| Corporate earnings, Spain debt sale boost Wall Street Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose sharply on Tuesday as investors welcomed a slew of quarterly corporate results and as a decline in borrowing costs for Spain eased concerns about Europe's debt crisis. Profits at Coca-Cola Co , Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Johnson & Johnson all beat analysts' estimates and lifted hopes for the rest of the earnings season. Of the 39 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings, 74.4 percent beat estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data. ...
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| World economy fragile, faces "uneasy calm:" IMF Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global growth is slowly improving as the U.S. recovery gains traction and dangers from Europe recede, but risks remain elevated and the situation is very fragile, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. Another flare-up of the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis or sharp escalation in oil prices on geopolitical uncertainty could disrupt the world economy finding its feet now tensions in the euro zone have subsided, the IMF said. "An uneasy calm remains. ...
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| Goldman beats Street but dials back risk Posted:  (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc surprised Wall Street on Tuesday, reporting better-than-expected profit and dialing back risk-taking in ways that are uncharacteristic for the traditionally aggressive investment bank. In fixed income, currency and commodities trading (FICC) -- where Goldman has been known for lucrative, if risky, bets -- the bank highlighted interest-rate products as a bright spot and said other major businesses reported lower revenue. ...
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| Factory output and housing starts fall in March Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American manufacturing output slipped in March and groundbreaking on homes fell, casting a shadow over the economic outlook. The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday factory production slipped 0.2 percent last month, dragging on overall industrial output which was unchanged from a month earlier. "It looks pretty bad on the face of it," said Tom Porcelli, an economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York. ...
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| March housing starts fall, new permits surge Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Groundbreaking on homes fell unexpectedly in March but permits for future construction rose to their highest level in 3-1/2 years, giving a mixed message for one of the economy's weaker sectors. Housing starts slipped 5.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000 units, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. The long-moribund housing sector has showed signs of an incipient recovery in recent months, and homebuilding could add to economic growth this year for the first time since 2005. ...
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| Coke beats Street, sees signs U.S. economy improving Posted:  (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co posted higher-than-expected quarterly results after the world's largest soft drink maker sold more beverages, even in developed markets with economic challenges, fueling hopes that conditions are improving. The maker of Sprite, Minute Maid orange juice and vitaminwater, which does business in more than 200 countries, saw volume rise 3 percent in Germany and Japan, 6 percent in Spain and 1 percent in the United States, in a sign that consumers may be opening their wallets again after economic uncertainty curbed demand. ...
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| Johnson & Johnson quarterly profit beats forecast, but sales lag Posted:  (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings but global company revenue fell slightly on anemic sales of medical devices and consumer medicines -- businesses that have been hit by costly recalls in the past two years. The diversified healthcare company said it earned $3.91 billion, or $1.41 per share, in the first quarter. That compared with $3.48 billion, or $1.25 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding special items, J&J earned $1.37 per share, topping the average analyst forecast of $1.35 per share, compiled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. ...
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| Exclusive: Bank of America puts non-U.S. wealth unit up for sale Posted:  ZURICH/LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of America Merrill Lynch has put its wealth management units outside the United States up for sale, three sources familiar with the situation said, hoping to fetch up to $3 billion for the sub-scale business. Bank of America is the world's largest wealth manager, but its non-U.S. arm - which two of the sources said manages some $90 billion of assets for rich clients - is not large enough to generate enough money for the bank. Bank of America declined to comment.
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| Incensed Spain threatens Argentina after YPF seizure Posted:  MADRID (Reuters) - An incensed Spain threatened swift economic retaliation against Argentina on Tuesday after it announced plans to seize YPF, the South American nation's biggest oil company, in a move which pushed down shares in Spanish energy giant Repsol, the controlling shareholder. Madrid called in the Argentine ambassador in a rapidly escalating row over the nationalization order by Argentina's populist and increasingly assertive president, Cristina Fernandez, a move which delighted many of her compatriots but alarmed some foreign governments and investors. ...
