Finance news

• China to invest $50 billion in Brazil

  14-05-2015 23:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  China will invest $50 billion to help overhaul Brazil's aging infrastructure, the government here announced Thursday, ahead of an official visit by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang. "There are $50 billion in new projects," said Jose Graca Lima, Brazil's Undersecretary of State with special responsibility for Asia and Oceania. Battling a fifth straight year of poor growth and engulfed in a political graft scandal involving its state oil giant Petrobras, Brazil is seeking to r
  
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• Hedge fund Magnetar Capital says Blackstone buys minority interest

  14-05-2015 23:49
  (Reuters) - Hedge fund Magnetar Capital said Blackstone Group LP has bought a minority interest in it for an undisclosed sum.
  
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• UPDATE 4-Who's calling Avon? Shares spike on mystery takeover bid

  14-05-2015 23:48
  * PTG unreachable; Avon says has not received offer (Adds background, commentary)
  
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• A dubious economic cure, but Japan QE driving stocks: James Saft

  14-05-2015 23:38
  
  (Reuters) - QE may or may not be working for Japan’s economy but it sure is doing equity investors there a world of good.
  
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• Harvard's in-house fund managers get 70 percent pay hike

  14-05-2015 23:36
  CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Harvard, the world's richest university, said on Thursday it paid its six in-house money managers a combined $49.3 million in 2013, up more than 70 percent from...
  
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• Pimco equities chief Maisonneuve leaving firm as funds close

  14-05-2015 23:34
  
  (Reuters) - Pimco's global equities Chief Investment Officer Virginie Maisonneuve is leaving after less than a year and a half as the bond investment giant narrows its stock-investing focus, it said...
  
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• TSX halts three-day slide, but energy stocks weigh

  14-05-2015 23:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index broke a three-day slide on Thursday in a broad rally in which gold miners gained on higher bullion prices as the U.S. dollar weakened, but the heavyweight oil and gas sector fell along with crude prices. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 47.40 points, or 0.32 percent, at 15,028.12. "The market is vulnerable still," said John Ing, president of Maison Placements Canada. "The mov
  
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• Why US economic growth has disappointed this year

  14-05-2015 22:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Like an underachieving student, the U.S. economy isn't living up to the high hopes it began the year with.
  
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• Exclusive: Computer Sciences prepares to break itself up - sources

  14-05-2015 22:52
  (Reuters) - Technology consulting services provider Computer Sciences Corpis planning to separate its government business from its commercial information technology division, people familiar with...
  
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• S&P 500 ends at record high as dollar loses ground

  14-05-2015 22:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks ended sharply stronger on Thursday and the S&P 500 closed at a record high as investors worried less about interest rates and a weaker dollar offered the possibility of stronger sales for U.S. multinationals. The S&P 500 gained 22.62 points, or 1.08 percent, to end at 2,121.1, exceeding its previous all-time high close of 2,117.69 on April 24. The Nasdaq Composite had its strongest day since January. A report showing a dip in initial claims for state unemployment benefits las
  
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• INTERVIEW-Canada grain handler Richardson targets U.S. acquisitions

  14-05-2015 22:33
  WINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 14 (Reuters) - Richardson International, one of Canada's largest grain handlers, is seeking expansion in the United States through acquisitions worth C$100 million to as much...
  
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• Symantec revenue misses Street on strong dollar

  14-05-2015 22:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Antivirus and security software maker Symantec Corp's quarterly profit and revenue missed Wall Street estimates, hurt by a strong dollar and lower demand for its consumer security products...
  
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• S&P 500 closes at record high, helped by weaker dollar

  14-05-2015 22:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended sharply stronger on Thursday and the S&P 500 closed at a record high as a weaker dollar offered the possibility of stronger sales for U.S. multinationals.
  
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• Exclusive: Avago shows interest in Xilinx, Renesas, Maxim - sources

  14-05-2015 21:33
  
  (Reuters) - Avago Technologies Ltd, looking to acquire a fellow chipmaker, has reached out to potential targets including Xilinx Inc, Renesas Electronics Corp and Maxim Integrated Products Inc,...
  
