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Lindsey Vonn Wins Record 18th World Cup Super-G to Extend Overall Lead
By James Cone
2012-02-26T14:28:24Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/lindsey-vonn-wins-record-18th-world-cup-super-g-to-extend-overall-lead.html
2
26
77c17d088f31a53764e266b2151f42d259fa9960
Lindsey Vonn won a record 18th super-G race in skiing’s World Cup to close on the discipline title and increase her lead atop the overall standings. Vonn, who has already secured the downhill and super- combined titles, beat Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather by 0.05 seconds in Bansko, Bulgaria, today with Daniela Merighetti of Italy in third. The 27-year-old American holds a 94-point lead over Austria’s Anna Fenninger in the super-G competition with one race remaining as she aims to top the competition for a fourth straight year. Vonn has a 528-point advantage over Tina Maze of Slovenia in the overall standings, with Germany’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch 28 points further back. Massimiliano Blardone won a men’s giant slalom in Crans- Montana, Switzerland, for his seventh World Cup success. The Italian finished ahead of Austria’s Marcel Hirscher, who leads the giant slalom and overall standings . To contact the reporter on this story: James Cone in London at jcone@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net
2012
indsey-vonn-wins-record-18th-world-cup-super-g-to-extend-overall-lead
Telefonica to Bid for Airwaves in Brazil, Chile This Year
By Manuel Baigorri
2012-02-27T14:21:21Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/telefonica-plans-to-bid-for-airwaves-in-chile-brazil-this-year.html
2
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020de68928834534a382489e62ed9337
Telefonica SA (TEF) , Spain ’s largest telephone company, plans to bid for airwaves in Brazil and Chile this year for building faster networks as it prepares for a boom in demand for mobile data in Latin America . The company, which gets about half of its revenue from the region, needs the wireless frequencies for networks based on the long-term evolution standard already used in the U.S. and in parts of Europe , Chief Technology Officer Enrique Blanco said in an interview yesterday. The Madrid-based operator will invest “all the money it needs,” he said. “We plan to bid for LTE radio frequencies in Chile and Brazil toward the second half this year,” Blanco said in Barcelona before the start of the Mobile World Congress. In Spain, Telefonica is gearing up for a potential LTE deployment in 2014, he added. Phone companies including Telefonica need to bolster strained networks as more customers use increasingly high- quality video, music and games. Spain’s former monopoly is struggling to stop a loss in market share as Spaniards switch to cheaper rivals amid a weak economy and high unemployment. Instant Messaging Telefonica and a group of operators including Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) and France Telecom SA (FTE) ’s Orange are working on a project for the so-called Rich Communications Suite that will include instant messaging, Blanco said. The JOYN instant messaging application, which can transfer voice and data, will be part of the suite, Inaki Cabrera, innovation director for Vodafone Spain, said today at a press conference in Barcelona. It is now in beta testing and will be available to customers in Spain in the summer, he said. The software will come with new tariffs to help customers improve control over spending, he added. “Ten years ago SMS wasn’t very popular because you could only send a message to other people within your own operator,” Ian Miller, Telefonica’s director for radio access networks, said in a separate interview. “We need to partner with other vendors because this will be the only way that this new generation of messages will be become popular and take off. This needs to be inter-operable between all operators.” After Chile and Brazil, Telefonica predicts it will bid for LTE frequencies in other Latin American markets such as Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico or Peru within 18 months, said Miller. “These markets are catching up, but the real challenge is the devices, whether they become cost effective enough to be massively available,” Miller said. “How much we’re willing to invest and whether we team up or not with other operators will vary market to market.” Alcatel-Lucent Chief Executive Officer Cesar Alierta is also counting on Latin America’s economic growth to win back investors. Telefonica said last week sales in the region climbed 13.5 percent to 29.2 billion euros ($39.3 billion) last year. Telefonica operates in 14 countries in the region. Telefonica shares fell 0.1 percent to 12.85 euros as of 3:19 p.m. in Madrid. Telefonica is working with Firefox browser maker Mozilla on mobile applications using HTML5 language, Carlos Domingo, director of product development and innovation at Telefonica, said today in Barcelona. Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) and other phone operators are also involved in the Mozilla accord, he said. “The performance of devices can be much higher thanks to this, while it can also lower prices for smartphones and bring them to the mass market in emerging markets in Latin America,” Domingo said. 4G Trial Telefonica yesterday unveiled a 4G trial in Barcelona based on Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) ’s light radio technology and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) ’s Galaxy S II LTE smartphone and Tab. 8.9 tablet. This trial will be extended to other cities across Spain depending on demand and radio frequencies and devices, which are the two biggest challenges, according to Blanco. Besides Spain, this technology is set to expand in other European cities, Miller added. “We are planning to do other trials like this one in Barcelona in other European cities in Germany , Czech Republic, U.K., and so on,” Miller said. “We are now also considering network sharing with other operators for LTE where we can’t get all the frequencies need.” To contact the reporter on this story: Manuel Baigorri in Barcelona via mbaigorri@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net
2012
elefonica-plans-to-bid-for-airwaves-in-chile-brazil-this-year
ECB’s Weidmann Questions Greek Bond Profit Payout, Spiegel Says
By Tony Czuczka
2012-02-26T11:34:20Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/ecb-s-weidmann-questions-greek-bond-profit-payout-spiegel-says.html
2
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15504488a1bf5277a0b350f3e9ac635340110db0
European central banks may be unable to make a profit on Greek sovereign bonds that euro-area governments want to use in the country’s second bailout, European Central Bank council member Jens Weidmann was quoted as saying by Der Spiegel . Weidmann said it’s “not certain at all” that the bonds will make a profit, the German magazine reported today, citing an interview. Risks on the central banks’ balance sheets have actually increased, Weidmann was quoted as saying. Germany ’s Bundesbank, which Weidmann heads, will increase its risk provisions, lowering its 2011 profit payout to the German government, he was quoted as saying. To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Czuczka in Berlin at aczuczka@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net
2012
ecb-s-weidmann-questions-greek-bond-profit-payout-spiegel-says
Yandex Calls to Buy Soar to a Record on Internet Ad Boom: Russia Overnight
By Ksenia Galouchko and Halia Pavliva
2012-02-27T04:05:37Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/yandex-calls-to-buy-soar-to-a-record-on-internet-ad-boom-russia-overnight.html
2
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6514efb84914423b83158a546ddf828f
Options traders are making the most bullish bets on Yandex NV since Russia’s top search engine first sold shares nine months ago on speculation rising online advertising growth will bolster company revenue. The ratio of outstanding call options to buy Yandex’s U.S.- traded shares versus puts to sell jumped to a record 3.15-to-1 on Feb. 24, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Futures (VEA) expiring in March on Moscow’s RTS Index rose 5.4 percent to 172,585 in U.S. trading on Feb. 24. Yandex gained 2.9 percent last week. Sales will jump as much as 45 percent in 2012, following a 60 percent advance last year, Chief Financial Officer Alexander Shulgin said on a conference call on Feb. 22 after Yandex reported that fourth-quarter adjusted net income surged 50 percent to 2.2 billion rubles ($75 million). Internet ad spending climbed the most of all advertising in Russia last year, growing 56 percent to 41.8 billion rubles, according to the Association of Communication Agencies of Russia. “Online advertising sales have a huge growth potential in the Russian market,” Anna Lepetukhina , an analyst at Troika Dialog who has a “buy” rating on the company, said by phone from Moscow on Feb. 24. “Yandex has excellent prospects and a fast sales-growth rate, right now it is undervalued.” The Bloomberg Russia-US 14 Index (RUS14BN) of Russian companies traded in New York rose 4 percent to 113.24 on Feb. 24, bringing its weekly gain to 3.8 percent. The Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX) , a U.S.-traded fund that holds Russian shares, rose 4.1 percent to $33.13, the highest closing price since September 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The fund gained 4 percent last week and is up 24 percent this year, compared with a 3.4 percent gain in the same period a year ago. March $24 Calls The fastest growing bets among all Yandex options contracts over the past two weeks are March $24 calls, which expire in less than three weeks. Yandex last closed above that strike price, 5.7 percent higher than what the shares traded at on Feb. 24, on Nov. 15, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Options are contracts that give the right, though not the obligation, to buy or sell a security at a set price and date. Calls give the right to buy a security for a certain amount, the strike price, by a set date. Puts convey the right to sell. Investors use options to guard against fluctuations in the price of securities they own, to speculate on share-price moves or bet that volatility, or stock swings, will rise or fall. Shares of Yandex fell 1.2 percent to $22.70 on Feb. 24, bringing the decline since its May listing to 42 percent. Troika has a $38.50 price target for Yandex. ‘Better’ Than Mail.ru The company saw its share of the Russian search market drop to 59.6 percent in January, compared with a three-month average of 59.9 percent, according to Liveintenet.ru , an Internet- service provider and researcher. The market share of Mail.ru Group Ltd. (MAIL) , the largest Russian-language Internet company and an investor in Web companies including Facebook Inc. and Groupon Inc., rose to 8.5 percent from a three-month average of 8.4 percent, the data showed. Yandex is a “better option to gain exposure to the Russian Internet market than shares of Mail.ru Group, which could be subject to volatility due to its considerable exposure to Facebook,” analysts at UralSib Financial Corp. in Moscow, led by Konstantin Chernyshev, head of research, wrote in a Feb. 22 note. Mail.ru soared to a 13-month high on Feb. 24 after reporting a tripling in second-half net income and forecasting margins of 50 percent this year. The company’s Global Depositary Receipts are up 47 percent in 2012, the best start to a year since the stock started trading in November 2010. Urals Surges The RTS Volatility Index (RTSVX) , which measures expected swings in the index futures, declined as much as 10 percent to 27.56 on Feb. 24, the lowest level since Aug. 3. The index settled at 29.38, down 4.1 percent from the previous close and 4.9 percent lower from the previous week. Urals crude , Russia ’s chief export blend and biggest export earner, surged 0.8 percent to $124.99 per barrel on Feb. 24, the strongest level since July 2008. Crude oil for April delivery rose 1.8 percent, to $109.77 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Feb. 24, the highest settlement since May 3 and completing the longest rally since January 2010 as escalating tension with Iran threatened supplies. Futures dropped 0.3 percent today to $109.46 a barrel. Brent oil for April settlement gained 1.5 percent to $125.47 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highest close since April. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index, a gauge of stocks in the region, fell 0.2 percent today as higher oil prices raised concern higher energy costs will weigh on economic growth. United Co. Rusal (486) , the world’s largest aluminum producer, rose 2.3 percent to HK$6.72 in Hong Kong trading as of the city’s midday break. Cheapest BRIC OAO Surgutneftegas’s (SGTPY) ADRs rose 6.8 percent to $6.93 in U.S. trading on Feb. 24, the highest level since November 2007. The Russian oil company’s stock was the biggest gainer on the Bloomberg Russia-US 14 (RUS14BN) measure last week, advancing 7.4 percent. Preferred shares on Moscow’s Micex Index increased 6 percent on Feb. 24 to 20.373 rubles, or 70 U.S. cents. One ADR equals ten ordinary shares. Russia’s 30-stock Micex trades at 6.2 times analysts’ earnings estimates for member companies, compared with 10.9 for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) of developing-nation stocks. Brazil ’s Bovespa (IBOV) index trades at 11.6 times estimated earnings, while the Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) trades at 10.2 times and the BSE India Sensitive Index (SENSEX) has a ratio of 15.8, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. To contact the reporters on this story: Ksenia Galouchko in New York at kgalouchko1@bloomberg.net ; Halia Pavliva in New York at hpavliva@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Emma O’Brien at eobrien6@bloomberg.net
2012
yandex-calls-to-buy-soar-to-a-record-on-internet-ad-boom-russia-overnig
Caltex Australia Swings to Full-Year Loss on Refinery Charge
By James Paton
2012-02-27T06:20:24Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/caltex-australia-swings-to-full-year-loss-on-refinery-charges.html
2
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Caltex Australia Ltd. (CTX) , the nation’s biggest oil refiner, swung to a full-year net loss after Asian competition and a strong Australian dollar forced it to write down the value of its plants by A$1.5 billion ($1.6 billion). The company had a loss of A$714 million in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, compared with net income of A$317 million a year earlier, the Sydney-based company said today in a statement. Profit, excluding the effect of changes in oil prices and one- time items, fell 17 percent to A$264 million. Caltex, half-owned by San Ramon , California-based Chevron Corp. (CVX) , is considering closing its two refineries after completing a review of the assets in about six months, the company said Feb. 16. The operator of the Kurnell refinery in Sydney and the Lytton refinery in Brisbane flagged earlier this month it would write down the value of those assets. “The recent deterioration in the performance of the refining business unit due to the challenging external environment, including the ongoing strength of the Australian dollar, lower refiner margins and increasing costs, is expected to be sustained for a prolonged period,” Caltex said today. The shares dropped 0.6 percent to close at A$12.90 in Sydney trading, while Australia ’s benchmark index dropped 0.9 percent. Caltex has gained 9.6 percent this year. Marketing Growth The Caltex plants are among seven oil refineries in Australia, with others operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc (BP/) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) Shell, Europe ’s largest oil company, said last year that it would halt refining operations at its Clyde plant in Sydney before mid-2013, saying it was no longer competitive against Asian “mega-refineries.” Caltex’s full-year earnings before interest and tax for its marketing business climbed more than 20 percent, driven by growth in sales of premium petrol, diesel and jet fuel. The division has posted an annual growth rate of more than 13 percent since 2007, Caltex said. “The marketing business has had a fairly lengthy trend of volume growth and earnings growth,” Chief Financial Officer Simon Hepworth told reporters on a call. “Without promising that’s going to continue, it is reasonable to look at the historical trend. It’s a business with lots of opportunities.” Caltex forecasts capital spending of between A$375 million and A$450 million in 2012, with most of the money earmarked for marketing. That compares with A$342 million in 2011. Caltex plans to allocate the funds to improving its retail stores, further developing infrastructure to distribute its products and seeking “smaller” acquisitions, Hepworth said. To contact the reporter on this story: James Paton in Sydney at jpaton4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Amit Prakash at aprakash1@bloomberg.net
2012
caltex-australia-swings-to-full-year-loss-on-refinery-charges
Depositors Pull $1.75 Billion From Syrian Banks, National Says
By Anthony DiPaola
2012-02-26T06:22:30Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/depositors-pull-1-75-billion-from-syrian-banks-national-says.html
2
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95d93787434dc33ae33f9bd6139429dd82c90326
Syrian banks have seen almost 100 billion Syrian pounds ($1.75 billion) in deposits withdrawn from the country amid violence and anti-government protests, The National reported, citing data from lenders. Deposits at Syria ’s 14 listed banks have declined from 442 billion Syrian pounds last year, the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper reported today. To contact the reporter on this story: Anthony DiPaola in Dubai at adipaola@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net
2012
depositors-pull-1-75-billion-from-syrian-banks-national-says
Colombia’s FARC Rebel Group Promises to Free Hostages, End Acts of Ransom
By Randall Woods
2012-02-26T18:44:37Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-26/colombia-s-farc-rebel-group-promises-to-free-hostages-end-acts-of-ransom.html
2
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1825017d8449c51375a3fbfb8eaed46b1e786601
Colombia ’s largest rebel group has promised to stop kidnappings for ransom and will release the remaining four hostages it holds in captivity following the death of its leader Alfonso Cano in November. “We wish to express our feelings of admiration for the families of the soldiers and police in our power,” according to a statement from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a copy of which was on the website of Anncol, a news service where the group’s statements are often published. “They never lost faith.” The FARC’s ruling council signed the Feb. 26 statement, which they say was published from the mountains of Colombia. The statement comes after the FARC in December agreed to release six hostages, some of whom had been held in captivity for more than a decade. The group, in the statement, said it doesn’t agree to end hostilities or the taking prisoners of war, and says government decisions to increase military spending will prolong their decades-old conflict. The FARC called on the government to free “political prisoners” as part of a new way of ending the conflict. “We appreciate the FARC’s announcement that it will renounce kidnapping as an important and needed step, but it’s not enough,” President Juan Manuel Santos said from his Twitter account. The FARC, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union, was founded in 1964 as a rural, Marxist insurgency. Cano, whose real name was Guillermo Saenz, began leading the FARC after the movement’s founder, Manuel Marulanda, died of a heart attack in 2008. Cano was killed during a firefight as troops and police closed in on his camp. To contact the reporter on this story: Randall Woods in Santiago at rwoods13@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net
2012
colombia-s-farc-rebel-group-promises-to-free-hostages-end-acts-of-ranso
Gazprom Neft Unit Raises Serbia Investment to 500 Million Euros
By Misha Savic
2012-04-25T11:21:45Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/gazprom-neft-unit-raises-serbia-investment-to-500-million-euros.html
4
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e058100342d59915fdfc33fceff832a70ac7189a
Naftna Industrija Srbije AD (NIIS) opened an acid recycling unit at its main oil refinery, bringing its total investments to 500 million euros ($661 million) since Russia’s OAO Gazprom Neft (GAZP) took over the Serbian company in 2009. The 14.3 million-euro unit is part of a 550 million-euro overhaul of the Pancevo refinery that will be completed by the end of the third quarter, enabling annual production of 640,000 tons of gasoline and 1.5 million tons of diesel, the company said in a statement today. Gazprom Neft bought Naftna Industrija, known as NIS, from the Serbian government for 400 million euros, pledging to invest at least 500 million euros by the end of the third quarter of 2012. “Gazprom Neft has met its investment obligations ahead of schedule envisaged by the purchase agreement,” Chief Executive Officer Kirill Kravchenko said today. The vertically integrated NIS has also invested in oil and gas fields in the northern Vojvodina province, its refinery in Novi Sad as well as expanded its retail network of gas stations. Its biggest investment is a 396 million-euro hydrocracking facility at the Pancevo refinery. To contact the reporter on this story: Misha Savic in Belgrade at msavic2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at jagomez@bloomberg.net
2012
gazprom-neft-unit-raises-serbia-investment-to-500-million-euros
Bawag Bankers Who Lost Billions Begin Austrian Retrial
By Boris Groendahl
2012-04-25T11:20:58Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/austria-starts-retrial-of-bawag-psk-bankers-who-lost-billions.html
4
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15674318f4befd5b450dbe0f87945bbf661a0e3f
Fund manager Wolfgang Floettl and others who helped run up as much as 1.7 billion euros ($2.25 billion) of losses at Austria ’s Bawag PSK Bank AG today face retrial in Austria’s biggest ever white-collar crime case. Floettl, 56, and seven other men, including Bawag managers, supervisory board members and one of its auditors, were granted a new trial by Austria’s highest court in 2010. Floettl, who is married to a granddaughter of former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, had been found guilty of misuse of funds in the first trial against the group in 2008. The overturned verdicts against the others included fraud and false accounting, depending on their roles in the losses. “The defendants sent millions of dollars on a trip, and all of them were lost,” chief prosecutor Sonja Herbst told the court, led by Judge Christian Boehm. “In the end, Bawag was on the brink of ruin.” Herbst said that the high court rejected the original judge’s findings mainly based on the defendants’ intent, and that this would be the focus of the retrial. The retrial is preliminarily scheduled to last 20 days. Floettl had run up the losses for Bawag, which was then owned by Austria’s trade union federation, from the late 1990s, mostly with wrong-way bets on the Japanese yen. Floettl’s acquittal on part of the charges had been affirmed by the high court when it granted the retrial. The losses weren’t discovered until U.S. futures broker Refco Inc. collapsed into bankruptcy in 2006. Their discovery eventually forced the union to sell Bawag to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP in 2007. Former Bawag Chief Executive Officer Helmut Elsner, 76, was already sentenced to 10 years in jail, the harshest possible punishment for the crimes of which he was already convicted. While prosecutors aren’t retrying his case, he will attend the retrial because Bawag is trying to claw back a one-time pension payment he received when he retired. To contact the reporter on this story: Boris Groendahl in Vienna at bgroendahl@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net
2012
austria-starts-retrial-of-bawag-psk-bankers-who-lost-billions
Brazil Recommends Approval of Hypermarcas, Mantecorp Deal
By Helder Marinho
2012-04-25T17:02:04Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/brazil-recommends-approval-of-hypermarcas-mantecorp-deal-1-.html
4
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Brazil’s Justice Ministry’s antitrust arm, known as SDE, recommended the approval of the acquisition of Mantecorp Industria Quimica & Farmaceutica SA by Hypermarcas SA (HYPE3) , according to the country’s official gazette. SDE agreed with the assessment of the transaction by SEAE, the antitrust arm of the Finance Ministry , which also recommended approval of deal, with a non-compete restriction clause for operations of the two companies in Brazil. Hipermarcas was unchanged at 12.13 reais in Sao Paulo at 2 p.m. To contact the reporter on this story: Helder Marinho in Sao Paulo at hmarinho@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Karen Eeuwens at keeuwens@bloomberg.net
2012
brazil-recommends-approval-of-hypermarcas-mantecorp-deal-1-
Encana CEO Rules Out Company Sale Amid Gas Price Declines
By Jeremy van Loon
2012-04-25T21:27:37Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/encana-not-considering-sale-of-company-ceo-eresman-says-1-.html
4
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f691e15bf55ffe09d355c2eab49ba63771826a6c
Encana Corp. (ECA) Chief Executive Officer Randall Eresman ruled out a sale of the Canadian oil and natural-gas producer as the company markets assets to compensate for slumping gas prices . Earlier this month, Petroliam Nasional Bhd., the Malaysian state-owned oil company , said it was studying a Canadian acquisition for more than $5 billion, spurring speculation that Calgary-based Encana may be a target. A sale isn’t an option, Eresman said during a conference call today. Gas prices in North America , where production has soared amid a boom in hydraulic fracturing, fell to their lowest quarterly average in 10 years during the period. The fuel sold at an average of $2.50 a million British thermal units, down from an average of $4.20 a year earlier and a high of $13.577 in 2008. Encana is Canada’s largest natural-gas producer by volume. “We would need a dollar higher to achieve our cost of capital,” Eresman said. Encana plans to have $3 billion in cash on its balance sheet by the end of the year, helped by joint ventures and assets sales, he said. Encana today said first-quarter net income was $12 million, compared with a net loss of $361 million a year earlier. Commodity-price hedging contributed $358 million in realized after-tax gains, helping counter a decline in gas prices. The gas producer agreed to sell a 40 percent stake in its Cutbank Ridge operation for C$1.45 billion ($1.47 billion) to Mitsubishi Corp. (8058) in February. Shares rose 4 percent to C$18.36 at the close in Toronto, the most in more than two months. To contact the reporter on this story: Jeremy van Loon in Calgary at jvanloon@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at susanwarren@bloomberg.net
2012
encana-not-considering-sale-of-company-ceo-eresman-says-1-
Japanese Sold Net 1170 Billion Yen Overseas Debt Last Week
By Minh Bui
2012-04-25T23:52:15Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/japanese-sold-net-1170-billion-yen-overseas-debt-last-week.html
4
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6892517aeafd9b2fef573b3c7a33ffcc923f0bcf
Japanese investors were net sellers of foreign bonds during the week ended April 20 according to figures based on reports from designated major investors released by the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo . Japanese investors sold 1170 billion yen ($14.4 billion) in overseas bonds and notes, bought 42.3 billion yen in overseas stocks and sold 8.4 billion yen in overseas short term securities. That results in a total net sale of 1136 billion yen. Foreign investors sold 6.7 billion yen in Japanese bonds, sold 63.1 billion yen in stocks, and bought 746.8 billion yen in short term securities, resulting in a total net purchase of 677 billion yen. To contact the reporter on this story: Minh Bui in Sydney at mbui@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Marco Babic at mbabic@bloomberg.net
2012
japanese-sold-net-1170-billion-yen-overseas-debt-last-week
Morgan Stanley Strategist Said to Leave for Hedge Fund
By Yusuke Miyazawa
2012-04-25T09:52:39Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/morgan-stanley-credit-strategist-said-to-leave-for-hedge-fund.html
4
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359b8934e24cf5e9ddb74e9a41e75c398ed5ab49
Morgan Stanley’s (MS) Hidetoshi Ohashi, a Tokyo-based credit strategist and the head of fixed-income research, will leave the bank, according to Mika Watanabe, a bank spokeswoman. Ohashi, 43, plans to leave at the end of June to start a hedge fund based in Singapore with a focus on Japanese corporate bonds and credit-default swaps, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. Takehiro Sato, the investment bank’s chief economist for Japan, will take on Ohashi’s responsibilities as the head of fixed-income research and continue in his current role, Watanabe, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman at Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co. said when contacted by telephone today. The company is a Japan unit of New York-based Morgan Stanley. Ohashi joined Morgan Stanley in September 2000 after leaving Nippon Life Insurance Co., Japan’s biggest life insurer, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story: Yusuke Miyazawa in Tokyo at ymiyazawa3@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shelley Smith at ssmith118@bloomberg.net
2012
organ-stanley-credit-strategist-said-to-leave-for-hedge-fund
IMF Is Best Guard Against Euro Crisis, U.K. Lawmaker Tyrie Says
By Gonzalo Vina
2012-04-25T23:01:00Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/imf-is-best-guard-against-euro-crisis-u-k-lawmaker-tyrie-says.html
4
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The International Monetary Fund remains the best backstop against a further deterioration in the euro-area economy given the region’s “flawed” framework for dealing with crises, said Andrew Tyrie , the chairman of Parliament’s Treasury Committee. Sustained by “sticking plaster bailouts,” the crisis in Europe risks spreading to the whole world, the Conservative Party lawmaker will say in a speech in London today. Other countries won’t be able to rely on the 17 euro-area nations to “do the hard work for us.” The IMF is “the only global fire brigade we have,” Tyrie will say, according to remarks released by his office. “That is why it was right to increase their resources.” European policy makers were urged at the weekend to be tougher and more agile in their efforts to end two years of debt turmoil as the IMF won more than $430 billion to safeguard the world economy. Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 stressed that Europe must now justify the show of solidarity by doing even more to restore fiscal health, help banks and spur economic growth. Failure to do so could make it harder for countries such as Spain to secure aid if they falter and imperil a global recovery the G-20 labeled modest and subject to downside risks. To contact the reporter on this story: Gonzalo Vina in London at gvina@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net
2012
imf-is-best-guard-against-euro-crisis-u-k-lawmaker-tyrie-says
Kingboard Loan Said to Attract Banks Including CCB and ICBC
By Wendy Mock
2012-04-25T11:11:01Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/kingboard-loan-said-to-attract-banks-including-ccb-and-icbc-1-.html
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Kingboard Laminates Holdings Ltd. (1888) has completed syndication of a HK$3 billion loan with banks including China Construction Bank Corp. (939) , Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. Other banks joining in syndication include Bank of East Asia Bank Ltd., Bank of Taiwan, Bank SinoPac, Hua Nan Commercial Bank Ltd., Mega International Commercial Bank Co., Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA (BMPS) , Nanyang Commercial Bank Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Taiwan Cooperative Bank, Tai Fung Bank Ltd., Taishin Financial Holding Co. and Yuanta Commercial Bank Co., the person said. Another two banks joined in general syndication, the person said. Kingboard hired Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) and Standard Chartered Plc to help arrange and underwrite the loan, another person familiar with the matter said on March 8. To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Mock in Hong Kong at wmock3@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shelley Smith at ssmith118@bloomberg.net
2012
kingboard-loan-said-to-attract-banks-including-ccb-and-icbc-1-
Caveman Diet, Barefoot Running Help Man Get Healthy
By Elizabeth Lopatto
2012-04-25T04:01:00Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/caveman-diet-barefoot-running-help-skinny-fat-man-get-healthy.html “Eat right and exercise” doesn’t sound so hard. In practice, though, it can be excruciating. That’s the message of A.J. Jacobs ’s new memoir, “ Drop Dead Healthy .” Jacobs, who describes himself as “skinny fat,” had begun worrying that he might not be around for major milestones in his children’s lives. And so, since he’s a pioneer in the field of doing extreme things and then writing books about them
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goal). But that’s not the point of the book, really. Acquiring healthy habits isn’t easy, but Jacobs makes it feel like something that’s within reach of any Joe or Jill Couch Potato. That’s an accomplishment worth admiring. “Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection” is published by Simon & Schuster (402 pages, $26). To buy this book in North America , click here . (Elizabeth Lopatto is a reporter for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.) Muse highlights include James Pressley ’s business book reviews and Ryan Sutton on dining. To contact the writer of this column: Elizabeth Lopatto in New York at elopatto@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net .
