Finance news

• Rio Olympics tightening belt amid crisis

  14-12-2015 23:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The 2016 Olympics are 80 percent ready, but Brazil's punishing economic crisis has forced organizers to dramatically tighten their belts, they said Monday. In the six years since Rio de Janeiro was named to host the Games, Brazil has gone from being an emerging market phenom to being mired in recession and political crisis. The VIP area will be more modest than at past Olympics.
  
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• Wall Street closes higher as crude steadies

  14-12-2015 23:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Concerns about high-yield bonds, oil price swings and the Fed made for a skittish market, said Peter Costa, president of Empire Executions Inc. While investors widely expect the Fed to announce its first rate hike in nearly a decade on Wednesday, they are also waiting for commentary from policymakers about what will happen next. Traders see an 83-percent chance that the Fed will lift rates by 25 basis points, according to the CME Group's FedWatch program.
  
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• Vivendi Tycoon To Chair UK Media Vehicle Gloo

  14-12-2015 22:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Sky News has learnt that Arnaud de Puyfontaine, the chief executive of Universal Music’s parent company, Vivendi (Milan: VIV.MI - news) , is to join Gloo Networks (LSE: GLOO.L - news) , which floated on the junior AIM stock market in the summer. The recruitment of Mr de Puyfontaine is a major coup for Gloo, which was set up by Rebecca Miskin, a former executive at Hearst Magazines and NBC Universal. Vivendi is one of the biggest media companies in Europe, and has a market capitalisation of
  
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• Amgen reacquires rights to three drugs from Glaxo in 48 countries

  14-12-2015 22:27
  
  (Reuters) - Amgen Inc on Monday said it had reached a deal with British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline to reacquire the sales rights to three of its products in 48 countries, including Australia as well...
  
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• Wall Street ends higher as oil prices bounce back

  14-12-2015 22:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, bouncing back from last week's slump with help from a reversal in oil prices, while investors waited for the Federal Reserve's expected interest hike later in the week. Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 105.63 points, or 0.61 percent, to 17,370.84, the S&P 500 gained 9.76 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,022.13 and the Nasdaq Composite added 18.76 points, or 0.38 percent, to 4,952.23. (Reporting by
  
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• Neiman Marcus same-store sales fall for first time in six years

  14-12-2015 21:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Neiman Marcus had in August filed for an initial public offering. Reuters reported in October that the IPO had been pushed back to 2016 due to volatile stock markets. The company, owned by private equity firm Ares Management LP and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, reported a net loss of $10.5 million for the first quarter ended Oct. 31, compared to a net income of $196,000 last year.
  
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• China joins European development bank

  14-12-2015 20:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said Monday it had accepted China as a member, handing the world's second biggest economy investment routes into Europe, Africa and Middle East. "China's membership of the EBRD will open up significant further opportunities for sustainable investment by Chinese groups in the regions where the EBRD works," bank president Suma Chakrabarti said in a statement. Some of the countries where the London-based EBRD operates include what China calls the
  
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• India's Mahindra to buy Italian car designer Pininfarina at sharp discount

  14-12-2015 20:34
  
  MUMBAI/TURIN (Reuters) - India's Mahindra group, with interests from tractors to IT outsourcing, has agreed to buy Italy's Pininfarina SpAin an all-cash deal valuing the Turin-based car designer at...
  
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• Fed weighs merits of jumbo portfolio in post-crisis era

  14-12-2015 19:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jonathan Spicer and Ann Saphir NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Once the Federal Reserve lifts interest rates from near zero, likely this week, the focus will turn to the other legacy of the crisis-era policies: the Fed's swollen balance sheet. The prevailing view is that the U.S. central bank's $4.5 trillion portfolio, vastly expanded by bond purchases aimed at stimulating the economy, will have to shrink once rates are on their way up, and the Fed will just need to decide how quickly. Now
  
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• Elimination of export taxes puts Argentina on new course

  14-12-2015 19:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Fulfilling a campaign promise to overhaul Argentina's agricultural sector, President Mauricio Macri on Monday announced the elimination of export taxes on key products, a move that will also have a deep impact on how Latin America's third largest economy is funded.
  
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• Newell Rubbermaid to buy Jarden to create consumer durables giant

  14-12-2015 19:39
  
  (Reuters) - Newell Rubbermaid Inc , known for its food containers, agreed to buy Sunbeam and Coleman products maker Jarden Corpfor more than $15 billion in a deal that will give it more leverage...
  
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• Wall Street little changed as crude steadies

  14-12-2015 19:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks were little changed in volatile trading on Monday, two days ahead of an expected interest rate hike, as oil prices steadied after falling to within touching distance of 11-year lows. "It's the (Fed) communiqué that's going to count, but the real problem here is the junk bond market, which is tied to oil prices," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York. "A lot of paper written to oil companies are in question, and so it ties in with t
  
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• India's Mahindra to buy Italian car designer Pininfarina

  14-12-2015 18:33
  
  MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's Mahindra group, with interests in cars and tractors, finance and IT outsourcing services, is to buy Italian car designer Pininfarina for about 33 million euros ($36...
  
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• As oil plunges, traders generate record earnings

  14-12-2015 18:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Oil traders are profiting handsomely from a crude price crash to near an 11-year low, even as it forces energy companies around the globe to slash costs and postpone projects. From listed giant Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) through unlisted Swiss privately-held Trafigura, to the trading desks of majors BP and Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) , traders have often done well in times of oil price downturns, and markedly so this time around. On Monday, Trafigura, which trades roughly 3 percent of global
  
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• Aggreko pulls Olympic tender, leaves Rio 2016 power in doubt

  14-12-2015 18:03
  
  RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Temporary power supplier Aggrekohas pulled out of a tender to provide generators to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next year, the spokesman for Rio 2016 told Reuters,...
  
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• Canadian household debt-to-income ratio hits record high in third quarter

  14-12-2015 17:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian household debt compared to income rose to a record in the third quarter as borrowing outpaced growth in disposable income, while home prices continued to climb in November, led by hot west coast markets. The ratio of household credit market debt to income rose to 163.7 percent in the third quarter from a downwardly revised 162.7 percent in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said on Monday. The Bank of Canada, which has cut interest rates twice this
  
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• Newell Rubbermaid to buy Jarden for about $13 billion

  14-12-2015 17:39
  
  (Reuters) - Newell Rubbermaid Inc, the maker of Sharpie markers and Parker pens, agreed to buy diversified consumer products company Jarden Corp for $13.22 billion, adding brands such as Sunbeam...
  
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• South Africa's finance minister vows to tackle rand's collapse

  14-12-2015 17:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  South Africa's new Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan vowed Monday to stabilise the economy after his predecessor lasted just four days in the job in a political drama that highlighted the country's mounting woes. President Jacob Zuma has been engulfed by criticism after firing respected finance minister Nhlanhla Nene in favour of little-known backbencher David van Rooyen, who was himself sacked on Sunday. The dramatic U-turn focused attention on Zuma's standing within the African National Congress
  
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• Blackstone raises $18 billion for global buyout fund

  14-12-2015 16:46
  
  (Reuters) - Blackstone Group LP, the largest alternative asset manager, said on Monday it had raised $18 billion for its latest global private equity fund, highlighting the healthy pace of...
  
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• More modest year for global stock markets; Europe to lead: poll

  14-12-2015 16:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stock markets in developed economies are expected to continue outperforming emerging markets next year, but optimism among hundreds of market strategists polled by Reuters in the past week has faded compared with just a few months ago. While that era hasn't come to an end yet - the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan are well-entrenched in their asset purchases - there is a sense that while the hope for returns from such policy remains, its effect is diminishing. Since August, financial
  
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• Wall Street little changed as oil prices weigh

  14-12-2015 16:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street was little changed on Monday, two days ahead of an expected U.S. interest rate hike, as crude oil prices hovered near 11-year lows. The Federal Reserve begins a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday at which it is expected to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. "Stocks are relatively quiet this morning, which is somewhat normal, after last week's shellacking," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.
  
