14 10 / 2011
Sri Lanka bourse down on retail selling, liquidity concerns
* Rupee steady amid heavy importer demandCOLOMBO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka’s stock market fell to
a 15-week low on Friday on retail selling with turnover and
volumes slumping due to low investor participation amid a
liquidity crunch, while foreign investors again bought
heavyweight John Keells Holdings .The island nation’s main share index closed 0.55
percent or 36.08 points down at 6,549.91, lowest since June 27.
It is Asia’s fifth-best performer with a year-to-date loss of
1.3 percent after being on the top for most of 2011.Foreign investors bought over 418,000 shares in conglomerate
and institutional favourite Keells, bringing total foreign
buying over the last four sessions to nearly 4 million shares,
bourse data showed. Keells lost 0.4 percent on Friday.Offshore investors also offloaded 600,000 shares in
Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka , which closed
steady.The bourse witnessed a net foreign outflow of 37.5 million
rupees on Friday, after a total inflow of 650.1 million in the
previous four sessions. Thus far in 2011, offshore investors
have sold 16.7 billion, and sold a record 26.4 billion in 2010.”The market is still falling as it had risen mainly due to a
lot of speculative shares,” said a stockbroker on condition of
anonymity. “Now those shares are coming down after some punters
took the shares up and dumped at high prices.”Losers outperformed gainers by 133 to 65 on Friday, Thomson
Reuters data showed.Turnover was at 992.6 million rupees ($9 million), its
lowest since July 5 and less than last year’s average of 2.4
billion and this year’s 2.6 billion.Friday’s total volume was 50.7 million, lowest since
Sept.23, against a five-day average of 67.2 million. The 30-day
and 90-day average trading volumes were 146.1 million and 135.3
million. Last year’s daily average was 67.9 million.The rupee closed steady at 110.18/20 a
dollar for a 11th straight day, as a state bank continued dollar
sales at 110.20 rupees in spite of heavy importer dollar demand,
dealers said.FACTORS TO WATCH:
- If central bank can maintain a narrow dollar trading range
- How much the central bank buys in repo auctions
- Rupee depreciation due to heavy importer dollar demandDATAColombo Stock Exchange:Stock Market Volume (Shares)Current Volume Average Volume 30 Days50,697,241 146,110,413Yield and Price of Sri Lanka’s sovereign bonds:Maturing year Tenure amount Reuters yield2012 5-yr $500 mln 5.676-5.1732014 5-yr $500 mln 5.868-5.5372020 10-yr $1,000 mln 6.5859-6.43522021 10-yr $1,000 mln 6.5769-6.4355* For Sri Lankan treasury securities benchmarks and data,
please click and* For interbank lending rate or call money rate or* For secondary market rates, please see <0#LKBMK=>.
($1 = 110.200 Sri Lanka Rupees)
Permalink 66 notes
14 10 / 2011
UPDATE 1-Jupiter assets fall despite new client cash
* Continental Europe business sees small outflowsLONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Jupiter Fund Management
bucked the trend of clients exiting high-risk funds to attract
around 300 million pounds of new money last quarter, though
assets still tumbled 2.5 billion pounds after slumping stock
markets hurt its core equity range.Jupiter, which invests the bulk of its money in equities,
said assets under management fell to 22.3 billion pounds ($35
billion) at Sept. 30, down from 24.8 billion at end-June.The new money, helped by continuing inflows from its core UK
customers, went into segregated mandates including a specialist
equity mandate and a Indian fund launched into Taiwan.They offset an 85 million pounds outflow from exiting its
private equity business and helped the company to beat estimates
by Numis analysts who had forecast assets would drop to 21.9
billion pounds over the period.The group suffered 36 million pounds of outflows in its
continental European business during the quarter, however.”Volatile markets continue to impact on investor confidence
and flows across the asset management sector, particularly in
Europe,” Jupiter said.Shares in Jupiter, which returned to the London Stock
Exchange in June last year, closed at 205.8 pence on Thursday.
Permalink 46 notes
12 10 / 2011
UPDATE 2-EU Commission urges Europe to act on Greece
* Pushes for banks to come clean on sovereign debt risk* Urges extra powers for Brussels over national budgetsBy John O’Donnell and Jan StrupczewskiBRUSSELS, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Europe needs to take decisive
action on Greece, the head of the EU’s executive said on
Wednesday, outlining a broad plan to contain the crisis
threatening the euro as officials said banks faced heavier
losses on their holdings of Greek debt.The warning, delivered by Jose Manuel Barroso, President of
the European Commission, is intended to galvanise France and
Germany, the bloc’s main powers, into action when they meet on
Oct. 23 under international pressure to limit the damage the
debt crisis risks inflicting on the world economy.”Doubts and uncertainties over Greece’s future jeopardise
stability in the entire euro area and beyond,” said Barroso.
