| Wall Street falls further, Nasdaq drops 2 percent Posted: 25 Jun 2012 08:49 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks extended losses on Monday, with the Nasdaq down more than 2 percent as investors were reluctant to buy risky assets ahead of a European Union summit later this week. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 169.76 points, or 1.34 percent, to 12,471.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 24.46 points, or 1.83 percent, to 1,310.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 61.74 points, or 2.13 percent, to 2,830.68. (Reporting By Chuck Mikolajczak, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
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| New home sales race to two-year high in May Posted: 25 Jun 2012 08:19 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New single-family home sales surged in May to a two-year high and prices rose from a year ago amid tightening supply, further signs the housing market was gaining some momentum. The Commerce Department said on Monday sales jumped 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted 369,000-unit annual rate, the highest since April 2010. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 346,000-unit rate last month from April's 343,000-unit pace. March's sales pace was revised up to 347,000 units from the previously reported 332,000 units. ...
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| Merkel dashes market hopes as Spain seeks rescue Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:01 AM PDT  BERLIN/MADRID (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel dashed any lingering hope in financial markets that Europe would issue common euro zone bonds to underpin its single currency after Spain formally became the fourth state to request a financial rescue. The Spanish government applied for bailout loans on Monday to recapitalize banks laden with bad debts as the euro and shares fell due to investors' skepticism that a European Union summit this week will act decisively on the bloc's debt crisis. ...
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| Investors eye increased Shell bid for Cove Posted: 25 Jun 2012 08:42 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Shareholders are betting Shell will up the stakes in a bid battle for explorer Cove Energy after Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production extended the deadline for investors to accept its $1.9 billion offer. Cove shares were up 0.3 percent to 265.5 pence at 1021 EDT on Monday, still above the 240 pence per share PTT has offered, as investors eyed a potentially higher bid from Shell. PTT said on Monday that investors would now have until July 6 to accept its offer, after it won acceptances from only 0.25 percent of Cove shares by last Friday's deadline. ...
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| Fed's Lacker opposes more stimulus: Fox Business Posted: 25 Jun 2012 08:35 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve would stoke inflation without doing very much for U.S. economic growth, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, a consistent dissenter on the Fed's policy committee, said on Monday. Lacker told Fox Business in an interview that the U.S. central bank had done enough to support growth. He said keeping interest rates near zero was appropriate for now, but that borrowing costs might need to rise in late 2013. ...
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| Modelo says in talks with Anheuser-Busch InBev Posted: 25 Jun 2012 08:38 AM PDT  BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - The combination of Mexico's growing beer market, big cost savings and control of Corona beer exports have sparked Anheuser-Busch InBev's interest in a buyout of Grupo Modelo , but the Mexican brewer sounded cautious on Monday. Family-controlled Modelo confirmed Monday it was in talks about expanding a relationship with the Belgian brewing giant, but said in a statement it would be premature to speculate on any outcome of the talks. ...
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| Pre-summit document presses EU banking union Posted: 25 Jun 2012 08:05 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders will discuss specific steps towards a cross-border banking union, closer fiscal integration and the possibility of a debt redemption fund at a summit on June 28-29, according to a document prepared for the meeting. Two officials familiar with the 10-15 page document, drawn up over the past month and which is still being revised ahead of the summit, said it sets out in detail the four "pillars" required for a strong economic and monetary union which leaders believe is necessary to secure the currency project's future. ...
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| Consumer confidence falls in second quarter: Nielsen Posted: 25 Jun 2012 07:34 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Consumer confidence fell in the second quarter from early this year as slowing employment growth and an escalating euro zone crisis made Americans more cautious about the economic outlook, a survey showed on Monday. Consumer sentiment in the world's biggest economy fell by 5 points in the second quarter from the first quarter to 87, according to a quarterly survey by global information and insights company Nielsen, conducted May 4-21. A reading below 100 indicates consumers are pessimistic about the economic outlook for the coming months. ...
