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Small company stocks take the limelight

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:47:00 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — Small companies took the limelight Monday as the stock market extended a rally.

Banks lead FTSE to highest close since late 2000

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:35:36 -0400

By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's benchmark equity index rose on Monday to its best closing level since late 2000, helped by rising bank stocks, and analysts said there was little holding it back from its all-time highs. Interest rate cuts and injections of liquidity by central banks have hit returns on bonds, driving investors to seek the better returns on offer from equities, spurring a global stock market rally over the last year. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up by 0.5 percent, or 32.57 points, at 6,755.63 points - its highest closing level since September 2000. ...

Oil rises on higher US stocks, falling dollar

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:31:53 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil rose Monday, taking its cue from the stock market and the dollar.

Small-company stocks lead the market higher

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:56:09 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is edging higher in midday trading, led by small-company shares.

Stocks hold close to record levels

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:13:02 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — A stock market surge took a pause Monday after investors pushed indexes to record levels last week.

Wall Street little changed, deals provide support

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:08:28 -0400

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Monday as acquisition activity gave support but investors were reluctant to rush into the market with indexes hovering around record levels. Deals including Yahoo's $1.1 billion bid for Tumblr indicate that companies continue to search for growth through acquisitions, a bullish sign for stocks. Yahoo was up 0.8 percent at $26.73. The S&P 500 and Dow industrials finished Friday at fresh record highs and the Nasdaq Composite is at its highest since late 2000. ...

RBI cuts time for exporters to repatriate earnings

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:07:26 -0400

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India said on Monday it has cut the time that exporters have to bring back into the country the value of goods or software they have exported to nine months from 12. It said its new guideline will take effect immediately and will be valid until the end of September. http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=7991&Mode=0 (Reporting by Shamik Paul)

Stock prices are little changed in early trading

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:32:37 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were mixed in early trading on Wall Street after investors pushed indexes to record levels Friday.

Wall St opens lower after record highs

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:08:05 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street opened weaker on Monday as investors searched for catalysts after major U.S. equity indexes closed a fourth consecutive week of gains Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 14.90 points, or 0.10 percent, to 15,339.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was off 1.84 points, or 0.11 percent, to 1,665.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 7.17 points, or 0.21 percent, to 3,491.79. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Stocks open slightly lower on Wall Street

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:49:50 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening slightly lower on Wall Street as the stock market comes off of four straight weeks of gains.

Chesapeake Energy hires Anadarko executive as CEO

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:48:47 -0400

(Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp on Monday named a top executive at rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp to head the No. 2 U.S. natural gas producer, which has suffered through a governance crisis and liquidity crunch over the last year. Chesapeake hired Robert Douglas Lawler, senior vice president of international and deepwater operations at Anadarko, to fill the post vacated by co-founder Aubrey McClendon in April. Shares of Chesapeake rose 1 percent as Wall Street hoped Lawler would restore luster to the tainted energy producer. ...

UAE's TAQA says looking at share options after dual listing report

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:29:09 -0400

ABU DHABI, May 20 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National EnergyCompany (TAQA) said on Monday it was looking at waysto improve the liquidity of its shares but had not taken anysteps to remove a barrier to foreigners holding its stock. Abu Dhabi newspaper The National said on Monday that TAQAwas considering a dual listing on the London stock exchange andan opening up of its free-float of shares domestically toforeign investors. TAQA is 75 percent owned by the Abu Dhabi government, whileforeigners are currently not allowed to trade in the remainingstock listed on the Abu Dhabi stock market. ...

Algeria energy earnings fall 9 pct Jan-April vs same 2012 period

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:50:23 -0400

ALGIERS (Reuters) - The value of Algeria's oil and gas exports, which account for about 97 of total sales abroad, fell by 9 percent in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in 2012 due to lower global crude prices, official figures showed on Monday. That pushed the OPEC member north African country's trade surplus down 39 percent to $7.16 billion in the January-April period of 2013, according to data released by the customs department and reported by the official APS news agency. Earnings from energy exports dropped to $24.1 billion from $26. ...

Goldman exits China's ICBC, seven years and billions later

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:47:36 -0400

By Fiona Lau and Elzio Barreto HONG KONG (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs launched on Monday the sale of about $1.1 billion worth of Hong Kong-traded shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, offering to sell its entire remaining stake in the world's biggest bank by market value. The sale by Goldman would be the final chapter in the Wall Street bank's investment into China's ICBC. Prior to its 2006 IPO, ICBC was a technically insolvent state institution, reeling from the bad loans that saddled China's financial industry. ...

