Cyprus Bank Holiday Extended, Business’ Get Hurt

“NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Banks across Cyprus remain locked Tuesday after financial authorities extended the country’s bank closure, fearing worried depositors will rush to drain their accounts. The shut-down is hammering businesses, which have been without access to their funds for more than a week.

All but two of the country’s largest lenders had been due to reopen Tuesday, after being shut since March 16 while politicians figured out how to raise the funds necessary for Cyprus to qualify for an international bailout. Under the deal for a 10 billion euro ($12.94 billion) rescue clinched in Brussels early Monday, Cyprus agreed to slash its oversized banking sector and inflict hefty losses on large depositors in troubled banks.

After initially saying most financial institutions would reopen Tuesday, the country’s Central Bankmade a surprise reversal just before midnight, announcing all banks would remain closed until Thursday.

ATMs have been operating throughout the closure, but many have quickly run out of money. A daily withdrawal limit of 100 euros has been imposed on ATMs of the two largest lenders, Bank of Cyprusand Laiki. An increasing number of businesses have stopped accepting credit or check payments, insisting on cash only.

The bank closures have hammered businesses, who have found themselves unable to pay suppliers or fulfill orders. The retail market is sharply down too, shop owners say, with customers unwilling to spend on anything but the basics while they have limited access to cash.”

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“FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deloitte is in advanced talks to buy Germany’s Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said in its Tuesday edition without citing sources.

The paper said Roland Berger Strategy Consultants is said to have informed its 250 partners about the planned sale adding that other accounting firms were also interested in bidding for the German consulting firm.

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and Deloitte, which is one of the world’s largest accounting firms, were not immediately available for comment.”

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“MADRID (Reuters) – A Spanish association representing open-source software users has filed a complaint against Microsoft Corp to the European Commission, in a new challenge to the Windows developer following a hefty fine earlier this month.

The 8,000 member-strong Hispalinux, which represents users of the Linux operating system, said Microsoft had made it difficult for users of computers sold with its Windows 8 platform to switch to Linux and other operating systems.

Lawyer and Hispalinux head Jose Maria Lancho said he delivered the complaint to the Madrid office of the European Commission at 5.00 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

In its 14-page complaint, Hispalinux said Windows 8 contains an “obstruction mechanism” called UEFI Secure Boot that controls the start-up of the computer and means users must seek keys from Microsoft to boot up another operating system…”

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“The International Swaps & Derivatives Association, a financial industry derivatives group, is being probed as part of a European Union antitrust investigation into how data on credit derivatives is shared.

Regulators found “indications that ISDA may have been involved in a coordinated effort of investment banks to delay or prevent exchanges from entering the credit derivatives business,” the European Commission said in a statement today. The EU started a probe in April 2011 into whether 16 lenders, including Citigroup Inc. (C) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), colluded by giving pricing information to data provider Markit Group Ltd.

The commission “is examining whether a number of investment banks may have used Markit, the leading provider of financial information in the CDS market, to foreclose the development of certain CDS trading platforms,” the regulator said. “This could have been achieved through collusion or an abuse of a possible collective dominance.”

Global regulators have sought to toughen oversight of the credit-default swap market, arguing the trades helped fuel the financial crisis. The EU’s probes add to separate antitrust investigations into whether banks colluded to manipulate benchmark lending rates, including the London interbank offered rate. The U.S. Justice Department is also probing the credit derivatives clearing, trading and information services industries.

“ISDA is confident that it has acted properly at all times and has not infringed EU competition rules,” the organization said in an e-mailed statement. “ISDA is co-operating fully with regulatory authorities.”

Fines, Temptation…”

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“Emerging-market stocks rose for a second day as brokerages advised buying shares in South Korea and Thailand, offsetting concern that Chinese efforts to cool property prices will curb economic growth.

Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), South Korea’s biggest company, climbed to its highest level in more than a week after Credit Suisse Group AG said the nation’s stocks are under-owned by overseas investors. Kasikornbank Pcl (KBANK) gained 2.4 percent in Bangkok as Deutsche Bank AG said a drop in Thai shares is an opportunity to buy. Agile Property Holdings Ltd. (3383) slid 1.3 percent in Hong Kong after a report banks have started to control the scale of loans for real estate development.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.4 percent to 1,025.98 as of 4:27 p.m. in Hong Kong. South Korea’s economy expanded last quarter at the slowest pace since the global recession, a report showed, underscoring the case for stimulus. Equities in Europe and the U.S. fell yesterday amid concern that Cyprus’s bailout plan will be used as a model in other euro-area nations.

“Concerns that Cyprus’s bailout plan will be used as a template for others are overdone,” Chu Moon Sung, fund manager at Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management Co., which oversees about $29 billion, said by phone in Seoul. “Recovery signals in the U.S. make me hold a positive view on emerging markets. News flow on China’s property curbs could weigh on sentiment in the short term.”

Thai Gains..”

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“Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s fourth-largest lender, posted better-than-estimated profit growth of 12 percent last year as an expansion of its lending margin outweighed an increase in bad loans.

Net income rose to 139.4 billion yuan ($22 billion), or 0.48 yuan a share, from a restated 124.3 billion yuan, or 0.43 yuan, a year earlier, the Beijing-based lender said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange today. That beat the 132.6 billion-yuan average estimate of 31 analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

Bank of China and No. 3 lender Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. (601288) join China Construction Bank Corp. (939), the second-largest, in reporting slower annual profit growth as the industry struggles to curb rising defaults after the world’s second-largest economy faltered. Chinese lenders’ profit growth may further slow in 2013, Agricultural Bank President Zhang Yun said today.

