iPhone

Latest News

GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stocks gain with banks; bonds rise

  • October 20, 2011
  • 39 Notes


* China growth data, French rating threat weigh* Government bonds, dollar edge upBy Caroline ValetkevitchNEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. shares rose on Tuesday, buoyed by a jump in financial shares on results from Bank of America and other big banks, bucking a downturn in other markets that were hit by fears over the global economy.Slower-than-expected Chinese growth and a warning by Moody’s to France over risks to maintaining its top credit rating kept investors on edge, boosting safe-haven government bonds.The Moody’s warning compounded investor jitters after Germany’s finance minister on Monday warned that it was not realistic to expect a definitive crisis to the euro zone debt crisis to be reached at a key European Union summit to be held on Sunday.The U.S. benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up more than 1 percent. Shares of Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, rose 6.8 percent to $6.44 after the bank reported a quarterly profit. Shares of Goldman Sachs rose 1.9 percent at $98.73 even after it reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.”There was some genuine panic the banks, the financials, were going to start reporting earnings that were going to just undermine any shred of confidence and any kind of sustainable rebound. And, really, the earnings haven’t done that,” said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey.The Dow Jones industrial average gained 86.43 points, or 0.76 percent, to 11,483.43. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 13.18 points, or 1.10 percent, to 1,214.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 20.11 points, or 0.77 percent, to 2,635.03.Robust U.S. profits have driven much of the U.S. stock market’s gains from the March 2009 lows, but investors have worried that corporations will be unable to sustain that profit growth going forward in a sluggish global economic climate.In Europe, however, bank shares fell sharply on Tuesday, with French banks among the worst hit after Moody’s warned on the outlook for France’s credit rating.Moody’s cautioned it may slap a negative outlook on France’s Aaa credit rating in the next three months if costs from helping to bail out banks and other euro zone members stretch its budget too thin.The FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.4 percent at 962.13 points. Shares of French banks Societe Generale , BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole all lost between 3.3 percent and 5 percent.The MSCI world equity index was down 0.4 percent, well off its earlier lows. The world index is still up roughly 11 percent from a 15-month low earlier this month. Emerging stocks lost 2.1 percent.Optimism over the EU summit on Oct. 23 waned after Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said on Monday that even though European governments would adopt a five-point platform to address the crisis, a definitive solution would not be reached at the Oct. 23 EU summit.”It seems that people are not counting on the European Union summit” for a solution on the euro zone’s fiscal problems, said Suvrat Prakash, interest rate strategist at BNP Paribas in New York.Still, Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, expects European leaders to produce a “work plan” for Greece at the summit, possibly including a permanent mission of international lenders to monitor its debts, sources from her party quoted her as saying on Tuesday.In Asia, China’s economic growth in the third quarter slowed to its weakest pace since the 2009 second quarter. Growth eased to 9.1 percent in the July-September period at an annual rate, slightly below forecasts of 9.2 percent.U.S. Treasuries edged higher, pushing benchmark yields to their lowest in two weeks.Benchmark 10-year Treasury prices rose 9/32 in price to yield 2.12 percent compared with 2.18 percent late on Monday. Yields fell as low as 2.08 percent, their lowest since Oct. 7.Earlier, the French/German 10-year government bond yield spread widened to a euro-era record of 101 basis points. French debt also underperformed that of the Netherlands, its triple-A rated peer.Brent crude oil prices edged higher, while the dollar was up 0.2 percent against a basket of major currencies. The euro fell 0.4 percent at $1.36850.Apple Inc. is due to report results on Tuesday after the market close. Its shares were up 0.05 percent at $420.18, reversing earlier losses.

