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CBRC Tells Banks to Limit Investment in Local Government Bonds | By Bloomberg News | 2013-08-28T06:54:42Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/cbrc-tells-banks-to-limit-investment-in-local-government-bonds.html | 8 | 28 | 6ffc89df743a2d071260a981b58b54dd3d18832f | China’s banking regulator told
lenders to be “cautious” when investing in bonds issued by
local government financing vehicles as policy makers seek to
rein in local borrowing. The China Banking Regulatory Commission has capped at
end-2012 levels LGFV loans by banks, which are banned from
providing guarantees to the entities’ bonds, Cao Guoqiang, Vice
President of China Citic Bank Corp. (998) , said at a teleconference. Total local government debt may have risen 13 percent over
two years to 12.1 trillion yuan ($1.98 trillion) as of December
2012, Moody’s Corp. estimated in June, citing a National Audit
Office review. That adds to risks that the central government
will be forced to bail out local authorities. Banks had advanced
9.7 trillion yuan of loans to these financing vehicles as of
June 30, according to the banking regulator. Local governments set up more than 10,000 so-called LGFVs
to fund projects such as roads, sewage plants and subways after
they were barred from directly selling bonds under a 1994 budget
law. Former Finance Minister Xiang Huaicheng said April 6 that
local governments’ combined debt may have exceeded 20 trillion
yuan . A 4 trillion-yuan stimulus plan during the 2008-09
financial crisis swelled loans to companies, which they roll
over or refinance with note sales. The National Development and Reform Commission’s provincial
branches will take charge of preliminary reviews of bond sales
by unlisted companies, the China Securities Journal reported
today. The so-called “enterprise bonds” are overwhelmingly
from local-government financing vehicles, the report said. The NDRC in April ordered greater scrutiny of debt sale
applications from some LGFVs with credit ratings below AA+,
according to a May 22 statement . The agency issued a separate
notice in the same month to carry out a nationwide financial
inspection of enterprises that have filed bond sale
applications. To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Chitra Somayaji at
[email protected] ;
Katrina Nicholas at
[email protected] | 2013 | cbrc-tells-banks-to-limit-investment-in-local-government-bonds |
Danske Bank Trading Gain Provokes Regulator Reprimand | By Frances Schwartzkopff | 2013-08-29T10:21:28Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/danske-says-huge-trading-gain-provokes-value-at-risk-reprimand.html
Danske Bank A/S (DANSKE) said the financial
regulator decided to reprimand Denmark’s biggest bank over its
risk controls because of a surge in revenue at its trading unit. Net trading income climbed 34 percent from 2007 to 10.6
billion kroner ($1.9 billion) last year, according to the
Copenhagen-based bank. Income from trading grew 21 percent last
quarter from the first three months of 2013, Danske said Aug. 1.
After net interest income, revenue from trading securities made
the biggest contribution to Danske’s total income last year. “We can see that we have had huge profits in our market
activities that would spark interest in how we manage our market
risks,” Peter Rostrup-Nielsen, Danske’s chief risk officer,
said in an interview. The Financial Supervisory Authority said this week that
Danske, whose assets are almost twice Denmark’s gross domestic
product, needs to improve the transparency around its value-at-risk models | 8 | 28 | fa2ad6d1ddaa4d05b58526a1b341f232 | within a given time frame. The reprimand follows questions in
the U.S. about the ability of VaR to predict risks after
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) failed to prevent a $6.2 billion trading
loss. Danske Bank “has had in a few short years very large
profits from activities with a market risk, also in comparison
to peers,” the FSA said on Aug. 27. “The bank shall ensure
that the validation of models of market risk are sufficiently
independent of the models’ development.” ‘Attracts Attention’ Danske has “had significant income in our trading area,
but that does not necessarily mean that it was driven by taking
excessive risks,” Rostrup-Nielsen said. “We don’t feel that is
the case. But of course it attracts attention to see whether our
risk management is appropriate.” The financial regulator’s reprimand follows an order in
June that Danske add $18 billion to its risk-weighted assets
amid concern the bank was understating its credit risks. Danske, identified by a government panel as one of
Denmark ’s too-big-to-fail banks in March, reported a 46 percent
jump in second-quarter net income earlier this month as
impairments dropped by almost half. The bank said its solvency
need was 11.3 percent, up from 11 percent three months earlier. The Copenhagen-based agency told Danske to improve its
market risk controls after reviewing a study on the bank’s risk
management systems. The review was paid for by Danske after
being requested by Denmark’s 14-member Financial Council, which
advises the FSA on key cases. The FSA said it received the
analysis, conducted by the consulting firm Oliver Wyman, on June
18. Mirroring Reality The review, which was supposed to determine whether Danske
had taken on more risk than it budgeted for and whether its
assessments mirrored reality, found Danske’s systems were
generally adequate, with areas for improvement, the FSA said. Regulators across the globe have been taking a closer look
at how institutions use VaR after JPMorgan trader Bruno Iksil,
nicknamed the London Whale, took positions that grew too large
for him to unwind without incurring billions in losses. When Iksil ran up against a VaR cap, rather than curb his
trading, JPMorgan changed its model, according to documents
compiled by the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, which earlier this year concluded a nine-month
review. The bank’s shares plunged and its chief investment
officer was fired. JPMorgan-Style Danske’s implementation of VaR, the safeguards the bank
already has in place, and products traders deal rule out the
possibility of a JPMorgan-style loss, Rostrup-Nielsen said. “We don’t have the profit-loss part of the organization
managing their own risks,” he said. Danske does “more plain
vanilla business,” trading conventional products such as
interest rates and foreign currencies, and as a result, “it is
much more transparent what the risks are,” he said. Danske’s daily VaR averaged 235 million kroner in the
second quarter, the highest level in a year, the bank said
earlier this month. Rostrup-Nielsen declined to disclose what
the bank’s VaR budget is, saying the figure isn’t public. Trading income “has been fairly high at times throughout
the financial crisis because spreads have been wider and
activity levels have been higher, so trading conditions in some
aspects have been better,” Rostrup-Nielsen said. “If you look
at the risk numbers, they have been fairly stable throughout so
it hasn’t been a result of us taking a one-sided bet on the
market.” Tougher Oversight The FSA has toughened its oversight of the financial
industry since Denmark’s property bubble burst in 2008. Spar
Nord Bank A/S (SPNO) said today an inspection found Denmark’s fourth-biggest listed lender had correctly stated losses. Similar
inspections at smaller community banks since last year led the
regulator to conclude bad loans were big enough in some cases to
wipe out equity. Toender Bank A/S, a regional lender close to
the German border, was declared insolvent after a November
inspection. Danske said it will hire an external consultant to review
its VaR models. It has already boosted capital by 300 million
kroner as a buffer against potential losses from credit spreads. “There is nothing there that is too surprising,” Rostrup-Nielsen said. “In some areas, we were already making
progress.” To contact the reporter on this story:
Frances Schwartzkopff in Copenhagen at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Tasneem Brogger at
[email protected]
Christian Wienberg at
[email protected] | 2013 | danske-says-huge-trading-gain-provokes-value-at-risk-reprimand |
Treasuries Decline Before 5-Year Auction as Allies Meet on Syria | By Susanne Walker | 2013-08-28T16:00:54Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/treasuries-hold-4-day-gain-as-syria-conflict-fuels-refuge-demand.html | 8 | 28 | c7f75498e19e4af1a31710b18c6ed690 | Treasuries fell, with five-year
notes halting a three-day advance, before the U.S. sells $35
billion of the securities as investors awaited a decision from
the U.S. and its allies about military action against Syria . Benchmark 10-year yields climbed from the lowest level in
almost two weeks before a government report tomorrow forecast to
show the economy grew more last quarter than previously
estimated, backing the case for the Federal Reserve to slow
monetary stimulus. Treasuries have gained this week as
speculation that the U.S. and its allies will take military
action in reaction to a suspected chemical attack by Syria. “Without any type of action in the Middle East , it gives
the market a little bit of breath from a flight-to-quality
bid,” said Jason Rogan, managing director of U.S. government
trading at Guggenheim Securities LLC, a New York-based brokerage
for institutional investors. “There’s a little bit of a selloff
in front of supply.” The U.S. five-year yield rose five basis points, or 0.05
percentage point, to 1.57 percent at 11:58 a.m. in New York
after dropping 16 basis points during the previous three days,
according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The 1.375 percent
note maturing in July 2018 fell 1/4, or $2.50 per $1,000 face
value, to 99 2/32. Benchmark Yield The 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 2.76 percent
after falling to 2.70 percent, the lowest since Aug. 15. Treasuries have lost 3.1 percent this year, including 0.5
percent in the past month through yesterday, according to the
Bloomberg World Bond Indexes. (BUSY) The five-year notes being sold today yielded 1.61 percent
in pre-auction trading, compared with 1.41 percent at the
previous sale on July 24. The bid-to-cover ratio , which gauges
demand by comparing total bids with the amount of securities
offered, was 2.46 last month, compared with an average of 2.8
for the previous 10 sales. “We needed a little bit of a concession to get the five-year into a decent area,” said Michael Franzese , senior vice
president of fixed-income trading at ED&F Man Capital Markets in
New York. “The auctions will go fine with the pullback.” The Treasury will auction $29 billion of seven-year debt
tomorrow after selling $34 billion of two-year notes yesterday. The two-year auction drew a yield of 0.386 percent,
compared with a forecast of 0.39 percent in a Bloomberg News
survey of seven of the Fed’s 21 primary dealers. The bid-to-cover ratio rose to 3.21, the highest since April. Allied Discussions Treasuries rose yesterday amid speculation the U.S., France
and Britain are moving closer to military action against Syria
after the nation’s government allegedly used chemical weapons. A
United Nations team is on the ground to gather evidence to
establish use of chemical warfare, Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon
said today. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government has
denied the use of chemical weapons. The U.K. is drafting a United Nations resolution to condemn
last week’s suspected chemical attack. U.K. Prime Minister David
Cameron said today the UN resolution would authorize action to
protect civilians in Syria. Treasury 10-year note yields dropped 11 basis points in the
two days ending yesterday on Syria’s crisis. U.S. 10-year
securities yielded 27 basis points more than bonds in an index
of Group of Seven debt, down from 42 basis points more on Aug.
21, the most since May 2010, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg based on closing prices. The U.S. central bank today purchased $3.3 billion of notes
maturing from August 2021 to August 2023, according to the New
York Fed’s website. Debate about when policy makers will taper
$85 billion in monthly bond buying has roiled financial markets
around the world in the past three months and sparked a selloff
in fixed-income assets. Gross domestic product grew at a 2.2 percent annualized
rate in the second quarter, compared with an initial estimate of
1.7 percent released July 31, according a Bloomberg survey
before tomorrow’s Commerce Department report. To contact the reporter on this story:
Susanne Walker in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dave Liedtka at
[email protected] | 2013 | reasuries-hold-4-day-gain-as-syria-conflict-fuels-refuge-demand |
WTI at Two-Year High on Concern Syria Unrest Will Spread | By Lananh Nguyen and Ben Sharples | 2013-08-28T12:33:38Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/wti-crude-gains-a-second-day-after-surging-to-2012-high-on-syria.html | 8 | 28 | a46c7868fc434b35a5d270f41cf2e6a5 | West Texas Intermediate crude surged
to the highest level since May 2011 on concern that conflict in
Syria may spread and threaten oil supplies from the Middle East.
Brent climbed to a six-month high in London. Futures gained as much as 3 percent in New York, while
gasoline extended its biggest jump in six weeks. The U.S.,
France and Britain moved closer to a military strike as they
laid the legal groundwork to justify action after Syria
allegedly used chemical weapons. Brent may rise to $150 a
barrel, from about $116 today, if conflict disrupts supply,
Societe Generale SA (GLE) said. Libya said output may have dropped
below 200,000 barrels a day, the lowest since the 2011 uprising
against Muammar Qaddafi. “The geopolitical risk in Syria continues to dominate the
market,” said Myrto Sokou, an analyst in London at Sucden
Financial Ltd., a commodities broker. “We expect the recent
upside rally in the oil market to continue” amid the potential
for Middle Eastern supply disruptions, she said in an e-mailed
note today. WTI for October delivery rose as much as $3.23 to $112.24 a
barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile
Exchange, the highest intraday price since May 3, 2011. It was
at $110.36 at 1:06 p.m. London time. The volume of all futures
traded more than twice the 100-day average. The contract
increased $3.09 to $109.01 yesterday, the highest close since
Feb. 24 last year. Prices are up about 20 percent in 2013. Syria Fears Brent for October settlement advanced as much as $2.98, or
2.6 percent, to $117.34 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures
Europe exchange after settling yesterday at the highest since
Feb. 25. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $5.34
to WTI from $5.35 yesterday. Gasoline for September rose as much as 6.92 cents, or 2.3
percent, to $3.1033 on the Nymex after an increase of 2.8
percent yesterday that was the biggest since July 12. The prospect of conflict is causing oil and U.S. equities
to move in opposite directions by the most in almost two years.
While WTI rallied 2.9 percent yesterday, the Standard & Poor’s
500 Index (SPX) slid 1.6 percent, resulting in a 4.5 percentage-point
divergence that was the widest since November 2011, data
compiled by Bloomberg show. WTI call options surged as futures rallied, with the
implied volatility of October calls protecting against a 10
percent rise in futures prices jumping to 34.84 percent at 1:08
p.m. from 21.70 on Aug. 26. Brent ’Spike’ Brent may “spike briefly” to $150 a barrel if the
conflict in Syria spreads to other parts of the Middle East,
causing supply cuts, Societe Generale said in a report e-mailed
today. A U.S.-led attack on Syria is possible within the next
week, the bank predicted. Brent traded at $147.50 on July 11,
2008, the highest intraday price on record. “The concern is that an attack on Syria will reverberate
through the region, increasing the spillover into other
countries and possibly resulting in a larger supply disruption
elsewhere,” said Michael Wittner , Societe Generale’s head of
oil market research in New York. Even if flows aren’t disrupted,
prices may climb to as high as $125 in coming days, he said. Any armed response against Syria would focus narrowly on
the nation’s weapons capabilities and wouldn’t aim at deposing
President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. and U.K. officials said. The
Middle East accounted for 35 percent of global oil output in the
first quarter of this year, according to data from the
International Energy Agency. Libya Output “The market is really getting nervous,” analysts led by
David Wech at JBC Energy GmbH, a researcher in Vienna, said in a
note today. “The rhetoric emerging from key figures yesterday,
and the evident mobilisation of assets in the Eastern
Mediterranean region, would suggest that action of some kind is
imminent.” Libya’s oil production fell to one-eighth of its capacity
as protests over pay and allegations of corruption spread to
fields operated by Eni SpA (ENI) and Repsol SA, according to officials
at National Oil Corp. Brent’s rally may stall as a technical indicator shows
futures may be rising too quickly for further gains to be
sustainable. The 14-day relative strength index yesterday surged
above 70 for the first time since February, signaling the market
is overbought, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Today’s
reading is higher than 75. Gasoline Inventories U.S. gasoline inventories declined by 1.13 million barrels
in the week ended Aug. 23, the industry-funded American
Petroleum Institute said yesterday. An Energy Information
Administration report today may show supplies slid by 1.38
million, according to the median estimate of 12 analysts
surveyed by Bloomberg News. Crude stockpiles increased 2.47 million barrels, the API
said. The EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm, will
probably report a gain of 750,000 barrels, the survey shows. The API in Washington collects supply information on a
voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and
pipelines. The government requires that reports be filed with
the EIA for its weekly survey. Hedge funds had cut bullish bets on WTI in the week to Aug.
20, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on
Aug. 23. Funds and other speculators had boosted bullish bets on
Brent in the same period, data from the ICE Futures Europe
showed on Aug. 26. To contact the reporters on this story:
Lananh Nguyen in London at
[email protected] ;
Ben Sharples in Melbourne at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at
[email protected] | 2013 | wti-crude-gains-a-second-day-after-surging-to-2012-high-on-syria |
Sirius Investors Shortchanged Over Liberty, Lawyer Says | By Jef Feeley | 2013-08-28T17:40:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/sirius-investors-shortchanged-over-liberty-lawyer-says.html | 8 | 28 | 3e2dfbf76d2145609ebeaffbcc29dda9 | Billionaire John Malone unfairly
used an investment agreement to acquire control of Sirius XM
Radio (SIRI) Inc. without paying a takeover premium or allowing
investors to vote on the deal, a lawyer for shareholders said. Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. (LMCA) structured a $530 million
investment in the satellite-radio provider in 2009 in a way that
opened the door for the takeover without paying for any more for
that right, Mark Lebovitch , an attorney for some Sirius
shareholders, told a Delaware judge today. “Malone wanted to enjoy all the economic benefits of being
a controlling shareholder without having any of the
responsibilities,” Lebovitch told Delaware Chancery Court Judge
Leo Strine at a hearing in Wilmington. Strine said he will rule
later on whether the investors’ claims should proceed. Liberty officials, who took control of Sirius in January,
are pushing the broadcaster beyond radio into telematics, which
connects cars with wireless technology. Sirius in July announced a partnership with AT&T Inc. (T) to
connect Nissan Motor Co. (7201) autos in North America with roadside
assistance and stolen-vehicle tracking. This month, Sirius
agreed to buy the connected-vehicle services business of Agero
Inc. for $530 million. Lawyers for ex-Sirius directors and Liberty executives say
that shareholders’ claims are barred because they focus on the
2009 agreement in which Sirius directors bargained away the
right to erect defenses against Malone’s takeover in exchange
for the cash infusion. “The time to assert these claims has come and gone,”
Donald Wolfe, an attorney for Englewood, Colorado-based Liberty
Media, told Strine today. Controlling Sirius Malone’s Liberty Media gained majority control of Sirius in
January after purchasing 50 million shares of the radio operator
and getting regulatory approval for the deal. Liberty Media plans to spin off its Sirius stake, Malone
said in 2012. Malone gained a 40 percent equity stake in the
satellite broadcaster as part of the 2009 loan deal. Liberty Media is a holding company with a range of
investments, including stakes in the cable TV programmer Starz
LLC and Major League Baseball ’s Atlanta Braves . Several Sirius
directors, including former Chief Executive Officer Mel Karmazin, left after the takeover. Sirius shareholders lost a bid to have Strine issue an
injunction blocking Malone from acquiring the satellite
broadcaster last year. Shares Increase Liberty wound up making billions of dollars on the deal as
Sirius shares have increased more than 22-fold from 16 cents on
Feb. 17, 2009, when the loan was announced, to $3.56 yesterday.
The shares rose 2 cents to $3.58 at 1:34 p.m. today in Nasdaq
Stock Market composite trading. Under the investment-agreement’s terms, Malone promised not
to acquire a controlling interest in Sirius for three years in
exchange for directors agreeing not to forgo anti-takeover
defenses, lawyers for the City of Miami Police Relief and
Pension Fund said in court filings. The fund invested in Sirius
shares. Once that period expired, Sirius directors argued they
still couldn’t put defensive measures in place based on the
investment-agreement’s terms and Malone was able to buying a
controlling interest in the satellite broadcaster without
submitting the acquisition to a shareholder vote or paying a
takeover premium, Lebovitch said in the filings. ‘Critical Event’ “Sirius’s financial difficulties in 2009 did not make it
acceptable for the board to pass control to Liberty without
giving Sirius shareholders notice of that critical event or a
chance to vote on it,” he said in a April 19 filing. Malone, who served on Sirius’s board, also had legal duties
to investors, especially after indicating in 2012 he intended to
become the company’s majority stockholder, Lebovitch told Strine
today. That meant it wasn’t fair for him to acquire the company
without paying a takeover premium or putting that matter up for
a shareholder vote, he said. “You’re are complaining about the guy going into the
public markets and buying a majority?” Strine asked the
shareholders’ lawyer. He said the investment agreement
specifically allowed Malone to do so after a three-year
“standstill” pact expired in 2012. ‘Do Nothing’ Lawyers for directors and the companies contend Sirius was
considering seeking bankruptcy protection when Malone offered
the $530 million bailout and the board knew the agreement may
mean shareholders wouldn’t get a takeover premium in the event
of a buyout. Sirius officials disclosed that prospect in a March 2009
filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the
company’s lawyers said in a March 13 filing. Sirius directors initially opposed Malone’s efforts to get
regulatory approval to take control of the company’s satellite
licenses. The investment contract barred them from taking any
other steps, Raymond DiCamillo, a lawyer representing directors,
told Strine today. “The board didn’t sit by and do nothing,”
he said. The case is In re Sirius XM Shareholder Litigation, 7800,
Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington). To contact the reporter on this story:
Jef Feeley in Wilmington, Delaware, at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at
[email protected] | 2013 | sirius-investors-shortchanged-over-liberty-lawyer-says |
Intellectual Ventures to Seek $3 Billion for Patent Fund | By Sabrina Willmer | 2013-08-28T18:28:20Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/ex-microsoft-cto-to-seek-3-billion-for-patent-fund.html | 8 | 28 | 9d4919e3e19e4fd4a5f9adeb19c378c7 | Intellectual Ventures Management LLC, led by a former chief technology officer of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) , is seeking $3 billion for a fund that would give it steady cash flow from patents and invention rights, according to an investor presentation obtained by Bloomberg News. Invention Investment Fund III will purchase patents, patent licensing rights and applications as well as other invention rights, according to the April presentation from the Bellevue, Washington-based firm. The firm, founded in 2000, has historically made some of its money from suing over patent infringements. Mercury Capital Advisors LLC, an advisory firm that helps firms raise money from institutional investors, is the fund’s placement agent. Kyle Mahoney, a spokesman for Intellectual Ventures, declined to comment on the fundraising. Intellectual Ventures is among a growing number of investment firms seeking to take advantage of investor appetite for predictable cash flow. Last week, Harbert Management Corp. announced a separate account with California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. pension fund, that will provide cash distributions from contracts to sell power plants’ capacity and energy. Intellectual Ventures was founded by Nathan Myhrvold, former chief strategist and chief technology officer at Microsoft, along with Edward Jung, Peter Detkin and Greg Gorder. Firm’s Founders Jung, who is Intellectual Ventures’ CTO, was previously chief software architect and adviser to executive staff at Microsoft. Detkin was a vice president and assistant general counsel at Intel Corp., where he managed the company’s patent and licensing departments, and Gorder was a partner at law firm Perkins Coie LLP. Like previous funds, the firm’s new offering will primarily make investments in technology invention rights. The firm makes its money from legal settlements, strategic sales of portfolios, retail licensing and subscription-based licensing, according to the presentation. This year, it has brought lawsuits for patent infringement against several companies, including HSBC Holdings Plc, SunTrust Bank Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Motorola Mobility Holdings LLC and Toshiba Corp. (6502) Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corp. this year led a group of companies that bought license rights to Kodak’s digital-imaging portfolio for $527 million. Kodak used the proceeds to pay off bankruptcy debt. Management Fee The new fund will have a 20-year life, according to the presentation, which is twice as long as an average private-equity fund. The fund will charge a 2 percent management fee on committed capital for 10 years. The goal for the firm’s third fund is larger than the $2.8 billion Intellectual Ventures raised for its previous vehicle in 2008. The firm made 240 investments out of Fund II last year, according to the presentation. The firm’s 2008 and 2003 vehicles were producing average annual cash yields of 12 percent and 19 percent as of Dec. 31, respectively, the presentation shows. Intellectual Ventures manages six funds with total committed capital of about $6 billion. In 2010, it raised a “global good fund” focused on solving problems in the developing world and a second “invention science fund” that invests in inventions. To contact the reporter on this story: Sabrina Willmer in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at [email protected] | 2013 | ex-microsoft-cto-to-seek-3-billion-for-patent-fund |
U.K. Water M&A Possible During Regulator Review, JPMorgan Says | By Nadine Skoczylas | 2013-08-28T12:32:52Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/u-k-water-m-a-possible-during-regulator-review-jpmorgan-says.html | 8 | 28 | 2b8522009d3ce6a2dbd15dcc55556dd1a7f17757 | The potential for mergers and
acquisitions within the U.K. water industry still exists even
amid a regulatory price review as the low cost of debt among the
companies is attractive, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. “Further M&A in the sector cannot be discounted,”
JPMorgan analysts Edmund Reid and Chris Gallagher wrote in a
note to clients yesterday. “The recent Borealis approach for
Severn Trent (SVT) shows that infrastructure funds are willing to look
through the regulatory review.” LongRiver Partners, a group led by Canada ’s Borealis
Infrastructure Management Inc., abandoned its 5.3 billion-pound
($8.2 billion) bid for Coventry-based Severn Trent in June.
Under local rules, bidders can’t return with a new approach for
six months. Severn Trent is the second-largest publicly traded
U.K. water company, trailing United Utilities Group Plc. (UU/) The shares of Pennon Group Plc (PNN) , the U.K.’s third-largest
publicly traded water company, rose as much as 1.9 percent in
London today after JPMorgan raised its rating on the stock to
overweight from neutral. The analysts cited Pennon’s lack of exposure to the review
that U.K. regulator Ofwat is conducting to set prices water
companies can charge from 2015 through 2020. Ofwat’s final
determinations are due to be published in December 2014. In upgrading Pennon, the analysts noted its “sizeable
waste business Viridor, which means it has less exposure to the
review than its peers.” To contact the reporter on this story:
Nadine Skoczylas in Jerusalem at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Ludden at
[email protected] | 2013 | u-k-water-m-a-possible-during-regulator-review-jpmorgan-says |
Brazil Raises Rate to 9% as Real Undercuts Inflation Fight | By Matthew Malinowski | 2013-08-28T22:58:17Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/brazil-raises-rate-to-9-as-currency-undercuts-inflation-fight.html
Brazil ’s central bank raised the key
rate by half a percentage point for a third straight meeting, as
a plunge in the currency undermines efforts to slow inflation in
the world’s second-largest emerging market. The bank’s board, led by President Alexandre Tombini, today
unanimously voted to raise the benchmark Selic rate to 9 percent
from 8.5 percent, as forecast by 50 of 52 economists surveyed by
Bloomberg. One economist expected a 75 basis-point increase,
while one forecast a 25 basis-point boost. “The committee considers that this decision will
contribute to put inflation on a decline and assure that this
trend will persist next year,” policy makers said, according to
their statement posted on the central bank’s website. The
statement was virtually identical to their July 10 communique. Brazil’s central bank has stepped up efforts to prevent a
declining real from undercutting the largest rate increase among
the world’s major central banks by pushing inflation above its
target range. While last week’s announcement of a $60 billion
intervention plan has helped to buoy the currency, policy makers
have maintained the pace of rate increases to fight pass-through
to consumer prices, according to JPMorgan economist Fabio Akira. “Inflation pressures remain strong,” Akira, the most
accurate Brazil economic forecaster according to data compiled
by Bloomberg, said by phone from Sao Paulo before today’s
decision. “The weaker exchange rate is putting upwards pressure
on prices.” Swap rates on the contract maturing in January 2015, the
most traded in Sao Paulo today, fell 12 basis points, or 0.12
percentage point, to 10.18 percent. The real strengthened 1.1
percent to 2.3452 per dollar. ‘No Room’ Brazil’s central bank on Aug. 22 said it will auction $1
billion of dollar loans on Fridays and offer $500 million of
foreign-exchange swaps, Monday through Thursday, through at
least Dec. 31. The real has fallen 10 percent in the last three
months, the worst performance among 16 major currencies tracked
by Bloomberg, as investors exit emerging markets in anticipation
of a U.S. Federal Reserve decision to curtail monetary stimulus. Consumer prices measured by the IPCA index rose 0.03
percent in July from the month prior, as lower food and
transportation costs offset higher housing and education
expenses, according to the national statistics agency. While annual inflation slowed to 6.27 percent from 6.70
percent in June, the pace of price increases is still high
enough to hinder growth, according to Carlos Kawall, the chief
economist at Banco J. Safra SA. Brazil targets annual inflation
at 4.5 percent, plus or minus two percentage points. Quicker Inflation Monthly price increases are expected to accelerate from
July, central bank Economic Policy Director Carlos Hamilton said
Aug. 12. Brazil’s monetary policy seeks to provide confidence in
the control of inflation, which is being fanned by an
expansionary fiscal policy and weaker real, he added. “The inflation outlook is the main driver behind the
continued rate increases,” Luciano Rostagno , chief strategist
at Banco Mizuho do Brasil SA, said by phone from Sao Paulo
before today’s meeting. “There is no room to absorb new price
shocks.” Banco Central do Brasil has raised borrowing costs by 175
basis points since April, more than any other central bank
tracked by Bloomberg. Consumer confidence has fallen in nine of the last 11
months, according to a survey from the Fundacao Getulio Vargas.
Industrial confidence , as measured by the national industry
confederation known as CNI, in July fell to its lowest level in
four years before rebounding in August. Slower Growth Economists following Brazil’s economy have cut their 2013
and 2014 growth forecasts by more than one percentage point
since January, according to a central bank survey published Aug.
26. Finance Minister Guido Mantega has also rolled back 2013
economic growth estimates to about 2.5 percent from a forecast
of 3 percent to 4 percent expansion earlier this year. The shares of Brazilian telecommunications company Oi SA
tumbled 8.9 percent Aug. 14 after the company reported an
unexpected second-quarter loss. Oi increased provisions for bad
debt by 97 percent from a year earlier, which Chief Executive
Officer Zeinal Bava blamed on the “current economic
environment.” ‘Bank Focus’ “Inflation reduced consumer’s purchasing power and
confidence,” Kawall said by phone from Sao Paulo before today’s
decision. “The central bank has to give a sign that the
tightening cycle will continue.” Brazil’s monetary policy seeks to mitigate inflation risk,
Tombini said in a statement on Aug. 19. Inflation is under
control and officials will work to avoid currency pass-through
to consumer prices, Mantega said a week later. The 175 basis-point increase in Brazil’s benchmark rate in
2013 | 8 | 28 | c14ad08c60c74b7b9ba97b46f84660b8 | worldwide. Policy makers have reaffirmed their intention to extend
rate increases, as inflation remains above target, said Banco
Mizuho do Brasil’s Rostagno. “The central bank used to have a double mandate: inflation
and economic growth,” Rostagno said. “Now, we are seeing the
central bank focus more exclusively on inflation control.” To contact the reporter on this story:
Matthew Malinowski in Brasilia at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andre Soliani at
[email protected] | 2013 | brazil-raises-rate-to-9-as-currency-undercuts-inflation-fig |
Joy Drops After Sales Outlook Disappoints | By Simon Casey | 2013-08-28T13:10:04Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/joy-drops-after-sales-outlook-disappoints.html | 8 | 28 | bc8ec0a4faa5d6c0461b21f20920af4180c1f47f | Joy Global Inc. (JOY) , the largest maker
of underground mining equipment, dropped in pre-market trading
after it projected a decline in sales amid a slowdown in demand
growth for metals and coal. Joy declined 5.5 percent to $48.49 at 8:55 a.m. before the
start of regular trading in New York. While it maintained a sales forecast of $4.9 billion to $5
billion in the fiscal year ending Oct. 31, “the current outlook
is unlikely to support annual revenue above $4 billion,”
Milwaukee-based Joy said today in its third-quarter earnings
statement. That trails the $4.59 billion average of 19 analysts’
estimates compiled by Bloomberg for the 2014 fiscal year. “Conditions in our end markets are dominated by supply
surplus and reduced demand growth for most commodities,” Chief
Executive Officer Mike Sutherlin said in the statement. “The
market will continue to be more challenging before it starts to
improve.” Third-quarter net income excluding one-time items was $1.70
a share, beating the $1.36 average of 20 estimates. Revenue
dropped 4.9 percent to $1.32 billion, beating the $1.18 billion
average estimate. To contact the reporter on this story:
Simon Casey in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Simon Casey at
[email protected] | 2013 | joy-drops-after-sales-outlook-disappoints |
Nintendo Cuts Wii U Price Ahead of Microsoft, Sony Debuts | By Anthony Palazzo and Naoko Fujimura | 2013-08-29T06:33:34Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/nintendo-cuts-wii-u-price-ahead-of-microsoft-sony-debuts.html | 8 | 28 | b721442991814891adf6e0b170dd606e | Nintendo Co. (7974) cut the price of its
Wii U video-game console by $50 and unveiled a new handheld
player as the company tries to boost sales in the months before
Sony Corp. (6758) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) release competing machines. The suggested price of the Wii U in the U.S. will drop to
$299.99 on Sept. 20, Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo said yesterday
in a statement. The company won’t lower the console’s cost in
Japan , where it sells for a suggested 30,000 yen ($307).
Nintendo also introduced an entry-level 2DS portable machine
going on sale Oct. 12 for $129.99. President Satoru Iwata took the helm of U.S. operations to
drive sales growth at the creator of Mario and Zelda before new
versions of rival consoles arrive for the holiday shopping
season . Yet combined sales for Nintendo’s hardware totaled 1.8
million units in the quarter ending in June, compared with 3.1
million a year earlier, as more customers migrated to mobile
devices for playing online games. “They needed to cut the Wii U price to stay competitive,”
Michael Pachter , an analyst at Wedbush Securities in Los
Angeles , said in an e-mail. “But it probably won’t help much
over the long term.” Nintendo fell 1.3 percent to 11,840 yen, the lowest since
July 8, in Tokyo trading. The stock has gained 31 percent this
year, compared with a 30 percent jump in the broader Topix
index. 2DS Unveiled The Wii U, released in November, has missed sales targets
and will be challenged by the upcoming Microsoft Xbox One and
Sony PlayStation 4. At $299.99, Nintendo’s machine is priced
$100 below Sony’s PlayStation 4, which makes its debut in
November, and $200 below Microsoft’s Xbox One, which hasn’t
specified a release date. The 2DS has no hinges like the original DS or 3DS. It will
have two screens and be able to play 3DS games in 2-D. It will
be $40 cheaper than the 3DS, yet won’t be sold in Japan, company
spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said. “The handheld market will be challenged on the casual side
by mobile games,” Pachter said, adding that the lower price for
the 2DS console may spur handheld sales between 20 and 25
percent. Nintendo has forecast global 3DS sales of 18 million this
fiscal year, up from 13.95 million last year. The company sold
1.4 million 3DS units in the three months ended June, down from
1.86 million a year earlier, Nintendo said Aug. 1. Mario, Zelda The company said in June it will release more of its own
titles to boost demand for the Wii U. A limited edition Wii U
bundle, featuring “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD,”
will also begin selling on Sept. 20, Nintendo said yesterday. Nintendo is targeting sales of more than 5 million of its
3DS handheld console units in Japan this year, President Satoru Iwata said at a Capcom Co. event in Tokyo Aug. 27. The company
plans to introduce a series of “strong titles” after “Monster
Hunter 4,” he said. New titles for the Wii U, including “Super Mario 3D
World” and “Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze,” will go on
sale in the fourth quarter, the company said. “The price cut will affect earnings directly,” said Eiji Maeda , an analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. in Tokyo.
