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Holbrooke rejects reports about stationing Marines in Islamabad

August 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Aug.19 (ANI): US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke has rejected reports about the stationing of US Marines in Islamabad.

Sources said during his meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari, Holbrooke clarified that the massive expansion of the US embassy in Islamabad was primarily to accommodate all US staff.

Foreign Minister Shah Ahmed Qureshi also endorsed Holbrooke’s statement saying: “‘We know that no US Marine is coming to Islamabad … Some media outlets have wrongly reported in this context.”

It may be noted that media reports, based on a US State Department document, claimed that the Obama government was constructing a Marine House in Islamabad to accommodate at least 1000 marines at a cost of 112.5 million dollars.

The Obama Administration is about to spend 405 million dollars for the reconstruction and refurbishment of the main embassy building and 111 million dollars for constructing a new complex for 330 personnel. A further 197 million dollars would be spent for construction of a housing unit for about 250 personnel.

18 acres of land has already been acquired by the US for the project for a meager one billion rupees, and a Turkish firm has already built a 153-room compound for the embassy.

The US is planning to send about 1000 additional staff to Pakistan, where 750 US officials are already stationed against a sanctioned strength of only 350 personnel.

During the meeting, Zardari told Holbrooke that early adoption of legislation in the US on Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (RoZ) was necessary to bring social and political stability in the region.

Holbrooke said the prime motive of his visit was to refocus US policy on the region and to support Pakistan.

“President Obama’s decision to preside over along with President Zardari the forthcoming meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan reflected the US government’s desire to support any initiative aimed at lending critical strategic and economic support to Pakistan,” the Dawn quoted Holbrooke, as saying. (ANI)

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‘India can sustain 8 to 9 per cent growth rate’

July 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

On Board special flight, July 11 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said India should be able to sustain with little bit difficulty growth rate of 8 to 9 per cent notwithstanding difficulties on the international front.

Addressing a press conference onboard after attending the G8-G5 summit at L’Aquila in Italy, Dr. Singh said, “India’s saving is 35 per cent with normal capital output 4:1. I am confident that India will come out of this crisis stronger, but it will be a difficult road to travel.”

“Our exports have suffered, capital flows from abroad have declined, and international bank lending to the developing countries have declined. Therefore, challenge for us is to sustain and revive the growth which we have built up in last five years notwithstanding the deterioration,” he added.

The Prime Minister further said: “All available indicators of 2009 points to weakening of US and European economies and therefore one can say that the global environment for development of the countries of third world has undergone on sharp deterioration.”

Earlier, Dr. Singh expressed confidence that the country can achieve eight to nine per cent growth rate in the coming two to three years and the government will be working to achieve it.

The Prime Minister emphasized that though the fiscal deficit is high, there is a need to rapidly expand economy, create jobs and resources for spending on flagship programmes on education, health, rural development and scope for expansion in infrastructure development. By Naveen Kapoor (ANI)

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Bush misses Air Force One, White House food after leaving office

May 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 29 (ANI): Former US President George W Bush misses flying on Air Force One, eating meals prepared by the White House kitchen staff and drawing inspiration from his encounters with US military personnel.

The often-tearful meetings with relatives of fallen soldiers were “in some ways… very hard and in some ways, it was very uplifting,” The Telegraph quoted him as saying for the first time after demitting office.

The speech at The Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan was one of the first made by the former president since leaving office in January. About eight people protested outside the venue, carrying signs that called him a murderer and a traitor.

Bush, America’s 43rd president, spoke to 2,500 people about “the fog of war” that followed the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the economic downturn and his return to life as a regular citizen.

“It was a roller coaster of emotions, it really was,” he said of the terror attacks. “I think about it now at times, but I definitely thought about it every day as president.”

Bush talked about the economy, blaming a lack of responsible regulation in the lending industry for the recession, and said that the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., or Freddie Mac, shouldn’t have engaged in certain financial practices.

He also said he believes he was right to depose Saddam Hussein and that it may lead to the spread of democracy throughout the Middle East.

The audience, which gave Bush a warm welcome at his arrival, cheered when he said he wanted to be remembered as a president who showed up in office with a set of principles and he was unwilling to sacrifice his soul for the sake of popularity. (ANI)

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Charlize Theron lending support to gay marriage rally

May 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 07 (ANI): Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron is extending support to an upcoming rally for gay marriage in central California.

