| Wall St Week Ahead: After stocks' first-quarter run, focus turns to data Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - After the best first quarter in 14 years, the S&P 500 may be poised for a pullback as investors look to a slew of economic data for insight on the strength of the domestic economy. The Dow and the S&P 500 closed out their best first quarter since 1998 and the Nasdaq had its best first-quarter performance since 1991, largely on the back of improving domestic economic data. ...
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| Exclusive: Brazil prosecutor plans wider offshore oil probe Posted:  RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A Brazilian federal prosecutor plans to expand his investigation of a November offshore oil spill in a field run by Chevron to areas operated by other companies in the country's main oil region. The probe will explore geological conditions and operational practices in the Campos Basin in an attempt to prevent future accidents, said Eduardo Santos de Oliveira, federal prosecutor for Campos, Brazil, the city for which the offshore oil province is named. ...
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| Exclusive: Soros' son strikes out on his own Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The upheaval within billionaire investor George Soros' firm continues as one of his sons is separating some of his personal fortune to manage it himself. Jonathan Soros, who stepped down in September from day-to-day management of Soros Fund Management LLC, plans to hire at least one of his father's key employees, say two people familiar with the situation. The two sources said Soros' son intends to set up his own family office - something the Soros Fund converted to last year - with the help of David Kulsar, currently chief risk officer for the Soros Fund. ...
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| Analysis: Moody's bank review may mark new era of lower ratings Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The largest U.S. banks including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup are facing what could be a historic shift to lower credit ratings which could increase their cost of funding and reduce competitiveness in their capital markets businesses. Moody's Investors Service is reviewing 15 of the world's largest banks for possible credit ratings downgrades in mid-May, and broad cuts could send banks on average to their lowest historical levels. In the U.S. ...
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| Groupon revises 4th quarter results, shares fall Posted:  (Reuters) - Groupon Inc unnerved investors again after it increased its previously reported fourth-quarter net loss and cut its revenue, blaming higher-than-anticipated refunds on deals. The company, which has been criticized for its unorthodox financial reporting in the run-up to a highly publicized 2011 IPO, said in its annual report filed on Friday that it has a "material weakness" in internal controls over its financial statement. Shares in the company, the leader in the fast-growing Internet daily-deals space populated by rivals such as Amazon. ...
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| Goldman, Landesbank argue CDOs in US appeals court Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court was asked on Friday to decide whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc and TCW Asset Management Co should have foreseen the housing market implosion that caused a $37 million loss for German state-owned Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg. A three-judge panel on Friday did not make an immediate ruling on a trial judge's decision last September to dismiss the German bank's lawsuit claiming fraud against Goldman and TCW, an investment advisor. ...
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| Security breach hits U.S. card processors, banks Posted:  (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a major cyber intrusion at an Atlanta-based payment processor that could expose millions of MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover cardholders to fraudulent charges. Processor Global Payments Inc said on Friday it had found "unauthorized access" into its system early in March and notified law enforcement and financial institutions. ...
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| Honda committed to Thailand as flood-hit plant restarts Posted:  AYUTTHAYA, Thailand, March 31 - Honda Motor Co , Japan's third-largest car maker, officially resumed production on Saturday at its plant in Ayutthaya in Thailand, which was forced to close for almost six months after severe flooding last October. Pitak Pruittisarikorn, executive vice-president for Honda Automobile (Thailand), told a news conference the plant should produce 150,000 vehicles in the remaining nine months of 2012 and the target was for output of 240,000 per year. "Thailand remains the most important production base in Asia and Oceania. ...
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| Forex lawsuit against BNY Mellon partly dismissed Posted:  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed five out of nine claims against Bank of New York Mellon over its foreign exchange pricing practices, and shipped off four remaining claims to be tried in different state courts, according to a ruling. U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco gave the plaintiffs 21 days to file an amended lawsuit that attempts to address the deficiencies he found in their complaint. ...
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| Myanmar launches new currency system Monday: bank source Posted:  YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar will hold the first auction on Monday under a new currency regime that aims to unify its multiple exchange rates, a senior banker said, outlining the country's boldest economic reform yet after years of isolation. The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) has published little so far about the new system. It has announced the new managed float would take effect from April 1, which is a Sunday, when commercial banks are closed. "April 2 will be the first day of the auction," the banker told Reuters, declining to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. ...
