US official hopeful on US-China audit negotiations


* PCAOB’s Doty has warned time to reach deal running shortBERLIN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A top U.S. securities regulator on Tuesday said he is optimistic about negotiations for joint U.S.-Chinese inspections of auditors in China, and downplayed officials’ inability to so far set a date for a second round of talks.Ethiopis Tafara, director of the Office of International Affairs at the Securities and Exchange Commission, said regulators have not yet scheduled a Chinese delegation visit to Washington. A meeting had been expected in October.”These typically are large delegations, and coordination of views and schedules takes time,” Tafara told Reuters on the margins of a regulatory conference.”The talks have been good so far and lay the foundation for further discussions about the manner in which we can cooperate.”There has been growing U.S. concern over accounting practices at some U.S.-listed Chinese companies.An SEC review of accounting problems at foreign-based stock issuers sharpened its focus earlier this year when dozens of China-based companies began disclosing auditor resignations or book-keeping irregularities.For example, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA Ltd in May resigned as auditor of Chinese software company Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd , saying it had found falsified financial records and bank balance confirmations.The SEC, Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the accounting methods of certain U.S.-listed Chinese companies.At the same time, the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which regulates corporate auditors, are negotiating with Chinese authorities to create a protocol for future joint inspections of Chinese audit firms.U.S. and Chinese officials held an initial round of talks in Beijing in July.Earlier this month, PCAOB Chairman James Doty warned that time to reach a deal may be running out.If the Chinese do not agree to joint inspections, “we will have to consider using the tools we have at our disposal, and which the Congress gave us for this purpose, to protect investors,” Doty said at a speech in Washington in early October.Regarding international accounting standards, Tafara said the SEC will decide by the end of this year on whether to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards. However, he said there is no specific date set for that decision.International accounting officials have been pressuring the SEC to make a decision soon, arguing a single global standard would reduce companies’ cost of capital.

@7 months ago
#US #official #hopeful #on #USChina #audit #negotiations 

Daimler fires Mercedes-Benz USA chief


Mercedes-Benz USA posted record sales of almost 24,000 vehicles in September, up 15.6 percent year-on-year, helped by its new C-Class model designed to attract younger customers buying their first Mercedes.In the first nine months of 2011, its sales in the United States were up 10.3 percent.

@7 months ago with 150 notes
#Daimler #fires #MercedesBenz #USA #chief 

Yuan weakens vs dlr, China signals yuan appreciation pauses


* Opportunity to iron out domestic opposition for yuan rise* Yuan seen moving between 6.3375/dlr and 6.40 in near term* Yuan at 6.3780, still up 3.32 percent so far this yearBy Lu Jianxin and Jacqueline WongSHANGHAI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The yuan fell against the dollar on Tuesday after the central bank set a weaker mid-point, a move traders said signalled that the government was initiating a pause in yuan appreciation.China appears to hold the view that the yuan’s exchange rate had been politicised after the U.S. Senate approved a controversial bill one week ago aimed at forcing Beijing to push the yuan higher against the dollar, traders said.In a related development, data on Tuesday showed China’s economic expansion slowed in the third quarter to its weakest pace since the second quarter of 2009, offering an easy excuse for the country to slow yuan appreciation.And a pause in the yuan’s rise could offer China’s small exporters a breather after it rose around 30 percent versus the dollar since the Chinese currency’s landmark revaluation in 2005 pushed many of them out of business, they said.Millions of Chinese work in tiny companies producing clothes, shoes, toys and other daily commodities that have an annual profit margin of less than 10 percent and could run into bankruptcy if the yuan appreciated at an annual ratio of 5 percent or more, traders said.”The government apparently feels frustrated with U.S. politicians who appear never to be happy with what China has done about yuan appreciation,” said a trader at a Chinese commercial bank in Shenzhen.”While stopping yuan appreciation to watch what will happen next in the United States, it is a good opportunity for the government to iron out some domestic opposition to the rise.”Spot yuan was trading at 6.3780 by midday, down from Monday’s close of 6.3706. It has still risen 3.32 percent since the start of this year and 7.03 percent since it was depegged from the dollar in June 2010.Before trading began, the PBOC set the mid-point of the day at 6.3749, slightly weaker than Monday’s 6.3710. The central bank uses the reference rate to signal the government’s intentions for the yuan, which can rise or fall 0.5 percent from the mid-point in a day.OLD PATTERNChina had let the yuan appreciate as much as nearly 4 percent from the beginning of this year to Tuesday last week — just ahead of the U.S. Senate’s approval of its yuan bill.In contrast with previous years, the yuan’s appreciation this year was achieved without U.S. prodding as China used the exchange rate to help it battle against imported inflation.Previously, China had let the yuan appreciate more as political concessions to the United States, most typically, ahead of major political events such as the meeting of the two nations’ leaders or global summits.Such an old pattern is seen returning now, with traders saying it has become increasingly difficult to predict the yuan’s movements in the future.”As the yuan falls prey to politics, you don’t know when it will appreciate or depreciate as its value will be less based on economic and market fundamentals,” said a European bank dealer in Shanghai.Many traders said they were no longer sticking to their prediction at the start of this year that the yuan could rise 5 to 6 percent versus the dollar for the year.In the near term, however, they expected the yuan to move between 6.3375 and 6.40 against the dollar. The 6.3375 level is the yuan’s record high hit on Oct. 11, right ahead of the U.S. Senate’s approval of its yuan bill.Offshore, one-year dollar/yuan non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) were bid at 6.3920 in morning trade, up slightly from 6.3895 at the close on Monday.They implied yuan depreciation of 0.27 percent in 12 months from Tuesday’s PBOC mid-point, compared with depreciation of 0.23 percent they implied on Monday.

