Finance news

• LATAM WRAP-Weak oil prices drive Ecuador bonds down even further

  20-08-2015 23:36
  NEW YORK, Aug 20 (IFR) - Ecuador bond prices fell on Thursday after US crude hit a six-year low on Thursday, exacerbating fears about the oil exporter's ability to pay its debt.
  
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• Dow drops 358 points after China fears spur global sell-off

  20-08-2015 23:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market endured its worst performance in 18 months on Thursday, driven lower by another slump in Chinese shares and heavy selling by technical traders.
  
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• U.S.-based Treasury funds attract highest weekly inflow since April - Lipper

  20-08-2015 23:26
  NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Investors in U.S.-based funds poured $1.3 billion into funds that specialize in U.S. Treasuries in the week ended Aug. 19, marking the funds' biggest weekly inflows since...
  
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• India gains as stock investors flee China pain

  20-08-2015 23:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Nichola Saminather SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China's recent stock market pain is proving to be India's gain, with share prices in the south Asian nation reviving as investors who cut their holdings earlier this year switch out of Chinese equity markets and back into India's. India's Sensex , which fell as the Shanghai Composite index climbed between January and China's stock market rout in June, has reversed course and moved in the opposite direction to the Chinese benchmark since. India recorded
  
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• CANADA FX DEBT-C$ firms as prospect of September U.S. rate hike fades

  20-08-2015 23:08
  (Adds analyst's comment, details, closing figures) * Canadian dollar at C$1.3081 or 76.45 U.S. cents * Bond prices mostly higher across the maturity curve By Solarina Ho TORONTO, Aug 20 (Reuters) -...
  
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• Puerto Rico's PRASA sale not going ahead Thursday as expected -source

  20-08-2015 23:05
  NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - A bond sale by Puerto Rican water authority PRASA - which would be the commonwealth's first in public markets since it defaulted - is not going ahead Thursday as...
  
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• Chinese province's debt crisis exposes economic fault line

  20-08-2015 23:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Shu Zhang and Matthew Miller BEIJING (Reuters) - A mini debt crisis in northern China is exposing cracks in a financial pillar of the country's economic revival plan: the $430 billion loan-guarantee industry. China has a heavy corporate debt burden and its economy is slowing, putting borrowers under strain, but many lenders take comfort from the fact that their loans are insured against default through the nation's almost 8,000 guarantee companies. A third of these are state-backed companies
  
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• RPT-Indian government steps up rate cut pressure on RBI

  20-08-2015 23:00
  NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is stepping up pressure on the central bank to cut rates as the economy struggles and price rises slow, with some bureaucrats...
  
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• Wall St. tumbles on global slowdown concern; Disney slumps

  20-08-2015 22:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Consumer stocks led the decline on Wall Street with Disney down 6 percent after a brokerage downgrade, while Apple fell 2 percent after a report that overall smartphone sales in China fell in the second quarter. Lingering concern over the Chinese economy was underscored by a near 8 percent slide in a major stock index so far this week and after the Commerce Ministry said Wednesday exports could continue falling in coming months. The 14-day correlation between the S&P 500 and Brent prices is
  
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• Stocks tumble on China, growth fears; dollar fades

  20-08-2015 22:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock markets tumbled and Brent oil prices remained under pressure on Thursday as another slump in the equity market of China, the world's No. 2 economy, stoked concerns about sluggish global growth. Wall Street was also weighed down by a drop in finance stocks and fell for a third straight session as expectations cooled for a U.S. interest rate hike in September, which also kept the dollar lower. The Nasdaq suffered its biggest daily percentage dr
  
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• U.S. September crude ends higher at expiry, Brent slumps

  20-08-2015 22:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Robert Gibbons NEW YORK (Reuters) - Expiring front-month U.S. crude prices settled higher on Thursday in volatile trading after slumping to a fresh 6-1/2-year low as a supply glut and concerns about China's economy pressured Brent crude. In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 1.5 percent to a two-year low, as anxiety about global economic growth pressured equities in Europe and the United States. U.S. September crude oil rose 34 cents to settle and go off the
  
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• Stock market endures worst day in 18 months

  20-08-2015 22:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is closing with its worst performance in 18 months, driven lower by another slump in Chinese shares and heavy selling by technical traders.
  
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• Wall St. ends sharply down on global growth concerns

  20-08-2015 22:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed at more than a five-month low and in negative territory for the year on Thursday on concerns a deceleration in the Chinese economy would translate into slower global growth.
  
