Finance news

• Japan, China, Korea call for vigilance on disappointing global growth

  08-10-2015 23:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Finance leaders of Japan, China and South Korea on Thursday warned that global economic growth fell short of expectations in light of recent market volatility, and agreed to assess spillovers and risks to the Asian economy. "We are committed to implementing timely and effective macroeconomic policies to help keep the domestic and regional economic growth on track," the finance ministers and central bank governors of the three countries said a communique after their meeting, held on the sidelines
  
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• World stocks climb after Fed minutes; oil jumps

  08-10-2015 23:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock indexes climbed and the dollar dipped on Thursday as minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed policymakers view low inflation as a hurdle to raising rates. U.S. crude oil prices briefly traded above $50 for the first time since July and added to gains late after a closely watched oil forecaster predicted prices would climb to $75 over the next two years. According to minutes from the Fed's Sept. 16-17 meeting, the central ba
  
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• TSX rallies for fifth day as energy stocks surge

  08-10-2015 23:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index extended its rally to a fifth consecutive day on Thursday, lifted by solid gains in energy shares as oil prices hit a three-month high. Momentum on Bay Street picked up in the afternoon, helped by minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve that showed the central bank thought the economy was close to warranting an interest rate hike in September but policymakers decided to wait. Suncor Energy Inc pulled the most weight on the positive side,
  
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• Oil breaks through $50 US mark on Russian airstrikes

  08-10-2015 22:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Oil prices briefly broke through the $50 US mark Thursday afternoon, buoying the Canadian dollar and boosting the energy sector on Toronto's stock market. Brent crude, the main international contract, was up $1.96 to $53.29, partly as a result of reports of Russian airstrikes in Syria and Iran. Oil prices are up more than eight per cent this week, as investors anticipate falling production in the U.S. as a result of lower oil prices.
  
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• Oil breaks through $50 mark on Russian airstrikes

  08-10-2015 22:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Oil prices briefly broke through the $50 US mark Thursday afternoon, buoying the Canadian dollar and boosting the energy sector on Toronto's stock market. West Texas Intermediate crude, the main North American contract, rose four per cent or $1.91 to $49.72 US a barrel. Oil prices are up more than eight per cent this week, as investors anticipate falling production in the U.S. as a result of lower oil prices.
  
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• Fed awaiting evidence global chill not knocking U.S. off track

  08-10-2015 22:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. Federal Reserve thought the economy was close to warranting an interest rate hike in September but policymakers wanted firmer evidence a global economic slowdown was not knocking America off course. The minutes from the Sept. 16-17 meeting released on Thursday pointed to a deeply cautious Fed even before subsequent economic data showed a sharp slowdown in hiring by U.S. employers. "Most" policymakers, according to the minutes, thought the Fed's first rate hike in a decade should still c
  
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• Fed delayed rate hike on China, inflation worries: minutes

  08-10-2015 22:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Federal Reserve postponed an interest rate hike last month as it worried about a global slowdown led by China, the strong dollar and listless US inflation, a Fed report showed Thursday. Policymakers at the September 16-17 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, mulling an increase in the zero-level federal funds rate, took a cautious approach after a severe bout of financial turmoil unsettled the outlook for the US economy. "Recent global and financial market developments might restrai
  
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• Vulnerable nations launch 'V20' to fight climate change

  08-10-2015 22:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Finance ministers from 20 of the countries most vulnerable to climate change launched the "V20" group Thursday to marshal resources for their nations' fight against the impact of global warming. The group, which includes some of the world's smallest and poorest countries, is a counterpoint to the G20 group of leading industrialized and emerging economies. It pointedly held its inaugural meeting next door to a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs in the Peruvian capital Lima,
  
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• Clinton seeks crackdown for those breaking Wall Street rules

  08-10-2015 22:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Just days before the first Democratic debate, Hillary Rodham Clinton released a series of proposals aimed at cracking down on bad behavior by Wall Street, vowing that individual bankers who violate the law will be "prosecuted and imprisoned."
  
