Top banks have $155 billion capital shortfall, most in Europe

Top banks have $155 billion capital shortfall, most in Europe

7:49am EDT

By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s biggest banks would need to boost their capital by 115 billion euros ($155 billion) to comply with tougher rules and more than 60 percent of that shortfall is in Europe, where lenders have been slower to strengthen. The capital shortfall fell by 83 billion euros during the second half of last year as banks retained more of their profits and raised capital, although the pace of improvement was not as quick in Europe as elsewhere. Read more of this post

No Escape From Jail or Fines in Global Market-Abuse Clampdown

No Escape From Jail or Fines in Global Market-Abuse Clampdown

Crooked bankers and insider traders would have no safe havens under planned global guidelines for market-abuse penalties, amid concerns some countries don’t have strict enough rules. Culprits should face prison or tough fines regardless of where they are based, said David Wright, secretary general of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, a group of global regulators working on principles for how different offenses should be punished. Read more of this post

Latin America Is Poised for Slower Growth

September 25, 2013, 5:12 p.m. ET

Latin America Is Poised for Slower Growth

Potential U.S. Taper, Lower Commodity Prices Weigh on Gains

DAN MOLINSKI

BOGOTA—Latin America is poised for one of its slowest economic growth rates in a decade this year, a top official at the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday, as the U.S. signals that its easy-money policies that helped prop up the region could begin to taper off amid a drop in commodity prices. “We’ve already seen a significant slowdown in the region’s economies during the first half of this year,” Alejandro Werner, director of the Washington-based IMF’s Western-hemisphere department, said at a conference in Bogota. “Except for 2009, when Latin American economies shrank due to the global financial crisis, this year will see the lowest growth rate in 10 years.” Read more of this post

Gross Says Investors Shouldn’t Trust Moody’s on U.S. AAA Rating

Gross Says Investors Shouldn’t Trust Moody’s on U.S. AAA Rating

Investors shouldn’t trust the opinion of Moody’s Investors Service on the U.S.’s Aaa rating and should rely instead on the company’s competitors, according to Pacific Investment Management Co. founder Bill Gross. Moody’s and the U.S. Treasury are one “happy family,” Gross, manager of the world’s biggest bond fund, said today in a post on Twitter. “Trust S&P, Fitch & Egan Jones” for credit ratings, he wrote. Mark Porterfield, a spokesman for Newport Beach, California-based Pimco, said Gross was referring to Moody’s stance on the U.S. debt limit and potential for a government shutdown. Read more of this post

Americans Turn on Washington, 68% Say Wrong Track in Poll; Majority of Americans Doubt Benefits of Fed Stimulus

Americans Turn on Washington, 68% Say Wrong Track in Poll

As the U.S. heads toward a potential government shutdown or default, the public is more alienated from Washington than at any time since the aftermath of the 2011 downgrade of the nation’s credit rating. President Barack Obama’s 47 percent favorability rating and the 34 percent positive reading for Republicans are the worst ever for both in the Bloomberg National Poll, which began in 2009. The 44 percent approval rating of the Democratic Party is at a two-year low. Read more of this post