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| Budget cuts favored for reducing deficit: poll Posted:  (Reuters) - Cutting government programs is favored as the way to reduce the budget deficit by more than twice as many Americans as those who favor raising taxes, said a Reuters/Ipsos poll. In a result that has held fairly steady over the past five months, the poll, released on Monday, found that 22 percent of those surveyed said that spending cuts alone were the solution, while 36 percent favored a mix of more cuts than tax increases. ...
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| AOL CEO Armstrong's compensation dropped in 2011 Posted: (Reuters) - AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong's compensation declined to $3.2 million in 2011 from some $15.3 million in the prior year, according to a regulatory filing. The 41-year-old former Google executive did not receive any stock rewards or options in 2011 and received a base salary of $1 million, which remained unchanged from 2010. The proxy filing also urged shareholders not to vote for the activist hedge fund Starboard Value's slate of board nominees. Starboard, which spun off from Ramius LLC in March 2011, launched a campaign late last year to shake up AOL. The hedge fund holds a 5. ... |
| Argentina moves to seize control of Repsol's YPF Posted:  BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez unveiled plans on Monday to seize control of leading energy company YPF, drawing swift warnings from key trade partners and risking the country's further economic isolation. YPF , controlled by Spain's Repsol , has been under intense pressure from Fernandez's center-left government to boost production, and its share price has plunged due to months of speculation about a state takeover. Until recently, YPF had a harmonious relationship with Fernandez, whose increasingly interventionist and off-beat policies infuriate critics. ...
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| Japan vows $60 billion to boost IMF firepower Posted:  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Tuesday it will provide $60 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund, becoming the first non-European nation to commit money to boost the fund's financial firepower to contain the euro zone debt crisis. Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Japan hoped Tokyo's contribution, which will be formally announced at a Group of 20 financial leaders' meeting later this week, will encourage other countries to follow suit. ...
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| Industrial output flat in March as manufacturing falls Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Industrial output was flat for a second straight month in March, held back by a drop in manufacturing, according to a Federal Reserve report on Tuesday that suggested a cooling in factory activity. Economists polled by Reuters had expected industrial production to increase 0.3 percent last month. For the first quarter as a whole, industrial production rose at an annual rate of 5.4 percent, with manufacturing advancing at a 10.4 percent pace - the largest gain since the second quarter of 2010. ...
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| Bank of America in deal to sell another New York building Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp is under contract to sell a downtown Manhattan office building and lease it back, as the big bank continues to shed properties from its balance sheet. Bank of America has agreed to sell the 31-story building at 222 Broadway to Beacon Capital Partners and L&L Holding Co for $230 million, or about $320 per square foot, a source familiar with the transaction said on Tuesday. Bank of America spokeswoman Jennifer Darwin confirmed the agreement for 222 Broadway. A representative from Beacon could not be reached for an immediate comment. ...
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| March housing starts fall, new permits surge Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Groundbreaking on homes fell unexpectedly in March, but permits for future construction rose to their highest level in 3 1/2 years, Commerce Department data showed on Tuesday. Housing starts slipped 5.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000 units, the government said. February's starts were revised down to a 694,000-unit pace from a previously reported 698,000 unit rate. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts little changed at a 705,000-unit rate. ...
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| IBM may raise full-year software demand forecast Posted:  (Reuters) - IBM Corp reports earnings after the bell on Tuesday and investors are hoping strong software demand will make for a repeat of last year's first-quarter performance, when the company raised its full year forecast. After Oracle Corp's strong first-quarter software sales and outsourcing firm Accenture Plc's positive outlook on IT spending, there is a chance that IBM - which competes with both companies - may raise its full year outlook. Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a recent note that there was a "fair likelihood" IBM would "modestly raise" its outlook. ...
