Finance news

• Dollar Tree says FTC wants 340 stores sold ahead of Family Dollar deal

  07-04-2015 23:54
  (Reuters) - Dollar Tree Inc said the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has identified about 340 stores to be divested for the $8.5 billion takeover of Family Dollar Stores Inc to go through.
  
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• Shell in talks to buy BG Group

  07-04-2015 23:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - UK gas producer BG Group Plc said it is in talks to sell itself to Royal Dutch Shell Plc . As of Tuesday's close, BG Group had a market capitalization of about 31 billion pounds ($46 billion). Shell declined to comment. The deal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter.
  
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• Finland poll leader open to deal with eurosceptic populists

  07-04-2015 23:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jussi Rosendahl and Alistair Scrutton HELSINKI (Reuters) - The poll favorite to be Finland's next premier says he is open to taking eurosceptic populists into any new governing coalition but expects they could cause difficulty with demands like an end to bailouts and kicking Greece out of the euro zone. Opposition Centre Party leader Juha Sipila, a centrist with support from both the urban middle class and rural conservatives with eurosceptic tendencies, is commanding around 25 percent i
  
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• Hedge fund says BNY Mellon is 'bloated' with 10,000 excess staff

  07-04-2015 23:18
  BOSTON (Reuters) - Activist hedge fund Marcato Capital Management on Tuesday said BNY Mellon Corp's employee base is "bloated" and disproportionately larger than its rivals.
  
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• Informatica to go private in $5.3 billion leveraged buyout

  07-04-2015 23:09
  (Reuters) - Business software maker Informatica Corp said it would be bought for about $5.3 billion by private equity firms Permira Funds and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), in the...
  
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• Vietnam's bikers race to upgrade as auto sales explode

  07-04-2015 23:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Famous for its swarms of scooters, Vietnam is seeing auto sales surge amid the rapid expansion of a young, style-conscious middle class after 15 straight years of economic growth of over 5 percent. While major regional car markets Indonesia and Thailand saw annual declines in auto sales last year, Vietnam's leapt 43 percent, Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) data shows. Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Honda reported solid annual sales increases, despite high import taxes.
  
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• Twitter options active on deal chatter

  07-04-2015 23:07
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Twitter Inc'sshares jumped 5 percent and activity in its options surged on Tuesday on unsubstantiated market chatter about the company fending off a takeover bid.
  
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• Jeff Bezos' rocket company to begin suborbital test flights this year

  07-04-2015 22:56
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A space company owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos has finished work on a rocket engine for a suborbital spaceship and expects to begin flight tests this year,...
  
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• U.S. dollar rallies, eroding Wall Street gains

  07-04-2015 22:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday, resuming a recent upward trend and weighing on Wall Street stocks as investors fretted the currency's strength would hurt multinational corporate profits. U.S. equities had traded higher for much of the session but turned negative in the final hour of trading. Recent market activity has favoured risk assets, a move tied to Friday's weaker-than-expected U.S. payrolls report. While the data, alon
  
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• Oaktree's Marks says no bargains in financial markets: CNBC

  07-04-2015 22:48
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Howard Marks, co-founder and chairman of Oaktree Capital, the world's largest distressed debt investor, said on Tuesday that no assets in financial markets were "absolutely...
  
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• Wall Street ends down, dollar gains offset deal news optimism

  07-04-2015 22:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Two years ago, competition regulators blocked United Parcel Service's bid for TNT because, unlike FedEx, that suitor already had a strong European network. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.43 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,875.42, the S&P 500 lost 4.29 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,076.33 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.08 points, or 0.14 percent, to 4,910.23. Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Tuesday cut its 2015 earnings estimates for the S&P 500 by $2 a share, citing the
  
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• Shell in talks to buy BG Group - WSJ

  07-04-2015 22:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc is in talks to buy gas producer BG Group Plc , the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. (http://on.wsj.com/1FcKGGY) As of Tuesday's close, BG Group had a market capitalization of about 31 billion pounds ($46 billion). BG Group and Shell were both immediately unavailable for comment outside regular business hours. ($1 = 0.6749 pounds) (Reporting by Narottam Medhora and Sai Sachin in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
  
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• Investors pull $4 bln from hedge funds amid lackluster returns

  07-04-2015 22:24
  BOSTON (Reuters) - Wealthy investors protested the hedge fund industry's recent lackluster returns and high fees by pulling a net $4 billion out of the $2.5 trillion industry during the first two...
  