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| German wage deal agreed, averts public-sector strike Posted:  POTSDAM, Germany (Reuters) - Two million German public-sector workers will get a pay rise of 6.3 percent over a 24-month period, according to the government official leading the talks, ending a labor dispute that disrupted services across Germany in recent weeks. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, who had led the negotiations with the Verdi union on behalf of the government, announced the breakthrough shortly before 7 a.m. (1 a.m. EDT) on Saturday after all-night negotiations in Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin. ...
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| Yemen LNG says pipe blast to cut exports by four cargoes Posted: DUBAI (Reuters) - The closure of the Yemen LNG terminal, after its feed pipeline was blown up on Friday night, is expected to cut its super-cooled gas exports by about four cargoes, the operator said in a statement. Gunemn blew up the 38 inch gas pipeline that links Yemen's block 18 to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Balhaf on the Gulf of Aden in retaliation for a U.S. drone attack that killed at least five suspected al Qaeda militants hours earlier. "Yemen LNG confirms the sabotage," Yemen LNG, which is run by France's Total , said in a statement late on Friday. ... |
| Appeals board upholds Arctic air permit for Shell Posted:  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A federal appeals panel has upheld an important air-quality permit issued to Shell for planned oil exploration offshore in the Arctic Ocean, bringing the company closer to its goal of drilling wells this summer. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Appeals Board on Friday rejected challenges made by several environmental and Alaska native groups to a permit covering the drill ship and associated vessels Shell plans to mobilize in the Beaufort Sea off northern Alaska. ...
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| Exclusive: Soros' son strikes out on his own Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The upheaval within billionaire investor George Soros' firm continues as one of his sons is separating some of his personal fortune to manage it himself. Jonathan Soros, who stepped down in September from day-to-day management of Soros Fund Management LLC, plans to hire at least one of his father's key employees, say two people familiar with the situation. The two sources said Soros' son intends to set up his own family office - something the Soros Fund converted to last year - with the help of David Kulsar, currently chief risk officer for the Soros Fund. ...
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| Forex lawsuit against BNY Mellon partly dismissed Posted: SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday partially dismissed a lawsuit against Bank of New York Mellon over its foreign exchange pricing practices, according to a ruling. U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco gave the plaintiffs 21 days to file an amended lawsuit. He also granted BNY Mellon's request to move several claims brought by pension funds to other courts. Legal battles have raged for several years over claims that custodial banks, mainly BNY Mellon and State Street, routinely overcharged pension funds and other institutional clients on currency transactions. ... |
| Lawsuit says Simply Orange juice not so simple Posted:  (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co's Simply Orange juice brand isn't simply orange juice, according to a lawsuit filed against the beverage company on Friday. Instead, the lawsuit in an Illinois federal court claims that the product undergoes extensive processing, and is dependent upon added aroma and flavoring in a way not found in nature. The plaintiff, a consumer, accuses Coca-Cola of fraud, and seeks class action status. The consumer, Randall Davis, had bought the product - whose label says "100% Pure Squeezed Orange Juice" - at stores "for personal, family, or household purposes," the lawsuit said. ...
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| Security breach hits U.S. card processors, banks Posted: (Reuters) - Four giant card-payment processors and large U.S. banks that issue debit and credit cards were hit by a data-security breach after third-party services provider Global Payments Inc discovered its systems were compromised by unauthorized access. It was not immediately clear how many cardholders became victims of the breach, which affected MasterCard Inc, Visa Inc, American Express Co and Discover Financial Services, as well as banks and other franchises that issue cards bearing their logos. U.S. ... |
| Groupon slashes fourth quarter quarter results, shares dive Posted: (Reuters) - Groupon Inc pared back revenue and net income for the fourth quarter, blaming higher refunds on deals for the sharp downward revision in its previously reported numbers. Groupon also said in its annual report, filed on Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that it has a "material weakness" in internal controls over its financial statement. The company's shares plunged more than 10 percent in afterhours trading. ... |
| Alaska, Exxon deal opens way for LNG exports Posted:  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaska has reached a settlement with Exxon Mobil Corp and its partners to develop a huge, long-fallow oil and gas field, possibly paving the way for a $26 billion pipeline and an export plant for liquefied natural gas. The settlement, which resolves a long-running lease dispute over the Point Thomson field about 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay, could allow for exports of liquefied natural gas via tanker to Asia and may boost Alaskan oil production after decades of decline. ...
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| Merkel says Greece has chance to overcome crisis: paper Posted:  PRAGUE (Reuters) - Greece has gone a long way on the path of reforms and now stands a chance to overcome its debt crisis but still faces many tough measures, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a newspaper interview to be published on Saturday. Merkel told Czech daily Lidove Noviny she wants Greece to stay in the euro zone, and that she was optimistic other euro zone countries would meet their pledges to cut budget deficits. "It (debt restructuring) has been done in a reasonable way and Greece now has a chance. ...