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• Dovish Fed drives Wall Street higher

  08-10-2015 22:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday as investors saw further signs of dovishness in the Federal Reserve September meeting minutes which shed light on its decision to keep interest rates near zero.
  
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• U.S. retail group sees holiday sales growth slowing this year

  08-10-2015 21:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The National Retail Federation forecast sales for the last two months of the year at $630.5 billion, excluding for autos, gasoline and dining out. The industry lobby's forecast is a closely watched benchmark for the upcoming holiday season, when retailers like Macys Inc , Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp generate an outsized portion of their profits and sales. While some economic indicators have improved, U.S. consumers remained "somewhat torn between their desire and their ability to spend"
  
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• Wall Street rises after release of 'dovish' Fed minutes

  08-10-2015 21:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The minutes showed that the Fed thought the economy was close to warranting an interest rate hike in September but decided it was prudent to wait for evidence a global economic slowdown was not knocking America off course. Some strategists said the minutes showed less inclination for a rate hike from the Fed, which likely reassured equity investors. “Stocks are reacting positively, and the dollar’s reacting negatively to the slightly more dovish comments about near-term prospects for
  
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• Oil surges to settle at three-month high on bullish outlook

  08-10-2015 21:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Oil prices climbed to their highest in three months on Thursday after a closely watched oil forecaster predicted prices would climb to $75 over the next two years, adding to early gains notched after a rally in Chinese stocks worries about Syria. Earlier, crude prices climbed on buoyant Chinese equity markets and as Russia's military involvement in Syria brought a geopolitical risk premium into the market. Chinese stock markets rose 3 percent after a week-long holiday, the biggest rise in two tr
  
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• Pressure grows for global climate cash to help hard-hit poor

  08-10-2015 21:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Megan Rowling BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As finance ministers from 20 developing states agreed on Thursday to work on boosting funding for climate action, officials and experts called for more finance to protect the world's poor from the effects of global warming. Meeting for the first time in Lima, Peru, ministers from the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) group of countries - spanning Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific - said they expected rich governments to fulfill a pledge to mob
  
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• Global worries kept Fed from hiking rates in September

  08-10-2015 20:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials were almost ready to raise interest rates in September but held off because of China's economic slowdown and its potential to derail U.S. growth and inflation.
  
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• Fed worries about China slowdown, strong dollar: minutes

  08-10-2015 20:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Federal Reserve policymakers voiced concerns about the impact of the slowing global economy, led by China, and the stronger dollar on the US economy last month, a Fed document showed Thursday. At the September 16-17 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), several participants were worried about downward inflation pressures from lower energy prices and the appreciation of the dollar, according to the minutes of the meeting. "Recent global and financial market developments might restr
  
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• World stocks edge up after Fed minutes; dollar dips

  08-10-2015 20:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock indexes edged higher on Thursday following the release of minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting, while the dollar extended declines. The minutes from the Sept. 16-17 meeting showed the Fed policymaking committee thought the economy was close to warranting an interest rate hike in September but decided it was better to wait for evidence that a global economic slowdown was not knocking the United States off course. The Dow and S&
  
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• Clinton proposal calls for breakup of 'too-big-to-fail' banks

  08-10-2015 20:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By John McCrank NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Thursday introduced a plan to curb what she called Wall Street abuses, including a "risk fee" on the largest financial institutions and breaking up banks considered "too big to fail." Under the proposal, Clinton would charge a yearly "risk fee" on a sliding scale on the liabilities of banks with more than $50 billion in assets along with other institutions overseen by financial regulators, her campaign s
  
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• Fed awaiting evidence global chill not knocking U.S. off track: minutes

