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MSRB Says Par Amount Traded In Muni Market In First Quarter Totaled $842,088 million, Down Nearly 8 Percent From The $915,207 Million In Same Period Last Year
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) has released market statistics that include first quarter 2011 trading data and other figures for the $2.9 trillion municipal bond market.
First quarter statistical summaries include aggregate market information and cover different types of municipal issues and trades. The data also contain the number of interest rate resets for variable rate demand obligations and auction rate securities, as well as the statistics related to continuing disclosure documents received through the MSRB's Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) Web site during the first quarter.
Among the first quarter 2011 highlights:
* Total number of trades of municipal securities during the first quarter of 2011 increased to 2.95 million, compared to 2.55 million trades in the first quarter of 2010.
* During the first quarter, the volume of customer purchases of trades of $100,000 or less increased to $570.3 million from $535.4 million in first quarter of 2010.
* The number of continuing disclosure documents received by the MSRB during the first quarter of 2011 rose 13.2 percent to 37,088 from 32,761 documents in the first quarter of 2010.
Link to the full MSRB report here.
**CN: For even more data on muni trading activity, visit the EMMA Web site at www.emma.msrb.org.
Lead Stories
Ben Bernanke warns against US debt limit brinkmanship
BBC
Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke has warned Congress not to use the national debt limit as a "bargaining chip." It would "cause interest rates on mortgages... to rise, rattle financial markets and hurt the economy."
http://jlne.ws/mwZfW0
**CN: Also note the photo with this story. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Regulators Seek Ways to Determine Status of Financial Firms
By EDWARD WYATT, The New York Times
One of the central reforms in the Dodd-Frank financial regulation act faces further delay after top regulators told a Senate committee on Thursday that they believed more clarity was needed on what factors determined whether a financial company was “systemically important.” That label would make a company subject to heightened government regulation.
http://jlne.ws/m1kyCv
Jim Rogers Blog: I Plan To Short Bonds
I'm not short bonds yet but I plan to short bonds - maybe this afternoon if I get around to it.
http://jlne.ws/lQxbRu
ISDA Announces Interest Rate Derivatives Trade Repository Selection
NEW YORK, Wednesday, May 11, 2011 – The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) announced today that the ISDA Rates Steering Committee (RSC) has chosen Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to partner with the RSC on the next stage of development of the Interest Rate Trade Repository. This selection is the result of a public Request for Proposals (RFP), which was issued March 14, 2011. The ISDA RSC, which consists of senior business representatives in the interest rate market from both buy- and sell-side firms, issued the RFP and selected the provider.
Testimony-Bernanke, Dodd-Frank Implementation: Monitoring Systemic Risk and Promoting Financial Stability
Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Shelby, and other members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the Federal Reserve Board's role in monitoring systemic risk and promoting financial stability, both as a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and under our own authority.
http://jlne.ws/lJOSEs
Dodd-Frank Dissenters Sound Off
By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN, NY Times
The irony was thick. Alan Schwartz, the former chief executive of Bear Stearns who oversaw its near-demise and subsequent government-aided rescue, was here at Michael Milken’s annual conference — a West Coast version of Davos for financiers — moderating a panel last week about whether the Dodd-Frank Act had ended “too big to fail.”
http://jlne.ws/lgJlpE
U.S. Republicans Seek Review of Dodd-Frank Act Regulatory Costs
By Silla Brush
U.S. Senate Republicans asked the internal watchdogs at five financial regulators to investigate the economic impact of rules proposed under the Dodd-Frank Act. Inspectors general at the Federal Reserve, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Treasury Department should review the economic analysis of more than a dozen proposed Dodd- Frank rules, including margin and capital requirements in derivatives trades and retention of risk in securities backed by residential, commercial and other loans.