2012
caveman-diet-barefoot-running-help-skinny-fat-man-get-healthy
Taiwanese Nationals Charged in Military Technology Plot
By David Voreacos
2012-04-25T21:13:03Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/taiwanese-nationals-charged-in-military-technology-plot-1-.html
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Two Taiwanese nationals already accused of trying to smuggle drugs through a New Jersey port were charged today with plotting to export sensitive U.S. military technology to benefit the Chinese government. Hui Sheng Shen, 45, and Huan Ling Chang, 41, who were arrested in February and are being held without bail, appeared before a judge today in Newark , New Jersey. They are accused of conspiring to buy unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, as well as E-2C Hawkeye surveillance airplanes and stealth technology related to F-22 fighter planes. Shen and Chang “purportedly acted on behalf of agents of the People’s Republic of China and sought to acquire assets and information which, in their words, ‘would hurt America,’” according to an amended criminal complaint. Agents posing as crooked importers recorded the pair, U.S. authorities said. The two were among 29 people charged with smuggling $325 million in counterfeit consumer goods from China, including phony Nike Inc. sneakers and Coach Inc. handbags, through a New Jersey port, authorities announced March 2. Shen and Chang were charged with trying to import 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine from Taiwan to the U.S. “Initial investigations into counterfeit goods importation led federal law enforcement to a meth trafficking operation and an alleged plot to export some of America’s most sensitive weapons and related technology to China,” U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said in a statement. Life Sentences Shen and Chang may face life sentences on the drug count and as long as five years in prison on charges brought under the Arms Export Control Act. “My client asserts her innocence and we look forward to her vindication on all of the charges,” said Chang’s attorney, Maria Noto. Shen’s attorney, Ken Kayser, declined to comment. Shen portrays himself as a logistics expert who can move contraband around the world, according to the complaint prepared by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Chang portrays herself as a schoolteacher who is fluent in English, Spanish and Mandarin, the FBI said. They were charged with trying to import crystal meth with Soon Ah Kow, 72, of Hong Kong , who was indicted in January and arrested Feb. 18 in Manila . He was also accused of illegally importing cigarettes and footwear. ‘Sample Load’ Shen and Chang had discussed selling 50 kilograms of crystal meth to undercover FBI agents, and delivered one kilo as a “sample load” concealed in tea bags hidden in a computer inside a cargo container, authorities said. While negotiating the meth sale, Shen and Chang said they were “working with a special adviser to a high-ranking Chinese government official,” according to the complaint. They asked agents about “nuclear technology, Global Hawk drones, Reaper drones, Raven drones, control panels of aircraft engaged in advanced radar warning systems, and F-22 stealth technology,” authorities said. In a series of recorded conversations about military technology, Shen and Chang told the agents that their associates were “connected to the Chinese government, worked for a Chinese intelligence company like the CIA, and would be using government money to make the purchases,” according to Fishman’s statement. Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington , didn’t respond to an e-mail or call seeking comment on the allegations. ‘Hurt America’ The FBI said an agent was recorded as saying: “I would prefer not to make money on something that would hurt the United States .” Shen replied, “I think that all items would hurt America,” according to the U.S. Chang and Shen came to New York on Feb. 18 to discuss drug and weapons transactions, according to the FBI complaint. Shen and Chang told agents they bought cameras to photograph military technology. They said they intended to take pictures, delete them on their memory cards to avoid detection, and have a friend in China retrieve them after leaving the U.S., the FBI said. In discussing how he would remove one military item from the U.S., Shen said “he could use techniques that he had learned from narcotics trafficking, such as using scuba divers to swim out to a ship docked offshore with parts,” according to the FBI. He also said he would load parts onto a “remote controlled semi-submersible vehicle,” and rendezvous with a ship, the FBI said. On Feb. 24, agents showed Chang and Shen manuals for two weapons. They photographed both manuals, according to the FBI. “Before defendants could delete the photographs, law enforcement officers arrested” them, the FBI said. The case is U.S. v. Shen, 12-mj-7062, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey (Newark). To contact the reporter on this story: David Voreacos in Newark, New Jersey, at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net .
2012
aiwanese-nationals-charged-in-military-technology-plot-1-
RBNZ Keeps Official Cash Rate at Record Low of 2.5%: (Text)
By Garfield Reynolds
2012-04-25T21:05:55Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/rbnz-keeps-official-cash-rate-at-record-low-of-2-5-text-.html
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New Zealand ’s central bank left interest rates at a record low in a decision announced today in Wellington. The following is the text of the announcement from RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard: Inflation is restrained and is expected to stay near the middle of the Bank’s target range. The domestic economy is showing signs of recovery. Housing market activity continues to increase and a recovery in building activity appears to be underway, as forecast. That recovery will strengthen as repairs and reconstruction in Canterbury pick up later in the year. However, the global outlook remains of concern. Near-term indicators have moderated and financial market sentiment is still fragile. The New Zealand dollar has stayed elevated despite recent falls in commodity prices. Should the exchange rate remain strong without anything else changing, the Bank would need to reassess the outlook for monetary policy settings. For now, it is appropriate for the OCR to remain at 2.5 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Garfield Reynolds in Sydney at greynolds1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephanie Phang at sphang@bloomberg.net
2012
rbnz-keeps-official-cash-rate-at-record-low-of-2-5-text-
Hong Kong Short Selling Turnover (GEM) Recorded 04/25/2012 (Tabl
By
2012-04-25T04:45:23Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/hong-kong-short-selling-turnover-gem-recorded-04-25-2012-tabl.html Hong Kong , 04/25/2012 (Bloomberg) - There was 0 short sell recorded on the GEM Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as of 00:45 today. There was 0 short sell recorded on the board as of 00:45 today. Note: Figures are preliminary and subject to revision.
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2012
ong-kong-short-selling-turnover-gem-recorded-04-25-2012-tab
Brazil’s Sugar Cane Harvest to Start May 1, ICAP Says
By Isis Almeida
2012-04-25T17:04:04Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/brazil-s-sugar-cane-harvest-to-start-may-1-icap-says.html
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The sugar cane harvest in Brazil ’s center south, the main growing region of the world’s biggest producer, is set to start on May 1, after it stops raining, according to Sao Paulo-based broker ICAP do Brasil Ctvm. Sugar cane-growing areas in Brazil will get rains this week, preventing the start of the new crop’s harvest, according to weather forecaster Somar Meteorologia. Heavy rains will fall in the states of Parana and Sao Paulo from today to April 27, Marco Antonio dos Santos, an agronomist at the company in Sao Paulo, wrote in a report e-mailed on April 23. “As of April 30 on, it seems that rains may give a truce, remaining dry for the next 10 days,” the broker said in a report e-mailed today. The “sugarcane harvest should start its activities in the first day of May.” Delays to the crop, which usually starts in April, alongside rainfall may help to increase yields and “guarantee a better recovery of output,” ICAP said in the report. Sugar cane output in Brazil’s center south may climb to 509 million metric tons in the 2012-13 season, industry group Unica estimates. Output totaled 493.3 million tons in 2011-12, the first drop in a decade, as dry weather, frost and flowering reduced yields, it said. To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in London at ialmeida3@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Deane at jdeane3@bloomberg.net
2012
brazil-s-sugar-cane-harvest-to-start-may-1-icap-says
German 10-Year Bonds Open Lower With Yield Rising to 1.72%
By Lukanyo Mnyanda
2012-04-25T06:06:50Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/german-10-year-bonds-open-lower-with-yield-rising-to-1-72-.html
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German 10-year government bonds opened lower, with the yield rising two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 1.72 percent at 7:05 a.m. London time. Two- year yields were little changed at 0.14 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Lukanyo Mnyanda in Edinburgh at lmnyanda@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net
2012
german-10-year-bonds-open-lower-with-yield-rising-to-1-72-
Mining Companies in Global Talent War
By Liezel Hill
2012-04-25T20:46:34Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/mining-companies-in-global-talent-war.html
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Bruno Rizzuto’s father, Cesare, was 19 when he got off a boat in Halifax from southern Italy in 1951. With no coat, and “5 cents in his pocket” he headed for the gold mines of Timmins, Ontario, where he worked underground for 41 years. Six decades later Rizzuto, a Calgary-based recruiter, is looking for people like his father, with a proposal to bring 10 to 20 miners to Canada from South America as companies scour the world to find workers for the latest mining boom. “There are just simply not the people there, and I think it’s going to be the Achilles heel of the industry,” said Rizzuto, 38, managing partner at Cadre Staffing Inc. “A lot of these projects will not be able to get off the ground because they will not have either the management capacity to do so or the operational workforce.” Mining companies such as Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) are struggling to fill vacancies amid a skills shortage that stretches from the iron-ore pits of Western Australia to Chile’s copper mines and the gold deposits of Quebec . Producers of commodities including gold, copper and coal are building mines to feed demand from countries like China just as geologists, engineers and miners begin to retire en masse, pushing up wages and crimping productivity. Lost Generation Enrollment in mining graduate programs slumped in the 1980s and 1990s after commodity prices fell and hiring stalled. The sector also lost people to the technology boom from 1999 to 2001, said Aaron Regent, chief executive officer of Barrick, the world’s biggest gold-mining company by revenue. “At that point we were basically in a depression as an industry; we were an irrelevant industry,” Regent said in an interview. “So we lost a generation of people.” About 61,550 to 71,740 mining workers in Canada, or more than a third of the industry, may retire in the next 10 years, according to forecasts by the Mining Industry Human Resources Council. The council estimates Canada’s mining industry will need about 141,540 new hires until 2021 if activity continues to accelerate. Even if growth slows and hiring recedes, the sector will have to find 112,020 new workers to replace retirees and other departures in the next 10 years, according to council estimates. Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) , based in Greenwood Village , Colorado, and the world’s second-largest gold miner by revenue, expects about 500 mine engineers will retire in the next five to 10 years, Chief Executive Officer Richard O’Brien said in a Bloomberg Television interview March 27. The company currently has about 650 mine engineering positions. All Levels “We could hire every mining graduate in America and we couldn’t replace them,” O’Brien said. “Whether it’s northern Nevada , Australia, Ghana , Indonesia , we are looking for people at all levels of employment.” Wages have risen with demand. In Canada, average weekly wages for workers in the mining, quarrying, oil and gas industries, the country’s highest paid industry, rose 8.2 percent to C$1,842.59 ($1,846.28) in January from a year ago, according to Statistics Canada . That compares with a national average of C$888.89, which was 2 percent higher than a year earlier. Compensation packages for skilled mining professionals in Canada have doubled in five years, said Chris Stafford, president of Toronto-based C.J. Stafford & Associates, which specializes in recruitment for the mining, engineering and construction industries. Mining companies are building large in-house recruiting departments, and using new sweeteners to find and keep skilled employees, he said. Doubled His Salary “That ranges from signing-on bonuses, which were unheard of 10 years ago, to all types of other bonuses, incentives and stock options ,” Stafford said. Skilled mining professionals are being offered sign-on bonuses of as much as 20 percent of salaries, he said. Geologist Marc-Andre Brulotte left a position at a consulting company in Montreal in December for a job in Queensland, Australia . He almost doubled his salary. “It’s a really good time to be a qualified professional, there are lots of good opportunities for us,” Brulotte said. “It’s another story for the fresh out of school geologists or engineers, they will get a job for sure,” Brulotte said. “But chances are they will not get well trained, simply because there won’t be any experienced staff to teach them how to work.” Projects in the industry will take longer to complete and costs will be higher because inexperienced workers are less productive and need to be supervised, Barrick’s Regent said. Supply-Chain Guy “It’s not just wage inflation, but turnover and productivity: they all have a knock-on effect in terms of what your overall labor cost profile looks like,” he said in a Feb. 16 interview. Barrick has a 25 percent turnover rate at its Australian operations, Regent said. “We had a supply-chain guy, a young guy, who was making $100,000 a year and he just got bid away for $150,000,” he said. “Labor is a big issue.” Barrick said in July the price estimate for its Pascua-Lama project, which straddles the Chile-Argentina border, had jumped to as much as $5 billion from an earlier forecast of $3.6 billion due to higher labor, equipment and materials expenses. Gold futures for June delivery slid less than 0.1 percent to $1,643.20 on the Comex in New York today. The metal has climbed 4.7 percent this year. Poaching Mentality Copper Fox Metals Inc. (CUU) , studying a copper and gold mine in northwest British Columbia, said March 19 it would miss a month- end target for a feasibility study on its Schaft Creek project because of “manpower shortages” at the contractor it hired. “I would say that it’s completely universal from company to company, whether it be a junior or an intermediate or a major, I think there’s a general delay in terms of shortages,” said Shane Uren, the Vancouver-based company’s vice-president of environment and permitting. For its part, North American Palladium Ltd. (PDL) , a precious- metals company with operations in Quebec and Ontario, has bought advertising in the regional airport in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which serves several fly-in, fly-out operations in the region. “There is clearly a bit of a poaching mentality in the sector,” Trent Mell, corporate development and human resources vice-president, said in an interview. “We’re really fighting a global war.” New Rules Canada will introduce new rules to make it easier for skilled tradesmen to enter the country, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said April 10. The changes will help address growing labor shortages in the natural resources and construction sectors, he said. Rizzuto, the recruiter, said his proposal to bring a group of miners from South America is more likely to succeed if friends and family move together, he said. “What the Canadians are selling is the prospect of Canadian citizenship, education for their kids, social benefits, health care,” he said. Still, the struggle for workers is ongoing, he said. Mining still isn’t seen as a “glamorous” profession. “You can make good money, six-figures money, but how many kids are coming out of school today saying ‘Hey, I want to be a miner’?” he said. “I’m proof of that. My father, the last thing he wanted me to be was a miner.” To contact the reporter on this story: Liezel Hill in Toronto at lhill30@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jacqueline Thorpe at jthorpe23@bloomberg.net
2012
ining-companies-in-global-talent-war
SEB’s $8.7 Billion German Property Fund Sets Make-or-Break Date
By Joseph de Weck and Dalia Fahmy
2012-04-26T12:37:17Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/seb-asset-management-fund-to-open-for-redemptions-for-one-day.html
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SEB Asset Management’s 6.6 billion- euro ($8.7 billion) property mutual fund will be liquidated if it’s unable to meet all investor demands for repayment, the company’s chief executive officer said. SEB ImmoInvest, the largest of 13 German real-estate funds that suspended redemptions after the global financial crisis, will re-open for one day on May 7 to take requests. It will liquidate if it doesn’t have enough cash to cover all orders, SEB Asset Management CEO said at a press conference today in Frankfurt . The fund has been closed for almost two years. Knoflach said she’s optimistic the fund won’t have to liquidate. ImmoInvest has “considerably” more than 30 percent of its assets in cash or equivalents, after selling properties she said. Germany’s 85.2 billion-euro real estate mutual fund industry may be facing its biggest crisis. Following the global recession that ended in 2009, funds struggled to meet redemption requests. As a result, 13 funds were frozen over the course of two years. Of those, six funds are liquidating, and several more, including funds owned by Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS AG, face deadlines this year to reopen or liquidate, according to Germany ’s financial trade group, Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management, or BVI. SEB, which proposed the one-day reopening with approval from German financial regulator BaFin, said it would allow withdrawals only once a year, instead of daily, if the fund continues after May 7. More than 90 percent of the fund’s customers are small private investors, according to Knoflach. The strategy “will fail,” said Bjoern Drescher, chief executive of Drescher Cie, a consulting firm near Bonn. “It’s herd psychology. I don’t think investors will heed her appeal.” ImmoInvest owns buildings in Paris, Singapore , Rome as well as 19 buildings on Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz. SEB Asset Management is a unit of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB. To contact the reporter on this story: Dalia Fahmy in Berlin at dfahmy1@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ross Larsen at rlarsen2@bloomberg.net
2012
seb-asset-management-fund-to-open-for-redemptions-for-one-day
AvalonBay FFO Climbs as U.S. Apartment Vacancies Hit 11-Year Low
By Oshrat Carmiel
2012-04-25T20:12:43Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/avalonbay-ffo-climbs-as-u-s-apartment-vacancies-hit-11-year-low.html
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AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB) , the second-largest publicly traded U.S. apartment owner, said funds from operations climbed in the first quarter as the nation’s multifamily vacancies fell to their lowest level since 2001. FFO, which gauges a property company’s ability to generate cash, rose to $122 million, or $1.28 a share, from $93.5 million, or $1.08, a year earlier, the Alexandria, Virginia- based real estate investment trust said in a statement today. The average of 22 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for FFO of $1.24 a share. The U.S. apartment vacancy rate fell to 4.9 percent in the first quarter from 6.2 percent a year earlier, Reis Inc. (REIS) said in an April 4 report. It was only the third time since the New York-based property research firm began gathering the data 31 years ago that the rate was less than 5 percent. Renters are competing for units as homeowners are displaced by foreclosures and stricter mortgage standards block purchases. “The rent versus own dilemma is becoming more visible, but the level of move-outs to single family homes remains ‘tame’” Ross Nussbaum, a REIT analyst with UBS AG, wrote in an April 13 report. He has a neutral rating on AvalonBay shares. First-quarter results were released after the close of regular U.S. trading. AvalonBay rose 0.8 percent to $145.64 today in New York . The shares have gained 17 percent in the past 12 months, compared with a 12 percent advance in the Bloomberg REIT Apartment Index of 16 companies. AvalonBay is the largest U.S. apartment REIT after Equity Residential. (EQR) To contact the reporter on this story: Oshrat Carmiel in New York at ocarmiel1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel at kwetzel@bloomberg.net
2012
avalonbay-ffo-climbs-as-u-s-apartment-vacancies-hit-11-year-low
Bernanke Says ‘Prepared to Do More’ as Policy Unchanged
By Caroline Salas Gage and Joshua Zumbrun
2012-04-25T20:22:01Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/fed-says-economy-will-pick-up-gradually-policy-unchanged.html
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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank stands ready to add to its stimulus if necessary even after leaving its policy unchanged today and upgrading its view of the economy for this year. “We remain prepared to do more as needed to make sure that this recovery continues and that inflation stays close to target,” he said at a press conference today following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee in Washington. Additional bond-buying is still “very much on the table.” Treasuries pared losses after Bernanke kept speculation alive that the Fed might embark on a third round of monetary easing after expanding its balance sheet to a record of almost $3 trillion. Central bankers today raised their forecasts for growth and the labor market this year while repeating that borrowing costs are likely to remain “exceptionally low” at least through late 2014. The FOMC “expects economic growth to remain moderate over coming quarters and then to pick up gradually,” it said in a statement after a two-day meeting. The statement pointed to “some signs of improvement” in housing while saying the industry at the heart of the financial crisis “remains depressed.” Policy makers are holding off on additional steps to boost the economy amid signs the more than two-year expansion is gaining strength. Still, the jobless rate isn’t declining fast enough to satisfy central bankers, who are also concerned about potential shocks from the European debt crisis. Global Strains “Strains in global financial markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook,” according to today’s statement. The Fed has cited the risk in its previous five meetings. In March it said those strains had “eased.” The yield on the benchmark 10-year note was little changed at 1.99 percent at 4:15 p.m. in New York , according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices, after rising as high as 2.04 percent. Stocks rose for a second day after Bernanke’s comments and as earnings beat estimates at companies from Apple Inc. to Boeing Co. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 1.4 percent to 1,390.7. Bernanke said that fiscal tightening may weigh on growth as lawmakers seek an agreement to narrow the budget deficit by year-end, before a deficit-reduction law requiring cutbacks takes effect. ‘Bar Is High’ “The bar is high, but it is still on the table given uncertainty with Europe and fiscal policy in the U.S.,” said Diane Swonk , chief economist at Mesirow Financial Inc. in Chicago , speaking about the prospects for new easing. Policy makers today upgraded their forecasts for growth and unemployment this year. They now see the jobless rate at between 7.8 percent and 8 percent, compared with January estimates of 8.2 percent to 8.5 percent. The economy is forecast to expand at 2.4 percent to 2.9 percent, compared with 2.2 percent to 2.7 percent. They also raised their projections for the inflation rate this year, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures index (SPX) , to 1.9 percent to 2 percent, from 1.4 percent to 1.8 percent. The forecasts reflect the so-called central tendency, which excludes the three highest and three lowest projections of 17 policy makers. Inflation “has picked up somewhat, mainly reflecting higher prices of crude oil and gasoline,” the Fed said today. Gas prices will affect inflation “only temporarily,” it said. Oil prices have declined since the Fed’s March meeting, and the national average cost of gasoline has fallen to $3.84 a gallon from a 2012 peak of $3.94 on April 4, according to the American Automobile Association. Inflation Goal Bernanke rejected suggestions that the Fed should allow inflation to rise above its 2 percent goal in order to stimulate growth, saying such a move would undercut the Fed’s credibility. “To risk that asset for what I think would be quite tentative and perhaps doubtful gains on the real side would be unwise to do,” the Fed chairman said. It would be “very reckless” to “actively seek a higher inflation rate in order to achieve a slightly” faster reduction in unemployment. The central bank said it would continue its swap of $400 billion of short-term debt with long-term debt to lengthen the average maturity of its holdings, a move dubbed Operation Twist. The Fed is scheduled to complete the program at the end of June. The Fed also didn’t alter its policy of reinvesting its portfolio of maturing housing debt into agency mortgage-backed securities. Echoes Yellen Bernanke echoed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen ’s April 11 remarks that the end of Operation Twist won’t amount to a tightening of policy. The benefits of the plan stem from the total amount of new purchases, rather than the “flow” of such buying, he said. “If that theory is correct, then at such a time that our purchases come to an end, there should be relatively minimal effects on interest rates ,” Bernanke said. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker dissented for the third meeting in a row. Lacker has said he believes the first increase in interest rates will likely be necessary in 2013. Fed policy makers met amid renewed concern over Europe’s fiscal crisis. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index of European countries hit a three-month low on April 23 and has since rallied as companies, including Electrolux AB (ELUXB) , posted earnings that beat estimates. In the U.S., consumer spending is starting to power growth as business investment cools. A report today showed orders for durable goods fell in March by the most in three years, indicating manufacturing will contribute less to growth this year. Retail Sales Retail sales rose more than forecast in March as Americans snapped up everything from cars and furniture to clothes and electronics. The 0.8 percent gain was almost three times as large as projected and followed a 1 percent advance in February, Commerce Department figures showed April 16. An April 27 government report may show that gross domestic product rose at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists, driven by the biggest increase in household demand in a year. While Fed officials raised their projections for growth in 2012, they lowered their estimates for next year and 2014. The economy will expand by 2.7 percent to 3.1 percent in 2013 and 3.1 percent to 3.6 percent in 2014, they projected. In January, they predicted growth of 2.8 percent to 3.2 percent next year and 3.3 percent to 4 percent in 2014. Fiscal Impact Bernanke said that the lower forecasts may reflect the impact from fiscal tightening, and that Congress needs to reach an agreement to address shortfalls. Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire at the end of the year. “If no action were to be taken by the fiscal authorities, the size of the fiscal cliff is such that there’s no chance that the Federal Reserve could or would have any ability whatsoever to offset that effect on the economy,” Bernanke said. Corporate earnings and an improving economic outlook are powering stock-market gains. The S&P 500 is up more than 10 percent this year. “Despite its struggle with the sustained period of relative high unemployment, we’re pleased to see some early signs of a slowly improving macroeconomic environment” in the U.S., Muhtar Kent , president and chief executive of Coca-Cola Co. (KO) , the world’s largest soft-drink maker, said in an April 17 earnings call. More than 82 percent of companies in the S&P 500 that reported quarterly results since April 10 topped the average analyst earnings estimate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of yesterday. Companies from AT&T Inc. to 3M Co. beat analysts’ earnings projections. International Business Machines Corp. boosted a stock buyback by $7 billion and increased its dividend yesterday. To contact the reporters on this story: Caroline Salas Gage in New York at salas1@bloomberg.net ; Joshua Zumbrun in Washington at jzumbrun@bloomberg.net ; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net
2012
fed-says-economy-will-pick-up-gradually-policy-unchanged
Hong Kong Peg Architect Says Convertible Yuan `Long Way Off’
By Stephanie Tong and Fion Li
2012-04-25T03:22:25Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/hong-kong-peg-architect-says-convertible-yuan-long-way-off-.html
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China is “still a long way off” from making its currency fully convertible and until that happens Hong Kong can’t shift its dollar peg to the yuan, said John Greenwood , architect of the city’s exchange-rate system. The Hong Kong dollar’s value has been kept at about HK$7.80 to the greenback since 1983 Chief Executive-elect Leung Chun- ying, who begins a five-year term on July 1, said last month he has no plans to adjust the link. The city’s current leader, Donald Tsang , said in November the existing arrangement would stay at least until the yuan becomes fully convertible. China ended its currency peg to the dollar in 2005 after keeping the exchange rate stable for a decade. Chinese officials told European Union business executives that the yuan will achieve “full convertibility” by 2015, EU Chamber of Commerce in China President Davide Cucino said on Sept. 7. The People’s Bank of China doubled the yuan’s trading band to 1 percent and allowed lenders to hold short positions on dollar last week, steps seen as paving the way for a convertible currency. “What Hong Kong needs in order to think about re-pegging would be for the Chinese yuan to be fully and irreversibly convertible,” Greenwood said in an interview in Hong Kong today. “2015 is not possible in my view.” The Hong Kong dollar peg was adopted in 1983, when negotiations between China and the U.K. over returning the city to Chinese control triggered capital outflows and Greenwood suggested a currency board system to stabilize the currency. In 2005, policy makers committed to limiting the currency’s decline to HK$7.85 per dollar and capping gains at HK$7.75. The existing fixed-exchange-rate system ties Hong Kong’s monetary policy to that of the U.S., where the jobless rate is 8.2 percent and the Federal Reserve has pledged to maintain a near-zero benchmark interest rate through 2014. Hong Kong’s jobless rate is 3.4 percent and the city’s inflation excluding one-off reliefs reached 6.7 percent in January, the fastest since at least February 2007. To contact the reporters on this story: Fion Li in Hong Kong at fli59@bloomberg.net ; Stephanie Tong in Hong Kong at stong17@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net
2012
ong-kong-peg-architect-says-convertible-yuan-long-way-off-
Romania’s Hidroelectrica Tariffs to Be Probed by EU Regulators
By Aoife White
2012-04-25T09:50:00Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/romania-s-hidroelectrica-tariffs-to-be-probed-by-eu-regulators.html
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Hidroelectrica SA, Romania ’s state- owned hydropower generator, faces five European Union probes into whether it bought or sold electricity tariffs at preferential rates. To contact the reporter on this story: Aoife White in Brussels at awhite62@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net .
