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Federal Reserve policy makers may find another round of Operation Twist is preferable to an outright asset-purchase program if the economy shows further signs of weakness or risks increase.
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on April 25 said he was prepared to take further action to aid the economy if necessary, even as he signaled that he didn
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World stocks fell Friday after credit downgrades slapped on Spanish banks unnerved investors already worried about the stability of the 17-country euro currency union.
The fall in European shares followed a sharp downturn in Asia where markets were also rattled by weak U.S. manufacturing figures.
The nervousness about Spain’s banks comes as the European financial crisis intensifies.
Political turmoil in Greece has increased the likelihood that it could leave the 17-country monetary union, a move that could have ripple effects throughout Europe and the world’s financial markets.
Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.8 percent to 5,295.30 and Germany’s DAX was 0.5 percent lower at 6,279.36. France’s CAC-40 lost 0.7 percent to 2,991.85.
But Wall Street looked set for a higher opening on Friday when shares of social media giant Facebook will start trading. Buyer demand is expected to be very strong. Dow Jones industrial futures rose 0.2 percent to 12,439 and S&P 500 futures added 0.2 percent to 1,304.40.
Markets were jolted by Moody’s downgrade Thursday of 16 Spanish banks, said Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong.
Moody’s said it took the action because the banks face a rising tide of bad loans linked to Spain’s recession, a gloomy real estate market and high unemployment.
“It’s very hard to predict how the euro crisis will evolve. All the news is bad, so investors like to stay on the sidelines even though stocks are very attractive right now,” Wong said.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 3 percent to close at 8,611.31, its lowest finish in four months as signs of weakness in the U.S., a critical export market for Japanese companies, battered some of the country’s behemoth manufacturers.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.3 percent to 18,951.85 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 2.7 percent to 4,046.50. South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 3.4 percent to 1,782.46. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand also fell.
Mainland Chinese shares lost ground, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index losing 1.4 percent to 2,344.52. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.5 percent to 940.91. Shares in ports and trading related companies led the gains, while shares in banks, shipping and defense industry companies weakened.
“The investors are pessimistic over China’s economic outlook, on top of the problems in Europe. It is more like a panic selling,” said Guo Yanhong, an analyst at Huachuang Securities, based in Beijing.
In the U.S., meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday that its index of factory activity fell to minus 5.8 from 8.5 in April. Any reading below zero indicates contraction. Measures of new orders and employment also fell in May, the bank said. That suggests manufacturers in the region are cutting jobs.
Among individual stocks, Japanese vehicle makers were hit hard. Yamaha Motor Co. tumbled 5 percent and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. was down 5.1 percent. Toyota Motor Corp. lost 3.7 percent.
Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea’s second-largest carrier, plunged 5.1 percent after reporting that its earnings slid in the first quarter of 2012 from a year earlier, mainly due to soaring fuel prices, Yonhap News Agency said.
Gold miners were among the gainers. Australia’s Newcrest Mining rose 3.8 percent on rising prices for the precious metal. Hong Kong-listed Zijin Mining Group Co., China’s largest gold miner, rose 3.4 percent.
Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 1 cent to $92.55 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 25 cents to settle at $92.56 in New York on Thursday.
In currencies, the euro fell to $1.2686 from $1.2714 late Thursday in New York. The dollar rose slightly to 79.30 yen from 79.28 yen.
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The $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan (JPM) Chase & Co. has revived concern that its regulator, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is too cozy with Wall Street.
JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon is one of three bankers sitting on the board of the New York Fed, as required by law. While directors play no part in bank supervision, Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, called for Dimon
Oil prices inched lower toward $96 a barrel Thursday in Asia after U.S. crude supplies rose to a 22-year high, suggesting demand remains weak.
Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 16 cents to $96.65 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 20 cents to settle at $96.81 in New York on Wednesday.
Brent crude for June delivery was down 44 cents at $112.76 per barrel in London.
On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration said that increased oil imports and weaker domestic demand for petroleum helped boost U.S. oil inventories last week to 379.5 million barrels, the highest since 1990.
