Finance news

• Greece's Varoufakis warns of Grexit contagion

  19-04-2015 23:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Greece's Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that if Greece were to leave the euro zone, there would be an inevitable contagion effect. "Some claim that the rest of Europe has been ring-fenced from Greece and that the ECB has tools at its disposal to amputate Greece, if need be, cauterize the wound and allow the rest of euro zone to carry on." "I very much doubt that that is the case. Sooner or later it's going to start raising inte
  
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• Greek banks low on refinancing collateral, Noyer tells Le Figaro

  19-04-2015 23:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Greek banks may soon run out of collateral to access European Central Bank refinancing unless Athens reaches an agreement with the European Union and International Monetary Fund on economic reforms, France's central bank chief said. The remarks by Banque de France Governor Christian Noyer, to be published by Le Figaro on Monday, came as Athens struggled to scrape together cash to meet a May repayment deadline on almost 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) due to the IMF.
  
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• Chinese president to launch economic corridor link in Pakistan

  19-04-2015 23:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Katharine Houreld ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Chinese president Xi Jinping is due in Pakistan on Monday where he will launch $46 billion in projects linking the old allies, a figure that far exceeds U.S. spending in Pakistan and underscores China's projection of power in Asia. The infrastructure and energy projects are aimed at establishing a Pakistan-China Economic Corridor between Pakistan's southern Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea and China's western Xinjiang region. The plan refle
  
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• China's Xi heads to Islamabad to unveil $46 billion investment

  19-04-2015 23:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Chinese President Xi Jinping heads to Islamabad Monday for a rare visit to unveil a $46 billion investment plan that Pakistan hopes will end its chronic energy crisis and "transform" the country into a regional economic hub. With the plan, known as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Beijing hopes to ramp up investments in Pakistan as part of its ambitions to expand its trade and transport footprint across Central and South Asia, while countering US and Indian influence. Pakis
  
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• India's banks turn to consumer loans to counter corporate slowdown

  19-04-2015 23:00
  MUMBAI, April 20 (Reuters) - Indian banks, hoping to offset a slow recovery in corporate lending, are pushing into credit cards and personal loans, using blanket advertising, cold call campaigns and...
  
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• China's premier auto show opens amid growth slowdown

  19-04-2015 22:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Global car makers show off hundreds of vehicles in China's commercial hub Shanghai on Monday, as the world's biggest auto market continues to attract despite a sharp deceleration in sales growth. On the sidelines of China's premier auto show, foreign car makers admitted an economic slowdown in the world's second largest economy had taken its toll, but said the market was simply too big -- and important -- to ignore. "The market will increase less than in former years, bu
  
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• DoubleLine's Gundlach says U.S. high-yield credit could face crisis

  19-04-2015 21:50
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. high-yield credit market, which has benefited from massive flows in the last few years from investors looking for higher returns, could unravel in about two years after...
  
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• Millionaire businessman wins Finland election

  19-04-2015 21:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Anna Ercanbrack and Jussi Rosendahl HELSINKI (Reuters) - A millionaire former telecoms executive touted as a technocrat capable of rescuing Finland from economic slump won Sunday's parliamentary election, vote predictions showed, but he may need support of a Euro-skeptical populist party to form a coalition. Forecasts by state broadcaster YLE based on 60 percent of votes showed opposition Centre Party leader Juha Sipila, who has backing of the urban middle class and rural conservatives,
  
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• Finland's Centre Party head declares election victory

  19-04-2015 21:19
  HELSINKI, April 19 (Reuters) - Finland's Centre Party leader Juha Sipila declared victory in Sunday's general election, saying that the result would open several possible coalition combinations.
  
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• Opposition Center Party takes early lead in Finnish election

  19-04-2015 20:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  HELSINKI (AP) — Finland voted Sunday to determine which coalition could lift the country out of a three-year recession, with the opposition Center Party in an early lead over the ruling conservatives whose leader, Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, acknowledged his government was slow to enact economic reforms.
  
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• Chilean finance minister: reforms are not weighing on investment

  19-04-2015 20:26
  WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - Chilean Finance Minister Alberto Arenas on Sunday denied that uncertainty over his government's economic reform agenda was contributing to a sharp drop in investment...
  