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• BRIEF-Florida developer buys Atlantic City's Revel for $82 mln - AP

  07-04-2015 21:18
  * Sale completed on Tuesday to Florida developer Glenn
  Straub's Polo North Country Club - Associated Press
  
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• Pimco Unconstrained Bond Fund posts $660 mln in outflows for March

  07-04-2015 21:17
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Pimco Unconstrained Bond Fund posted $660 million in net cash withdrawals for March, bringing its year-to-date outflows to $1.7 billion, according to Morningstar data...
  
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• FedEx to buy TNT for $4.8 billion to take on rivals in Europe

  07-04-2015 21:08
  
  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - FedEx Corpis to buy Dutch package delivery firm TNT Expressfor an agreed 4.4 billion euros ($4.8 billion), stepping up the challenge to rivals United Parcel Serviceand...
  
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• Canada's Harper sees growth, rules out budget stimulus

  07-04-2015 20:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Nicole Mordant VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada's economic growth this year will be weaker than anticipated, but there will be growth and the federal budget will be balanced in the 2015-16 fiscal year, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday. Harper said his Conservative government, which faces an election in October, is not considering an economic stimulus package even though a drop in oil prices has caused job losses and a decline in federal revenues. He said the government
  
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• UN panel cuts Latin America 2015 growth forecast to 1%

  07-04-2015 20:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Latin America's economies will grow just one percent this year, hit by a weakening global outlook, a UN commission forecast Tuesday, slashing its previous projection of 2.2 percent. The forecast comes after the region's economies grew an estimated 1.1 percent in 2014, their lowest level in five years, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). In December, when ECLAC released the regional growth figure for 2014, it predicted a better year of 2.2 p
  
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• Ex-Citi exec's hedge fund delays launch over UK probe: cofounder

  07-04-2015 20:13
  
  (Reuters) - The launch of a hedge fund set up by Anil Prasad, the former head of foreign exchange at Citigroup Inc, has been delayed a few months as the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)...
  
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• ECB meets bond buying target

  07-04-2015 19:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The European Central Bank said Tuesday it had met its monthly target of buying 60 billion euros ($65 billion) worth of bonds in March, the first month of its massive programme to stimulate the eurozone economy and ward off deflation. The nearly 61 billion euros in government and corporate debt purchased was a successful kickoff of the programme to inject more than 1.1 trillion euros into the eurozone economy as some analysts had voiced doubts on whether the ECB would be able to buy enough assets
  
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• IMF defends huge support for war-torn Ukraine

  07-04-2015 19:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday defended its risky new $17.5 billion loan to Ukraine after eight failed programs with the country, stressing the government was committed to discipline and reform. IMF first deputy managing director David Lipton said that a real window for progress had opened "for the first time" after decades of government mismanagement and corruption. "Now, Ukraine has the political will, but it has to contend with full-blown economic and financial cris
  
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• Former JPM infrastructure exec starts alliance, draws CalSTRS

  07-04-2015 19:28
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co's former OECD Infrastructure Investment Fund Chief Investment Officer is starting an infrastructure alliance and has secured $500 million of commitments from...
  
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• Sri Lanka parliament rejects raising $3.0 bn in bonds

  07-04-2015 19:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had asked the 225-member legislature to approve increasing the treasury bond limit by 400 billion rupees ($3.0 billion) to 1,250 billion rupees. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake played down the setback, saying the rejection of the resolution did not prevent the government tapping into bonds and raising money at rates higher than in the treasury bill market. He said he had wanted to retire high cost bonds by issuing shorter term, lower inter
  
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• Vivendi in exclusive talks to buy Orange's Dailymotion

  07-04-2015 19:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Gwénaëlle Barzic and Dominique Vidalon PARIS (Reuters) - French media group Vivendi has entered exclusive talks to buy 80 percent of video-sharing website Dailymotion from telecom operator Orange for 217 million euros ($236 million), the companies said on Tuesday. The offer won the backing of a "large majority" of Orange's board, ahead of a rival bid from German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1, Orange chief Stephane Richard told a parliamentary economic affairs committee. Richard
  
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• Premier of Canada's Alberta dissolves legislature, calls election

  07-04-2015 18:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Alberta Premier Jim Prentice on Tuesday called an election in the Canadian province, the largest source of U.S. crude imports, as he looks to extend his party's 43-year reign even as weak oil prices threaten to push the economy into recession. Prentice, a former investment banker and federal minister who took over the leadership of the ruling Progressive Conservatives in September, dissolved the provincial legislature and called an election for May 5 as he seeks to add another majority on t
  
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• Viacom shares slip on bigger-than-expected charge, buyback halt

  07-04-2015 18:49
  April 7 (Reuters) - Shares of MTV owner Viacom Inc slipped on Tuesday, a day after the company hit the pause button on a $20 billion share buyback program and announced slew of restructuring steps...
  
