European Stocks Trim Monthly Loss; U.S. Treasury Yields I - Bloomberg European Stocks Trim Monthly Loss; U.S. Treasury Yields I - Bloomberg

Thursday, May 31, 2012

European Stocks Trim Monthly Loss; U.S. Treasury Yields I - Bloomberg

European Stocks Trim Monthly Loss; U.S. Treasury Yields I - Bloomberg
Enlarge image Asia Stocks

Asia Stocks

Asia Stocks

Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Pedestrians wait to cross the road in front of an electronic stock board displaying the Nikkei 225 Stock Average in Tokyo on Jan. 16, 2012.

Pedestrians wait to cross the road in front of an electronic stock board displaying the Nikkei 225 Stock Average in Tokyo on Jan. 16, 2012. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Andrew Economos, head of sovereign and institutional strategy Asia ex-Japan at JPMorgan Asset Management in Hong Kong, talks about global markets and his investment strategy. Economos also discusses the Europe sovereign debt crisis and Graff Diamonds Corp.'s shelved initial public offering with Susan Li, Zeb Eckert, Mia Saini and Angie Lau on Bloomberg Television's "Asia Edge." (Source: Bloomberg)

May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Junheng Li, the founder and senior equity analyst of JL Warren Capital LLC, an independent equity research firm in New York, talks about corporate governance in China and the risks of investing in the domestic stock market. She spoke with Bloomberg's Stephen Engle yesterday in Beijing. (Source: Bloomberg)

May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Richard Yetsenga, head of global markets research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., talks about the outlook for global currency markets and his trading strategy. Yetsenga speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)

Enlarge image Asian Stocks Head for Worst Month Since 2008

Asian Stocks Head for Worst Month Since 2008

Asian Stocks Head for Worst Month Since 2008

Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Asian stocks headed for the biggest monthly drop in more than three years and U.S. Treasury yields fell to a record low after Spanish credit default swaps surged amid signs Europe’s debt crisis threatens global demand.

Asian stocks headed for the biggest monthly drop in more than three years and U.S. Treasury yields fell to a record low after Spanish credit default swaps surged amid signs Europe’s debt crisis threatens global demand. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

European stocks rose, trimming the biggest monthly drop since August, while the euro snapped a seven-day slide against the yen and yields on U.S. Treasuries rose from a record low. Asian equities tumbled as Japan’s factory output and India’s economic growth missed estimates.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.3 percent as of 8:02 a.m. in London, heading for a 6.3 percent loss in May. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.6 percent, while futures on the Standard & Poor’s Index gained 0.2 percent. Yields on 10-year Treasuries increased 1 basis point to 1.63 percent. The euro traded for 97.63 yen, up 0.2 percent.

World stock markets have lost about $4 trillion this month as turmoil in Europe spread. The European Commission yesterday challenged Germany’s remedies to the financial crisis and Moody’s Investors Service cut ratings for nine Danish financial institutions. Opinion polls show Ireland will back measures to contain the region’s debt crisis, while Greek voters support anti-austerity parties. Japan’s industrial production rose less than economists expected and India’s economy expanded at the slowest pace in at least eight years.

“The market is genuinely worried about the potential disorderly default and exit by Greece and what that means in terms of contagion risks,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1 billion at Platypus Asset Management Ltd. in Sydney. “It will have to be a response by governments and the central bank to stem the panic in the market.”

Treasury Yields

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were at 1.63 percent, while Japan’s similar-maturity debt slid as low as 0.81 percent, a level not seen since 2003. U.S. employers probably added 150,000 jobs in May, based on the median estimate from a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the government report tomorrow. The gain was 115,000 in April. The jobless rate is projected to hold at 8.1 percent.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is poised for its biggest monthly loss since October 2008. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 1.1 percent.

The India Sensitive Index, known as the Sensex, slid 1 percent after the country’s economic growth missed economist estimates. India’s gross domestic product rose 5.3 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, the Central Statistical Office said in a statement in New Delhi today. That compares with the median 6.1 percent estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 31 economists.

Greece Poll

An opinion poll yesterday showed most Greeks want to see the terms of a financial rescue revised, stoking fears the nation may default and be forced to exit the euro. The European Union’s central regulator challenged Germany’s remedies for the financial crisis, calling for direct euro-area aid for troubled banks and demanding a path to common bond issuance.

Moody’s cut the ratings of nine Danish financial institutions, including the country’s biggest bank, Danske Bank A/S, saying loan books have deteriorated. The banks suffer from “a weak operating environment, pressurized asset quality and poor profitability,” it said late yesterday.

Ireland votes on the European Union’s latest treaty today with polls indicating they will endorse measures designed to ease the euro region’s debt crisis. Opinion polls indicate that supporters of the Fiscal Stability Treaty lead by about 18 percentage points even as doubts grow about the viability of the euro region.

