Banks
Fear Missing Collateral In China - (www.nytimes.com) Large
banks and trading firms are frantically trying to determine whether they have
fallen victim to a suspected commodities fraud emanating from the giant Qingdao
Port in northeast China. Citigroup and several other big Western banks are
concerned that their loans may lack the appropriate collateral of big
stockpiles of copper and aluminum at the port. The banks have inspectors on the
ground who are trying to assess whether enough of the metals are there. The
worry stems from suspicions that a Chinese company pledged the same collateral
for multiple loans. Chinese authorities are investigating the matter. The case
could have broad repercussions for the commodities market and the Chinese
economy. Banks have funneled billions of dollars into the Chinese economy
through these murky transactions, and commodities prices have been falling over
concerns that the lending will dry up. Western banks, including Citigroup, are
bracing for any potential fallout.
Iraq
Kurds take Kirkuk; Sunni militants surge toward Baghdad - (www.reuters.com) President Barack Obama refused
to rule out U.S. action in Iraq against
Sunni Islamist militants who have surged out of the north to threaten Baghdad,
threatening to divide the country and establish their own jihadist state. Hours
after ethnic Kurdish forces took advantage of the chaos to take control of the
oil hub of Kirkuk as the forces of the Shi'ite-led government abandoned their
posts, Obama was asked if he might order drone strikes or other action to halt
the insurgency that has seized much of northern Iraq this
week. "I don't rule anything out," he told reporters, saying he was
looking at all options to help the elected leaders who took full control of
Iraq when the U.S. occupation ended in 2011.
Taxis
sow traffic chaos in Europe protesting against Uber car app - (www.reuters.com) Taxi
drivers sowed traffic chaos in Europe's top cities on Wednesday by mounting one
of the biggest protests ever against Uber, a U.S. car service whose smartphone
app summons rides at the touch of a button. Hundreds of licensed black taxis
snarled traffic in the streets around Trafalgar Square in central London,
hooting their horns as they passed Downing Street, home of Prime Minister David
Cameron, and the Houses of Parliament. In Paris, taxis slowed traffic on major
arteries into the city during the morning commute. Hundreds choked the main
road to Berlin's historic centre while commuters packed buses and trains, or
just walked, to get to work in Madrid and Barcelona.
Al
Qaeda Insurgents Surround Iraq's Largest Refinery - (www.zerohedge.com) While
there had been sporadic reports over the past few days that Al Qaeda's ISIS
spinoff had surrounded or even taken control of Iraq's largest refinery in
Baiji, the government was quick to deny such rumors. As was reported earlier,
the Baiji refinery remained under government control on Thursday after Sunni
rebels' offensive through northern Iraq, Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi
said. Luaibi said Iraq was not importing any additional fuel and that stored
supplies of gasoline and diesel were good. Militants from an al Qaeda splinter
group, who seized Iraq's second biggest city of Mosul this week, advanced into
the oil refinery town of Baiji on Wednesday, setting the court house and police
station on fire. "Baiji refinery is totally secured by the special forces
and operating normally now," an official at the refinery said on
Thursday. It may be time to hit F5, because a few short hours later, and
moments ago, Reuters reported that the Baiji refinery appears set to fall in Al Qaeda's hands.
China metal financing fears spread to Singapore – (www.cnbc.com) An
investigation into metals financing in a northeastern Chinese port city has
cast a chill in Singapore, where a surge of business financing imports into
China has bankers increasingly worried. A Chinese company's alleged use of
metal as collateral to get loans from several international banks shows that
commodity-backed loans are not as safe as bankers assumed. More and more of
these loans originate from Singapore as international banks move their China
business out of Hong Kong, leading Chinese firms to set up shop in the tropical
entrepot to tap offshore dollar liquidity. Last week, Qingdao Port said
police had opened an investigation into alumina and copper held at Dagang Port,
one of several ports under its management. Traders rushed to move metal out of
Qingdao.
Obama
warns of U.S. action as jihadists push on Baghdad - (www.reuters.com)
Iraqi insurgent commander is jihad's rising leader - (www.reuters.com)
Iraqi insurgent commander is jihad's rising leader - (www.reuters.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment