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World War Two battleship USS Iowa sets off on final voyage

Sun, 27 May 2012 08:17:21 +0530

RICHMOND, California (Reuters) - The battleship USS Iowa, which served the United States through victory and tragedy during six decades at sea, set off on its final voyage on Saturday, a trip to Los Angeles to become a museum. With a cheer, volunteers in hard hats cast off the last of a dozen thick lines that had moored the 175-foot-tall (53 meters) gray dreadnought in the Port of Richmond. Then it slipped slowly into the San Francisco Bay, towering over the three tugboats that pulled it. Throngs of onlookers gathered as the ship sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge. ...

China's new privatisation plan faces push-back risk

Sat, 26 May 2012 22:43:36 +0530

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new push to open state controlled industries may look bold after a decade of stuttering privatisation progress, but Beijing faces stiff resistance from vested interests in its effort to extend its World Trade Organisation dividend. Beijing's leaders, its top think-tanks, the World Bank and private sector economists all largely agree that for China to build on reform-fired growth after its first decade of WTO membership, state firms must be more competitive and capital better allocated. ...

Spain's Bankia eyes stake sales after record bailout

Sat, 26 May 2012 21:54:09 +0530

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's fourth biggest lender, Bankia, on Saturday prepared to sell stakes it holds in companies to meet European competition rules after a state rescue that has so far cost 23.5 billion euros. Bankia's parent company BFA asked for a higher-than-expected 19 billion euros in government help on Friday, in addition to 4.5 billion the state has already pumped in, to cover possible losses on repossessed property, loans and investments. ...

S&P cuts ratings on five Spanish banks

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:35:53 +0530

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut the ratings on five Spanish banks on Friday, another blow to the country's ailing banking sector as the nation's deteriorating finances rattle global investors. But S&P left unchanged its ratings on the country's two biggest banks, Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria. The Standard & Poor's ratings actions come about a week after Moody's Investors Service carried out a sweeping downgrade of Spain's banks, pointing to the government's weakened ability to support lenders. ...

GLOBAL MARKETS WEEKAHEAD - Summer of discontent beckons

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:10:56 +0530

LONDON (Reuters) - The late spring warmth spreading across Europe and the United States is unlikely to soothe a growing anxiety in financial markets that the global outlook is anything but balmy. An escalating euro zone crisis and weak data from China and Europe have turned investment flows ever more firmly toward safe-haven assets, mainly in the U.S., and away from anything with a hint of risk - a trend that is firmly entrenched. In the coming week investors find out if the list of current concerns extends to the health of the giant U.S. ...

China's new privatisation plan faces push-back risk

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:08:43 +0530

Eurozone governments ponder Greek exit contingency

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:27:46 +0530

ROME/HELSINKI (Reuters) - At least half of euro zone governments as well as banks and large companies are making contingency plans in case Greece decides to leave the single currency area, even though the preferred option is still for Athens to keep the euro. Italy's Deputy Economy Minister Vittorio Grilli said his country was ready for such a possibility, if Greek voters on June 17 give power to parties that reject reforms agreed with the EU and IMF in exchange for emergency loans. ...

Greece gives goose bumps

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:30:00 +0530

Earlier today, Asian stocks ended lower ahead of the meeting of the European leaders. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong finished lower up to 2 per cent. European stocks were also trading lower in their early trade. Key indices in France, Germany and London were down between 1.83 per cent and 2.03 per cent.

China factory data signals weak first-half growth

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:34:39 +0530

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factories faltered in May as export orders fell to two month lows, a private sector survey showed on Thursday, suggesting surprise weakness in April's hard economic data persists even as policymakers seek to shore up growth. The HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index, the earliest indicator of China's industrial sector, retreated to 48.7 in May from a final reading of 49.3 in April. It marked the seventh straight month that the index has been below 50, indicating contracting economic activity. ...

New euro bailout fund may not have enough staff

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:23:35 +0530

BERLIN (Reuters) - An external consulting firm charged with evaluating the structure of Europe's new permanent rescue facility has raised questions about whether it will have enough staff to function effectively, according to documents seen by Reuters. In a May 12 letter addressed to Klaus Regling, the head of the bloc's temporary rescue fund, partners at A.T. Kearney warn that the approved staff of 75 for the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) may prove "too small" if the debt crisis rumbles on for several years. ...