GLOBALMARKETSUSstocksgainwithbanksbondsrise

Walmart to close all Marketside stores next week

  • October 14, 2011
  • 31 Notes


* Will keep selling Marketside branded goods elsewhereBy Jessica WohlOct 14 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc will shut its four Marketside stores next week, abandoning the concept after three years as it works on opening other small shops.Marketside marked Wal-Mart’s attempt to give U.S. shoppers a quick place to buy prepared food such as roasted chicken and freshly baked bread for last-minute meals without the need for a trip to a larger grocery store or supercenter. The stores also carry produce, wine and other groceries.The world’s largest retailer opened its four Marketside stores in the Phoenix metropolitan area in 2008. A year later, it started to sell some Marketside branded food in other Walmart stores.The four Arizona stores — in Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa and Tempe — will close on Oct. 21, a spokesman said on Friday.Wal-Mart is not the first U.S. grocer to abandon the concept of a small shop selling prepared food to harried consumers looking for quick meal solutions. Supervalu Inc shut down a similar upscale concept store in Chicago, Urban Fresh, in 2009 after just over a year.Now, Wal-Mart is banking on another small-store concept, more aligned with its roots, as a potential growth vehicle in rural and urban locations where its larger shops would not work.Wal-Mart’s Marketside stores, at roughly 16,000 square feet, are about the same size as the Walmart Express test format the company launched in June.So far, Wal-Mart is pleased with the five Walmart Express stores in Arkansas, North Carolina and Chicago. It plans to have 11 such stores by the end of the year.Walmart Express stores, which range from about 10,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet, feel more like traditional Walmart stores than the Marketside shops. Walmart Express stores are stocked with groceries and some housewares. Pharmacies are included in some of the locations.Earlier this week, Wal-Mart said it would ramp up openings of its Neighborhood Market stores, which at about 42,000 square feet are much larger than Marketside or Walmart Express stores but much smaller than Walmart supercenters.The first Neighborhood Market opened in 1998. There are about 185 such stores now. Wal-Mart plans to open 80 to 100 small- and medium-format stores in its next fiscal year. Most will be Neighborhood Markets. This year, it plans to open just 25 to 30 small and medium shops.The majority of Wal-Mart’s new U.S. stores — up to 120 this year and up to 135 in fiscal 2013 — will continue to be supercenters.Even those are getting a bit smaller.New supercenters are set to be roughly 90,000 to 120,000 square feet. Walmart supercenters used to average about 185,000 square feet.

WalmarttocloseallMarketsidestoresnextweek

FCC presses AT&T on jobs claims for merger

  • October 13, 2011
  • 42 Notes


AT&T has defended the $39 billion transaction, saying it would bring 5,000 overseas jobs back to the United States, but the FCC pressed for data to show there would be a net increase in U.S. jobs.”Our review of the information currently in our record suggests that AT&T’s response on this issue remain incomplete,” wrote Rick Kaplan, chief of the FCC’s wireless communications bureau.Kaplan also asked for all AT&T data on the “size and location” of AT&T’s workforce currently and after the planned merger is consummated. The $39 billion deal would merge two of the four large national cellphone carriers.In August, the Justice Department sued to stop the deal, saying that the transaction would lead to higher wireless prices. A trial will begin on February 13.The FCC must also approve the merger for it to go ahead.Last month, attorneys general from California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington signed onto the effort to stopThe deal would vault AT&T over Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications (VZ.N) and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L), into the No. 1 spot. T-Mobile USA is now owned by Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGn.DE).Sprint (S.N), the third-largest carrier, has bitterly opposed the AT&T buy.A key government concern is that T-Mobile, the No. 4 wireless carrier, generally costs less than other carriers so its disappearance could mean higher prices for wireless service.

FCCpressesAT&Tonjobsclaimsformerger

Google-backed Xunlei pulls IPO

  • October 13, 2011
  • 45 Notes


The company, which makes software to increase download speeds, had expected to list its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol “XNET.” Xunlei planned to use proceeds from the offering to invest in technology, infrastructure and product development and to acquire digital media content, according to its IPO prospectus.Sean Shenglong Zou, Xunlei’s co-founder, is the company’s biggest shareholder with a 27.5 percent stake, while Google owns 2.8 percent of the shares.For a graphic on IPOs and volatility: link.reuters.com/dyf24s

GooglebackedXunleipullsIPO

Wall St unlikely to automate bond trading - report

  • October 12, 2011
  • 59 Notes


* Big investors enjoy uneven playing fieldOct 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street is unlikely to automate trading in opaque areas of the bond market over the next two to three years because large investors do not want to trade electronically, according to a report on Wednesday.”Unlike cash equity and foreign exchange markets before them, the fixed income markets present unique challenges which deter automated trading,” said Anshuman Jaswal, an analyst with financial-services consulting firm Celent.Although automated trading is widespread in stock and currency markets, and has expanded into Treasurys, most other types of debt transactions still occur “over-the-counter,” with brokers and customers negotiating by phone.Many bonds are traded infrequently and lack historical information or market benchmarks to compare performance against, making it difficult to put them on automated exchanges, Celent said in a report.But an even bigger barrier to automation may be that large investors do not want it to happen. Jaswal noted that big clients prefer to negotiate bond deals with their brokers directly, because they see an advantage to the pricing and services they receive.”The lack of an even playing field is a major barrier, because there is not sufficient incentive for the larger buy-side players to encourage algo trading,” said Jaswal.Automation in the stock market in the 1980s and 1990s made trading less expensive for investors. It also became a boon for online brokerages and a curse for large Wall Street banks.Treasury bonds stand alone as a debt instrument that trades frequently online, according to Celent. In that market, 55 to 60 percent of bonds trade hands electronically.

WallStunlikelytoautomatebondtradingreport