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• Jeb Bush says with hindsight U.S. invasion of Iraq would not have occurred

  14-05-2015 21:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Steve Holland TEMPE, Ariz. (Reuters) - Republican Jeb Bush reversed course on Thursday and said that based on information now known, had it been up to him he would not have waged war against Iraq, putting some distance between himself and his brother, former President George W. Bush. Bush, who is expected to run for the Republican nomination for president, told Fox News in an interview broadcast this week that he would have authorized the invasion, referring to the drive into Iraq ordered by
  
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• U.S. trade bill clears Senate hurdle in boost to Pacific trade pact

  14-05-2015 21:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Richard Cowan and Krista Hughes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A 12-nation Pacific trade agreement cleared a crucial test in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, giving a resounding thumbs-up to legislation that holds the key to President Barack Obama's diplomatic pivot to Asia. Just two days after Democrats defied Obama to block debate on the "fast-track" trade negotiating authority that he needs to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, the Senate voted 65 to 33 to move ahe
  
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• Fed staff says first quarter slowdown was real, not a fluke of statistics

  14-05-2015 21:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Make no mistake: the U.S. economy's dismal first quarter was, in fact, a dismal first quarter, not a statistical fluke in the way U.S. gross domestic product is measured, Federal Reserve staff concluded on Thursday. The Fed staffers explored a puzzle noted recently by economists like Justin Wolfers and discussed across the business cable networks - that first quarter GDP growth seems to routinely lag the rest of the year. If the seasonal adjustments applied to the first quarter were biased
  
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• Wall Street rises sharply as dollar loses ground

  14-05-2015 20:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A report showing a dip in initial claims for state unemployment benefits last week did little to change broad expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would not increase interest rates before the second half of 2015 at the earliest. Let’s focus on the fact that the economy is doing okay,” said Steve Goldman, principal of Goldman Management in Short Hills, New Jersey. Wall Street's top banks expect the Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates in September, according to a Reuters
  
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• ECB stimulus to stay 'as long as needed': Draghi

  14-05-2015 20:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday that the bank's massive stimulus for the eurozone will remain in force "as long as needed" to stabilize prices. Draghi, in a speech at an International Monetary Fund forum, outlined the steps the ECB has taken to achieve its mandate of medium-term price stability as the eurozone slipped into weak growth and deflationary risks rose. With the economy and inflation recently picking up, there has been speculation that the ECB
  
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• Average US rate on 30-year mortgage up for 3rd straight week

  14-05-2015 19:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates are up for the third straight week.
  
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• Jeb Bush says "knowing what we know now" he would not have invaded Iraq

  14-05-2015 19:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Republican Jeb Bush, seeking to end a controversy related to his brother's legacy, said on Thursday that based on information known now, he would not have launched an invasion into Iraq. "Knowing what we know now, I would have not engaged, I would have not gone into Iraq," the likely 2016 presidential candidate said at a town hall event. The former Florida governor, who is expected to run for the Republican nomination, had told Fox News in an interview broadcast earlier in the wee
  
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• Oil prices retreat

  14-05-2015 19:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Oil prices fell on Thursday as traders booked profits following recent gains and weighed up the impact of a weakening dollar on crude futures against disappointing Chinese economic data. Prices had risen in recent days thanks to a weaker dollar and signs that a global supply glut was easing. In late London trading, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in June eased seven cents to stand at $66.74 a barrel. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for June delivery fell 90 cents to $59.60 a barrel compa
  
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• European stocks rise in light holiday trade

  14-05-2015 19:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Europe's stock markets rose Thursday in light holiday trade, after US stocks climbed higher following a mixed batch of US economic data and corporate earnings. "The US stock markets have surged today, tracking gains seen across Europe.
  
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• Weak dollar, tame U.S. inflation boost stocks; yields dip

  14-05-2015 18:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Increasing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold off raising interest rates until September at the earliest boosted Wall Street on Thursday and drove the dollar to near its lowest level since January. U.S. data showed recent strength in the dollar and lower oil prices suppressed producer price inflation in April, supporting the view the Federal Reserve will probably not raise rates until later in the year. "People are pretty focused on
  
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• Weak dollar, tame U.S. inflation boost global stocks; yields dip

  14-05-2015 18:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Increasing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold off raising interest rates until September at the earliest boosted Wall Street on Thursday and drove the dollar to near its lowest level since January. U.S. data showed recent strength in the dollar and lower oil prices suppressed producer price inflation in April, supporting the view the Federal Reserve will probably not raise rates until later in the year. "People are pretty focussed o
  
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• Global glut threatens West African iron ore ambitions