2012
romania-s-hidroelectrica-tariffs-to-be-probed-by-eu-regulators
Bond Risk Decreases in Asia, Credit-Default Swap Prices Show
By Rachel Evans
2012-04-25T02:31:15Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/bond-risk-decreases-in-asia-credit-default-swap-prices-show.html
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104e156928b27d087b4a40d5b8c6da15f2388d98
The cost of insuring corporate and sovereign bonds from non-payment decreased in Asia, according to traders of credit-default swaps. The Markit iTraxx Asia index of 40 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan dropped 1.5 basis points to 163 basis points as of 8:29 a.m. in Hong Kong, Credit Agricole SA (ACA) prices show. The gauge is on course for its lowest close since April 17, according to data provider CMA. The Markit iTraxx Japan index fell 0.5 basis points to 178 as of 9:50 a.m. in Tokyo , Citigroup Inc. prices show. The benchmark is set for its first fall since April 19, according to CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market. The Australian market is closed today for a public holiday. Credit-default swap indexes are benchmarks for insuring bonds against default and traders use them to speculate on credit quality. A drop signals improving perceptions of creditworthiness, while an increase suggests the opposite. The swap contracts pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities if a borrower fails to meet its debt agreements. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Evans in Hong Kong at revans43@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shelley Smith at ssmith118@bloomberg.net
2012
bond-risk-decreases-in-asia-credit-default-swap-prices-show
Edwards’s Broken Promise on Job Led to Rift, Ex-Aide Says
By Sophia Pearson and John Peragine
2012-04-25T22:31:55Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/edwards-s-broken-promise-on-job-led-to-rift-ex-aide-says-1-.html
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1ec5b4cf904a4844885c2a9ccb7339aa
John Edwards for weeks assured a campaign aide who was helping conceal his extramarital affair that he wouldn’t abandon him after suspending his 2008 presidential campaign, only to do just that, the ex-aide said. In June 2008, about six months after dropping out of the race, Edwards told the aide, Andrew Young, that he was seeking $50 million from multimillionaire heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon to fund a poverty foundation, Young testified today. Young said he was told the foundation would give him a job. Edwards wanted to “be to poverty what Al Gore was to the environment,” Young said during his third day of testimony before a federal jury in Greensboro, North Carolina , where Edwards is on trial for alleged campaign finance violations. In mid-June 2008, after not speaking since January, the two men met at an inn in Washington , Young said. Edwards, a Democrat and former U.S. senator for North Carolina, apologized for not having called and told Young he was sad about the election, Young said. Edwards said “he loved me and I should know that he would not abandon me,” Young testified. “He promised to work on returning phone calls, staying in touch and work on the foundation.” ‘Fell in Love’ “Is it true you fell in love with John Edwards?” Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for Edwards, asked Young on cross-examination. “Is it true you fell out of love with John Edwards?” “Yes sir,” Young answered. “Is it true you’ve come to disdain him?” Lowell asked. “Yes, for what he’s done to me and my family,” Young said. Young also testified that he saw Edwards as his “ticket to the top” and that knowing Edwards as president or vice president “would lead to great things.” Edwards is accused of illegally using almost $1 million in contributions from Mellon and Fred Baron , a now-deceased trial lawyer, to conceal his affair with Rielle Hunter , an unemployed filmmaker he hired as a campaign videographer. Edwards, who fathered a child with Hunter, faces a maximum five-year prison term for each of the six counts against him if convicted. Prosecutors allege Edwards used Young to do his “dirty work,” seeking out donors for money to support Hunter. Edwards’s lawyers have labeled Young as an opportunist who used some of the funds in dispute to build a mansion in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Foundation Declined In mid-July 2008, Mellon, who allegedly gave more than $725,000 toward the plan to conceal Hunter, declined to fund the foundation, Young said. “She was upset because she felt like we were just using her for her money,” Young said. Still, Edwards continued to assure Young in e-mails and voice mails that the foundation was “doable” and he would work to “calm” Mellon. Edwards admitted he had an affair with Hunter in an ABC News interview on Aug. 8, 2008. Several days later he and Young had their last conversation, on a desolate country road near Edwards’s home in Chapel Hill , Young testified today. Baron had called and told him Edwards wanted to meet, Young said. Edwards told Young he had been to visit Mellon and was confronted by her attorney and an accountant over “odd” checks she wrote to an interior decorator. Edwards said “I didn’t know anything about these. Do you?” Young recalled during testimony. Young said he told him no. ‘Scared and Paranoid’ “I was scared and paranoid and I felt like the conversation was being tape recorded,” Young testified. Edwards told him the foundation wasn’t going to happen and offered him a job recommendation. “I have evidence of everything that’s going on and if you don’t come clean I’m going public,” Young said he told Edwards. “You can’t hurt me Andrew,” Edwards said, according to Young. Young acknowledged under questioning by prosecutors that his testimony differs in part from what was published in his 2010 book “The Politician.” Young said he didn’t get to read the final draft of the book, which details Edwards’s affair, before it was published. The case is U.S. v. Edwards, 11-00161, U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina (Greensboro). To contact the reporters on this story: Sophia Pearson in Philadelphia at spearson3@bloomberg.net ; John Peragine in Greensboro, North Carolina, at drjohnnd@hotmail.com To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net
2012
edwards-s-broken-promise-on-job-led-to-rift-ex-aide-says-1-
Ireland Said to Near Approval on Permanent TSB Loans Split
By Joe Brennan
2012-04-25T16:23:26Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/ireland-said-to-near-approval-on-permanent-tsb-loans-split.html
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d9039f631d06e9a78b9cd210ed315faf1d1bc201
Ireland’s bailout partners are nearing agreement to allow state-owned Irish Life & Permanent Plc (IPM) to move some of its loss-making home loans into a so-called bad bank unit, according to two people familiar with the matter. The transfer would mark a first step toward reorganizing the Dublin-based bank, Permanent TSB, once the country’s biggest mortgage lender, according to the people, who declined to be named as the talks are not yet complete. Finance Minister Michael Noonan may announce an accord as soon as tomorrow as European and International Monetary Fund officials complete their latest Irish aid program review. “The authorities will agree a way forward for PTSB by the end of April 2012,” the Finance Ministry said in an e-mailed response to questions. “The 6th review of the program will conclude tomorrow and a press conference will be held and the changes agreed” to the program will be outlined. Irish authorities are seeking to strip out distressed and loss-making mortgages from Permanent TSB and Allied Irish Banks Plc (ALBK) to clean up their balance sheets and ultimately help sell them. Irish Bank Resolution Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mike Aynsley said last month he is in talks that may lead to the company taking on residential mortgages from other banks. Some 25 percent of Permanent TSB’s 25.4 billion-euro ($33.6 billion) Irish residential mortgage book was classified as either in arrears or impaired, according to its annual report, published April 2. The state took control of Irish Life & Permanent after injecting 2.7 billion euros into the company in July to help Permanent TSB meet regulatory capital requirements . Irish Life spokesman Ray Gordon and Central Bank spokesman Peadar Hayes declined to comment on the discussions. To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Brennan in Dublin at jbrennan29@bloomberg.net ; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net
2012
ireland-said-to-near-approval-on-permanent-tsb-loans-spli
Colombia Proves Latin America’s Best Equities Since 2002
By Andrea Jaramillo and Christine Jenkins
2012-04-25T20:41:29Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/colombia-proves-latin-america-s-best-equities-since-2002.html
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Colombia (IGBC) , Latin America’s murder capital when Pablo Escobar ran the Medellin drug cartel in the 1980s, produced the region’s best risk-adjusted stock returns over the past decade as improved security bolstered economic growth and foreign investment. The BLOOMBERG RISKLESS RETURN RANKING shows the IGBC index returned 70 percent in the past 10 years after adjusting for volatility, the most among six major benchmark indexes in the region. Colombia, the top performer also over five years and three years, had a volatility-adjusted return of almost six times that of the Bovespa gauge in Brazil in the past decade. Colombia, which won an investment-grade credit rating last year for the first time since 1999, outperformed as military victories spearheaded by former President Alvaro Uribe turned the tide in a 50-year war with Marxist rebels. Improved public safety lured a record $13.2 billion last year from investors including billionaires Carlos Slim and Eike Batista with companies such as Tabasco Oil Co. and MPX Energia SA. The growing economy swelled the middle class, which will bolster consumer spending and fuel further stock gains, said Frederick Searby, the chief regional strategist at Deutsche Bank AG. “Colombia has had such a phenomenal peace dividend after going through a wrenching decades-long guerrilla war,” Searby said by phone from New York . “It’s got a sustainable growth story, with a very high investment rate. From a macroeconomic perspective, Colombia is one of the most attractive markets.” Volatility Outlook Colombia’s total return of 1,606 percent was second only to the 1,719 percent from Peru’s Lima General Index. It moved to the top spot because it had the third-lowest volatility. Volatility in Brazil ’s Bovespa was 34 percent above that for the Colombian gauge over the past 10 years. Volatility will probably stay low because local pension funds, which generally buy stocks and hold securities, account for 10 percent of trading in the market, said Ed Kuczma , who helps manage $34 billion in assets at Van Eck Associates in New York. Foreign investors accounted for 35 percent of trading last year in the Bovespa, compared with 7.5 percent in Colombia. “Pension funds continuously invest in the equity of their own country,” Kuczma said. “When you get a big or even a regular size sell-off, they are very quick to put a floor into the market.” The risk-adjusted return, which isn’t annualized, is calculated by dividing total return by volatility , or the degree of daily price variation, giving a measure of income per unit of risk. A higher volatility means the price of an asset can swing dramatically in a short period of time, increasing the potential for unexpected losses. Changed Perception “The perception of Colombia is very different than what it was a decade ago,” said Jose Fernando Restrepo, the head analyst at Interbolsa SA, Colombia’s biggest brokerage. “The country is in an upward growth trend” and attracting new companies and investors into the stock market, he said. President Juan Manuel Santos , who took office in August 2010 after serving as defense minister from 2006 to 2009, and Uribe, the president from 2002 to 2010, have drawn investment by curtailing homicides and weakening rebel groups. The government’s stepped-up attacks on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, after almost five decades of battles helped cut the group’s membership to about 8,000 from a peak of 17,000 in 2002, according to Defense Ministry data. The annual number of murders dropped by almost half from 2002 to 2011 as kidnappings declined 89 percent. Economic Growth The government forecasts foreign direct investment may rise to $16 billion this year, more than five times the levels of a decade ago. The economy’s 5.9 percent growth last year was the fastest since gross domestic product jumped 6.9 percent in 2007, the most in 30 years. The central bank forecasts South America’s fourth-biggest economy may grow as much as 6 percent in 2012. While Venezuela ’s return adjusted for volatility exceeded Colombia’s in the past decade, trading was limited. About 142 million bolivars ($33 million) in stocks changed hands last year in Venezuela , according to data from the Caracas stock exchange, compared with average daily volumes of $92 million in Colombia and $3.9 billion in Brazil. “Until not too long ago Colombia was considered somewhat of a failed state,” Santos, sitting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff , told hundreds of business leaders gathered April 14 for a summit in the resort city of Cartagena. “Things have changed.” Medellin Murders Medellin was for many years the murder capital of Latin America , registering 6,349 homicides in 1991, when the war between cartels for control of the drug trade was at its height. Escobar was killed 18 years ago by a special task force Colombia created to track him down. Homicides in Medellin fell to 1,649 in 2011, according to government data. Drug violence also led to the assassination of presidential candidates such as Luis Carlos Galan, who led polls in 1989 when he was shot dead near Bogota. The limited number of investment options in Colombia have driven valuations to relatively high levels, limiting the potential for future gains in the short term, said Francisco Alzuru, who helps manage about $200 million in emerging-market assets at Hansberger Global Investors in Fort Lauderdale, Florida . Stocks in Colombia’s IGBC trade at 14 times trailing 12-month earnings, compared with a ratio of 12.7 for Brazil’s Bovespa. “It creates pressures that might not exist in other countries,” Alzuru said. “The stocks don’t offer as much value as others in the region.” ‘Wanting to Stay’ Since 2008, the government has played on the word “risk” to invite travelers to its cities, jungles and beaches. An international advertising campaign uses the slogan: “Colombia: the only risk is wanting to stay .” Colombia last year garnered an investment-grade credit rating from Standard & Poor’s , Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, 11 years after it was cut to junk when violence and a banking crisis helped trigger six straight quarters of contraction beginning in 1998. The extra yield investors demand to own Colombian government dollar debt instead of U.S. Treasuries is 149 basis points, or 1.49 percentage point, according to data from JPMorgan Chase & Co. That compares to 184 basis points in Brazil, 187 for Mexico and 968 for Argentina . Attacks on pipelines, roadways and bridges fell to 196 in 2011 from more than 900 in 2002, according to government figures. Improved security helped draw investment from Slim’s Grupo Carso SAB, which bought a stake last year in Geoprocesados SA’s Tabasco Oil. Batista is investing in coal through MPX Energia. Oil Output The country seeks to boost crude output to 1.5 million barrels a day by 2020. Production increased 7.2 percent in March from a year earlier to 951,000 barrels a day. Celsia SA, a holding company that is now focused on energy projects, handed investors a risk-adjusted return of 148 percent in the past decade, the most among members of the IGBC. Mineros SA, Colombia’s largest gold producer, posted a risk-adjusted return of 116 percent as prices for the metal soared. Bancolombia SA (BCOLO) and Banco de Bogota SA, the country’s biggest and second-biggest banks, Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana SA, Latin America’s largest private pension-fund manager, and Grupo Nutresa SA, Colombia’s biggest food producer, were also among the 10 top performers in the index as the growing economy buoyed consumer spending and credit demand. Consumer Spending Investors are focused on companies in growing economies such as Colombia’s, where consumer spending is picking up, according to Deutsche Bank’s Searby. Retail sales jumped 23 percent in April 2011, the most since January 2000 when Bloomberg records begin, and have risen every month since October 2009. “People are playing the consumer story on this idea that commodity prices stay high and you get this multiplier effect of GDP growth,” Searby said. As more Colombians enter the middle class, they’re “going from consuming almost none of these products, whether its financial services or retail, to consuming quite a bit,” he said. To contact the reporters on this story: Andrea Jaramillo in Bogota at ajaramillo1@bloomberg.net ; Christine Jenkins in New York at cjenkins28@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net ; David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net
2012
colombia-proves-latin-america-s-best-equities-since-2002
Japan’s Bond Futures May Fall to 2-Week Low: Technical Analysis
By Yumi Ikeda
2012-04-25T00:44:24Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/japan-s-bond-futures-may-fall-to-2-week-low-technical-analysis.html
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c097a67bb5acb14d10b85ccf13cdaafa66ed8a9d
Japan ’s government bond futures may decline toward a two-week low, SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. said, citing trading patterns. Futures for June delivery yesterday rose to 143.04, the highest level for a lead contract on an intraday basis since Feb. 14, when the Bank of Japan (8301) unexpectedly eased monetary policy. The contract’s relative strength index signals that gains have been too rapid, according to Makoto Noji, a Tokyo- based senior debt and currency strategist at the unit of Japan’s third-largest publicly traded bank by assets. The RSI for the bond futures touched 68.5 on April 23, the most since August. It was 62.4 at the close of trading in Tokyo yesterday. Readings above 70 suggest the contract is overbought. “With its RSI approaching 70, the contract may be poised for a downward correction,” Noji said. Bond futures may decline toward their 50-day and 100-day moving averages at about 142.30, the lowest level since April 10, Noji said. The 50-day and 100-day averages were at 142.29 and 142.33 yesterday respectively. Futures were little changed at 142.77 as of 9:35 a.m. at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In technical analysis , investors and analysts study charts of trading patterns to forecast changes in a security, commodity, currency or index. To contact the reporter on this story: Yumi Ikeda in Tokyo at yikeda4@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at Rswift5@bloomberg.net .
2012
japan-s-bond-futures-may-fall-to-2-week-low-technical-analysis
Alrosa May Spend $190 Million on Gas This Year, Vedomosti Says
By Stephen Bierman
2012-04-25T03:59:23Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/alrosa-may-spend-190-million-on-gas-this-year-vedomosti-says.html
4
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171859c7ec82998b317d29e80078b6d8d607134c
OAO Alrosa, Russia ’s diamond producer, may spend 5.6 billion rubles ($190 million) developing natural gas assets this year to make them more attractive for sale, Vedomosti said, citing company documents. The company may also simplify its holding structure, placing it directly under Alrosa’s ownership rather than offshore structures, Vedomosti reported. To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Bierman in Moscow at sbierman1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net
2012
alrosa-may-spend-190-million-on-gas-this-year-vedomosti-says
Castilla Says Peru GDP to Rise 6.2% in 2012, Peru21 Reports
By John Quigley
2012-04-25T16:34:01Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/castilla-says-peru-gdp-to-rise-6-2-in-2012-peru21-reports.html
4
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9e40d9411da166d606984786ebc64e17ecf42b45
Peru ’s Finance Minister Miguel Castilla increased his 2012 growth forecast to 6.2 percent from 5.5 percent previously, Peru21 reported . The Finance Ministry will detail its economic estimates next month, Castilla said at an event in Lima yesterday, according to the Lima-based newspaper. To contact the reporter on this story: John Quigley in Lima at jquigley8@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net
2012
castilla-says-peru-gdp-to-rise-6-2-in-2012-peru21-reports
High Court Limits IRS Time to Challenge Tax Shelters
By Greg Stohr
2012-04-25T14:54:46Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/high-court-limits-irs-time-to-challenge-tax-shelters.html
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ce04c028aff346a6e5942ea9f5227ddf78913977
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Internal Revenue Service in a decision that may prevent the collection of $1 billion from people who used a tax shelter popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The justices, voting 5-4, said the IRS has only three years to challenge so-called Son-of-BOSS tax shelters. Lower courts had disagreed on the question, with some saying the IRS had up to six years. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court that the case is governed by a 1958 high court decision that interpreted “identical” language in an earlier version of the law. “It would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to give the same language here a different interpretation without effectively overruling” that decision, Breyer wrote. The tax agency had said the extra three years are crucial because of the complex, hard-to-detect nature of the disputed shelters. The son-of-BOSS shelters were designed to artificially inflate the cost basis of an asset so that taxpayers claimed little or no capital gains when they sold it. Taxpayers often used partnerships and short sales, trades that typically are bets that the price of an asset will fall. BOSS stands for “Bond and Option Sales Strategy.” Gross Income The question for the high court was whether basis inflation is covered under a provision that gives the IRS six years to act against taxpayers who omit “gross income” from a return. The taxpayers in the case argued the IRS is bound by the three-year period that applies in other contexts. The ruling may affect Warburg Pincus LLC’s Bausch & Lomb unit, which is fighting a court case that concerns alleged basis overstatement in a different context. The IRS is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, penalties and interest from the company, whose case doesn’t involve a son-of-BOSS shelter. The IRS says more than 1,900 taxpayers used son-of-BOSS shelters, saving as much as $6 billion, according to agency estimates. More than 1,200 of those took part in a settlement program that the IRS said had recouped almost $4 billion in 2004 and 2005. In a court filing last year, the government said the basis- overstatement issue was important to 30 pending cases, involving $1 billion in taxes, interest and penalties. 1954 Version of Law Breyer’s opinion was joined in full by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito , while Justice Antonin Scalia joined the main part of it. Dissenting were Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg , Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan . Writing for the four, Kennedy said the re-enacted version of the tax law at issue today contained additional language that left room for the government’s view that it had six years to file a challenge. The case before the justices stemmed from the sale of a North Carolina company, Home Oil and Coal Co., by its two shareholders, Robert Pierce and Steven Chandler. The IRS concluded the men had improperly used a pass-through company to increase their cost basis, leaving them with a $69,000 gain on a sale of more than $10 million. After the IRS acted, the taxpayers paid an additional $1.4 million and sued for a refund. A federal appeals court said the three-year period applied, meaning the IRS waited too long to press its case. The case is United States v. Home Concrete & Supply, 11-139. To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at skomarow1@bloomberg.net
2012
igh-court-limits-irs-time-to-challenge-tax-shelters
Altech Gains After Announcing East, West African Review
By Sikonathi Mantshantsha and Stephen Gunnion
2012-04-25T15:25:10Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/altech-gains-for-first-time-in-three-days-on-africa-review-1-.html
4
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c288b05b8620f18b7471bf7afa353132826a1ab8
Allied Technologies Ltd. (ALT) gained after saying it is reviewing operations in East and West Africa as it incurred losses in the regions, leading to a full-year loss of 502 million rand ($65 million). Shares in the South African maker of pay-TV set-top boxes rose 0.5 percent to 52.50 rand at the close in Johannesburg, the first advance this week. The loss for the year through February compared with a profit of 225 million rand a year earlier. Operations in Nigeria and Kenya have not performed to management’s satisfaction, the company said in a statement today. Kenya Data Networks is trading below expectations and has been “heavily impacted” by the cancellation of a major client’s dark fibre business, it said. Impairments on the East and West African businesses contributed to a pretax loss of 240 million rand, Altech said. “It’s been a poor performance so restructuring might have a positive effect going forward,” Hennie Fourie, a portfolio manager at PSG Konsult, said by phone from Pretoria . “The results were expected so that was already priced into the shares.” The company has restructured its operations in East Africa into a more “regionally-focused” business, Altech said. Closer collaboration between these businesses is already having a “positive” effect, it said. “Given the disappointing performance, the turnaround of Altech’s East African businesses is clearly a top priority within the group and is receiving considerable management attention,” the company said. To contact the reporter on this story: Sikonathi Mantshantsha in Johannesburg at smantshantsh@bloomberg.net or Stephen Gunnion in Johannesburg at sgunnion@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net
2012
altech-gains-for-first-time-in-three-days-on-africa-review-1-
Mexico’s IPO Drought Ends as Alpek Seeks $851 Million
By Jonathan J. Levin and Brendan Case
2012-04-25T12:17:02Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/mexico-s-ipo-drought-ends-as-alpek-seeks-record-851-million-1-.html Alpek SAB (ALPEK) , Mexico’s largest privately owned petrochemical company, is planning the nation’s biggest ever initial public offering, ending a nine-month lull in new listings. Alfa SAB (ALFAA) , the conglomerate that also owns auto-parts and processed-foods companies, is selling a stake in Alpek after Mexico’s benchmark index rallied to a record high this month and Brazil and Colombia snapped IPO droughts. Alfa plans to raise as much as 11.2 billion pesos ($851 million) from the sale of 17.9 percent of Alpek, which makes polyester fiber used in clothing and expandable polystyrene for packing material. “The IPO market is starting to show some signs of life,” said Ed Kuczma , who helps manage $34 billion including Mexican shares at Van Eck Associates in New York , speaking in a telephone interview. “Mexico’s been slow to have deals come out, and it’s good to see deals pop up and give investors a chance to participate.” While Alpek’s deal is poised to overtake OHL Mexico SAB’s 9.7 billion peso offering in 2010 as the country’s largest, the sale is dwarfed by Brazil’s biggest IPOs, including a 3.66 billion reais ($1.95 billion) transaction yesterday by Banco BTG Pactual SA. Banco Santander SA, the Spanish bank whose Mexican subsidiary is weighing a Mexican listing, raised a country record 13.2 billion reais in Brazil in October 2009 by selling its local unit. First Since July Alpek’s sale will be the first in Mexico since July, when lender Banregio Grupo Financiero SAB (GFREGIO) raised 1.8 billion pesos, as Europe ’s deepening debt crisis curbed demand for emerging- market assets. Nine companies had outstanding exchange filings to hold IPOs in Latin America ’s second-biggest economy, Javier Artigas, head of strategic planning at the exchange, told reporters on Jan. 10. Alfa, which plans on keeping a controlling stake in Alpek, will price the shares between 27.50 and 31.50 pesos, according to prospectus filed with the local exchange. Banregio has surged 16 percent since its IPO, while OHL has retreated 22 percent. Microfinance business Credito Real SA and bus company Grupo Senda Autotransporte SA are among companies that have said they’re considering listing shares in Mexico. Brazil’s first initial public offering since July, Sao Paulo-based car-rental company Cia. de Locacao das Americas, priced shares 36 percent below the upper end of its target. Unicasa Industria de Moveis SA, a furniture maker in Brazil, will announce the results of its IPO tonight. Colombian construction company Construcciones El Condor (ELCONDOR) raised 162.6 billion pesos ($91 million) in an initial sale this month. Slim’s Frisco The Alpek sale
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January 2011 by billionaire Carlos Slim ’s holding company, Grupo Carso SAB. After that deal, Slim’s mining unit, Minera Frisco SAB, soared 26 percent in its first day of trading. It’s up 93 percent since the IPO, beating the 0.4 percent gain in the IPC. “Alfa is seeking to maximize shareholder value ,” said Ramon Leal, Alfa’s chief financial officer, in an April 11 telephone interview from London . The public offer gives Alpek “the opportunity to have more independence to pursue the projects that have been presenting themselves.” Enrique Flores Rodriguez, head of Alfa’s corporate communication, declined to comment further. Carve outs can help pull in new buyers because investors sometimes shy away from hard-to-value conglomerates, according to Josef Schuster, founder of Chicago-based Ipox Schuster LLC, which has about $2 billion tied to indexes that track IPOs. Polyester Sales Alpek, based in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico , has 20 plants in three countries and had sales of $7.3 billion last year, about half of Alfa’s $14.7 billion total. First-quarter revenue rose 13 percent to $1.1 billion amid higher polyester sales in North America , the company said in a filing with the Mexican stock exchange. “It’s a stable old company, and from a diversification perspective it makes good sense,” said Schuster, who said he’s considering participating in the sale. Carve-outs in other markets “have been very successful.” Alfa fell 0.9 percent to 187.74 pesos in Mexico City trading yesterday. It’s up 24 percent this year, compared with a 4.8 percent advance for the benchmark gauge, which rose April 2 to a record high 39,963.64. The benchmark needs to climb another 2.9 percent to surpass its historic high. Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc, Credit Suisse Group AG and Morgan Stanley are managing the Alpek share sale. To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan J. Levin in Mexico City at jlevin20@bloomberg.net ; Brendan Case in Dallas at bcase4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net
2012
exico-s-ipo-drought-ends-as-alpek-seeks-record-851-million-1-
ZTE Quarterly Profit Rises 19% to $24 Million on Handset Sales
By Bloomberg News
2012-04-25T08:46:16Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/zte-quarterly-profit-rises-19-to-24-million-on-handset-sales.html
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ZTE Corp. (000063) , China’s second-biggest maker of mobile-phone equipment, reported first-quarter profit increased 19 percent on higher sales of handsets. Net income rose to 151 million yuan ($24 million), from 127.3 million yuan a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement today. Sales gained 24 percent to 18.6 billion yuan, from a restated 15 billion yuan. ZTE Chairman Hou Weigui is diversifying the company’s sales from its traditional focus on phone-network equipment into consumer devices such as smartphones and tablets. ZTE became the world’s fourth-largest mobile-device seller in the fourth quarter, behind Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) , Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. (AAPL) The company this week said smartphone sales will more than double this year as it gains market share in Europe, North America , Brazil and Japan. ZTE’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose 2 percent to close at HK$19.60 before the earnings announcement. The stock has lost 20 percent so far this year, compared with a 12 percent gain for the benchmark Hang Seng Index. Huawei Technologies Co., China’s largest maker of equipment for mobile phone networks, said this week that 2011 profit fell to 11.6 billion yuan from 24.7 billion yuan a year earlier as the company increased investment in research and development and funded the global expansion of new businesses targeting sales of consumer devices including smartphones and computer services for businesses. To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Edmond Lococo in Beijing at elococo@bloomberg.net ; Mark Lee in Hong Kong at wlee37@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Tighe at mtighe4@bloomberg.net