The actress has joined progressive grassroots organization Courage Campaign to encourage everyone to join her at Meet in the Middle for Equality rally, the event slated for Saturday after the California Supreme Court announces its decision on upholding or overturning the anti-gay marriage measure, Prop. 8.

“We know the people whose lives are on the line-those who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender-will be there,” E! Online quoted Theron as stating in a letter released by Courage Campaign.

“But we need everyone there. Especially straight people.

“While we don’t know when the Supreme Court will rule exactly, we know it will be within the next four weeks.

“Californians need to be prepared to commit right now to go to Fresno on the Saturday after the decision is announced, no matter what that decision may be.

“The battle for equality has to be fought in Middle America-in places like Fresno, California-not just in gay-friendly cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles.

“California’s Central Valley population is far more reflective of national attitudes towards LGBT equality-and until we engage the communities of Middle America, we will not achieve full equality in California,” she added. (ANI)

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Surveillance and personal hygiene key to ward off swine flu

May 3, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

New Delhi, May 1 (ANI): Doctors representing various professional organisations and systems of medicine on Friday spelt out the preparedness to deal with the outbreak of the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, here.

Dr. K. K. Aggarwal, President of Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI), Dr. N.K. Yadav, Director of Health Services, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Dr. J Nagpal, President of Expressions India, narrated the various preventive measures to be followed by the masses as well as the classes.

Heart Care Foundation of India has warned that the key to fighting swine flu was to pay more attention to personal hygiene.

“So far we have heard three kinds of flu – swine flu, bird flu and the human flu. Precautions for swine flu are same as human flu. Whenever we cough, we should cough on our sleeves. This message is very important for the public. We use disposable paper or cough on our sleeves. We do not need the N 95 filter in India for swine flu,” said Dr. K K Aggarwal, President of Heart Care Foundation of India.

Medical experts also stressed on the need for medical institutions to focus on infection control in order to prevent spread of swine flu.

Also, lending support to the cause was Bollywood singer Shibani Kashyap who also rendered a song and explained the benefits of singing from health perspective.

The swine flu outbreak has killed as many as 179 people in Mexico and 1 in the US forcing the World Health Organisation (WHO) to concede that a global flu pandemic is imminent.

A 39-year-old woman, who worked as a census worker in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca and whose name has not yet been disclosed, could be the first casualty of the deadly swine flu virus.

In fact, the WHO has raised its influenza pandemic alert level to phase five, one step short of a fully blown pandemic. Phase 6 is the highest in the scale and is for a full-scale pandemic.

Reportedly, the swine flu has spread to countries like the US, New Zealand, Israel, Canada and United Kingdom among several other countries. (ANI)

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PNB reduces lending rate by 50 basis points

May 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 30 (ANI): The Punjab National Bank on Thursday reduced its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points to 11 percent.

The Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) has been slashed from 11.5 per cent to 11 per cent effective tomorrow, the bank said in a statement.

The benefit of reduction in BPLR shall be applicable to all existing and new accounts linked with BPLR, wherever interest rates are charged at BPLR and above, it added.

Further, the bank has cut interest rate on personal loan by 50 basis points and floating home loan would become cheaper by 25 basis points.

The bank has also reduced its peak deposit rate by 50 basis points to 7.5 per cent.

The threshold limit under the PNB Special Housing Loan Scheme (Fixed) has been enhanced to Rs 50 lakh. Home loan is available at 9 per cent under the scheme for the limited period up to June 30.

Interest rate on Reverse Mortgage Scheme has also been reduced by 0.5 per cent. Similarly, the interest rates on educational loans (linked with BPLR) are also revised downward by 50 basis points, the statement said.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had cut down short-term policy rates by a quarter percentage.

PNB has slashed down the rates considering the lower rate of inflation and also keeping the stance of the RBI, as announced in the Annual Policy Statement for financial year 2009-2010, indicating scope for reduction in both lending and deposit rates by banks. (ANI)

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RBI cuts repo, reverse repo rates by 25 bps

April 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Apr 21 (ANI): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed the annual monetary policy here on Tuesday.

According to the report, the short-term lending (repo) rate and borrowing (reverse repo) rates have been reduced by 25 basis points.

The repo rate, thus stands at 3.25 per cent while reverse repo rate stands at 4.75 per cent.

The RBI has said that there is scope for banks to cut lending rates and has asked banks to review their benchmark prime lending rates (BPLR).

