Singapore c.bank to introduce s-term bills from Q2 2011

July 29 (Reuters) – Singapore’s central bank said on Thursday it will issue short-term bills next year, a fourth instrument for money markets, to help banks manage their liquidity.

Currently the central bank uses three instruments — foreign exchange swaps, money market borrowings and repos.

“MAS Bills will be our fourth instrument. These bills are negotiable, so banks needing liquidity can tell them or pledge them as collateral in interbank repo markets as well as the MAS Standing Facility,” said Heng Swee Keat, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

“This will facilitate banks in managing their liquidity.”

He said the bills would be for up to three months and the authority was initially planning an issue of up to S$20 billion. (Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan)

Orc Software: Interim Report January 1 – June 30, 2010

First joint Orc/Neonet business transaction effected
- Cost synergies confirmed
STOCKHOLM–(Business Wire)–
The integration between Orc (STO:ORC) and Neonet is almost finished and the
anticipated cost synergies of SEK 40m have been secured. During the quarter, the
first joint business transaction was carried out after the merger with Neonet.
Orc`s Technology operations are growing further with continuing high margins.
Activities have also been launched to increase the revenues and margins of Orc`s
transaction operations. During the quarter, income was charged with SEK 29.3m in
nonrecurring costs related to the merger.

Adjusted for the SEK 29.3m in nonrecurring costs, operating income was SEK
39.3m. Synergies have thus been secured and costs will decline by another SEK
10m, on a quarterly basis, as a result. Including these synergies, the operating
margin would be 18%.

The annualized contract value (ACV) at the end of Q2 2010 was SEK 750.6m
(674.6), an increase of SEK 76.0m, or 11%, compared to Q2 2009. On the merger
date, ACV in Neonet amounted to SEK 52.1m.

The transaction net was SEK 31.7m (-) and the transaction margin was 35% (-) for
the second quarter 2010.

April – June 2010

· Operating revenue of SEK 282.7m (180.1)
· Revenue growth of 57%
· Operating income of 10.0m (42.1)
· Operating margin of 4% (23)
· Income after tax of SEK 6.0m (31.0)
· Basic earnings per share of SEK 0.26 (2.04)

January – June 2010

· Operating revenue of SEK 453.0m (343.9)
· Revenue growth of 32%
· Operating income of SEK 37.3m (92.0)
· Operating margin of 8% (27)
· Income after tax of SEK 24.9m (67.3)
· Basic earnings per share of SEK 1.30 (4.43)
The Neonet Group has been consolidated as of April 1, 2010. The actual
transaction date was April 7.

CEO Thomas Bill comments:
Due to a good trend of sales in all regions during the quarter, our Annualized
Contract Value (ACV) increased by SEK 19m, despite a higher churn. Positive
foreign exchange effects and customer contracts received in connection with the
merger with Neonet were other contributing factors, and as a whole, ACV
increased by SEK 97m. The higher churn was primarily attributable to operations
that were discontinued because of changed conditions or poor profitability.
However, in our opinion, this does not indicate a long-term return to the levels
of 2009.

The integration of Orc and Neonet is almost finished. We can note that we
completed our first joint business transaction and several more are in progress.
We can already confirm our cost synergies and the new organization is in place
and working on achieving our common targets. We are very confident that this
will lead to solid opportunities for growth, especially for Managed Services
solutions.

We have launched efforts to increase the sales and margins of our transaction
business and are convinced they will bear fruit.

New laws have been introduced in the U.S. and discussions are in progress in
Europe within the financial area. No one knows what the exact consequences will
be. However, in our judgment, the business opportunities created by these
changes will be considerably bigger than the risks for Orc.

With our new common and strong technology portfolio, our concentration on
Managed Services solutions, the new efficient organization and our focused and
target-oriented work to leverage opportunities afforded by our transaction
business, we look positively toward our growth during the remainder of 2010.

If we should already include the secured cost synergies, we would have an
adjusted operating margin of 18%, making us feel confident about reaching our
goals of an anticipated operating margin not lower than about 20% in a weak
market and a potential operating margin of 35% or higher in a buoyant market.