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• Economic victory fails to deliver popularity boost for Hungary's Orban

  19-04-2015 19:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Krisztina Than and Christian Lowe BUDAPEST/WARSAW (Reuters) - What should have been Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's finest hour may be becoming his darkest. Investors are turning positive again on Hungarian assets, vindicating Orban after years when the International Monetary Fund, Brussels, and international financiers lined up to warn that he was going to destroy Hungary's economy. A survey by Ipsos last month put Orban's Fidesz party on 21 percent, still the poll lea
  
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• Japan, U.S. report progress on trade talks, though Tokyo stands tough on rice

  19-04-2015 16:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Japan and the United States reported progress in top-level trade talks on Sunday that could pave the way for a broader trans-Pacific trade deal, although Tokyo cautioned that a bilateral accord was unlikely in time for a summit next week. Japan's Economy Minister Akira Amari and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman both said they had made good progress in the first of two days of cabinet-level discussions. "We exchanged opinions about areas where Japan and the U.S. will cooperate i
  
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• Japan, U.S. ministers hail good start on trade talks

  19-04-2015 15:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Japanese and U.S. ministers said that bilateral trade negotiations got off to a good start on Sunday and the two nations would continue to discuss remaining issues, such as farm and auto trade, on Monday. Japan's Economy Minister Akira Amari and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman made the comments after they kicked off two days of negotiations that could pave the way for a broader trans-Pacific trade deal. Access to Japan's farm market and the U.S. car market remain obstacles to
  
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• Egypt to impose 8 pct import tariff on steel rebar - ministry

  19-04-2015 14:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Egypt will impose an eight percent import tariff on rebar - reinforced steel bars - for three years, the trade ministry said on Sunday, extending temporary tariffs introduced last year to protect the domestic industry. A ministry statement said Egypt would also impose a 20 percent tariff on white sugar for 200 days, following a filing to the World Trade Organization last week in which it sought to safeguard domestic producers from a damaging surge in imports. The tariffs come at a critical time
  
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• Euro working group to meet Wednesday, deal still sought: Greek official

  19-04-2015 14:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Euro zone deputy finance ministers will meet midweek ahead of a Eurogroup finance ministers' gathering two days later, a Greek government official told Reuters, as Athens and its creditors continue to seek a deal on reforms to unlock aid. "The two sides agreed that there will be a Euro Working Group meeting on Wednesday," the official close to the talks said, declining to be named. Deputy ministers of the so-called Euro Working Group, usually prepare meetings of euro zone finance
  
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• For short-sellers in U.S. stocks, the agony just piles on

  19-04-2015 14:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jennifer Ablan and David Gaffen NEW YORK (Reuters) - In January 2014, veteran short-seller Bill Fleckenstein said he was readying a new fund to bet on falling stock prices. Despite lackluster U.S. economic data, a world grappling with slow growth, concern that Greece and Ukraine could default on their debts, the U.S. stock market has been more than resilient. It has been impossible," Seattle-based Fleckenstein told Reuters. "It all comes down to free money and that old saw - 'd
  
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• Factbox: Chinese RRR and interest rate changes

  19-04-2015 14:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's central bank on Sunday cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, the second industry-wide cut in two months, adding more liquidity to the world's second-biggest economy to help spur bank lending and combat slowing growth.
  
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• China makes big cut in bank reserve requirement to fight slowdown

  19-04-2015 13:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  China's central bank on Sunday cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, the second industry-wide cut in two months, adding more liquidity to the world's second-biggest economy to help spur bank lending and combat slowing growth. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) lowered the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for all banks by 100 basis points to 18.5 percent, effective from April 20, the central bank said in a statement on its website www.pbc.gov.cn. The latest cut, th
  
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• Saudi's SABIC signs deal to use U.S. shale gas at British plant

  19-04-2015 12:32
  
  RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Basic Industries Corphas signed a deal to use shale gas from the United States at its Teesside petrochemical plant in Britain, acting chief executive Yousef Abdullah...
  
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• China's Central Bank to cut bank reserve requirement

  19-04-2015 12:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BEIJING (AP) — China's Central Bank said Sunday that it will cut its bank reserve requirement ratio by 1 percentage point to stimulate more lending into a slowing economy.
  
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• China cuts bank reserves again to fight slowdown

  19-04-2015 11:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  China's central bank on Sunday cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, the second industry-wide cut in two months, adding more liquidity to the world's second-biggest economy to help spur bank lending and combat slowing growth. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) lowered the reserve requirement ratio for all banks by 100 basis points to 18.5 percent. The reduction is effective from April 20, the central bank said in a statement on its website www.pbc.gov.cn. The lat
  
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• China cuts banks' reserve ratio requirement as growth slows

  19-04-2015 11:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  China's central bank announced Sunday it would cut the level of funds that commercial banks must hold in reserve by one percentage point, the second such move this year to boost lending. The move, effective Monday, comes days after the world's second largest economy reported its worst quarterly growth figure for six years.
  
