MediaScrape News » Capital Markets & Geopolitics

U.S. Congressional Reports Federal Deficit of $1 Trillion

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:31:41 +0000

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) affirms that the annual federal deficit will reach $1 trillion in 2012, for the fourth year in a row.

However, the deficit will be the smallest since 2009, when the government began spending more to help drive the economy out of recession.

The 2012 deficit is currently projected at $1.1 trillion, which is down from $1.4 trillion the previous three years.

The CBO predicted that the deficit would fall dramatically in 2013, as the Bush tax cuts expire and deep cuts to the Pentagon will take effect.

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CBO: $1.1T deficit, at least 8% jobless rate this year‎ USA TODAY
US deficit to top $1 trillion, smallest since ’09‎ Washington Post
US budget deficit to dip to $1.1T‎ The Associated Press
Wall Street Journal – Bloomberg
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Bain Capital Ventures Raises $600 Million, as Venture Capital Surges

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:09:09 +0000

The largest venture capital firms, keep getting bigger.

Bain Capital Ventures, for example, has raised $600 million for a new fund, its largest to date.

Bain Capial Ventures, which had previously raised a total of $1.48 billion, affirms that the round was “significantly” oversubscribed, with new investors making up about 15% of the fund.

The announcement comes while many of the largest venture firms in Silicon Valley are bulking up: Over the last twelve months, several have raised funds containing more than half a billion dollars. For example, Andreessen Horowitz, the firm led by Netscape co-founder, Marc Andreessen, is said to be seeking $1.5 billion in new capital.

Accel, an early investor in Facebook, closed several funds in 2011, totaling more than $2 billion.

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Bain Capital Ventures Raises $600 Million Fund‎ New York Times
Bain Capital Ventures raises $600M fund‎ Boston Business Journal (blog)
Bain Capital Raises $600M Fund‎ Daily Beast
BostInno – Law360 (subscription)
all 8 news articles »

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Economy at World Economic Forum

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:22:18 +0000

As the economy takes center stage in the U.S. Presidential campaign, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithnerdelivered an upbeat growth outlook at the World Economic Forum, but warned that America’s recovery could still be derailed by geopolitical and financial troubles abroad.

The U.S. is likely to grow at 2 to 3% this year, Mr. Geithner told a large audience at the World Economic Forum, unless Europe fails to keep a lid on its chronic sovereign debt crisis or a rise in tensions between Iran and the international community stoke global oil prices.

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Geithner Urges Bigger Euro ‘Firewall’ as Condition for More Help‎ BusinessWeek
Geithner presses Europe to increase crisis firewall‎ Reuters Canada
Geithner urges bigger financial firewall in Europe‎ MarketWatch
AFP
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George Soros tells World Economic Forum to Save Eurozone, not Greece

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:09:30 +0000

Billionaire investor George Soros told the World Economic Forum in Davos that it was possible Greece could be pushed out of the euro zone this year.

“The odds, let’s say, are in that direction,” Mr. Soros said.

Instead of working to keep the country as a member of the single currency, Soros added, European policy makers should focus on saving the rest of the euro bloc.

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n-Depth: George Soros predicts riots, police state and class war for America‎ RT
Blog: DAVOS: Soros Offers A Prescription For Euro Zone‎ Barron’s (blog)
Live Updating: Davos 2012: live‎ Telegraph.co.uk
CNBC.com – New York Times
all 129 news articles »

China Cracks Down on Tibetan Protesters

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:00:32 +0000

Chinese security forces have unleashed a harsh crackdown on Tibetan protesters, as Chinese forces fired tear gas at Tibetan protesters in Sichuan province, according to an activist group, just a day after forces fired on a crowd of demonstrators.

As many as six people died in the clash.

China’s state news agency affirmed that one protester was killed, and five police officers were injured in yesterday’s clash, which it described as a crowd of people, including monks, smashing stores along the town’s main street.

