FOREX-Euro stalls near 2-mth peak, Deutsche Bank in focus

TOKYO, July 27 (Reuters) – The euro ticked up towards a two-month peak above $1.3000 on Tuesday, although traders were cautious about bidding it up too much as they await clarity on Deutsche Bank’s (DBKGn.DE) exposure to euro zone sovereign debt.

Deutsche Bank has not revealed its exposure to euro zone sovereign debt following tests to see how well banks in the region would stand up to financial shocks. [ID:nLDE66P1X4]

It is expected to disclose more when it reports earnings later on Tuesday, which some traders said, if there are no shocks, could build more confidence in euro zone banks and trigger buying in the euro.

In that case, the euro’s next target would be last week’s two-month high of $1.3029 EUR= and then $1.3125, a 38.2 percent retracement of its December-June fall, technical analysts said.

“Despite all the negative talk about the stress test results, German interest rates are rising and the euro firmed, which seems to suggest lingering euro short-covering needs,” said Osamu Takashima, chief FX strategist at Citibank in Tokyo.

The euro rallied on Monday on relief the tests were over, although concerns they were not rigorous enough mean investors are still hesitant to make big bets on it, while some traders say euro zone debt redemptions this week could also constrain it.

Citi estimates there are some 45 billion euros worth of maturing bonds and coupon payments this week. [ID:nLDE66M1PR]

The euro was flat on the day at $1.2995 EUR= after ticking above $1.30 earlier. It rose about 0.6 percent on Monday.

Any fall was seen as limited while it remained above support at $1.2870 — its 100-day moving average — and last week’s low around $1.2730.

The euro gained 0.1 percent to 112.96 yen EURJPY=. It has met stiff resistance at 113.30-50 in the past two weeks, partly on selling by Japanese exporters.

But Takashima said it was likely to rise above 113 yen.

“It’s true Japanese exporters were lowering their target price to around 113 yen from 118 yen. But looking at trade data, exports to Europe are stagnating, which points to limited selling by exporters,” he said.

The euro also strengthened 0.2 percent against the Aussie, which softened after hitting a 2 1/2-month high against the U.S. dollar in the previous session.

The Aussie tends to gain with when investors are more risk tolerant but a fall in Shanghai share prices on worries about possible losses in local banks lending to local governments and property sapped its strength. [ID:nTOE66Q003] [ID:nTOE66P032]

The euro fetched A$1.4411 EURAUD=R, about a cent above a double-bottom around A$1.4320 formed this month.

But it needs to clear A$1.5143 to end a downtrend in place since late 2008, technical analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in report.

The Aussie was steady on the day at $0.9016 AUD=D4, after rising the most among major currencies on Monday as investor risk appetite revived after the stress test results.

But chartwise it could be set to rise against the yen. Its Ichimoku charts showing the pair’s tenkan sen line rises above kijun sen line, a bullish signal.

A rise above 79.97 yen within the next three weeks will put the currency above the Ichimoku cloud, another strong buy signal.

“I think investors will tiptoe back into high-yielders as worries about Europe will gradually subside,” said a trader at a Japanese brokerage house.

The U.S. dollar gained 0.1 percent against the yen to 86.95 yen JPY=, though it was capped by offers around 87 yen from Japanese exporters.

The British pound held at $1.5490, below a three-month peak of $1.5521 hit on Monday GBP=D4.

Sterling faces several targets at $1.5555, which is its 200-day moving average and the 50 percent retracement of its decline from November to May. (Contributiong by Reuters Analyst Krishna Kumar in Sydney; Editing by Charlotte Cooper)

Highstreet agrees rent compromise on Karstadt-paper

July 25 (Reuters) – Property group Highstreet has agreed to a compromise on rents with insolvent retailer Karstadt, a move which will help investor Nicolas Berggruen rescue the department store operator, according to German daily Bild am Sonntag.

A disagreement on store rents had prevented Berggruen from striking a deal with the highstreet consortium, which consists of Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Pirelli Real Estate (PCRE.MI). [ID:nLDE60D1U8]

“We have paved the way to an agreement, we made some concessions on the rental contract,” Alexander Dibelius, the head of Goldman Sachs in Germany, Austria, Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, told the paper.

Highstreet had warned Berggruen that Karstadt, which owns the famous KaDeWe department store in Berlin, could still be liquidated if an accord on rents did not emerge soon.

Berggruen, the billionaire son of a German art collector, has said he wants to save the Karstadt brand and the 25,000 jobs at stake, but demanded further concessions from property owners like Highstreet. (Editing by Sugita Katyal)

Indosat issues guidance on dlr bond-source

July 22 (Reuters) – PT Indosat (ISAT.JK), Indonesia’s No. 2 telecommunications firm, plans to issue a 10-year dollar bond around 7.75 percent, a source close to the deal said on Thursday.