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| UK may lose 6 percent of summer gas due to North Sea leak Posted: LONDON (Reuters) - Britain could be facing as much as a 6 percent cut to gas supplies this summer due to the closure of three large fields following a leak found beneath Total's Elgin platform, National Grid said on Tuesday. Total's Elgin and Franklin fields and Shell's neighboring Shearwater site were shut down in late March following the evacuation of the Elgin platform after workers detected a gas leak. "The impact of the Elgin gas leak is uncertain but may result in displacement of up to 2.3 bcm (billion cubic meters)," the grid operator said in its summer 2012 outlook report. ... |
| World growth improves slightly but still very fragile: IMF Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global growth is slowly improving as recovery in the United States gains traction and dangers from Europe recede, but risks remain elevated and the gains are very fragile, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. Another flare-up of the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis or sharp escalation in oil prices on geopolitical uncertainty could easily undermine confidence and disrupt the improving growth path for world economy, the IMF said. "With the passing of the crisis and some good news about thus. economy, some optimism has returned. ... |
| China FDI signals overseas uptick, policy seen steady Posted:  BEIJING (Reuters) - China bagged foreign direct investment at a record-setting pace in the first three months of 2012, but an easing in its monthly momentum and a difficult trade outlook will keep monetary policy poised to compensate for any dip in capital inflows. The first quarter inflow of $29.8 billion leaves China on course to surpass 2011's $116 billion record, even though inflows compared with a year earlier have fallen for five successive months, Commerce Ministry data showed on Tuesday. A 53 percent leap in inflows to $11. ...
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| Fed tries to steer clear of controversial bond buys Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve is independent but it does not exist in a vacuum, as waning appetite at the central bank for contentious bond purchases suggests. Minutes from the Fed's March meeting released this month showed support thinning for further bond purchases. Officials are unlikely to develop any more appetite for them by their meeting next week, despite disappointing March jobs figures. Policymakers have been heartened by patches of better economic data that raised hopes for solid growth this year, which helps explain their reticence toward further monetary ...
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| India slashes rates; sees little room for more Posted: MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's first interest rate cut in three years may be its last for a while. The central bank cut rates on Tuesday by an unexpectedly sharp 50 basis points to boost the sagging economy, but warned there was limited scope for more cuts, with inflation likely to remain elevated and growth on track to pick up, albeit modestly. The Reserve Bank of India, which was tightening monetary policy long after central banks elsewhere began easing, lowered its policy repo rate to 8.00 percent, compared with expectations for a 25 basis point cut in a Reuters poll. ... |
| Fed parses job numbers for clues on economy Posted:  NEW YORK/LOGAN, Utah (Reuters) - Two top Federal Reserve officials pointed on Monday to last month's surprisingly weak jobs report as all the more reason to take a wait-and-see approach to a U.S. economy that, in general, is improving. Although the unemployment rate slipped to a still high 8.2 percent in March, jobs growth slowed sharply, raising fears the labor market could start to sputter as it did a year ago. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by only 120,000 last month, roughly half the gains in each of the previous two months. ...
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| Indian shares rally after RBI cuts rates Posted: MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares provisionally rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday after the central bank cut the repo rates by a bigger-than-expected 50 basis points in a bid to spur growth in the economy. Rate-sensitive stocks were amongst the gainers, though investors expressed caution about the scope of future easing after the Reserve Bank of India also expressed concerns about inflation. State Bank of India rose 1.8 percent and Larsen & Toubro rose 2.5 percent The 30-share BSE index provisionally ended up 1.3 percent at 17,370.33, while the 50-share NSE index rose 1.2 percent to 5,289.70. ... |
| SEC looks to economists for legal cover Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is taking extra steps to bulletproof its rulemaking, after U.S. appeals court judges, Republican lawmakers and government watchdogs have criticized how the agency measures the economic impact of its rules. The SEC has internally circulated a memo guiding staff to rely more heavily on agency economists and to provide stronger economic justifications as they craft rules, according to a copy of the March 16 memo reviewed by Reuters. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro is scheduled to appear on Tuesday before a U.S. ...
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| Strong retail sales ease growth worries Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans shrugged off high gasoline prices in March and spent more strongly than expected, suggesting economic growth in the first quarter was probably not as weak as many had feared. Retail sales increased 0.8 percent, the Commerce Department said on Monday, after rising 1.0 percent in February. Last month's gains handily beat economists' expectations for only a 0.3 percent rise and indicated sturdy consumer spending in the first three months of 2012. Consumer spending accounts for more than two third of U.S. economic activity. ...