Kocherlakota: Fed should ease up on gas pedal in 2011
Reuters
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota on Wednesday repeated his call for a half-percentage-point interest-rate hike by year's end, lending his weight to what still appears to be a minority view at the U.S. central bank.
http://jlne.ws/midauF
Cautionary lessons on ethics from yet another bank fiasco
By John Kay, Financial Times
Payment protection insurance helps people who suffer accidents or illness or lose their jobs to repay debts. If you have a credit card, you will certainly have been invited to take out a PPI policy. Last week, the chief executive of Lloyds Bank announced that the bank would provide £3.2bn ($5.2bn) to cover claims for improper marketing of these products.
http://jlne.ws/mfSgWI
Link Between Weak Dollar, Inflation Is Eroding
By Kathleen Madigan, WSJ.com
Currency weakness leading to higher import prices is a hallowed cause-effect connection for economists. But it’s a link that may be eroding.
http://jlne.ws/isQJCt
S and P moves to cut Greek credit rating
By Richard Milne, Tracy Alloway and Ralph Atkins, Financial Times
Standard and Poor’s has cut Greece’s credit rating by two notches, warning that any voluntary debt restructuring by Athens would amount to a default.
http://jlne.ws/jmj2ZU
Roubini’s guide to a Greek debt restructuring
FT.com
It’s a ‘how-to’ manual for a Greek debt restructuring from Nouriel Roubini (plus Arnab Das, Jennifer Kapila, James Mason, David Nowakowski, Elisa Parisi-Capone and Christian Menegatti of Roubini Global Economics). The whole thing is well worth a read, but here are the key points.
http://jlne.ws/lICQFn
Fed officials divided on policy outlook
Ann Saphir, Reuters
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota on Wednesday repeated his call for an interest-rate hike by year's end, but comments from two other Fed policymakers suggested continued support for the Fed's easy money stance.
http://jlne.ws/k4hc8k
U.S. Budget Deficit Narrowed to $40.5 Billion in April As Revenue Climbed
Bloomberg
The U.S. government’s monthly budget deficit narrowed to $40.5 billion in April from a year earlier as tax revenue climbed. Last month’s figure compares with a shortfall of $82.7 billion in April 2010, according to the Treasury Department’s monthly budget statement, released today in Washington.
http://jlne.ws/ijMfU4
Banks Offer $5 Billion for Mortgage Claims - Developments
WSJ.com
The nation's biggest banks are willing to pay as much as $5 billion to settle claims by federal and state officials of improper mortgage-servicing practices, according to people familiar with the situation.
http://jlne.ws/kmE67t
Will Wall Street Finally Have to Pay for Mortgage Fraud?
Time Magazine
Wall Street may soon have to finally pay for its folly.
http://jlne.ws/iPxqZc
SEC Seeks Public Comment to Assist in Study on Assigned Credit Ratings
Press Release
Washington, D.C., May 10, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today published on its website a request for public comment on the feasibility of a system in which a public or private utility or a self-regulatory organization would assign a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) to determine credit ratings for structured finance products. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act mandated that the SEC study assigned ratings as part of a broader examination of credit ratings.
http://jlne.ws/mba86E
Paulson Plays the Lehman Bust
BY MATT WIRZ, MIKE SPECTOR AND TOM MCGINTY, WSJ.com
Hedge-fund manager John Paulson made $4 billion betting against subprime mortgages, the market that ultimately helped destroy Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Now, his fund is poised to make hundreds of millions picking through the investment bank's remains.
http://jlne.ws/iOR1xt
Paulson credit strategy reaps gains
By Henny Sender and Dan McCrum, Financial Times
Credit strategies are leading the way for hedge fund managers as funds adjust to volatile trading conditions. Credit is the best performer so far this year, without the benefit of leverage, among funds managed by John Paulson & Co. The group’s $9bn Credit Opportunities fund returned 1.4 per cent in April and is up 7.8 per cent for the year, according to investors. Mr Paulson’s credit funds were up between 5.92 per cent and 6.34 per cent in the first quarter.
http://jlne.ws/ioBItH
FDIC's Bair to leave agency July 8th
By Ronald D. Orol, MarketWatch
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair plans to leave the agency on July 8th, according to a release on Monday. Bair had previously said she plans to depart the agency after her term expired. According to the release, Bair's final meeting will be in the first week of July.
http://jlne.ws/lHfiL1
IMF Official: Inflation Threatens India Growth
BY SOURAV MISHRA, WSJ.com
India's growth and inflation outlook is vulnerable to food and energy price disruptions because of their relatively higher shares in the expenditure basket, a senior International Monetary Fund official said Monday.
