Finance news

• Party City IPO values U.S. retailer at nearly $2 billion

  15-04-2015 23:56
  (Reuters) - Party City Holdco Inc's initial public offering has been priced at $17 per share, an underwriter said, valuing the largest U.S. party goods retailer at about $1.97 billion.
  
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• UPDATE 1-U.S. FDA approves Amgen's Corlanor heart failure drug

  15-04-2015 23:24
  April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators on Wednesday approved Amgen Inc's Corlanor to treat patients with chronic heart failure, giving the world's largest biotechnology company its first...
  
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• GE points way for 'too big to fail' peers

  15-04-2015 22:42
  (Reuters) - If shedding its financing arm did wonders for General Electric’s stock price, maybe too-big-to-fail bank peers like Citibank and JP Morgan should consider similar moves.
  
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• Bill to aid Detroit bond sale passes Michigan House

  15-04-2015 22:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - A bill aimed at reducing interest rate costs for an upcoming public sale of bonds Detroit initially issued in December to finance its exit from bankruptcy passed the Michigan House on Wednesday after winning approval from the state Senate last month. Detroit, which exited the biggest-ever municipal bankruptcy on Dec. 10, privately placed $275 million of variable-rate bonds with Barclays Capital. The bill, which will return to the Senate to be enrolled before heading to Governor Rick
  
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• Oil rally helps lift US stocks

  15-04-2015 22:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  New York (AFP) - A rally in petroleum-linked equities helped lift US stocks Wednesday following mixed earnings and economic data.
  
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• Madoff trustee seeks to free up $1.25 bln for fraud victims

  15-04-2015 21:46
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The trustee recouping money for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme on Wednesday sought court approval to release $1.25 billion from legal reserves, potentially boosting the...
  
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• Wall Street rallies as earnings jitters recede and oil rebounds

  15-04-2015 21:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  All 10 major S&P 500 sectors gained, with the energy index up 1.89 percent. Investors have feared that the March-quarter earnings season, just getting under way, would be hurt by low oil prices, a strong dollar and extreme weather in the eastern United States. U.S. shares also benefited after the European Central Bank said it remained committed to its full asset-buying program to revive the euro zone economy. At 3:13 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average rose 102.36 points, or 0.57 percent,
  
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• Saudi firm, Bunge to buy majority stake in Canadian grain handler

  15-04-2015 21:03
  
  TORONTO/RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's state-owned agricultural investment firm and U.S. grain trader Bunge Ltd will buy a controlling stake in Canadian grain handler CWB, in a bold move by the...
  
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• UPDATE 1-Ernst & Young settles with N.Y. for $10 mln over Lehman auditing

  15-04-2015 21:01
  NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - Ernst & Young LLPwill pay $10 million to settle a New York lawsuit accusing the
  accounting firm of helping Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc
  deceive investors in the...
  
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• S&P cuts Greece's rating over prolonged talks with lenders

  15-04-2015 20:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Angeliki Koutantou ATHENS (Reuters) - The ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Wednesday cut Greece's credit rating deeper into junk territory, citing worsening economic conditions due to prolonged negotiations between the country and its lenders. Greece has been locked in talks with its EU and IMF creditors on economic reforms for months and risks running out of cash within weeks if it fails to strike a deal to unlock fresh bailout funds. "Greece increasingly depends on favorable business, fi
  
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• Nokia buys Alcatel-Lucent to grow in telecom equipment

  15-04-2015 20:49
  
  HELSINKI/PARIS (Reuters) - Nokia is to buy Alcatel-Lucent in an all-share deal that values its smaller French rival at 15.6 billion euros ($16.6 billion), building up its telecom equipment business...
  
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• Bank of Canada signals more rate cuts may be unneeded

  15-04-2015 20:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Randall Palmer and Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz held interest rates steady on Wednesday and suggested that no further cuts are imminent due to the bank's expectation that the economy will rebound later this year from the first quarter's zero growth. Poloz stunned markets in January with a surprise 25-basis-point cut to provide what he called "insurance" against a downturn in Canada's oil-heavy economy stemming from the oil-pric
  
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• Exclusive: German car parts maker Getrag eyes IPO, partial sale - sources

  15-04-2015 20:40
  LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The owners of Germany's car parts maker Getrag are reviewing a stock listing or a partial sale to an industry peer to build scale, several sources familiar with the...
  
