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Hong Kong Stocks Decline Led by Chinese Bank on Curbs

Hong Kong stocks dropped, with the city’s benchmark index heading for its first quarterly decline since June, led by Chinese banks after regulators introduced a limit on wealth management investments. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) decreased 1 percent to 22,248.81 as of 9:41 a.m. in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid 1.6 percent to 10,855.93. To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at [email protected]

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Gafisa Considers Share Buyback as Losses End: Corporate Brazil

Homebuilder Gafisa SA (GFSA3) is considering buying back stock and increasing dividends after a restructuring that's intended to boost profit and reduce debt, Chief Executive Officer Alceu Duilio Calciolari said. Gafisa has been shifting its focus to building more lucrative projects as part of a turnaround plan that Calciolari said will be completed by the first half of 2014. Brazil ’s fifth-biggest homebuilder by revenue lost money in each of the past two years as it overestimated potential profit from a government-sponsored program for low-income families and built inexpensive homes faster than it could sell them. “We’re correcting our past mistakes,” Calciolari said in a Nov. 8 interview at Bloomberg’s office in Sao Paulo. “Everything we needed to do has been done. With better results, we may consider the possibility of buying back shares and paying additional dividends.” Surging economic growth and government subsidies aimed at getting lower-income Brazilians to buy houses encouraged Sao Paulo-based Gafisa and other homebuilders to expand with new projects throughout the country from 2008 to 2010. The builders have been retrenching as home sales slumped after the country’s economic expansion slowed to 0.9 percent in 2012 from a peak of 7.6 percent two years earlier, leaving a glut of unsold houses. ‘Decisive Year’ The BM&FBovespa Real Estate index, a gauge of 20 industry stocks , has lost 33 percent since the end of 2010, compared with a 25 percent decline for the country’s 72-member Ibovespa equity benchmark. “Most of them started to review operations and make adjustments in 2011, so 2014 will be a decisive year for the industry to show that its strategy worked,” Felipe Silveira, an analyst at the brokerage firm Coinvalores, said in a phone interview from Sao Paulo. “Gafisa’s profitability is still suffering because of the old projects’ problems, and we should see low margins for some time.” Projects started by Gafisa’s low-income housing unit, Construtora Tenda, before the restructuring began in 2011 have margins of about 3 percent, and the last of them will be delivered in the next six months, Calciolari said. Margins at its other two units range from 35 percent to 50 percent, he said. ‘Unique Situation’ Proceeds from a 1.4 billion-real ($605 million) sale of its 70 percent stake in Alphaville Urbanismo SA, expected to close this year, will be used to reduce Gafisa’s debt-to-equity ratio to about 55 percent from 126 percent currently, according to the company’s third-quarter earnings report. Remaining cash may be distributed to shareholders, Calciolari said. Gafisa pays 25 percent of annual net income as dividends and made its last distribution in December 2011, the company’s press office wrote in an e-mailed response to questions. The Alphaville sale puts Gafisa in a “unique situation,” according to Guilherme Affonso Ferreira, who is chief executive officer of closely held investment firm Bahema Participacoes SA, Gafisa’s 17th-biggest shareholder according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The money will enable the company to effectively reduce its obligations to zero, leaving it with debt that's considered transitory and is passed on to home buyers when units are sold, he said. “Once the deal closes you won’t have any more corporate debt,” Ferreira said in a phone interview from Sao Paulo. “Among construction companies, few right now can cite this luxury.” October Sales Gafisa’s shares fell 1.7 percent to 2.85 reais at the close of trading in Sao Paulo, extending this year’s decline to 39 percent, as the real estate index slid 24 percent. While the company’s turnaround strategy appears to be working, Silveira said he’s still not sure if it will spur a rebound in the stock. “Earnings are improving, sure, but they still seem so weak given the company’s size and potential,” he said. The company posted adjusted net income of 15.8 million reais in the three months through September after three quarterly losses, according to data compiled by Bloomberg after Gafisa reported earnings on Nov. 5. That exceeded the average estimate among five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg of a profit of 12.7 million reais. Gafisa’s contracted sales were 370 million reais in October, Calciolari said. That compares with the 429 million reais that the company reported for the entire third quarter. “This is a good indicator about the demand climate,” Calciolari said. ‘Growth Potential’ Stock investors don’t fully recognize the success of the company’s turnaround plan because they are excessively focused on the short term, Calciolari said. “Homebuilders have a long business cycle,” he said. Gafisa will remain focused on building in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro through 2015, Calciolari said. Projects marketed to lower-income consumers, which fell to zero last year and were resumed in 2013, may increase as Tenda’s operations improve and margins rise to a projected 28 percent, he said. “This percentage gives the company an interesting return,” Calciolari said. “Growth potential in this segment is high.” To contact the reporters on this story: Denyse Godoy in Sao Paulo at [email protected] ; Christiana Sciaudone in Sao Paulo at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at [email protected]

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EU Plans to Appeal Parts of WTO Ruling Against Boeing, WSJ Says

The European Union tomorrow plans to appeal segments of a World Trade Organization ruling against Boeing Co. (BA) , the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified EU officials. The WTO ruled that Boeing won illegal subsidies from the U.S. The EU considers the overall ruling a victory, according to the Journal. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Vivek Shankar at [email protected]

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ESPN Extends International Rights to NCAA Men’s Basketball

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) ’s ESPN sports cable network reached an agreement extending its international rights to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s men’s basketball for $500 million through 2023-2024. The accord includes 600-plus hours and 300 telecasts of live coverage annually across multiple media on the company’s cable channels and online outlets, according to e-mailed statements today from the NCAA and ESPN, the largest cable sports network. Prices for TV rights to sports programming have soared in recent years. The National Football League secured a 60 percent increase in its deal with CBS Corp., News Corp.’s Fox unit and Comcast Corp.’s NBC announced yesterday. The latest agreements also include Internet streaming rights for access on computers, mobile phones and tablets. Fox secured digital rights for its portion of NFL games, and ESPN’s agreement with NCAA includes streaming rights as well. “This is our most comprehensive agreement yet and ensures sports fans will have access to top-level NCAA athletics across ESPN networks and platforms,” George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, said in a statement. Walt Disney , based in Burbank, California , gained 0.09 percent to $35.19 at 3:50 p.m. New York time. The shares had dropped 6.3 percent this year before today. To contact the reporter on this story: Edmund Lee in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at [email protected]

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Cemig Slumps on Outlook Brazil Rules Will Cut Profit

Cia. Energetica de Minas Gerais , Brazil ’s largest power company by market value, dropped the most in more than 14 years on concern government measures to cut electricity rates will hurt profit. Other utilities also fell. Cemig, as the Belo Horizonte , Brazil-based power company is known, declined 20 percent to close at 25.29 reais in Sao Paulo , after falling as much as 23 percent, the biggest intraday drop since September 1998. Cia. Energetica de Sao Paulo , or Cesp, plummeted 28 percent, the most since it started trading in August 2006. President Dilma Rousseff and Energy Minister Edison Lobao yesterday announced measures to force power utilities to cut rates by as much as 28 percent to stoke economic growth while taming inflation. The measures, announced at an event with industry leaders in Brasilia, include revised conditions for the renewal of license expiring between 2015 and 2017. The event was “marked by the speechless, stupefied faces of sector specialists and company executives,” Banco Itau SA analysts led by Marcos Severine said in a note to clients. “We see relevant downside potential to our earnings” estimates, the analysts said. Others utilities including Cia. de Transmissao de Energia Eletrica Paulista, or Cteep; Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA (ELET6) , or Eletrobras; and AES Tiete SA (GETI3) were also among shares leading losses on Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa index. Interconexion Electrica SA (TRPL4) , Cteep’s parent, declined 4 percent in Bogota. The government measures will boost the economy even while affecting Eletrobras’s earnings, Chief Executive Officer Jose da Costa Carvalho said on a conference call with analysts. Cemig may seek to appeal in court the new concession renewals if talks with the government fail, Chief Financial Officer Luiz Rolla said on a separate call with analysts. To contact the reporter on this story: Rodrigo Orihuela in Rio de Janeiro at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Attwood at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Pocket-Sized Fall Vegetable Gardens

With urban living gaining popularity and lot sizes in many areas dwindling, space and land availability seem to limit some would-be gardeners’ aspirations. But don’t let a lack of space put a damper on your green thumb. Boxed gardens require very little room and are a great alternative for growing wholesome foods while cutting grocery costs. While you may be thinking that the prime season for growing vegetables has already passed, now is actually a great time to plant a vegetable garden. Here are a few tips to help you get started. The basics Soil: Sue Hartman of Seattle Tilth , a nonprofit that focuses on building sustainable local food systems, recommends conducting a soil test as the first step. Agricultural programs across the country analyze soil samples and suggest treatments for deficiencies, with some universities charging as little as $10 for a routine soil analysis. Crops: Many superfoods flourish in the fall, and Hartman advises that if you are planting crops now, leafy greens will have the highest success rate. Some of the best cool-season crops include beets, arugula, radishes, Swiss chard, peas, chives, artichokes, broccoli, mustard greens, carrots, kale and lettuce. Seeds are available for purchase at local garden supply stores or online. When in doubt, order more than you think you’ll need. Timing: Depending on the region where you live, the ideal time to plant your fall vegetable garden will vary. The experts at BobVila.com recommend planting cool-season veggies in August and September and stress that it’s important to consider your area’s average first frost date. Ensure that you give your plants enough time to mature beforehand, and cover the garden if a frosty night is anticipated. “Mulching is great for conserving moisture and evening the soil temperature in the winter,” Hartman said, but she warns that wood chips should not be used for vegetable beds. Garden types Raised-bed gardens: For these gardens, you can choose to build your own bed or buy one. “The container is not a big deal, as long as you’re using untreated woods,” Hartman said. Make sure to choose a patch of land that gets ample sunlight. Also stock up on nutrient-rich compost and purchase a good fertilizer. Hartman recommends using a nitrogen-packed worm compost and liquid fertilizer. Nitrogen is quickly used up by plants and is crucial to vegetable growth. Deck, patio, porch or rooftop gardens: No backyard? No problem! As long as you have an area with access to at least six hours of sunlight, raised beds can be used on decks, patios, porches and rooftops. Make sure that the bed has a bottom with drainage holes. Standing beds are also a great option, especially for those with physical restrictions. One-pot gardens: This is the ultimate space- and time-saving gardening method. A galvanized water trough is recommended, but virtually any container with drainage holes will work. It is important, however, that each plant has enough room to grow, as plants battle for nutrients in cold weather. Also, consider the types of vegetables that grow well in containers. Hartman suggests staying away from rooted vegetables. Leafy veggies can be harvested quicker and thus are more successful. Lastly, ensure that plants are watered regularly, or install drip irrigation if you’re short on time. A garden can be very low-maintenance but still requires attention. Related items from Zillow Blog : Sharona Ott is an editorial intern at Zillow. Read more from her here .

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Schaeuble Expects German Opposition to Back Tax Cuts, Bild Says

Germany ’s opposition Green Party and the Social Democrats will “eventually” vote in favor of cutting income taxes from 2013, Bild am Sonntag said, citing an interview with Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. Schaeuble said there is no “plan B” if the tax cut plan doesn’t go through, the newspaper reported. To contact the reporter on this story: Ragnhild Kjetland in Frankfurt at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at [email protected]

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Navy SEALs’ Parents Sue Biden, Panetta Over Sons’ Deaths

Vice President Joe Biden and ex-U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta were sued by the parents of Navy SEALs, who accused the officials of exposing their sons to retaliation by publicizing their unit’s role in the raid that resulted in the death of Osama Bin Laden. The men were killed in an Aug. 6, 2011, attack on their helicopter, three months after the bin Laden raid, according to a complaint filed yesterday in federal court in Washington. The parents, seeking more than $200 million in damages, accused Biden and Panetta of revealing the team’s involvement for political purposes before the 2012 presidential election. “The hard reality is that Biden and Panetta are alive ‘feasting’ on their ‘political notoriety,” power and wealth, while the brave heroes who gave their lives for our nation’s security are dead, thanks to them!” Larry Klayman, an attorney for the family, said in a statement on the filing. Thirty U.S. special forces, seven Afghan commandos and a civilian interpreter were among those killed when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by the Taliban in the eastern province of Afghanistan. An official who spoke on condition of anonymity said at the time that none of those killed were from the SEAL team involved in the bin Laden raid. The suit also names Iran , Afghanistan and Afghan President Hamid Karzai , who allegedly tipped the Taliban off about the helicopter coordinates on the day of the attack. SEALs’ Parents The plaintiffs are Billy and Karen Vaughn, the parents of Aaron Vaughn; Charles and Mary Ann Strange, the parents of Michael Strange; Doug and Shaune Hamburger, the parents of Patrick Hamburger; and Sidh Douangdara, the father of John Douangdara. A call to Biden’s press office seeking comment on the complaint wasn’t immediately returned. Panetta couldn’t immediately be reached for comment through his Panetta Institute for Public Policy. The case is Vaughn v. Biden, 1:13-cv-00974, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington) To contact the reporter on this story: Sophia Pearson in Philadelphia at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at [email protected] .

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Apple Wins Ruling, Sanctions in Samsung Infringement Suit

Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) , sanctioned by a U.S. judge for failing to produce source code, said a ruling last week barring some evidence isn’t central to its defense against Apple Inc. in a patent-infringement lawsuit U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal wrote in his May 4 ruling that Samsung “plainly violated” a court order requiring it to turn over code to Apple, and ruled that Samsung won’t be able to offer evidence in the case about its efforts to “design around” three patents at issue in the case. In its lawsuit, Apple claims that Samsung’s 4G smartphone and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer infringe its patents. In December, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose , California , ruled against Apple’s request to block Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung from selling that phone and tablet in the U.S. That order followed an Australian court ruling lifting an injunction on the tablet there. Samsung, which was the world’s largest seller of smartphones last year, and Cupertino, California-based Apple have filed at least 30 lawsuits against each other on four continents since April 2011. In his ruling, Grewal said producing source code in patent litigation is “disruptive, expensive, and fraught with monumental opportunities to screw up.” Still, under federal law there is no exception to the requirement, especially when a defendant in a patent suit challenges the opposition’s failure to analyze the accused product’s source code, the judge said. Samsung Comments “The court’s decision is on just one of the many motions made by both companies in the process of the lawsuit,” Samsung said today in an e-mailed response to a Bloomberg inquiry. “It is not related to a final ruling on the patent-infringement case and Samsung Electronics will continue to actively seek to secure patent rights ,” Grewal said he focused on Samsung’s so-called design-around source code developed for products with the “specific intent” of avoiding Apple’s patent claims. The ruling targets that code because “by their very nature design-arounds impact key questions of liability, damages and injunctive relief,” Grewal wrote. “They are inevitably designed with substantial input from counsel for the specific purpose of distinguishing other products at issue,” Grewal wrote. “In short, they matter. A lot.” “It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” Apple said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.” The case is Apple Inc. (AAPL) v. Samsung Electronics Co., 11-01846, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose). To contact the reporter on this story: Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at [email protected]

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U.S. Companies Reporting Higher Quarterly EPS, June 5

The following U.S. companies reported higher earnings per share for their latest quarter (end date of the quarter is noted in the last column). Earnings estimates provided by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Soong in New York at at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alex Tanzi at at [email protected]

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South Africa Grain Exports and Imports Week of Sept 30

Following is a summary of South Africa’s wheat and corn trade figures for the week ending Sept 30 from the South African Grain Information Service, in Pretoria: To contact the reporter on this story: Simbarashe Gumbo in Johannesburg at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Marco Babic at [email protected]

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Chelsea Signs Eden Hazard’s Younger Brother From France’s Lens

Thorgan Hazard will join his elder brother Eden at Chelsea after the European soccer champion signed him from Lens for an undisclosed fee. Hazard will join Chelsea’s under-21 squad and may be loaned out immediately to continue his development, the Premier League club said in a statement on its website late yesterday. The 19-year-old, who plays a similar range of attacking positions to his brother, made 14 league appearances for Lens in the 2011-12 campaign after making his debut as a substitute in the first match of the season. He represented Belgium at the 2011 European Under-19 Championship. Eden Hazard, a two-time Player of the Year in France ’s Ligue 1, joined the Blues last month from Lille for a fee that U.K. newspapers said was about 40 million euros ($48.3 million). To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Baynes in Sydney at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Pine River Embracing Reverse Debt to Dodge Bernanke: Mortgages

Ben S. Bernanke is motivating bond investors to bet on the longevity of senior citizens. Bonds tied to reverse mortgages are drawing cash from investors including Pine River Capital Management LP’s real estate investment trust Two Harbors Investment Corp. (TWO) and Metacapital Management LP, one of this year’s top performing hedge funds. The government-backed loans, which let homeowners 62 and older borrow against their houses, are increasingly attractive as the Federal Reserve pushes down mortgage rates to record lows. Investors are targeting the $38 billion market for bonds tied to reverse mortgages as Fed Chairman Bernanke’s stimulus efforts help more homeowners refinance , which reduces the value of government-backed securities containing traditional home loans. Reverse mortgages -- pitched to seniors in TV ads by actor Robert Wagner and former Senator Fred Thompson -- are usually repaid only when a borrower dies or sells the property. “The cash flow is very reliable,” said Bill Roth, chief investment officer of Two Harbors, which has $1.9 billion of its about $18 billion in assets in so-called home equity conversion mortgages, or HECM, securities. That’s up from $658 million in mid-2011. “These types of bonds are not affected by the effort to keep the 30-year mortgage rate low.” ‘Blunt Changes’ The loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration and packaged into bonds with a further guarantee from U.S.-owned Ginnie Mae. Senator Bob Corker told Shaun Donovan , secretary of the Department of Housing, at a Congressional hearing yesterday that “you are losing your shirt” on reverse mortgages with brokers making an “absolute fortune.” Corker, a Tennessee Republican, suggested shutting the program down for two years. Donovan said the FHA, which faces a projected $16.3 billion shortfall in its insurance fund, may make “blunt changes” on an interim basis including new limits on the terms of the loans to protect its finances. While borrowers don’t make monthly payments, they are considered in default if they aren’t current on their property taxes and insurance. As long as the borrower stays in the home and the equity isn’t exhausted, the securities accumulate interest on the loan. “For retired homeowners that have paid down their mortgage, a reverse mortgage can be a way to obtain a low cost line of credit with no fear of eviction,” said Merrill Ross, an analyst with Baltimore-based Wunderlich Securities Inc. “It allows the homeowners to age in place while paying medical or other bills.” Fewer Homeowners Fewer homeowners took out the debt this year as the largest lenders exited the market. There were about 49,080 new loans this year through November, according to data provider Reverse Mortgage Insight Inc., down from 64,058 in the same period last year and a peak of 115,176 in 2008. Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and Bank of America Corp. stopped giving the loans in the aftermath of the housing crisis and criticism from advocate groups including the National Consumer Law Center, which alleged that some unscrupulous lenders use the product to take advantage of elderly homeowners. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo was accused in a class action lawsuit filed last year of foreclosing on homes with reverse mortgages after the owners died without giving heirs a chance to purchase the property at 95 percent of appraised value, as FHA rules require. ‘Very Complicated’ “It was a profitable line of business for us, but it simply was a narrow market, a very complicated product,” Michael Heid, president of the bank’s home-loan unit said in a May conference call to investors. Only 2 or 3 percent of the 24 million households in the U.S. that are eligible have taken out a reverse mortgage against their properties, according to Walter Investment Management Corp. (WAC) , which last month bought originator and servicer Reverse Mortgage Solutions. “While the reverse mortgage market is significant today, we anticipate it will grow tremendously in the coming years as it rebuilds from the economic downdraft, loss of key participants, and most importantly as a result of both demographic and economic factors,” Walter Investment chairman and chief executive officer Mark O’Brien said on a September call with investors. The U.S. census bureau estimates that by the year 2030 the number of eligible households will grow to more than 40 million, said O’Brien. “The industry is obviously poised for explosive growth,” he said. Specialty Firms Specialty firms such as Atlanta-based Generation Mortgage Co., Urban Financial Group, and One Reverse Mortgage, a division of Quicken Loans Inc., are filling in the lending gaps and raising the visibility of reverse mortgages. Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN) agreed in October to buy Genworth Financial Home Equity Access Inc., the company that started a new campaign with actor Wagner, who starred in “It Takes a Thief” and played Number Two in the “Austin Powers” trilogy. About $7.3 billion in reverse mortgage bonds have been issued this year through November after almost $10 billion in 2011, according to Bloomberg data compiled by Knight Capital Group Inc. Ginnie Mae said it had $38 billion of the securities outstanding at the end of October. Underwriters introduced securities tied to floating lending rates that helped to increase issuance, according to Darren Stumberger, head of agency MBS trading at Knight Capital in New York. Relative Spreads Spreads on fixed-rate reverse mortgage bonds have narrowed to about 50 basis points, or 0.5 percentage point, over swaps from 140 basis points at the start of the year, according to Knight. That compares to negative 16 basis points for 3.5 percent Ginnie Mae bonds backed by traditional 30-year fixed loans, according to Bloomberg models. “They have explicit government guarantees, little prepayment risk, limited policy risk and wider spreads” than other Ginnie Mae securities, said Deepak Narula, the head of New York-based Metacapital, which oversees $1.6 billion. Purchasers of HECM bonds receive unscheduled payments of principal and interest when a loan in the pool is repaid. If a borrower defaults, the individual loan is removed from the pool and the FHA pays off the bonds. The FHA also takes out loans if the principal balance reaches 98 percent of the maximum claim amount. That means that even if “the fountain of youth” is discovered, said Roth, mortgage investors won’t suffer significant extension risk. Bond Buying In addition to the Fed’s bond buying program, President Barack Obama ’s re-election has fueled investors’ concerns that the government will seek to accelerate refinancing, increasing interest in housing debt that’s less likely to be repaid early. “They call these borrowers ’one and done,’” said Jeff Traister, a reverse mortgage trader for New York-based Cantor Fitzgerald LP. “It’s a very, very small amount that prepay.” Mortgage bond investors monitor prepayment rates since they influence returns. Bondholders risk losses when buying debt for more than 100 cents on the dollar as the value can be erased when homeowners take out new mortgages too quickly to repay existing debt. With debt trading below face value, returns increase when repayments accelerate. Two Harbors, the publicly traded Minnetonka , Minnesota-based REIT, has also acquired prepayment-protected Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities that will help it avoid having to reinvest in debt at lower rates. The firm also formed Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp. to focus on single-family homes and this month filed to raise as much as $265 million in an initial public offering. Even as investors such as Two Harbors see value in reverse mortgages, the collection of mortgage bonds is smaller and less liquid than the broader $5.2 trillion government-backed market. That means it can be more costly to buy and sell the securities. “The market is young so there are lower volumes and spreads are generally a bit wider than comparable asset classes,” Stumberger said. “Once originations increase, the market will become more meaningful with more supply creating new demand and improving liquidity.” To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Perlberg in New York at [email protected] Christine Harvey in New York at [email protected] Jody Shenn in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rob Urban at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Moneysupermarket Slumps on Stalled Sales in July: London Mover

Moneysupermarket.com Group Plc (MONY) , a U.K. price-comparison website, fell the most in five years after revenue growth stalled in July and amid concern about potential competition from Google Inc. (GOOG) The stock fell 15 percent in London, the steepest decline since July 2008, to 181 pence, valuing the Chester, England-based company at 981 million pounds ($1.49 billion). Trading volume was more than 12 times the three-month daily average. Moneysupermarket said revenue in July is “flat” compared with a “strong” corresponding month last year, when a new advertising campaign was started. The company plans this year’s campaign for next month, it said in a statement. First-half sales rose 10 percent from a year earlier to 112.3 million pounds. Slowing insurance revenue growth, following changes by Google to search algorithms, was compounded by the lack of specific comment on full-year prospects in the earnings statement, Steve Liechti, an analyst at Investec Securities Ltd. who recommends clients buy the stock, said in a note. “First-half figures are fine and marginally above our forecast, but the financial year outlook comment looks an issue,” he said. “We intend to tweak numbers down given second-half uncertainties.” Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 29 percent to 39.9 million pounds. The company also said today that Paul Doughty will step down as chief financial officer no later than June 1, 2014. Google Risk Investors should also factor in the risk on the stock of Google vying for market share, which could unravel Moneysupermarket’s price-to-earnings ratio from 18 to less than 12, David McCann, an analyst at Numis Securities, said in a note to clients. He has the only sell recommendation on the share among 12 analysts tracked by Bloomberg. “It is not so much that we see the Google threat as a certainty, but more we think there should be more allowance in the price for the tail risks,” said McCann, who has a price estimate of 150 pence. To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Pashley in London at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Contiliano at [email protected]

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Austria to Pull UN Peacekeepers From Golan Heights After Attack

Austria is pulling its United Nations peacekeeping troops from the Golan Heights after an attack showed the risk to its soldiers had become “unacceptable,” the government said in a statement today. Austria, the biggest provider of troops to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force since 1974, told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon about its decision, Chancellor Werner Faymann and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said in the joint statement. “An uncontrollable and immediate risk for the Austrian soldiers has grown to an unacceptable level,” the officials said in the statement. To contact the reporter on this story: Boris Groendahl in Vienna at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at [email protected]

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CHIEN SHING STAI August Sales Rise 42.67% (Table) : 2025 TT

CHIEN SHING STAI said unconsolidated sales in August rose 42.67% to NT$487,989,000 from NT$342,044,000, according to a statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. (Figures are in thousands of New Taiwan dollars) ================================================================= 8/2011 8/2010 Sales 487,989 342,044 YOY% 42.67% -----------------Year-to-date----------------- Sales 5,084,406 3,090,837 YOY% 64.50% =================================================================

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Wind-Driven Snow Blankets East Coast, Snarls Air, Ground Travel