http://jlne.ws/jAvv1R
CFTC not sure if TBTF issue fixed
Global Financial Strategy
The issue of too big to fail may not have been fixed and regulators might simply have created "sound and fury", according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission commissioner Scott O'Malia.
http://jlne.ws/jcmtpE
Why the housing market is caught in a liquidity trap
Fortune
In textbook economics, lower interest rates typically spur higher investments. Money is cheap. So the assumption is that people, banks and companies will spend more, therefore helping the economy grow.
http://jlne.ws/liyZJW
Muni debt set for $29bn refinancing
By Nicole Bullock and Aline van Duyn in New York, Financial Times
US states, cities and other local entities are gearing up to refinance a record $29bn of expiring bank guarantees this quarter, which have to be completed to avoid potential credit rating downgrades and defaults.
http://jlne.ws/jYQC3U
SIFMA nominates BofA's Tom Patrick as its chairman
SIFMA said in a letter to its members that Tom Patrick, an executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, had been nominated as the group's board chairman. Patrick's term starts in November.
http://jlne.ws/jnWGkK
SEC Subpoenas Credit Suisse Over Mortgages, MBIA Says in N.Y. Court Filing
Bloomberg
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) seeking documents related to mortgage debt, bond insurer MBIA Insurance Corp. said in a court filing as it seeks information as part of a lawsuit against three of the bank's units.
http://jlne.ws/iuFsFT
JPMorgan Said to Face SEC Subpoena Along With Credit Suisse
BusinessWeek
JPMorgan Chase and Co. received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over failed mortgages, a person familiar with the investigation said, as the agency probes banks including Credit Suisse Group AG for allegedly failing to share refunds from sellers of faulty debt.
http://jlne.ws/lMDysj
Auctions & Economic News
St. Louis Fed: Business inventories rise 1 percent, up from previous month's 0.7 percent
http://jlne.ws/ktHxjZ
More Than 3 Million Job Openings in March
By Kathleen Madigan, WSJ.com
U.S. demand for labor increased in March, with 3.1 million job openings on the last business day of the month, up from 3 million in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
http://jlne.ws/isvROK
Tentative Outright Treasury Operation Schedule - Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The Desk's tentative outright Treasury operation schedules for the purchases associated with the $600 billion purchase program announced by the FOMC on November 3, 2010 and for the purchases associated with the reinvestment of principal payments from agency debt and agency MBS announced by the FOMC on August 10, 2010.
http://jlne.ws/hp922J
Fed Says U.S. Household Debt Increases 0.3% in First Quarter
By Caroline Salas, Bloomberg
U.S. households expanded their debt last quarter for the first time in more than two years as mortgage balances rose, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
http://jlne.ws/k0Jl3q
New York Fed's quarterly report on household debt, credit shows healing in consumer credit markets since last quarter
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released the Quarterly Household Debt and Credit Report for the first quarter of 2011 today, which showed signs of healing in the consumer credit markets. Evidence of improvement includes: an increase in credit limits, by about $30 billion or 1%, for the first time since the third quarter of 2008; a steady number of open mortgage accounts, following a period of decline beginning in early 2008; continued decline of new foreclosures and new bankruptcies, down 17.7% and 13.3% respectively in the last quarter; a 15% decline of total delinquent balances, compared to a year ago; and a broad flattening of overall consumer debt balances outstanding.
http://jlne.ws/jkmAlU
Exchanges, Clearing Houses & MTFs
LCH Clearnet raises the margin on Portugal bonds from 35% up to 45%
In accordance with the Sovereign Credit Risk Framework and in response to the yield differential of 10 year Portuguese government debt against a AAA benchmark, LCH.Clearnet Ltd has revised the risk parameters for Portuguese government bonds cleared through the RepoClear service. The additional margin required for positions of Portuguese government bonds will consequently be increased from 35% to 45% for long positions; this amount will be adjusted for the current bond price*. Short positions will pay a proportionately lower margin.
http://jlne.ws/kJBrfP
London's fate rests on who wins NYSE
FT.com
The battle to takeover NYSE Euronext has a crucial bearing on the future of London as a global financial centre. Lynton Jones, chairman of Bourse Consult, explains to Jeremy Grant, why he thinks the Nasdaq/ICE deal will be beneficial while the Deutsche Börse bid would erode London's standing.
