Financial economics | GlobalPost

Swiss upper house backs U.S. tax deal to protect banks

Thomson ReutersJune 12, 2013 09:33

By Katharina Bart ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland cleared the first hurdle towards ending a long-running U.S. tax probe after one chamber of lawmakers voted to allow banks to sidestep strict secrecy laws to end the threat of criminal charges for helping wealthy Americans evade tax. The draft law is set to face far tougher opposition in Switzerland's lower house next week than in the upper chamber, which passed it by a decisive 24 votes to 15 on Wednesday.

SEC warns of rise in risky email stock schemes

Agence France-PresseJune 12, 2013 15:31

US market regulators warned Wednesday of a rise in spam email and social media-based stock promotions that are actually "pump and dump" schemes aimed at cheating small investors. With US share markets powering to record highs in recent months, "email stock spamming is back in high gear," the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said in a joint alert. They cited a new study on online threats by computer security expert McAfee noting a rise in large-volume emails promoting stock investments to small market players.

NY regulator calls for moratorium on 'shadow insurance' practice

Thomson ReutersJune 12, 2013 05:30

(Reuters) - New York's top financial regulator has called for a national moratorium on certain transactions by life insurance companies that potentially put policyholders and taxpayers at greater risk, according to a regulatory report.

Exclusive: Textbook rental firm Chegg selects banks for IPO

Thomson ReutersJune 12, 2013 13:33

By Olivia Oran and Alistair Barr (Reuters) - Textbook rental company Chegg has selected two banks to lead an initial public offering, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The Santa Clara, California-based company has picked JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> and Bank of America Corp <BAC.N>, the sources said. The offering could raise $200 million, one of the sources said. JPMorgan and Bank of America declined to comment. Chegg could not be reached for comment.

Hedge fund lobby group CEO to step down

Thomson ReutersJune 12, 2013 11:32

LONDON (Reuters) - The chief executive of hedge fund lobby the Alternative Investment Management Association, Andrew Baker, will step down at the end of 2013, AIMA said on Wednesday. Baker, who has been in the job since the start of 2009, will remain until his successor - who AIMA is in the process of identifying - has begun work. Baker said in a statement he was "looking forward to future challenges" but did not specify what he planned to do next.

MSCI stirs fears about Greece and Egypt

Thomson ReutersJune 12, 2013 07:38

By Sujata Rao LONDON (Reuters) - MSCI, the most widely used equity index provider, prompted market fears about both Greece and Egypt on Wednesday, after demoting the former and then raising concerns about getting money out of the latter. MSCI redesignated Greece an emerging market late on Tuesday, 12 years after its promotion from the category, assigning it a tiny 0.3 percent weighting - far less than it had when last in the emerging index.

Analysis: Asia's ticking time bonds; time to cut and run?

Thomson ReutersJune 11, 2013 23:30

By Saikat Chatterjee and Umesh Desai HONG KONG (Reuters) - Efforts to make the global financial system safer could be making Asia more - not less - vulnerable to any credit market shocks, leaving bond traders worried that a sharp selloff since late May could turn into a rout. Low global interest rates have made it easier than ever to sell new bonds denominated in dollars, euros or yen, resulting in a boom in issuance that has made Asia and its companies ever more dependent on debt.

Foreigners' holding of won bonds to fall in 2013

Yonhap News AgencyJune 11, 2013 22:45

SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- Foreign investors' holdings of won-denominated bonds is anticipated to fall in 2013, market sources said Wednesday, as their appetite for local debts weakened amid the volatile market conditions. The combined outstanding won-denominated bonds held by foreign investors came to 99.4 trillion won (US$88 billion) on June 5, down 1.3 trillion won from three days earlier, market data showed.

PIMCO Total Return Fund cut Treasury holdings in May

Thomson ReutersJune 11, 2013 22:36

(Reuters) - PIMCO Total Return Fund, the world's largest bond fund, decreased its holdings of U.S. Treasuries in May by 2 percentage points to 37 percent, data from the firm's website showed on Tuesday. The fund, which has roughly $285.2 billion in assets and is run by Bill Gross, had previously increased those Treasury holdings in April to 39 percent from 33 percent the previous month.

MSCI keeps S. Korea's emerging market status

Yonhap News AgencyJune 11, 2013 21:33

By Kang Yoon-seung SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- Global investment index provider MSCI Inc. retained South Korea's emerging market status on its global equities index Wednesday, citing the country's high barrier in the financial sector. "Many international institutional investors consider that the accessibility of the Korean equity market is not at Developed Market standards," MSCI said in a statement. MSCI, the research arm of U.S. banking group Morgan Stanley, announced the decision on its Web site early Wednesday morning (Seoul time).