About Orc Software
Orc Software is the leading global provider of technology and services for
advanced trading in financial instruments. Orc`s competitive edge lies in its
depth of knowledge of the trading world, gained by deploying sophisticated
trading solutions for over 20 years.

Orc Trading and Orc Connect provide the tools for making the best trading and
connectivity decisions with strong analytics, unmatched market access, high
performance derivatives trading capabilities, automated trading strategies and
execution, ultra-low latency and risk management.

Through the merger with Neonet, Orc also delivers neutral, high-speed brokerage
services to professional market participants, with clients in over 20 countries
globally. With subsidiary CameronTec, Orc is the leading provider of FIX
infrastructure and low latency connectivity.

Orc`s customers include leading banks, trading and market-making firms,
exchanges, brokerage houses, institutional investors and hedge funds.

Orc provides sales and quality support services from its offices across EMEA,
Americas and Asia Pacific.

Orc Software is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm (SSE: ORC).

For more information, please visit: www.orcsoftware.com

N.B. The English text is a translation of the Swedish text. In case of
discrepancy between the Swedish and the English text the Swedish version shall
prevail.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com

Orc Software
Thomas Bill, CEO
phone: +46 8 506 477 35
or
Anders Berg, CFO
phone: +46 8 506 477 24

Copyright Business Wire 2010

WRAPUP 1-Cost cuts help Hollandi outshine Saudi lenders in Q2

RIYADH, July 10 (Reuters) – Saudi Hollandi Bank 1040.SE had the best second quarter among three local lenders that announced quarterly earnings on Saturday after it cut costs by more than half to offset a decline in lending income.

The bank, part owned by a Royal Bank of Scotland-led consortium (RBS.L) that may sell its stake through a public offering, has more than doubled its net profit in the three months to end-June to 250.5 million riyals ($66.8 million), beating analysts’ forecasts. [ID:nLDE66614W].

Profits were 90.6 million riyals a year earlier.

While both its lending and non-lending net incomes fell by 15.6 and 8.2 percent respectively during the quarter, Hollandi’s operating costs shrank to 228.3 million riyals from 461.9 million riyals in the second quarter of 2009.

Operating profit — the sum of lending and non-lending net incomes — fell 13.3 percent to 478.8 million riyals. By the end of June, the annual decline in Hollandi’s loan portfolio accelerated to 11.1 percent from 7.4 percent in the 12 months to end-March 2010.

The much bigger Riyad Bank 1010.SE posted a 16.5 percent fall in second quarter net profit mainly after lending income fell for the second straight quarter while its costs soared.

Riyad — Saudi Arabia’s third-largest bank by market value — exceeded average forecasts by analysts with 766 million riyals in the three months to end-June after 918 million riyals in the same period a year ago.[ID:nLDE666168]

Its net lending income fell 10.5 percent to 1.03 billion riyals, more than the 9 percent annual decline it recorded in the first quarter. The annual growth in the loans portfolio fell to 0.2 percent by the end of June from 6.1 percent by the end of March.

Income from banking services — brokerage, investment and foreign exchange operations — rose by almost 33 percent to 499 million riyals during the second quarter, based on Reuters calculations.

This means that operating costs rose 25.6 percent to 761 million riyals from 606 million riyals in the second quarter of 2009 but still below 785 million riyals in the first quarter, based on Reuters calculations.

Unspecified provisions weighed in to cut second quarter net profit at the smaller Bank AlJazira 1020.SE, the kingdom’s number one stock market broker, to less than a fifth of its level a year earlier, the bank said.

The Saudi stock exchange erased during the second quarter much of the 11.1 percent gains it made during the first quarter.

AlJazira’s net lending income inched up 1 percent to 188 million riyals but net income from non-lending operations fell by almost a third to 109 million riyals.

