerger of the company's units with its engineering and construction business to be listed on exchanges in Egypt and Dubai, the Amsterdam-listed firm said on Monday. The demerger of the engineering and construction business from its fertilisers and chemicals' unit will take place on March 7, the company forecast in a statement. Orascom Construction will re-list on Egypt's bourse, having been a blue-chip stock on the exchange bu
  
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• UAE banks' profit growth to dip on weaker economy, asset quality -S&P

  16-02-2015 13:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Profit growth at banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expected to slip to 5-6 percent in 2015 as macroeconomic challenges and the absence of big improvements in asset quality strangle lenders' earnings, Standard & Poor's said on Monday. UAE lenders have enjoyed bumper earnings growth in recent quarters, aided by buoyant economic conditions locally, strong credit growth and the reduction in levels of cash set aside to cover bad debts. This should trim sector-wide profit growth this year to
  
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