“Nintendo is counting on a weaker yen to help absorb the
impact” from the price cut, he said. To contact the reporters on this story:
Anthony Palazzo in Los Angeles at
[email protected] ;
Naoko Fujimura in Tokyo at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Tighe at
[email protected] | 2013 | nintendo-cuts-wii-u-price-ahead-of-microsoft-sony-debuts |
Bershidsky's View From Europe | By Leonid Bershidsky | 2013-08-28T10:18:25Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/bershidsky-s-view-from-europe.html
Here's today's look at some of the top stories on markets and politics in Europe: France and U.K. to join US in missile strike on Syria . The scale and scope of a planned U.S.-led attack on Syria appear to have been determined. Three countries | 8 | 28 | eb93d5dfa8be150bae76828e7b203148f4f925a7 | 2013 | bershidsky-s-view-from-europe |
|
How a Cosmo Woman Kick-Started Her Brand | By Kate White | 2013-08-28T15:00:23Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/how-a-cosmo-woman-kick-started-her-brand.html | 8 | 28 | 08bad1051f6c434e840c1b822c4fc209 | For 14 fun and pretty thrilling years, I was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine — and, yes, that means I was the one responsible for wicked coverlines like "Mattress Moves So Hot His Thighs Will Burst into Flames." But it also means I had close-up view of the modern consumer landscape. And in the year since I left the magazine, I've had a chance to distill some of the the strategies I used to make Cosmo number one on the newsstand (and keep it there). First, a little background. Cosmopolitan has been around for over a hundred years but the version most of us are familiar one is the one Helen Gurley Brown brilliantly brought to life in 1965. She took a dreary magazine that was about to fold and relaunched it as "the bible" for fearless young single women. It was an instant, mega success. By the end of Helen's thirty-two year tenure, Cosmo had become dated in feel and sales were eroding. When I arrived in 1998, my mandate was to take a magazine that baby boomers had devoured and make it compelling for Gen x and Gen y readers. Here are the three brand-kickstarting strategies that I relied on at Cosmo , both with the magazine and the many brand extensions. Warning: the word sex appears more than once in this article. Make sure the baby still bounces. I know it's a boring cliché, but I've always lived by the maxim "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater." I've seen so many editors in chief (as well as other types of business leaders) fail because they ignored this adage. But you have to be certain the baby (a.k.a. the core brand identity) still has viability. It wasn't hard to spot the baby — or the bathwater — when I arrived at Cosmo and began to look through old issues. Though under Helen the magazine featured a wide variety of content, including fashion, beauty, and self-improvement stories, what really made the magazine fly off shelves was the candid advice it offered about sex and relationships. Helen firmly believed, ahead of her time, that unmarried women had the right to have sex and totally enjoy it. Cosmo went where others didn't dare to go. My gut instinct told me that the baby still had plenty of life. Young Gen x and Gen y women might be more comfortable with sex than their baby boomer counterparts, but I sensed that, nonetheless, they were very hungry for candid sex advice. Cosmo could provide that. I backed up my instinct with lots of research. I regularly used not only focus groups and surveys, but I read every reader email. Of course, what was candid in 1970 seemed tame by the turn of the century. So, guilty as charged, I made the content more explicit. It may have seemed shocking at times to the public at large, but readers never found it so. They regularly wrote in to say that the sex articles — pieces like "The Cosmo Kama Sutra" or "Never Lose An Orgasm Again"— helped them have happier sexual relationship with their partners. Oh, what was the bathwater? In Helen's last years, the magazine featured some pretty cheesy pictures and a breathless tone that no longer worked. The editor who briefly ran Cosmo between Helen and me had already jettisoned that stuff. Find the growth pony. That's an expression used by a friend of mine who helps re-launch tech companies. His point: it's great when a brand's DNA still makes sense, but that's not enough to ride into the future with. You need something that's going to help you take the business to the next level and bring in new consumers — though it had better be in tune with the core values. My team and I made several changes that definitely helped us grow Cosmo (overall I increased circulation by 700,000). One was shifting the tone of the magazine and making it irreverent, cheeky. Movies like Bridesmaids hadn't even been green-lighted yet but my top editors and I could see a different sense of humor emerging among young women. Readers also gave high marks to the new pieces we ran on sexual health and personal safety. These were women who clearly wanted to take charge of their lives and were looking for information on how to do that. But one of the best growth ponies we used was one I discovered a good year or so into the job. Thanks to a ratings system I employed to measure reader satisfaction with the content in the magazine, I discovered how fascinated readers were with anything that explained what made men tick. Whereas baby boomer women often seemed anxious to make men more like them (i.e. chattier, more sensitive), younger women seemed to accept that guys would never be like them (even if they encouraged them to drinks lots of chardonnay). They just wanted to understand men. So at Cosmo we looked at the male brain and said, "Hey, we're going in." We commissioned articles on everything from deciphering a man's body language to why guys tended to cheat more in August. Eventually we started a monthly section called "101 Things About Men." It rated as high as any sex feature, thus helping drive readers to the magazine. And it fit perfectly with the DNA. By now you can probably tell how much I love research. Trendera President Jane Buckingham, a researcher who I used extensively at Cosmo , puts it this way: "If you do the research, the secret sauce is often there for the taking, but too often people don't want to look." Return to the T. When my husband was teaching our young kids how to play tennis, he'd set them up at the point on the court where the lines intersected. Eventually they'd drift to the left or right and he'd tell them, "Come back to the T." After hearing him use this phrase many times, I realized it was a good mantra for me as an editor. Over time you can start to drift from your mission (maybe an art director pushes you in a kooky new direction without your realizing it) and it's key to recognize when that's happened and how essential it is to get back in position. I found it useful to regularly audit the content and make certain we weren't doing too much of something that didn't matter — or too little of what did. I also tried to book an hour a week on my schedule to just focus on the big picture. What also helped: offsite meetings where my top staff would help me take an objective look and make suggestions, even if ruthless. Unfortunately those became tougher to do when resources shrunk after the recession. In hindsight I wish I'd found a way to make them happen. So those are some of lessons I took away from that wonderful job. Cosmo Confession: I also learned a few things about the Kama Sutra. But I'd better not go into that here! | 2013 | ow-a-cosmo-woman-kick-started-her-brand |
EU Carbon Closes at Seven-Week High as Crude Oil Price Surges | By Alessandro Vitelli | 2013-08-28T17:05:51Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/eu-carbon-permits-jump-to-eight-week-high-as-crude-price-surges.html | 8 | 28 | 587c457bad7cd812a4dcc50bc87c5634a15fcc30 | European Union emission permits
advanced to the highest in seven weeks on speculation that crude
oil’s surge to a two-year peak may spur demand for carbon
allowances. Carbon for December gained as much as 3.7 percent to 4.72
euros ($6.31) a metric ton on London’s ICE Futures Europe
exchange. The contract closed up 1.5 percent at 4.61 euros a
ton, the highest since July 3. West Texas Intermediate crude rose as much as 3 percent in
electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its
highest since May 2011, on concern that conflict in Syria may
threaten oil supplies from the Middle East. Higher oil prices
can influence the price of coal and natural gas, which in turn
can affect demand for carbon permits. “Carbon is being boosted by the jump in energy prices,”
Milan Hudak, an analyst at Virtuse Energy sro in Prague , said
today by e-mail. “Yesterday’s close above 4.50 euros gave the
market an impetus to rise further this morning,” he said,
citing resistance at the contract’s highs reached earlier this
month. Carbon closed yesterday at 4.55 euros a ton, 5 euro cents
higher than a Fibonacci retracement level of carbon’s jump from
3.25 euros to 4.88 euros in early July. Fibonacci analysis is
based on the theory that securities tend to rise or fall by set
percentages after reaching a high or low, creating areas where
buy or sell orders may be gathered. “Traders were expecting that a break above the down-trendline would push prices a lot higher,” said Fred Payne, a
carbon trader in London at CF Partners (U.K.) LLP, an investment
firm specializing in renewables and commodities. “What we saw
this morning is that playing out.” High Price Today’s high price of 4.72 euros also corresponded to the
200-day moving average for the December contract, which may have
capped the morning increase, according to Krzysztof Piatek, a
trader at Vertis Kornyezetvedelmi Penzugyi zrt in Budapest. Carbon slumped to a record 2.46 euros a ton on April 17 as
the euro-area’s longest recession curbed demand, exacerbating an
oversupply of permits. EU member states are considering a
carbon-market rescue plan to reduce the surplus after the
European Parliament backed it in July. To contact the reporter on this story:
Alessandro Vitelli in London at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Lars Paulsson at
[email protected] | 2013 | eu-carbon-permits-jump-to-eight-week-high-as-crude-price-surges |
SocGen Can Reach 4% Leverage Ratio by Cutting Cash, Oudea Says | By Fabio Benedetti-Valentini and Caroline Connan | 2013-08-28T22:01:30Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/socgen-can-reach-4-leverage-ratio-by-cutting-cash-oudea-says.html | 8 | 28 | 9c47027f849e880d84f8e4c9e31008f1b2efefe2 | Societe Generale SA, France ’s
second-largest bank by market value, would be able to meet
tougher leverage rules by reducing its cash deposits at central
banks, Chief Executive Officer Frederic Oudea said. “Today we have lots of cash with the central banks, we
will anyway cut that,” Oudea said in an interview with
Bloomberg Television outside Paris, indicating the firm may trim
those deposits by about 30 billion euros ($40 billion). Asked
whether the bank could improve its leverage ratio to 4 percent
should regulators require it, he said: “Yes, of course.” Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who leads the
group of 17 euro finance ministers, is seeking stricter leverage
rules for Europe’s banks. Those deemed too big to fail should
aim for a ratio of capital to total assets of at least 4
percent, more than the 3 percent standard proposed by the Basel
Committee on Banking Supervision for 2018, he said Aug. 23. International regulators are considering tighter leverage
requirements to prevent a repeat of the taxpayer-funded bank
rescues of 2008. Lenders including Societe Generale and
Germany ’s Deutsche Bank AG have criticized the focus on the
leverage ratio. They and competitors have sold assets and
hoarded earnings to increase a different measure of financial
strength known as the Basel III capital ratio, which weights
assets depending on their risk. Not ‘Backbone’ “Beyond one figure, it’s very important to say the
leverage ratio is a bad way of looking at banking,” Oudea said.
The leverage ratio should be “a backstop, not the backbone of
the regulation,” he said. Deutsche Bank co-CEO Anshu Jain said in a speech in June
the leverage ratio is “too simplistic” because it doesn’t
reveal anything about the quality of assets. Societe Generale’s deposits with central banks stood at 78
billion euros at the end of June, an increase of 32 billion
euros from a year earlier, according to its website. Societe
Generale (GLE) is among the European banks that increased cash
deposits at central banks amid Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis. Those deposits are “a kind of cushion, it’s a kind of
insurance,” said Oudea, 50. “With all the progress we have
made, we are going to reduce that.” Such cuts will help the
company’s earnings, he said, without providing a timeframe for
the reduction. Societe Generale’s profit more than doubled to 955 million
euros in the second quarter, helped by a surge in investment-banking revenue, the Paris-based bank said on Aug. 1. Its core Tier 1 capital ratio was 9.4 percent at the end of
June, an increase of 0.73 percentage point from the end of
March, the bank said. Societe Generale’s leverage ratio is
already at 3 percent, Oudea reiterated in the interview. To contact the reporters on this story:
Fabio Benedetti-Valentini in Paris at
[email protected] ;
Caroline Connan in London at
[email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Frank Connelly at
[email protected] ; | 2013 | socgen-can-reach-4-leverage-ratio-by-cutting-cash-oudea-says |
Microsoft Seen Raising Dividend Payouts | By Dina Bass | 2013-08-28T04:01:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/microsoft-seen-raising-dividend-payouts.html | 8 | 28 | 5a6c91843b2241268f565d650482fe7d | Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) , within weeks of announcing plans by Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer to retire, will probably boost its dividend amid calls by an activist shareholder to return more cash to investors. ValueAct Holdings LP, which in April disclosed a stake of about $1.9 billion in the world’s largest software maker, has been seeking a return of more money, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Microsoft is poised to increase the quarterly dividend by 13 percent to 26 cents a share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Microsoft’s policy for the last several years has been to boost the quarterly dividend in September in line with increases in operating income, which rose 23 percent in the latest fiscal year. While too big a payout might require Microsoft to incur a tax on cash held overseas, an overly modest increase would put the company at odds with investors clamoring for more. ValueAct has until Aug. 30 to decide whether to mount a proxy battle for representation on Microsoft’s board. “Microsoft has a target on its back,” said Kim Caughey Forrest, an analyst at Pittsburgh-based Fort Pitt Capital Group Inc., which manages $1.4 billion in assets, including Microsoft shares. “It wouldn’t surprise me if technology companies that generate a lot of cash, regardless of where it’s domiciled, would consider bigger dividend increases, because the activist investor has really come into play in the last 18 months, and not just at Microsoft.” Dividend Estimate ValueAct has been negotiating for a board seat, a request that Microsoft is considering, a person with knowledge of the matter said in July. Microsoft, which has $77 billion in cash and investments, will probably raise its quarterly dividend by 3 cents to 26 cents a share, according to a Bloomberg projection that takes into account data such as the company’s ability to pay and the dividend implied in the options market. Analysts are slightly less bullish, predicting an increase to 25 cents, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is pushing Apple Inc. to return more of its $146.6 billion in cash via a buyback, and has fought for Dell Inc. (DELL) to remain public and pay out money instead of going private in a leveraged buyout. Tony Imperati, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, declined to comment. Microsoft will hold an analyst meeting on Sept. 19 in Bellevue, Washington . ValueAct officials didn’t return multiple requests for comment. Discounting Cash Microsoft’s profit in the latest quarter missed analysts’ projections by the largest margin in at least a decade as the company’s Windows business shrank. Poor sales of the Surface tablet computer led to an inventory writedown. Ballmer, who announced the biggest company reorganization in more than a decade in July, said on Aug. 23 that he’ll step down as CEO within the next 12 months. The board has formed a committee to find his replacement from among internal and external candidates. The software maker’s board usually decides dividend matters at a meeting in September. Microsoft raised the quarterly dividend by 3 cents in 2012 and 4 cents in 2011. This year’s boost may be smaller, said Sid Parakh , an analyst at McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle. Excluding a legal charge of $733 million, a $900 million Surface writedown and a $6.19 billion impairment charge in 2012, operating income rose less than 2 percent, which may prompt Microsoft to forgo a large dividend boost, he said. The bulk of Microsoft’s cash, about $69.6 billion, is held overseas, the company said in an annual filing. To spend that money on dividends, the software maker would have to pay taxes on money brought to the U.S. Microsoft and other companies have opted to issue debt. “They will do some increase, but I don’t know if it will be the same big increase they’ve done,” said Parakh. “At the same time there is activist pressure, so could they lever up to do a bigger increase? Sure.” To contact the reporter on this story: Dina Bass in Seattle at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Pui-Wing Tam at [email protected] | 2013 | icrosoft-seen-raising-dividend-payouts |
Tropical Storm Juliette Develops Near Cabo San Lucas | By Brian K. Sullivan and Lynn Doan | 2013-08-29T00:26:21Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/tropical-storm-juliette-develops-near-cabo-san-lucas.html | 8 | 28 | 512a52791694070adf3f69972004837dd1ae0a55 | Tropical Storm Juliette was
approaching Cabo San Lucas, Mexico , and was forecast to move
across the resort town over the next few hours, the U.S.
National Hurricane Center said. The system was about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of
Cabo San Lucas, moving northwest at 25 miles per hour with top
sustained winds of 45 mph, according to a center advisory at
about 7:30 p.m. New York time. The storm has prompted warnings
from San Evaristo to Bahia Magdalena, according to the advisory. “Juliette is a very small cyclone with tropical-storm-force winds extending out only 30 to 40 miles east of the
center,” Daniel Brown, a senior hurricane specialist at the
center in Miami, wrote in a forecast analysis. Juliette is the 10th storm of the eastern Pacific hurricane
season, which runs from May 15 to Nov. 30. It is projected to
brush the western coast of Baja California before drifting into
the Pacific and dissipating. “The tropical storm does not have much time in which to
strengthen before it interacts with the southern Baja Peninsula
and reaches the cooler waters and more stable air mass west of
the peninsula,” Brown said. “The cyclone should become a
remnant low in about 48 hours.” To contact the reporters on this story:
Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at
[email protected] ;
Lynn Doan in San Francisco at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dan Stets at
[email protected] | 2013 | ropical-storm-juliette-develops-near-cabo-san-lucas |
Brazil Real Rises as Central Bank Intervention Supports Currency | By Gabrielle Coppola and Josue Leonel | 2013-08-28T21:29:02Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/brazil-real-rises-as-central-bank-intervention-supports-currency.html | 8 | 28 | b703a20e4bac9db60973c41cf1ab9986caa4c3d2 | Brazil ’s real climbed to a two-week
high as the central bank’s effort to support the currency offset
declining demand for emerging-market assets spurred by
speculation the U.S. will lead a military strike against Syria . The real appreciated 1.1 percent to 2.3452 per dollar after
falling last week to a four-year low. Swap rates on the contract
due in January 2015 fell 12 basis points, or 0.12 percentage
point, to 10.18 percent before the central bank’s decision today
on borrowing costs. The currency has rallied 3.8 percent since Aug. 22, when
the bank announced a $60 billion intervention program to support
the real. That is the best performance among all of the
currencies tracked by Bloomberg. “The central bank managed to interrupt the dollar’s gain
for now,” Vladimir Caramaschi , the chief strategist at Credit
Agricole Brasil SA, said in a telephone interview. Most swap rates fell today on eased speculation that the
central bank will step up the pace of increases in borrowing
costs to curb inflation. The central bank shifted its attention in the second
quarter from accelerating economic growth, raising the target
rate by a quarter-percentage point from a record low 7.25
percent in April and doubling the pace of rate increases to a
half-percentage point in both May and July. Policy makers will raise the target rate by 50 basis points
to 9 percent today, according to the median forecast of
economists surveyed by Bloomberg. ‘Remains Complicated’ The decision on borrowing costs “should help encourage
investors to sell dollars and invest in local fixed income, but
with war in Syria imminent, the situation remains complicated,”
Deives Ribeiro, a currency manager at Fair Corretora, said by
phone from Sao Paulo . Annual inflation slowed to 6.15 percent in the month
through mid-August after surpassing the 6.5 percent upper limit
of the central bank’s target range earlier this year. Analysts monitoring Brazil’s economy this month cut their
median growth forecast for 2013 and 2014 to 2.20 percent and
2.40 percent, the lowest estimates so far this year, according
to a central bank survey published Aug. 26. Finance Minister
Guido Mantega rolled back growth estimates this month to about
2.5 percent from 3 percent. To contact the reporters on this story:
Gabrielle Coppola in Sao Paulo at
[email protected] ;
Josue Leonel in Sao Paulo at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
David Papadopoulos at
[email protected] | 2013 | brazil-real-rises-as-central-bank-intervention-supports-currency |
Pending Sales of Existing Homes in U.S. Dropped 1.3% in July | By Victoria Stilwell | 2013-08-28T14:16:18Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/pending-sales-of-existing-homes-in-u-s-dropped-1-3-in-july-1-.html | 8 | 28 | 90a051deadbe425bbe46f1af7e0a24d7 | Fewer Americans signed contracts in
July to buy previously owned homes, a sign that rising mortgage
rates are starting to slow momentum in the housing market. The index of pending home sales dropped 1.3 percent, the
most this year, after a 0.4 percent decrease in June, figures
from the National Association of Realtors showed today in
Washington . Economists forecast no change in the gauge from the
month before, according to a median estimate in a Bloomberg
survey. Mortgage rates at a two-year high and a limited number of
existing homes are pushing some prospective buyers out of the
market, threatening to slow the pace of the recovery in real
estate. Improvements in employment and income growth would help
provide additional fuel for housing, which has been a source of
strength for the economy. “There’s been some signs that higher mortgage rates have
negatively impacted home purchase decisions over the past six
weeks or so,” said Ryan Wang , an economist at HSBC Securities
USA Inc. in New York , who correctly forecast the decline in
pending sales. “The fact that the uptrend appears to have been
curtailed by higher mortgage rates is somewhat of a concern.” Estimates (USPHTMOM) in the Bloomberg survey of 38 economists for
pending home sales ranged from a decline of 3 percent to an
increase of 5.3 percent. The Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Homebuilding Index
declined 1.2 percent at 10:13 a.m. in New York. The S&P 500 rose
0.2 percent to 1,633.23 after dropping to an eight-week low
yesterday amid concern over a possible military strike against
Syria . The Realtors’ report showed purchases (ETSLTOTL) increased 8.6 percent
from July 2012 on an unadjusted basis. Sales Index The pending sales index was 109.5 on a seasonally-adjusted
basis, the lowest in three months. A reading of 100 coincides
with the average level of contract activity in 2001 and
“historically healthy” home-buying traffic, according to the
NAR. “The modest decline in sales is not yet concerning, and
contract activity remains elevated, with the South and Midwest
showing no measurable slowdown,” the group’s chief economist
Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “However, higher mortgage
interest rates and rising home prices are impacting monthly
contract activity in the high-cost regions of the Northeast and
the West.” By Region Three of four regions showed a decrease from a month
earlier, led by a 6.5 percent drop in the Northeast. They fell
4.9 percent in the West and 1 percent in the Midwest. Pending
sales climbed 2.6 percent in the South. Last week, the Realtors’ group said sales of previously
owned homes jumped in July to the second-highest level in more
than six years as buyers rushed to lock in mortgage rates before
they increased any more. Purchases advanced 6.5 percent to a
5.39 million annual rate, the strongest since a government tax
credit temporarily boosted demand in November 2009. The group said it expects existing-home sales to reach
about 5.1 million this year and 5.2 million in 2014. Some 4.7
million previously owned homes were sold in 2012. While rising mortgage rates may initially stimulate demand,
the appeal may wane as higher costs push potential buyers out of
the market. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was
4.58 percent in the week ended Aug. 22, the highest level since
July 2011. At the current rate, the monthly payment on a $250,000 30-year loan is about $1,279. That compares with a $1,096 payment
in November, when the average rate reached a record low of 3.31
percent. Furniture Sales The recovery in the housing market has aided the economic
expansion as buyers look to fill their homes with furniture and
appliances. La-Z-Boy Inc. (LZB) , a Monroe, Michigan-based maker of
living-room recliners, reported fiscal first-quarter earnings
that more than doubled from the year before, topping analysts’
estimates. “With housing and consumer confidence trending upward, we
are optimistic about the future of La-Z-Boy,” Chief Executive
Officer Kurt Darrow said on an Aug. 21 conference call. The wood
portion of the furniture industry will be the “biggest
beneficiary as housing continues to strengthen,” he said. Economists consider pending home sales a leading indicator
because they track contract signings. Existing home sales are
tabulated when a contract closes, usually a month or two later. To contact the reporter on this story:
Victoria Stilwell in Washington at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Christopher Wellisz at
[email protected] | 2013 | pending-sales-of-existing-homes-in-u-s-dropped-1-3-in-july-1- |
Carney’s Debut Speech Frees Gilt Yields to Climb | By Jennifer Ryan | 2013-08-28T23:01:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/carney-s-debut-speech-frees-gilt-yields-to-climb-u-k-credit.html | 8 | 28 | cc4a5a57f0b642de9cd6518d3d4c5a4f | Investors who’ve driven 10-year gilt
yields higher ever since Mark Carney joined the Bank of England
now have the governor’s blessing. In his first speech as head of the central bank, Carney
told business leaders in Nottingham in the English midlands that
“longer-term market interest rates are certainly relevant, but
what matters most to you is actually what happens to bank rate,
now and in the future.” He said that’s because rates on 70
percent of loans to households and more than 50 percent of loans
to businesses are linked to the BOE benchmark. “It gives the impression they don’t care about the longer
end; that’s a green light for yields to rise and that’s playing
with a bit of fire,” said David Tinsley, an economist at BNP
Paribas SA in London and a former BOE official. “He seems much
more focused on the short end and reaching out to businesses and
households over and above the head of the markets.” Carney introduced forward guidance on Aug. 7 and said the
BOE plans to keep its benchmark at a record-low of 0.5 percent
at least until unemployment falls to 7 percent, which it doesn’t
see happening for another three years. Gilt yields have risen
since that announcement and investors have increased bets on
higher rates, suggesting they aren’t convinced. The yield on the 2.25 percent gilt due in September 2023
rose 3 basis points to 2.80 percent yesterday and is up 25 basis
points this month. Short-sterling futures fell, indicating
investors are adding to bets on higher interest rates. The
implied yield on the contract expiring in September 2015
increased 4 basis points to 1.32 percent. Direct Access For the BOE governor, investors may not be his target
audience as he looks to boost spending and investing to add
momentum to a recovery lagging most other developed economies.
He said guidance “reaches directly to those who put capital to
work, households and businesses.” “The focus on forward guidance at this point appears to be
to deliver a message directly to the man on the street rather
than the markets that rates aren’t going to go up,” said
Michael Amey, money manager in London at Pacific Investment
Management Co., which manages the world’s biggest bond fund.
“He’s saying what’s important isn’t just the path of market
expectations, but the path delivered by the BOE and keeping
short rates anchored even if longer yields go up.” Those people may already be listening. The number of
households expecting the BOE to increase rates in the next two
years fell to 40 percent this month from 53 percent in July,
according to a Markit Economics Ltd. poll. Stimulus Signal Amey said policy makers may eventually have to “rail back
against interest rates going up,” most likely with more
quantitative easing , through that point isn’t here yet. Carney
addressed that, noting risks from market expectations and saying
the Monetary Policy Committee was ready to act if this
undermined the recovery. “The upward move in market expectations of where bank rate
will head in future could, at the margin, feed into the
effective financial conditions,” Carney said in his speech.
“If they tighten, and the recovery seems to be falling short of
the strong growth we need, we will consider carefully whether,
and how best, to stimulate the recovery further.” ‘Staging Post’ U.K. unemployment was 7.8 percent in the second quarter and
the MPC doesn’t see it reaching the threshold until the end of
2016. Carney sought to reassure executives who may share some
economists’ view that it will fall faster, saying that even if
that happens, it’s not a catalyst for tightening. It’s a “staging post to assess the economy,” he told the
assembled crowd. “Nobody should assume that it is a trigger for
raising rates.” U.K. gilt yields have risen in part because of indications
of strengthening U.K. growth and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s
signals that it may begin trimming its bond purchases, currently
running at $85 billion a month. “They have to try to decouple as best they can,” said
Azad Zangana, an economist at Schroder Investment Management in
London. “The problem is the market just doesn’t really believe
them given the forward guidance they’ve provided.” The BOE may have added to upward pressure on longer-dated
yields after it said yesterday it will relax liquidity
requirements for banks meeting capital targets. That will allow
them to reduce required holdings of low-yielding, easy-to-sell
securities, such as government bonds. Tinsley said the move is
“not particularly supportive” for gilts. MPC Split Investors skepticism has also been fueled by dissent on the
MPC. Several officials questioned guidance before Carney’s
arrival, and Martin Weale voted against it this month because he
wanted the inflation-escape hatch to be bigger. While the MPC voted to keep its QE program on hold this
month, some members said the case for more was “compelling.”
They added there was “merit in first supporting” guidance and
waiting to assess its impact. Zangana, Tinsley and Amey said
votes to restart bond purchases would be a possibility at future
meetings for those officials concerned about higher rates. “The obvious next step would be to resume quantitative
easing,” Vicky Redwood , an economist at Capital Economics in
London and a former central bank official, said in a research
note. “If the MPC decides to show its teeth, there is plenty of
scope for rate expectations and gilt yields to fall back.” To contact the reporter on this story:
Jennifer Ryan in London at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mark Gilbert at
[email protected] | 2013 | carney-s-debut-speech-frees-gilt-yields-to-climb-u-k-credi |
Detroit Metropolitan Airport July Cargo Tonnage | By Marco Babic | 2013-08-28T06:55:42Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/detroit-metropolitan-airport-july-cargo-tonnage-table-.html | 8 | 28 | e7af94e597f879f0f69d4fe0902627f3b583a7dd | The following table shows cargo volumes
at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport for July
from data on the airport’s website.
Source: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) NOTE: Figures are as reported by the source and may be revised. Source data in pounds converted to metric tons by Bloomberg News . To contact the reporter on this story:
Marco Babic in Zurich at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Marco Babic at [email protected] | 2013 | detroit-metropolitan-airport-july-cargo-tonnage-table- |
King Was Really a Labor Leader, Too | By Thomas Geoghegan | 2013-08-28T14:22:52Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/king-was-really-a-labor-leader-too.html
For one of the country’s greatest orators, Martin Luther King Jr . rarely gets his say on labor. It’s as if some keepers of his flame don’t want to hear him say that we are not free at last until labor can check capital. Yet even they must know, if only dimly, that the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963, began as a labor march, a project of A. Philip Randolph, who was president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and a vice president of the AFL-CIO. The co-chairmen of the march were Randolph and Walter Reuther, the fiery social democrat who led the United Automobile Workers . Reuther and the UAW put up much of the dough to rent the buses and put people on the planes. Even more important was Bayard Rustin, the grand strategist of the civil-rights movement: Rustin began as a labor organizer and got much of his funding in the 1960s from the AFL-CIO. As conceived by Randolph and Rustin, the great event was not just a “March on Washington,” or even a “March on Washington for Civil Rights,” but “the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” And yes, jobs came first. One purpose was to raise the minimum wage from $1.15 to $2.00 an hour (about $15 in today’s dollars, more than double today’s minimum of $7.25). That focus suited King: By 1963, he was on his way to being a “union man,” even a kind of labor leader. Labor Activist For those who disbelieve, I highly recommend a collection of King’s labor speeches: “All Labor Has Dignity,” wonderfully edited and introduced by Michael K. Honey. Some of the speeches, which King gave to union conventions, may surprise readers. They reveal a man who, like Rustin, grasped that it was not just the civil-rights movement but also the labor movement that would actually make black Americans free. As King often made clear, he wasn’t trying to enforce just civil rights, least of all the right to sit at a lunch counter, but more like the right to work the counter and make (back then) $2 or $3 or, better, $4 an hour, and even run the restaurant. Or, as he once put it, he was interested in enforcing not just our rights under the U.S. Constitution | 8 | 28 | d45a5d95153c447db97e63bcfbc2291a | 2013 | king-was-really-a-labor-leader-too |
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Rupiah Forwards Gain Most Since July on Rate-Rise Speculation | By Yudith Ho | 2013-08-28T02:58:20Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/rupiah-forwards-gain-most-since-july-on-rate-rise-speculation.html | 8 | 28 | 4cf5ad6b3facb0393bf9b914d7bffd656a0a2e73 | Rupiah forwards gained by the most
in more than six weeks and government bonds declined on
speculation the central bank will raise interest rates tomorrow. Bank Indonesia ’s board of governors will convene for an
extra meeting to evaluate economic, monetary and banking
conditions, the central said in a statement yesterday. It kept
its reference rate unchanged at the previous monthly meeting on
Aug. 15 as growth slowed to the least since 2010 in the second
quarter. Bank Indonesia increased borrowing costs by 75 basis
points in June and July to 6.5 percent. Inflation rose to a
four-year high of 8.6 percent last month from a year earlier. “Market confidence is the issue as the central bank’s
stance has been ambiguous between seeking growth or seeking
macroeconomic stability, so a rate move would be positive,”
said David Sumual, chief economist at PT Bank Central Asia, the
nation’s largest lender by market value. “The rupiah’s weakness
has likely snowballed into imported inflation, which adds to
reasons for raising rates.” The one-month non-deliverable forwards gained 0.9 percent
in the biggest rise since July 19 to 11,597 per dollar as of
9:35 a.m. in Jakarta, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The
contracts traded at a 5.7 percent discount to the spot rate,
which declined 0.1 percent to 10,938, the weakest level since
April 2009, according to prices from local banks. A fixing used to settle the forwards set by the Association
of Banks in Singapore was set at 11,196 yesterday. One-month
implied volatility, a measure of expected moves in the exchange
rate used to price options, dropped 18 basis points, or 0.18
percentage point, to 19.56 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg
show. Bank Indonesia will likely increase the benchmark interest
rate by 50 basis points to 7 percent by the year-end, as
inflation in August may be 9.2 percent, which would be the
fastest pace since 2008, Bank Central Asia’s Sumual said. The yield on government bonds due May 2023 climbed one
basis point to 8.75 percent, the highest since February 2011,
prices from the Inter Dealer Market Association show. To contact the reporter on this story:
Yudith Ho in Jakarta at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Amit Prakash at
[email protected] | 2013 | rupiah-forwards-gain-most-since-july-on-rate-rise-speculation |
Thai Pension Fund Buying Stocks After Bear Market Plunge | By Anuchit Nguyen | 2013-08-28T03:58:42Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/thai-pension-fund-buying-stocks-after-bear-market-plunge.html | 8 | 28 | 78a6beca56d04aaaf3c42b581af6d67cd314dd24 | Thailand’s Government Pension Fund
is boosting holdings of local equities after a bear market in
the benchmark index sent valuations to the lowest levels in more
than a year. “This is a great buying opportunity,” Yingyong Nilasena,
chief investment officer of the fund, which manages about $19
billion of assets, said by phone from Bangkok. “We have
increased positions in some stocks recently. We plan to buy some
more.” Yingyong declined to name specific companies. The benchmark SET Index (SET) has fallen for 10 days, the longest
losing streak since 1998. The gauge has declined more than 20
percent from this year’s high as data this month showed the
nation entered a recession in the second quarter, while foreign
investors sold more than $1 billion of local shares. The SET
measure is valued at 11.4 times estimated profit for the next 12
months, the lowest level since July 2012, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. “Overseas investors are too pessimistic about Thailand,”
Yingyong said. “Many large-cap stocks are very attractive
compared with their earnings outlook.” The SET dropped 1.8 percent to 1,271.10 at 10:40 a.m. in
Bangkok, heading for its lowest close since Sept. 13. Advanced
Info Service Pcl (ADVANC) and CP All Pcl (CPALL) were the biggest drags on the
gauge, with both stocks losing more than 3 percent. Capital Outflows Foreign investors sold about $1.2 billion of Thai stocks
and about the same amount of local bonds this month amid
speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will reduce monetary
stimulus this year. Outflows from Indonesian shares totaled $464
million, while investors withdrew $219 million from Philippine
equities. The three Southeast Asian markets led a four-year rally in
global shares through May as growing local economies sent
corporate profits to record highs and Fed stimulus spurred
international investors to seek riskier assets. The central bank won’t hesitate to contain excessive moves
in markets if necessary, Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul told a conference in Bangkok today. Outflows are
“not an issue at all,” he said. The baht weakened 0.3 percent to 32.28 per dollar, while
yields on 10-year government debt rose three basis points to
4.33 percent, the highest level since November 2009, according
to data compiled by Bloomberg. Southeast Asia ’s second-biggest economy will probably post
a current-account deficit of $550 million in July, according to
a Bloomberg survey of economists. Yingyong said the slowdown will have a “limited impact”
on the earnings of the companies the fund is buying. The pension fund, which manages retirement savings for
about 1.2 million state employees, had 12.1 percent of its
assets in local equities and 2.7 percent in emerging markets as
of June 30, according to data on its website. To contact the reporter on this story:
Anuchit Nguyen in Bangkok at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Patterson at
[email protected] | 2013 | ai-pension-fund-buying-stocks-after-bear-market-plunge |
Bleak Future for Carmakers as Rupee Plummets: Corporate India | By Siddharth Philip and Karthikeyan Sundaram | 2013-08-28T18:31:05Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/bleak-future-for-carmakers-as-rupee-plummets-corporate-india.html | 8 | 28 | 496beb0a3fc04b68bd11da0909805d53 | Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) and Hyundai
Motor Co. (005380) , the nation’s biggest carmakers, will have to raise
prices of vehicles sold overseas to maintain profitability as a
plunging rupee raises costs amid stagnating demand at home. India ’s currency plummeted the most in two decades to a
record yesterday. A further depreciation will increase imported
component costs and worsen a sales slump in India, R.
Sethuraman, Hyundai Motor India Ltd.’s director for finance,
said in an e-mail. The unit of South Korea ’s largest automaker
purchases as much as 40 percent of its raw materials from
overseas depending on the car model, according to Sethuraman. Automobile companies are rushing to increase use of local
parts as the rupee’s drop raises costs and deliveries decline in
Asia ’s third-largest car market. Higher export prices may stymie
sales overseas, while a cash squeeze engineered by the Indian
central bank to stem the rupee’s decline prompts banks to raise
interest rates , deterring buyers at home. “Overall the picture looks bleak in the Indian car market
as there are no pull factors for buyers,” Maruti Chief
Financial Officer Ajay Seth said in an interview. “Nobody
expected the sudden rupee depreciation, so there’s no short term
measures that we can take to avoid the pain.” Maruti is delaying a plan to build a new plant in Gujarat,
said Chairman R.C. Bhargava, after deliveries in India declined
for nine straight months through July. Hyundai, which exports 40
percent of its production, is seeking newer markets in Latin
America and Africa , Sethuraman said. ‘Limited Advantage’ “While the rupee depreciation has a limited advantage in
the short term, continuous depreciation will have a reverse
impact on pricing in the export market,” said Sethuraman.
Rising raw material costs “may lead to a further drop in
already stagnating demand in the domestic market.” Maruti’s profit growth may slow to 13 percent in the year
ending March 31, according to a median estimate of eight
analysts compiled by Bloomberg. Net income rose 47 percent in
the same period a year earlier. Overseas sales accounted for
about 10 percent of the company’s revenue last fiscal year. Shares of the Indian unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. have
dropped 17 percent this year. They fell 1.9 percent to 1,236.35
rupees in Mumbai yesterday as the benchmark S&P BSE Index rose
0.2 percent. Payments Crisis The rupee has dropped more than 20 percent this year, the
biggest loss since a balance of payments crisis in 1991 forced
authorities to pledge the nation’s gold reserves for loans from
the International Monetary Fund . The advances prompted India to
open the economy to foreign investment. The rupee slumped 3.9 percent to an unprecedented 68.8450
per dollar yesterday in Mumbai, the biggest drop since 1993,
according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg. “As far as domestic car demand is concerned, I’d be
negative on that for sometime at least,” said Shaukat Ali, a
New Delhi-based analyst at Quantum Securities Pvt. The falling
rupee will boost oil import costs, which will “lead to rise in
fuel prices. That way it’s going to impact very badly,” he
said. To lure customers, carmakers from Maruti and General Motors
Co. (GM) to Volkswagen AG (VOW) and Ford Motor Co. are introducing new
models and offering discounts. Maruti introduced a new version
of its Wagon R model called the Stingray while Ford has started
selling the Ecosport, a compact SUV. Growth Estimate Maruti also plans to cut use of imported parts by 3
percentage points this year, CFO Seth said on a July 25
conference call with analysts. The company imported 19.5 percent
of its raw material as of March 31, he said. India’s gross domestic product probably rose 4.6 percent in
the three months ended June 30, the least since the first
quarter of 2009, according to the median of 41 estimates in a
Bloomberg survey before official data due tomorrow. Slowing growth and rising borrowing costs may keep buyers
away from showrooms this year as well, said Quantum’s Ali.