New York City’s major airports resumed operations after the heaviest December snowfall in six decades left travelers in the Northeast struggling amid waist- high drifts and blizzard winds. The city’s Central Park had 20 inches (51 centimeters) of snow by 8 a.m., the most for the month since 1948 , the National Weather Service said. Skies cleared over New York by daybreak as the agency issued blizzard warnings for Boston and into Maine. The storm forced airlines to cancel more than 6,000 flights since yesterday, when airports began to close. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty airports opened tonight for outgoing traffic. “There may have been storms that equaled this, but it doesn’t get much worse than this,” Tom Kines , a meteorologist at State College, Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather Inc., said by telephone. “To get this much snow with the amount of wind that is accompanying it, that is devastating.” New York, which faces a $2.5 billion deficit in the $65 billion budget projected for next year, will be more affected by lost economic activity than clean-up costs, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a City Hall news conference. Getting Around The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market kept normal hours today. The New York Mercantile Exchange delayed the opening of floor trading until 11 a.m. “They pay me good money to be here,” said Vinny Stavola , an Oppenheimer & Co. convertible trader, who trekked from Staten Island to get to work in midtown Manhattan by 6:30 a.m. “It doesn’t take a heroic effort to get to work, just a little dedication.” The storm, with winds gusting to 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour), reached New York at midday yesterday. The day after Christmas is one of the five busiest shopping days of the year, and it may take retailers two weeks to recover from lost sales, said Marshal Cohen , chief industry analyst at NPD Group Inc., a research firm based in Port Washington, New York. Economic Impact The snowfall was the fifth-largest on record for the city, Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said at the mayor’s news conference. “In the grand scheme of things, given the size of our budget and the size of our deficit, this is very small,” Bloomberg said. “It’s the lack of commerce that takes place. Yesterday and today were big shopping days, and that didn’t happen, so your sales tax revenues will be lower, and those are the things that really hurt.” The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. Amtrak resumed operations between New York and Boston today after canceling services late yesterday. Metro-North commuter trains resumed limited runs at midday after being halted by wind-blown snow, while the Long Island Rail Road was closed, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority website. Commuter Trains NJ Transit, which carries about 170,000 commuters to and from New York City daily, suspended bus service as of 8:30 p.m. yesterday until tomorrow, according to a statement. Service between Newark and New York was shut by signal problems and other trains will run on modified schedules, the agency said. Four hundred subway passengers were aboard an A train that was stuck in Queens for more than six hours, until it could be pushed to a station by another train. The Coney Island area was without subway service. As much as 29 inches of snow was reported in Bergen County, New Jersey, while Union County had as much as 26, the Weather Service said. Winds gusted to almost 70 mph in some areas. Interstate 280 westbound, one of the main approaches to downtown Newark, was almost deserted at 8 a.m. and acting Governor Stephen Sweeney ordered state offices closed. Home Depot Inc., the world’s largest home improvement retailer, is shipping additional snow shovels, snow blowers and ice melt to stores from North Carolina to Maine, said Ron DeFeo , a company spokesman. NYC Deploys New York City will have 365 salt spreaders and 1,700 snowplows on the streets, and sanitation department employees will work 12-hour shifts, Bloomberg said yesterday. Boston and its suburbs may receive as much as 18 inches from the storm, said Alan Dunham, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Taunton, Massachusetts. Part of central Massachusetts may receive as much as 22 inches. U.S. carriers canceled at least 3,389 flights today, after cutting more than 3,334 yesterday, as they waited for airports to open in the Northeast, spokesmen said. Airlines in some cases grounded flights ahead of the storm to keep planes from getting stuck at closed facilities. Delta Air Lines Inc. cut 1,000 flights systemwide, said Trebor Banstetter, an airline spokesman. “As the weather clears, we are aiming to resume normal operations late Monday and into Tuesday across the East Coast,” Banstetter said in an e-mail. Continental Airlines and its regional partner carriers have canceled 800 flights for today, while United grounded 175, said Mike Trevino , a spokesman for United Continental Holdings Inc. The carrier expects to resume flights out of New York-area airports and Boston in the afternoon, he said. More Cancellations Southwest Airlines Co. cut 188 flights today, primarily in Norfolk and Boston, said Brad Hawkins , a spokesman for the Dallas-based carrier. It expects to resume flights in some northeastern U.S. airports about mid-day, he said. US Airways Group Inc. canceled 550 flights today, mostly into and out of New York, Philadelphia and Boston, said Jim Olson , a spokesman. Flights into Boston are set to resume after 11 a.m. today, he said. American Airlines and its commuter carrier, American Eagle, canceled 446 flights today, said Ed Martelle, a spokesman. The two airlines cut 427 flights yesterday and American cut 40 scheduled for tomorrow. JetBlue Airways Corp. scrubbed more than 300 flights today after cutting 270 yesterday, Mateo Lleras , a spokesman for the New York-based carrier, said in an e-mail. Unsafe for Crews “Today we’re also dealing with closed runways, roads that are barely passable and trains and buses that are not running,” JetBlue told customers today in a company blog. “In many cases, conditions are not safe for our crewmembers or our customers to get to the airports, where it’s even possible.” The storm also brought snow as far south as parts of Jacksonville, Florida, AccuWeather said on its website. The storm system began in the South over the Christmas holiday. Four inches of snow fell in Chattanooga, Tennessee, while 8 inches was reported in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Environment Canada issued a blizzard warning yesterday for northeastern New Brunswick and warned of heavy snow or rain in the rest of the Maritime provinces today. Sixteen inches of snow may fall in New Brunswick, and rain may accompany the snow in Nova Scotia. Winds may gust to 87 mph (140 kph) in eastern Nova Scotia and 80 mph in western Newfoundland, the agency said. To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Clark in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at [email protected]

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Company Credit Swaps Fall as IBM, Google Reports Beat Estimates

A gauge of U.S. corporate credit risk fell as 75 percent of companies that have reported profits for the last quarter exceed analyst estimates. The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade Index, a credit-default swaps benchmark used to hedge against losses or to speculate on creditworthiness, fell 1 basis point from Jan. 18 to a mid-price of 86.1 basis points as of 5:07 p.m. in New York, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg. Bond markets were closed yesterday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Confidence that the economy is gaining strength is building, as 63 of the 84 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index that have reported fourth-quarter earnings beat forecasts, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Among information technology companies, 15 of 18 reported positive surprises. The credit-swaps index typically falls as investor confidence improves and rises as it deteriorates. The contracts pay the buyer face value if a borrower fails to meet its obligations, less the value of the defaulted debt. A basis point equals $1,000 annually on a contract protecting $10 million of debt. Google Inc., owner of the world’s largest search engine, said today that fourth-quarter profit excluding certain items rose to $10.65 a share. Analysts had projected per-share earnings of $10.50. International Business Machines Corp., the world’s biggest computer-services provider, forecast earnings in 2013 will be at least $16.70 a share. That compares with the $16.64 average estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg. High Yield The risk premium on the Markit CDX North American High Yield Index declined 2.7 basis points to 436.3 basis points, Bloomberg prices show. High-yield, high-risk debt is rated below Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service and lower than BBB- at Standard & Poor’s. Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) , the third-largest publicly traded U.S. hospital chain, sold $850 million of bonds to fund repurchases of outstanding debt. The 4.5 percent notes due April 2021, rated B1 by Moody’s, yield 307 basis points more than similar-maturity Treasuries, Bloomberg data show. Proceeds will fund purchases of Tenet’s $714 million of 10 percent, first-lien debt due May 2018, the Dallas-based company said in a statement. The average relative yield on junk-rated debt was little changed at 4.74 percentage points, Bloomberg data show. To contact the reporter on this story: Madhura Karnik in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at [email protected]

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Rupee Jumps Most Since May 2010 on Central Bank’s Move to Curb Speculation

India ’s rupee surged the most in 19 months, extending its rebound from an all-time low reached yesterday, after the central bank announced measures to curb speculation in the foreign-exchange market. The currency, this year’s worst performer in the region, strengthened the most among Asian currencies after the Reserve Bank of India said companies can’t enter into multiple forward contracts to cover a single overseas transaction. It pared gains as the monetary authority, which has raised interest rates 13 times since the start of 2010 to cool inflation, kept them unchanged at a policy review in Mumbai today. “The RBI has taken decisive measures to reduce onshore speculation against the rupee,” said Olivier Desbarres, head of foreign-exchange strategy for the region at Barclays Capital in Singapore. “These measures have certainly caught the market’s attention and it reduces the chances of a rapid weakening of the rupee.” The rupee jumped 1.7 percent to 52.7450 per dollar in Mumbai, the biggest gain since May 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It rose as much as 2.7 percent earlier. The currency, which fell to an all-time low of 54.3050 yesterday, has lost 1.3 percent this week and 15.2 percent in 2011. The new rule applies to domestic as well as foreign investors and takes effect immediately, according to a central bank statement published after the market closed yesterday. Forwards are agreements to buy or sell assets at a set price and date. The RBI also said it will reduce the amount of open positions dealers can maintain overnight. ‘Buy Time’ The Reserve Bank ’s move will be positive for the rupee in the “short-term,” increasing transaction costs and showing the RBI is looking to curb currency-market speculation, according to Standard Chartered Bank Plc. “This, along with some intervention from the RBI, will buy time for the country to address medium-term issues such as the current-account deficit and capital outflows,” said Ananth Narayan G., head of South Asia currency and bonds trading at Standard Chartered in Mumbai. Those are the “root causes of the rupee’s weakness.” Overseas funds cut holdings of Indian shares by $353 million this year after adding $29 billion in 2010, exchange data show. The nation’s current-account shortfall, which was $14.2 billion in the three months ended June 30, may widen to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product in the year ending March, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said this month. ‘Line in the Sand’ “The step is likely to stem the fall in the rupee but is unlikely to put on an appreciating bias,” Indranil Pan , chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. in Mumbai, wrote in a report published today. “The aim is to reduce speculative positions and demand for dollars.” The Reserve Bank may not boost the rupee beyond 52 because “it understands fundamentals are working against currency appreciation” in India now, Barclays Capital’s Desbarres said. The curbs on forwards trading are in addition to steps taken by the central bank last month to boost the supply of dollars in the local market. The Reserve Bank eased rules in November for companies to borrow abroad and sell foreign currencies through swaps and raised the interest rate on bank deposits for Indians living overseas. A further decline in the rupee threatens to stoke inflation that has stayed above 9 percent for 12 months. Every 1 percent depreciation in the currency boosts the rate of gains in wholesale prices by 6 to 10 basis points, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. The central bank’s latest measures show “the commitment of the RBI to fight further rupee depreciation,” said Sebastien Barbe , chief emerging-market strategist in Paris at Credit Agricole CIB. “I think this draws a line in the sand at close to 54 per dollar.” To contact the reporters on this story: Jeanette Rodrigues in Mumbai at [email protected] ; V Ramakrishnan in Mumbai at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at [email protected]

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Pound Strengthens Versus Euro on ECB Loans, BOE’s Weale Comments on Easing

The pound posted its biggest weekly gain versus the euro this year as the European Central Bank loaned a record amount of cash to the region’s banks, increasing the supply of the 17-nation currency. Sterling was also boosted as Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Martin Weale said inflation was likely to persist in the U.K., reducing the need for further asset purchases. The ECB loaned 529.5 billion euros ($699 billion) to the region’s banks on Feb. 29 in the second of its longer-term refinancing operations. “The pound is looking firmer against the euro and there seems little doubt that the LTRO has had a mildly negative impact against the single currency,” said Lee McDarby, head of dealing on the corporate and institutional treasury desk at Investec Bank Plc in London. “Weale’s comments moved additional U.K. quantitative easing further away at the same time as Europe is effectively doing more.” The pound strengthened 1.7 percent this week to 83.27 pence per euro as of 5:03 p.m. in London yesterday, the biggest advance since the period ended Dec. 16. The currency jumped 1.1 percent on Feb. 29, the day the LTRO was announced. Sterling fell 0.2 percent to $1.5849. This week’s refinancing operation meant the ECB has now offered more than 1 trillion euros in three-year loans to the region’s banks to contain the sovereign debt crisis. ‘More Persistence’ Higher oil prices and potential wage pressures “suggest a risk that there may be more persistence to inflation than one might expect at a time of rising unemployment,” Weale said in a speech in London on Feb. 29. “I do not think there is likely to be a further case once our current program is complete” in early May for more bond purchases. The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilt increased seven basis points over the week to 2.14 percent. The 4 percent bond due March 2022, which became the benchmark on Feb. 29, closed the week at a price of 116.695. Gilts have handed investors a loss of 1.5 percent this year, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. German bunds, Europe’s benchmark securities, have dropped 0.1 percent. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will keep its bond-buying target at 325 billion pounds when it next meets on March 8, according to all the 45 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The U.K. will sell as much as 1 billion pounds of inflation-linked bonds maturing in 2034 on March 6. It will auction up to 4 billion pounds of 1 percent bonds maturing in September 2017 the following day. To contact the reporter on this story: David Goodman in London at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at [email protected]

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Hoyer Says Obama Could Strike Syria Without Congress Vote

The second-ranking House Democrat said President Barack Obama has the authority to use military force against Syria without returning to the U.S. Congress for approval should diplomacy fail to compel the Syrian government to surrender its chemical weapons arsenal. Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland said neither he nor House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi , a California Democrat, “believe the president is required to come to Congress in this instance, and could act on his own.” Hoyer, in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt ” that airs this weekend, also said House Republican disarray on strategy in battling Obama over the federal budget and raising the nation’s borrowing limit makes a government shutdown at month’s end more likely. On Syria, Hoyer said only a brief window exists for Russia to prove that its bid to require Syria to give up its chemical arms stockpile to avert a U.S. military strike is “real” -- “certainly not longer than weeks.” If the effort fails, Hoyer added, Obama’s hand would be strengthened in taking military action if Congress explicitly empowered him to do so. “If we passed a resolution, he’d have a stronger hand,” Hoyer said. “But having said that, neither the Russians nor the Syrians ought to conclude that the president is without authority to act.” ‘Extra Mile’ The attempt at a diplomatic solution may also help Obama influence lawmakers to support a military strike, Hoyer said. “People would say, ‘Well, he went the extra mile, he reached out, he took the diplomatic course that people had been urging him to take -- and it didn’t work,’” Hoyer said. “And therefore under those circumstances, the only option available to us to preclude the further use of chemical weapons and to try to deter and degrade Syria ’s ability to use them is to act.’” The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution authorizing military force against Syria, and the Senate was prepared to vote on the measurer this week. The resolution appeared to face growing House opposition. Then, when the prospect of a negotiated settlement arose, Obama said in a national televised address on Sept. 10 that he was asking Congress to delay voting. Health-Care ‘Gambit’ On fiscal issues, Hoyer said Democrats will never agree to the Republican bid to delay funding for the 2010 health-care law in exchange for funding the government, calling it a “gambit” the opposing party could use to continuously keep the measure from being carried out. “We’re not going to be bludgeoned and blackmailed into adopting something with respect to the health-care bill that the voters rejected” in giving Obama a second term last November, he said. Calling the Republicans “fixated” on repealing the law, Hoyer said, “As long as ‘shut down the government’ is their bludgeon, is their threat, is their hostage, that’s not a negotiable issue.” While he and some influential Republicans oppose the automatic across-the-board spending cuts imposed earlier this year, Hoyer conceded they are likely to remain in effect for the foreseeable future. “The sequester is an irrational, common-sense-defying fiscal policy” that should be replaced with a “big deal” that both cuts federal spending and while also raising revenues , Hoyer said. “I don’t think it’s going to happen,” he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Hirschfeld Davis in Washington at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jeanne Cummings at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Archer Considering Rebel Sport Initial Share Sale for 2011, Review Reports

Archer Capital is considering an initial public offering for Australian sporting goods retail chain Rebel Group in April or May next year, the Australian Financial Review reported in its Street Talk column, without saying where it got the information. The 150-store, sporting goods retailer is outperforming rivals, the newspaper said, without citing anyone. To contact the reporter on this story: James Paton in Sydney at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tim Smith at [email protected]

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Dolphins Delay Meeting With Martin on Bullying at NFL’s Request

The Miami Dolphins and owner Stephen Ross postponed a meeting with Jonathan Martin at the request of the National Football League, which is investigating the lineman’s allegations of being harassed by teammates. Ross had said he planned to meet today with Martin, who left the team on Oct. 28, to “see how he’s doing and listen to his concerns.” Dolphins President Tom Garfinkel said yesterday that the NFL and Ted Wells, a New York attorney overseeing an independent probe into the harassment allegations, asked that the team’s meeting with Martin be delayed until investigators meet with him first. “Out of deference to the process, we will cooperate with their request,” Garfinkel said in a statement. “We look forward to meeting with Jonathan directly as soon as possible.” The Dolphins indefinitely suspended offensive lineman Richie Incognito on Nov. 4 for conduct detrimental to the team after an expletive-filled voice message he sent to Martin became public. The Dolphins also asked the NFL to investigate. Martin endured harassment “far beyond the traditional locker room hazing” for the entire 1 1/2 seasons he spent with the Dolphins and was physically assaulted by a teammate, his lawyer, David Cornwell of Gordon and Rees LLP in Atlanta, said on Nov. 6. The NFL the same day said Wells, who was involved in investigations of the National Basketball Players Association and the Syracuse University men’s basketball team, would oversee the probe of the Dolphins. To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at [email protected]

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Michigan Pays 40% More as Detroit Debt Hits Spread: Muni Credit

The yield penalty on Michigan’s debt has climbed 40 percent in less than two weeks as defaults by Detroit and two school districts lead investors to question the state’s commitment to protect bondholders. Buyers demand about 0.49 percentage point of extra yield to own general obligations of Michigan instead of benchmark securities, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s up from 0.35 percentage point on June 13, the day before Detroit emergency financial manager Kevyn Orr released his plan to avert a record municipal bankruptcy. The proposal included halting payments on $2 billion of munis. The month before, school districts in Buena Vista and Pontiac defaulted. They were the first such issuers in the state to do so, according to research firm Municipal Market Advisors. The events call into question Michigan’s willingness to preserve the safety of securities backed by a municipality’s full faith and credit, said Shawn O’Leary, a senior research analyst in Chicago at Nuveen Asset Management, which oversees $95 billion of local-government debt. “There’s a tremendous amount of selling -- people are very anxious about Michigan cities,” said Matt Fabian, a managing director at Concord, Massachusetts-based MMA. “Those districts defaulting are absolutely a sign of the state’s eroding concern about bondholders.” Turnaround Task In Michigan, where no locality has filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, about 10 percent of its 9.9 million residents live in communities under fiscal oversight, said O’Leary. Orr, a former bankruptcy lawyer, is trying to turn around a city that has lost a quarter of its population since 2000. He proposed a deal June 14 that included skipping a $39.7 million payment on pension-obligation debt as the city grapples with $17 billion in liabilities. Uninsured Detroit debt maturing in April 2016 traded this week at 33 cents on the dollar, down from 90 cents earlier in June. “Michigan historically has been a state that will work to support the credit quality of its underlying municipalities,” O’Leary said. “If the state has any interest at all in preserving the market access of those communities, it needs to say that it supports the legality and strength of the general-obligation pledge.” ‘No Involvement’ Karen Cain, treasurer of Pontiac School District, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Detroit, wasn’t available to comment, said Valdria Rowe, executive administrative assistant. A message left with Brittanny Anderson, secretary to the superintendent of the Buena Vista district, wasn’t returned. The community is about 100 miles northwest of Detroit. Terry Stanton , a spokesman for Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon, said the state had “no involvement in either issue.” The deals weren’t part of a state program that provides credit enhancement to debt approved by Dillon for capital projects. The Republican-controlled legislature last week passed two bills allowing the state to dissolve Buena Vista and the Inkster district near Detroit. The bills await Republican Governor Rick Snyder ’s signature. About 55 Michigan school districts project budget deficits this year, said Matt Butler, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service. The New York-based company doesn’t grade Buena Vista’s district, and has Pontiac’s at Caa1, seven steps below investment grade. Michigan has an Aa2 rank, third highest. Deficit Districts Jurisdictions facing budget shortfalls must submit a deficit-elimination plan to the state, said Martin Ackley, a spokesman for Mike Flanagan, state superintendent. If a system fails to, the state withholds funding, he said. Pontiac and Buena Vista schools both missed May 1 debt-service payments because Michigan halted aid in the prior two months, Butler said. The state’s not intervening to protect bondholders was a surprise, he said. “Our understanding has been with these tools that the state has, it would not allow a district to default,” Butler said in a telephone interview. “It does raise new questions going forward for any other districts that fall into a position like this.” Detroit Focus Tax-exempt Pontiac school bonds maturing in May 2015 traded this week at an average yield of 9.14 percent, or about 93 cents on the dollar. That’s about 7.5 percentage points more than benchmark munis. The debt is insured by Syncora Guarantee Inc. “Syncora Capital Assurance Inc. received and duly paid a claim in full” related to the Pontiac district, Michael Corbally, a spokesman for Syncora, said in an e-mail. The Pontiac system has $14 million of debt, while the Buena Vista district has about $2.5 million, Bloomberg data show. Buena Vista’s district enrolls 435 students, compared with about 5,200 in Pontiac’s. The state may not have intervened because the debt was insured and authorities were focused on Detroit, said Tom Metzold, co-director of munis at Eaton Vance Management in Boston. “I’ve got to believe that Detroit has taken up 100 percent of the state’s time,” said Metzold, who helps oversee about $30 billion in munis. “These are the very same insurers that are in Detroit. In effect, it’s being taken care of regardless as part of the whole Detroit situation.” Insurers’ Backing Insurers back about 80 percent of Detroit general-obligation and pension bonds, according to Lisa Washburn, a managing director at MMA. Syncora said in a June 17 statement that it would pay claims on the certificates of participation on which the city failed to make payments. School districts in Michigan are also allowed to have emergency managers appointed by the state. An emergency has been in place for Detroit Public Schools since March 2009, according to the treasurer’s website. Highland Park School District and Muskegon Heights School District also have state-appointed overseers, according to the website. Pontiac’s system is under review for an emergency manager. Investors will watch for signs that Snyder approves of Orr’s plan for bondholders, Nuveen’s O’Leary said. A sign of endorsement from the governor could further punish localities statewide by weakening the perception of their full faith and credit backing, he said. “If the governor signs off on the plan as currently proposed, the state is tacitly supporting the view that the G.O. pledge isn’t worth its credit,” O’Leary said. “In that case, you suddenly call into question the creditworthiness of every G.O. offered in the state of Michigan.” Market Movement In the $3.7 trillion municipal market, Illinois is set to sell $1.3 billion of general obligations today, the week’s biggest offer, as investors are poised for their worst monthly losses since 2008. Institutional investors are joining individuals in exiting the market as yields surged to the highest since 2011. Bondholders such as mutual funds were offering about $2 billion of munis for sale as of June 24, the most since Bloomberg data began in 1996. Ten-year AAA munis yield 2.96 percent , the highest since April 2011. The interest rate compares with 2.61 percent for similar-maturity Treasuries. The ratio of the yields, a gauge of relative value, is about 113 percent, the highest since August. The greater the figure, the cheaper munis are compared with federal securities. To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Chappatta in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Superior Energy Falls as U.S. Fracking Costs Grow

(Corrects description of company in first paragraph.) Superior Energy Services Inc. (SPN) , which is trying to buy a provider of hydraulic-fracturing services in North America, fell the most in more than two months as more of its contracting peers report additional costs associated with moving from natural gas to oil basins in the U.S. and Canada. Superior, based in New Orleans, dropped 6.1 percent to close at $25.78 in New York, the biggest decline since Nov. 9. Carbo Ceramics Inc. (CRR) , the largest provider of manufactured materials for the technique used to extract oil and gas from shale, said in an earnings statement today that fourth-quarter costs increased because of its shift to oil basins. Gas producers such as Chesapeake Energy Corp. and EQT Corp. have announced they’re curtailing production because of low prices. “Superior seems to be taking its lumps,” Trey Stolz, an analyst at Iberia Capital Partners in New Orleans , who rates the shares “outperform” and owns none, said in an interview. “The momentum is snowballing on this North American logistics issue with the Carbo earnings release today.” Halliburton Co. (HAL) and Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) , two of the three largest fracking service providers, reported similar costs earlier this week for moving crews into North American oil basins. There isn’t a lack of total demand for fracking work, James C. West, an analyst at Barclays Capital in New York, said today in a telephone interview. “People want to frack wells,” he said. “The transitory period here is just negatively impacting everybody’s results.” Superior said Oct. 10 it agreed to buy Houston-based Complete Production Services Inc. (CPX) Complete had about 315,000 horsepower in fracking equipment for North America as of June 30, the companies said at the time. The deal is awaiting final approval. To contact the reporter on this story: David Wethe in Houston at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at [email protected]

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U.S. Federal Reserve Beige Book: Philadelphia District (Text)

The following is the text of the Federal Reserve Board’s Third District-- Philadelphia. Business activity in the Third District has improved overall since the last Beige Book. Manufacturers reported strong increases in shipments and new orders in February. Retailers achieved modest year-over-year increases in sales in January and February. Motor vehicle dealers also reported year-over-year sales increases in February. Third District banks reported little overall change in loan volume outstanding since the last Beige Book, although business loan and residential mortgage volumes edged up, while consumer loan volume eased. Residential real estate agents and homebuilders indicated that activity, which was already at a seasonal low along a low part of the business cycle, was dampened further by poor weather. Contacts in the commercial real estate sector said that leasing and construction activity have remained at low levels since the last Beige Book. Service- sector firms reported that activity has increased modestly. Business contacts reported still more instances of price increases for inputs than they did in the previous Beige Book , and output price increases emerged in February as reported by contacts in several sectors. The outlook among Third District business contacts is positive but not strong. Manufacturers forecast a rise in shipments and orders during the next six months. Retailers expect sales to increase moderately on a year-over-year basis. Bankers expect only slight growth in lending over the next two quarters. Contacts in residential real estate expect little or no increase in activity for the year as a whole. Contacts in commercial real estate expect market conditions to improve slowly during the year. Service-sector companies expect continued slow growth through the first half of 2011. Manufacturing Third District manufacturers reported strong increases in shipments and new orders from January to February. Producers across a broad spectrum of 11 manufacturing sectors reported increased demand. Declines in orders were predominant only among producers of apparel and of testing and measuring instruments. Producers within the furniture, petroleum, and fabricated metals sectors reported no overall change in demand. Some manufacturers credited global markets and energy markets as drivers of new demand, and one specifically cited China ’s rising costs as allowing them to reclaim work previously lost overseas. Several manufacturers mentioned ―tough winter conditions‖ as affecting shipments and lowering demand. Third District manufacturers expect business conditions to improve during the next six months, on balance. Among the firms surveyed in February, about half expect increases in new orders and shipments, and less than one-tenth expect decreases. Executives from several sectors that supply the construction industry cited very low levels of highway construction in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region and expressed concern over future federal and state highway funding. Capital spending plans among area manufacturers remain positive, but lessened somewhat over the past two months, mostly from January to February. Retail Third District retailers generally reported modest year-over- year increases in sales in January and February. Snowstorms deterred shopping and limited the advance in sales in January, retailers said, but most of those contacted for this report indicated that sales rebounded in February. However, revenue increases have been adversely affected by clearance sales of winter merchandise. The consensus among merchants in the region is that sales will continue to grow as the spring selling season gets underway. Most of the merchants who gave forecasts expect sales to increase moderately. The general opinion was expressed by one store executive who said, ―We are cautiously optimistic, although we do not think the consumer will step up buying strongly until employment picks up.‖ Third District auto dealers contacted in February reported that sales were above the year-ago level and rising gradually from the January level. Dealers generally considered their inventories to be in line with near-term sales expectations. Dealers anticipate sales this year to exceed sales last year, although some remained concerned that further increases in gasoline prices could limit the improvement in sales. Finance At most of the Third District banks contacted for this report, total outstanding loan volume has been roughly level since the previous Beige Book. Overall, business loan and residential mortgage volumes outstanding have edged up at commercial banks in the District, but consumer loan volume outstanding has eased. The outlook among Third District bankers interviewed in February is that total loan volume will expand only slightly over the next two quarters. Bankers said that consumers will remain reluctant to borrow until employment begins to improve more steadily and that business firms are still focused on strengthening balance sheets rather than taking on more debt. One banker expressed a view shared by many when he said, ―Creditworthy businesses are not looking to borrow.‖ Real Estate and Construction Residential real estate activity remains ―in the doldrums,‖ according to builders and brokers throughout most parts of the Third District. A builder described traffic as ―anemic‖ through January, as the typical winter lull was depressed further still by harsh weather across the District. While some builders noted a pickup in traffic in early February, the ―slower-than-normal January means we won’t know for awhile‖ whether overall trends are improving. While home prices continue to fall in most parts of the District, the softness is primarily in higher-end homes. The greater than usual prevalence of distressed property sales creates some additional competition for new homebuilders. While market participants ―want to be positive,‖ most seem to have grown weary and wary of anticipating any near-term improvement in the housing sector. They are positioned for a year of little or no growth. There has been little change in commercial and industrial markets in the Third District since the previous Beige Book, according to area nonresidential real estate firms. Contacts said that vacancy rates and rents have been nearly steady for most property types, although vacancy rates for apartment buildings have been moving down. Contacts in some parts of the District also reported some slight gains in occupancy of industrial buildings. Construction activity has been roughly steady at a slow pace. Looking ahead, commercial real estate contacts expect market conditions to improve slowly during the rest of the year, with increases in construction and occupied space held back by restrained financing and slow employment growth in the region. One contact said, ―It will probably take some office markets several years to recover the loss of occupancy caused by the recession.‖ Services Service-sector firms generally reported modest increases in activity since the previous Beige Book. Business-service firms generally have been posting slight gains as their customers see gradual improvement in their own activity. However, as one business-service firm noted, ―Customers are keeping within their budgets, and we have to be responsive to that.‖ Moderate improvement was also noted by firms in the telecommunications, professional services, and health care sectors. Most of the services sector firms contacted for this report expect slow growth in the months ahead. Prices and Wages Reports from manufacturers since the previous Beige Book indicated still more pervasive increases in input costs. While much less prevalent, output price increases are becoming more widespread throughout the manufacturing sectors. Retailers generally indicated that selling prices have been steady or declining as they clear out winter merchandise. However, a growing number of retailers mentioned that wholesale costs are rising for goods they are purchasing for sale during the second half of the year. Business firms in the region reported mostly steady wages since the last Beige Book, although some said they have raised wages and salaries for certain skilled occupations. Employment agencies said there has been some growth in demand for workers recently, and some colleges in the region reported that more companies plan to recruit on campus this year than last year.

