Finance news

• UPDATE 1-Caesars' operating unit files bankruptcy exit plan

  03-03-2015 23:47
  March 3 (Reuters) - The operating unit of casino company
  Caesars Entertainment Corp unveiled its plan to cut $10
  billion of debt and to exit Chapter 11 in a late Monday filing
  with a U.S. Bankruptcy...
  
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• Macquarie to buy planes from lessor AWAS; raise $391 mln

  03-03-2015 23:37
  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Macquarie Group on Wednesday said it will raise A$500 million ($390.65 million) to fund its $4 billion acquisition of a portfolio of planes from AWAS Aviation Capital Ltd, one of...
  
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• Pimco CIO Ivascyn says 'late decision-makers' behind withdrawals

  03-03-2015 23:13
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pimco's top investment officer said on Tuesday that "late decision makers" are largely behind a rush of withdrawals from its flagship bond fund some five months after the...
  
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• Costly shift to new credit cards won't fix security issues

  03-03-2015 23:09
  
  CHICAGO (Reuters) - New technology about to be deployed by credit card companies will require U.S. consumers to carry a new kind of card and retailers across the nation to upgrade payment terminals....
  
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• A business person's guide to Munich: Beer included

  03-03-2015 22:50
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jim Koch considers Munich a beer-lover's paradise. The founder and chairman of Boston Beer Co, which brews Samuel Adams beer, heads to the region north of the city every year to...
  
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• Nasdaq says former TMX CEO Kloet to join its board of directors

  03-03-2015 22:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Transatlantic exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said on Tuesday that Thomas Kloet, the former chief executive of Toronto Stock Exchange owner TMX Group Ltd, would be joining its board of directors. ...
  
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• Italy approves plan to boost broadband networks

  03-03-2015 22:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Italian government approved a plan on Tuesday to bring its high-speed broadband network into line with European Union targets, but it held back from forcing operators to replace their copper-wire networks with fiber-optic cable. Italy faces growing pressure to strengthen its telecommunications infrastructure and digital sector to help improve the performance of an economy that has been in virtual stagnation for two decades. "We are creating a plan to give our country the digital infrastructu
  
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• Investors pull $8.6 billion from Pimco Total Return Fund in February

  03-03-2015 22:45
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors yanked another $8.6 billion from the Pimco Total Return Fund last month, Pimco said on Tuesday in the latest indication the firm's flagship fund is still reeling from...
  
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• US stocks fall broadly a day after Nasdaq passes 5,000 mark

  03-03-2015 22:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell from record highs on Tuesday and the Nasdaq dropped below 5,000 a day after passing that milestone for the first time since the dot-com era 15 years ago.
  
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• Best Buy and Orexigen are big market movers

  03-03-2015 22:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE Best Buy Co., up 55 cents to $39.18 The electronics retailer will raise its dividend ...
  
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• Hellman & Friedman, Fortress prepare joint bid for Italy's ICBPI: sources

  03-03-2015 22:29
  LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman and U.S. asset manager Fortress Investment Group are lining up a joint bid for Italian bank services provider ICBPI, ahead of a March...
  
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• U.S. stocks retreat from record highs, dollar dips

  03-03-2015 22:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks followed other equities markets lower on Tuesday, with major indexes pulling back from record highs as soft auto sales raised doubts about the U.S. economy, while the dollar fell from an 11-year peak versus a basket of currencies.
  
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• Auto industry slows for bad weather, but stays on course

  03-03-2015 22:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  DETROIT (AP) — February threw snowstorms and other roadblocks at the auto industry, but U.S. sales of new cars and trucks are still poised to hit their highest level in more than a decade this year.
  
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• Stallergenes proposes merger proposal with U.S. partner

  03-03-2015 21:59
  PARIS (Reuters) - Stallergenes' controlling shareholder proposed merging the French pharmaceuticals group's operations with its U.S. partner Greer to create a specialist in allergy immunotherapy...
  
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• Veris Wealth hires adviser from Northern Trust

  03-03-2015 21:44
  (Reuters) - Wealth management firm Veris Wealth Partners said it hired Jane Swan from Northern Trust Corp as senior wealth manager.
  
