DoubleLine launches stock management division

NEW YORK (Reuters) – DoubleLine Capital LP, the $ 53 billion firm run by star bond investor Jeffrey Gundlach, said on Wednesday it is now managing stock portfolios in a new division called DoubleLine Equity LP.The firm, which surpassed $ 50 billion in bond assets last year after launching in 2009, said in a news release that it has tapped former TCW Group Inc portfolio managers Brendt Stallings and...

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World stocks jump as US staves off ‘fiscal cliff’

BANGKOK (AP) — World markets registered relief Wednesday over the U.S. congressional vote to stop hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and spending cuts that risked plunging the world’s biggest economy into recession.Benchmarks in Australia and Hong Kong boomeranged on the first trading day of the year, just before Congress passed an emergency measure to avert much of the impact...

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Insight: How Colombian drug traffickers used HSBC to launder money

(Reuters) – When several Colombian men were indicted in January 2010 on money-laundering charges, the case in Brooklyn federal court drew little attention.It looked like a bust of another nexus of drug traffickers and money launderers, with mainly small-time operatives paying the price for their crimes.One of the men was Julio Chaparro, a 48-year-old father of four who owned three factories that made...

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Publisher Tribune to emerge from bankruptcy on December 31

(Reuters) – U.S. media giant The Tribune Co, owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, said late on Sunday it will emerge from bankruptcy on December 31, ending four years of Chapter 11 reorganization.Chicago-based Tribune said it will emerge from the Chapter 11 process with a portfolio of profitable assets that will include eight major daily newspapers and 23 TV stations. The company...

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Sudan’s oil production rises to almost 140,000 bpd: minister

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan has managed to boost oil production to almost 140,000 barrels per day and plans to add another 10,000 bpd next year, its oil minister said on Saturday after the African country launched a new oilfield.Sudan has been stepping up oil and gas exploration after losing three-quarters of its former output, or 350,000 bpd, when South Sudan seceded last year. The loss of oil revenue,...

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Fewer US banks failing as industry strengthens

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. banks are ending the year with their best profits since 2006 and fewer failures than at any time since the financial crisis struck in 2008. They’re helping support an economy slowed by high unemployment, flat pay, sluggish manufacturing and anxious consumers.As the economy heals from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, more people and businesses are taking...

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Global shares rise before U.S. budget talks, yen at two-year low

LONDON (Reuters) – World shares and the euro edged higher on Friday as U.S. lawmakers prepared to resume negotiations on avoiding a fiscal crisis, while the yen hit a two-year low on the prospect of drastic monetary easing in Japan.U.S. President Barack Obama and lawmakers are set to have a last round of talks before a New Year deadline to reach a deal on averting major tax increases and spending...

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Brent holds near $111 on US fiscal uncertainty; Japan supports

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent crude held near $ 111 per barrel on Thursday as jittery investors stayed on the sidelines with a deadline to avert a U.S. fiscal crisis approaching, while hopes the new Japanese government’s policies will spur demand supported prices.U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers resumed talks on Wednesday over the so-called fiscal cliff – tax hikes and spending cuts...

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Egypt’s leader signs contentious constitution into law

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has signed into law a new Islamist-drafted constitution he says will help end political turmoil and allow him to focus on fixing the fragile economy.Anxiety about the deepening economic crisis has gripped Egypt in past weeks, with many people rushing to take out their savings from banks and the government imposing new restrictions to reduce capital...

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Japan’s policy veteran Motegi likely to serve as trade minister: media

TOKYO (Reuters) – Incoming Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to pick policy veteran Toshimitsu Motegi as trade minister, who will also take charge of energy and other key economic policies, media reported on Tuesday.Motegi, 57, a former policy affairs chief for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), will tackle energy problems after last year’s Fukushima nuclear crisis, as well as issues such...

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For a Great Stocking Stuffer, Give a Kid a Vaccine

If you are looking for the perfect present to give kids this holiday season, what about immunity from a range of deadly communicable diseases? It is cheap and widely available at any good pediatricians’ office or vaccination clinic. Even so, this wonderful present is spurned by a growing number of parents in America and Europe.A big reason that more children than ever will be around to enjoy...

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Hurting Spaniards celebrate Christmas lottery wins

MADRID (AP) — Winners of Spain‘s cherished Christmas lottery — the world’s richest — celebrated Saturday in more than a dozen locations where the top lucky tickets were sold, a moment of uplift for a country enduring another brutal year of economic hardship.The lottery sprinkled a treasure chest of €2.5 billion ($ 3.3 billion) in prize money around the country. Champagne corks popped and festive cheer...

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Nike shares jump 6.2% on results

21 December 2012 Last updated at 16:56 ETSportswear giant Nike shares closed with a sharp gain on Friday after it reported a strong rise in demand in its home North American market.Shares rose 6.2% after the company’s third quarter figures suggested steady demand for its products around the world.Orders for delivery of its shoes and clothing for the coming months were up 14% in the home market.Worldwide...

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Asian shares slide as U.S. budget impasse creates anxiety

TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares slid on Friday after a Republican proposal to deal with a U.S. fiscal crunch failed to get enough support, deepening uncertainty over the U.S. can avert the “fiscal cliff” of automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to start January 1.“Markets disliked signs of further delay in talks, with the risk that a deal may not be reached by the end of the year deadline,”...

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The $60 Billion Federal Bailout Named Sandy

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, federal lawmakers from both parties were quick to heap words of compassion upon the storm victims. Now those politicians are debating how much taxpayer money to put behind their rhetoric. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund barely adds up to $ 6 billion. So the Senate and the White House are each proposing to give New York,...

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After Ghana vote, investors turn to economy

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A closely fought but peaceful election in Ghana this month has burnished the international image of the west African oil, gold and cocoa producer as “the Switzerland of Africa.”But to win economic bragging rights too, Ghana’s new government will have to convince investors that it can tame a swelling fiscal deficit, stabilize a volatile currency and rebuild foreign exchange...

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Sweden cuts main interest rate to 1 percent

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden‘s central bank has cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1 percent as inflationary pressures remain benign and problems in Europe weigh on the Scandinavian country’s economy.Tuesday’s decision was widely expected.The Riksbank also says that its main interest rate will likely “remain at this low level for the coming year” due to the economic slowdown,...

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After landslide, Abe says Japan has difficult road

TOKYO (AP) — After leading his conservative party to a landslide victory that will bring it back to power after a three-year hiatus, Shinzo Abe stressed Monday that the road ahead will not be easy as he tries to revive Japan‘s sputtering economy and bolster its national security amid deteriorating relations with China.The Liberal Democratic Party, which led Japan for most of the post-World War II...

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Greek economy may start to grow in 2014, minister says

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s economy, expected to slump for a sixth straight year in 2013, may begin to recover in 2014, the country’s finance minister said on Saturday.“I believe that after the second half of 2013 we will be able to see growth, with positive rates of change in GDP on a quarterly basis or month-by-month,” Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told Imerisia newspaper on Saturday.Wage cuts...

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