A committee has now been formed to review the BPLR system.

Since October last year, the RBI has cut its repo rate by 4 percent and the reverse repo by 2.5 percent.

However, the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the percentage of deposits, which the commercial banks have to keep with the apex bank, remained unchanged at 5 percent.

The RBI has projected the economic growth for the fiscal year 2009-2010 at 6 percent and the average inflation at 3 percent for the medium term.

It was further revealed that the credit growth in the current financial year (ending March 2010) could touch 20 percent while deposit growth is estimated at 18 per cent.

Concerned over the current recessionary trends, the RBI warned that the slowdown could lead to an increase in the non-performing loans for banks.

It advised the banks to maintain credit quality. (ANI)

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New Resource Bank Appoints Vincent Siciliano as CEO

April 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Chief Executive Brings 30 Years of Banking Experience

SAN FRANCISCO–(Business Wire)–
New Resource Bank has tapped Vincent Siciliano, a longtime finance executive who
has held the top spot at several California banks, as its new chief executive
officer.

“We are pleased to have such a qualified and values-aligned CEO join the bank
and its dedicated staff,” said New Resource`s recently appointed Chairman of the
Board Mark A. Finser.

Mr. Siciliano brings a wealth of management experience to New Resource Bank. He
served as Chief Executive Officer at International Savings Bank, San Diego`s
largest local savings and loan; President and Chief Executive Officer of the
Danielson Trust, a $1.5 billion trust company providing investment management
services, and as Chief Operating Officer at First National Bank.

In 2001, he was hired as the CEO of 1st Pacific Bank of California. Under his
management, 1st Pacific was named the best-performing de novo bank in California
by The Findley Reports, a banking consulting firm.

A long-time environmentalist, Mr. Siciliano double majored in Human Biology and
Environmental Engineering at Stanford, and received a Master`s Degree in
Environmental Planning at the University of California at Berkeley. He also
worked for the California Coastal Commission and the federal equivalent program
in Washington, D.C. Mr. Siciliano and his wife Susan live in San Francisco.

As CEO of New Resource Bank, Mr. Siciliano says he will keep the bank focused on
providing high-level customer service and supporting clients engaged in green
and sustainable enterprises.

“I`ve learned through the years that a bank`s success is measured in the
achievements of its clients,” said Mr. Siciliano. “New Resource Bank has
established an impressive track record in a short period of time, funding some
of the most innovative, creative and sustainable businesses in California. I am
proud and excited to now be leading the effort to enhance New Resource Bank`s
stature as a new model of lending institution focused on a triple bottom line -
one that balances a commitment to the community and the environment as well as
economic interests for the benefit of all of our stakeholders.”

New Resource Bank opened in late 2006 as a bank built “by the people and for the
people” of their community. The founding organizers and initial shareholders
brought together an unparalleled blend of proven entrepreneurial success along
with banking expertise and community leadership.

Currently, the bank has over $170 million in assets and serves over 2,000
clients.

New Resource Bank received a “Reader`s Choice Award” by San Francisco Magazine
in 2008 and this year won the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s
Environmental Award.

For more information, visit www.newresourcebank.com.

New Resource Bank
Rosita Nunes, 415-995-8125

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PRESS DIGEST – China – April 16

April 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, April 16 (Reuters) – Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Thursday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

– China has disbursed 19.8 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) to rural areas under its new health care reform plan to bring medical coverage to uninsured Chinese.

– China still lacks strong stimulus measures for final consumption, as recent bank lending has mainly flowed into the manufacturing sector, said Liu Shijin, deputy director of the State Council’s Development Research Center, a government think-tank.

– China’s three major carriers, Air China (601111.SS) (0753.HK), China Eastern (600115.SS) (0670.HK) and China Southern (600029.SS) (1055.HK), saw combined losses of more than 25 billion yuan in 2008, based on their published and expected results.

– China’s Tsinghua Tongfang Co Ltd (600100.SS) will spend 800 million yuan to build an LCD module facility, a company source said.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

– A rebound in China’s property prices is expected to be short-lived due to lack of demand and support from the government, experts told an industry conference in Shanghai.

– Electricity consumption in some Chinese regions is recovering, indicating economies there have started to bottom out, according to a report from the National Development and Reform Commission.