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• Greek government to tackle 'humanitarian crisis' in first parliamentary bill

  03-03-2015 21:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's government submitted a bill to offer free food and electricity to thousands of poverty-stricken Greeks as its first legislative act in parliament, in a symbolic move to address what it calls a "humanitarian crisis". Athens, which got a four-month extension of a financial rescue from the euro zone last month, has sought to assure its lenders that such measures will not burden the budget while showing Greeks that it is sticking to pre-el
  
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• Morgan Stanley realigns wealth management: memo

  03-03-2015 20:54
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley, the biggest U.S. brokerage firm with more than 16,000 financial advisers, elevated Sara Furber to a new position as head of corporate and institutional wealth...
  
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• Trades in Immunovaccine shares to be undone after hoax spurs 30 pct jump

  03-03-2015 20:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Canada's stock market regulator said on Tuesday it will amend or cancel trades in the shares of tiny pharmaceutical company Immunovaccine Inc after they surged on Friday following a hoax. The stock jumped more than 30 percent to 89 Canadian cents after an unauthorized statement said Immunovaccine had entered a partnership with a much larger company. The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) said it would amend the traded price to 73 cents a share or cancel the 136 trades
  
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• Wall Street falls from latest records after soft auto sales

  03-03-2015 20:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, a day after S&P and Dow hit records and Nasdaq retreated after hitting a 15-year milestone after soft car sales data and Iran commentary worried some investors.
  
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• Jana Partners up 6.7 percent in Feb., gains 1.8 percent YTD: source

  03-03-2015 20:18
  BOSTON (Reuters) - Hedge fund Jana Partners reported a 6.7 percent gain in its flagship fund last month after losing 4.6 percent in January, leaving it up 1.8 percent for the year to date, an...
  
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• Former Rhode Island speaker pleads guilty to corruption charges

  03-03-2015 20:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The former speaker of Rhode Island's statehouse pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal charges relating to alleged corruption, admitting he used campaign funds to buy baubles at Tiffany and accepted more than $50,000 in bribes, according to officials and court papers. Democrat Gordon Fox has accepted a plea deal under which he will serve three years in federal prison for bribery, wire fraud and filing a false tax return during his two decades in office, a tenure that ended abruptly in March 2012 w
  
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• U.S. stocks recede from record highs, dollar slips

  03-03-2015 19:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock prices fell on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 pulling back from record highs, while the dollar fell from an 11-year peak versus a basket of currencies. Investors are awaiting evidence the global economy is improving before adding to equity holdings, analysts said.
  
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• Ukraine hikes interest rates, triples gas prices as economy totters

  03-03-2015 19:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ukraine's central bank moved to shore up the country's battered currency Tuesday by hiking interest rates to 30 percent as the government pushed through draconian reforms needed to clinch another IMF bailout. The bank said the eye-popping jump in the benchmark refinancing rate, from a current 19.5 percent, was aimed at "stabilising the macro-economic situation" pending the IMF's decision on a $17.5-billion loan needed to save Ukraine from bankruptcy. Ukraine's curre
  
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• Investors pull record $525.8 million from BlackRock bond ETF

  03-03-2015 19:43
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors pulled $525.8 million from BlackRock Inc's iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF on Monday, the company said on Tuesday.
  
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• Top U.S. officials brief House Democrats on Pacific trade pact

  03-03-2015 19:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Krista Hughes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior U.S. officials on Tuesday briefed Democrats in the House of Representatives on a Pacific trade pact, as the administration pushed to overcome skepticism about trade deals among members of President Barack Obama's own party. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and National Economic Council Director Jeff Zients updated Democrats on negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and plans for further meetings with lawmakers, some of those pre
  
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• Ukraine's central bank to lift benchmark rate to 30 percent

  03-03-2015 19:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's central bank will raise its benchmark refinancing rate to 30 percent from 19.5 percent, the head of the central bank said on Tuesday, seeking to rein in rocketing inflation and stem persistent currency weakness. The hryvnia has halved in value so far in 2015 after shedding 50 percent last year. The new interest rate, which takes effect on Wednesday, is the highest for 15 years and will inflict further pain on an economy expected to shrink by 5.5 perce
  
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• US stocks fall a day after Nasdaq passes 5,000 milestone

  03-03-2015 19:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes fell broadly in afternoon trading Tuesday as investors await earnings from the few companies yet to announce results and a jobs report later this week. The Nasdaq fell below 5,000 a day after passing that milestone for the first time since the dot-com era 15 years ago.
  