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N.Y. Thruway Pays Least as Tappan Zee Loan Prepared: Muni Credit

Investors are driving the New York State Thruway Authority’s borrowing costs to a 14-month low relative to benchmark debt in a bet that the agency will be able to finance the largest project in its 63-year history. The operator of the longest U.S. toll road, which is building a $3.9 billion replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River , plans to borrow $875 million this month, according to Standard & Poor’s. It needs the funds as it awaits approval of a federal loan that’s already taken a year to process and is holding up the spending plan for the structure. Building the span is a priority for Governor Andrew Cuomo , who compares it in scope to the 19th-century construction of the Erie Canal. It would double the agency’s $3.7 billion debt load. Yet the extra yield on some of the longest-maturing Thruway bonds is close to the smallest since they were issued in 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg show. “The Thruway Authority has good market access ,” said Howard Cure, head of municipal research at New York-based Evercore Wealth Management LLC, which oversees about $4.7 billion, including Thruway debt. “People aren’t that concerned about such an essential-purpose project.” Biggest Loan The Tappan Zee is one of the nation’s largest public-works projects and the federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan of more than $1 billion that Cuomo requested would be the biggest awarded by the U.S. Transportation Department. The 55-year-old Democrat is banking on the low-cost funds to keep cash tolls from almost tripling on the replacement to the 57-year-old bridge. Cuomo has said the majority of the financing will be through toll-backed bonds. The authority is waiting to find out the size of the loan before determining how much it’ll need to borrow through the $3.7 trillion municipal market. The 3-mile-long Tappan Zee, which connects Rockland and Westchester counties about 20 miles north of New York , was designed to last 50 years. It carries 138,000 vehicles each day, 40 percent more than intended. Private Deal The $875 million of notes that the authority’s board of directors plans to sell in a private placement will repay $500 million in debt due Sept. 30 and also finance construction, Joe Pezzimenti, an S&P analyst, wrote in an Aug. 30 report. The authority had planned to use the federal loan to pay off the $500 million bought by Barclays Plc in February. “The project is currently undergoing a creditworthiness analysis at the U.S. DOT,” Nancy Singer, a Federal Highway Administration spokeswoman in Washington, said by e-mail. “We are aware of the situation and are working with the state of New York.” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said at a U.S. Senate hearing in July that the project is “of national significance” and he expects it to move forward. If it does, New York will be asked to submit a formal application and then negotiate terms, a process that can take longer than three months, according to the agency’s website. The authority “remains committed to ensuring our long-term financial health and maintaining our current credit rating ,” Dan Weiller, an authority spokesman, said by e-mail. “We are in almost constant contact with USDOT,” he said. Matt Wing, a Cuomo spokesman, said by phone that he referred to the Thruway Authority for comment. Relative Return As the authority grapples with how it’ll pay for the bridge, Thruway bonds maturing in January 2042 traded Sept. 3 at an average yield of 4.96 percent, Bloomberg data show. The debt has an A+ grade from S&P, fifth highest. It yielded about 0.38 percentage point more than benchmark munis, close to the smallest spread since the bonds’ June 2012 issue. Agency debt hasn’t been exempt from the biggest losses in the municipal market since 1999. The average price on the bonds due in 2042 fell below 100 cents on the dollar on Aug. 19 for the first time since they were issued, Bloomberg data show. The securities have since rallied to as high as about 102 cents on the dollar, the data show. “The credit sells extremely well in-state,” said Clark Wagner, who oversees $1.5 billion as director of fixed income at First Investors Management Co. For individual investors looking to buy bonds, as prices fall below par, “the credit aspect isn’t as important as the dollar price.” October Wrap The authority expects to have the loan and complete its financing plan in October, according to Pezzimenti. The agency’s credit rating may fall depending on spending on the bridge and capital costs needed to maintain its 570-mile (917-kilometer) toll road, Pezzimenti said. The delayed loan shows municipalities “can’t always assume there will be a timely response from Washington ,” Cure said. “It gets more problematic the more it gets pushed out.” By 2016, the agency will be near the bottom limit of the debt-coverage ratio required by bond covenants, according to projections in budget documents that didn’t include the cost of a new bridge. Last year, it scrapped a plan to raise tolls on trucks by 45 percent, replacing the more than $80 million the increase would have earned with state funds pushed through the legislature by Cuomo. Ratings Concern “They will have to take further action before the bridge is done,” Pezzimenti said by phone. The rating company is concerned the authority won’t be able to maintain its rating “without implementing some revenue enhancements or lower costs,” he said. The authority may benefit from dwindling muni debt throughout New York. The state and its localities issued about $19 billion this year through last week, compared with about $30 billion over the same period in 2012, Bloomberg data show. Last year, New York issuers sold more securities than any other state. The drop in sales has helped buoy New York munis, which have lost 4.8 percent this year, compared with a 5.3 percent decline for the broad market, S&P data show. Municipal issuers from Virginia to California are set to sell $4.8 billion in long-term debt next week. Localities plan to issue about $1.5 billion this week, which was shortened by the Labor Day holiday. At 3.11 percent , yields on benchmark 10-year munis are the highest since April 2011. The interest rate compares with 2.89 percent (USGG10YR) for similar-maturity Treasuries. The ratio of the yields, a gauge of relative value, is about 108 percent, compared with an average of 93 percent since 2001. The higher the figure, the cheaper munis are compared with federal securities. To contact the reporters on this story: Freeman Klopott in Albany at [email protected] ; Brian Chappatta in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at [email protected]

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Oil, Gasoline Stockpiles Rose Last Week, API Reports

Oil supplies advanced 3.6 million barrels to 351.5 million last week, the American Petroleum Institute said. Distillate fuel inventories declined 1.45 million barrels to 136.6 million, the API’s weekly report showed. Gasoline stockpiles (APISMGAS) rose 1.34 million to 226.3 million. Crude at Cushing, Oklahoma , the delivery point for futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gained 1.05 million to 39.6 million. The Energy Department is scheduled to release its inventory report at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow in Washington. The government report may show supplies of oil rose 2.55 million barrels last week, according to the median of 12 responses in a Bloomberg News (DOEASCRD) survey of analysts. Gasoline inventories probably dropped 1.55 million barrels, the survey showed. Distillates were expected to slip by 500,000 barrels. API collects stockpile information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The government requires that reports be filed with the Energy Department for its weekly survey. Crude oil for May delivery fell 9 cents to $106.94 a barrel at 4:34 p.m. in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract, which settled at $107.33, traded at $107.06 before the report was released at 4:30 p.m. To contact the reporter on this story: Richard Stubbe in Houston at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at [email protected]

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Reagan-Gorbachev Winery Improves Taste Without Raising Prices

When John Jordan was handed the reins of his family’s Sonoma County, California, winery in 2005, he had little experience in the industry and several big decisions to make. Jordan Vineyard & Winery , established by his father, Tom, in 1972 as an American version of Bordeaux’s famous chateaux, had built a reputation for producing balanced cabernet sauvignons and chardonnays. Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev shared a Jordan chardonnay bottle during a 1987 state dinner, and sales were brisk. So some company employees were surprised when Jordan beefed up the sales staff and directed them to cut back deliveries for some long-time customers so bottles could be given to new ones. “My dad said, ‘What’s the matter with you?’” Jordan recalled. “You’re spending all this money growing the sales force and infrastructure when you’re already selling everything.” Jordan, a former Navy officer and partner at a mortgage- fraud firm, said he made the moves to prepare for the crash of the housing bubble. “I knew demand would fall off, so if you could grow the number of accounts, you could afford a 30 percent hit in store sales,” he said. “And that’s what we did.” The worst economic decline since the Great Depression damped sales of wine bottles costing more than $20 as consumers cut back on luxury spending. The retail value of California wine sales fell 5.3 percent from 2007 to 2009, the first dip in at least a decade, according to the San Francisco-based Wine Institute. Better Taste In addition to increasing the sales force, Jordan pushed for a better tasting wine. Though he dismissed suggestions to sell a more expensive line of cabernet sauvignon, he asked winemaker Rob Davis to make a batch of wine that would be worthy of a reserve label. Jordan was so impressed with the results that he told Davis, “I sure wish it could all taste like this.” Davis, who has been with the winery since the beginning and apprenticed with legendary winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff, said he could do that for a price. Davis wanted to spend more on storage barrels, age the wine longer before selling it and have the option to buy fruit from nearby growers. Jordan’s father had preferred to use most grapes from his own 250-acre estate. Jordan approved the changes, but kept the price at $52 per bottle. (The company also sells a chardonnay for $29.) Ivy-Covered Mansion The changes were evident during a tasting at Jordan’s estate in Healdsburg, about 70 miles north of San Francisco. The 58,000-square-foot, ivy-covered brick mansion serves as a tasting room, culinary center and winemaking facility. While the winery’s 1999 and 2002 bottles were dense on the palate and showed predominately dark chocolate and earthy tones, the 2006 and 2007 vintages were lighter and highlighted plum and black-fruit flavors, without losing depth and power. The changes have helped the wine reach a broader audience, said Robert Nicholson, principal at International Wine Associates , a liquor consulting and financing firm in Healdsburg. “The family very much knows what they’re doing,” Nicholson said. To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Flinn in San Francisco at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at [email protected] .

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PBOC Says China Shouldn’t Be ’Blindly Optimistic’ on Inflation

China can’t be “blindly optimistic” about its inflation outlook at a time when uncertainties remain in areas such as property and farm produce prices, the country’s central bank said. China will continue to pursue a prudent monetary policy to keep prices stable, the People’s Bank of China said in its first-quarter monetary policy implementation report. The bank will also further push forward interest-rate liberalization and reform of mechanisms for forming the yuan’s exchange rate, according to the report. The central bank’s comments came after China’s statistics bureau reported today that the consumer price index rose 2.4 percent in April, compared with a median forecast of 2.3 percent in a Bloomberg News survey. Moves to loosen government control over utilities and resources may also lead to higher inflation later in the year, the central bank said in the report. Food prices rose 4 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with 2.7 percent the previous month, with fresh-vegetable prices helping drive the pickup in broader inflation from March’s 2.1 percent pace, according to the statistics bureau. Surging capital inflows into the country also complicated the central bank’s task in guarding against any flare-up in inflation, according to the report. China’s monetary-market rate snapped a three-day drop as the central bank sold bills today for the first time since 2011, draining cash from the financial system as accelerating yuan gains spur capital inflows. To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Feiwen Rong in Beijing at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brett Miller at [email protected]

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Sprint Primed for Takeovers After Stock Jumps

Sprint Nextel Corp.’s (S) stock has more than doubled this year and its cash is near a six-year high, paving the way for an acquisition that could strengthen its efforts to challenge AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Wireless. Sprint’s stock surged 136 percent for the second-biggest gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index as the wireless provider boosted sales with Apple Inc.’s iPhone and began rolling out a faster network. Cash (S) and equivalents stand at almost $6.8 billion after reaching the highest this year since the end of 2005, the year it bought Nextel Communications Inc., according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While the carrier’s debt exceeds its $16.6 billion market value, the stock gain bolsters its currency for a deal, Gabelli & Co. said. The $36 billion Nextel takeover, intended to create a stronger No. 3 player, instead left Sprint with incompatible networks, fleeing subscribers and five years of losses. With Sprint now showing signs of improvement, Gabelli said the company could expand its customer base by acquiring a smaller rival such as MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS) or Leap Wireless International Inc. (LEAP) A combination with T-Mobile USA, the fourth- biggest provider, would create a carrier with the size to challenge AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless, Macquarie Group Ltd. said. “When you’re doing a better job and the stock’s reflecting it, there’s a greater willingness to do something and willing sellers on the other side of the transaction,” Zack Shafran, an Overland Park , Kansas-based money manager at Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., which oversees more than $90 billion including Sprint shares, said in a telephone interview. “You have two very large players in the form of AT&T and Verizon and now it’s argued that a strong No. 3 would be a welcomed player. Sprint seems on the verge of perhaps being that strong third player.” Sprint Role Sprint Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse said in a Sept. 6 interview at the company’s Overland Park headquarters that consolidation “would be constructive” for the industry. “Sprint will play a role in that some way,” Hesse said. Scott Sloat , a Sprint spokesman, declined to comment yesterday on whether the company is currently considering a deal. Sprint is in the second phase of a three-part turnaround under Hesse, who was hired in December 2007 to fix the damage caused by the failed Nextel deal. The past four years were a recovery period during which the company cut staff by a third, moved to wind down the Nextel network and turned its focus to developing a faster network using long-term evolution, or LTE, technology. Spending Stage This year is the first of a two-year spending stage, with the company projecting a return to profitability in 2014. Sprint has a commitment to buy $15.5 billion worth of iPhones and is investing $7 billion to dismantle the Nextel network while building a new one using LTE under a program called Network Vision. Sprint shares had their biggest gain in almost three years on July 26, surging 20 percent after the company reported revenue that exceeded analysts’ estimates on higher iPhone sales. The stock closed at $5.70 on Sept. 24, the highest since June 2011. Today, Sprint shares fell 1.3 percent to $5.46. The company’s cash and equivalents, which dwindled to as low as $2.1 billion in the wake of the Nextel purchase, climbed to a six-year high of $7.6 billion in the first quarter and stood at $6.8 billion as of June 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While more stable now than a year ago, Sprint is still “under-scaled,” said Hesse. On LTE technology, Sprint is at least a year behind Verizon Wireless , the joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Vodafone Group Plc. With 32.6 million monthly subscribers as of June 30, it didn’t even have half of No. 2 carrier AT&T’s 69.7 million subscribers , data compiled by Bloomberg show. Verizon Wireless had 88.8 million. Deal Currency With Sprint’s stock soaring, the company has more latitude to increase its customer base by pursuing a takeover, said Sergey Dluzhevskiy, a Rye, New York-based analyst for Gabelli, a unit of Gamco Investors Inc., which oversees about $36 billion and owns Sprint shares. “Sprint’s stock price is key as far as potentially proceeding with a deal,” Dluzhevskiy said in a phone interview. The rally in Sprint shares “obviously helped in terms of currency.” Sprint abandoned plans earlier this year to buy Richardson, Texas-based MetroPCS after the board rejected the transaction, which may have cost as much as $8 billion including debt, two people familiar with the plan said in February. At the time, Sprint’s stock was trading at less than half its value yesterday. ‘Meaningful’ Expansion A revived deal for MetroPCS or a takeover of Leap Wireless (LEAP) would be “meaningful” for Sprint as it strives to expand its presence in the wireless market, according to Gabelli’s Dluzhevskiy. MetroPCS, a $4.2 billion company, would add 9.3 million prepaid subscribers to Sprint’s base, while Leap, a San Diego-based provider with a market value of $531 million, would add 5.9 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. MetroPCS CEO Roger Linquist said during a presentation last week at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. conference in New York that the company’s position as a relatively small and growing carrier made it the “belle of the ball” in an industry heading for consolidation. Drew Crowell, a MetroPCS spokesman, declined to comment on whether the company had been approached or would consider an offer from Sprint. Gregory Lund, a Leap spokesman, declined to comment on a potential deal with Sprint. Adding Scale Kevin Smithen, a New York-based analyst with Macquarie, said a deal for T-Mobile USA would go further in helping Sprint gain the critical mass needed to take on AT&T and Verizon. T- Mobile, a unit of Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) , had 24.1 million contract customers as of June 30, according to its most recent earnings release. “In a perfect world, Sprint would prefer to do a merger with T-Mobile to add scale and spectrum,” which are radio waves for expanded network coverage, Smithen said in a phone interview. “It would give them price leverage, and it could help change the competitive dynamics of the industry.” Jenny Gore, a spokeswoman for Bellevue, Washington-based T- Mobile, declined to comment. While a combination with T-Mobile would make Sprint a stronger competitor, it could draw the same regulatory scrutiny that derailed AT&T’s $39 billion purchase of the carrier last year, said Gabelli’s Dluzhevskiy. He also said T-Mobile’s use of different operating networks means any deal would probably be “a messy integration project.” Heavy Leverage Sprint’s high debt levels -- $21 billion as of June 30 -- could also be a barrier to any deal, according to Scott Schermerhorn, chief investment officer at Concord, New Hampshire-based Granite Investment Advisors Inc., which oversees about $560 million, including Sprint shares. The carrier’s ratio of debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was 4.2 as of June 30, compared with leverage of 2.1 times at AT&T (T) , according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “They clearly can’t add debt onto their balance sheet,” Schermerhorn said in a phone interview. “They’re pretty levered as it is so I’m not sure how you put the whole thing together.” Sprint also may hold off on pursuing an acquisition until it completes work on its network upgrade, said Keith Trauner, a Miami-based money manager at GoodHaven Capital Management LLC, which oversees more than $300 million, including Sprint shares. ‘Transition Period’ “They’re still in this transition period where they’re spending a lot of money to improve and consolidate their network,” Trauner said in a phone interview. “Our hope is that they would finish the network upgrade, fix the balance sheet and make acquisitions, in that order.” Sprint’s Hesse said that while the company is focused on its Network Vision rollout plan, that wouldn’t necessarily preclude the carrier from contemplating a deal. “The preference, from an execution point of view, would be to not undertake more complexity in the Network Vision program until the middle of next year,” Hesse said. “That doesn’t rule out M&A now.” To contact the reporters on this story: Scott Moritz in New York at [email protected] ; Brooke Sutherland in New York at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sarah Rabil at [email protected] ; Nick Turner at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Union Tool Co Announces Planned FY Group Dividend of 30.00 Yen

Union Tool Co (6278) (6278) announced full-year group dividend estimates for the period to Nov. 30. Figures are in yen. ================================================================================ Forecast Previous Dividend ================================================================================ Full-Year Dividend 30.00 35.00 1st-Half Dividend N/A 15.00 2nd-Half Dividend 15.00 20.00 ================================================================================ To contact the editor responsible for this story: Teo Chian Wei at +81-3-3201-3623 or [email protected]

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Tunisian Minister Says Security Services Spark Unrest to Thwart Transition

Tunisia’s new interior minister accused members of the security services of instigating unrest to thwart efforts to establish democracy following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Farhat Rajhi also announced the detention of his predecessor, Rafik Belhaj Kacem, who led the crackdown in December and January against protesters seeking to end Ben Ali’s 23-year rule. Kacem will spend a renewable period of three days under arrest for interrogation, Rajhi told Hannibal TV channel. Forty-two senior security officials were replaced, including the heads of general security and presidential security, he said. “There is a conspiracy against state security,” said Rajhi, who alleged that some of the security forces were behind recent looting incidents, including those in which gangs entered schools in the capital of Tunis. Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14, ending a 23-year rule, after the army refused to put down demonstrations that overwhelmed his internal security forces. The transitional government took over, vowing within six months to hold the North African nation’s first free elections since independence from France in 1956. “Violence and chaos is right now the biggest risk to a transition to democracy,” Mohsen Marzouki, a Tunisian who heads the Qatar-based Arab Democracy Foundation , said by telephone. “The old regime is sending a signal that it still holds key positions and that the purge against its members should not go far, as it can make life difficult for any new leadership.” Attacks were carried out on schools, public buildings and shops in Kasserine, Sfax, Beni Khlad and Medenine, with police failing to intervene, the Assabah newspaper reported today. ‘Stakes Are High’ “The stakes are high for the transitional government,” Maouia Kaabi, a financial consultant in Tunis, said in telephone interview. “Security is needed if we are to fill our 200,000 hotel beds with tourists.” Tourism accounts for 7 percent of the $40 billion economy and employs 400,000 people. Unemployment exceeds 13 percent of the workforce and two of every three jobless Tunisians are below 30, according to the International Monetary Fund. The movement against Ben Ali started in mid-December as a protest against poverty. Mohamed Bouazizi , a street vendor in the central town of Sidi Bouzid, set himself on fire when a municipality official confiscated his wares and humiliated him, sparking the unrest, according to local media. The United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll was at least 219. To contact the reporter on this story: Jihen Laghmari in Tunis at [email protected] ; Maher Chmaytelli in Tunis at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at [email protected] .

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Obama Sets News Conference as Congress Debates Debt Limit

President Barack Obama scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference in Washington as Senate Democrats said they plan to introduce a bill to raise the debt ceiling, which would need Republican votes to advance. Obama will take questions in the White House briefing room on a day when he called House Speaker John Boehner to “reiterate that he won’t negotiate on a government-funding bill or debt-limit increase,” said Brendan Buck , a Boehner spokesman. The White House, in a statement, urged Boehner to allow a vote on raising the debt limit and repeated that only Congress can authorize more borrowing. Obama is willing to negotiate after Republicans end the shutdown and remove the risk of default, the statement said. The sniping came as lawmakers are taking the first tentative steps toward resolving the standoff. Both sides are exploring actions that will be needed to end the week-old shutdown and raise the debt limit before U.S. borrowing authority lapses Oct. 17. Senate Democrats will introduce a bill today that would raise the debt ceiling for a year, said Senator Charles Schumer , a New York Democrat. They are planning a test vote before the end of this week. Six Republicans To succeed, they’ll need support from at least six Republicans on procedural votes. They’ve gotten backing from one Republican, while several others haven’t ruled out the possibility. Risk appetites in U.S. capital markets diminished amid the U.S. budget impasse, pushing Treasury one-month bill rates to the highest since 2008 and Internet stocks to the biggest losses in two years. Rates on one-month bills reached 0.34 percent, the highest since October 2008, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.8 percent to 1,662.77 at 1:36 p.m. in New York. The Nasdaq Internet Index tumbled 3.8 percent, the most since November 2011. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.3 percent, paring an earlier rally of 0.6 percent, with China’s benchmark index rising more than 1 percent as trading resumed after a holiday. The yen slid 0.2 percent against the dollar. Test Vote The Senate Democrats’ plan emerged as Gene Sperling , the director of Obama’s National Economic Council, opened another route toward at least a temporary resolution. He declined to rule out a short debt-limit extension while reiterating the administration’s preference for a longer-term agreement. House Republicans , who had previously discussed pairing a debt-limit increase with a list of party priorities, haven’t released legislation or set a time line for action. Instead, they’re planning to vote to appoint a working group of House members and senators to settle the multiple impasses. “The American people are watching an unwillingness by one side to negotiate and compromise,” Representative Tom McClintock, a California Republican, told reporters in Washington today. “They are watching utterly vindictive actions by the administration to intensify the pain of the shutdown and I think they watching the collapse of the administration’s signature program, Obamacare.” House Democrats rejected the idea, saying it would recreate the 2011 bipartisan supercommittee that was deadlocked. “We don’t need a supercommittee,” said Representative Xavier Becerra , a California Democrat. “The votes exist right now” to reopen the government. Republican Senators Still to be determined is whether House Republicans will consider a vote to raise the debt-ceiling this week or wait for the Senate to act, said two Republican congressional aides, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss party strategy. If all Senate Democrats along with six Republicans vote for giving Obama authority, they could send a debt-limit increase without policy conditions to the Republican-controlled House early next week. That would put pressure on Boehner, who opposes a clean debt-limit bill. “We’ve got a situation where you have a calendar running, you have people who are frustrated and upset, and so let’s figure it out,” Senator Lisa Murkowski , an Alaska Republican, said in an interview at the Capitol yesterday. “We shouldn’t be dismissing anything.” Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat, wouldn’t take a position on a clean debt-ceiling increase when asked by reporters yesterday. Senator Joe Manchin , a West Virginia Democrat, didn’t commit his support either. Kirk Supports Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois will support a clean debt-limit increase. About a half-dozen others -- including Murkowski, John McCain of Arizona, Bob Corker of Tennessee and Susan Collins of Maine -- kept open the option of voting for a debt-ceiling increase without conditions or helping one pass. None of the proposals being floated has been embraced by both parties and all face long odds. The chance of a U.S. government default is “reasonably high,” Bruce Ratner, chairman of developer Forest City Ratner Cos., said in an interview on Bloomberg Television today. There’s a “small group of people who don’t have an understanding of how serious it is,” he said, adding that “the ramifications are huge.” Bruce Josten , the chief lobbyist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that the spending bill and the debt-limit increase are “must-pass” bills. “The debt ceiling specifically must pass on a timely basis to avoid inflicting substantial and enduring damage on the U.S. economy ,” he said. Head Start The partial shutdown, which began Oct. 1, has shuttered government services such as Head Start preschool programs and national parks and furloughed federal employees. Other functions, such as mail delivery and Social Security benefits, are continuing. Obama reiterated yesterday that he won’t negotiate with Republicans over the shutdown and the debt-limit increase, which have merged into a single fight that has proven intractable so far. Republicans are insisting on changing the 2010 Affordable Care Act, while Obama refuses to engage in discussions about tying policy conditions to opening the government or raising the debt limit. Borrowing Authority The U.S. will run out of borrowing authority on Oct. 17 and will have about $30 billion in cash after that. The country would be unable to pay all of its bills, including benefits, salaries and interest, sometime between Oct. 22 and Oct. 31, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The House has been passing separate funding bills for parts of the government, including the National Institutes of Health and national parks. Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have rejected those measures. To contact the reporters on this story: Richard Rubin in Washington at [email protected] ; Kathleen Hunter in Washington at [email protected] ; Roxana Tiron in Washington at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jodi Schneider at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Southern California Home Prices Climb to Four-Year High

Southern California home prices rose to a four-year high last month, helped by an increase in transactions involving more-expensive properties and a decline in foreclosure sales, DataQuick reported today. The median paid for houses and condominiums was $309,000 in Los Angeles , Riverside, San Diego , Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties, the highest since August 2008, when the median was $330,000, the San Diego-based data provider said in a statement. Prices were up 1 percent from July and almost 11 percent from a year earlier. Home demand is rising because of “super-low” mortgage rates and a recovering economy, DataQuick said. A declining supply of homes on the market, “a substantial increase in mid- to high-end transactions,” and a drop in the sale of foreclosures, which tend to sell at a discount, also helped buoy the median price, the firm said. The number of Southern California homes that sold last month for $200,000 to $400,000 rose 11 percent, and those priced between $300,000 and $800,000 jumped 23 percent, DataQuick said. Sales of homes priced at more than $800,000 climbed 19 percent from a year earlier. “August was the strongest month for home sales so far this year, and the strongest for an August in six years,” DataQuick President John Walsh said in the statement. “Much of the pick- up in activity reflects a continuation of trends we’ve seen for months, like the unleashing of pent-up demand in move-up markets and high levels of cash and investor buying.” A total of 22,438 houses and condominiums sold in Southern California last month, up 9 percent from July and 14 percent from a year earlier, DataQuick said. The tally was the highest for the month of August in six years. To contact the reporter on this story: Nadja Brandt in Los Angeles at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel at [email protected]

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Karl Rove Wears Gingham Dress, Reagan Hugs Lamblike Glenn Beck

It’s hard to walk past the window of Manhattan gallery Mulherin Pollard Projects without stopping to admire Karl Rove , dressed as Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz.” In a painting titled “Perfect Happiness,” the former senior adviser to President George W. Bush wears a blue gingham dress and ruby slippers as he (she?) stands in a lush nighttime garden with one arm around the neck of a Bambi-like fawn. The cheeky artwork by Canadian artist Michael Caines is part of an exhibition that also depicts Glenn Beck , Richard Nixon and Kim Jong-Il (but no Canadians) as oddly garbed creatures with oversized heads. “I’ve been trying to understand American politics and history,” said Caines, 46, in a telephone interview from his studio in Brooklyn, New York. “The works are about my right to assert my imaginative power.” The show’s seven paintings and five drawings are skillful executions that sometimes elicit a tender spirit with their peculiar meld of 19th-century political cartoon and characters from Fragonard, Goya and the John Tenniel illustrations of “Alice in Wonderland.” They aren’t eliciting much legal tender, however. A week into the show, only one drawing had sold: An ink-on-paper rendering of the gingham Rove. “We couldn’t count on his previous collectors,” said dealer Katharine Mulherin, who has worked with Caines since 1999. “I thought maybe we should target political comedians.” One painting, “Little Lamb of the GOP,” depicts young Ronald Reagan as Jesus cradling a little lamb with Glenn Beck’s face. The two figures are set against the backdrop of purple mountains and green sky. Household Art It’s a reworking of Del Parson’s “Lost Lamb” painting, “that is probably found in most fundamentalist households in America,” said Caines. So there’s another market niche alienated. The North Korean leader wears a ball gown straight out of Velazquez’s “Las Meninas” in the drawing titled “Lil’ Kim.” “Tea Party” portrays the late conservative U.S. Senator Jesse Helms with floppy ears and talk radio host “Dr. Laura” Schlessinger as the Mad Hatter. “I don’t know how many people would want to have Glenn Beck’s face or Ronald Reagan’s face in their home,” said Caines, who leans politically to the left. “I would.” Prices range from $1,200 to $1,400 for drawings and from $5,000 to $10,000 for paintings. “Perfect Happiness” runs through Dec. 31 at 317 Tenth Ave.; +1-212-967-0045; http://mulherinpollard.com. ( Katya Kazakina is a reporter for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.) To contact the reporter of this story: Katya Kazakina in New York at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at [email protected] .