Annual sales in the year through March 31 fell 6.7 percent to
1.89 million units, the biggest decline since 2001, according to
the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers . “The whole economy will suffer dramatically” due to the
rupee’s drop, said Adi Godrej , chairman of Godrej Consumer
Products Ltd. “There will be huge inflation, which will lead to
high interest costs and a whole vicious cycle will be created.” Auto Loans HDFC Bank Ltd. (HDFCB) , India’s biggest lender by market value,
raised the base rate by 20 basis points to 9.8 percent this
month after the central bank increased two interest rates. Banks
are not allowed to lend at rates below the base rate. Kotak
Mahindra Prime Ltd., the auto finance unit of billionaire Uday Kotak, forecasts no growth in loans this year. “The sentiment is so poor that no one wants to buy a large
ticket discretionary like a car,” said Sumit Bali, director at
Kotak Mahindra Prime. “One can’t rule out another rate hike.” Vehicle loans grew 24.2 percent in twelve months to June
28, data compiled by central bank show. That’s unchanged from
the same period a year earlier, data show. Lack of demand prompted Maruti to delay the Gujarat plant
that was scheduled to begin production in the 12 months starting
April 1, 2015 and was expected to boost the company’s capacity
to 2 million cars by that fiscal year, Maruti said last year. “If anyone can tell me when the car industry will turn
around or even show signs of turning around, I will tell you
when we will begin building the Gujarat Plant,” said Maruti’s
Bhargava said. To contact the reporters on this story:
Siddharth Philip in Mumbai at
[email protected] ;
Karthikeyan Sundaram in New Delhi at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Young-Sam Cho at
[email protected] | 2013 | bleak-future-for-carmakers-as-rupee-plummets-corporate-india |
Sino Land Underlying Profit Rises 25% on Property Sales, Rents | By Kelvin Wong | 2013-08-28T09:45:13Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/sino-land-underlying-profit-rises-25-on-property-sales-rents.html | 8 | 28 | 8cafc4a67a7d55eab963ba815ea32ea737ec158e | Sino Land Co. (83) , the developer which
derives most of its earnings from Hong Kong, said full-year
underlying profit rose 25 percent on higher earnings from
property sales and rental income. Profit excluding increases in real estate values grew to
HK$6.64 billion ($856 million) for the 12 months ended June 30
from HK$5.31 billion a year earlier, Sino Land said in a Hong
Kong Stock Exchange statement today. That compares with the mean
estimate of HK$6.4 billion of 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Hong Kong developers last year accelerated property sales
including offices and malls as the Hong Kong government stepped
up measures to rein in home prices . Earnings at Sino Land, the
worst performer in the nine-member Hang Seng Property Index this
year, was also supported by gains in rental income from offices
and malls in the city. Shares of Sino Land have fallen 27 percent this year,
compared with the 9.9 percent decline in the property gauge. The
stock dropped 1.9 percent to HK$10.12 at the close of trading in
Hong Kong today, before earnings were announced. Sino Land, the smallest developer in the property measure,
is controlled by the family of billionaire Robert Ng, who has an
estimated net worth of $5.1 billion, according to data compiled
by Bloomberg. Rising Prices Earnings from rental properties gained 9 percent from a
year ago to HK$2.8 billion, while profit from property sales
rose to HK$4.51 billion from HK$3.02 billion, the company said
in today’s statement. Hong Kong home prices have more than doubled since early
2009 and have surpassed their 1997 peak earlier last year. Leung
Chun-ying, who took over as the city’s leader last July, has
imposed extra property transaction taxes and raised mortgage
minimum down payment requirement in a bid to rein in prices. Total home transactions in the city fell to the lowest
since 1996 in the first half as Leung doubled stamp duty taxes
on property deals in February. Prices have fallen about 3
percent from March, according to Centaline Property Agency Ltd. Sino Land will pay a final dividend of 38 Hong Kong cents a
share, compared with 36 Hong Kong cents a year earlier. To contact the reporter on this story:
Kelvin Wong in Hong Kong at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andreea Papuc at
[email protected] | 2013 | sino-land-underlying-profit-rises-25-on-property-sales-rents |
The Untimely Death of Unemployment Insurance | By Evan Soltas | 2013-08-28T19:24:56Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/the-untimely-death-of-unemployment-insurance.html
In 1934, one year before signing the bill that created a national system of unemployment insurance, President Franklin D. Roosevelt voiced an American sense of what a safety net should and shouldn't be. “We must not allow this type of insurance to become a dole through the mingling of insurance and relief,” Roosevelt said . “It is not charity. It must be financed by contributions, not taxes.” The U.S. has never been enthusiastic about redistribution, but it has always understood that bad things happen to good people. That's why Roosevelt drew a line between “insurance” (which you pay for) and “relief” (which you don't). To cover the cost of unemployment benefits, businesses pay premiums of about 1 percent of total wages. Every state government manages its own system, setting requirements for contributions and conditions for benefits. Three states | 8 | 28 | cf69d886ca594e0cafc5fcb9a40efc2a | 2013 | e-untimely-death-of-unemployment-insurance |
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TPG-Backed China Grand Auto Is Said to Revive $500 Million IPO | By Fox Hu and Zijing Wu | 2013-08-28T06:36:23Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/tpg-backed-china-grand-auto-is-said-to-revive-500-million-ipo.html | 8 | 28 | 17832cc0a8c1bdec074f78ba00d4554a58fe92af | China Grand Automotive Services Co. (CGAGPZ) ,
the Chinese car dealer backed by TPG Capital, plans to seek at
least $500 million in an initial public offering in Hong Kong ,
said two people with knowledge of the matter. China Grand Auto, based in Shanghai, may start the share
sale early next year, said the people, who asked not to be
identified because the information is private. China
International Capital Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are
working on the offering, the people said. The IPO would be Hong Kong’s biggest for a car dealership
since at least December 2010, when China ZhengTong Auto Services
Holdings Ltd. (1728) raised $514 million, data compiled by Bloomberg
show. China ZhengTong has fallen 39 percent from its IPO price. Company officials weren’t available to respond to a phone
inquiry at China Grand Auto’s head office in Shanghai. China
Grand Auto had planned to seek about $1 billion in a Hong Kong
IPO, people with knowledge of the matter said in April 2010. China Grand Auto posted a profit of 1.5 billion yuan ($245
million) on sales of 73 billion yuan last year, according to the
company’s website. It aims to overtake AutoNation Inc. (AN) as the
world’s biggest car dealer this year, China Grand Auto says on
its website. AutoNation had sales of $15.7 billion in 2012, equivalent
to 96 billion yuan at today’s exchange rate, data compiled by
Bloomberg show. The company trades at 16.5 times trailing 12-month earnings, according to the data. To contact the reporters on this story:
Zijing Wu in Hong Kong at
[email protected] ;
Fox Hu in Hong Kong at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Philip Lagerkranser at
[email protected] | 2013 | pg-backed-china-grand-auto-is-said-to-revive-500-million-ipo |
Is Bias Fixable? | By Nilofer Merchant | 2013-08-28T14:16:20Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/is-bias-fixable-.html | 8 | 28 | 01602af0f5484e7eaaacd5d51fbb2f20 | "As a brown woman, your chances of being seen and heard in the world are next to nothing," he said. "For your ideas to be seen, they need to be edgier." He paused, as if to ruminate on this, before continuing. "But if you are edgy, you will be too scary to be heard." This was the advice I got from a marketing guru when I asked for his help with titling my second book. I was confused, as I couldn't figure out how this answer had any relationship to my original question. I walked — somewhat dazed — to my next meeting and repeated what I'd just heard. In return, I received only blank stares. It wasn't that these people affirmed his point of view; it's that they stayed silent. My confusion gradually turned to fear. Was someone finally doing me a service by telling me ... The Truth? For months after hearing this "... you'll never been seen" message, I was a mess seeing his "truth" into every missed opportunity or unexpected obstacle. Black / white. Masculine/feminine. Rich/poor. Immigrant/ native. Gay/straight. Southern/northern. Young/old. Each of us can be described in a series of overlapping identities and roles. And we could spend time talking about the biological and sociological programming that causes humans to form personal identity around group structures. But the bottom line is this: we — as a society — don't see each other. You are not seen for who you really are, though each of us is a distinct constellation of interests, passions, histories, visions and hopes. And you do not see others. As David Burkus recently wrote, innovation isn't an idea problem, but rather a recognition problem ; a lack of noticing the good ideas already there. To see and be seen is essential to finding solutions for all of us. Now "noticing" doesn't seem like an especially hard thing to do, but — let's be real — it is. That's because of bias. Bias is shaped by broader culture — something is perceived as "true" — and thus it prevents you from neutrally seeing. Recognizing bias is simply recognizing that you are not impartial — you prescreen by seeing what you expect to see. Everyone is biased, as research consistently proves . Yet more often than not, I hear people saying "I'm color blind" or "This place is a meritocracy," when all modern reality would suggest it can't be. Nate Silver recently shared research affirming that "those who say they don't have a gender bias actually show a greater gender bias." So maybe it's more this: saying that you aren't biased probably makes you more blind than color-blind. Because only when you acknowledge that you are blind to an issue, can you begin the process of seeing more clearly. The real question then becomes: can bias be fixed? Gail Fairhurst, a prof at the University of Cincinnati , has written several influential papers and books on the art of framing. My thinking is heavily indebted to hers on this issue. As she describes it, the world we live in today is conceived and framed in a particular way. This shapes our experience. Even the language we use orders and reorders social life. The Old Guard (and for Americans, you might read this to be old, white, male, rich) doesn't even recognize this issue of frame. And I would build on her idea that, for the Old Guard, the current narrative is more than a frame, it is "just the way things are." It is, for them, The Truth. This is what that marketing guru was trying to tell me. He never questioned his bias, as a white man, and so he was just breaking the bad news to me, like any friend would. But here's the good news: a world that has been conceived and framed is also a world that can also be reconceived and reframed. This alone is powerful. If you believe that bias is simply an accumulation of culturally accepted norms, then you can recognize your power in shifting those norms. For instance, across many arenas of power — legislative, executive, corporate governance, financial — women hold between four and 18 percent of the roles . And those percentages have been holding steady for some time. But in one category, an important one for how agendas are set, a quiet shift is starting to take place. Major publications that shape the marketplace of ideas were once dominated by men. In fact, a May 2008 Rutgers University study found that, of all the scholarly op-eds in the Wall Street Journal, 97 percent were written by men . Today, women represent between 15 and 21 percent of bylines at publications like the Washington Post, Slate, and the New York Times, representing a 40% improvement . But this didn't just happen. The program behind this was The Op-Ed Project , which scouts, prepares, and connects under-represented experts with editors so their pipelines are full of equally viable ideas from both genders. This is a good reminder that often what appears to be a pipeline problem is actually a problem with the selection process itself. If underrepresented groups have a reasonable expectation of not being selected, it's perfectly reasonable that they don't apply, don't try. But the opposite can be true, too: for instance, Sarah Milstein and Eric Ries designed the 2012 Lean Startup Conference with the intention of inclusion. That shift meant that they went from nearly zero women and people of color at the previous year's conference to a conference featuring 40 percent women and 25 percent people of color . Recognizing that you have a bias allows you to design processes that correct for it. But first you have to believe in your ability to sway history. One of my favorite stories about this is a relatively unknown historical example. Marilyn Monroe changed Ella Fitzgerald's career . In the mid-1950s when blacks had a hard enough time getting gigs, and women even more so, Marilyn Monroe lobbied the owner of the famed Mocambo club to book Ella Fitzgerald, promising to take a front table every night if he did. The owner said yes, and Monroe delivered: front table, every night. The press went overboard to cover these evenings, and with that visibility, Fitzgerald got the opportunity to be seen. (Now just imagine if the marketing guru at the start of this story had decided to go beyond just reporting and recognizing bias — telling me, "this is just how it is" — but instead to be an agent of change?) Whether it was through creating a more level playing field, designing for a more inclusive context, or simply using one's own personal power to change outcomes, bias, in the stories above, was fixable. They key was to acknowledge it, and then design solutions to address it. This week, there has been a lot of talk about the state of bias in America. The 50th anniversary of the March on Washington is upon us, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his landmark " I Have a Dream " speech. His dream included a more just nation — a nation far better than the one he experienced. Today, I want to suggest that dreams are simply goals without an action plan. You can put into action these ideas (or design your own) to create the world you want, and we need. | 2013 | is-bias-fixable- |
Cemex Buys Holcim’s Czech Operations While Selling German Assets | By Brendan Case | 2013-08-28T05:52:08Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/cemex-buys-holcim-s-czech-operations-while-selling-german-assets.html | 8 | 28 | f816bf78c5d5e4ae80325a7457c69dcdae3b6434 | Cemex SAB (CEMEXCPO) , the biggest cement maker
in the Americas, will buy Holcim Ltd. (HOLN) ’s operations in the Czech
Republic while selling assets in western Germany to the Swiss
company. The companies will combine operations in Spain. Holcim will pay Monterrey, Mexico-based Cemex 70 million
euros ($94 million) in cash in connection with the transactions,
the Mexican cement maker said in a statement today. Cemex said
the deals will result in a recurring improvement in earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of as much
as $30 million starting next year. Cemex has refinanced part of its debt , sold shares in a
South and Central America unit and won credit upgrades during
the last 15 months after the U.S. housing bust helped push it to
the brink of default. “When finalized, this will be an important strategic step
that should allow Cemex to improve its footprint in Europe , and
it will consolidate our portfolio in the continent,” Cemex
Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Zambrano said in the statement. Cemex’s second-quarter loss narrowed to $152 million from
$187 million in the same period a year earlier as higher prices
and cement volume in the U.S. helped push total sales up 3.8
percent to $4.01 billion, the company said July 25. Revenue in
northern Europe slid 1 percent to $1.09 billion as operating
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
in the region dropped 11 percent to $108 million. Cemex has lost
money on a net basis for 15 consecutive quarters. The stock has climbed 22 percent this year in Mexico
trading, compared with a 9.3 percent decline for the benchmark
IPC index, as investors bet on a continued housing recovery in
the U.S., Cemex’s largest foreign market. To contact the reporter on this story:
Brendan Case in Mexico City at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Frank Longid at
[email protected] | 2013 | cemex-buys-holcim-s-czech-operations-while-selling-german-assets |
BP Loses Renewed Bid to Halt Spill Settlement Payments | By Margaret Cronin Fisk | 2013-08-28T18:26:37Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/bp-loses-bid-to-halt-spill-payments-pending-investigation.html
BP Plc (BP/) lost a renewed bid to suspend
payments from the court-supervised program administering its
settlement of claims tied to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. An investigation of alleged wrongdoing at the Mobile,
Alabama, claims assistance center didn’t find “any credible
evidence of fraud,” U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New
Orleans said today. He also rejected BP’s allegations that its ability to
appeal payments was tainted because, the company said, “at
least two appeal panelists had apparent conflicts of interest.”
The issue earlier was brought to Magistrate Judge Sally Shushan,
who investigated and is handling the matter, Barbier said. “None of the claims represented by the firms of two of the
panelists have been approved, paid or appealed,” Barbier said
today, referring to law firms. The “alleged conflicts” are not
“a basis upon which to suspend the entire claims payment
program,” he said. Barbier last month rejected the company’s request to stop
the payments while Louis Freeh , former director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, probes allegations of misconduct in the
claims program. BP renewed the request Aug. 5. ‘Core Systems’ “BP respectfully believes the court’s order is wrong on
the facts and the law,” Geoff Morrell , a BP spokesman, said in
an e-mailed statement today. The “core systems for ensuring the
integrity” of the claims processing program “continue to be
deficient,” he said. Barbier recognized the need for an independent
investigation of the program to ensure its integrity when he
appointed Freeh to investigate initial allegations of possible
misconduct, Morrell said. “As we await the completion of this broad investigation,
we continue to believe a temporary pause in payments is
warranted,” he said. “BP is reviewing its options with respect
to the district court’s decision today.” Nick Gagliano, a spokesman for claims administrator Patrick
Juneau, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on
the ruling. ‘Actual Facts’ “We’re pleased that the court relied on actual facts and
evidence in reaching its conclusion | 8 | 28 | 9823abbb5a5295d3f15fa82262b1e536e89c7922 | BP,” Stephen Herman and James Roy , co-lead attorneys for the
plaintiffs suing the company, said in an e-mailed statement. Freeh was appointed after an attorney at the Deepwater
Horizon Court Supervised Settlement Program was suspended and
accused of accepting fees from law firms while processing their
clients’ claims from the oil spill . Another attorney was
subsequently suspended following similar allegations. BP faces thousands of lawsuits over damages caused by the
explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig in 2010. The
blast killed 11 workers and released more than 4 million barrels
of crude from BP’s well off the Louisiana coast. BP reached the agreement with most private party plaintiffs
last year, initially estimating the cost of the settlement at
$7.8 billion. The company has since raised the estimate to $9.6
billion. The case is In Re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig Deepwater
Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, MDL-2179, U.S.
District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana ( New Orleans ). To contact the reporter on this story:
Margaret Cronin Fisk in Detroit
at [email protected] . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at [email protected] . | 2013 | bp-loses-bid-to-halt-spill-payments-pending-investigation |
Man Shuts Vision Fund in Overhaul of Guaranteed Products | By Jesse Westbrook | 2013-08-28T08:02:57Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/man-shuts-vision-fund-in-overhaul-of-guaranteed-products.html | 8 | 28 | 03b1fe1b46854956b6c02b4f348f7ae7 | Man Group Plc (EMG) , the world’s biggest
publicly traded hedge-fund manager, is shutting a range of
products that aimed to protect clients from losses after they
failed to meet performance targets. The company decided this month to shut Man Vision Ltd., a
$40 million pool that sought to generate returns of more than 10
percent annually, according to an Aug. 12 letter sent to clients
and obtained by Bloomberg News. Man Group is also closing
similar offerings that, like Vision, were tied to the
performance of AHL Diversified, the firm’s biggest hedge fund,
said a person with knowledge of the moves who asked not to be
identified because they aren’t public. AHL, a $14 billion hedge fund that uses computer algorithms
to try to profit from trends in asset prices, has been hurt
after the U.S. Federal Reserve roiled markets earlier this year
by indicating that it may taper its bond purchases. Guaranteed
products based on AHL and other hedge funds are Man Group’s most
profitable offerings, because they levy fees that can be more
than twice what the industry typically charges. “They definitely have the highest margins and that’s due
to large management fees and because AHL is run by a computer
that’s not demanding a bonus at the end of the year,” said
David McCann, an analyst at Numis Securities Ltd. in London who
has a sell rating on Man Group. Still, “no one has wanted to
buy these products in the last three to four years” because the
returns have been lackluster. Vision, which totaled about $160 million a year ago, fell
about 5.6 percent in the first half of 2013, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. The fund has lost about 12 percent since
it started trading in July 2008. Bond Offering Vision promised clients that bought a bond issued by Man
Group and held it until maturity in 2020 that they won’t lose
their initial investment. Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) provided a
guarantee to protect investors against declines in the bonds. The pool “no longer has the potential to achieve its
performance objectives,” Man Group said in the letter, which
was obtained by Bloomberg News . David Waller, a spokesman for
the London-based company, declined to comment on the fund. Man Group said in a July 2012 statement that it planned to
reduce its reliance on high-margin guaranteed products, because
clients weren’t buying them. Assets under management at the guaranteed-products division
have declined 64 percent over the past two years to $4.7
billion, less than a 10th of the company’s $52 billion of assets
under management. Fees Charged Man Group sold Vision as a product that could take
advantage of directional market moves through AHL and also
developing global themes, such as the growth of emerging
economies and climate change, by selecting the best outside
hedge funds. The firm planned to boost returns through leverage,
or borrowed money. Vision charged bondholders an annual 3 percent fee for
investing in AHL and an additional 1.5 percent fee for investing
in the funds-of-funds , according to the prospectus. Zurich-based
Credit Suisse also received a 1 percent annual fee for
guaranteeing the bonds and for entering into a swap with Man
Group, the prospectus shows. Most hedge funds charge clients a 2
percent management fee to oversee assets. Man Group plans to pull all of Vision’s investments in AHL
and other hedge funds by Sept. 1, moving them into cash and
bonds, according to the client letter. Clients can hold their
investment until maturity, redeem and lose the guarantee
protecting their initial investment, or move their money to
another Man Group product at no charge, according to the firm. To contact the reporter on this story:
Jesse Westbrook in London at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Edward Evans at
[email protected] | 2013 | an-shuts-vision-fund-in-overhaul-of-guaranteed-products |
U.S. Open Tennis Play Begins After Almost Two-Hour Weather Delay | By Mason Levinson | 2013-08-28T18:56:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/u-s-open-tennis-play-begins-after-almost-two-hour-weather-delay.html | 8 | 28 | a6358967afd3ddf5b9b4f5ed653a4f2bf1647e6d | U.S. Open play resumed at the
National Tennis Center in New York after a rain delay of almost
two hours. Weather has caused suspensions of play on two of the
three days of this year’s tournament. To contact the reporter on this story:
Mason Levinson in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
[email protected] | 2013 | u-s-open-tennis-play-begins-after-almost-two-hour-weather-delay |
Corn Falls as Heat Damage May Be Limited; Wheat Drops; Soy Gains | By Tony C. Dreibus | 2013-08-28T18:46:57Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/corn-rallies-with-soybeans-as-dry-midwest-boosts-crop-concerns.html | 8 | 28 | d89d12fc377c4787f363b011a5abb6e3909232cd | Corn dropped for a second day as
damage to plants from hot, dry weather in the U.S. Midwest may
be limited, as the crop is past the critical pollination
development stage. Wheat fell, while soybeans rose. Little or no rain has fallen in parts of Iowa and Illinois ,
the biggest U.S. producers of corn and soybeans, in the past two
weeks, National Weather Service data show. The dry weather
“favors any early-maturing crops” while stressing late-maturing crops including soybeans, forecaster DTN said in a
report today. “It’s so late in the game that we’re not going to change
the yield in corn as much as we could on beans,” Frank J. Cholly, a senior commodities broker at RJO Futures in Chicago ,
said in a telephone interview. “The weather in the next couple
of weeks is going to be critical for soybeans. The dry weather
may actually be more beneficial to corn than it is bad.” Corn futures for December delivery fell 1.1 percent to
settle at $4.8075 a bushel at 1:15 p.m. on the Chicago Board of
Trade. The contract is down 20 percent this year as the U.S.
Department of Agriculture projects domestic production at a
record 13.76 billion bushels. The U.S. is the world’s biggest
grower and exporter. Wheat futures for December delivery dropped 0.6 percent to
$6.595 a bushel on the CBOT. Soybean futures for November delivery rose 0.2 percent to
$13.7275 a bushel in Chicago. The price has rallied 18 percent
since reaching an 18-month low on Aug. 7. Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, hay
and wheat, government data show. To contact the reporter on this story:
Tony C. Dreibus in Chicago at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Steve Stroth at
[email protected] | 2013 | corn-rallies-with-soybeans-as-dry-midwest-boosts-crop-concerns |
EU Says Probe Finds Chinese Solar-Panel Makers Got Aid | By Jonathan Stearns and Ewa Krukowska | 2013-08-28T15:19:11Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/eu-says-probe-finds-chinese-solar-panel-makers-got-subsidies.html | 8 | 28 | 96880c1baea176e9718b1b8f6f6bc449ec6e7bec | The European Union said an
investigation determined that Chinese solar-panel makers
benefited from government subsidies, increasing the chance the
EU will impose tariffs on imports from China of the renewable-energy technology. The probe opened last November found that Chinese
manufacturers of crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules or
panels, and cells and wafers used in them, received preferential
lending, tax programs and other assistance, according to the EU.
The inquiry is one of two the EU has begun into alleged unfair
Chinese trade in these solar goods. The European Commission, the EU regulator in Brussels, on
Aug. 2 approved an agreement with China to curb Chinese
shipments of solar panels as part of a parallel probe into
below-cost sales, a practice known as dumping. The accord, which
took effect on Aug. 6, sets a minimum price and a volume limit
on EU imports of Chinese solar panels until the end of 2015. “All interested parties (including the government of
China, exporters, EU producers, importers, suppliers and users)
will have a period of time to comment on these findings,” John Clancy, spokesman for EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, said
today in an e-mailed statement. “The commission will then
consider these comments and determine what definitive action
should be taken in the investigations.” He didn’t give a time
frame for a decision. EU Imports “The disclosed findings in the anti-subsidy case do not
undermine the amicable solution with China which resulted into
the undertaking applied from the beginning of August in the
context of the anti-dumping proceeding,” Clancy said in the
statement. The dumping and subsidy cases cover EU imports valued at 21
billion euros ($28 billion) in 2011. EU governments, acting on
proposals from the commission, must decide by early December on
any “definitive” measures against China, whose exporters
control around 80 percent of the bloc’s solar-panel market. The commission found that Chinese solar-panel makers
receive subsidies amounting to 11.5 percent of their sales
turnover, said EU ProSun, the industry group seeking definitive
anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties against China on behalf of
around 40 European solar-panel producers including Solarworld AG (SWV)
of Germany . The group said the findings of Chinese state aid justify
the imposition of anti-subsidy, or “countervailing” duties, in
addition to the EU measures taken to counter dumping. “Chinese subsidies have led to a Chinese takeover of the
European solar market, resulting in numerous closures of
European companies and factories,” Milan Nitzschke, president of
EU ProSun, said in an e-mailed statement today. “We therefore
call on the EU to impose countervailing duties to counter the
effect of these illegal subsidies .” To contact the reporters on this story:
Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at
[email protected] ;
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at
[email protected] . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at [email protected] | 2013 | eu-says-probe-finds-chinese-solar-panel-makers-got-subsidies |
Ford Says MyFord Touch Will Spread to Europe Models | By Mark Clothier and Craig Trudell | 2013-08-28T04:01:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/ford-says-myford-touch-will-spread-to-europe-models.html | 8 | 28 | 10d3513ce9c64358908116d9c71e7a54 | Ford Motor Co. (F) said it plans to
introduce its MyFord Touch infotainment system, the subject of
criticism in U.S. quality surveys, to its vehicle lineup in
Europe starting next year. The system will debut in an S-Max concept van at next
month’s Frankfurt auto show, said Jim Buczkowski, director of
Ford’s electronics and electrical systems engineering and
research. MyFord Touch eventually will be available in all its
models in Europe, he told reporters in a briefing yesterday. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally has pushed the second-largest U.S. carmaker to make unique technology a pillar of its
new models. MyFord Touch has helped boost profit, while users in
surveys by Consumer Reports and J.D. Power & Associates have
faulted the reliability of its controls, as well as its small
fonts, crowded screens and lack of buttons and knobs. “We’ve made huge improvements and we’ve learned a lot
along the way,” Buczkowski said in Dearborn, Michigan , where
Ford is based. “Customer feedback has been really important,
both likes and dislikes, as well as maybe things that we didn’t
explain very well for customers.” The technology contributed to Ford’s drop in rankings of
surveys such as J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study. The Ford
brand fell to 27th in the latest study, released in June, from
fifth in 2010. It ranked second-to-last in Consumer Reports ’
annual auto-reliability survey in October. System Pricing In Europe, MyFord Touch will be an option or included as
standard in premium packages, Buczkowski said. He declined to
give specific pricing. In the U.S., the automaker typically
charges $1,000 for the system. Ford already offers Sync, a voice-command software system,
on some models in Europe as part of an audio package. Sync
usually is a $295 option in the U.S. Ford will market Sync and MyFord Touch similar to the way
it sells the two in the U.S., Buczkowski said. A technology
package with just Sync will start in the Fiesta small car and
the EcoSport compact utility vehicle and also will include
Applink, which synchronizes applications on smartphones with the
vehicle infotainment system. Another package will offer both
Sync and MyFord Touch. The automaker has released several upgrades to MyFord
Touch, including one earlier this month on some 2014-model cars,
Buczkowski said. “It’s been a learning experience for us but it’s been an
excellent experience to really bring the kinds of features and
customer experiences that people want to have,” he said. In the U.S., vehicles with Sync or MyFord Touch systems
climbed to 79 percent of Ford’s 2013 car and truck sales, from
68 percent for year-earlier models, the company said in June. Ford fell 3.2 percent to $15.88 yesterday at the close in
New York . The shares have risen 23 percent this year, as the
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 14 percent. To contact the reporters on this story:
Mark Clothier in Dearborn, Michigan, at
[email protected] ;
Craig Trudell in Dearborn, Michigan, at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jamie Butters at
[email protected] | 2013 | ford-says-myford-touch-will-spread-to-europe-models |
Canada Factories Count on U.S. Pickup to End Recession | By Theophilos Argitis | 2013-08-28T20:41:06Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/canada-factories-count-on-u-s-pickup-to-end-recession.html
Canadian manufacturers, dogged by
the effects of a strong currency, are counting on a pickup in
U.S. demand to end the sector’s deepest contraction since 2009. Canadian factory production has shrunk 2.7 percent since
the end of 2011 and is 7.6 percent weaker than it was in July
2008, right before the country slipped into its last recession.
Aside from agriculture, manufacturing is the only part of the
economy that has failed to return to pre-slump levels. Montreal-based Saputo Inc. (SAP) , the nation’s largest dairy
processor, and Peoria, Illinois-based construction and machinery
maker Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) are among companies shutting plants in
Canada amid rising wage costs and tepid demand from the U.S.,
which buys about 75 percent of Canadian exports. Weakness in
manufacturing, which accounts for 11 percent of gross domestic
product, is holding back the world’s 11th largest economy. “The Canadian manufacturing sector continues to struggle
against the collective headwinds of a sluggish U.S. economy and
the persistent strength of the currency,” said David Tulk ,
chief macro strategist at Toronto-Dominion Bank’s TD Securities
unit. If the U.S. private sector can sustain growth, “there is
a certain amount of pent-up demand for manufactured goods out of
the American economy.” Between December and June, Canada lost 11 factory
businesses with more than 200 employees, according to Statistics
Canada data , representing 3.4 percent of all companies. More
closures are coming. Stockholm-based Electrolux AB, the maker of
Frigidaire ovens, is planning to shift output to Memphis ,
Tennessee , from a plant near Montreal next year. Canadian Dollar Manufacturers are contending with a Canadian dollar that
has risen 52 percent against its U.S. counterpart since the end
of 2001. This has boosted the price of exports, making them less
competitive, and increased production costs, such as wages,
relative to the U.S. When measured in U.S. dollars, unit labor
costs in Canada have increased 92 percent since March 2003,
compared with a 12 percent rise for American businesses. Since June 2009, when the U.S. economy emerged from
recession, the average Canadian factory wage has increased twice
as fast as in the U.S., according to Statistics Canada and U.S.
Labor Department data. Stronger U.S. growth has the capacity to offset those
challenges, said Mark Chandler , head of fixed-income strategy at
RBC Capital Markets in Toronto. “The big thing that’s happening is that domestic demand is
poised to improve with a fair degree of confidence in the
U.S.,” Chandler said. “Canadian manufacturers are well
positioned to benefit.” Stock Prices Canada’s benchmark stock index is underperforming U.S.
equities for a third year on expectations for better U.S.
growth. Canadian stocks fell 2.5 percent in the first half of
the year, compared with a 13 percent gain for the Standard &
Poor’s 500 Index, the largest half-year performance gap between
the two indexes since 1998. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Index rose 0.13 percent to
12,607.22 in Toronto today, while the U.S. S&P 500 gained 0.27
percent to 1634.96. The American economy, the world’s largest, is projected to
grow 2.5 percent on average in the second half of this year,
according to the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of
economists from Aug. 2 to Aug. 6. The pace may pick up to 2.8
percent by the second quarter of 2014, the survey showed. The U.S. has typically needed to post year-over-year growth
of about 2.5 percent or better to generate gains in Canadian
factory output, Doug Porter , chief economist at Bank of Montreal
in Toronto, said in an Aug. 23 report. ‘Postwar Reconstruction’ Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said in a June speech
that resurgent demand from the U.S. is critical to reviving
confidence in the economy and bolstering investment in
manufacturing, a process he likes to “postwar reconstruction.” Even after U.S. growth picks up, falling capacity means it
could take some time for manufacturers to re-gear plants in
order to capitalize on the demand. The stock of factory space in
absolute terms fell in 2011 to its lowest since the 1990s,
according to Statistics Canada data, and accounted for a record-low 7.9 percent of Canada’s capital stock last year. “Essentially, there’s some lost output that we have that
we’ll never get back because of the length of time that we’ve
struggled here,” Chandler said. “The lags are significantly
longer because a mothballed factory can’t start up again, you
need to build a new one.” Closed Factories The lost output is evident in the divergence between U.S.
and Canadian manufacturing since 2011. Canadian output has
fallen even as the Federal Reserve ’s index of U.S. factory
production increased 3.4 percent. The two are typically closely
correlated. “We’re not getting the so-called manufacturing bang for
the U.S. buck that we would in past recoveries,” Porter said. Motor vehicle assembly, the country’s second-largest
factory industry after wood processing, has led declines over
the past year, even as sales in North America rise to new post-crisis highs. General Motors Co. has reduced output in Canada this year
by 11.5 percent, as it winds down production of one of its two
plants in Oshawa, Ontario, according to a report by TD
Economics. Ford Motor Co. says its Canadian workers are the most
expensive worldwide. Relocating Plants “Most of any new capacity will go to Mexico and to a
lesser extent the U.S.,” said Kevin Tynan , an analyst at
Bloomberg Industries. The government is taking steps to support manufacturers. In
his most recent budget, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty extended
tax breaks for factories and provided new direct funding. What factories need most is a stronger American expansion. The U.S. economy, which buys about three-quarters of
Canada’s exports, hasn’t rebounded from recession as quickly as
in the past. Quarterly growth rates have averaged 2.2 percent in
the four years since the slump’s end in 2009, a full percentage
point less than the average over the same period after the two
prior recessions. Where demand is robust | 8 | 28 | bb48a9c8997c42f4940ab011f05b9093 | than 3,000 people in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains ,
lumber companies such as West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (WFT) are racing
to rebuild neglected plants and replace antiquated equipment.
Wood processors have boosted output 5 percent in the 12 months
through May. Capital Spending “We are currently in, I’d say easily, our largest capital
expenditure program in the history of this company,” said Larry Hughes, chief financial officer at Vancouver-based West Fraser.
“Anybody who’s got money, or making money now, if they’re smart
is putting it back into the mill to bring in the latest
technology.” Another reason for optimism is that investment has begun to
return. Capital spending by manufacturers has outpaced the rest
of the economy for three straight years and is projected to
total C$20.9 billion this year, the highest since 1999. Manufacturing output in April and May was 0.3 percent above
average production in the first quarter. That puts it on pace
for its first quarterly gain in a year for the three months
ended June. Statistics Canada will report second-quarter GDP data on
Aug. 30, which will show whether Canada’s factories are still in
recession. In the meanwhile, Graphic Packaging Holding Co., a maker of
folding cartons for food and beverage products based in
Marietta, Georgia , is in severance talks with workers at its
Brampton, Ontario, plant as it prepares to shut down the
facility next month. The move will eliminate about 150 jobs, according to Dave
Moffat, an official with the Communications, Energy and
Paperworkers Union of Canada who oversees the Ontario region. “We’re still trying to get to the bottom of what
happened,” Moffat said in a telephone interview. To contact the reporter on this story:
Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Chris Wellisz at
[email protected] | 2013 | canada-factories-count-on-u-s-pickup-to-end-recession |
Dutch Banks, Funds Close to Deal on State-Backed Mortgage Bonds | By Maud van Gaal | 2013-08-28T16:46:09Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/dutch-banks-funds-close-to-deal-on-state-backed-mortgage-bonds.html | 8 | 28 | 2646af6a21eff23992a6043651f279606ab2af53 | The Netherlands is preparing to set
up a government-backed mortgage bond institution to remove some
home loans from lenders’ balance sheets and help end a five-year
housing slump . The government and pension funds will allow banks to sell
low-risk mortgages to the new institution, according to three
people with knowledge of the talks. The fund would offer state-guaranteed bonds to institutional investors, said the people,
who asked not to be identified as the talks are private. Dutch banks are reliant on capital-market funding to fill a
gap of about 450 billion euros ($599 billion) between deposits
and loans. The shortage is inflated by the nation’s mortgage
debt, among the highest in the world at 108 percent of gross
domestic product. Banks are unable to match that by local
savings, as these are predominantly held in the country’s
pension funds, which invest more than 85 percent of their 960
billion euros outside the Netherlands. The high mortgage debt has made the banks vulnerable to the
housing market, where prices have dropped more than 20 percent
from a 2008 peak. Stricter capital requirements and a lack of
domestic competition among banks have driven up mortgage rates ,
authorities have said. ‘Happen Soon’ The plan isn’t final and European regulators would have to
consider whether it qualifies as state aid, the people said. “We have been in talks for a while to see if pension funds
could invest more in the Netherlands,” Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters in The Hague today. “We are going
at a speed now in which it can happen soon.” The plans were reported by Dutch newspaper Het Financieele
Dagblad earlier today. Dutch national mortgage bonds could help cut banks’
balances, reduce financing costs and ensure funding in case of
financial market stress, a committee led by Kees van Dijkhuizen,
currently chief financial officer of ABN Amro Group NV, said in
March. Pension funds and other institutional investors could
benefit as the debt would offer better returns than Dutch
sovereign bonds, while state-backing reduces risks. To contact the reporter on this story:
Maud van Gaal in Amsterdam at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Frank Connelly at
[email protected] | 2013 | dutch-banks-funds-close-to-deal-on-state-backed-mortgage-bonds |
Tottenham Agrees to Sign Lamela For $40 Million, AS Roma Says | By Alex Duff | 2013-08-28T16:05:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/tottenham-agrees-to-sign-lamela-for-40-million-as-roma-says.html | 8 | 28 | cd68f4330be4567f79031f3d871305f53cb20b9e | Tottenham agreed to sign AS Roma
forward Erik Lamela for 30 million euros ($40 million), and will
pay up to 5 million euros more if he meets undisclosed sports
objectives, the Italian soccer club said in a statement. To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Alex Duff at
[email protected] | 2013 | ottenham-agrees-to-sign-lamela-for-40-million-as-roma-says |
King Dream to Rid Nation of Triple Evils Still Just That | By Tom Baxter | 2013-08-28T04:00:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/king-dream-to-rid-nation-of-triple-evils-still-just-that.html
For Andrew Young and other exhausted, young civil rights activists who’d spent most of 1963 battling to desegregate public facilities in Birmingham, Alabama, the March on Washington seemed like a chance to take a couple of days off. Young, then the director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and an aide to the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr ., hadn’t planned to attend until King called and insisted, saying: “You won’t want to miss this.” After the fire hoses and attack dogs, the mass arrests and the mortgaging of the modest homes of middle-class blacks in Birmingham to finance the movement, the event sounded like “a picnic in the park” to Young. He flew to Washington where he was surprised by the vast crowd spilling out of trains and buses and filling the National Mall. Slideshow: Lincoln's Front-Row Seat to History After 50 years and a varied career that included stints as a congressman, United Nations ambassador and Atlanta mayor, Young recalls most vividly one image from that day: a father walking with his young daughter on his shoulders. It was a day, he thought at the time, that was about families. “It really took our movement from being a Southern black movement to being a national and international human rights movement. Because everywhere in the world, people saw this,” said Young, 81, in an Aug. 22 interview at his home in southwest Atlanta. The images from the march had an impact on the freedom movement in South Africa , he said, and the stirrings that eventually led to the fall of the Soviet Union . More Work Young will be in Washington again today, when the nation’s first black president, Barack Obama , joins former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to speak at the 50th anniversary ceremony commemorating the march. Obama is a confirmation that much progress in race relations has been made in this country since that historic day, he said. Still, he recalled King’s slogan for the SCLC: “To redeem the soul of America from the triple evils of racism, war and poverty.” Much of that work, he said, is unfinished . What history has largely missed from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech , Young said, was its emphasis on jobs and the economy | 8 | 28 | b888b2fc9ee2400faebdb9aa9e1f351e | 2013 | king-dream-to-rid-nation-of-triple-evils-still-just-tha |
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U.S. Open Fans Can Choose David Burke Steak, ‘Texas Pie’ | By Patrick Cole | 2013-08-28T04:01:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/u-s-open-fans-can-choose-david-burke-steak-texas-pie-.html | 8 | 28 | 4777143828e444478b9d1f40dc014eb9 | The U.S Open adds smoky brisket
sliders and chicken tenders to the fare offered up to hungry
fans for the first time, thanks to Hill Country Chicken
Executive Chef Elizabeth Karmel. For those who want a chocolate dessert that’s 10 miles
north of decadent, Karmel has imported the $4.50 miniature
“Texas Billionaire Pie” from her Manhattan restaurant . The
ingredients include bittersweet chocolate, salted caramel, mini
marshmallows and toasted pecans. “Most Texas oil tycoons are billionaires, and it’s way
richer than a millionaire’s pie,” the North Carolina-born
Karmel said in an interview. The U.S. Open has taken a page from other professional
sports venues by elevating its cuisine beyond hot dogs and
burgers with the help of boldface-name chefs. In 2010, “Iron Chef America’s” Masaharu Morimoto joined
the tennis tournament’s culinary team, offering sushi at Aces
restaurant in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
in Flushing, Queens. Last year, restaurateur David Burke , who has appeared as a
judge on Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America,” brought his
signature steaks to the Center’s Champions Bar & Grill. Tony
Mantuano, a “Top Chef Masters” champion and chef-partner at
Chicago ’s Spiaggia, returns to offer Mediterranean small plates
and his signature flaming ouzo shrimp at Wine Bar Food. Instant Karmel Karmel is the newest addition to the culinary team. “It’s nice that barbecue and southern food now have a place
at the table along with Italian, sushi and the American
steakhouse,” said the chef, whose restaurant is in Manhattan ’s
Chelsea district. The Tennis Center will sell food to more than 700,000 fans
at 60 concession stands this week through Sept. 9. The complex
has 5 restaurants, 100 luxury suites and the Player’s Lounge, a
private cafeteria for the athletes. The stands include an oyster bar, Fresca Mexicana for
tortas and other Mexican dishes, and Heineken House, an outdoor
venue in the Food Village with three bars. Another addition, East Gate Grill, should attract
carnivores for its Pat LaFrieda Steak Sandwich, which layers
filet mignon, onions au jus and Monterey Jack cheese. It’s named
for Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, a top New York supplier. Murray’s Fave Morimoto’s sushi menu ranges from $6 to $25. His spicy tuna
roll is a favorite of the U.K.’s Andy Murray , the defending U.S.