  14-05-2015 18:53 via news.yahoo.com
  At the height of the commodities boom last decade, West African countries became magnets for miners seeking untapped iron ore, diamonds, gold, bauxite and other minerals.     In Pepel, locals anticipated an economic surge for their civil war-ravaged country when London-listed firm African Minerals started shipping ore four years ago from its Tonkolili mine. Discovered in 2008 and lying some 200 km (124 miles) to the northeast, Tonkolili is one of the world's largest iron ore deposits. Th
  
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• U.S. rejects Canada's claim that Volcker rule violates NAFTA

  14-05-2015 18:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jonathan Spicer NEW YORK (Reuters) - The White House has dismissed the Canadian government's claim that a ban on some proprietary trading on Wall Street violates a free-trade agreement, saying it has the legal right to protect its financial system. The U.S. response came after Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver said on Wednesday that the so-called Volcker rule's ban on U.S. banks' use of their own money to trade Canadian government bonds probably did not comply with the North
  
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• Greece offers privatization concession as Germany stays tough

  14-05-2015 18:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Greece on Thursday offered a concession to its international lenders by pushing ahead with the sale of its biggest port, Piraeus. Greece has asked three firms to submit bids for a majority stake in the port, a senior privatization official told Reuters, unblocking a major sale of a public asset as the EU and the IMF demand economic reforms from Athens. Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann criticised weekly top-ups of emergency funding to Greek banks, saying in a German newspaper interview that this br
  
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• Avon shares spike on purported takeover offer

  14-05-2015 18:19
  May 14 (Reuters) - Shares of Avon Products Inc jumped after a regulatory filing from a company that said it had offered to buy the cosmetics company for nearly three times its market value.
  
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• FTSE ends higher; 3i Group leads after strong earnings

  14-05-2015 17:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index ended higher on Thursday, with encouraging updates from companies such as 3i Group supporting the broader stock market. Private-equity group 3i rose 3 percent, the biggest gain in the FTSE 100, after it reached the end of a three-year restructuring with strong earnings growth at its portfolio companies. The FTSE 100 finished 0.3 percent higher at 6,973.04 points after falling earlier in the session following weaker commodity stocks.
  
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• U.S. labor market tightening; inflation still muted

  14-05-2015 17:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to near a 15-year low, indicating the jobs market was on solid footing even as the economy struggles to regain momentum after abruptly slowing in the first quarter. Despite the tightening labor market, a strong dollar and lower oil prices are keeping inflation under wraps. "The labor market is doing well ... inflation is not going anywhere fast. There is no urgency for
  
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• US stock indexes move higher in morning trading

  14-05-2015 17:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Major U.S. stock indexes moved higher in morning trading Thursday, as investors sized up the latest batch of corporate earnings and economic data. A government report indicated that applications for unemployment benefits fell to a 15-year low. Technology companies rose the most.
  
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• South Africa's rand, bonds extend gains as U.S. economy stutters

  14-05-2015 17:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  South Africa's rand extended gains on Thursday as the dollar slipped, hit by growing concerns over the U.S. economy. "The U.S. data confounded expectations of a strong increase and brought into question whether the weakness in the U.S. economy in 1Q15 was truly just weather related or something more structural," said John Cairns of RMB in a market note. Government bonds also firmed as interest in domestic fixed income returned after a sell-off earlier in the week. "A lot of o
  
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• Dollar near lowest since January; world stocks up

  14-05-2015 17:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. Treasury yields fell as some corporate debt issuance that has weighed on the market passed. Wall Street gained on the data showing weekly jobless claims fell and as the dollar slid to its lowest in months, offering respite to U.S. multinationals.
  
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• UPDATE 3-Kohl's same-store sales nipped by cold February, shares fall

  14-05-2015 17:10
  * Shares fall as much as 11.7 pct (Adds analyst comments and graphic, update shares)
  
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• ECB President Draghi: European stimulus will continue

  14-05-2015 17:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi says the ECB will continue its economic stimulus program until inflation picks up and companies and consumers gain confidence.
  
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• BRIEF-Moscow Exchange suspends trading in Sofrino Experimental Mechanical Plant

  14-05-2015 17:09
  * Moscow Exchange suspends trading in Sofrino Experimental
  Mechanical Plant as of May 19
  
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• US stocks up on mixed earnings, data

  14-05-2015 16:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  New York (AFP) - Wall Street stocks moved solidly higher early Thursday following a mixed batch of US economic data and corporate earnings.
  
