| (AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-18 10:49 GMT: G20 MEETING Mbeki urges substantial reforms of IMF, World Bank
KLEINMOND, South Africa (Thomson Financial) - Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, put his weight behind efforts to reform the IMF and the World Bank substantially. Addressing the G20 finance ministers and central bankers, Mbeki said the world's financial system, laid out in the Breton Woods arrangements after the war, have only served the minority interests of the world's leading economic powers. "For a very long period we have had a multilateral system which in reality has been dominated of the many by the few," he said. The world though, said Mbeki, needs this system to take into account the impact of globalisation, trade and investment openness and the appearance of some fast-growing emerging market economies. Mbeki noted the 19 nations represented, plus the European Central Bank, represent nearly 90 pct of the global economy and two thirds of the world's population and trade, making the G20 the world's "pre-eminent global financial and economic forum".
Subprime's Return
There are now daily reports of US and other financial groups reporting billions of dollars in losses from dodgy US subprime mortgages and associated credit derivatives. Financial groups in Europe, Britain, Japan and even the US have been affected. but the main damage is appearing in the US where cash management accounts, the investment funds of states, towns and counties, not to mention corporate pension funds and the big names in finance like Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Citigroup, Barclays, UBS are being revisited by big losses and the prospect of more to come. It's the credit crunch mark two, a replay of the August freeze, but without the drama of financial markets being hurt so violently. Instead its a steady erosion of value and earnings. We in Australia, facing towards Asia, will hopefully escape the full impact as China booms.
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-19 10:35 GMT: ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell sees 80 pct of banks ready for Sepa implementation
FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial News) - The European Central Bank (ECB) sees some 80 pct of European banks, which account for over 90 pct of money transfers, ready for the introduction of the Single Euro Payments Area (Sepa) on Jan 1, ECB executive board member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell said. "The Sepa project is well on track," she said during a banking event in Frankfurt. The implementation of Sepa starts on Jan 1 with the migration of banks' payments systems, while other steps that will be more visible to end-customers will follow later. Tumpel-Gugerell said she does not yet see a clear long-term strategy for the implementation of Sepa for card payments. Tumpel-Gugerell said a discussion on end-dates for the full implementation of Sepa should start next year. "We need a common understanding of when the last group of countries and banks will move onto the system," she said.
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-13 11:14 GMT: Lithuania 9 mth current account deficit surges 47 pct to 2.58 bln eur
Vilnius (Thomson Financial) - Lithuania's current account deficit soared by 47 pct in the first nine months of 2007 versus the year-earlier figure, to reach 2.58 bln eur or 12.7 pct of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Bank of Lithuania reported. The central bank attributed the increase to a 2.1 bln litas surge in foreign trade deficit, which accounted for 75 pct of the overall current account deficit rise. tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com afp/ra COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News. .
UK Police Hunt for Web Bank Heist Gang The Times
Nov 01 2007 : Police in the UK are looking for a gang of Internet robbers who took over the bank accounts of at least 10 people and stole hundreds of thousands of pounds from their accounts. Officers from the UK�s Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU) told the Times that there may be many more victims. In a process known as social engineering, the thieves were able to obtain personal information about their victims using the Web, telephone calls, the post and actual impersonation of the victims. The criminals then used the information to trick banks into issuing new debit and credit cards in the name of their victims. These cards were used to buy jewelry, electronic goods and to withdraw Euros. Fraud experts refer to this type of financial crime as �account takeover.
Russian Ctrl Bk: Reserves Nov 9 $455.2B Vs $447.9B Nov 2
MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves rose $7.3 billion in the week to Nov. 9 to a new record high of $455.2 billion, the central bank said Thursday. That follows a rise of $6.6 billion the previous week. Reserves have been rising since the beginning of October under the apparent influence of renewed capital inflows, coupled with the country's habitual current account surplus. In addition, the dollar's recent decline against the euro has inflated the dollar-denominated value of those reserves that the central bank holds in euros, over 40% of the total. The central bank doesn't comment itself on developments in its reserve portfolio. Central bank Web site: http://www.cbr.ru -By Will Bland, Dow Jones Newswires (+7 495) 974 8055; william.bland@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires November 15, 2007 02:55 ET (07:55 GMT) Copyright 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
ECB Liebscher: Medium-Term Inflation Outlook Has Upside Risks
VIENNA (Dow Jones)--European Central Bank Governing Council member Klaus Liebscher Monday said inflationary risks in the euro zone are on the upside in the medium term, and noted that excessive exchange rate volatility and global budget imbalances threaten stable global growth. "The outlook for price stability over the medium term is subject to upside risks as increased oil, commodity and food prices as well as the favorable labor market situation are likely to make higher wage settlements possible," he said at conference. Liebscher said the ECB is including the current exchange rate volatility as a parameter in its efforts to maintain price stability, although the bank has no set exchange rate target. "Excessive exchange rate volatility is not welcome," he said. He urged all major economies to keep account imbalances in check to ensure global financial stability and prevent strong exchange rate fluctuations.
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-13 11:14 GMT: Lithuania 9 mth current account deficit surges 47 pct to 2.58 bln eur
Vilnius (Thomson Financial) - Lithuania's current account deficit soared by 47 pct in the first nine months of 2007 versus the year-earlier figure, to reach 2.58 bln eur or 12.7 pct of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Bank of Lithuania reported. The central bank attributed the increase to a 2.1 bln litas surge in foreign trade deficit, which accounted for 75 pct of the overall current account deficit rise. tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com afp/ra COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News. .
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