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Asian stock markets were mostly higher Thursday after the U.S. central bank pledged to keep interest rates low for another three years to nurture the country’s stubbornly slow economic recovery.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.1 percent to 20,322.51 on its first trading day since the Chinese New Year holiday. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.2 percent to 1,956.14. Benchmarks in Singapore and New Zealand also rose.
Japan’s Nikkei was 0.4 percent lower at 8,846.96, following strong gains a day earlier. Markets in Taiwan and mainland Chinese remained closed for the Chinese New Year. The Australian market was closed for a public holiday.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee said it was unlikely to raise interest rates before late 2014. It had previously said it expected to keep rates low into the middle of 2013.
The Fed cut rates to near zero in December 2008, during the financial crisis, and has held them there ever since. The announcement was a sign that the Fed expects the economy, which is improving, to need significant help for three more years.
Analysts said stock buyers rejoiced that the Fed was leaning toward promoting economic growth.
“With the FOMC sending out a strong signal that monetary policy is likely to remain accommodative for even longer than previously expected, risk assets are in a very good position,” said Stan Shamu of IG Markets in Melbourne guaranteed personal loan approval.
Wall Street welcomed the news, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing up 0.6 percent at 12,756.96 _ the highest close since May 10. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.9 percent to 1,326.06. The Nasdaq composite index gained 1.1 percent to close at 2,818.31.
Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 39 cents to $99.79 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose by 45 cents to finish at $99.40 per barrel in New York on Wednesday. At one point it was as high as $100.40.
The prospect of low interest rates weighed on the dollar, since it reduces the returns that investors get from holding assets denominated in that currency. The euro rose to $1.3103 from $1.3084 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar fell to 77.75 yen from 77.81 yen.
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Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said the drop in the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent may be partially reversed in coming months.
Corn traders are bullish for a fifth consecutive week on speculation that dry weather in South America is damaging crops, boosting demand for U.S. supplies at a time when stockpiles are predicted to shrink to a 16-year low.
Nineteen of 25 traders surveyed by Bloomberg expect corn to advance next week. Lower-than-average humidity and dry soil will curb crop development in Argentina and southern Brazil through at least Jan. 7, according to T-Storm Weather LLC, a forecaster in Chicago. Argentina is the world
+%3Cp%3EChina%92s+home+prices+posted+their+worst+performance+this+year+with+more+than+half+of+the+70+biggest+cities+monitored+in+November+recording+declines+after+the+government+reiterated+plans+to+maintain+property+curbs.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3ENew+home+prices+dropped+from+the+previous+month+in+49+of+the+cities+monitored+by+the+government%2C+compared+with+33+posting+decreases+in+October%2C+the+national+statistics+bureau+said+in+a+statement+on+its+website+yesterday.+Only+five+cities+had+gains+in+home+prices%2C+according+to+the+statement.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%93Home+prices+will+fall+further+as+the+government%92s+tightening+continues%2C%94+said+Jinsong+Du%2C+a+Hong+Kong-based+property+analyst+for+Credit+Suisse+Group+AG.+%93We%92ll+see+more+small+developers+file+for+bankruptcy+or+sell+off+their+assets+next+year.%94+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+government+said+last+week+it+won%92t+back+away+from+real-+estate+industry+curbs+that+are+damping+home+sales+and+pulling+down+prices.+China+intensified+measures+this+year+by+raising+down+payment+and+mortgage+requirements+and+also+imposed+home+purchase+restrictions+in+40+cities.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3ENew+home+prices+in+China%92s+four+major+cities+of+Shanghai%2C+Beijing%2C+Shenzhen+and+Guangzhou+each+retreated+0.3+percent+from+October%2C+the+biggest+monthly+falls+for+these+metropolitan+areas+this+year%2C+according+to+data+from+the+statistics+bureau.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+eastern+port+city+of+Ningbo+and+Shenyang+in+the+north+close+to+the+North+Korean+border+posted+the+biggest+month-on-+month+declines+of+0.6+percent%2C+while+Guiyang+in+the+southwest+rose+0.2+percent%2C+the+most+among+the+70+cities.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%91Critical+Stage%92++%3Cp%3EThe+gauge+tracking+property+stocks+on+the+%3Ca+topic_url%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Ftopics.bloomberg.com%2Fshanghai-se-composite%2F%22+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fapps%2Fquote%3Fticker%3DSHCOMP%3AIND%22+density%3D%22full%22+title%3D%22Get+Quote%22+ticker%3D%22SHCOMP%3AIND%22+class%3D%22web_ticker%22%3EShanghai+Composite+Index+%28SHCOMP%29+rose+0.3+percent+at+the+close%2C+the+only+industry+group+that+posted+a+gain+on+the+benchmark+measure.