EXCLUSIVE - New euro bailout fund may not have sufficient staff

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:45:12 +0530

First regional bank opens in Tibet

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:22:59 +0530

Lhasa, May 22 (Xinhua-ANI): The first regional bank of Tibet opened its doors for business Tuesday, and will focus on making it easier for small- and medium-businesses obtain loans and generally hopes to improve financial services in the region.

Tata Comm Q4 consolidated loss widens

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:01:47 +0530

REUTERS - Tata Communications reported a wider fourth-quarter consolidated loss, hit by higher costs and dragged by its South African unit, keeping the international telecoms carrier in the red for the third straight year. The company, one of the world's biggest undersea cable network owners, said consolidated net loss rose to 2.61 billion rupees for the three months ended March from 1.57 billion rupees a year earlier. Total income rose to 40.15 billion rupees from 31.46 billion. For the fiscal year, consolidated net loss rose to 7.95 billion rupees from 7. ...

Steps taken by India to support rupee

Tue, 22 May 2012 15:27:58 +0530

REUTERS - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced further measures on Monday to curb speculative trading in the foreign exchange market, but the move failed to halt the rupee's slide to another record low. The administrative measures, in addition to directly selling dollars by the central bank in the market, are seen as inadequate to defend the rupee that is pressured by dwindling capital inflows and widening current deficit. The rupee has slumped more than 11 percent since the start of March, making it the worst performing currency in emerging markets. ...

JPMorgan stops stock buybacks, maintains dividend

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:25:14 +0530

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon took another step that showed humility and caution in the wake of a stunning $2 billion loss, or more, on derivatives by announcing on Monday that the company will quit spending capital on stock buybacks. The company will suspend for now a $15 billion share repurchase plan that Federal Reserve regulators had just approved in March after running stress tests on the bank's capital, Dimon said at an investor conference. ...

G8 growth talk leaves wary markets awaiting action

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:33:47 +0530

REUTERS - A pledge by leaders of industrialized nations to help the troubled world economy is unlikely to herald quick new action by Europe on its debt crisis, meaning more uncertainty for nervous financial markets. The Group of Eight economies stressed on Saturday that their "imperative is to promote growth and jobs", as they also recognized problems among European banks and gave verbal backing for Greece to stay in the euro. Still, despite U.S. calls for immediate moves to boost growth, no sign emerged that Germany would soften its stance on austerity as the cure for Europe's debt problems. ...

G8 backs Greece, vows to combat financial turmoil

Sun, 20 May 2012 08:56:24 +0530

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone on Saturday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis. A summit of the G8 leading industrialized nations came down solidly in favor of a push to balance European austerity - an approach long driven by German Chancellor Angela Merkel - with a new dose of U.S.-style stimulus seen as vital to healing ailing euro-zone economies. But it was clear that divisions remained. ...

World leaders vow to combat financial turmoil

Sat, 19 May 2012 22:59:13 +0530

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone on Saturday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing their economies, which are increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis. In a bold statement of support for Europe, the Group of Eight leaders of the world's major economies meeting at the wooded Camp David in the Cactoctin Mountains of Maryland said the global economic recovery shows promising signs but "significant headwinds persist. ...

Europe's economic woes dominate G8 gathering

Sat, 19 May 2012 22:19:36 +0530

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama pledged at a Group of Eight summit on Saturday to work with Europe to balance growth with debt reduction as world leaders try to prevent the worsening euro zone crisis from destabilizing the global economy. At the wooded Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, Obama and leaders from other major economic powers are seeking ways to soothe financial markets after worries about Spain's banking problems and the risk of a Greek exit from the euro zone sent world stocks to their lowest levels this year. ...

Greek exit could cost euro zone billions of euros

Sat, 19 May 2012 19:19:40 +0530

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A Greek exit from the euro zone could expose the European Central Bank and the currency bloc it seeks to protect to hundreds of billions of euros in losses, landing Germany and its partners with a crippling bill. A Greek departure would take Europe into uncharted legal waters. The size of the burden other euro zone states could bear gives them a powerful incentive to keep Greece in the currency club. ...

Top executives of PSU banks are outside service rules

Sat, 19 May 2012 17:36:49 +0530

Chennai, May 19 (IANS) The country's top civil servants are subject to service/conduct/disciplinary rules, but top honchos of government-owned banks are not.

SBI delivers a scorcher

Sat, 19 May 2012 05:30:00 +0530

"Now that the government's equity contribution has come in and has been accounted for, we'll go back to the credit rating agency for a reassessment of the SBI's rating," Chaudhuri said.

Banks' rising bad loans add to Spanish troubles

Sat, 19 May 2012 03:32:49 +0530

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish banks' bad loans rose in March to their highest in 18 years, underscoring the problems facing the government as it drafts in independent auditors in an attempt to reassure investors it can clean up the sector. The Bank of Spain said bad loans rose to 8.37 percent of banks' outstanding loans, the highest since August 1994 and up from 8.3 percent in February, which was also revised higher. The data was released before Spain names auditors on Monday to assess how bad the losses are likely to get, and how much cash banks will need to rebuild their balance sheets. ...

World stocks erase year's gain; Brent at 2012 low

Sat, 19 May 2012 03:00:12 +0530

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stocks erased the year's gains o n Friday as investors fled risky investments for safe-haven assets on concerns about the euro zone's deepening debt woes, while U.S. stocks lost ground after the debut of Facebook's failed to ignite optimism. Brent crude closed at its lowest in 2012 as the euro zone crisis raised fears of a global slowdown that could dent oil demand, while German borrowing costs hit record lows. World stocks, as measured by the MSCI index, dropped 1. ...

Europe thinks the unthinkable on Greece

Sat, 19 May 2012 02:07:55 +0530

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - European officials are working on contingency plans in case Greece bombs out of the euro zone, the EU's trade commissioner said on Friday, as European share prices tumbled and Germany warned of continuing financial turmoil. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, one of Greece's harsher critics, said market unrest fuelled by the euro zone debt crisis could last another year or two. "Regarding the crisis of confidence in the euro ... in 12 to 24 months we will see a calming of the financial markets," he said. ...

SBI annual net profit surges nearly 42 percent

Fri, 18 May 2012 20:09:28 +0530

Kolkata/Mumbai, May 18 (IANS) India's biggest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI), Friday reported a 41.66 percent rise in net profit year-on-year to Rs.11,707 crore in 2011-12 fiscal from Rs.8,265 crore in 2010-11.

SBI winning the war on bad loans; Q4 net jumps

Fri, 18 May 2012 20:07:01 +0530

KOLKATA (Reuters) - State Bank of India, the country's top lender, reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter net profit and expects asset quality to improve further as it focuses on restructuring some corporate debt and boosts credit recovery mechanisms. The state-run bank, which posted record profit in the March quarter, expects growth of 16 percent to 18 percent in loan demand in the fiscal year that started April 1, chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said. Indian banks are seeing a surge in restructuring of company loans as slowing economic growth hits borrowers' ability to repay debts. ...

Europe thinks the unthinkable on Greece

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:55:52 +0530

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - European officials are working on contingency plans in case Greece bombs out of the euro zone, the EU's trade commissioner said on Friday, while Berlin said it was prepared for all eventualities. European shares were on course for their steepest weekly decline since November and are now in the red for the year, spooked by the prospect of a Greek euro exit sparking a wave of contagion in the currency bloc which could engulf much larger economies such as Spain's. ...

Suzlon seeks more time for foreign bond repayment

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:43:53 +0530

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Suzlon Energy is seeking up to 45 more days from bondholders to repay foreign currency bonds maturing in June while it works on raising as much as $300 million in loans, the wind turbine maker said on Friday. Suzlon, the world's fifth-largest wind manufacturer by cumulative installed capacity, needs to repay $360 million of foreign currency convertible bonds in June and $207 million due in October. Suzlon's foreign currency bonds maturing this year have conversion prices of 76.68 rupees and 97.26 rupees per share, well above the current price Of 20. ...

BSE Sensex gains on SBI earnings, bucks Asian falls

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:18:34 +0530

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex recovered from its lowest intraday level since January 9 to gain on Friday after stronger-than-expected earnings from State Bank of India relieved concerns about non-performing assets and credit growth in the lending sector. The earnings from India's biggest bank offset a day of continued global risk aversion that pummelled Asian shares, but were not enough to prevent the BSE index from posting its fourth consecutive weekly loss. ...

