Finance news

• Wall Street drops as oil's multi-year low adds to investor fears

  11-12-2015 23:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 ending its worst week since August, as plunging crude oil prices compounded investor nervousness on expectations for the first U.S. interest rate hike in nearly a decade. Oil dragged down market as a whole, as investors worried whether a weakness in commodities signalled a broader slowdown. Furthermore, investors were worried about declines in China's yuan and in high-yield debt markets.
  
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• Businessman, veteran lawmaker seek to be Houston's mayor in Saturday vote

  11-12-2015 23:19
  
  Houston, the fourth most-populous U.S. city, holds elections on Saturday for mayor with Bill King, a lawyer and businessman pledging to fix city finances, facing Sylvester Turner, a veteran lawmaker seeking to expand economic opportunities. Polls have shown the race to be a dead heat between Turner, a powerful Democrat in the Republican-dominated state legislature, and King, a Republican who calls himself "unapologetically moderate." Annise Parker, the first openly lesbian mayor of a major U.S.
  
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• A rout in crude oil prices hammers the stock market

  11-12-2015 23:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — A slump in oil prices sparked a global sell-off in financial markets on Friday with losses spreading from Asia to Europe to the U.S., where stocks fell sharply to cap their worst week since the summer.
  
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• San Bernardino, struck by attack, aims to keep bankruptcy on track

  11-12-2015 22:32
  
  SAN BERNARDINO, Calif./LOS ANGELES, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A key
  San Bernardino bondholder and opponent of the California city's
  proposed plan to exit bankruptcy offered this week to delay...
  
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• UPDATE 1-Champion buys Quebec iron ore mine for Cliffs at deep discount

  11-12-2015 22:17
  
  TORONTO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Champion Iron Mine said
  Friday it will buy a Quebec iron ore mine for C$10.5 million
  ($7.65 million), just a sliver of the C$4.9 billion that Cliffs
  Natural Resources paid...
  
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• Wall Street falls as oil's multi-year low adds to investor fears

  11-12-2015 21:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  All three major U.S. indexes were down sharply on Friday afternoon, heading for their worst week in a month, as the price of crude oil dropped to around a seven-year low and investors braced for the first U.S. interest rate hike in nearly a decade. "It hasn't been any one thing today, it's been an accumulation of concerns as the week has worn on," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. "Positioning has been clearly along the lines of taking
  
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• Dollar falls on jitters ahead of Fed meeting

  11-12-2015 21:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Dion Rabouin and Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar fell on Friday against a basket of currencies as a sell-off on Wall Street and slumping commodity prices overshadowed solid data on U.S. retail sales data and consumer sentiment which may encourage the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates next week. The dollar index fell 0.4 percent at 97.560. On the week, it was down 0.8 percent as Wall Street had a dismal week.
  
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• Canada moves to avoid housing bubble

  11-12-2015 21:34
  
  The Canadian government announced Friday a tightening of mortgage rules to curb overspending on homes in a sluggish economy that could collapse with the burst of a possible housing market bubble. "While current market trends have largely been supported by strong fundamentals, there's significant variation across Canada in terms of the pace of housing market activity and potential vulnerabilities," he said. Meanwhile, average home prices in Canada rose eight percent year over year in October, acc
  
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• Renault-Nissan's French peace deal leaves investors underwhelmed

  11-12-2015 21:26
  
  The Renault-Nissan alliance drew a line under an eight-month power struggle with the French government on Friday, with a compromise deal balancing increased state influence at Renault with weakened control over its Japanese affiliate. The agreement, offering Nissan guarantees against future interference by parent Renault or its own biggest shareholder, the French state, came as a relief to Renault staff while disappointing some investors who had hoped for bigger changes to the 16-year-old carmak
  
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• Oil skids towards 11-year low as IEA warns of worse glut

  11-12-2015 21:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices extended their freefall on Friday, flirting with 11-year lows, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that global oversupply of crude could worsen next year. Brent and U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell as much as 5 percent on the day and 12 percent on the week as mild pre-winter weather and a plummeting U.S. stock market added to the toll on oil prices. "The bearish IEA report has put further selling pressure on
  
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• Italy wants to maintain Russia ties despite Ukraine crisis