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• Springleaf to buy Citi's OneMain to become top U.S. subprime lender

  03-03-2015 19:07
  
  (Reuters) - Springleaf Holdings Inc said it would buy Citigroup Inc's OneMain Financial Holdings Inc for $4.25 billion in cash, creating the largest subprime lender in the United States.
  
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• Caesars' operating unit files bankruptcy exit plan

  03-03-2015 18:20
  March 3 (Reuters) - The operating unit of casino company
  Caesars Entertainment Corp unveiled its plan to cut $10
  billion of debt and to exit Chapter 11 in a late Monday filing
  with a U.S. Bankruptcy...
  
  Read more

• U.S. envoy to Yemen to work from Jeddah after embassy's closure

  03-03-2015 18:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. ambassador to Yemen will track Yemeni events from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia following last month's closure of the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. The choice of Jeddah reflects logistical and security concerns as well as a desire not to signal U.S. support for a partition of Yemen, the official said. Yemen only became a unified state in 1990 as the Soviet collapse undermined the communist south's economy. U.S. diplomats pulled out of the Sanaa embassy after Ho
  
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• BRIEF-Solar-Fabrik postpones publication of 2014 annual report, insolvency process initiated

  03-03-2015 18:13
  March 3 (Reuters) - Solar Fabrik fuer Produktion und
  Vertrieb von Solartechnischen Produkten AG :
  
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• Pennsylvania governor proposes tax system revamp in $29.9 billion budget

  03-03-2015 18:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf proposed a $29.9 billion budget on Tuesday that includes $2.5 billion of net tax increases for fiscal 2016. Wolf's sweeping revamp of the state's tax system would raise sales and personal income taxes while lowering property and corporate taxes, he said during his address to lawmakers. (Reporting by David DeKok in Harrisburg and Hilary Russ in New York; Editing by Alden Bentley)
  
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• Turkey's Koc posts flat FY earnings as consumer confidence dented

  03-03-2015 17:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Recasts, adds background) ISTANBUL, March 3 (Reuters) - Koc Holding, Turkey's largest company by revenue, reported a flat full-year profit on Tuesday, as flagging economic growth and a sliding lira put pressure on consumer confidence. Koc, a conglomerate with businesses ranging from energy to automobiles and widely seen as a proxy for the Turkish economy, has been on a push to boost exports of home appliances, although it has faced headwinds in Europe where consumer spending continues to suffer
  
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• Former Rhode Island speaker to plead guilty to corruption charges

  03-03-2015 17:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The former speaker of Rhode Island's statehouse was due to plead guilty on Tuesday to federal charges, admitting he used campaign funds to buy baubles at Tiffany and accepted more than $50,000 in bribes, according to officials and court papers. Democrat Gordon Fox has agreed to a plea deal under which he will serve three years in federal prison for bribery, wire fraud and filing a false tax return during his two decades in office, a tenure that ended abruptly in March 2012 when he resigned three
  
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• Kenya burns 15 tonnes of ivory in anti-poaching fight, to destroy its stockpile by year-end

  03-03-2015 17:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Humphrey Malalo NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya burnt 15 tonnes of ivory on Tuesday and promised to destroy all of its stockpile this year, the latest step in its campaign against elephant poaching. Poaching has surged in the last few years across sub-Saharan Africa, where gangs kill elephants and rhinos to feed Asian demand for ivory and horns for use in folk medicines. "As part of Kenya’s continued policy to put ivory beyond economic use ... I will today burn 15 tonnes of ivory at this his
  
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• Russia troubles hinder Ford, GM efforts to recover in Europe

  03-03-2015 17:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  GENEVA (AP) — Russia's sinking economy is putting up a major hurdle for Ford Motor Co. and General Motors as the U.S. automakers fight to return to profitability in Europe after years of losses.
  
