BlackRock Buys as Global Investors Overrun Seoul: Korea Markets

BlackRock Buys as Global Investors Overrun Seoul: Korea Markets

The record flood of overseas cash into South Korea’s stock market looks set to swell further judging from the diaries of Seoul executives. YK Kang, head of investor relations at Seoul Semiconductor Co. (046890), a maker of light-emitting diodes, has met with 35 foreign money managers this month, up from three in January, as the stock surged 81 percent this year. Meetings with stock pickers that used to last 20 minutes now take an hour, Kang says. Read more of this post

Weak Dollar Saps Hopes for Year-End Nikkei Rally; Stocks Are Down 9.8% From a May 22 High, Largely Mirroring Currency Moves

Weak Dollar Saps Hopes for Year-End Nikkei Rally

Stocks Are Down 9.8% From a May 22 High, Largely Mirroring Currency Moves

BRAD FRISCHKORN

Updated Oct. 27, 2013 2:58 p.m. ET

TOKYO—A stubbornly strong yen appears to be vanquishing hopes among investors for a second rally in Japanese stocks this year. The sharp fall in Japan’s currency late last year had been a major factor in the 80% surge in the Nikkei Stock Average through May, as the dollar rose more than 30% to a high of ¥103.74. But stocks have been lackluster since falling into a bear market—defined as a 20% drop from a peak—in June. Stocks have recovered somewhat but the Nikkei is still down 9.8% from its May 22 high, largely mirroring the movement of the dollar against the yen. Read more of this post

U.S. Cities Grapple With Finances; American cities’ fiscal health is lagging behind other sectors of the economy as the recovery slowly takes hold

U.S. Cities Grapple With Finances

Urban Centers Are Struggling Even as Recovery Takes Shape, Data Show

JEANNETTE NEUMANN

Oct. 27, 2013 7:29 p.m. ET

American cities’ fiscal health is lagging behind other sectors of the economy as the recovery slowly takes hold. Buffeted by steep drops in state aid, rising pension and health-care costs and sluggish property-tax revenue, many urban centers are struggling even several years after the financial crisis. “We think we saw the bottom, knock on wood,” said Robert Chisel, director of finance and administration for Reno, Nev. But, he said, “We’re not going back to the old days. We all know that.” Read more of this post

J.P. Morgan’s Subprime Troubles Ran Deep

J.P. Morgan’s Mortgage Troubles Ran Deep

Deals With Subprime Lenders at Heart of $5.1 Billion Settlement

AL YOON

Oct. 27, 2013 6:24 p.m. ET

A 1,625-square-foot bungalow at 51 Perthshire Lane in Palm Coast, Fla., is among the thousands of homes at the heart of J.P. Morgan Chase JPM +0.55% & Co.’s $5.1 billion settlement with a federal housing regulator on Friday. In 2006, J.P. Morgan bought one of two mortgage loans on the home made by subprime lender New Century Financial Corp. J.P. Morgan then bundled the loan with 4,208 others from New Century into a mortgage-backed security it sold to investors including housing-finance giantFreddie Mac. FMCC +11.89% Read more of this post

Kering Looks a Smarter Bet Than LVMH; Luxury-Goods Maker Relies on Several Strong Brands

Kering Looks a Smarter Bet Than LVMH

Luxury-Goods Maker Relies on Several Strong Brands

JOHN JANNARONE

Oct. 27, 2013 1:50 p.m. ET

Some investors think of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton MC.FR -0.46% as a bouquet of brands that will eventually bloom into big money makers. They might save time by instead buying into rival Kering. KER.FR -3.04% Shares of Kering, formerly known as PPR, slipped 3% on Friday after it reported sales at its Gucci brand rose just 0.6% year on year in the three months through September. Gucci accounts for about 63% of Kering’s earnings before interest and taxes, or Ebit, estimates Mario Ortelli of Sanford C. Bernstein. Read more of this post

GM says China partnership with SAIC strong, eyes Indonesia tie-up

GM says China partnership with SAIC strong, eyes Indonesia tie-up

5:34pm EDT

By Norihiko Shirouzu and Samuel Shen

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – General Motors Co has dismissed speculation its ties with China’s SAIC Motor Corp are fraying, saying the partnership is thriving and the two car makers are discussing further collaboration in Indonesia. Recent independent moves by SAIC outside China had been seen by some industry insiders and experts as signaling the two companies might be drifting apart, but GM’s top China executive said it was merely a consequence of its state-owned partner’s growing maturity as an automaker. Read more of this post

Stockholm’s Homeless Accept Cards as Cash No Longer King

Stockholm’s Homeless Accept Cards as Cash No Longer King

Stockholm’s homeless magazine vendors no longer need to ask if you can spare any krona. They take cards. In the most cashless society on the planet, the sellers of Situation Stockholm, a culture magazine sold by homeless people, were last month equipped with card readers to accept donations from fellow Swedes. The move marks a world first, according to their employer. Read more of this post