  08-10-2015 20:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jason Lange and Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve thought the economy was close to warranting an interest rate hike in September but policymakers decided it was prudent to wait for evidence a global economic slowdown was not knocking America off course. The minutes from the Sept. 16-17 meeting released on Thursday showed the Fed's policymaking committee was unsettled by signs of turmoil abroad but didn't think this had "materially altered" the outlook for the ec
  
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• Excerpt on policy from Sept 16-17 FOMC minutes

  08-10-2015 20:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - The following is an excerpt covering the Federal Open Market Committee's discussion of monetary policy taken from the minutes of the FOMC's Sept. 16-17 meeting, which were released on Thursday. For a full text, see http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm "In their discussion of monetary policy for the period ahead, members judged that information received since the FOMC met in July indicated that economic activity was expanding at a moderate pace. Although net
  
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• Belarus' veteran leader poised for re-election, eyes better ties with West

  08-10-2015 20:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Andrei Makhovsky MINSK (Reuters) - Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, in power for 21 years, is virtually certain to win a fifth term in office on Sunday in an election observers say is unlikely to see the kind of violent mass protests that marred the 2010 poll. The West has long ostracized Lukashenko, a feisty, heavily built former state farm manager, over his human rights record and his clampdown on political dissent and has imposed economic sanctions on some Belarussian officials
  
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• UPDATE 4-Elliott urges Polycom-Mitel merger after disclosing stakes

  08-10-2015 20:14
  * Elliott discloses 6.6 pct stake in Polycom; 9.6 pct in Mitel
  
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• Clinton proposes breaking up too-big banks, monitoring shadow-banking system

  08-10-2015 20:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton proposed on Thursday breaking up too-big-to-fail banks and more oversight of the shadow-banking system as she continued to roll out a sweeping plan to rein in what she calls Wall Street "abuses." In a nod to Democratic Party liberals who have been urging Clinton to take an aggressive posture toward Wall Street, her campaign said she would push to enhance provisions in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act to give regulators the "explicit statutory authori
  
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• Growth, climate in focus as world economic leaders meet

  08-10-2015 19:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The search for the billions of dollars still needed to fight climate change topped the agenda Thursday as world economic leaders met seeking to kick-start growth while tackling global warming. With two months to go to a key UN conference in Paris tasked with delivering a comprehensive climate deal, finance ministers and central bank chiefs from 188 countries have put funding to fight global warming atop the agenda along with traditional economic issues as they meet in the Peruvian capital Lima t
  
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• Clinton envisions 'risk fee' on big financial institutions

  08-10-2015 19:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's plan to rein in Wall Street "abuses" will include a "risk fee" levied on the largest financial institutions, her campaign said on Thursday. Under the proposal, Clinton would charge a yearly "risk fee" on a sliding scale on the liabilities of banks with more than $50 billion in assets along with other institutions overseen by financial regulators, the campaign said. The fee would be higher for firms with greater amounts of debt and those th
  
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• BUZZ-Credit Suisse: Slips on capital raising report

  08-10-2015 19:07
  ** Swiss bank's shares down 3.6 pct in both Zurich and NYSE
  
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• Neurocrine's neurological disorder drug effective in late-stage study

  08-10-2015 18:52
  Oct 8 (Reuters) - Neurocrine Biosciences Inc's experimental drug for tardive dyskinesia, a neurological disorder, was effective in a late-stage study, bringing it a step closer to becoming the first...
  
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• Ruling allows creditor suits to proceed vs Caesars Entertainment

  08-10-2015 18:51
  Oct 8 (Reuters) - Caesars Entertainment Corp must
  defend lawsuits from hedge fund creditors owed billions of
  dollars by its bankrupt operating unit, a U.S. federal judge
  ruled on Thursday, upholding...
  
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• Credit Suisse set to launch 'substantial' capital raising: FT

  08-10-2015 18:45
  
  ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank Credit Suisse plans to tap investors for a "substantial" capital raising to fund a restructuring of the bank under new Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam, the Financial Times...
  