  11-12-2015 20:50
  
  Italy, one of Russia's principal trading partners in Europe, wants to keep communication channels with Moscow open despite the Ukrainian crisis, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Friday. "I think we are all aware that the relations between Europe and Russia have suffered a blow following the Ukrainian crisis," he said at a joint press conference in Rome with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Italy on Wednesday called on EU nations to delay talks on whether to uphold economic san
  
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• Argentina, Wall Street banks in talks on financing line

  11-12-2015 20:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jorge Otaola and Nicolás Misculin BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's new government is negotiating with a group of Wall Street banks for a credit line worth up to $7 billion to bolster its low foreign reserves and help it eventually lift capital controls, a banking source said on Friday. President Mauricio Macri, who took office on Thursday, wants to move quickly to remove currency controls that restrict access to U.S. dollars but is stymied by the central bank's precariously low har
  
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• U.S. consumers loosen purse strings as holidays start

  11-12-2015 20:29
  
  U.S. consumers showed some muscle in November at the start of the holiday shopping season, suggesting enough momentum in the economy for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week for the first time in nearly a decade. The outlook for consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity, got a lift from other data on Friday showing consumer sentiment nudged up in early December. Not that there is much doubt any more, but this supports the case for a rate hik
  
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• Shares tumble amid risk aversion; oil price, China yuan drop

  11-12-2015 19:57
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets worldwide tumbled on Friday, Brent crude oil prices fell to seven-year lows and China's yuan currency sank on risk aversion ahead of a widely anticipated U.S. interest rate increase next week and worries over economic growth.
  
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• South African troubles mount as rand collapses

  11-12-2015 19:31
  
  South Africa's rand slumped to record lows for a second day on Friday as the country's economic prospects darkened over President Jacob Zuma's firing of the respected finance minister. The rand breached 16 to the US dollar for the first time, government bond yields rose and bank stocks dived further in reaction to Nhlanhla Nene being dismissed late Wednesday. Nene was replaced by David van Rooyen, a little-known figure from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, in a move greeted with
  
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• Days before peace talks, Yemen's PM says determined to stop the war

  11-12-2015 19:31
  
  By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah said on Friday he was determined to end an eight-month civil war that has killed 6,000 people and caused widespread damage to the economy and infrastructure. "We are determined to stop the war that has ruined lives and property in Yemen," Bahah was quoted as saying by Saudi state television. Bahah was speaking in the Saudi capital Riyadh where he met Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammad bin Salman and a group of negotiator
  
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• Oil eyes 11-year low as IEA warns of worse glut, U.S. stays warm

  11-12-2015 19:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices extended their freefall on Friday, flirting with 11-year lows, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that global oversupply of crude could worsen next year. Brent and U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell as much as 5 percent on the day and 12 percent on the week as mild pre-winter weather and a plummeting U.S. stock market added to the toll on oil prices. "The bearish IEA report has put further selling pressure on
  
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• AstraZeneca in talks to buy cancer drugmaker Acerta for $5 billion - WSJ

  11-12-2015 19:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc is in advanced talks to buy privately held cancer drug developer Acerta Pharma BV for more than $5 billion (£3.3 billion), the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Netherlands based-Acerta is developing cancer drugs that use the body's own defences against the disease. On Monday, Acerta reported that 95 percent of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia positively responded to its experimental drug acalabrut
  
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• Which stock sectors will Fed rate hike help most? History no guide

  11-12-2015 18:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  It has been so long since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates that U.S. stock market investors probably should not look to past rate hike cycles for clues about potential winners and losers. This phenomenon is expected to continue in 2016.
  
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• Wall Street slumps more than 1.5 pct as oil plumbs seven-year low

  11-12-2015 18:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  All three major indexes extended losses on Friday, falling more than 1.5 percent, and were on track for their worst weekly performance in a month as growing oversupply concerns dragged down crude oil prices to their 7-year lows. The International Energy Agency said it sees the oil glut worsening in 2016 as demand slows and OPEC shows no signs of slowing production. The steep drop in oil prices adds to investor uncertainty as the U.S. Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates for the first
  
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• Wall St. slumps more than 1.5 percent as oil plumbs seven-year low

  11-12-2015 18:42
  
  The International Energy Agency said it sees the oil glut worsening in 2016 as demand slows and OPEC shows no signs of slowing production. The steep drop in oil prices adds to investor uncertainty as the U.S. Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates for the first time since June 2006 at its meeting next week. Global shares were lower amid concerns that weakness in the Chinese currency could weigh on the global economy and on companies with strong export ties to China.
  