2012
zte-quarterly-profit-rises-19-to-24-million-on-handset-sales
Twelve Countries to Sign Wind, Solar Agreement, Minister Says
By Sally Bakewell
2012-04-25T09:20:43Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/twelve-countries-to-sign-wind-solar-agreement-minister-says.html
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Twelve countries will sign a declaration on solar and wind energy to boost cooperation between nations and encourage investors, Danish Energy Minister Martin Lidegaard said. The agreement will be signed later this morning, he told a news conference in London . The declaration will include new efforts to map wind and solar resources on a global level to encourage private investment in the renewables sector, the minister said. With this kind of cooperation, “We can encourage the industry and ensure that investors may come in in the right places,” he said. Germany , the U.K. and the U.S. are on board with the plan, he said at the Clean Energy Ministerial conference, where ministers are gathering to discuss progress made by clean energy initiatives and enhancing collaboration. To contact the reporter on this story: Sally Bakewell in London at sbakewell1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Randall Hackley at rhackley@bloomberg.net
2012
welve-countries-to-sign-wind-solar-agreement-minister-says
Gruma Posts Lowest Profit in Seven Quarters on Derivatives
By Carlos Manuel Rodriguez
2012-04-25T22:43:20Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/gruma-posts-lowest-profit-in-seven-quarters-on-derivatives-1-.html
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Gruma SAB (GRUMAB) , the world’s largest maker of corn and wheat tortillas, posted its smallest profit in seven quarters after derivative losses. First-quarter net income fell 98 percent to 83.9 million pesos ($6.4 million) from the year-earlier period, when Gruma profited from selling a stake in Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB. Profit missed the estimate of 278 million pesos from analyst Fernando Olvera of BBVA Bancomer SA in Mexico City. Sales were 5.4 billion pesos. Gruma said that natural gas hedging losses boosted sales expenses by 17 million pesos. Financing costs rose by 207 million pesos because of a writedown from a “mark-to-market currency valuation” on hedging contracts linked to corn purchases. Gruma reported losses of 13.4 billion pesos from the third quarter of 2008 through the first quarter of 2009 because of wrong-way currency derivative bets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The tortilla maker avoided bankruptcy by refinancing debt and getting new loans in 2009. Gruma rose 4.7 percent to 38.94 pesos on the Mexican Stock Exchange in trading prior to the report. The shares have gained 68 percent in the past year. To contact the reporter on this story: Carlos Manuel Rodriguez in Mexico City at carlosmr@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Helder Marinho at hmarinho@bloomberg.net
2012
gruma-posts-lowest-profit-in-seven-quarters-on-derivatives-1-
Aflac Jumps as Profit Doubles, Japan Sales Increase
By Zachary Tracer
2012-04-25T20:18:09Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/aflac-jumps-as-profit-doubles-japan-sales-increase.html
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Aflac Inc. (AFL) , the world’s biggest seller of supplemental health insurance, gained the most in six months after first-quarter profit doubled as Japan sales increased. Aflac rose 7.8 percent to close at $45.26 in New York, the most since Oct. 27. The Columbus, Georgia-based insurer, which has gained 4.6 percent this year, forecast a 10 percent sales gain in Japan in 2012 after previously saying the figure may drop. Net income jumped to $785 million from $389 million a year earlier as investment losses narrowed, Aflac said in a statement yesterday after the close of regular trading. New annualized premium sales in Japan, where the company gets about three- quarters of its revenue, climbed 54 percent, led by deals through banks. Aflac also introduced an upgraded medical policy that’s seen “positive” response among Japanese consumers. “Sales in Japan were phenomenally strong,” analysts including Edward Shields at Sandler O’Neill & Partners LP wrote in an April 24 research note. “Sales trends will continue to be strong.” Realized investment losses were $29 million, compared with $376 million a year earlier, as Aflac reduced risk tied to European financial companies. Book value, a measure of assets minus liabilities, rose to $29.19 a share as of March 31 from $27.76 on Dec. 31. To contact the reporter on this story: Zachary Tracer in New York at ztracer1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Kraut at dkraut2@bloomberg.net
2012
aflac-jumps-as-profit-doubles-japan-sales-increase
Yuan Forwards Snap Two-Day Decline After Wen’s Economy Pledge
By Andrea Wong
2012-04-25T02:39:15Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/yuan-forwards-snap-two-day-decline-after-wen-s-economy-pledge.html
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Yuan forwards snapped a two-day loss after Premier Wen Jiabao said China’s economy will avoid a sharp slowdown and as data added to evidence a U.S. recovery is gaining traction. Wen said at a press conference in Stockholm yesterday that the world’s second-biggest economy will sustain “steady and robust” growth and will continue to commit to “reform and opening up.” New homes in the U.S. were sold at a 328,000 annual rate in March, compared with the 319,000 pace forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. The PBOC strengthened the reference rate 0.13 percent to 6.2923 per dollar, near to this year’s average fixing of 6.3056. Twelve-month non-deliverable forwards gained 0.05 percent to 6.3455 per dollar as of 10:19 a.m. in Hong Kong , a 0.7 percent discount to the onshore spot rate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. One-month implied volatility for the currency, a measure of exchange-rate swings used to price options, stayed at a six-week low of 2.1 percent. “It’s been external sentiment that’s mainly affecting the yuan recently,” said Chin Loo Thio, a senior analyst at BNP Paribas in Singapore . “Yuan volatility is going to remain low as the U.S. dollar has been quite stagnant.” The yuan rose 0.06 percent to 6.3037 in Shanghai, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The currency is allowed to trade 1 percent on either side of the daily fixing and Thio predicts it will appreciate to 6.21 by the end of the year. In Hong Kong’s offshore market, the yuan rose 0.04 percent to 6.3055. China ’s economic performance still faces downward pressure and the domestic and external situations are still “grim,” the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a statement today. To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Wong in Taipei at awong268@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net
2012
yuan-forwards-snap-two-day-decline-after-wen-s-economy-pledge
Senate Approves U.S. Postal Service Financial Overhaul Bill
By Michelle Jamrisko
2012-04-25T20:58:16Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/senate-to-vote-on-u-s-postal-service-financial-overhaul-bill.html
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The Senate passed a Postal Service overhaul bill intended to save the cash-strapped organization from default. The measure was passed 62-37. The bill would make it harder for the Postal Service to close facilities, authorize it to provide non-postal products and services, revise payments to two federal funds that provide worker retirement benefits, and install an innovation officer to create new business practices. Enactment would show that “we can face a tough problem that exists in a public service,” said Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman , the bill’s sponsor. He said the proposal will “ask people to sacrifice but keep a venerable and critically important American institution alive and well.” The vote on the bill, S. 1789, followed more than five months of negotiations among senators, led by Vermont independent Bernie Sanders , who were concerned about how post- office closings would affect their constituents. The Postal Service has marked about 3,700 post offices and more than 220 mail processing facilities for potential shutdown. Those numbers are already being reduced in Postal Service estimates to comply with revised minimum-service standards in the Senate bill. The House hasn’t considered its main Postal Service overhaul bill, H.R. 2309 , which would create a commission modeled on the Defense Department’s base-closing commissions to oversee closing postal facilities. Appeal Process The Senate legislation includes a new version of an appeal process allowing customers to protest planned closures of individual offices. The Postal Service would conduct surveys on alternatives to offering retail services. Maryland Democrat Barbara Mikulski, who had placed a hold on the Senate bill to protest the planned closing of a mail processing facility in Easton, Maryland, withdrew an amendment that would have placed new restrictions on the closing process. She cited assurances from the Postal Service that the facility would remain open under standards set by the bill. “We need postal reform, but we need to be smart about how we do it so that we preserve important mail delivery services in our communities,” Mikulski said in a press release. Before passing the bill the Senate adopted several amendments, including one restricting agency spending on travel and conferences. Vote By Mail Other adopted amendments would prohibit, through the November election, closings of postal facilities in states that use vote-by-mail procedures, and set a one-year moratorium on rural post office closures, with some exceptions. The Postal Service has estimated it may reach its $15 billion debt ceiling as soon as this year if scheduled payments to its retiree health benefits fund aren’t deferred or if there were a major interruption in service, such as an anthrax scare. The Senate bill would adjust the health benefits costs, canceling a 10-year payment schedule enacted in 2006 that required the Postal Service to set aside about $5.5 billion a year for future retirees. Instead, the bill would create a 40- year payment schedule with reduced pre-funding levels for the projected liabilities. The Postal Service, which reported losses of $3.3 billion in the quarter that ended Dec. 31, attributed $3.1 billion of that to required payments into the retiree health-care fund. The Postal Service has estimated the measure could save it $19 billion a year starting in 2016, Lieberman said. To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Jamrisko in Washington at mjamrisko@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jodi Schneider at jschneider50@bloomberg.net
2012
senate-to-vote-on-u-s-postal-service-financial-overhaul-bi
Eskenazi Said to Tell Brufau YPF Buyback Pact Off Table
By Rodrigo Orihuela and Ben Sills
2012-04-26T11:41:21Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/eskenazi-said-to-tell-repsol-he-won-t-enforce-ypf-buyback-pact.html
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Sebastian Eskenazi, YPF SA (YPF) ’s former CEO, told Repsol YPF SA (YPFD) Chairman Antonio Brufau in a meeting in Madrid that he won’t immediately seek to enforce a buyback option on YPF, two people familiar with the meeting said. The Eskenazi family is looking at different plans for its 25 percent YPF stake after the Argentine government seized control April 16, one of the people said, declining to be identified because the meeting wasn’t public. Eskenazi and Brufau met in the Spanish capital last week, the people said. The Eskenazis, which owe at least $2.7 billion to Repsol and banks including Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) , are waiting to see if Congress approves a bill to nationalize a 51 percent stake in YPF before making any decision, the person said. The bill is being discussed today by Argentina’s Senate. “We’ve assumed the worst, so anything incrementally positive is good for Repsol (REP) ,” said Jason Gammel , an analyst at Macquarie Capital Ltd. in London . “There is transparently value in the stock but there are still potential risks that could come to life as this whole political mess plays out.” Argentina’s Senate a few hours ago approved President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s proposal to nationalize YPF, the country’s biggest energy company, as the government seeks to increase oil production and reduce imports. The legislation now goes to the lower house, where Fernandez’s ruling Victory Front coalition and its allies have a majority, for a vote next week. Repsol in 2008 agreed to buy back the Eskenazi family’s stake in YPF should Madrid-based Repsol lose control of the company, according to an agreement between the Spanish oil producer and the Eskenazis’ Petersen Group holding company. Fernandez Decision YPF’s American Depositary Receipts dropped 2.5 percent to $13.31 in New York yesterday. Repsol fell 1.5 percent to 14.06 euros in Madrid today as of 1:37 p.m. local time, down 20 percent since the takeover was announced on April 16. That’s made it the worst performer on the 122-member MSCI World/Energy Index (MXWO0EN) this year, down 41 percent. Kirchner’s decision to expropriate 51 percent of YPF from Repsol invalidates the agreement because it qualifies as a force majeure event, an unforeseeable event comparable to a hurricane which can release a company from contractual obligations, a Repsol spokesman, who declined to be named under corporate policy, said last week. “My question would be, over what time frame that commitment was valid for?” said Stuart Joyner, an analyst at Investec Securities Ltd. in London. “I’d be very surprised if the Eskenazis unequivocally gave up something that has some insurance value for them at least.” The government is seeking investors to help YPF develop shale reserves in the Vaca Muerta block, which holds at least 23 billion barrels of oil, 13 billion of which belong to YPF, according to a report published by the crude producer in February. Developing the reserves requires $25 billion a year. Output Declines Argentine oil output declined to 35.3 million cubic meters in 2010 from 45.4 million in 2001, according to the most recent data published by the Argentina Oil and Gas Institute. YPF produces about 34 percent of the country’s crude. YPF executives, including Eskenazi and the head of exploration and production, Tomas Garcia Blanco, were told to leave YPF’s headquarters in Buenos Aires on April 16, the day that Argentina announced Planning Minister Julio de Vido would run the company on an interim basis. The European Union will do “everything in our power” to support Spain in the dispute with Argentina, which nationalized only the Spanish majority shareholder and not local stockholders, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said April 24. Fernandez, in a speech in Buenos Aires province on April 24, said she was never more nervous than before her April 16 speech announcing the takeover. Argentina needs energy independence, she said. Repsol Investments Since taking over YPF’s management, De Vido and Deputy Economy Minister Axel Kicillof have met with officials from Chevron Corp. (CVX) , Exxon Mobil Corp and ConocoPhillips (COP) to discuss possible investments in Argentina. The government today denied claims by Repsol that the Madrid-based company invested $20 billion in YPF between 1999 and 2011. Repsol invested $3.7 billion in the period, the government said in an e-mailed statement. To contact the reporters on this story: Rodrigo Orihuela in Rio de Janeiro at rorihuela@bloomberg.net ; Ben Sills in Madrid at bsills@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net
2012
eskenazi-said-to-tell-repsol-he-won-t-enforce-ypf-buyback-pac
RIL CAP CP deal:India Money Markets
By Shraddha Kothari
2012-04-25T13:03:52Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/ril-cap-cp-deal-india-money-markets.html
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304632b8a84a3149c29d08d0005e67322c9252ee
Following is a table showing commercial paper dealt by Indian companies. The data has been provided by SPA Securities Ltd. And Mata Securities India Pvt Ltd Contributed via: Bloomberg Publisher WEB Service Provider ID: 62c6137b1fa4457c99e2b2720043b6f7
2012
ril-cap-cp-deal-india-money-markets
North Korea’s Modern Weapons Can Defeat U.S., General Says
By Sangwon Yoon
2012-04-25T09:08:46Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/north-korea-s-weapons-can-defeat-u-s-general-claims-correct-.html
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North Korea celebrated the 80th anniversary of its military two days after threatening to turn South Korea’s capital into ashes, with a senior general claiming the totalitarian state’s weapons can defeat the U.S. New leader Kim Jong Un, head of the 1.2 million-strong military, attended a ceremony in Pyongyang to mark the milestone, the official Korean Central State News Agency reported today. Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho said the army has “powerful modern weapons” capable of defeating its enemies. “We are able to continuously corner the U.S. and forcefully retaliate to the enemy’s provocative schemes for war,” Ri said, according to a transcript of his remarks from South Korea’s Unification Ministry. The commemoration is the latest in a series of festivities surrounding the April 15 centennial of state founder Kim Il Sung ’s birth. North Korea unsuccessfully fired a rocket on April 13, prompting speculation that the government will detonate an atomic device to compensate for the failure. A North Korean military squad threatened to “soon” turn South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and his government to “ashes in three or four minutes,” according to an April 23 KCNA statement. Kim’s regime has escalated its threats of aggression against the South in the past month. North Korea broke off an agreement to halt testing of nuclear devices and long-range missiles after the U.S. canceled food assistance in response to the botched launch. A North Korean atomic test could come as early as today, NBC News reported, citing unidentified U.S. officials. ‘Provocative Actions’ “We strongly suggest that the North Koreans refrain from engaging in any more hostile or provocative actions,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters yesterday. South Korea last week unveiled new cruise missiles that it said could hit anywhere in the North. The military has deployed the missiles and is preparing to ensure it can respond firmly to North Korean provocations, Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min Seok said on April 19. Lee the same day said South Korea needs “powerful weapons, a strong mindset and the newest weapons that can overpower North Korea.” His government asked the United Nations Security Council to freeze assets of 19 North Korean institutions and organizations, Yonhap News reported, citing an unidentified person at the UN. North Korea is already under UN sanctions after detonating nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009. The Security Council censured Kim’s government after this month’s rocket launch. North Korea’s Arsenal North Korea’s arsenal includes Scud, Rodong and Musudan missiles. The Musudan has a range of more than 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) and can carry a 650-kilogram warhead, according to South Korean estimates. The country is trying to develop missiles with a range of 6,700 kilometers that may eventually be able to carry warheads weighing as much as 1,000 kilograms, according to U.S. and South Korean estimates. China , North Korea’s closest ally, yesterday expressed “deep concern” over the latest developments on the Korean peninsula and called for calm. North and South Korea technically remain at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended without a peace treaty. To contact the reporter on this story: Sangwon Yoon in Seoul at syoon32@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net
2012
north-korea-s-weapons-can-defeat-u-s-general-claims-correct-
Rubio Echoes Obama More Than Romney on Foreign Policy
By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan
2012-04-26T04:01:26Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/rubio-echoes-obama-more-than-romney-on-foreign-policy.html Senator Marco Rubio of Florida , a potential Republican vice presidential pick, outlined a vision of foreign policy that sounded more like President Barack Obama’s than that of Mitt Romney , the presumptive Republican nominee. Rubio, 40, a first-term senator whose popularity with Tea Party supporters and Hispanics has raised his political profile, used a speech yesterday in Washington to praise international alliances and bipartisanship in foreign policy. His message
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are gospel to the Obama administration. He reserved his criticism for a mild rebuke that also has come from some Democratic lawmakers: that Obama should be more forceful leading coalitions he has built to address problems such as Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s violent crackdown on his opponents. “Global problems do require international coalitions; on that point this administration is correct,” Rubio told foreign policy makers and reporters at the Brookings Institution , a Washington policy research organization. “But experience has proven that American leadership is almost always indispensable.” No Cuba Mention Rubio, whose family and many of whose Florida supporters hail from Cuba, didn’t once mention U.S. policy toward the communist island, although it’s one of the most contentious foreign affairs issues in his home state. His remarks underscore the difficulty the Republican Party may face this year trying to sharpen its differences with Obama over national security. The president has won credit in polls for killing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, helping oust Muammar Qaddafi from Libya, withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq and setting a timetable to draw down American forces in Afghanistan. Obama fared better than Romney on foreign policy in an April 11-17 Quinnipiac University national survey , preferred by 46 percent compared with 40 percent for Romney. ‘Sober’ Speech Rubio’s “main message was, ‘Hi, I’m not Sarah Palin,’” said Brian Katulis, a foreign policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, a research group in Washington associated with the Obama administration. “The speech was sober. It was knowledgeable.” “Rubio seemed to be closer to the Obama administration’s actual foreign policy than to the Republican Party’s rhetoric,” Katulis said. “This speech surprised a lot of people in its tone.” Robert Kagan, a Brookings scholar who attended the speech, said Rubio “was trying to shore up a broad bipartisan consensus that the U.S. needs to remain engaged in the world. I think the Obama administration, after some initial hesitation, shares this view.” Kagan, a foreign-policy adviser to the Romney campaign and a member of Secretary Clinton’s foreign affairs policy board, said Rubio made clear that “the administration has not done what is necessary to lead a coalition to remove Assad. But this difference occurs within the broad consensus.” War Fatigue The main Republican attacks on Obama in this campaign won’t be about foreign policy , Stuart Rothenberg , editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report in Washington, said in an interview. “There is no appetite for picking a fight in that area right now” because of the American public’s fatigue over the military involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan, Rothenberg said. Most Republican office-seekers this year, Romney included, are devoting the bulk of their time and energy to criticizing Obama on jobs, the economy, the size of government and spending. “Domestic issues are where they think the president is weakest,” Rothenberg said. Romney, in his first foreign policy speeches of the campaign last October in South Carolina , attacked Obama and advocated a more military-centered foreign policy than Rubio laid out yesterday. Romney pledged to add 100,000 active-duty troops, boost naval shipbuilding, deploy Navy carriers to deter Iran , boost intelligence cooperation with Israel and review aid to Afghanistan. ‘Weakens Our Hand’ Rubio, by contrast, said he believes in keeping “foreign policy nonpartisan as much as possible. I think it weakens our hand” to show divisions when dealing with foreign adversaries. Asked after his speech where the “daylight” was between his policy and Obama’s, Rubio said the administration has shown “an over-reliance” on global institutions, such as the United Nations Security Council , to solve crises in Libya and Syria. After an initial push on NATO to take action to oust Qaddafi in Libya, Rubio said, Obama “backed off and allowed our allies to do most of the work.” If the president had “more energetically” led the NATO coalition, he said, “the engagement would’ve been shorter, cheaper” and may have had fewer side-effects, such as the rise of militias, the destruction of infrastructure and the death of many Libyans in the conflict. “Ultimately, it worked out fine,” said Rubio, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence. He said he was struck during a visit to Libya a month after Qaddafi’s death by the amount of pro-U.S. graffiti and the number of Libyans who approached his delegation to say, “Thank you, President Obama, thank you, United States .” On ending the bloodshed in Syria, Rubio said the scores of nations that united as the so-called Friends of Syria coalition need “a center of gravity” that only the U.S. can provide. Safe Haven Rubio advocated “forming and leading a coalition with Turkey and the Arab League nations to assist the opposition, by creating a safe haven and equipping the opposition with food, medicine, communications tools and potentially weapons,” a step the administration has been reluctant to take. Yet in the question-and-answer portion, Rubio expressed concern that “weapons don’t fall into the wrong hands,” and said nations other than the U.S. “may be willing to step into the void.” Regarding concerns that Iran is seeking a nuclear-weapons capability, Rubio said he supports a “dual-track” strategy for sanctions and talks, while “preparing our allies” for the possibility that, “if all else fails, preventing a nuclear Iran may tragically require a military solution.” “No option should be off the table” on Iran, and “the president has said as much,” Rubio said. Rubio said when he came to the Senate last year, he found “liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans working together to advocate our withdrawal from Afghanistan , or our staying out of Libya.” At the same time, he wound up “partnering with Democrats” such as Senators Bob Menendez of New Jersey or Bob Casey of Pennsylvania “on a more forceful foreign policy,” he said. In the Senate, “on foreign policy, if you go far enough to the right, you wind up on the left,” he joked. To contact the reporter on this story: Indira A.R. Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net
2012
rubio-echoes-obama-more-than-romney-on-foreign-policy
Nigeria Inflation Accelerates, Keeping Pressure on Rates
By Chris Kay and Maram Mazen
2012-04-25T14:56:22Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/nigeria-inflation-accelerated-to-12-1-on-fuel-prices.html
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8084ae6e6ef3fab625930e4f1ebe6a7f52ca9424
Nigerian inflation accelerated to 12.1 percent in March as food prices increased, adding to expectations the central bank will keep interest rates at a record. The inflation rate in Africa’s top oil producer climbed from 11.9 percent in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said in an e-mailed statement today. The median estimate of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for inflation to slow to 11.4 percent. Prices rose 1.6 percent in the month. The central bank raised its policy rate by 6 percentage points to a record 12 percent since 2010 to curb price pressures. Inflation is still below the central bank’s estimated peak of 14.5 percent in the first half of this year, giving the Monetary Policy Committee room to keep the benchmark rate unchanged next month. “As long as we’re around these levels, it’s unlikely the Central Bank of Nigeria will react,” Samir Gadio , an emerging- markets strategist at Standard Bank Group Ltd., said in a phone interview from London. The naira rose 0.1 percent to 157.17 per dollar as of 2:50 p.m. on the interbank market in Lagos, the commercial capital. The currency of the West African nation has gained 3.3 percent this year. Food prices, which account for more than half of the consumer price index , rose 11.8 percent in March from 9.7 percent in the previous month, the statistics agency said. Core inflation , which excludes farm produce, accelerated to 15 percent from 11.9 percent in the same period. President Goodluck Jonathan partially cut fuel subsidies in January, pushing up the gasoline price by half to 97 naira ($0.62) a liter (0.26 gallon). The central bank is targeting an inflation rate below 10 percent. To contact the reporters on this story: Chris Kay in Abuja at ckay5@bloomberg.net ; Maram Mazen in Abuja at mmazen@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net
2012
nigeria-inflation-accelerated-to-12-1-on-fuel-prices
Acquity Pushing Ahead With U.S. IPO After China Auto Postpones
By Belinda Cao
2012-04-25T17:43:19Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/acquity-pushing-ahead-with-u-s-ipo-after-china-auto-postpones.html
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33f283d27dd6449c9daa44dd2111a07259f8ef08
Acquity Group Ltd. (AQ) , a Hong Kong- based digital marketing firm, will push ahead with its U.S. initial public offering, even as the second Chinese company to try and sell shares in New York this year postponed its IPO. Acquity plans to raise as much as $55.6 million tomorrow selling American depositary receipts in the company in a price range of $8 to $10 apiece, according to an April 23 filing . Beijing-based China Auto Rental Holdings Inc. delayed its IPO late yesterday because of “the current capital market conditions” according to an e-mailed statement from the car rental company’s public relations firm. “We are still on schedule,” Audrey Ling, Acquity’s investor relations manager, said by phone today in New York , after China Auto’s announcement. The IPO will be priced tomorrow and the shares will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 27, she said. Vipshop Holdings Ltd. (VIPS) , the first Chinese company to go public in the U.S. this year, raised 39 percent less than planned in its March 23 IPO and is trading 17 percent below its offer price. IPOs by Chinese companies fell to 13 last year, from 38 in 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, as short sellers including Muddy Waters LLC accused firms of misstating assets and the European debt crisis boosted concern over a global slowdown. Acquity “has a better chance to complete its IPO because they are profitable,” Francis Gaskins , president of Marina Del Rey, California-based IPO desktop, which monitors IPO deals, said in an interview. “China Auto was profitable in the recent quarter and needs to show profits for several more quarters.” Acquity had a net profit of $8.3 million in 2011, after incurring losses in the previous three years, according to its filing. To contact the reporter on this story: Belinda Cao in New York at lcao4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Emma O’Brien at eobrien6@bloomberg.net
2012
acquity-pushing-ahead-with-u-s-ipo-after-china-auto-postpones
Credit Suisse Posts 96% Profit Drop on Debt Charge
By Elena Logutenkova
2012-04-25T07:54:27Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/credit-suisse-posts-first-loss-in-three-years-on-revamp.html
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e290999e9abe460ea8a967f95542a05c
Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) , the second- largest Swiss bank, reported a 96 percent decline in first- quarter profit after booking accounting charges related to its own debt and costs for 2011 bonuses. Net income fell to 44 million Swiss francs ($48 million) from 1.14 billion francs in the year-earlier period, the Zurich- based bank said in a statement today. Earnings beat the 297.9 million-franc average loss estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Chief Executive Officer Brady Dougan said the bank benefitted from an “improved environment” in the quarter and cut risk-weighted assets at the investment bank by more than previously targeted. Credit Suisse decided to scale down its investment bank last year as the European sovereign-debt crisis and stricter capital requirements contributed to a 62 percent drop in the group’s annual earnings. “I’m relatively impressed with what they’ve achieved in the first quarter,” Dirk Becker , a Frankfurt-based analyst at Kepler Capital Markets who rates the bank “reduce,” said in an interview. Still, “the challenges are really huge for Credit Suisse” going forward, in both investment banking and in wealth management, he said. Credit Suisse was little changed at 23.56 francs by 9:42 a.m. in Zurich trading. The stock has gained 6.8 percent this year, compared with a 2.1 percent increase in the 43-company Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index and a 1.6 percent advance in UBS AG, its larger Swiss competitor. Fixed-Income Rebound Pretax profit at the investment bank fell 33 percent to 993 million francs in the quarter, while earnings from private banking dropped 27 percent to 625 million francs. The asset management division had a 43 percent increase in pretax profit to 250 million francs, driven by a 178 million-franc gain from the sale of part of the bank’s stake in Aberdeen Asset Management Plc. The firm benefited less from the rebound in fixed-income markets in the quarter than its U.S. competitors. Revenue from fixed-income sales and trading fell 21 percent to 2 billion francs from a year earlier, compared with the average 12 percent increase excluding valuation adjustments reported by Citigroup Inc. (C) , JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) , Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The bank’s deleveraging efforts contributed to the decline in revenue, Dougan said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today, adding that he’s “happy with the diversity” of revenue. Not as Favorable The bank cut risk-weighted assets in the quarter by 45 billion francs to 294 billion francs on a Basel III basis, exceeding the accelerated targets announced in February. Equities sales and trading fell 12 percent to 1.4 billion francs, compared with the average 9 percent decline reported by the U.S. companies. Revenues from underwriting debt and equity sales and advising clients on mergers and acquisitions fell 18 percent to 761 million francs, compared with the average 15 percent drop reported by U.S. competitors, Bloomberg data show. Market conditions in April “haven’t been as favorable” as in the first quarter, Dougan said in the interview. While the bank has a “pretty constructive” view for the rest of the year, it has to be prepared for renewed market volatility, he said. Credit Suisse booked a 1.55 billion-franc charge related to an increase in the price of its own debt in the first quarter. The accounting charge stems from a rule tied to the theoretical cost of buying back the bank’s debt as market prices fluctuate. The bank also had 534 million francs in costs related to bonds linked to derivatives, which were awarded as part of 2011 bonuses to more than 5,500 bankers. Job Cuts The firm, which announced 3,500 job cuts last year, said it’s on track to save about 2 billion francs in annual costs by the end of 2013. Dougan said the bank doesn’t have plans for any additional cost reductions. Credit Suisse intends to boost the private bank’s pretax profit by 800 million francs by 2014 as sluggish client activity squeezes margins. Credit Suisse reported net new money of 5.8 billion francs in wealth management in the quarter. That compared with 15.7 billion francs a year ago, after an outflow of 4.1 billion francs from Clariden Leu clients as the company integrated the private bank with the rest of its business. The bank is a target of a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice over former cross-border private- banking services to American customers, the company said in July. Eight bankers, including Credit Suisse’s former head of North America offshore banking, were charged with conspiring to help American clients evade taxes through secret bank accounts. Credit Suisse continues to “work hard” to resolve the U.S. probe, Dougan said. To contact the reporter on this story: Elena Logutenkova in Zurich at elogutenkova@bloomberg.net ; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net
2012
credit-suisse-posts-first-loss-in-three-years-on-revamp
Hanwha, ESB Back TenKsolar’s Systems for Boosting Solar Power
By Andrew Herndon
2012-04-25T21:19:51Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/hanwha-esb-back-tenksolar-s-systems-for-boosting-solar-power.html
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South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Corp. (000880) and ESB Novusmodus LP, a fund backed by Irish state utility Electricity Supply Board, led a $15.5 million Series B investment in closely held TenKsolar Inc. Hanwha, which owns a controlling stake in photovoltaic manufacturer Hanwha SolarOne Co., will help TenKsolar sell solar panels, it said today in a statement. The company, based in Minneapolis , has developed racking and reflector systems that are incorporated with conventional solar cells and sold as a package that boosts energy production, according to TenKsolar Chief Executive Officer Joel Cannon. Hanwha plans to sell TenKsolar’s products in Japan , and both companies are “making plans to roll out joint marketing in other markets as well,” Cannon said today by telephone. The cells in conventional solar panels are strung in series, meaning the total output drops if a single cell is damaged or isn’t producing optimally, Cannon said. The company builds its modules in such a way that each cell produces power independently, which also enables reflectors to be used to boost output, he said. Using reflected light with conventional solar panels typically isn’t allowed under warranty due to fire risk, Cannon said. Cannon wouldn’t say how much more his company’s panels sell for than competing products. “We get this tremendous performance gain because you don’t have any cell dependencies inside the module, and then when you add the reflector you get this energy gain,” Cannon said. “It’s a truly revolutionary system.” The company has used “a lot” of cells from Hanwha, though it also has suppliers in Taiwan and the U.S., including Suniva Inc., Cannon said. To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Herndon in San Francisco at aherndon2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net
2012
anwha-esb-back-tenksolar-s-systems-for-boosting-solar-power
Kindred, Long-Term Hospitals Rise on Medicare Pay Plans
By Alex Wayne
2012-04-25T21:00:32Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/medicare-seeks-to-pay-u-s-hospitals-0-9-more-for-patient-care.html
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d27d528883e44fd1933d4a1b8ea46c2a
Kindred Healthcare Inc. (KND) and Select Medical (SEM) Holdings Corp. rose after Medicare said it would increase payments by 1.9 percent to operators of U.S. long-term hospitals in fiscal 2013. Kindred surged 19 percent to $9.86 for its biggest single- day gain in almost 15 months while Select Medical climbed 12 percent to $8.82, the largest increase since September 2009. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed yesterday to spread over three years a planned 3.75 percent cut in payments for medical services at long-term care hospitals. The decision gives the companies the 1.9 percent increase in fiscal 2013. Money for short-term, or acute care, hospitals will rise 0.9 percent under the proposal, primarily to cover inflation and greater costs to serve Medicare, the U.S. government’s health-care program for the elderly and disabled. The proposal is “modestly better than our expectations,” Sheryl Skolnick , an analyst at CRT Capital Group in Stamford, Connecticut, said in a note to clients. Acute-care facilities are the most numerous type of hospitals in the country and include facilities owned by HCA Holdings Inc. (HCA) , the largest publicly traded hospital chain, and nonprofits such as Cleveland Clinic . Medicare, one of the largest sources of revenue for U.S. hospitals, pays about $100 billion a year to those facilities. HCA, Tenet Hospitals owned by Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA and Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) would see an average payment increase of 1.1 percent, according to Lazard Capital Markets analysts led by Tom Gallucci, who called the proposed increase “a bit below expectations.” Community Health Systems Inc. (CYH) in Franklin, Tennessee, would get an average increase of 0.7 percent at its hospitals, Lazard said in a note to clients. LifePoint Hospitals Inc. (LPNT) in Brentwood, Tennessee, which specializes in rural hospitals, would see an average increase of 0.3 percent at its facilities, Lazard estimated. The increase for acute-care hospitals takes into account policy changes that will reduce payments to some rural facilities, and will cost taxpayers $175 million, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The increase for long-term care hospitals will cost about $100 million. The changes, which aren’t final until a public review is completed, would take effect in the year beginning Oct. 1. A final rule on the 2013 payments is scheduled to be issued by Aug. 1, the government said. The increases don’t include automatic, across-the-board cuts in Medicare payments that are scheduled to take effect in January because Congress failed to agree to legislation last year that would reduce the deficit. Those 2 percent cuts, combined with the proposed increase from Medicare, would mean a net 1 percent reduction in hospital payments in 2013, said Jason Gurda , an analyst at Leerink Swann & Co. in Boston, in a note to clients. To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Wayne in Washington at awayne3@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net
2012
edicare-seeks-to-pay-u-s-hospitals-0-9-more-for-patient-care
Dollar Weakens Before Fed Ends Meeting; Pound Declines
By Catarina Saraiva and David Goodman
2012-04-25T15:32:34Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/yen-appreciates-against-dollar-strengthening-0-2-to-81-17-yen.html
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dc03a330342b490590ae7d9a672c7ff9
The dollar fluctuated against the euro on speculation Federal Reserve officials meeting today will signal they remain open to a further round of asset purchases to spur economic growth. The greenback dropped earlier as U.S. durable-goods orders fell by the most in three years, a sign the world’s largest economy is slowing. Sterling slid versus most of its major peers after the U.K. economy entered its first double-dip recession since the 1970s. Higher-yielding currencies, including South Africa ’s rand and Canada’s dollar, gained as stocks rose amid increasing risk appetite after company earnings beat estimates. “It’s all about the tone of the Fed, and whether or not they sound more upbeat or more cautious on the economy could set the tone for the dollar,” said Joe Manimbo , a market analyst in Washington at Western Union Business Solutions, a unit of Western Union Co. “The positive corporate earnings from the likes of Apple, that’s provided a timely distraction.” The dollar depreciated less than 0.1 percent to $1.3203 per euro at 11:28 a.m. New York time after rising 0.1 percent earlier and falling as much as 0.3 percent. The U.S. currency traded little changed at 81.35 yen. The euro was little changed at 107.41 yen. The Dollar Index (DXY) , which Intercontinental Exchange Inc. uses to track the U.S. currency against those of six major trading partners, fell as much as 0.2 percent to 79.038, the lowest level since April 3, before trading little changed at 79.165. Hollande on Pact The euro erased earlier gains versus the dollar after Francois Hollande , the leading candidate to become France ’s next president, said the country won’t ratify the euro fiscal pact in its current form if he is elected. He spoke at a press conference in Paris. Hollande, a Socialist, has also criticized austerity measures imposed throughout the euro region, saying he’ll refocus the economy on growth if he wins. The euro zone’s economy is forecast to contract 0.4 percent this year. “Some of the Hollande comments have really had an impact,” said Mary Nicola , a currency strategist at BNP Paribas SA in New York. “The candidates have a week to go and elections are tight. It’s still a nervous point for investors.” The South African rand strengthened 0.3 percent to 7.7750 per dollar. The Canadian dollar rose 0.3 percent to 98.44 cents to the greenback. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 1 percent. Apple Inc. (AAPL) posted quarterly earnings late yesterday that almost doubled, reflecting demand for the iPhone in China . Boeing Co. and Electrolux AB also posted earnings that beat estimates. Fed Policy Statement The Federal Open Market Committee will probably repeat in a policy statement after its meeting ends that subdued inflation and economic slack will result in “exceptionally low” interest rates through at least late 2014, economists said. The statement is due around 12:30 p.m. in Washington. The central bank at 2 p.m. will release policy makers’ forecasts for growth, unemployment, inflation and the appropriate path of the federal funds rate over the next several years. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke plans to hold a press conference at 2:15 p.m. The Fed has held its benchmark interest rate at zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008. It purchased $2.3 trillion of bonds in two rounds of quantitative easing from December 2008 to June 2011. “We don’t expect the FOMC outcome to mark an end to speculation of more QE,” Mitul Kotecha , head of global currency strategy in Hong Kong at Credit Agricole CIB, wrote in a note to clients. “The U.S. dollar will continue to be restrained until there is more clarity on the economy, and in turn, Fed thinking.” Durable Goods U.S. durable goods orders slid 4.2 percent in March, the biggest decrease since January 2009, after a revised 1.9 percent gain the prior month, data from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington . Economists forecast a 1.7 percent decrease, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. A report on April 27 will show U.S. economic growth slowed to a 2.5 percent annual rate last quarter, from 3 percent in the previous three months, a separate Bloomberg survey showed. The dollar has weakened 2.5 percent this year, the second- worst performance among the 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation Weighted Indexes. The yen has tumbled 8.3 percent. The pound fell from a seven-month high versus the dollar after a government report showed the U.K. slipped back into recession, backing the case for the Bank of England to extend its asset-purchase program. British GDP Sterling weakened after the Office for National Statistics in London said gross domestic product shrank 0.2 percent last quarter, after contracting 0.3 percent in the previous three months. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast growth of 0.1 percent. The British currency was down 0.1 percent to $1.6133 after rising to $1.6171, the highest level since Sept. 6. It slipped 0.1 percent to 81.80 pence per euro. It appreciated to 81.44 pence yesterday, the strongest since August 2010. Investors should sell the euro at $1.3205, targeting a decline to $1.3057 with an order to exit the trade if the shared currency strengthens to $1.3250, UBS AG said. The euro is struggling to break resistance levels at the April 12 high of $1.3212 and the 62 percent Fibonacci retracement of the March-to-April decline at $1.3239, Richard Adcock , head of fixed-income technical strategy in London, wrote in a research note. Resistance is an area on a chart where sell orders may be clustered. Fibonacci analysis is based on the theory that prices rise or fall by certain percentages after reaching a high or low. Draghi Softens Tone European Central Bank President Mario Draghi softened his tone on the inflation outlook and called for a “growth compact” as the sovereign debt crisis weighs on the euro-area economy. While inflation will remain above the ECB’s 2 percent limit this year, it will slow in 2013 and “underlying price pressures should remain modest,” Draghi told lawmakers in Brussels today. That’s a contrast to the “upside risks” to inflation he warned of three weeks ago. To contact the reporters on this story: Catarina Saraiva in New York at asaraiva5@bloomberg.net ; David Goodman in London at dgoodman28@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net
2012
yen-appreciates-against-dollar-strengthening-0-2-to-81-17-yen
U.S. Companies Reporting Unchanged Quarterly EPS, April 25
By Wendy Soong
2012-04-25T22:15:56Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/u-s-companies-reporting-unchanged-quarterly-eps-april-25.html
4
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92a714b66dac8d8dfc94ae0878265d6097555fc3
The following U.S. companies reported unchanged quarterly year-over-year earnings per share (end date of the quarter is noted in the last column). Earnings estimates provided by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Soong in New York at at csoong@Bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alex Tanzi at at atanzi@Bloomberg.net
2012
u-s-companies-reporting-unchanged-quarterly-eps-april-25
U.S. Mutual Funds Got $6.48 Billion Net Deposits Last Week
By Charles Stein
2012-04-25T21:06:44Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/u-s-mutual-funds-got-6-48-billion-net-deposits-last-week.html
4
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f2cc132cd961ea991cc532e34d068d6f3f66ea84
U.S. mutual funds attracted $6.48 billion in net new assets last week as investors bought taxable bond and international stock funds while dumping domestic equities. Taxable bond funds attracted $4.86 billion and international stock funds won $8.73 billion in the week ended April 18, the Washington-based Investment Company Institute said today in an e-mailed statement. Domestic stock funds lost $8.68 billion to net withdrawals. To contact the reporter on this story: Charles Stein in Boston at cstein4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net
2012
u-s-mutual-funds-got-6-48-billion-net-deposits-last-week
C.H. Robinson Falls Most Since October as Sales Trail Estimates
By Ed Dufner and Rachel Layne
2012-04-25T16:28:28Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/c-h-robinson-falls-most-since-october-as-sales-trail-estimates.html
4
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7984cabe6df456b996e6dcdb30c532eb2248b2a3
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW) , an arranger of freight shipments, fell the most since October after reporting first-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates. The shares declined 7.1 percent to $61.18 at 12:02 p.m. in New York, a drop that was among the biggest for companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The stock slumped as much as 8.9 percent earlier for the steepest intraday decline since Oct. 26. Revenue was $2.55 billion, while net income rose 9.8 percent to $106.5 million, or 65 cents a share, the Eden Prairie , Minnesota-based company said late yesterday. Analysts projected sales would be $2.61 billion and per-share earnings of 65 cents, based on the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. “While the company’s long-term outlook remains favorable, we do not currently see a compelling reason to be more constructive on the stock,” Jason Seidl , a Dahlman Rose & Co. analyst in New York, said today in a note to investors. He rates the shares as hold. To contact the reporters on this story: Ed Dufner in Dallas at edufner@bloomberg.net ; Rachel Layne in Boston at rlayne@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ed Dufner at edufner@bloomberg.net
2012
c-h-robinson-falls-most-since-october-as-sales-trail-estimates
Hong Kong Short Selling Turnover (Main Board) Recorded 04/25/201
By
2012-04-25T04:45:21Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/hong-kong-short-selling-turnover-main-board-recorded-04-25-201.html Hong Kong , 04/25/2012 (Bloomberg) - Short selling was recorded on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the following companies as of 00:45 today. Number Short Percent of shares selling Total of short Tkr sold short turnover turnover to total Sym Company Name (thousand) (HK$ mln) (HK$ mln) turnover 1868 NEO-NEON 12 0.02 0.03 63.3 1813 KWG PROPERTY 1717 8.33 16.10 51.8 1899 XINGDA INT'L 284 0.95 1.93 49.1 2331 LI NING 165.50 1.22 2.50 48.6 743 ASIA CEMENT CH 11 0.04 0.09 47.8 410 SOHO CHINA 1800.50 10.80 22.90 47.1 2600 CHALCO 1878 7.05 15.35 45.9 338 SHANGHAI PECHEM 418 1.15 2.51 45.7 493 GOME 15343 22.96 51.22 44.8 1812 CHENMING PAPER 7.50 0.03 0.06 44.2 631 SANY INT'L 157 0.95 2.27 41.8 2800 TRACKER FUND 2310 48.40 115.91 41.8 220 U-PRESID CHINA 982 6.19 15.13 40.9 2338 WEICHAI POWER 271 9.80 24.13 40.6 168 TSINGTAO BREW 78 3.52 9.00 39.1 1025 WUMART 64 1.14 2.92 39.0 975 MONGOL MINING 416 2.64 6.84 38.5 2314 LEE & MAN PAPER 81 0.29 0.81 36.1 606 CHINA AGRI 519 2.91 8.34 34.9 658 C TRANSMISSION 255 0.97 2.93 33.1 750 SINGYES SOLAR 45 0.17 0.53 32.2 1114 BRILLIANCE CHI 970 7.99 25.12 31.8 358 JIANGXI COPPER 1239 22.52 70.79 31.8 1071 HUADIAN POWER 90 0.16 0.52 30.4 1618 MCC 172 0.30 0.99 30.2 1193 CHINA RES GAS 58 0.83 2.86 28.9 3933 UNITED LAB 1472 4.52 15.64 28.9 23 BANK OF E ASIA 108.20 3.10 10.74 28.9 17 NEW WORLD DEV 564 5.12 17.80 28.8 363 SHANGHAI IND H 89 2.27 8.06 28.2 2357 AVICHINA 560 1.96 6.99 28.0 2607 SH PHARMA 41.40 0.46 1.67 27.8 3808 SINOTRUK 355 1.59 6.15 25.8 297 SINOFERT 1114 1.89 7.52 25.1 2010 REAL NUTRI 255 0.60 2.38 25.0 700 TENCENT 670 155.96 632.30 24.7 845 GLORIOUS PPT H 972 1.12 4.54 24.6 6808 SUNART RETAIL 92.50 0.95 3.93 24.2 2601 CPIC 290.80 7.46 30.85 24.2 688 CHINA OVERSEAS 1742 28.17 119.28 23.6 460 SIHUAN PHARM 383 1.14 4.96 23.0 887 EMPEROR WATCH&J 1510 1.69 7.43 22.7 659 NWS HOLDINGS 134 1.56 7.04 22.1 825 NWDS CHINA 16 0.08 0.39 21.7 773 CH METAL RECYCL 57.60 0.51 2.35 21.6 883 CNOOC 4804 77.74 361.33 21.5 3993 CMOC 306 0.95 4.51 21.2 1171 YANZHOU COAL 694 11.23 53.36 21.1 2313 SHENZHOU INTL 46 0.65 3.12 20.9 5 HSBC HOLDINGS 912 63.15 302.57 20.9 210 DAPHNE INT'L 174 1.85 9.00 20.6 914 ANHUI CONCH 446.50 11.51 56.16 20.5 3818 CHINA DONGXIANG 1491 1.54 7.51 20.5 388 HKEX 209.30 26.37 135.52 19.5 1988 MINSHENG BANK 3321.50 25.22 131.12 19.2 1728 ZHENGTONGAUTO 103.50 0.84 4.43 18.9 272 SHUI ON LAND 154.50 0.49 2.66 18.5 267 CITIC PACIFIC 87 1.10 6.06 18.1 371 BJ ENT WATER 238 0.41 2.29 18.1 991 DATANG POWER 370 1.02 5.79 17.7 315 SMARTONE TELE 71 1.14 6.47 17.6 1068 YURUN FOOD 716 6.92 39.50 17.5 242 SHUN TAK HOLD 192 0.61 3.55 17.2 3618 CQRC BANK 833 2.99 17.42 17.1 2688 ENN ENERGY 150 4.01 23.64 17.0 322 TINGYI 432 8.62 50.85 16.9 347 ANGANG STEEL 180 0.96 5.86 16.4 38 FIRST TRACTOR 84 0.61 3.74 16.3 4 WHARF HOLDINGS 223 10.17 62.63 16.2 2168 YINGDE GASES 35 0.30 1.88 16.1 1055 CHINA SOUTH AIR 436 1.41 8.86 15.9 2727 SH ELECTRIC 248 1.00 6.28 15.9 41 GREAT EAGLE H 39 0.90 5.67 15.8 2008 PHOENIX TV 22 0.06 0.37 15.7 12 HENDERSON LAND 54 2.42 15.42 15.7 303 VTECH HOLDINGS 15.60 1.36 8.67 15.7 691 SHANSHUI CEMENT 315 1.96 12.48 15.7 511 TVB 16 0.87 5.54 15.6 494 LI & FUNG 668 11.09 71.01 15.6 3383 AGILE PROPERTY 474 4.62 29.61 15.6 2282 MGM CHINA 209.60 3.00 19.32 15.6 694 BEIJING AIRPORT 1062 5.21 34.04 15.3 148 KINGBOARD CHEM 37 0.87 5.67 15.3 1368 XTEP INT'L 173.50 0.60 3.98 15.0 1117 CH MODERN D 62 0.14 0.91 15.0 697 SHOUGANG INT'L 900 0.37 2.49 15.0 3898 CSR TIMES ELEC 227 4.75 31.71 15.0 857 PETROCHINA 2520 28.24 188.71 15.0 2866 CSCL 1130 2.81 18.86 14.9 19 SWIRE PACIFIC A 44.50 3.92 26.95 14.6 1888 KB LAMINATES 52.50 0.20 1.41 14.5 1137 CITY TELECOM 51 0.23 1.58 14.5 1138 CHINA SHIP DEV 140 0.71 4.92 14.4 20 WHEELOCK 51 1.33 9.30 14.3 1766 CSR 526 3.12 21.91 14.3 135 KUNLUN ENERGY 932 12.04 84.72 14.2 2689 ND PAPER 129 0.82 5.75 14.2 1115 TIBET 5100 41 0.07 0.52 13.9 2208 GOLDWIND 65.60 0.24 1.75 13.9 1122 QINGLING MOTORS 100 0.25 1.78 13.9 2299 BILLION IND 69 0.29 2.12 13.7 2233 WESTCHINACEMENT 572 1.02 7.53 13.6 1234 CHINA LILANG 54 0.39 2.89 13.4 3813 POU SHENG INT'L 658 0.47 3.55 13.3 751 SKYWORTHDIGITAL 1408 4.51 34.02 13.3 2827 X WISECSI300ETF 98.80 2.93 22.16 13.2 2698 WEIQIAO TEXTILE 54 0.20 1.54 13.2 1157 ZOOMLION 878.40 9.81 74.57 13.2 1919 CHINA COSCO 1085 5.03 38.74 13.0 2343 PACIFIC BASIN 30 0.12 0.96 12.8 3331 VINDA INT'L 98 1.24 9.77 12.7 3308 GOLDEN EAGLE 44 0.85 6.75 12.6 2628 CHINA LIFE 656 13.63 109.47 12.5 8 PCCW 489 1.41 11.32 12.4 3988 BANK OF CHINA 5993 19.37 161.64 12.0 981 SMIC 1132 0.44 3.64 12.0 1066 WEIGAO GROUP 68 0.58 4.88 11.8 1633 MAGIC HOLDINGS 19 0.06 0.47 11.8 1259 PRINCE FROG 244 0.71 6.15 11.6 1800 CHINA COMM CONS 722 5.67 49.59 11.4 440 DAH SING 3.20 0.09 0.81 11.1 1212 LIFESTYLE INT'L 63.50 1.14 10.29 11.1 323 MAANSHAN IRON 418 0.96 8.64 11.1 1387 RENHE COMM 2026 0.98 8.96 11.0 69 SHANGRI-LA ASIA 36 0.60 5.49 10.9 1828 DCH HOLDINGS 108 0.90 8.38 10.7 1109 CHINA RES LAND 604 8.75 82.17 10.6 14 HYSAN DEV 167 5.62 53.12 10.6 489 DONGFENG GROUP 796 11.92 113.49 10.5 656 FOSUN INTL 80.50 0.37 3.51 10.4 639 SHOUGANG RES 722 1.88 18.15 10.4 270 GUANGDONG INV 198 1.08 10.63 10.2 813 SHIMAO PROPERTY 1130.50 11.16 111.41 10.0 992 LENOVO GROUP 634 4.66 46.58 10.0 1224 C C LAND 50 0.08 0.81 9.9 867 CMS 35 0.19 1.98 9.7 1880 BELLE INT'L 276 4.10 42.18 9.7 552 CHINACOMSERVICE 60 0.25 2.55 9.7 960 LONGFOR PPT 50 0.61 6.32 9.6 848 MAOYE INT'L 125 0.22 2.32 9.6 2388 BOC HONG KONG 546.50 12.73 133.20 9.6 2 CLP HOLDINGS 27 1.78 18.76 9.5 159 WAH NAM INT'L 196 0.10 1.10 9.3 1893 SINOMA 95 0.29 3.13 9.3 107 SICHUAN EXPRESS 56 0.18 1.92 9.2 1929 CHOW TAI FOOK 113 1.32 14.40 9.2 522 ASM PACIFIC 15.90 1.63 17.78 9.1 1088 CHINA SHENHUA 245.50 8.24 91.42 9.0 179 JOHNSON ELEC H 35 0.17 1.88 9.0 538 AJISEN (CHINA) 123 1.08 11.96 9.0 1833 INTIME 156 1.51 16.88 9.0 173 K. WAH INT'L 378 1.20 13.62 8.8 2899 ZIJIN MINING 1566 4.58 52.14 8.8 2222 NVC LIGHTING 146 0.42 4.82 8.7 2880 DALIAN PORT 152 0.29 3.35 8.5 762 CHINA UNICOM 152 1.97 23.88 8.3 941 CHINA MOBILE 405 34.39 417.33 8.2 2238 GAC GROUP 100 0.83 10.11 8.2 116 CHOW SANG SANG 10 0.20 2.45 8.1 1393 HIDILI INDUSTRY 102 0.26 3.26 8.1 728 CHINA TELECOM 670 2.74 34.09 8.1 1194 C PRECIOUSMETAL 204 0.28 3.51 7.9 386 SINOPEC CORP 1158 9.43 121.16 7.8 1186 CHINA RAIL CONS 256 1.46 19.16 7.6 1910 SAMSONITE 85.80 1.30 17.33 7.5 1555 MIE HOLDINGS 46 0.12 1.59 7.4 1788 GUOTAI JUNAN I 79 0.20 2.74 7.4 321 TEXWINCA HOLD 14 0.13 1.79 7.3 1733 WINSWAY 681 1.24 17.17 7.2 1336 NCI 122.60 4.25 59.64 7.1 3377 SINO-OCEAN LAND 119.50 0.43 6.11 7.1 2877 SHINEWAY PHARM 45 0.53 7.55 7.0 902 HUANENG POWER 636 2.88 41.52 6.9 3998 BOSIDENG 108 0.23 3.38 6.9 2722 CHONGQING M&E 70 0.10 1.46 6.9 1913 PRADA 58.20 3.00 43.97 6.8 881 ZHONGSHENG HLDG 73.50 1.14 17.11 6.7 1333 CHINA ZHONGWANG 22 0.07 1.02 6.7 980 LIANHUA 38 0.31 4.69 6.6 218 SHENYIN WANGUO 45 0.11 1.69 6.5 809 GLOBAL BIO-CHEM 238 0.35 5.43 6.5 215 HUTCHTEL HK 50 0.17 2.68 6.4 1238 POWERLONG 72 0.10 1.53 6.4 866 CHINA QINFA 16 0.03 0.44 6.3 1999 MAN WAH HLDGS 42 0.18 2.84 6.3 2380 CHINA POWER 32 0.05 0.88 6.2 966 CHINA TAIPING 30.20 0.47 7.56 6.2 2342 COMBA 71 0.33 5.40 6.0 101 HANG LUNG PPT 89 2.57 42.67 6.0 189 DONGYUE GROUP 1746 10.91 181.13 6.0 16 SHK PPT 117 11.05 185.56 6.0 11 HANG SENG BANK 6.30 0.66 11.07 5.9 2626 HNC 46 0.11 1.81 5.9 66 MTR CORPORATION 18.50 0.50 8.60 5.8 375 YGM TRADING 6 0.13 2.20 5.8 934 SINOPEC KANTONS 360 1.94 34.86 5.6 1072 DONGFANG ELEC 36.80 0.72 13.01 5.6 973 L'OCCITANE 6.75 0.13 2.42 5.6 178 SA SA INT'L 50 0.24 4.31 5.5 670 CHINA EAST AIR 200 0.47 8.59 5.5 200 MELCO INT'L DEV 136 1.09 20.19 5.4 1968 PEAK SPORT 5 0.01 0.17 5.4 763 ZTE 119.80 2.35 43.92 5.3 916 CHINA LONGYUAN 57 0.34 6.54 5.3 828 DYNASTY WINES 8 0.01 0.24 5.1 868 XINYI GLASS 132 0.66 13.09 5.0 2007 COUNTRY GARDEN 221 0.74 14.91 4.9 1900 CHINA ITS 80 0.10 2.05 4.9 1928 SANDS CHINA LTD 359.60 11.36 231.75 4.9 27 GALAXY ENT 539 12.41 256.29 4.8 151 WANT WANT CHINA 591 5.58 115.28 4.8 903 TPV TECHNOLOGY 16 0.03 0.61 4.8 13 HUTCHISON 102 7.54 156.60 4.8 3833 XINXIN MINING 21 0.04 0.93 4.8 268 KINGDEE INT'L 78 0.14 2.87 4.8 1685 BOER POWER 14 0.04 0.89 4.7 873 INT'L TAIFENG 30 0.07 1.54 4.6 2228 COSTIN NEW MAT 41 0.16 3.65 4.5 1029 IRC 16 0.02 0.40 4.4 958 HN RENEWABLES 10 0.02 0.42 4.4 1288 ABC 1730 6.18 140.37 4.4 1133 HARBIN ELECTRIC 14 0.11 2.47 4.4 506 CHINA FOODS 108 0.84 19.28 4.4 563 SH IND URBAN 94 0.15 3.47 4.4 316 OOIL 8.50 0.46 10.58 4.3 769 CHINA RAREEARTH 68 0.14 3.30 4.3 1199 COSCO PACIFIC 32 0.35 8.28 4.3 2018 AAC TECH 68 1.67 39.18 4.2 302 WING HANG BANK 2 0.16 3.77 4.2 177 JIANGSU EXPRESS 40 0.30 7.27 4.1 3333 EVERGRANDE 1604 6.96 168.62 4.1 3968 CM BANK 122 1.99 48.25 4.1 1044 HENGAN INT'L 19.50 1.56 38.15 4.1 1128 WYNN MACAU 84.80 2.00 48.70 4.1 653 BONJOUR HOLD 78 0.09 2.25 4.0 546 FUFENG GROUP 57 0.18 4.47 4.0 576 ZHEJIANGEXPRESS 44 0.24 6.16 3.9 83 SINO LAND 96 1.29 33.07 3.9 3323 CNBM 420 4.37 113.37 3.9 817 FRANSHION PPT 120 0.25 6.43 3.8 1211 BYD COMPANY 44.50 0.95 25.20 3.8 2823 X ISHARES A50 3471.50 38.15 1015.97 3.8 3 HK & CHINA GAS 66 1.32 35.04 3.8 917 NEW WORLD CHINA 114 0.26 6.99 3.7 3339 LONKING 109 0.30 8.19 3.7 2333 GREATWALL MOTOR 115.50 1.86 50.42 3.7 6 POWER ASSETS 21 1.20 32.66 3.7 2319 MENGNIU DAIRY 105 2.48 69.62 3.6 2318 PING AN 45 2.80 79.18 3.5 144 CHINA MER HOLD 28 0.70 19.84 3.5 119 POLY HK INV 250 0.97 29.42 3.3 551 YUE YUEN IND 32 0.81 24.51 3.3 467 UNITEDENERGY GP 56 0.09 2.90 3.2 623 SINOMEDIA 9 0.04 1.29 3.2 486 RUSAL 4 0.02 0.70 3.1 754 HOPSON DEV HOLD 36 0.17 5.43 3.1 1299 AIA 231 6.32 217.92 2.9 10 HANG LUNG GROUP 3 0.15 5.23 2.8 1136 TCC INT'L HOLD 28 0.08 2.82 2.7 175 GEELY AUTO 240 0.72 27.02 2.7 1038 CKI HOLDINGS 6 0.27 10.25 2.7 1121 BAOFENGMODERN 34 0.04 1.64 2.7 3368 PARKSON GROUP 31 0.26 9.96 2.6 1033 YIZHENG CHEM 16 0.03 1.17 2.5 2888 STANCHART 2.70 0.52 20.43 2.5 1208 MIN RESOURCES 20 0.08 3.05 2.5 712 COMTEC SOLAR 4 0.00 0.17 2.5 425 MINTH GROUP 20 0.18 7.45 2.5 1623 HILONG 13 0.02 1.02 2.4 590 LUK FOOK HOLD 9 0.19 7.75 2.4 1361 361 DEGREES 5 0.01 0.49 2.4 1 CHEUNG KONG 23 2.30 98.22 2.3 709 GIORDANO INT'L 34 0.22 9.44 2.3 2328 PICC P&C 48 0.46 20.05 2.3 2777 R&F PROPERTIES 84 0.82 36.05 2.3 939 CCB 2269 13.44 592.32 2.3 1313 CHINARES CEMENT 30 0.18 8.05 2.2 330 ESPRIT HOLDINGS 23.10 0.37 16.74 2.2 331 PCD STORES 78 0.08 3.50 2.2 2009 BBMG 92 0.65 29.66 2.2 995 ANHUIEXPRESSWAY 6 0.03 1.20 2.2 341 CAFE DE CORAL H 8 0.17 7.73 2.1 6030 CITIC SEC 51.50 0.83 40.27 2.1 2005 LIJUN INT'L 10 0.02 0.82 2.1 1200 MIDLAND HOLDING 4 0.02 0.78 2.0 389 TONTINE WINES 8 0.01 0.34 2.0 1938 CHU KONG PIPE 6 0.02 0.89 2.0 392 BEIJING ENT 2.50 0.11 5.75 2.0 933 BRIGHTOIL 3 0.01 0.29 1.9 2678 TEXHONG TEXTILE 2 0.01 0.32 1.9 257 CHINA EB INT'L 64 0.21 11.70 1.8 1836 STELLA HOLDINGS 1 0.02 1.20 1.8 285 BYD ELECTRONIC 4 0.01 0.55 1.7 3800 GCL-POLY ENERGY 122 0.26 15.53 1.7 998 CITIC BANK 162 0.77 47.48 1.6 393 GLORIOUS SUN 2 0.01 0.33 1.6 3983 CHINA BLUECHEM 46 0.26 16.04 1.6 2355 BAOYE GROUP 12 0.06 3.75 1.6 517 COSCO INTL HOLD 2 0.01 0.44 1.6 1099 SINOPHARM 14.40 0.29 18.52 1.6 3389 HENGDELI 16 0.05 3.54 1.4 548 SHENZHENEXPRESS 2 0.01 0.47 1.4 819 TIANNENG POWER 10 0.04 2.87 1.3 2883 CHINA OILFIELD 10 0.12 8.98 1.3 230 MINMETALS LAND 10 0.01 0.75 1.3 1052 YUEXIUTRANSPORT 4 0.01 1.18 1.3 2020 ANTA SPORTS 42 0.32 26.30 1.2 945 MANULIFE-S 0.80 0.08 6.84 1.2 893 CHINAVTM MINING 5 0.01 0.78 1.1 142 FIRST PACIFIC 8 0.07 6.38 1.1 398 ORIENTAL WATCH 4 0.01 1.23 1.1 2778 CHAMPION REIT 28 0.09 8.97 1.1 1006 CHINA CORN OIL 1 0.00 0.36 1.0 669 TECHTRONIC IND 17.50 0.17 16.22 1.0 293 CATHAY PAC AIR 20 0.26 25.90 1.0 1338 BAWANG GROUP 88 0.06 6.24 1.0 1882 HAITIAN INT'L 13 0.12 11.70 1.0 1966 CHINA SCE PPT 5 0.01 0.91 1.0 3328 BANKCOMM 42 0.24 25.73 0.9 165 CHINA EB LTD 12 0.14 15.54 0.9 1198 ROYALE FURN 2 0.00 0.53 0.9 2038 FIH 57 0.26 28.81 0.9 1112 BIOSTIME 2 0.04 4.83 0.9 1177 SINO BIOPHARM 4 0.01 1.02 0.8 384 CHINA GAS HOLD 24 0.09 11.72 0.8 983 SOCAM DEV 4 0.03 4.35 0.8 88 TAI CHEUNG HOLD 1 0.01 0.74 0.7 999 I.T 8 0.03 4.57 0.7 823 LINK REIT 35 1.10 156.29 0.7 3393 WASION GROUP 8 0.03 3.78 0.7 54 HOPEWELL HOLD 0.50 0.01 1.66 0.6 34 KOWLOON DEV 5 0.04 6.57 0.6 1093 CHINA PHARMA 4 0.01 1.17 0.6 836 CHINA RES POWER 8 0.11 20.99 0.5 1101 CH RONGSHENG 208.50 0.39 79.95 0.5 368 SINOTRANS SHIP 2 0.00 0.78 0.5 1398 ICBC 375 1.92 431.40 0.4 1308 SITC 1 0.00 0.51 0.4 291 CHINA RESOURCES 2 0.05 13.59 0.4 1898 CHINA COAL 15 0.13 34.21 0.4 3888 KINGSOFT 5 0.02 4.93 0.4 182 CHINA WINDPOWER 10 0.00 1.09 0.3 853 MICROPORT 1 0.00 1.21 0.3 163 EMPEROR IHL 2 0.00 0.97 0.3 390 CHINA RAILWAY 10 0.03 13.22 0.2 806 VALUE PARTNERS 3 0.01 7.48 0.2 1768 SATERI 0.50 0.00 0.70 0.2 569 CH AUTOMATION 1 0.00 1.83 0.1 6823 HKT-SS 3 0.02 16.90 0.1 1638 KAISA GROUP 1 0.00 2.87 0.1 886 SILVER BASE 1 0.00 7.15 0.1 Total No. of Securities recording Short Selling : 351 Total No. of Designated Securities recording Short Selling : 351 Short Selling Turnover Total Shares (SH) : 118,033,250 Short Selling Turnover Total Value ($) : HKD 1,155,811,585 *Total No. of non-Designated Securities recording Short Selling : 0 Short Selling Turnover Total Shares (SH) : 0 Short Selling Turnover Total Value ($) : HKD 0 Note: Figures are preliminary and subject to revision.