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| Mexico's Supreme Court to take up Carlos Slim TV case Posted: 25 Jun 2012 06:52 AM PDT  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Supreme Court will decide if billionaire tycoon Carlos Slim can enter the lucrative television market in a legal case that centers on whether the government botched a regulatory filing or officials intentionally let a deadline pass. The case is due to reach the high court before the end of the summer. Slim, the world's richest man, is counting on a win. "We soon expect a favorable decision in this matter," Alejandro Cantu, the top attorney for Slim's mobile phone giant America Movil, told Reuters recently. ...
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| Spain requests bank aid, awaits Moody's cut Posted: 25 Jun 2012 08:56 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain formally requested European aid for its indebted banks on Monday but the lack of details rekindled investor doubts over the financial sector, hours before Moody's was expected to cut the ratings of all Spanish lenders. Two financial sources told Reuters the Moody's downgrade, which follows a June 13 downgrade of Spain's sovereign rating by three notches, was likely to happen on Monday night. ...
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| Madoff payouts won't get Supreme Court review Posted: 25 Jun 2012 08:58 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court declined to review how the trustee for Bernard Madoff's customers calculates victims' losses, a decision that could help speed a payout of billions of dollars. Without comment, the court on Monday let stand an August 2011 decision by a federal appeals court in New York that approved of the calculation method employed by Irving Picard, the trustee liquidating the imprisoned Ponzi schemer's firm. Picard has measured losses as the difference between the amounts that customers deposited and the amounts they withdrew from Bernard L. ... |
| Dunkin' Brands to increase legal reserves Posted: 25 Jun 2012 05:12 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Dunkin' Brands Group Inc , the parent of Dunkin' Donuts cafes and Baskin-Robbins ice cream shops, said it would increase its legal reserve in the current quarter following a court ruling against it in Canada. A group of Dunkin' Donuts franchisees in Quebec had filed a lawsuit against the company in 2003 on a variety of claims. The Quebec Superior Court ruled against Dunkin' Brands on Friday and ordered the company to pay C$16.4 million plus costs and interest to compensate the loss incurred by the franchises. ...
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| Morgan Stanley German head steps aside in email row Posted: 25 Jun 2012 06:27 AM PDT  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The head of Morgan Stanley's German unit and one of the country's best-connected dealmakers has been granted a leave of absence by the bank following an uproar over emails he reportedly exchanged with a regional politician. Dirk Notheis, 44, has run the U.S. investment bank's operations in Germany and Austria for over three years, earning a reputation as an aggressive banker with close ties to Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling conservatives. ...
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| ADP, Paychex to be hit by slow job growth: Barclays Posted: 25 Jun 2012 06:12 AM PDT (Reuters) - Payroll processors Automatic Data Processing Inc and Paychex Inc may see slower earnings growth over the next two years because of low interest rates and weak job market recovery, Barclays Capital said, downgrading the stocks. Both companies could see only moderate core payroll revenue growth given the weak jobs growth, while persistently low interest rates will hurt their float income -- interest earned on funds held for clients, Barclays said. Barclays, which is less optimistic on Paychex, cut its rating on the stock to "underweight" from "equal weight. ... |
| Shiver me timbers! The bankers are boarding Posted: 25 Jun 2012 02:50 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - With the crisis in the shipping market now in its fourth year, bankers are putting to sea and seizing ships to protect the value of their loans to struggling shipowners. Lenders to the shipping trade, themselves lashed by the euro zone crisis, are recruiting management companies to take over and operate defaulting owners' ships rather than sell them at a heavy loss or take a writedown on their loan books. ...
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| Samsung sees higher Q2 handset earnings; U.S. supply crunch to ease Posted: 25 Jun 2012 12:44 AM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co expects sales of its new Galaxy S III, launched at the end of last month as a main rival to Apple's iPhone, to top 10 million during July, making it the South Korean group's fastest selling smartphone. It also predicted earnings from its handset division would be higher in the current second quarter than in January-March, countering market concerns that tight supplies of the new Galaxy model and the weak global economy would pressure earnings at Asia's most valuable technology firm. Shares in Samsung dropped 4. ...