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• Norfolk Southern rejects Canadian Pacific's revised offer

  14-12-2015 15:43
  
  (Reuters) - U.S. railroad operator Norfolk Southern Corp formally rejected a revised offer from Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, saying it was worth less than CP's earlier proposal
  
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• IMF sees migration crisis lifting Austrian economic growth

  14-12-2015 15:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Francois Murphy VIENNA (Reuters) - The wave of refugees flooding into Austria could bolster the country's economic growth if Vienna continues to work on integrating them quickly, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday. Hundreds of thousands of migrants, many of them fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Afghanistan and elsewhere, have reached Austria since early September, most continuing on into neighboring Germany.
  
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• South Africa's Gordhan opens with a joke, but tone is serious

  14-12-2015 15:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Ed Cropley JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Introducing South Africa's third finance minister in five days, it was perhaps inevitable the government spokeswoman would get names wrong, confusing Pravin Gordhan, who was appointed on Sunday night, with Nhlanhla Nene, who was dismissed last week. In between came David van Rooyen, a little-known backbencher with no central government experience whose period in charge of the purse strings of Africa's most sophisticated economy lasted less than 100 hours. D
  
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• Wall Street set to open little changed as Fed meet eyed

  14-12-2015 14:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Traders expect an 85 percent chance the Federal Reserve will lift its target rate range to 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent from the current zero to 0.25 percent, according to CME Group's FedWatch program. Global stock markets were volatile on Monday as China's yuan hit a multi-year low and oil slid to a near 11-year low. The S&P 500 ended its worst week since August on Friday as crude prices continued to slide due to oversupply worries.
  
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• India says Paris climate deal won't affect plans to double coal output

  14-12-2015 14:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Krishna N. Das and Tommy Wilkes NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India still plans to double coal output by 2020 and rely on the resource for decades afterwards, a senior official said on Monday, days after rich and poor countries agreed in Paris to curb carbon emissions blamed for global warming. India, the world's third-largest carbon emitter, is dependant on coal for about two-thirds of its energy needs and has pledged to mine more of the fuel to power its resource-hungry economy while also promising
  
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• EU leaders set to extend Russia sanctions at summit

  14-12-2015 14:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  EU leaders will debate sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict at a summit this week and are expected to extend them for another six months, officials said on Monday. Italy has called for a disussion when the leaders of the 28-nation bloc meet on Thursday and Friday, meaning that the sanctions rollover did not happen as planned at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels last week. The EU imposed wide-ranging economic sanctions targeting Russia's banking, oil and defence sectors after
  
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• Security fears blight European tourism, oil and economy offer relief

  14-12-2015 14:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Kit Rees LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's travel industry could lose over $1 billion in revenues because of the impact of the Paris attacks, analysts say, though low oil prices and a recovering economy will offset security worries for the best-placed companies. "Big companies may be better prepared because they have more ... and further destinations that will be tempering the losses," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, market analyst at London Capital Group. The full impact of the Nov. 13 attacks that killed
  
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• EDF to make firm bid for Areva reactors in early 2016: sources

  14-12-2015 14:33
  
  PARIS (Reuters) - Disagreements over valuation and charges related to a Finnish reactor project are likely to delay French utility EDF's acquisition of Areva's nuclear reactor business until next...
  