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• U.S. SEC looks again at making natural resources industry reveal payments

  11-12-2015 18:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday took up a new draft of a rule to require oil, gas and mining companies to disclose payments they make to foreign governments, after a federal judge ordered it to speed up a process that has been locked in the courts for years. The rule, as called for in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law of 2010, would require the companies to disclose how much they pay governments in taxes, royalties and other types of fees for exploration, extraction and
  
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• Days before peace talks, Yemen PM says determined to stop the war

  11-12-2015 18:24
  
  DOHA (Reuters) - Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah said on Friday he was determined to end an eight-month civil war that has killed 6,000 people and caused widespread damage to the country's economy and infrastructure. "We are determined to stop the war that has ruined lives and property in Yemen", Bahah was quoted as saying by Saudi state television. A seven-day ceasefire is expected to take effect when U.N.-sponsored peace talks start in Switzerland on Dec. 15. (Reporting by Ali Abdelatti and
  
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• Heathrow indecision highlights Europe's airport crunch

  11-12-2015 18:11
  
  By Victoria Bryan BERLIN (Reuters) - Moves by Britain to delay, once again, a decision on where to build a new airport runway to serve the London area highlights Europe's difficulties in keeping up with emerging countries when it comes to creating vital airport capacity. By 2035, airports across Europe will be unable to accommodate some 2 million flights due to capacity shortages according to Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. The economic cost of being unab
  
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• Argentina negotiating financing worth up to $7 billion with banks - source

  11-12-2015 18:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jorge Otaola and Nicolás Misculin BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's new government is negotiating with a group of Wall Street banks for a credit line worth up to $7 billion (£4.6 billion) to bolster its low foreign reserves and help it lift capital controls, a banking source said on Friday. Centre-right President Mauricio Macri, who took office on Thursday, wants to move quickly to remove currency controls that restrict access to dollars but is stymied by the central bank's pr
  
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• Argentina negotiating financing worth up to $7 bln with banks: source

  11-12-2015 18:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Argentina's new government is negotiating with a group of Wall Street banks for a credit line worth up to $7 billion to bolster its low foreign reserves and help it lift capital controls, a banking source said on Friday. Center-right President Mauricio Macri, who took office on Thursday, wants to move quickly to remove currency controls that restrict access to dollars but is stymied by the central bank's precariously low hard currency stocks. The commercial banking source said Argentina was in t
  
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• Why Your Holiday Gifts May Not Arrive on Time This Year

  11-12-2015 17:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Better get your online holiday orders in early this year. Online sales have been higher than expected so far this holiday season, and that has shipping companies struggling to get packages to their destinations on time. On-time delivery of UPS packages fell to 91 percent last week, compared to the 97 percent delivery rate typical during non-holiday months, according to an analysis by software developer ShipMatrix reported in The Wall Street Journal. This time last year, UPS was able to maintain
  
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• Shares tumble on concerns over oil price, China

  11-12-2015 17:26
  
  Stock markets worldwide tumbled on Friday as falling Brent crude oil prices to seven-year lows and a drop in China's yuan currency stoked investor risk aversion ahead of a widely anticipated U.S. interest rate increase next week. All three major U.S. indexes sank over 1 percent as crude prices plunged on continued oversupply concerns. Indeed, the International Energy Agency said it sees the oil glut worsening in 2016 as demand slows and OPEC shows no signs of slowing production.
  