Open champion, said Mark Stone, president of MM Management LLC,
which manages Morimoto’s restaurant empire. But if you’re sticking with meat, you might try the $49
grilled rib eye at Champions Bar & Grill. The steaks served up
by Burke’s team have been dry aged for 55 days and finished with
beef fat, roasted garlic and mustard powder as they come off the
grill. “It’s marinated in what we call love,” said Burke, whose
Manhattan restaurants include David Burke Townhouse and
Fishtail. Muse highlights include Laurie Muchnick on books and
Manuela Hoelterhoff on music. To contact the writer on this story:
Patrick Cole in New York at
[email protected] . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Manuela Hoelterhoff in New York at
[email protected] . | 2013 | u-s-open-fans-can-choose-david-burke-steak-texas-pie- |
Berlusconi Has Most to Lose From Early Vote, Ex-Court Chief Says | By Lorenzo Totaro and Chiara Vasarri | 2013-08-28T08:35:28Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/berlusconi-has-most-to-lose-from-early-vote-ex-court-chief-says.html | 8 | 28 | 04ec801766fd0943377490a4ea9d5b5a1909db60 | Silvio Berlusconi, the three-time Italian prime minister whose party has threatened to bring down the government if he’s expelled from the Senate, may have the most to lose from an early vote, the former head of the country’s supreme court says. With a vote this year, “Berlusconi’s bullets would be blunted,” Cesare Mirabelli, a former president of Italy’s Constitutional Court , said in a phone interview. Early elections would probably lead to his immediate ineligibility, while keeping a debate on his Senate expulsion going could result in more favorable legislation, he said. Berlusconi’s People of Liberty party has threatened to bring down Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s government if a key property tax isn’t abolished today, a prelude to a dispute on whether to expel the 76-year-old billionaire media magnate from the Senate, following his final tax-fraud conviction on Aug. 1. The Senate committee for immunity and elections will begin the debate on Berlusconi’s case on Sept. 9. Letta’s Democratic Party, the biggest force in the ruling coalition, has said Berlusconi’s expulsion is required by an anti-corruption law passed in December 2012. Berlusconi’s PDL claims the law, which bars people sentenced to more than two years in prison from running in elections, is unconstitutional and shouldn’t be applied to Berlusconi, whose conviction stems from tax fraud in 2002 and 2003. It may take weeks before a final vote by the entire house. Constitutional Court The PDL is pressuring parliament to request a Constitutional Court opinion on the matter, which would freeze the effects of the law. It would then take the Constitutional Court “up to six months” to decide whether to rule on the parliamentary query or reject it all together, Mirabelli said. The Parliament could even agree on amending the corruption law to exclude its retro-activity, which “could be done in 15 days,” he added. “That would save Berlusconi from losing his Senate seat, but ultimately the public-office ban, to be determined by the appeals court, would kick in,” Mirabelli said. Italy ’s top court on Aug. 1 upheld Berlusconi’s conviction and asked the appeals court to review a five-year public office ban imposed by the original ruling. The appeals court could rule as early as November, while Berlusconi would have the right to a last appeal to the highest court, which would take “another three or four months,” Mirabelli said. House Arrest Berlusconi, whose four-year prison sentence was reduced to one year due to laws against prison overcrowding, is unlikely to go to jail due to his age and the short sentence. Ultimately, his penalty may involve house arrest or community service. He has denied any wrongdoing and has said judges were politically motivated. “Pulling the plug on Letta’s government would also sanction the end” of talks with the PD and other political forces on granting Berlusconi some political leeway after his conviction, said Wolfango Piccoli , an analyst with Teneo Intelligence in London in a note yesterday. The coalition of rival parties could come to a political agreement on measures to improve the justice system followed by an amnesty, Mirabelli said. To contact the reporters on this story: Lorenzo Totaro in Rome at [email protected] Chiara Vasarri in Rome at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Fergal O’Brien at [email protected] | 2013 | berlusconi-has-most-to-lose-from-early-vote-ex-court-chief-says |
Corn Output in China Seen Lower on Heavy Rain, Researcher Says | By Bloomberg News | 2013-08-28T05:56:06Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/corn-output-in-china-seen-lower-on-heavy-rain-researcher-says.html | 8 | 28 | 1e215b752be54f6fac2c2512a906503b | Corn output in China , the second-biggest consumer, may be less than projected this year as rain
and flooding in the northeast damaged crops, boosting the need
for more imports, according to a local researcher. Production may fall about 2.7 percent from an Aug. 14
estimate to 179 million metric tons, Feng Lichen , the general
manager of Dalian-based grain advisory company Yigu Information
Consulting Ltd., said yesterday. Feng estimated last year’s
harvest was 181 million tons, lower than China’s official figure
of 205.6 million tons. A smaller crop may lead to higher imports of the grain used
in food and livestock feed, as demand continues to outpace
production. Inbound shipments may reach a record 7 million tons
in the 12 months starting Oct. 1, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture estimates. China made its first-ever purchase from
Ukraine this year, increasing competition with the U.S., the
biggest supplier, and Argentina . “Too much rain has caused some crops to fail,” said Feng.
“Domestic supply could easily become tight from a current
surplus.” Heavy rains and lower temperatures in the northeast caused
flooding and hail damage since Aug. 14, the China National Grain
and Oils Information Center said Aug. 19. The top producing
region received as much as 50 percent more rain than the average
in previous years. CBOT, Dalian Corn for delivery in December on the Chicago Board of Trade
rose 1 percent to $4.91 a bushel at 1:08 p.m. in Beijing.
Futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange were little changed at
2,338 yuan a ton, or $9.70 a bushel. Dalian prices have slid 3.9 percent this year on the
prospect of record imports and a larger local crop. State
reserves hold about 30 million tons bought from farmers this
year, which has weighed on prices, said Feng. Low temperatures caused by rains can slow or halt crop
development, weather service Xn121.com said yesterday. China,
which the USDA estimates will consume about 207 million tons
this year, has ordered more than 4 million tons of U.S. corn for
delivery after Sept. 1, the grain center said. “It’s looking wet and cold in the northeast, and that adds
risks to crops,” said Li Qiang , the chairman at Shanghai JC
Intelligence Co. “Temperatures and early frost in the next
month are the key to watch for.” Temperatures in the Jilin province , located in the center
of the northeast, will average 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees
Fahrenheit) in the next week, lower than the average of 19
degrees in previous years, according to Xn121.com. To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
William Bi in Beijing at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Brett Miller at
[email protected] | 2013 | corn-output-in-china-seen-lower-on-heavy-rain-researcher-says |
S. Korean President Calls for More Investment by Conglomerates | By Sam Kim | 2013-08-28T06:57:20Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/s-korean-president-calls-for-more-investment-by-conglomerates.html | 8 | 28 | 67192da358e54f098be10b051d60d9021f698215 | South Korean President Park Geun Hye
called on the heads of the country’s biggest industrial
companies to increase investment and promised she would prevent
regulations from obstructing their business activities. Park met today with Lee Kun Hee of Samsung Group , Chung
Mong Koo of Hyundai Motor Co. and the heads of eight other large
industrial groups, according to an e-mailed statement from the
president’s office. Park said she sees signs of an economic recovery and told
the executives that “aggressive and pre-emptive investment”
has increased corporate competitiveness and helped improve the
national economy in the past, according to the e-mail. Huh Chang Soo, head of GS Group, acknowledged investment by
the top 30 conglomerates in the country fell short of their
initial plan and told Park that they would increase investment
to 6 trillion won ($5.4 billion) to 155 trillion won this year,
according to the statement. To contact the reporter on this story:
Sam Kim in Seoul at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Rosalind Mathieson at
[email protected] | 2013 | s-korean-president-calls-for-more-investment-by-conglomerates |
Sumitomo Mitsui, Orix Said to Weigh Bids for AIG’s Planes | By Monami Yui and Shigeru Sato | 2013-08-28T07:10:44Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/sumitomo-mitsui-orix-said-to-weigh-bids-for-aig-s-planes.html | 8 | 28 | 5f81d7078677b2bc67eb0d79f92355957b5f73d2 | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316)
and Orix Corp. (8591) are considering making bids for aircraft owned by
American International Group Inc.’s aircraft-leasing unit, two
people with knowledge of the matter said. Sumitomo Mitsui’s banking unit is interested in buying 300
planes owned by AIG (AIG) ’s International Lease Finance Corp. for
about $1 billion, said one person, who asked not to be named
because the deliberations are private. Orix is considering
teaming up with other investors to purchase about 100 aircraft,
or around a 10th of ILFC’s fleet, the other person said. AIG agreed in December to sell 80 percent of ILFC to a
group of investors for $4.2 billion, though that deal has been
delayed as the consortium missed payment deadlines. The
transaction suffered a setback as New China Trust Co. left the
investor group, and the remaining bidders have yet to finish
raising money for the purchase, a person with knowledge of the
matter said this month. Sumitomo Mitsui, Japan ’s second-biggest bank by market
value, last year paid $7.3 billion for Royal Bank of Scotland
Group Plc (RBS) ’s aviation division. Orix , which offers services ranging from leasing and
insurance to real estate and private equity, has an aviation
unit in Dublin. Orix Aviation Systems Ltd. owns more than 170
commercial jet aircraft and spare engines valued at more than $4
billion, according to its website . Sohei Nishimaki, a Tokyo-based spokesman for Sumitomo
Mitsui, wasn’t immediately able to comment. Atsushi Horii, a
spokesman for Orix in Tokyo, declined to comment. Calvin Lee, a
spokesman for AIG in Hong Kong, didn’t immediately return a
call. AIG’s Move Neither company is in formal talks with AIG, the people
said. Sumitomo Mitsui and Orix, both based in Tokyo, are waiting
to see whether AIG abandons the deal with the investor group, or
whether the New York-based company chooses to pursue an initial
public offering of ILFC, according to the people. AIG retains an option to terminate the deal with the
investor group, now led by Hong Kong-based P3 Investments Ltd.,
a person familiar with the matter said this month. ILFC owned or
operated a fleet of about 1,000 aircraft as of March 31,
according to a regulatory filing. To contact the reporters on this story:
Monami Yui in Tokyo at
[email protected] ;
Shigeru Sato in Tokyo at
[email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Philip Lagerkranser at
[email protected] ;
Chitra Somayaji at
[email protected] | 2013 | sumitomo-mitsui-orix-said-to-weigh-bids-for-aig-s-planes |
Tom Coburn Self-Corrects for Using the ‘I’ Word | By Margaret Carlson | 2013-08-28T16:09:40Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/tom-coburn-self-corrects-for-using-the-i-word.html
Has the world gone mad? The question came to mind upon reading that one of the more staid | 8 | 28 | 62e6bce663fc40ea9db7802ae34f719d | 2013 | om-coburn-self-corrects-for-using-the-i-word |
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Treasury 5-Year Turns Into Unscheduled Reopening of 7-Year Note | By Cordell Eddings and Susanne Walker | 2013-08-28T21:31:50Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/treasury-5-year-turns-into-unscheduled-reopening-of-7-year-note.html | 8 | 28 | 0e553512b03d11019a8f984d07ca5bcd723812e0 | The U.S. Treasury’s sale of $35
billion in five-year notes turned into additional issuance of
seven-year notes sold in 2011, the first so-called unscheduled
reopening of a security since 2004. With the five-year yielding 1.624 percent at yesterday’s
sale, the notes were assigned a 1.5 percent coupon, matching the
interest payout on the seven-year security issued in August 2011
with the same 2018 maturity date. The debt sold yesterday will
be classified as a five-year note, according to the Treasury
Department. “It was an interesting occurrence, but the issue will just
trade like an old seven-year note,” said Gabriel Mann, a U.S.
government-bond strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s
RBS Securities unit in Stamford , Connecticut , one of 21 primary
dealers obligated to bid at the auctions. “There is minimal
risk of thin liquidity in the issue.” The Federal Reserve , through its bond-buying program, holds
$14 billion, or 47 percent, of $29 billion outstanding of the
seven-year debt, which would ensure no lack of supply for
investors seeking to borrow the security to sell it in a short
transaction, Mann said. A short position is a bet a security’s
price will fall. Treasury said the notes will have the same CUSIP number as
seven-year notes sold in August 2011 that carry a 1.5 percent
coupon and have about five years of remaining maturity. ‘Very Rare’ “Accidental reopenings are very rare, and can be somewhat
disruptive, but today’s shouldn’t be a big deal,” said Ted Wieseman, an economist at Morgan Stanley in New York . “The
impact will be a slightly lower financing liquidity premium, if
anything.” Treasuries fell for the first time in five days yesterday
after the five-year notes drew the least demand in four years. The current five-year yield rose six basis points, or 0.06
percentage point, to 1.58 percent in New York, after dropping 16
basis points during the previous three days, according to
Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The 1.375 percent note maturing in
July 2018 fell 8/32, or $2.50 per $1,000 face value, to 99 1/32.
The 10-year yield added six basis points to 2.77 percent. The bid-to-cover ratio, which gauges demand by comparing
total bids with the amount of securities offered, was 2.38, the
lowest since July 2009 and compared with an average of 2.74 for
the past 10 sales. The notes drew a yield of 1.624 percent,
compared with a forecast of 1.618 percent in a Bloomberg News
survey of eight of the Fed primary dealers. Indirect bidders at the auction, an investor class that
includes foreign central banks, purchased 40.3 percent of the
notes, compared with an average of 44.2 percent for the past 10
sales. Bid Patterns Direct bidders, non-primary-dealer investors that place
their bids directly with the Treasury, purchased 12.7 percent of
the notes at the sale, compared with an average of 15.9 percent
for the past 10 auctions. “These yields were not as attractive, given some general
optimism about the recovery and the broader risk of tapering
next month,” said Ian Lyngen , a government-bond strategist at
CRT Capital Group LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. Five-year notes have lost 2.6 percent this year, versus a
loss of 3.1 percent for Treasuries overall, according to Bank of
America Merrill Lynch indexes. The five-year securities returned
2.3 percent in 2012, while Treasuries overall rose 2.2 percent. Yesterday’s offering was the second of three note auctions
this week totaling $98 billion. The government sold $34 billion
in two-year debt the prior day at a yield of 0.386 percent, and
will sell $29 billion in seven-year securities tomorrow. The sales this week will raise $38.1 billion of new cash,
as maturing securities held by the public total $59.9 billion,
according to the Treasury. To contact the reporters on this story:
Cordell Eddings in New York at
[email protected] ;
Susanne Walker in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dave Liedtka at
[email protected] | 2013 | reasury-5-year-turns-into-unscheduled-reopening-of-7-year-note |
Europe Stocks Fall to Six-Week Low on Syria Concern | By Corinne Gretler | 2013-08-28T16:23:47Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/european-stock-index-futures-fall-bouygues-may-be-active.html | 8 | 28 | 4468b954b2d2408496a7292a790f853f | European stocks dropped to the
lowest level in six weeks as concern grew that the U.S. will
take military action against Syria. Accor SA fell the most in more than 14 months after posting
first-half profit that missed analysts’ estimates. Air France-KLM Group and Deutsche Lufthansa AG paced a decline among
European travel and leisure companies. Bouygues SA jumped the
most in six months after reporting a 10 percent increase in
second-quarter profit. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.4 percent to 297.89 at
the close of trading, its lowest level since July 17. The gauge
fell as much as 1.1 percent in intraday trading. It has still
advanced 8.1 percent since this year’s low on June 24 as the
European Central Bank pledged to keep interest rates low. “The key thing we are worried about regarding Syria, but
also Egypt, is a sharp rise in oil prices and how it has a
potential to be a bigger problem for emerging markets in
particular and then, potentially the West” Norman Villamin, who
helps oversee more than $40 billion as European chief investment
officer at Coutts & Co. in Zurich, said in telephone interview.
“This correction will create opportunities for those who are
looking for more attractive entry levels.’” The Stoxx 600 slid 1.8 percent yesterday after U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. will hold Syria
accountable for using chemical weapons against its own people.
The attack near Damascus last week killed as many as 1,300
people, according to opposition groups. Military Action Oil climbed to a two-year high on concern the conflict in
Syria may spread and threaten oil supplies from the Middle East .
The U.S. and its allies are working to define goals for a
military strike against Syria, according to a U.S.
administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The
U.K. will put forward a draft resolution authorizing action to
protect civilians in Syria, Prime Minister David Cameron said. In the U.K., Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the
central bank is prepared to boost stimulus if the U.K.’s
economic recovery is hampered by investors’ expectations of high
interest rates. “The upward move in market expectations of where bank rate
will head in future could, at the margin, feed into the
effective financial conditions facing the real economy,” Carney
said. “If they tighten, and the recovery seems to be falling
short of the strong growth we need, we will consider carefully
whether, and how best, to stimulate the recovery further.” National Benchmarks National benchmark indexes retreated in 12 of the 18
western European markets today. France’s CAC 40 lost 0.2 percent
and Germany’s DAX dropped 1 percent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100
retreated 0.2 percent. Italy’s FTSEMIB Index jumped 1 percent. Renato Brunetta, an
ally of Silvio Berlusconi , said today Italy will cancel part of
an unpopular property tax, easing concern the issue would cause
Berlusconi’s party to withdraw from the governing coalition. Accor (AC) dropped 4.4 percent to 27.52 euros, the biggest loss
since June 2012. Europe’s largest hotel operator posted first-half earnings before interest and taxes of 198 million euros
($265 million), missing the average analyst projection of 212
million euros. The company predicted 2013 Ebit of between 510
million euros and 530 million euros, compared with the average
534 million-euro analyst estimate. A gauge of European travel companies slumped to a two-month
low, for the third-worst performance among the 19 groups in the
Stoxx 600. Air France-KLM slid 2.9 percent to 5.74 euros and
Lufthansa fell 3.2 percent to 13.49 euros. Polymetal Loss Polymetal International Plc (POLY) lost 5.8 percent to 698 pence
as the Russian gold and silver miner posted a first-half net
loss of $255 million, compared with a $157 million profit a year
earlier. Bouygues (EN) rallied 10 percent to 25.33 euros, the biggest
gain since February. The French building, telecommunications and
television company’s operating profit increased to 432 million
euros from 394 million euros a year earlier. Analysts had
forecast 358 million euros, according to the average of three
estimates. Separately, Bouygues cut its sales target for the full year
to 33.2 billion euros to 33.4 billion euros. That compared with
a previous forecast of 33.45 billion euros. Statoil ASA (STL) rose 4.2 percent to 137.60 kroner. Norway’s
biggest energy company made its third oil discovery off the
coast of Canada in the Flemish Pass basin. Bank of America Corp.
raised the stock to buy from neutral. “The group’s ongoing commitment to exploration has
replenished the portfolio and offered more flexibility to pick
the best organic projects, meaning there is less of a trade off
between growth targets versus sustaining returns,” Bank of
America analysts including Matthew Yates wrote. Vestas Wind Systems A/S advanced 5.5 percent to 104.90
kroner as Stoxx Ltd. said the company is among the 12 stocks
that will be added to the Stoxx 600 as of Sept. 23. To contact the reporter on this story:
Corinne Gretler in Zurich at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andrew Rummer at
[email protected] | 2013 | european-stock-index-futures-fall-bouygues-may-be-active |
Japan Nuclear Agency Must Focus on Safety, Niigata Governor Says | By Jacob Adelman | 2013-08-28T06:41:11Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/japan-nuclear-agency-must-focus-on-safety-niigata-governor-says.html | 8 | 28 | 2a358c890710671776800fa497647c983d9e3404 | The mission of Japan’s nuclear
regulator is too narrow and neglects the safety of local
residents, said Hirohiko Izumida, the governor at the center of
the debate over whether to restart Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (9501)
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. The Nuclear Regulation Authority isn’t listening to the
concerns of local officials, Izumida, governor of Niigata
prefecture, told reporters today in Tokyo where he criticized
Tokyo Electric for putting financial considerations ahead of
safety. Izumida’s approval is critical before Tepco, as Tokyo
Electric is known, can go ahead with plans for the restart of
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the world’s largest nuclear power station by
generating capacity. The governor’s comments come as Tepco grapples with ways to
plug a toxic outflow of water from its wrecked Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant 220 kilometers (137 miles) northeast of
Tokyo. The leak at a contaminated water storage tank, discovered
last week at the Fukushima plant, may have continued since last
month before it was detected and the tank drained, Tepco said. Crews found elevated levels of radiation in July near where
the leak was ultimately detected on Aug. 19, Mayumi Yoshida, a
Tepco spokeswoman said today by phone. Tepco originally characterized the leak as a small one
before determining by the change in the tank’s water level that
300 metric tons of contaminated water had escaped. A protective
barrier around the tank didn’t stop the leak because a valve in
the concrete structure had been left open, Tepco said. Japan ’s nuclear regulator last week labeled the leak a
“serious incident” in its worst assessment of the problems at
Fukushima since the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 caused
reactors to melt down. To contact the reporter on this story:
Jacob Adelman in Tokyo at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jason Rogers at
[email protected] | 2013 | japan-nuclear-agency-must-focus-on-safety-niigata-governor-says |
Asian Stocks Decline to Two-Month Low Amid Syria Tensions | By Yoshiaki Nohara | 2013-08-28T11:09:12Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/asian-stocks-extend-global-retreat-amid-syria-tensions.html | 8 | 28 | fd2d079381754e4c8a6a9a6fb5829afb | Asian stocks slumped, with the
regional benchmark index closing at its lowest level in two
months, on concern the U.S. will take military action against
Syria for using chemical weapons. Honda Motor Co., which gets 83 percent of its revenue
abroad, lost 2.4 percent in Tokyo after the yen gained.
PetroChina Co. (857) , the nation’s biggest energy producer, dropped
4.4 percent in Hong Kong after saying senior managers had
resigned or been ousted amid an investigation by authorities.
New China Life Insurance Co., the country’s third-largest life
insurer by premium income last year, fell 3.5 percent in Hong
Kong after first-half profit missed analyst estimates. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.5 percent to 129.27
as of 7:31 p.m. in Tokyo, its lowest close since June 27, as
more than four shares fell for each that rose. The gauge has
declined for eight of the past 10 days as the prospect of the
Federal Reserve paring stimulus as soon as next month spurs
investors to shun riskier assets. “The situation in the Middle East is not stable right
now,” said Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai
Securities in Hong Kong . “A correction was already happening
across the region due to the Fed. Right now the bad news is
coming out of Syria and it’s accelerating the correction.” Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) were little
changed today. The measure slid 1.6 percent yesterday, the most
since June 20, as the U.S., France and Britain stepped closer to
a military strike against Syria after concluding the regime used
chemical weapons against civilians. Data yesterday showed
consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in August as Americans
grew more optimistic about the outlook for the economy. Regional Gauges Japan’s Topix index slid 1.8 percent after the yen gained
the most in 2 1/2 months against the dollar yesterday, damping
the earnings outlook for exporters. Honda lost 2.4 percent to
3,610 yen and Sony Corp., an electronics maker that generates 68
percent of its revenue overseas, fell 3.4 percent to 1,967 yen. The S&P BSE Sensex added 0.2 percent in Mumbai. South
Korea ’s Kospi Index dropped 0.1 percent even as data showed the
nation’s manufacturer confidence rebounded from a six-month low. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.6 percent, while the
Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex Index
added less than 0.1 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index lost 0.7
percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 retreated 1.1 percent. Singapore Developers Singapore ’s Straits Times Index fell 1 percent, its 10th
straight daily decline and longest losing streak since September
2002. A Singapore property index tracking 43 stocks dropped 1.3
percent after the government tightened its public housing policy
by reducing tenures for new loans and restricting purchases by
foreigners. CapitaLand Ltd., Singapore’s biggest developer, lost 2.3
percent to S$2.93, its lowest price since July last year. City
Developments Ltd., the second-largest, slipped 2.2 percent to
S$9.76. PetroChina dropped 4.4 percent to HK$8.27 after saying
three senior managers, including Kunlun Energy Co. Chairman Li
Hualin, had resigned and another was fired. PetroChina and unit
Kunlun Energy shares were suspended from trading yesterday.
Kunlun plummeted 14 percent to HK$10.88. China Life New China Life fell 3.5 percent to HK$20.55 after net
income rose 15 percent to 2.18 billion yuan ($356 million),
missing the 2.38 billion yuan mean estimate of analysts surveyed
by Bloomberg News . Among stocks that rose, Fraser & Neave Ltd., controlled by
Thailand’s richest man, gained in Singapore on plans to spin off
its property business through a Singapore listing at the end of
the year. The stock added 4.2 percent to S$5.72. The Asia-Pacific gauge lost 0.1 percent this year, lagging
a 14 percent surge in the S&P 500 Index, as growth slows in
China and speculation that the Fed will taper economic stimulus
spurred investors to sell assets across Asia and emerging
markets . The MSCI Asia Pacific index traded at 12.6 times estimated
earnings, compared with 14.8 for the S&P 500 Index and 13.6
times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, according to data compiled
by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story:
Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Sarah McDonald at
[email protected] | 2013 | asian-stocks-extend-global-retreat-amid-syria-tensions |
China Widens Anti-Graft Drive as PetroChina Ousts Managers | By Benjamin Haas and Aibing Guo | 2013-08-28T09:28:59Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/china-widens-anti-graft-drive-as-petrochina-ousts-managers-4-.html | 8 | 28 | b39a499feeb84b09804b08ba0aeffe07 | China widened its anti-corruption
campaign to include the nation’s most valuable company, as
PetroChina Co. (857) said four senior managers had been removed amid
an investigation by authorities. The company’s shares dived 4.4 percent in Hong Kong trading,
the most in two years. The departing executives include the
chairman of unit Kunlun Energy (135) Co. and the general managers of
the company’s two biggest oilfields. Kunlun fell 14 percent, the
most in almost five years, slashing its market value to $11.3
billion. The probes signal a broadening crackdown on corruption by
China’s new leaders under Xi Jinping that has snared targets
from the nation’s biggest phone company to the railway ministry.
The Communist Party highlighted the trial of ousted Politburo
member Bo Xilai, which concluded on Aug. 26, as proof of its
determination to target graft that Xi says threatens the party’s
grip on power. “The new leadership would like to be seen as being tough
on corruption and so they’re trying to be bold by cracking down
on the major vested interests,” Joseph Cheng , a professor of
political science at City University of Hong Kong, said by phone.
“Recent major cases, including Bo Xilai, were all targets hit
by the previous leaders, so the present government is looking to
pick some exemplary cases.” China Mobile (941) China Mobile Communications Corp., the state-owned parent
of the world’s largest phone company by users, removed the head
of its Guangdong unit who is under investigation, the company
said Aug. 20. Last month, a court gave former Railway Minister
Liu Zhijun a suspended death sentence for abuse of power and
taking bribes. Three PetroChina executives to resign are Li Hualin,
chairman of Kunlun, an oil and gas producer and distributor;
PetroChina vice president and general manager of its biggest
oilfield, Ran Xinquan; and Wang Daofu, chief geologist for
PetroChina. All are “currently under investigation by relevant PRC
authorities,” the Beijing-based company said yesterday in a
statement. The fourth - Wang Yongchun, head of the company’s
second biggest oilfield - was replaced, spokesman Mao Zefeng
said. The official Xinhua News Agency reported the government
probe into Wang on Aug. 26. “PetroChina is exploring feasible approaches and
arrangements to support Kunlun Energy’s development, to ensure
the operational stability of Kunlun Energy’s production,” Mao
said in an e-mailed statement today. ‘Serious Violations’ The three executives to resign are being investigated for
“serious discipline violations,” the official Xinhua News
Agency reported yesterday, citing the State-owned Assets
Supervision and Administration Commission. The executives
resigned with immediate effect because of personal reasons,
PetroChina said in its statement, adding its operations aren’t
affected. “The only precedent we can think of here is back in 2007
when Sinopec’s Chairman Chen Tonghai was arrested,” said CLSA
analyst Simon Powell in a note to investors. Chen, former
chairman of the nation’s second-biggest oil company, China
Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (386) , or Sinopec, received a suspended
death penalty in 2009 for taking bribes. PetroChina fell to HK$8.27 at the close in Hong Kong.
Kunlun plunged to HK$10.88, compared with a 1.6 percent drop in
the benchmark Hang Seng Index . Li didn’t answer two calls to his office number today. Ran
and Wang couldn’t be reached, after two calls to their offices
went unanswered. Daqing Oilfield Wen Qingshan, 54, chief accountant at PetroChina’s parent
China National Petroleum Corp. since last month, has been
identified as Li’s replacement at Kunlun, the company said in an
e-mailed statement today. PetroChina Vice President Sun Longde
will take over as acting board secretary, a position that fell
vacant after Li resigned, the company said in a statement to the
Shanghai Stock Exchange today. Wang, general manager of PetroChina unit Daqing Oilfield Co.
since 2009 and a 30-year veteran of the country’s oil and gas
industry, will be replaced by Liu Hongbin, a deputy general
manager at CNPC, according to spokesman Mao. Liu was appointed
to his current position at CNPC last month from vice president
at PetroChina. Zhao Zhengzhang, vice president at PetroChina since May
2008, will replace Ran, who was made a director on PetroChina’s
board more than two years ago, as general manager of Changqing
Oilfield Co. Changqing is PetroChina’s largest domestic oilfield with a
planned output of 50 million tons of crude this year. Daqing
oilfield is its second, producing about 40 million metric tons
of crude a year. Growth Signal The company has signaled the importance of its Chinese
oilfields for growth. “We have to give priority to develop
domestic upstream resources because this is our base for
development and this is where our advantage lies,” Wang Dongjin,
president of PetroChina, said at a press conference last week
after the company reported earnings. The company became the world’s most valuable and briefly
overtook ExxonMobil Corp. in November 2007 when it listed its
shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, giving it a market value
of $1 trillion. Since then its market capitalization has fallen
to $235 billion. PetroChina posted a 5.6 percent increase in first-half
profit, boosted by a gain from the sale of pipeline assets. Oil
and gas production rose 4.4 percent from a year earlier and
losses from refining narrowed to 7.8 billion yuan from 23.3
billion yuan a year earlier after the government changed the
formula it uses to determine retail fuel prices. To contact the reporters on this story:
Benjamin Haas in Hong Kong at
[email protected] ;
Aibing Guo in Hong Kong at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jason Rogers at
[email protected] | 2013 | china-widens-anti-graft-drive-as-petrochina-ousts-managers-4- |
USDA Boxed Beef Cutout Midday Prices for August 28 | By Michael Carone | 2013-08-28T16:12:12Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/usda-boxed-beef-cutout-midday-prices-for-august-28-table-.html
August 28 (Bloomberg) | 8 | 28 | 3249738375244dc89c04ebceb9d4d756 | from cattle carcasses weighing 550-850 pounds. Cutout values are
separated into three main product types. Fabricated loads are beef cuts
taken from an animal's ribs, chuck, round, loin, brisket, short plate
and flank; 50 percent loads are 50 percent lean beef trimmings. Ground
loads may contain 73, 75, or 80 percent ground beef. A typical
refrigerated truckload carries 40,000 pounds. Choice 1-3 grade is a better grade than Select 1-3, partly because
Choice cuts have more fat, or marbling, than Select cuts. Grade quality is determined using a 1-5 yield grade scale. A rating
of 1 is the highest ratio of muscle to fat, while 5 is the lowest.
Marbling is an important flavor factor. | 2013 | usda-boxed-beef-cutout-midday-prices-for-august-28-table- |
CEZ Gains Amid Global Selloff on Stoxx Membership: Prague Mover | By Krystof Chamonikolas | 2013-08-28T12:45:29Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/cez-gains-amid-global-selloff-on-stoxx-membership-prague-mover.html | 8 | 28 | 68ccfb7194ab7b6073176e63f89c913ac3a4a54c | CEZ AS defied a global stock selloff
as a planned addition of the biggest Czech power utility to a
developed-markets benchmark boosted buying. The shares rose 0.7 percent to 457 koruna by 1:55 p.m. in
Prague , paring this year’s slump to 33 percent. CEZ’s home PX (PX)
index fell 0.6 percent while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, which
it’s scheduled to join next month, retreated 1 percent on
concern the U.S. would take military action against Syria . CEZ and Komercni Banka AS, a unit of Societe Generale SA,
will be the first Czech companies to join the western European
gauge from Sept. 23, Stoxx Ltd. said yesterday. The move follows
a reclassification of the country as a developed market by the
index provider, according to the statement. “This fact should increase the attractiveness of the
companies for investors tracking indexes and it should also
increase liquidity,” analysts at J&T Banka AS led by Milan Vanicek wrote in a report to clients today. Komercni Banka dropped 0.5 percent, compared with a 1.4
percent drop for 16 sector peers tracked by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story:
Krystof Chamonikolas in Prague at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Wojciech Moskwa at [email protected] | 2013 | cez-gains-amid-global-selloff-on-stoxx-membership-prague-mover |
Sberbank Profit Rises 3.7% on Consumer Lending, Bank Card Fees | By Jason Corcoran | 2013-08-28T10:19:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/sberbank-profit-rises-3-7-on-consumer-lending-bank-card-fees.html | 8 | 28 | 88e8f540e7379cdd378539a55e790e2a07cb05bd | OAO Sberbank, Russia ’s largest
lender, said second-quarter profit rose 3.7 percent on higher
fee income and lending to households. Net income in the quarter advanced to 86.5 billion rubles
($2.6 billion) from 83.4 billion rubles in the same period last
year, the Moscow-based bank said in a statement today, just
below the 86.9 billion-ruble average estimate of 11 analysts
surveyed by Bloomberg. Sberbank, Europe’s sixth-largest bank by market value, said
bank cards were the “key driver” of its fee income in the
first half. The lender has benefited as Russian purchasing power
has increased, with consumer spending accelerating in July as
unemployment unexpectedly fell and inflation eased. The acquisition of Turkey ’s DenizBank AS (DENIZ) in the third
quarter of last year also brought “a significant volume of
operating income,” the bank said. Net interest income, the difference between what a bank
earns from lending and what it pays on deposits, rose to 174.8
billion rubles in the quarter from 165.8 billion rubles for the
same period a year ago. The share of non-performing loans
remained unchanged at 3.2 percent of total lending. Consumer lending gained 11 percent to 3.15 trillion rubles
in the quarter, while corporate lending rose 4.2 percent to 8.57
trillion rubles. For the first half, fee and commission income
jumped 24.5 percent to 97.5 billion rubles. Shares Slip Sberbank’s shares slipped 1 percent to 89.15 rubles at 2:12
p.m. in Moscow, compared with a decline of 0.4 percent for the
Micex Index. The bank said it has set aside 30.9 billion rubles against
potential bad loans, up from 2.1 billion rubles a year ago. Jason Hurwitz, a senior analyst at Alfa Bank in Moscow who
rates Sberbank overweight, said the lender will withstand
slowing growth in corporate and consumer lending, “as long as
it’s not abrupt,” which would expose more bad loans. Interest, fee and commission income accounted for 78
percent of total operating income before provisions for loan
impairments. Sberbank’s return on equity slumped to 20.8 percent from
26.1 percent a year ago. Its Tier 1 regulatory capital ratio, a
measure of financial strength, increased to 10.5 percent from
10.4 percent six months ago. Total capital adequacy increased to
13.9 percent from 13.7 percent at the start of the year. To contact the reporter on this story:
Jason Corcoran in Moscow at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Frank Connelly at
[email protected] | 2013 | sberbank-profit-rises-3-7-on-consumer-lending-bank-card-fees |
Iron Ore to Steelmakers Increases as Indian State Restarts Mines | By Abhishek Shanker | 2013-08-28T08:33:40Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/iron-ore-to-steelmakers-increases-as-indian-state-restarts-mines.html | 8 | 28 | 855b24ae98dab4ecf2630ee7bd7e2bac184e0c76 | Karnataka, India ’s second-largest
iron ore producing state until a 2011 court ruling restricted
mining, is set to increase supplies to steelmakers as banned
quarries restart operations after meeting environmental norms. “About half of more than 100 miners have been allowed to
restart mining based on the court-laid out conditions,” S.
