The Richest Person in China

The largest stock offer in history has made Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, China's richest person with a fortune of $25 billion, an annual wealth ranking in the world's second largest economy showed Tuesday.

"It has been an amazing year for China's best tycoons despite the jitters about the Chinese economy," said China-based luxury magazine publisher Hurun Report in its annual rich list.

Ma reaped more than $800 million selling shares in the company he set up 15 years ago as Alibaba listed on the New York Stock Exchange Friday, based on company filings, with the value of his remaining stake of 7.8 percent surging to more than $17 billion by Monday.

Last year, the estimated wealth of the former English teacher turned Internet entrepreneur was just over $4.0 billion, which did not even place him in the top 20.

Alibaba's listing raised a total of $25 billion.

But only one other Alibaba co-founder, now vice president of its China investment team Simon Xie, made the rich list, Hurun Report said.

Property tycoon Wang Jianlin, whose Wanda company bought US cinema chain AMC Entertainment, dropped to second place from first last year with a fortune of $24.2 billion as the deflating of China's real estate bubble chased most developers out of the top 10.

A new face, Li Hejun of renewable energy firm Hanergy, tied for third place with $20.8 billion, alongside beverage magnate Zong Qinghou of Wahaha.

Completing the top five was Pony Ma of Tencent, operator of China's most popular instant messaging application WeChat, with $18.1 billion.

Technology commanded half of the top 10. Robin Li of China's dominant search engine Baidu was sixth; Richard Liu of Alibaba competitor JD.com took ninth, and Lei Jun of upstart mobile phone producer Xiaomi was 10th.

Rounding out the top 10 were father and son team Yan Jiehe and Yan Hao of road-builder China Pacific Construction in seventh position and another real estate mogul, Yan Bin of Reignwood in eighth.

China's real estate and infrastructure industries have been hit by the slowing economy.
The economy grew an annual 7.7 percent in 2013, the same as in 2012 -- which was the slowest rate of expansion since 1999. Gross domestic product growth was 7.5 in the second quarter this year.
Still, Hurun Report said the number of US dollar billionaires in China hit 354 this year, up 39 from last year.

Source: yahoo.com

Dollar down after 10-week rally!

Euro gains capped

The dollar slipped in Asia Tuesday following a 10-week rally, while gains in the euro were capped by concerns about slackening European economic growth.

The greenback bought 108.74 yen in Singapore afternoon trade against 108.94 yen in New York late Monday. The euro rose to $1.2851 from $1.2850, while slipping to 139.72 yen from 139.78 yen.
Japanese financial markets are closed for a public holiday.

The dollar's upward momentum has taken a breather after last week hitting highs above 109 yen not seen since August 2008.

The gains came after the the Federal Reserve hinted that interest rates could rise further than expected when they are eventually hiked, probably in mid-2015.

Singapore's United Overseas Bank said the dollar was facing some selling in Asian trade after a "surprisingly weak set of US housing data" released on Monday.

The National Association of Realtors said existing-home sales in the US fell 1.8 percent in August, following four straight months of gains.

The euro saw an uptick in Asia after hitting 14-month lows a day earlier as traders digested a speech by European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi to the European Parliament.

Draghi dismissed market disappointment about demand from banks for a new lending programme launched last week, saying it was on track to pump more liquidity into the financial system but needed time to take full effect.

He noted that the eurozone recovery was sputtering but said the central bank would keep its accommodative monetary policy in place for some time.

The dollar rose against most Asia-Pacific currencies.

It climbed to Sg$1.2672 from Sg$1.2655 in Tokyo on Monday, to 11,978 Indonesian rupiah from 11,961 rupiah, to 60.89 Indian rupees from 60.77 rupees, and to 44.57 Philippine pesos from 44.42 pesos.

It rose to Tw$30.23 from Tw$30.19 while easing to 1,040.64 South Korean won from 1,040.75 won.

The Australian dollar stood at 89.08 US cents from 89.36 cents, while the Chinese yuan bought 17.71 yen from 17.70 yen.