@7 months ago with 25 notes
#Yuan #weakens #vs #dlr #China #signals #yuan #appreciation #pauses 

EU mergers and takeovers (Oct 13)


APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS:— Private investment firms KKR and Silver Lake Group to acquire joint control of U.S. provider of website services The Go Daddy Group (approved Oct. 12)NEW LISTINGS:NoneEXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES:NoneFIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINEOCT 13— Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to acquire U.S. specialty drugmaker Cephalon (notified Aug. 25/deadline extended to Oct. 13 from Sept. 29 after Teva offers commitments)OCT 14— Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to acquire a stake in international health club operator Virgin Active (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 14)— Private equity firms KKR and Silver Lake, and funds controlled by Technology Crossover Ventures to acquire joint control of Arizona-registered company Godaddy Group (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 14/simplified)OCT 18— Mitsubishi Corp to acquire a stake in Czech auto car body maker Sungwoo Hitech from South Korea’s Sungwoo Hitech Co Ltd (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)OCT 20— Dutch bank AEGON’s Spanish unit to acquire a 50 percent stake in Spanish life insurer Cajaburgos Vida, part of Banca Civica (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)— Danish dairy coperative Arla Foods to acquire German dairy cooperative Allgauland (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20)— A joint venture led by Gores Group LLC to acquire clothing retailer Mexx from Liz Claiborne Inc (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)OCT 24— German sugar company Suedzucker to acquire a 25 percent stake in British commodities trading company ED&F Man (notified Sept. 19/deadline Oct. 24)OCT 26— German property operator ECE and German retailer Metro to set up a joint venture (notified Sept. 21/deadline Oct. 26)— U.S.-based Seagate Technology to acquire Samsung Electronic’s hard disk drive business (notified April 19/deadline extended for the second time to Oct. 26 from Oct. 10)— U.S. equipment maker Caterpillar to acquire German maker of gas and diesel engine maker MWM Holding GmbH (notified March 14/deadline extended to Oct. 26 from Sept 16 after Commission opens in-depth investigation and despite commitments offered)OCT 28— U.S. company Dow Chemical and Japanese trading house Mitsui to set up a Brazilian joint venture (notified Sept. 23/deadline Oct. 28/simplified)— German conglomerate Siemens to acquire Dutch engineering company NEM Holding (notified Sept. 23/deadline Oct. 28)OCT 31— Vitol Investment Holdings, a unit of oil trader Vital , and U.S. energy company ArcLight to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based Petro Lux (notified Sept. 26/deadline Oct. 31/simplified)NOV 3— Belgian building materials group Etex to acquire German peer Lafarge’s gypsum assets in Europe and South America (notified Sept. 27/deadline Nov. 3)— U.S. healthcare company Johnson & Johnson to acquire Swiss medical devices maker Synthes Inc (notified Sept. 27/deadline Nov. 3)— Private equity group TPG Capital LP to acquire a stake in Danish online brokerage Saxo Bank from Portugal’s Banco Espirito Santo (notified Sept. 27/deadline Nov. 3/simplified)NOV 8— German fruit producer Agrana and Austrian equipment maker RWA to combined their subsidiaries into a joint venture (notified Sept. 30/deadline Nov. 8)NOV 10— U.S. cleaning and pest-control services company Ecolab to acquire water treatment services company Nalco Holding (notified Oct. 4/deadline Nov. 10)NOV 14— German industrial services company Buchen Industrieservice to acquire German technical services company ThyssenKrupp Xervon (notified Oct. 6/deadline Nov. 14/simplified)NOV 15— German natural gas supplier Verbundnetz Gas Aktiengesellschaft to sell a 25.1 percent stake in VNG Austria to CE Gas Marketing & Trading (notified Oct. 7/deadline Nov. 15/simplified)NOV 17— French company Caisse des Depots et Consignations to acquire 50 percent of a Paris real estate from a subsidiary of French insurer Axa (notified Oct. 11/deadline Nov. 17/simplified)— French power and transport engineering group Alstom and Bouygues subsidiaries Bouygues Immobilier and Exprim SAS to form a joint venture (notified Oct. 11/deadline Nov. 17/simplified)NOV 30— U.S. technology company Western Digital Corp to acquire Hitachi’s hard disk drive business (notified April 20/deadline extended for the fourth time to Nov. 30 from Nov. 9 after Western Digital offered remedies)— U.S. conglomerate General Electric, Russian energy producer and importer Inter Rao Ues and Russian engine maker United Engine Corporation to set up a joint venture (notified Sept. 30/deadline Nov 9/simplified)DEC 13— Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext to merge (notified June 29/deadline extended to Dec. 13 from Aug. 4 after Commission opens in-depth probe)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESSDEADLINES:The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED:Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified — that is, ordinary first-stage reviews — until they are approved.