China reported Thursday that its imports and exports in April grew less than analysts expected, sparking investor concern crude demand may be waning in the world’s second largest economy.
Crude has slumped $10, or about 10 percent, from $106 last week amid fears the global economy may grow less than expected this year business card. Political upheaval in France and Greece this week also renewed worries about Europe’s debt crisis and weak economy.
Some analysts expect oil prices to stabilize after the recent sell-off unless the global economy deteriorates significantly further.
“One could perhaps argue that with inventories building and global oil demand conditions softer in the first quarter, prices were on the high side to begin with,” Barclays said in a report. However, “the path of least resistance in prices is likely to be a slow grind higher from here in the coming months.”
In other energy trading, heating oil was down 1 cent at $2.99 per gallon and gasoline futures slid 0.8 cents to $3.02 per gallon. Natural gas added 0.5 cents at $2.47 per 1,000 cubic feet.
People have been hyping the death of the mall for the last two decades, but it’s not happening anytime soon, said Simon Property Group CEO David Simon.
"Time Magazine 20 years ago had that exact headline," Simon, who has been at the helm of the world’s largest mall operator since 1995, told CNNMoney at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. "If you look at our business and our profitability, it’s never been better."
Investors appear to agree. Simon Property Group’s () shares are up 22% in 2012, compared to an 11.7% increase in the S&P 500 ().
Simon admits growth in the United States is limited, even going so far as to say some lower-end malls around the U.S. could close. Most of Simon Property Group’s malls serve higher-end consumers.
He thinks most of Simon Property Group’s growth will come from driving sales into its existing malls by refurbishing them and adding new stores.
Simon points to Roosevelt Field mall on Long Island in New York as one example. After years of battling local community boards for approval, Simon Property Group recently landed luxury retailer Neiman Marcus as a tenant. Simon hopes such retailers will draw more high-spending customers into his malls.
For much of Simon’s tenure, buying up competing real estate investment trusts, or REITs, has driven growth. He’s spent roughly $27 billion in 17 years buying competitors, most recently paying $2 billion for a 29% stake in Europe’s largest retailer Klepierre.
Simon says to expect fewer big acquisitions going forward, yet there is one new area where he’d consider buying: technology. Simon wants to make his mall more more technologically sophisticated, and he said that buying up a technology startup could help Simon Property compete more effectively with e-commerce sites
"Ideally what I’d love to do is know when our best customers are in the mall. If you show up I want to deliver a free latte to you [and] I know exactly what kind of latte you want," said Simon.
Chanos: Beware of China’s ‘epic’ property bubble
While aggressively courting new and existing consumers, Simon doesn’t expect to fight battles with shareholders. Last year, Simon’s board awarded him roughly $120 million after he agreed to stay at the company for the next eight years. That makes him one of the most highly paid CEOs in the United States.
Simon said he deserves it. "Nobody has had better performance over 10 years, and I expect that to continue," said Simon. "Our board took a serious look at what I contributed and the prospects for what it means to be part of the company for another eight years."
The REIT’s returns have been exceptional. Since Simon joined as CEO in 1995, Simon Property has generated annual returns of 11.2% compared to roughly 6.7% for the S&P 500.
Shanghai and Beijing, the two cities with Asia
ST. LOUIS • When it comes to deciding how much taxpayers should know about plans to overhaul the Edward Jones Dome, the Rams appear to be calling the shots.
The Rams, who last month rejected a $124 million renovation plan from the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, by Tuesday must present the commission with an alternative plan to upgrade the Dome to “first tier” status.
But the CVC maintains that it will not publicly release the Rams’ plan unless the team gives it permission — even though public money likely would cover much, if not most, of the renovations.
So while key officials at the CVC, city and county will see Tuesday what the team wants to do with the Dome, taxpayers could be left in the dark — depending on the Rams’ whims.
At stake could be the fate of professional football in St. Louis, as the team ultimately could leave if talks break down.
Kevin Demoff, the team’s executive vice president for football operations, declined to say last week whether the team would allow its plan to be released.
