While
you slept—Congress wants to cut your pension - (www.cnbc.com) The
latest assault on private pensions may be coming from the U.S. Congress. Lawmakers
on Wednesday were finalizing a deal to shore up the government's pension
insurance fund with provisions that would raise premiums and allow troubled
pension plans covering more than one employer to cut retiree benefits. As of
midday Wednesday, the reform provisions, which drew loud opposition from unions
and other groups representing retirees, were not included in the latest version
of a massive, $1.1 trillion spending bill, according to a spokeswoman for the
House Appropriations Committee. The measure may be voted on as an amendment in
the Rules Committee, she said. Payments to backstop these so-called
multiemployer pension plans have run to hundreds of millions of dollars in the
last decade. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has warned it may run out of
funds unless Congress implements reforms.
Worst
Greek Stock Slump Since 1987 Proves Bears Right: Options - (www.bloomberg.com) Investors began giving up on Greek stocks
even before the latest rout. A U.S. exchange-traded fund tracking the nation’s
equities has had a record streak of redemptions, losing money for
four straight months. The wagers proved well-timed: the benchmark ASE Index
plunged the most since 1987 yesterday after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras
opened the door for the ascent of an anti-austerity party in Greek politics. It
dropped another 1.1 percent to 893.13 at 12:29 p.m. in Athens. With Greece’s benchmark stock index about three times more volatile than
the StoxxEurope 600
Index, investors are bracing for more declines. The risk now is that Samaras
may have to call a parliamentary election that Syriza, a party that doesn’t
favor austerity, might win, reintroducing the turmoil that threatened the
European currency union in 2012.
Ukraine
needs expanded IMF programme - economy minister - (www.reuters.com) Ukraine's
new economy minister,
Aivaras Abromavicius, said on Wednesday the government wanted the International
Monetary Fund to expand its $17 billion bailout package due to Ukraine's
worsened economic outlook. "We want to expand the programme given the
difficult situation. Calculations are being made," Abromavicius said at a
briefing, adding that it was too early to say how much extra cash would be
needed. The IMF, which is visiting Kiev this week for talks on the bailout
programme with the government, warned in September that if Ukraine's conflict
with pro-Russian separatists runs into next year, the country may need as much
as $19 billion in extra aid. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by
Alessandra Prentice, editing by John Stonestreet)
BP
to spend $1 billion on hundreds of job cuts, restructuring - (www.reuters.com) BP will cut thousands of jobs cut across its
global oil and gas business by the end of next year in a $1 billion
restructuring programme announced on Wednesday following steep falls in oil
prices. The British oil major said it was also considering deeper cuts to its
2015 budget beyond the $1-$2 billion reduction already announced in October, as
a result of the oil slump. "Given the recent position taken by OPEC and
with oil prices where they are today, we will continue to review this
further," BP head of upstream Lamar McKay said in a presentation during an
investor day in London. The bulk of the restructuring costs will go towards
staff redundancies in all segments, including oil exploration and production,
refining and trading and administration, a company spokesman said. BP said a
first charge will be taken in the fourth quarter of 2014 as it implements a
plan drawn up over the past 18 months to increase efficiency.
Russian
Companies Lost Billions on Ruble Hedges, Interfax Says - (www.bloomberg.com) Russian
companies lost tens of billions of rubles on foreign-exchange derivatives amid
a rout in the ruble, Interfax reported, citing Sergey Moiseev, the head of
financial stability at the central bank. Companies were forced to close out the
contracts after the central bank’s move to a free-floating currency exposed
them to the world’s highest currency volatility amid a slump in oil prices,
Moiseev said, according to Interfax. Most of the transactions were terminated
ahead of schedule, triggering penalties, or were restructured, the report said.
The currency has plunged 21 percent to against the dollar since the beginning
of November as the Bank of Russia pushed forward a plan to allow the
currency to trade freely in a bid to preserve foreign reserves. Russia has
failed to stabilize the ruble even after raising benchmark borrowing costs four
times this year and spending billions of dollars in reserves.
China
Blasts U.S. Hypocrisy as CIA Torture Condemned - (www.bloomberg.com)
Mysterious ’08 Turkey Pipeline Blast Opened New Cyberwar - (www.bloomberg.com)
Mysterious ’08 Turkey Pipeline Blast Opened New Cyberwar - (www.bloomberg.com)
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