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| China's 2012 growth target at risk, property curbs hurt Posted: 25 Jun 2012 03:50 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's annual growth target for 2012 looks increasingly in jeopardy as demand at home falters and Europe's debt crisis worsens, complicating matters for Beijing as the country heads into a once-in-a-decade leadership transition. The slowdown in the world's second-largest economy could be more entrenched than expected as Beijing's property tightening measures dilute the impact of any fresh policy stimulus, diminishing China's ability to offset faltering demand in Europe and the United States. "I cannot see a bottom in economic growth. ...
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| Morgan Stanley Germany head steps aside amid email row Posted: 25 Jun 2012 03:41 AM PDT  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The head of Morgan Stanley's German unit is taking a leave of absence following an uproar over emails he reportedly exchanged with a regional politician. "Dirk Notheis has informed the supervisory board that he will take a leave of absence," a Morgan Stanley spokeswoman said, adding that Notheis' responsibilities as country head for Germany and Austria would be taken over by supervisory board chairman Lutz Raettig with immediate effect. ...
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| Europe's Tower of Babel hampers euro solution Posted: 25 Jun 2012 12:38 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - As Europe considers a leap towards closer integration to try to save the euro single currency, it resembles the biblical Tower of Babel - unable to complete an ambitious project because the residents don't speak the same political and economic language. The spotlight is on Germany, France, Italy and Spain, the euro area's four biggest economies, wrestling over proposals for a banking union, joint euro zone bonds and handing more control over national budgets and economic policy to the European Union. ...
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| S&P's procedures under SEC review: WSJ Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:40 PM PDT (Reuters) - A last-minute decision by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services to pull its ratings on a deal backed by commercial real estate loans is being examined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing employees questioned by the regulator. The inquiry relates to the credit rating agency's July 2011 decision to pull its ratings on a new, $1.5 billion commercial-mortgage-backed security, or CMBS, issued by Goldman Sachs Group and Citigroup. ... |
| European shares, euro spooked by Europe worries Posted: 25 Jun 2012 12:36 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - European shares and the euro fell on Monday as persistent fears about Europe's debt crisis and fresh concerns about global economic growth soured investors' appetite for risk. Investors were skeptical that a June 28-29 European Union summit would make any substantial progress towards tackling the debt crisis, now in its third year and buffeting Spain, the region's fourth largest economy. ...
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| RIM considers splitting business in two: paper Posted: 24 Jun 2012 09:13 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is considering splitting its business in two, separating its struggling handset manufacturing division from its messaging network, The Sunday Times reported. RIM, which last month hired JP Morgan and RBC Capital to look at its strategic options, could break off its handset division into a separate listed company or sell it, the British newspaper said without citing sources. ...
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| Spain formally requests European aid for its banks Posted: 25 Jun 2012 03:24 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain formally requested on Monday European aid of up to 100 billion euros for its banks, the Economy Ministry said in a statement. Spain's Economy Minister Luis De Guindos said in the letter to Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker that the final amount of the financial assistance would be set at a later stage but should be enough to cover all banks' needs plus an additional security buffer. He also confirmed his intention to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the package, which would include full details, by July 9. ...
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| VW aims to seal Porsche purchase before 2014: CEO Posted: 25 Jun 2012 01:38 AM PDT  STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - German auto manufacturer Volkswagen wants to buy the second half of Porsche's car-making business before August 2014 when the purchase would be free of tax, Martin Winterkorn, chief executive of the Porsche SE holding company and Volkswagen said on Monday. "It's not in the interest of any of the parties to wait that long, neither the companies nor the tax authorities," Winterkorn said in remarks prepared for delivery at Porsche's annual shareholder meeting in Stuttgart. VW acquired 49.9 percent of Porsche AG for 3.9 billion euros ($4. ...
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| Greece launches drive to win over skeptical lenders Posted: 25 Jun 2012 08:57 AM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's new leaders announced a trans-Atlantic roadshow on Monday to try to persuade skeptical lenders to give them more time to repay the country's massive debt, as hopes faded for any real progress on the issue at this week's European summit. Unexpected medical problems will prevent Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and incoming Finance Minister Vassilis Rapanos attending the June 28-29 summit in Brussels. The problems also forced the postponement on Monday of the first meeting between the new government and Greece's "troika" of international lenders. ...