SECURITIES TIMES

– Yunnan Copper Co Ltd (000878.SZ), China’s third-largest copper producer, reported a loss of 2.8 billion yuan in 2008 due to a slump in base metal prices. (Compiled by Beijing and Shanghai Newsrooms; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

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ECB official warns of risks from low interest rates

April 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Hamburg – A senior European Central Bank (ECB) warned Wednesday that cutting interest rates below 1 per cent could severely hit money markets and result in lending between banks freezing up.

In a speech delivered in Hamburg, Axel Weber, the president of Germany’s influential central bank the Bundesbank, said that trimming rates in the 15-member eurozone to below 1 per cent could mean banks lending with each other would become “completely paralyzed.” Weber is also a member of the ECB’s governing council.

The Frankfurt-based ECB reduced its key refinancing rate to 1.25 per cent earlier this month with ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet signalling that the bank could cut again possibly as early as next month in the face of dwindling inflation and the global recession.

While Weber also indicated that he believed the ECB had room to trim borrowing costs again, he said in his speech he was “critical” of reducing the refinancing rate below 1 per cent saying this would remove the catalyst for interbank lending.

Trichet has consistently ruled out zero interest rates for the eurozone, with the ECB considering following up moves by the world’s other leading central banks to use non-standing measures to help spur economic growth. (dpa)

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S.Korea’s IBK in 5-yr dollar bond sale -source

April 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

HONG KONG, April 15 (Reuters) – Industrial Bank of Korea (024110.KS) is looking to sell a benchmark-sized, 5-year dollar bond at a price of around mid-500 basis points (bps) over mid-swaps, a source close to the deal said on Wednesday.

The deal which is likely to be priced on Thursday during New York trading hours, will not feature a government guarantee since IBK, which specialises in lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, is already majority-owned by South Korea.

A benchmark deal is typically of at least $500 million, but sources had earlier told Reuters the South Korean lender could raise as much as $1 billion.

Barclays Capital, Citigroup (C.N), Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) will be the lead managers for the sale.

IBK is rated A by Standard and Poor’s and A2 by Moody’s, or the sixth-highest investment-grade rating. The lender is rated one notch above that at A-plus by Fitch, but with a negative outlook. (Reporting by Rafael Nam; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

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S.Korea’s IBK selling 5-year dollar bonds-sources

April 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

HONG KONG, April 15 (Reuters) – Industrial Bank of Korea (024110.KS) is selling benchmark five-year dollar bonds, or typically meaning of at least $500 million, two sources familiar with the sale said on Wednesday.

IBK aimed to price the deal, which could raise as much as $1 billion, at around mid-500 basis points over midswaps, said one of the sources. No official guidance has been released, and the deal is expected to price by Thursday morning in New York hours.

The debt will not carry a government guarantee since IBK, which specialises in lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, is already majority owned by South Korea, the two sources said.

Both sources declined to be identified because they were not authorised to talk publicly about the sale.

Barclays Capital, Citigroup (C.N), Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley will be the lead managers for the sale, the source said.

IBK follows on the footsteps of the South Korean government, which last week raised $3 billion in a two-tranche dollar bond deal, while others including Hana Bank and steelmaker POSCO (005490.KS) have also recently sold debt.

South Korea’s two other government-owned lenders, Korea Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of Korea, have already raised $2 billion each in overseas markets early this year.

South Korean issuers are expected to continue tapping global markets, driven by the need for dollars in a country that has about $194 billion in foreign debt falling due this year, compared with just over $200 billion in foreign reserves.

Banks in South Korea averted a cash crunch after the government made billions of dollars available to the sector and took other steps such as guaranteeing some types of overseas borrowing, although lenders are still encouraged to find their own foreign funding sources.

However, concerns about profitability remain. IBK’s profit last year declined 36 percent to 764.4 billion won ($579.3 million) from 2007.

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Fed mulls press briefings to foster public insight

April 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Officials at the Federal Reserve have discussed holding regular press briefings to help improve public understanding of unusual actions by the Fed in times of crisis, a Fed official said on Tuesday.

Press conferences have been weighed among other ideas, the official said. The Fed has sought during recent upheaval to explain its actions to a broader public, the official said, citing Chairman Ben Bernanke’s recent television interview and willingness to take questions from reporters after a speech.

The Fed also took the unusual step on Tuesday of publishing excerpts of Bernanke’s speech Tuesday at Morehouse College in Atlanta in a newspaper, USA Today.

