Pimco Replaced by BlackRock at $6 Billion Prudential Fund

Pacific Investment Management Co., seeking to stem redemptions after its co-founder Bill Gross left unexpectedly, was dropped as manager of a $6.16 billion strategy offered by a unit of Prudential Financial Inc.

Capital spending softens, but consumer confidence rises

(Reuters) - Demand for U.S.-made capital goods recorded its biggest drop in eight months in September, a cautionary note for an economy that otherwise seems to be moving forward at a steady clip.

ECB's Praet says risk of price deflation limited: paper

(Reuters) - The risk of price deflation in the euro zone is limited and ECB figures suggest a much lower probability than those of the International Monetary Fund, ECB chief economist Peter Praet told two Belgian newspapers.

Record Bets Against Japan Stocks Tell Investors Time to Buy

As bets pile up against Japanese stocks, investors with $293 billion in client assets see the pessimism as a signal to buy. History is on their side.

Market jolt is reality check for investors

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sometimes a little fear is healthy for stock investors. Nine days ago, after a series of sharp sell-offs, the Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 7.4 percent from its September record as fears of a global economic slowdown intensified.

Goldman Asset Snaps Up Aussie Banks as Concerns Overdone

A selloff in Australian bank shares was too good to miss for Goldman Sachs Asset Management.(GSGEPPA)

UK GDP: Service sector slowdown drags on recovery hopes

Slower growth in the dominant services sector sapped the recovery’s momentum in the latest quarter, according to official figures today.

Fed lays out scenarios for 2015 bank stress tests

(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Thursday it would assume wider corporate bond spreads and a higher oil price in the most strenuous scenario it will use in next year's run of its annual check of banks' health.

Argentina Hedge Fund Startup Leverages Rich Client Money

Three years ago, Daniel Melhem was kicked off a government delegation from Argentina that was trying to drum up investors from the Middle East after he said no one would be interested.

Price comparison sites accused of hiding best energy deals from customers

Comparison sites have been accused of misleading consumers by not showing them the best deals.The warning comes from a collective bargaining website, which claims the big five switching firms filter out energy tariffs that don’t pay commission.

Hedge Funds Cut Bullish Bets on Crude as Prices Tumble

Plunging oil prices spurred hedge funds to cut bullish wagers by the most in six weeks, losing confidence in the willingness of producers to constrict supply. Money managers cut net-long positions in West Texas Intermediate by 8.1 percent in the week ended Oct. 14.

Chinese investors bet on first rate cut in two years as growth slows

(Reuters) - A dramatic fall in Chinese interest rate swaps (IRS) this week suggests markets are betting a run of weak economic data will force the central bank to cut its benchmark deposit rate for the first time in over 2 years to support growth.

Fed lists problems with banks' stress test submissions

(Reuters) - Banks' reliance on poor risk models is among the problems the Federal Reserve found in its health check of the largest U.S. financial institutions, as the Fed explained for the first time on Friday what it thinks of this year's industry submissions.

Family farms produce 80 percent of world's food, speculators seek land

ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Despite renewed interest in industrial agriculture by investment banks and sovereign wealth funds, more than 80 percent of the world's food is still produced by family farmers, according to new U.N. research published on Thursday.

Seven reasons the world's stock markets are falling

European markets are in panic mode with all major indices down sharply. It follows a widespread sell-off on both sides of the Atlantic on Wednesday.Here are seven reasons why investors are so nervous:

Global wealth soars to $263 trillion, as inequality swells: study

Global wealth skyrocketed 8.3 percent over the past year to a record $263 trillion, but the distribution of the riches has also become increasingly unequal, a Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS - news) report said Tuesday.

Investors With Over A$15 Million Targeted in New Australian Visa

Australia will offer a new visa to foreigners with more than A$15 million ($13 million) to invest and who want to make the country home.

Bank of Italy says budget delay justified to spur growth

(Reuters) - Italy would be justified in delaying its balanced budget target by a year if the resources freed up were used to help stimulate growth, a senior Bank of Italy official said on Monday.

Fed's Tarullo: global downside risks are policy factor

(Reuters) - Downside risks to the global economy are a factor the Federal Reserve will have to consider even as the U.S. economy recovers from the 2007-2009 financial crisis, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo said on Saturday.

Fitch Affirms Kazakhstan's Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna at 'BBB+'; Outlook Stable

MOSCOW/MILAN/LONDON, October 10 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kazakhstan's Joint Stock Company Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna's (SK) Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB+', Long-term local currency IDR at 'A-', National Long-term rating at 'AAA(kaz)' and Short-term foreign currency IDR at 'F2'.

India close to allowing Euroclear settlements for sovereign funds - sources

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - India is close to allowing sovereign wealth funds to settle government bonds on Euroclear, the world's largest securities settlements system, and is likely to set aside up to $3 billion for these long-term investors, according to two officials aware of the discussions.

German exports plunge by largest amount in five-and-a-half years

(Reuters) - German exports slumped by 5.8 percent in August, their biggest fall since the height of the global financial crisis in January 2009, in yet another sign that Europe's largest economy is faltering amid broader euro zone weakness and crises abroad.

Calpers Boosts Property Investments as Hedge Funds Shrink

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the biggest U.S. fund, is increasing investments in real estate by about $6 billion within a year as it begins to exit hedge funds.

Wall Street profits weighed down by fines in 2014: New York State Comptroller

(Reuters) - Wall Street's profits fell in the first half of the year due to fines related to the 2008-2009 financial crisis, a trend that will likely continue for the remainder of the year, New York state's top financial watchdog said on Tuesday.

Boris Johnson: Britain needs 'gigantic' pension funds to help build new roads

Britain's public sector pensions should be merged to create "gigantic" sovereign wealth fund which can invest in the roads, railways and airports that "this country is crying out for", Boris Johnson has said.

German central bank chief criticises ECB asset purchase plan

Berlin (AFP) - Germany's central bank chief Jens Weidmann voiced concern about the European Central Bank's latest asset purchase plan to stimulate the eurozone's moribund economy, in an interview published Sunday.

Janus Set to Disappoint Even With Gross, Citigroup Says

Janus Capital Group Inc. (JNS), which last week hired Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Bill Gross to boost assets, may not attract as much as traders and analysts expect, according to a research report by Citigroup Inc.’s William Katz.

Weak yen positive for economy if synchs with fundamentals: BOJ's Kuroda

(Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday that the yen's weakening is broadly positive for the Japanese economy as long as it reflected the underlying fundamentals.

ECB's Draghi says ready to do more to fight low inflation

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank is ready to use further unconventional policy tools if needed to stave off the risk of inflation remaining too low for too long, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday.

Nigeria’s Opposition Wants to Scrap Sovereign, Oil Funds

Nigeria’s main opposition party said it will scrap the country’s sovereign wealth fund and a separate excess crude account if it wins elections in February.

IMF sees diminished risk from global economic imbalances

(Reuters) - Global imbalances in trade and investment flows have shrunk by more than a third since peaking eight years ago and are likely to stay lower in the future, diminishing their threat to the global economy, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.