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• Wall Street expects single-digit S&P 500 gain in 2016: poll

  14-12-2015 14:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A weak ending to 2015 and the expectation of improving profit growth in 2016 will set the stage for a single-digit gain in U.S. stocks next year, a modest forecast at least by recent standards, according to strategists polled by Reuters. The S&P 500 is forecast to end 2016 at 2,207, up 10 percent from Friday's close of 2,012.37 and 5 percent higher than where it is expected to round off this year, according to the median forecast of 46 strategists polled by Reuters in the past week. Strategi
  
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• South African rand, stocks gain after Gordhan named finance minister

  14-12-2015 14:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Mfuneko Toyana PRETORIA (Reuters) - New Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan acted swiftly to calm South Africa investors on Monday, saying he would strive to keep Pretoria's investment grade rating after days of market turmoil that have triggered calls for President Jacob Zuma to step down. Zuma appointed the widely respected Gordhan late on Sunday, his second stint in the job, in a dramatic U-turn that gave Africa's most industrialised economy its third finance minister in less than a week. Fall
  
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• S.Africa finance minister vows to tackle rand collapse

  14-12-2015 14:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  South Africa's new Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan vowed Monday to stabilise the tottering economy after his predecessor lasted just four days in the job amid a dramatic slump in the rand. "Our expenditure ceiling is sacrosanct. President Jacob Zuma last week ousted respected finance minister Nhlanhla Nene in favour of the little-known David van Rooyen, triggering a backlash that led to a U-turn on Sunday when Rooyen himself was removed.
  
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• Shell sees more job cuts as BG deal gets China green light

  14-12-2015 13:57
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell expects to slash thousands more jobs to save costs if its takeover of BG Group goes through as planned early next year following a final green light from China.
  
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• Alibaba agrees to $266 million acquisition deal with South China Morning Post

  14-12-2015 13:29
  
  SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltdhas agreed on a $266 million deal to acquire the South China Morning Post and other media assets of SCMP Group Ltd , a deal that has raised a...
  
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• Futures little changed as investors focus on Fed meet

  14-12-2015 13:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Federal Reserve will begin its two-day meeting on Dec. 15 to decide on the rate hike. Traders expect an 85 percent chance the Fed will lift its target rate range to 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent from the current zero to 0.25 percent, according to CME Group's FedWatch program. Global stock markets were volatile on Monday as China's yuan hit a multi-year year low and oil slid to a 11-year low.
  
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• Asia Index launches four new S&P BSE India indexes

  14-12-2015 12:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  MUMBAI (Reuters) - Asia Index Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between S&P Dow Jones and BSE Ltd, launched four new indexes, including a low volatility one, just days ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the week. The four S&P BSE indexes will be the enhanced value index, low volatility index, momentum index, and quality index, the company said in a statement. (Reporting by Karen Rebelo in Mumbai)
  
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• New finance minister Gordhan: South Africa sticking to sound fiscal management

  14-12-2015 12:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  PRETORIA (Reuters) - Newly appointed South African finance minister Pravin Gordhan said on Monday Africa's biggest economy would stay the course on sound fiscal management. "We will stay the course of sound fiscal management. Our expenditure ceiling is sacrosanct," said Gordhan, who returns for a second stint at the Treasury after a dramatic U-turn by President Jacob Zuma. (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Ed Cropley)
  
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• India to push ahead with coal plans after Paris climate deal

  14-12-2015 12:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Krishna N. Das and Tommy Wilkes NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India still plans to double coal output by 2020 and to rely on the resource for decades afterwards, a senior official said on Monday, days after 190-odd countries agreed to begin reining in rising greenhouse gas emissions this decade. India, the world's third-largest carbon emitter, is dependant on coal for about two-thirds of its energy needs and has vowed to mine more of the fuel to power its resource-hungry economy while also pledging t
  
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• Turkey to relaunch EU membership bid with economic talks

  14-12-2015 11:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Robin Emmott and Gulsen Solaker BRUSSELS/ANKARA (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers are set on Monday to revive Turkey's efforts to join the bloc by agreeing to open talks on the EU's financial rules, as part of a bigger deal to help Europe solve its migration crisis. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, in Brussels for the opening of a new accession chapter with the European Union, said he expected quick progress on bringing Ankara in line with the EU's economic and monetar
  
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• BRIEF-Sniace, Celltech, Viscocel emerge from administration 

  14-12-2015 10:57
  
  * Says Sniace SA , Celltech SLU, Viscocel SLU emerge from
  administrationSource text for Eikon:
  
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• AB InBev sets 'domestic' stock listing in Johannesburg

  14-12-2015 10:51
  
  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev , the world's largest brewer, said it would list its shares on the Johannesburg stock exchange as a "domestic" stock, removing a potential hurdle in its...
  
