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| China December industrial profits up 17.3 percent on year Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 07:17 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - Profits earned by China's industrial companies rose 17.3 percent in December from a year earlier to 895.2 billion yuan ($143.91 billion), official data showed on Sunday, as a fourth-quarter recovery helped offset poorer corporate results in the third. The data from the National Bureau of Statistics is the latest sign of a gathering rebound in activity in the world's second-largest economy. The December rise moderated from November's 22.8 percent increase but still marked the second-fastest growth last year. Industrial profits totaled 5.56 trillion yuan in 2012, up 5. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fraser and Neave adviser says Thai tycoon's raised offer is "fair" Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 07:01 PM PST  SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Fraser and Neave Ltd's independent financial adviser JP Morgan said on Sunday Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's new offer of S$9.55 ($7.74) per share for the Singapore property and drinks conglomerate is "fair". Directors who hold F&N shares, including chairman Lee Hsien Yang, intend to accept Charoen's revised offer, the company said in a statement. Charoen is now set to take over F&N in Southeast Asia's biggest-ever acquisition. He had declared his S$9.55-per-share offer, which values the Singapore company at around S$13.75 billion ($11.2 billion), as final. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU, U.S. on verge of "difficult" free-trade negotiations Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 05:47 PM PST  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union are wrapping up final preparations for talks on a free-trade agreement that would encompass half the world's economic output, Europe's trade chief said on Saturday, while warning of "difficult negotiations." EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht will travel to Washington on February 5 to put the finishing touches on a joint EU-U.S. report. He gave his clearest signal yet that Brussels and Washington are ready to embark on the accord. "Essentially the report is ready. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU, Mercosur to unblock trade talks, hurdles remain Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 04:36 PM PST  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - EU leaders won a promise from Argentina and Brazil on Saturday to revive stalled talks on a free-trade deal that would be a major prize for Europe as it emerges from crisis, but disputes over key issues mean a breakthrough appears distant. At a summit in Santiago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel led the Europeans in a new push in the negotiations with the South American trade bloc Mercosur that is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela and Uruguay. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mercosur to unblock talks, EU trade chief sees U.S. negotiations Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 02:51 PM PST  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur will exchange offers on opening up their markets by the end of this year, the EU's trade chief said on Saturday as both sides try to unblock long-stalled free-trade negotiations. "A tremendous effort has been made to install new momentum into the discussions," EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht told Reuters in an interview. De Gucht, who handles trade issues for the 27 nations of the European Union, also signaled he expected Europe and the United States to go ahead with talks on a possible free-trade accord. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ireland says horse DNA in its burgers came from Poland Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 02:09 PM PST  DUBLIN (Reuters) - Beef containing horse DNA that was supplied by an Irish company to major food companies like Tesco originated in Poland, Ireland's agriculture department said on Saturday. The British food industry has been rocked by the revelation retailers sold beef products that contained horse DNA, a scandal that has also left Ireland's 2 billion euros (1.6 billion pounds) beef industry reeling from the knock-on effects. Results of tests showed that Polish ingredients used by Irish burger manufacturer Silvercrest contained 4.1 percent horse DNA, the agriculture department in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy central bank approves Monte Paschi bailout request Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 01:51 PM PST  ROME/MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's central bank on Saturday gave its approval to a request by scandal hit bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena for 3.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion) of state loans, the latest step in the battle to revive the ailing bank. The Bank of Italy's backing was the final stage required to free up the financial help for Italy's third biggest lender, which this week revealed loss-making derivatives trades that could cost it about 720 million euros. ... Full Story | Top |
| ECB's Asmussen warns against unilateral forex moves Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 12:34 PM PST  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen called for international cooperation to address the current debate about competitive currency devaluation, saying central banks are not the ones to solve structural problems. Policymakers in advanced countries, particularly Japan and the United States, have been acting aggressively to reflate their economies, which has the effect of weakening their currencies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Time to open up to trade, EU tells Argentina, Brazil Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 12:27 PM PST  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - EU leaders told Argentina and Brazil on Saturday to open up their markets and push ahead on a free-trade deal that would be a major prize for Europe as it tries to emerge from three years of economic crisis. Treading carefully in a region whose fortunes are markedly better than Europe's, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Buenos Aires and Brasilia not to revert to the kind of protectionism of the 1930s that deepened the Great Depression. ... Full Story | Top |
| Medvedev says Magnitsky fallout not bad for Russian business Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 11:44 AM PST  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev used a prime-time TV interview on Saturday to dismiss concerns growing fallout from the 2009 death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky would damage Russia's business interests. Medvedev said the whistleblower's death in jail, for which no one has been brought to justice, was being used by Kremlin critics to score points but was of no import to business leaders. ... Full Story | Top |
| Basking in the shadows? Regulators are watching you Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 09:14 AM PST  DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Unconventional lenders that have enjoyed a cozy spot while central bankers were busy trying to make banks stronger should watch out as shadow banking is coming back on to regulators' agenda. Shadow banking, broadly described as intermediation by non-banks such as hedge funds, private capital and venture funds, has so far escaped traditional banking regulation even though some regulators say it worsened the global financial crisis. Rebuilding bank capital and the fight to save the euro have taken absolute priority over the past five years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan defends stimulus, yen policy under fire Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 09:06 AM PST  DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Japan's economy minister rejected criticism on Saturday that his country's extraordinary fiscal and monetary stimulus program was aimed at weakening the yen and undermined central bank independence. Akira Amari told the World Economic Forum in Davos it was up to the market to determine the currency's exchange rate, and the Bank of Japan had chosen independently to sign a joint statement with the government on actions to fight deflation and revive economic growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Telecom Italia not looking to expand in Latin America: chairman Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 08:27 AM PST SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Telecom Italia is not looking to expand in Latin America, but the company does need to strengthen its infrastructure due to growing regional data traffic, chairman Franco Bernabe said on Saturday. "We don't foresee expanding our footprint in the region. We are very conservative on investments," Bernabe told Reuters in an interview during a summit of Latin American and European business leaders in the Chilean capital Santiago. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea central bank questions Bank of Japan easing Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 07:33 AM PST DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank governor on Saturday questioned the efficacy of Japan's decision to ease monetary policy, saying its decision to start buying assets in 2014 could have unintended long-term consequences. The move by the Bank of Japan was also done in a hasty manner and would lead to large movements in the foreign exchange market, said Bank of Korea Governor Kim Chong-soo. "What they did created a couple of problems," Kim said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. ... Full Story | Top |
| IMF urges mid-term plan for Japan debt reduction Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 05:25 AM PST  DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund called on Saturday for Japan to put forward a medium-term plan to reduce its public debt after this week's bold monetary and fiscal stimulus measures. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told the World Economic Forum in Davos: "Japan has made very important decisions. We are very interested in these policies. We would like them to complement it with a mid-term plan on how the debt would be reduced." (Reporting by Lisa Jucca; Writing by Paul Taylor) Full Story | Top |
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