The deal may be priced later in the day, the source said.

Citigroup (C.N), DBS (DBSM.SI), HSBC (0005.HK) (HSBA.L), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) have been hired for the offer.

(Editing by Ken Wills)

Drugmaker Actavis agrees debt refinancing deal

July 22 (Reuters) – Icelandic generic drugmaker Actavis has agreed a debt refinancing deal with its lenders to slash its multi-billion-euro debt load, the company said.

The group did not give details in a brief statement but said the agreement positioned it with the flexibility to continue to grow, especially in southern Europe, Japan, the Middle East and northern Africa, and increase market share in current markets.

Sources familiar with the matter had told Reuters earlier this month that key lender Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) was close to a deal with Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson, the Icelandic tycoon who owns Actavis, to refinance the company. [ID:nLDE6661A3]

Deutsche financed Bjorgolfsson’s 4.7 billion euro ($6 billion) leveraged buyout (LBO) of Actavis, one of the world’s biggest makers of copycat drugs, in 2007. ($1=.7836 Euro) (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Hans Peters)

Temasek eyeing benchmark sterling bond sale-sources

July 19 (Reuters) – Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL] is looking to sell sterling-denominated bonds, its first issue in the British currency, sources with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

Temasek could do a benchmark issue — which in industry terms is at least $500 million equivalent, sources said.

UBS (UBSN.VX), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), HSBC (HSBA.L) are likely to be lead managers for the sale, sources said.

Temasek and the banks declined to comment.

“They see sterling as an additional pool of capital for them,” said one of the sources who spoke to Reuters.

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Kevin Lim; additional reporting by Saikat Chatterjee in Hong Kong)

Deutsche Bank names head of Asia corporate finance

July 18 (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) said on Sunday it had appointed Henry Cai as its head of corporate finance Asia and the head of corporate and investment banking China.

Cai had resigned as UBS’s chairman of Asia investment banking and head of investment banking for China earlier this month.

Since then speculation has been rife that Cai was headed to Deutsche Bank.

(Reporting by Denny Thomas; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

REFILE-S.Africa’s TCTA to auction 100 mln rand of WS04 bond

July 15 (Reuters) – South Africa’s state-owned TCTA, which finances and manages bulk water projects, said on Thursday it would auction up to 100 million rand ($13.26 million) of its WS04 bond later in the day.

The WS04 bond matures on May 30, 2016 and has a coupon rate of 12.5 percent.

Closing time for bids through the TCTA’s panel, including Absa Capital (ASAJ.J), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Investec (INLJ.J), Nedbank (NEDJ.J) and Standard Bank (SBKJ.J), is 0800 GMT.

The results will be announced at 0830 GMT on Thursday. (Reporting by Phumza Macanda)

S.Korea Woori Bank to sell benchmark-sized bonds -sources

July 13 (Reuters) – South Korea’s Woori Bank, a unit of Woori Finance Holdings Co Ltd (053000.KS), plans to sell benchmark-sized 5-1/2-year bonds at around 320 basis points over U.S. Treasuries, sources close to the deal said.

The deal could be priced as early as Tuesday, the sources said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC.N), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), HSBC (HSBA.L) (0005.HK), ING Bank (ING.AS), UBS (UBSN.VX) and Woori Bank Investment and Securities (005940.KS) were hired to manage the deal. (Reporting by Jun Ebias; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

REFILE-UPDATE 1-Thai TPI Polene sees higher 2010 net profit

BANGKOK, July 1 (Reuters) – TPI Polene PCL TPIP.BK, Thailand’s third-largest cement firm, said on Thursday it expected 2010 net profit to be higher than the 4.76 billion baht ($147 million) it made last year.

Chief Executive Prachai Leophairatana attributed the profit outlook to higher cement demand on the back of government infrastructure projects.

“This year’s profit should beat last year’s slightly,” Prachai said, adding that an investment in a power plant would help bring saving costs of 600 million baht a year.

The company also expected second-quarter earnings to be higher than 677 million baht earned in the first quarter as revenue in the first half grew 5 percent from a year earlier thanks to a rise in cement sales volume, Prachai added.

TPI Polene, 55 percent owned by the Leophairatana family, entered a debt rehabilitation programme in 2000.

Prachai said it was restructuring 3 billion baht in debt with Bangkok Bank BBL.BK and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), extending the period of repayment by four to five years.

It planned to raise cement prices by another 200-300 baht per tonne this year. It raised cement prices by 150 baht per tonne earlier this year, he added.