Source: yahoo.com

Rumors that Circulates at Wall Street

Siemens to Acquire Dresser Rand for $83/Share

The Deal:

Dresser-Rand Group Inc. (NYSE: DRC) announced Sunday, that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Siemens under which Siemens will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Dresser-Rand common stock for $83.00 per share in cash, in transaction valued at approximately $7.6 billion.

The deal is expected to close in the summer of 2015, subject to Dresser-Rand shareholder approval, as well sas regulatory approval in the U.S., Europe and certain other jurisdictions.

Sulzer (OTC: SULZF) confirmed Monday they had terminated discussions with Dresser-Rand and were pursuing other M&A projects. General Electric (NYSE: GE), which was rumored by Financial Times on Friday to be preparing a bid for Dresser-Rand, was not heard from on Monday.

Dresser-Rand shares closed Monday at $81.97, a gain of 2.5%.

Report Silver Lake in Talks to Acquire Shutterfly for $50+/Share

The Rumor:

Shares of Shutterfly (NASDAQ: SFLY) surged higher Monday, following a report from Reuters that private equity firm Silver Lake was in talks to acquire the photo sharing company for more than $50.00 per share.

Spokespersons for Shutterfly and Silver Lake did not respond to requests for comment.

Shutterfly shares closed Monday at $50.12, a gain of more than 5%.

Merck KGaA to Acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $140/Share in Cash

The Deal:

Merck KGaA (OTC: MKGAY) and Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ: SIAL) announced Monday, that Merck KGaA will acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $17.0 billion or $140 per share in cash. The deal is expected to close in mid-year 2015, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Sigma-Aldrich closed Monday at $136.40, a gain of 33%.

EMC Reportedly Held Merger Talks with Hewlett-Packard

The Rumor:

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), reportedly held talks with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), according to a report from WSJ. The discussions are said to have taken place over a period of almost a year, and according to sources, the talks have recently ended. It is not known if the talks can be revived.

Other companies seen as potential suitors for all or part of EMC, include Dell, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Oracle (NASDAQ: MSFT). Shareholder Elliott Management has been urging EMC to consider a breakup, including a sale of its 80% VMware stake, to unlock shareholder value.

EMC closed Monday at $29.68, a gain of $0.15, on three times average volume. Shares of VMware (NYSE: VMW) rose 2% Monday, to close at $96.16.

Report Allergan Rejected Bid from Actavis; Allergan in Talks to Acquire Salix

The Rumor:

Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) recently rejected a takeover bid from Actavis plc (NYSE: ACT), according to a report from WSJ. Actavis is said to still be interested in a deal for Allergan.

Sources say Allergan is in talks to acquire Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: SLXP) in an all-cash deal worth more than $10 billion. Salix has already agreed to a merger with Cosmo Pharmaceuticals.

Allergan has been fighting off a hostile takeover by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX), led by investor Bill Ackman.

Allergan closed Monday at $166.12, a loss of more than 1%, and traded up 1.5% after-hours. Actavis closed Monday at $235.62, a loss of 2.5% and gained $1.38 after-hours. Salix Pharmaceuticals lost 2.5% to close at $159.83, but traded at $185.00 after-hours.

Source: benzinga.com

Dollar Falls From 14-Month High as Production Declines

The dollar fell from the highest level in 14 months against its major peers after data showed U.S. industrial production unexpectedly dropped in August.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed earlier amid bets the Federal Reserve will change its stance this week on keeping rates low for a “considerable” time after ending bond purchases. U.S. Treasury yields declined, damping the appeal of dollar-denominated assets, and the greenback fell against the yen for the first time in six days. A gauge of emerging-market currencies decreased.

“Soft data did contribute to today’s move; Treasury yields are slightly lower,” Eric Viloria, a strategist at Wells Fargo & Co. in New York, said in a phone interview. “There’s a bit of cautiousness ahead of the Fed meeting. Positioning in dollar longs is a bit stretched. That could restrain the dollar going forward.” Long positions are bets a currency will gain.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major currencies, fell as much as 0.1 percent to 1,049.31 after rising earlier to 1,052.14, the highest since July 2013. It was little changed at 1,050.55 at 5 p.m. New York time.