Commodities, Bonds

The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities was little changed after falling earlier to the lowest level since October. Rubber futures fell 3.5 percent in Tokyo, dropping for a second day. Stockpiles of the material used in tires are building up, as China car sales slip, according to the Qingdao International Rubber Exchange Market. Oil traded near the lowest settlement in seven months after slumping 3.2 percent yesterday.

The cost of insuring bonds from default rose in Asia, according to traders of credit-default swaps. The Markit iTraxx Asia index of 40 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan climbed 8 basis points to 203, Credit Agricole SA prices show. The index is headed for its highest close since Jan. 16, according to CMA.

Relative yields on company bonds worldwide are poised for the biggest monthly expansion since November, lifting borrowing costs as creditors demand more compensation with global growth slowing. The extra yield investors demand to buy the securities rather than government notes has increased 31 basis points this month to 313 basis points, the widest level since Jan. 26, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Broad Market Corporate & High Yield Index.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jason Clenfield in Tokyo at jclenfield@bloomberg.net; Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net



UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Thursday May 31 - Reuters UK

Thu May 31, 2012 8:03am BST

(Adds further company, economic news)

* Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 12-13 points, or 0.2 percent on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, extending the sharp falls seen in the previous session in tandem with drops on Wall Street and in Asian markets as surging borrowing costs in Spain raised fears it may need to seek a bailout. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, click on

* The UK blue chip index closed down 93.86 points, or 1.7 percent on Wednesday at 5,297.28, reversing much of a previous four-session rally to put it on course for a monthly drop of over 7.5 percent in May, its worst performance since August 2011.

* PRUDENTIAL - Britain's No.1 insurer on Thursday said it will buy SRLC America Holding Corp from Swiss Re for 398 million pounds in cash.

* KINGFISHER - The DIY retailer said its total sales fell 3.6 percent in the first-quarter, with its retail profit dropping 8.6 percent impacted by poor weather across Europe and adverse foreign currency translation, however, with the summer season ahead, the firm is confident it is well prepared to deliver a solid full year result.

* TATE & LYLE Strong growth of sucralose sweetener Splenda and other speciality food ingredients helped boost Tate & Lyle's annual profits by 23 percent on Thursday as the British group gained from a move by consumers towards healthier foods.

* THOMAS COOK - The debt-laden British tour operator posted a steep first-half loss but said its turnaround plans were making good progress and that bookings had picked up in recent months.

* LOGICA CGI Group Holdings has launched a 105 percent a share agreed cash offer for Logica, valuing the British IT services group as a whole at approximately 1.7 billion pounds.

* HALFORDS GROUP - The bikes to auto parts retailer reported full-year pre-tax profit of 94.1 million pounds, on revenue of 863.1 million pounds and said retail sales in full-year 2012/13 have been very disappointing so far, as it has not seen the usual seasonal demand for cycling and outdoor leisure products, but it expected a stronger performance from these categories as the year progressed.

* ESSAR ENERGY The India-focused refiner and power generation firm gained on Wednesday on revived gossip that billionaire 76-percent shareholders the Ruia Brothers are drawing up plans to take the firm back private, the Daily Mail's Market Report said. At market close on Wednesday, Essar noted media reports that Indian ministers had provisionally approved clearance for the firm's Mahan coal block but said it had yet to receive official approval from the Indian government.

* Britain's Office of Fair Trading has provisionally decided to refer the private motor insurance market to the Competition Commission, saying it has found evidence that insurers compete in a dysfunctional way that may push up premiums for drivers by 225 million pounds a year.

* GLENCORE, XSTRATA - Commodities trader Glencore and miner Xstrata will send details of their long-awaited tie-up to shareholders on Thursday, including a three-year retention package set to be worth tens of millions of dollars for Xstrata boss Mick Davis.

* BHP BILLITON - The global miner on Thursday cleared the last external hurdle for a planned $10 billion expansion of its Port Hedland harbour in Western Australia that would help the world's biggest miner double output of iron ore.

* WM MORRISON - Dalton Philips, Chief Executive of Britain's fourth biggest grocer, said consumers are finding the economic environment so severe they are having to use savings to pay monthly bills, are skipping meals and are hiding treats from their children. [D:nL5E8GUHJT]

* Malaysian pension fund Employees Provident Fund is in the final stages of talks to acquire Battersea power station for 375 million pounds, the Financial Times said.

* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged down $2.25 to $7,472.75 a tonne, after hitting $7,422.75 earlier, its lowest level since Dec. 29.