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| BP: U.S. hiding evidence on size of Gulf oil spill Posted:  (Reuters) - BP Plc has accused the U.S. government of withholding evidence that may show the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was smaller than federal officials claimed, a key issue in determining the oil company's liability. A reduction in the size of the spill would lower the maximum civil fine BP could be forced to pay under the U.S. Clean Water Act, a sum now estimated as high as $17.6 billion. The government is one of many plaintiffs suing BP over the April 20, 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and triggered the largest ...
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| Ford CEO pay rose 11 percent to $29.5 million in 2011 Posted:  DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co boosted Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally's total compensation by 11 percent to nearly $30 million last year, despite the automaker falling short of its targets on market share, quality and costs. Mulally, 66, got $2 million in salary and $5.5 million in cash bonuses. Including stock options and equity awards, his compensation was $29.5 million, up from $26.5 million in 2010. The bulk of Mulally's pay increase was in the form of stock awards. In 2011, when the No. 2 U.S. ...
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| Yahoo layoffs to begin next week: report Posted:  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc will begin layoffs of thousands of employees next week and will announce a plan to restructure the company the week after that, according to a media report. Yahoo declined to comment. The layoffs, which will not take place all at once, will mostly affect Yahoo's product, research and marketing groups, according to the report in the blog AllThingsD, which cited anonymous sources. Under a plan still being finalized, Yahoo would reorganize its business to create a global media division, while product development would move to decentralized units. ...
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| Sino-Forest granted protection to start sale process Posted:  (Reuters) - A Canadian court on Friday granted Sino-Forest Corp protection from its creditors, and the embattled Chinese forestry company started looking for a buyer under the terms of an agreement with some of its noteholders. The agreement allows the Toronto-listed company to pursue its sale to a third party, or if no buyer emerges, a restructuring that would let noteholders acquire nearly all of its assets. ...
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| Ford to invest $1.3 billion in northern Mexico plant Posted:  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. carmaker Ford Motor Co will invest $1.3 billion in its stamping and assembly plant in the northern Mexican city of Hermosillo, creating 1,000 jobs, a top company executive said on Friday. Ford surpassed General Motors , to become Mexico's No. 1 car exporter last year, exporting nearly 450,000 vehicles, up 17 percent from 2010 levels. Mexico overall exported a record 2.14 million cars in 2011, a 15.3 percent jump from a year earlier. ...
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| Health impact studies taking hold, with challenges Posted: While New York regulators have spent four years mulling the environmental impacts of shale gas development, the potential human health impacts have been given short shrift, according to health advocates. |
| Stricken cruise ship repaired, heading to Malaysia Posted:  A cruise ship with 1,000 people on board that had drifted for 24 hours after being disabled by a fire was headed toward Malaysia following repairs, the Philippine coast guard said Saturday.
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| Congress gets rough treatment at Supreme Court Posted:  The Supreme Court left little doubt during last week's marathon arguments over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul that it has scant faith in Congress' ability to get anything done.
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| Cruise ship drifting after fire off Philippines Posted: A fire in the engine room crippled a luxury cruise liner with 1,000 people aboard, leaving it adrift far from shore in waters south of the Philippines, officials said Saturday. |
| Obama calls on Congress to pass 'Buffett Rule' tax Posted:  President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to increase taxes on millionaires, reviving a proposal he first pitched last September that aims to draw sharp election-year lines between the president and the Republican opposition.
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| German public workers: 6.3 pct raise over 2 years Posted:  Some 2 million German public-sector employees are to get a pay rise totaling 6.3 percent over two years, employers and a union said Saturday after marathon talks that followed disruptive walkouts in recent weeks.
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| EU eyes small tax on share purchases Posted:  Tentative support from Sweden for a small levy on share purchases may open the door for a limited tax on financial transactions in the European Union.
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| Sweden backs limited tax on share purchases Posted:  Tentative support from Sweden for a small levy on share purchases may open the door for a limited tax on financial transactions in the European Union.
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| China rejects Obama's Iran oil import sanctions Posted:  China rejected President Barack Obama's decision to move forward with plans for sanctions on countries buying oil from Iran, saying Saturday that Washington had no right to unilaterally punish other nations.
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| In Canada, the penny's about to drop into history Posted:  They clutter your dresser and cost too much to make. They're a nuisance and have outlived their purpose.
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