The dollar weakened 0.1 percent to 107.19 yen after reaching 107.39 yen on Sept. 12, the strongest since September 2008. The U.S. currency gained 0.2 percent to $1.2940 per euro. The European currency fell 0.3 percent to 138.70 yen. Japanese financial markets were shut today for a national holiday.

Aussie Drops

Australia’s dollar dropped as much as 0.6 percent to 89.84 U.S. cents, the lowest since March 12, after the weakest growth in China, the nation’s biggest trade partner, since the global financial crisis. The Aussie pared its loss to 90.28 cents.

“The risks now are building for the Australian dollar, not just from the U.S. higher yields, but from the Chinese angle as well,” said Ian Stannard, head of European foreign-exchange strategy at Morgan Stanley in London. “We’ve seen the Aussie already moving below 90, giving quite a bearish signal. It’s an important week for global risk-assessment.”

Chinese industrial output rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier in August, the statistics bureau said Sept. 13. That was down from 9 percent in July and the slowest pace outside the Lunar New Year holiday period of January and February since December 2008, based on previously reported data compiled by Bloomberg.

Output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities fell 0.1 percent in August after a 0.2 percent gain the prior month that was smaller than previously reported, Fed data showed. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 79 economists called for a 0.3 percent rise. Manufacturing declined 0.4 percent as auto production slumped 7.6 percent.

Source: yahoo.com

Dollar inches down ahead of Yellen speech

The dollar inched down in Asia Friday as investors awaited a speech by the US Federal Reserve chief for any hint at when the bank will start raising interest rates.

The US unit was changing hands at 103.71 yen in Tokyo afternoon, compared with 103.85 yen in New York Thursday afternoon.

The euro was mixed, buying $1.3287 and 137.81 yen against $1.3280 and 137.91 yen in US trade.
"It is likely to remain very, very quiet today, ahead of Fed Chair's speech," National Australia Bank (NAB) said in a note.

All eyes were on he Fed's annual monetary policy meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the heads of the US and eurozone central banks will speak.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen is schedule to speak first, at 1400 GMT Friday, followed by Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank president, at 1830 GMT.

"This forum has been known to signal the Fed's intentions and at the very least guide market direction with regards to policy. So there is often a lot of anticipation," the Australian bank said.

The dollar has risen over the past week as solid data and Fed minutes fuelled speculation that the Fed may start raising its key interest rates sooner than expected.

Unless Yellen is supportive of the latest improvements in the labour market, "there is likely to be some USD disappointment," NAB said.

"The risks are far more weighted to USD downside, than up, at these levels," it said.
The dollar fell against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It slipped to Sg$1.2478 from Sg$1.2519 on Thursday, to 31.89 Thai baht from 32.06 baht and to 11,655.00 Indonesian rupiah from 11,724.50 rupiah.

The greenback also dropped to 1,017.35 South Korean won from 1,023.90 won, to 43.79 Philippine pesos from 43.82 pesos, to Tw$29.96 from Tw$29.99 and to 60.42 Indisn rupees from 60.63 rupees.

The Australian dollar rose to 93.23 US cents from 92.53 cents, while the Chinese yuan fell to 16.81 yen from 16.88 yen.

Source: yahoo.com

Dollar rise on hopes of Ukraine progress

Asian stocks got a lift on Tuesday from an upbeat day on Wall Street, while the dollar got some help as US Treasury yields pulled away from recent lows on upbeat US housing data and hopes of progress in the Ukraine crisis.

Foreign ministers from Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France gathered in Berlin over the weekend to discuss talks for a ceasefire or a political solution, and Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Monday a 'certain progress' was achieved during the talks.