The bank did not explain the drop in non-lending income. It has however allowed itself to be more aggressive on lending activities: by the end of June, its loans portfolio grew by 10 percent against 7 percent by the end of March. (Writing by Souhail Karam; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

US lawmakers agree to let banks trade most swaps

June 25 (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers finalizing sweeping financial reforms agreed on Friday to allow banks to trade in-house many types of over-the-counter derivatives, watering down a controversial plan that would have required banks to spin off much of their lucrative swaps dealing desks.

Bonds | Global Markets | Funds News | ETFs News

Under the deal, banks can trade in-house foreign exchange and interest rate swaps, gold and silver swaps, and derivatives designed to hedge their own risk.

But banks will need to spin off dealing desks to affiliates to handle agricultural, energy and metals swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps. (Reporting by Charles Abbott, Rachelle Younglai, Roberta Rampton, editing by Jackie Frank)

Banks could trade many swaps under new compromise

(Reuters) – Banks would be allowed to trade in-house many types of over-the-counter derivatives under a new proposal designed to break an impasse in the U.S. Congress over financial regulation reform, Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson said on Friday.

Politics

Banks could trade foreign exchange and interest rate swaps in house, as well as gold and silver swaps, and derivatives designed to hedge their own risk, said Peterson, citing a compromise worked on by members of a House and Senate financial reform panel as well as Obama administration officials.

But banks would need to spin-off desks to affiliates to handle agricultural, energy and metals swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps, Peterson said.

(Reporting by Charles Abbott and Roberta Rampton)

Banks could trade many swaps under new compromise

June 25 (Reuters) – Banks would be allowed to trade in-house many types of over-the-counter derivatives under a new proposal designed to break an impasse in the U.S. Congress over financial regulation reform, Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson said on Friday.

Stocks | Bonds | Global Markets | Funds News | ETFs News

Banks could trade foreign exchange and interest rate swaps in house, as well as gold and silver swaps, and derivatives designed to hedge their own risk, said Peterson, citing a compromise worked on by members of a House and Senate financial reform panel as well as Obama administration officials.

But banks would need to spin-off desks to affiliates to handle agricultural, energy and metals swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps, Peterson said. (Reporting by Charles Abbott and Roberta Rampton)

UPDATE 1-MDS posts wider Q2 loss on charges

(Reuters) – Canadian health sciences company MDS Inc (MDS.TO) reported a wider second-quarter loss from continuing operations, hurt by a restructuring charge and foreign exchange revaluation losses.

The company — which recently completed the sale of its analytical technologies and pharma services businesses — posted a loss of $52 million, or 51 cents a basic share, compared with a loss of $6 million, or 6 cents a share, a year ago.

It said the latest quarter’s loss includes a $14 million corporate restructuring charge and a $27 million non-cash foreign exchange revaluation loss.

Revenue for the quarter dropped 13 percent to $56 million, hurt by foreign exchange valuation.

Analysts, on average, were looking for a loss of 4 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $47.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Ottawa-based MDS’ shares closed down 1 percent on Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Antonita Madonna Devotta in Bangalore; Editing by Anshuman Daga) )

Tradefair Offer Sign-Up Bonus Plus ‘Little Black Book’ To Entice New Spread Betting Customers

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, Jun 10 (MARKET WIRE) —
On the day that the Prime Minister has warned of unavoidable cuts to
tackle the budget deficit caused by recession, one area that has defied
the current economic trend is spread betting. To capitalise on this
increase, Tradefair, one of the leading spread betting platforms for
private investors, have launched a promotion to entice new customers to
try their service.

In order to qualify for the credit offer, customers simply need to apply
for an account with Tradefair, deposit GBP 100 into it and place five
bets (not on shares). Tradefair will then match the first initial deposit
value up to a maximum of GBP 100.

The practice of spread betting – speculating on the outcome of an event
rather than on a simple ‘win or lose’ result – has been growing in
popularity in the UK amongst both city traders and, crucially, smaller
investors.

A spokesperson for Tradefair said today “Private individuals spread
betting in the UK on the stock markets are playing a fast-growing role in
the global business of foreign exchange and Tradefair are looking to
entice people to try out our platform to place their bets.”

