BofA
could still put Countrywide into bankruptcy, executive says - (www.reuters.com) Bank of America Corp could
put its Countrywide Financial unit into bankruptcy if it
fails to win court approval for an $8.5 billion settlement with mortgage
investors, a bank executive said on Monday. Chief Risk Officer Terrence
Laughlin was testifying at a hearing in New York state court on whether to
approve the deal, which would settle claims by investors who said Countrywide
misrepresented the mortgages underlying bonds they
bought. During negotiations leading up to the June 2011 settlement, Bank of
America threatened to put Countrywide, which it had rescued at the height of
the financial crisis in 2008, into bankruptcy. That
possibility was still on the table, Laughlin said on Monday. "One of the
options that was available to us and continues to be available to us was to put
Countrywide into bankruptcy," Laughlin said.
Greece
confirms no bids for natural gas firm DEPA - (www.reuters.com) Greece confirmed
on Monday it failed to attract any binding offers for natural gas company
DEPA and said it would launch a new tender in the future for the firm. Deputy
Energy Minister Asimakis Papageorgiou said Greece received
only one binding bid for the privatisation of natural gas grid operator DESFA,
a unit of DEPA, from Azerbaijan's SOCAR by the 1000 GMT deadline.
Citigroup
Facing $7 Billion Currency Hit on Dollar, Peabody Says - (www.bloomberg.com) Citigroup Inc. (C) could
lose as much as $7 billion on currency swings if Charles Peabody is right,
putting the analyst at odds with peers who say the stock will be the best
performer among big U.S. banks in the year ahead. Peabody, who leads research
at Portales Partners LLC, is among only four analysts out of
34 tracked by Bloomberg who recommend investors sell Citigroup shares. He
estimates the bank may lose $5 billion to $7 billion in regulatory capital this
year if the dollar gains against the yen, euro and currencies inemerging
markets, which provide about half the firm’s profit.
That would be its worst translation loss in five years, exceeding the $3.5
billion deficit in 2011. Former Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit expanded
Citigroup’s overseas businesses to help it recover from 2008’s U.S. credit
crisis. Peabody, who predicted the mortgage market’s plunge as early as January
2005, said the firm’s reliance on revenue from abroad is now driving his
concern that a global economic slowdown will hurt the bank more than U.S.
rivals.
Emerging
market assets suffer in fierce sell-off - (www.ft.com) Emerging market currencies, stocks and bonds
suffered a fierce sell-off on Tuesday on rising investor concerns over the prospect
of the US Federal Reserve reining in its programme of bond-buying to drive
down long-term interest rates. Emerging economies have been among the prime
beneficiaries of ultra-loose global monetary policy as central banks led by the
Fed have flooded financial markets with more than $12tn of extra liquidity
since the financial crisis. But signs of an economic slowdown spreading from China and
indications that the Fed could reduce the pace of its $85bn-a-month bond
purchases have triggered a sharp correction in emerging markets.
Detroit
Rescue Plan Vetted as City Confronts Bankruptcy - (www.bloomberg.com) Detroit residents
condemned and praised Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr at a forum he used to drive
home the severity of the city's fiscal crisis, which has pushed it to the brink
of bankruptcy. One step he plans to take as Detroit’s financial overseer is to
lease the Belle Isle municipal park to the state to save $6 million a year, Orr
said late yesterday at the hearing on his roadmap to revival. The City Council
rejected a similar proposal from Republican Governor Rick Snyder earlier this
year. Leasing the park is just one step proposed by Orr to help the city deal
with a budget deficit nearing
$386 million and to restructure $9.4 billion in long-term debt. In a report
last month, Orr also called for altering benefits for city workers as a way to
cope with $5.7 billion in projected unfunded obligations for retiree health
care. He says the city may owe billions of dollars more to the retirement
system because of skipping payments to preserve cash. “People had their differences
but they listened and were respectful,” said Sheila Cockrel, a former city
councilwoman who teaches at Wayne State University, where the
meeting took place. “This was democracy in action.”
No comments:
Post a Comment