Still, investors continued to cautiously monitor developments. Military spokesman said dozens of people, including women and children, were killed as they fled fighting on Monday when their convoy of buses leaving the rebel-held city of Luhansk was hit by rocket fire.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1 percent in early trade, while Japan's Nikkei stock average added 0.8 percent. U.S. stocks marked solid gains on Monday as the Ukraine situation showed sign of stabilization. The Nasdaq Composite topped the key 4,500 mark for the first time since March 2000.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment rose in August to its highest since January, the National Association of Home Builders said on Monday, marking a third straight monthly gain and beating the mean estimate of analysts polled by Reuters. The data helped U.S. Treasury yields pull away from recent lows, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note at 2.394 percent in Asia, compared with its U.S. close of 2.387 percent on Monday. It dropped as low as 2.30 percent on Friday, its lowest since June 2013. The dollar bought 102.63 yen, up about 0.1 percent, while the euro edged down to $1.3359, not far from this month's nine-month low of $1.3333. Against the safe-haven yen, the euro rose slightly to 137.09.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against a basket of rivals, edged up to 81.598.

In commodities trading, spot gold steadied on the day at $1,297.84 an ounce but remained below the $1,300 level against the backdrop of improved risk sentiment.

U.S. crude added about 0.3 percent to $96.70 ahead of the September contract's expiration on Wednesday. Brent crude edged up about 0.1 percent to $101.71 after shedding nearly $2 a barrel overnight to its lowest price in over a year.

Source: yahoo.com

Forex market closed today for Parsi New Year

The forex and money market will remain closed on Monday on account of 'Parsi New Year'.

The rupee appreciated for the second week in a row last week and closed up by 39 paise to end at two-week high of 60.76 against the US dollar during the shortened week under review following sustained dollar selling by exporters and some banks amid bullish local equities.

The forex market was closed on Friday, August 15, on account of 'Independence Day'.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit commenced the week better at 61.09 a dollar from last weekend's close of 61.15 and dropped to a low of 61.30 on Wednesday on fresh dollar demand from importers, amid uptick in retail inflation and slowing industrial production growth.

Later, it bounced back to settle the week at its highest level of 60.76, showing a rise of 39 paise, or 0.64 per cent.

On Thursday, it gained 45 paise -- its best single day gain in three months -- amid fall in wholesale inflation to five-month low in July.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex snapped its two-week losses and closed the week sharply higher by 774.09 points, or 3.06 per cent, while FIIs bought shares worth Rs 1,595.72 crore during last week, including provisional data of August 13 and 14.

Meanwhile, the country's industrial production (IIP) slowed to 3.4 per cent in June as against 5 per cent in May, while retail inflation, as measured by consumer price index (CPI) rose to 7.96 per cent in July from 7.46 per cent in June, as per government data announced on Tuesday.

Source: zeenews.com

Canadian Dollar Hits 2-Week High

Canada’s dollar touched its highest level in more than two weeks as a corrected government report showed employers added more jobs than forecast last month, easing concern that the economic expansion is faltering.

The currency pared gains after the Ukraine said its troops destroyed Russian armed vehicles that crossed the border, prompting traders to seek a refuge in currencies such the U.S. dollar. Statistics Canada said 41,700 positions were added in July, after retracting incorrect figures from a week ago that showed a gain of 200 jobs. The unemployment rate wasn’t affected by the correction, falling to 7.0 percent from 7.1 percent in June.

“We saw a positive reaction to a significantly upward revision to the employment numbers,” Blake Jespersen, managing director of foreign exchange in Toronto at Bank of Montreal, said in a phone interview. “The numbers were priced in the market ahead of time so that’s why you didn’t see a large reaction.”

The loonie, as the currency is nicknamed for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, appreciated to as much as C$1.0861 per U.S. dollar before trading little changed at C$1.0897 at 5 p.m. in Toronto. It touched C$1.0984 on Aug. 8, almost the weakest since May 5, after the government released the first report. One loonie buys 91.77 U.S. cents.

The yield on Canada’s benchmark 10-year bond fell four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 2.02 percent and touched 1.99 percent, the lowest since May 2013. It is down from a 2014 high of 2.80 percent on Jan. 2.

Canadian Economy

Today’s report gave a fuller explanation of what caused the Aug. 12 retraction. Staff failed to run a program that is part of a scheduled update to the survey, leaving uncounted workers who should have been classified as full-time employees.