“We provide an unparalleled level of service, advice and information
through our trading platform and are now offering new customers a sign-up
bonus of up to GBP 100 plus a Little Black Book of easily digestible
spread betting information to set you up in your trading career.”

About Tradefair

Tradefair Spreads is the home of one of the most simple and intuitive
spread betting platforms on which to trade.

Tradefair is funded by and is part of Betfair, the world’s largest
internet betting exchange. The Tradefair Spreads platform allows bettors
to speculate on the movement of stocks and shares through the ‘buying’
and ‘selling’ of derivatives.

For more information please visit http://www.tradefair.com.

Spread betting carries a high level of risk and you can lose more than
your initial deposit, so you should ensure spread betting meets your
investment objectives.

Contacts:
Tradefair
Ben Mosalski
+44 (0) 203 192 2547
www.tradefair.com

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

Court acquits Chandraswami in FERA case

New Delhi, June 5 — A Delhi court, on Saturday, acquitted self-styled godman, Chandraswami, in a 14-year-old Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had accused the godman of violating the FERA terms in a defamation suit filed by him 26 years ago.

Additional Metropolitan Magistrate A.K. Pandey said the ED failed to establish that the “accused Nemi Chand Jain alias Chandraswami had the knowledge about deposit of the money (6,000 Euros) in a defamation suit filed by him in 1986 in London against Lakhu Bhai Pathak.” Counsel for Chandraswami, Santosh Chauriah, said, “They did not know exactly who paid the money on his behalf.

Kazakh bank Halyk boosts Q1 net profit

June 1 (Reuters) – Halyk Bank (HSBKq.L), Kazakhstan’s second-largest lender, said on Tuesday net income almost trebled in the first quarter of 2010 due mainly to a decrease in impairment charges. Halyk said net profit rose to 11.4 billion tenge ($77.6 million) from 4.1 billion tenge in the first quarter of last year. Impairment charges fell by 53 percent year-on-year.

Financials

This was partially offset by a 20 percent decrease in net fees and commissions and a lower net gain on foreign exchange operations, as well as higher operating expenses, the bank said.

Non-performing loans accounted for 21 percent of Halyk’s gross loan portfolio as of March 31.

“The most important message here has to be that the bank is breaking away from the pack and the divergence in fundamentals is starting to show through the numbers,” Renaissance Capital analyst Milena Ivanova-Venturini said in a note.

Kazkommertsbank KKGB.KZ, Kazakhstan’s largest lender, on Tuesday reported first-quarter net profit of $38 million. [ (Reporting by Robin Paxton; Editing by Erica Billingham)

UPDATE 1-Indonesia evaluating coal export letters of credit

Indonesia, May 31 (Reuters) – Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter, is evaluating whether it still needs to introduce letters of credit for coal exports, Mahendra Siregar, vice trade minister, said on Monday.

“The plan was to improve the import and export environment, the conditions at the time needed an increase of foreign exchange flow. But now things have started to change,” he said at the Coaltrans conference in Bali.

The government issued the regulation in April 2009 as part of moves to reduce capital outflows. It was intended to support the rupiah currency by ensuring that revenue from exports of commodities including palm oil, rubber, cocoa, coffee and mining products are kept onshore.

The ministry postponed the implementation of the regulation on Sept. 1, then delayed it again to Nov. 1.

Exporters have strongly opposed the regulation because they fear that the mandatory use of letters of credit could scare away buyers who prefer other payment methods.

Indonesia is also the world’s top producer of palm oil and number two producer of rubber and robust coffee, which is used for instant coffee. (Reporting by Fayen Wong; Writing by Fitri Wulandari; Editing by Sara Webb)

Indonesia says evaluating coal export letters of credit

Indonesia, May 31 (Reuters) – Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter, is evaluating whether it still needs to introduce letters of credit for coal exports, Mahendra Siregar, vice trade minister, said on Monday.