Greek threat pushes world stocks into red for year

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:01:46 +0530

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares slid and German borrowing costs hit record lows on Friday as a deepening Spanish banking crisis, uncertainty about Greece's future in the euro zone and lacklustre U.S. data bolstered safe-haven assets. World stocks, as measured by the MSCI index, dropped 0.7 percent and are now below where they began the year, having relinquished all the first-quarter gains fuelled by the European Central Bank's injection of more than a trillion euros of three-year money. That rally is now a distant memory as an ugly week for stock markets looked likely to end even uglier. ...

SBI to pitch to Moody's for upgrade

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:37:44 +0530

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - State Bank of India, the country's biggest lender, plans to pitch to Moody's Investors Services for a ratings upgrade, Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said. The bank was downgraded by ratings agency Moody's in October because of its thin capital base and worsening asset quality. The bank posted better-than-expected net profit for the quarter ended March 31, helped by a drop in provisions for bad loans, earlier on Friday. (Reporting by Swati Pandey)

SBI sees 16-18 pct loan growth in fiscal 2013

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:18:34 +0530

KOLKATA (Reuters) - State Bank of India , the country's top lender, expects a growth of 16 percent to 18 percent in credit demand in the fiscal year that started on April 1, its chairman said on Friday. The state-run bank does not see a sharp deterioration in its asset quality, Pratip Chaudhuri told reporters, after it posted better-than-expected net profit for the quarter ended March 31, helped by a drop in provisions for bad loans. (Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)

SBI quarterly profit soars to Rs.4,050 crore

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:02:07 +0530

Mumbai, May 18 (IANS) The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) Friday reported a massive hike in net profit at Rs.4,050 crore for the quarter ended March 31 on account of decline in provisions of bad loans and strong credit demand.

Rupee slide continues

Fri, 18 May 2012 05:30:00 +0530

In the past, the central bank has sold dollars at the reference rate it sets every morning to the oil refiners as a way to tamp down on the demand for dollars in the market. It could very well do this again if the rupee continued to flounder.

China cries foul after U.S. sets tariffs on solar imports

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:25:26 +0530

REUTERS - The United States imposed punitive tariffs on solar panel imports from China, the latest in a series of trade disputes between the world's two biggest economies and sparking accusations by Beijing of protectionism. The new tariffs of 30 percent, much bigger than had been expected, were set on Thursday by the U.S. Commerce Department after it ruled in favour of local firms which said the Chinese exporters were dumping cut-price solar panels on their market. ...

Spain to kick off banking sector audit

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:07:56 +0530

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain, under pressure from the European Union to accelerate its bank clean-up, will name independent auditors on Friday to probe bad loans and property holdings in the financial sector and determine how big a state bailout is needed. The Spanish government has also hired Goldman Sachs to carry out an independent valuation of Bankia, the ailing bank taken over by the state last week, Spanish newspaper Expansion said. A spokeswoman for the economy ministry had no immediate comment. ...

BSE Sensex recovers after SBI earnings

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:01:38 +0530

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex sharply cut earlier losses to edge higher on Friday after better-than-expected earnings from State Bank of India relieved concerns about non-performing loans and credit growth in the lending sector. The benchmark BSE index rose 0.25 percent, recovering from an earlier fall of as much as 1.6 percent. The 50-share NSE index gained 0.27 percent. SBI shares rose 3.3 percent after India's biggest lender reported net profit surged from a year earlier on the back of a sharp drop in provisions for bad loans and strong credit demand. The NSE bank index rose 1. ...

Euro zone fears propel dollar, shares in red for year

Fri, 18 May 2012 13:54:00 +0530

LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar climbed, world shares fell and German borrowing costs hit record lows on Friday as a deepening Spanish banking crisis, uncertainty about Greece's future in the euro zone and lacklustre U.S. data provoked a rush for safe-haven assets. World stocks, as measured by the MSCI index, dropped 0.85 percent and are now below where they began the year, having relinquished all their first quarter gains which were fuelled by the European Central Bank's creation of more than a trillion euros of three-year money. ...

Spain beset by bank crisis, downgrades, bond pressure

Fri, 18 May 2012 09:32:41 +0530

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's borrowing costs shot up at a bond auction on Thursday and its troubled banks suffered a double blow, with shares in part-nationalised Bankia diving and 16 lenders - including the euro zone's biggest - having their credit ratings cut. Official data confirmed Spain was back in recession and a newspaper reported a big outflow of deposits from Bankia, but the government said it had taken a fundamental step to strengthen Spain's credibility by agreeing big budget cuts with the country's free-spending regions. ...