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• Bombardier to cut 1,750 jobs, 15 pct, in business-jet unit

  14-05-2015 16:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Allison Lampert and Allison Martell MONTREAL/TORONTO (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc said Thursday it plans to cut 1,750 jobs in its business-jet division, about 15 percent of jobs in that unit, due to weaker demand, in the latest setback for the Canadian train and aircraft maker. The company said last week it would cut production of Global jets, its largest business aircraft, after orders plummeted. "Economic conditions and geopolitical issues in some market regions, such as Latin America, C
  
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• From a college dropout to a $54 billion fortune — the incredible rags-to-riches story of Oracle founder Larry Ellison

  14-05-2015 16:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  AP Photo/Dean Purcell As a child, Larry Ellison’s adoptive father repeatedly told him that he was good for nothing. The tech entrepreneur has proven him wrong. As a child, Larry Ellison’s adoptive father repeatedly told him he was good for nothing, according to Fortune. Today, Forbes estimates Ellison’s net worth at $54 billion, making him the third richest person in the US. Before he founded Oracle, the database software firm that made his fortune, Ellison grew up in a working class Chica
  
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• Retirement investors need patience as bond market wavers

  14-05-2015 16:10
  
  (The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
  
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• Exclusive: Eaton Vance to help cover broker costs on new ETFs

  14-05-2015 16:07
  (Reuters) - In an unprecedented move, Eaton Vance Corp will offer to help some brokerages pay their technology costs to make the fund company's new breed of exchange-traded funds available to...
  
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• FTSE edges higher; 3i Group leads after strong earnings

  14-05-2015 16:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index edged higher in afternoon trading on Thursday, with encouraging updates from companies such as 3i Group supporting the broader stock market. Private-equity group 3i rose 3 percent, the top gainer in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, after it reached the end of a three-year restructuring with strong earnings growth at its portfolio companies. The benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.16 percent at 6,960.55 points by 1426 London time after falling earl
  
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• Ocwen to sell servicing rights on $45 billion loans to JPMorgan

  14-05-2015 16:02
  
  (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co'sconsumer and commercial banking unit said it would buy $45 billion of mortgage servicing rights from Ocwen Financial Corp .
  
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• IMF says chief economist Blanchard to step down in September

  14-05-2015 15:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, will step down from his post at the end of September, the global lender said on Thursday. Blanchard has helped steer the Fund since 2008. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Thursday that Blanchard will start a new position in October as a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a nonprofit think tank in Washington. (Reporting by Timothy Ahmann; Editing by Susan Heave
  
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• Wall Street opens higher as jobless claims fall

  14-05-2015 15:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  REUTERS - U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday after weekly jobless claims fell to a 15-year low, indicating a strengthening labor market. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 82.32 points, or 0.46 percent, to 18,142.81, the S&P 500 gained 10.71 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,109.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 35.25 points, or 0.71 percent, to 5,016.94. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
  
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• Wall Street set to open up as weekly jobless claims fall

  14-05-2015 15:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000 for the week ended May 9, while the 4-week unemployment average stayed near a 15-year low. It's not great, but it's not bad either," said David O'Malley, chief executive of Penn Mutual Asset Management, which oversees about $20 billion.
  
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• Iran leaders blast Saudi over Yemen, stress support for Assad

  14-05-2015 15:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A senior Iranian official branded Saudi Arabia's King Salman a traitor to Islam on Thursday and equated the Gulf state's military assault on Iranian-allied fighters in Yemen with Israeli actions against Palestinians. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of Iran's national security and foreign policy committee, was speaking a day after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the kingdom of "crimes" and the deputy head of Iran's military warned Riyadh of "
  
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• U.S. jobless claims near 15-year low; producer prices fall

  14-05-2015 15:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, indicating the jobs market was on solid footing even as the economy struggles to regain momentum after abruptly slowing in the first quarter. Other data on Thursday showed that a strong dollar and lower oil prices suppressed producer inflation in April. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000 for the week e
  
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• Greece risks deep recession if talks with creditors fail: EBRD

  14-05-2015 15:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A failure by Greece to reach an agreement with creditors could plunge the country into another "major recession," undermining the improving outlook in Central Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Thursday. The chances for the Greek government and its main creditors of resolving the impasse remain unclear, the London-based institution said in its latest economic forecast issued a day after official figures showed Greece had slipped back into recess
  
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