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Almunia Says EU Monitoring Dexia’s Implementation Very Closely

European Union Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the EU is monitoring “very closely” Dexia SA (DEXB) ’s implementation of its asset-reduction plan. Dexia, which received a 6 billion-euro bailout from France and Belgium in 2008, last year obtained EU approval for the taxpayer-funded rescue with requirements including selling assets in Italy and Spain. “As regards the French banks right now, surveillance, monitoring is being carried out only on Dexia,” Almunia said at a press conference today in Brussels. “It’s not a 100 percent French bank, it’s Franco-Belgian. And there it is known that it’s not easy to apply it in that case. But we do monitor very closely the implementation of the decision in respect of them,” he said. Dexia, which is based in Paris and Brussels, last month posted the largest quarterly loss in its history because of provisions to sell assets and a writedown of Greek debt. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jones Hayden at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

GOLD CIRCUIT August Sales Rise 0.37% (Table) : 2368 TT

GOLD CIRCUIT said unconsolidated sales in August rose 0.37% to NT$1,112,633,000 from NT$1,108,554,000, according to a statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. (Figures are in thousands of New Taiwan dollars) ================================================================= 8/2011 8/2010 Sales 1,112,633 1,108,554 YOY% 0.37% -----------------Year-to-date----------------- Sales 9,130,996 8,437,879 YOY% 8.21% =================================================================

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

South African Mobile Veteran Knott-Craig Suffers Stroke

Alan Knott-Craig, a veteran of South Africa’s telecommunications industry, has suffered a stroke while at the helm of Cell C Pty Ltd., the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier. He had “a minor stroke,” Vinnie Santu, a spokeswoman for Cell C, said yesterday in a statement. “He is currently recovering in hospital and is responding well to treatment.” Knott-Craig, 61, was the founding chief executive officer of Vodacom Group Ltd. (VOD) in 1993. Cell C Chief Commercial Officer Jose Dos Santos will act as CEO until Knott-Craig returns to work, according to the statement. Vodacom expanded into countries such as Mozambique and Tanzania under Knott-Craig’s leadership and gained 34 million subscribers before his departure in 2008. He became CEO of Cell C in 2012 with the goal of taking market share from Vodacom as well as its largest competitor MTN Group Ltd. (MTN) Knott-Craig is fighting Vodacom and MTN to reduce the price that Cell C pays to end calls on their networks. The fee, known as mobile termination rates, will be halved to 20 cents ($0.02) as of March 2014, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa regulator said last month. Vodacom and MTN are seeking a compromise on the rate cut. To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Spillane in Johannesburg at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Vodafone Said to Increase Prepaid Calling Rates in Three Areas in India

Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) ’s Indian unit, the nation’s third-largest mobile phone company by subscribers, raised call rates by 20 percent in Delhi and other regions to boost profit margins, a person familiar with the matter said. The increases for customers, who pay before using the services, in three of India ’s 22 telecommunications zones -- Delhi, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh -- are effective this month, said the person who declined to be identified because he isn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Vodafone Essar Ltd. joins Bharti Airtel Ltd. (BHARTI) , India’s biggest mobile-phone service provider, in raising call rates in a signal that a two-year price war in the world’s second largest market for mobile services is coming to an end. Mobile-phone operators cut rates to less than one U.S. cent per second to compete with low priced plans introduced when Telenor ASA (TEL) and NTT DoCoMo Inc. entered India. “You are now starting to see all players in all areas starting to selectively put up pricing,” Nick Read, Vodafone’s regional chief executive officer in charge of the Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East region, said in a July 22 call with analysts. “We have done that in a number of areas as well, especially on our per-second billing. And we continue to monitor and review the situation.” Fifteen mobile-phone operators compete in a market that researcher Gartner Inc. has estimated will exceed 993 million users by the end of 2014. India had 840 million mobile phone accounts at the end of May. To contact the reporter on this story: Ketaki Gokhale in Mumbai at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Abe Spurs Tripling of Overseas Debt Buying on Yen: Japan Credit

Shinzo Abe, the front-runner to become Japan ’s next prime minister, is helping drive an almost tripling of foreign bond buying by local investors as he calls for central bank steps to fuel inflation and weaken the yen. Net purchases of overseas debt climbed 285 percent to 15.2 trillion yen ($185 billion) this year through Nov. 17, Ministry of Finance data show. Japan’s currency dropped 5.1 percent this quarter, boosting import costs and eroding demand for local securities. While Japan’s 20-year bond yield has climbed 1 1/2 basis points to 1.66 percent since the end of September, it’s lower than the 2.3 percent on similar-maturity U.S. Treasuries. The opposition Liberal Democratic Party ’s Abe has called on the Bank of Japan to pump unlimited cash into the market to kindle inflation, sapping demand for longer-dated bonds before elections next month. The extra yield investors demand to hold Japan’s 20-year debt instead of 10-year bonds rose to a 13-year high on Nov. 16, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “Investors are going abroad for higher yields because of declining interest incomes” caused by the BOJ’s monetary easing, said Shuntaro Take, the deputy general manager for the corporate accounting and investment department at Tokio Marine & Nichido Life Insurance Co., which manages about $47 billion in Tokyo. “Stronger expectations for effective policies from the Abe administration would put the yen in a weakening trend, increasing foreign-bond investments even more.” BOJ’s Responsibility Abe, who was the prime minister for a year through September 2007, said yesterday that the Bank of Japan isn’t taking responsibility for the real economy. He called for adding a mandate to spur inflation as part of any changes to the law governing the central bank. The BOJ aims for annual inflation of 1 percent. The government “ strongly ” expects the central bank to continue powerful monetary easing to overcome deflation, while the bank hopes for measures from the government to strengthen Japan’s growth potential, Economy Minister Seiji Maehara , Finance Minister Koriki Jojima and BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said in a statement on Oct. 30. A Nikkei newspaper poll on Nov. 16-18 showed that 37 percent of the respondents supported Abe becoming the next prime minister, compared with 25 percent for Yoshihiko Noda, the current premier. The nation will hold elections on Dec. 16 for the lower house of parliament. “An Abe-led administration may create a bigger flow to foreign bonds because of possible capital gains from exchange rates on top of yield differentials,” said Shinji Kunibe, chief portfolio manager for fixed-income investment in Tokyo at Nissay Asset Management Corp., which oversees the equivalent of $62 billion. “Investors had been unable to foresee any sustainable yen weakness until recently.” Fujifilm Bonds Elsewhere in Japan’s credit markets, Fujifilm Holdings Corp. raised 130 billion yen yesterday in its first sale of non- convertible bonds, the nation’s biggest debt offering by a non- financial company since March. The Tokyo-based copier and camera maker issued three tranches, including 60 billion yen of 0.33 percent five-year notes, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Toho Gas Co., which supplies gas to the Nagoya metropolitan area in central Japan, offered 10 billion yen of 0.792 percent 10-year debt, according to a statement yesterday from Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Japan’s corporate bonds have handed investors a 0.14 percent loss this month, compared with a 0.21 percent return for sovereign notes, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data. Company debt worldwide has gained 0.13 percent. BOJ Outlook The yen dropped to 82.84 per dollar last week, the weakest since April 4, and traded at 81.95 as of 10:42 a.m. in Tokyo. Sixteen of 22 economists surveyed this month by Bloomberg News forecast the BOJ will expand monetary easing at its next meeting on Dec. 19-20. The central bank refrained on Nov. 20 from increasing the 66 trillion-yen asset-purchase program that buys securities including government debt maturing in three years or less. A government auction of two-year notes yesterday drew bids valued at 13.9 times the amount on offer, near a seven-year high. The BOJ’s purchases have driven down one- to three-year yields to about 0.1 percent, almost matching the rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans in the money market. The nation’s 20-year debt yields climbed to 95 basis points above 10-year securities on Nov. 16, the highest since July 1999, steepening the so-called yield curve. One basis point is 0.01 percentage point. ‘Substantial Expansion’ “Abe’s remarks on extreme reflationary policy are leading to speculation of a substantial expansion in the BOJ’s monetary easing, which is causing short-term yields to fall,” said Tokio Marine ’s Take. “This sort of policy may boost inflation expectations.” Among the 12 sovereign markets tracked by the Ministry of Finance, France attracted the most demand from Japanese investors after the U.S. They bought a net 2.84 trillion yen of long-term French government debt this year through September. That would be the largest yearly purchase on record going back to 2005. Japanese investors increased holdings of France’s bonds even after Standard & Poor’s in January stripped the nation of its AAA rating. Moody’s Investors Service followed on Nov. 19, cutting the nation’s Aaa grade to Aa1 with a negative outlook. Kokusai’s Holdings Kokusai Asset Management Co.’s Global Sovereign Open Fund boosted its holdings of France ’s debt in the year through October to 2.2 percent of the total after selling them at the height of the region’s financial woes in 2011, according to reports posted on the company’s website. The $18.2 billion fund cut German and Dutch debt by 2.2 percentage points and 2.3 percentage points respectively during the same period. France’s 10-year bonds yield 2.2 percent for Japanese investors who hedge against a fluctuation in the euro. Rates on similar-maturity debt in Japan were 0.72 percent today, matching the nine-year low reached July 23. “I’m relatively optimistic about Europe now because the region’s debt crisis is unlikely to spark a crash in the financial market,” said Masataka Horii, who runs Asia ’s biggest bond fund at Kokusai in Tokyo. France’s bonds are one of the sovereign securities he would consider buying if he decides to add to his euro-holdings, he said. To contact the reporters on this story: Masaki Kondo in Singapore at [email protected] ; Monami Yui in Tokyo at [email protected] ; Hiroko Komiya in Tokyo at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Garfield Reynolds at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

HPCL & NABARD CP deal:India Money Markets

Following is a table showing commercial paper dealt by Indian companies. The data has been provided by LKP Securities Ltd and NVS Brokerage Ltd. Contributed via: Bloomberg Publisher WEB Service Provider ID: 3c76b3ad641f4218b5141a0eb754e980

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Mitsubishi Heavy Said to Scrap Merger Talks With Hitachi After Media Leaks

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (7011) and Hitachi Ltd. (6501) said they’re not holding talks to merge some of their businesses, hours after the president of Hitachi said that a deal was being discussed. Mitsubishi Heavy, Japan ’s largest maker of heavy machinery, said it has no plan to agree to any merger. Hitachi, the nation’s second-largest manufacturer by revenue, said in a separate statement that no talks were in progress. The statements were released after Hitachi President Hiroaki Nakanishi’s televised comments on Tokyo Broadcasting System. Shares of the companies, whose combined annual sales exceed $150 billion, rose in Tokyo trading after the Nikkei newspaper first reported they planned to discuss merging businesses including nuclear power plants and railway systems. Mitsubishi Heavy called off the talks after the media reports, a person familiar with the matter said. “The shares are higher as investors still believe that they will reach agreement at some point,” said Mitsuo Shimizu , an analyst at Cosmo Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The reported merger would benefit both by complementing each other.” Hitachi rose 1.7 percent to 471 yen as of the 3 p.m. close in Tokyo trading, extending its gain this year to 8.8 percent. Mitsubishi Heavy, which has risen 18 percent in 2011, traded 3.4 percent higher. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average gained 0.2 percent. Nakanishi’s Confirmation Footage on TBS showed Nakanishi saying “yes” when asked by reporters whether Hitachi was holding merger talks with Mitsubishi Heavy. He said an announcement would be made later today, according to the broadcast. Mitsubishi Heavy and Hitachi have worked together in the past. They merged their steelmaking equipment units in 2000 and combined their hydroelectric power equipment units last year. The two companies were planning to discuss a merger of some operations, including nuclear power plants and railway systems, a person familiar with the matter said, confirming part of the earlier Nikkei report. Such a combination would benefit both companies because they’d complement each other, David Rubenstein , a Tokyo-based analyst at MF Global FXA Securities Ltd., wrote in a report. The deal would help accelerate Hitachi’s reforms in its power-system operations, while improving Mitsubishi Heavy’s profit margins and execution, he wrote. Largest Infrastructure Firm An alliance would have led to the creation of one of the world’s largest infrastructure companies as Japanese manufacturers reel from this year’s deadly earthquake, tsunami and strong yen, according to the Nikkei. Questions about the future of nuclear power after the Fukushima reactor meltdowns in March and Japan’s surging yen helped spur the talks, Nikkei said. Both had seen the atomic industry as a source of growth, the newspaper reported. Regulators would have to approve a merger, Nikkei said. Hitachi’s products include communications and electronic equipment, industrial machinery and consumer electronics. In March it agreed to sell its hard-disk drive unit to Western Digital Corp. (WDC) for about $4.3 billion in cash and stock, the company’s largest disposal on record. The sale was part of plans to trim some of Hitachi’s hundreds of businesses to focus on power plants, trains and other infrastructure projects. The company yesterday said it may stop making televisions. Earnings, Market Value Hitachi reported revenue of 9.3 trillion yen ($118 billion) last year and has a market value of 2.1 trillion yen, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Mitsubishi Heavy posted sales of 2.9 trillion yen and is valued at 1.2 trillion yen. “Hitachi has done some restructuring in the past, but putting two horribly run companies together in order to survive is music to my ears,” said Winston Barnes , director of sales and trading for Asian markets at WJB Capital Group Inc. in San Francisco. “The merger of some units is not expected until April 2013. They will undoubtedly deny the reports.” To contact the reporters on this story: Yoshinori Eki in Tokyo at [email protected] ; Naoko Fujimura in 東京 at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Deutsche Bank Accused of Improper Swap Sales in Unitech Lawsuit

Unitech Ltd. (UT) , an Indian property developer, accused Deutsche Bank AG of selling it an interest- rate swap that wasn’t suitable and wasn’t properly explained, according to a London lawsuit over a $150 million loan deal. Unitech filed a counterclaim in May arguing Deutsche Bank was negligent to sell an unsuitable hedging agreement, and owed damages that canceled out its debt, according to court documents. Germany ’s biggest bank had earlier sued Unitech saying a unit of the company owes $11 million under the swap contract and has missed payments. Deutsche Bank “knew, or must have appreciated, that it was likely to make significant amounts of money” from the contract at Unitech’s expense, the Indian company said in its lawsuit. Interest-rate swaps that turned out to be costly for customers and profitable for banks have led to hundreds of lawsuits and an investigation by the U.K. Financial Services Authority into how they were sold. Unitech’s suit is one of the largest to reach the U.K. courts. The issue has affected bank customers from British seaside cafes to municipal governments including Milan in Italy and Jefferson County, Alabama. “There is a large spectrum of misselling claims in terms of amounts and sophistication of customers,” said Max Hotham, an attorney at Enyo Law LLP in London, who isn’t involved in the Unitech case. His largest U.K. case involves a 1 billion-euro ($1.26 billion) swap, he said in a phone interview. “The scale of this thing is enormous.” Unitech’s lawyer Paul Friedman and Libby Young, a Deutsche Bank spokeswoman, both declined to comment. Spiraling Costs The swaps are supposed to protect borrowers from a rise in interest rates by converting floating-rate debt to fixed-rate debt. Customers can face spiraling costs if rates drop or move more than expected. Unitech said in the lawsuit its managers didn’t have any experience with interest-rate swaps and Deutsche Bank hadn’t explained the risks. Total payments under the agreement were at least $23.5 million between 2007, when it was signed, and 2010, Unitech said. That sum showed “the transaction was not a suitable hedge.” The case is: Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) v. Unitech Limited, High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, 12-464 To contact the reporter on this story: Kit Chellel in London at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

The Washington Post Launches Co-Branded Online Business Section

The Washington Post Launches Co-Branded Online Business Section with Bloomberg Combines The Post’s In-Depth Expertise on Economic Policy with Bloomberg’s Global Business and Financial News Business Wire WASHINGTON -- July 14, 2010 The Washington Post today introduced a new co-branded and redesigned online business section (www.washingtonpost.com/business) in a partnership with Bloomberg L.P. The next phase of this unique collaboration combines The Post's expertise in national politics and policy with Bloomberg's business news, data and information from around the globe. “As Washington's leading news organization, The Post has long produced definitive, original reporting on the crucial economic-policy and regulatory issues that affect the U.S. and world markets,” said Marcus Brauchli, Washington Post Executive Editor. “Partnering with Bloomberg brings together our strength in those areas with the enormous expertise of Bloomberg in market and policy news in one comprehensive online offering. This arrangement will allow The Post to focus on our strategy of being the indispensable source of news and information for and about Washington.” ``As Bloomberg has become the first, fastest and most factual provider of the story of money in all its forms, readers of the redesigned online business section conceived with the Washington Post can look forward to a unique blend of actionable news,'' said Matthew Winkler, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg News.“ Adding to The Post’s in-depth, dedicated coverage of the financial crisis, financial regulation and economic policy, Bloomberg provides daily business headlines, extensive market news and data. The redesigned section features policy analysis, breaking news, exclusive reports, a collection of award-winning Washington Post and Bloomberg News columnists and customizable tools to track market trends. Bloomberg’s market modules allow users to find stock quotes, follow industry trends and soon reference a daily economic calendar of events. The Bloomberg Watchlist feature lets users customize and easily look up the latest company stock information directly from the business section homepage. The Most Popular module will highlight the day’s top Bloomberg News stories. The Post’s award-winning financial columnists, including Steven Pearlstein, Ezra Klein and Michelle Singletary will be joined in this section by Bloomberg’s renowned and award-winning columnists including Albert Hunt, Michael Lewis, Jonathan Weil, Caroline Baum, Margaret Carlson, John Dorfman and Tom Keene. The section will also feature two new blogs. “Political Economy,” will be the source for breaking news on economic policy decisions and analysis of how Wall Street and the broader economy will be affected. “The Company Beat,” a blog by Jia Lynn Yang, who recently joined The Post from Fortune magazine, will cover policy issues that impact corporate America. Yang will give insights into the ways that business interacts with and influences Washington as well as corporate fears regarding the impacts of regulatory reform. “Political Economy” and The Company Beat” join Ezra Klein’s blog on economic policy, special reports on the financial crisis among other features. The Post’s partnership with Bloomberg for the business section comes after the January 2010 launch of a global news service, The Washington Post Service with Bloomberg News, which provides daily stories to newspapers, websites and other subscribers. Post content is also available on all Bloomberg terminals and Bloomberg provides Post’s print readers with markets data. The launch of The Washington Post/Bloomberg Business page follows The Post’s rollout of PostPolitics.com and PostLocal.com, homepages dedicated specifically to the newspaper’s political and local audiences. About The Washington Post The Washington Post provides award-winning news and understanding about the politics, policies, personalities and institutions that make Washington, D.C. the world’s seat of power, and is a critical tool and information source for those who call Washington, D.C. home. In digital form, The Washington Post combines its world-class journalism with the latest technology and tools, and encourages participation and customization across all platforms so readers can engage with The Washington Post anytime, anywhere. The Washington Post is owned by The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO), a diversified education and media company. About Bloomberg Bloomberg is the world’s most trusted source of information for businesses and professionals. Bloomberg combines innovative technology with unmatched analytic, data, news, display and distribution capabilities, to deliver critical information via the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL® service and multimedia platforms. Bloomberg's media services cover the world with more than 2,300 news and multimedia professionals at 146 bureaus in 72 countries. The BLOOMBERG TELEVISION® 24-hour network delivers smart television to more than 240 million homes. BLOOMBERG RADIO® services broadcast via SIRIUS XM Radio and 1worldspaceTM satellite radio globally and on WBBR 1130AM in New York. The award-winning monthly BLOOMBERG MARKETS® magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek magazine and the BLOOMBERG.COM® financial news and information Web site provide news and insight to business decision-makers. For more information, please visit http://www.bloomberg.com. Contact: Washington Post Maria Cereghino, 202-334-4230 [email protected] or Bloomberg Lauren Meller, 212-617-8185 [email protected] //<![CDATA[ $("div#story_content p:first").appendTo("div#press_release_subhead_holder"); //]]>

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Royal Bank of Scotland Hires Former Savills Chief Aubrey Adams

Royal Bank of Scotland appointed former Savills chief executive officer Aubrey Adams as Head of Property within its Global Restructuring Group To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Blackman at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Haitong to Acquire Leasing Company From TPG for $715 Million

Haitong Securities Co. (6837) , China’s second-largest brokerage by market value, said it plans to buy Shanghai-based leasing company UT Capital Group Co. from U.S. private-equity firm TPG for $715 million. Haitong will buy 100 percent of UT Capital, the Shanghai-based brokerage said in a filing to the city’s stock exchange yesterday. Haitong will pay cash for UT Capital, which TPG bought in 2008, TPG said in a separate e-mailed statement. UT Capital’s main operating unit is UniTrust Finance & Leasing Corp., which provides financial leasing services to more than 3,000 customers in China in industries including health care, education, printing, textiles, machine tools , electronics and injection molding, TPG said. In April, TPG was seeking $800 million for UniTrust, Reuters reported at the time, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter. Morgan Stanley and UBS AG were handling the deal, the news agency said. UT Capital’s total assets increased to 10.5 billion yuan ($1.72 billion) in 2012 from 4.4 billion yuan in 2010, TPG said in its statement yesterday. The company’s net income was 199 million yuan in the first half of 2013, TPG said. To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Daryl Loo in Beijing at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jason Gale at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

PPL Acquires E.ON’s U.K. Electricity Network for $6.5 Billion

PPL Corp ., owner of Pennsylvania’s second-largest utility, agreed to buy E.ON AG ’s U.K. power grid for 4 billion pounds ($6.5 billion) in a deal that will triple the U.S. company’s distribution customers in the country. PPL will pay 3.5 billion pounds in cash and assume 500 million pounds of existing debt in its acquisition of Central Networks, the second-biggest U.K. utility grid, the companies said in separate statements. E.ON and PPL said they expect to close the transaction in early April. The acquisition marks PPL’s second purchase of assets from Dusseldorf-based E.ON in less than a year. The company, based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, agreed last April to buy two U.S. utilities from E.ON for $6.7 billion. E.ON, Germany ’s largest utility, is selling assets as it seeks to raise 15 billion euros ($21 billion) by the end of 2013 to cut debt and fund international expansion. After the transaction is completed, PPL will own the largest electric distribution network in the U.K. in terms of regulated asset value, the company said in its statement. The deal will add about 10 cents to 15 cents a share to 2011 earnings, according to PPL. PPL already owns a U.K. grid unit with 83,000 kilometers (50,000 miles) of power lines that serve 2.6 million customers in south Wales and southwest England, according to its website. E.ON’s U.K. grid has 133,000 kilometers of power lines that serve more than 5 million customers in central England , according to its website. PPL fell 53 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $24.90 at 4:01 p.m. yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. PPL is the worst performer for the past year among the 13 members of Standard & Poor’s electric utilities index. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Chediak in San Francisco at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at [email protected] .

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Tata Consultancy Signs Multi-Year Services Accord With Hilton Worldwide

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. signed a multi-year agreement with Hilton Worldwide Inc. to provide technology and consulting services to the hospitality company, according to a statement today on the Bombay Stock Exchange. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tuhin Kar at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Van Der Moolen Governance Was Flawed Before Bankruptcy, Dutch Probe Says

Van der Moolen Holding NV (MOO) lacked sufficient risk management and its governance had flaws in the period leading up to the Dutch stockbroker’s bankruptcy in 2009, according to an investigation ordered by the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Appeals Court. Managers didn’t seem in control of Van der Moolen’s dividend-arbitrage activities, and attention to capital management and external financing was limited, court-appointed investigators Kees Scholtes and Sietze Hepkema said in a report dated May 13 and obtained by Bloomberg News today. The period under investigation ran from January 2005 to September 2009, when the 117-year-old Dutch stockbroker was declared bankrupt after posting three straight years of losses. Dutch investor group VEB and insurer ASR Nederland NV asked the Enterprise Chamber to investigate the firm’s management. They now can ask the court to assert mismanagement, which may lead to damage claims. The firm operated without a chief executive officer or management board after Richard den Drijver stepped down on July 16, 2009, leaving supervisory board members Peter Zwart and Arjen Paardekoper temporarily in charge. Den Drijver acted as a managing director and major shareholder rather than as CEO of a listed company, the investigators said. Board Departures Scholtes and Hepkema “regret” that they didn’t get to interview Den Drijver, they said. There were signs Den Drijver didn’t accept critical comments from other executive board members, illustrated partly by the departure of two existing board members within a year after he took the helm, according to the report. The company canceled the acquisition of stakes in GSFS Asset Management BV and Global Securities Arbitrage BV in March 2009, saying the moves “will not lead to the intended positive impact on the shareholders’ value of Van der Moolen.” Van der Moolen’s administrator Paul Schaink didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment. Van der Moolen was founded on July 1, 1892, by F.J. van der Moolen as a stockbroker, according to the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. It became the No. 4 market maker on the New York Stock Exchange in 2001 after buying specialists including Cohen, Duffy, McGowan & Co. and Scavone, McKenna, Cloud & Co. Van der Moolen transferred its unprofitable NYSE specialist unit to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) in December 2007, quitting floor trading in New York after more than a decade as a switch to electronic dealing eroded the traditional business. To contact the reporters on this story: Maud van Gaal in Amsterdam at [email protected] Fred Pals in Amsterdam at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

CSR Corp., Daikin, NTPC, Shibuya Kogyo: Asia Stocks Preview

The following companies may have unusual price changes in Asian trading tomorrow. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are as of the latest close. The information in each item was released after markets shut unless stated otherwise. Daikin Industries Ltd. (6367) (6367 JT): The air-conditioning equipment manufacturer was rated neutral plus in new coverage by Hitoshi Ohnishi, an analyst at Iwai Cosmo Securities Co. The stock dropped 0.2 percent to 2,059 yen. CSR Corp. (1766) (1766 HK): The Chinese train maker said its unit won a contract to supply 50 carriages for a railway line between the southern city of Guangzhou and Hong Kong ’s Kowloon district in mid-September. The stock rose 0.7 percent to HK$5.74. NTPC Ltd. (NTPC) : India ’s largest power generator said it scaled back plans to add coal-fired capacity by 42 percent because of a fuel shortage. The state-owned company lowered its target for the five years ending March 2017 to 14,500 megawatts from 25,000 megawatts, Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury said today in New Delhi today. The stock declined 2.1 percent to 154.3 rupees, the most in a month. Shibuya Kogyo Co. (6340) (6340 JT): The company, which manufactures machines for bottling, packaging, and loading, cut its full-year earnings forecast by 67 percent. The stock advanced 1 percent to 876 yen. To contact the reporter on this story: Kana Nishizawa in Hong Kong at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

India’s Sensex Climbs for First Time in 3 Days; Larsen Rallies

Indian (SENSEX) stocks advanced, with the benchmark index gaining for the first time in three days, as capital goods companies and banks advanced. ICICI Bank Ltd. (ICICIBC) increased 1 percent, helping the S&P BSE Bankex index rebound from a 2.5 percent decline yesterday. Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (LT) advanced 1.6 percent, leading a rally in the BSE Capital Goods Index. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.4 percent to 20,303.51 at 10:02 a.m. in Mumbai. The gauge slumped the most since Sept. 3 yesterday as the rupee weakened after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled monetary stimulus may be reduced in coming months. The Fed’s $85 billion of monthly bond-buying has helped fuel inflows into Indian stocks this year. International investors have bought a net $17.2 billion of Indian shares this year, the highest after Japan among 10 Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg. Indian stocks will lead the next cycle of gains in equities, along with South Korea and China, according to a Credit Suisse Group Inc. report today. Elections next year “could act as a catalyst to boost nominal gross domestic product growth,” the report said. The CNX Nifty (NIFTY) Index climbed 0.4 percent to 6,021.95. To contact the reporter on this story: Santanu Chakraborty in Mumbai at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Puerto Rico Wastewater Plants Get Honeywell Energy Improvements

Honeywell International Inc. (HON) , whose product line includes flight controls and thermostats, agreed to wastewater-treatment plant and energy-efficiency upgrades for the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority. The water and wastewater utility serves 97 percent of Puerto Rico’s businesses and 3.7 million residents, according to a statement from Honeywell. It said the improvements are expected to trim PRASA’s annual costs by $2.7 million, reduce carbon emissions and cut energy use by about 50 percent in one plant and 30 percent in another. The energy-savings program will start with $16.3 million of improvements at plants in Barceloneta and Caguas, Puerto Rico, Morris Township, New Jersey-based Honeywell said in last week’s statement. Works will also include replacing old water pumps and other infrastructure improvements, Honeywell said. To contact the reporter on this story: Randall Hackley in London at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Randall Hackley at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Wheat Drops, Paring Weekly Climb, as U.S. Raises World Production Outlook

Wheat fell in Chicago , paring a third weekly climb, after the U.S. government raised its outlook for global supplies on higher-than-expected production in Europe and Russia. Global output will come to 672.1 million metric tons in the 2011-12 season, more than the 662.4 million tons estimated last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Stockpiles will be 188.9 million tons, up from 182.2 million tons, it said. Wheat reached a two-week low on Aug. 9 as commodities plunged after the U.S. lost its AAA credit rating. “The gloomy financial context and large wheat stocks are putting the prices under pressure,” Bourges, France-based farm adviser Offre et Demande Agricole said on its website today. “The harvest is progressing in France thanks to the improvement of weather conditions.” Wheat for December delivery dropped 3 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $7.30 a bushel by 12:08 p.m. Paris time on the Chicago Board of Trade, cutting this week’s climb to 1 percent. November-delivery milling wheat fell 1.50 euros, or 0.8 percent, to 196 euros ($279) a ton on NYSE Liffe in France’s capital. The wheat harvest in Russia, which ended an export ban last month, will total 56 million tons, 3 million tons more than estimated last month, the USDA said. The European Union’s crop will reach 133.5 million tons, above the 132.1 million tons forecast last month, it said. Higher Stockpile Ratio “The world wheat projections were bearish,” Luke Mathews , a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia , said in a report today. The global stocks-to-use ratio of 28 percent is “comfortably” higher than the 2007-08 level of about 20 percent, he said. Corn for December delivery fell 2.5 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $7.115 a bushel in Chicago after climbing as high as $7.20, the highest price for the most-active contract since June 9. Global harvests of corn will total 860.5 million tons in the 2011-12 season, 11.9 million tons below last month’s estimate, the USDA said, paring its output forecast for the U.S. by 4.1 percent. Demand is predicted to outpace production by 8.4 million tons, more than the 5.2 million-ton deficit forecast in July, the USDA data showed. Production in the U.S., which is estimated to grow 38 percent of the world’s corn, will total 12.91 billion bushels (328 million tons), compared with 13.47 billion projected in July, the USDA said. The average prediction of 31 analysts in a Bloomberg survey was for 13.08 billion bushels. Last year’s crop was 12.45 billion bushels. The yield estimate was cut to 153 bushels an acre from 158.7 in July. “With weather disappointing during both the U.S. planting and growing season, prices will need to rally further to adjust demand down to the lower available supplies,” Damien Courvalin and Allison Nathan , analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in a report yesterday. Soybeans for November delivery were unchanged at $13.3175 a bushel. To contact the reporters on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at [email protected] ; Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at [email protected] ; Claudia Carpenter at [email protected] .

