The former chairman of the Anglo Irish Bank has been arrested and questioned by local police for alleged financial irregularities. Sean Fitzpatrick has left his post in December 2008 after admitting it concealed personal loans for millions of euros from the bank. He had hidden data on loans from shareholders of the bank as a temporary transfer them to another bank before the period at the end of each year, not to declare them in balance. Last year, Anglo Irish Bank reported the largest loss in corporate history of Ireland – 4,1 billion for the six months to March. Expected results that are soon to announce the bank for the last reporting period, are worse. The Bank was one of the “stars” of business in Ireland during the prime real estate in the country, lends billions of euros for projects of entrepreneurs in Ireland and Britain. In 2009, however, it was nationalized because they were threatening to declare bankruptcy. Besides the hidden loans with the bank and other related scandals, including alleged scheme to support the artificial price of its shares and the entry of a huge loan from another bank as a deposit to a customer.
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The price of crude oil retreated positions in the last day, decreasing by about 1 percent. However, black gold is moving with growth of 1 percent since the beginning of the week. Fall in crude oil prices in the last day due to the strengthening of U.S. dollar positions. Simple movements in favor of the dollar in currency markets led to a restriction of interest in investing in commodities. On the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, oil prices with delivery in April fell by 0,9 percent to 82.20 dollars per barrel. Night quotations continued to retreat this morning were at 82.07 dollars a barrel. So oil is permanently retained over 82 dollars a barrel, after jumping over that line earlier in the week. The reason for the upturn gave the position of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which announced that interest rates in the United States will remain near zero for a long time.
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Most major stock indexes in Asia and the Pacific withdrew to negative territory today after strong growth, which reported on Wednesday. Most of the stocks suffered sell-offs of Japanese exporters and those companies from the real estate sector. The regional index MSCI Asia Pacific, which includes stock companies from ten Asian countries plus Australia and New Zealand, losing 0.3 percent of its value today at 124.58 points after the end of yesterday’s session, rose by 1.5% to its highest level in two months. Despite the concerns of investors that are soon to tighten monetary policy in China and the U.S. stock indexes rally in Asia continued during the past six weeks. However, according to some financial analysts has made an assessment of market shares in the region too high. The index of blue chips in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 1 percent to 10 744 points yesterday after having surged by 1.2 percent. Shares of Canon and Mazda dropped by more than 2 percent after the yen rose against all major currencies. This makes the price of goods of Japanese exporters higher on foreign markets. Yesterday the Japanese central bank doubled the amount of the special program for lending to commercial banks in the country to 222 billion dollars. Shortly thereafter, the World Bank increased its forecast for economic growth in China, as already expected growth of 9.5 percent this year. Wide Chinese Shanghai Composite Index fell less with 0.1% to 3 046 points and the exchange in Hong Kong Hang Seng lost 0.3% to 21 330.67 points. Today it became clear that the Chinese government will carry out “stress tests” in 12 industries to assess the impact of any lifting of the yuan exchange rate.
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The first e-commerce platform that will allow companies that operate according to Islamic laws, to raise capital, will be launched in London in May. This Reuters reported, citing a venture capital firm behind the project. Sharia Ummah Securities Information Exchange (UMEX) is intended to provide a trading platform for companies with capitalization of at least 20 million pounds (31 million dollars) who want to raise the equivalent of at least 20 percent of their market value. Mahesh Jahayasan, chairman of the company’s Halal Industries, which will oversee the exchange, has made clear that it will work as a platform for multilateral trade exchange (Multilateral Trading Facility – MTF). MTF are low-cost e-commerce platforms, created after the EU directive on markets in financial instruments has opened opportunities for competition between exchanges. This will be the only such platform in Europe at the time, which helps companies raise capital. In UMEX opening in May of it will now have 100 shares of compliance with Islamic law companies, which can be traded. Within one year after placing their stock plans to hold IPO-so over 100 global Islamic companies said Jahayasan.
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The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Russian oil company Lukoil Valery Graipher said that the company is considering to buy 10 percent of its shares from its strategic partner – the U.S. ConocoPhillips, if the stake offered for sale. That said newspaper Kommersant stating that ConocoPhillips currently owns 20.6 percent stake in Lukoil. Given the market capitalization of Lukoil, at the moment it 10% of the company’s shares will cost about $ 5 billion, analysts say, indicating that in future this figure may be altered depending on oil prices. Official information about a possible sale of Lukoil shares of ConocoPhillips currently not available. It is believed that this issue can be discussed at the meeting of the Board of Directors of LUKOIL next week. Last fall also had information that the U.S. company intends to sell shares to Lukoil because of the need to cover their own debts, but then rumors were denied by both companies. Nomura Bank analysts suggest that any transaction for the sale of Lukoil shares of ConocoPhillips may be made in several installments over 3 years and is very likely that those shares in the future be used in procedures for mergers and acquisitions. There is no official information about the financial results for 2009, Lukoil recently president of the company and a major owner Cream Alekperov predicted that Lukoil profit for last year will be about $ 7 billion.