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• Cerberus seals purchase of Italian state-owned properties: source

  15-04-2015 20:34
  MILAN (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm Cerberus Capital Management has sealed the purchase of five Italian state-owned properties for more than 225 million euros ($241 million), a source close to the...
  
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• Fight for $15 protests expand for low-wage workers

  15-04-2015 20:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The Fight for $15 campaign that began with fast-food workers expanded in size and scope Wednesday to include a range of workers who say their meager pay is a form of economic injustice.
  
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• Fed says economy continues expanding, but strong dollar a drag

  15-04-2015 20:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Economic activity continued to expand from mid-February through the end of March, but a strong dollar and falling oil prices were hurting the manufacturing sector, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. In its Beige Book report of anecdotal information on business activity collected from contacts nationwide, the U.S. central bank said most of its regional Fed banks described growth as either progressing at a "moderate" or "modest" pace. Weakening activity was attributed in pa
  
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• BofA's wealth business wilts but Thiel retains support

  15-04-2015 20:01
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America said on Wednesday that first-quarter profit and revenue fell in its Global Wealth and Investment Management division from a year earlier on lower commission...
  
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• Bank of America profit beats expectations as legal expenses fall

  15-04-2015 20:01
  
  (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp, the No. 2 U.S. bank by assets, reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit, reversing from a year-earlier loss, as legal costs fell steeply and the bank...
  
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• S&P cuts Greece rating into vulnerable to default range

  15-04-2015 19:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Standard and Poor's on Wednesday cut its long-term credit rating for Greece by one notch to CCC+, a level at which borrowers are considered as being vulnerable to default, saying it needs further reforms and help. Negotiations between Athens and its EU-IMF creditors are hurtling towards an April 24 deadline as the Greek government's coffers are emptying fast. The Greek economy had begun to turn around last year, but early elections that brought the radical left Syriza party to power on
  
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• ThyssenKrupp nears VDM sale to Lindsay Goldberg: sources

  15-04-2015 19:25
  
  DUESSELDORF/FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) - ThyssenKruppis in advanced talks to sell its loss-making alloys business VDM to private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg Vogel, two sources familiar with the...
  
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• U.S.-based muni funds post first outflows since July '14: ICI

  15-04-2015 19:12
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors in U.S.-based mutual funds pulled $187 million out of municipal bond funds in the week ended April 8 as retail investors sought to raise capital to pay taxes, data from...
  
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• S&P downgrades Greece as creditor talks fail to progress

  15-04-2015 19:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Standard and Poor's rating agency downgraded Greece's credit grade further into junk status Wednesday, saying the country's financial commitments would be unsustainable without "deep economic reform or further relief."
  
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• UPDATE 5-Bank of America profit beats expectations as legal expenses fall

  15-04-2015 18:59
  * Shares fall 1.2 pct (Adds Oppenheimer calculation of expenses, updates shares)
  
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• Agnellis' Exor bids $6.4 billion for PartnerRe to trump Axis

  15-04-2015 18:56
  MILAN (Reuters) - A $6.4 billion all-cash offer from Italian holding company Exorfor Bermuda-based reinsurer PartnerRehas disrupted plans by Axis Capital Holdingsto merge with its rival and...
  
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• UPDATE 5-Agnellis' Exor bids $6.4 bln for PartnerRe to trump Axis

  15-04-2015 18:54
  * Axis says fully committed to PartnerRe tie-up (Adds details, quotes, analysts, shares; edits throughout)
  
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• Fed's Bullard repeats call to hike now, cites asset bubble risk

  15-04-2015 18:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Falling unemployment and an improving U.S. economy are evidence that the Federal Reserve should start raising interest rates, a top Fed official said on Wednesday, citing risks of asset bubbles if the central bank keeps rates too low for too long. St. Louis Fed Bank President James Bullard said he expects the unemployment rate to drop into the 4 percent range and the U.S. economy to maintain a growth rate near 3 percent over the medium term. "Now may be a good time to begin normalizing U.S.
  
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• Charles Schwab first quarter profit down 7 percent on higher costs, fewer trades

  15-04-2015 18:02
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Charles Schwab Corp said on Wednesday that its first-quarter net income fell 7 percent to $302 million on slower client trading activity and higher spending focused in part on...
  