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• Judge orders billionaire Rennert, holding company to pay back $213 mln

  20-08-2015 22:04
  NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Ira
  Rennert failed to persuade a federal judge to throw out a jury
  verdict finding him liable for looting his now-defunct magnesium
  company to build...
  
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• Wall St. sells off on global slowdown concern; Disney slumps

  20-08-2015 21:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Consumer stocks led the decline on Wall Street with Disney down nearly 6 percent after a brokerage downgrade, while Apple slumped near 2 percent after a report that overall smartphone sales in China fell in the second quarter for the first time. "The largest issue is certainly the fact that we don't know how much the Chinese economy is slowing," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York. The 14-day correlation between the S&P 500 and Brent prices is at a fi
  
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• EU calls on Greece to stick with reforms, stresses positives

  20-08-2015 21:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission urged Greece to stick to commitments it has made to reform its economy as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a snap election within hours of new EU bailout cash arriving in Athens. "It is crucial that Greece maintains its commitments to the euro zone," said Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who as chair of his euro zone peers, led talks on a new 86 billion-euro facility agreed last Friday. "I recall the broad support
  
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• Oklahoma senator pleads guilty to embezzling nearly $2 million

  20-08-2015 21:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Heide Brandes OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - An Oklahoma state senator pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of using his senior position with the Better Business Bureau of Tulsa to embezzle nearly $2 million from the organization, court officials said. Rick Brinkley, a Republican, was charged with five counts of fraud relating to the scheme and one count of filing a false tax return, according to the documents filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. "We
  
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• Valeant to buy 'female Viagra' maker Sprout Pharma

  20-08-2015 20:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Valeant shares fell about 5 percent as Wall Street questioned whether the acquisition would be too risky for the big drugmaker, which has done six other deals this year. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Sprout's Addyi on Tuesday after rejecting it twice.
  
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• UPDATE 5-Valeant to buy 'female Viagra' maker Sprout Pharma

  20-08-2015 20:36
  * Valeant shares fall (Adds comments from Valeant, Spruce; analyst reaction)
  
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• China drop, growth worries sink stocks; dollar fades

  20-08-2015 20:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock markets fell and Brent oil prices remained under pressure on Thursday as another slump in the equity market of China, the No. 2 economy, stoked concerns about sluggish global growth. Wall Street was also weighed down by a drop in finance stocks and was poised for a third day of declines as expectations cooled for a U.S. interest rate hike in September, which also kept the dollar lower. Stocks in China tumbled again, with both the Shanghai and
  
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• Wall Street down 1 pct, Dow and S&P slip into red for the year

  20-08-2015 19:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street plunged in afternoon trading on Thursday, pushing the Dow and the S&P into the red for the year, after the Federal Reserve highlighted global growth concerns and sparking a sell-off in almost all sectors. The Dow Jones industrial average fell to a more than six-month low and was on track to spend its 14th full session in a row below its 200-day moving average, a key technical level. The Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 fell to their lowest in more than a month.
  
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• Stocks in steep sell off on China economic worries

  20-08-2015 19:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Another sell-off in the Chinese stock market spread across the globe Thursday, causing steep declines in U.S. markets and others. The declines pushed the Standard & Poor's 500 index into the red for 2015 in early-afternoon trading.
  
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• Home sales near eight-and-a-half-year high, brighten economic outlook

  20-08-2015 19:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. home resales rose to a near 8-1/2-year high in July and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region picked up this month, fresh signs of steady economic growth that likely keeps the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates this year. While other data on Thursday showed a slight increase in the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week, the trend remained consistent with strong labor market momentum. "We continue to expect both economic growth an
  
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• United Tech in talks to buy Nortek: WSJ

  20-08-2015 19:19
  (Reuters) - United Technologies Corpis in talks to buy residential products maker Nortek Inc , the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
  
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• The Stock Market’s Fed Fever Is Only Going to Get Worse

  20-08-2015 19:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  On Sept. 17, the Federal Reserve will decide whether or not to raise interest rates, which have been at 0 percent for eight years. Every economic data point, every comment from Fed official and every word of every official statement is deconstructed, reassembled and synthesized for clues on what's to come. After Wednesday's release of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July meeting minutes, which were more dovish than expected, traders are more confused than ever.
  
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• European stocks slump on China's economic woes

  20-08-2015 19:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  European stock markets fell on Thursday, weighed down by concerns over the health of China's economy and sliding oil prices. In the eurozone, the CAC 40 in Paris sank 2.06 percent to end the day at 4,783.55 points, while Frankfurt's DAX 30 dropped 2.34 percent to finish at 10,432.19 points. "The European stock markets are continuing to lose ground as investor worries over China intensify," said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at Gain Capital trading group.
  