http://jlne.ws/lpt2C8
Jonathan W. Hitchon of Deutsche Bank Named to DTCC Board
Business Wire
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jonathan W. Hitchon, co-head of Deutsche Bank's Global Prime Finance business, has been elected to the Board of Directors of The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC).
http://jlne.ws/kKQHpf
ELX SETS MULTIPLE VOLUME RECORDS: OVERALL EXCHANGE, COMBINED U.S. TREASURY FUTURES, 5-YEAR AND 30-YEAR FUTURES
New York, May 9, 2011 – ELX Futures, L.P. (ELX), a leading electronic futures exchange, announced today that it established multiple new end-of-day volume records on Friday, May 6, including overall exchange; combined U.S. Treasury futures contracts, 5-year note and 30-year bond.
http://jlne.ws/mMNMrm
Batch Of Listed Credit Derivatives Traded On CBOE
By Katy Burne Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
A batch of listed credit derivatives was traded Friday for the first time in at least three years, according to the Chicago Board Options Exchange, where the contracts were executed. But they were the first contracts traded since the CBOE launched a new iteration of the options in March.
http://jlne.ws/li98JQ
Firms & Banks
AIG shares strengthen on offering plan
By Telis Demos in New York and Tom Braithwaite in Washington, FT.com
Shares in AIG rallied after the insurance group and the US Treasury outlined plans for a scaled-back share offering in the company. AIG said on Wednesday that it would sell 100m shares and that the Treasury would sell 200m shares, raising some $9.2bn – an amount much lower than the $20bn originally targeted by the US government. AIG’s share price was up 3.4 per cent in midday US trading.
http://jlne.ws/jibJv2
Regulators probe Goldman analyst communications
Reuters
Massachusetts securities regulators may charge Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) with improperly passing along analysts' tips to top clients.
http://jlne.ws/jxrnzz
Goldman Sells First Kangaroo Bonds in 5 Years: Australia Credit
BusinessWeek
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is returning to Australia's bond market for the first time since 2006 to take advantage of relative yields on financial debt hovering at about the lowest level in three years.
http://jlne.ws/kefyWL
Global colonisers stage retreat to corporate banking
By Patrick Jenkins, Financial Times
Is the era of the global consumer bank over? HSBC has become the latest group to signal a retreat from some of its furthest-flung retail banking operations. Recently it said it was pulling out of Russia and in Monday’s quarterly results it took a chunky restructuring charge in Latin America, partly relating to “branch rationalisation”.
http://jlne.ws/kurJhC
BofA to cut $850bn bad loan book in half
By Suzanne Kapner and Justin Baer in New York, Financial Times
Bank of America plans to shrink its $850bn portfolio of troubled home loans by about half over the next three years as it seeks to quicken the pace with which it resolves problems related to the housing crisis and its disastrous purchase of Countrywide Financial.
http://jlne.ws/kNUR8d
The mystery of RBS's £500m charge
eFinancial News
When it announced its first quarter loss of 116m last week, the Royal Bank of Scotland revealed it had been hit by a charge of nearly half-a-billion pounds which ultimately proved to be the difference between it making a profit and the loss.
http://jlne.ws/lrfPhZ
Morgan Stanley eyes Saxon sale
New York Post
Morgan Stanley is considering offloading its mortgage-servicing arm, Saxon Mortgage Services, The Post has learned. The investment bank run by CEO James Gorman acquired the mortgage company at the height of the housing boom in 2006, and is weighing a sale in order to streamline its business and jettison assets...
http://jlne.ws/j3ow5P
Citigroup shares face struggle post-reverse split
Reuters/Yahoo! News
Citigroup (C.N) shares face the typical uphill battle of a stock that just reverse-split its shares, a move that can be fruitful years down the road but that can be tough going at the start.
http://jlne.ws/lMmNrw
BNP Paribas Chairman To Retire
By Scheherazade Daneshkhu, FT.com
Michel Pébereau, France’s most influential banker, is retiring as chairman of BNP Paribas, the domestic bank he helped transform over two decades into one of the world’s biggest and most profitable.