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• Virtu's IPO set to land, a year after postponement

  15-04-2015 18:00
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Virtu Financial Inc , an electronic market maker that postponed its IPO a year ago amid the furor over Michael Lewis' book "Flash Boys," are slated to begin trading on...
  
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• UK's FTSE rises to record as retailers advance

  15-04-2015 17:54
  * JD Sports update lifts sports retailers (Updates with closing prices)
  
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• Ghana's consumer inflation rises to 16.6 pct in March on weaker cedi

  15-04-2015 17:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ghana's annual consumer price inflation rose marginally to 16.6 percent in March from 16.5 percent in the previous month, driven by the depreciation of the local currency, the statistics office said on Wednesday. The West African nation started a three-year aid program worth $918 million with the International Monetary Fund this month to fix its economy, dogged by deficits, widening public debt and high inflation. "The key drivers for the marginal rise are mainly imported goods whose p
  
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• Altera deal story far from over, options data suggests

  15-04-2015 17:42
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Discussions on a takeover by Intel Corpof smaller chip maker Altera Corpmay have ended for now, but activity in Altera's options suggests traders are still hoping for a deal.
  
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• ECB promises 'firm' roll-out of money printing

  15-04-2015 17:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jonathan Gould and John O'Donnell FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The head of the European Central Bank pledged on Wednesday to roll out its money-printing program 'firmly' and granted continued backing for Greece, saying there was no need yet to limit emergency funding for its banks. Describing speculation that the fledgling 60 billion euro a month scheme would be scaled back as "surprising", Mario Draghi underlined his determination to see through quantitative easing until Se
  
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• Germans downbeat on chances of Greek deal next week

  15-04-2015 17:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Gernot Heller and Deepa Babington NEW YORK/ATHENS (Reuters) - Germany's finance minister said on Wednesday there was no prospect of the euro zone reaching a deal with Athens next week on economic reforms that would unlock bailout funds, potentially leaving Greece perilously short of money. Both the Greek government and its creditors have expressed the need for an agreement, at least in outline, to be reached when euro zone finance ministers meet in the Latvian capital Riga on April 24. G
  
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• ECB, hit by lone protester, pledges to keep cash floodgates open

  15-04-2015 17:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The European Central Bank dismissed speculation of an early end to its ultra-easy money policy at a protest-marred press conference on Wednesday, saying its medicine is already fuelling economic recovery. The ECB's governing council, meeting a day earlier than usual because of weekend meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, voted to hold its key interest rates at their current all-time lows. The traditionally staid post-meeting news conference was briefly interrupted whe
  
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• BRIEF-Court approves continued reorganisation for PA Resources

  15-04-2015 17:21
  * Stockholm district court approves continued reorganisationSource text for Eikon:Further company coverage:
  
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• History shows UK markets shrug off elections

  15-04-2015 17:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Yet as strategists and investment managers pore over the parliamentary permutations that might follow the May 7 poll, financial markets have barely flinched. "How many elections have actually had a material impact on the economy or financial markets over the past 30 or 40 years?
  
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• Mining, utilities sink U.S. industrial production

  15-04-2015 17:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. industrial output posted its biggest drop in more than 2-1/2 years in March in part as oil and gas well drilling plummeted, highlighting the negative impact of lower crude prices and a strong dollar on the economy. The dour report from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday was the latest sign that growth slowed sharply in the first quarter. Industrial production fell 0.6 percent after edging up 0.1 percent in February, the Fed said. Caterpillar Inc early this year cut its 2015 profit outlook and
  
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• Bank of Canada maintains key lending rate at 0.75%

  15-04-2015 16:55 via news.yahoo.com
  Canada's central bank maintained its key lending rate at 0.75 percent Wednesday, saying the plunge in oil prices appears to have "stalled" the Canadian economy. Growth is expected to rebound mid-year and subsequently strengthen to 1.9 percent for 2015 as exports pick up, the Bank of Canada said, but at a lower rate than previously forecast. Strengthening growth in the United States -- Canada's neighbor and largest trading partner -- is also expected to give a boost to exports
  
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• Fed's Bullard says 'no problem' with hiking then returning to zero

  15-04-2015 16:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A top Federal Reserve official said on Wednesday that it's okay for the Fed to raise interest rates and then return to near-zero levels if the economic data shows that the central bank needs to retreat. "I don't think there's a problem with that," St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said, referring to the issue of hiking rates soon and then lowering them shortly afterward if economic growth drops.
  