* Brent crude dropped below $103 per barrel on Thursday and prices were headed for their biggest monthly percentage drop in two years, as investors made a beeline for the exits with the euro zone debt crisis grinding on.

* British consumer confidence picked up in May, propelled by a marked easing of pessimism about the future, a survey by GfK NOP showed on Thursday, pointing to some resilience in a major driver of the economy.

* Businesses in Britain intend to increase their workforces in the coming year, although wage growth is likely to remain sluggish in what is emerging as a new long-term trend, the Confederation of British Industry said on Thursday.

* British house prices rose slightly more than expected in May to leave them broadly unchanged on a year ago against a backdrop of generally subdued demand, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Thursday.

* U.S. Challenger Layoffs for May will be released at 1130 GMT, followed by May's ADP National Employment survey at 1215 GMT, and the latest weekly initial jobless claims at 1230 GMT, all of which will provide pointers towards Friday's all-important U.S. May jobs report. U.S. preliminary first-quarter real GDP data will also be released at 1230 GMT, with May Chicago PMI due at 1345 GMT.

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News visit topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Jon Hopkins; Editing by Janet Lawrence)



Money proves to be stumbling block - Mohave Daily News
FLAGSTAFF (AP) — American Indian tribes authorized to triple the amount of time tribal members can spend in jail say they’re challenged by a lack of funding.

The increase in tribal courts’ sentencing authority from one year to three years for a single crime came two years ago under the federal Tribal Law and Order Act. But a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday showed that none of the 109 tribes who responded to a survey about the sentencing increase were taking advantage of it.

Nearly all of those tribes said they need more money and technical help from the federal government to provide public defenders, establish or update criminal codes, and have sufficiently trained judges as the law requires.

The report shows 36 of the tribes surveyed are working toward the new authority. Another 34 tribes were unsure whether they would go in that direction, while 31 said they had no plans to do so, the report said. The enhanced sentencing isn’t mandatory for tribes.

Troy Eid, chairman of the Indian Law and Order Commission born out of the Tribal Law and Order Act, said tribes across the country are exploring the authority but it will take time to get all the elements in place if that’s the path they choose.

“My impression is that within the next year, you’ll start to see some tribes actually implementing the system,” he said. “Tribes are being super careful. No tribe wants to get this issue wrong; it has to be legally correct.”

The GAO cautioned the report isn’t representative of all tribes. Congressional investigators identified 171 of the 566 federally recognized tribes that received federal funding for tribal courts to include in the survey, but not all of them responded.

Tribal leaders have said a year in jail for any crime under tribal law, including homicide, hasn’t served as much of a deterrent on reservations. Members of the Navajo Nation Council have been debating whether the enhanced sentencing provision would help send a message that tribal officials are serious about combatting crime.

“The bad guys are saying they could get away with anything on the rez, which now pretty much is true,” said Edmund Yazzie, chairman of the Navajo Nation Council’s Law and Order Committee, and a former sheriff’s deputy. “But now the committee is trying to take another look at it.”

Seventy of the tribes surveyed said they had at least half the requirements in place to hand down lengthier sentences, but some are choosing not to because of associated costs, like probation. One unnamed tribe said it has had an effective criminal and civil justice system for 40 years without the requirement of a law-trained judge, and that hiring one from outside the community would be unreasonable.

The Hopi Tribe in Arizona set aside funds from its own budget to hire law-trained judges and a prosecutor last year to meet the requirements of the tribal law and order act, said tribal Chairman Le Roy Shingoitewa. The tribal council is expected to vote on an updated criminal code next month that Shingoitewa says could help ensure that victims get justice.

“Now we have some teeth in enforcing our laws. Previous to this, all we did is slap the hands of perpetrators,” he said.

Tribes receive funding, training and other assistance through the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Department of Justice, but it’s not always enough.

The BIA said it has provided more than 60 recording devices to tribes to help them meet another requirement that they maintain a record of criminal proceedings. The agency said it has plans to give 15 more to tribes that request them and also has asked for $1 million more in funding for tribal courts in its 2013 budget justification.

The GAO recommended that the federal government clarify to tribes the funding sources available to help them pursue the enhanced sentencing.

Mato Standing High, attorney general of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, said the tribe is fortunate in that it has the financial resources to meet many of the requirements under the Tribal Law and Order Act. The only thing missing is an updated tribal code that would reflect a new class of crimes, like rape, arson or homicide, with lengthier sentences, he said.

The tribe hasn’t decided officially whether to move forward with the enhanced sentencing authority, he said, but is considering how to classify crimes after comparing them to state and federal crimes and penalties.

“Tribes really need to see it as an opportunity to exercise sovereignty and have more local control,” Standing High said. “That’s the goal of it, and I understand also that it takes a lot of resources that a lot of tribes don’t have.”





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