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• South Africa's rand recovers after weakening on Fitch downgrade alert

  03-03-2015 16:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The rand firmed late on Tuesday after tumbling to two-and-a-half week lows earlier when rating's agency Fitch warned that South Africa could lose its investment grade status. South Africa, the continent's most advanced economy but plagued with stubborn structural difficulties, recorded a 24.22 billion rand ($2.1 billion) trade deficit for January and is facing its worst power-supply crisis since 2008. "The comments from Fitch served as catalyst to increase selling pressure on the
  
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• EBRD to launch funding in Greece, promoting enterprise

  03-03-2015 16:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will launch a five-year program of loans and investments in Greece that EU governments hope can foster enterprise and growth to help revive an economy hobbled by public-sector debt. Suma Chakrabarti, president of the London-based EBRD, told reporters in Brussels that all its 66 state owners had voted on Friday to let Greece follow similarly bailed-out euro zone member Cyprus in becoming a "countr
  
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• TSX tracks weaker U.S. stocks, banks lead declines

  03-03-2015 16:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Solarina Ho TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock exchange retreated on Tuesday in a broad decline led by the Bank of Nova Scotia , which reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, and a sell-off in shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc . "Basically for Canada, we're seeing stocks dropping back pretty much in tandem with the pullback in U.S. stocks today ... It's not unusual to rally up to something like that and then pull back as people decide to tak
  
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• UPDATE 2-African Bank's lending below levels to sustain "good bank"

  03-03-2015 16:40
  JOHANNESBURG, March 3 (Reuters) - Failed South African
  lender African Bank Investments Ltd (Abil) is lending
  at levels below what is required to set up a new "good bank"
  using its healthy assets,...
  
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• US auto sales up in February despite snowy weather

  03-03-2015 16:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  DETROIT (AP) — Freezing temperatures and drifts of snow likely took a small bite out of U.S. auto sales in February, but most automakers still reported gains thanks to the strong economy.
  
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• UPDATE 3-Barclays will cut investment bank again if performance doesn't improve

  03-03-2015 16:29
  * 2014 profit including charges, costs down 21 pct at 2.3 bln stg
  
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• European stocks decline awaiting central bank stimulus

  03-03-2015 16:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Europe's main stock markets slipped on Tuesday after recent strong gains, with traders sitting tight as the eurozone awaits fresh central bank stimulus. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dipped 0.30 percent to stand at 6,919.95 points in afternoon deals after reaching an intra-day high on Monday. "Equities have surged higher in recent weeks on hopes central banks’ record low interest rates, combined with the use of unconventional policy tools such as quantitative easing, will co
  
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• Canadian economy grew 0.6% in 4th quarter of 2014

  03-03-2015 16:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Canada's economy grew 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 as households boosted expenditure, the government statistical agency said Tuesday. Gross domestic product (GDP) beat analysts' expectations but was still down from the previous quarter's 0.8 percent growth. Expressed at an annualized rate, GDP expanded 2.4 percent, said Statistics Canada.
  
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• US stocks slip a day after Nasdaq passes 5,000 milestone

  03-03-2015 16:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes edged lower in early trading Tuesday as investors await earnings from the few companies yet to announce results and a jobs report later this week. The Nasdaq fell below 5,000 a day after passing that milestone for the first time since the dot-com era 15 years ago.
  
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• Stryker's $2 billion buyback plan deflates Smith & Nephew bid hopes

  03-03-2015 16:12
  LONDON (Reuters) - Plans by Stryker to launch a new $2 billion share buyback program punctured hopes the U.S. surgical implant firm would bid for rival Smith & Nephew , sending shares in the British...
  
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• Smith & Nephew slump knocks FTSE back from record high

  03-03-2015 16:10
  * Barclays, Glencore slip after updates (Adds details, quote)
  
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• U.S. CEOs modestly more upbeat on economy, spending: survey

  03-03-2015 16:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  "The U.S. economy and the job outlook are starting the year in a stronger position than 2014," said Randall Stephenson, chairman of Business Roundtable and CEO of AT&T Inc . The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index, a composite index of expectations for the next six months for sales, capital spending and employment, rose to 90.8 from 85.1 in the fourth quarter.
  
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• Wall St slips from latest records; Nasdaq below 5,000

  03-03-2015 16:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower shortly after the open on Tuesday in the wake of the latest records for the Dow and S&P and the Nasdaq scaling the 5,000 mark for the first time in 15 years. The Nasdaq had notched its first close above the 5,000 milestone since March 10, 2000, buoyed by merger activity, for only the third close above that level in the history of the index. "The market is naturally settling in, taking a breather until the scales tip eithe
  
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• US STOCKS-Wall St slips from latest records; Nasdaq below 5,000

  03-03-2015 15:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks edged lower shortly after the open on Tuesday in the wake of the latest records for the Dow and S&P and the Nasdaq scaling the 5,000 mark for the first time in 15 years. The Nasdaq had notched ...
  
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