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+figures+came+after+private+data+also+showed+further+signs+of+cooling.+China%92s+home+prices+fell+for+a+third+month+in+November%2C+%3Ca+topic_url%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Ftopics.bloomberg.com%2Fsoufun-holdings-ltd%2F%22+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fapps%2Fquote%3Fticker%3DSFUN%3AUS%22+density%3D%22sparse%22+title%3D%22Get+Quote%22+ticker%3D%22SFUN%3AUS%22+class%3D%22web_ticker%22%3ESouFun+Holdings+Ltd.+%28SFUN%29%2C+the+country%92s+biggest+real+estate+website%2C+said+earlier+this+month+based+on+its+survey+of+100+cities.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%93It%92s+more+and+more+clear+that+home+prices+are+falling+around+the+country%2C%94+said+Shen+Jian-guang%2C+a+Hong+Kong-based+economist+at+Mizuho+Securities+Asia+Ltd.+%93It%92s+still+the+critical+stage+of+China%92s+property+curbs%2C+so+the+government+doesn%92t+want+to+send+any+signals+of+easing+of+those+policies+too+early+as+it+may+reverse+the+trend.%94+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EChinese+developers+will+face+challenges+over+the+next+12+to+18+months+including+slowing+sales%2C+tight+bank+credit+and+downward+pressure+on+prices+and+profit+margins%2C+Moody%92s+Investors+Services+said+in+a+Dec.+15+report.+%3C%2Fp%3E+Vanke%2C+Poly++%3Cp%3ENovember+contract+sales+of+China+Vanke+Co.%2C+the+country%92s+biggest+developer%2C+dropped+36+percent+from+last+year%2C+while+those+by+Poly+Real+Estate+Group+Co.%2C+the+second+largest%2C+fell+28+percent.+Developers+typically+sell+homes+before+they+are+built.+Vanke+shares+were+unchanged+in+Shenzhen%2C+after+falling+as+much+as+2.6+percent%2C+while+Poly+climbed+0.9+percent%2C+reversing+a+1.5+percent+decline.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EExisting+home+prices+in+Beijing+slid+0.7+percent+from+October%2C+while+those+in+Shanghai+retreated+0.5+percent%2C+according+to+the+statistics+bureau.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EChina+faces+slower+growth+in+home+sales+and+construction+next+year%2C+Fitch+Ratings+said+in+a+report+on+Dec.+13%2C+adding+that+smaller+builders+will+be+%93more+vulnerable%94+as+the+government+maintains+its+property+curbs.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EEasing+Measures%3F+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+government+may+ease+its+measures+in+the+second+half+of+next+year+if+home+prices+in+major+cities+include+Beijing+and+Shanghai+fall+20+percent+from+their+2011+peaks%2C+according+to+Mizuho%92s+Shen.+Shanghai%92s+new+home+prices+gained+2.4+percent+from+a+year+earlier+in+November%2C+and+those+in+the+capital+city+added+1.3+percent%2C+according+to+the+statistics+bureau.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EResidential+property+investments+accounted+for+6.1+percent+of+the+country%92s+gross+domestic+product+last+year%2C+according+to+Citigroup+Inc.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EFalling+home+prices+helped+drive+sales+last+month.+Housing+transactions+rose+12+percent+in+November+to+416.4+billion+yuan+%28%2465.7+billion%29%2C+rebounding+from+a+decline+the+previous+month%2C+the+statistics+bureau+said+earlier+this+month.+%3C%2F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Two telecommunications giants now control the Toronto Maple Leafs, the biggest prize in Canadian sport.
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan announced on Friday that will sell its 79.5 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owners of the iconic Leafs, to Rogers Communications and BCE for $1.32 billion.
The companies made the announcement in a morning news conference at the Air Canada Centre to confirm the blockbuster deal.
“MLSE is truly a world-class organization with some of the most iconic brands and popular sports teams across North America,” said Nadir Mohamed, Rogers president and CEO in a statement.
“This investment fits squarely into our strategy of securing premium content and making it accessible to Canadians when, where and how they want it.”
“Sports content is king. Let’s face it nobody wants to watch a game two days later,” Mohammed said during the announcement Friday morning. “Between the two organizations I can’t think of anybody that can bring live sports to Canadians wherever they are without missing a second.”
MLSE also owns the Raptors of the NBA, Toronto FC of Major League Soccer, the Marlies of the American Hockey League, the Air Canada Centre, two specialty television channels and Maple Leaf Square, a condominium development adjacent to the arena.
Under the agreement, Rogers and Bell Canada will divide their 75 per cent share of MLSE evenly. And Larry Tanenbaum whose firm, Kilmer Sports, owned 21 cash till payday.47 per cent of MLSE increases its ownership to 25 per cent.
“I am excited to welcome our new partners Bell and Rogers,” said Tanenbaum, who remains as chairman of MLSE, in a statement. “I am proud this is a made-in-Canada deal that will bring resources and expertise to help us win on and off the ice, court and pitch.”
