Asian Stocks Fall on Report U.S. Banks Are Found to Require More Capital Asian stocks fell the most in three weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. were told by U.S. regulators that they need more capital.
Sterlite Fourth-Quarter Profit Falls 55 Percent on Decline in Zinc Prices Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd., the nation’s largest copper and zinc producer, reported a drop in profit for the third straight quarter after copper-refining fees failed to offset a decline in zinc prices.
Monsoon Rains May Make Early Onset, Spurring Farmers to Advance Plantings India’s monsoon, forecast to be near normal this year, may arrive a week earlier than the normal June 1 date, boosting prospects for an early planting of crops such as rice, oilseeds and cotton.
Benchmark Stock Index Ends Three Days of Gains; Bharti, ICICI Pace Losses India’s Sensitive index declined, snapping a three-day, 5.1 percent advance, as investors judged the gains that drove the gauge to a six-month high excessive.
Rupee Weakens for Second Day on Speculation Importers Purchasing Dollars India’s rupee weakened for a second day on speculation domestic companies are stepping up dollar purchases to meet month-end debt and import payments.
Ten-Year Yield Holds at One-Week High as Notes Pare Gains on Debt Supply India’s 10-year bond yields held at a one-week high on speculation rising government debt sales will damp demand for the securities.
Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu May Influence Polls: India Votes Voters in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, home to about a third of India’s total parliamentary seats, may decide who forms the government in the world’s biggest democracy.
Oil Falls for Second Day on Concern Swine Flu Outbreak Will Slow Recovery Crude oil fell for a second day on concern that fuel demand will drop as the swine-flu outbreak curtails travel and delays a recovery from the global recession.
Consumer Confidence in U.S. Jumps Most Since 2005 Following Stock Recovery Consumer confidence jumped more than forecast in April as stocks rallied, mortgage rates dropped and Americans thought more jobs will become available, adding to signs the recession may be easing.
U.S. Stocks Erase Losses as Consumer Confidence Climbs More Than Forecast U.S. stocks drifted between gains and losses after a bigger-than-expected increase in consumer confidence offset concern that banks need more capital and the swine-flu outbreak will thwart an economic recovery.
Home-Price Drop Moderates in 20 U.S. Cities, May Be Sign of Stabilization The decline in home prices in 20 major U.S. cities slowed in February for the first time since 2007, amplifying signals that the market may be stabilizing.
IBM Increases Quarterly Dividend by 10%, Plans $3 Billion Share Repurchase International Business Machines Corp., the world’s biggest computer-services provider, increased its dividend by 10 percent and boosted its stock buyback plan by $3 billion.
Italy Police Seize $620 Million of Assets From Banks Arranging Milan Swaps Milan’s financial police seized 476 million euros ($620 million) of assets belonging to UBS AG, Deutsche Bank AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Depfa Bank Plc amid a probe into alleged fraud linked to the sale of derivatives.
Bristol-Myers Profit Tops Estimates on Lower Costs, Abilify, Plavix Sales Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s earnings beat analysts’ estimates on lower costs from job cuts and outsourcing and higher sales of mood stabilizing drug Abilify and blood thinner Plavix.
Motor Trend Publisher Source Interlink, Owned by Burkle, Files Bankruptcy Source Interlink Cos., the publisher of Motor Trend, Hot Rod and Street Chopper magazines controlled by billionaire Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos., sought bankruptcy protection as it moves to become a private company.
source: Bloomberg
