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    S&P drops Spain rating one notch on weak growth

    Standard & Poor’s late on Thursday slashed Spain’s credit rating one notch to AA- with a negative outlook from AA, citing economic woes. The lowering of Spain’s long term rating reflects its uncertain growth prospects in light of the private sector’s need to access fresh financing to roll over high levels of external debt amid rising funding costs, the rating agency said in a statement. The financial profile of the country’s banking system will weaken further due to stock of problematic assets rising further, according to the assessment. Standard & Poor’s recently revised its Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment on S...
    On October 14, 2011 / By
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    China trade slows; BlackBerry outrage continues

    China’s trade surplus shrank for a second straight month in September to $14.5bn. Trade data published on Thursday showed September’s figures were $3.3bn lower than the $17.8bn in August and had reduced by more than half from the $31.5bn figure recorded in July. September’s imports rose 20.9 percent compared with 30.2 percent in August, and exports increased by only 17.1 percent contrasted with a 24.5 percent gain in August. The slowdown was especially obvious in china’s trade with Europe where exports increased only by 9.8 percent compared with 22.3 percent in August. Despite the slowing growth, China’s imports and exports have now...
    On October 13, 2011 / By
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    Brazil’s retail sales plunge; Occupy Wall Street kicks off

    Brazil saw retail sales volumes drop 0.4 percent from a month earlier indication a slowdown as South America’s largest economy continues to struggle with rising inflation, the Brazilian Institute of geography and Statistics announced late on Tuesday. Sales in August were up 6.2 percent year-on-year but nonetheless produced the second most sluggish growth rate since September 2009. It was the first recorded volume decline since a 0.2 percent drop in April. Only two of Brazil’s ten activities that make up the retail trade reported positive growth. Vehicles, fabric and apparel, construction material, cosmetics and furniture appliances report...
    On October 12, 2011 / By
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    Qatar’s royals to buy Dexia’s KBL and BIL

    The royal family of Qatar is moving up its investment in Europe’s banking sector with plans to acquire private banking arms of Dexia and its Belgian competitor KBC. Private lender KBC said it was to sell its Luxembourg division to Qatari investment group Precision Capital for €1.05bn. The sale will allow the bank to reduce its risk profile, raise capital and permit it to focus on its central and eastern European markets. Luxembourg’s finance minister Luc Frieden said late on Monday that the Qatari investment group, which is now to take over Dexia’s Banque Internationale Luxembourg, belongs to the al-Thani royal family. The al Thani’...
    On October 11, 2011 / By
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    China’s Sinopec to acquire Daylight for C$2.2bn

    Sinopec Group, a unit of China’s state-backed energy company China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, late on Sunday signed a deal to acquire Canada’s oil and gas explorer Daylight Energy for C$2.2bn. In its largest acquisition this year Sinopec offered a 43.6 percent premium to Daylight Energy’s 60-day weighted average trading price, or C$10.08 a share, in cash. The deal is considered to be the largest takeover by a Chinese energy company in North America after rival Cnook bought Opti Canada for $2.1bn earlier this year. Sinopec is China’s largest producer and supplier in oil products and major petrochemical products and will join compe...
    On October 10, 2011 / By
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    Sony secures financial backing from Abu Dhabi fund

    Sony Corporation has reportedly secured financing from Abu Dhabi’s investment fund, Mubadala, to help compete for British music label EMI Group. The Middle Eastern investment funds’ backing, and additional financial support from media investment bank Raine, will assist Sony to better compete with the other bidders which are said to include Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. Second-round bids at auction came in at between $3.5bn and $4bn, according to sources close to the process. The present owner of the label is Citigroup which had been forced to take over EMI Group after the previous owners were unable to pay their debt. Priv...
    On October 7, 2011 / By
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    IMF says swift action needed to steady Europe’s banks

    A quick recapitalisation of European banks is necessary to steady markets and avert the economy from falling into another recession, IMF Europe Director, Antonio Borges, said late on Wednesday. The price tag for such a move was estimated in the range between €100bn and €200bn, he said. According to the IMF report, the eurozone debt crisis and its effects are disseminating across core banks and nations and make it impossible to rule out a further economic recession. The report cautioned that stronger economies should steer clear of compelling radical budget cuts at the expense of growth. The IMF moreover offered its help through the possib...
    On October 6, 2011 / By
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    Europe’s shares higher after Italy downgrade

    Stock markets in Europe bounced higher early on Wednesday as traders decided to pick up stocks trading down at discount levels following three days of losses and Italy’s credit downgrade late on Tuesday. Moody’s cut Italy’s credit rating from Aa2 to A2 with a negative outlook, blaming “material increase in long-term funding risks for the euro area,” the ratings agency said in a statement. The FTSE 100 index was up 2.2 percent to 5,053.38, Germany’s DAX 30 added 2.1 percent to 5,324.60, and France’s CAC40 rose 2.5 percent to 2,921. Lenders also gained with Deutsche Bank up 5.5 percent and BNP Paribas in Paris rising 6.99 percent ...
    On October 5, 2011 / By
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    European shares tumble as Greece misses deficit target

    Shares in Europe slumped on Monday after the Greek governments’ Finance Ministry announced its draft budget figures showing the country’s deficit is likely to reach 8.5 percent of GDP for 2011. Greece will miss the terms of the bailout, originally agreed with Troika, which obliged it to meet a 7.6 percent target for 2011. The country is also unlikely to meet the 6.5 percent objective set for 2012, the ministry said late on Sunday. The Frankfurt DAX dropped 3.2 percent, Stoxx Europe 600 and the FTSE 100 both decreased by two percent to 221.76 and 5024.43 respectively. Banks slumped on the news, with BNP Paribas down almost seven percent, C...
    On October 3, 2011 / By
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    China in $1.29bn copper mine deal with Anvil

    Minmetal Resources, a unit of Chinas largest metal trader, China Minmetals Group, on Friday launched a C$1.3bn ($1.29bn) friendly takeover bid for Congo-focused copper producer Anvil Mining. The move by Hong Kong-listed Minmetal Resources is the second attempt to acquire a copper producer with operations in Africa as it unsuccessfully bid C$6.3bn for Equinox Minerals in March. Anvil shareholders, who include Trafigura Beheer and collectively hold a stake of 40.1 percent, supported the C$8 a-share offer, Minmetals said in a statement.   The price offer made to Anvil represents a 30 percent premium to the 20-day volume weighted average price a...
    On September 30, 2011 / By