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• Equities up on M&A; dollar strength a concern

  07-04-2015 18:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets around the world rose on Tuesday as investors moved into riskier assets for a second straight day, though a rise in the U.S. dollar could a headwind for further gains. Potential deal activity boosted equities on Wall Street and in Europe, a positive that added to the growing conviction that the U.S. Federal Reserve would not raise interest rates until after the summer. The U.S. dollar has rallied since mid-2014 on expectations for a rise in r
  
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• Saint-Gobain extends Sika agreement with Burkard family

  07-04-2015 18:22
  
  PARIS (Reuters) - French building materials company Saint-Gobainsaid it has extended an agreement with the Burkard-Schenker family that would see it take control of Switzerland's Sikain order to...
  
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• UPDATE 2-Hudson's Bay shares jump on upbeat sales forecast

  07-04-2015 18:10
  April 7 (Reuters) - Retailer Hudson's Bay Co forecast higher-than-expected sales for the coming year on Tuesday, saying it will benefit from robust online demand and strong growth at its Saks Fifth...
  
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• BRIEF-PA Resources main owner says no to new funding

  07-04-2015 18:00
  * Gunvor Group has today informed the company that it will
  not participate with new funding, in the form of equity or new
  loans, in the ongoing refinancing process
  
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• Europe stocks close sharply higher

  07-04-2015 17:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Paris (AFP) - Europe's main stock markets closed sharply higher on Tuesday, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index jumping 1.88 percent on the day to 6,961.77 points.
  
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• Germany dismisses Greek demand for billions in WW2 reparations

  07-04-2015 17:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Andreas Rinke and Gernot Heller BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's economy minister branded Greece's demand for 278.7 billion euros ($302 billion) in reparations from World War Two as "stupid" on Tuesday, while the German opposition said Berlin should repay a forced loan dating from the Nazi occupation. Greek Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas made the demand on Monday, seizing on an emotional issue in a country where many blame Germany, their biggest creditor, for the tough austerity measures
  
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• European Central Bank stimulus effort meets 1st month goal

  07-04-2015 17:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has met its monthly goal of purchasing 60 billion euros in government and private-sector bonds, the first stage of a 1.1 trillion euro ($1.2 trillion) program aimed at boosting the economy.
  
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• BRIEF-UNIPROF Real Estate reports no activities leading to improvement in financial condition in Q1

  07-04-2015 17:03
  * In Q1 2015, company has not developed any activities
  leading to improvement in financial condition; same situation is
  expected for Q2 2015
  
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• Fed should not raise rates until late 2016: Kocherlakota

  07-04-2015 16:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota on Tuesday laid out a case for waiting until the second half of 2016 to start raising interest rates, and to then raise them gradually to just 2 percent by the end of 2017. His remarks afterwards to reporters suggest he is increasingly worried that market expectations for nearer-term rate rises, fueled by comments from many of Kocherlakota's Fed colleagues, could knock the wind out of the economic recovery. "That conversation (about raisi
  
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• Fed should not raise rates until late 2016 --Kocherlakota

  07-04-2015 16:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota on Tuesday laid out a case for waiting until the second half of 2016 to start raising interest rates, and to then raise them gradually to just 2 percent by the end of 2017. His remarks afterwards to reporters suggest he is increasingly worried that market expectations for nearer-term rate rises, fueled by comments from many of Kocherlakota's Fed colleagues, could knock the wind out of the economic recovery. "That conversation (about raisi
  
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• US stocks open higher, putting market on track for 3rd gain

  07-04-2015 16:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks crept higher in early trading on Tuesday, putting the market on track for its third gain in a row. Global stock markets rallied on expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will put off an interest rate increase until late in the year.
  