The CVC, a public agency that operates the Dome, has taken the same stance since the process to reach a deal began this year: it will release records only if the Rams say it’s OK.
The team gave its blessing on Feb. 1, when the CVC publicly released its own proposal to renovate the Dome. But in March, when the Post-Dispatch submitted a public records request for the letter the Rams sent rejecting the proposal, the CVC said no. Its stated reason: the Rams wouldn’t allow the release of the letter.
At issue is a provision in the Dome lease that states the CVC and the Rams can keep some information confidential, except under certain circumstances — such as when laws or NFL policies require information to be released, or if all parties give permission to making information public.
Kathleen “Kitty” Ratcliffe, president of the CVC, repeatedly has said the commission is legally bound by the clause.
Mike Jones, a senior policy adviser to St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley, backed that stance.
“You live with the contract you’ve got and those are the terms, so we’ve got to live with them,” Jones said. “Ultimately, at the end of the day, everything will see the light of day.”
Dooley and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay each appoint five commissioners of the CVC’s 11-member board. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon appoints the chairman.
Kara Bowlin, spokeswoman for Slay, released a statement, saying only, “We fully expect the CVC to honor all of its legal obligations.” She did not elaborate.
SUNSHINE LAW OFFENSE?
But the CVC’s position may not comply with state law — specifically, the Missouri Sunshine Law, which requires governments and public agencies to keep most records and meetings open to public view.
A representative with the state attorney general’s office said a confidentiality clause can’t supersede the open-records law.
“In my experience, a confidentiality agreement with a third party does not constitute an exception to the sunshine law,” Patricia Churchill, chief of the governmental affairs division, said in statement responding to a question about the law in general Internet Payday loans.
Arnie Robbins, editor of the Post-Dispatch, said he expects the CVC to obey state public-records laws and release the Rams counterproposal, just as it released its own proposal in February.
“We fully anticipate that our public officials will, in fact, make public a proposal that calls for spending millions of dollars in public funds on a public facility. It’s the right thing to do,” Robbins said in a statement. “The public has a right to know how its tax money could be spent. We don’t see how a so-called confidentiality agreement benefits the public, and we certainly cannot imagine how it could trump state laws that protect the public’s right to know.”
There are exceptions in the Sunshine Law that allow public bodies to keep some records closed, like those dealing with ongoing lawsuits or the buying and selling of real estate.
But Kenneth Bunting, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition in Columbia, Mo., doesn’t believe the CVC can argue that any of the exemptions apply. Some exemptions make sense, he said, “but open-government laws start with the presumption of openness.”
“We’re talking about a project involving a public facility and a lot of public money that much of the public are going to view with a lot of skepticism,” Bunting said, adding that it’s a “real outrage” the CVC and Rams “aren’t going out of their way to make this public.”
ARBITRATION IS POSSIBLE
Under the terms of the Rams’ 30-year lease, the CVC is required to come up with a renovation plan to make the Dome “first tier,” or better than three-quarters of all National Football League venues, in 15 categories.
The franchise rejected the CVC’s Feb. 1 plan, and the Rams have until Tuesday to make a counteroffer. If a deal isn’t struck by June 15, the two sides would go into arbitration, which could run through year’s end. Without an agreement, the Rams’ lease would become year-to-year after the 2014 football season, with the team free to move after that.
The Dome, which opened in 1995, was largely financed with $256 million in bonds, and the repayment of that 30-year debt will be $720 million. Every year, Missouri spends $12 million to pay off the debt, and St. Louis and St. Louis County each pay $6 million.
Representatives of Slay and Dooley have said that voters in the city and county would have to approve any deal that involves raising taxes or redirecting existing streams of public money. But some options, such as taxes and fees charged in and around the Dome, might not necessarily trigger a public vote.
TORONTO
Record Chinese oil imports are emptying the Atlantic Ocean of very large crude carriers and their 2 million-barrel cargoes, driving a rebound in rates for the smaller vessels left to supply the U.S. from West Africa.
Suezmaxes, each holding 1 million barrels, will earn an average of $18,750 a day this quarter, 45 percent more than now, according to the median of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That
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