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Canada December Manufacturing Sales Report (Text)

The following is the text of Canada 's manufacturing shipments report for December released by Statistics Canada. Manufacturing sales advanced 0.6% to $49.9 billion in December, the fifth increase in six months. The transportation equipment industry led the gain. Sales increased in 12 of 21 industries representing about two-thirds of Canadian manufacturing. The gains occurred primarily in durable goods industries, where sales rose 2.1%. Sales of non-durable goods fell 0.9%. In terms of constant dollars, manufacturing sales rose 1.2%, representing an increase in the volume of manufactured goods. This was the fifth increase in constant dollar sales in six months. Manufacturing sales advance With December's increase, monthly sales for 7 of 21 manufacturing industries have reached or surpassed levels recorded in October 2008, the onset of the recent economic downturn. The largest of the seven industries includes transportation equipment, food, petroleum and coal products, and machinery manufacturing. Combined, these four represented 51% of total manufacturing in December. December's sales, at $49.9 billion, were just short of the pre-downturn total of $50.2 billion in October 2008. For 2011 as a whole, manufacturing sales amounted to $571 billion, up 7.8% from 2010. The main contributors to the annual increase included higher sales in the petroleum and coal products, primary metal, machinery and transportation equipment industries. Motor vehicle industry records highest sales since November 2007 Sales by motor vehicle manufacturers advanced 2.9% in December to $4.3 billion, the highest monthly sales level since November 2007. In addition, sales in the motor vehicle parts industry rose 5.5% to $1.9 billion. The transportation equipment industry as a whole had the largest dollar gains of any industry, with a 3.7% increase in sales to $8.5 billion. This was the seventh consecutive monthly increase. Plastics and rubber products sales increased 7.5% to $2.1 billion, their highest level since August 2007. The rise reflected higher sales volumes. Greater sales volumes were entirely responsible for a 2.7% increase in the primary metal industry to $4.2 billion, the third consecutive monthly gain. The overall sales increase was partly offset by a 5.6% decline among petroleum and coal product manufacturers to $6.9 billion. A portion of the decrease was the result of a 3.7% decline in prices for petroleum and coal products, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index. Central Canada accounted for most of the increase Manufacturing sales rose in four provinces in December. Most of the sales increase was located in Central Canada. Combined sales in Ontario and Quebec were up $741 million while sales declined $445 million in the rest of Canada. With the gains in December, Ontario, Alberta , Newfoundland and Labrador, and Saskatchewan surpassed their sales levels recorded in October 2008. In Ontario, sales rose 2.1% to $22.9 billion, the third consecutive monthly increase and the highest level since September 2008. The increase was largely the result of a 6.5% advance in the primary metal industry, a 5.5% gain in the motor vehicle parts industry, and a 2.3% rise in the motor vehicle industry. Gains in the machinery and miscellaneous manufacturing industries also contributed to Ontario's sales for December. A decline in production in the aerospace product and parts industry offset a portion of the provincial increase. Sales in Quebec rose 2.3% to $12.0 billion, the fourth increase in five months. A 17.9% increase in the transportation equipment industry was behind a large portion of the provincial growth. The plastics and rubber products, machinery, and primary metal industries also recorded sales increases. A 13.5% decline in sales reported by petroleum and coal products manufacturers partly offset the gains in Quebec. In Alberta, sales declined 3.5% to $6.3 billion, mostly as a result of lower sales in the machinery industry. After a sales peak in November, the machinery industry declined 23.4% to $776 million. Sales fell 4.8% in New Brunswick and 10.0% in Newfoundland and Labrador, reflecting declines reported in the non-durable goods industries. Inventory levels down Inventory levels decreased 0.9% in December to $64.4 billion, the first decline after 14 months of increases. Inventories declined in 14 of 21 industries, with non- durable goods down 0.7% and durable goods down 1.0%. Primary metal inventories declined 2.0% to $7.7 billion. In the food industry , inventories decreased 2.3%, owing in part to lower stocks in the grain and oilseed milling industry. The declines were partially offset by higher inventory levels reported by motor vehicle, fabricated metal product, and chemical manufacturers. Inventories decline The inventory-to-sales ratio fell to 1.29 in December from 1.31 in November. The inventory-to-sales ratio is a measure of the time, in months, that would be required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level. The inventory-to-sales ratio decreases Unfilled orders decrease Unfilled orders declined 1.6% to $60.8 billion in December. The decrease was largely the result of declines in the transportation equipment (-1.3%) and the primary metal (-8.7%) industries. In the transportation equipment industry, unfilled orders were down 1.0% for aerospace product and parts and 2.4% for railroad rolling stock. Unfilled orders decrease New orders New orders decreased 2.8% in December to $49.0 billion, following a 4.2% gain in November. The decline in new orders was concentrated in the aerospace product and parts industry. Note to readers All data in this release are seasonally adjusted and are expressed in current dollars unless otherwise specified. Preliminary data are provided for the current reference month. Revised data, based on late responses, are updated for the three previous months. Non-durable goods industries include food, beverage and tobacco products, textile mills, textile product mills, clothing, leather and allied products, paper, printing and related support activities, petroleum and coal products, chemicals, and plastics and rubber products. Durable goods industries include wood products, non- metallic mineral products, primary metal, fabricated metal products, machinery, computer and electronic products, electrical equipment, appliances and components, transportation equipment, furniture and related products and miscellaneous manufacturing. Production-based industries For the aerospace industry and shipbuilding industries, the value of production is used instead of sales of goods manufactured. This value is calculated by adjusting monthly sales of goods manufactured by the monthly change in inventories of goods in process and finished products manufactured. Unfilled orders are a stock of orders that will contribute to future sales assuming that the orders are not cancelled. New orders are those received whether sold in the current month or not. New orders are measured as the sum of sales for the current month plus the change in unfilled orders from the previous month to the current month. A research paper, Analysis in Brief: "An Overview of the Lumber Industry in Canada, 2004 to 2010" (11-621- M2011089, free), profiling the Canadian softwood lumber industry is now available. The paper reviews the state of the industry from 2004 to 2010 and examines key economic variables such as sales, exports and employment. To contact the reporter on this story: Ilan Kolet in Ottawa at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Marco Babic at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

European Gasoline Advances; Gasoil Crack Declines: Oil Products

Gasoline advanced for a second day in northwest Europe as Brent crude rose. Gasoil gained on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. The fuel’s crack, or premium to Brent, dropped. Light Products Gasoline for loading in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub traded at $967 a metric ton, according to a survey of brokers and traders monitoring the Argus Bulletin Board. That compares with barge deals from $951 to $963 yesterday. Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) was among buyers for the Eurobob grade, to which ethanol is added to make finished fuel, according to the survey. Barges typically trade in lots of 1,000 tons or 2,000 tons. The fuel’s crack rose 4 cents to $4.43 a barrel as of 10:32 a.m. local time, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a crude and products broker in London. Naphtha’s discount to Brent widened 10 cents to $4.58 a barrel, PVM data showed. Middle Distillates Gasoil for December delivery rose $5.50, or 0.6 percent, to $933.75 a ton on ICE as of 12:25 p.m. London time. Gasoil’s crack fell to $14.71 a barrel versus $15.38 at 4:30 p.m. yesterday. Brent added 1 percent to $110.66 a barrel on ICE. To contact the reporter on this story: Nidaa Bakhsh in London at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Gay Maine Candidate’s Coming Out May Help Topple LePage

Paul LePage, Maine ’s Republican governor, stridently opposed last November’s referendum that legalized same-sex marriage in his state and later used a crude reference to sodomy to criticize an adversary. Now, he’s in danger of losing his job next year to an opponent who revealed his homosexuality yesterday in a newspaper article. The declaration by Democratic U.S. Representative Michael Michaud, a leading contender in the 2014 election for governor, keeps Maine -- known for lobster, vacation spots and sober politics -- in the vanguard of America’s swift cultural shift. Residents in 2010 elected LePage, a favorite of Tea Party groups who promised to tell President Barack Obama to “go to hell.” Two years later, same-sex marriage won by popular vote. Next year, the state may elect the first openly gay governor. Michaud, 58, who represents the more rural of Maine’s two districts, made his sexual preference known yesterday in an op-ed piece he sent to the state’s three largest newspapers. In it, he accused opponents of engaging in a whisper campaign against him. “They want people to question whether I am gay,” he wrote. “Yes, I am. But why should it matter?” Local media reported that he told his mother only hours before the article was published. ‘Personal Decision’ In an interview with the Portland Press Herald, Michaud, who is from a Catholic family, elaborated on why he made the announcement. “It’s a personal decision,” he said. “It’s one I wish I didn’t have to make. I thought it was important for me to let the people of the state of Maine know upfront.” A Michaud victory would be another in a mounting list of successes for the gay-rights movement, including one yesterday when the U.S. Senate agreed to vote on banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. This year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that kept the federal government from providing benefits to same-sex couples. The number of states allowing gay marriage has more than doubled in the past year to 14, including New Jersey, where Republican Governor Chris Christie declined to fight a court ruling allowing it. ‘Moving Forward’ “The country is moving forward in acceptance toward our community in an extraordinarily rapid way,” said Marc Solomon, the national campaign director for Freedom to Marry, a New York-based gay-rights organization. “There is some real pride a lot of people have in showing that America is an open and accepting place.” Michaud’s disclosure makes him the seventh openly gay member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate’s Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, is gay. Among local officials, Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who leads the country’s fourth-biggest city, is a lesbian. If he wins, Michaud could be the first openly homosexual person elected to governor in the U.S. In Maryland , where Democratic state Representative Heather Mizeur is an openly gay candidate for governor, the Democratic establishment is rallying behind Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown. In Michaud’s campaign, being gay could be an asset rather than a liability, according to political analysts. He’s well known and liked in the northern reaches of the state, which he has represented for a decade, yet he has had trouble generating enthusiasm from Democrats in Portland and southern counties. “Mike is seen as a fairly conservative guy,” said Dennis Bailey, who was a spokesman for U.S. Senator Angus King, a political independent, when King was governor. “In the southern district, where voters tend to be more liberal, Mike was viewed with some suspicion. This helps secure those voters.” Voter Support Losing traditional supporters in the north isn’t a large concern because of the depth of Michaud’s popularity in his district, Bailey said. Besides, he said, rumors that Michaud was gay had long circulated in state politics. LePage, 65, won in 2010 with 38 percent of the vote in a five-way race. The governor dropped in voter surveys after a summer of verbal misfires, including alluding to sodomy while criticizing Democratic lawmaker Troy Jackson, who opposed him during a budget battle. “Senator Jackson claims to be for the people, but he’s the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline,” LePage told a local television station. Next year’s ballot will have three major candidates. LePage is running, as is Eliot Cutler, an independent. Cutler, 67, came in second in 2010, taking 36 percent of the vote. An August survey by Public Policy Polling in Raleigh, North Carolina, had Michaud with 39 percent, LePage with 35 percent and Cutler with 18 percent, with a 3.2 percentage point margin of error. Obama, a Democrat, won the state twice. Early Positioning “Cutler had been trying to run to Michaud’s left and show that Michaud is inadequately progressive on social issues,” said Amy Fried, who teaches politics at the University of Maine in Orono. “This announcement undercuts that.” Cutler’s campaign said in a statement that Michaud’s declaration “has no bearing whatsoever on a candidate’s qualifications to be governor.” Brent Littlefield, a political adviser to LePage, had no comment. Mill Worker Analysts said Michaud would lose any advantage if his campaign dwells on the issue. “He is not going to be the ‘gay candidate,’” said Bailey, the president of Savvy Inc., a political consulting firm in Portland. “He will work very hard to be the mill worker from northern Maine. His intent is to get this out early and be done with it. I don’t think Mike will be raising the rainbow flag anytime soon.” Another benefit for Michaud could be fundraising. The measure to approve same-sex marriage in Maine drew $8.8 million from groups backing gay rights, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, a Helena, Montana-based nonprofit that tracks spending on ballot questions. The 2012 initiative won with 51 percent of the vote, overturning a ban backed by 53 percent of voters in 2009. Support from national gay-rights groups came quickly. “We applaud congressman Michaud and look forward to working with him in the future,” said Chuck Wolfe, chief executive officer of the Washington-based Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. The group raised $4 million last year for gay and lesbian candidates, according to Jeff Spitko, a spokesman. To contact the reporter on this story: Annie Linskey in Boston at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

CAPELLA MICROSYS February Sales Rise 22.91% (Table) : 3582 TT

CAPELLA MICROSYS said unconsolidated sales in February rose 22.91% to NT$67,175,000 from NT$54,654,000, according to a statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. (Figures are in thousands of New Taiwan dollars) ================================================================= 2/2011 2/2010 Sales 67,175 54,654 YOY% 22.91% -----------------Year-to-date----------------- Sales 146,675 107,532 YOY% 36.40% =================================================================

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

MEC IMEX INC April Sales Fall 45.21% (Table) : 4962 TT

MEC IMEX INC (4962) said unconsolidated sales in April fell 45.21% to NT$86,844,000 from NT$158,500,000, according to a statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. (Figures are in thousands of New Taiwan dollars) ================================================================= 4/2011 4/2010 Sales 86,844 158,500 YOY% -45.21% -----------------Year-to-date----------------- Sales 305,521 494,957 YOY% -38.27% =================================================================

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Nomura `1-Trillion-Yen' Japan Fund Falls Below 100 Billion Yen Asset Value

Nomura Asset Management Co. ’s once- dubbed “1-Trillion-Yen Fund” fell yesterday to its lowest level since being introduced in 2000 at the height of a bubble in information-technology stocks. The “Nomura Japan Stock Strategy Fund” saw its net asset value fall to 99.7 billion yen ($1.15 billion) as of July 22 as individual investors shifted their cash into foreign equities, said Chiho Shimada , chief editor of Toshi Shintaku Jijo, an investment magazine. Dividend yields for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index and Euro STOXX 50 Index are more than 4 percent compared with about 1.7 percent for the Nikkei 225 Stock Average. The Nikkei has declined 10.6 percent this year. “The poor performance of Japan’s stocks is one of the reasons for the unpopularity of the fund,” said Shimada. “Another is that Japanese stocks have low distribution rates because of low dividend yields. People are investing for monthly returns.” The fund started in February 2000, just before the information technology bubble burst. It attracted 792.4 billion yen from investors before it began operation. Sales of Japanese stocks funds have been falling, according to the Investment Trust Association, Japan. Domestic equity funds at open-end investment trusts posted 13 consecutive months of net asset outflow as of June as redemptions and cancellations exceeded sales, the association’s data show. To contact the reporters on this story: Makiko Asai in Tokyo at [email protected] ; Monami Yui in Tokyo at [email protected] .

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Dutch Pension Fund ABP Sues Deutsche Bank Over Securities

Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, Europe ’s second-biggest pension fund, sued Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) for fraud, claiming it bought residential mortgage-backed securities relying on the bank’s allegedly false and misleading statements. Deutsche Bank made false and misleading statements about underwriting standards and practices, loan-to-value ratios, appraisals and owner-occupancy statistics, Heerlen, Netherlands- based ABP said in a complaint filed today in New York state Supreme Court in Manhattan. “ABP purchased securities that were far riskier than represented, backed by mortgage loans worth significantly less than represented, that had been made to borrowers who were much less creditworthy than had been represented,” according to the complaint. Last month, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America filed a lawsuit claiming it had invested in securities unaware that Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank internally viewed the loans and securities as “pigs.” Dexia SA, the lender rescued by France and Belgium in 2008, filed a similar suit in July in connection with more than $1 billion in residential mortgage- backed securities. ABP, which made the purchases in 2006 and 2007, said it had suffered “substantial damages” as a result and is seeking an award that includes loss of market value and principal and interest payments. Frank Kelly, a spokesman for Deutsche Bank, said in a phone interview that the company will fight the suit, which it believes is without merit. ABP oversees the pensions of 2.8 million Dutch state employees, including teachers and firemen. It oversaw about 242 billion euros ($341 billion) in assets at the end of June. The case is Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP v. Ace Securities Corp., 652460/2011, New York state Supreme Court (Manhattan). To contact the reporter on this story: Karen Freifeld in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at [email protected] .

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

U.S. Stocks Advance on Stimulus Bets Before Jobs Report

U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erasing earlier losses to snap a two-day losing streak, as investors weighed the Federal Reserve’s stimulus plans before a report on employment growth tomorrow. All 10 industries in the S&P 500 advanced. Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. added at least 1.6 percent as phone stocks gained the most as a group. Banks and health-care companies jumped 1.4 percent. Costco Wholesale Corp. rose 1.8 percent after reporting an increase in sales. VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY) plunged 21 percent as the maker of credit-card terminals forecast earnings that missed analysts’ estimates. The S&P 500 (SPX) added 0.9 percent to 1,622.56 at 4 p.m. in New York after falling as much as 0.7 percent earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 80.03 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,040.62. Almost 6.9 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges today, 8.7 percent higher than the three-month average. “The U.S. markets are going through a transition from being liquidity driven to a rally based on fundamental data and that’s a very bumpy ride,” Andres Garcia-Amaya, global market strategist at JP Morgan Funds, where he helps oversee about $400 billion, said via phone. “Investors are trying to figure out whether we are now pricing in earnings and the jobs situation or whether it’s still the Fed leading markets. So we’re slowly taking off the training wheels and that makes things a little wobbly.” Fed Liquidity The Fed stimulus and better-than-expected earnings have propelled the bull market in U.S. equities into a fifth year and driven the S&P 500 up 140 percent from a 12-year low in 2009. The gauge has dropped 2.8 percent since closing at a record high on May 21, the day before Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke suggested the central bank could curtail its $85 billion in monthly bond buying if the job market improves in a “real and sustainable way.” A Labor Department report tomorrow is expected to indicate employers added 163,000 to non-farm payrolls last month, almost equal to the gain in April. The agency issued data today that showed jobless claims decreased by 11,000 to 346,000 in the week ended June 1. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a drop to 345,000. Data yesterday showed companies in the U.S. hired fewer workers than projected in May. “It’s wait-and-see before the jobs report tomorrow,” Frank Ingarra , head trader at Greenwich, Connecticut-based NorthCoast Asset Management LLC, said in a telephone interview. His firm oversees $1.6 billion. “It all depends on how traders will read that data and its effect on the Fed’s decision making. We need to be assured that the Fed will not taper off monetary stimulus or we need to see significant improvement in the economy to get the next leg up in the rally.” Draghi Comments European equities fell today after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said policy makers left additional stimulus measures “on the shelf.” The euro-area will return to growth by the end of they year, Draghi said at a press conference after the ECB kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low. “The improving jobless report in the U.S. and Draghi’s statement created fear that the central banks will unwind monetary easing because things are getting better,” Donald Selkin, who helps manage about $3 billion of assets as the chief market strategist at National Securities Corp. in New York, said via phone. Moving Averages Selling in U.S. equities gained momentum earlier today as the S&P 500 briefly dropped below its 50-day moving average for the first time since April. That level, currently at 1,605.35, is watched by speculators. The benchmark index plunged 1.4 percent yesterday to the lowest since May 2 and the Dow dropped 217 points for its biggest decline since April 15. The Dow today also slipped below its trading average of 14,923.91 for the past 50 days. That was the first time this year it happened for the 30-stock gauge. “There’s some trader anxiety lingering from yesterday’s big move down,” Michael James, a managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc. in Los Angeles, said in an interview. “The market is testing the 50-day moving average on the S&P 500.” The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, or VIX (VIX) , fell 5 percent to 16.63. The benchmark gauge for American stock options, which moves in the opposite direction as the S&P 500 about 80 percent of the time, rose as much as 5.8 percent today, briefly erasing its loss for the year as it traded above the 2012 close of 18.02. The index has fallen 7.7 percent this year and touched a six-year low in March. Phone stocks surged 2.2 percent. Verizon jumped 3.5 percent to $49.97, its biggest advance since August 2011. AT&T rose 1.6 percent to $35.81. Homebuilder Rally An S&P index that tracks homebuilders added 3.5 percent, snapping a four-day losing streak, as all 11 members increased. PulteGroup Inc. rose 4.7 percent to $21.10, and D.R. Horton Inc. gained 2.7 percent to $23.27. Home Depot Inc., the largest home-improvement retailer in the U.S., climbed 2.9 percent to $77.26 for among the biggest jumps in the Dow. Costco advanced 1.8 percent to $111.09. The largest U.S. warehouse-club chain said comparable-store sales, excluding fuel, increased 5 percent in May, exceeding analyst estimates of 4.9 percent. Ciena Corp. jumped 17 percent to $19.15. The maker of communications-network equipment for phone carriers and other customers reported third-quarter sales forecasts that topped estimates. The report helped lift other communications-equipment suppliers. JDS Uniphase Corp. shares surged 8.3 percent to $14.22, the highest since April 11. Finisar Corp. added 4.9 percent to $13.52. SodaStream, Pepsi SodaStream International Ltd. increased 2.7 percent to $71.24, paring an earlier gain of as much as 9.7 percent. Calcalist, an Israeli business website, reported that PepsiCo Inc. is in talks to buy the maker of home soda machines without saying where it obtained the information. PepsiCo Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi said in an interview in Myanmar that it’s the first time she had heard about the talks. Chevron Corp. dropped 0.8 percent to $120.59 for the biggest loss in the Dow. Intel Corp. slid 0.2 percent to $24.65, as technology companies advanced 0.1 percent for the slimmest gain among S&P 500 groups. J.M. Smucker Co. fell 3.9 percent to $98.38 for the biggest decline in the S&P 500. The food maker’s fiscal fourth-quarter sales fell short of analyst estimates. VeriFone sank 21 percent to $17.37 as the company forecast third-quarter adjusted earnings of about 20 cents a share. Analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg had predicted 51 cents. Second-quarter profit and sales also missed projections. VeriFone dismissed Chief Executive Officer Douglas Bergeron in March as diminished demand for credit-card terminals hurt earnings. To contact the reporters on this story: Nikolaj Gammeltoft in New York at [email protected] ; Jonathan Morgan in Frankfurt at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at [email protected]

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U.S. ‘Disturbed’ by China's Trial of Dissdent's Nephew

The U.S. is “deeply disturbed” by reports that Chinese courts have sentenced the nephew of blind dissident Chen Guangcheng to more than three years in prison and is urging a review of the case, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. China sentenced Chen Kegui to 39 months in prison yesterday after being convicted of assault for injuring government officials who had stormed into his home in April to search for his uncle, who had fled house arrest and sought sanctuary at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The nephew’s trial “lacked basic due process guarantees” and failed to meet either Chinese or international standards, Nuland told reporters in Washington yesterday. She said that the 33-year-old Chen Kegui wasn’t represented by legal counsel of his own choosing and that Chinese officials warned lawyers who volunteered to represent him that their licenses would be suspended if they did so. “This was a deeply flawed legal process that convicted him and sentenced him to three years in prison,” Nuland said. “We regret China’s failure to honor its international commitments and we call on them to review this case.” International human rights groups also expressed strong criticism of the Chinese actions. Amnesty International yesterday called the sentencing “obvious retaliation for his uncle’s escape from house arrest last spring.” Rights Tests “Prosecuting Chen Guangcheng’s nephew was a test of China’s respect for the rule of law, and both the nephew, Chen Kegui, and the rule of law lost,” Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch said on the group’s website. “This case bore the same disturbing hallmarks as Chen Guangcheng’s persecution – incommunicado detention, denial of lawyers of his choice, and a politicized and closed trial.” The case “suggests that the new leadership in Beijing can’t or won’t follow through on commitments to investigate local officials implicated in wrongdoing and egregious human rights abuses,” said Richardson. The elder Chen clashed with authorities in his native Shandong Province over his campaign against the official family planning policy of forced abortion. The dissident, blind since birth, has expressed concern that his nephew would be made to pay the price for his escape from house arrest and the embarrassment he brought the Chinese government. Visiting lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Aug. 1, Chen said his nephew’s case “is essentially a continuance of my own case.” Self Defense Chen, who now studies law at New York University, and other family members have said the younger Chen was acting in self- defense. “After I had escaped house arrest, local government officials and their hired thugs broke into his home,” the dissident said in Washington in August. “In order to protect himself and to avoid being beaten to death by those thugs,” the younger man “was compelled to defend himself using a kitchen knife.” The trial dredges up one of the most difficult moments in Sino-U.S. diplomacy in years, as Chen’s escape to the embassy came shortly before a May visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss strategic and economic issues. Clinton, speaking Nov. 29 in Washington , recalled that “an already delicate trip had become an outsized test of the U.S.- China relationship.” In the end, Clinton said, “the relationship we’ve worked so hard to build with China proved more durable and dynamic than many feared” and they weathered the storm Chen’s escape created. Chen, along with U.S. officials and lawmakers, has presented the fallout from Chen’s flight to the embassy as a litmus test for the Chinese legal system. Speaking at the Aug. 1 press conference while flanked by leading House Republicans and Democrats, Chen said that, “if a case as high profile as mine cannot be properly handled in accordance with Chinese law and with international legal norms, how are we able to believe that China will respect human rights and their rule of law?” To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Nicole Gaouette in Washington at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott in Washington at [email protected]