http://jlne.ws/jnDzGU
Munich Re says $300 mln Japan cat bond a write-off
By Sarah Mortimer, Reuters
The world's biggest reinsurer, Munich Re (MUVGn.DE), said a $300 million catastrophe bond for Japanese carrier Zenkyoren will be a total loss to investors following Japan's devastating earthquake on March 11.
http://jlne.ws/iZiO3n
UK banks: payment protection insurance
FT.com
Choose your battles. António Horta-Osório queered the pitch for his high street rivals last week by providing £3.2bn to cover the cost of compensating his bank’s customers for mis-sold payment protection insurance. And by withdrawing from an industry-led legal wrangle over PPI, Lloyds Banking Group’s chief executive has forced competitors to eat humble pie. Barclays on Monday set aside £1bn for PPI cases; HSBC, provided $440m. Royal Bank of Scotland is thinking about it.
http://jlne.ws/kreLGy
UBS fears missing ambitious targets
By Megan Murphy and Patrick Jenkins in London, Financial Times
UBS bankers have privately conceded that the Swiss financial services group is unlikely to meet ambitious performance targets as it realigns its business in response to new rules on capital.
http://jlne.ws/kZONBi
Goldman paid $700 million in legal fees in 2010
Market Watch
Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs said on Friday that the firm spent $700 million on legal fees in 2010, including $434 million on outside counsel.
http://jlne.ws/lA2sqL
UBS Case Marks Widening Criminal Probe Into Municipal Bonds
BusinessWeek
A UBS AG banker wanted to win an investment deal with a Rhode Island municipality that was to be awarded to the highest bidder. Instead of offering the best price, he secretly split half of UBS's $1.4 million profit with another bank to get the rival to back off.
http://jlne.ws/iLLDxf
Royal Bank of Scotland's Long Road to Recovery
The Motley Fool
RBS results please investors -- has the turnaround truly begun?
http://jlne.ws/mNYGcS
Barclays Readies $1.6 Billion for Insurance Claims
By JULIA WERDIGIER, NY Times
Barclays and other British banks said Monday that they would not challenge a court ruling that forces them to compensate customers who received wrong advice when buying some personal insurance.
http://jlne.ws/lsGaqa
High-Speed Traders Get Their Last Goods In Citi's Cheap Stock
By Brendan Conway, DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The country's fastest electronic traders are wringing every last cent out of Citigroup Inc.'s (C) stock. With a 1-for-10 reverse split announced in March set to take effect after Friday's close, there hasn't been all that much of a dropoff in Citi's trading volume. The stock has still averaged 325 million trades per day over the last several sessions, according to FactSet Research, a sign that the fast traders haven't turned off the machines just yet.
http://jlne.ws/iIKSMP
As Lloyds, BBVA and Société Générale Slip, ING Surprises
By MATTHEW SALTMARSH and CHRIS V. NICHOLSON, NY Times
Three of the four major European banks that reported first-quarter earnings on Thursday performed weaker than had been expected as a result of recent market turmoil and the slow economic recovery in countries including Britain and Spain.
http://jlne.ws/iX6ej9
UBS Case Marks Widening Gyre of Criminal Probe Into Muni Bonds
BusinessWeek
A UBS AG banker wanted to win an investment deal with a Rhode Island municipality that was to be awarded to the highest bidder. Instead of offering the best price, he secretly split half of UBS's $1.4 million profit with another bank to get the rival to back off.
http://jlne.ws/j0PpQb
RBS remains in the red with £116m loss
By Patrick Jenkins, Banking Editor, Financial Times
Royal Bank of Scotland, the bank that is 83 per cent owned by taxpayers, was lossmaking again in the three months to the end of March. The bank reported a pre-tax loss of £116m on Friday, compared with a figure of only £5m a year ago, but Stephen Hester, chief executive, hailed the results as proof of “progress continuing”.