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• Bank of England freezes interest rate

  08-10-2015 18:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Bank of England said Thursday it voted to keep its main interest rate at 0.5 percent against a backdrop of zero inflation in Britain. The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) maintained its key interest rate at the record-low it has been for 6.5 years, according to minutes of its latest monthly meeting, which was held on Tuesday. The BoE also left unchanged the level of cash stimulus pumping around the British economy at £375 billion ($575 billion, 509 billion euros).
  
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• UPDATE 1-Bill to call for U.S. Treasury to guarantee Puerto Rico loans

  08-10-2015 18:44
  NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's representative in
  Congress on Thursday said he is introducing a bill that would
  authorize the U.S. Treasury Department to guarantee repayment of
  the U.S....
  
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• UPDATE 3-Credit Suisse set to launch "substantial" capital raising -FT

  08-10-2015 18:41
  * Credit Suisse shares down 4 pct (Adds statement from Credit Suisse)
  
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• European stocks push on before signs from Fed on US rate hikes

  08-10-2015 18:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Europe's main stock markets pushed their way higher Thursday for a fifth straight session, even as cautious investors awaited direction on the outlook for US interest rates. The US Federal Reserve is set to release the minutes of its last monetary policy meeting with analysts looking for signs on whether it would raise interest rates starting this year or next. The Bank of England revealed Thursday it would keep its main interest rate at the record-low 0.5 percent, where it has stood for six-and
  
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• Global stocks flat on growth worry, dollar dips ahead of Fed minutes

  08-10-2015 18:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock indexes were little changed Thursday, as weak data from Germany and Japan added to concerns over sluggish global growth, while the dollar dipped ahead of the release of minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting. U.S. Treasuries eased and the dollar weakened ahead of the minutes, which may reveal more details about the Fed's sombre outlook on growth and interest rates. On Wall Street, stock indexes fell in early trading as the c
  
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• Bill to call for U.S. Treasury to guarantee Puerto Rico loans

  08-10-2015 18:08
  NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's representative in
  Congress on Thursday said he is introducing a bill that would
  authorize the U.S. Treasury Department to guarantee repayment of
  the U.S....
  
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• Britain's FTSE share index ends higher, commodities help

  08-10-2015 17:48
  LONDON Oct 8 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index finished higher on Thursday as mining and energy stocks advanced and Bank of England policymakers appeared in no hurry to hike interest...
  
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• Protesters scuffle with police in Iraq's Kurdistan region

  08-10-2015 17:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Protesters hurled stones and scuffled with riot police in the second largest city in Iraq's Kurdish north on Thursday, in the most intense show of discontent since an economic crisis hit the region. Teachers, hospital workers and other public sector employees have taken to the streets and gone on strike for a week, demanding their salaries from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which is three months in arrears. Thursday's protest focused on a five-star hotel in the center of Sulaimaniyah,
  
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• Wall Street falls ahead of Fed minutes; Apple weighs

  08-10-2015 17:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street fell on Thursday morning, hours ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's September meeting that could provide some insight into the central bank's decision to keep interest rates steady. Healthcare stocks fell again while a decline in tech stocks added to the pressure. Apple's 1.8 percent drop weighed the most on the three major indexes.
  
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• Deutsche sails close to wind with slender coupon cover

  08-10-2015 17:31
  LONDON, Oct 8 (IFR) - Hybrid capital investors are keeping a
  hawkish watch on Deutsche Bank after a massive writedown and
  potential missed dividend payment for 2015 raised the spectre of
  cancelled...
  
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• Big Cisco bet on France offers relief from Air France fiasco

  08-10-2015 17:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Still reeling from front page images of shirtless Air France executives fleeing angry workers, the French government got a welcome boost on Thursday for its campaign to attract foreign investment from U.S. tech group Cisco. Enthusing about how France would become Europe's digital leader, CEO John Chambers said the network infrastructure builder would double a 100 million euro ($113 million) investment in the country announced only months ago. Flanked by Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, Chambers
  
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• TSX rally stalls as sentiment cautious; Fed in focus

  08-10-2015 17:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Global stocks shied away from three-week highs following unexpectedly weak economic data from Germany and Japan that added to anxiety about global economic growth. At 10:38 a.m. ET (1438 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index rose 3.32 points, or 0.02 percent, to 13,871.67. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the TSX by 120 to 114, for a 1.05-to-1 ratio on the upside.
  
