http://www.realclearmarkets.com/ en Copyright 2012 Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:15:02 -0600 HONG KONG (Reuters) - American International Group is selling part of its stake in AIA Group to raise about $6 billion, which will help the insurer repay part of its government bailout.Markets reacted favorably, with AIG shares rising to their highest levels in 10 months on the news.AIG is looking to sell about 1.7 billion AIA shares at HK$27.15 http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/aig_to_sell__6_billion_in_aia_stock_to_repay_bailout.html 400586303 Denny Thomas And Clare Baldwin Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:15:01 -0600 DALLAS (Reuters) - Only a dire situation would call for the Federal Reserve to buy more assets, and that is unlikely given the better-looking economic data, a top central bank official said on Monday.Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, an outspoken policy hawk, added that he was perplexed by Wall Street's continued preoccupation with the http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/fed_s_fisher_says_more_bond_buys_risky.html 400586302 Bruce Nichols Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:14:57 -0600 ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss lawmakers have passed a tax proposal seen as key to settling a U.S. probe into Swiss banks with hidden offshore accounts.The proposal, which clarifies how Switzerland would hand over data on Americans suspected of dodging taxes at home, seeks to backstop an expected deal over U.S. probes into 11 banks including Credit http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/swiss_lawmakers_vote_to_accept_u_s__tax_plan.html 400586301 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:14:55 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - The basic materials and energy sectors led stocks lower on Monday after China, the world's second-largest economy, cut its growth target for 2012.Data showing the U.S. services sector expanded at its fastest pace in a year in February failed to brake the market's decline.China lowered its 2012 target to an eight-year low of http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/wall_street_falls_as_china_cuts_growth_target.html 400586266 Rodrigo Campos Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:15:18 -0600 FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler <DAIGn.DE> will recall more than 103,000 trucks in North America because of potentially faulty fuel lines, the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Monday.Certain models of Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star vehicles equipped with Detroit Diesel engines http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/daimler_to_recall_more_than_100_000_trucks.html 400586265 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:15:13 -0600 LONDON (Reuters) - China's acceptance of a slower rate of growth rattled markets on Monday, but it also shows that the gradual rebalancing of the global economy long sought by world leaders is on track.Oil, copper and equities all fell after Premier Wen Jiabao, in his annual state-of-the nation report to China's parliament, penciled in growth for http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/slowing_china_aids_global_economic_rebalancing.html 400586264 Alan Wheatley, Global Economics Correspondent Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:15:08 -0600 DALLAS (Reuters) - Only the most "dire of circumstances" should spur the U.S. Federal Reserve to buy more assets, and that is unlikely, a top central bank official on Monday.Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, an outspoken policy hawk, said he was "perplexed" by Wall Street's continued preoccupation with the possibility that the Fed will engage http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/fed_s_fisher__more_bond_buys_risky__unlikely.html 400586263 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:15:11 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Monday, dragged lower by the basic materials and energy sectors after China, the world's second-largest economy, cut its growth target for 2012.Data showing the services sector expanded at its fastest pace in a year in February failed to break the market's decline, with indexes trading near session lows at http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/wall_st_drops_after_china_cuts_its_growth_target.html 400586262 Rodrigo Campos Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:15:02 -0600 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers called on the country's futures regulator to crack down on excessive speculation in oil markets as rising gasoline prices moves to the forefront of the election campaign.In a letter to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 23 senators and 45 members of the House of Representatives called on the http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/lawmakers_urge_regulatory_crackdown_on_oil_speculators.html 400586261 Christopher Doering Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:15:00 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street's bonuses were estimated on Monday to have fallen nearly 25 percent in 2011 by a New York City fiscal watchdog, almost twice what the state comptroller forecast last week.Similarly, profits earned by Wall Street firms were only estimated at $10.5 billion in 2011 - versus the comptroller's forecast that they would http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/wall_street_s_bonuses_fell_25_percent_in_2011__nyc_monitor.html 400586260 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:14:58 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Monday, dragged lower by the basic materials and energy sectors after China, the world's second-largest economy, cut its growth target for 2012.Data showing the services sector expanded at its fastest pace in a year in February failed to break the market's decline, with indexes trading near session lows at http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/wall_street_drops_after_china_cuts_its_growth_target.html 400586259 Rodrigo Campos Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:14:56 -0600 FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is likely to signal on Thursday that it has done all it intends to do to fight the euro zone crisis, putting the onus back on governments after cutting interest rates and flooding the market with cash in recent months.Banks have been shored up and government debt markets stabilized by two ECB cash http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/ecb_to_signal_policy_lull_as_debt_storm_calms.html 400586258 Sakari Suoninen Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:14:55 -0600 LONDON/ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's major bondholders voiced their support on Monday for a deal that will halve the value of their debt holdings and aims to put the country back on a sustainable debt-repayment footing.The steering committee of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which includes a dozen major investors in Greek bonds and http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/top_lenders_back_greek_bond_swap_plan.html 400586238 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:15:16 -0600 (Reuters) - The owners of the New York Mets baseball team on Monday lost their bid to end a $386 million lawsuit brought by the trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud.U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in New York agreed that the trustee, Irving Picard, should be able to recover fictitious profits that Mets owners Fred Wilpon and http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/judge_refuses_to_dismiss_madoff_ny_mets_case.html 400586237 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:15:21 -0600 PARIS (Reuters) - John Leahy, the American supersalesman who propelled Airbus from European upstart to the world's largest maker of passenger jets, disclosed he has no plans to retire for several years from a post which has made him Boeing's <BA.N> most visible adversary.Leahy, 62, has been in charge of Airbus sales since arriving in http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/leahy_sees_several_more_years_as_boeing_s_enemy_no_1.html 400586236 Tim Hepher Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:14:58 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks extended losses on Monday as data showing a decline in European private sector activity last month and a reduced target for China growth renewed concerns about the global economy, while a drop in Apple shares hit the Nasdaq.Trading in Apple was erratic. The stock hit an intraday low of $526, down 3.5 percent, before http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/wall_street_extends_losses__apple_hits_nasdaq.html 400586235 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:14:54 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - The services sector expanded at its fastest pace in a year in February, but new orders for factory goods dropped in January, data showed on Monday.The Institute for Supply Management said its services index rose to 57.3 in February last month from 56.8 in January, besting economists' expectations for a drop to 56.1.It was the http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/service_sector_expands_at_fastest_pace_in_year.html 400586219 Leah Schnurr Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:14:53 -0600 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for factory goods dropped in January by the most in over a year and businesses cut orders for new capital goods, suggesting one of the drivers of the economic recovery faltered at the start of the year.The Commerce Department said on Monday orders for manufactured goods fell 1.0 percent, a less steep decline than http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/january_factory_orders_fall_most_in_over_a_year.html 400586218 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:15:00 -0600 (Reuters) - El Paso Corp <EP.N> delayed a meeting at which shareholders are due to vote on the pipeline company's more than $23 billion acquisition by rival Kinder Morgan Inc <KMI.N> to give investors more time to consider a recent court ruling in which a judge criticized some of the deal's participants.El Paso said on http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/el_paso_delays_vote_on_kinder_morgan_deal.html 400586217 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:15:06 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks eased on Monday after data showing a decline in European private sector activity last month and a reduced target for China growth gave investors reason to pause.But losses were limited in a sign investors were looking to buy on dips, a familiar pattern this year as cheaper valuations drew in those betting on http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/wall_street_off_on_economy_concerns__dip_buying_seen.html 400586216 Edward Krudy Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:14:56 -0600 ATHENS (Reuters) - Major holders of Greek government debt said on Monday they will take part in a bond swap plan.Twelve banks, insurers, asset managers and hedge funds in the steering committee of bank lobby group IIF said in a statement they would take part in the exchange. That includes BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Deutsche Bank http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/iif_members_to_take_part_in_greek_bond_swap.html 400586215 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:14:54 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - The pace of growth in the U.S. services sector unexpectedly picked up in February to its highest level in a year, according to an industry report released on Monday.U.S. Jan factory orders fall most in over a yearNew orders for U.S. factory goods dropped in January by the most in over a year and businesses cut orders for new http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/instant_view__february_service_sector_highest_level_in_a_yea.html 400586214 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:14:52 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - The pace of growth in the U.S. services sector unexpectedly picked up in February to its highest level in a year, according to an industry report released on Monday.The Institute for Supply Management said its services index rose to 57.3 last month from 56.8 in January. The reading topped economists' forecasts for 56.1, http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/february_service_sector_highest_level_in_a_year__ism_survey.html 400586211 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:45:52 -0600 ATHENS (Reuters) - Major holders of Greek government debt said on Monday they will take part in a bond swap plan.Twelve banks, insurers, asset managers and hedge funds in the steering committee of bank lobby group IIF said in a statement they would take part in the exchange. That includes BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Deutsche Bank http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/iif_steering_committee_members_to_take_part_in_greek_bond_sw.html 400586207 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:14:53 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged lower at the open on Monday after data showing a decline in European private sector activity and a lower growth target for China gave investors reason to pause after 3 weeks of gains for the S&P 500.The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 21.87 points, or 0.17 percent, to 12,955.70. http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/europe_data__china_weigh_wall_street_down.html 400586206 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:14:51 -0600 (Reuters) - Walgreen Co <WAG.N> suffered a bit in February, with comparable sales down 4.6 percent in the second month that the largest U.S. drugstore chain did not fill prescriptions for patients in the Express Scripts Inc <ESRX.O> pharmacy benefits network.Walgreen also said its second-quarter sales rose 0.7 percent http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/walgreen_february_sales_hit_by_express_scripts_exit.html 400586203 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:14:53 -0600 SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The $64 billion global video games industry, shaken up by the likes of Zynga in recent years, may be on the verge of another identity crisis.Hardware and software sales for consoles keep dropping, market-leading Activision Blizzard, which makes the "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft" mega franchises laid off 8 percent http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/video_game_industry_looks_for_new_plan_to_reach_players.html 400586199 Liana