Shankarnarayana, Karnataka’s mines director, said today in a
telephone interview. “Output from some of these mines has
started reaching the market.” Miners including NMDC Ltd. (NMDC) , the nation’s biggest iron ore
producer, will sell as much as 4.4 million metric tons in August,
the biggest monthly sales since the Supreme Court eased the ban
on mining in September last year. The southern province, having
sold about 1.8 million tons this month, is offering mills
another 2.6 million tons by Aug. 30, according to data from the
state’s mines department. The top court last year partially allowed 18 mines in the
state to restart after securing required approvals. Higher
supplies would benefit steelmakers including JSW Steel Ltd. (JSTL) ,
which had to run its biggest factory in the state at a lower
capacity because of a lack of raw material. Sesa Goa Ltd. (SESA) , controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal , is
in the final stages of securing approval from the environment
ministry and expects to restart mining in August, Managing
Director Prasun Kumar Mukherjee said in an earnings call on July
30. Sesa, whose annual mining capacity in the state had fallen
to 2.29 million tons from 6 million tons before the ban, expects
to reach its original capacity by March, he had said. “Supplies will only increase as more mines restart,”
Shankarnarayana said. “Sesa is seeking a permit and the state’s
output will rise further after it restarts.” The court had halted mining in Karnataka to probe
environmental breaches and allowed only state-run NMDC to mine
and sell 1 million tons a month, via online auctions. While
lifting the restriction, the court allowed the state to produce
as much as 30 million tons of iron ore each year, saying it was
sufficient to meet local needs. To contact the reporter on this story:
Abhishek Shanker in Mumbai at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jason Rogers at
[email protected] | 2013 | iron-ore-to-steelmakers-increases-as-indian-state-restarts-mines |
Cancer’s Primeval Power and Murderous Purpose | By George Johnson | 2013-08-28T22:00:20Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/cancer-s-primeval-power-and-murderous-purpose.html
It was 2010 and I was driving through the badlands of northwest Colorado , far from the cool, green Rocky Mountains . This was the land where the oldest known example of cancer had been found: inside of a bone of a Jurassic Age dinosaur. About 150 million years ago, the malignant growth had eaten away at the beast. It died and was buried under the layered debris of the ages. But a fragment of its petrified skeleton chanced to survive. It was discovered by an unknown rock hunter, cut and polished in a rock shop, and purchased by a man on vacation | 8 | 28 | f768d552ef2246f9855783c55c385086 | 2013 | cancer-s-primeval-power-and-murderous-purpose |
|
Apple, Voss, IDBI, Fox, Nintendo: Intellectual Property | By Victoria Slind-Flor | 2013-08-28T04:00:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/apple-voss-idbi-fox-nintendo-intellectual-property.html | 8 | 28 | 6e8ab4e75df14cc09cf020caffb91b38 | Apple Inc. (AAPL) , maker of the iPad and
iPhone, Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) have
been targeted more by patent-licensing firms than any other
companies in the past five years, PC World reported . The licensing firms, sometimes derided as “trolls,” don’t
make products or provide services covered by the patents they
seek to enforce. Speaking at a conference at Stanford University in
California , attorney Michael Brody of Winston & Strawn LLP said
the firms have a better than 24 percent chance of either
negotiating a settlement or prevailing in court or on appeal, PC
World said. Brady said that lately it’s become harder for the licensing
companies to get court orders barring the sale of products that
allegedly infringe their patents, according to PC world. For more patent news, click here. Trademark Voss Settles Trademark Suit With High Liquors Over Bottle Shape Voss of Norway ASA, a seller of bottled artesian water, and
a Kentucky liquor maker have settled a trademark-infringement
dispute related to the shape of a bottle. In a federal case filed in Ashland, Kentucky, in January,
the Oslo-based company claimed that High Liquors LLC of Russell
used bottles virtually identical to the cylindrical flat-topped
containers in which Voss water is sold in the U.S. The two companies’ products are sold in liquor stores, and
Voss claims the public was likely to assume falsely that the
products are from the same source. The parties jointly asked for dismissal of the case in an
Aug. 22 court filing without revealing terms of any agreement.
The dismissal is without prejudice, which means that the case
can be refiled. The case is Voss of Norway ASA v. High Liquors LLC, 13-cv-00004, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky
(Ashland). Feuding South Carolina Bishops’ Trademark Case Dismissed A federal judge in South Carolina dismissed a dispute
between two Episcopalian bishops over the use of diocesan
trademarks, saying the case is better suited for state court. U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck on Aug. 23 said the
dispute between Charles G. vonRosenberg and Mark J. Lawrence
could be refiled if it appears the underlying issues aren’t
disposed of in state court, where a related case is pending. The suit stems from a theological dispute after which
Lawrence withdrew from the Episcopal Church and declared that
the South Carolina diocese he led had “disassociated” from the
church. VonRosenberg was elected as provisional bishop of the
diocese and filed the suit March 5 seeking an order barring
Lawrence’s use of the diocese’s trademarks. The federal case is VonRosenberg v. Lawrence, 13-cv-00587,
U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina (Charleston). Deccan Chronicle Trademarks for Sale ‘As-Is,’ IDBI Bank Says India ’s IDBI Bank Ltd. (IDBI) said it’s selling trademarks to
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd. (DECH) “as-is” and that the buyer will
have to defend the marks in pending litigation over their
ownership, the Business Standard reported . The marks are for four publications: the Deccan Chronicle,
Andhar Bhoomi, Asian Age and Financial Chronicle, according to
Business Standard. When Mumbai-based IDBI Bank said this month that the marks
were for sale, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (KMB) said it had a clam to
their ownership, the newspaper reported. The dispute is being hard at the Debt Recovery Tribunal in
Hyderabad, India, according to the Business Standard. For more trademark news, click here. Copyright Streaming TV Doesn’t Infringe Copyrights, Appeals Court Told A company that streams TV shows to subscribers petitioned a
federal appeals court in California to overturn a lower-court
ruling that granted Fox Broadcasting Co.’s bid to shut down the
service in the state. FilmOn X LLC, based in Beverly Hills and founded by Alki David, argued at a hearing in Pasadena yesterday that it isn’t
infringing copyrights by capturing broadcasters’ over-the-air
signals with its small remotely located antennas and
retransmitting the programming to its customers. Fox, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOXA) , sued FilmOn X
in 2012, claiming that it violated Fox’s exclusive rights to
reproduce and perform its works publicly and that the service
doesn’t have a license to transmit its programming. Fox and
other broadcasters, including CBS Corp. (CBS) , Comcast Corp.’s NBC and
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) ’s ABC, are fighting unlicensed online streaming
services because they are a threat to the revenue the broadcast
networks receive from cable and satellite TV providers. After U.S. District Judge George Wu granted the injunction,
FilmOn X appealed. Wu denied the broadcasters’ petition to
extend the injunction beyond California and several other states
and they have appealed that ruling. FilmOn X argued in court papers that the California appeals
court should follow a decision by a federal appeals court in New
York . The New York court ruled against an injunction that would
have shut down Aereo Inc., which has a technology similar to
FilmOn’s. Fox said in a letter to the California appeals court that
it should take into account the dissenting opinion of U.S.
Circuit Judge Denny Chin in New York, who said the Aereo system
“is a sham, as it was designed solely to avoid the reach of the
copyright law.” The lower-court case is Fox Broadcast Stations v.
Aereokiller, 12-cv-06921, U.S. District Court, Central District
of California. The appeal is Fox Television Stations v.
Aereokiller, 13-55156, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit (Pasadena). Nintendo Gets Metroid Fan Film’s Kickstarter Campaign Shut Down Nintendo Co. (7974) , the Japanese video-game maker, temporarily
derailed a fan group’s campaign to raise money for a film based
on the Metroid science-fiction action games. The page on Kickstarter Inc.’s crowd-sourcing website for
“Metroid: Enemies Within (A Metroid Fan Film)” now carries a
notice that the film is the subject of an intellectual property
dispute. Nintendo sent a takedown request to New York-based
Kickstarter under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act stating
that it owns copyrights “in all aspects of its Metroid video-game franchise and related products, including but not limited
to the characters, storylines, audiovisual, pictorial and
graphic works” from six different Metroid games. Nintendo characterized the fan film, story boards and
related material as “unauthorized derivative works” that
infringe its copyrights. For more copyright news, click here. Trade Secrets/Industrial Espionage Equinox Says Ex-Employee’s Peakfit Uses Its Trade Secrets Equinox Holdings Inc., a New York-based operator of fitness
clubs, sued a former employee and his company for trade-secret
misappropriation. In a suit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court,
Equinox accused Yaw Owusu and his Peakfit Academy of making
unauthorized use of confidential information and stealing
customers. Owusu, a former fitness instructor for Equinox, allegedly
converted the chain’s training program, materials and
promotional items for use at Peakfit. Equinox also said Owusu
and Peakfit are deceiving the public into thinking the training
materials they are using actually belong to them. Owusu is using confidential information to promote his new
business and persuade Equinox members to join him at Peakfit,
according to the plaintiff’s filing. Equinox is asking the court for money damages, including a
royalty, and an order barring further use of its trade secrets .
It’s also asking for money the company claims was wrongfully
obtained, including compensation paid to Owusu when he allegedly
breached contractual obligations to Equinox. Owusu and Peakfit didn’t respond immediately to an e-mail
sent to the Peakfit website seeking comment on the lawsuit. The case is Equinox Holdings Inc. v. Owusu, BC517104,
California Superior Court, Los Angeles County (Los Angeles). To contact the reporter on this story:
Victoria Slind-Flor in Oakland, California, at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at [email protected] | 2013 | apple-voss-idbi-fox-nintendo-intellectual-property |
State Street to Open Emerging Market ETF Without BRIC Countries | By Christopher Condon | 2013-08-28T19:55:21Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/state-street-to-open-emerging-market-etf-without-bric-countries.html | 8 | 28 | 6008fac7522aaa796ffc1b8f06a51afa712d4b8d | State Street Corp. (STT) , the second-largest provider of exchange-traded funds worldwide, is seeking
to counter its biggest rivals’ dominance of emerging-market
stock ETFs with a fund that excludes Brazil, Russia, India and
China, known as the BRIC nations. State Street asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission for permission to open the SPDR MSCI Beyond BRIC ETF,
according to a regulatory filing dated yesterday from the
Boston-based firm. The ETF would invest in developing-market
stocks in Chile , Columbia, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, South
Africa and Turkey, among others. “This would allow investors to get more exposure to some
of the smaller, potentially higher-growth areas of the market,”
Todd Rosenbluth , director of ETF and mutual fund research at S&P
Capital IQ in New York, said in a telephone interview. The new product would expand State Street’s offerings in an
area dominated by two ETFs from Vanguard Group Inc. and
BlackRock Inc. (BLK) , which hold a combined $84.6 billion, or 83
percent of all money in U.S. registered emerging-market equity
ETFs that don’t use leverage, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg. State Street’s top entry in the category is the $749
million SPDR S&P Emerging Markets SmallCap ETF. U.S.-based emerging-market ETFs have lost $20.7 billion, or
about 17 percent of assets, this year as investors have
withdrawn from funds and the value of their holdings has
declined. The $50 billion Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) ,
the industry’s largest, has dropped 15 percent in value this
year. BRIC stocks account for 50 percent and 42 percent of assets
in Vanguard’s and BlackRock’s largest emerging market ETFs,
respectively, according to company websites. State Street would be the second provider to open a non-BRIC emerging-market ETF. Emerging Global Advisors LLC in
Ridgewood, New Jersey, opened the $10.2 million EGShares Beyond
BRICs ETF (BBRC) in August 2012. Elizabeth Bartlett, a spokeswoman for State Street, said
the company wouldn’t comment on the proposed product while it’s
under review by regulators. To contact the reporter on this story:
Christopher Condon in Boston at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Christian Baumgaertel at
[email protected] | 2013 | state-street-to-open-emerging-market-etf-without-bric-countries |
Pound Falls to Two-Week Low Versus Dollar Before Carney Speech | By Lucy Meakin | 2013-08-28T11:57:19Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/pound-falls-second-day-versus-dollar-before-carney-policy-speech.html | 8 | 28 | bd9049ea3ecd440bac8258fa1834ef5f | The pound fell to a two-week low
versus the dollar before Bank of England Governor Mark Carney
delivers a speech amid speculation he will affirm his intention
to hold interest rates at an all-time low. The U.K. currency dropped against 13 of its 16 most-traded
peers tracked by Bloomberg and depreciated to the least in three
weeks against the euro. Carney has sought to underpin the
recovery by introducing interest-rate guidance to damp
speculation that borrowing costs will rise. U.K. government
bonds advanced after 10-year yields dropped the most since
September yesterday. Carney will speak at 1:45 p.m. in
Nottingham , England. “People are set up for dovish comments given that the bank
has had little success so far in suppressing forward rate
expectations,” said Adam Cole , the London-based head of Group-of-10 currency strategy at Royal Bank of Canada . “The risk is
that a reasonably balanced speech today would be perceived as
less dovish than expected. The balance of risks is that we get a
little bounce” in sterling. The pound fell 0.6 percent to $1.5452 at 12:55 p.m. London
time after dropping to $1.5449, the lowest since Aug. 14.
Sterling depreciated 0.2 percent to 86.33 pence per euro after
touching 86.40 pence, the weakest level since Aug. 7. Carney will speak at an event hosted by the Confederation
of British Industry . It will include audience questions after
the speech. When Carney unveiled the guidance plan on Aug. 7, he
took questions for an hour and gave five broadcast interviews. BOE Policy Bank of England policy makers left the official bank rate
at 0.5 percent and maintained their asset-purchase target , or
quantitative easing, at 375 billion pounds at their most recent
meeting ended Aug. 1. The pound has strengthened 4.6 percent in the past six
months, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes that
track 10 developed-nation currencies. The euro gained 4.9
percent and the dollar climbed 2.4 percent. Yields on two-, five- and 10-year gilts have increased
since Carney said on Aug. 7 that officials would not consider
raising interest rates before unemployment reached 7 percent so
long as price and financial stability weren’t jeopardized. The yield on the 10-year gilt due in September 2022 fell
three basis points to 2.57 percent after dropping 12 basis
points yesterday, the biggest slide since Sept. 26. The 1.75
percent security rose 0.2, or 2 pounds per 1,000-pound face
amount, to 93.44. Deputy Governor Charlie Bean said in an Aug. 23 interview
in Jackson Hole , Wyoming , that policy makers are sending a
“clear signal” they won’t increase interest rates anytime
soon. ‘Strong Rally’ “The strong rally in U.K. rates yesterday suggests that
the market is anticipating a fightback from Carney,” wrote
Jamie Searle, a London-based fixed-income strategist at
Citigroup Inc., in an e-mailed report today. “It was also a
reaction to Bean’s comments earlier this week. At the very
least, Carney is likely to repeat this message loudly and
clearly.” Short-sterling futures advanced today, indicating investors
are reducing their bets on higher interest rates. The implied
yield on the contract expiring in December 2014 fell two basis
points to 0.85 percent. Investors should buy short-sterling futures contracts
expiring between September 2014 and June 2015, expecting the
average implied yield to decline about 20 basis points from
about 0.94 percent in coming weeks, Citigroup’s Searle wrote. Gilts lost investors 3.4 percent this year through
yesterday, according to Bloomberg World Bond Indexes. German
bonds dropped 2.1 percent and Treasuries declined 3.1 percent. To contact the reporter on this story:
Lucy Meakin in London at
[email protected] . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Paul Dobson at [email protected] . | 2013 | pound-falls-second-day-versus-dollar-before-carney-policy-speec |
Emerging Stocks Drop to Seven-Week Low on Syria Concern | By Maria Levitov and Julia Leite | 2013-08-28T21:35:20Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/emerging-stocks-decline-to-7-week-low-on-outflows-syria-tension.html | 8 | 28 | c10a220b526d4bccad6ca562c6db60e3 | Emerging-market stocks fell to a
seven-week low and currencies in India and Turkey sank to
records as speculation grew that the U.S. will take military
action in Syria. Stocks in the Philippines (PCOMP) led declines as the benchmark
index tumbled to an eight-month low on concern capital outflows
will accelerate. OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA sank 17
percent, dragging Brazil’s Ibovespa to a three-week low. India’s
rupee fell the most in two decades as a surge in oil threatened
to worsen the current-account deficit, while Turkey’s lira slid
a third day. Brazil’s real rose the most among 31 major
currencies amid central bank’s intervention. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index dropped 0.6 percent to
909.81, the lowest level since July 8. Rising tension in Syria
has worsened a rout that erased more than $1 trillion from the
value of developing-nation equities this year. Foreign investors
pulled about $2.4 billion this month from markets in India,
Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines amid speculation that
the Federal Reserve will reduce monetary stimulus. “The tensions in the Middle East and the threat of
imminent military action are casting a pall over the equity
markets,” Alan Gayle , senior strategist at RidgeWorth Capital
Management, said by phone from Atlanta. His firm oversees about
$48 billion. “The global concerns about Syria and higher oil
prices continue to weigh.” Nine of 10 groups in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell
today, led by health-care shares. The gauge of developing
nations extended this year’s plunge to 14 percent, compared with
an 11 percent advance for a measure of developed markets. Emerging ETF The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index exchange-traded
fund rose 0.2 percent to $37.43. The Chicago Board Options
Exchange Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index, a measure of
options prices on the fund and expectations of price swings,
retreated 1.2 percent to 28.21. Brazil’s real climbed to a two-week high amid central
bank’s effort to support the currency. The Ibovespa (IBOV) retreated
for a third day as OGX posted the biggest decline in the
emerging-market benchmark measure. The Micex Index (INDEXCF) slid for a fourth day as OAO Rostelecom,
Russia’s biggest fixed-line operator, was downgraded at Bank of
America Merill Lynch. Russia failed to sell any bonds at a
weekly auction for the first time since June as yields rose to a
two-month high. Discovery Tumbles The FTSE/JSE Africa All Shares Index fell 1.8 percent, the
most since July 5. Discovery Ltd. (DSY) , South Africa’s largest
medical-insurance provider, sank 9.1 percent after saying profit
will be as much as 10 percent lower than the previous period. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index dropped 3 percent,
extending a monthly drop to 14 percent. SM Investments Corp.,
owner of the largest shopping-mall operator and biggest grocery
chain, slid 7.5 percent to the lowest price since October. The
Jakarta Composite Index rose 1.5 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) rebounded from the lowest intraday
level in almost a year as some traders closed bearish bets
before derivatives contracts expire tomorrow. Reliance
Industries Ltd., the owner of the world’s largest refining
complex, gained 1.1 percent. The rupee slumped 3.9 percent to an
unprecedented 68.8450 per dollar in Mumbai. China’s stocks fell from a two-week high as PetroChina Co. (601857)
dropped after four senior managers were removed amid a
government anti-corruption campaign and drugmakers slid on
concern earnings are trailing estimates. The premium investors demand to own emerging-market debt
over U.S. Treasuries slid 0.03 percentage point to 354 basis
points, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. To contact the reporters on this story:
Maria Levitov in Moscow at
[email protected] ;
Julia Leite in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Tal Barak Harif at
[email protected] | 2013 | emerging-stocks-decline-to-7-week-low-on-outflows-syria-tension |
New China Life Falls as Profit Misses Estimates: Hong Kong Mover | By Bloomberg News | 2013-08-28T03:01:24Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/new-china-life-falls-as-profit-misses-estimates-hong-kong-mover.html | 8 | 28 | 9392df2881bb31a6e9c0b9b54fcd7d61b8ff64ba | New China Life Insurance Co. (1336) , the
nation’s third-largest life insurer by premium income last year,
fell by the most in more than a month in Hong Kong trading after
first-half profit missed analyst estimates. The stock dropped as much as 3.8 percent, the most since
July 12, and traded 3.1 percent lower at HK$20.65 as of 10:36
a.m. local time. Net income rose 15 percent to 2.18 billion yuan
($356 million), the company said in an exchange filing
yesterday, missing the 2.38 billion yuan mean estimate of five
analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. New China Life’s gross premiums fell 8 percent in the first
half after sales of new policies over bank counters tumbled 55
percent as higher-return wealth management products offered by
lenders erode the appeal of insurance products. “Business continued to worsen,” Tong Chengdun, Shenzhen-based analyst at Guosen Securities Co., wrote in a report today,
citing declines in both sales through banks and the more
profitable new business acquired by individual agents. The Beijing-based insurer also reported 573 million yuan in
unrealized losses from investments, reversing 272 million yuan
of gains a year earlier, as the benchmark Shanghai Composite
Index (SHCOMP) declined 13 percent in the first half amid an economic
slowdown. To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Zhang Dingmin in Beijing at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andreea Papuc at
[email protected] | 2013 | new-china-life-falls-as-profit-misses-estimates-hong-kong-mover |
England Players Apologize for ‘Inappropriate’ Behavior | By Dan Baynes | 2013-08-28T13:01:59Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/england-players-apologize-for-inappropriate-behavior-1-.html | 8 | 28 | a36446fdbc94ac5ffabd7ad1f2b985739fa483ca | England ’s cricket team apologized
for any offense caused during its Ashes victory celebrations
following reports that some players urinated on the pitch at the
Oval in London . Players relieved themselves on the pitch in view of venue
staff and journalists after England sealed a 3-0 series win
against Australia on Aug. 25, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper
reported two days ago. “The whole team felt like an apology was a good way to go
and see that as the end of the matter,” fast-bowler Stuart Broad told the British Broadcasting Corp. Spinner Graeme Swann wrote in yesterday’s Sun newspaper
that “the call of nature might have come once or twice but it
was nothing untoward.” In a statement on the England and Wales Cricket Board’s
website earlier today, the team said that it hadn’t intended to
disrespect ground operator Surrey County Cricket Club, the Oval
or “anyone else involved in the game we love.” “We got carried away amongst the euphoria of winning such
a prestigious series and accept that some of our behavior was
inappropriate,” the team said. “If that has caused any offense
to anyone, we apologize for that and want to reassure people
that it was a simple error of judgment more than anything
else.” To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dan Baynes at
[email protected] | 2013 | england-players-apologize-for-inappropriate-behavior-1- |
Chime Falls on Delay of Earnings From Rio Stadium: London Mover | By Rachel Savage | 2013-08-28T16:12:36Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/chime-falls-on-delay-of-earnings-from-rio-stadium-london-mover.html | 8 | 28 | bce646e481c5fa14d3f4f4ffd49ed6680f6f1798 | Chime Communications Plc (CHW) , the public relations firm that boasts London Olympics director Sebastian Coe as chairman of the sports unit, fell as repairs to a Brazil stadium destined for the 2016 Summer Games may delay revenue. The closing of a Rio de Janeiro stadium used by a local soccer team means that some sponsorship revenue related to that league may come in later than expected, Chief Executive Officer Chris Satterthwaite said in a phone interview today. He spoke after the London-based company reported that first-half operating profit in the sports marketing division fell 40 percent to 4.5 million pounds ($7 million), excluding disposals. “For the time that the stadium is shut our contract is in a hole,” Satterthwaite said. The venue should reopen in six to 12 months, he said. Growth is usually steady in years with no World Cup or Olympics and is forecast to accelerate in 2014, when Brazil hosts the soccer championship, and in 2016, when the country welcomes the Summer Games, he said. The stock fell 1.3 percent to 310 pence in London after declining as much as 4.1 percent, the most in 10 months in intraday trading, earlier in the day. “Time to take profit,” Malcolm Morgan, an analyst at Peel Hunt, wrote in a note to clients. Sports marketing was “disappointing,” said Morgan, who reduced his 2013 adjusted pretax profit estimate by 9.7 percent to 26 million pounds and said earnings by that measure may be 34 million pounds next year. Morgan repeated a hold recommendation and a stock-price prediction of 270 pence. Canaccord Cut Canaccord cut its advice to hold from buy, though it maintained a 330-pence price target. The Rio stadium closure, Brazilian real weakness and a build-up of World Cup costs will hit second-half earnings, analyst Simon Davies wrote in a note. Even so, first-half earnings “masked significant growth in its non-sports businesses” led by the attraction of new clients, international expansion and tighter cost control, Davies said. Growth in advertising and health-care business will partially offset Brazil costs, he said. Chime’s VCCP advertising agency will probably become the U.K’s fifth-largest, up from eighth, after taking a contract from Saatchi & Saatchi (SAA) to serve Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) ’s U.K. supermarket chain Asda, Satterthwaite said. The work will have a “major impact” on 2014 earnings, he said. The agreement is worth an estimated 100 million pounds, the Telegraph newspaper said yesterday, without citing anyone. Acquisition Plans Operating profit rose at least 50 percent in Chime’s four non-sports divisions in the first half, pushing adjusted pretax profit up 2 percent to 11.2 million pounds, the company said. The company plans to make more acquisitions in sports marketing, Satterthwaite said. Chime announced it bought Shanghai and Hong Kong-based People Marketing in May and acquired Coe’s 93 percent interest in Complete Leisure Group in January. The Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange in downtown Rio was closed in March, just six years after opening, because signs of wear in its roof structure suggest a danger of collapse, according to the city mayor’s office. The venue is meant to host track and field events for the 2016 Summer Games. To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Savage in London at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Douglas Lytle at [email protected] ; David Risser at [email protected] | 2013 | chime-falls-on-delay-of-earnings-from-rio-stadium-london-mover |
Hypo Alpe First-Half Loss Leaves Austria to Cover Capital Gap | By Alexander Weber | 2013-08-28T15:47:59Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/hypo-alpe-first-half-loss-leaves-austria-to-cover-capital-gap.html | 8 | 28 | c87bf55af939df2c9d8a48bd3af8c7397ebcab00 | Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International
AG, the nationalized Austrian lender burdened with bad debt,
reported a first-half net loss of 859.8 million euros ($1.14
billion), leaving it with a capital gap that has to be covered
with fresh state aid. The need to scale back in its eastern European markets led
to a surge in risk provisions, which jumped to 623 million euros
from 123.1 million euros a year earlier, the Klagenfurt,
Austria-based bank said in an e-mailed statement today. As a
result, its core capital fell short of minimum requirements by
618.8 million euros, it said. In the first half of 2012, the
bank had a profit of 3.4 million euros. Hypo Alpe said in July it needs a capital increase of 700
million euros to cover losses for the first half of the year
after Austria accelerated the lender’s breakup. The measure has
yet to be implemented as the bank waits for the European
Commission to approve the more than 2 billion euros of state aid
it has received over five years. The additional adjustment of portfolios helps “maintain
saleable units in a difficult market environment,” Chief
Executive Officer Gottwald Kranebitter said in the statement.
This is associated with “anticipated, yet unfortunate, large
decreases in value,” he said. The bank may need more cash in the second half of the year,
Chairman Klaus Liebscher, who heads the government agency
dealing with bank aid, told ORF radio last month. How much
depends on the structure of a possible bad-asset unit, he said. Hypo Alpe hired Sachsen Asset Management GmbH and Bankhaus
Lampe KG to draft a plan for spinning off its bad assets, people
with knowledge of the matter said last month. The unit may
comprise at least 12 billion euros in assets, the people said. Finance Minister Maria Fekter opposed the plan on concerns
it may add to Austria ’s government debt. Chancellor Werner Faymann and Vice Chancellor Michael Spindelegger told her to
revisit the plans after non-performing assets caused losses and
capital needs at Hypo Alpe that have burdened Austria’s budget. To contact the reporter on this story:
Alexander Weber in Vienna at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mariajose Vera at
[email protected] | 2013 | ypo-alpe-first-half-loss-leaves-austria-to-cover-capital-gap |
Capital One Hires JPMorgan, Barclays Bankers for Energy | By Dakin Campbell | 2013-08-28T21:14:21Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/capital-one-hires-jpmorgan-barclays-bankers-for-energy.html | 8 | 28 | d3a42cc51fd51932a4c705c3677b634b0bb4e978 | Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) , the
lender that gets more than half its revenue from credit cards,
hired two bankers with experience advising firms in the oil and
gas industries as it expands its securities business. Former Barclays Plc (BARC) banker Russ Johnson and Bob
Mertensotto, who worked for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) , will fill
newly created positions, according to a statement today from the
McLean, Virginia-based company. Johnson, who co-led oil and gas
leveraged finance at Barclays, will be head of energy investment
banking, while Mertensotto will lead energy debt-capital
markets, according to the statement. Johnson and Mertensotto will be in charge of Capital One’s
energy-banking office in Houston and report to Jim McBride, head
of the energy-banking group within capital markets, the company
said. Mertensotto began at the bank today, while Johnson joined
last week, Michael Bulger, a Capital One spokesman, said in an
e-mail. The hires are the second and third this month announced by
Capital One in its securities group as it looks to increase
revenue outside of consumer credit-card lending in the U.S. On
Aug. 14, the firm announced the hiring of former Goldman Sachs
Group Inc. banker Steven Tulip to head the capital-markets
business. To contact the reporter on this story:
Dakin Campbell in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story:
David Scheer at
[email protected] ;
Christine Harper at
[email protected] | 2013 | capital-one-hires-jpmorgan-barclays-bankers-for-energy |
Draghi Rate Pledge Weakened by Recovery It Targets | By Jeff Black and Jana Randow | 2013-08-28T13:05:23Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/draghi-rate-pledge-weakened-by-recovery-it-targets-euro-credit.html | 8 | 28 | e5b4673a15354f69b742ca8b93aedf29 | Mario Draghi ’s pledge to keep rates
low for an extended period is being complicated by an economic
recovery that’s arrived sooner than he expected. Less than two months after the European Central Bank
president pledged to keep rates at or below current levels, data
show the 17-nation bloc has emerged from its longest-ever
recession and is poised for further growth. The U.S. is strong
enough for the Federal Reserve to consider paring stimulus and
the U.K. is picking up. That’s helped pushed rate expectations
back to levels that Draghi has called “unwarranted.” Economists from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Berenberg Bank say
that while the ECB is getting the expansion it predicted, it may
struggle to prevent borrowing costs from rising too high. That
threatens to choke an economy still suffering from record
unemployment, bank lending that has contracted for more than a
year, and continuing recessions in Spain and Italy. “Clearly you have the economic recovery, but the ECB will
want to curtail any particularly strong moves,” said Sarah Hewin , head of research at Standard Chartered Bank in London .
“The last thing you want to do is cut short the recovery.” German Bonds German bund yields have risen as investors transfer money
to riskier investments that offer higher returns. The yield on
the 10-year note climbed as high as 1.98 percent on Aug. 23 from
a record low of 1.15 percent in May. It was at 1.86 percent at
2:56 p.m. in Frankfurt today. The overnight rate that banks expect to charge each other
by the ECB’s August 2014 rate meeting, as measured by Eonia
forward contracts, was at 0.27 percent today, near the level in
late June that triggered Draghi’s July 4 pledge to keep rates
low for an extended period. It fell as low as 0.09 percent on
July 8. The euro-area economy grew 0.3 percent in the three months
through June, ending six quarters of contraction, and the
region’s services expanded for the first time in 19 months in
August. Economic confidence in the currency bloc probably rose
to the highest level in 17 months, according to a Bloomberg News
survey before a European Commission survey this week. Draghi’s Challenge Rates have also been pushed higher as a U.S. recovery
prompts Fed officials to debate when to begin slowing their $85
billion a month in bond purchases. At their meeting in July, Fed
officials said they were “broadly comfortable” with Chairman
Ben. S. Bernanke’s plan to unwind purchases this year, according
to minutes released Aug. 21. Investors have likewise added to bets on higher U.K.
interest rates , even after the Bank of England under Governor
Mark Carney pledged to keep its key rate unchanged at 0.5
percent. Carney said today that officials are ready to add
stimulus if investor expectations for higher interest rates rise
too far and undermine the recovery. “Markets will expect the ‘extended period’ during which
the ECB has said its interest rates would stay low or lower to
become shorter,” said Christian Schulz , senior economist at
Berenberg Bank in London. “That creates a challenge for Draghi.
He’ll need to appear as dovish as possible to avoid premature
talk of an exit from the ECB’s accommodative policy stance.” Draghi’s way of doing that so far has been to stress the
fragility of the economic revival. His Aug. 1 assessment of the
economy placed the balance of risks to growth “on the
downside” and he warned that inflation, forecast to average 1.4
percent this year, is lower than the ECB would like. Record Joblessness If the disconnect between economic data and the ECB outlook
continues, policy makers’ current approach may not be enough,
said Greg Fuzesi, an economist at JPMorgan Chase in London. “As growth picks up, you’re still left with the suspicion
that their thinking will change as the growth data improve,” he
said. “Are they able to stick to the script on extended period
guidance? I don’t think they’re making the economic case very
clear.” The euro-area recovery has a long way to go. The jobless
rate hasn’t yet fallen from its record high of 12.1 percent and
youth unemployment was at 23.9 percent in June. Bank lending to
households and companies fell 1.9 percent in July from a year
earlier, the most on record and the 15th contraction in a row.
The economies of Spain and Italy both shrank last quarter. “High unemployment, weak housing markets and still-tight
credit conditions will also help keep domestic demand in many
euro-zone countries subdued,” said Martin van Vliet, senior
euro-area economist at ING Groep NV in Amsterdam. Council Split While the ECB currently forecasts a contraction in the
euro-area economy this year of 0.6 percent, new forecasts due on
Sept. 5 will be key to assessing the central bank’s confidence
in the recovery and the strength of its forward-guidance pledge. ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said on Aug. 22
that he sees few arguments for a cut in interest rates after a
“stream of good news,” while his Cypriot counterpart Panicos Demetriades argued two days later that a rate cut is “still on
the cards.” The euro area is displaying “uncertain positive
signals,” Finnish governor Erkki Liikanen said Aug. 26. While Draghi still has measures at his disposal to manage
market interest rates, including a cut to the benchmark rate,
currently at 0.5 percent, further long-term loans to banks, or
even charging banks to hold deposits at the ECB, keeping rates
tamed has become more difficult. “Something fundamental has changed,” said Michael Schubert , an economist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “If the
economy continues to improve, the ECB faces a dilemma. They
can’t talk down the recovery, neither can they afford to trample
on the shoots of growth.” To contact the reporters on this story:
Jeff Black in Frankfurt at
[email protected] ;
Jana Randow in Frankfurt at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Fergal O’Brien at
[email protected] | 2013 | draghi-rate-pledge-weakened-by-recovery-it-targets-euro-credi |
AMR Holders Lose 19 Cents on Dollar on Blocked Deal: Muni Credit | By Michelle Kaske | 2013-08-28T04:01:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/amr-holders-lose-19-cents-on-dollar-on-blocked-deal-muni-credit.html | 8 | 28 | c8daba235e0246a5aba567d007394b39 | Municipal-bond investors are among
the biggest losers from the Justice Department’s suit to block a
planned $11.5 billion merger between US Airways Group Inc. and
AMR Corp. (AAMRQ) , parent of American Airlines . About $3.4 billion of munis backed by revenue from bankrupt
AMR and American helped finance airport construction in cities
from Los Angeles to New York . The securities sank in price after
the Justice Department Aug. 13 filed a motion to halt the
merger, which would create the world’s biggest carrier. AMR debt sold for Fort Worth Alliance Airport, near the
company’s Texas headquarters, lost as much as 17 percent of its
value the day after the motion, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The bonds have also been punished as investors pulled $21.4
billion from muni mutual funds over 13 weeks through Aug. 21,
the most since 2011, Lipper US Fund Flows data show. “Some significant uncertainty has been injected into
this,” said John Miller , who helps manage $90 billion of munis,
including about $400 million of AMR debt, as co-head of fixed-income at Nuveen Asset Management LLC in Chicago . Merger Hurdle The lawsuit created an obstacle in AMR’s attempt to exit
bankruptcy through a union with Tempe, Arizona-based US Airways.
The move surprised bondholders after the department had allowed
six airlines to merge in the past five years. Combining the carriers would increase ticket prices and
reduce competition “substantially,” according to the
department’s Aug. 13 filing. The debt, while backed by airline revenue, belongs to a
category of municipal securities called industrial development
bonds, which are sold by local authorities to help finance
projects that serve a public purpose. Some of the airline
obligations give holders a partial tax exemption . AMR bonds sold for Fort Worth Alliance Airport, which
serves cargo and corporate flights, and maturing in December
2029 fell by 19.3 cents on the dollar to an average price of
92.08 cents Aug. 14, the day after the suit’s filing, Bloomberg
data show. The bonds rebounded in the past week and last traded
Aug. 27 at par. Recovery Laggard Some securities sold for Dallas-Fort Worth International
Airport have yet to recover. Debt maturing in May 2029 last
traded Aug. 16 with an average price of 87.5 cents on the
dollar, down from 113.75 cents on the previous day they traded,
Aug. 7. Transportation-related munis lost about 0.8 percent in the
same period, compared with a 0.7 percent decline for the rest of
the municipal market, Standard & Poor’s data show. The lawsuit “made it more difficult to price those bonds
accurately, because where things are going to go is an
unknown,” said Matt Fabian, managing director at Concord,
Massachusetts-based Municipal Market Advisors. Bondholders haven’t received principal and interest
payments since AMR filed for bankruptcy in November 2011. The
carrier’s finances may allow investors to regain some, if not
all, of their money even if the company emerged from bankruptcy
without US Airways, Nuveen’s Miller said. “They have positive cash flow and they have positive cash
on hand,” Miller said. “And they are today operating as an
independent company.” Par Target While investors may have to wait longer to get repaid if
American were to operate on its own, bankruptcy should help the
carrier reduce its obligations and make it stronger, said Jim Murphy , who oversees the $2.3 billion T. Rowe Price Tax-Free
High Yield Fund from Baltimore. Holdings include $23 million of
AMR debt. “Investors should end up getting pretty close to par plus
accrued interest in the event that the merger doesn’t happen,”
Murphy said. “That will probably take more time, but we think
that there’s reasonable value there.” AMR bonds, which are rated speculative grade, have been
volatile since the bankruptcy filing. The Fort Worth Alliance
debt traded at about 17 cents on the dollar on Nov. 29, 2011,
and soared to 114.13 cents May 28, the highest since their 2007
sale, Bloomberg data show. Approval Appeal AMR last week told a bankruptcy judge that its
reorganization plan should be approved even though the Justice
Department is seeking to block the merger. Waiting to resolve
the government’s objections would be “destabilizing,” AMR said
Aug. 23 in a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan . A hearing is set for Aug. 30 to schedule a trial date. AMR
and US Airways have said they want the case tried in November.
The U.S. said in a filing yesterday in federal court in
Washington that the trial shouldn’t begin before March 3. In the market for new issues, New York City Housing
Development Corp. plans to sell about $655 million of revenue
bonds as soon as today, as localities offer a combined $4.6
billion of long-term debt sales this week, Bloomberg data show. At 3.11 percent , yields on benchmark 10-year muni bonds are
the highest since April 2011, and compare with about 2.7 percent
for similar-maturity Treasuries. The ratio of the yields is about 115 percent , the highest
since July 2012 and above the five-year average of 101 percent.
The greater the figure, the cheaper municipal securities are
relative to Treasuries. To contact the reporter on this story:
Michelle Kaske in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Merelman at
[email protected] . | 2013 | amr-holders-lose-19-cents-on-dollar-on-blocked-deal-muni-credi |
Styrolution Owners May Sell Shares to Public in 2015, CEO Says | By Sheenagh Matthews | 2013-08-28T05:00:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/styrolution-owners-may-sell-shares-to-public-in-2015-ceo-says.html | 8 | 28 | 630a691e667931563c454c570bd586ec6624ce6d | Styrolution Group GmbH, the plastics
venture formed by BASF SE (BAS) and Ineos Group Holdings Ltd., may
hold an initial public offering as soon as 2015, Chief Executive
Officer Roberto Gualdoni said. Other options include Ineos buying BASF’s 50 percent stake
or a sale to an industry investor, Gualdoni said yesterday at a
press briefing in Frankfurt, where the company is based. A
change in ownership could come as early as February as Ineos has
an option to buy BASF’s stake at a fixed price, he said. “BASF has already said they want to exit, so that is just
a matter of time,” Gualdoni said. “An IPO is possible, but it
wouldn’t come next year, 2015 is possible.” Styrolution, formed in October 2011, has set itself the
goal of generating half of its sales from specialty products and
half of revenue from emerging markets by the end of the decade.