The Fed’s consideration of press conferences was first reported in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal.

Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn has headed up efforts to improve the U.S. central bank’s communications to the public. A new Website provides greater detail about the Fed’s books than was available before.

The Fed has also been under pressure from lawmakers to provide more information about some of its lending.

The U.S. central bank currently issues quarterly forecasts for economic growth, inflation, and employment over a three-year period. Following two of those forecasts, the Fed chairman testifies before Congress.

The other two forecasts might be appropriate occasions to hold briefings for media, the official said, stressing that the idea was merely under consideration and had not risen to the level of likelihood.

The Fed’s expanded efforts at communications come as the central bank has lowered benchmark interest rates to near zero as part of unprecedented efforts to stabilize markets during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and to pull the economy out of a recession that officially began in December 2007.

With the Fed’s traditional interest rate setting tool exhausted, officials believe there is greater reason to show that Fed actions are consistent with its traditional role of ensuring sustainable growth and maintaining price stability.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Additional reporting by Emily Chasan in New York; Editing by Gary Hill and Bernard Orr)

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SBI may extend 8 pct home loan rate -report

April 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, April 12 (Reuters) – State Bank of India (SBI.BO), the country’s top bank, may extend its 8 percent rate on home loans until September, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources.

In February, SBI lowered home loan rates to 8 percent for new customers available until April 30.

“The proposal has been forwarded to the chairman’s office and approvals for the extension will be made public shortly,” the newspaper quoted the officials as saying.

On Thursday, State Bank of India said it has cut deposit rates by 25 to 50 basis points for deposits below 10 million rupees, effective from Monday.

Since October, the central bank has cut its key lending rate by 400 basis points, most recently in early March, as the policy focus has shifted to boosting demand and arrest slowing growth.

The central bank in March said the reduction in rates should further encourage banks to provide credit for productive purposes at viable interest rates. (Reporting by Jasudha Kirpalani, Editing by Kazunori Takada)

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China to maintain relaxed monetary policy: cbank

April 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will continue to implement a relaxed monetary policy and keep sufficient liquidity in the banking system, the People’s Bank of China said on Sunday.

The statement appeared to be the central bank’s response to new data released on Saturday, which showed new yuan loans and money supply growth both surged to record highs in March.

“We must continue with macro-economic controls set by the central party committee and state council, implement a moderately relaxed monetary policy, maintain continuity and stability of monetary policy,” the bank said in a statement after a routine meeting to review economic performance in first quarter.

“We must maintain liquidity in the banking system, and ensure that monetary supply is sufficient to meet the needs of economic development.

Banks extended 1.89 trillion yuan ($276.6 billion) in local currency-denominated loans in March, bringing the total for the first quarter to 4.58 trillion yuan — nearing the government’s full-year target of at least 5 trillion yuan.

That helped lift annual growth in the broad M2 measure of money supply to a record 25.5 percent in March, up from 20.5 percent in February and easily exceeding economists’ expectations of a 21.

“Give more support to the agricultural sector, small and medium enterprises and other weak links, concretely resolve some financing difficulties faced by companies, strictly control lending to high-polluting, high-energy consuming industries and to those with over-capacity,” the bank added.

Smaller and private firms struggled after the Chinese authorities clamped down on lending well over a year ago. They have not benefited much from the recent relaxation since banks view them as more risky, given the global financial crisis.

Critics fear that China’s stimulus measures to combat the crisis have given a boost to local pet projects, which in the long run could contribute to China’s industrial overcapacity and environmental degradation.

(Reporting by Lucy Hornby and Zhou Xin; Editing by Kazunori Takada)

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Abu Sayyaf rebels kill one hostage in southern Philippines

April 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Zamboanga City, Philippines – Muslim militants killed one of two hostages they seized in a southern Philippine province last week, a regional marines spokesman said Monday. Captain Neil Torres said government troops recovered on Sunday the body of Cosme Aballes, one of two people seized last Friday by Abu Sayyaf rebels in the outskirts of Lamitan City in Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila.

Torres said the head of the victim was nearly torn from his body when the government troops recovered him.

There was no report yet on the condition of the other hostage, Ernan Chavez, who was seized along with Aballes and six children who managed to escape and return to their homes during sporadic clashes with pursuing troops.

“There is no let-up in the operations to pursue the kidnappers,” Torres said.