http://jlne.ws/mEw4A0
Regulators
Dudley: Regional Economy and Current Trends in Regional Employment
Remarks at the Quarterly Regional Economic Press Briefing, New York City
Good morning and welcome once again to the New York Fed's Quarterly Regional Economic Press Briefing. I am pleased to have this opportunity to talk with the journalists covering our region—and through you, to the people in our District. This morning I will discuss national and regional economic conditions, with particular attention to employment trends in the Second Federal Reserve District, which covers New York; northern New Jersey; Fairfield County, Connecticut; Puerto Rico; and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
http://bit.ly/kHaSYG
ECB Stark: Debt Restructuring Won't Solve Greece's Problems
WSJ.com
A debt rescheduling or restructuring won't solve the problems of the Greek economy, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Juergen Stark said Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/jQ6FTB
ECB WATCH: Merkel's Backing Puts Draghi In Pole Position For Top Job
WSJ.com
Angela Merkel's declaration to a German newspaper that Germany "could support" Mario Draghi in the race for the European Central Bank's presidency puts the Italian central banker in the pole position.
http://jlne.ws/l4KHUB
ECB's Trichet: Rich countries must fix finances
David Mchugh, AP
Rich countries like the U.S., Japan and Britain need to move quickly to get their deficits under control, the head of the European Central Bank said Monday. Speaking on behalf of the world's major central banks, Jean-Claude Trichet said governments' financial situation in the developed world "has to be aggressively improved."
http://jlne.ws/kw4Ir3
OTC
CFTC's O'Malia: Costs To Rise For Commercial End-Users Of Swaps
By Jamila Trindle Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Costs will increase for commercial end-users using swaps to hedge business risk as a result of new regulations, Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Scott O'Malia said Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/jUc6mi
Global News
U.S.-China Comprehensive Framework for Promoting Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth and Economic Cooperation
Following the consensus reached by President Hu Jintao and President Obama in Washington D.C. on January 20, 2011, the special representatives of President Barack H. Obama and President Hu Jintao, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, have elaborated a framework of comprehensive economic cooperation (the Framework) in the third round of S and ED in May 2011.
http://jlne.ws/iSREmO
People's Bank of China Raises Reserve Requirements 50bps to 21%
Central Bank News
The People's Bank of China raised the required reserve ratio by 50 basis points, bringing the average rate to 21% for large banks (and 19% for smaller banks), effective 18 May 2011. Earlier in the week Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said "The most pressing problem we are facing right now is the problem of inflation,". China reported inflation of 5.3% in April, compared to 5.4% in March this year, and above the government's target of 4%.
http://jlne.ws/l8a3Wy
Bank Indonesia Holds Benchmark Interest Rate at 6.75%
Central Bank News
Bank Indonesia maintained its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.75% but noted inflation risks. Indonesia reported headline consumer price inflation of 6.16% in April, down slightly from 6.65% in March, and just outside the inflation target of 5% +/-1% in 2011 (which changes to 4.5% +/-1% in 2012). The Indonesian economy expanded 6.5% on an annual basis in Q1 this year, slightly slower than 6.9% in Q4 2010.
http://jlne.ws/lAzvQX
Uruguay Raises Reserve Requirements 300bps
Central Bank News
The Banco Central del Uruguay raised reserve requirements for banks on peso deposits by 300 basis points to 15% from 12% and 300 basis points on foreign currency deposits to 18% from 15%. The Bank said "In light of internal price increases and the international context, we understand that we must take additional measures beyond the benchmark rate,". Uruguay reported inflation of 8.34% in April, above the government's 3%-7% inflation target range.
http://jlne.ws/jV1CPG
China Fund Confident of Getting More Cash
BY LINGLING WEI, BOB DAVIS AND DINNY MCMAHON, WSJ.com
China Investment Corp. is making progress toward getting fresh funds, one of its top officials said, addressing uncertainty about the future of the sovereign-wealth fund, which faces critical scrutiny over its performance after investing all of its initial $200 billion.
http://jlne.ws/kNNGzo
Pensions win key Emir concession
eFinancial News
European pension schemes have been granted an exemption from tough new derivatives trading rules, in a critical victory for the industry first predicted by Financial News last month.
http://jlne.ws/iPNSz7
Barclays offers ultimatum to staff in Dubai: relocation or redundancy
Zawya
Barclays plans to move its Africa headquarters in Dubai back to Johannesburg, a spokesman for the bank said on Sunday, leaving more than 120 employees with the option of relocating or quitting the bank.
http://jlne.ws/iDTDYZ
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