Energy

“The plan was to improve the import and export environment, the conditions at the time needed an increase of foreign exchange flow. But now things have started to change,” he said at the Coaltrans conference in Bali. (Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by Sara Webb)

S.Korea spotted buying dlrs to check won-traders

SEOUL, April 14 (Reuters) – South Korea’s foreign exchange authorities were spotted buying dollars to curb the won’s KRW= strength on Wednesday, traders said.

The authorities were seen purchasing dollars when the local currency strengthened past the 1,150 per dollar level, traders said.

The won was quoted at 1,114.9/5.4 per dollar as of 0511 GMT, compared with Tuesday’s domestic close KRW=KFTC of 1,123.9.

The South Korean unit advanced to as firm as 1,114.5. (Reporting by Lee Soo-jung, Writing by Cheon Jong-woo; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

Chinese c.bank sets yuan mid-point at 6.8259

SHANGHAI, April 12 (Reuters) – The central bank set the
mid-point of the yuan’s CNY=CFXS CNY=SAEC exchange rate
against the dollar on Monday, little changed from Friday, despite
mounting speculation that China may soon shift currency policy.

Mid-point Previous day’s mid-point Previous day’s close

6.8259 6.8260 6.8239

Expectations that China will let the yuan resume its rise, in
one form or another, have grown in tandem with a recent easing in
Sino-U.S. tensions over the currency. Markets are speculating
that the yuan could be depegged by mid-year.

The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, issues the
mid-point data through the interbank market, the China Foreign
Exchange Trade System (www.chinamoney.com.cn).

The yuan may rise or fall 0.5 percent from its mid-point each
day, but it has moved only a small fraction of its band in most
trading sessions since it was revalued by 2.1 percent to 8.11 per
dollar on July 21, 2005.

In the three years following the revaluation, the central
bank allowed the yuan to appreciate a further 19 percent against
the dollar. The yuan’s traded peak since the revaluation was
6.8099, reached on Sept. 23, 2008.

Since July 2008, however, the central bank has used the
mid-point to keep the yuan at a virtual peg to the dollar within
a narrow 100-pip range, to protect China’s economy as it
confronted a slowdown due to the global financial crisis.
(Reporting by Chen Yixin and Edmund Klamann)

UPDATE 2-Saudi Riyad Bank posts Q1 net jump, below forecasts

RIYADH, April 11 (Reuters) – Saudi lender Riyad Bank 1010.SE posted a lower-than-expected 55 percent rise in net profit during the first quarter after a drop in lending income offset a near 23-percent fall in operating costs.

Saudi Arabia’s third-largest lender by market value made a 684 million riyals ($182.4 million) net profit in the three months to end-March, up from 441 million riyals in the year-earlier period, it said in a statement on Sunday.

This came below the least optimistic of four forecasts in a Reuters survey earlier this month. [ID:nLDE6371GA]

Mohammed Ishaq Ali, a fund manager at al-Rajhi Capital in Riyadh said Saudi banks were cautious since the global turmoil as well as the debt problems at Dubai state firms.

“A good rise in banking services income in addition to cuts in operating costs contributed to the profit gain,” the Riyadh-based bank said, without giving details.

Income from banking services — brokerage, investment and foreign exchange operations — rose by almost 32 percent to 457 million riyals during the first quarter, based on Reuters calculations.

Net income from special fees or lending income fell 9 percent to 1.1 billion riyals, Riyad said.

Riyad’s loans rose 6.1 percent to 106.3 billion riyals while deposits rose 7.5 percent to 128.1 billion riyals by the end of March.

Operating income remained almost unchanged at about 1.5 billion riyals. This means that operating costs fell to 785 million riyals from 1 billion riyals in the first quarter of 2009, based on Reuters calculations.

In addition to salaries, operating costs include provisions for non-performing loans and investments.

The bank made no mention of the size of provisions for non-performing loans it had to make during the first quarter of 2010 and which stood at 736.4 million riyals in 2009, down from 523.2 million riyals in 2008.

Profits at most Saudi banks have come under pressure in 2009 from provisions to counter exposure to some troubled Saudi firms and also to flat credit growth as lenders remained cautious about dealing with companies due to the global slowdown.