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International: Tibetan prisoner paralysed after severe torture, released‎ Phayul
Blog: China Criticizes ‘Hyped’ Reports of Tibetan Clashes‎ Voice of America (blog)
Chinese forces break up Tibetan protest with tear‎ Reuters
all 420 news articles »

Iran says Oil Strait will Close in Response to European Union Sanctions

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:23:57 +0000

Two Iranian lawmakers are affirming that the country will shut off the Strait of Hormuz if the international community limits the sale of Iranian oil—which is what the European Union (EU) did.

The EU has agreed on an oil embargo against Tehran as part of sanctions over the country’s nuclear program, which means that new contracts on Iranian crude will be banned and that existing ones will expire in July.

Lawmaker Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, the deputy head of Iran’s national security committee, avowed that the strait “would definitely be closed if the sale of Iranian oil is violated in any way.”

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Blog: EU Bans Iranian Oil, Freezes Central Bank Assets‎ Voice of America (blog)
EU Embargoes Iranian Oil‎ Wall Street Journal
The Associated Press – Washington Post
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China Investment Corporation Acquires 8.68% Stake in Britain’s Thames Water

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:54:30 +0000

China continues to invest in global infrastructure projects, as it has just announced that the China Investment Corporation, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has acquired an 8.68% stake in Thames Water, Britain’s largest water and sewerage company.

This marks the first investment in Britain by the China Investment Corporation, which was created in 2007, and has $410 billion of assets under management as of 2010, which is when the latest figures are available.

The China sovereign wealth fund was established to invest the proceeds from China’s foreign currency reserves, which now total more than $3 trillion.

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Blog: China’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Buys Minority Stake in British Utility‎ New York Times (blog)
Rise of the Peking Pound: China buys 10% stake in Britain’s …‎ Daily Mail
The Press Association – Telegraph.co.uk
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Bank of America Swings to a Profit on One-Time Gains

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:47:49 +0000

Driven up by one-time gains, Bank of America on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter profit, following a loss a year ago, however the gain was overshadowed by continuing weakness on Wall Street.

Bank of America earned $2 billion, or 15 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $1.2 billion in the same period last year.

The earnings met the consensus estimate of the analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

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In-Depth: Bank of America Investment Bank Posts Second Loss Under Montag‎ Bloomberg
Blog: Bank of America Soars on Revenue Surprise, Credit Progress‎ Barron’s (blog)
Bank of America posts fourth-quarter profit‎ Reuters
Wall Street Journal – The Associated Press
all 272 news articles »

Carlyle Group Readies an Unfriendly I.P.O. for Shareholders

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:03:42 +0000

The Carlyle Group, the private equity firm that is preparing to go public, is proposing the most shareholder-unfriendly corporate governance structure in modern history.

The proposal starts with the fact that Carlyle is providing its soon-to-be public shareholders with no power over the company, as Carlyle shareholders will have no ability to elect directors. Rather, Carlyle intends for the company to be controlled by its management, primarily its co-founders: Daniel A. D’Aniello, the firm’s chairman, and William E. Conway Jr. and David M. Rubenstein, the co-chief executives.

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Carlyle Group’s IPO Lays The Groundwork For An Abusive, Coercive …‎ DealBreaker
Carlyle Seeks to Ban Shareholder Lawsuits Before IPO‎ Bloomberg
Carlyle Group moves to block shareholder suits‎ MarketWatch
Business Insider
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Goldman Sachs Profit Drops, but Beats Estimates

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:22:09 +0000

Goldman Sachs has reported that it earned $978 million in the fourth quarter, significantly below the $2.23 billion it posted in the period a year earlier, as the Wall street firm continued to struggle with poor economic conditions both nationally and internationally.

Regardless, the performance of $1.84 a share exceeded the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who predicted that Goldman would earn $1.24 a share.

Google Links:

In-Depth: Goldman Sachs Profit Drops 58%, Beats Analyst Estimates on Cost …‎ Bloomberg
Blog: Goldman Slashes Expenses, Ups Risk, Beats Expectations‎ Barron’s (blog)
Goldman Sachs earnings fall 58%‎ Financial Times
San Francisco Chronicle – ABC News
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