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Suntech defaults on $541M bond payment - (www.usatoday.com) Suntech, one of the world's biggest solar panel manufacturers, said
Monday it has defaulted on a $541 million bond payment. It's the latest sign of
the financial squeeze on the struggling global solar industry. Suntech Power's
announcement was a severe setback for a company lauded by China's Communist
government as a leader of efforts to make the country a center of the renewable
energy industry. Its founder, Shi Zhengrong, became one of the industry's most
prominent entrepreneurs and a billionaire, only to see most of his fortune
evaporate as the company's share price plummeted.
Europe Braces for Renewed Turmoil as Cyprus Deposit Levy at
Risk - (www.bloomberg.com) European policy makers signaled flexibility on the application of an
unprecedented bank tax in Cyprus, seeking to overcome outrage that threatens to
derail the nation’s bailout. European shares and the euro fell. While demanding
that the levy raise the targeted 5.8 billion euros ($7.6 billion), finance
officials said easing the cost to smaller savers was up to Cyprus. A vote on
the tax, needed to secure 10 billion euros in rescue loans, was delayed for a
second day until tomorrow. Banks will remain shut through March 20 after a
holiday today, a government official said. Euro-area finance ministers plan a
conference call at 7:30 p.m. Brussels time today to discuss the matter. “If the
government wants to change the structure of the solidarity levy for the banking
sector, the government can decide as such,” European Central Bank Executive
Board member Joerg Asmussen said today in Berlin. “What’s important is that the
planned revenue of 5.8 billion euros remain.”
Moody’s Sees Defaults as PBOC Warns on Local Risks - (www.bloomberg.com) Moody’s Investor Services said China’s local-government financing vehicles face greater risk
of default, as regulators warn 20 percent of their loans are risky. A rally in
LGFV bonds may reverse, particularly should delinquencies emerge, Christine
Kuo, a Moody’s analyst, wrote in an e-mailed response to questions on March 8.
The average yield may rise to 7 percent by June from 6 percent now, according
to Shenyin & Wanguo Securities Co., the first brokerage incorporated in
China and ranked the nation’s most influential research provider by New Fortune
magazine in 2010. “I see increased risk of LGFV defaults because the financial
profiles of many remain weak and heavy refinancing is needed,” Hong Kong-based
Kuo said. “Regulators have asked banks to control their LGFV exposures. Some of
the projects could default unless other sources of funds are found.”
Raid on Cypriot deposits shakes Europeans' faith in savings
- (www.reuters.com) Europeans' faith in the safety of their savings has been shaken by a
levy on Cypriot bank deposits to pay for a bailout, even though there was no
sign of a rush to withdraw cash in Madrid or Dublin. People told Reuters they
were angered but unsurprised that politicians should dip into citizens'
deposits. And as bankers expressed concern the proposed terms of Cyprus's
bailout could unnerve savers elsewhere, some leftist leaders voiced outrage. Euro zone finance ministers want
Cypriots to pay up to 9.9 percent of their deposits in return for a 10 billion
euro ($13 billion) aid package. If approved by the island's parliament on
Monday, it will be the first time savers have had to foot part of the bill for
a European bailout.
Plastic-Shy Young in U.S. Spur Move to New Credit Data - (www.bloomberg.com) Charlie Frohne never wanted a Visa (V) or MasterCard (MA), afraid of
incurring debts he couldn’t repay. As the 30-year-old searched for a Manhattan
apartment, he found landlords treated his lack of a credit history as a
liability. His experience highlights a growing reluctance among young adults to
use plastic for everyday purchases. Thirty-nine percent of undergraduate
students between the ages of 18 and 24 owned a credit card in 2012, down from 49 percent in
2010, a Sallie Mae and Ipsos Public Affairs survey found.
And young adults who do have credit cards are carrying smaller balances: A
median of $1,600 in 2010 compared with $2,500 in 2001 for under- 35 households,
according to Federal Reserve data.
The trend, rooted in stricter lending rules and weaker job outlooks for young
Americans since the 2008-2009 recession, has implications for the strength of
the economy. As people in Frohne’s age group eschew plastic, fewer are building
the credit histories that would help them to gain financing for purchases of
homes and cars that are critical to economic growth.
Cypriot Outrage Over Tax Could Derail Euro-Area Bailout - (www.bloomberg.com)Cyprus works on last-minute deal to soften bank levy - (www.reuters.com)
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