“The time has come to remove these doubts.”The head of the EU’s executive outlined a five-point
proposal to tackle the economic crisis, spanning higher capital
hurdles for banks and extra powers for the Commission to
intervene in national budget setting.Although he has no power to introduce such measures himself,
his view is influential and keeps pressure on German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy who have
promised a deal to stabilise the euro zone this month.A key part of that plan will be to strengthen banks against
losses on Greek loans. Officials said on Wednesday that
countries will ask banks to accept losses of up to 50 percent —
far more than the 21 percent proposed in July.But Europe’s banks need protection, in the form of extra
capital, from the fallout of such a move.Central to Barroso’s proposal, which needs the backing of EU
member states, is the early introduction of the European
Stability Mechanism (ESM) to replace the temporary EFSF bailout
scheme by mid-2012 — an idea originally put forward by Germany.The 500 billion euro ($690 billion) permanent fund would
have a solid base of paid-in capital and power to intervene on
markets to help struggling states.It would also introduce the first European framework for
coping with countries that default on their debt, a step some
investors worry could herald even steeper losses.”Despite assurances… to support countries under programmes
and… that private sector involvement would be strictly limited
to Greece, contagion has not been contained,” Barroso said.”To put a stop to the threat… we must strengthen
firewalls. We must have credible stronger instruments,” said the
head of the EU executive. “We must accelerate the introduction
of the ESM.”Barroso also pushed for bolstering the strength of the
current European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), a vehicle
borrowing money with the backing of euro zone guarantees and
lending it on to struggling countries such as Ireland.”The EFSF must be more than a firewall, it must have real
firepower. We must maximise its capacity.”BANKS PLANBarroso said there should be a coordinated approach to
strengthen Europe’s banks, subjecting them to a higher capital
hurdle and taking full account of exposure to sovereign debt —
a tacit acknowledgement that steeper losses are possible.Governments should help weak banks if investors cannot be
found, Barroso said. If states are not able to step in, banks
could get assistance from the EFSF bailout scheme, he said.Steeper losses for bondholders and the connected question of
recapitalising lenders put France in particular in an
uncomfortable position.French banks have lent the most to Greek consumers and
companies — almost 42 billion euros of loans were outstanding
in March, according to the Bank for International Settlements,
which tracks international lending — and a further 13 billion
euros to the Greek public sector.German banks have total exposure less than half that of
their French counterparts.Barroso’s proposals also called for extra powers for the
European Commission and for the European Council — the body
that hosts meetings of EU ministers — to intervene in the
preparation of national budgets and monitor their execution.
Permalink 12 notes
12 10 / 2011
UPDATE 2-EU Commission urges Europe to act on Greece
* Pushes for banks to come clean on sovereign debt risk* Urges extra powers for Brussels over national budgetsBy John O’Donnell and Jan StrupczewskiBRUSSELS, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Europe needs to take decisive
action on Greece, the head of the EU’s executive said on
Wednesday, outlining a broad plan to contain the crisis
threatening the euro as officials said banks faced heavier
losses on their holdings of Greek debt.The warning, delivered by Jose Manuel Barroso, President of
the European Commission, is intended to galvanise France and
Germany, the bloc’s main powers, into action when they meet on
Oct. 23 under international pressure to limit the damage the
debt crisis risks inflicting on the world economy.”Doubts and uncertainties over Greece’s future jeopardise
stability in the entire euro area and beyond,” said Barroso.
“The time has come to remove these doubts.”The head of the EU’s executive outlined a five-point
proposal to tackle the economic crisis, spanning higher capital
hurdles for banks and extra powers for the Commission to
intervene in national budget setting.Although he has no power to introduce such measures himself,
his view is influential and keeps pressure on German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy who have
promised a deal to stabilise the euro zone this month.A key part of that plan will be to strengthen banks against
losses on Greek loans. Officials said on Wednesday that
countries will ask banks to accept losses of up to 50 percent —
far more than the 21 percent proposed in July.But Europe’s banks need protection, in the form of extra
capital, from the fallout of such a move.Central to Barroso’s proposal, which needs the backing of EU
member states, is the early introduction of the European
Stability Mechanism (ESM) to replace the temporary EFSF bailout
scheme by mid-2012 — an idea originally put forward by Germany.The 500 billion euro ($690 billion) permanent fund would
have a solid base of paid-in capital and power to intervene on
markets to help struggling states.It would also introduce the first European framework for
coping with countries that default on their debt, a step some
investors worry could herald even steeper losses.”Despite assurances… to support countries under programmes
and… that private sector involvement would be strictly limited
to Greece, contagion has not been contained,” Barroso said.”To put a stop to the threat… we must strengthen
firewalls. We must have credible stronger instruments,” said the
head of the EU executive. “We must accelerate the introduction
of the ESM.”Barroso also pushed for bolstering the strength of the
current European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), a vehicle
borrowing money with the backing of euro zone guarantees and
lending it on to struggling countries such as Ireland.”The EFSF must be more than a firewall, it must have real
firepower. We must maximise its capacity.”BANKS PLANBarroso said there should be a coordinated approach to
strengthen Europe’s banks, subjecting them to a higher capital
hurdle and taking full account of exposure to sovereign debt —
a tacit acknowledgement that steeper losses are possible.Governments should help weak banks if investors cannot be
found, Barroso said. If states are not able to step in, banks
could get assistance from the EFSF bailout scheme, he said.Steeper losses for bondholders and the connected question of
recapitalising lenders put France in particular in an
uncomfortable position.French banks have lent the most to Greek consumers and
companies — almost 42 billion euros of loans were outstanding
in March, according to the Bank for International Settlements,
which tracks international lending — and a further 13 billion
euros to the Greek public sector.German banks have total exposure less than half that of
their French counterparts.Barroso’s proposals also called for extra powers for the
European Commission and for the European Council — the body
that hosts meetings of EU ministers — to intervene in the
preparation of national budgets and monitor their execution.