@7 months ago with 65 notes
#EU #mergers #and #takeovers #(Oct #13) 

Edison Italy investors propose top value on put option-source


In March the shareholders reached an agreement for the reorganisation of Edison which envisaged a three-year put option that would allow the Italian shareholders to exit.”A request has been put forward at maximum (valuation) level and shortly there will be a counterproposal,” the source said.Edison’s key shareholders originally bought their shares at around 1.5 euros each.Shares in Edison traded on Thursday at around 0.95 euros.The source said an agreement between A2A and Iren over the creation of a renewable energy unit based on assets from Edison’s affiliate Edipower was close.The March agreement, which was initially blocked by Italy’s government, essentially gave EDF majority control of Edison in return for a series assets.

@7 months ago with 80 notes
#Edison #Italy #investors #propose #top #value #on #put #optionsource 

UPDATE 1-Fitch cuts Fiat rating on short-term Chrysler worries


* Cut also reflects reliance on Italy, Brazil* Moody’s cut Fiat rating in SeptemberMILAN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings cut its credit rating on Fiat , citing short-term risks from the Italian carmaker’s takeover of U.S peer Chrysler and its reliance on its home market and Brazil.Fitch cut Fiat ratings one notch to BB from BB+. The ratings cut also reflected Fiat’s small presence in fast-growing markets like China, India and Russia.”The current ratings are based on Fiat’s standalone credit profile but incorporate heightened short-term risks for Fiat from its combination with Chrysler in an increasingly challenging environment for the group,” Fitch said on Tuesday.Fiat, which has run Chrysler since a 2009 bailout deal with the U.S. government, owns 53.5 percent of the U.S. carmaker and was due to raise its stake to 58.5 percent at the year-end.While Fiat could benefit from the greater geographic exposure Chrysler provides and from its product range, integration raised the likelihood of mutual support should one of the partners run into financial difficulty, Fitch said.Chief executive Sergio Marchionne, who has made Fiat one of Europe’s top turnaround stories, wants to make it a major global player through a revamped Chrysler.In Brazil, its top growth market, Fiat faced challenges to its dominant position from new entrants while growth of the market is expected to fall going forward, Fitch said.In September, Moody’s cut Fiat’s credit rating to reflect its closer ties with Chrysler and the increased risk of a loss of market share in Europe and greater competition in Brazil.

@7 months ago with 14 notes
#UPDATE #1Fitch #cuts #Fiat #rating #on #shortterm #Chrysler #worries 

Cain to face tougher scrutiny at Republican debate


* Perry has to improve debate performanceBy Steve HollandLAS VEGAS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Unlikely Republican front-runner Herman Cain faces close scrutiny on Tuesday when the party’s hopefuls for U.S. president in 2012 debate in a gambling city famed for separating winners from losers.Cain will be in the spotlight when candidates face off in a CNN-sponsored debate in Las Vegas at 8 p.m. eastern time (0000 GMT) but his is not the only significant storyline.Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney still has to sell himself to conservative voters who have been looking for an alternative.Many political experts believe Romney will ultimately be the Republican nominee to face Democratic President Barack Obama next year but he has a long way to go yet.Texas Governor Rick Perry, a staunch conservative, has to prove he can hold his own on stage with his main rivals after four shaky debate performances that knocked him out of the front-runner position.Cain, a former Godfather’s Pizza chief executive and motivational speaker, has shot to the top of polls of Republican voters based on the simplicity of his “9-9-9” growth plan that would overhaul the U.S. tax code.Experts have questioned whether his idea to cut personal income and corporate taxes to 9 percent, while creating a 9 percent national sales tax, would in fact raise taxes on lower- and middle-income Americans, hurting the most needy.Cain’s economic plan, plus his absence of foreign policy credentials and no experience governing, may surface as a problem just as he begins to gain the attention of voters who find him a much-needed fresh face in politics with an inspirational style.A longshot candidate, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, hinted on Monday he may raise some questions about Cain’s 9-9-9 plan.”It’s not as clean as he would like to make it out to be,” Santorum told Radio Iowa. “I give him credit for bringing some innovative ideas but just because it’s innovative and bold doesn’t mean it’s good.”“NOT PART OF THE PROCESS”Jennifer Duffy, an expert at the non-partisan Cook Political Report, said Cain is the latest to benefit from conservatives looking for someone other than Romney because they have doubts about the depth of his conservative beliefs.”Part of Cain’s appeal is that he is not part of the process, he’s not a politician,” said Duffy. “He’s a very plain-speaking guy … He’s the only one out there now who actually has a ‘new’ idea.”Conservatives had first been captivated by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and then Perry before flocking to the Cain camp, an example of the wide-open nature of the race to find a Republican nominee with less than three months to go until voting in primary elections starts.Romney has had steady debate performances throughout and retains solid support in polls but conservatives have doubts.”He needs to show he can continue to fight and be a good, strong conservative,” said Republican strategist Scott Reed.Perry has the task of recapturing the excitement when he first announced his candidacy two months ago. His debates, plus a position favoring college tuition assistance for illegal immigrants, has hurt him among conservatives.”Perry needs to prove he can debate,” said Duffy. “If he scores some points against Romney or Cain then he’s going to have a good night.”

@7 months ago with 79 notes
#Cain #to #face #tougher #scrutiny #at #Republican #debate 

Carlos Slim increases stake in NY Times


Oct 6 (Reuters) - Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire who loaned the New York Times Co (NYT.N) $250 million, has upped his stake in the company for the third time in two months. Slim now holds 8.1 percent of Class A shares of the New York Times, up from 7.5 percent in August. [ID:nN1E77N0GL] Through the fund Inmobiliaria Carso S A, Slim purchased about 850,000 shares at prices ranging from $5.84 to $6.00 per share on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, according to a U.S. regulatory filing. Shares of the New York Times closed up 12.7 percent at $6.75 on Thursday. This year to date, the shares are down 38.8 percent. The stocks of newspaper companies McClatchy (MNI.N) and Media General (MEG.N) closed up 8.8 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively. The New York Times repaid a $250 million to Slim on Aug. 15, about five months earlier than expected. Slim holds warrants to buy 15.9 million Class A shares of the company that expire on Jan. 15, 2015.

@7 months ago with 80 notes
#Carlos #Slim #increases #stake #in #NY #Times 

EU mergers and takeovers (Oct 13)


APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS:— Private investment firms KKR and Silver Lake Group to acquire joint control of U.S. provider of website services The Go Daddy Group (approved Oct. 12)NEW LISTINGS:NoneEXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES:NoneFIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINEOCT 13— Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to acquire U.S. specialty drugmaker Cephalon (notified Aug. 25/deadline extended to Oct. 13 from Sept. 29 after Teva offers commitments)OCT 14— Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to acquire a stake in international health club operator Virgin Active (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 14)— Private equity firms KKR and Silver Lake, and funds controlled by Technology Crossover Ventures to acquire joint control of Arizona-registered company Godaddy Group (notified Sept. 9/deadline Oct. 14/simplified)OCT 18— Mitsubishi Corp to acquire a stake in Czech auto car body maker Sungwoo Hitech from South Korea’s Sungwoo Hitech Co Ltd (notified Sept. 13/deadline Oct. 18/simplified)OCT 20— Dutch bank AEGON’s Spanish unit to acquire a 50 percent stake in Spanish life insurer Cajaburgos Vida, part of Banca Civica (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)— Danish dairy coperative Arla Foods to acquire German dairy cooperative Allgauland (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20)— A joint venture led by Gores Group LLC to acquire clothing retailer Mexx from Liz Claiborne Inc (notified Sept. 15/deadline Oct. 20/simplified)OCT 24— German sugar company Suedzucker to acquire a 25 percent stake in British commodities trading company ED&F Man (notified Sept. 19/deadline Oct. 24)OCT 26— German property operator ECE and German retailer Metro to set up a joint venture (notified Sept. 21/deadline Oct. 26)— U.S.-based Seagate Technology to acquire Samsung Electronic’s hard disk drive business (notified April 19/deadline extended for the second time to Oct. 26 from Oct. 10)— U.S. equipment maker Caterpillar to acquire German maker of gas and diesel engine maker MWM Holding GmbH (notified March 14/deadline extended to Oct. 26 from Sept 16 after Commission opens in-depth investigation and despite commitments offered)OCT 28— U.S. company Dow Chemical and Japanese trading house Mitsui to set up a Brazilian joint venture (notified Sept. 23/deadline Oct. 28/simplified)— German conglomerate Siemens to acquire Dutch engineering company NEM Holding (notified Sept. 23/deadline Oct. 28)OCT 31— Vitol Investment Holdings, a unit of oil trader Vital , and U.S. energy company ArcLight to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based Petro Lux (notified Sept. 26/deadline Oct. 31/simplified)NOV 3— Belgian building materials group Etex to acquire German peer Lafarge’s gypsum assets in Europe and South America (notified Sept. 27/deadline Nov. 3)— U.S. healthcare company Johnson & Johnson to acquire Swiss medical devices maker Synthes Inc (notified Sept. 27/deadline Nov. 3)— Private equity group TPG Capital LP to acquire a stake in Danish online brokerage Saxo Bank from Portugal’s Banco Espirito Santo (notified Sept. 27/deadline Nov. 3/simplified)NOV 8— German fruit producer Agrana and Austrian equipment maker RWA to combined their subsidiaries into a joint venture (notified Sept. 30/deadline Nov. 8)NOV 10— U.S. cleaning and pest-control services company Ecolab to acquire water treatment services company Nalco Holding (notified Oct. 4/deadline Nov. 10)NOV 14— German industrial services company Buchen Industrieservice to acquire German technical services company ThyssenKrupp Xervon (notified Oct. 6/deadline Nov. 14/simplified)NOV 15— German natural gas supplier Verbundnetz Gas Aktiengesellschaft to sell a 25.1 percent stake in VNG Austria to CE Gas Marketing & Trading (notified Oct. 7/deadline Nov. 15/simplified)NOV 17— French company Caisse des Depots et Consignations to acquire 50 percent of a Paris real estate from a subsidiary of French insurer Axa (notified Oct. 11/deadline Nov. 17/simplified)— French power and transport engineering group Alstom and Bouygues subsidiaries Bouygues Immobilier and Exprim SAS to form a joint venture (notified Oct. 11/deadline Nov. 17/simplified)NOV 30— U.S. technology company Western Digital Corp to acquire Hitachi’s hard disk drive business (notified April 20/deadline extended for the fourth time to Nov. 30 from Nov. 9 after Western Digital offered remedies)— U.S. conglomerate General Electric, Russian energy producer and importer Inter Rao Ues and Russian engine maker United Engine Corporation to set up a joint venture (notified Sept. 30/deadline Nov 9/simplified)DEC 13— Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext to merge (notified June 29/deadline extended to Dec. 13 from Aug. 4 after Commission opens in-depth probe)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESSDEADLINES:The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED:Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified — that is, ordinary first-stage reviews — until they are approved.

@7 months ago with 63 notes
#EU #mergers #and #takeovers #(Oct #13) 

New Issue-EIB adds 50 mln stg to 2044 bond


Borrower European Investment Bank (EIB)Issue Amount 50 million sterlingMaturity Date March 07, 2044Coupon 4.5 pctIssue price 111.323Reoffer price 111.323Spread 26 basis pointsUnderlying govt bond over the 4.25 pct December 2046 UKTPayment Date October 19, 2011Lead Manager(s) Royal Bank of ScotlandRatings Aaa (Moody’s), AAA (S&P),AAA (Fitch)Listing luxFull fees UndisclosedDenoms (K) 1Governing Law EnglishNotes Launched under issuer’s EMTN programmeThe issue size will total 550 millionSterling when fungibleISIN XS0295479983Security details and RIC, when available, will beonCustomers can right-click on the code forperformance analysis of this new issueFor ratings information, double click onFor all bonds data, double click onFor Top international bonds newsFor news about this issuer, double click on the issuer RIC,where assigned, and hit the newskey (F9 on Reuters terminals)Data supplied by International Insider.

@7 months ago with 34 notes
#New #IssueEIB #adds #50 #mln #stg #to #2044 #bond