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| Analysis: Another China central bank worry; companies push into lending Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 08:54 PM PDT  BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese companies are getting more creative in the business of money lending as they struggle to keep profits ticking over in a cooling economy, raising concerns they are adding to the mountain of debt risks building in the world's No.2 economy. Big state companies in industries struggling with over-capacity but with easy access to credit are borrowing funds, not to invest in their business but to lend to smaller firms sometimes at several times the official interest rate, part of an informal lending market in China that authorities are taking aim at. ... Full Story | Top |
| As Asia embraces casinos, India hedges it bets Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 08:46 PM PDT  By Tony Munroe PANAJI, India (Reuters) - Like many visitors to the Casino Royale Goa on a rainy Saturday night on India's western coast, Salim Budhwani said he does not gamble but also had no objection to the betting at the busy tables downstairs. Despite socially conservative India's ambivalence about gambling, consultancy firm KPMG estimated that $60 billion was wagered in the country in 2010. Much of the gambling is illegal, but attitudes are slowly changing as more Asian countries embrace gaming as a revenue generator and tourist draw. ... Full Story | Top |
| Barrick to lay off up to a third of its corporate staff: sources Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 08:44 PM PDT By Euan Rocha TORONTO (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp , the world's largest gold producer, is this week going to lay off up to one-third of its corporate staff from its headquarters in Toronto and a few other offices, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The cuts were announced by Barrick's Chief Executive Jamie Sokalsky at a town hall meeting with staff in Toronto last week, said the sources, who asked not to be named as they are not officially authorized to speak about the matter. ... Full Story | Top |
| China central bank says overall liquidity 'reasonable' Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 08:35 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - The overall liquidity in China's financial system is at a reasonable level, the central bank said on Monday, adding that it has asked commercial banks to improve the ways they manage liquidity. The comments from the People's Bank of China came as interest rates for short-term funds in China spiked to extraordinary levels last week after big commercial banks held back on lending in the interbank market. Rates remained elevated on Monday, but off recent highs. The comments were issued in a notice dated June 17 but released on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Banks present crisis plan to the Fed: WSJ Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 08:34 PM PDT  (Reuters) - U.S. banks have given a proposal to federal regulators on how to pay for restructuring the country's too-big-to-fail institutions in the event of a future crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the conversations. The Journal said the proposal, given to the U.S. Federal Reserve at a private meeting on May 22, is an effort by banks to pre-empt tougher rules from officials, who believe banks still could pose a threat to financial stability in a crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asia shares slide on China worries, Fed outlook; dollar firms Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 08:16 PM PDT  By Chikako Mogi TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares fell to a fresh 9-1/2-month low on Monday as investors worried about China's economic and financial stability and markets scrambled to price in the Federal Reserve's plan to tone down its stimulus drive starting later this year. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 1.2 percent to its lowest since early September, after posting its worst week since May 2012 with a drop of 4.5 percent last week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Daredevil Nik Wallenda completes high-wire walk across Grand Canyon Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 08:15 PM PDT  By Tim Gaynor LITTLE COLORADO RIVER, Arizona (Reuters) - Daredevil Nik Wallenda completed a high-wire walk on a 2-inch (5-cm) steel cable over a section of the Grand Canyon on Sunday, greeted by wild cheers after his hair-raising stunt. Wallenda, the self-described "King of the High Wire," took 22 minutes and 54 seconds to walk 1,400 feet across the crimson-hued canyon with just the distant ribbon of the Little Colorado River beneath him. The event was broadcast live around the world. Wallenda made the crossing without tether or safety net. ... Full Story | Top |
| Scattered, smaller protests continue in dozens of Brazilian cities Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 07:17 PM PDT  By Pedro Fonseca and Sergio Moraes SALVADOR/BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (Reuters) - Scattered protests took place in dozens of Brazilian cities on Saturday, although fewer people took to the streets in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, where vandalism and clashes with police have rocked the country in recent days. ... Full Story | Top |
| Geeks oust miners among Australia's new rich as boom fades Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 06:29 PM PDT  By Jane Wardell SYDNEY (Reuters) - In a country synonymous with larger-than-life mining tycoons and Outback heroes, the geeks are quietly inheriting the earth. As coal magnate Nathan Tinkler, the poster boy for Australia's fading 10-year minerals boom, publicly battles against bankruptcy, software entrepreneurs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are riding high. The former college buddies behind fast-growing software firm Atlassian unceremoniously bumped Tinkler off the top of Australia's "young rich list", leading a charge in the country's blooming technology industries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australia's Echo unveils $1 billion Sydney casino plan, includes Crown option Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 05:15 PM PDT SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian gaming firm Echo Entertainment has submitted plans for a $1 billion expansion of its Star casino in Sydney, including an option that would allow rival Crown Ltd to open a VIP-only casino. Echo, which holds the sole licence to operate a casino in Sydney until 2019, has been lobbying to extend this right in an attempt to block Crown's plans to add to its Melbourne casino. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qatar readies new leadership, little policy change expected Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 05:02 PM PDT By William Maclean and Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar appeared on Monday to be readying its population of nearly 2 million for new leadership that could see the emir and prime minister step down, a move analysts say would not herald big changes in energy, investment or foreign policies. The tiny country, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, is a global investment powerhouse, a growing force in international media and sport, and a financial backer of Arab Spring revolts in alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea anxiety sparks South Korean global property binge Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 04:08 PM PDT By Tom Bill LONDON (Reuters) - A jump in tensions with North Korea has fed a tenfold surge in overseas commercial property spending by investors south of one of the world's most heavily armed borders, making South Korea the largest property investor so far in 2013. South Korean investors bought about $5 billion in the first five months, a huge increase on the first half of 2012, real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle said. "This allocation to commercial property over such a short period of time is unprecedented for the South Koreans," JLL said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Osborne reaches deal on spending cuts Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 04:04 PM PDT  By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne completed talks on Sunday with government departments aimed at securing spending cuts worth 11.5 billion pounds in 2015-16 to help reduce the country's budget deficit, the Treasury said. The finance ministry said it had reached agreement with all departments, three days before Osborne is due to publish details of their spending limits on June 26. ... Full Story | Top |
| Enbridge shuts three pipelines after synthetic crude spill Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 03:58 PM PDT CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc, Canada's largest pipeline company, was investigating on Sunday the cause of a 750-barrel spill of synthetic crude that forced it to shut three oil pipelines in northern Alberta. The company said recent heavy rains in the region may have resulted in ground movements that affected the pipeline. It is working with regulators to assess the cause. The rupture on Line 37 was spotted in the early hours of Saturday morning near Enbridge's Cheecham terminal, about 70 km (43 miles) southeast of Fort McMurray, Alberta. ... Full Story | Top |
| Power outages in Calgary could last for months after floods Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 03:43 PM PDT  By Nia Williams CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Power outages in the Canadian oil capital of Calgary could last for weeks or even months, city authorities said on Sunday, as record breaking flood waters moved downstream to threaten smaller communities in southeastern Alberta. Even as officials told 65,000 Calgary residents they could start returning to their water-damaged homes, 10,000 people in were evacuated in Medicine Hat, where the South Saskatchewan River is expected to burst its banks. ... Full Story | Top |
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