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2012
ong-kong-short-selling-turnover-main-board-recorded-04-25-201
Bernanke Says Fed May Name Officials Making Rate Forecasts
By Joshua Zumbrun
2012-04-25T22:28:39Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/bernanke-says-fed-may-identify-officials-making-rate-forecasts.html
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83bdf7692ae2195dd2075593046701bbc84537c3
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank is considering identifying the interest-rate forecasts of individual policy makers as it reviews ways to improve its communications with the public. The Fed is looking “for ways to improve transparency, and we’re looking at everything,” Bernanke said at a press conference today following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee in Washington. Giving the names of the individuals making forecasts is “on the table.” The Fed currently releases a chart showing dots which correspond to the interest-rate forecasts of its 17 policy makers and a table showing the range of their forecasts for inflation, growth and unemployment . The chart doesn’t give the names of the policy makers. Only 10 of them are voting members of the FOMC in any given year, and the chart and table do not explain the preferences of the FOMC’s voting membership. The FOMC’s committee on communications discussed providing more information that “could convey a sense of how the committee might adjust policy in response to changes in the economic outlook,” according to minutes of the Fed’s March meeting. Seven of 17 Fed officials expect borrowing costs to remain below 1 percent at the end of 2014, compared with nine in January, while 10 expected rates to be 1 percent or higher, versus eight in January, according to the chart released today. 2014 Pledge Even so, the FOMC today repeated that borrowing costs are likely to remain “exceptionally low” at least through late 2014. The Fed lowered its target for the benchmark federal funds rate to zero to 0.25 percent in December 2008 as it battled the recession and later bought $2.3 trillion of Treasuries and housing debt to bring down long-term interest rates . “We remain prepared to do more as needed to make sure that this recovery continues and that inflation stays close to target,” Bernanke said. Additional bond-buying is still “very much on the table.” Officials forecast the unemployment rate would average 7.8 percent to 8 percent in the final three months of this year versus a forecast of 8.2 percent to 8.5 percent in January, according to central tendency estimates. The new forecasts are still far above policy makers’ estimates for full employment, which range from 4.9 percent to 6 percent. The so-called central tendency economic forecasts exclude the three highest and three lowest projections. Fed officials estimated the economy will expand 2.4 percent to 2.9 percent this year, compared with a January forecast of 2.2 percent to 2.7 percent. They see growth of 2.7 percent to 3.1 percent in 2013 and 3.1 percent to 3.6 percent in 2014. To contact the reporter on this story: Joshua Zumbrun in Washington at jzumbrun@bloomberg.net ; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net
2012
bernanke-says-fed-may-identify-officials-making-rate-forecasts
TAG Immobilien Annual Profit Soars as Rental Income Climbs
By Dalia Fahmy
2012-04-25T10:42:05Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/tag-immobilien-full-year-profit-soars-as-rental-income-climbs.html
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435529bcbede4990d3786e51749e961f112b63e9
TAG Immobilien AG (TEG) , the German company buying a Bayerische Landesbank real-estate unit, said full-year profit more than tripled on rising rental income and lower borrowing costs. Net income climbed to 66.9 million euros ($87 million), or 1.05 euros a share, from 18.5 million euros, or 48 cents, a year earlier, the Hamburg-based company said in a statement today. Analysts expected earnings of 72 cents a share, the average of six estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Rental income rose to 115 million euros from 52 million euros after several acquisitions last year doubled the value of TAG’s real-estate holdings. TAG last month agreed to pay 160 million euros for Bayerische Landesbank’s DKB Immobilien unit, adding 25,000 homes. “It will be more difficult to buy more,” TAG Chief Executive Officer Rolf Elgeti said on a conference call today. “Prices are rising and the environment is becoming more competitive” with a growing number of bidders making it more difficult for TAG to win property auctions, he said. The commercial real-estate market isn’t attractive, Elgeti said. “We will focus our investments on the residential side, and if anything, we would sell commercial assets,” he said. A drop in funding costs also helped boost 2011 earnings. Average interest charges for its mortgage loans fell to 3.9 percent from 4.5 percent over the course of the year, the company said. Chief Financial Officer Hans-Ulrich Sutter resigned and will be replaced by Georg Griesemann, a TAG accounting and tax executive, the company said in a separate statement. TAG rose 2.4 cents to 7.09 euros as of 11:59 a.m. in Frankfurt trading. The shares have risen about 2.2 percent in the past 12 months, while the 564-member CDAX Performance Index has dropped 8.8 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Dalia Fahmy in Berlin at dfahmy1@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ross Larsen at rlarsen2@bloomberg.net .
2012
ag-immobilien-full-year-profit-soars-as-rental-income-climbs
Akamai Says CEO Sagan to Leave; Profit Less Than Estimates
By Sarah Frier and Brian Womack
2012-04-26T13:39:01Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/akamai-says-ceo-departing-by-end-2013-sales-top-estimates-1-.html
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Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) , which helps businesses deliver data at faster speeds over the Internet, said Chief Executive Officer Paul Sagan will leave by the end of 2013. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is starting a search to replace Sagan, who became president in 1999 and CEO in 2005. Akamai’s sales more than quadrupled during his leadership, to $1.16 billion in 2011 from $283.1 million in 2005. Sagan, 53, has been with Akamai for almost 14 years, helping the company become less dependent on its content- delivery network business, which was becoming commoditized. He acquired companies to add services and products that would differentiate Akamai from competitors, said Sameet Sinha , an analyst at B. Riley & Co. in San Francisco . “They’re positioning themselves as a cloud-computing applications-services provider, while their competitors just sell core CDN,” Sinha said. “Paul has been around a long time in a tough industry.” Second-quarter profit excluding some costs will be 36 cents to 38 cents a share, James Benson, Akamai’s chief financial officer, said during a call with analysts yesterday. That’s less than the average analyst estimate of 39 cents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sales will be $322 million to $330 million, more than analysts’ average estimate of $314.8 million. Akamai shares declined 8.8 percent to $35.35 at 9:37 a.m. in New York. The stock has climbed 20 percent this year before today. No ‘Radical Change’? “Of course, he would like to go out with great numbers,” said Donna Jaegers , an analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Denver, referring to Sagan. “I don’t sense that there’s going to be a radical change in the company.” Akamai’s customers include Apple Inc. (AAPL) When former CFO J.D. Sherman departed earlier this year, Akamai promoted Benson, who had joined the company in 2009 from Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) This time, they’re likely to replace Sagan with an outside candidate with a corporate sales background, Sinha said. “They need somebody who’s not a telecom guy,” Sinha said. “They need somebody who’s worked in hardware or software who has enterprise sales experience.” Sagan, a cousin of scientist Carl Sagan, has a background in broadcast journalism. In 1991, while working at Time Warner Inc., he helped design and introduce NY 1 News, the cable network in New York City , and later helped found Road Runner, the first broadband cable-modem service. He joined Akamai in October 1998. ‘Next Level’ “Starting a search now means the board and I can take the time we need to find the right person to elevate the company to the next level and achieve the $5 billion revenue goal I set for us by the end of this decade,” Sagan said on a conference call. “I intend to vigorously lead the company until my successor has been named.” Akamai, which went public at the height of the Internet boom in late 1999, lost most of its value after the bubble burst. Sagan helped lead Akamai after its co-founder, Daniel Lewin, died aboard American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Sagan owns $15.4 million worth of shares in Akamai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Today, the company is being helped by demand for services that push data-heavy digital media content, such as videos, around the world more quickly. While Sagan is still running the company, he needs to get more traction internationally, Jaegers said. “They need to grow faster in China and India and they need to increase the size of the sales force to take advantage of opportunities in the enterprise,” she said. Acquisition Prospects The CEO transition will make an acquisition of the company less likely, Jaegers said. The company also said first-quarter sales rose to $319.4 million, topping $310.8 million, the average analyst estimate. Profit excluding some costs was 41 cents a share, Akamai said in a statement yesterday. That beat the 38-cent estimate. Net income fell to $43.2 million, or 24 cents a share, from $50.6 million, or 26 cents, a year earlier, the company said. To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Womack in San Francisco at bwomack1@bloomberg.net ; Sarah Frier in New York at sfrier1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net
2012
akamai-says-ceo-departing-by-end-2013-sales-top-estimates-1-
Wells Fargo, Blackstone Said to Buy $560 Million Eurohypo Loans
By Hui-yong Yu
2012-04-25T07:56:27Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/wells-fargo-blackstone-said-to-buy-560-million-eurohypo-loans.html
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Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and Blackstone Group LP (BX) agreed to buy about $560 million of U.S. property loans from Eurohypo AG, a German bank, said three people with knowledge of the transaction. The deal will include debt on a New York property designed by Frank Gehry that calls itself the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere, the people said, who asked not to be named because the information is private. The letter of credit on the “New York by Gehry” building at 8 Spruce Street is the largest of about 13 loans being sold by Eurohypo, said one of the people. Wells Fargo will buy that loan, the person said. Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco , also agreed to buy a loan on the retail component of 15 Central Park West, the luxury New York condominium complex, where hedge-fund manager Daniel Loeb and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein own units. About 60 percent of the Eurohypo loans will be purchased by Wells Fargo, while Blackstone will buy the rest, said one of the people. The two will own separate loans, although they bid jointly, agreeing to pay about 5 percent to 10 percent less than face value, said two of the people. The loans are current, they said. The loans being sold to Blackstone are backed mainly by office and industrial properties in New York and Boston, said two people. Blackstone also plans to buy a land parcel on Manhattan’s 57th Street between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue owned by Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group LLC, the people said. U.S. Bancorp Additionally, Eurohypo sold about $180 million of loans backed by U.S. shopping malls to U.S. Bancorp (USB) , said Nicole Garrison-Sprenger, a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-based bank. Those loans are backed by malls owned by General Growth Properties Inc. “From time to time, U.S. Bank does buy individual loans or portfolios when it makes strategic and financial sense,” Garrison-Sprenger said in an e-mail. “This was one of those unique opportunities.” Commerzbank AG (CBK) , Germany’s second-largest bank, is winding down its Eurohypo real estate and public finance lending unit to comply with European Union state aid conditions. Commerzbank attracted more than 100 prospective buyers for the $740 million of U.S. real-estate loans held by Eurohypo, two people with knowledge of the matter said April 4. Heinrich Froemsdorf, spokesman at Eurohypo, declined to comment. Elise Wilkinson, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo, declined to comment. Peter Rose , a spokesman for Blackstone, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment e-mailed after regular business hours in the U.S. The loan sale was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal. To contact the reporter on this story: Hui-yong Yu in Seattle at hyu@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel at kwetzel@bloomberg.net
2012
wells-fargo-blackstone-said-to-buy-560-million-eurohypo-loans
Climate Goals Require $5 Trillion Investment by 2020
By Alex Morales
2012-04-25T12:54:52Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/climate-goals-require-5-trillion-investment-by-2020.html
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Five trillion dollars of investment is needed worldwide by 2020 in renewable power, energy efficiency and cleaner transportation to contain rising global temperatures, the International Energy Agency said. After fuel savings of $4 trillion are taken into account, the net investment required by 2020 is about $1 trillion to ensure the temperature gains since industrialization don’t exceed 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), IEA Deputy Executive Director Richard Jones told energy ministers from 23 nations today in London. While renewable energy is on track to deliver its share of the savings, Jones said industries are falling behind in efforts to build projects employing nuclear power, carbon capture and storage, biofuels, efficiency measures and technology that cuts emissions from coal plants. “Under current policies, we estimate that energy use and CO2 emissions would increase by a third by 2020, and almost double by 2050,” Jones said. “This would likely boost global temperatures at least 6 degrees Celsius. Such an outcome would confront future generations with significant economic, environmental and energy security hardships.” Jones was addressing the third meeting of the so-called Clean Energy Ministerial group, hosted by U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Davey and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Ministers from 23 economies accounting for 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and 90 percent of global clean energy investment are attending to help devise policies that cut carbon emissions. Saving Money Chu told ministers that one of the biggest gains to be made in reducing emissions was to ratchet up the efficiency standards for household appliances, a measure he described as a “no- brainer.” Construction efficiency standards also represent an opportunity to cut carbon, he said. “It will save your citizens money and your country energy,” Chu said. “There’s a tremendous opportunity to build an infrastructure that literally could be twice as efficient as the ones that were built in the previous century.” Davey from the U.K. said that ministers have a challenge in making sure clean energy investment “soars” even in a “sluggish” economy. Britain’s economy shrank in the first quarter, pushing the nation into the first double-dip recession since the 1970s, according to figures published today. Recession Risk “The risk is that recession delays low-carbon investment, leaving us a high-carbon legacy even when the global economy recovers and making meaningful action on climate change more expensive,” Davey said. “We don’t start from a good place. Eighty percent of our emissions from energy are already locked in, and the emissions gap is growing.” The U.K. today announced plans to offer 35 million pounds ($57 million) in funds to support entrepreneurs who start businesses developing and demonstrating low-carbon technologies. U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg yesterday pledged 25 million pounds of new aid to help scale up renewable energy in developing nations. Global investment in clean energy dropped $27 billion in the first quarter, its lowest since the depths of the financial crisis three years ago, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said on April 12. The research group’s Chief Executive Officer Michael Liebreich told delegates today that new banking rules are making it harder for wind farms to get financing, while trade friction between the world’s biggest economies is also hindering wind, solar and other forms of renewables. Jones said that for every euro not spent on carbon reductions before 2020, 4.3 euros will be required afterwards to get the world back on a track to 2 degrees of warming rather than the 6 degrees that may result from current policies. Prior to the ministerial discussions, members of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s “Sustainable Energy for All” panel met yesterday in London . The group, led by Bank of America chairman Chad Holliday and UN-Energy Chairman Kandeh Yumkella, devised an “action agenda” to advise governments on how ton increase energy access for the poorest people while promoting efficiency and renewables. The panel recommended governments support lower carbon development in seven sectors including cooking appliances and fuels, renewable energy, small-scale off grid electricity generation, transportation, appliances and buildings, grid infrastructure and industrial and agricultural processes. To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net
2012
climate-goals-require-5-trillion-investment-by-2020
Czech Policy Maker Sees Debate on Rate Increase After June
By Peter Laca
2012-04-25T14:00:34Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/czech-rate-increase-should-be-discussed-after-june-janacek-says.html
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The Czech central bank should consider increasing interest rates for the first time in four years after June as price growth exceeding its target may boost inflation expectations and wage demands, a policy maker said. The Prague-based Ceska Narodni Banka has left the two-week repurchase rate at a record-low 0.75 percent, a quarter point below the European Central Bank ’s main benchmark, since a cut in May 2010. While the central bank doesn’t react to price spikes fueled by government measures, it should stop them from boosting inflation expectations, board member Kamil Janacek said in an interview yesterday. Borrowing costs have been steady as the economy slid into recession in the second half of 2011 and an increase in the value-added tax at the start of this year drove inflation to the fastest pace in more than three years. One of seven rate- setters, Eva Zamrazilova , voted for a quarter-point increase at the last meeting on March 29. “I’m not saying we will change rates for sure, but it’s clear that the discussion about trends in inflation expectations will be more dominant in the second half of this year, mainly in the fourth quarter,” Janacek said, declining to say how he will vote at the next meeting on May 3. “And, as a result, there will be a discussion on whether the time has come to react by increasing interest rates.” Forward-rate agreements fixing the three-month interbank rate in nine months rose to 1.23 percent today from 1.03 percent on Feb. 2, when the central bank’s forecast signaled interest rates may decline later this year. The three-month interbank offered rate, or Pribor, was 1.25 percent. The koruna extended its gains after Janacek’s comments, trading up 0.7 percent against the euro at 24.743 as of 3:55 p.m. in Prague. Growth Prospects Policy makers across Europe are weighing economic-growth prospects against inflationary pressures amid the continent’s sovereign-debt crisis. Hungary kept its two-week deposit rate at 7 percent for a fourth month yesterday. Romania ’s central bank has cut the benchmark interest rate four times since November to 5.25 while Poland left its main rate at 4.5 percent for a 10th month on April 4. The economy, which exports about 80 percent of its output, contracted in the third and fourth quarters of 2011 as government spending cuts outweighed demand abroad for Czech-made vehicles, car parts and electronics goods. The inflation rate rose to 3.8 percent in March, exceeding the central bank’s 2 percent target for a sixth month. Inflation Forecast The bank forecasts the inflation rate above 3 percent this year, before falling to 1.5 percent in the first quarter of 2013. Inflation relevant for monetary policy, defined as price growth adjusted for the primary impact of changes in indirect taxes, was 2.7 percent in March, the central bank said. It sees monetary-policy inflation moving “near” the 2 percent inflation target by the third quarter of 2013. “There is a prevailing agreement within the bank board that the domestic demand is not a pro-inflationary risk at the moment, but the question is how long will this last and how quickly it can change,” he said. “Provided that the VAT rates rise again at the beginning of 2013, the question is whether this time it doesn’t push these inflation expectations up.” The bank’s inflation forecasts may change with the government of Premier Petr Necas planning to push through another increase in the value-added tax rate as of 2013 as part of measures to cut the public-finance deficit below the European Union’s limit of 3 percent of GDP. ‘Well Anchored’ While outlook for future price growth is “well-anchored” now, a second VAT increase in as many years would be a “new situation for developments with inflation expectations, and a new challenge for monetary policy,” said Janacek. Gross domestic product shrank 0.1 percent in the last quarter of 2011, the same as in the previous three months, according to statistics office data. The country ships about 70 percent of its exports to the euro area’s 17 members, with Germany taking the largest share, and exports will probably stay the sole contributor to GDP growth this year, Janacek said. “We can’t expect domestic demand, households, government and investments, to contribute to gross domestic product growth this year,” he said. Households tend to increase savings in “uncertain times,” while the government is cutting spending and companies that don’t have enough export orders are cautious to invest, Janacek said. Wage negotiations for next year will be an indication of whether the current higher price growth is spilling into inflation expectations in the economy, Janacek said. Skoda Auto AS, the unit of Volkswagen AG (VOW) and the largest Czech manufacturing company, agreed to raise salaries by 5 percent for the year ending March 2013. “Nominal wage growth of 4 or 5 percent and more, across all sectors of the economy, could be risky in the current situation of anemic economic growth,” Janacek said. “It would mean a relatively rapid increase in unit labor costs, which could negatively affect competitiveness and create demand-driven pressures.” To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Laca in Prague at placa@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net
2012
czech-rate-increase-should-be-discussed-after-june-janacek-says
Tyson Credit Swaps Climb on Mad Cow, Pink Slime Publicity
By Sridhar Natarajan
2012-04-25T21:18:13Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/tyson-credit-swaps-climb-on-mad-cow-pink-slime-publicity.html
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The cost to protect against a default by Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) recorded the biggest five-day increase since 2010 as the identification of mad cow disease in California compounds consumer wariness about beef safety. Credit-default swaps on Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson increased 27.5 basis points in the last five trading sessions to a mid-price of 168.5 basis points at 5:03 p.m. in New York, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg. The increase in the contracts, which typically rise as investor confidence deteriorates and fall as it improves, was the biggest since they climbed 31.4 basis points in the five-day period ending Sept. 28, 2010. A case of mad cow disease has been found in a dairy cow in Central California, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said yesterday in Washington . The news of the first U.S. case in six years follows a consumer backlash against a meat product made from leftovers and treated with chemicals, dubbed “pink slime” by critics. “People are not going to stop eating hamburgers entirely, but when you get news like mad cow, it’s going to cause some fear on the part of the consumer,” Standard & Poor’s equity analyst Thomas Graves said in a telephone interview. “As a result, Tyson and other beef producers would not sell as much beef.” The USDA announcement is the latest in a series of negative events for cattle or beef producers, including drought, profit volatility and concern about “pink slime,” Graves wrote in a research note yesterday. Not Tyson’s Cow The dairy cow identified with mad cow disease was not from one of Tyson’s facilities, the meat producer said in a statement yesterday. “The mad cow headlines are not favorable but I don’t think there will be a long-term impact,” Graves said today. “They are a diversified business, and their chicken and pork products will partly offset losses in the beef business.” Beef accounted for 41 percent of Tyson’s sales in its latest year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Tyson has more than $2 billion of bonds maturing by 2018 , Bloomberg data show. Moody’s Investors Service has a junk rating of Ba1 on the food distributor, while S&P grades the company BBB-, the lowest level of investment grade. A gauge of U.S. company credit risk fell for a second day as Apple Inc. added to the list of companies reporting better- than-expected quarterly profits. Beating Estimates The Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index, a credit-default swaps benchmark that investors use to hedge against losses on corporate debt or to speculate on creditworthiness, dropped 2.1 basis points to a mid-price of 97.6 basis points at 4:43 p.m. in New York , Bloomberg prices show. The fall was the biggest for the gauge in more than a week. The tally of companies in the Standard & Poor’s index that beat consensus estimates on quarterly profits was 141 of the 178 that have reported earnings so far. Following the Federal Open Market Committee Meeting in Washington, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank is “prepared to do more as needed” to help the recovery, while keeping a check on inflation. The swaps contracts 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. To contact the reporter on this story: Sridhar Natarajan in New York at snatarajan15@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net
2012
yson-credit-swaps-climb-on-mad-cow-pink-slime-publicity
Military Probe Into Prostitute Scandal May Be Expanding
By David Lerman
2012-04-25T21:31:14Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/military-probe-into-prostitute-scandal-may-be-expanding.html
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The Pentagon’s investigation of personnel being involved with prostitutes in Colombia will examine whether more senior officials bear responsibility, according to the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “They’re going to see whether there are others who may have done something wrong, including anyone up the chain of command,” said Senator Carl Levin , a Michigan Democrat, who spoke to reporters today after a closed-door briefing with Defense Department representatives. The military is investigating the possible involvement of its personnel in the scandal focused on whether Secret Service employees consorted with prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia, before President Barack Obama’s visit there this month for the Summit of the Americas. Twelve military personnel and another dozen Secret Service employees have been investigated for misconduct in Cartegena, in some cases involving rules such as curfews. Senator John McCain , the committee’s senior Republican, said defense officials were “woefully unprepared” for the briefing and couldn’t answer “even the most basic questions.” “We are being denied access to the information we need in order to make informed judgments or take needed actions,” McCain of Arizona said in a statement. “This is entirely unacceptable.” ‘Sketchy’ Briefing Levin called the briefing “sketchy” while declining to join McCain in criticizing the Defense Department. “The military is traditionally reluctant to provide details of an investigation before it’s completed,” Levin said. “I was surprised it was not fuller, but they gave us the reasons for why they proceeded in this way.” The military plans to complete its investigation by the end of next week and the Senate panel will arrange for a follow-up briefing early in the following week, Levin said. Levin said he wants to know why some of the 12 military personnel were allowed to continue on the mission in Cartagena even after commanders knew they had violated curfews. “They did know that there were curfew violations, apparently, by at least some of the 12 members of the military prior to the arrival of the president,” Levin said. “A decision was made nonetheless to let those folks, those members of the military, continue with the mission.” While that decision may not necessarily have been wrong, Levin said it “raises a question” that needs to be resolved by the commander of U.S. Southern Commmand. He said the investigation may not be confined to the 12 service members already involved. “At this moment, it’s an investigation,” Levin said. “There are no conclusions reached.” To contact the reporter on this story: David Lerman in Washington at dlerman1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net
2012
ilitary-probe-into-prostitute-scandal-may-be-expanding
Bulls Clinch Top Spot in East, Jazz Claim Final Playoff Place
By Nancy Kercheval
2012-04-25T05:36:08Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/bulls-clinch-top-spot-in-east-jazz-claim-final-playoff-place.html
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The Chicago Bulls clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference with the Miami Heat’s 78-66 loss to the Boston Celtics , while the Utah Jazz secured the final playoff berth in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls are tied with the San Antonio Spurs atop the league with a 48-16 record. The Spurs and Bulls each have two games remaining in the regular season, which ends tomorrow, two days before the playoffs begin. Sasha Pavlovic had 16 points for the Celtics (38-27) at TD Garden in Boston last night. Dexter Pittman scored 12 for the Heat, who played without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Jazz (35-30) defeated the Phoenix Suns (33-32) 100-88 to secure the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. Paul Millsap had 26 points and 15 rebounds, while Al Jefferson tallied 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City . Jared Dudley and Michael Redd led the Suns with 15 points. The Los Angeles Lakers (41-24) clinched the Western Conference’s Pacific Division on the Los Angeles Clippers’ 109- 102 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Joe Johnson led the Hawks (39-26) with 28 points at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Blake Griffin had 36 points for the Clippers (40-25). To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net
2012
bulls-clinch-top-spot-in-east-jazz-claim-final-playoff-place
Al-Qaeda Seeks Cyber-Attack Skills, U.S. Official Says
By Tony Capaccio
2012-04-25T04:15:00Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/al-qaeda-seeks-cyber-attack-skills-u-s-official-says.html Al-Qaeda operatives are seeking the capability to stage cyber attacks against U.S. networks, the intelligence chief of the U.S. Cyber Command said. While it’s “accurate today,” that the terrorist group isn’t close to having such a capacity, “how fast that can change is my concern,” Rear Admiral Samuel Cox said at a conference yesterday in Arlington, Virgina. “We are used to what the current threat is, and we lose sight of just how fast that can change and go bad,” Cox said at the conference organized by Representative Jim Moran, a Virginia Democrat who serves on the House defense appropriations panel. “They don’t have to build some technological thing.” Al-Qaeda “could hire it, or blackmail it, or find the right person who has that skill set and be able to use that and rapidly increase their capabilities,” he said. Cox gave his assessment during an overview of cyber threats the U.S. faces from nation states and non-state actors that can infiltrate computer networks to gather information or launch attacks that take down networks. Certain nations that don’t now have them are within a few years of acquiring offensive cyber capabilities comparable to those of the U.S., he said. “We have a good understanding of what techniques the United States could use against other countries if directed, and how long it would take other adversaries to achieve the same capability
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huge amounts of resiliency built into the system that makes that kind of catastrophic thing very difficult,” he said. “But you could do more tailored, precise-type strikes” against the U.S. financial network “that results in an uncontrolled run on U.S. banks,” Cox said. To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net
2012
al-qaeda-seeks-cyber-attack-skills-u-s-official-says
Mersch Says ‘Powerful’ ECB Loans Help Banks Clean Balance Sheets
By Svenja O’Donnell and Gabi Thesing
2012-04-25T07:30:00Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/mersch-says-powerful-ecb-loans-help-banks-clean-balance-sheets.html
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European Central Bank Governing Council member Yves Mersch said the ECB’s “powerful” three- year loans will help banks to cleanse their balance sheets. The ECB’s longer-term refinancing operations have “shown themselves to be powerful levers on many levels,” Mersch said in the editorial of the Luxembourg central bank’s Financial Stability Report published today. The loans are helping banks to “clean up their balance sheets and begin a controlled deleveraging,” Mersch wrote. His comments were translated from French. The ECB loaned banks more than 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) for three years at its benchmark rate of 1 percent to head off a credit crunch, encourage lending to companies and consumers and spur demand for unsecured bank debt. The bond- market rally sparked by the loans has since faded amid concern that Spain may follow Greece, Ireland and Portugal in seeking a bailout. Mersch said the “complexity of the transmission channels of monetary policy, combined with the time needed to transform central bank money into loans for the real economy” makes evaluating the impact of the loans on credit supply “difficult.” A slowdown in euro-area credit growth “may simply be the result of the current slowdown in economic growth in Europe ,” Mersch said. Loans to the private sector grew 0.7 percent in February from a year earlier after gaining an annual 1.1 percent in January, the ECB said March 28. Economic growth in the euro area will remain “subdued” in the short-term, even though “the situation seems to have stabilized since the beginning of 2012,” the Central Bank of Luxembourg, which Mersch heads, said in the report. To contact the reporters on this story: Svenja O’Donnell in London at sodonnell@bloomberg.net ; Gabi Thesing in London at gthesing@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net
2012
ersch-says-powerful-ecb-loans-help-banks-clean-balance-sheets
Standard Life’s Sales Beat Estimates on Pension Inflows
By Kevin Crowley
2012-04-25T11:00:56Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/standard-life-s-sales-beat-estimates-on-pension-inflows-2-.html
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Standard Life Plc (SL/) , Scotland ’s biggest insurer, reported first-quarter revenue that beat analysts’ estimates as pension sales to companies helped boost assets under management. Revenue from long-term savings fell to 5 billion pounds ($8 billion) in the three months to March 31, the Edinburgh-based firm said today in a statement, beating the 4.87 billion-pound estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by the company. Assets under administration rose 4 percent to 206.8 billion pounds in the three-month period. “We view this as a relatively solid result in what remain challenging conditions,”Christopher Esson, a London-based analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG, wrote in a note to clients today. “We continue to regard Standard Life as one of the structurally better positioned for upcoming regulatory reforms, and this should be reflected in superior growth.” Standard Life wants to manage more Britons’ savings as they move to private pension plans from so-called final-salary plans. It had previously cautioned that sales may slow early in the first half due to regulatory changes scheduled for later in the year. The insurer is investing in technology that will help boost sales when the government compels firms to automatically enroll employees into a pension plan starting in October. The stock-market rally in the first quarter, inflows into the company’s institutional pension business and its absolute return funds helped boost funds under management, Chief Financial OfficerJackie Hunt said on a call with reporters this morning. The stock climbed 1.3 percent to 226.9 pence as of 11:32 a.m. in London trading, valuing the company at about 5.3 billion pounds. To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Crowley in London at kcrowley1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net ;
2012
standard-life-s-sales-beat-estimates-on-pension-inflows-2-
Arch Said to Seek Buyers for Several U.S. Coal Mines
By Zachary R. Mider, Jeffrey McCracken and Sonja Elmquist
2012-04-26T20:15:44Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/arch-said-to-seek-buyers-for-several-u-s-thermal-coal-mines.html