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• Heathrow delay endangers investment in Britain

  11-12-2015 17:24
  
  By Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's inability to decide where to build a new airport runway after 25 years of deliberation is the latest major infrastructure delay that risks hurting investment in the world's fifth largest economy. Prime Minister David Cameron, who had guaranteed a final decision by the end of this year, has been accused of putting short-term politics over long-term economic gain by delaying approval until next year. The decision on whether to build a new runway at Heath
  
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• Wall Street on track for worst week in a month as oil falls

  11-12-2015 17:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  All three major indexes fell more than 1 percent on Friday and were on track for their worst weekly performance in a month as growing oversupply concerns dragged down crude oil prices to their 7-year lows. The International Energy Agency said it sees the oil glut worsening in 2016 as demand slows and OPEC shows no signs of slowing production. The steep drop in oil prices adds to investor uncertainty as the U.S. Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates for the first time since June 2006 a
  
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• Dow Chemical, DuPont merge to create $130 bn industrial giant

  11-12-2015 17:05
  
  Two of the oldest names in US industry, Dow Chemical and DuPont, announced Friday that they will merge to create the world's biggest chemical and materials company. Dow and DuPont said the combined company will generate huge savings and strengthen their competitive positions in a world economy beset with overcapacity and low commodity prices. The deal also fends off pressure from Wall Street activists who have pushed both Dow and DuPont to take action to boost their share prices and generate bet
  
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• Socialist dissenters urge Venezuela reform after vote loss

  11-12-2015 16:35
  
  By Alexandra Ulmer CARACAS (Reuters) - A splinter faction of Venezuela's ruling socialist movement is pressing for urgent economic measures following defeat in Sunday's legislative election, adding pressure from the left on broadly unpopular President Nicolas Maduro. Socialist Tide, a small group of leftist intellectuals that has broken with the government, accuses Maduro of betraying his predecessor Hugo Chavez by allowing corruption, bureaucracy and incompetence to flourish in the OPEC member
  
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• US business stockpiles flat in October while sales down

  11-12-2015 16:33
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S businesses left their stockpiles unchanged in October, while total business sales fell for the second month out of the past three. The results could raise concerns about economic growth this quarter.
  
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• Global stock selloff on seven-year oil lows

  11-12-2015 16:16
  
  London (AFP) - Global oil prices tanked on Friday close to seven-year lows on oversupply woes, sparking a fresh wave of selling on European and US stock markets as panicked investors fled the energy sector.
  
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• South African rand hits record low, bank stocks dive on finmin sacking

  11-12-2015 15:49
  
  By Mfuneko Toyana and Zandi Shabalala JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened to a new record low on Friday, slumping more than 3 percent in a sell-off by investors after this week's dismissal of the finance minister, while banks led stocks lower. President Jacob Zuma sacked Nhlanhla Nene late on Wednesday in favour of a relatively unknown lawmaker David van Rooyen, unnerving investors in an ailing economy whose 'investment grade' status is already at risk. The sacking of Nene, a v
  
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• Wall St. opens lower as oil prices plunge

  11-12-2015 15:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Wall Street opened sharply lower on Friday as crude oil prices plumbed levels not seen in seven years on growing oversupply concerns.
  
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• U.S. consumer spending gauge rises strongly; producer prices up

  11-12-2015 15:17
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gauge of U.S. consumer spending rose solidly in November, suggesting enough momentum in the economy for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week for the first time in nearly a decade.
  
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• Nigeria tightens rules for retail bureaux de change, naira falls

  11-12-2015 14:07
  
  By Chijioke Ohuocha LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank on Friday revised the rules for operating retail bureaux de change in a bid to tighten regulation to curb speculation after the long slide in oil prices hit its dollar reserves and currency. The naira was trading at a new low of 260 to the dollar among most retail money exchange operators on Friday as against 255 on Thursday. The circular, which will come into effect in January in Africa's biggest economy, orders retail money exchanges
  
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• German Social Democrats struggle to profit from Merkel's woes

  11-12-2015 12:45
  
  By Paul Carrel BERLIN (Reuters) - Social Democrat (SPD) leader Sigmar Gabriel called his party "the stability factor" in Germany's ruling coalition on Friday, trying to capitalize from infighting among Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives over Europe's migrant crisis. Gabriel, who is economy minister and vice chancellor, also urged his party to push back against the rise of the far-right in Europe, citing in particular the historic win for France's National Front in last Sunday's regional el
  
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• IMF: risk of UK exit from EU creates uncertainty for economy

  11-12-2015 12:33
  
  LONDON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund has offered Britain a glowing report on its economy, but warned that the potential for the country's exit from the European Union weighed on its outlook.
  