Dearth of Farm Hands Spurs Demand for Tractors: Corporate India

Dearth of Farm Hands Spurs Demand for Tractors: Corporate India

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (MM), India’s biggest tractor maker, forecasts it will outperform the industry this fiscal year as a shortage of farm hands, rising labor costs and the best monsoon rains in six years drives demand. The automaker’s tractor sales will exceed the industrywide growth forecast of as much as 12 percent, Rajesh Jejurikar, chief executive officer of Mumbai-based Mahindra’s farm equipment business, said in an interview by phone. Capacity utilization at the company, which operates seven tractor plants in India, is “very high,” he said, declining to give details. Read more of this post

Mongolia Premier Welcomes Foreign Investors as Boom Slows

Mongolia Premier Welcomes Foreign Investors as Boom Slows

Mongolia, locked in a dispute with Rio Tinto Group (RIO) that has stalled the expansion of a copper mine, understands that it needs to make the nation more welcoming to foreign investors, Prime Minister Norovyn Altankhuyag said. The country is open to all foreign companies and will allow them to invest in industries such as railways and power stations, in addition to mining, Altankhuyag said in an interview in Beijing during a five-day visit to China. Read more of this post

Singapore Exchange Seeks High-Frequency Traders as it grapples with lower volume

Singapore Exchange Seeks High-Frequency Traders: Southeast Asia

Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX), Southeast Asia’s biggest bourse operator, wants to lure more high-speed traders onto its stock market as it grapples with lower volume. Computerized trading firms, which execute transactions in fractions of a second, account for a negligible share of volume on Singapore Exchange’s cash equities market, according to bourse spokeswoman Loh Wei Ling, while they contribute 30 percent of revenue from derivatives. Singapore Exchange will seek to change that once it introduces safeguards, Chief Executive Officer Magnus Bocker said at a briefing this month. Read more of this post

Rising business costs in Singapore may be passed on to consumers

Rising business costs may be passed on to consumers

SINGAPORE — As business costs continue to rise, trade associations are warning that companies may be forced to increase prices to maintain their profitability.

BY LEE YEN NEE –

4 HOURS 43 MIN AGO

SINGAPORE — As business costs continue to rise, trade associations are warning that companies may be forced to increase prices to maintain their profitability. Singapore Business Federation Chief Executive Ho Meng Kit said pressure on the business community to maintain profitability in the face of higher costs is intensifying: “Even as Singapore expects economic growth for the full year in 2013, businesses continue to face cost adjustments … there are also small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that find it harder to borrow, due to their lower profitability amid the current tougher environment. “With this in mind, it is inevitable that consumers may expect to see some costs being passed on.” Read more of this post

Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng: ‘Najib not doing enough to rein in spending. Najib has not taken any action against those responsible for the … wastage and financial mismanagement. The RM6.5 billion which was frittered away by the civil service will have a negative impact on the economy.’

‘Najib not doing enough to rein in spending’

KUALA LUMPUR — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng yesterday accused Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak of not doing enough to slash the country’s fiscal deficit, rein in government spending and tackle corruption, despite introducing measures such as a planned goods and services tax (GST) in the Budget unveiled on Friday.

4 HOURS 42 MIN AGO

KUALA LUMPUR — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng yesterday accused Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak of not doing enough to slash the country’s fiscal deficit, rein in government spending and tackle corruption, despite introducing measures such as a planned goods and services tax (GST) in the Budget unveiled on Friday. In a statement released yesterday, Mr Lim, the opposition Democratic Action Party’s Secretary-General, said such measures would be meaningless if the government did not hold those responsible for wastage and financial wrongdoings accountable. “The increase in the federal government debt to nearly 55 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at RM541 billion (S$211 billion) by end of this year from RM502 billion last year shows that the federal government is neither serious about reining in expenditure nor in fighting corruption,” Mr Lim said. “Furthermore, Mr Najib has not taken any action against those responsible for the … wastage and financial mismanagement highlighted in the 2012 Auditor-General Report. The RM6.5 billion which was frittered away by the civil service will have a negative impact on the economy,” he added. Read more of this post

India to Issue New Rules for Foreign Banks; Restrictions on Branch Openings Will Be Reduced If Lenders Set Up Local Units, Lend More in Rural Areas

India to Issue New Rules for Foreign Banks

Restrictions on Branch Openings Will Be Reduced If Lenders Set Up Local Units, Lend More in Rural Areas

NUPUR ACHARYA

Oct. 27, 2013 10:44 a.m. ET

MUMBAI—Indian regulators are expected to issue new rules governing the operation of foreign banks in coming days, in a step aimed at pressing them to set up local subsidiaries and lend more in poor, rural areas. More than 40 international banks now do business in India with significant government-imposed restrictions on the number of branches they can open each year and how they can raise funds. Read more of this post

Corruption claims hang over Australian construction giant Leighton

Corruption claims hang over Leighton

October 26, 2013

Adele Ferguson

When headlines ”Claims corruption rife at Leighton”, ”Bribe claims hit board”, ”Going rogue” and ”Ex Leighton exec quits as bribe scandal intensifies” were plastered over the front pages of Fairfax Media newspapers earlier this month they wiped 13 per cent off the construction giant’s share price and left the investment community jittery about bribery and corruption risks in other companies. Read more of this post