Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC, has derided the Federal Reserve for downplaying improvement in the U.S. economy. Yet his 2.6 percent forecast for growth this year is below the midpoint in the central bank
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Spain managed to auction nearly (EURO)2.5 billion ($3.18 billion) in medium-term debt amid strong demand but at sharply higher interest rates reflecting concerns that the country will be caught up in the fallout of the Greek crisis.
The Treasury sold three kinds of notes Thursday, two maturing in 2015 and one in 2016. Of them only one was strictly comparable to previous sales and the interest rate, or yield, on that three-year bond went up to 4.87 percent, from 4 fast payday loan no faxing.04 percent on May 3.
On the secondary market, the interest rate on Spanish 10-year bonds stood at 6.28 percent. The spread _ the difference between it and the yield on safe-haven German bunds _ was 481 basis points.
Spain’s Ibex 35 stock index was virtually unchanged in early trading.
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The European Commission has called on EU nations to stick to their promised budget cuts despite voter discontent in France and Greece, but promised new efforts to boost growth to alleviate economic hardship.
EU President Herman Van Rompuy also called for an impromptu informal summit of the 27 EU government leaders on May 23 to discuss economic growth and to prepare for a summit in June focused on job-boosting measures.
In elections on Sunday, voters in France and Greece gave strong support to parties who want to roll back or slow down the spending cuts and tax increases that have defined Europe’s response to its debt crisis.
Scott Thompson’s reign as Yahoo’s CEO is in jeopardy after just four months on the job because he allowed an inaccuracy about his academic credentials to recur for years.
A major Yahoo shareholder who exposed the fabrication is now leading the charge to oust Thompson for unethical conduct. In a letter Friday, activist hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb demanded that the board of the struggling Internet company fire Thompson by noon EDT Monday or face possible legal action.
“CEO’s have been terminated for less at other companies,” wrote Loeb, who controls a 5.8 percent stake in Yahoo through his hedge fund, Third Point.
Yahoo reiterated Friday that “the board is reviewing this matter and, upon completion of its review, will make an appropriate disclosure to shareholders.”
Thompson’s troubles revolve around an exaggeration about his education at Stonehill College, a small Catholic school near Boston where he graduated in 1979. Since announcing Thompson’s hiring in January, Yahoo had included two bachelor’s degrees — one for accounting and the other for computer science — on the executive’s biography. The dual degrees appeared on Yahoo’s website and in an April 27 document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission free business cards.
After being confronted Thursday by Loeb, Yahoo confirmed that Thompson received only an accounting degree from Stonehill. Yahoo has since removed all references to Thompson’s education from its website. The company hadn’t amended its SEC filing with the inaccuracy as of late Friday.
It’s unclear whether the inaccuracy originated with Thompson or someone else at Yahoo.
Even if Thompson didn’t personally write his biography, he almost certainly reviewed the information and should be held accountable for the distortion, said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.
Yahoo blamed an “inadvertent error.” After that excuse was ridiculed on the Internet, Yahoo issued another statement late Thursday about the board’s intent to look into what happened.
Loeb is trying to oust Thompson as he seeks four seats on Yahoo’s board of directors — one for himself and three for his allies.
Home prices in 20 U.S. cities dropped at a slower pace in the year ended February, pointing to stabilization in the real-estate market.
The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values fell 3.5 percent from a year earlier, the smallest 12-month drop since February 2011, a report from the group showed today in New York. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 3.4 percent fall. The index climbed from the prior month on a seasonally adjusted basis for the first time since April of last year.
Steadying home values are needed to lay the groundwork for a sustained rebound in the housing industry by giving prospective buyers confidence. Near record-low borrowing costs and more hiring may help the market absorb the foreclosures still in the pipeline, which may mean housing will no longer hinder economic growth.
European policy makers were urged to be tougher and more agile in their efforts to end two years of debt turmoil as the International Monetary Fund won more than $430 billion to safeguard the world economy.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde
Speculators cut bullish wagers on commodities by the most in 2012 on mounting concern that the slowest Chinese growth in almost three years will curb gains in demand for everything from copper to cotton.
Money managers lowered net-long positions across 18 U.S. futures and options by 9.3 percent to 1.01 million contracts in the week ended April 10, the biggest reduction since Dec. 20, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. Copper holdings tumbled 84 percent, the most since November. Hedge funds are now betting on lower cotton prices.
China
Singapore’s central bank tightened its monetary policy Friday by allowing for a stronger currency to combat the island’s stubbornly high inflation rate.
A jump in global oil prices since October has quickened inflation to near 5 percent in Singapore, which imports all of its fuel. A stronger Singapore dollar would lower the prices of imports while possibly making the country’s exports less competitive.
Unlike most central banks, The Monetary Authority of Singapore uses currency, rather than a benchmark lending rate, to help control money supply. The bank’s statement Friday indicated it would allow the Singapore dollar to rise at a faster rate.
The shift in policy will likely speed the rate of appreciation by one percentage point to between 2 percent and 3 percent a year, said Robert Prior-Wandesforde, director of Asian economics at Credit Suisse in Singapore.
Besides Singapore and Indonesia, policymakers in Asia will likely hold steady or ease monetary policy amid concern about slowing economic growth, Prior-Wandesforde said.
“We doubt Singapore’s monetary tightening move will be replicated in Asia this year,” he said. “The crucial difference is the fact that Singapore inflation is comparatively high.”
The central bank also raised its inflation forecast for this year by one percentage point to between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent.
“Inflation has come in stronger than expected since October and will remain elevated over the next few months,” the central bank said in its biannual monetary policy statement. “External inflationary pressures are likely to be sustained, largely due to higher oil prices.”
The central bank sets a trading range for the Singapore dollar though doesn’t publicly disclose the details. It intervenes to keep the currency inside the trading band.
The government also released first quarter preliminary growth figures Friday based on data mostly from January and February. The city-state’s economic growth slowed to 1.6 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the trade and industry ministry said. The government is forecasting growth of 1 percent to 3 percent this year, down from 4.9 percent last year.
However, compared with the fourth quarter, the economy expanded a seasonally adjusted, annualized 9.9 percent and avoided a recession after falling 2.5 percent in the October to December period. Manufacturing, led by pharmaceuticals and electronics, rebounded strongly in the first quarter from a contraction in the fourth, buoyed by better than expected global demand.
Construction and services also improved compared with the fourth quarter.
“Today’s message is clear: Singapore is reaccelerating,” DBS bank said in a report.
After a battle lasting almost two years, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has knuckled under to the Indian government, giving security forces in that country access to private instant messages.
Experts say the change, first reported in the newsmagazine India Today, could lead to similar access for other spy agencies and government bodies around the world
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