Last year’s financial statements for Riyad Bank showed it was among some of the Saudi lenders to have made less provisions than their total non-performing loans.

Unlike many overseas peers, Saudi banks have not disclosed their exposure to troubled family-owned Saudi conglomerates.

Shares in Riyad have so far gained 15.2 percent this year outperforming both the Saudi bourse’s all-share .TASI index and the banking stocks index .TBFSI.

Earnings per share rose to 0.46 riyal in the quarter from 0.29 riyal a year earlier.

Riyad Bank is the first major Saudi lender to report quarterly results. Al-Rajhi’s Ali is upbeat about more banking earnings despite the bank missing forecasts: “Riyad Bank’s quarterly earnings have further strengthened the underlying tone in the market that the sector is likely to declare good results.” (Editing by Mike Nesbit)

S.Korea spotted buying dlrs to curb won -traders

SEOUL, April 9 (Reuters) – South Korea’s foreign exchange authorities were spotted buying dollars on Friday to curb the won’s KRW= strength, traders said.

The won was quoted at 1,118.4/8.9 per dollar as of 0406 GMT, compared with Thursday’s domestic close KRW=KFTC of 1,123.3.

The local currency strengthened to as firm as 1,117.8, the strongest since Jan. 11. (Reporting by Lee Soo-jung and Cheon Jong-woo; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

Sudden yuan rise would harm global economy -PBOC adviser

SHANGHAI, April 8 (Reuters) – A sudden rise in the yuan would hurt the global economy as well as U.S. consumers, Xia Bin, a member of the Chinese central bank’s monetary policy committee, said on Thursday.

“It’s not in the core interest of the U.S. to see the yuan appreciate,” Xia told a financial conference.

He added that China should peg the yuan to a basket of trade-weighted currencies within a few years.

China on Wednesday showed readiness to resume appreciation of the yuan when the National Development and Reform Commission, the powerful central planning agency, alerted exporters to potential foreign exchange risks to minimise their losses.

China has pegged the yuan CNY=CFXS at around 6.83 to the dollar since mid-2008 to offset the financial crisis, drawing increasing criticism from the United States that the allegedly undervalued currency is giving Chinese exporters an unfair trading advantage.

Speculation that Beijing will let the yuan rise in the next few months has been fuelled by an easing of Sino-U.S. tensions over the currency in recent days.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at the weekend that he was delaying an April 15 report on whether China manipulates its currency, ahead of a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao. ($1=6.83 Yuan) (Reporting by Samuel Shen and Jacqueline Wong; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

S.Korea buys estimated $1 bln to curb won -traders

SEOUL, April 2 (Reuters) – South Korea’s foreign exchange authorities are estimated to have bought around $1 billion in intervention aimed at stemming the won’s KRW= strength on Friday, traders said.

The won wiped out most of its early gains on the reported intervention after earlier hitting its strongest level in two and a half months against the dollar. (Reporting by Lee Soo-jung, Writing by Cheon Jong-woo; Editing by Yoo Choonsik)

S.Korea spotted buying dlrs to curb won – dealers

SEOUL, April 2 (Reuters) – South Korea’s foreign exchange authorities were spotted buying dollars to curb the won’s KRW= strength on Friday, dealers said.

The won was quoted at 1,124.5/5.0 per dollar as of 0553 GMT, compared with Thursday’s domestic close KRW=KFTC of 1,126.4.

Earlier, the local currency strengthened to as firm as 1,122.1, the strongest since Jan. 19. (Reporting by Cheon Jong-woo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

S.Korea buys estimated $1 bln to curb won -traders

SEOUL, April 2 (Reuters) – South Korea’s foreign exchange authorities are estimated to have bought around $1 billion in intervention aimed at stemming the won’s KRW= strength on Friday, traders said.

The won wiped out most of its early gains on the reported intervention after earlier hitting its strongest level in two and a half months against the dollar. (Reporting by Lee Soo-jung, Writing by Cheon Jong-woo; Editing by Yoo Choonsik)