The revisions reduced the full-time job loss to 18,100 from 59,700, as Canada’s economy added 60,000 part-time jobs. The gains were led by 46,100 new jobs in education and 17,100 in information, culture and recreation workers, Statistics Canada said.

“A lot of the jobs created were part-time, and there were significant boosts from items that aren’t really indicative of broader economic strength,” David Doyle, a strategist at Macquarie Capital Markets in Toronto, said in a telephone interview.

Canada lost 52,300 jobs between the second quarter and the first, compared to a gain of 87,000 in the previous two periods.

Source: bloomberg.com

Dollar-Euro flat ahead of eurozone second quarter date

The dollar was flat against the euro Wednesday ahead of expected poor growth numbers form the eurozone, while the yen slipped on news the Japanese economy contracted 1.7 percent last quarter. The dollar spiked lower early in US trader after the Commerce Department's report that retail sales stagnated in July, when economists had expected a pickup.

But the greenback quickly recovered to end the day virtually unchanged, with support for the euro dampened by more signs of disinflation in the eurozone. Analysts said the market was now pegged to second quarter economic growth estimates for, most importantly, Germany, as well as other EU countries, due out Thursday.

Worries are that Germany could also report its economy shrank in the April-June period. High frequency Economics forecast a 0.5 percent contraction for Germany, and 1.1 percent for France. An economic contraction in Europe's growth engine may highlight an increased threat for deflation, said David Song at Daily FX.

If that is the case, Song said that European Central Bank president Mario Draghi "may show a greater willingness" to take extraordinary measures to shore up eurozone growth. Meanwhile the pound slipped as speculation rose that an expected rate rise by the Bank of England will be taken off the table after signs of weakness in the British job market.

A significant cut to the Bank of England's wage growth forecast saw sterling crash to a more than two-month low against the US dollar, as traders took the revision to mean that the central bank won't hike rates this year, said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari traders.

Source: yahoo.com

Euro sinks lower ahead of ZEW results

The euro sunk lower on Tuesday ahead of inflation and GDP figures due out later in the week. The common currency traded at $1.3362 at 6:40 GMT with most expecting the region's data to disappoint.

On Thursday, the eurozone is expected to release inflation data which most believe will remain dangerously low at 0.4 percent. The bloc has been struggling with inflation this year with figures below one percent in what the European Central Bank has called "the danger zone."

Also due out Thursday is GDP data from the bloc as a whole, Germany and France. All three reports are forecast to show lackluster growth as the region struggles through a very uneven recovery. Later in the day on Tuesday, Germany is set to release its ZEW sentiment survey, which Reuters reported will likely reflect  a good deal of concern as geopolitical tension around the world weighs.

Many more worried that the EU's new, stricter sanctions will also have a negative impact on the eurozone's economy as it will restrict a huge part of the region's trade. The euro is likely to continue sinking over the next week as data reflects the region's struggle.

Source: benzinga.com

Dollar extends gains in Asia

The dollar extended its gains on Tuesday, recovering from a sharp fall last week fueled by Washington's announcement that it had authorized air strikes in Iraq. The dollar strengthened to 102.31 yen in Tokyo midday trade, against 102.21 yen in New York late Monday.

The euro was quoted at $1.3372 and 136.86 yen, from $1.3382 and 136.79 yen in New York as concerns persisted over a possible Russian military incursion into eastern Ukraine. As the geopolitical factors have been factored in, the market continues to see a retreat of risk-off moves, which supported dollar-buying sentiment against the yen, said the analyst of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ which is Yasuaki Amatatsu.

Investors tend to buy the yen in times of uncertainty and turmoil. The dollar rallied Monday after plunging last week on President Obama's announcement that he had authorized air strikes on Iraq along with humanitarian supply drops to prevent a "genocide" by Islamist extremists.

The prospect for a steady recovery of the US economy is also behind dollar-buying sentiment. Dealers are now moving their focus to an annual economics conference in Jackson Hole later this month to be attended by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

Source: yahoo.com