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• India, Japan close in on military pacts as Abe visits

  11-12-2015 12:07
  
  By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Sanjeev Miglani TOKYO/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and Japan are likely to finalize an agreement on protection of military information during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's trip beginning on Friday that will the lay the ground for Japanese arms sales to India, including seaplanes. Abe and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, have forged close economic and defense ties aimed partly at pushing back against China's growing assertiveness in the region. Both are embroiled in ter
  
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• South African rand hits record low, stocks dip on finmin sacking

  11-12-2015 11:56
  
  South Africa's rand weakened to a new record low on Friday, slumping more than 3 percent in a sell-off by investors after this week's dismissal of the finance minister, while stocks fell, with banks taking the biggest hit. President Jacob Zuma sacked Nhlanhla Nene late on Wednesday in favour of a relatively unknown lawmaker David van Rooyen, unnerving investors in an ailing economy whose 'investment grade' status is already at risk. By 1025 GMT the rand had weakened 2.42 percent to 15.8500 per d
  
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• Angolan parliament passes $48 bln 2016 budget: state news

  11-12-2015 11:28
  
  LUANDA (Reuters) - Angola's parliament passed a 6.4 trillion kwanza ($48 billion) 2016 budget on Friday based on an average oil price of $45 a barrel and daily production of 1.8 million barrels, state news agency ANGOP reported. Africa's second biggest oil exporter's spending plan assumes economic growth of 3.3 percent, a budget deficit of 5.5 percent and inflation of 11-13 percent, ANGOP said. The budget approved by lawmakers was in-line with spending plans announced by Angola's finance ministr
  
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• BRIEF-Business rescue practitioners to dispose of assets of Optimum Coal Hldgs

  11-12-2015 11:09
  
  * Transaction will allow BRPs to concurrently terminate
  business rescue proceedings of Optimum Holdings and Optimum
  Mine
  
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• Taiwan's likely next ruling party says open to China engagement

  11-12-2015 11:03
  
  By J.R. Wu KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (Reuters) - Taiwan's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), likely to sweep to power in elections next month, is open to engaging with giant neighbor China, but more trust needs to be built on both sides, a senior party member said on Friday. Taiwan votes in a new president and parliament in January when the ruling Nationalists (KMT) are expected to be soundly beaten by the DPP, supported by youthful voters angered by a perceived economic dependence
  
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• Rabobank to cut 9,000 jobs and shed assets to boost profit

  11-12-2015 10:37
  
  Dutch cooperative bank Rabobank [RABO.UL] plans to lay off nearly a fifth of its workforce to boost profit and prepare for tougher European banking guidelines, it said on Wednesday. The bank said it would shed 9,000 of its 47,000 staff by 2018 and would cut 150 billion euros ($164.7 billion) worth of assets from its balance sheet by 2020, to comply with a rulebook known as Basel IV intended to help make banks more resilient to economic and market shocks. The moves are part of a strategic plan in
  
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• Market overview: IPF craters on changes in Slovak legislation

  11-12-2015 10:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (ShareCast News) - 0900: Shares have started the day slightly weaker despite the slight gains seen overnight on Wall Street, alongside renewed selling in oil futures. There is little in the way of economic ...
  
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• BRIEF-Chemical Specialities says 95 pct of assets have been sold

  11-12-2015 06:47
  
  * 95 pct of assets have now been sold and liquidators are
  in process of compiling statutory reportSource text for Eikon:Further company coverage:
  
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• Beijing may ease household residence rules

  11-12-2015 06:24
  
  Beijing has proposed a new system giving permanent residence status to millions of people already living in the city, giving them better access to services like healthcare and education. All Chinese citizens have a hukou, or residence registration account, which determines their access to education and other social welfare services. Ensuring a fair hukou system is crucial in supporting the world's second-largest economy because it increases labor mobility at a time when the Chinese working popul
  
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• Asia stocks head for weekly loss as commodity rout saps confidence

  11-12-2015 01:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lisa Twaronite TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher on Friday but remained on track for a weekly loss as lower crude prices kept markets on edge after a broad rout in commodities heightened fears about receding global growth. A supply glut in oil markets, cooling growth in the world's biggest commodities consumer China and prospects of an interest rate increase in the United States next week have made for a tense trading backdrop across most asset markets. MSCI's broadest index of Asia
  
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