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| Analysis: Be afraid: Some in U.S. see shades of 2008 in euro crisis Posted: 24 Jun 2012 12:06 PM PDT (Reuters) - Grim. Serious. Terrifying. Nerve-rattling. These are the words some prominent American investors and strategists are using to describe the worsening debt crisis in the euro zone and its impact on the global economy. While growth has been slowing in China and the United States and companies warn about the effect on earnings, there is a mounting sense among the financial community that politicians and markets are operating on two completely different timelines. ... |
| GM's female manufacturing chief faces big truck test Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:01 PM PDT  DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co sells its big, brawny trucks for their torque, testosterone and hefty profits, so when the U.S. automaker wanted to introduce the next models, they turned to one of the toughest executives in its ranks. Global manufacturing chief Diana Tremblay is one of the highest-ranking women in the automotive industry. Throughout her 35-year career at GM, she has made her mark in what were regarded as male domains, from directing foundry workers to staring down union labor negotiators. ...
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| Samsung expects Galaxy S III sales to top 10 million during July Posted: 24 Jun 2012 07:07 PM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co, the world's biggest smartphone maker, expects cumulative sales of its latest smartphone Galaxy S III to top 10 million units during July, JK Shin, head of its telecommunications business, said on Monday. Samsung launched its Galaxy S III, the strongest rival for Apple's iPhone, on May 29 in Europe, and is now expanding global roll-outs. (Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by John Mair)
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| Morgan Stanley's German head offers resignation: sources Posted: 24 Jun 2012 02:34 PM PDT  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The head of Morgan Stanley's German unit has offered to step down following an uproar over emails he reportedly exchanged with a regional politician, and the bank has not yet decided whether to accept his resignation, according to two people familiar with the matter. The departure of Dirk Notheis would be a blow for the U.S. investment bank, which had come to rely heavily on him to deliver lucrative advisory roles in mergers and acquisitions, known as mandates. ...
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| T-Mobile USA to buy, swap spectrum with Verizon Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:36 AM PDT  Verizon Wireless on Monday said that it has agreed to sell some wireless spectrum rights to T-Mobile USA and swap others, in a continuing quest to get regulators to approve a bigger spectrum deal it has worked out with a consortium of cable companies and another wireless carrier.
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| Greece's designated finance minister resigns Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:36 AM PDT  Greece's designated finance minister resigned Monday after being rushed to the hospital on Friday, the prime minister's office said.
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| FDA probes safety issues with metal hip implants Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:28 AM PDT Metal hip replacements implanted in a half-million Americans may be failing earlier than expected, but it could be years before U.S. health regulators have a clear picture of the scope of the problem. |
| Cyprus seeks European bailout over Greece exposure Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:22 AM PDT Eurozone member Cyprus has formally requested a bailout package from its partners in the European currency union to help it shore up its banks. |
| Egypt benchmark index makes biggest gains in years Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:20 AM PDT Egypt's benchmark stock index closed Monday up 7.6 percent, its largest single-day gain in nine years thanks to investor optimism following the declaration of a victor in presidential elections, state media said. |
| Court backs Teva patents on MS drug Copaxone Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:18 AM PDT Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. soared Monday in the first trading day after a federal court reaffirmed patents protecting the drugmaker's biggest brand-name product, the multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone. |
| 2 UK LulzSec hackers plead guilty in London court Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:16 AM PDT Two British hackers linked to the notorious Lulz Security group pleaded guilty to a slew of computer crimes Monday, the latest blow against online miscreants whose exploits have grabbed headlines and embarrassed governments around the world. |
| World stocks fall on skepticism over Europe summit Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:04 AM PDT  World stocks fell sharply on Monday amid concern that a critical European summit later this week will not yield a deal that might restore confidence in the future of the 17-country euro currency.
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| Oil falls on lingering concerns about Europe Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:04 AM PDT The price of oil declined Monday as Spain's banking crisis added to concerns about the troubled European economy. |
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