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Arch Coal Inc. (ACI) , the fourth-largest U.S. producer of the fuel, is seeking buyers for several of its thermal-coal mines in the U.S., which together may fetch $600 million or more, said people with knowledge of the matter. First-round bids for the mines, located in Kentucky, Illinois and Utah, are expected to come in late May, said one of the people, who declined to be named because the process is private. The mines will probably be sold in separate deals, said this person. Financial advisers including Deutsche Bank AG were hired in recent weeks by St. Louis-based Arch to help sell the mines, said the people. The mines are attracting interest from private- equity investors as well as U.S. and foreign coal producers, one of the people said. “If you were able to sell thermal mines for that valuation, it would give a big lift to the whole sector,” said Kuni Chen, an analyst at CRT Capital Group in Stamford , Connecticut. The assets “may be strategic to certain buyers if the reserves are contiguous to their mines.” Arch is among U.S. coal companies to curtail production this year as some power stations switch to natural gas, which has fallen to its cheapest in a decade. Arch has cut jobs in eastern Kentucky and idled mines and as part of its plan to reduce output by 5 million tons. Retiring CEO Steven F. Leer, who’s retiring as chief executive officer today after leading Arch since it formation in 1997, has expanded the company’s international sales. The company paid $3.4 billion for U.S. competitor International Coal Group Inc. in June to boost output of coal used by steelmakers, which is more profitable than thermal coal burned by power stations. Arch rose 0.6 percent to $9.62 at the close in New York . The shares have slumped 71 percent in the past 12 months. The company, which has a BB- credit rating from Standard & Poor’s , was placed on CreditWatch with negative implications by S&P yesterday. Arch operates 24 mining complexes in eight states, according to its website. Kim Link, a spokeswoman for Arch, declined to comment in an e-mail. A spokesman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. The three largest U.S. coal producers ranked by revenue are Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) , Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (ANR) and Consol Energy Inc. (CNX) To contact the reporters on this story: Zachary R. Mider in New York at zmider1@bloomberg.net ; Jeffrey McCracken in New York at jmccracken3@bloomberg.net ; Sonja Elmquist in New York at selmquist1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jennifer Sondag at jsondag@bloomberg.net
2012
arch-said-to-seek-buyers-for-several-u-s-thermal-coal-mines
Indonesian Stocks: Astra Agro Lestari, Kalbe, Panin Sekuritas
By Berni Moestafa
2012-04-25T09:33:35Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/indonesian-equity-movers-astra-agro-declines-kalbe-farma-gains.html
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Shares of the following companies had unusual moves in Indonesian trading . Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of the close in Jakarta. The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) lost 0.2 percent to 4,163.64. PT Astra Agro Lestari (AALI) , Indonesia’s biggest listed plantation company by market value, fell 1.4 percent to 21,900 rupiah, the lowest close since March 27. First-quarter net income declined 42 percent from a year earlier to 377.9 billion rupiah ($41.1 million), the company said yesterday. Astra Agro’s “unexciting earnings growth will persist,” PT Kim Eng Securities wrote in a note today. PT Kalbe Farma (KLBF) , Indonesia’s biggest pharmaceutical company, advanced 6.3 percent to 3,825 rupiah, a record close. The company reported yesterday first-quarter net income rose 28 percent from a year earlier to 403 billion rupiah. PT Panin Sekuritas (PANS) , a brokerage, jumped 15 percent to a record 1,900 rupiah. The company said today first- quarter net income rose 79 percent from a year earlier to 72 billion rupiah. To contact the reporter on this story: Berni Moestafa in Jakarta at bmoestafa@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net
2012
indonesian-equity-movers-astra-agro-declines-kalbe-farma-gains
BP Spill Pact Should Be Approved, Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Argues
By Allen Johnson Jr. and Margaret Cronin Fisk
2012-04-25T20:02:13Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/bp-spill-pact-should-be-approved-plaintiffs-lawyer-argues-1-.html
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BP Plc (BP/) ’s proposed $7.8 billion partial settlement of claims arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill should be given preliminary approval, a lawyer suing the company told the judge overseeing the litigation. BP in March agreed to resolve most private plaintiffs’ claims for economic loss, property damage and spill and cleanup- related injuries. Lawyers for BP and the plaintiffs filed the accord April 18 with U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans , seeking preliminary approval. Barbier is considering that request at a hearing today. “We are here today to present a fairly unique class-action settlement, actually two settlements,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Steve Herman , told Barbier. The settlement establishes two separate classes, one for economic loss and the other for any physical injuries related to the spill or the cleanup, Herman said. The blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 workers and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The accident prompted hundreds of lawsuits against London-based BP; Transocean Ltd. (RIG) , the Vernier, Switzerland-based owner and operator of the rig; and Halliburton Co., which provided cementing services. Not Final “This is not a final approval of anything,” Barbier said as today’s hearing began. The proceeding is meant only to consider the request by BP and plaintiffs’ attorneys for preliminary approval, he said. “The earliest we could get final approval on this scheduled would be early November,” he said. The proposed settlement, reached March 2, days before a scheduled trial on liability for the 2010 spill, doesn’t cover federal government claims and those of the Gulf Coast states Louisiana and Alabama . It also excludes claims of financial institutions, casinos, private plaintiffs in parts of Florida and Texas , and residents and businesses claiming harm from the Obama administration’s moratorium on deep-water drilling prompted by the spill. BP and the Plaintiffs Steering Committee, a group of lawyers appointed by Barbier to handle the lawsuits, asked the judge to hold a Nov. 8 fairness hearing before final approval of the accord and to postpone any trial on liability until after the hearing. BP has agreed to pay claimants before final approval of the settlement, Herman said today. Macondo Well The plaintiffs’ and government claims against BP’s contractors on the doomed Macondo well remain, and no new trial date has been set. A trial would cover federal and state government pollution claims, as well as cross-claims between BP and its partner companies in the Macondo site and rig. Under the settlement, BP has assigned to the plaintiffs the company’s right to seek cleanup costs and the value of the lost oil from Transocean and Halliburton. (HAL) 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 mcfisk@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net
2012
bp-spill-pact-should-be-approved-plaintiffs-lawyer-argues-1-
VimpelCom Rises Most in a Month as S&P Revises Outlook to Stable
By Halia Pavliva
2012-04-25T15:14:39Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/vimpelcom-rises-most-in-a-month-as-s-p-revises-outlook-to-stable.html
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VimpelCom Ltd. (VIP) rose the most in a month in U.S. trading after Standard & Poor’s raised the company’s outlook to stable from negative today and Moody’s Investors Service praised the sale of its Vietnamese unit. VimpelCom, the world’s sixth-largest wireless operator by subscribers, climbed 2.3 percent to $10.19 at 10:38 a.m. in New York, the biggest one-day advance since March 28 based on closing prices. “The stable outlook reflects our view that VimpelCom will retain its strong operating performance across its various markets and use its free operating cash flow to reduce debt,” S&P analysts, led by Alexander Griaznov in Moscow, said in an e- mailed report dated today. Moody’s said the sale of VimpelCom’s entire 49 percent stake in its GTEL subsidiary in Vietnam for $45 million in cash is “credit positive.” VimpelCom announced the sale in an April 23 statement. “Moody’s regards this divestment as evidence of VimpelCom pursuing its new strategy, which is focused on operating efficiencies,” Moody’s analysts led by Artem Frolov in Moscow said in an e-mailed report today. “One of the building blocks of this strategy is a review of VimpelCom’s developing businesses and their value for the group.” VimpelCom’s subsidiary Orascom Telecom Holding SAE (ORTE) , North Africa’s biggest mobile phone company, is disputing the $1.3 billion fine imposed by an Algerian court against its Djezzy unit for allegedly violating foreign-exchange regulations, according to an April 12 statement. Algeria is in talks to buy a stake in Djezzy from VimpelCom, which merged with Orascom last year. “VimpelCom’s credit profile has sufficient financial flexibility to absorb the risks related to an unsettled dispute concerning its Algerian subsidiary,” S&P analysts said in the report today. “We assume that VimpelCom will remain committed to its financial policy.” To contact the reporter on this story: Halia Pavliva in New York at hpavliva@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Emma O’Brien at eobrien6@bloomberg.net
2012
vimpelcom-rises-most-in-a-month-as-s-p-revises-outlook-to-stable
OHL Brasil Rises to Record High on Abertis Deal: Sao Paulo Mover
By Katerina Petroff
2012-04-25T20:20:59Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/ohl-brasil-rises-to-record-high-on-abertis-deal-sao-paulo-mover.html
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Obrascon Huarte Lain Brasil SA (OHLB3) , the Brazilian unit of Obrascon Huarte Lain SA (OHL) , rallied to a record after Spain’s Abertis Infraestructuras SA (ABE) agreed to buy a stake in the company. Shares gained 2.1 percent to 81.90 reais at the close in Sao Paulo, the highest since the company’s initial public offering July 2005. The benchmark Bovespa index fell 0.4 percent. Abertis agreed to acquire a 60 percent stake in OHL Brasil and also OHL assets in Chile. The implied valuation of the deal with OHL Brasil indicates a 14.3 percent premium over yesterday’s closing price, according to analyst Renata Faber at Banco Itau BBA in Sao Paulo. “We therefore expect a positive market reaction,” she wrote in a report today. OHL Brasil “will remain a public company in Brazil and maintain its development strategy, to be implemented through new growth projects,” the company said in the filing. Spain’s OHL will receive a 10 percent stake in Abertis as part of the deal, according to the filing. To contact the reporter on this story: Katerina Petroff in Sao Paulo at kpetroff@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Helder Marinho at hmarinho@bloomberg.net ; David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net
2012
ohl-brasil-rises-to-record-high-on-abertis-deal-sao-paulo-mover
U.S. Companies Reporting Midmorning EPS, April 25
By Wendy Soong
2012-04-26T15:34:03Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/u-s-companies-reporting-midmorning-eps-april-25.html
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(Corrects the Q1’12 earnings of Nielsen Holdings in story published April 25.) The following table lists the 77 U.S. companies that reported quarterly earnings today (end date of the quarter is noted in the last column). Companies are sorted alphabetically by ticker symbol. Earnings estimates provided by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Soong in New York at at csoong@Bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alex Tanzi at at atanzi@Bloomberg.net
2012
u-s-companies-reporting-midmorning-eps-april-25
Hungary May Take ‘Major Step’ on Bailout, Citigroup Says
By Zoltan Simon
2012-04-25T09:18:53Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/hungary-may-take-major-step-on-bailout-citigroup-says.html
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The European Commission is discussing a compromise proposal by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban , aimed at starting talks on a bailout. Orban asked the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for aid in November as the forint fell to a record low and the country’s debt grade was cut to junk. Commissioners headed by President Jose Manuel Barroso are discussing Hungary at a meeting that started at 10 a.m. in Brussels. The EU has blocked Hungary’s request over concern that Orban’s concentration of power in the past two years undermined the independence of state institutions including the central bank. The premier is seeking to unblock the talks without fully adjusting the country’s laws to meet EU norms. The country has moved “a lot closer” to starting talks, Orban said after meeting Barroso yesterday. The commission “may deliver a major step towards starting talks,” Eszter Gargyan , a Budapest-based economist at Citigroup Inc. (C) , said in an e-mailed report today. Yesterday’s comments suggest that “both parties have become more flexible, which may deliver unexpected progress.” The forint advanced 0.8 percent to 291.86 per euro at 11:18 a.m. in Budapest, its strongest in almost a month.The currency dropped 15 percent in the second half of last year, the most in the world, before paring losses after the Cabinet pledged Jan. 5 to reach a quick deal on an IMF loan. The government’s benchmark 10-year bonds jumped, cutting yields 21 basis points to 8.586 percent, following a 22 basis point decline yesterday and the lowest yield since March 2. ‘Essentially Surmounted’ Obstacles to talks have “essentially been surmounted,” Orban said yesterday. Barroso was “satisfied” with Orban’s commitment to changing the central bank law, spokesman Cezary Lewanowicz said after the meeting. The Hungarian government submitted amendments to the central bank law on April 17, heeding some of the commission’s concerns while ignoring a European Central Bank opinion on what the government needs to do to ensure monetary-policy independence. The ECB said April 5 that “serious concerns” remained about Hungary ’s central-bank law. Orban is pushing for a compromise as the EU’s attention is focused on the struggle to restore confidence in the euro area. Germany , the largest country contributor to euro-area bailouts, is facing growing resistance from traditional allies to its anti-crisis prescriptions as a $1 trillion firewall and unlimited ECB loans to the region’s lenders fail to stop the turmoil from threatening Spain and Italy . ‘Blinked First’ “Ultimately the EC seems to have blinked first,” Tim Ash, head of emerging market research at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London , said in an e-mail yesterday. “The apparent change of heart on the part of the EC probably reflects a combination of the changes/concessions made by the Hungarian government, but also by the broader context of a continued/deepening in the eurozone periphery crisis, and perhaps limited appetite for another potential crisis in an EU member state.” Hungary’s gross domestic product may contract 0.6 percent this year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on March 13. The commission forecasts the economy will shrink 0.1 percent, the only one of the bloc’s non- euro members expected to not grow this year. The government expects the economy to expand 0.1 percent in 2012 and 1.6 percent in 2013. Budget Measures The government this week said it will introduce new taxes and cut spending to meet deficit targets required to unlock EU grants. The Cabinet plans additional savings of 150 billion forint ($680 million) this year and 600 billion forint in 2013 on top of measures announced last year. Hungary has been on the EU’s excessive-deficit list since joining the bloc in 2004 and risks losing funds in 2013 if it fails to show it can sustainably rein in its shortfall. The country can “safely” meet its deficit targets of 2.5 percent of GDP in 2012 and 2.2 percent in 2013, the Economy Ministry said on April 23. Orban won a two-thirds majority in parliament in 2010 that allowed him to unilaterally change the constitution and reduce the power of independent institutions, raising objections from the EU, the IMF, the U.S. and the United Nations . Ruling-party lawmakers have ousted the chief justice of the Supreme Court and the data-protection commissioner, narrowed the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court , replaced an independent fiscal council with one dominated by the members nominated by the ruling party and chose a party member to lead the State Audit Office. ‘Total Takeover’ Hungary’s bailout talks were blocked in December on EU and IMF concern about a new central bank regulation, which the Magyar Nemzeti Bank President Andras Simor had called a “total takeover” of the institution. The EU later expanded its objections to include the judiciary and the data-protection agency. The government agreed to scrap an option to demote the central bank president if the monetary authority is combined with the financial regulator. The amendments don’t address the EU’s concern for a 75 percent cut in Simor’s salary or ECB objections to the planned enlargement of the rate-setting Monetary Council. The government also submitted amendments to Parliament on the judiciary, reducing the power of the new head of the court system. On the data-protection authority, parliament, where Orban’s lawmakers have a two-thirds majority, has approved changes limiting the prime minister’s influence over the firing of the independent commissioner. The change failed to address EU objections over the removal of the commissioner last year. Court Order The EU executive on March 7 took a formal step toward seeking a court order to require Hungary to redraft laws on the judiciary and data-protection agency and asked for more information on planned changes to a new central bank law. Orban said he tried to convince Barroso yesterday to allow bailout talks to proceed even if he maintained reservations about some of the changes in Hungary. “Disputes within the EU need to be separated from financing packages,” Orban told reporters in Brussels yesterday. “Linking the two may be justified in peace time but only makes things more difficult in hard times.” To contact the reporter on this story: Zoltan Simon in Budapest at zsimon@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net
2012
ungary-may-take-major-step-on-bailout-citigroup-says
House Republicans to Propose Own Anti-Domestic Violence Bill
By Kathleen Hunter and Derek Wallbank
2012-04-25T18:33:07Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/house-republicans-to-propose-own-anti-domestic-violence-bill-1-.html U.S. House Republicans said they will introduce their version of legislation to reauthorize assistance to victims of domestic violence, an attempt to defuse Democrats’ efforts to portray congressional Republicans as hostile toward women. Representative Sandy Adams of Florida said she and fellow freshman Republican Kristi Noem of South Dakota will sponsor the bill reauthorizing the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. Adams said today the measure, still being drafted, will be introduced this week and a House vote will be held as early as the week of May 14. Adams said the man she married at age 18 was a “violent alcoholic” and an abuser. She escaped that marriage and later, as a deputy sheriff in Orange County, Florida , would respond to cases involving victims of domestic violence. “I know what they’re feeling because I was there, and I know how much this law has helped so many people in our country,” Adams said. Senate Democrats , meanwhile, urged quick passage of their measure to reauthorize the law. They began debate on the legislation today. Reauthorization “will ensure the police have tools to more effectively stop this and prosecute these people who are the abusers,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , a Nevada Democrat, said today. “People should realize that we need law enforcement
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victims of criminal activity who have been certified by law enforcement as having aided in investigating a crime. “All this is about is 5,000 visas, ones that were already issued in the past few years but simply weren’t used,” Senator Amy Klobuchar , a Minnesota Democrat, told reporters today. “So it’s not like we did some radical thing that would cause Republicans to oppose it.” Shelters, Police Training The Senate’s Violence Against Women Act would authorize $660 million in annual funding through 2016 for domestic violence shelters and police training, less than the $682.5 million authorized in the previous reauthorization, which expired Sept. 30. First authorized as part of a broader violent- crime control bill, the Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. Apart from a new $5 million annual grant program for domestic violence prevention in American Indian tribal communities, the Senate bill holds steady or cuts all other grant programs. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison , a Texas Republican, is planning to offer an amendment that would address Republican concerns over the immigration language and tribal court jurisdiction. House Republicans said their bill will largely track the Senate Republican alternative. The Senate Republican proposal seeks to address constitutional concerns about language in the bill that aims to protect Native American women who are victims of domestic violence. The Senate bill is S. 1925. To contact the reporters on this story: Derek Wallbank in Washington at dwallbank@bloomberg.net ; Kathleen Hunter in Washington at khunter9@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jodi Schneider in Washington at Jschneider50@bloomberg.net
2012
ouse-republicans-to-propose-own-anti-domestic-violence-bill-1-
Virgin Media’s Usain Bolt Ad Campaign Gains Customers
By Jonathan Browning
2012-04-25T08:35:52Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/virgin-media-s-usain-bolt-ad-campaign-weighs-on-profit.html
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Virgin Media Inc. (VMED) said its advertising campaign with Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt helped the pay-TV operator gain the most customers in two years even as the associated surge in marketing costs weighed on earnings. Virgin Media added 21,200 net customers in the first quarter, the most since 2010, while marketing spending soared 49 percent to 52.6 million pounds ($84.9 million). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and other one- time charges in the three months ended March 31 were little changed from a year earlier at 376.5 million pounds. “Such a large increase won’t be repeated but we’re starting to ramp up marketing spend,” Chief Financial Officer Eamonn O’Hare said today in an interview. “We’re massively outspent” by competitor British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc. (BSY) Virgin Media, the U.K.’s second-largest pay-TV company, aired advertising with Bolt and Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group Ltd., to market its plan to double broadband speeds for existing customers. The Hook, England-based company is investing 110 million pounds as it seeks to upgrade the speeds and retain customers. Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) ’s 1.04 billion-pound acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide Plc (CW/) will lead to a “more formidable” operation, O’Hare said today. Virgin Media competes with the British operator in offering services to enterprises and may gain from the short-term disruption following the purchase, he said. “ Cable & Wireless had a bit of flailing-arm mentality at the end,” as it was squeezed by competitors, O’Hare said. “It may actually lead to more rational pricing.” To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Browning in London at jbrowning9@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net
2012
virgin-media-s-usain-bolt-ad-campaign-weighs-on-profi
Jim Koch Discusses Helping Small Businesses (Audio)
By
2012-04-25T13:25:09Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/jim-koch-discusses-helping-small-businesses-audio-.html
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Jim Koch, chairman and founder of the Boston Beer Co. Inc., and brewer of Samuel Adams, discusses his small business initiative called "Brewing the American Dream." Koch talks with Bloomberg's Pimm Fox and Courtney Donohoe on Bloomberg Radio's "Taking Stock." (Source: Bloomberg) Running time 08:16
2012
jim-koch-discusses-helping-small-businesses-audio-
Square Payment Pace Rises 25% in Niche Coveted by EBay
By Danielle Kucera
2012-04-25T16:00:00Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/square-payment-pace-rises-25-in-niche-coveted-by-ebay.html
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Square Inc., maker of credit-card readers for smartphones and tablets, has increased its payment volume 25 percent since March, when EBay Inc. (EBAY) ’s PayPal showed off a new mobile scanner and underscored growth in the field. Square, founded in 2009, is processing transactions at an annualized rate of $5 billion, up from $4 billion a month ago, as more consumers embrace mobile payments, Chief Operating Officer Keith Rabois said in an interview. The San Francisco company is making cash from sales before 5 p.m. on any day available in merchants’ accounts on the next business day, compared with as many as five days out for other processors. The market may top $170 billion in transactions by 2015, up from about $60 billion last year, according to Juniper Research Ltd. Square’s rivals include Intuit Inc. and Paypal, which has said its mobile-payment volume will jump 75 percent this year to $7 billion. To lure merchants, Square is speeding access to funds. “Sole proprietors and small businesses live and die by their cash flow ,” Rabois said in an interview. “They don’t have access to capital; banks don’t give them loans. They need to take the money they make today and use it to pay bills, buy things and pay employees the next day, so having access to funds is super-crucial for them.” Square, which is closely held, was created by Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter Inc. Investors in Square include Sequoia Capital and Khosla Ventures. Waiting for Money Before the appearance of services such as Square, merchants grew accustomed to waiting for credit-card payments to translate into cash. Normally, a payment is evaluated for risk exposure, transferred to the merchant’s bank and sent through a national network, or automated clearinghouse, before it brings cash to a seller’s account. That can take two to five days. Square declines to say how it reduces the process to a single day, citing competitive reasons. The company doesn’t release its financial results, and won’t say whether it is profitable. Square’s technology enables U.S. businesses to handle payments through Apple Inc.’s iPhone or iPad, or through devices running on Google Inc.’s Android software. The card reader plugs into the headphone jack of the mobile device. The reader, introduced in 2010, is available at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) , Target Corp. (TGT) and Apple outlets. Payments processors are pushing deeper into the mobile- payment market with smartphone readers that allow merchants to accept payments in any location. Last month, PayPal announced PayPal Here, a device that competes with Square’s card reader. It charges merchants 2.7 percent on transactions, less than Square’s 2.75 percent. Adding Staff Both PayPal and Square accept cards from MasterCard Inc. (MA) , Visa Inc. (V) , Discover Financial Services (DFS) and American Express Co. (AXP) About 200,000 merchants have signed up for PayPal Here, EBay said earlier this month. More than 1 million are using Square to accept credit cards, according to the company. Square, is aiming to double its staff to 500 by the end of the year. The company hired Ricardo Reyes as vice president of communications and brand marketing earlier this month. Reyes previously ran communications at Tesla Motors Inc. and Google’s (GOOG) YouTube. To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Kucera in San Francisco at dkucera6@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net
2012
square-payment-pace-rises-25-in-niche-coveted-by-ebay
Midmorning Positive EPS Surprises for U.S. Companies, April 25
By Wendy Soong
2012-04-25T14:37:33Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/midmorning-positive-eps-surprises-for-u-s-companies-april-25.html
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The following U.S. companies reported positive surprises or matched expectations today. This list ranks percent surprises of actual earnings to earnings estimates. Earnings estimates provided by Bloomberg. * - Company in Standard & Poor’s 500 Index To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Soong in New York at at csoong@Bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alex Tanzi at at atanzi@Bloomberg.net
2012
idmorning-positive-eps-surprises-for-u-s-companies-april-25
U.K. Pledges $97 Million for Carbon Capture in Emerging Markets
By Sally Bakewell
2012-04-25T15:47:42Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/u-k-pledges-97-million-for-carbon-capture-in-emerging-markets.html
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The U.K. allocated as much as 60 million pounds ($97 million) to encourage the development of carbon capture and storage technology in emerging markets . The funds will boost projects and develop new partnerships, U.K. Energy Minister Greg Barker said today in a statement. The money was drawn from International Climate Finance funding that’s already been announced, the e-mailed statement said. The International Energy Agency estimates that 3,400 plants using CCS technology are needed by 2050 to meet a goal of cutting carbon emissions in half. Efforts to introduce CCS are falling behind, along with nuclear power and biofuels, IEA Deputy Executive Director Richard Jones told energy ministers from 23 nations today in London. The U.K. funds contribute to the $200 million that should be allocated globally to speed up deployment of the technology, according to the Carbon Capture , Use and Storage Action Group, the government said in the statement. “We recognize that it is important to ensure CCS is deployed in developing as well as developed countries,” Barker said in the statement. The U.K. is promoting the technology itself with a 1 billion-pound funding contest begun in April. To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Sally Bakewell in London at Sbakewell1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net
2012
u-k-pledges-97-million-for-carbon-capture-in-emerging-markets
Chile Studying Elimination of Oil Import Duties, Tercera Reports
By Randall Woods
2012-04-25T12:55:36Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/chile-studying-elimination-of-oil-import-duties-tercera-reports.html
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Chile’s government is studying whether to eliminate import duties on oil in a bid to reduce fuel prices and improve earnings at state-owned refiner Empresa Nacional del Petroleo, La Tercera reported today , citing sources it didn’t identify. The government is studying whether to include the measure in a series of tax reforms that President Sebastian Pinera is scheduled to announce this month, the Santiago-based newspaper reported. To contact the reporter on this story: Randall Woods in Santiago at rwoods13@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net .
2012
chile-studying-elimination-of-oil-import-duties-tercera-reports
Stocks Advance, Treasuries Fall After Fed’s Statement
By Michael P. Regan
2012-04-25T16:44:31Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/stocks-advance-treasuries-fall-after-fed-s-statement.html
4
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4921da2088ec690004e5b2b88260caf305e7e666
U.S. stocks maintained gains, while Treasuries slid and the Dollar Index reversed a drop, as Federal Reserve policy makers said economic growth will gradually accelerate and refrained from new stimulus actions. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied 1 percent to 1,385.99 at 12:42 p.m. in New York . The yield on the 10-year Treasury note increased two basis points to 2.00 percent and the Dollar Index, a gauge of the currency against six major peers, was little changed after slipping 0.2 percent earlier. Oil fell, helping drag the S&P GSCI Index of commodities lower. U.S. equities maintained earlier gains triggered by higher- than-forecast earnings at companies including Apple Inc. and Boeing Co. Fed policy makers led by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke are holding off on additional steps to boost the economy amid signs the expansion is gaining strength. “The committee expects economic growth to remain moderate over coming quarters and then to pick up gradually,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement at the conclusion of a two-day meeting today in Washington. “Despite some signs of improvement, the housing sector remains depressed,” the panel said. The S&P 500 has rallied 10 percent in 2012 on better-than- estimated economic and corporate data. Profits have topped forecasts at about 80 percent of S&P 500 companies that reported results since April 10. To contact the reporter on this story: Michael P. Regan in New York at mregan12@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael P. Regan at mregan12@bloomberg.net
2012
stocks-advance-treasuries-fall-after-fed-s-statemen
Intel Fights $1.4 Billion EU Antitrust Fine at July Hearing
By Aoife White
2012-04-25T15:14:31Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/intel-to-fight-1-4-billion-eu-antitrust-fine-at-july-hearing.html
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0a4b0b1d6d2640fb6e42d681d815737d888425a8
Intel Corp., (INTC) the world’s largest maker of computer chips, will fight a 1.06 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) antitrust fine by European Union regulators at a July court hearing. Intel’s challenge at the EU’s General Court will be heard over four days from July 3 to July 6, according to a spokesperson for the Luxembourg-based tribunal who couldn’t be identified in line with official policy. Intel is seeking to overturn a 2009 decision from the European Commission that said Intel’s use of rebates violated EU antitrust rules. The Santa Clara, California based company believes the commission “was mistaken in its findings” and is availing of its right to appeal, spokesman Chuck Mulloy said in an e-mail. The antitrust fine was the biggest ever issued by the EU, more than double the 497 million-euro penalty against Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) in 2004. Advanced Micro Devices Inc., (AMD) which initiated the EU antitrust case, had struggled to overcome Intel’s hold on the market for processors that run PCs. Antoine Colombani, a spokesman for the EU regulator, declined to comment. Decisions by the EU court can be appealed a last time to the European Court of Justice , the 27-nation bloc’s highest court, which is also in Luxembourg. The case is T-286/09 Intel v Commission. To contact the reporter on this story: Aoife White in Brussels at awhite62@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net .
2012
intel-to-fight-1-4-billion-eu-antitrust-fine-at-july-hearing
Home Values in Most Large U.S. Cities Bottoming, Zillow Says
By Prashant Gopal
2012-04-25T04:01:00Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/home-values-in-most-large-u-s-cities-bottoming-zillow-says.html
4
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fac1edcd1a535784a08784d7f4d67297347e057b
Home values in more than half of major U.S. markets will probably reach a bottom by December as the five-year slide in prices comes to an end, according to a forecast by Zillow Inc. (Z) Nineteen of 30 large metropolitan areas have already reached a floor or will by late 2012, the Seattle-based property data provider said in a report today. Among the regions that are at the bottom, Phoenix and Miami are poised to have the largest price increases through March 2013, gaining 6.5 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively. Atlanta will have the steepest decline, falling 4.1 percent, the company projected. The U.S. housing market, bolstered by job growth , has shown some improvement. Home values nationwide climbed 0.5 percent in March from February, the biggest monthly increase since May 2006, according to the seasonally adjusted Zillow Home Value Index. Prices are 25 percent below the May 2007 peak and will be little changed through the end of the year, the company said. “I remain cautiously optimistic about the full year of 2012, and the first-quarter numbers are very encouraging,” Stan Humphries , Zillow’s chief economist, said in a telephone interview. “The bottom in home values is in sight.” Any recovery might be threatened if the pickup in employment falters, he said. Markets that have reached the low point include Los Angeles , Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington , Boston and Denver, according to the report. The New York metro area’s trough will come in the second quarter, followed by Baltimore and Las Vegas in the third quarter, Zillow projected. San Francisco, Seattle Chicago , San Francisco , Cleveland, Seattle, Atlanta and Charlotte in North Carolina are among the 11 areas that won’t reach a floor in 2012, the company said. Home prices in 20 U.S. cities dropped 3.5 percent in February, the smallest year-over-year decline since February 2011, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released yesterday. The Federal Housing Finance Agency yesterday said property values rose 0.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from January to February. Prices climbed 0.4 percent from February 2011, the first gain since the 12 months through July 2007. Zillow’s index measures the value of 100 million homes, whether or not they’ve sold, and calculates the median. Other gauges, such as the the Case-Shiller index, include only sales. To contact the reporter on this story: Prashant Gopal in New York at pgopal2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel at kwetzel@bloomberg.net
2012
ome-values-in-most-large-u-s-cities-bottoming-zillow-says
Copper Declines on China Demand Speculation: LME Preview
By John Deane
2012-04-25T06:23:02Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/copper-declines-on-china-demand-speculation-lme-preview.html
4
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a0cf280934b27935a8258ea023066d3374d0050d
Copper declined in London on speculation demand in China , the world’s biggest consumer of industrial metals, may slow as signaled by declining imports. Market News: Metals News: Metal Prices:
2012
copper-declines-on-china-demand-speculation-lme-preview
Peru Stocks: Alturas Minerals, Atacocha, Minera IRL
By Alex Emery
2012-04-25T21:17:58Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/peru-stocks-alturas-minerals-atacocha-minera-irl.html
4
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8732387fe105670ec536d922d980985a88e077cb
The following companies had unusual price changes in Peru trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of the close of trading. The Lima General Index (IGBVL) fell 0.4 percent to 22,845.02. The MSCI All Peru Capped Index rose 0.6 percent to 2,936.07. Alturas Minerals Corp. (ALT) , a Canadian gold and copper exploration company, fell 9.1 percent to 10 cents, a three-month low, after gold declined in New York , said Francisco Miranda , an analyst at Lima-based investment fund NC&F Inversiones SA. Minera IRL Ltd. (MIRL) , a U.K. gold producer with a mine in Peru, dropped 2 percent to $1. Cia. Minera Atacocha SA (ATACOBC1 PE), the Lima-based silver and zinc mining company, slid 3.1 percent to 62 centimos after silver slumped to a three-month low in New York. To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Emery in Lima at aemery1@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net
2012
peru-stocks-alturas-minerals-atacocha-minera-ir
Certificate of Deposits Reported: India Money Markets
By
2012-04-25T13:00:14Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/certificate-of-deposits-reported-india-money-markets.html
4
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96b234425f795e37ab62dd6d457c8928de911cf6
Following is a table showing certificate of deposits reported by Companies. The data has been provided by the Fixed Income Money Market & Derivatives Association of India .