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Raspadskaya, Severstal, Bank of Moscow: Russia Equity Preview

The following companies may be active in Russian trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are from the previous close of trading. The 30-stock Micex Index rose 0.5 percent to 1,714.19. The dollar-denominated RTS Index gained 1 percent to 1,936.42. OAO Raspadskaya (RASP) : VEB, Russia’s state development bank, isn’t planning to buy a stake in OAO Raspadskaya, the lender’s chairman, Vladimir Dmitriev, told reporters in Moscow yesterday. Potential buyers of Raspadskaya shares approached VEB for funding, he said. Raspadskaya dropped 4.6 percent to $6.30 in Moscow on July 11. OAO Severstal (CHMF RM) said the $730 million loan it has received a conditional commitment for from the U.S. Department of Energy is for a period of 18 years at an interest rate of “just below 3 percent.” Russia’s biggest steelmaker added 0.5 percent to 514.50 rubles yesterday. Bank of Moscow (MMBM RM): VTB Group will increase its stake in Bank of Moscow to 75 percent “within days,” Sergey Dubinin, chairman of VTB’s supervisory board, said in an interview broadcast on state channel Rossiya 24. Bank of Moscow was little changed at 704.40 rubles. VTB added 0.1 percent to 0.08285 rubles. To contact the reporter on this story: Marina Sysoyeva in Moscow [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at [email protected]

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South Africa’s Producer-Price Inflation Unchanged in May

South African producer prices rose 6.6 percent in May from a year earlier, more than economists forecast, adding to pressure on the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged. The cost of goods leaving factories and mines rose at a the same pace as in April, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said on its website today. That was above the 6.3 percent median estimate nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Prices gained 0.5 percent in the month. The Reserve Bank has left its benchmark repurchase rate unchanged at 5.5 percent since November 2010 to help support Africa ’s biggest economy while keeping price pressures in check. Governor Gill Marcus said on June 8 the rand’s depreciation is the main risk to inflation, making it difficult for the central bank to lower borrowing costs as global growth slows. “The risks emanate from a weaker exchange rate , which could see PPI pick up in the latter part of the year,” Shireen Darmalingam, an economist at Standard Bank Group Ltd. in Johannesburg, said in an e-mailed note to clients. “We maintain that interest rates will remain on hold through to the second half of 2013.” Consumer-price inflation slowed to 5.7 percent in May, near the top of the bank’s 3 percent to 6 percent target range. The rand dropped 8.8 percent against the dollar to 8.523 in May, driving up producers’ costs of imported goods by 8.3 percent, the statistics agency said. The currency was at 8.42 against the dollar as of 1:15 p.m. in Johannesburg, little changed from 8.4247 before the data was released. The yield on the R157 bond due in 2015 fell 2 basis points to 6.01 percent. Traders are increasing bets that the bank will cut rates by the end of the year as inflation slows and the European debt crisis curbs economic growth. The yield on the forward-rate agreement due in December fell 27 basis points to 5.25 percent in the past month. To contact the reporter on this story: Andres R. Martinez in Johannesburg at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at [email protected]

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New Zealand Carbon Credit Prices Unchanged as Buyers Choose CERs

The spot price of emission credits in New Zealand ’s carbon market remained little changed last week as buyers opted for contracts in the global United Nations- backed market, Auckland-based broker OMFinancial Ltd. said. Spot carbon credits traded at NZ$19.20 ($14.57) a metric ton today, unchanged from a week earlier, the broker said today in an e-mailed statement. That compares with 11.47 euros ($15.59) for UN Certified Emission Reduction credits on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange in London yesterday. New Zealand credit holders are waiting for spot prices to rise, shunting buyers to the CER market, the broker said. Buyers are also choosing CERs for forward contracts because the market is more liquid and the price isn’t capped, the statement said. New Zealand companies that emit greenhouse gases have the option to pay a tax of NZ$25 a ton of emissions or buy the contracts. “The attraction of buying the CER forwards even at a premium is the fact they are very liquid, exchange traded, have global interest and are not capped at NZ$25,” the statement said. New Zealand credits will continue to trade in a tight range in the short-term, with support at the lower level and CER prices dictating the upper limit, the broker said. To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Biggs in Tokyo at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at [email protected] .

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European Gasoline Drops; Fuel Oil Premium Advances: Oil Products

Gasoline fell in northwest Europe as Glencore International Plc (GLEN) sold on the barge market. Gasoil gained on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London as Brent advanced. Low-sulfur fuel oil’s premium to the high- sulfur grade widened to the most in more than four months. Light Products Gasoline barges for immediate loading in Amsterdam- Rotterdam-Antwerp traded at $1,090 and $1,094 a metric ton, according to a survey of brokers and traders monitoring the Argus Bulletin Board. That’s at the lower end of deals yesterday from $1,089 to $1,103. Trafigura Beheer BV purchased 13,000 tons of the 17,000 tons that changed hands. The trades are for Eurobob grade to which ethanol is added to make finished fuel. Barge deals are typically for lots of 1,000 tons or 2,000 tons. Gasoline’s premium to Brent declined by 4 cents to $14.26 a barrel as of 11:08 a.m. local time, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a broker in London. “In Europe we are watching the water levels on the Rhine which are falling and should accentuate the short-loading of barges and result in some product backing-up in the ARA region,” Olivier Jakob , managing director at Petromatrix GmbH, said today in a note. Barge freight rates for gasoline to be transported from the ARA-region to Frankfurt rose to 16.80 euros ($21) a ton yesterday compared with 15.80 euros on Aug. 15, according to PJK International BV, a researcher, said by e-mail. A 2,000-ton barge can only load 1,200 tons of product, Patrick Kulsen, founder of PJK, said by phone today. Naphtha’s discount to Brent widened to $7.70 a barrel from $7.26 yesterday, PVM data show. Middle Distillates Gasoil for delivery in September rose $3.50, or 0.4 percent, to $982.50 a ton on ICE as of 1:18 p.m. London time. The more actively traded October contract was at $983 a ton, putting the market in contango after being at parity for the past three days. Contango is a structure where later-dated deliveries are more expensive than near-term supplies and may signal a future supply constraint or increase in demand. Gasoil’s crack , a measure of refining profitability, declined to $17.60 a barrel from $17.50 at 4:30 p.m. yesterday. Brent increased 0.6 percent to $114.37 a barrel. Residues Low-sulfur fuel oil’s premium to the high-sulfur grade widened. The price spread was at $64 a ton yesterday, the highest since April 5, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story: Nidaa Bakhsh in London at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at [email protected]

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Nigeria to Reintegrate Fighters in Oil-Rich Delta, Punch Newspaper Says

Nigeria will begin a program to reintegrate former militants in the oil-rich Niger River delta region back into society, the Punch reported, citing Timi Alaibe, the presidential adviser on the region. More than 20,000 former rebels will be involved in the project, which will provide counseling and career-guidance, the Lagos-based newspaper said. The former militants, who were fighting for a greater share of Nigeria’s oil wealth, agreed to disarm under an accord with the federal government in September. To contact the reporter on this story: Sam Olukoya in Lagos via Johannesburg at [email protected] .

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U.S. Companies Reporting Higher Quarterly EPS, March 2

The following U.S. companies reported higher earnings per share for their latest quarter (end date of the quarter is noted in the last column). Earnings estimates provided by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Soong in New York at at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alex Tanzi at at [email protected]

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Stanford Investor Class Actions Restored by Appeals Court

R. Allen Stanford’s aggrieved investors can press state court class-action lawsuits they filed seeking to recover losses in his $7 billion international fraud scheme, a U.S. appeals court ruled. The New Orleans based panel today reversed a lower-court decision that the claims were barred by a federal law preventing plaintiffs from pursuing state-law claims arising from the purchase or sale of federally regulated securities. A federal court jury in Houston on March 6 found Stanford guilty of mail and wire fraud in the sale of certificates of deposit issued by his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd. He is to be sentenced June 14. The purchase or sale of securities is only “tangentially related” to Stanford’s scheme, the unanimous three-judge panel said , reviving four lawsuits filed against those who sold the CDs and lawyers and an insurer for the Stanford bank. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Stanford and two other top executives in his organization in February 2009, alleging they misled investors about the nature and oversight of the Antiguan bank and the CDs it issued. He and other executives were indicted on federal charges four months later. Finance chief James Davis pleaded guilty to fraud in August 2009 and testified against Stanford in his six- week trial. U.S. District Judge David Godbey in Dallas , who has been overseeing the SEC case and related litigation, took jurisdiction over the investor claims removed from state to federal court. Lower-Court Ruling He dismissed them because Stanford advertised the CDs as being backed by regulated securities and some investors sold securities to finance their CD purchases. Those facts put the CD-related suits in the ambit of the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act, the judge ruled. The appeals court disagreed. “We find that the fact that some of the plaintiffs sold some ‘covered securities’ in order to put their money in the CDs was not more than tangentially related to the fraudulent scheme,” the New Orleans panel said. The case is Roland v. Green, 11-10932, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (New Orleans). To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris in Chicago at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at [email protected] .

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Bonds Erase ’13 Losses as Three-Decade Rally Defies Bears

Bonds of issuers worldwide from Morgan Stanley (MS) to the Spanish government have erased losses for 2013 as reports of the death of the three-decade bull market in the securities prove premature with the Federal Reserve maintaining its stimulus. Returns this month of 0.88 percent on the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Broad Market Index bring gains since year-end to 0.4 percent. Seven weeks ago, before central bank policy makers surprised investors by delaying cuts in monthly purchases of $85 billion of Treasuries and mortgage bonds, the measure was down 2.1 percent. Borrowing costs for corporate, sovereign and securitized debt have fallen to 1.92 percent, within 0.5 percentage point of historic lows, five months after Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Bill Gross said that the rally had probably ended. BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Laurence D. Fink said a scaling back of quantitative easing could come as late as next June. “As long as the Fed is buying, it provides liquidity in the bond market which spreads out into all asset classes,” Anthony Valeri, a market strategist in San Diego with LPL Financial Corp., which oversees $350 billion, said in a telephone interview. “Everything really does tie back to the U.S.” Pakistan, Brazil The gains are being led by corporate bonds, which have returned 1.43 percent this month versus an 0.81 percent gain for sovereign debt. Demand for emerging-market securities is building with Pakistan planning to raise as much as $1 billion in a bond sale, its first offering abroad since 2007, according to a Finance Ministry official, who asked not to be identified without authorization to speak publicly. Brazil sold $1.5 billion of dollar notes due 2025 to repurchase outstanding debt maturing from 2017 to 2030. It also exchanged $1.7 billion of bonds with holders of existing securities. As evidence of the reviving appetite for risk, safeguards on speculative-grade debt dropped to a record low last month as measured by a Moody’s Investors Service index of covenant quality. The index, which tracks bonds sold by North American companies, rose to an unprecedented 4.05 in September from 3.85 in August. A reading of 5 is the weakest and 1 is the strongest. Default Swaps Elsewhere in credit markets, the cost of protecting corporate debt from default in the U.S. increased, with the Markit CDX North American Investment Grade Index, which investors use to hedge against losses or to speculate on creditworthiness, adding 0.4 basis point to a mid-price of 72.4 basis points as of 10:46 a.m. in New York , according to prices compiled by Bloomberg. The measure typically rises as investor confidence deteriorates and falls as it improves. Credit-default swaps pay the buyer face value if a borrower fails to meet its obligations, less the value of the defaulted debt. A basis point equals $1,000 annually on a contract protecting $10 million of debt. A gauge of the health of U.S. financial conditions fell for a third day. The Bloomberg U.S. Financial Conditions Index, which combines everything from money-market rates to yields on government and corporate bonds to volatility in equities, decreased 0.02 to 1.48. The gauge, which falls as conditions deteriorate, reached 1.57 on Oct. 21, the highest in data dating back to January 1994. Verizon Bonds Bonds of Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) are the most actively traded dollar-denominated corporate securities by dealers today, accounting for 5.4 percent of the volume of dealer trades of $1 million or more, Trace data show. The New York-based telephone carrier raised $49 billion on Sept. 11 in the largest corporate bond issue ever. The global bond market is poised for positive returns in 2013 for the first time since June following average gains of 5.4 percent in the five years ended last December, Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data show. Morgan Stanley’s $78.2 billion of bonds in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Broad Market Index have gained 3.94 percent this year. The New York-based bank reported third-quarter earnings on Oct. 18 that beat analysts’ estimates as equity-trading revenue jumped the most among the biggest Wall Street firms and profitability at its brokerage unit rose. Recession Ended The Spanish government’s $750.3 billion of securities on the index have gained 10.4 percent this year. Spain emerged from a two-year recession in the third quarter, with gross domestic product expanding 0.1 percent from the three months ended in June, when it shrank 0.1 percent, the Madrid-based Bank of Spain estimated in its monthly bulletin yesterday. Global returns have slowed from this year’s peak of 1.92 percent in May before Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke rattled markets by saying the central bank could taper record stimulus if the economy showed sustained improvement. As yields rose from a record low 1.51 percent, Gross, the manager of Pimco’s $250 billion Total Return Fund (PTTRX) , wrote in a Twitter post that a three-decade bull market in bonds probably ended April 29. Warren Buffett , the billionaire chairman and chief executive officer of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc., told Bloomberg Television in May that he felt “sorry” for fixed-income investors with yields on corporate bonds so low. ‘What’s Needed’ The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee refrained from reducing the pace of its monthly securities purchases on Sept. 18, with Bernanke saying the Fed must determine its policies based on “what’s needed for the economy,” even if it surprises markets. The central bank will delay the first reduction in its bond purchases until March after a government shutdown this month slowed fourth-quarter growth, economists said. Policy makers will pare the monthly pace of asset buying to $70 billion from $85 billion at their March 18-19 meeting, according to the median of 40 responses in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The 16-day budget impasse in Washington reduced growth by 0.3 percentage point this quarter, economists said in the survey. “It’s going to force the Federal Reserve to push off the tapering at the very least to March, but maybe as late as June,” Blackrock’s Fink said in an Oct. 16 interview on the CNBC television network. ‘Very Appealing’ Because the Fed may only have a “narrow window” to curtail stimulus as the economy struggles to recover, policy makers might consider whether to taper at all, Deutsche Bank AG strategist Jim Reid in London wrote in a research note dated yesterday. The global economy is forecast to grow 2.85 percent next year, after a 2.01 percent expansion in 2013, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. In the U.S., growth is expected to reach 2.6 percent from 1.6 percent this year. “We’re seeing a hard rally on the grounds the economy is growing well enough and the Fed’s taper strategy has been pushed further into the future,” Edward Marrinan, a macro credit strategist at RBS Securities, said in a telephone interview from Stamford , Connecticut. “All of that creates very appealing conditions for risk-takers to do their thing.” To contact the reporter on this story: Sarika Gangar in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at [email protected]

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Cardinals Defeat Marlins 4-1 in Baseball’s North American Opener

Kyle Lohse took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the St. Louis Cardinals began defense of their World Series title with a 4-1 win against the Miami Marlins in Major League Baseball’s North American season opener. The Cardinals’ victory ruined the debut of Marlins Park, the new $515 million retractable-roof stadium 2 miles (3 kilometers) from downtown Miami. It also was the first game since the hosts changed their name from the Florida Marlins. St. Louis right fielder Carlos Beltran recorded the first hit at the 37,442-seat stadium with a single in the top of the first inning and scored the first run on a two-run double by David Freese, the Most Valuable Player of the Cardinals’ seven- game World Series win against the Texas Rangers. “Tonight was fun,” Freese told reporters. “It’s always nice to get the season going and to open up here, beautiful ballpark, the fans were excited about it and so were we.” The Cardinals were playing their first game without manager Tony La Russa, who had led the team since 1996, and three-time National League MVP Albert Pujols, who left St. Louis to sign a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Lohse allowed one run on two hits in 7 1/3 innings for the win. Marlins shortstop Jose Reyes, who signed with Miami as a free agent in December, broke up Lohse’s bid for a no-hitter with a single to center leading off the seventh inning. Beltran and Reyes were teammates on the New York Mets last season. The MLB season began with a two-game series in Tokyo last week between the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners. Last night’s game in Miami was the first outside Japan. The rest of the 30 major league teams begin play today or tomorrow. To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Gloster in San Francisco at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at [email protected]

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Whoever Wins Los Angeles Higher Debt Price Signaled: Muni Credit

Los Angeles bonds are beating the $3.7 trillion municipal market even as leading mayoral candidates oppose a measure to raise the sales tax while also vowing to eliminate a $450 million-a-year business levy. As residents of the second-most populous U.S. city vote today on a successor to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa , they also face a ballot measure to boost the sales tax to 9.5 percent from 9 percent. That would tie Los Angeles with Chicago for the highest rate among the 10 largest American cities. Less than two months ago, Los Angeles got its first credit upgrade in more than 20 years from Moody’s Investors Service, which cited property-tax growth. Investors such as Daniel Genter at RNC Genter Capital Management in Los Angeles say the election outcome won’t be enough to derail the city’s debt. Los Angeles is benefiting from demand for California munis after tax increases championed by Governor Jerry Brown. “California paper is pretty attractive and we don’t see this election changing that right away,” said Genter, who manages about $2 billion of munis, including Los Angeles bonds. Mayor’s Endorsement Villaraigosa, a 60-year-old Democrat who cannot run again because of term limits , has endorsed the sales-tax increase. The higher tax would yield from $208 million to $215 million a year, according to an estimate from City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana , comparable with the deficits he projected for each of the next three years. Yet city Controller Wendy Greuel and Councilman Eric Garcetti, who have raised the most money in the race, have spoken against the higher sales tax and also advocated for scrapping the tax on business receipts. At $450 million a year it’s the fourth-largest revenue source. They said at a Feb. 7 debate that phasing out the business tax would encourage companies to move to and grow in Los Angeles, lifting property and other taxes. Moody’s upgraded the city of 3.8 million to Aa2 in January, the third-highest level, citing growth in property levies, its largest revenue source. Standard & Poor’s rates Los Angeles AA-, its fourth-highest mark. Sussan Corson, a director in public finance at S&P, said by telephone that passage of the sales-tax measure could accelerate progress in reducing recurring budget deficits. Rising Demand Investor demand for L.A. debt has risen. The difference in the yield spread between city general obligations maturing in September 2020 and top-rated debt was about 0.4 percentage point last month, according to Bloomberg Valuation pricing. That gap was down from an average of about 0.6 percentage point for most of last year. If voters reject the tax boost, Los Angeles would have to reduce its 10,000-officer police force by as much as 500, Villaraigosa said Feb. 11. At a press conference backing the tax measure, Villaraigosa declined to respond to mayoral candidates’ claims that the city could maintain or even expand its police force without higher taxes. “When you’ve made the kinds of cuts we’ve made, you have to look for new revenue,” said the mayor. Los Angeles has already faced $1.6 billion in deficits over the past four years. The city has reduced its workforce by 5,300 positions, or more than 14 percent, since 2007, according to Santana’s February report. Cost Analysis Scrapping the business tax would equate to losing more than 40 swimming programs, firing more than 2,200 police officers or firefighters, or neglecting to fill more than 21 million potential potholes, according to figures compiled by Santana in a September presentation. For Marilyn Cohen , president of Envision Capital Management Inc., the candidates’ pledges to reduce taxes without affecting city services add to concern that the city is failing to address its fiscal challenges. The firm has no Los Angeles debt among its $325 million of holdings. “They’ve dug such a hole that they’re going to have to show me that they’re being fiscally prudent,” said Cohen, who’s based in Los Angeles. Cohen said none of the leading candidates has offered a sufficient proposal to curb the city’s pension liabilities or other employee benefit costs. Pension Bill Los Angeles’ pension contributions are projected to reach $999 million this year, more than double the level for the year ended June 30, 2006, according to a report by Santana. The city has a $7.2 billion general fund. In October, the City Council voted to raise the retirement age for non-safety employees to 65 from 55 and limit pension payments to 75 percent of final salary. In the February debate, City Councilwoman Jan Perry and lawyer Kevin James , the only Republican in the race, stopped short of calling for eliminating the business tax. Perry said the city would need to find an alternative revenue source. James suggested a flat fee rather than a tax on business income. In a USC Price/Los Angeles Times poll of 500 likely voters taken Feb. 24-27, Garcetti led with 27 percent, Greuel had 25 percent, James had 15 percent and Perry 14 percent. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two finishers advance to a runoff May 21. The survey, with a 4.4 percentage point margin of error, found 53 percent support the tax boost, with 41 percent opposing it and 6 percent undecided. Candidates’ Approach Austin Beutner, a co-founder of New York investment bank Evercore Partners Inc. and former Los Angeles deputy mayor, moderated the February debate. In an interview March 1, he said none of the candidates has a realistic approach to the city’s budget dilemma. “I was singularly unsuccessful in drawing out of any of the candidates anything other than the notion that ‘We’ll grow the pie,’” Beutner said. “They haven’t identified where new revenue would come from, they’ve sworn off new taxes, and they’re not making any specific proposals regarding employee compensation and benefits.” Beutner said investors probably won’t punish Los Angeles for the vagueness of its prospective leaders’ proposals or even for the possible failure of the sales-tax increase. That’s because most debt is issued by the city’s self- funding airport and port authorities and its public water and power utility, which rely on user fees rather than taxes, he said. Also, most debt pledged against the city general fund is short-term revenue anticipation notes rather than general obligations, he said. In trading yesterday, yields on tax-exempt benchmark debt due in 30 years were little changed at about 2.98 percent, close to the highest since September, data compiled by Bloomberg show. To contact the reporter on this story: James Nash in Los Angeles at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at [email protected]

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Indonesian Rupiah Weakens on European Downgrades; Bonds Advance

Indonesia ’s rupiah fell after Moody’s Investors Service warned that the U.K. and France may lose their top credit ratings after downgrading six European nations including Italy, Spain and Portugal. Bonds gained. The rupiah extended this month’s loss to 0.6 percent as overseas investors sold $147 million more local stocks than they bought, paring net purchases this year to $122 million, exchange data show. Moody’s revised its outlook on the U.K. and France’s ratings to “negative” yesterday. “The near-term volatility is the result of the situation in Europe ,” said Saktiandi Supaat, head of foreign-exchange research at Malayan Banking Bhd. in Singapore. “Going forward, it looks like there will be strong support from the resilient domestic market” because the economy remains strong, he said. The rupiah dropped 0.6 percent to 9,056 per dollar as of 3:20 p.m. in Jakarta, according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg. Analysts in a Bloomberg News survey predict the currency will decline a further 0.5 percent to 9,100 by the end of this quarter. Southeast Asia ’s largest economy grew 6.5 percent last year in the biggest gain since before the Asian financial crisis. Indonesia will expand 6.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the central bank forecast on Feb. 9. The government will probably lower its 2012 economic expansion target from 6.7 percent as Europe’s debt crisis clouds global economic prospects, Vice Finance Minister Anny Ratnawati said today in Jakarta. She didn’t say what the new target will be. The yield on the 7 percent bonds due May 2022 declined six basis points, or 0.06 percentage point, to 5.11 percent, according to midday prices from the Inter Dealer Market Association. To contact the reporters on this story: Lilian Karunungan in Singapore at [email protected] ; Yudith Ho in Singapore at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at [email protected]

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Hungary Loan Plans Among Reasons for OTP Share Sale, Csanyi Says

OTP Bank Nyrt. Chief Executive Officer Sandor Csanyi said a government proposal to help foreign-currency borrowers, which may hurt banks, prompted him to speed up plans to sell most of his company shares. Csanyi, the head of Hungary ’s largest bank, raised 10.7 billion forint ($48 million) by selling 2.35 million shares in two days last week. The share price lost as much as 17 percent, stoking concern the government’s plan may put earnings at risk. Csanyi said he will use the sale proceeds to finance investments in his agricultural and food business. Prime Minister Viktor Orban , who faces elections next year, wants to help borrowers saddled with more than $16 billion in mostly Swiss franc-denominated mortgages, whose payments soared as the forint dropped during the global credit crisis. Banks holding the mortgages would carry some of the exchange losses, according to government proposals the cabinet is debating today, Nepszabadsag newspaper reported. “News that the government was considering the foreign-currency debt problem had an impact as I authorized the sale at a lower share price,” Csanyi said at a press conference in Budapest today. “I would’ve sold these shares anyway, it was in my plans for this year.” The government wants to “phase out” foreign-currency home mortgages and will consider the time it takes and the burden that can be imposed as it works on a solution, Economy Minister Mihaly Varga told state news service MTI today. Family Holdings “I personally and my family members also hold OTP Opus bonds, so there’s no question that I have any doubts on whether OTP is a good investment,” Csanyi said. The 60-year-old executive rejected a report in daily Magyar Nemzet that he sold shares because he planned to retire for health reasons. “I have entirely recovered” from a February heart surgery, “my physical condition is better than before the operation,” he said. OTP shares plunged in the three days through July 19 as Csanyi sold all but 10,000 of his personal holding of the stock. It gained 4.6 percent to 4,442 forint by 2:12 p.m. in Budapest today. OTP “can survive” any sort of government program to help foreign-currency borrowers, Csanyi said, adding that a solution similar to the early repayment of such loans in 2011 would put planned domestic acquisitions on hold. OTP dropped 36 percent and the forint weakened 12 percent in 2011, when the government forced banks to take losses by allowing borrowers to repay foreign-currency loans early at below-market rates. “I can only hope the government will consult with banks on the foreign-currency loan plan,” which must have burden sharing, Csanyi said. To contact the reporters on this story: Edith Balazs in Budapest at [email protected] ; Zoltan Simon in Budapest at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at [email protected]

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Yen Reaches Strongest Versus Dollar Since Intervention as U.S. Data Slows