CORRECTED - Little sign Abe can shake up Japan's inbound FDI

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:49:20 -0400

(Corrects third from last paragraph to show Renault took a stake in Nissan) By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan risks missing, yet again, an opportunity to use foreign investment to help fuel sustained economic growth that has eluded it for the last two decades. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make Japan "the world's easiest country for companies to do business in" as part of his economic revival plan, which so far has been largely met with approval. The stock market has rallied 45 percent this year and Abe's approval ratings are around 70 percent. ...

Nikkei hits new 5-1/2-year high on weak yen, signs of improving economy

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:40:48 -0400

By Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average surged to a fresh 5-1/2 year high on Monday, buoyed by further weakness in the yen and optimism over the growth outlook after the Japanese government raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in two months. Signs of an improving U.S. economy and Wall Street's record closing high on Friday cemented the positive mood in markets. The Nikkei climbed 1.5 percent to 15,360.81, the highest closing mark since December 2007. During the day, the index rose as high as 15,381.74, the highest level for the same period. ...

Analysis: Little sign Abe can shake up Japan's inbound FDI

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:39:54 -0400

By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan risks missing, yet again, an opportunity to use foreign investment to help fuel sustained economic growth that has eluded it for the last two decades. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make Japan "the world's easiest country for companies to do business in" as part of his economic revival plan, which so far has been largely met with approval. The stock market has rallied 45 percent this year and Abe's approval ratings are around 70 percent. ...

Mahindra gains on earnings hopes of Korea unit

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:15:57 -0400

Reuters Market Eye - Shares in Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd gain 3.8 percent, after stocks of its subsidiary Ssangyong Motor Co Ltd hit a 16-month high, dealers say. Shares in Ssangyong Motor jumped as much as 13.5 percent on Monday amid expectations the ailing automaker may post a profit this year. Ssangyong Motor's factory utilisation and sales were growing faster than expected, and the company was seen returning to profit this year, said Yang Hee-joon, an analyst at Taurus Investment & Securities, in a note on Monday. Mahindra and Mahindra will raise its holding in Ssangyong Motor to 72. ...

S.Africa's Vodacom FY earnings up 23 pct on Africa units

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:53:46 -0400

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Vodacom Group reported a 23 percent rise in full-year profit on Monday underpinned by a strong performance by its African subsidiaries and growth in data usage. The unit of Britain's Vodafone Group said diluted headline earnings per share, which is the benchmark measure of profit in South Africa, totalled 870.2 cents in the year to end- March, from 706 cents a year earlier. The company had previously said headline earnings would rise by 25 percent higher. ...

NY regulator questions investment firms' ties to insurers: WSJ

Mon, 20 May 2013 01:53:56 -0400

(Reuters) - New York's top financial regulator has sent subpoenas to several firms seeking information on investments that guarantee steady payments to hundreds of thousands of retirees and other consumers, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday, citing people familiar with the inquiry. The New York Department of Financial Services has sought information from Apollo Global Management, Guggenheim Partners and Harbinger Group Inc on investments that back so-called fixed annuities, the Journal said. ...

Chesapeake Energy hires Anadarko executive as CEO - WSJ

Mon, 20 May 2013 01:29:18 -0400

(Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp has hired Robert Douglas Lawler of rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp as chief executive, filling the post vacated by co-founder Aubrey McClendon, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Chesapeake and Anadarko could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours. McClendon's departure on April 1 came after a tumultuous year in which a series of Reuters investigations led to civil and criminal probes of the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer. ...

No case for S&P ratings downgrade: Mayaram

Mon, 20 May 2013 01:26:19 -0400

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - There is no case for downgrading India's sovereign credit rating, Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram told the news channel ET Now on Monday, after Standard & Poor's reiterated its negative outlook on the country's credit rating. The rating agency last week warned that India needed to follow through on implementing a slew of pending economic reforms, a warning that dealt a blow to a government that had recently pitched for an upgrade. ...

Market Chatter-Corporate finance press digest

Mon, 20 May 2013 01:23:54 -0400

May 20 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-relatedstories were reported by media on Monday. * Greece's second-largest lender Piraeus Bank SA has hired four international investment banks as advisers on its7.33-billion-euro ($9.4 billion) share issue, two bankers closeto the procedure told Reuters on Saturday. * Yahoo Inc's board has approved a deal to buyblogging and social networking site Tumblr for $1.1 billion incash, the Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with thematter as saying on Sunday. ...

No case for S&P ratings downgrade: India economic affairs secretary

Mon, 20 May 2013 01:20:23 -0400

Yahoo's board approves $1.1 bln Tumblr acquisition - WSJ

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:13:53 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc's board has approved a deal to buy blogging and social networking site Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash, the Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter as saying on Sunday. Such an acquisition would be Marissa Mayer's largest deal since taking the helm of the once-iconic Internet company in July 2012. Yahoo is keen on fast-growing Tumblr because its younger user base would bolster the older website's "cool factor," the technology blog AllThingsD cited the sources as saying. ...