Finance news

• Japan's pitch for FX action meets cool G20, U.S. response

  16-04-2016 23:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Leika Kihara WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan's efforts to seek informal consent to act against an unwelcome yen rise bore little fruit, with the United States offering a cool response to concerns voiced by Tokyo that the currency's gains are too sharp and may justify intervention. A lack of G20 sympathy for Tokyo's appeal may embolden yen bulls to test the currency's 17-month highs against the dollar hit earlier this month, keeping Japanese policymakers on edge to contain the damage on a fragile
  
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• Economic slump worries as IMF, World Bank pledge action

  16-04-2016 21:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  World finance ministers pledged to boost growth on Saturday at IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings tainted by lingering worries about the dragging global economy and hints of discord. Pounding home the message that each country needs to take action to ramp up growth, and following another week of relative calm in financial markets, the IMF leadership said they were "positive" about the outlook, even as they warned of high risks. "The IMF is alert but not alarmed," said Agustin Carstens, chairman
  
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• Finance leaders pledge forceful response to boost economy

  16-04-2016 21:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Finance officials on Saturday pledged a more forceful effort to stimulate a sluggish global economy.
  
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• IMF members urge 'growth-friendly' spending, new lending tools

  16-04-2016 20:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's steering committee on Saturday urged member countries to boost "growth-friendly" spending and said the Fund should explore new lending tools to help countries deal with slowing global growth. "Downside risks to the global economic outlook have increased since October, raising the possibility of a more generalized slowdown and a sudden pull-back of capital flows," the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) sai
  
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• Raul Castro rejects privatization, 'shock therapy' for Cuba

  16-04-2016 19:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Cuban President Raul Castro rejected rapid privatization and vowed never to pursue "shock therapy," setting the tone for a Communist Party congress reviewing progress in revamping the island's moribund Soviet-style economy. "Cuba will never permit the application of so-called shock therapies, which are frequently applied to the detriment of society's most humble classes," he said in a lengthy speech opening the congress, which takes place every five years and will stretch on for several days. Th
  
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• IMF statement calls for 'growth-friendly' spending

  16-04-2016 19:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The International Monetary Fund's steering committee on Saturday called on member countries to boost "growth-friendly" spending and said the Fund should explore new precautionary lending tools to help countries deal with slowing global economic growth. "Downside risks to the global economic outlook have increased since October, raising the possibility of a more generalized slowdown and a sudden pull-back of capital flows," the International Monetary and Financial Committee said in a statement is
  
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• Turkey and Iran seek closer economic cooperation

  16-04-2016 19:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey and Iran agreed Saturday to boost economic cooperation between their neighboring nations, aiming to triple their trade to reach $30 billion annually, Turkey's president said.
  
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• U.S. Treasury readies new tax rules as G20 vows to fight evasion

  16-04-2016 18:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department is finalizing new tax rules aimed at combating the use of shell companies to evade taxes, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Saturday amid increased pledges by global finance leaders to cooperate on tax issues. In a statement to the International Monetary Fund's steering committee, Lew said the Treasury was finalizing a rule that would require banks to identify the beneficial owners of new customers that are companies. "In
  
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• Bank of Canada pushes back on question of independence

  16-04-2016 18:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Andrea Hopkins WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz pushed back on Saturday at the suggestion the central bank had accepted economic assumptions from the Department of Finance without doing due diligence about Finance Minister Bill Morneau's budget. A bigger boost is expected from direct investment like infrastructure spending, and a smaller one from tax measures because of the uncertainty around consumer spending, Poloz explained.
  
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• Iran seeks EU leverage to get financial concessions from U.S.

  16-04-2016 18:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Julia Fioretti DUBAI/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Iran, seeking European leverage to secure better terms from the United States following last year's nuclear deal, asked the European Union to put pressure on Washington to let it into the global financial system. In a visit to Tehran by a high-powered EU team in which both sides spoke of a significant expansion in economic and energy ties, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed EU support for its bid to join th
  
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• EU, Iran pledge deeper ties after high-level EU visit to Tehran

  16-04-2016 13:44 via news.yahoo.com
  By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union said on Saturday it would support Iran's bid to join the World Trade Organization but it urged Tehran to refrain from further ballistic missile tests after the highest-level talks with Iran in more than a decade. Seeking to capitalize on last year's nuclear deal, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini led a team of seven European commissioners on a one-day trip to Tehran where they agreed to cooperate on everything from banking to ene
  
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• Nigeria has not applied for an IMF loan because it is "not sick" - finance minister

  16-04-2016 13:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Nigeria, which is going through its worst economic crisis in years, has not turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance because it is "not sick", its finance minister said. Africa's top oil exporter, which has the continent's biggest economy, has been hit hard by the fall in crude prices since oil sales account for around 70 percent of its income. The economy grew 2.8 percent last year, its slowest pace in decades, and in March annual inflation rose to a near four ye
  
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• New Ukraine finance minister wants wriggle room in IMF talks

  16-04-2016 13:11
  
  KIEV, April 16 (Reuters) - Ukraine could ask the
  International Monetary Fund to revise the criteria under which
  it disburses loans to Kiev, the new finance minister, Oleksandr
  Danyliuk, said in a...
  