The yen reached the strongest level versus the dollar since the Bank of Japan intervened to weaken the currency as a report showed lower-than-forecast U.S. consumer confidence, boosting demand for refuge assets. The dollar reached a five-month low against the euro as consumer sentiment dropped, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve will resume quantitative easing, or the large-scale purchase of debt, to bolster the economy. The Bank of Japan sold yen Sept. 15 to stem an 11 percent year-to-date surge in the currency that was hampering an export-led economic recovery. The Swiss franc strengthened to a record level against the dollar for the second time in five days. “We’re in that period where the other safe havens, the yen and the franc, will gain against the U.S. dollar,” said Brian Kim , a currency strategist at UBS AG, said by phone from Stamford, Connecticut. “People are bracing themselves for whatever level of easing the Fed may come up with if the recovery continues to be soft.” The yen strengthened 0.4 percent to 83.94 yen per dollar as of 4:05 p.m. in New York, from 84.29. It reached 83.69, the highest level since Sept. 15, when it also touched a 15-year low of 82.88. The euro bought 114 yen, compared with 113.41 yen, after touching 112.67 yen. The dollar fell 0.9 percent to $1.3581 per euro, the weakest since April 15, compared with $1.3455 yesterday. Currency War The Ministry of Finance in Tokyo will report on Sept. 30 the amount of yen the central bank sold from Aug. 28 through Sept. 28 to curb the appreciation of the currency. Demand for the yen has been tempered by speculation Japan will sell its currency again. Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega said yesterday that a “currency war” has begun, with nations seeking to lower the value of their currencies to bolster exports. Leaders of Group of 20 nations will seek to ease tensions about exchange rates by the end of their November summit, a South Korean official said. “Policy makers are talking over the currency issue and thus I expect they will be able to find a compromise at the Seoul summit,” Sakong Il, chairman of the South Korea’s presidential committee for the summit, told reporters in Seoul today. Confidence among U.S. consumers fell in September to the lowest level in seven months as Americans became more pessimistic about the labor market. The Conference Board’s confidence index declined to 48.5, lower than forecast, from 53.2 the prior month. The median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a decline to 52.1. U.S. Data “This number will be more of a negative than a positive for the dollar,” said Nick Bennenbroek , head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo & Co. in New York. “Given the market discussion and focus on the nature and prospects of quantitative easing, that theme that’s going to be the most prevalent.” The yen will trade between 83.50 and 84 per dollar because of the “of the market’s attention and focus and nervousness about possible Bank of Japan action,” Bennenbroek said. “Japan should change its structure to raise living standards using the strong yen,” by encouraging overseas mergers and acquisitions and purchasing mining rights for natural resources, Kazuo Mizuno , deputy director-general of economic assessment at the Cabinet Office, said in an interview in Tokyo today. “Japan had to put out the fire” by selling the yen, he said. U.S. policies indicate the currency trend won’t be reversed soon so “Japan should expect the dollar to remain weak in the mid-term,” he said. Export Gains Japan’s exports increased 15.8 percent from a year earlier in August, the slowest growth since December, the Finance Ministry said in Tokyo yesterday. The Swiss franc gained 0.9 percent against the dollar to 97.60 centimes, from 98.53 yesterday. It touched a record 97.38. Investors traditionally buy the franc during times of economic turmoil because of the perceived stability of the Swiss economy and current account surplus, and offload the currency when they want to take on more risk. The dollar has depreciated 11 percent versus the euro this quarter in the worst performance among the European currency’s 16 major counterparts. The greenback has pared this year’s advance to 5.1 percent. “We are becoming increasingly convinced that euro-dollar can perform well in this environment where the worst point of the European bond markets crisis is behind us and the policy mix in the U.S. is increasingly having a negative impact on the dollar,” Tom Fitzpatrick and Shyam Devani , technical analysts for Citigroup Inc., wrote in a note to clients. Pound Down The pound plummeted against the euro to the weakest since May after Bank of England policy maker Adam Posen said the central bank should restart its asset-purchase program to prevent persistent slow economic growth. “There remains a significant gap between what the economy could be producing at full employment and it currently produces,” he said in a speech today in Hull, England, today. “Monetary policy should continue to be aggressive about promoting recovery, and, subject to further debate, I think further easing should be undertaken.” The pound fell 1.2 percent to 85.98 pence per euro, the weakest since May 24 when it touched 86.97. To contact the reporter on this story: Allison Bennett in New York at [email protected] ; Catarina Saraiva in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at [email protected]

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FDIC to Issue Securities Backed by $500 Million of Residential Mortgages

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plans to issue securities backed by about $500 million of home mortgages acquired from failed banks, leaning again on guarantees to help sell the debt. The FDIC will back about 85 percent of bonds created for the offering and it may not sell the deal’s junior-ranked notes, which will lose principal first amid any defaults on the underlying loans, David Barr , an agency spokesman, said. “The decision hasn’t been made yet,” he said today in a telephone interview. “We may sell all or a portion of the certificates at some point in the future,” The FDIC, which has closed more than 250 banks since 2008, began raising cash in the bond market for the first time since the early 1990s in March. The Washington-based agency that month sold $3.8 billion of guaranteed notes in three deals. As of May 31, the agency held about $32 billion of assets from failed banks excluding about $7.9 billion of interests in limited liability companies that it has also been creating to help offload its holdings, Barr said. Two of the FDIC’s March bond sales were backed by its loans to such companies, while the other transaction was a repackaging of existing mortgage bonds. Barr declined to discuss the timing of the latest sale. RBS Securities Inc. is underwriting the transaction. The FDIC-backed debt is probably most comparable to atypical types of so-called agency mortgage bonds carrying government-backed guarantees, such as Washington-based Fannie Mae’s securities tied to multifamily mortgages, said David Land , a money manager at St. Paul, Minnesota-based Advantus Capital Management Inc., which oversees about $18 billion. An investor may want to accept similar yields as found with those types of securities, “depending on how much you value liquidity,” Land said in a telephone interview. To contact the reporter on this story: Jody Shenn in New York at [email protected]

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Iran’s Ahmadinejad Says Talks Will Progress After U.S. Election

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said talks over his country’s development of enriched uranium will be more productive after the U.S. election and expressed optimism the two sides will “be able to take some steps forward.” “We have seen during many years that as we approach the United States presidential election, no important decisions are made,” Ahmadinejad said on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” program. “Following the election, certainly the atmosphere will be much more stable, and important decisions can be made and announced.” Ahmadinejad, who is completing his second and last term as president, said meetings over Iran ’s nuclear program with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany , will result in “a very important decision” following the U.S. November election. Iran contends its nuclear facilities are for peaceful civilian purposes. “We have set forth proposals, we are holding dialogue,” he said in the CNN interview, according to a transcript of the program scheduled to air today. “We do hope to be able to take some steps forward.” U.S. President Barack Obama , in Sept. 25 speech before the General Assembly, said that time “is not unlimited” to reach a diplomatic resolution and vowed that the U.S. “will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” ‘Hell to Pay’ Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana , the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Democrat Obama’s efforts to work with U.S. allies and impose strict sanctions on Iran is the correct policy. In an interview with Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt ,” Lugar said that there “will be hell to pay” if those calling for war with Iran are successful. “The implications for the Israeli people here are very severe,” said Luger, 80, who is leaving the Senate after 36 years following his defeat in a primary in May. “The idea of moving with our allies, as many as we can find, on effective sanctions on the country has been the right move.” Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has criticized Obama’s position, saying the president hasn’t been tough enough and that military action shouldn’t be ruled out. Romney said he would seek an international indictment of Ahmadinejad for incitement to genocide and would treat Iran’s diplomats “like the pariah they are.” Red Lines Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, using a cartoon drawing of a bomb, told the UN Sept. 27 that the international community should impose “red lines” on Iran’s program to prevent the country from building nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad said he wasn’t concerned that action by Israel would alter Iranian policies. He likened any attacks to those by terrorists who explode bombs or assassinate officials. “Will the country be destroyed? No,” Ahmadinejad said. “We see the Zionist regime at the same level of the bombers and criminals and the terrorists. Even if they do something, hypothetically, it will not affect us fundamentally.” Ahmadinejad denied reports that the Iranian economy is faltering and said the sanctions haven’t hurt foreign trade. “Many of the European companies are currently, as we speak, conducting trade with us,” he said. “Some of them do it in hiding. They do secretly, but they do conduct that trade. You hear some news and you believe that Iran’s economy is now in chaos. It is not so.” Iran’s Economy Foreign investment in Iran jumped 83 percent to $6.8 billion in the first half of the current Iranian year, which began on March 20, the Tehran Times reported Sept. 27, citing Deputy Economy Minister Behrouz Alishiri. Iran’s Central Bank on Sept. 5 said the country’s inflation rate was 23.5 percent in the month that ended Aug. 20. Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani was quoted by Shargh newspaper Sept. 26 as saying it was actually 29 percent. Iran‘s currency, the rial, hit a record low against the U.S. dollar yesterday in the country‘s capital, Tehran, where the street traders were selling dollars at 28,100 rials, the state-Run Mehr news agency reported. On Syria , Ahmadinejad again refused to call on President Bashar al-Assad to step down. He said a group whose members include representatives from Egypt , Turkey , Iran and Saudi Arabia could help negotiate a peace, including setting up a national election. Syrian troops are battling with rebels in the commercial hub of Aleppo, the country’s largest city. International efforts to end the 18-month conflict have failed to stop the violence as rebels continue the fight to overthrow Assad that began March of last year. The conflict has killed 30,000 people, according to estimates by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group. To contact the reporter on this story: Susan Decker in Washington at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at [email protected]

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Weight-Loss Surgery Cuts Risks for Severely Obese, Heart Association Says

Severely obese people benefit from weight-loss surgery, the American Heart Association said after researchers from the U.S. and Canada assessed the heart risks of bariatric procedures. Operations such as gastric bypass and gastric banding may lead to weight loss and improvements in diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure, and those benefits may outweigh the hazards, the Dallas-based heart group said in a paper today in the journal Circulation. Almost 34 percent of Americans are obese, a number that has doubled in the past 30 years, and more than 5 percent are considered extremely obese, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overweight or obese people have a greater risk of diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. Efforts with diet, exercise and drugs have been “disappointing,” so doctors need to look at surgical options , said Paul Poirier , lead author of the report. “At the moment, bariatric surgery should be reserved for patients who can undergo surgery safely, have severe obesity and have failed attempts at medical therapy,” Poirier, director of the cardiac prevention and rehabilitation program at Quebec Heart & Lung Institute at Laval University Hospital in Quebec City , said in a statement. Further Research The report isn’t an “across-the-board” endorsement, Poirier said. More studies are needed on the weight-loss procedures in adults and children, he said. About 220,000 people in the U.S. had weight-loss surgery in 2009, according to the most recent figures from the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, a doctors’ organization based in Gainesville, Florida. The procedures cost on average of $14,000 to $26,000, the group said on its website. Allergan Inc., based in Irvine, California , won U.S. clearance in February to broaden marketing of its Lap-Band weight-loss device. The Food and Drug Administration now will let the company target people with a body mass index of at least 30 and at least one obesity-related condition. Lap-Band competes with Realize, a band sold by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) , of New Brunswick , New Jersey. Body mass index , or BMI, is a measure of weight and height, with a 5-foot, 4-inch (160-centimer) woman weighing 175 pounds (80 kilograms) having a BMI of 30. BMI of 30 or more is considered obese, while a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, according to the National Institutes of Health , based in Bethesda, Maryland. A BMI of 40 and more is considered extremely obese. ‘Treatment of Choice’ “The AHA hasn’t addressed this issue in such a direct manner previously, but has included bariatric surgery as an option for severely obese patients in other documents,” Robert Eckel, past president of the group and a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, in Aurora, Colorado, said in an e-mail on March 11. For people who have a BMI of 40 and higher, surgery is the “treatment of choice,” Eckel said. The heart group’s researchers found that surgery “provides the greatest sustainable weight loss.” The surgeries also reversed diabetes and improved high blood pressure, sleep apnea and liver disease, according to the heart group. A review of eight studies showed that those who underwent weight-loss surgeries had a lower risk of dying compared with those who didn’t have the procedures, according to the paper. One study showed the risk of dying was 9 percent in those who had surgery compared with 28 percent in those who didn’t. Allergan’s Applause “The medical literature has found that diet and exercise alone simply does not work for everyone who is obese and that without effective treatment the obese will likely remain obese, which is why we applaud the American Heart Association for recognizing that weight-loss surgery needs to be part of the obesity treatment continuum,” Cathy Taylor, a spokeswoman for Allergan, said an e-mail on March 11. In gastric bypass, doctors create a small pouch about the size of a walnut at the top of the stomach and connect it to a passage that bypasses the rest of the stomach and part of the small intestine. That arrangement limits the body’s ability to absorb calories. Gastric bypass accounts for than 80 percent of weight-loss procedures, according to the heart association. In laparoscopic gastric banding , a band is placed around the upper end of the stomach, creating a pouch that narrows the passage into the rest of the stomach, causing a patient to feel fuller. The heart group’s statement adds to growing awareness of the weight-loss surgery, said Bruce Wolfe , president of the bariatric surgery society, in a telephone interview on March 11. Heart doctors are “recognizing it as an important tool in the battle against obesity and cardiovascular risk,” said Wolfe, a professor of surgery at Oregon Health & Science University , in Portland. To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Ostrow in New York at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at [email protected]

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South African World Cup May Be Iciest in Decades; Fans Seek Hats, Gloves

South Africa, which counts sun- soaked beach holidays among its tourist attractions, has been hit by icy weather that threatens to make the Soccer World Cup the coldest in decades. Temperatures this week have dropped to as low as minus five degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) in Johannesburg, prompting many of the more than 54,000 fans at the Ellis Park night-time clash between North Korea and Brazil to don gloves, woolen hats and overcoats. This was as much as eight degrees below the 40-year average, according to Derek Van Dam, chief meteorologist at Etv, a privately owned television station. “We have ended up doing a lot more indoor activities” than we expected,” said Rajeev Nath, a 31-year-old New Yorker who is in South Africa for the tournament. “We haven’t had enough warm clothes so have been buying. We’ll continue to just layer up.” The first World Cup to take place in Africa is also the first to be held in winter since Argentina hosted and won the tournament in 1978. Rain has lashed game venues in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and snow has fallen fall across the country’s mountain ranges. Ghana’s training session yesterday was delayed because of frozen pitches at their training base north of Rustenburg, according to the South African Press Association. Heavy rain in Port Elizabeth this week meant that Germany and Serbia couldn’t train on the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium pitch on eve of their match today. Reduced Rail Service The rapid rail line between Johannesburg’s main airport and business district is operating at half the normal speed as a precautionary measure because of the cold. Trips from Sandton to O.R. Tambo airport are now leaving every half an hour and taking 30 minutes, according to the Gautrain website. Today Johannesburg is expected to have a maximum of 11 degrees celsius and a minimum of -1. By contrast Berlin in Germany, where the last World Cup took place in 2006, has a forecast maximum of 20 degrees and a minimum of 5 degrees. Seoul in South Korea, which co-hosted the 2002 event, has a maximum of 32 degrees while Buenos Aires in Argentina has a maximum of 13 degrees and a minimum of 12 degrees. No T-Shirts A fan park at Mary Fitzgerald square in central Johannesburg attracted few fans on the night of June 16 when the home team, South Africa, slashed their chances of progressing in the tournament by losing 3-0 to Uruguay in Pretoria. “Its much colder than we expected,” Irena Cegla, a 43- year-old tourist from Venezuela, said in an interview. “I thought we may wear T-Shirts during the day but it’s much too cold.” In addition to the Germany versus Serbia match, Slovenia today plays the U.S. at Ellis Park in Johannesburg while England plays Algeria in Cape Town. To contact the reporter on this story: Janice Kew in Johannesburg at [email protected]. A football fan protects himself from the cold as he attends the 2010 World Cup match between Brazil and North Kore at Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg. Photographer: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images //<![CDATA[ $(document).ready(function () { $(".view_story #story_content .attachments img.small_img").each(function(){ var self = $(this); if (self.width() != 190){ self.width(190); } }); }); //]]>

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No $10 Million Check Needed for Argentine Vineyards

At the southern end of Argentina ’s Uco Valley in the foothills of the Andes, Jose Manuel Ortega Gil-Fournier is helping make investors’ dreams of producing wine from their own vineyards come true. An investment banker at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Banco Santander SA (SAN) before leaving the world of finance in 2006, Ortega is selling 140 hectares of land planted with malbec and other varietals for $150,000 per hectare. More importantly, he promises to do all the work in caring for them. Ortega is counting on the allure of vines that produced his 93-point Alfa Crux Blend (2003) and 94-point O. Fournier Syrah (2002) to distinguish him from other sellers of personal lots in Mendoza province, the hub of the country’s wine industry. “The Uco Valley is producing not just the best wines in Argentina but some of the best in the world,” said Daniel Pita, a hedge fund lawyer from Sao Paulo who bought into the Ortega project without ever having visited Mendoza. “If you look at other regions that are famous for good wine, like Bordeaux and Napa, you can’t even think about investing there.” Argentina’s personal vineyard market is expanding after pioneers at Vines of Mendoza started marketing parcels to international investors in 2006. They have since sold 106 plots that produce 240 unique wines. Ortega’s program is the first by an established Argentine winery to admit “partners,” as he refers to clients who buy property surrounding his namesake bodega 90 minutes south of Mendoza city, the provincial capital. Colonial History “We’re inviting 85 investors, wine lovers, to share the experience of being a winery owner without having to write a $10 million check,” Ortega, 44, said in an interview at his restaurant, Urban, which looks out toward the snowcapped Andes. “We’re socializing the pleasures of owning a vineyard and making wine.” While Mendoza’s wine industry dates back to the Spanish colonial period, the parched, rock-strewn Uco Valley, 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above sea level , was little developed a decade ago. Since then, it has attracted the world’s top vintners. Not far from Ortega’s O. Fournier winery, French oenologist Michel Rolland joined winemakers Benjamin de Rothschild and Laurent Dassault in creating Clos de los Siete, a group of seven bodegas whose Monteviejo and Lindaflor blends are standouts. Argentine Risks Putting money into Argentina, whether you’re talking land, companies or bonds, may seem risky given its history of defaults, devaluations and confiscations. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner surprised investors in April when she seized YPF SA, the country’s biggest oil company, from Spain ’s Repsol YPF SA. (REP) In December, Congress passed a law blocking foreigners from owning large swaths of rural land. “It is of concern but I don’t really believe that the nationalization trend is going to be widespread,” said Tom Biery, a co-founder of Houston-based oil and gas producer Quail Creek Companies, who’s looking forward to serving his own Uco Valley wine at parties in a few years. “And while our investment isn’t insignificant, it isn’t huge either.” Ortega had planned to start his private vineyard project in 2008 but delayed it when the U.S. real estate collapse and the fall of Lehman Brothers helped spark a global economic slowdown. “We put it on hold for a while and late last year decided that the U.S. economy was getting better, Asia was getting better and Brazil was booming,” he said. “We thought those would be three major markets to point toward.” Bottle Design As well as the land, purchasers get their vines planted and maintained for three years. They can also work with Ortega’s staff to design bottle labels, blend their own wines and ship them abroad. Ortega estimates annual maintenance costs after the first three years will average about $4,000, which can be offset by selling grapes to the winery or marketing the wines. About 10 vineyard owners will be able to build residences on their plots, which could be rented out to a luxury hotel Ortega plans to break ground on later this year. Once you’ve taken your seat at Urban, the sale is an easy one. The towering glass-walled restaurant leaves you looking past vines heavy with plump malbec clusters to the jagged peaks of the Andes. Urban’s cuisine is overseen by Ortega’s wife, Nadia, whose eponymous restaurant near Mendoza city was voted Argentina’s best last year by the country’s National Culinary Academy. Lunch Menu At Urban, my wife and I settle into a four-course lunch with wine pairings. Our repast begins with a cream of parmesan and chardonnay-caramelized onions, transitions to a pork loin over a mash of potato and orange with soy sauce and ends with an olive oil sorbet. With accompanying wines, the total is 260 pesos ($58) each, a quarter of the cost of the tasting menu at Napa Valley ’s Auberge du Soleil. Michael Evans , co-founder of Vines of Mendoza, says the combination of high-quality wines and affordability is the hook that keeps drawing investors to the country and the concept of private vineyards. “The more people come down and see that they can make wine in Argentina and be exposed to the magic of this place, the better for all of us,” Evans said. Muse highlights include book reviews and a look at Olympic dining. To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Faries in Miami at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at [email protected]

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Coalition Pledges to Scrap UN Membership Bid to Cut Costs, Review Reports

Australia’s Liberal-National coalition will scrap the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, the nation’s bid for membership of the United Nations Security Council and cut the number of heads of government meetings with the states in a bid to save A$1.18 billion if it wins the general election on Aug. 21, the Australian Financial Review reported. To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at [email protected]

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New U.S. Ambassador Sparks Emotional Debate in China: Adam Minter

Is Gary Locke , the first ethnically Chinese U.S. ambassador to China, a traitor to his Chinese heritage? China’s editorialists, bloggers and microbloggers have debated this question in various forms, and within various forums, since President Barack Obama nominated Locke in March 2011. But the discussion has reached a new intensity with Locke’s recent arrival in Beijing , producing a remarkable degree of public introspection on attitudes toward the Chinese race, and Chinese self-identity. Locke is a third-generation American of Chinese heritage, but in the eyes of many Chinese, he is a returning son. The Chinese media and public follow so-called “overseas Chinese” -- politicians like Locke, intellectuals like Amy Chua , artists like architect I.M. Pei and musicians like Yo Yo Ma -- with passion. The Chinese media, both proud and insecure, use their accomplishments as benchmarks for measuring China ’s standing in the world. The successes of these overseas Chinese are claimed as Chinese successes. In October 1997, the Chinese Communist Party granted Locke, who was then the newly-elected governor of Washington State, a private audience with then-president Jiang Zemin. This was a rare and unusual honor for a U.S. governor from a minor (from the Chinese perspective) state. With his new position as the U.S. ambassador to China, many Chinese hope (and believe) that this returning son will remember his origins when considering U.S. interests against competing Chinese ones. The nationalist, state-owned Global Times newspaper repeated a commonly held sentiment in China today: “Locke's Chinese origins might gain him some advantages in understanding China's public opinion, which is not necessarily always reserved and mild.” In an unsigned editorial in Southern Metropolis Daily, the editors agreed with the Global Times: “ Gary Locke has a natural cultural advantage in the problem of sharing values between China and the U.S. The two countries could take this opportunity.” But equally common is a harsh counterpoint to this optimistic point-of-view: Locke is an (American) wolf in (Chinese) sheep’s clothing who will overcompensate for his ethnic background by coming down harder on China than, perhaps, even a Caucasian U.S. ambassador. And, because of his Chinese face, he can accomplish his nefarious goals more efficiently. The prestigious, highly influential and government-owned Guangming Daily wrote : China has 55 officially-recognized minority ethnicities , but 92 percent of the Chinese public claims a Han Chinese background. Such homogenized racial identity isn’t unusual in East Asia ; Korea and Japan are even less diversified. What is unusual in China, however, is the degree to which majority racial attitudes are discussed and dissected in private homes and, when the occasion arises, in the Chinese media. Race relations in American politics often provide inspiration for such talk. For instance, President Obama’s candidacy and election stirred much public soul-searching on whether or not a Chinese minority could ever ascend to the top of the Chinese Communist Party. (The most common answer: "No.") But Locke’s new position as U.S. ambassador to China strikes a deeper chord with the Chinese than Obama's presidency. It has forced a tradition-bound East Asian society to question the global reach of its homogenized self-image. On August 16, Wu Xianghong, a business columnist with the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolitan Daily -- China’s most important independent newspaper -- published a remarkable essay. In it, Wu identified a peculiar type of Chinese racism: This kind of racialist thinking influences Chinese perceptions of Locke. For example, a popular pejorative is to refer to a Chinese person who has adopted Western values as a "banana": white on the inside and yellow on the outside. Wu suggested that some media representatives have recently contended that: “he who is a 'banana man' will be even more anti-China than a full blooded American.” Wu further explained that some Chinese, “expect Gary Locke to be more familiar with Chinese people and to be better than any other American ambassador.” Of this, he expresses contempt: The racialist approach to Locke is not pervasive in China. On the popular microblogs, some netizens say that Locke is first and foremost an American. A user of the Sina Weibo microblog, Nico ever , tweeted: Still, for all of the talk about Locke's affinities and opportunities, he will likely remain a charged figure for the Chinese to measure themselves against. Late last week, a Chinese-American businessman photographed Locke wearing a backpack while buying his own coffee at a Starbucks in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Chinese microbloggers, bloggers and editorialists jumped at the chance to contrast Locke’s no-frills independence while traveling with the grandiose entourages that accompany even the lowliest Chinese officials. Liu Runhua, director of the Shenzhen Civil Affairs Bureau, tweeted on Sina Weibo: However, not every commentator on the photo was as admiring. Some suggested that Locke’s entourage-free travel reflected the U.S. government’s financial problems. And, perhaps more damaging, some suggested that Locke’s no-frills persona is fake, and even calculated. “The performance of Gary Locke is both a result of his personal quality and a type of PR,” wrote Dou Hanzhang, a former journalist with the state-owned Xinhua news service on Sina Weibo. Soon though, the discussion will likely return from the semiotics of Locke's backpack to the larger question of Chinese identity and achievement. An Puruo (the pen name of Walter Huang, a well-known U.S.-based Chinese investor and writer) used the story of Locke’s immigrant grandparents in America to reflect upon the difficulties of China's migrant workers today -- especially their struggles to provide their children with a strong education. In Shanghai , for example, migrant children must attend specially designated migrant schools; they do not have access to the city’s superior, resident-only educational system. An’s reflections are poignant, and pointed: If the discussion over Locke’s American ambassadorship is any indication, China’s netizens are thinking about him as a symbol of equality obtained, and equality denied. His Chinese race certainly plays a role in generating this attention, but it is quickly yielding far more interesting narratives. In contemporary China, at least, that qualifies as "post-racial." (Adam Minter is the Shanghai correspondent for the World View blog. The opinions expressed are his own.) To contact the author of this blog post: Adam Minter at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this post: Katherine Brown at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Russia Scraps Bond Auction as Investors Demand Higher Yields

Russia scrapped an auction of bonds for the first time since May after investors demanded higher yields than the government offered. The Finance Ministry had planned to sell 30 billion rubles ($956 million) of notes due in February 2019 at a yield of 7.12 percent to 7.17 percent. The yield on Russia’s seven-year OFZ notes jumped four basis points to 7.27 percent by 2:01 p.m. in Moscow, the highest in a week, after a six basis-point increase yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bond yields climbed and the ruble weakened after Urals crude dropped 1.7 percent yesterday, its sixth day of declines. Russia, the world’s largest energy exporter, relies on oil and gas for 50 percent of its budget revenue. The OFZ’s yield has tumbled 140 basis points since June to a record-low 7.17 percent on Oct. 22. “The rally in OFZs is over,” Egor Fedorov, a credit analyst at ING Groep NV in Moscow, said by telephone after the government’s statement today. “Yields started rising very tangibly yesterday as a reaction to negative global factors. Local investors want to take profit, as foreign ones will be more cautious.” Russia scrapped all its auctions in May as Urals dropped 15 percent, its biggest monthly decline for two years. Today’s auction was shelved because the bids “exceeded the highest end of yield guidance,” the Finance Ministry said in a website statement. Emerging-market stocks declined today as concern Europe ’s economic crisis is deepening pared investor appetite for riskier assets. German business confidence unexpectedly fell to the lowest in more than 2 1/2 years and a report showed euro-area services and manufacturing contracted more than economists estimated. Europe is Russia’s biggest trading partner. “You can get better yields on the secondary market,” Fedorov said. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Sweetman in Moscow at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at [email protected]

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Scripps Networks to Buy Virgin Media’s Stake in British Cable Firm UKTV

Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. (SNI) , the U.S. television company that runs Food Network, agreed to buy Virgin Media Inc. (VMED) ’s 50 percent in British cable TV company UKTV amid a push to expand outside its home market. Scripps Networks, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, will pay about 339 million pounds ($552 million) to buy the 50 percent stake and the debt owed by UKTV to Virgin Media, the companies said in a joint statement today. BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of public broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation, owns the remaining stake and is in talks with Scripps to potentially increase its stake to a maximum of 60 percent, the companies said. UKTV produces television channels based on the BBC ’s program library and other acquired programming which are carried on Virgin Media’s cable platform and also on satellite. In the last quarter, UKTV contributed 6.8 million pounds in net income to Virgin Media, the U.K.’s second-largest pay-television company after British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc. To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Thiel at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at [email protected]

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Oettinger Says Japan Assessment Based on Government Data, Media

European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said his assessment that Japan ’s crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant risks provoking a “major disaster” is based on information from the European Union, the EU mission in Tokyo , the International Atomic Energy Agency and media reports. “The site is effectively out of control,” Oettinger told a European Parliament committee today in Brussels. “In the coming hours, there could be further catastrophic events.” Oettinger, who represents the European Commission, the 27 nation EU’s executive arm, said a further deterioration in the situation could lead to the deaths of people in Japan. “We are somewhere between a disaster and a major disaster,” he said. “We are very much concerned and deeply distressed by the pictures we are seeing from Japan.” That assessment is based on information from the Brussels- based commission, the Tokyo-based EU mission to Japan and the IAEA in Vienna, as well as media reports, Oettinger said after his appearance in the parliament. “All these experts who read with better glasses than mine,” Oettinger said. Oettinger’s spokeswoman, Marlene Holzner , told reporters in a briefing earlier today in Brussels that the information the commission has about the situation in Japan “is partly from the media, partly from the government.” To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at [email protected]