Permalink 13 notes
12 10 / 2011
Lawmakers attack US plan to limit food ads to kids
* FTC says age should be limited to 11 and underWASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers on
Wednesday attacked an Obama administration proposal for
limiting food advertising to children even as the team behind
the plan offered concessions to food and beverage makers.Fred Upton, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee
in the U.S. House of Representatives, attacked the Interagency
Working Group for failing to produce a study it was asked for
and instead proposing last April voluntary limits on food
advertisements to children.”Instead of conducting the study or providing
recommendations, the (group) unilaterally proposed guidelines
that were so extreme that they would prevent the marketing to
children of foods that most parents consider a win if their
kids eat — such as yogurt, cheese sticks and even soup,” said
Upton at a joint hearing of two subcommittees.Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Republican said the
limits would “suppress free speech.”Representative Henry Waxman, who supports an advertising
ban, said the food industry spent $1.6 billion marketing to
kids each year. The Democrat raised questions about assertions
that the proposals would mean 700,000 lost jobs.”It’s a way not to have our kids subjected to advertising
that they don’t know what to do with. They’re kids!” said
Waxman. “Somebody should do something. If not government
suggesting ideas, will industry act on its own?”Food, beverage and restaurant companies, which are under
scrutiny for contributing to rising childhood obesity rates,
oppose the administration’s attempts to limit ads to children.About 17 percent of U.S. children aged 2-19 are obese,
according to data on the CDC website. Nearly one in three U.S.
children are overweight and rates are rising quickly.The working group, which includes the Food and Drug
Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the
Agriculture Department and the Federal Trade Commission, said
in April that companies should end all food advertising to
children unless they promote healthy fare, such as whole
grains, fresh fruits or vegetables.Under that proposal, salty, fatty or very sweet foods or
foods with trans fats would no longer be advertised to children
aged 17 or under.But in testimony from the Agriculture Department, Dr.
Robert Post backed a program from the industry’s Children’s
Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI).”Overall, the CFBAI standards present, in many respects, a
reasonable set of criteria to consider for revising the…
draft proposal,” said Post.The industry effort would ensure that at least half of all
advertising to children would tout healthier foods.Food companies also say they have cut the amount of sugar,
far and calories in some products.The FTC also weakened its recommendations.David Vladeck, head of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer
Protection, said the group would exempt older children from the
guidelines and limit recommendations to children 11 and under.It also excluded from the proposal advertising aimed at a
general audience and advertising that was part of charitable or
community events. It would not recommend banning clowns and
cartoon characters, such as Ronald McDonald and SpongeBob
SquarePants, used to advertise unhealthy foods.Advertisers, who also are lobbying against the proposals,
welcomed the changes, but said industry should be left to
regulate itself.The Obama administration, with its goal of containing
healthcare costs, has emphasized children’s health. First Lady
Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign has pushed children to
eat healthier food and exercise more.
Permalink 62 notes
12 10 / 2011
Iran can step in after Turkey break with Gazprom
Oji said : “Iran’s gas export to Turkey has increased by 12
percent from March and NIGC has averagely delivered more than 24
million cubic metres of natural gas to Turkish Botas per day.”He also said Iran had the capacity to produces 600 million
cubic metres of gas.In early October, Turkish Botas ended its contract with
Russia’s producer Gazprom for buying annually 6 billion cubic
metres (bcm) of gas due to pricing disagreement.When Oji asked about the possibility of any modification of
the price of Iran’s exporting gas, he said the deal had “open
conditions”.”Both sides have authority to hold talks over the price
change based on the conditions and gas global market price …
But so far no talks in this regards have been held,” Oji said.Iran has also excluded Gazprom from development of one of
its major oil fields project.
Permalink 54 notes