Growth will come from building up existing operations as well as
potential acquisitions, the CEO said. The maker of polystyrene and acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene, or ABS, a lightweight, robust plastic used in mobile-phone housings, vacuum cleaners and power tools, posted pro-forma sales of 6 billion euros ($8 billion) last year. Earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and one-time
items was 335 million euros. The German company plans to “significantly” beat 2012’s
operating profit this year and push margins into the double-digit range by the end of the decade, Chief Financial Officer
Christoph de la Camp said at the briefing. The company is on
track to cut 200 million euros a year in costs by upgrading
factories and reducing the number of information technology
systems in use. Ebitda Formula Styrolution’s future ownership will depend on its earnings.
As well as Ineos’ option to buy the 50 percent it doesn’t own
from February, BASF has an option to sell its stake to Ineos
from October next year, Gualdoni said. Both options expire in
2016. The price would be determined by a formula based on a
multiple of Ebitda before special items, he said. While the CEO declined to say which multiple had been
agreed, he acknowledged that the price for commodity companies
at the end of 2011, when the agreement was made, was at about
five to seven times Ebitda. The middle of that range would give
Styrolution a value of about 2 billion euros including debt,
based on 2012 earnings. The company, which has 3,200 employees, settled on
Frankfurt for its headquarters because it inherited assets in
Ludwigshafen, to the south, and Leverkusen, to the north of
Germany ’s financial capital. Frankfurt was “neutral ground,”
the CEO said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Sheenagh Matthews in Frankfurt at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Simon Thiel at
[email protected] | 2013 | styrolution-owners-may-sell-shares-to-public-in-2015-ceo-says |
Manziel Suspended for First Half of Season Opener Against Rice | By Eben Novy-Williams | 2013-08-29T04:00:23Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/manziel-suspended-for-first-half-of-season-opener-for-violation.html | 8 | 28 | 62e9b1a6d089fc2b560c47ed216682b4c93d6351 | Johnny Manziel was suspended for the
first half of Texas A&M University ’s season-opening football
game against Rice University for a violation connected to his
signing of autographs. The National Collegiate Athletic Association was
investigating whether the 20-year-old Heisman Trophy-winning
quarterback was paid for autographs by a memorabilia dealer. The
governing body for U.S. college athletics said in a release that,
while it found no evidence of a money transaction, Manziel will
be suspended for “an inadvertent violation” related to signing. The discipline was proposed by the school and accepted by
the NCAA, according to yesterday’s release. “Texas A&M is committed to competing with integrity and
sportsmanship, and we will continue to ensure strict
compliance,” Athletic Director Eric Hyman said in the release. Ranked No. 7 in the preseason Associated Press poll, the
Aggies host Rice on Aug. 31. As part of the punishment, Manziel
also will address the team regarding lessons learned from the
NCAA investigation and Texas A&M will revise its education of
student-athletes concerning autographs. Known as “Johnny Football,” Manziel led the Southeastern
Conference with 1,410 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns as a
freshman last season, while passing for 3,706 yards and 26
scores. He’s the first NCAA player with more than 5,000 total
yards to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. Defeated Alabama The Aggies finished last season 11-2, ranked No. 5 in the
year-end AP poll. Texas A&M handed eventual national champion
Alabama its only loss of the season on Nov. 10 and beat Oklahoma
41-13 in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 4. The NCAA was trying to determine whether Manziel was paid
at least $10,000 for signing photographs and sports memorabilia
while attending college football’s national championship game in
Miami in January, ESPN reported this month. Many of those items
were later sold online by a memorabilia dealer, according to
ESPN. NCAA rules state that student-athletes may not accept
money for items they sign. “Student-athletes are often asked for autographs from fans,
but unfortunately, some individuals’ sole motivation in seeking
an autograph is for resale,” Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president
of academic and membership affairs, said in the statement. “It
is important that schools are cognizant and educate student-athletes about situations in which there is a strong likelihood
that the autograph seeker plans to resell the items.” Junior Matt Joeckel and freshman Kenny Hill are the two
other quarterbacks listed on the Texas A&M depth chart. Joeckel
completed five of 11 passes last season for 42 yards and no
touchdowns. To contact the reporters on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
[email protected] | 2013 | anziel-suspended-for-first-half-of-season-opener-for-violation |
Hong Kong Short Selling Turnover Recorded 08/28/2013 | By | 2013-08-28T04:45:25Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/hong-kong-short-selling-turnover-recorded-08-28-2013-table-.html
Hong Kong, 08/28/2013 (Bloomberg) - Short selling was recorded on the
Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the following
companies as of 00:45 today. Number Short Percent of shares selling Total of short
Tkr sold short turnover turnover to total
Sym Company Name (thousand) (HK$ mln) (HK$ mln) turnover 220 U-PRESID CHINA 627 4.21 5.71 73.7
3188 CAM CSI300 916.80 26.81 50.47 53.1
2823 X ISHARES A50 33566.10 315.80 608.62 51.9
19 SWIRE PACIFIC A 442.50 39.28 81.01 48.5
10 HANG LUNG GROUP 31 1.17 2.46 47.7
939 CCB 66104 373.00 796.93 46.8
69 SHANGRI-LA ASIA 216 2.51 6.02 41.8
2 CLP HOLDINGS 642.50 39.59 96.51 41.0
522 ASM PACIFIC 15.90 1.31 3.22 40.7
3988 BANK OF CHINA 59746 194.29 505.99 38.4
82822 CSOP A50 ETF-R 351.20 2.55 6.69 38.2
3 HK & CHINA GAS 2741 49.64 134.43 36.9
322 TINGYI 1372 25.79 70.35 36.7
3933 UNITED LAB 360 0.97 2.81 34.6
3968 CM BANK 4556.50 63.03 188.12 33.5
861 DIGITAL CHINA 793 6.32 19.27 32.8
700 TENCENT 421.40 151.10 463.27 32.6
941 CHINA MOBILE 2709.50 224.51 711.83 31.5
1025 WUMART 35 0.52 1.64 31.4
2314 LEE & MAN PAPER 385 1.71 5.54 30.8
2689 ND PAPER 1321 6.80 22.10 30.8
2600 CHALCO 2284 5.82 19.01 30.6
590 LUK FOOK HOLD 162 3.91 12.80 30.6
546 FUFENG GROUP 228 0.73 2.46 29.7
1171 YANZHOU COAL 5044 34.83 118.29 29.4
2168 YINGDE GASES 183.50 1.28 4.37 29.4
388 HKEX 484.10 57.91 200.94 28.8
829 SHENGUAN HLDGS 702 2.13 7.40 28.8
882 TIANJIN DEV 84 0.36 1.27 28.7
1177 SINO BIOPHARM 912 4.88 17.47 27.9
525 GUANGSHEN RAIL 534 1.99 7.12 27.9
494 LI & FUNG 2596 30.12 108.96 27.6
3377 SINO-OCEAN LAND 606.50 2.73 9.95 27.5
531 SAMSON HOLDING 111 0.12 0.43 27.4
992 LENOVO GROUP 4586 33.92 123.98 27.4
16 SHK PPT 532 52.68 194.14 27.1
210 DAPHNE INT'L 1034 5.19 19.28 26.9
998 CITIC BANK 8747 32.41 121.08 26.8
5 HSBC HOLDINGS 2533.60 207.73 785.29 26.5
1898 CHINA COAL 8170 37.80 143.12 26.4
753 AIR CHINA 1836 9.26 35.32 26.2
13 HUTCHISON 772 69.35 270.37 25.6
754 HOPSON DEV HOLD 94 0.90 3.51 25.5
2800 TRACKER FUND 3251.50 71.96 282.23 25.5
658 C TRANSMISSION 860 2.73 10.85 25.2
1044 HENGAN INT'L 253.50 21.31 84.82 25.1
1600 TIAN LUN GAS 102 0.75 3.01 24.8
4 WHARF HOLDINGS 1304 81.36 328.77 24.7
1828 DCH HOLDINGS 171 1.02 4.15 24.7
303 VTECH HOLDINGS 8.10 0.92 3.74 24.7
1988 MINSHENG BANK 8088 65.91 267.75 24.6
1918 SUNAC 4115 22.67 92.72 24.5
177 JIANGSU EXPRESS 514 4.46 18.30 24.4
763 ZTE 623 9.05 37.94 23.9
297 SINOFERT 1770 2.13 8.93 23.8
3389 HENGDELI 236 0.41 1.73 23.7
1066 WEIGAO GROUP 636 4.50 19.43 23.2
3368 PARKSON GROUP 298.50 0.88 3.80 23.1
3323 CNBM 5196 36.69 161.33 22.7
813 SHIMAO PROPERTY 1224 23.31 102.73 22.7
1234 CHINA LILANG 31 0.13 0.60 22.1
119 POLY PROPERTY 1792 8.27 38.03 21.7
23 BANK OF E ASIA 191.40 5.75 26.52 21.7
960 LONGFOR PPT 317 4.13 19.34 21.3
3336 JU TENG INTL 1238 5.42 25.45 21.3
1186 CHINA RAIL CONS 744.50 5.64 26.92 21.0
1288 ABC 15448 50.74 243.14 20.9
606 CHINA AGRI 612 2.13 10.36 20.5
1101 CH RONGSHENG 1240 1.23 6.06 20.3
151 WANT WANT CHINA 2479 27.38 134.87 20.3
917 NEW WORLD CHINA 30 0.10 0.52 19.9
66 MTR CORPORATION 333.50 9.48 47.87 19.8
12 HENDERSON LAND 225 10.27 52.34 19.6
27 GALAXY ENT 1927 86.63 445.80 19.4
883 CNOOC 11768 182.63 941.37 19.4
1128 WYNN MACAU 442.80 10.05 51.95 19.3
1393 HIDILI INDUSTRY 777 1.01 5.28 19.2
1836 STELLA HOLDINGS 76.50 1.43 7.47 19.2
2727 SH ELECTRIC 620 1.71 8.98 19.0
769 CHINA RAREEARTH 282 0.34 1.80 19.0
1262 LABIXIAOXIN 37 0.15 0.79 18.9
2238 GAC GROUP 460 3.53 18.98 18.6
101 HANG LUNG PPT 369 8.99 48.30 18.6
1766 CSR 1706 9.81 53.58 18.3
914 ANHUI CONCH 763 19.61 108.28 18.1
1880 BELLE INT'L 1808 19.05 105.62 18.0
721 C FIN INT INV 1000 0.33 1.81 17.9
762 CHINA UNICOM 1434 16.60 93.79 17.7
1638 KAISA GROUP 823 1.88 10.70 17.6
11 HANG SENG BANK 103.30 12.46 73.33 17.0
991 DATANG POWER 1010 3.36 20.18 16.6
551 YUE YUEN IND 352.50 8.30 50.04 16.6
688 CHINA OVERSEAS 1448 32.71 199.05 16.4
392 BEIJING ENT 60.50 3.13 19.12 16.4
3998 BOSIDENG 1130 1.85 11.32 16.3
1099 SINOPHARM 308 6.00 37.08 16.2
41 GREAT EAGLE H 75 1.95 12.11 16.1
958 HN RENEWABLES 1102 2.61 16.26 16.1
1666 TONG REN TANG 27 0.69 4.36 15.9
144 CHINA MER HOLD 180 4.18 26.36 15.9
493 GOME 25130 20.90 132.54 15.8
670 CHINA EAST AIR 1016 2.46 15.78 15.6
916 CHINA LONGYUAN 482 3.78 24.25 15.6
2233 WESTCHINACEMENT 356 0.41 2.61 15.5
750 SINGYES SOLAR 238 1.68 10.89 15.5
2342 COMBA 698.50 1.70 11.21 15.2
1138 CHINA SHIP DEV 1270 4.67 30.89 15.1
934 SINOPEC KANTONS 132 1.00 6.68 14.9
83 SINO LAND 374 3.81 25.68 14.8
2822 CSOP A50 ETF 3057.60 28.17 192.58 14.6
1308 SITC 21 0.06 0.41 14.5
2698 WEIQIAO TEXTILE 379 1.65 11.44 14.5
2006 JINJIANG HOTELS 62 0.09 0.60 14.4
345 VITASOY INT'L 8 0.08 0.53 14.4
173 K. WAH INT'L 165 0.60 4.19 14.4
330 ESPRIT HOLDINGS 318.70 4.25 29.79 14.3
980 LIANHUA 89 0.36 2.52 14.2
1813 KWG PROPERTY 496.50 2.60 18.38 14.1
1086 GOODBABY INTL 633 2.13 15.22 14.0
272 SHUI ON LAND 826.50 1.99 14.22 14.0
200 MELCO INT'L DEV 271 4.74 34.66 13.7
853 MICROPORT 57 0.28 2.09 13.5
2866 CSCL 3597 6.91 51.26 13.5
316 OOIL 57 2.45 18.21 13.4
489 DONGFENG GROUP 1600 17.13 128.36 13.3
1112 BIOSTIME 74.50 3.38 25.55 13.2
3308 GOLDEN EAGLE 110 1.18 9.05 13.1
1088 CHINA SHENHUA 1096 26.60 204.49 13.0
358 JIANGXI COPPER 611 9.19 70.82 13.0
1093 CSPC PHARMA 154 0.63 4.88 12.9
315 SMARTONE TELE 59 0.63 4.91 12.8
691 SHANSHUI CEMENT 655 2.02 15.80 12.8
2678 TEXHONG TEXTILE 14 0.20 1.54 12.8
3331 VINDA INT'L 173 1.44 11.40 12.6
1 CHEUNG KONG 317 33.87 268.74 12.6
2628 CHINA LIFE 1590 30.67 243.64 12.6
2380 CHINA POWER 332 0.94 7.54 12.4
1336 NCI 197.30 4.06 32.65 12.4
2007 COUNTRY GARDEN 1292 6.04 49.09 12.3
903 TPV TECHNOLOGY 126 0.19 1.55 12.3
338 SHANGHAI PECHEM 400 1.05 8.65 12.2
3900 GREENTOWN CHINA 117 1.76 14.49 12.1
1928 SANDS CHINA LTD 744.80 33.06 273.80 12.1
1193 CHINA RES GAS 144 2.65 21.96 12.1
1133 HARBIN ELECTRIC 126 0.59 4.99 11.9
511 TVB 8.40 0.43 3.61 11.9
1623 HILONG 1045 4.10 34.77 11.8
321 TEXWINCA HOLD 8 0.06 0.50 11.8
2319 MENGNIU DAIRY 246 7.38 63.05 11.7
891 TRINITY 324 0.86 7.44 11.6
133 CHINA MERCHANTS 24 0.24 2.12 11.5
2282 MGM CHINA 70 1.59 13.83 11.5
881 ZHONGSHENG HLDG 173.50 1.77 15.48 11.4
683 KERRY PPT 55.50 1.75 15.43 11.3
1333 CHINA ZHONGWANG 111.60 0.27 2.38 11.2
2318 PING AN 894.50 47.70 425.32 11.2
933 BRIGHTOIL 46 0.06 0.55 11.1
2236 WISON ENGRG 395 0.91 8.29 11.0
3328 BANKCOMM 1276 6.59 59.92 11.0
1212 LIFESTYLE INT'L 6 0.10 0.96 10.8
2607 SH PHARMA 80.20 1.16 10.78 10.8
1788 GUOTAI JUNAN I 211 0.60 5.69 10.6
257 CHINA EB INT'L 261 1.82 17.23 10.6
2313 SHENZHOU INTL 169 4.03 38.45 10.5
1919 CHINA COSCO 243 0.81 7.74 10.5
302 WING HANG BANK 5.50 0.42 4.01 10.5
1700 SPRINGLAND 29 0.12 1.12 10.4
342 NEWOCEAN ENERGY 340 1.58 15.28 10.4
386 SINOPEC CORP 6222 35.53 344.99 10.3
848 MAOYE INT'L 160 0.22 2.14 10.3
283 GOLDIN PPT 68 0.28 2.77 10.3
196 HONGHUA GROUP 1722 4.19 40.81 10.3
506 CHINA FOODS 176 0.52 5.13 10.2
2778 CHAMPION REIT 290 1.01 9.92 10.2
737 HOPEWELL INFR 197.50 0.73 7.30 10.0
817 FRANSHION PPT 134 0.36 3.59 10.0
656 FOSUN INTL 155 0.85 8.51 10.0
3360 FE HORIZON 137 0.63 6.38 9.9
17 NEW WORLD DEV 512 5.48 55.35 9.9
603 CHINA OIL & GAS 10220 11.27 114.23 9.9
1829 CMEC 300 1.27 12.95 9.8
285 BYD ELECTRONIC 990 3.42 35.60 9.6
242 SHUN TAK HOLD 158 0.63 6.57 9.6
1259 PRINCE FROG 669 3.14 32.83 9.6
867 CMS 81 0.52 5.44 9.5
390 CHINA RAILWAY 713 2.93 30.75 9.5
1293 BAOXIN AUTO 58 0.38 3.98 9.5
1200 MIDLAND HOLDING 124 0.36 3.82 9.4
517 COSCO INTL HOLD 32 0.09 1.00 9.2
1038 CKI HOLDINGS 47 2.44 26.62 9.1
1555 MIE HOLDINGS 92 0.16 1.73 9.1
3808 SINOTRUK 20.50 0.08 0.90 8.9
6 POWER ASSETS 78.50 5.21 58.69 8.9
3983 CHINA BLUECHEM 114 0.45 5.14 8.8
2333 GREATWALL MOTOR 223 8.65 98.31 8.8
886 SILVER BASE 57 0.07 0.84 8.8
819 TIANNENG POWER 330 1.07 12.37 8.7
1999 MAN WAH HLDGS 56.80 0.50 5.85 8.6
659 NWS HOLDINGS 23 0.26 3.11 8.5
1398 ICBC 11491 58.14 688.70 8.4
2388 BOC HONG KONG 335.50 8.14 98.13 8.3
639 SHOUGANG RES 214 0.55 6.61 8.3
1208 MMG 308 0.55 6.85 8.1
1929 CHOW TAI FOOK 67.20 0.66 8.41 7.9
1117 CH MODERN D 142 0.35 4.37 7.9
857 PETROCHINA 14192 117.03 1483.59 7.9
215 HUTCHTEL HK 274 0.88 11.24 7.8
2018 AAC TECH 80.50 2.77 35.75 7.7
845 GLORIOUS PPT H 101 0.12 1.56 7.7
3898 CSR TIMES ELEC 158 3.85 51.42 7.5
168 TSINGTAO BREW 56 3.22 43.13 7.5
1169 HAIER ELEC 107 1.50 20.36 7.4
405 YUEXIU REIT 197 0.76 10.38 7.3
1972 SWIREPROPERTIES 60.60 1.29 17.77 7.2
1893 SINOMA 158 0.26 3.56 7.2
1299 AIA 1169.20 38.81 542.51 7.2
1800 CHINA COMM CONS 1490 9.04 127.04 7.1
6030 CITIC SEC 221.50 3.34 47.45 7.0
1068 YURUN FOOD 179 0.87 12.60 6.9
20 WHEELOCK 23 0.90 13.11 6.9
999 I.T 14 0.03 0.46 6.7
1083 TOWNGAS CHINA 113 0.80 11.98 6.7
86 SUN HUNG KAI CO 30 0.13 1.89 6.7
1157 ZOOMLION 234.20 1.48 22.50 6.6
732 TRULY INT'L 250 1.20 18.24 6.6
179 JOHNSON ELEC H 43.50 0.22 3.41 6.4
951 CHAOWEI POWER 64 0.23 3.65 6.4
631 SANY INT'L 175 0.40 6.42 6.2
44 HAECO 1.20 0.12 1.99 6.2
293 CATHAY PAC AIR 105 1.41 22.89 6.2
3337 ANTON OILFIELD 856 3.98 65.03 6.1
1030 FUTURE LAND 160 0.15 2.45 6.1
1072 DONGFANG ELEC 23.80 0.25 4.18 6.0
363 SHANGHAI IND H 19 0.48 8.12 6.0
291 CHINA RESOURCES 104 2.31 39.35 5.9
3383 AGILE PROPERTY 122 0.98 16.75 5.9
1888 KB LAMINATES 23.50 0.07 1.23 5.8
3888 KINGSOFT 632 9.67 166.44 5.8
2688 ENN ENERGY 94 3.52 60.69 5.8
1728 ZHENGTONGAUTO 109.50 0.47 8.25 5.7
194 LIU CHONG HING 8 0.12 2.07 5.6
54 HOPEWELL HOLD 75.50 1.82 32.67 5.6
956 CHINA SUNTIEN 158 0.34 6.19 5.6
589 PORTS 21 0.11 1.92 5.5
846 MINGFA GROUP 49 0.10 1.81 5.5
308 CHINA TRAVEL HK 32 0.05 0.86 5.4
552 CHINACOMSERVICE 154 0.79 14.60 5.4
142 FIRST PACIFIC 172 1.37 25.46 5.4
1668 CHINASOUTHCITY 212 0.42 7.85 5.3
1313 CHINARES CEMENT 260 1.27 23.93 5.3
135 KUNLUN ENERGY 9554 106.11 2001.20 5.3
669 TECHTRONIC IND 70.50 1.26 23.90 5.3
1033 YIZHENG CHEM 120 0.24 4.55 5.2
323 MAANSHAN IRON 262 0.55 10.61 5.2
995 ANHUIEXPRESSWAY 32 0.13 2.55 5.1
973 L'OCCITANE 18.75 0.35 6.83 5.1
2899 ZIJIN MINING 2760 5.32 104.60 5.1
116 CHOW SANG SANG 10 0.19 3.82 5.0
1055 CHINA SOUTH AIR 520 1.44 28.56 5.0
6881 CGS 68.50 0.33 6.69 5.0
1883 CITIC TELECOM 52 0.10 2.11 5.0
576 ZHEJIANGEXPRESS 26 0.17 3.49 4.9
2777 R&F PROPERTIES 97.60 1.17 24.11 4.9
538 AJISEN (CHINA) 47 0.41 8.41 4.8
189 DONGYUE GROUP 111 0.35 7.39 4.8
6837 HAITONG SEC 130.40 1.42 30.05 4.7
975 MONGOL MINING 31 0.05 1.06 4.7
728 CHINA TELECOM 1332 5.30 112.72 4.7
371 BJ ENT WATER 354 1.16 24.68 4.7
906 COFCO PACKAGING 31 0.17 3.74 4.5
486 RUSAL 18 0.04 0.97 4.4
694 BEIJING AIRPORT 118 0.59 13.62 4.4
1109 CHINA RES LAND 352 7.20 166.73 4.3
2008 PHOENIX TV 50 0.13 3.10 4.3
2038 FIH 417 1.99 47.58 4.2
354 CHINASOFT INT'L 520 1.25 30.78 4.1
175 GEELY AUTO 1850 7.36 183.89 4.0
8 PCCW 113 0.39 9.75 4.0
152 SHENZHEN INT'L 657.50 0.63 15.90 4.0
966 CHINA TAIPING 120 1.29 33.33 3.9
6808 SUNART RETAIL 38.50 0.41 10.57 3.9
14 HYSAN DEV 14 0.46 12.14 3.8
1798 DATANG RENEW 59 0.09 2.48 3.8
1199 COSCO PACIFIC 114 1.25 33.17 3.8
336 HUABAO INTL 37 0.12 3.25 3.8
716 SINGAMAS CONT 34 0.06 1.57 3.7
267 CITIC PACIFIC 112 0.99 26.99 3.7
2338 WEICHAI POWER 12 0.34 9.37 3.6
127 CHINESE EST H 1.50 0.02 0.69 3.5
1818 ZHAOJIN MINING 443 3.23 95.17 3.4
823 LINK REIT 84.50 3.02 88.89 3.4
2877 SHINEWAY PHARM 10 0.12 3.50 3.4
165 CHINA EB LTD 20 0.21 6.36 3.2
368 SINOTRANS SHIP 49.50 0.10 3.10 3.2
811 XINHUA WINSHARE 24 0.09 3.07 3.1
1833 INTIME 65.50 0.58 18.99 3.1
2883 CHINA OILFIELD 62 1.21 39.58 3.0
331 PCD STORES 16 0.02 0.64 3.0
460 SIHUAN PHARM 285 1.56 53.38 2.9
751 SKYWORTHDIGITAL 158 0.65 22.49 2.9
1882 HAITIAN INT'L 9 0.13 4.65 2.9
604 SHENZHEN INVEST 256 0.76 26.95 2.8
3311 CHINA STATE CON 28 0.34 12.16 2.8
2382 SUNNY OPTICAL 24 0.19 6.88 2.8
1314 TSUI WAH HLDG 52 0.25 9.03 2.8
2343 PACIFIC BASIN 32 0.15 5.55 2.7
808 PROSPERITY REIT 64 0.16 5.80 2.7
2868 BJ CAPITAL LAND 136 0.37 13.73 2.7
270 GUANGDONG INV 36 0.23 8.66 2.6
410 SOHO CHINA 89 0.58 22.41 2.6
2601 CPIC 49.40 1.31 50.59 2.6
1194 C PRECIOUSMETAL 10 0.01 0.46 2.5
2208 GOLDWIND 104 0.49 19.72 2.5
816 HUADIAN FUXIN 84 0.19 7.86 2.4
2328 PICC P&C 436 4.52 187.71 2.4
1136 TCC INT'L HOLD 16 0.04 1.65 2.3
178 SA SA INT'L 18 0.14 6.32 2.3
2357 AVICHINA 92 0.37 16.38 2.2
148 KINGBOARD CHEM 26.50 0.44 19.84 2.2
2888 STANCHART 11 1.91 86.69 2.2
1899 XINGDA INT'L 18 0.07 3.20 2.1
1296 GUODIAN TECH 113 0.17 8.22 2.0
1913 PRADA 7.70 0.59 29.80 2.0
1881 REGAL REIT 10 0.02 1.17 1.9
1114 BRILLIANCE CHI 86 0.94 49.14 1.9
1111 CHONG HING BANK 8 0.23 13.13 1.8
468 GAPACK 12 0.05 2.92 1.8
384 CHINA GAS HOLD 50 0.40 22.77 1.7
2222 NVC LIGHTING 146 0.29 17.22 1.7
81 CH OVS G OCEANS 36 0.35 20.77 1.7
1382 PACIFICTEXTILES 3 0.03 1.64 1.7
633 CH ALL ACCESS 52 0.14 8.46 1.6
1168 SINOLINK HOLD 56 0.04 2.48 1.5
38 FIRST TRACTOR 14 0.07 4.54 1.5
1339 PICC GROUP 248 0.93 63.09 1.5
123 YUEXIU PROPERTY 132 0.28 19.34 1.5
2331 LI NING 21.50 0.12 8.33 1.5
836 CHINA RES POWER 66 1.16 81.16 1.4
2789 YUANDA CHINA 34 0.02 1.22 1.4
35 FE CONSORT INTL 5 0.01 0.92 1.3
163 EMPEROR INT'L 50 0.10 7.19 1.3
818 HI SUN TECH 9 0.01 0.90 1.3
425 MINTH GROUP 6 0.07 6.02 1.2
563 SH IND URBAN 68 0.11 9.09 1.2
874 GUANGZHOU PHAR 12 0.36 29.48 1.2
3818 CHINA DONGXIANG 132 0.16 15.30 1.1
3800 GCL-POLY ENERGY 629 1.17 110.69 1.1
743 ASIA CEMENT CH 2.50 0.01 0.92 1.0
3883 CHINA AOYUAN 20 0.03 3.22 1.0
902 HUANENG POWER 106 0.82 82.71 1.0
268 KINGDEE INT'L 170 0.43 44.28 1.0
107 SICHUAN EXPRESS 6 0.01 1.28 1.0
435 SUNLIGHT REIT 3 0.01 0.93 1.0
2020 ANTA SPORTS 15 0.14 15.34 0.9
1211 BYD COMPANY 31 0.87 95.39 0.9
777 NETDRAGON 9 0.16 18.22 0.9
543 PACIFIC ONLINE 9 0.03 3.55 0.9
1115 TIBET 5100 12 0.04 4.21 0.8
778 FORTUNE REIT 27 0.17 20.48 0.8
587 HUA HAN 16 0.03 3.72 0.8
2880 DALIAN PORT 10 0.02 2.03 0.8
34 KOWLOON DEV 2 0.02 2.34 0.8
3993 CMOC 7 0.02 2.84 0.7
868 XINYI GLASS 48 0.34 46.02 0.7
31 CHINA AEROSPACE 28 0.02 3.56 0.7
548 SHENZHENEXPRESS 18 0.05 7.82 0.6
3618 CQRC BANK 34 0.12 18.18 0.6
880 SJM HOLDINGS 10 0.20 32.18 0.6
801 GOLDEN MEDITECH 8 0.01 1.22 0.6
1148 POWER XINCHEN 9 0.03 5.00 0.6
2828 HS H-SHARE ETF 6.20 0.62 110.29 0.6
1368 XTEP INT'L 3.50 0.01 2.38 0.6
598 SINOTRANS 9 0.02 2.72 0.6
83188 CAM CSI300-R 1.60 0.04 6.69 0.5
729 SINOPOLYBATTERY 60 0.02 3.18 0.5
1618 MCC 3 0.00 0.84 0.5
2355 BAOYE GROUP 2 0.01 2.24 0.5
1633 MAGIC HOLDINGS 4 0.02 5.21 0.5
1361 361 DEGREES 5 0.01 2.02 0.4
884 CIFI HOLD GP 10 0.01 3.34 0.4
43 C.P. POKPHAND 4 0.00 0.64 0.4
2836 ISHARES INDIA 1 0.01 2.96 0.4
1378 CHINAHONGQIAO 4.50 0.02 5.57 0.4
1205 CITIC RESOURCES 4 0.00 1.30 0.3
488 LAI SUN DEV 44 0.01 3.21 0.3
3393 WASION GROUP 2 0.01 3.64 0.3
171 SILVER GRANT 2 0.00 0.85 0.2
3333 EVERGRANDE 43 0.14 60.37 0.2
1251 SPT ENERGY 22 0.08 34.50 0.2
566 HANERGY SOLAR 76 0.05 27.75 0.2
579 JNCEC 6 0.02 9.19 0.2
2362 JINCHUAN INTL 3 0.00 2.46 0.2
1628 YUZHOU PPT 6 0.01 6.74 0.2
940 C ANIMAL HEALTH 3 0.01 5.63 0.1
347 ANGANG STEEL 6 0.03 53.92 0.1
1071 HUADIAN POWER 2 0.01 15.35 0.0
1910 SAMSONITE 2.70 0.05 165.30 0.0
3339 LONKING 2 0.00 16.68 0.0 Total No. of Securities recording Short Selling : 398
Total No. of Designated Securities recording Short Selling : 398
Short Selling Turnover Total Shares (SH) : 444,218,150
Short Selling Turnover Total Value ($) : CNY 2,589,884
Short Selling Turnover Total Value ($) : HKD 3,971,441,061
*Total No. of non-Designated Securities recording Short Selling: 0
Short Selling Turnover Total Shares (SH) : 0
Note: Figures are preliminary and subject to revision. | 8 | 28 | 40d42db0e4f740ab972b2ec0e7dc2846 | 2013 | ong-kong-short-selling-turnover-recorded-08-28-2013-table- |
|
Kenya Considering Raising More Than $1 Billion in Eurobond Sale | By David Malingha Doya | 2013-08-28T07:10:41Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/kenya-considering-raising-more-than-1-billion-in-eurobond-sale.html | 8 | 28 | 7a21f908f64c5fb6a376e1b39e245cf0dd042a4c | Kenya is considering raising more
than $1 billion in its planned debut Eurobond sale that will
take place by the end of this year, Treasury Principal Secretary
Kamau Thugge said. The government plans to use part of the proceeds to help
repay a $600 million syndicated loan that falls due in May,
Thugge said in an interview today in the capital, Nairobi. The
funds will also be used for infrastructure projects in the
country, he said. “We are considering raising more than $1 billion because
we intend to use part of the money to offset the syndicated
loan,” he said. “We are still in the process of recruiting
lead managers for the transaction. We want the disbursements
definitely before the end of the year.” Kenya, East Africa ’s biggest economy, is planning its first
sovereign debt sale to help plug a fiscal deficit and finance
construction of railway and power-generation projects. The
offering follows similar plans by other African nations
including Senegal and Ghana . Rwanda in April became the first
East African country to sell a Eurobond, raising $400 million. To contact the reporter on this story:
David Malingha Doya in Nairobi at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Paul Richardson at
[email protected] | 2013 | kenya-considering-raising-more-than-1-billion-in-eurobond-sale |
Israel 2-Year Swaps Gap Over Rates Swells to Highest Since 2011 | By Tal Barak Harif | 2013-08-28T17:39:08Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/israel-2-year-swaps-gap-over-rates-swells-to-highest-since-2011.html | 8 | 28 | f409417047bb74f3827c5d9a4a22d019be0530d1 | The spread between Israel’s 2-yr
swaps and the central bank’s interest rate rose to 49 bps, the
highest level since August 2011.
* Traders expect the BOI to raise rates by 25 bps from 1.25% by
April, according to interest-rate swaps data compiled by HSBC
Holdings Plc
* NOTE: The BOI kept the benchmark lending rate unchanged for
the third time on Aug. 26 after quarterly growth surged and amid
signs a global recovery is strengthening NSN MS59906TTDSI <GO> To contact the reporter on this story:
Tal Barak Harif in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Tal Barak Harif at
[email protected] | 2013 | israel-2-year-swaps-gap-over-rates-swells-to-highest-since-2011 |
Suntech Directors Quit Saying Solar Maker Has No Plan | By James Paton and Natalie Obiko Pearson | 2013-08-28T08:15:44Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/suntech-directors-quit-saying-solar-maker-has-no-business-plan.html | 8 | 28 | 0b286ed2181314b250746eb4b63db65fd2d6f4ac | Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP) , the
Chinese solar manufacturer whose main unit was pulled into
bankruptcy earlier this year, said three directors including the
former chairwoman quit saying the company had no business plan. Susan Wang, Julian Worley and Zhizhong Qiu resigned on Aug.
21, saying they weren’t provided with information they needed to
fulfill their responsibilities, the Wuxi, China-based company
said today in a statement. Michael Nacson replaced Wang, who
took the post of chairwoman in March, Suntech said. The resignations highlight the divisions among the
company’s management after a $541 million bond default and
follow the ouster of Suntech founder Shi Zhengrong less than six
months ago. China ’s solar-panel industry, which supplies more
than half the world market, is unprofitable amid a global glut
and slower economic growth. “Rather than the incapability of the management team, the
more intrinsic difficulty the company is facing is the huge debt
compared with its value,” said Wang Xiaoting, a Beijing-based
analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Suntech’s major
advantages, including an established reputation for quality and
high-efficiency panels, “cannot provide enough competitiveness
to guarantee a survival,” she said by e-mail. Suntech, once the world’s biggest panel maker by shipments,
fell 7.3 percent to $1.01 yesterday in New York . The shares have
lost 34 percent this year, battered by insolvency proceedings
against its biggest unit, Wuxi Suntech Power Co. Director Concerns The former directors cited concern about negotiations with
bondholders, cash flow and a lack of clear business plan,
Suntech said in the statement. They were also concerned about
the potential erosion of internal controls and the impairment of
employees’ ability to function effectively. The concerns are “demonstrative of disharmony and issues
of communication between the executive management and the
resigning directors that decreased the efficiency of the board’s
decision-making process,” the remaining independent directors
Philip Fan, Nacson and Kurt Metzger, said in the statement.
Nacson was appointed to the board last month by Suntech’s
bondholders. Suntech’s biggest unit was forced into bankruptcy in March
after the company missed a debt repayment, opening the way for
bondholders to sue the company in the U.S. where its shares and
bonds trade. Suntech extended a forbearance agreement with a
majority of bondholders until Aug. 30, the company said in June. Board Size “The large size and geographic dispersion of the board as
previously constituted was not ideal for the company involved in
a debt restructuring process because of the need for frequent in
person board meetings to discuss and analyze complex issues,”
Fan, Nacson and Metzger said in the statement. They see progress
being made in regards to the issues raised by the resigning
directors. Nacson, Fan, Metzger, Weiping Zhou, Shi and David King
continue to serve as directors of the company, Suntech said in
the statement. To contact the reporters on this story:
James Paton in Sydney at
[email protected] ;
Natalie Obiko Pearson in Mumbai at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jason Rogers at
[email protected] | 2013 | suntech-directors-quit-saying-solar-maker-has-no-business-plan |
Corporate Credit Swaps in U.S. Decrease for First Time This Week | By Mary Childs | 2013-08-28T17:51:34Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/corporate-credit-swaps-in-u-s-decrease-for-first-time-this-week.html | 8 | 28 | 5785ab8c4b3d800b3e2b388f7cb7e5976019b9d3 | The cost to protect against losses
on corporate bonds fell for the first time this week, a day
after the measure jumped the most in two months. The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade Index, a
credit-default swaps benchmark that investors use to hedge
against losses or to speculate on creditworthiness, declined 1.6
basis points to a mid-price of 82.5 basis points as of 1:21 p.m.
in New York, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg. The index yesterday gained 4.5 basis points, the most since
June 20, as the U.S. and its allies began moving closer to a
military strike against Syria in response to an alleged chemical
weapons attack near Damascus last week. The swaps measure
typically increases as investor confidence deteriorates. “Mounting tension amongst investors over Syria appeared to
come to a pause midweek as demand for safe-haven assets came
skidding to a halt,” Andrew Wilkinson, the chief economic
strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York, said in an e-mail. Credit swaps pay the buyer face value if a borrower fails
to meet its obligations, less the value of the defaulted debt. A
basis point equals $1,000 annually on a contract protecting $10
million of debt. Ten-year Treasuries fell after rising for four days,
pushing the yield 7.2 basis points higher to 2.78 percent,
Bloomberg prices show. Risk Premium The risk premium on the Markit CDX North American High
Yield Index, a credit-swaps benchmark tied to speculative-grade
bonds, fell 7.4 basis points to 401.6, Bloomberg prices show. The average extra yield investors demand to hold dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds rather than
similar-maturity Treasuries (USGG10YR) narrowed 1.3 basis points to 131
basis points, Bloomberg data show. The measure for speculative-grade, or junk-rated, debt fell 4 to 587.8. Investment-grade debt is rated Baa3 or higher at Moody’s
Investors Service and at least BBB- at Standard & Poor’s. To contact the reporter on this story:
Mary Childs in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Alan Goldstein at
[email protected] | 2013 | corporate-credit-swaps-in-u-s-decrease-for-first-time-this-week |
Seggerman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy in Tax Evasion Case | By Christie Smythe | 2013-08-28T20:48:25Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/henry-seggerman-pleads-guilty-to-conspiracy-in-tax-case.html | 8 | 28 | 5c8d51f29d494ffa8c2fd00c322ae54b | Henry Seggerman, accused with other
family members of hiding from federal authorities millions of
dollars in his father’s estate, pleaded guilty in Manhattan
federal court to conspiracy and tax crimes. The U.S. claimed Seggerman’s father, Harry G.A. Seggerman,
a New York businessman who died in 2001, left a $24 million
estate, more than half of which was held in undeclared Swiss
accounts. Henry Seggerman, 60, is listed on the website of his
father’s hedge fund management firm, International Investment
Advisors LLC, as the chief investment officer. Henry Seggerman pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and two
counts related to the filing of false tax returns. He faces as
long as 11 years in prison. Three of Seggerman’s siblings,
Suzanne Seggerman, Yvonne Seggerman and Edmund Seggerman have
previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax crimes. Their father was a pioneer in investing in Asia, according
to a May 2001 story about his death in the New York Times Henry Seggerman is expected to testify on behalf of the
government in the trial of Michael Little, a lawyer who was one
of the family’s advisers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stanley Okula
told U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis at the plea hearing. Making Amends “I deeply regret my participation in these activities and
intend to make amends for my conduct,” he said at the hearing. Little, whose trial date hasn’t been set, was charged with
participating in an 11-year conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service using Swiss bank accounts and sham
mortgage transactions. He has pleaded not guilty. A message left at the Seggerman’s firm wasn’t returned.