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• European shares drop on global slowdown worries and new Greek vote

  20-08-2015 19:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON (Reuters) - European stock markets extended their losing streak on Thursday, with benchmark indexes in Frankfurt and London hitting seven-month lows as fears of a global economic slowdown took hold. The Athens stock market also fell 3.5 percent as the country looked set for new elections on Sept. 20. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had been expected to seek early elections to quell a rebellion in his leftist Syriza party and seal support for a painful bailout progra
  
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• Mexico cuts 2015 growth forecast

  20-08-2015 18:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Mexico again slashed its 2015 economic growth forecast Thursday after its expansion in the second quarter came in at a sluggish 0.5 percent. Latin America's second-largest economy will grow between two and 2.8 percent this year, the finance ministry predicted, lowering its previous forecast of 2.2 to 3.2 percent. Mexico's central bank last week cut its own economic growth forecast for 2015 to 1.7 to 2.5 percent, down from two to three percent.
  
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• EU official says Greek election can broaden bailout support

  20-08-2015 18:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The election planned by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras could help increase support in Greece for the third euro zone bailout program launched on Thursday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's chief-of-staff said. "Swift elections in Greece can be a way to broaden support for ESM stability support program just signed by PM Tsipras on behalf of Greece," Martin Selmayr said in a tweet. After months of negotiations, Tsipras accepted a deal to implement substantial
  
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• S.Africa's rand hits 14-year low against dollar

  20-08-2015 18:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The South African rand dropped Thursday to a 14-year low against the dollar, hammered by lower commodity prices and slow growth in China, the country's largest trading partner. The currency of Africa's most advanced economy broke through the 13 rand resistance level against the dollar before midday, extending its loss in value this year to 11 percent. It later recovered slightly to 12.96 rand to the dollar.
  
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• Britain's FTSE falls, marking longest losing run since 2011

  20-08-2015 18:20
  * Kaz Minerals boosted by Kazakh tenge drop (Updates with closing prices)
  
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• Santa goes bust over Finnish tax bill

  20-08-2015 18:15
  HELSINKI, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Finland's Santa Claus Office
  has been declared bankrupt over unpaid taxes after a sharp drop
  in visits from recession-hit Russians, once the centre's best
  customers.
  
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• China worries weigh down US stocks in midday trading

  20-08-2015 18:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. indexes are falling at midday, weighed down by a drop in China's stock market.
  
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• China drop, growth worries roil world stocks; dollar dips

  20-08-2015 18:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock markets and oil prices fell on Thursday as another slump in the equity market of China, the No. 2 economy, stoked concerns about sluggish global growth. Wall Street was also weighed down by a drop in finance stocks and was poised for a third day of declines as expectations cooled for a U.S. interest rate hike in September. Stocks in China tumbled again, with both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets down more than 3 percent.
  
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• Rout continues as TSX slides to 2015 low

  20-08-2015 18:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Solarina Ho TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index sank more than 1 percent on Thursday, hitting the lowest level of the year, as investor concern about prospects for global economic growth continued to cast a pall over markets. The TSX index was on track for its ninth decline in 11 sessions, with most of its main sectors giving up 1 to 2 percent by late morning. "It's really, really ugly," said Paul Taylor, chief investment officer of asset allocation at BMO Asset Management.
  
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• Wall Street down 1 percent, Dow and S&P slip into red for the year

  20-08-2015 17:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street fell more than 1 percent on Thursday morning, pushing the Dow and the S&P into the red for the year, after the Federal Reserve highlighted global growth concerns and as Walt Disney dragged down consumer discretionary stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average fell to a more than six-month low, while the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 fell to their lowest in more than a month. The Fed, in minutes of its latest meeting released on Wednesday, continued to express broad concerns
  
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• China drop, growth worries roil stocks; dollar dips

  20-08-2015 17:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  World stock markets and oil prices fell on Thursday as another slump in the equity market of China, the No. 2 economy, stoked concerns about sluggish global growth. Wall Street was also weighed down by a drop in finance stocks and was poised for a third day of declines as expectations cooled for a U.S. interest rate hike in September. Stocks in China tumbled again, with both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets down more than 3 percent.
  