B. Baker Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:14:58 -0600 HONG KONG (Reuters) - American International Group (AIG) is selling part of its stake in AIA Group to raise about $6 billion to help the U.S. insurer repay a huge federal government bailout.AIG is looking to place some 1.7 billion AIA shares in a range of HK$27.15-27.50 per share - a discount of up to 7 percent to Friday's AIA closing price, http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/aig_selling__6_billion_of_aia_shares__to_repay_bailout.html 400586198 Denny Thomas And Clare Baldwin Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:14:52 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures eased on Monday after data showing a decline in European private sector activity last month and a lower target for China growth gave investors reason to pause.Early losses eased, a sign that investors were looking to buy on dips, with cheaper valuations still an allure to those betting on an improving U.S. http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/stock_futures_off_on_economy_concerns__dip_buying_seen.html 400586194 Edward Krudy Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:45:52 -0600 BEIJING (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover and Chery Automobile Co are seeking regulatory approval for a 17.5 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) car venture in eastern China, two people with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters on Monday.The deal marks Jaguar Land Rover's latest effort to expand its appeal in the world's largest auto market where luxury http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/jaguar_land_rover__chery_seek_approval_for__2_8_billion_jv.html 400586190 Fang Yan And Ken Wills Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:15:58 -0600 SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Pork donuts may not be palatable to Americans or Europeans, but the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chains is catering to local tastes in China, where it aims to open another 100 stores in the next two to three years.Dunkin' Brands Group Inc <DNKN.O> also announced a multi-year http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/dunkin__aims_at_china_with_pork_donuts__lebron_james.html 400586189 Eveline Danubrata Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:15:56 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell on Monday after data showed Europe's private sector activity declined last month and China cut its growth target, reigniting concerns about the strength of the global economy.* European stocks dropped, with shares in euro zone peripheral countries such as Italy and Spain among the worst hit, after data http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/stock_futures_fall_on_global_economy_worries.html 400586188 Edward Krudy Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:15:54 -0600 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell on Monday after data showed Europe's private sector activity declined last month and China cut its growth target, reigniting concerns about the strength of the global economy.European and Asian stocks dropped, with shares in euro zone peripheral countries such as Italy and Spain among the worst hit, http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/stock_futures_decline_on_global_economy_concerns.html 400586187 Edward Krudy Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:15:52 -0600 BEIJING (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover and Chery Automobile Co are seeking regulatory approval for a 17.5 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) car venture in eastern China, two people with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters on Monday.The deal marks Jaguar Land Rover's latest effort to expand its appeal in the world's largest auto market where luxury http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/jaguar_land_rover__chery_seek_approval_for_joint_venture.html 400586181 Fang Yan And Ken Wills Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:45:55 -0600 VIENNA (Reuters) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Monday he was confident Spain would fulfill its EU budget discipline commitments despite setting itself a softer 2012 deficit target than originally planned.Addressing reporters during a visit to Vienna, Barroso said the Commission had not yet seen Spain's 2012 budget and http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/eu_s_barroso_says_sure_spain_will_honor_commitments.html 400586180 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:45:53 -0600 LONDON (Reuters) - The European Commission moved one step closer on Monday to forcing companies to increase the number of women on their boards with a consultation on imposed quotas that could prove divisive among some member states and industry bodies.EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has kick-started a three-month debate that could result http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/eu_moves_closer_to_quotas_for_women_on_boards.html 400586170 Anjuli Davies Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:14:54 -0600 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone shoppers increased spending in January, a surprise after four months of falls but economists said a quarterly reading that smoothes over the data still showed a large decline.The European Union's statistics office said on Monday retail sales in the 17 countries using the euro rose 0.3 percent month-on-month and was http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/euro_zone_retail_sales_post_surprise_rise.html 400586169 Jan Strupczewski Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:14:51 -0600 (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.48 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.51 percent, and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.54 percent at 5:52 a.m. ET.European stocks dropped 0.8 percent early, with shares in euro zone peripheral countries such as Italy and Spain http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/stock_index_futures_signal_early_losses.html 400586164 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 06:44:51 -0600 ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> said on Monday it planned to buy back up to 4 billion Swiss francs ($4.4 billion) in outstanding securities in a bid to comply with the new Swiss and Basel III global capital adequacy rules.The tender was for public Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruments, Credit Suisse said."Credit Suisse continues http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/credit_suisse_to_buy_back__4_4_billion_of_securities.html 400586156 Staff Reporter Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:15:55 -0600 BEIJING (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover and Chery Automobile Co are seeking regulatory approval for a 17.5 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) car venture in eastern China, two people with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters on Monday.The deal marks Jaguar Land Rover's latest effort to expand its appeal in the world's largest auto market where luxury http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/reuters/finance_business/2012/Mar/05/jaguar_land_rover__chery_seek_ok_for__2_8_billion_jv.html 400586155 Fang Yan And Ken Wills Reuters Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:15:53 -0600