Seggerman is free on a $100,000 bond. Under a plea deal, he
agreed to pay a $600,000 in restitution at the time of his
sentencing, which hasn’t been scheduled, according to
prosecutors. “Henry Seggerman and three of his siblings inherited and
continued a family tax fraud scheme. Now, four members of this
family stand convicted of tax crimes,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney
Preet Bharara said in a statement. “We will continue to
aggressively investigate and prosecute U.S. taxpayers, and those
that assist them, in evading their obligations by hiding money
in secret offshore accounts.” The case is U.S. v. Seggerman, 13-cr-00174, U.S. District
Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). To contact the reporter on this story:
Christie Smythe in Manhattan federal court
at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at [email protected] . | 2013 | enry-seggerman-pleads-guilty-to-conspiracy-in-tax-case |
Iran’s Uranium Stock Stagnates as Reactor Delayed, IAEA Says | By Jonathan Tirone | 2013-08-28T14:03:19Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/iran-s-uranium-stockpile-grew-2-since-may-iaea-reports.html
Iran’s stock of uranium, the heavy
metal at the center of the Islamic Republic’s clash with the
United Nations , stagnated and the country delayed the startup of
a new reactor, monitors reported. While Iran’s total production of uranium enriched to 20
percent rose to 372.5 kilograms (821 pounds) from 324 kilograms
in May, its stockpile of material that could be purified into
bomb material at short notice grew 2 percent, the Vienna-based
International Atomic Energy Agency said today in a 14-page
restricted report. It has converted or is in the process of
converting 186.7 kilograms, or 50 percent of the stockpile, into
reactor fuel, leaving it with 185.8 kilograms of material. Even as the agency “continues to verify the non-diversion
of declared nuclear material” it isn’t “in a position to
provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared
material.” IAEA officials will negotiate with their Iranian
counterparts Sept. 27 to try to win access to suspected sites. The report comes amid looming military strikes against
Syria | 8 | 28 | 74a0e80b211f9976f9d003255a26aa7a1ccd860c | president, Hassan Rohani, has been angling to give his office
more sway over atomic negotiations. The amount of uranium enriched to 5 percent rose to 9,704
kilograms from 8,960 kilograms in May, according to the report.
Iran installed 46 percent more advanced centrifuges and
currently has 1,008 stationed at its fuel-enrichment plant in
Natanz. Reactor Delayed In a letter dated Aug. 25, Iran told the IAEA that it would
delay startup of its Arak heavy-water reactor. The UN has
demanded that work on the facility, which may produce plutonium
that can be used for nuclear weapons when operational, be
stopped. While Arak’s reactor vessel is in place, “a number of
other major components had yet to be installed, including the
control room equipment, the refueling machine and reactor
cooling pumps,” the IAEA said. Iran, which had intended to
begin testing Arak in the first quarter of 2014, didn’t project
a new date. Iran did make progress on other fronts, according to the
report. The country will begin test-producing medical isotopes
made with domestically produced fuel during the first week of
September. About 175 kilograms of 20 percent-enriched uranium, or 630
kilograms of low-enriched uranium, if further purified, could
yield the quantity of weapons-grade uranium needed to produce a
bomb, according to the London-based Verification Research,
Training and Information Center, a non-governmental observer to
the IAEA that’s funded by European governments. To contact the reporter on this story:
Jonathan Tirone in Vienna at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at
[email protected] | 2013 | iran-s-uranium-stockpile-grew-2-since-may-iaea-reports |
Dollar Gains to 4-Week High as Economy Expands, Claims Decline | By Andrea Wong | 2013-08-29T21:21:49Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/dollar-trades-near-four-week-high-ahead-of-u-s-growth-report.html
The dollar rose to the highest level
in four weeks as reports showed U.S. economic growth accelerated
and jobless claims declined, backing the case for the Federal
Reserve to reduce stimulus as soon as next month. The U.S. currency advanced for a second day versus the yen
as benchmark Treasury yields climbed toward a two-year high,
bolstering the attraction of the dollar. India ’s rupee jumped
more than 3 percent after the central bank said it will sell
dollars to the nation’s biggest oil importers to cool demand for
foreign exchange. The euro fell against the majority of its 16
most-traded counterparts. “The Fed could taper as early as next month | 8 | 28 | f9cd8b2e6f2d496599d9c6261dadc0f6 | claims continue to show gradual improvements,” Eric Viloria,
senior currency strategist for Gain Capital Group LLC in New
York, said in a telephone interview. “The dollar is stronger
than all of the Group of 10 currencies because of easing of
concerns on Syria.” The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.5 percent to
1,033.48 at 5 p.m. New York time after touching 1,034.03, the
highest since Aug. 2. The U.S. currency advanced 0.7 percent to 98.35 yen after
gaining 0.6 percent yesterday. The greenback strengthened 0.7
percent to $1.3241 per euro after adding 0.9 percent, the
biggest one-day gain on an intraday basis since July 4. The yen
gained was little changed at 130.22 per euro. Lira, Shekel Britain’s pound gained 2 percent against the greenback this
month, the best performance among the major currencies, while
the African rand had the biggest loss, at 4.7 percent. The euro
and yen each lost 0.5 percent. The Turkish lira and Israeli shekel reversed declines as
expectation of an imminent military strike on Syria receded as
the U.K. and France said they favor waiting for the results of a
United Nations investigation into alleged use of chemical
weapons. “Threat of military action in Syria led to a classic risk-off move,” ABN Amro Group NV strategists Georgette Boele and
Peter de Bruin in Amsterdam wrote today in a note to clients.
“But it already seems to be losing steam, and is likely to
prove short-lived.” The lira gained 0.1 percent to 2.0358 per dollar after
depreciating to 2.0730 yesterday, a record according to data
compiled by Bloomberg since 1981. The shekel rallied 0.8 percent
to 3.6234 a dollar. Rupee Rebound The rupee halted a three-day slide after the Reserve Bank
of India said it will provide foreign currency to state-run
Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum
Corp., which the central bank will later repurchase. India’s currency surged 3.3 percent to close at 66.595 per
dollar in Mumbai. It has still tumbled 16 percent in the past
three months and slid to a record 68.845 yesterday. The dollar extended gains as as gross domestic product rose
at a 2.5 percent annualized rate, up from an initial estimate of
1.7 percent, Commerce Department figures showed. The median
forecast of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a 2.2
percent gain. Jobless claims in the week ended Aug. 24 dropped 6,000 to
331,000 from a revised 337,000 the week before, the Labor
Department said. Another survey called for a drop to 332,000. September Tapering Fed policy makers are debating whether the U.S. economy is
strong enough to allow them to pare back monthly purchases of
$85 billion in Treasuries and mortgage debt. Officials will
reduce the amount at their next meeting on Sept. 17-18,
according to 65 percent of economists in an Aug. 9-13 Bloomberg
survey. The dollar gained against the majority of its most-traded
peers as the Treasury 10-year yield rose as high as 2.83 percent
after climbing to 2.93 percent on Aug. 22, the highest since
July 2011. “The fact that U.S. yields are squeezing up again is
reasonably significant and we are coming back to the assumption
that the data is a little more relevant,” said Jeremy Stretch ,
head of currency strategy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
in London . “That’s providing some impetus for the dollar.” The greenback has advanced 5.7 percent this year, the best
performer after the euro of 10 developed-nation currencies
tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The common
currency rose 6.1 percent, while the yen tumbled 8 percent. Options Trading Trading in over-the-counter foreign-exchange options
totaled $15 billion, from $24 billion yesterday, according to
data reported by U.S. banks to the Depository Trust Clearing
Corp. and tracked by Bloomberg. Volume in options on the euro-dollar exchange rate amounted to $2.2 billion, the largest share
of trades at 15 percent. Options on the dollar-yen rate totaled
$2.1 billion, or 15 percent. Euro-dollar options trading was 3.2 percent less than the
average for the past five Thursdays at a similar time in the
day, and greenback-yen trading was 66 percent less, according to
Bloomberg analysis. Australian dollar-yen options trading, at $302 million, was
68 percent above average. The Aussie gained for a second day,
rising 0.6 percent to 87.83 yen. To contact the reporter on this story:
Andrea Wong in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dave Liedtka at
[email protected] | 2013 | dollar-trades-near-four-week-high-ahead-of-u-s-growth-repor |
Oil Diverges From U.S. Stocks by the Most Since 2011 | By Nick Taborek and Alex Barinka | 2013-08-28T06:14:59Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/oil-diverges-from-u-s-stocks-most-since-2011-on-syria-concerns.html
Oil and American equities are moving in opposite directions by the most in almost two years amid prospects of military intervention in Syria. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) slid 1.6 percent to 1,630.48 yesterday while West Texas Intermediate surged 2.9 percent to $109.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The 4.5 percentage-point divergence was the widest since November 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Crude extended gains today, surging to a two-year high. The commodity’s advance amid the biggest retreat in U.S. shares since June shows attention is shifting to armed conflict and away from the world economy. Oil and the S&P 500 have been positively correlated since April 2011 as the global financial crisis receded. The link is breaking down on concern a U.S. attack may escalate and disrupt supplies from the region that holds almost half of all proven oil reserves. “If there was an outbreak of hostilities and the insurrection in Syria were to escalate, there are a number of fairly unstable scenarios that could unfold,” Randy Bateman, who oversees $15 billion as chief investment officer of Huntington Asset Advisors in Columbus, Ohio , said by telephone. “Everybody’s waiting to see what’s going to happen.” Oil and stocks have tended to move in the same direction for more than two years, with the 30-day correlation coefficient reaching this year’s peak of 0.66 on April 17, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The measure slumped to 0.05 yesterday, the least since April 5, 2011. A reading of 1 implies the assets move in lockstep, while 0 shows no relationship. Kerry Warning The last time daily swings in crude and the benchmark U.S. equities gauge diverged by more than yesterday was on Nov. 16, 2011, after Fitch Ratings warned of contagion from Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis and crude prices rose on speculation a reversal of flows on a U.S. pipeline would ease a Midwest glut. The S&P 500 gained 14 percent this year and oil jumped 22 percent amid signs the world’s biggest economy is strengthening. Stocks retreated more than 2 percent after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Aug. 26 that President Barack Obama would hold Syria accountable for using chemical weapons. In isolation, threats of past wars have spurred uneven returns in the equity market. Asian shares slumped today, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index heading for its lowest close since June 27. Oil touched $112.24 a barrel, the highest price since May 2011. Syrian Spillover Crude has disconnected from stocks amid concern that any strike against Syria may spread to other parts of the Middle East and threaten exports from a region that produces 35 percent of the world’s oil. Saudi Arabia, the largest supplier in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has backed rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Assad’s allies include Iran , the group’s sixth-biggest producer. “The concern is that an attack on Syria will reverberate through the region, increasing the spillover into other countries and possibly resulting in a larger supply disruption elsewhere,” Michael Wittner , Societe Generale SA’s New York-based head of oil market research, said in an e-mailed report. London-traded Brent crude, which surged 2.5 percent to more than $117 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange today, may “spike briefly” to as high as $150 a barrel if that happens, he said. Obama and his aides are consulting with U.S. lawmakers and allies about a military response. Syria’s use of chemical arms must be punished, French President Francois Hollande said yesterday. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron summoned parliament back from its recess on Aug. 29 to discuss possible action. Military Response Any response by the U.S. would have a narrow scope and not be aimed at taking out Assad, said a U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. A strike would concentrate on Syria’s weapons capabilities. “We hope that diplomacy plays a role with a cool head and we don’t see the U.S. embroiled in another military action,” Sean Fenton, a Sydney-based fund manager, who helps oversee about $1 billion at Tribeca Investment Partners, said in an interview. “That could derail the current economic momentum.” Past conflicts provide few clues for investors. The S&P 500 slipped 2.2 percent in the three days after Colin Powell made the case for war with Iraq in a speech at the U.N. on Feb. 5, 2003. Oil rose 4.6 percent in the period. The index fell another 1.1 percent in the three days after war began on March 20, 2003, before recovering, pushing the S&P 500 up 10 percent by May 30. Oil declined 4.1 percent in the three days following the invasion and pared that loss to 1.1 percent by the end of May. Stock Recoveries Stock investors cheered the U.S. decision to enter the First Gulf War, with the S&P 500 gaining 4.2 percent in the seven trading days that spanned Congress’s authorization of military force and the first bombings on Jan. 17, 1991. Oil slumped 11 percent after a 56 percent increase in the prior six months. Comparisons to earlier wars illustrate stocks often recover from losses sparked by conflict. During World War II, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined an average of 10 percent a year from 1939 through 1942, then advanced an average of 15 percent annually through 1945, when it rallied 27 percent | 8 | 28 | 8bf83c940e174de0b67829c7943936c5 | 2013 | oil-diverges-from-u-s-stocks-most-since-2011-on-syria-concerns |
|
Ukraine Must Work With Customs Union After EU Pact, Azarov Says | By Kateryna Choursina | 2013-08-28T16:08:38Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/ukraine-must-work-with-customs-union-after-eu-pact-azarov-says.html | 8 | 28 | e16c0c486de24c75a2d62b26760450a32c11643a | Ukraine must find ways to cooperate
with a Russian-led customs union after agreeing on a free-trade
zone with the European Union, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said. The former Soviet republic needs to boost trade with Russia
and is prepared to sign separate pacts with the customs union,
Azarov said today in Kiev, the capital. “These integration processes shouldn’t be set against each
other,” he said. “On the contrary, optimal ways of cooperation
must be worked out.” Russia wants Ukraine to join a customs union it’s formed
with Belarus and Kazakhstan , offering cheaper natural gas and
more trade in exchange. Ukraine is instead seeking to sign an
Association Agreement, including a free-trade accord, with the
EU in November, a move Russian officials have said will spark
measures to shield the country from increased European imports. Russia banned imports from Ukrainian candy maker Roshen
last month, saying carcinogens had been discovered in its
products, and temporarily imposed stricter customs-clearance
rules on Ukrainian exporters two weeks ago. Almost a quarter of
Ukraine’s exports went to Russia in the first six months of the
year, according to state statistics office data. The delays were related to disagreements with Russia over
the customs union, Azarov said last week. He met Russian Premier
Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on Aug. 26 to discuss trade. “Any outside pressure on Ukraine related to its ambition
to sign the Association Agreement with the EU is not
acceptable,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule said
yesterday after meeting the head of Ukraine’s National Security
and Defense Council, Andriy Klyuev. “The signature of a free trade agreement with a third
party, meaning us, may not be used as a justification for the
tightening of customs procedures,” Fule said. While Ukraine plans to sign the EU pact, it wants to
“preserve and develop” relations with Russia at the same time,
Klyuev said yesterday in Brussels. To contact the reporter on this story:
Kateryna Choursina in Kiev at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James M. Gomez at
[email protected] | 2013 | ukraine-must-work-with-customs-union-after-eu-pact-azarov-says |
San Bernardino Ruled Bankruptcy Eligible as Calpers Loses | By David McLaughlin | 2013-08-29T04:01:01Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/san-bernardino-eligible-to-stay-in-bankruptcy-judge-says.html | 8 | 28 | d83aa822bf3f587e347573db41e28fe9dfe0b9da | San Bernardino, California, was
deemed eligible to remain in bankruptcy by a judge who rejected
arguments by California Public Employees’ Retirement System that
the city didn’t qualify for court protection. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury in Riverside,
California, ruled yesterday in the city’s favor, saying it needs
the “breathing space” afforded by bankruptcy to renegotiate
debts. “The city deserves a chance,” the judge said in her
decision. “The creditor body deserves a chance. The citizens of
the city deserve a chance.” San Bernardino, located about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east
of Los Angeles, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors on
Aug. 1, 2012, blaming a fiscal emergency brought on by a $46
million budget shortfall. Since filing, the city has fought its
employee unions in an effort to cancel their contracts and quit
making certain payments to Calpers, the biggest U.S. pension
fund. Under the section of U.S. bankruptcy law used by
municipalities, known as Chapter 9, creditors , including unions,
lenders and bondholders, can force a municipality to prove it’s
eligible to remain in bankruptcy after a case is filed. Jury’s decision comes after Stockton, California, east of
San Francisco , won a contested fight in April over its
eligibility for bankruptcy. Detroit, which last month filed the
largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy, has eligibility hearings
scheduled in September and October. Calpers Argument Calpers argued San Bernardino doesn’t qualify because it
failed to negotiate in good faith with creditors. Jury initially issued a tentative ruling on the city’s bid
to remain in bankruptcy and allowed Calpers to argue in
opposition to the city. She then issued a final ruling granting
the city’s eligibility. Michael Gearin, an attorney for the pension fund, told the
judge she risked setting a “dangerous precedent” for other
municipal bankruptcy cases. It will mean other cities can rely
on a “self-inflicted crisis” to qualify for bankruptcy without
considering alternatives and failing to negotiate with
creditors, he said. “It’s going to create incentives for debtors to create a
crisis to determine that they have an inability to negotiate
with creditors because they’ve got a large number of creditors
and then to walk into bankruptcy court without any intention of
moving the plan process forward,” Gearin said. The case is In re San Bernardino, 12-bk-28006, U.S.
Bankruptcy Court , Central District of California (Riverside). To contact the reporter on this story:
David McLaughlin in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andrew Dunn at
[email protected] | 2013 | san-bernardino-eligible-to-stay-in-bankruptcy-judge-says |
India’s Rupee Plunges Most in 20 Years to Record; Bonds Decline | By Jeanette Rodrigues, Santanu Chakraborty and Shikhar Balwani | 2013-08-28T16:25:52Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/india-s-rupee-plummets-past-68-to-record-stocks-bonds-tumble.html | 8 | 28 | 91faa2c315ce438693dcdc4f097ad61e | India ’s rupee plummeted the most in
two decades to a record as a surge in oil prices threatened to
worsen the current account and push the economy toward its
biggest crisis since 1991. Bonds fell. The U.S., France and the U.K. are considering limited
military action against Syria after concluding the regime used
chemical weapons against civilians, fanning concern unrest will
disrupt Middle East oil supplies. The tension has worsened a
rout that’s seen global funds pull $8.7 billion from local debt
since end-May on bets the Federal Reserve will pare stimulus. A
7.4 percent jump in Brent crude this month is set to boost costs
for India, which imports almost 80 percent of its oil. “The market is in a super-panic stage,” said Samir Lodha,
senior partner at QuantArt Market Solutions Pvt. in Mumbai. The rupee slumped 3.9 percent to an unprecedented 68.8450
per dollar in Mumbai, the biggest drop since 1993, according to
prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg. The currency lost
13.7 percent this quarter and 20.1 percent this year, headed for
the worst annual loss since a balance of payments crisis in 1991
forced the nation to pawn gold to pay for imports. The yield on the benchmark 7.16 percent government bonds
due May 2023 jumped 18 basis points, or 0.18 percentage point,
to 8.96 percent, according to data from the Clearing Corporation
of India Ltd.’s website. The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) of shares closed 0.2
percent higher at 17,996.15 after falling earlier to the lowest
level since September 2012. MCX gold futures climbed to a record
today, as investors sought a store of value. ‘Crisis Proportions’ “India’s macro muddle is fast approaching crisis
proportions,” Richard Iley , an economist at BNP Paribas SA in
Singapore , wrote in a research report today. “Downward pressure
on asset prices is unlikely to abate until the rupee becomes
decisively cheap, maybe weaker than 70, or the authorities
deliver ‘shock and awe’ tightening.” India’s budget and current-account deficits are responsible
for the rupee’s slide, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram
said in New Delhi yesterday. The government is taking steps to
contain the shortfall in the broadest measure of trade to within
$70 billion in the year through March 2014, he added, compared
with an unprecedented $87.8 billion the previous period. The Reserve Bank of India will operate a special foreign
exchange swap facility to meet the daily dollar needs of state-owned oil marketing companies, it said in a statement on
website. The central bank will sell and buy dollar-rupee swaps
for a fixed tenor through a designated bank for Indian Oil Corp,
Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp., it said. Oil, Economy Prime Minister Manmohan Singh won a rare victory by passing
a landmark bill through the lower house of parliament on Aug. 26
that expands the world’s biggest food program, a key plank of
his party’s re-election strategy. The plan involves spending
about 1.25 trillion rupees ($18.3 billion) in subsidies each
year, potentially worsening the fiscal gap. The nation’s petroleum imports averaged $14.2 billion in
the first seven months, compared with $13.9 billion a year
earlier, official data show. The government will devise by mid-September a plan to cut energy imports, Oil Minister Veerappa
Moily said in New Delhi today. India’s gross domestic product probably rose 4.6 percent in
the three months ended June 30, the least since the first
quarter of 2009, according to the median of 41 estimates in a
Bloomberg survey before official data due Aug. 30. BNP Paribas
today cut its growth forecast for India for this fiscal year to
3.7 percent from 5.2 percent, after the Reserve Bank of India
engineered a cash crunch last month to shore up the rupee. That
would be the slowest pace since 1992. Indian stocks may extend this year’s declines because of
the nation’s external deficits and the capital flight from
emerging markets , according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Rising Risk “We are not yet prepared to say we have hit the lows and
therefore it’s time to go and turn more positive” on Indian
shares, Timothy Moe, Chief Asia Pacific Equity Strategist at
Goldman Sachs, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV India. One-month implied volatility in the rupee, a measure of
expected moves in the exchange rate used to price options,
jumped 491 basis points to 22.24 percent, the highest since
January 2009. Credit-default swaps insuring the debt of State Bank of
India (SBIN) , considered a proxy for the sovereign, against non-payment
climbed 111 basis points this month to 371 as of Aug. 27, CMA
prices show. The contracts jumped 64 basis points last quarter,
the most since the three months to Sept. 30, 2011. Forwards Drop Three-month onshore rupee forwards fell 1.1 percent to
70.52 per dollar, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Offshore non-deliverable contracts advanced 1.1 percent to 69.64. Forwards
are agreements to buy or sell assets at a set price and date.
Non-deliverable contracts are settled in dollars. Since the start of July, Indian policy makers have curbed
trading in foreign-exchange derivatives, restricted cash supply
and asked foreign investors to prove they aren’t speculating on
the rupee, in an attempt to arrest the currency’s slide. “Quite clearly, there is panic in the market which is
exacerbated by the fact that the measures invoked so far have
delivered limited results,” Madan Sabnavis and Anuja Jaripatke,
economists at Credit Analysis & Research Ltd. (CARE) in Mumbai, wrote
in a report today. “The Fed meeting in September will provide
more clarity on currencies, and till then it is unlikely that
the rupee will stabilize.” To contact the reporters on this story:
Jeanette Rodrigues in Mumbai at
[email protected] ;
Santanu Chakraborty in Mumbai at
[email protected] ;
Shikhar Balwani in Mumbai at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Amit Prakash at
[email protected] | 2013 | india-s-rupee-plummets-past-68-to-record-stocks-bonds-tumble |
Schaeffler Cuts 2013 Sales Goal on Industrial Equipment | By Angela Maier | 2013-08-28T07:11:43Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/schaeffler-cuts-2013-sales-goal-on-industrial-equipment.html | 8 | 28 | e7088f0ae83d116757900c6c814faf481d3d84f3 | Schaeffler AG, the family-owned
bearing maker that’s the biggest investor in car-parts producer
Continental AG (CON) , lowered its 2013 sales forecast on weaker demand
for industrial components. Revenue growth for the full year will be in a range of 1
percent to 2 percent, down from a previous forecast for an
increase of about 4 percent, the Herzogenaurach, Germany-based
Schaeffler said today in a statement. “We probably will not be able to offset the weakness in
revenue experienced in the industrial division to date,” with
the global economic recovery sluggish and growth in China weak,
Schaeffler Chief Executive Officer Juergen Geissinger said in
the statement. “We continue to expect sustainable above-market
revenue growth for the automotive division.” Second-quarter earnings before interest and taxes decreased
2.6 percent to 369 million euros ($494 million). Sales rose 2.3
percent to 2.86 billion euros. The company reiterated it is targeting an Ebit margin of
about 13 percent of sales for the full year “due to the stable
earnings situation in the automotive division,” Geissinger said
in the statement. The margin contracted to 12.9 percent in the
second quarter from 13.6 percent a year earlier. For the first six months, Schaeffler’s sales declined 0.7
percent to 5.61 billion euros. Ebit fell 7.2 percent to 724
million euros. Debt Lowered The company lowered net debt by 619 million euros from a
year ago to 6.5 billion euros as of June 30, Schaeffler said
today. Chief Financial Officer Klaus Rosenfeld pledged on March
21 to work on reducing financing costs further in 2013. The Schaeffler group including its parent holding
Schaeffler Verwaltungs GmbH still has borrowings totaling about
10 billion euros stemming from its takeover of a majority of
Continental in early 2009. Since then, Schaeffler has sold a
part of its holding in the Hanover, Germany-based manufacturer
and refinanced some of its debt to lower financing costs.
Schaeffler still owns 49.9 percent in Continental. The most recent refinancing step was by Schaeffler
Verwaltungs GmbH in July. The holding company owned by Maria-Elisabeth and Georg Schaeffler raised 3.88 billion euros of new
debt to replace financing arranged in 2009. It was the first
time the holding company tapped the bond market. To contact the reporter on this story:
Angela Maier in Munich at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Chad Thomas at
[email protected] | 2013 | schaeffler-cuts-2013-sales-goal-on-industrial-equipmen |
Ryanair Told to Cut Aer Lingus Stake by U.K. Regulators | By Benedikt Kammel | 2013-08-28T07:39:40Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/ryanair-must-cut-aer-lingus-stake-to-address-competition-concern.html | 8 | 28 | 191b23f6000e4c57893e2d05f439e9c9 | Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA) was ordered by
the U.K. antitrust regulator to cut its stake in Aer Lingus
Group Plc (AERL) to no more than 5 percent to address competition
concerns, a ruling the discount carrier vowed to contest. Ryanair’s 29.8 percent holding in the Irish airline, valued
at about 261 million euros ($349 million), affects Aer Lingus’s
policy and strategy, the U.K. Competition Commission said in a
report today. Dublin-based Ryanair said it will challenge the
decision, which it called “manifestly unsound.” “This prejudicial approach to an Irish airline is very
disturbing, coming from an English government body that regards
itself a model competition authority,” Ryanair Chief Executive
Officer Michael O’Leary said in a statement. Europe’s largest low-cost carrier has been at odds with
competition authorities in Europe since it first acquired Aer
Lingus shares as part of a takeover bid in 2006. O’Leary’s most
recent offer for the smaller rival was blocked in February by
the European Union, which ruled it would increase fares and
reduce choice. Aer Lingus welcomed today’s decision, saying Ryanair had
used the stake as a “Trojan horse” to plot its bids. Shares of
Dublin-based Aer Lingus dropped as much as 2.9 percent to 1.65
euros, and traded at that level at 8:34 a.m. Ryanair dropped 2
percent to 6.39 euros. Worthless Stake? O’Leary, speaking in an interview on Bloomberg Television
today, said he’s been actively searching for a buyer for the
stake for years, and that “nobody” is interested in Aer
Lingus, which he called a “peripheral” airline that’s been
bypassed by consolidation in the European aviation industry. The
stake may be “worthless” if no buyer comes forward, he said. Ryanair argues that Aer Lingus plays an insignificant role
connecting the U.K. and Ireland, serving just six routes, while
Ryanair maintains a major network. At the same time, O’Leary
criticized the authorities for not intervening when IAG’s Plc’s
British Airways won permission to purchase BMI last year to gain
a greater foothold at Heathrow, Europe ’s busiest hub. When the U.K. competition authority published its
preliminary report in May, it sought views on remedies, which
could have included the full or partial sale of the Aer Lingus
stake. The regulators typically give companies as long as a year
to sell down a stake. Ryanair may be able to delay the
enforcement of any U.K. ruling for years while it challenges the
European Union decision to block its most recent bid. Weakness Advantage “We consider that there is a tension between Ryanair’s
position as a competitor and its position as Aer Lingus’s
largest shareholder, and that Ryanair has an incentive to weaken
its rival’s effectiveness as a competitor,” the U.K. antitrust
authority said in its final ruling today. Ryanair’s most recent offer valued Aer Lingus at 694
million euros. Among remedies proposed by the company, Ryanair
had offered to sell a minority stake in Aer Lingus, which it
said the U.K. watchdog has “inexplicably dismissed.” Possible buyers of the stake that Ryanair must sell include
Etihad Airways PJSC, the Middle Eastern carrier that has been
buying holdings in airlines from Germany to Serbia and the
Seychelles. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad already owns just less than
3 percent of Aer Lingus, though O’Leary has said the airline has
made no offer for Ryanair’s stake. To contact the reporter on this story:
Benedikt Kammel in Berlin at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Benedikt Kammel at
[email protected] | 2013 | ryanair-must-cut-aer-lingus-stake-to-address-competition-concern |
Friedland Resurrects Ivanhoe Name With Ivanplats Name Change | By Liezel Hill | 2013-08-28T12:33:38Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/friedland-resurrects-ivanhoe-name-with-ivanplats-name-change.html | 8 | 28 | 56bc767fc0a825589dd93e4506bcaf337d315fcd | Ivanplats Ltd. (IVP) , the mine developer
founded by billionaire investor Robert Friedland, changed its
name to Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. The change is effective today and the Vancouver-based
company will trade under the ticker IVN in Toronto, it said in a
statement. “This is the right time to make the transition to a
corporate identity that more broadly reflects the fact that
Ivanplats has grown and evolved in recent years to become much
more than a singularly focused platinum-group metals company,”
Friedland, chairman of the company, said in the statement. Ivanhoe Mines was the name of another mining company, also
founded by Friedland, that Rio Tinto Group gained control of in
2012. That company is now known as Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TRQ) To contact the reporter on this story:
Liezel Hill in Toronto at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Simon Casey at
[email protected] | 2013 | friedland-resurrects-ivanhoe-name-with-ivanplats-name-change |
China Life Profit Jumps on Investment Income, Lower Impairments | By Bloomberg News | 2013-08-28T10:39:30Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/china-life-profit-jumps-on-investment-income-lower-impairments.html | 8 | 28 | 7f743f65cb4a19e90a4506afa4ccbe6936b88bdd | China Life Insurance Co. (2628) , the
nation’s largest insurer, said profit jumped 68 percent in the
first half of this year as investment income rose and impairment
losses dropped. Net income increased to 16.2 billion yuan ($2.65 billion),
or 0.57 yuan a share, from 9.64 billion yuan, or 0.34 yuan a
share, a year earlier, the Beijing-based insurer said in a
statement to the Shanghai stock exchange today. The company said
July 30 that first-half profit may increase by more than 50
percent. China Life wrote off 31.1 billion yuan last year to absorb
declines in the value of its equity holdings, helping it to book
gains from a bull run in the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP)
early this year before stocks tumbled amid an economic slowdown.
Net premiums earned climbed 8.7 percent, reversing a decline in
the same period last year, as the company boosted sales of
lower-margin products to improve growth. “As a major institutional investor, China Life’s
investment returns benefited hugely from improvements in the
market, pushing up its profit growth,” Chen Xingyu, a Shanghai-based analyst at Phillip Securities Group, said before the
statement. Investment income rose 25 percent to 49.4 billion yuan, the
company said. Impairment losses from investments, which jumped
140 percent last year, dropped 76 percent in the first half to
3.7 billion yuan, according to the statement. To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Zhang Dingmin in Beijing at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andreea Papuc at
[email protected] | 2013 | china-life-profit-jumps-on-investment-income-lower-impairments |
Play Suspended at U.S. Open Under the Threat of Lightning Storm | By Mason Levinson | 2013-08-28T17:06:04Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/play-suspended-at-u-s-open-under-the-threat-of-lightning-storm.html | 8 | 28 | 90c8a042417c945459d97613a3a5ae0c5e296a00 | Day 3 play at the U.S. Open in New
York was halted because of the threat of lightning near the
National Tennis Center. Play also was suspended on Day 1 because
of rain. To contact the reporter on this story:
Mason Levinson in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
[email protected] | 2013 | play-suspended-at-u-s-open-under-the-threat-of-lightning-stor |
U.S. 5-Year Sale Turns Into Unscheduled Reopening of 7-Year | By Cordell Eddings and Susanne Walker | 2013-08-28T19:24:31Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/u-s-5-year-sale-turns-into-unscheduled-reopening-of-7-year.html | 8 | 28 | 0d858bb51eacf4d570620b153562c4db2fc5fa47 | The Treasury’s sale of $35 billion
in five-year notes turned into additional issuance of seven-year
notes sold in 2011, the first so-called unscheduled reopening
since 2004. With the five-year Treasury yielding 1.624 percent at the
sale, the securities were assigned a 1.5 percent coupon,
matching the interest payout on the seven-year note issued by
the department in August 2011 with the same 2018 maturity date.
