Yellen: Higher capital rules may be needed for big banks

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said additional capital may be required for large U.S. banks whose source of funding could be at risk during a financial crisis. A study by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision “provides some support for the view that there might be room for stronger capital and liquidity standards for large banks than have been adopted so far,” Yellen said in prepared remarks for a speech in Stone Mountain, Georgia. “Tightening risk-based capital and liquidity requiremen

April 16, 2014

WTO raises outlook for global commerce

GENEVA (AFP) ― Global commerce is set to grow by 4.7 percent this year, the World Trade Organization said on Monday, with recovery in rich economies expected to mitigate risks in developing nations.The WTO previously had forecast that trade would expand by 4.5 percent in 2014, up from an estimated rate of 2.1 percent in 2013.So the latest forecast points to substantially more than a doubling of the growth achieved last year.Trade is a key measure of the health of the global economy which it both

April 15, 2014

Disease threatens world’s bananas: U.N.

ROME (AFP) ― The United Nations warned on Monday of the potential “massive destruction” of the world’s $5-billion a year banana crop as a plant disease spreads from Asia to Africa and the Middle East.The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said the TR4 strain of Panama disease, which has already hit tens of thousands of hectares in Southeast Asia, had been reported in Jordan and Mozambique.The disease is “posing a serious threat to production and export” of bananas, the fourth most impo

April 15, 2014

Analyst forecasts deeper China slowdown in Q1

China’s loss of economic momentum in the first quarter was deeper than the most widely-cited data will show, according to analyst forecasts for a gauge that’s gaining increasing recognition. Gross domestic product grew 1.5 percent from the previous three months, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of data released Wednesday, down from 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter. That indicates a sharper deceleration than the median projection for 7.3 percent growth from a yea

April 15, 2014

China’s gold demand rising 25% by 2017 as buyers get wealthier

Gold demand in China, which overtook India as the largest user last year, will rise about 25 percent in the next four years as an increasing population gets wealthier, according to the World Gold Council. Consumer demand will expand to at least 1,350 metric tons by 2017, the London-based council said in a report Tuesday. Growth may be limited this year after 2013’s price decline spurred consumers to do more buying last year, it said. China accounted for about 28 percent of global usage last year

April 15, 2014

Oracle’s Ellison highest-paid chief executive

Oracle Corp.’s Larry Ellison was the highest-paid chief executive officer in the U.S. last year as total compensation overall rose 9 percent from 2012, the New York Times reported.Ellison received $78.4 million, which includes salary and perks of $1.54 million, and stock options valued at $76.9 million, the newspaper said in an article published online. Ellison was the highest-paid executive in the same survey a year ago, with $96.2 million in compensation for 2012. Walt Disney Co.’s Robert Iger

April 14, 2014

Financial chiefs see global economy turning corner

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The world’s top finance officials expressed confidence Saturday that the global economy finally has turned the corner to stronger growth. This time, they may be right.Despite challenges that include market jitters about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s bond-buying slowdown and global tensions over Ukraine, policymakers said they believe there is a foundation for sustained growth that can provide jobs for the millions of people still looking for work five years after the worst recessi

April 13, 2014

Beef prices reach highest level since 1987

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) ― The highest beef prices in almost three decades have arrived just before the start of grilling season, causing sticker shock for both consumers and restaurant owners ― and relief isn’t likely anytime soon. A dwindling number of cattle and growing export demand from countries such as China and Japan have caused the average retail cost of fresh beef to climb to $5.28 a pound in February, up almost a quarter from January and the highest price since 1987. Everything that’s prod

April 13, 2014

French minister in Cuba as Europe seeks opening

HAVANA (AP) ― A French foreign minister visited Cuba for the first time in more than 30 years Saturday, travelling to the communist-run nation at a time when it is seeking to attract more foreign investment and improve ties with the European Union.Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius met with his Cuban counterpart Bruno shortly after arriving in Havana. French officials said the trip is to promote business ties and support French companies that want to do business in Cuba.“We want to strengthen our t

April 13, 2014

Greece to end its bond market exile

ATHENS (AFP) ― Greece announced Wednesday its return to the debt markets after a four-year absence on the same day protestors launched the first anti-austerity strike of the year, crippling key services across the country.While up to 20,000 people demonstrated in the streets of the capital Athens and second city Thessaloniki, disrupting rail and ferry services and closing government offices, Greece’s Finance Ministry said the country would issue medium-term debt for the first time since 2010.“Th

April 10, 2014

Fed struggled to agree on rate policy: minutes

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Federal Reserve struggled last month over how to convey to investors that it will raise short-term interest rates only slowly once it increases them from record lows.Two weeks before the Fed’s regular meeting March 18-19, it held an unusual and previously unannounced videoconference to debate the issue, according to minutes, or written records, of the meeting released Wednesday.In the end, the Fed settled on an open-ended approach: That even after employment and inflation a

April 10, 2014