The company, currently running at full capacity of 9 million tonnes per year, planned to spend about 10 billion baht from 2013 to raise capacity. ($1=32.40 Baht) (Reporting by Manunphattr Dhanananphorn; Writing by Arada Kultawanich; Editing by Alan Raybould)

UPDATE 1-Deutsche CEO says “regulatory arbitrage” a worry

June 27 (Reuters) – The chief executive of Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) said on Sunday he wsa concerned the G20 plan to give countries flexibility on the timing of tougher of capital rules will lead to an uneven playing field for banks.

The Group of 20 leaders, at a two-day summit in Toronto, are likely to allow countries flexibility in instituting tough capital rules, according to a draft communique obtained by Reuters

“If you don’t have a coordinated approach to regulatory (systems)… then there’s the risk of regulatory arbitrage,” Josef Ackermann told Reuters when asked about the G20 draft communique.

Ackermann, who spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of Fortune Global Forum in Cape Town, also said he could he “live with” the U.S. financial reform bill as the most detrimental proposals for bank profits had now been removed.

U.S. lawmakers hammered out a historic overhaul of financial regulation on Friday, reaching a deal by compromising on a proposal that would have required banks to spin off their lucrative swaps-dealing desks.

“I think some of the worst parts have been taken out. I can live with it, from what I’ve seen so far,” Ackermann said. (Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Deutsche CEO says “regulatory arbitrage” a worry

June 27 (Reuters) – The chief executive of Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) said on Sunday he wsa concerned the G20 plan to give countries flexibility on the timing of tougher of capital rules will lead to an uneven playing field for banks.

Financials

The Group of 20 leaders, at a two-day summit in Toronto, are likely to allow countries flexibility in instituting tough capital rules, according to a draft communique obtained by Reuters

“If you don’t have a coordinated approach to regulatory (systems)… then there’s the risk of regulatory arbitrage,” Josef Ackermann told Reuters when asked about the G20 draft communique. (Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by Ron Popeski)

EURO BONDS-BAT dual tranche bond

June 25 (Reuters) – News, details on corporate bond issues in the European markets on Friday:

Stocks | Bonds | Global Markets

BAT (BATS.L)

Issue: Cigarette maker British American Tobacco is selling a dual-tranche bond, an official with one of the banks managing the sale said. The deal comprises a 10-year 600 million euro bond and a 30-year 275 million pound bond.

Managing banks: BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, Lloyds.

Rating: Moody’s Baa1, S&P BBB+ and Fitch BBB+

(London Corporate Finance: +44 207 542 8389)

EURO BONDS-Europcar plans 7-year senior secured bond

Mandate: The car rental firm is planning a 7-year 250 million euro senior secured note, callable after 4 years, according to two sources familiar with the deal. A roadshow is planned for June 22-24.

Managing banks: JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank

Expected ratings: Moody’s B2, S&P B+

(London Corporate Finance: +44 207 542 8389)

Fujitsu shares could fall another 10 pct-Barron’s

June 13 (Reuters) – Fujitsu Ltd’s (6702.T) shares could fall another 10 percent unless it is able to end a lingering dispute over the ouster of former President Kuniaki Nozoe, Barron’s reported on Sunday.

Stocks | Global Markets | Technology

Fujitsu, Japan’s top IT services company, has seen its shares fall more than 16 percent since it reported upbeat expectations for the year on April 30, Barron’s reported.

Nozoe was threatening to sue the company’s directors and he told Barron’s he was considering launching a proxy fight to win representation on the board.

Nozoe is fighting Fujitsu executives over his claim that he was improperly forced to step down as president in September because of allegations of dealing with a company with suspected links to organized crime. [ID:nTOE63T06L]

The controversy may have been baked into Fujitsu’s share price, analyst Damian Thong at Macquarie Research in Tokyo, told Barron’s.

But analyst Takeo Miyamoto at Deutsche Bank in Tokyo said optimism over Fujitsu’s positive outlook on 2010 may have been overdone to assuage investors’ concerns, according to Barron’s June 14 issue.

Miyamoto has a $30, 12-month target for Fujitsu’s American depositary receipts (FJTSY.PK), which closed at $30.75 on Friday.

The analyst said Fujitsu needs to make additional management changes to become a top-tier global player, according to Barron’s. The newspaper said that kind of reform was unlikely, making Fujitsu’s shares similarly unlikely to see any big rally. (Reporting by Elinor Comlay, editing by Maureen Bavdek)

Paternoster hires bankers to value company: report

(Reuters) – British pension buyout firm Paternoster has hired bankers to put a valuation on the company as investors look to exit the business, the Independent on Sunday reported.

Deals

Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), the largest shareholder in Paternoster, will most likely buy out investors and merge the Paternoster business into its Abbey Life insurance operation, the paper reported, citing sources close to the situation.