The issue sold today will be classified as a five-year note,
according to the Treasury Department. “It was an interesting occurrence, but the issue will just
trade like an old seven-year note, and should have little-to-no
market impact,” said Gabriel Mann, a U.S. government-bond
strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s RBS Securities
unit in Stamford , Connecticut , one of 21 primary dealers
obligated to bid at the auctions. “There is minimal risk of
thin liquidity in the issue.” The Federal Reserve , through its bond-buying program, holds
$14 billion, or 47 percent, of $29 billion outstanding of the
seven-year debt, which would ensure no lack of supply for
investors seeking to borrow the security to sell it in a short
transaction, Mann said. A short position is a bet a security’s
price will fall. Coupon Payment Treasury said the notes will have the same CUSIP number as
seven-year notes sold in August 2011 that carry a 1.5 percent
coupon and have about five years of remaining maturity. “Accidental reopenings are very rare, and can be somewhat
disruptive, but today’s shouldn’t be a big deal,” said Ted Wieseman, an economist at Morgan Stanley in New York . “The
impact will be a slightly lower financing liquidity premium, if
anything.” Treasuries fell for the first time in five days after the
five-year notes drew the least demand in four years. The bid-to-cover ratio, which gauges demand by comparing
total bids with the amount of securities offered, was 2.38, the
lowest since July 2009 and compared with an average of 2.74 for
the past 10 sales. The notes drew a yield of 1.624 percent,
compared with a forecast of 1.618 percent in a Bloomberg News
survey of eight of the Federal Reserve’s 21 primary dealers. Indirect bidders at the auction, an investor class that
includes foreign central banks, purchased 40.3 percent of the
notes, compared with an average of 44.2 percent for the past 10
sales. Bid Patterns Direct bidders, non-primary-dealer investors that place
their bids directly with the Treasury, purchased 12.7 percent of
the notes at the sale, compared with an average of 15.9 percent
for the past 10 auctions. “These yields were not as attractive, given some general
optimism about the recovery and the broader risk of tapering
next month,” said Ian Lyngen , a government-bond strategist at
CRT Capital Group LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, before the sale. Five-year notes have lost 2.6 percent this year, versus a
loss of 3.1 percent for Treasuries overall, according to Bank of
America Merrill Lynch indexes. The five-year securities returned
2.3 percent in 2012, while Treasuries overall rose 2.2 percent. Today’s offering is the second of three note auctions this
week totaling $98 billion. The government sold $34 billion in
two-year debt yesterday at a yield of 0.386 percent, and will
sell $29 billion in seven-year securities tomorrow. The sales will raise $38.1 billion of new cash, as maturing
securities held by the public total $59.9 billion, according to
the Treasury. To contact the reporters on this story:
Cordell Eddings in New York at
[email protected] ;
Susanne Walker in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dave Liedtka at
[email protected] | 2013 | u-s-5-year-sale-turns-into-unscheduled-reopening-of-7-year |
Fed Funds Projected to Open at 0.09% to 0.11%, According to ICAP | By Liz Capo McCormick | 2013-08-28T10:49:02Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/fed-funds-projected-to-open-at-0-09-to-0-11-according-to-icap.html | 8 | 28 | c24543b49604a4bbb149b296beeb0884043e3a21 | Fed funds, the U.S. overnight inter-bank lending rate , is projected to open at 0.09 percent to 0.11
percent, within the Federal Reserve’s target of zero to 0.25
percent. Fed funds closed at 0.1 percent yesterday after trading
from 0.03 percent to 0.25 percent and averaging 0.07 percent,
according to ICAP Plc, the world’s largest inter-dealer broker. The central bank will acquire $2.75 billion to $3.5 billion
of Treasuries maturing from November 2020 to August 2023. The
transactions are part of the Fed’s latest round of debt
purchases, known as quantitative easing, aimed to keep long-term
rates low and support economic growth. To contact the reporter on this story:
Liz Capo McCormick in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
David Liedtka at [email protected] | 2013 | fed-funds-projected-to-open-at-0-09-to-0-11-according-to-icap |
Argentina Set to Get LNG Spot Cargo From Trinidad at Recalada | By Chou Hui Hong | 2013-08-28T05:55:09Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/argentina-set-to-get-lng-spot-cargo-from-trinidad-at-recalada.html | 8 | 28 | a89477ff9dd6421aa3a4fca495e2baeb5af88a12 | Argentina, which has no long-term
contracts to import liquefied natural gas, is set to receive a
spot cargo from Trinidad & Tobago , shipping data show. The Sestao Knutsen, with a capacity of about 135,000 cubic
meters, is scheduled to arrive Sept. 1 at Recalada port near
Buenos Aires , according to ship transmissions captured by IHS
Fairplay on Bloomberg. The vessel loaded the supercooled gas at
Atlantic LNG Co.’s Point Fortin terminal and departed Aug. 19,
the data show. Argentina imports LNG through YPF SA, the country’s largest
energy company, and state-run Energia Argentina SA, known as
Enarsa. YPF and Enarsa have issued seven spot tenders since
December seeking as many as 150 shipments. To contact the reporter on this story:
Chou Hui Hong in Singapore at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Alexander Kwiatkowski at
[email protected] | 2013 | argentina-set-to-get-lng-spot-cargo-from-trinidad-at-recalada |
EU Narrows Down Carbon-Market Overhaul Options, Hedegaard Says | By Ewa Krukowska and Mathew Carr | 2013-08-28T12:49:58Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/eu-narrows-down-carbon-market-overhaul-options-hedegaard-says.html | 8 | 28 | 9838f209f76e4f5bbbdd26afaf15c9fd | The European Union’s regulatory arm
is winnowing down the options for a long-term overhaul of the
world’s biggest carbon market and aims to reach a decision in
the coming months, EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard
said. The European Commission has floated several scenarios to
help curb a record glut of emission permits and boost the price
of carbon in the bloc’s 54 billion-euro ($72 billion) emissions-trading system, where prices slumped to an all-time low in
April. “We’re now narrowing down the options and we will propose
something in the autumn,” Hedegaard said in an interview in
Brussels yesterday. Among the tools the commission is considering is a
flexibility mechanism that would link the supply of carbon
permits with the EU’s industrial activity, Jos Delbeke,
director-general for climate at the Brussels-based commission,
said in May. The idea of an automatic supply-adjustment tool is getting
prominence in the climate department, according to a person
familiar with that matter, who declined to be identified citing
policy. The climate department is drafting measures to overhaul
the carbon market, which then need approval from the
commissioners. Carbon Market The concept of a flexibility mechanism was floated in the
public consultations on the overhaul among governments, traders
and industry by groups including the International Emissions
Trading Association and Tschach Solutions, a market analysis
firm. It adds to six scenarios sketched out by the commission in
a November report on the carbon market, including a tighter
climate goal, cancellation of carbon permits, mechanisms to
support emission prices and limits on imported credits. The ETS needs a mechanism that allows stricter emission-reduction targets while avoiding excessive price increases,
according to Ingo Tschach, managing director at Tschach
Solutions. One option would be to “adapt on a yearly or quarterly
basis auction volumes based on past economic growth,” Tschach
said by telephone today. “It’s very easy to explain. It’s
probably easiest to agree on.” IETA proposed a “dynamic allowance reserve” or a free
allocation of permits based on actual output. Any such mechanism
should be operated in a transparent, independent and predictable
manner and should be triggered by “quantitative thresholds, not
price levels,” the lobby said in its consultation paper. Economic Crisis The European cap-and-trade program imposes pollution limits
on about 12,000 manufacturing companies and utilities in the
region, including Germany’s largest utility EON SE and
steelmaker ArcelorMittal. (MT) The system, in which caps were set
before the economic crisis, doesn’t allow any price floors or
ceilings. After the slump reduced industrial production and cut
into demand for pollution rights, the surplus of permits rose to
around 2 billion metric tons last year, a level almost matching
the annual supply, according to the commission. Linking carbon supply with a measure of economic activity
presents “conceptual and practical problems,” according to
Trevor Sikorski , an analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd. in London . “Such a plan presupposes there’s a right price for
carbon,” he said, adding that the EU should set the emissions-reduction target and let the market set the price. EU emission permits for delivery in December rose 1.1
percent to 4.60 euros a metric ton on the ICE Futures Europe
exchange. That price compares with an all-time high of 36.40
euros in 2008. The commission has said current carbon prices are
too low to stimulate investment in low-emissions technology. Backloading Measure To help boost prices before an overhaul of the market is
enacted the commission last year proposed a short-term fix known
as backloading. The emergency plan, which was supported by the
European Parliament in July and is awaiting a verdict from
national governments, would delay auctions of some permits,
alleviating the record glut. Negotiations between the Parliament and member states about
the final wording of the backloading measure will start after
Sept. 22 elections in Germany , Hedegaard said yesterday. The
government in Germany, the biggest European economy, remains
undecided whether to back the plan, with Economy Minister
Philipp Roesler opposing carbon-market intervention and
Environment Minister Peter Altmaier advocating a move to help
prices rebound. “The backloading in itself will never re-establish the
price that would give the strong signal that we need; that was
also never expected, it was never intended to,” Hedegaard said.
“It was intended only to stabilize the situation while we were
discussing the more far-reaching things, the more structural
options.” To contact the reporters on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at
[email protected] ;
Mathew Carr in London at
[email protected] . To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Lars Paulsson at [email protected] | 2013 | eu-narrows-down-carbon-market-overhaul-options-hedegaard-says |
Icahn Bondholders Charge Premium After Gains: Corporate Finance | By Mary Childs | 2013-08-28T17:52:34Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/icahn-bondholders-charge-premium-after-gains-corporate-finance.html | 8 | 28 | 21905e451bf84d03ab1bc9d811b827d5 | Even as bondholders of Carl Icahn ’s
investing company enjoy market-beating gains, they’re demanding
extra yield on new notes to compensate for risk in the maverick
investing style of the world’s 35th-richest person. Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP) notes have returned 32 percent since
Aug. 26, 2010, compared with 22 percent for bonds whose ratings
are split between the lowest investment and highest junk grades.
The New York-based company sold $500 million of 6 percent bonds
last month that yielded 399 basis points more than similar-maturity Treasuries, according to data compiled by Bloomberg,
compared with a spread of 274 for debt in the Bank of America
Merrill Lynch Crossover Corporate index. Icahn, 77, who became an activist investor after gaining
fame as a corporate raider in the 1980s, has taken stakes and
agitated for stockholder-friendly changes at companies from Dell
Inc. (DELL) to Transocean Ltd. (RIG) That’s often at the expense of lenders,
with yield spreads on bonds sold by those two companies widening
more than a percentage point after Icahn entered the fray. Unlike a typical “corporate borrower, you never know what
he is going to do,” said Marc Gross, a money manager who
oversees $3.5 billion in fixed-income funds at RS Investments in
New York. “I don’t like these one man show kind of companies,
too erratic, too dependent on one person. In the bond world, I
would rather buy something more boring and safer.” New Notes Icahn Enterprises is rated Ba3 at Moody’s Investors Service
and BBB- at Standard & Poor’s . The firm’s debt yielded an
average of 6.45 percent on Aug. 26, compared with 4.8 percent
for the average issuer in the crossover index. The seven-year debt sale, announced July 29, was increased
from $350 million, according to a person with knowledge of the
offering who asked not to be identified because the marketing
was private. The bonds were sold at face value and were quoted
at 99.563 to yield 6.08 percent at 11 a.m., Bloomberg prices
show. Icahn Enterprises has been profitable in 16 of the last 18
years, posting losses during the financial crisis in 2008 and
also in 2005, Bloomberg data show. Revenue has jumped more than
30 percent in each of the past two years to $15.7 billion in
2012. Buying Protection In at least one instance, Icahn seems to have been aware of
the effect his stock purchases have on a target company’s bonds.
Temple-Inland Inc. disclosed that Icahn and his funds were
seeking government approval to buy as much as $500 million of
its shares on Feb. 4, 2005. On Aug. 5, 2005, the day the investor reported that he’d
bought 3.54 million shares of the box maker in the second
quarter, Icahn started buying credit-default swaps, according to
a Feb. 16, 2007, filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. The contracts, which typically rise as investor
perception of Temple-Inland’s creditworthiness deteriorates,
were quoted at a mid-price of 71.5 basis points that day,
according to data provider CMA, which is owned by McGraw Hill
Financial and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately
negotiated market. Icahn sold his swaps on Dec. 1 and Feb. 15, according to
the filing. The contracts were at 101.5 and 80 basis points on
those days, CMA prices show. The average yield on Dell’s debt increased 1.2 percentage
points to 5.1 percent through Aug. 26 from March 22, before
Icahn’s stake was reported, Bank of America Merrill Lynch data
show. The company’s yields had already climbed before his
involvement, from 2.595 percent on Jan. 11, the trading day
before Bloomberg News revealed the company was said to be in
talks to go private. Philosophy Student Icahn is trying to thwart a buyout proposal from Dell
founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Management LLC, favoring a
recapitalization plan that would keep the stock in public hands. Transocean’s yields widened 1.1 percentage points to 4.27
percent since Jan. 11, before Icahn’s stake was disclosed. After Icahn took a stake of more than 5 percent in
Transocean, the chairman stepped down and shareholders voted for
one of Icahn’s three board nominees in May, while rejecting his
a $4-a-share dividend plan in favor of a lower payout supported
by the company. Icahn was born in Queens, New York, the son of a synagogue
cantor and a high school teacher. He attended public school then
enrolled at Princeton University to study philosophy. After
stints in medical school and the army, he became a stock broker
in 1961 and formed his own firm by the end of the decade. ‘The Aura’ In 1978, Icahn began taking individual positions in
companies, making a mark in 1984 with a stake in Texaco Inc.
during its failed merger with Pennzoil, later doubling his money
on the investment. He became known as a raider after proxy
fights with Trans World Airlines, Gulf & Western, Nabisco and
Uniroyal. Icahn has invested about $1 billion in Apple Inc. and is
trying to convince Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to return
more cash to shareholders than already planned. Shares of Icahn Enterprises have gained 127 percent since
Aug. 26, 2010, mostly reflecting a 65 percent advance this year,
Bloomberg data show. The S&P 500 index is up 14 percent in 2013. Investors have accepted lower yields on debt from other
takeover-oriented companies. Blackstone Group LP paid 325 basis
points more than similar-maturity Treasuries for its $400
million bond issue last August, which S&P rated A, Bloomberg
data show. KKR & Co. paid a spread of 245 basis points for A-rated 30-year bonds in January. The spreads indicate investors feel safer with those
companies, which are better rated, have more balanced business
models, and less “key man” risk, according to Noel Hebert,
chief investment officer at Concannon Wealth Management, which
oversees about $250 million from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania . Icahn Enterprises “is much more tied up in the aura of its
founder,” he said. To contact the reporter on this story:
Mary Childs in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Alan Goldstein at
[email protected] | 2013 | icahn-bondholders-charge-premium-after-gains-corporate-finance |
Accor Profit Misses Analyst Estimates as Company Shifts Strategy | By Dalia Fahmy | 2013-08-28T05:19:27Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/accor-profit-misses-analyst-estimates-as-company-shifts-strategy.html | 8 | 28 | 3089379a015560fb7498f78f69ddfd0615973fef | Accor SA (AC) , Europe ’s largest hotel
operator, said first-half profit fell 6.6 percent as the company
began a three-year change of strategy that includes property
sales and cost cutting. Earnings before interest and taxes slid to 198 million
euros ($265 million) from 212 million euros a year earlier, the
Paris-based company said today in a statement. Analysts expected
profit of 212 million euros, according to the average of 10
estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Accor said it expects full-year
profit to be between 510 million euros and 530 million euros,
compared with 526 million euros in 2012. Accor is in the first year of a three-year reorganization
that includes increasing its focus on emerging markets , reducing
debt, selling some properties and cutting costs. It plans to
reduce its share of leased or owned properties to 20 percent by
2016, from the current 58 percent, with the rest operated under
franchise or management contracts. Yesterday, the company said Sebastien Bazin, head of
European investing at Accor shareholder Colony Capital LLC, will
take over as chairman and chief executive officer. To contact the reporter on this story:
Dalia Fahmy in Berlin at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andrew Blackman at
[email protected] | 2013 | accor-profit-misses-analyst-estimates-as-company-shifts-strategy |
Sanofi Borrows as Credit Risk Holds at Seven-Week High in Europe | By Katie Linsell and Natasha Doff | 2013-08-28T10:54:11Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/credit-risk-falls-from-six-week-high-in-europe-as-efsf-borrows.html | 8 | 28 | 800c0883efccba1aaad60552f8eea74b89231ba8 | Sanofi (SAN) , France’s largest drugmaker,
is selling its first bonds in euros since November 2012 as
credit risk held at the highest in more than seven weeks. Paris-based Sanofi is offering 1 billion euros ($1.3
billion) of seven-year securities that will yield 27 basis
points more than swaps, according to a person familiar with the
deal, who asked not to be identified before it is completed. The
Markit iTraxx Europe Index of credit-default swaps on 125
companies with investment-grade ratings rose 1.79 basis points
to 109.3 basis points at 11:40 a.m. in London , the highest since
July 10. Markets around the world are being roiled by the prospect
of the U.S., France and Britain taking military action against
Syria. Yield premiums on investment-grade debt are holding near
the lowest in three months at 78.6 basis points more than swaps,
Bloomberg bond index data show. “There is a wait-and-see mood in the market at the moment
even as new issuance picks up again,” said Thomas Kristiansson,
head of credit fixed income at SEB AB in Stockholm . “People are
hesitant to add more risk as they don’t know how big the
response from the U.S. and its allies against Syria will be and
the outcome of any action.” The European Financial Stability Facility is offering 3
billion euros of bonds due September 2034 that will yield 37
basis points more than the benchmark swaps rate. Also in the new issue market, Finland is selling five-year
bonds in euros to yield 16 basis points below the mid-swap rate. The Markit iTraxx Crossover Index of default swaps on 50
high-yield companies rose 4.72 basis points to 442.85 basis
points, the highest since July 5. The average yield investors
demand to hold junk-rated euro bonds climbed to 4.9 percent, the
highest in almost six weeks. To contact the reporter on this story:
Katie Linsell in Madrid at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Shelley Smith at
[email protected] | 2013 | credit-risk-falls-from-six-week-high-in-europe-as-efsf-borrows |
China Seeks Western-Style Care Amid Explosion of Elderly | By Natasha Khan | 2013-08-28T16:00:02Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/china-seeks-western-style-care-amid-explosion-of-elderly.html
The Chinese increasingly eat, shop
and play in ways their Western counterparts would instantly
recognize. They’re aging like them too, living longer lives that
are often limited by debilitating illnesses. As the almost 200 million population of over-60s more than
doubles in the next 40 years, China faces a deluge of infirm
elderly who can’t live alone. Nor can they rely on Confucian
tradition of children caring for their parents: the country’s
one-child policy has left fewer offspring to share the load,
while more Chinese are moving away from home to study or work. While China spent 1.1 trillion yuan ($179.7 billion) over
the past four years to cut the cost of drugs and provide basic
medical coverage for more than 90 percent of its 1.3 billion
people, services for the elderly have fallen behind. To plug the
gap, Premier Li Keqiang said Aug. 16 the government will cut red
tape and costs to spur foreign investment into the type of
privately funded care that is common in the West. “They’re going to be struggling with an enormous burden in
terms of caring for their elderly,” said Benjamin Shobert,
managing director of Rubicon Strategy Group in Seattle , which
advises companies on how to enter Asian health-care markets.
“They don’t really have two bites of the apple. Purely from a
time-frame point of view, the next 10 years are critical.” Longer Lives More than two decades of record economic growth turned the
Chinese into the world’s top consumers of cars and smartphones.
At the same time, China 's people can expect to live 76 years on
average, seven years longer than in 1990, World Health
Organization data show . They can also look forward to 16 years
of life after retirement, according to Bloomberg data . Those gains came at a cost. Uneven growth lured hundreds of
millions of people from rural areas into cities, separating
families and removing a key source of support for the elderly. The social upheaval eroding China’s multi-generational
family structure is accompanied by changes in health, a study
published in June’s edition of the Lancet shows. China’s health profile in 1990 looked like that of other
developing countries such as Vietnam and Iraq , according to the
paper by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
and Peking Union Medical College. By 2010, it resembled rich
nations such as the U.S., with heart disease , strokes, high
blood pressure and diabetes among ailments gaining prominence. A “shift to chronic disability” poses a major challenge
for China’s health system, the report said. Chronic Disease More than half of U.S. seniors over 65 suffer from one or
more chronic disease, with more than a quarter needing help with
activities such as eating or washing, according to the
Department of Health . Private care in America | 8 | 28 | 3af2fcd163a8462ca071a21d28bf3dc0 | at the same time there’s enormous opportunity.” Premier Li’s statement signals China’s leaders feel
pressure to accelerate growth in the sector to meet their
commitments under the 12th Five-Year Plan, he said. ‘Time Sensitive’ “Development of competent senior care operators is very
time sensitive as about 7.5 million people enter the over-65
cohort each year,” Cole said. “China is unprepared to offer
the minimal standard of care to all their citizens in this age
group.” One priority is home-care services that China wants to meet
90 percent of elderly needs, said Rubicon’s Shobert. Current
rules, for example, deter foreign home-care companies from
offering services typically provided in the U.S., like physical
rehabilitation, he said. For now, the government and foreign players are still
searching for the policy framework that’s right for China and
will spur investment into services Chinese will want and can
afford to buy. ‘Doesn’t Export’ “If you look globally, this is a business model that
doesn’t typically export,” Shobert said. Eight months after Columbia Pacific opened its first
assisted-living facility in Shanghai , only 25 of the 100 beds
have been taken. “We’re still experimenting with the best way to market
this,” said Nate McLemore, managing director of the Seattle-based investment fund. “It’s a new concept for people to know
they can live a full life in their aging years and be very well
taken care of.” Columbia Pacific unveiled its second project at a ceremony
last week in Beijing attended by U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke and
Dou Yupei, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Elderly residents of Senior Living L’Amore will have a
roster of activities that include mahjong, tai chi and Karaoke.
For about $2,000 to $3,000 a month, caregivers wash, feed and
remind them to take their medicine, according to Serena Xie, the
head of Columbia Pacific’s China unit. Top Support When Xie moved to China three years ago to set up the
business, she recalls “nobody had an idea of how to process the
applications” and it was difficult to bring regulators
together. Today, political support starts at the top. “Every government person I’ve met with recognizes that
there are needs that must be addressed,” said Mark Spitalnik ,
founder of China Senior Care Inc. , which is building a
residential aged-care facility in the eastern Hangzhou
city. “It comes down to giving people a face-saving way to take
care of the elders in their family.” To contact the reporter on this story:
Natasha Khan in Hong Kong at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Ben Richardson at
[email protected] | 2013 | china-seeks-western-style-care-amid-explosion-of-elderly |
ECB Says Private Sector Loans Continue Fall as Economy Revives | By Jeff Black | 2013-08-28T08:06:49Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/ecb-says-private-sector-loans-continue-fall-as-economy-revives.html | 8 | 28 | c9da3520dd1ade7ddc016f1119e54113211580af | Lending to companies and households
in the euro area fell for a 15th month in July, extending the
longest credit contraction on record, even as signs of economic
recovery in the region increase. Loans to the private sector dropped 1.9 percent from a year
earlier, the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank said today.
That’s the steepest decline on record. Adjusted for loan sales
and securitization, lending contracted 1.4 percent in July. ECB President Mario Draghi said on Aug. 1 that credit will
lag the recovery in the real economy. The 17-nation euro area
emerged from recession in the second quarter, posting 0.3
percent growth after six quarters of contraction. Economic
confidence in the region is forecast to rise in August to the
highest level in 17 months, according to a Bloomberg News survey
before a report tomorrow. “When we see a turnaround in investment then we should see
credit picking up, particularly in Germany, perhaps by November
or December,” said Annamaria Grimaldi, an economist at Intesa
Sanpaolo SpA in Milan. “In the case of Italy and Spain , it’s a
much more delicate issue and depending on deleveraging the
dynamic of credit could be more sluggish.” Germany ’s gross domestic product climbed 0.7 percent in the
three months ended June from the prior quarter. Italy’s economy
shrank 0.2 percent and Spain contracted 0.1 percent. Both
nations have been in recession for two years. The rate of growth in M3 money supply , which the ECB uses
as an indicator for future inflation, slowed to 2.2 percent in
July from 2.4 percent in June, according to today’s data.
Economists had expected a decline to 2 percent, according to the
median of 28 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey . M3 grew 2.5 percent in past three months from the same
period a year earlier. M3 is the broadest gauge of money supply
and includes cash in circulation, some forms of savings and
money-market holdings. To contact the reporter on this story:
Jeff Black in Frankfurt at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Craig Stirling at
[email protected] | 2013 | ecb-says-private-sector-loans-continue-fall-as-economy-revives |
Fenerbahce Banned From Soccer’s Europa League; Shares Dive | By Alex Duff and Ercan Ersoy | 2013-08-28T14:48:18Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/fenerbahce-expelled-from-europa-league-as-court-rejects-appeal.html | 8 | 28 | d18fb4b3ae950f712ab6342e1a447759cb7d9195 | The top sports court rejected an
appeal by Turkish soccer club Fenerbahce against a two-year ban
from European competition for match-fixing. The Istanbul team
will appeal the decision to Switzerland ’s supreme court. Today’s ruling prevents Fenerbahce playing in this season’s
Europa League. It was eliminated by Arsenal in Champions League
qualifying last night, losing 5-0 over two games. The Lausanne, Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for
Sport also said in a news release it rejected an appeal by
Ukraine’s Metalist Kharkiv against a one-year ban from European
competition for match-fixing. Fenerbahce Futbol AS (FENER) , the company that owns the soccer
team, will appeal to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland,
whose decision will be final, to reverse the verdict, it said in
a statement on its website . “The board of directors of our club will make decisions on
the future of our club at a meeting tomorrow and the decisions
will be shared with the public,” it said. Shares of Fenerbahce, the highest-valued sports company on
Borsa Istanbul, dived as much as 6.3 percent to 23.9 liras, the
lowest since August 2007. The shares had risen to 27.4 liras at
the close of morning trade, before the court decision was
announced. Replacement Club European soccer’s ruling body UEFA handed the ban to
Fenerbahce, last season’s runner-up to Galatasaray (GSRAY) in the
Turkish league, on June 25. Fenerbahce was allowed to compete in
Champions League qualifying pending its appeal. The CAS said that because of the urgency of both decisions
it was issuing its judgments without giving reasons. These will
be announced as soon as possible, it said. UEFA said in a statement it will meet tomorrow to decide
who will take the Turkish club’s place in the Europa League. The court of arbitration said earlier it will decide Aug.
30 on an appeal by Besiktas (BJKAS) , another Turkish club banned for one
year from Europe on June 25. Besiktas shares fell as much as 3.3
percent to 1.46 liras on Borsa Istanbul. Besiktas plays Tromso
of Norway tomorrow in Istanbul in the second leg of a Europa
League playoff. Tromso won the first leg 2-1 last week. To contact the reporter on this story:
Alex Duff in Madrid at
[email protected] ;
Ercan Ersoy in Istanbul at
3909 or [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Christopher Elser at
[email protected] . | 2013 | fenerbahce-expelled-from-europa-league-as-court-rejects-appea |
Age-Related Forgetfulness Tied to Diminished Brain Protein | By Elizabeth Lopatto | 2013-08-28T18:00:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/age-related-forgetfulness-tied-to-diminished-brain-protein.html | 8 | 28 | ffedc83202db4de3dc147a73f1b3bac1fc94c4f2 | Age-related forgetfulness may be due
to a deficiency in a brain protein that helps form memories,
a study found. Targeting the gene that produces that protein
could lead to new therapies, the researchers said. Scientists identified the protein, called RbAp48, in human
brain cells and showed that inhibiting it in mice made the
animals forgetful while raising the protein improved their
memories. That suggests that age-related memory loss may be
reversible, researchers said. “All of us are living longer, and we want to stay engaged
in a cognitively complex world,” said Scott Small, a study
author and neurologist at Columbia University in New York. The
mouse studies show that that too little of the protein is
causing memory loss , he said. The findings also confirm that age-related memory loss is
different from the deficits seen in Alzheimer’s disease . The
research is published today in the journal Science Translational
Medicine . The researchers took the postmortem brains of eight people
ages 33 to 88 who were disease-free, and examined the function
of 17 genes in a part of the hippocampus, an area that is
involved in memory. That section, called the dentate gyrus, has
been shown before to change with age. The strongest changes were
found in a gene that expressed RbAp48, which declines in
function as brains age. When the researchers suppressed that gene in healthy young
mice, the mice performed worse on object recognition and water
maze tests. When the researchers allowed the gene to go back to
normal function, the mice’s memory improved. Older Mice In another group of older mice, researchers used a virus to
put extra copies of the RbAp48 gene in the animals’ brains. That
led them to produce more of the associated protein in their
dentate gyruses. Their performance on cognitive tests improved
to the levels seen in young mice. The results suggest that changes in RbAp48 in humans may be
a cause of memory loss, Small said. The mice made good models
for study because they experience the same age-related
forgetfulness naturally that other mammals do. To contact the reporter on this story:
Elizabeth Lopatto in New York at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reg Gale at
[email protected] | 2013 | age-related-forgetfulness-tied-to-diminished-brain-protein |
Goat Escapes Bronx Slaughter to Enjoy Catskills Sanctuary | By Mike Di Paola | 2013-08-28T04:01:00Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/goat-escapes-bronx-slaughter-to-enjoy-catskills-sanctuary.html
The 200-year-old house was empty when I arrived on a recent Friday afternoon. Other guests trickled in after dark, and like me, they were here for the quaint lodging, morning yoga under the pine trees and a workshop on vegan smoothies. SLIDESHOW : Catskills Animal Sanctuary As groovy as that sounds, it should be noted that the Catskill Animal Sanctuary in Saugerties, New York, was not built to accommodate the granola needs of humans. Founded 10 years ago by former schoolteacher Kathy Stevens, it’s a haven for rescued farm animals, most of them saved from slaughterhouses, hoarders and other miserable conditions. “We bought a junkyard and we had to convert a junkyard into a working farm,” Stevens told me. The farm has grown to 110 acres with an expanded mission. Besides emergency rescue, the sanctuary educates the public on the devastating impact of agribusiness on animals, human health and the environment. Signs inform visitors that pigs on factory farms live in gestation crates “barely bigger than their bodies.” Male chicks are “gassed, crushed, or incinerated“ because they aren’t needed to produce eggs. “For humanity to move toward a plant-based diet is more than just a good idea,” Stevens said. “In my view it has become a necessity.” Like a lot of environmentalists, Stevens doesn’t take a sanguine view of the future, assuming business-as-usual continues apace. Gas Masks “I can envision a few generations from now people walking around in gas masks,” she said. “Those of us who haven’t been swept out to sea, anyway.” Stevens isn’t as pessimistic as she sounds. Yet she knows the meat industry is a major contributor of greenhouse gases, a destroyer of rainforests and a massive squanderer of natural resources. Stevens gets the message out with the farm’s education program, in her books ( “Animal Camp” was updated and re-released in May), a blog on the Huffington Post , and with speaking engagements at schools. Walking around the farm, I’m struck by the animals’ eagerness to greet, nuzzle or chatter with human visitors. This is not in anticipation of a handout (feeding the animals isn’t allowed), but because these creatures have been taught to believe they are peers, deserving of respect and dignity. A gregarious turkey couple greets me from behind the fence of their spacious pen. The hen hangs back but the tom comes right up to mischievously tug at the hem of my shorts. ‘Bob Veal’ Nearby, a recently rescued tribe of goats has already learned to meet-and-greet from their enclosure. Enjoying a graze on a paddock hillside, four calves are clustered together like a happy family. They were brought here from a dairy, where they were about to become “bob veal,” the youngest of beef flesh. Some backstories have become lore. A few years ago a goat found running loose in the Bronx was brought to the farm on Christmas Eve. She was emaciated, bloodied and, unbeknownst to her new benefactors, pregnant. They named her Noel, and her lucky son | 8 | 28 | 008bc5a86e544518953511943e08292f | 2013 | goat-escapes-bronx-slaughter-to-enjoy-catskills-sanctuary |
|
Schaeuble Says Spain Exports Show Merkel Formula Working | By Rainer Buergin and Birgit Jennen | 2013-08-29T09:41:54Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/schaeuble-says-spain-exports-show-merkel-crisis-formula-working.html
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Angela Merkel ’s prescription for the euro area is
yielding results, dismissing her main election challenger’s
plans to tackle the crisis as evidence he’s out of his depth. Portugal saw the fastest economic growth in the 17-nation
euro region in the second quarter, while Spain ’s labor-market
reforms and lower wage costs have resulted in “very strong
export dynamism,” Schaeuble said in an interview in Berlin on
Aug. 27. In Greece, wage costs have fallen by 13 percent,
showing that “everyone’s on the right track,” he said. “We
wouldn’t have come that far if there had been an easier way.” Schaeuble, 70, contrasted the Merkel government’s stance of
conditional aid with that of Peer Steinbrueck , her first-term
finance minister, who is the Social Democratic candidate for
chancellor in Sept. 22 elections. The SPD platform contains a
pledge to pool euro-area debt in a so-called redemption fund, a
step Merkel said this week “is something I will not do.” “Steinbrueck still hasn’t got it,” said Schaeuble, a
Christian Democrat like Merkel who succeeded Steinbrueck at the
finance ministry in 2009. “If we pool liabilities, through euro
bonds or a debt redemption fund, we remove the incentive for
countries that need to raise their competitiveness to do so,”
he said. “Why should we endanger what we have achieved?” Sunday’s Debate Schaeuble’s comments show how the debt crisis that spread
from Greece to dominate the 17-nation euro region throughout
Merkel’s second term is shifting to the fore of the campaign for
leadership of Europe ’s biggest economy. The candidates will
debate their respective positions on Sept. 1, during the only
televised clash of the campaign. Merkel has returned repeatedly to her handling of the
crisis during campaign rallies across the country, saying that
German “solidarity” in the form of financial help can only be
given to countries that reform and become more competitive.
Steinbrueck says there needs to be less emphasis on savings and
more on spurring economic growth and tackling joblessness. “No-one knows where this coalition wants to take Germany
or Europe,” Steinbrueck told reporters in Berlin today, as he
laid out his priorities for the first 100 days in office if he
were to become chancellor, including a flat-rate minimum hourly
wage of 8.50 euros ($11.28), reform of the pensions system and
equal pay for men and women working in the same job. Germany
under Merkel “is at a standstill,” he said, promising a change
of course to policies of “content” rather than “nothing.” ‘Chancellor’s Skepticism’ All the same, Steinbrueck ruled out a second debt cut for
Greece, saying that “I share the chancellor’s skepticism” and
“extreme reluctance” on further Greek debt relief. Support for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and its
Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union , was unchanged
at 41 percent in an FG Wahlen poll for ZDF television today,
while her Free Democratic coalition partner held at 6 percent.
Their combined tally of 47 percent would probably be enough for
a rerun of the current coalition if repeated on Election Day. Steinbrueck’s SPD gained one percentage point to 26 percent
while its Green party ally dropped a point to 12 percent. The
Left Party had 7 percent, down one point. FG Wahlen polled 1,348
voters on Aug. 26-28. The results have a margin of error of as
much as 3 percentage points. Schaeuble rejected a so-called grand coalition between his
CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD, citing the opposition’s plans to raise
taxes on the better off as “poison for the economy.” Unemployment Rises In any case, “it’s clear that we can finance public
expenditure with the current tax rates,” he said. “How can you
justify tax increases and threaten favourable consumer sentiment
when you’re running an overall budget surplus ?” While unemployment unexpectedly rose in August for the
first time in three months, the rate held at 6.8 percent, near a
two-decade low. Germany’s economic expansion of 0.7 percent in
the second quarter helped pull the euro region out of its
longest-ever recession. “A bit more than 10 years ago, we were the sick man of
Europe,” Merkel said during a rally in the cathedral city of
Ulm yesterday. “We also went through a series of reforms that
were difficult for a lot of people. And today we’re the growth
engine and the anchor of stability in Europe | 8 | 28 | 655ac11d4ca8434398ccc8862e90ae16 | painful reforms have their success.” German voters “are better off than they were four years
ago,” said Schaeuble. “Against a difficult European and global
backdrop, the balance of this legislative period is a stable
economic picture.” To contact the reporters on this story:
Rainer Buergin in Berlin at
[email protected] ;
Birgit Jennen in Berlin at
[email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story:
James Hertling at [email protected] | 2013 | schaeuble-says-spain-exports-show-merkel-crisis-formula-working |
Marathoners Go to Sioux Falls for Spot on Boston Starting Line | By Michael Buteau | 2013-08-28T16:17:28Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/marathoners-go-to-sioux-falls-for-spot-on-boston-starting-line.html
Barry Williamson missed qualifying
for next year’s Boston Marathon by 10 seconds at a race in June.
He is now spending about $600 to travel to Sioux Falls , South
Dakota , to give it another shot. “That 10 seconds is costing me a lot,” Williamson, of
Rosemount, Minnesota , said in an interview. Williamson, 51, is among the runners on a quest to book a
place in the April race. The annual 26.2-mile journey from
Hopkinton, Massachusetts , to Boston has taken on a renewed
significance after fatal bombings halted this year’s marathon
with 5,633 runners still on the course. The Sioux Falls Marathon , in its fourth year, will attract
about 700 runners, up from 350 last year, according to Wes Hall,
executive director of the Sioux Falls Sports Authority, which
stages the race. The race is Sept. 8; the deadline to qualify
for Boston is Sept. 22. The demand led Hall to add about 900 volunteers and spend
$2,500 for a “pace team” of about 15 runners in an effort to
assist those seeking Boston qualifying times. “For a race our size, to put that amount of money out
there, when we don’t have the budget for it, it’s a little bit
of a sacrifice,” said Hall, 33. “But I think it will be for
the benefit of a lot of people.” As the Sioux Falls race has approached, Hall said he has
received numerous phone calls and e-mails from runners verifying
that the course is certified by USA Track & Field, a requirement
for a runner’s time to count for a Boston spot. Unlike other races, Boston | 8 | 28 | 8639d6daeade4bebbcb9dec4839c647e | time standards based on their age. Organizers made it more
difficult for this year’s race, the first change since 1990,
toughening standards by five minutes for all ages. First Chance Runners with the fastest qualifying times are given the
first opportunity to register. The increased interest for the
2014 race could make it even more difficult to gain entry, and
Hall realized that his race would take on added significance. “We heard people saying ‘this is probably my last
chance,’” he said. “If this is what they want to accomplish,
we’re going to do everything we can to try to make that a
reality for people.” After running in Boston every year from 2007-12,
Williamson, a grounds crew worker for Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) who
has completed 33 marathons, didn’t make the lineup this year,
leaving him at home when two bombs exploded close to the
downtown finish line of the Boston Athletic Association’s
signature race. Three people were killed and more than 200 were
injured. “I have a close connection to Boston,” said Williamson,
who finished Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, on June 22
in 3 hours, 30 minutes, 10 seconds , just shy of the required
time. “I have a need to get back. It seems as though I want
this one as much as I wanted the first one.” Automatic Entry Because of the bombings, runners who were unable to finish
were granted automatic entry into next year’s race. Their
inclusion will increase the field to about 36,000 runners,
according to the Boston Globe. The exact number has yet to be
announced by race organizers. A record 36,748 runners started
the centennial race in 1996. Approximately 500,000 spectators
line the route, organizers said. Like Sioux Falls, other smaller marathons around the U.S.
have seen increased interest because of the bombings, race
directors said. Mike Calley, who has organized the Pocatello Marathon in
Pocatello, Idaho , since 2005, said he expects to attract 500
runners for this year’s race on Aug. 31, up slightly from 473
last year. “Immediately following Boston, we had a big spike in our
registrations,” Calley, 48, said. “I got a lot of calls to my
house asking if our race was a Boston qualifier.” Downhill Race The Pocatello race, which has a starting elevation at 6,600
feet (2,000 meters) above sea level and drops 1,500 feet before
runners reach the finish line, averaged 19 registration per day
in the week following the Boston bombings, up from an average of
5 per day, Calley said. “What happened in Boston united the running community,”
he said. “Next year is going to be a pretty special event.” To contact the reporter on this story:
Michael Buteau in Atlanta at
[email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
[email protected] | 2013 | arathoners-go-to-sioux-falls-for-spot-on-boston-starting-line |
Hyundai Unit Must Face Assembly Line Worker’s Wages Suit | By Andrew Harris | 2013-08-28T23:04:27Z | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/hyundai-unit-must-face-assembly-line-worker-s-wages-suit.html | 8 | 28 | 27b3244a22c7bf5587927557404aaa5cccd0fe60 | A Hyundai Motor Co. (005380) unit must face a
Philadelphia worker’s lawsuit alleging the company failed to pay
hourly employees overtime and cheated them on pay for shortened
breaks. U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter in Philadelphia today
denied a request by Hyundai Rotem USA, a maker of railroad cars,
that he throw out the complaint initially filed in February by
assembly-line employee Olivia Drake. She’s seeking class status on behalf of all workers that
have been subjected to Hyundai’s allegedly unlawful practices
during the past three years. Buckwalter threw out a Pennsylvania state law minimum wage
claim, while letting a federal Fair Labor Standards Act claim go
forward. He rejected the company’s contention Drake had to first
pursue arbitration under her union’s collective bargaining
agreement. “The union could decide for reasons completely unrelated
to the merits of plaintiffs’ claims to deny the opportunity for
arbitration,” the judge said. He called that procedure
unconstitutional because it could force employees to waive a
substantive statutory right. The court hasn’t ruled on whether workers can sue as a
group. Hyundai Rotem is a unit of Seoul-based Hyundai Motor Co. The case is Drake v. Hyundai Rotem USA, 13-cv-00868, U.S.
District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). To contact the reporter on this story:
Andrew Harris in the Chicago federal courthouse at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at
[email protected] | 2013 | yundai-unit-must-face-assembly-line-worker-s-wages-sui |