Analysis: JPMorgan faces 'hard sell' in crowded market for commodity traders

NEW YORK (Reuters) - For third time in five years, one of the world's biggest commodity trading desks is for sale.

Qatar Finds Revolution Abroad Not as Easy as Stock Picks

Two months later, Tamim donned a straw boater and dark morning suit, the uniform of the elite English boarding school Harrow, Bloomberg Markets magazine will report in its September issue.

Investors wince but keep calm as US budget battle looms

NEW YORK: Another year, another battle over the U.S. budget. It's hardly what investors need, but it looks like they're going to get it just the same.

Sovereign wealth fund CIC boasts 10.6% return in 2012

BEIJING: Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) boasted a 10.6 per cent return on its global investment portfolio in 2012 according to the company's annual report.

Exclusive: Malaysia pension fund to spend 500 million euros on German, French properties

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's state pension fund will invest half a billion euros ($660 million) in industrial property in Germany and office space in France, according to sources familiar with the deals, signaling growing appetite for high-yielding property assets as Europe's main economies show signs of recovery.

IMF warns eurozone of risks to economy

PARIS: The International Monetary Fund is warning the 17 eurozone countries that their economies face a possible severe downturn unless more is done to improve growth and ease political tensions.

Hedge-Fund Founder Loses Suit Over $6 Million Gift to Partner

One of the founders of Gradient Capital Partners LLP lost a lawsuit seeking to recover a “gift” of about 3.9 million pounds ($6 million) paid to his former partner at the London hedge fund as losses mounted amid the financial crisis.

ECB balance sheet shrinks to 2.4 trillion euros

FRANKFURT: The balance sheet of the European Central Bank and the euro zone's 17 national central banks shrank by 4.374 billion euros ($5.77 billion) to 2.399 trillion in the week ending July 19.

India to call on millions of non-residents to defend rupee - sources

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is considering calling on its millions of non-resident citizens to help reverse a record slide in the rupee and does not favour the idea of a global sovereign bond at this time, senior government officials told Reuters on Monday.

Next major struggle for world economies: Whether taxes on personal wealth should rise

If you'd like to know where American political debates are headed, the data suggest a simple answer. The next major struggle - in economic terms at least - will be about whether taxes on personal wealth should rise - and by how much.

Sheik Sells Stake in Barclays

LONDON – More than four years after helping Barclays avoid a government bailout at the height of the financial crisis, Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi has sold his stake in the bank.

Abu Dhabi sells Barclays bank stake: Statement

LONDON: An Abu Dhabi sheikh who helped British bank Barclays avoid a state bailout during the global financial crisis has sold his stake.

Northern Trust Falls Most Since April as Earnings Miss

Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS), the third-biggest independent U.S. custody bank, fell the most in three months after reporting second-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.

Federal Reserve's Ben Bernanke aims to reassure markets

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, in his bi-annual testimony to Congress, sought to reassure markets about plans for ending its policy of easy money.

Major economies still struggling to create jobs

GENEVA: Jobs growth remains weak among the world's 20 biggest economies, where almost a third of the 93 million unemployed have been out of work for more than a year, top labor and development officials reported Wednesday.

Kester quits as Abu Dhabi's private equity boss

FORTUNE -- Jim Kester has stepped down as head of private equity investing for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Fortune has learned.

China economic slowdown seen deepening as Beijing pushes reform

BEIJING: China's GDP growth is expected to have slowed down in the second quarter as weak overseas demand weighs on output and investment, providing a test for Beijing's resolve to revamp the world's second-biggest economy in the face of deteriorating data.

U.S. banks face profit lull as mortgage boom fizzles

Unexpectedly large quarterly profits at JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co hide a more worrisome forecast for the rest of the year for many U.S. banks. Things could get worse before they get any better.

UK to rebuff private equity, overseas funds in Lloyds sale - sources

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will start selling its shares in Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY.L - news) to pension funds and insurers later this year, rejecting interest from private equity and sovereign wealth funds, industry and political sources said.

China ready to negotiate investment treaty with US

WASHINGTON (AP) — China agreed Thursday to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty with the United States, a move hailed by Washington as a significant step in the Asian giant's economic reforms that could level the playing field for American businesses.

U.S.-based stock funds gain $11.84 billion, most since January: Lipper

(Reuters) - Investors in funds based in the United States poured $11.84 billion into stock funds in the latest week, the most since late January, as investors overcame fears of a pullback in the Federal Reserve's stimulus, data from Thomson Reuters' Lipper service showed on Thursday.

Germany calls on EU to ban 'patent box' tax breaks

Germany's finance minister called on Tuesday for a ban on the so-called "patent box" tax break offered by Britain, Netherlands and some other EU members, which he says results in unfair competition for foreign investment.

US economic recovery will eventually benefit India: BofA-ML

NEW DELHI: Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BofA-ML) is of the opinion that a US economic recovery will eventually benefit India.

Iran offers special exchange rate to lure commerce

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's central bank is allowing most importers to buy local currency at half the former official price as part of attempts to attract investors to an economy battered by Western sanctions.

Canada Dollar Falls for Third Week as Economy Trails U.S. Pace

The Canadian dollar fell in the longest streak since May as the country’s job market stagnated while U.S. employment growth exceeded forecasts, adding to evidence the two countries’ economies are diverging.

Germany, Spain sign deal to ease credit crunch

BERLIN (AP) -- Germany and Spain on Thursday signed a deal under which Berlin will provide 800 million euros (about $1 billion) to ease a credit crunch for small and medium-sized Spanish companies.

UK economy 'buoyant' as services sector grows at fastest rate in two years

Hopes of an economic recovery are growing as the UK's dominant services sector expanded at its fastest rate in more than two years, according to monthly data.

Portugal may re-ignite Europe crisis

Political turmoil in Portugal is threatening to re-ignite Europe's debt crisis after a year of relative calm.

Rising interest rates set to make external commercial borrowing route unviable

MUMBAI: The government's move to widen the scope of external commercial borrowing to let the debt-laden telecom and aviation companies raise funds overseas may be too little and too late as rising global interest rates will make borrowing in US dollars unviable.

Fed officials in damage control mode

Federal Reserve officials are still in damage control mode , after comments about winding down stimulus frazzled markets last week.