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• South Africa's rand, stocks gain after Gordhan named as finance minister

  14-12-2015 10:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Nqobile Dludla JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand leapt on Monday after President Jacob Zuma named Pravin Gordhan as finance minister, seeking to draw a line under days of market turmoil that have triggered calls for him to stand down as leader. Zuma appointed the widely respected Gordhan late on Sunday, his second stint in the job, in a dramatic U-turn that gave Africa's most industrialised economy its third finance minister in less than a week. Fallout from
  
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• AstraZeneca chases Acerta to secure next cancer drug winner

  14-12-2015 10:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca said on Monday it was in talks that might lead to the acquisition of privately held biotech firm Acerta Pharma, a potential $5 billion-plus (3.29 billion pounds) deal designed to build up its cancer drug portfolio. "AstraZeneca confirms that it is exploring potential strategic options with Acerta Pharma BV. The Wall Street Journal had reported on Friday that the British drugmaker was looking to buy Acerta for more than $5 billion to gain access to
  
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• UPDATE 1-Seismic surveyor Dolphin files for bankruptcy due oil price crash

  14-12-2015 10:14
  
  OSLO, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Seismic surveyor Dolphin Group
  is filing for bankruptcy, the firm said on Monday,
  after a prolonged fall in crude prices has reduced the amount of
  work available from oil...
  
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• Egypt says no evidence of terrorism in Russian plane crash

  14-12-2015 10:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Egypt said on Monday it had found no evidence so far of terrorism or other illegal action linked to the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Sinai that killed all 224 people on board on Oct. 31. Russia and Western governments have said the Airbus A321 operated by Metrojet was likely brought down by a bomb, and the Islamic State militant group said it had smuggled an explosive on board. The crash hit Egypt's tourism industry, a cornerstone of the economy.
  
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• BRIEF-GC Rieber Shipping to seek recovery of claims from Dolphin Group

  14-12-2015 09:15
  
  * Says Dolphin Group  has not succeeded in restructuring company and will
  therefore file a petition for bankruptcy
  
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• AstraZeneca confirms talks with cancer drug firm Acerta

  14-12-2015 09:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  AstraZeneca said on Monday it was in talks with privately held cancer drug developer Acerta Pharma, after the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday it was looking to acquire the business for more than ...
  
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• South Africa's ruling ANC welcomes Gordhan appointment as finance minister

  14-12-2015 08:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling ANC party on Monday welcomed the reappointment of Pravin Gordhan as finance minister, saying it was an "explicit demonstration of a responsive and accountable government". Zuma late on Sunday restored widely respected Gordhan to the ministry in a dramatic about-face decision that gave Africa's most advanced economy its third finance minister in a week. (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by James Macharia)
  
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• South Africa's banking index up 15 pct after new finmin appointed

  14-12-2015 08:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Shares in South Africa's banking index soared 15 percent on Monday after President Jacob Zuma appointed Pravin Gordhan as the new minister late on Sunday. The index had lost as much as 19 percent since Thursday after Zuma fired respected finance minister Nhlanhla Nene. Zuma then named Gordhan as the new finance minister in a dramatic U-turn that gave Africa's most advanced economy its third finance minister in less than a week. (Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by J
  
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• Oil plunge fuels run on energy firms as Asia stocks tumble

  14-12-2015 08:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Energy firms led another stock market sell-off Monday, but analysts said a fall in oil prices to seven-year lows was driven more by fears over demand and a supply glut than the Paris climate deal. Among energy firms Sydney-based BHP Billiton shed 3.5 percent, Rio Tinto was two percent lower and Santos lost almost five percent. Inpex dived 2.9 percent in Tokyo while JX Holdings was 2.5 percent off.
  
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