Aside from Chavez, Abu Sayyaf rebels in Basilan are still holding captive a Sri Lankan peace advocate, six public school teachers and an employee of a lending firm.

A separate group of Abu Sayyaf rebels are holding hostage two European Red Cross workers on the nearby island of Jolo. They freed a third Red Cross worker on April 2. (dpa)

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Wells Fargo shares could head higher: report

April 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares of Wells Fargo and Co(WFC.N), which rose by about a third last week, could head even higher as the bank’s acquisition of Wachovia begins to pan out, Barron’s said in its April 13 edition.

Last week, the San Francisco-based company said it expects to post a record first-quarter profit of $3 billion, up about 50 percent from a year earlier, citing a better-than-expected performance from Wachovia and a solid performance in mortgage lending.

Fox-Pitt Kelton analyst Andrew Marquardt said Wells Fargo will continue “to manage through this credit cycle better than most,” Barron’s reported.

On Thursday, Wells Fargo shares closed at $19.61 on the New York Stock Exchange. Marquardt has a target of $38, Barron’s said.

Some question whether Wells may need to further boost its loan-loss reserves, which could eat into future profits, Barron’s said. But compared with its rivals, these concerns may simply prove to be short-term issues, Barron’s said.

(Reporting by Ilaina Jonas; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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S.Korea banks’ loan delinquency ratio falls in Mar

April 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

SEOUL, April 13 (Reuters) – The delinquency ratio for loans extended by South Korean banks turned lower in March from the previous month but remained higher year-on-year due mainly to soured loans to small companies, a regulator said on Monday.

The ratio came to 1.46 percent at the end of March, against 1.67 percent in February and 1.50 percent in January, according to the Financial Supervisory Service’s policy report to parliament.

The delinquency ratio for lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) also dropped to 2.32 percent at the end of last month, from 2.67 percent a month before.

Domestic banks increased lending to SMEs by 30 percent to 3.9 trillion won in March from February.

The South Korean government and central bank have been pumping fresh liquidity to the banking sector to allow banks to keep lending to cash-strapped companies, while setting up a 20-trillion-won ($15 billion) fund to recapitalise domestic lenders.

A combined 4 trillion won from the bank recapitalisation fund had been injected into eight financial institutions as of end-March, including Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank and Hana Bank, the Financial Services Commission, a financial watchdog, said in a separate statement.

Kookmin, Woori and Hana are units of KB Financial Group (105560.KS), Woori Finance Holdings (053000.KS) and Hana Financial Group (086790.KS), respectively.

Separately, South Korean banks will assess the accounts of 45 large business groups from this month with an eye to restructuring their weaker units.

($1=1337.5 Won)

(Reporting by Kim Yeon-hee; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

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SBI, IDBI Bank cut deposit rates by 25-50 basis points across various maturities

April 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

That there is an apparent slide in deposit rates has become all the more obvious with two of India’s leading public sector banks State Bank of India (SBI) and IDBI Bank slashing their deposit rates, with the revised rates taking effect from April 13. The state-owned IDBI Bank also intends cutting its yardstick prime lending rate (BPLR) from April 15 onwards.

Announcing their respective moves a day after the bankers met RBI Governor D Subbarao, both the SBI and the IDBI Bank said that they plan trimming their deposit rates by 25 basis points to 50 basis points or 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent – across various maturities. In addition, the IDBI Bank has also announced a reduction of its BPLR by 50 basis points to 13 percent.

Elaborating its proposed measure, SBI said that the bank’s peak rate for its 1,000 days deposit will come down from 8.5 percent to 8.25 percent. For deposits with one year to less than two years maturity, the applicable rate would be 7.75 percent, instead of the previous rate of 8.10 percent.

Similarly, the IDBI Bank specified that for one to three year maturity deposits up to Rs 15 lakh, the rate like SBI – will fall from 8.5 percent to 8.25 percent; while for 1,100-days deposits, the rate will be 8.75 percent as against the earlier applicable 9.25 percent.

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BoE holds interest rates at record-low 0.5

April 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

The Bank of England said Thursday it had held interest rates at a record-low 0.5 percent and had so far pumped 26 billion pounds of new money into the economy under ongoing “quantitative easing.” Skip related content
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* Interest rates have already been slashed to a record low 0.5% Enlarge photo
* Interest rates have already been slashed to a record low 0.5% Enlarge photo

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