Paternoster declined to comment.

Last September, Paternoster said it would cut jobs and replace founder Mark Wood as Chief Executive after it received a 5 million pound ($7.3 million) cash injection to allow it to resume writing new business.

($1=.6865 Pound)

(Reporting by Julie Crust; Editing by Louise Heavens)

Reuters Insider – ECB Chief Economist Jürgen Stark on the Euro

Reuters Insider is holding a live panel debate at 0915 GMT examining the debt crisis in Europe and the future of the euro with insight from the ECB’s Chief Economist Jürgen Stark, Deutsche Bank Chief Economist Thomas Mayer and Goethe University Professor Volker Wieland.

To watch live, go to insider.thomsonreuters.com and log in, or register for an account.

The show will also be available live and on demand on 3000 Xtra. Click on:

link.reuters.com/ran39k

Petronas hires bankers for $2 bln IPO of unit-sources

June 8 (Reuters) – Malaysia state energy company Petronas [PETR.UL] has hired Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), CIMB (CIMB.KL) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) as book-runners to advise on a planned $2 billion listing of its petrochemcial business, sources with knowledge of the deal said.

The listing will likely take place in the fourth quarter of this year depending on market conditions, one of the sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

More banks may be added to the IPO effort later, the sources said.

Azman Ibrahim, a Petronas spokesman, declined to comment and officials at the three banks were not immediately available for comment. (Editing by Ed Lane) (Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Daniel Stanton of IFR Asia in Singapore and Soo Ai Peng in KUALA LUMPUR)

UK Kaupthing probe looks at Deutsche – sources

June 7 (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) has become embroiled in a UK probe into market manipulation at the time of the collapse of Icelandic bank Kaupthing, sources familiar with the matter said. Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said in December it was investigating suspected offences against the Fraud Act prior to Kaupthing’s demise in October 2008.

Financials

The suspicion was that Kaupthing tried to prop up the price of its debt through a number of investment vehicles that the bank was financing itself, the sources said.

“Generally speaking, we’re looking at potential market manipulation,” one of the sources said.

The vehicles were buying Credit Default Swaps (CDS) — instruments used to insure Kaupthing’s debt against default — sending a positive signal to markets in the hope that Kaupthing’s debt prices would rise.

Kaupthing was effectively buying the CDS itself, because it was financing the investment through a loan.

“We are cooperating with the authorities in seeking to establish the facts in this matter,” Deutsche Bank said when asked about the story, which was first reported by UK newspaper The Guardian on Monday.

The German bank declined to provide further detail, while the SFO declined to comment altogether.

Deutsche issued credit-linked notes on behalf of the investment vehicles set up by Kaupthing, one of the sources said. But that did not mean it would necessarily have known about the way the vehicles were financed.

Last month, an Icelandic court ordered the former head of Kaupthing, Hreidar Sigurdsson, to be held for 12 days pending further investigation for suspected embezzlement, market manipulation and forgery. [ID:nLDE6460Q8]

Another former Kaupthing executive who now runs a privately held bank in Luxembourg, was also arrested. (Reporting by Douwe Miedema; Editing by Louise Heavens)

Deutsche Bank lures with higher dividends -paper

Deutsche Bank wants to return more cash to shareholders in the future, its finance chief said in an interview with German Sunday weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

“In the coming years, rising accruals and cash flow in our private clients business should help boost earnings. Furthermore we also want to go back to paying dividends similarly attractive to those seen in the past,” Stefan Krause told the paper, when asked why investors should still buy Deutsche’s shares.

He reaffirmed the bank’s target for a pretax profit of 10 billion euros ($12.50 billion) from its operating businesses for 2011.

(Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner; Editing by Louise Heavens)

AIG to revisit float plan if Pru bid fails – reports

The U.S. Treasury is re-looking at plans to float the Asian unit of AIG in case a bid by Prudential to buy the AIA fails, two British newspapers reported on Sunday.

Prudential boss Tidjane Thiam has been struggling to make headway with sceptical investors who question the value of his $35.5 billion acquisition of AIA.

The Sunday Times said officials had been working on the plans for two weeks, since the first signs of problems appeared with the Prudential deal — when the UK Financial Services Authority forced a tweak in the bid and an unprecedented last-minute delay.

The newspaper said a number of Asia’s biggest financial-services firms had been approached by advisers working for the American government. Chinese banks have also been sounded out on their interest.

In a separate report, the Independent on Sunday said AIG had asked Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank to refresh their analysis. The two were lead underwriters on the planned flotation before it was dropped in favour of the Prudential offer.

A source familiar with the situation was quoted as saying the two banks had reassured AIG they could still get a flotation away at an attractive price.

Prudential declined to comment on the reports.

(Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Louise Heavens)