2012
certificate-of-deposits-reported-india-money-markets
England’s Football League to Adopt Financial Fair Play Rules
By Bob Bensch
2012-04-25T13:57:44Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/england-s-football-league-to-adopt-financial-fair-play-rules.html
4
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f9468755c059b847726737718f3c49b07929372d
England’s Football League, which covers the three soccer divisions below the Premier League, will introduce regulations to put caps on spending after teams approved the measure. Beginning next season, clubs will be required to limit losses and owner investment under “Financial Fair Play,” the Football League said on its website . The rules are similar to those designed by European soccer’s governing body UEFA for clubs in continental competitions. The regulations will entail sanctions for non-compliance commencing from the 2014-15 campaign, for which Championship teams have approved a move to limit total losses to 6 million pounds ($9.7 million) and owner investment to 3 million pounds. Third- and fourth-tier clubs will operate a system based on curbing players’ wages as a percentage of sales. “It means for the first time, all 72 Football League clubs have agreed to take concerted actions towards controlling their financial destiny,” league chairman Greg Clarke said in a statement. “While we cannot promise that these rules will deliver results overnight, they will begin to lay the foundations for a league of financially self-sustaining football clubs.” The penalties for non-compliance will be either a transfer embargo or a fine. An offending Championship club will be fined if it is promoted to the Premier League, while one remaining in the lower league will be banned from signing new players until it shows compliance with the regulations. UEFA’s rules could lead to clubs being barred from Europe ’s elite Champions League from 2014 for failing to meet criteria on limiting losses. The regulations came in response to rising debt across the continent and the effect of cash infusions from wealthy benefactors in its competitions. Like England’s Premier League, the second division has been unable to keep costs under control, even with rising revenue. Operating losses in the Championship during the 2009-10 season increased for the sixth straight year to a record 133 million pounds, according to a report published last year by accountant Deloitte LLP. To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Bensch in London at bbensch@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net .
2012
england-s-football-league-to-adopt-financial-fair-play-rules
Chicago Gasoline Discount Narrows After Wood River Upset
By Dan Murtaugh
2012-04-25T18:34:34Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/chicago-gasoline-discount-narrows-after-wood-river-upset.html
4
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df8091464e3cd4e8a43da7d9bec2d4263185146f
Chicago gasoline rose against futures after an upset at the Wood River refinery in Illinois. Conventional, 87-octane gasoline in Chicago rose 3 cents against futures to a discount of 12 cents a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:02 p.m. The prompt-delivery price fell 4.41 cents to $2.9652. The refinery, which is owned by ConocoPhillips (COP) and Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE) , flared sulfur dioxide yesterday because of a wet gas compressor upset, according to a filing with state regulators. The 306,000-barrel-a-day plant is the third-largest in the Midwest, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Murtaugh in Houston at dmurtaugh@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net
2012
chicago-gasoline-discount-narrows-after-wood-river-upse
Norway’s Arctic Oil Bonanza Gets Reality Check in Pipe Limbo
By Alastair Reed
2012-04-26T15:57:57Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/norway-arctic-oil-bonanza-gets-reality-check-in-pipeline-limbo.html
4
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914e32defc70499a87a109cded2410c9
Norway is grappling with how to turn last year’s oil and gas finds in the Arctic Circle into real money as the world’s seventh-largest crude exporter seeks to sustain output after more than 40 years of extraction. Norway, whose oil finds in the North Sea starting in 1969 helped turn it into the world’s second-richest nation per capita after Luxembourg, can’t waste time in deciding on how to transport what it finds off its northern tip down south to the rest of Europe , Petroleum and Energy Ministry Ola Borten Moe said at a conference in the Arctic town of Hammerfest this week. The issue is “when we need more gas transportation capacity, not whether,” he said. Companies including Statoil ASA (STL) , Norway’s largest oil producer, and Total SA (FP) of France , Europe’s third-biggest, last year made commercial discoveries of oil and gas in the Barents Sea, the first in more than a decade. Norway is moving into the waters off its northern tip to boost output after oil production fell by half in the past decade amid dwindling North Sea output. The Nordic country also offered 72 new blocks in the Barents Sea for exploration as part of its 22nd licensing round. Statoil, which is 67 percent-owned by the Norwegian government, signaled it may boost the pace of production at its Snohvit gas field, the only producing deposit in the Barents Sea , to free up transport facilities and send more gas south. The company would reduce the commercial life of Snohvit by 20 years to 2030 should it push ahead with plans to double production capacity, spokesman Anders Ola Skauby said. ‘From Scratch’ “We’re now starting to build a production cluster here from scratch,” Oeystein Michelsen, Statoil’s executive vice president of development and production in Norway, said on April 24 in Hammerfest. “The question is should we aim to produce more so we can open up capacity for our new fields later.” Statoil’s Snohvit sends gas to the Melkoeya plant in Hammerfest where it’s turned into liquefied natural gas and put on tankers for shipment as far away as Japan . At issue is whether Norway should invest in pipelines that will connect to its network in the Norwegian and North Sea that is hooked up with continental Europe. Gassco AS, Norway’s gas network operator, in January proposed a pipeline to tap the Barents Sea deposits. An analysis of resources showed there may be a need for a 25 billion-krone ($4.4 billion) pipe to connect with existing facilities in the Norwegian Sea by 2020, the operator said. Russian Delays Norway’s neighbor to the east, Russia, is also grappling with the difficulties of Arctic oil development. In March, OAO Gazprom (GAZP) , Russia’s gas export monopoly, and its partners Total and Statoil postponed a final investment decision on the Barents Sea Shtokman gas project, adding to previous delays in part because of high costs. The partners held off on an agreement, saying they’re “confident the project can be improved further, both technically and economically.” Statoil’s discoveries at Skrugard last year and nearby Havis may hold 600 million barrels of oil equivalent. Total’s Norvarg discovery, announced in August, may hold 10 billion to 50 billion cubic meters of recoverable gas, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate . Helge Lund, chief executive officer at Statoil, had said the industry had been unable to “crack the code” of the Barents Sea after participating in more than 80 wells there since 1980. Norway directly gets about 25 percent of its economic output from oil and gas. ‘Difficult Decision’ Shares in Statoil, based in Stavanger, have gained 5.1 percent during the last two years, underperforming a 27 percent gain in the oil price on the New York Mercantile Exchange . Statoil closed 1.3 percent higher at 153.20 kroner Oslo, while crude for June delivery was up 0.5 percent at $104.65 a barrel as of 5:55 p.m. in the Norwegian capital, having yesterday climbed to the highest level in more than a week. “It’s a very difficult decision,” Michelsen said. “Do we go for LNG, which we can export to countries willing to pay the most, or do we build a pipeline to the south, which will create opportunities for other actors.” While output is waning in the North Sea, the area is also vying for investments after Statoil and partners last year discovered the Johan Sverdrup deposit, the country’s largest find since 1974. It may hold 3.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, which has helped rekindle interest in the North Sea. ‘Sea of Possibilities’ Norway produces about 100 billion cubic meters of gas a year and is the second-biggest supplier to Europe after Russia . Norway, for example, supplied an average of 100 million cubic meters a day to the U.K. from Jan. 10 to March 31, according to Gassco. LNG terminals provided 33 million cubic meters. Norway is likely to meet plenty of demand from willing buyers. World energy demand will grow 20 percent to 50 percent by 2035, meaning new discoveries must be made if only to replace existing reserves, according to Statoil, which operates about 80 percent of Norwegian production. The Barents Sea region could produce about 400,000 to 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2020, more than four times what Statoil gets from Snohvit today, Michelsen said. Success may also open a gateway even farther north. “The Barents Sea itself is a sea of possibilities,” he said. “But it’s also the gateway to other parts of the Arctic. What we do here and now gives us the competencies and experience we need when we start developing even farther north.” To contact the reporter on this story: Alastair Reed in Oslo at areed12@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net
2012
norway-arctic-oil-bonanza-gets-reality-check-in-pipeline-limbo
Coal No Longer King as Southern Speeds Switch to Gas-Fired Power
By Julie Johnsson
2012-04-25T21:13:06Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/coal-no-longer-king-as-southern-speeds-switch-to-gas-fired-power.html
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8192661b483f3cd0ea70bd922e1237371e2d738c
Southern Co. (NSC) , one of the largest U.S. consumers of coal, expects to generate 57 percent of its power from natural gas by 2020 if low prices and new environmental rules remain in effect. Southern, based in Atlanta, Georgia, burned more gas than coal during the first quarter as collapsing prices made gas the cheapest fossil fuel in the utility’s four-state region of the southeastern U.S., Thomas Fanning, Southern’s chairman and CEO, said during an interview today. “We think with this change in energy production, we will be the third-largest gas consumer in our industry,” Fanning said. The rapid switch away from coal by Southern and other large U.S. power companies is expected to dent gas inventories that ballooned as production expanded and a warm winter tempered demand. Gas futures in New York rose for the third time in four days after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) said prices may rebound to $4 per million British thermal units “relatively quickly.” Natural gas for May delivery increased 9.3 cents to $2.068 per million British thermal units at the close on the New York Mercantile Exchange . Southern, whose energy output matches that of the country of Australia , has halved its coal use to about 35 percent of energy sales since 2007, Fanning said. The company’s gas-fired generation rose threefold to 47 percent. Fanning and his team accelerated the transition to gas last year as prices began to tumble and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced stricter curbs on common coal-fired plant pollutants. Southern is monitoring stockpiles and renegotiating mine and rail contracts as its coal burn drops to 45 million tons this year from 56 million tons in 2011, Fanning said during a quarterly conference call. Southern fell 0.9 percent to $45.48 at the close in New York . To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Johnsson in Chicago at jjohnsson@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at susanwarren@bloomberg.net
2012
coal-no-longer-king-as-southern-speeds-switch-to-gas-fired-power
Astra International’s Quarterly Profit Rises; Warns of Slowdown
By Berni Moestafa and Widya Utami
2012-04-25T11:29:36Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/astra-international-s-quarterly-profit-rises-warns-of-slowdown.html
4
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54e06304ed04c0b5bd7c39a1c2bc6830fe901925
PT Astra International (ASII) , Indonesia ’s largest automotive retailer, said first-quarter net income rose 8 percent from a year earlier, while adding its vehicle and financing businesses will be impacted by tighter lending rules. Net income in the three months ending March 31 rose to 4.65 trillion rupiah ($500 million) from 4.3 trillion rupiah a year earlier, the Jakarta-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. That’s 24 percent of the full-year mean estimate of 19.5 trillion rupiah, according to 22 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. Sales at Astra, which sells Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) vehicles and Honda Motor Co. (7267) motorcycles, increased 20 percent from a year earlier to 46.4 trillion rupiah, it said. Sales growth at retailers such as Astra may slow as Bank Indonesia requires buyers to pay a down payment of at least 30 percent for vehicle loans starting June 15 . About 65 percent of Indonesian vehicles are purchased through financing, with an average down payment of 10 percent to 15 percent, Sudirman M.R., chairman of the Indonesian automotive industries association, said today. Sales this year may fall 20 percent short of the association’s earlier target of 1 million units, Sudirman said. “Astra Group has shown a strong performance throughout the first quarter of 2012 in which almost all main businesses posted growth,” President Director Prijono Sugiarto said in the statement. “We’re optimistic in the long-term even though in the short term, the automotive and financing divisions will be impacted by the new regulation.” Bank Indonesia kept on April 12 its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 5.75 percent for a second month, helping spur consumer spending in Southeast Asia ’s biggest economy. The nation’s domestic vehicle sales in the first quarter rose 11 percent from a year ago to 251,000 units, Astra said. The company’s vehicle sales rose 16 percent to 146,000 units over the same period, while motorcycle sales slid 3 percent to 1.9 million units, it said. Astra’s heavy equipment unit, PT United Tractors (UNTR) , said today net income rose 18 percent from a year earlier to 1.5 trillion rupiah. PT Astra Agro Lestari (AALI) , its palm oil unit, said yesterday net income fell 42 percent to 377.9 billion rupiah. Shares of Astra fell 0.7 percent to 70,900 rupiah at the close in Jakarta, widening this year’s loss to 4.2 percent compared with an 8.9 percent gain in the benchmark stock index . To contact the reporter on this story: Berni Moestafa in Jakarta at bmoestafa@bloomberg.net ; Widya Utami in Jakarta at wutami@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Greg Ahlstrand at gahlstrand@bloomberg.net
2012
astra-international-s-quarterly-profit-rises-warns-of-slowdown
Konecranes Gains Most in Three Months on Record Order Book
By Kasper Viita
2012-04-25T15:57:20Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/konecranes-gains-most-in-three-months-on-record-order-book-1-.html
4
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5a71ae68de907b11fd9b6d4267bd13a8c430b466
Konecranes Oyj (KCR1V) , the world’s biggest supplier of industrial cranes, climbed the most in almost three months, boosted by a record order book. Konecranes rose as much as 8.5 percent, the most since Feb. 2, adding 7.2 percent to 22.70 euros at the close of trading in Helsinki. It was the day’s biggest gain on the OMX Helsinki 25 index. The shares extended their rise to 56 percent so far this year, the third-biggest increase on the Stoxx Europe 600. (SXXP) Konecranes is benefiting from an increase in global container traffic, which boosts port handling volumes and demand for lifting equipment. The Hyvinkaa, Finland-based company’s order book is at “an all-time high,” Chief Executive Officer Pekka Lundmark said at a briefing in Helsinki today. The order book rose 12.4 percent to 1.08 billion euros ($1.4 billion) from a year ago. Sales grew by 22.2 percent to 474 million euros and operating profit rose by 29.4 percent to 24 million euros from a year earlier. These were “good achievements,” Lundmark said in a statement today. Lundmark will relocate to Singapore in August for a year as the company expands in emerging markets . The relative share of the Asia-Pacific region in Konecranes’ sales has doubled in 10 years to 20 percent. The company reiterated forecast of sales and operating profit rising in 2012. To contact the reporter on this story: Kasper Viita in Helsinki at kviita1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Wienberg at cwienberg@bloomberg.net
2012
konecranes-gains-most-in-three-months-on-record-order-book-1-
Emerging-Market Stocks Gain on Apple Earnings, Hungary
By Christine Harvey and Jason Webb
2012-04-25T21:28:14Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/emerging-stocks-gain-as-apple-suppliers-jump-hungary-nears-deal.html
4
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c596bef06894449a85e2bb5e7187f378
Most emerging-market stocks climbed, led by shares in Hungary and Mexico, as companies from Apple Inc. to Boeing Inc. (BA) had better-than-forecast earnings and the U.S. said it will keep interest rates low. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index was little changed at 1,011.54 by 4:30 p.m. in New York, with 403 stocks rising and 360 declining. Information technology and consumer companies advanced as Indian alcohol distributor United Spirits Ltd. rose the most since Jan. 25 and Inotera Memories Ltd. (3474) , a Taiwanese chipmaker, had its biggest jump in more than seven months. Hungary’s BUX Index (BUX) added the most since Nov. 11 after the nation got the go-ahead from the European Union’s executive arm to pursue an aid package. Mexico’s IPC Index climbed for the first time in three days and Brazil ’s Bovespa Index slipped. Quarterly earnings-per-share for the 174 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index that have reported since April 10 rose 11 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Federal Reserve policy makers today repeated the view that borrowing costs are likely to remain “exceptionally low,” between zero to 0.25 percent, through 2014 amid heightening inflation and middling economic growth. “The low interest rate motivates investors to invest in places where the returns are theoretically better,” Bernard Horn, president and portfolio manager of Polaris Capital Management, said by phone from Boston. “As a result, we’re seeing some leaking of liquidity into emerging markets.” The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) has climbed 10.4 percent this year, while the MSCI World Index (MXWO) added 8.7 percent. Companies on the gauge of developing nations are valued at 10.5 times estimated profits, compared with the MSCI World’s multiple of 12.5 times. Brazil, Russia The IShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index exchange-traded fund , the most-traded ETF to track developing-nation shares, rose 0.9 percent to $41.99 in New York. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index (VXEEM) , a gauge of options prices on the fund and expectations of price swings, tumbled 2.5 percent to 25.59. Brazil’s benchmark index fell 0.4 percent as Itau Unibanco Holding SA, the country’s biggest lender by market value, dropped 5.9 percent after the company reported it expects losses from bad loans to be between 6 billion reais and 6.4 billion reais in the second quarter. Common shares of Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A. advanced 2.8 percent. Mexico’s IPC rose 0.6 percent, with Cemex SAB gaining 6.1 percent. The Micex Index (INDEXCF) in Russia rose 0.3 percent, paring losses of 3.2 percent over the past two days, as OAO Aeroflot rose the most in almost two weeks. The Moscow-based company gained 2 percent after Kommersant, a Russian publication, reported Russia’s biggest airline is considering buying Belarus’s Belavia air carrier. Hungary Progress The Hungarian benchmark BUX stock index jumped 4.2 percent to lead gains in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index for a second day as OTP Bank Nyrt. (OTP) , the nation’s biggest lender, added 6.7 percent and Mol Nyrt. (MOL) , the country’s largest refiner, gained 5.8 percent. The European Commission said today it welcomes the possibility to start talks on a joint program with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to shore up the recession-threatened country’s finances, which are currently saddled with a junk credit rating. The forint advanced 1.8 percent to 289 per euro. The PX Index (PX) surged 1.4 percent in Prague while the FTSE/Africa All Shares Index (JALSH) jumped 0.6 percent in Johannesburg and Turkey’s ISE National 100 Index (XU100) added 0.4 percent. India Revision India ’s BSE India Sensitive Index, or Sensex (SENSEX) , fell 0.3 percent after Standard & Poor’s lowered India’s local-currency credit outlook to negative from stable. The country’s government faces the widest budget deficit among the biggest emerging economies and has set out record borrowing needs for 2012-2013. The gap in the year through March was 5.9 percent of gross domestic product, compared with a projection of 5.1 percent for 2013. “We are revising the outlook on the long-term ratings on India to negative to reflect at least a one-in-three likelihood of a downgrade if the external position continues to deteriorate, growth prospects diminish, or progress on fiscal reforms remains slow,” S&P said. Wipro Limited (WPRO) , India’s third-largest software exporter, dropped 7.2 percent, the most since May 2009, after its forecast for information-technology revenue lagged behind some analysts’ estimates. United Spirits, a manufacturer of alcohol and spirits, rose 8.9 percent after the Economic Times reported London-based alcoholic beverage marketer Diageo Plc. (DGE) was in talks to buy a minority stake in the company. United, based in Bangalore, India, said the report on the stake sale was factually incorrect. State-run gas utility company Gail India Limited fell 3.3 percent to the lowest since Aug. 2009 after the New Delhi-based company suspended cargo operations at a liquefied natural gas terminal in Dabhol, India. Benchmark Gains Suppliers of Apple Inc. (AAPL) , the world’s largest company by market value, gained after the company reported profit that almost doubled last quarter, reflecting demand for the iPhone in China . “The support from the better earnings is helping to lift all global risk asset valuations and give some comfort that growth might be doing reasonably well,” Nick Chamie , the head of emerging markets at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto, said by phone. In Taiwan, the Taiex Index (TWSE) advanced 0.9 percent led by gains in electronics companies. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (2317) , an assembler for Apple products, climbed 2.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) jumped 0.8 percent and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) of Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong was little changed as 32 companies gained and 13 declined. The extra yield investors demand to own emerging-market debt over U.S. Treasuries fell five basis points, or 0.05 percentage point, to 351, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMBI Global Index. To contact the reporters on this story: Christine Harvey in New York at charvey32@bloomberg.net ; Jason Webb in London at jwebb25@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net
2012
emerging-stocks-gain-as-apple-suppliers-jump-hungary-nears-dea
Arcandor Wins Liability Ruling Against Middelhoff, Former Board
By Karin Matussek
2012-04-25T13:14:36Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/arcandor-wins-liability-ruling-against-middelhoff-former-board.html
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Arcandor AG (ARO) ’s insolvency administrator won a German ruling holding former Chief Executive Officer Thomas Middelhoff and other former management board members liable for management failures. While dismissing most of the 175 million-euro ($231 million) suit, the Essen Regional Court said the former management board members should have stopped or unwound a sale and lease-back transaction concerning a Wiesbaden department store. Similar claims regarding four others transactions were rejected, as was the case against six former supervisory board members, court spokesman Stephan Hackert said. “The court didn’t rule on the amount of damages, which will have to be determined in a separate proceeding,” said Hackert. An expert hired by Arcandor’s administrator claims that damage to be between 30 million and 46 million euros, Hackert said. Arcandor, the former parent of German department-store chain Karstadt, filed for insolvency in June 2009. Middelhoff’s home and office were searched in 2010 as part of a criminal probe into the company’s demise. The agreements under which Karstadt sold the five stores and agreed to later lease them back were closed in 2001 and 2002. The sale prices were too low and the lease prices too high, Arcandor’s insolvency administrator Gerd Jauch claims. Middelhoff’s attorney Winfried Holtermueller described the liability ruling as wrong and said he will appeal. Stopping the transaction would have cost Arcandor 71 million euros and the court failed to take that into account. The case is LG Essen, 41 O 45/10. To contact the reporters on this story: Karin Matussek in Berlin at kmatussek@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons in London at aaarons@Bloomberg.net
2012
arcandor-wins-liability-ruling-against-middelhoff-former-board
Austrian Airlines Reaches Deal With Flight Crews on Cost Savings
By Alex Webb
2012-04-25T14:01:38Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/austrian-airlines-reaches-deal-with-flight-crews-on-cost-savings.html
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Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) ’s Austrian Airlines unit has reached an agreement with labor representatives over reducing flight crew costs, avoiding the need to transfer 2,100 staff to cheaper contracts at a lower- cost subsidiary. The agreement, if approved by the 600 pilots and 1,500 cabin crew, would preclude moving the employees to contracts at regional operator Tyrolean Airways, Austrian Airlines spokeswoman Patricia Strampfer said by telephone. Austrian had said last week that it would implement the “Plan B” of forcing staff to accept contracts at Tyrolean in order to deliver a 220 million-euro ($289 million) cost-savings program after talks failed to make progress. “We have to reduce our personnel costs, which due to a number of mechanisms increase by 10 percent each year,” Strampfer said. “Now this new collective agreement has been agreed, we don’t need the Plan B.” To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Webb in Munich via awebb25@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net
2012
austrian-airlines-reaches-deal-with-flight-crews-on-cost-savings
Siemens Cuts Full-Year Profit Forecast on Wind-Power Cost
By Alex Webb and Sheenagh Matthews
2012-04-25T10:58:26Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/siemens-cuts-full-year-profit-forecast-on-wind-power-char.html
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Siemens AG (SIE) cut its annual profit forecast for the third time in five years as delays in linking off-shore wind parks to Europe ’s power grid hinder Chief Executive Officer Peter Loescher ’s thrust into renewable energy. Siemens now expects net income from continuing operations of 5.2 billion euros ($6.9 billion) to 5.4 billion euros in the year through September, down from a 6 billion-euro target, the Munich-based company said. Ingo-Martin Schachel, an analyst at Commerzbank AG, said he expected a reduction to 5 billion euros. Loescher is suffering setbacks to his goal for Siemens, Europe’s biggest engineering company, to generate 40 billion euros in sales within two years from products related to the environment and energy saving. Siemens’s transmissions unit has booked 481 million euros in extra costs this year from delays in hooking up marine wind farms. Loescher said today that the “majority” of charges have already been booked. “There were fears that didn’t materialize,” Schachel said by telephone. “It was a positive surprise” that they didn’t cut the goal more. Schachel raised his recommendation on Siemens stock today to buy from hold. Siemens rose as much as 2.2 percent to 71.33 euros and was trading 1 percent higher as of 12:54 p.m. in Frankfurt , valuing the company at 64.5 billion euros. The increase compares with a 1.3 percent gain in Germany ’s benchmark DAX Index. Orders to Revive Orders, which fell 13 percent in three months through March, are expected to revive in the second fiscal half compared with the first, Loescher said today on a conference call. “This year we had quite a hard comparison basis, with some large orders being booked in the second quarter last year,” said Sjoerd Ummels, a Brussels-based analyst at ING Groep NV, who advises investors to hold Siemens stock. “It will be quite a different picture in the second half.” Second-quarter sales rose 9 percent to 19.3 billion euros, beating an analyst estimate of 18.8 billion euros, according to a Bloomberg survey. Profit from continuing operations fell 67 percent to 1.05 billion euros. “As expected, the second quarter was not easy,” Loescher said. For the full year “we anticipate that most of our businesses, including the short-cycle businesses of the industry sector, will deliver strong earnings performances.” Operating profit gained 5.1 percent at Siemens’s industry division and 9.8 percent at the infrastructure and cities unit, Siemens said. Earnings at the health-care and energy businesses fell because of charges. ‘Demanding’ Wind Projects The German company’s off-shore wind projects in the North Sea are “extremely demanding,” Loescher said today. Compared with coastal U.K. platforms, the projects are five times as far from the mainland, have twice the capacity and weigh five times as much, he said. Regulatory authorities haven’t reached a final decision on whether facilities of this size should be governed by regulations for ships or for oil platforms, he said. Siemens appointed Karlheinz Springer to replace Udo Niehage as head of the power-transmission unit as it seeks to stem losses from the business. Springer, who was formerly head of power transmissions solutions, take the post on May 1. The wind power industry is struggling with low margins and investment risks that are being exacerbated by cuts in European subsidies, Felix Ferlemann, the head of Siemens’s wind-power division, said at a conference in Copenhagen on April 16. ABB Earnings ABB (ABBN) , the world’s largest maker of power-distribution equipment, expects no delays or one-time charges at its off- shore wind park projects, Financial Times Deutschland said yesterday, citing an interview with Peter Terwiesch, head of the Zurich-based company’s German operations. ABB’s first-quarter earnings before interest and taxes held steady at $1.05 billion, the manufacturer said today. Siemens’s power-transmission unit reported a loss of 169 million euros in the second quarter. Siemens also incurred a 640 million-euro equity loss at its Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture. To contact the reporters on this story: Sheenagh Matthews in Frankfurt at smatthews6@bloomberg.net ; Alex Webb in Frankfurt at awebb25@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Noel at anoel@bloomberg.net
2012
siemens-cuts-full-year-profit-forecast-on-wind-power-char
Japan’s ‘Great Tohoku’ Quakes Have Recurred, Data Show
By Jonathan Tirone
2012-04-25T10:11:35Z
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/japan-s-great-tohoku-quakes-have-recurred-data-show.html
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The “Great Tohoku Earthquake” that shook Japan , unleashed a tsunami and killed 20,000 people last year wasn’t as unusual as geologists first supposed, according to new geological data collected near the fault lines . Earthquakes like the March 11, 2011, temblor have probably occurred at least three other times in history, according to German, Swiss and Japanese scientists who drilled into sediment 7,000 meters (22,967 feet) beneath the sea. The discovery will help planners measure the risk of such events recurring, said Michael Strasser, a Swiss scientist who led a research expedition to the quake zone this month. “We were able to get a record to suggest the potential occurrence of three other large-scale Tohoku-type events,” Strasser told reporters today in Vienna. “It’s the first time the cores have shown this.” Germany dispatched the “Research Vessel Sonne,” a 100- meter ship, in March to aid Japanese researchers collecting data about the earthquake. Scientists found layers of sediment and fossils in undersea trenches deposited by earthquake-triggered landslides. Researchers are trying to carbon-date the material. “They must go back beyond 1,000 years,” said Kiyoshi Suyehiro, president of Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, an international research group. “It is very important to know the recurrence rate. Unfortunately, seismologists including myself weren’t expecting this to happen.” Understanding Risks While Japanese geologists know from historical records that a similar earthquake struck the region between 500 and 1,000 years ago, there’s no record or data beyond that time, Kiyoshi said. Policy makers must understand natural-disaster risk before investing in infrastructure built to last for many generations, according to the scientists. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) ’s Fukushima Dai-Ich nuclear-power plant was overwhelmed by the tsunami triggered by the earthquake and three of the facility’s four reactors melted down. Minutes of a June 2009 Trade Ministry meeting on safety at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant show Tokyo Electric and the regulator ignored scientific findings that emerged after the power station was built. “We didn’t think the damage would be that significant,” Isao Nishimura, a manager at the department at the utility that studies earthquake resistance, said when asked at the meeting why its safety review omitted studies showing the area had a history of major earthquakes and tsunamis. To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Tirone in Vienna at jtirone@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Zoe Schneeweiss at zschneeweiss@bloomberg.net
2012
japan-s-great-tohoku-quakes-have-recurred-data-show