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• Industrial production in March posts biggest drop since 2009

  15-04-2015 16:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. industrial production registered the biggest drop in almost six years last month, another sign that the economy got off to a stumbling start in 2015.
  
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• Bank of Canada holds rates, sees rebound after oil shock

  15-04-2015 16:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Randall Palmer and Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday, saying the economy will pick up as non-energy exports and labor markets strengthen even though the oil price crash probably cut economic growth to zero in the first quarter. A considerable easing in financial conditions largely due to the bank's surprise interest rate cut in January, together with improving U.S. demand, will bolster the transition of Canada's o
  
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• European stocks rise as stimulus set to flow

  15-04-2015 16:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  European equities rebounded Wednesday as weak Chinese economic growth data stoked Beijing stimulus hopes while the ECB pledged to fully implement its stimulus measures. London's FTSE 100 index advanced 0.45 percent to 7,107.12 points, aided partly by news of sparkling sales from luxury goods company Burberry. In foreign exchange activity, the European single currency edged up to $1.0655 from $1.0654 late in New York on Tuesday. Mario Draghi sought to reassure markets that the ECB will fully
  
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• US stocks rise on China stimulus hopes

  15-04-2015 16:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  About 25 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,128.39, up 91.69 points (0.51 percent). The broad-based S&P 500 rose 11.05 (0.53 percent) to 2,106.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 20.76 (0.42 percent) to 4,998.05.. Bank of America slipped 0.2 percent after returning to profitability in the first quarter with $3.4 billion, compared with a loss of $276 billion a year ago on a huge legal charge. China's economy slowed to an annual growth rate
  
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• Pakistan stocks end higher on led by Oil ; rupee strengthens, o/n flat

  15-04-2015 16:11
  KARACHI, April 15 (Reuters) - Pakistani stocks closed higher on Wednesday with the Karachi Stock Exchange 100-share index up 0.43 percent, or 138.99 points, to end at 32,248.86.
  
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• UPDATE 2-Indonesian group takes on Nat Rothschild with proposed bid for ARMS

  15-04-2015 16:11
  * Proposal comes ahead of vote on restructuring plan (Updates with quotes from Rothschild, shareholder, adviser)
  
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• Bank of Canada holds rate, sees rebound from zero Q1 growth

  15-04-2015 16:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Bank of Canada held its benchmark rate unchanged on Wednesday despite its estimate that the oil price crash had cut growth to zero in the first quarter, judging that the economy would pick up as non-energy exports and labor markets improved. The considerable easing in financial conditions caused largely by its surprise interest rate cut in January, together with improving U.S. demand, will bolster the transition to non-energy exports, investment and a better jobs market, it said. "As th
  
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• G7 ministers call on Iran to cooperate with IAEA

  15-04-2015 15:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Group of Seven foreign ministers welcomed a framework nuclear agreement struck between six world powers and Iran but they urged Tehran to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog by verifying what nuclear activities it is involved in. "We call on Iran to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency on verification of Iran's nuclear activities and to address all outstanding issues, including those relating to possible military dimensions," they said in a communique after meetin
  
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• Fed's Bullard says economic boom to send jobless rate to 4 percent range

  15-04-2015 15:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. economy is expected to see a boom that will send the unemployment rate into the 4 percent range, a top Federal Reserve official said on Wednesday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said that it is always possible the economy could see a shock that hurts growth and kills the recovery.
  
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• ECB committed to full QE program, sees stronger recovery

  15-04-2015 15:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The European Central Bank has no plans to curb or curtail its money-printing program although it expects euro zone economic recovery to broaden and strengthen. Last month the ECB embarked on an asset-buying program with 60 billion euros a month of news money, which it has said will last until at least September 2016. "Our focus will be on the full implementation of our monetary policy measures," ECB President Mario Draghi said on Wednesday. Earlier, the ECB left interest rates at recor
  
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• Industrial output falls on mining, utilities

  15-04-2015 15:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Industrial production recorded its biggest drop in more than 2-1/2 years in March, weighed down by a decline in mining and utilities output, fresh evidence that economic growth slowed sharply in the first quarter. Industrial production fell 0.6 percent after edging up 0.1 percent in February, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday.
  
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