Euro zone bond clause highlights rich nation default risk

LONDON: When 10 wealthy countries first demanded legal provisions making it easier to restructure government bonds in a crisis, they never thought this would apply to their own debt.

Major borrowers to reduce bank deposits: Fed survey

(Reuters) - Wall Street dealers expect hedge funds, insurance companies and other borrowers to pull some cash from commercial banks when a financial crisis-era deposit insurance program expires at the end of the year, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.

Chinese firm looks to buy big office complex in London

Beijing: China Investment Corp, (CIC) a USD 410 billion Chinese sovereign wealth fund has evinced interest in buying an 800 million pound (USD 1.3 billion) London office complex, in what could become the latest in an increasing number of international property deals by Chinese buyers.

Israel Hedge Funds Defy Iran Threat Multiplying in Tech Center

Tal Keinan, an Israeli fund manager, was ready for the question he’s always asked when he met with investors in New York in October: Why put your money with a manager whose country Iran has threatened to obliterate.

Brevan Howard Paid Partners 270 Million Pounds Last Year

Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP paid its partners as much as 269.8 million pounds ($436 million) in the 12 months ended in March, more than double the amount it paid them a year earlier, after the hedge fund’s investment performance beat rivals.

Wall St clings to hopes for budget deal, but market risks rising

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If the United States sails over the fiscal cliff in less than two weeks, it probably will not mean disaster for the stock market, investors said on Friday, but the margin for error is getting dangerously thin.

Nigeria delays $1 bln wealth fund launch to March 2013

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria will begin investing the initial $1 billion allocated to a new sovereign wealth fund by March, a finance ministry statement showed on Thursday, pushing back the launch previously proposed for this year.

Citigroup Said to Give CCA Managers 75% Fund Stake for Free

Among Vikram Pandit’s last jobs as Citigroup Inc. (C)’s chief executive officer was to decide the fate of the bank’s hedge-fund unit, which employs some of his oldest colleagues. He agreed to give them most of it for free.

Equities big in Japan again as Abe wakes up markets

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Japan's December rally has handed Asia's struggling stock traders an early Christmas present as the rare flurry of activity in Tokyo helps make an otherwise bleak year end on a brighter note.

Top UBS shareholder pins rebound hopes on private wealth

LONDON (Reuters) - UBS's wealth management business will help it bounce back from a $1.5 billion rap for rigging interest rates, one of its largest investors said, although fears of costly civil lawsuits could cast a pall over its shares for some time.

Global shares at three-month high on U.S. "fiscal cliff" optimism

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Signs of compromise in U.S. talks to stop automatic tax hikes and spending cuts hurting the economy next year pushed world shares to their highest level since September on Tuesday and weakened investor appetite for safe-haven bonds and the dollar.

Greece's lenders warn of 'very large' risks to bailout

ATHENS: Political resistance and potential court challenges are among "very large" risks to reforms required for Greece's bailout programme, the country's European lenders said on Monday.

Peering into a Fiscal Cliff Crystal Ball: Stocks Could Dive 15% by February

With the clock ticking on the fiscal-cliff negotiations, investors are increasingly dreading what their portfolios will look like if Washington fails to reach a deal before this $600 billion batch of spending cuts and tax increases wreaks havoc on the markets.

China lets foreign sovereigns, central banks exceed $1 billion investment limit

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's foreign exchange regulator has removed the $1 billion limit for foreign sovereign wealth funds, central banks and monetary authorities buying Chinese assets through the Qualified Institutional Investor Programme (QFII).

Greece 'back on its feet', sacrifices 'not in vain': Samaras

BRUSSELS: Prime Minister Antonis Samaras warmly welcomed the EU's release Thursday of long-awaited rescue funds for Athens, saying "Greece is back on its feet.

Analysis: Argentina debt case weakens incentives to settle

LONDON (Reuters) - A legal clause as the key to smoothing future debt restructurings could be undermined by a U.S. court ruling that Argentina must pay creditors holding its defaulted debt.

Greece says Qatar eyeing investment in defense sector

ATHENS (Reuters) - Qatar is interested in Greek defense companies being privatized and could submit investment plans when Prime Minister Antonis Samaras visits the Gulf state early next year, Greece's defense minister said on Monday.

Stock market is a wild card in fiscal cliff talks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress and the White House can significantly soften the initial impact of the "fiscal cliff" even if they fail to reach a compromise by Dec. 31.

Mario Monti calls time after restoring credibility to Italy

ROME: Mario Monti, who announced on Saturday that he intended to resign after just over a year as Italy's prime minister, restored international credibility to his country and dragged it back from the brink of financial collapse.

Investors offer '€30bn in Greek debt buyback'

Greece is set to purchase back about half of its debt owned by private investors, broadly succeeding in a bond buyback that is key to the country's international bailout, a Greek government official said on Saturday.

Kazakhstan Wealth Fund Sued in U.S. by BTA Bank Investors

Investors in BTA Bank (BTAS), Kazakhstan’s third-largest bank by assets, accused its controlling shareholder, the Central Asian nation’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, of defrauding them.

Argentina's Oil Rich Neuquen Province Mulls Sovereign Wealth Fund

BUENOS AIRES--Argentina'sNeuquen Province plans to set up a sovereign wealth fund to save some of the royalties it expects to reap from the development of its vast unconventional oil and gas resources.

Republicans, Barack Obama far apart on 'fiscal cliff'

WASHINGTON: Both President Barack Obama and Republicans in Congress now have laid out some specifics of their vision for stepping back from the " fiscal cliff" budget crisis, but the plans are vastly different and leave politicians far from agreement with a deadline less than a month away.

Brown Seeks Sovereign Wealth to Back High-Speed Rail Line

California is courting sovereign- wealth funds, pensions and endowments for more than $50 billion to build Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed bullet train to link the state’s largest cities, the most expensive public-works project in U.S. history.

Norway Wealth Fund to Spend $11B Adding U.S. Real Estate

Norway’s $660 billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, plans to invest about $11 billion as it enters the U.S. real estate market.

Abu Dhabi energy firm to buy $1 billion assets from BP Oil and Gas

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) has agreed to buy assets worth over USD 1 billion from BP oil and gas in the UK North Sea.