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Hites Retreats on Concern Card Claims to Reduce Profit

Empresas Hites SA (HITES) declined as Banco de Credito e Inversiones said profit may be reduced by as much as 37 percent if it has to eliminate credit card charges that Chile’s consumer rights agency claims are excessive. Hites, the country’s sixth-largest retailer by market value, fell 3.2 percent to 449.82 pesos at the close of trading in Santiago, the lowest since Jan. 11. The benchmark Ipsa index advanced 0.7 percent. The stock has fallen 19 percent since April 12 after the country’s consumer rights agency, known as Sernac, said it would file a class-action lawsuit against the retailer for overcharging its credit card customers. Scrapping the disputed charges could reduce revenue by as much as 20 billion pesos ($42.4 million) and lower its estimated profit for this year by 37 percent to 8.84 billion pesos, BCI said in an e-mailed report today. “Potential risks and a reduction in earnings generation capacity could also lead to lower access to funding for Hites,” BCI analysts including Veronica Perez wrote. Sernac said in a statement that Hites had wording in its credit card contracts allowing the company to charge special commissions when their cards were used to buy items in installments. The agreements also allowed Hites to charge management commissions twice, according to Sernac. An official at Hites’s external public relations firm said the retailer wouldn’t comment. The company said in an April 12 statement that it hadn’t been officially notified of the lawsuit and its credit agreements are in line with regulations. Hites’s credit card business accounted for 71 percent of its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization last year, according to calculations done by Bloomberg based on the company’s most recent annual filing to Chile ’s securities regulator. To contact the reporter on this story: Eduardo Thomson in Santiago at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at [email protected]

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Lira Strengthens to One-Week High After Italy Debt Auctions

The lira advanced to its strongest level in a week on increased appetite for riskier assets after the Italian government sold about 7.5 billion euros ($10 billion) of debt today and the Turkish central bank offered to sell as much as $400 million in the next two days. The lira advanced 0.5 percent to 1.8498 per dollar at 5:26 p.m. in Istanbul, the highest level since Nov. 22. Yields on two-year debt fell 2 basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 10.85 percent, according to a Royal Bank of Scotland index. The premium investors demand to hold Italy ’s 10-year bond instead of German bunds, the region’s benchmark, fell three basis points to 490 basis points. The euro gained for a second day against the dollar, adding 0.2 percent. “We are moving in parallel with the global markets and tracking the euro’s increase against the dollar,” Emir Baruh, a currency trader at Akbank TAS, said in e-mailed comments. Turkey ’s central bank may sell as much as $400 million for liras in auctions tomorrow and Dec. 1, should the auctions be deemed necessary. The bank sold $50 million for liras today, the maximum amount it offered in the first auction it held since Nov. 21 when it sold $140 million. The bank has sold about $9 billion for liras since Aug. 5 to shore up the currency and control inflation. To contact the reporter on this story: Selcuk Gokoluk in Istanbul at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at [email protected]

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Sri Lanka's Postwar Boom Not Enough to Lure Investors Wary of Corruption

With a postcard view of white sand and fishermen drawing in nets from the morning catch, the Chaaya Blu Hotel could be mistaken for a resort in Bali or Phuket. In fact it’s in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, a country that 18 months ago saw the bloodiest battles of a three-decade civil war. “You went out every day not knowing what would happen,” said Richard Vokes , the country director for Asian Development Bank. Vokes used to don a flak jacket and helmet before traveling the heavily guarded 160 mile (257 kilometer) journey to the north-eastern city from the capital Colombo. Since government forces defeated the Tamil Tigers rebels in May 2009, the sandbags and checkpoints have mostly gone. In the capital, tourists stroll along the palm-fringed seaside promenade while locals fly kites in front of Colombo’s British colonial-era Galle Face Hotel. Living in Sri Lanka is now “a very pleasant experience,” said Vokes, whose bank had almost $2 billion in loans to Sri Lanka at the end of 2009. The Manila-based lender expects Sri Lanka’s economy to grow as much as 8 percent this year and next. Colombo’s stock market is the world’s second-best performer in 2010, after Mongolia, nearly doubling in value. A $1 billion sovereign bond issued in late September was 6.3 times oversubscribed. Visits from foreigners have risen 40 percent so far this year and may top 600,000 for 2010, according to the government, which aims to raise the number to 2.5 million by 2016, enticing travelers with white-sand beaches, leopard safaris and mountain temples. ‘Closed Shop’ “Sri Lanka has been a closed shop for 30 years,” said Joseph Michael Suresh Brito , chief executive officer of Colombo- based Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings , which is building a $40 million villa resort on the south coast with Bangkok-based Six Senses Resorts & Spas. “People will come with no fear.” Overseas investors remain concerned about corruption and red tape. Foreign direct investment fell to $208 million in the first six months, from $253 million in the same period of 2009. “There is a lot of renewed interest, but most of it is yet to be realized,” said Nick Nicolaou, Sri Lanka chief for London-based bank HSBC Holdings Plc. Tourism is one of the top three industries the government is counting on to reduce Sri Lanka’s reliance on the garment trade and low-end manufacturing. At least six hotels are in the works, including a $150 million resort by Hong Kong’s Shangri-La Asia Ltd. on a former military helipad on Colombo’s waterfront. Resort Refurbishing John Keells Hotels Plc. spent $40.5 million refurbishing the Chaaya Blu and is building a $20 million, 200-room resort in Beruwala, south of Colombo, said Krishan Balendra , president of corporate finance & group strategy at parent company John Keells Holdings Plc , Sri Lanka’s largest listed company. The government is promoting back-office and call-center operators, which already employ 60,000 and may bring in revenue of $350 million this year. By 2015 the government hopes business processing outsourcing, or BPO revenue will reach $1 billion. “The BPO potential is very high,” says Nicolaou at HSBC, which employs 1,800 people doing back-office work in Colombo. Agricultural exports, the third priority, grew 21 percent in the first eight months of the year, as farms that lay fallow during the conflict yield crops of rice, lentils, and beans. Investment Rules Sri Lanka is also aiming to boost investment flows in and out of the country, with the government yesterday loosening foreign-exchange controls. Sri Lankans will be allowed to invest in shares overseas and foreigners to invest in Sri Lankan corporate bonds. Authorities said they will reduce levies on tourism and construction companies. Overseas investors say the Board of Investment, a government agency that must approve foreign-funded projects, makes it difficult to do business in the country. “It’s fair to say we could improve our services,” said the board’s chairman, Jayampathi Bandaranayake, adding that the new focus on priority areas will simplify the approval process and offer more incentives to investors. Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International ranked Sri Lanka 91st out of 178 countries on Oct. 26 in terms of corruption, one spot behind India and 90 places below Singapore. While Bandaranayake of the BOI acknowledges that corruption is a problem, he said it’s no worse than in neighboring nations. In July the European Union rescinded Sri Lanka’s preferential trade access because of the country’s human rights record, particularly due to violence in the final weeks of the war that killed as many as 15,000 civilians. European Criticism Presidential spokesman Lucien Rajakarunanayake said human rights issues are “the highest priority” for parliament and called the EU conditions “unacceptable.” Some investors are concerned by the growing power of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. After Rajapaksa was elected to a second term in January and his party swept elections in April, parliament lifted the two-term limit for the presidency. Three of Rajapaksa’s brothers hold top government posts and his 24- year-old son is in parliament. “We haven’t seen evidence of it yet, but if the family’s power is used in the wrong way, then we have a big problem,” said Mark Mobius , who holds Sri Lankan stocks and bonds as part of the $33 billion he manages at Templeton Asset Management Ltd. One country quick to take advantage of the boom is China. A $455 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China paid for a 300-megawatt power plant, Sri Lanka’s first coal-fired facility, at Norochcholai, a coastal village 120 kilometers north of Colombo. The plant is scheduled to open next year. Chinese Loans Another $560 million in loans from China will go toward new roads, including a 32-kilometer expressway from the capital to its airport. Chinese companies are building a $1.4 billion port in Hambantota and a $210 million airport in nearby Mattala. China Merchants Holdings International Co. , which has stakes in ports that move about a third of China’s container traffic, has teamed up with Aitken Spence to build a $450 million container terminal in Colombo port. “We aim to be among the 10 largest ports in the world by 2020, up from 27th last year,” said Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Priyath B. Wickrama in his office in a 19th century warehouse with exposed teak beams, overlooking a 6.8 kilometer breakwater being built by Seoul-based Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Swiss cement maker Holcim Ltd. ’s Sri Lanka business is up 22 percent this year, thanks to construction of roads, bridges and buildings in war-ravaged areas like Trincomalee, said Stefan Huber, Sri Lanka CEO for the Jona-based company. “There are already a lot of hotel projects like Chaaya Blu,” he said. “It’s a great time to be here.” To contact the reporter on this story: Frederik Balfour in Hong Kong at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Foxwell at [email protected] .

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

U.S. Mortgage Demand Rose From Two-Year Low on Falling Rates

The number of applications for U.S. mortgages rose last week, led by more refinancing as mortgage rates fell to the lowest level since the end of January. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of loan applications increased 13 percent in the week ended Feb. 18 after dropping the prior week to the lowest point since November 2008. The group’s refinancing measure jumped 18 percent and the purchase gauge rose 5.1 percent. “Refinancing is more sensitive to fluctuations in rates” than are purchases, Paul Dales , a senior economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in Toronto, said before the report. Still, he said he expected refinancing to “remain soft” with sales at “historically depressed levels for perhaps two or three years.” The average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages dropped to 5 percent as turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa led investors to seek the safety of U.S. Treasury securities, which are benchmarks for some consumer loans, pulling down their yield. Still, mounting foreclosures, falling prices and 9 percent unemployment mean it will take time for demand to pick up. The 30-year rate fell from 5.12 percent the prior week. It reached 4.21 percent in October, the lowest since the group’s records began in 1990. At the current 30-year rate, monthly payments for each $100,000 of a loan would be $536.82, in line with the same week the prior year, when the rate was 5.04 percent. Rates Fall The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.28 percent from 4.34 percent. The share of applicants seeking to refinance a loan rose to 65.7 percent from 64 percent the prior week. The housing market is struggling to gain traction after a homebuyers’ tax credit expired last year and as more properties fall into the foreclosure pipeline. Combined sales of existing and new homes in December were at a 5.61 million annual unit pace, down from a July 2005 record of 8.53 million. A report from the National Association of Realtors today may show existing home sales fell 1.1 percent to a 5.22 million annualized rate in January, according to economists’ estimates. Sales of previously owned homes last year totaled 4.91 million, the lowest level since 1997. Builder Losses Homebuilders are still posting losses. D.R. Horton Inc., the second-largest U.S. homebuilder by stock-market value, on Jan. 27 reported a fiscal first-quarter loss that was wider than analysts projected. “I think 2011 will be a marginal, weak year in the homebuilding industry,” D.R. Horton Chief Executive Officer Donald Tomnitz said during a conference call the same day. “Given the weak macroeconomic conditions, high levels of existing homes for sale and tight mortgage availability, we remain cautious and realistic in our expectations.” The Washington-based Mortgage Bankers Association ’s loan survey, compiled every week, covers about half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations. To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Willis in Washington at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Segro Nears Sale of $463 Million of Assets, Property Week Says

Segro Plc (SGRO) is close to selling about 300 million pounds ($463 million) of industrial and regional office properties to investors, Property Week reported, without saying where it got the information. Harbert Management Corp. and Canmoor Holdings Ltd. offered to buy four office parks near the English cities of Manchester and Birmingham for about 200 million pounds, the magazine said on its website. Ignis Asset Management may acquire about 90 million pounds of properties, mostly in the Southampton and Portsmouth areas of southern England, Property Week said. Segro, based in London , declined to comment through external public relations adviser David Shriver. To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Packard in London at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Blackman at [email protected]

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Peru Prices Unexpectedly Fell Last Month as Food Costs Declined

Peruvian consumer prices unexpectedly fell last month as declining food prices offset increases in all other segments, the government reported. Consumer prices dropped 0.09 percent from January, the first decrease in three months, the government’s statistics agency said in an e-mailed statement today. The median forecast of 12 analysts in a Bloomberg survey was for a 0.18 percent increase. The annual inflation rate slowed to 2.45 percent from 2.87 percent in January, the agency said. Food and drink prices dropped 0.7 percent last month while electricity costs rose 2.3 percent. Gasoline rose 3 percent and private schooling fees climbed 2.5 percent, the agency said. Peru’s central bank may consider cutting borrowing costs if inflationary conditions allow, its research director Adrian Armas said Feb. 8 after policy makers kept their benchmark lending rate at 4.25 percent. Policy makers have held Peru ’s rate, the lowest in Latin America after Colombia, for 21 consecutive months. The central bank projects inflation of 2 percent this year, the mid-point of its target range. Peru’s economy expanded at the slowest pace in a year during the fourth quarter, rising 5.9 percent from the same period of 2011, as construction activity slowed and fishing contracted, the agency said Feb. 22. To contact the reporter on this story: John Quigley in Lima at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andre Soliani at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

UN CO2 Board Can Handle Jump in Credit Requests, Chairman Says

The world’s second-biggest carbon market is ready to handle a surge in requests for new credits this year by using regulators more effectively, the new chairman of the Clean Development Mechanism said. The program, where rich nations invest in emission-cutting projects in the developing world in exchange for tradable credits, will probably receive a 54 percent jump this year in requests for credits, according to a presentation published on the website of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. “It’s going to be a mixture” of deploying staffers more effectively and also drawing on temporary workers who already helped provide record supply of credits last month, Martin Hession, the newly appointed chairman of the board, said today in a phone interview from Bonn. The CDM’s executive board is open to suggestions on how to improve issuance of credits to renewable-energy projects in nations that already pay electricity subsidies to windfarms and hydro plants, Hession said. For instance, China may provide new data at an unspecified time about tariffs it pays in each region, potentially easing decisions about projects in that nation, he said. The board would seek to cut the time it takes to win approval for new systems that attract credits, known as methodologies , Hession said. Some methodologies have been waiting for more than a year for approval, he said. The board would seek to cut the time it takes for approval to less than a year, he said, declining to be more specific. To contact the reporter on this story: Mathew Carr in London at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mike Anderson at [email protected]

Generate a suitable headline for the given input of a financial news article. Only output the headline, not the instruction and input article.

Manganese Ore's Initial Public Offer May Take Place by the End of November

Manganese Ore (India) Ltd. , the nation’s largest producer, expects to sell shares by the end of November, Finance Director M.A.V. Goutham said today. The company filed a prospectus with the market regulator for the sale of 33.6 million shares through a so-called book building process yesterday, Goutham said in a phone interview. He declined to say how much the company expects to raise from the sale. “The process of approvals and other formalities may take about a month or two and the share sale can be expected in the last week of November,” Goutham said. India’s cabinet approved the company’s initial public offer on Sept. 9 as part of a plan to sell state assets. The federal government will sell a 10 percent stake, while the state governments of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh will sell 5 percent each in the company. Manganese Ore’s IPO may coincide with a share sale from state-owned miner Hindustan Copper Ltd. , which also filed its prospectus yesterday. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Edelweiss Capital Ltd. and IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd. will manage Manganese Ore’s public offer, Goutham said on Aug. 18. The sale may raise about 15 billion rupees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said July 29. To contact the reporter on this story: Abhishek Shanker in Mumbai at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Hobbs at [email protected]

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G-7 Stakes Increase as Global Policy Divide Raises Pressure, Macklem Says

Moves by countries from Japan to Brazil to weaken currencies and loosen monetary policies underscore the growing “stakes” for the global economy and the need for policy makers to correct imbalances together, Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem said. South Korea has moved in recent weeks to spur growth and weaken its currency. The Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and India have indicated in the past two months they may seek to curb volatility, while the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are considering more asset purchases to boost private lending. The moves prompted Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega to warn Sept. 27 of a “currency war.” “These recent events are illustrative of the fact that the pressures for adjustment are building,” Macklem, 49, said in an interview in Montreal yesterday. “The stakes are getting higher.” Group of Seven ministers, chaired by Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty , will gather Oct. 8 at a dinner in Washington on the sidelines of an International Monetary Fund meeting. Flaherty said “some” finance ministers will meet tomorrow. There are no plans to issue a statement, he said. The meetings could produce a clash of views among countries that prefer flexible exchange rates and others, such as China, which are resisting calls to allow its currency to appreciate. Flaherty told reporters in Ottawa today that “we don’t want these kind of distortions in currency values or distortions in trading relationships.” ‘Considerable Posturing’ “What we want to see primarily is a move across the board to more flexible exchange rates,” said David Tulk , a senior macro strategist at Toronto-Dominion Bank. “You can have considerable posturing on the side of politicians and that creates a very difficult environment for businesses and even households to make decisions.” Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said this week he’s ready to explain to G-7 counterparts the country’s reasons for carrying out foreign-exchange intervention. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today rejected U.S. and European pressure for a faster appreciation of its currency. “If the yuan isn’t stable, it will bring disaster to China and the world,” Wen told a business conference before an European Union-China summit in Brussels today. Inflation Risk European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said yesterday that China’s moves have been “not exactly what we would have hoped ourselves.” China must allow further flexibility in its currency, Macklem said, or risk creating rapid inflation in its domestic market. “We have seen some appreciation of the renminbi but not enough,” he said. “The Chinese real exchange rate needs to appreciate, and that adjustment will happen one way or the other.” The yuan has risen about 2 percent versus the dollar since the People’s Bank of China in June pledged greater flexibility in the currency after pegging it at about 6.83 for two years. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said today that a “damaging dynamic” of large economies keeping their currencies undervalued can cause inflation and asset bubbles, and called on countries to coordinate their policies. He said at a speech in Washington that currencies are “inherently a multilateral issue. It’s much easier to solve if countries come together and do things to complement each other.” ‘Struggle’ “It’s a struggle for all of these economies to weaken their currency,” said Tulk. “The reality is the U.S. dollar is going to remain fundamentally weak because they are the biggest player right now in terms of contemplating quantitative easing.” Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues have signaled they may announce the purchase of more Treasuries as soon as their next policy meeting on Nov. 2-3 in an effort to boost growth and cut an unemployment rate stuck near 10 percent. “The irony is that the Fed is creating all this liquidity with the hope that it will revive the U.S. economy. It is doing nothing for the U.S. economy and causing chaos for the rest of the world,” Joseph Stiglitz , a Nobel Prize-winning professor at New York’s Columbia University, said yesterday in New York. Japan sold the yen last month for the first time in six years to spur exports and economic growth, joining countries across Asia and Latin America that have sought to temper gains in their currencies against the dollar. International Moves The Bank of Japan this week cut its overnight call rate target from 0.1 percent and established a 5 trillion yen ($60 billion) fund to buy government bonds and other assets. It moved following the yen’s surge to a 15-year high last month, which hurts exports and damps economic growth. At the Bank of England, policy maker Adam Posen made the strongest call yet on Sept. 28 for the U.K. central bank to resume asset purchases after keeping its bond-buying program at 200 billion pounds ($317 billion) for the past 11 months. Earlier this year, the G-20 agreed to implement policies to boost demand, including promoting exchange-rate flexibility and ensuring sustainable government deficits. Macklem said that must be a focus of this year’s G-20 gatherings. “In the meetings to come in Washington and Korea there will be considerable discussion of the full implementation of the agreements that were taken in Toronto,” Macklem said. “What we need is full implementation of that plan.” The renewed push for easier monetary policy comes as the IMF today said many advanced nations such as the U.S. have yet to adopt policies that will reduce their reliance on government spending and strengthen household demand and exports. At the same time, developing nations such as China are keeping their currencies weak and remain overly dependent on overseas sales to spur growth, the IMF’s World Economic Outlook report said. To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Montreal at [email protected]. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at [email protected] ; David Scanlan at [email protected] .

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Principal Cuts Staff for 5th Year in Health-Unit Retreat

Principal Financial Group Inc. , the insurer that expanded in Chile this month, said it cut 154 employees in 2012 as it scaled back from health coverage, marking the fifth-straight year the workforce contracted. Principal had 13,373 workers as of Dec. 31, compared with 13,527 a year earlier, according to the insurer’s annual report today. The figure was 16,585 at the end of 2007. Chief Executive Officer Larry Zimpleman began exiting health insurance in 2010, and job cuts are tied to the wind-down of that unit, said Susan Houser , a company spokeswoman. The Des Moines, Iowa-based insurer is turning to fee revenue from managing assets as low interest rates on bonds pressure profits. Principal acquired Chilean pension manager AFP Cuprum SA this month for about $1.5 billion as it expands in emerging markets. “Apart from the planned three-year exit of our health insurance business, we actually had new job growth in other businesses,” Houser wrote in an e-mail. “We also were able to reabsorb far more employees impacted by the health exit into open positions in other businesses than we had originally estimated.” Principal shares gained about 23 percent in the past 12 months including dividends, beating the 20 percent return of the 22-company Standard & Poor’s 500 Insurance Index. To contact the reporter on this story: Zachary Tracer in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Kraut at [email protected]

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Disney’s ‘Monsters University’ Back as No. 1 Weekend Film

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) ’s “Monsters University” retained the top spot in U.S. and Canadian theaters for a second weekend, taking in $45.6 million in sales for the company’s Pixar studio. “The Heat,” an R-rated action/comedy pairing Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as Boston cops, opened in second with $39.1 million for Twentieth Century Fox, Hollywood.com Box-Office said today in a statement. The other new release, Sony Corp. (6758) ’s “White House Down,” was fourth with $24.9 million, less than the $35 million to $41.6 million forecast. “Monsters University,” a prequel to the 2001 hit “Monsters Inc.,” adds to the hit movies from Pixar. Disney bought the studio for $7.01 billion in 2006 as part of a plan to reinvigorate its animation business and focus on higher-profile movies with brigher profit prospects. It’s since bought Marvel Entertainment, producer of “The Avengers” and “ Iron Man ,” and Lucasfilm Ltd., owner of “ Star Wars .” “With Pixar, you do enough of them, but don’t flood the market with them and you promote the brands and the merchandising, it speaks to the success,” said Martin Pyykkonen , an analyst with Wedge Partners in Greenwood Village , Colorado. ‘Lone Ranger’ In the latest film, the young monsters Mike and Sulley arrive at college to train for coveted jobs scaring human children, whose screams generate the electricity that powers their alternate society. Since opening, “Monsters University” has taken in $170.4 million, according to Hollywood.com. Disney will veer from its franchise formula on July 3 when it opens “The Lone Ranger,” based on the 1950s television series about a masked gunman who roamed the 19th century American West righting wrongs. In the new version, Armie Hammer plays the title character and Johnny Depp plays Tonto, his Native American partner. Also opening next week is “Despicable Me 2,” a sequel to the 2010 animated hit from Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) ’s Universal Pictures. In “The Heat,” Bullock plays an arrogant though by-the-book FBI agent. Problems arise when she is paired with a foul-mouthed Boston detective, played by McCarthy, to investigate a drug lord. The movie, made for an estimated $43 million, was forecast to take in $42.2 million by Box Office Mojo and $34 million by Boxoffice.com. The film had a 64 percent favorable rating on Rottentomatoes.com. Odd Couple “Bullock specializes in awkward and uptight, McCarthy in aggressive and unfiltered. ‘The Heat’ makes the most of those differences,” Los Angeles Times critic Betsy Sharkey wrote of the movie. “White House Down,” stars Channing Tatum as a police officer who is rejected for a job protecting the U.S. president, played by Jamie Foxx. He ends up as the president’s unofficial bodyguard when, while taking his daughter on a White House tour, terrorists attack. In “World War Z,” Pitt stars as a retired United Nations investigator who is called on to discover the origins of a virus that can turn humans into zombies in a matter of seconds. The film, based on Max Brooks’s novel, has taken $123.7 million since it opened. Weekend revenue for the top 12 films fell 7.1 percent to $183 million from the year-earlier period, Hollywood.com Box-Office said. Attendance is down 1.5 percent this year, while revenue is 1.7 percent lower at $5.29 billion. The following table has U.S. movie box-office figures provided by studios to Hollywood.com Box-Office. The amounts are based on gross ticket sales from June 28 to June. 30. To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at [email protected] ; Dan Hart in Washington at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at [email protected]

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AEWIN TECHNOLOGI November Sales Rise 33.97% (Table) : 3564 TT

AEWIN TECHNOLOGI said unconsolidated sales in November rose 33.97% to NT$63,317,000 from NT$47,262,000, according to a statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. (Figures are in thousands of New Taiwan dollars) ================================================================= 11/2011 11/2010 Sales 63,317 47,262 YOY% 33.97% -----------------Year-to-date----------------- Sales 558,507 478,541 YOY% 16.71% =================================================================

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Lavazza CEO Gives View on Green Mountain Stake, Sole Reports

Lavazza Chief Executive Officer Antonio Baravalle said it’s “premature” to say the company will raise its stake in Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) from about 6 percent, Il Sole 24 Ore reported, citing an interview. Baravalle said he would go to the U.S. next week to meet with the management of Green Mountain. Turin, Italy-based Lavazza also has a partnership with Waterbury, Vermont-based Green Mountain, according to the Italian newspaper. Lavazza will consider acquisitions in markets where it doesn’t already operate, including China, and needs to “create value” from acquisitions it has already made, Baravalle said, according to the daily. To contact the reporter on this story: Armorel Kenna in Milan at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at [email protected]

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Peru to Declare Mines Strike Illegal, Pinilla Says

Peru 's government will declare a two- day national mining strike illegal today, forcing miners to return to work or lose their jobs, Labor Minister Susana Pinilla said. The strike, which seeks to pressure companies to improve pensions, profit-sharing and rights for subcontracted workers, is ``politically motivated,'' Pinilla told Lima-based CPN Radio. ``Union leaders have a different stance that has nothing to do with worker vindication,'' Pinilla said. ``They have led workers into an illegal strike where they could lose their jobs.'' Strikes this year, including a five-day national walkout by Peruvian miners in May, have cut copper output in Peru, Chile and Mexico , helping to spur a 17 percent rally in the price of the metal. Peru is the world's third- largest producer of copper, zinc and tin, the biggest of silver and fifth-largest of gold. The stoppage in Peru has affected mines owned by companies including Southern Copper Corp. (SCCO) , Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) , Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) and Doe Run Resources Corp. Workers also are on strike at mines run by Cia. De Minas Buenaventura SA, tin miner Minsur SA (MINSURI1) , Shougang Hierroperu's iron mine and zinc producers Cia. Minera Raura SA and Cia. Minera Santa Luisa, according to Mining Federation spokesman Cirilo Yarihuaman. Talks Planned Southern Copper's Peruvian mines, where 20 percent of workers went on strike, don't expect production losses, parent Grupo Mexico said in a filing to the Mexican Stock Exchange. National metals output hasn't been cut and only 6,300 workers, or 5.3 percent of Peru's miners, are on strike, Pinilla said. The Mining Federation put the number at 45,000. Union leaders planned to hold talks with Cabinet chief Jorge del Castillo and the president of Congress, Luis Gonzales Posada, to pass laws granting miners a 10 percent share of profits, up from the current 8 percent, and eight-hour shifts instead of the 12 hours imposed at many mines, Yarihuaman said. The federation, which represents 70 unions and 28,000 miners, also wants 85,000 subcontracted workers put on company payrolls. Copper futures for December delivery rose 3.95 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $3.3415 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Zinc rose $95, or 3.5 percent, to $2,820 a metric ton in London trading, and tin rose $345, or 2.1 percent, to $17,095 a ton. Silver for December delivery rose 59.5 cents, or 4 percent, to $15.38 an ounce. Gold for December delivery rose $12.60, or 1.6 percent, to $823.40 an ounce. ``The strike in Latin America is quite supportive to prices,'' Dan Smith , an analyst at Standard Chartered Plc in London, said today by phone. To contact the reporter on the story: Alex Emery in Lima at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at [email protected]

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