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• Another crunch week in Greek bailout saga

  19-04-2015 11:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The threat posed by Greece beyond its borders may have diminished but efforts to agree an economic reform program to free up bailout funds and avert default will capture world attention this week. Euro zone finance ministers meet in the Latvian capital Riga on Friday with both sides saying time is running short to keep Greece afloat. Germany said last week it was unrealistic to expect euro zone countries to be able to pay out a new tranche of aid this month. "No one has a clue how we can re
  
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• World finance leaders see threats ahead for global economy

  19-04-2015 11:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The world's financial leaders see a number of threats facing a global economy still on an uneven road to recovery with U.S. and European officials worrying that Greece will default on its debt.
  
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• Finns vote, likely to pick opposition to revive economy

  19-04-2015 10:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Anna Ercanbrack and Jussi Rosendahl HELSINKI (Reuters) - Voters are tipped to oust Finland's pro-European and pro-NATO prime minister in Sunday's election and put in power an opposition coalition that may include Eurosceptic nationalists, hoping it will revive the sagging economy. Opposition Centre Party leader Juha Sipila, who has backing of the urban middle class and rural conservatives, is expected to become prime minister of the euro zone country, succeeding Alexander Stubb of t
  
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• S.Africa's Eskom cuts 1,000 MW of power as it battles to meet demand

  19-04-2015 10:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African power utility Eskom imposed rolling electricity cuts for the eighth straight day on Sunday, cutting 1,000 megawatts (MW), of its strained grid. Africa's most advanced economy is facing its worst electricity crisis since 2008 and its citizens are subjected to frequent controlled blackouts, which Eskom implements to prevent the grid from collapsing. The utility said the cuts would come into effect from 0800 to 2200 local time.
  
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• Austerity's legacy: British election focused on UK economy

  19-04-2015 09:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister David Cameron and his main opponent agree on one thing going into Britain's May 7 election: Voters should choose the next leader based on the health of the economy.
  
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• Foreign automakers double down on China bets despite slowing growth

  19-04-2015 09:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Foreign automakers continue to plough money into factories in China, the world's largest car market, even as the biggest economic slowdown in a quarter of a century crimps sales growth. Market leaders Volkswagen AG and General Motors show no sign of letting up on their planned investments, while Toyota Motor and Ford Motor are also pursuing new China expansion plans. Foreign automakers, many of which are expected to unveil new products for China at this week's Shanghai autoshow, includ
  
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• Republican hopefuls target middle-class insecurity as economy improves

  19-04-2015 07:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By James Oliphant and Andy Sullivan NASHUA (Reuters) - Facing a recovering economy and a tumbling jobless rate, Republican presidential candidates honing their economic message are trying tap into a lingering sense of insecurity among Americans seven years after the global financial crisis. Then, Republican nominee Romney had the luxury of being able to hammer President Barack Obama with an unemployment rate of more than 8 percent. Now, with the jobless rate at 5.5 percent, the 18 Republican Whi
  
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• Comcast, Time Warner Cable to meet DoJ officials over merger: WSJ

  19-04-2015 06:42
  
  (Reuters) - Representatives of Comcast Corpand Time Warner Cable Incare preparing to meet U.S. Department of Justice officials to discuss competition concerns raised by the planned $45 billion...
  
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• Finns vote, likely to pick opposition to revive sagging economy

  19-04-2015 06:00
  HELSINKI, April 19 (Reuters) - Finns are tipped to oust a pro-European and pro-NATO prime minister in elections on Sunday and put in power an opposition coalition that may include Eurosceptic...
  
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• Australia, Britain to take on firms avoiding taxes

  19-04-2015 05:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Australia is to work together with Britain to pursue multinational firms shifting profits offshore to avoid paying taxes, going "further and faster" than OECD plans, Treasurer Joe Hockey said on Sunday. Hockey, who was in the United States for the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers, said the two nations announced a joint working group during the multilateral forum in Washington on April 16-17 that would build on London's so-called "Google tax" on compan
  
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• How China is upsetting the old global economic order

  19-04-2015 04:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  With its huge new infrastructure bank and its ambitions for a globalized renminbi currency, China is leading the upending of a 70-year-old global order built on American economic power. Beijing's rise was confirmed this week at the Spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, the two institutions by which the economic vision of the United States has been propagated across the world since their founding in 1944. The US-selected president of the World Bank,
  
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• France: euro's fall has been very helpful; at a good level now

  19-04-2015 00:04
  WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - The euro's depreciation has been very helpful, but it is a good level now and stability is needed now, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Saturday.
  
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