Africa investment boom sees beyond conflict-driven headlines

LONDON (Reuters) - Turmoil in Tunisia? Conflict in Mali? Fraught elections in Kenya? Investment in Africa is thriving regardless.

Canada funds bet emerging markets can lift "funk"

TORONTO (Reuters) - With only tepid growth expected in North America and Western Europe in 2013, Canadian asset managers say the best opportunity for growth comes from emerging markets, where a burgeoning middle class is hungry for consumer goods and improved infrastructure.

Africa investment boom sees beyond conflict-driven headlines

LONDON: Turmoil in Tunisia? Conflict in Mali? Fraught elections in Kenya? Investment in Africa is thriving regardless.

Osborne Sticks to Austerity as Investors Say Downgrade Came Late

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said he won’t give in to opposition calls to change his economic policy after Moody’s Investors Service’s decision to strip the U.K. of its Aaa status.

Q&A: Why investors are wary of Italy's elections

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Investors are keeping a wary eye on Italy as the country heads to the polls Sunday and Monday to elect a new parliament.

Turkey lures Asian investors as it looks east for capital

ISTANBUL, Feb 20 (Reuters) - When Turkish conglomerate Anadolu Holding put its 75-percent stake in Alternatifbank up for sale last year, a distant potential suitor took a close look at the business, eyeing an entry into Europe's fastest-growing economy.

Qatar to list $12 billion firm with assets from wealth fund

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar will create a new $12 billion investment firm, backed by blue-chip assets from its sovereign wealth fund, and list it on the local stock exchange, its main institutional backer said on Tuesday.

China January foreign direct investment down 7.3%

BEIJING: Foreign direct investment in China declined in January, official data showed Wednesday, extending a downward trend after falling on an annual basis in 2012 for the first time in three years.

IHG To Sell Flagship Hotels As Market Improves

LONDON--InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG.LN) Tuesday pointed to a recovery in the international hotel market as it said it will push ahead with the sale of its flagship New York Barclay and InterContinental Park Lane hotels.

Wells Fargo eyes Mideast growth

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Wells Fargo & Co., the U.S. bank that counts billionaire Warren Buffett’s company as its largest shareholder, is targeting Persian Gulf sovereign-wealth funds as it seeks to expand its client base in the Middle East.

As sovereign wealth funds look beyond bonds and equities, another great rotation is underway

Azerbaijan is planning to take some of its $34 billion in state oil wealth on a trip Down Under, where it will shop for real estate (paywall), as the sovereign wealth fund told the Wall Street Journal.

London property no longer looks safe for investors

LONDON: London's property is losing its attraction for investors as they start to venture out of 'safe havens' and worry that the city's prices look high given a slowing British economy.

UK regulator fines UBS over investment funds

LONDON: Britain's financial regulator fined Swiss bank UBS 9.45 million pounds ($14.8 million) Tuesday for exposing customers to unacceptable risk in the selling of an investment fund and for failing to deal properly with complaints that followed.

Funds Cite CMBS Top Bet After Subprime Gains: Mortgages

Hedge funds seeking the hottest trade of 2013 are turning to skyscrapers, shopping malls and hotels after last year’s rebound in residential real-estate drove the industry’s best gains.

Angolan court rejects opposition complaint on sovereign fund

LISBON (Reuters) - Angola's constitutional court on Friday rejected a claim by an opposition party that President Jose Eduardo dos Santos had overstepped his powers to create the country's $5 billion sovereign wealth fund.

Total: Picked EDF-Led Consortium to Sell TIGF for 2.4 Billion Euros

Total SA (FP.FR, TOT) Tuesday confirmed it entered exclusive talks with a consortium led by Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) to sell its natural-gas transport and storage unit TIGF, for a price valuing the company at 2.4 billion euros ($3.26 billion).

Hedge Funds Rose 0.9% Last Month on U.S. Budget Agreement

Hedge funds climbed 0.9 percent last month, posting their best gain since September while trailing global equities, as markets rallied in the wake of a U.S. budget agreement and correlation between stocks diminished.

Euro drops on ECB comments, stocks remain steady

LONDON (AP) — Stock markets were largely stable on Thursday while the euro fell sharply after the European Central Bank said it would monitor its value and economic impact.

Sovereign Funds Seen Expanding Property Buying After Record Year

Sovereign wealth funds from China to Azerbaijan, which pushed their real estate deal making to a record last year, are set to extend their buying spree as they seek alternatives to low-yielding bonds and volatile stocks.

Osborne backs break-up of banks that fail to reform

The UK's big banks will be broken up if they fail to follow new rules to ring-fence risky investment operations from High Street outlets, Chancellor George Osborne has announced. He has said taxpayers are angry at banks' behaviour and will never again be expected to bail them out.

Free trade pact between US and Europe possible: Biden

MUNICH: Emphasising that Europe continues to be the bedrock of the United States' global engagement, Vice President Joe Biden has offered the US government's support to create a transatlantic free trade zone.

CEO of scandal-hit Barclays gives up 2012 bonus

LONDON (AP) — The chief executive of Britain's Barclays bank said Friday he is giving up his 2012 bonus amid a string of high-profile scandals over market-fixing, mis-selling of loan products, and other forms of financial malfeasance.

U.S. Mutual Funds Reaping Record Deposits as Markets Rise

Individual investors rushed into stocks and bonds in January, setting the stage for the biggest month on record for deposits into U.S. mutual funds.

Dow hits 14,000 for 1st time since October 2007

NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow stock market index flirted with the 14,000 line Friday, dashing above it several times throughout the morning and bringing reminders of the last time it hit that mark — almost a different era, before the financial crisis rocked the world economy.

Economic jitters compete with Obama agenda

WASHINGTON: Just as U.S. President Barack Obama is pushing new initiatives on gun control and immigration, the gloomy old problem of a sluggish economy is elbowing its way back into prominence.