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• Average US rate on 30-year mortgages falls to 3.76 percent

  08-10-2015 16:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell sharply this week amid concern over a labor market that has shown recent signs of weakness.
  
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• European shares flat amid uncertainty over earnings, economy

  08-10-2015 16:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  European shares were little changed on Thursday, with profit taking across several sectors offset by stronger auto stocks, while Deutsche Bank was volatile after rigorously cleaning up its balance sheet. ...
  
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• Zimbabwe's Econet cuts 100 jobs, cites declining revenue

  08-10-2015 16:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Zimbabwe's largest mobile operator Econet Wireless said on Thursday it would immediately cut 100 jobs, citing a decline in revenue after the national telecoms regulator reduced tariffs charged by operators in January. Econet reported a one percent fall in revenue during the year to February but analysts expect the company to post a bigger fall in revenue when it reports its half-year results later this month as the effects of the tariff cuts kick in. Businesses in the southern African economy, s
  
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• Wall Street lower as Fed minutes awaited

  08-10-2015 16:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street fell on Thursday morning ahead of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's September meeting that investors are counting on to provide insight into the Fed's thinking on interest rates. A six-day rally in global stocks was checked on Thursday as weak trade from Germany and factory data out of Japan fed worries about slowing growth, a key reason the Fed did not raise interest rates in September. U.S. stocks are likely to be on the defensive through Thursday till the Fed minutes are releas
  
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• European stocks push on before signs on US rate outlook

  08-10-2015 16:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Europe's main stock markets pushed their way higher Thursday after a negative start, as investors awaited direction on the outlook for US interest rates. The US Federal Reserve is set to release the minutes of its last monetary policy meeting with analysts looking for signs on whether it would raise interest rates starting this year or next. The Bank of England revealed Thursday it would keep its main interest rate at the record-low 0.5 percent, where it has stood for six-and-a-half years to sup
  
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• IMF's Lagarde sees tough policy trade-offs

  08-10-2015 16:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Paul Carrel LIMA (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde urged global policymakers on Thursday to support economic growth while also tackling financial risks stemming from the provision of easy money amid a "rapidly changing and uncertain world." Lagarde, presenting a Global Policy Agenda at the fund's annual meeting in Peru, said a recovery in the United States was broadly on track and a rise in U.S. interest rates "is approaching" and would tighten global funding con
  
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• Britain's FTSE outperforms as BoE keeps rates unchanged

  08-10-2015 15:57
  LONDON Oct 8 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index climbed on Thursday, outperforming major European stock indexes, after the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged and policymakers appeared...
  
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• MIDEAST STOCKS-Beltone bid boosts Egypt, petchems buoy Saudi

  08-10-2015 15:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  * Orascom Telecom surges, Beltone soars on M&A plan * Egypt financial and investment stocks generally strong * Cairo trading volume highest this year * Saudi petchems up despite slight pull-back in oil * QNB edges down although Q3 earnings beat forecasts By Andrew Torchia DUBAI, Oct 8 (Reuters) - News that Orascom Telecom Media and Technology is seeking to buy Beltone Financial boosted Egypt's stock market on Thursday, while rebounding petrochemical shares continued to buoy Saudi Arabia. ...
  
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• UPDATE 1-GE, Poland's PZU suspend talks over Bank BPH sale -sources

  08-10-2015 15:45
  WARSAW, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Polish insurer PZU suspended talks with General Electric (GE) over the purchase of GE's Polish unit Bank BPH, PZU said on Thursday, confirming an earlier Reuters...
  
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