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• Scandal-hit Petrobras may issue earnings in April: JP Morgan

  07-04-2015 16:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Petróleo Brasileiro SA, struggling with fallout from a corruption scandal and a decline in oil prices, could release audited financial information this month despite facing "a perfect storm," analysts at JPMorgan Securities said on Tuesday. In a client note, JPMorgan analysts led by Marcos Severine said the state-run company known as Petrobras could report third- and fourth-quarter earnings this month and book a one-off average asset impairment of 29.4 billion reais ($9.37 billion) du
  
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• Fed's Kocherlakota: Talk of rate hikes acts like policy tightening

  07-04-2015 16:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Even talking about possible interest-rate hikes is problematic because it slows economic and jobs growth, a top Fed official said on Tuesday. "That conversation in and of itself is a tightening of policy," Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota told reporters after a speech to the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce.
  
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• UPDATE 7-FedEx to buy TNT for $4.8 bln to take on rivals in Europe

  07-04-2015 15:57
  * GRAPHIC: http://link.reuters.com/rub54w (Adds quotes from FedEx executives from analyst call)
  
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• Wall Street edges higher after two-day run

  07-04-2015 15:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher at the open on Tuesday, on the heels of two sessions of gains for the S&P 500, with deals including a bid from FedEx for a Dutch peer indicating companies still see value in the market. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 40.34 points, or 0.23 percent, to 17,921.19, the S&P 500 gained 2.32 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,082.94 and the Nasdaq Composite added 4.67 points, or 0.09 percent, to 4,921.98. (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing b
  
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• Ghana's main oil refinery says shuts down due to breakdown

  07-04-2015 15:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ghana's main oil refinery has been shut down due to a mechanical fault at its and it will be closed for around a month, Tema Oil Refinery's spokeswoman Aba Lokko said on Tuesday. Ghana produces around 100,000 barrels per day of crude oil at its offshore Jubilee field and it also imports oil for domestic consumption. President John Mahama said last year the government was seeking an external partner for the refinery. For years, Ghana was considered one of Africa's brightest economi
  
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• South Africa's Eskom says to cut 1,000 MW of power on Tuesday

  07-04-2015 15:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's power utility Eskom said on Tuesday it would cut 1,000 megawatts of electricity from 1400 GMT to 2000 GMT, citing a shortage of generation capacity. Eskom, which supplies about 95 percent of power in Africa's most developed economy, has been forced to implement controlled blackouts to avoid a total collapse of the national grid as its ageing infrastructure struggles to meet demand.
  
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• Fed can be both late and slow to raise rates: Kocherlakota

  07-04-2015 14:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  With the U.S. economy still years away from rising to normal levels of inflation and employment, the Federal Reserve can afford to wait until well into next year to raise interest rates, a top Fed official said on Tuesday. Counseling extraordinary patience on eventual rate hikes, Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota laid out a case for waiting until the second half of 2016 to start raising rates, and to then raise them gradually so as to reach just 2 percent by the end of 2017. Kocher
  
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• Berkshire takes 8.7 percent stake in Carlyle-controlled Axalta

  07-04-2015 14:42
  
  (Reuters) - Paint maker Axalta Coating Systems Ltdsaid Berkshire Hathaway Incwould buy an 8.7 percent stake in the company from controlling shareholder Carlyle Groupfor $560 million.
  
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• Brazil's Oleo e Gas, OSX in talks to halt Tubarao Azul oil output

  07-04-2015 14:24
  RIO DE JANEIRO, April 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's Oleo e Gas
  Participacoes SA is in talks with units of
  shipbuilder and ship-leaser OSX Brasil SA to halt
  output from its Tubarao Martelo offshore oil...
  
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• Stocks rally after Fed official signals slow rate rises

  07-04-2015 13:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets rallied Tuesday on expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will put off an interest rate hike until late in the year.
  
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• UK's FTSE led higher by oil stocks, positive economic data

  07-04-2015 13:29
  * Rise in copper price boosts miners (Adds PMI, oil stocks, comments)
  
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• German economy minister says 'not clear' how to keep helping Greece

  07-04-2015 13:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Germany's economy minister said on Tuesday his country was ready to help Greece get back on its feet and stay in the euro zone but it wasn't clear to him how they could keep helping. "This country (....) is ready to help (Greece) get back on its feet - moreover in my firm opinion in the euro and not outside the euro," Sigmar Gabriel said during a talk at the economy ministry.
  
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• Nigerian shares snap 10-day winning streak as election rally wanes

  07-04-2015 13:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's main stocks index ended a 10-day winning run after falling 2.1 percent in early trade on Tuesday as a rally triggered by peaceful presidential elections in Africa's biggest economy waned, stockbrokers said. The index had climbed more than 12 percent on Wednesday and Thursday after opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, marking the first time where a sitting president was removed from power through the ballot box in Nigeria.
  
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