A safer way to invest in foreign bonds

(MONEY Magazine) -- Income-starved investors looking to amp up their portfolios have been turning to foreign bonds -- for obvious reasons. The 4.2% payout on the average foreign fixed-income fund dwarfs the yield on U.S. bonds by about 1½ percentage points.

Funds That Pioneered Russia Quit Moscow as Investors Curb Risk

Third Millennium Russia (TMRFX) fund and Vostok Nafta (VNIL), two of the oldest equity funds investing in Russia, are exiting investments in Moscow as the European debt crisis causes investors to curtail risk.

Bonus Limits Spark Exodus at Barclays Energy Trading Unit

Barclays Plc (BARC) spent a decade assembling a team of the most successful gas and power traders in Europe.

World stocks stall without central bank moves

PARIS (AP) — Global stock markets stalled Monday as the absence of stimulus action by central banks in the U.S. and China dismayed investors while signs of a weakening economy in Germany showed the increasing impact that the eurozone debt crisis is having.

China to take further action to stabilise export growth: Wen Jiabao

BEIJING: China will implement new measures aimed at stabilising export growth in the third quarter, Premier Wen Jiabao said while visiting the export hub of Guangdong province on Saturday.

Greek PM Antonis Samaras takes debt crisis talks to Paris

PARIS: The Greek prime minister headed to Paris Saturday on the second leg of a trip to try and win more time for his country to meet a deadline to slash billions of euros (dollars) from its budget.

Money Funds Test Geithner, Bernanke as Schapiro Defeated

Money-market mutual funds, an alternative to bank accounts for individuals and companies, will test the resolve of the U.S. Federal Reserve and Treasury Department to prevent another financial crisis after the $2.6 trillion industry successfully lobbied against more regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Greece bailout: Merkel and Hollande in extension talks

The leaders of Germany and France are set to hold talks in Berlin on whether to give Greece more time to make the cuts required by its debt bailout.

Qatar Wealth Fund Buys 22% of Chinese Private Equity Firm

Qatar Holding LLC, the investment arm of the nation’s sovereign-wealth fund, bought a 22 percent stake in Chinese private equity firm Citic Capital Holdings Ltd. as the country accelerates spending on overseas acquisitions.

UPDATE 2-China, Singapore wealth funds invest $1 bln in US LNG export plant-source

HONG KONG, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The sovereign wealth funds of China and Singapore have invested a combined $1 billion in a U.S. plant that will export cheap liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia, a source said, becoming the latest Asian institutions to tap into the gas boom in the United States.

U.K.’s $39 Billion Severn Tidal Power Seeks Sovereign Investors

The developers of a 25 billion-pound ($39 billion) plan to generate power from tides in the Severn Estuary are seeking investment from sovereign wealth funds, two years after the U.K. government rejected a previous proposal.

Get Sovereign Wealth Fund Exposure With These ETFs

Many Americans may not realize it, but there is a massive amount of money sitting in sovereign wealth funds. To be precise, the world's sovereign wealth funds hold almost $5.1 trillion, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute .

Britain isn’t in recession, it’s just not growing, says Bank rate-setter

Britain is not in recession but rather in a persistent period of zero growth, one of the Bank of England’s rate-setters has said.

Ward Ferry Asia Hedge Fund Returns 16% This Year, Beating Peers

WF Asia Fund Ltd., a $209 million Hong Kong hedge fund, beat peers this year by betting on stocks that benefit from rising consumer demand and wagering against companies with flawed business models or fraudulent management.

Greece to discuss, not ask for, spreading out cuts

ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras intends to discuss but make no official request to spread out spending cuts when he meets his German and French counterparts, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Philippine Bonds Too Expensive for Julius Baer: Southeast Asia

Philippine dollar bonds, the best performing in Asia over the past year, are expensive compared with higher-rated debt from Persian Gulf nations, according to Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd.

Treasuries’ Slide Is Longest Since February on Economic Views

Treasuries fell, pushing the 10-year note yield to the highest since May, as economic data showed strength, dimming prospects for added monetary stimulus and limiting demand for $72 billion of U.S. debt sold at auctions.

Ex German Finance Minister favors joint euro zone debt

(Reuters) - Former German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck, a possible challenger to Chancellor Angela Merkel in next year's election, spoke out in favor of common debt issuance in the euro zone even though the Berlin government and most Germans oppose it.

Chinese Export Growth Tumbles

HONG KONG — Signs that the Chinese economy is sputtering mounted Friday, in the form of dismally feeble trade data that fanned expectations that Beijing would soon step up its efforts to buttress growth before a key leadership transition this autumn.

Morocco confirms $1 bln sovereign bond for October

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco plans to sell a sovereign bond worth $1 billion in October to help finance budgeted investment plans, its budget minister said on Wednesday.

Analysis: Emerging markets' capital flight jars with haven view

LONDON (Reuters) - There's always something comforting about dining in a restaurant where locals are eager to eat.

The less productive U.S. economy

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — After a brief pick-up due to “overfiring,” the trend in productivity is heading in one direction: down. And from a job’s perspective, thank goodness for that.

World stocks rise as US jobs picture improves

BANGKOK (AP) — World stock markets rose Monday, boosted by stronger-than-expected U.S. hiring for July following three months of weak job gains.

Iron Ore Heiress Cashes in on Coal, Dodging 30% Decline

Iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart, Asia’s richest woman, is also no slouch when it comes to making money from coal, selling most of her assets for $1.26 billion before the worst price slump for the fuel in four years.

Bond Traders in Europe Deal in High Expectations, and Fear

LONDON — James Konrad, a bookish 27-year-old with a polite manner, used to make a living at a sports betting company, weighing the odds of muddy terrain affecting the sure-footedness of racehorses.

U.S. data helps fuel Canadian dollar rally

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's dollar traded at a stronger level than the U.S. currency on Friday for the first time in more than 2 months as investors welcomed a U.S. jobs report that offered signs that the economy there is improving.

ECB's eurozone crisis remedy runs into German resistance

Mario Draghi outlined plans on Thursdayfor the European Central Bank and the eurozone's two bailout funds to go on a bond-buying spree to cut the rocketing costs of borrowing for Spain and Italy, but ran into stiff German resistance to his campaign "to do anything" to save the euro.

On banks, sovereign wealth funds and emerging markets

Three of the better performing emerging markets are Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. A recent Standard and Poor's report notes it expects most rated banks in these three countries to further expand over the next several years.

Singapore's GIC alters asset mix on global turmoil

Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC on Tuesday said its long-term returns held steady in the year to March but it had changed its investment mix amid fears of greater volatility ahead.