“It really means we’re moving for those championship teams, the Stanley Cup, that NBA championship,” Tanenbaum said
There were provisions in the existing shareholders agreement that gave Tanenbaum key rights that would make it difficult for any owner with telecommunications properties to take advantage of MLSE’s rich broadcast assets without his approval.
Reports surfaced two weeks ago that Rogers and BCE had been working on an alliance to share control of MLSE, which also owns other sports properties and lucrative broadcast interests.
At that time, Teachers, one of the country’s biggest pension plans with assets of more than $107.5 billion, indicated it was pulling its stake off the market after an extensive search that formally started earlier this year. Teachers’ noted that several parties had made offers.
The Star reported a year ago that Teachers had been quietly talking to possible suitors including Rogers about selling its stake. Teachers’ played down the story but four months later announced that it would formally explore a sale.
Metropolitan Urological Specialists PC offers a full spectrum of urological services. The medical practice includes these doctors:
Regulators on Friday closed small banks in Iowa and Louisiana, lifting to 90 the number of bank failures in the U.S. this year.
The number of closures has fallen sharply this year as banks have worked their way through the bad debt accumulated in the recession. By this time last year, regulators had shuttered 149 banks.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized Polk County Bank, based in Johnston, Iowa, with $91.6 million in assets and $82 million in deposits. It also closed Central Progressive Bank, based in Lacombe, La., with $383.1 million in assets and $347.7 million in deposits.
Grinnell State Bank, based in Grinnell, Iowa, agreed to assume the deposits as well as the loans and other assets of Polk County Bank. New Orleans-based First NBC Bank agreed to acquire all the deposits and $354.4 million of the assets of Central Progressive Bank.
The failure of Polk County Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund $12 million; that of Central Progressive Bank is expected to cost $58.1 million.
Polk County Bank was the first bank in Iowa to fail this year, while Central Progressive Bank was the first Louisiana lender to fail this year.
In all of 2010, regulators seized 157 banks, the most in any year since the savings and loan crisis two decades ago. Those failures cost around $23 billion. The FDIC has said 2010 likely was the high-water mark for bank failures from the Great Recession.
In 2009, there were 140 bank failures that cost the insurance fund about $36 billion, a higher price tag than in 2010 because the banks involved were bigger on average. Twenty-five banks failed in 2008, the year the financial crisis struck with force; only three were closed in 2007.
From 2008 through 2010, bank failures cost the fund $76.8 billion. The FDIC expects failures from 2011 through 2015 to cost $19 billion.
The deposit insurance fund fell into the red in 2009. With failures slowing, the FDIC’s fund balance turned positive in the second quarter of this year; it stood at $3.9 billion as of June 30.
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s main coalition ally urged him to step aside Tuesday as political uncertainty in the eurozone’s third-largest economy rocked financial markets for yet another day.
Berlusconi’s government is under intense pressure to enact quick reforms to shore up Italy’s defenses against Europe’s raging debt crisis. However, a weak coalition and doubts over Berlusconi’s ability to push through austerity and reforms have financial markets fearing some type of financial disaster in Italy.
“We asked him to step aside, take a step to the side,” Northern League leader Umberto Bossi told reporters as he arrived ahead of a key vote that could force Berlusconi’s resignation. Bossi is the volatile ally who brought down Berlusconi’s first conservative government in 1994 when he yanked his support.
With debts of around euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion), Italy is considered by many as being too big for Europe to bail out, like it has already done for Greece, Portugal and Ireland.
Italy’s center-left opposition said it would abstain in Tuesday’s voting, to make it clear just how fragile Berlusconi’s forces in Parliament are. If he is backed by less than 316 deputies _ or less than half of the 630-member chamber — it would be plain that Berlusconi can no longer count on a majority in the lower house of Parliament, even though the government mathematically could still win the vote to approve the 2010 state finances.
Bossi said the man Berlusconi has already hand-picked to be his eventual successor, former Justice Minister Angelino Alfano, should now lead the government.
But it would be up to the Italian president, Giorgio Napolitano, to decide whether to appoint a new leader or dissolve parliament and call early elections.
International financial officials and the markets, meanwhile, fretted over how long it was going to take for lawmakers to approve measures promised by Berlusconi to rein in Italy’s galloping public debt.
With that in mind, Italy’s borrowing rates spiked Tuesday to their highest level since the euro was established in 1999. Higher rates would make it more difficult for Italy to rollover its debts and will mean they consume more and more of its national income. Italy has over euro300 billion ($412 billion) to raise in 2012 alone.
By late-morning, the yield on Italy’s ten-year bonds was up 0.07 percentage point at 6.60 percent, down from an earlier high of 6.74 percent. A rate of over 7 percent is considered unsustainable and proved to be the trigger point that forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal into accepting financial bailouts.
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