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• Ukraine anticipates default-saving debt deal

  20-08-2015 17:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ukraine was expecting the announcement on Friday of a crucial debt restructuring agreement that could save the pro-West but strife-torn country from a devastating default. Five months of excruciating negotiations between Kiev's cash-strapped leadership and some of the world's biggest commercial creditors have reached the finishing line with the outcome still in serious doubt. At issue is both a debt burden of around $19 billion and the very economic future of Ukraine -- a vast former Soviet repu
  
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• Geneva prosecutor ends six-year Saad/Algosaibi probe with no further action

  20-08-2015 17:49
  DUBAI/GENEVA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - A Geneva prosecutor has
  closed a six-year investigation into a criminal complaint by
  Saudi Arabia's Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi and Brothers (AHAB) against
  Maan al-Sanea...
  
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• Home sales near eight-and-a-half-year high, brighten outlook

  20-08-2015 17:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. home resales rose to a near 8-1/2-year high in July and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region picked up this month, fresh signs of steady economic growth that likely keeps the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates this year. While other data on Thursday showed a slight increase in the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week, the trend remained consistent with strong labor market momentum. "We continue to expect both economic growth an
  
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• Allianz's El-Erian says Fed missed earlier chance to hike rates: CNBC

  20-08-2015 17:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz SE , said on Thursday that the U.S. Federal Reserve missed the opportunity to hike rates when both U.S. and international economic data were more in alignment. "I would have hiked earlier and I would have gotten off zero earlier, but it's easier to say with hindsight," El-Erian told cable television network CNBC. "We know that there was a moment when domestic data was relatively strong and international data was okay.
  
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• New York Daily News no longer up for sale, Zuckerman says

  20-08-2015 17:18
  
  (Reuters) - The New York Daily News is no longer for sale, according to a memo sent to employees by the newspaper's owner, Mort Zuckerman, on Thursday.
  
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• IAEA says report Iran to inspect own military site is 'misrepresentation'

  20-08-2015 17:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Shadia Nasralla VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief on Thursday rejected as "a misrepresentation" suggestions Iran would inspect its own Parchin military site on the agency's behalf, an issue that could help make or break Tehran's nuclear deal with big powers. Without International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmation that Iran is keeping promises enshrined in the landmark July 14 nuclear accord, Tehran will not be granted much-needed relief from international economic sanc
  
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• Nigeria's fuel subsidy unsustainable: state oil head

  20-08-2015 17:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The new head of Nigeria's state oil company said on Thursday the country's fuel subsidy was an unsustainable drain on the economy, calling for deregulation of the oil and gas sector. "Subsidy creates distortions in government revenue distribution," Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) managing director Emmanuel Kachikwu said in a speech in Lagos, the country's financial hub. Nigeria produces some two million barrels of crude a day but despite its huge reserves, the country imports much
  
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• TSX, Dow tumble on global growth worries

  20-08-2015 17:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  North American stock market benchmarks recorded triple-digit losses Thursday amid continuing worries about China's growth prospects and oil prices that remain at six-year lows. The main benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange fell for the ninth time in 11 trading sessions as the heavily weighted financial and energy groups lost more ground. The main TSX index has lost around 10 per cent of its value in the last year.
  
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• Average US rate on 30-year mortgage eases to 3.93 percent

  20-08-2015 16:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged lower this week, with the key 30-year loan rate remaining under 4 percent.
  
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• US existing-home sales rise for third straight month

  20-08-2015 16:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Sales of existing homes in the United States rose for the third straight month in July, holding at the highest pace since 2007, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Sales of previously owned single-family homes rose 2.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.59 million, the strongest level since February 2007, about nine months before the US economy entered the Great Recession. "The creation of jobs added at a steady clip and the prospect of higher mortgage rates and ho
  
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• Measure of US economy's future health slips in July

  20-08-2015 16:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — An index designed to predict the future health of the U.S. economy declined slightly in July yet still pointed to modest growth in the months ahead.
  
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• European stocks falter amid China, oil price concerns

  20-08-2015 16:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  European stock markets fell Thursday as traders reacted to China's economic problems, Greek action following its bailout and sliding oil prices. Greek stocks sank despite Athens using a chunk of its latest bailout to make a loan repayment to the European Central Bank, as concerns elsewhere dragged down global markets. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0.24 percent to stand at 6,388.01 points in mid-afternoon deals.
  
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• Botswana cuts 2015 growth to 2.6 pct on falling diamond prices

  20-08-2015 16:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Botswana halved its 2015 growth forecast due to expected weakness in the diamond market, the finance ministry said in a 2016/17 budget strategy paper on Thursday. The government now expects the economy of the world's biggest diamond producer to grow by 2.6 percent this year. In February, Finance Minister Kenneth Matambo had announced a growth target of 4.9 percent for 2015.  The southern African nation is now seen posting a deficit of 4.03 billion pula ($394 million) or 2.61 percent of the
  
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