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| World Bank picks health expert Kim as president Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank on Monday chose Korean-born American health expert Jim Yong Kim as its new president, maintaining Washington's grip on the job and leaving developing countries frustrated with the selection process. Kim, a physician and anthropologist who makes for a somewhat unorthodox choice to head the global anti-poverty lender, won the job over Nigeria's widely respected finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, with the support of Washington's allies in Western Europe, Japan and Canada - as well as some emerging economies. ...
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| Asian operators give Vegas casino titans run for their money Posted:  MACAU/LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who became one of the world's richest men by creating a casino empire in Las Vegas and Macau, is doubling down on his bets in Asia, the hottest gambling market on the planet where his Singapore operation made $1 billion the first year it was opened. The 78-year chairman of Las Vegas Sands , the world's biggest gambling company by market capitalization, looked supremely confident when he opened his new $4.4 billion casino last week in the former Portuguese colony of Macau, the world's largest gambling destination where bettors spent $33. ...
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| Lagarde eyes trimmed $400 billion rise in IMF funds Posted:  MILAN (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund hopes to gain governments' agreement this week to raise its funds by more than $400 billion, around two thirds of the amount it said it would need three months ago, fund managing director Christine Lagarde signaled on Tuesday. Lagarde, who had already signaled the fund would need less than previously thought, said the success of some countries in raising funds on financial markets in the first quarter had eased the pressure on its crisis-fighting resources. ...
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| China at "rare" moment for reforms: central bank report Posted:  BEIJING (Reuters) - China is at a promising moment for speeding up interest rate and exchange rate reforms, the central bank's statistics department said in a report published Tuesday, following the latest move to make the Chinese currency more flexible. China widened the daily band in which its currency may trade and allowed banks to short sell a limited amount of U.S. dollars [ID:nL3E8FG8IA]. "The current time represents a rare strategic moment to speed up capital account opening," said the report, published in the China Securities Journal. ...
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| Summary Box: Spain knocks Argentina oil takeover Posted: OIL GRAB: Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez is attempting to quell increasing unrest at home and boost her popularity with an "unlawful" bid to nationalize YPF, the Argentine OIL unit of Spanish company Repsol, the company's president claimed Tuesday. |
| Senate seeks ways to save ailing US Postal Service Posted: With big postal cuts looming, the Senate is deciding whether to stabilize the ailing U.S. Postal Service with a short-term cash infusion while delaying most decisions on closing post offices and ending Saturday mail delivery by requiring further review. |
| Google says Oracle sued after own market failure Posted: A Google lawyer is seeking to convince a jury that Oracle sued the search company for copyright infringement only after Oracle failed in its own attempts to build mobile software. |
| Dollar mixed after positive German data Posted: The dollar is mixed against other major currencies after German investor sentiment rose in April and following strong demand at an auction for Spanish government debt. |
| Oil rises on strong economic reports in US, Europe Posted: Oil prices are rising on strong U.S. corporate earnings and promising economic signs in Europe. |
| 2nd panel blasts GSA for parties, trips, bonuses Posted:  General Services Administration witnesses came under sharp criticism from Congress for a second day on Tuesday, as lawmakers expressed outrage over junkets, bonuses and parties paid for by taxpayers.
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| Judge: Iowa hiring policies did not hurt blacks Posted: Iowa's state government employment policies have not discriminated against black employees and job applicants, a judge ruled Tuesday in a case closely watched by civil rights activists. |
| Another delay in domain name expansion Posted: There's another delay in efforts to create hundreds of Internet address suffixes to join ".com" and others in use. |
| US eases sanctions for Myanmar nonprofit work Posted: The United States has eased financial sanctions to enable private U.S. groups to do humanitarian and development work in Myanmar. |
| Appeals court blocks gov't rule on union posters Posted: A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the National Labor Relations Board from making millions of businesses put up posters informing workers of their right to form a union. |
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