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Too often people of baby boom generation in the United States have been accused of remaining too long at work before retiring, and thus deprive others of the opportunity for career development. But such charges now rather looks as unjustified outburst of anger. New research reveals that in 2018 the United States would actually have a labor shortage. “If the people of baby boom generation retire at the same age as current retirees, the next generation will probably be too small to fill up all the projected new jobs,” says Barry Bluestone, a professor at Northeastern University and author of a report on workforce United States. The report, “After recovery: we need help” is based on projections for population growth based on official statistics and outlook for the labor market in the United States. History shows that after the restoration of an economy from recession appears shortage of manpower. This happened after World War II and in the early 60’s. And since this recession is considered the worst of days since the Great Depression, similar processes are expected to occur over the next ten years, the report said. The authors of the document, however, emphasize that such shortages will be felt only after two – three years. According to the survey data between 2008 and 2018 in the United States will be created 14.6 million jobs outside the agricultural sector and at the end of that period probably 5 million of them are inactive.
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Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve (U.S. central bank) has stated that the central bank and other regulators had failed during the financial crisis because they were indifferent to risk, transmit Bloomberg. “Even with the collapse of private risk management, financial system would remain stable if the second level of protection – regulatory bodies function efficiently,” he said in a speech at the Brookings Institution. “Under the pressure of the crisis, however, they failed.” Greenspan, who headed the Fed from 1987 to 2006, said that low interest rates in his time have led to a housing bubble and the failure of regulators. “Although a number of years of our biggest banks had 10-15 permanent auditors appointed spot, they nevertheless managed to take” toxic “assets that have led them to bankruptcy,” he said. Greenspan acknowledged that he and his colleagues at the Fed did not realize the extent of the housing bubble and the consequences it can have on the economy. According to him, increased requirements for capital adequacy and liquidity to banks will help prevent future crises.
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The Oil price increase over the past day, which probably will offer a weekly rise of raw material. Appreciation gave rise to speculation that demand for oil in China will increase along with the acceleration of economic growth. On the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, with oil delivery in April ended the session with a minimum increase of 2 cents to 82.11 dollars a barrel this morning quotes add another 0.1 percent to 82.20 dollars per barrel. The price of black gold is moving with an increase of 0,9 percent for the week after the previous increase was reported from 2,3 per cent. Yesterday the price of oil make change direction several times, which was caused by movements in foreign exchange markets. They even were influenced by a series of news about the trade deficit and initial unemployment in the United States. This morning the currency pair euro / dollar is quoted at 1.3694 EUR / USD, which represents a minimal increase for the euro.
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The U.S. shares were raised in today’s session after a rally in the last hour of trade. The leading index Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 0.42% to 10 611.84 points. Broader index S & P 500 and Nasdaq technological grow at 0.4 percent, respectively, to 1 150.24 and 2 368.46 points. Investors today were disappointed by the latest data on the labor market, according to new applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell last week to 6 thousand to 462 thousand to 460 thousand forecast of economists interviewed by Bloomberg. Concern were the figures for the increased inflation in China which could lead the country to limit the measures to stimulate the economy, which in turn would reduce demand for commodities. Banks to recover lost positions at the beginning of the session after the talks failed in the Senate bill on financial reforms. Shares of Citigroup rose 2% after the bank forecast a profit of $ 20 billion in the period to 2012. Insurance giant AIG climbed 4 percent, for the past five sessions has gained the position with a total of 50%.
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The U.S. banks Citigroup and JPMorgan have helped the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, as suddenly increased their requirements for collateral transactions and changed its agreements on reciprocal guarantees. This is clear from the court report for the largest bankruptcy in American history. “Requirements for collateral by creditors of Lehman Brothers had a direct impact on liquidity. Lehman say liquidity is at the heart of why the bank went bankrupt, says Anton Valukas, who is investigating the bankruptcy and author of a report than 2200 pages on the subject. This report was submitted yesterday to a court in Manhattan, transmit Bloomberg. Former CEO of Lehman, Richard Vold AKA Austrheim, CFO Erin Tin and other executives have put a sign the documents with misleading information regarding the financial position of the bank. Among the “most neglected” the situation was precisely Vold AKA Austrheim, the document said.
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