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• UPDATE 12-Second deadly quake hits Japan, "race against time" to find survivors

  16-04-2016 13:06
  
  * Tsunami advisory lifted, bad weather forecast(Adds 422,000 households without water, heavy rain forecast,estimated economic damage, PM quote)
  
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• UPDATE 1-Iran pushes U.S. for more access to global financial system

  16-04-2016 12:28
  
  DUBAI, April 16 (Reuters) - Iran's main goal in its nuclear
  talks with world powers was to secure access to the global
  financial system, and the United States must now do more to
  remove obstacles to...
  
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• BRICS bank okays first loans, $811 mln for green energy -Russian media

  16-04-2016 12:01
  
  MOSCOW, April 16 (Reuters) - The New Development Bank (NDB),
  formed by the BRICS group of emerging nations, has approved its
  first loans - $811 million for renewable energy projects in
  Brazil, China,...
  
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• Russia may replace Eurobonds with domestic debt - news agencies

  16-04-2016 11:39
  MOSCOW, April 16 (Reuters) - Russia could raise debt
  domestically if it is not able to sell Eurobonds to foreign
  investors, news agencies quoted Finance Minister Anton Siluanov
  as saying on Saturday.
  
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• Liberia's president names new finance minister, central bank governor

  16-04-2016 11:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf named a new finance minister and central bank governor late on Friday, as the West African nation seeks to recover from a two-year Ebola outbreak. The epidemic, the world's worst on record, has killed more than 11,300 people across the region, more than 4,800 of them in Liberia. Boima Kamara, formerly the Central Bank's deputy governor for economic policy, was named minister of finance and development, replacing Amara Mohamed Konneh who will take up a po
  
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• UPDATE 2-Japan quakes disrupt Sony production of image sensors used in Apple iPhones

  16-04-2016 10:23
  
  TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) - Electronics giant Sony Corp
  said a factory producing image sensors for smartphone
  makers will remain closed while it assesses the damage from two
  deadly earthquakes which...
  
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• IMF reaches deal with Tunisia on $2.8 bln loan program

  16-04-2016 09:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Friday it has reached a tentative deal to assist Tunisia with a four-year loan program worth about $2.8 billion tied to economic reforms. In a statement, IMF Tunisia Mission Chief Amine Mati said the loan facility will support the Tunisian government's development goals of boosting growth, reducing vulnerabilities and fostering sustainable job creation. A Tunisian government official told Reuters in Tunis on Friday th
  
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• Russian FinMin: state firms should continue paying half of profit in divs - agencies

  16-04-2016 09:28
  MOSCOW, April 16 (Reuters) - Russian Finance Minister Anton
  Siluanov said on Saturday that it should be mandatory for state
  companies, without exceptions, to continue spending 50 percent
  of their...
  
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• UPDATE 10-Second deadly quake hits southern Japan, rescuers race against time

  16-04-2016 09:12
  
  * Tsunami advisory lifted, bad weather forecast(Adds survivor quote, updates toll)
  
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• Financial markets are calmer, but world economy faces risks

  16-04-2016 09:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The world economy is still sluggish. But at least markets are calmer and China's economic problems look more manageable than they did the last time the world's top finance officials met back in February.
  
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• Second deadly quake prolongs production halts in Japan's southern manufacturing hub

  16-04-2016 07:15
  TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) - Japanese companies including
  electronics giant Sony Corp and Honda Motor Coextended production halts on Saturday after a second powerful
  earthquake struck a key...
  
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• New AbbVie hepatitis C regimen shows high cure rates -studies

  16-04-2016 07:00
  
  April 16 (Reuters) - An experimental once-daily combination
  hepatitis C treatment being developed by AbbVie Incdemonstrated very high cure rates across a wide range of disease
  genotypes, according...
  
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• Sony to extend closure of image sensor plant in southern Japan

  16-04-2016 05:58
  TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) - Sony Corp said that it will
  extend the closure of its image sensor plant in southern Japan,
  which was hit again by a powerful earthquake early on Saturday.
  
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• Wall Street Weekahead: Investors look for trough in profit downturn

  16-04-2016 05:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - As earnings season shifts into high gear next week in what is expected to be the weakest U.S. quarterly results reporting period since 2009, the hope among some is that this is as bad as it's going to get. The U.S. earnings recession that began in the third quarter of 2015 is expected to continue until the second quarter, with profits slated to fall 2.2 percent - not as bad as the nearly 8 percent drop expected in the first quarter. Cautiously optimi
  
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• India says talks on Rafale jet deal in final stage

  16-04-2016 05:35
  
  NEW DELHI, April 16 (Reuters) - Negotiations for India to
  buy 36 French Rafale fighter jets are nearing the finish line,
  the Indian defence ministry said, with sources saying the price
  will be set at...
  
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• Australia Post looks to drones as letter volumes fall

  16-04-2016 05:18
  Melbourne, April 16 (Reuters) - Australia Post has
  successfully field-trialled the use of drones to deliver small
  packages, clearing the way for test deliveries to customer homes
  later this year.
  
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• UPDATE 4-Raucous Rousseff impeachment process begins in Brazil

  16-04-2016 03:00
  
  BRASILIA, April 15 (Reuters) - Pro-impeachment lawmakers
  chanted "Dilma Out" in the lower house of Brazil's Congress on
  Friday, as it opened a raucous three-day debate on whether to
  impeach President...
  
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• UPDATE 1-Carnival expects Cuba to allow Cuban-Americans on inaugural cruise

  16-04-2016 02:59
  HAVANA, April 15 (Reuters) - Cruise company Carnival
  Corporation believes Cuba will soon modify rules that bar
  Cuban-Americans from travelling on its planned cruises to the
  island, the company said...
  
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• WRAPUP 4-G20 worried by 'modest' global growth, commodities weakness

  16-04-2016 01:39
  
  WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - Financial leaders from the
  Group of 20 nations said on Friday they were heartened by a
  recent recovery in financial markets, but warned that global
  growth was "modest...
  
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• UPDATE 5-Canada gov't, Bombardier still far apart in aid talks - sources

  16-04-2016 01:29
  MONTREAL/OTTAWA, April 15 (Reuters) - Canada's Liberal
  government and Bombardier Inc are still not close to
  reaching a deal on aid for the struggling manufacturer, making
  an agreement before its...
  
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• SunEdison to file for bankruptcy as early as Sunday night - source

  16-04-2016 01:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Solar energy company SunEdison Inc is preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as the evening of April 17, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, nine months after its market value had reached $10 billion. A SunEdison spokesman declined to comment. Such a move would represent a fall from grace for the former darling of Wall Street and the renewable energy sector, whose rapid, debt-fuelled expansion with solar and wind energy plants around the world proved unsustainable.
  
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• UPDATE 5-SunEdison to file for bankruptcy as early as Sunday night -source

  16-04-2016 01:24
  
  April 15 (Reuters) - Solar energy company SunEdison Inc
  is preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as the
  evening of April 17, a person familiar with the matter said on
  Friday, nine months after...
  
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• UPDATE 1-Bank of Canada's Poloz more optimistic about global economy

  16-04-2016 00:45
  
  WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor
  Stephen Poloz said on Friday he was more encouraged about the
  state of the global economy after hearing from his G20
  colleagues at the spring...
  
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• U.S. Treasury's Lew says no one-size-fits-all approach to growth

  16-04-2016 00:35
  
  WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary
  Jack Lew said on Friday that there was not a "one-size-fits-all"
  approach for G20 members to boost their economic growth, saying
  that each...
  
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• Puerto Rico rescue falters under attack by conservatives, investors

  16-04-2016 00:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Patrick Rucker and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An aggressive advertising and lobbying campaign by conservative activists and financial interests this week stalled a plan in the U.S. Congress to rescue Puerto Rico from crippling debt, while lawmakers adjourned on Friday with no clear path forward. As its economy reels and basic services are threatened, the U.S. island territory is pleading for help from Washington, but lawmakers have been unable to formulate a response, or even estima
  
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• Argentina, IMF restore regular checkups after decade

  16-04-2016 00:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Argentina will resume annual fiscal checkups with the International Monetary Fund this year after a 10-year hiatus, an IMF official said Friday. Ties between the two hit rock-bottom when the IMF censured Buenos Aires in 2013 for not meeting an IMF requirement that members must provide reliable, basic economic statistics. "It looks like we are going to go for two weeks in September," said Nigel Chalk, the Fund's deputy director for the Americas.
  
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• UPDATE 4-Citigroup's first-quarter results suggest tough year ahead

  16-04-2016 00:08
  
  * Profit $1.10/share vs estimate of $1.03(Changes headline, adds comments from conference call and
  analysts, updates stock price and other details throughout)
  
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• BRIEF-S&P - The Commonwealth of The Bahamas 'BBB-/A-3' ratings affirmed

  16-04-2016 00:08
  * The commonwealth of the Bahamas 'BBB-/A-3' ratings
  affirmed; outlook remains negative
  
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• Bank of Canada's Poloz more optimistic about global economy

  16-04-2016 00:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said on Friday he was more encouraged about the state of the global economy after hearing from his G20 colleagues at the spring meeting of the group than he was heading into the discussions. Poloz had said earlier in the week that weaker global growth was one of the biggest downside risks to Canada's export-driven economy as the central bank held its key overnight rate steady amid a prolonged slump in the nation's key energy sector. (R
  
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