“The trend is very clear: the Chinese banks’ high growth rates of the past aren’t sustainable,” said Chen Xingyu, a Shanghai-based analyst at Phillip Securities Group. “If the market improves this year, then we may see a small rebound in their earnings.” ….”

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“The Australian dollar traded 0.1 percent from its highest in two months as traders pared bets on further interest rates cuts by the Reserve Bank and Governor Glenn Stevens didn’t address monetary policy in comments today.

The so-called Aussie climbed against 15 of 16 major peers this month as swaps indicated a 14 percent probability that the nation’s 3 percent benchmark will be lowered when policy makers meet April 2, Bloomberg data show. New Zealand’s kiwi dollar was 0.3 percent from a one-month high as the nation reported an unexpected trade surplus for February.

“Markets aren’t seeing any easing from the RBA next month so that is a factor supporting the currency,” said Matt Cramer, senior foreign-exchange manager in Sydney at Velocity Trade Ltd. “There’s been consistent buying of the Aussie and the Stevens speech had very little implications for the currency.”

The Australian dollar was at $1.0466 as of 5:18 p.m. in Sydney after yesterday reaching as high as $1.0480, the strongest since Jan. 24. It was unchanged at 98.56 yen. New Zealand’s currency was little changed at 83.54 U.S. cents and yesterday touched 83.71, the most since Feb. 25. The kiwi was at 78.67 yen.

The RBA’s Australian dollar trade-weighted index rose 0.1 to 79.3 today, matching the level reached in March 2012, which was the highest since 1985.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of stocks fell 0.2 percent.

Rates Prospects…”

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“The yen fell against all its major peers as Bank of Japan (8301) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda outlined monetary easing options to achieve a 2 percent annual inflation goal in two years.

Japan’s currency snapped a three-day advance against the dollar after Kuroda said the BOJ will consider extending the maturities of bond purchases and scrapping a limit on such buying. The euro traded 0.3 percent from a four-month low ahead of debt auctions in Italy, where lawmakers are trying to form a government after inconclusive elections last month.Singapore’s dollar climbed for a fourth day, the longest streak this year.

“The speculative community has driven dollar-yen higher,” saidJonathan Cavenagh, a currency strategist in Singapore atWestpac Banking Corp. (WBC) For Kuroda, “the bar is set quite high in terms of what he’s going to have to deliver to give dollar-yen a significant boost.”

The yen was little changed at 94.21 per dollar as of 6:46 a.m. in London, halting a three-day, 2 percent advance. It lost 0.2 percent to 121.28 per euro. Europe’s 17-nation currency rose 0.2 percent to $1.2873 from yesterday when it touched $1.2830, the lowest since Nov. 22.

Kuroda told lawmakers today that the BOJ will discuss purchasing more bonds with longer maturities. The BOJ currently buys government debt maturing in three years or less through its 76 trillion-yen ($807 billion) asset-purchase program.

He also said the BOJ may scrap its so-called banknote rule of keeping central bank bond holdings at less than the value of banknotes outstanding. Policy specifics will be discussed at the central bank board meeting, Kuroda said, with the next one scheduled for April 3-4.

“Achieving the 2 percent inflation target in two years is something that I have in my mind,” Kuroda said in the lower house of parliament.

Kuroda Testimony…”

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“Most Asian stocks dropped on concern Cyprus’s bank-restructuring plan will be used for other European nations, imperiling depositors and bondholders, and on a report China is stepping up property curbs.

Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. (4902), a lensmaker that gets 28 percent of sales from Europe, sank 6 percent in Tokyo. Country Garden Holdings Co., the Chinese developer controlled by billionaire Yang Huiyan, fell 1.7 percent on a report that banks have started to control the scale of loans for mainland real estate developments. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) rallied, led by exporters, in the final hour of trading as European stocks opened higher.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed 135.55 as of 7:08 p.m. in Tokyo, with five companies falling for every four that rose. Japanese shares pared losses earlier as new Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he’ll consider extending bond maturities.

“Cyprus doesn’t help in the sense that reminds us the EU leadership is basically improvising from solution to solution,” said Mikio Kumada, a Hong Kong-based global strategist for LGT Capital Management, which oversees more than $25 billion. “The Chinese government doesn’t have a lot of room to relax because if it does now, it will just create a bigger mess for itself. It’s stuck in that sense.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 4.9 percent this year through yesterday on improving economic data from the U.S. and speculation that Japan will deploy more stimulus.

The Asian benchmark traded at 15 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 14 times for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 12.6 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

BOJ Governor

Japan’s Topix Index slid 0.3 percent, paring declines as Kuroda told lawmakers he’ll consider buying more government bondswith longer maturities and vowed to consider scrapping a self-imposed rule limiting the scale of asset buying. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.6 percent….”

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“Reuters) – Regulators approved on Monday a plan to compensate market makers who lost money in a botched Facebook Inc public offering on Nasdaq OMX Group Inc’s Nasdaq exchange.

The decision from the Securities and Exchange Commission was in response to a series of high-profile glitches last year that shook the market, including the handling of Facebook’s long-anticipated initial public offering on May 18, 2012.”

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“West Texas Intermediate crude rose to the highest in a month as Cyprus agreed on an international bailout, allaying concern that Europe’s debt crisis will worsen. WTI narrowed its discount to Brent to the least since July.

Futures climbed as much as 1.1 percent in New York after capping a third weekly gain on March 22. Cyprus agreed on the outlines of an aid package with the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. Iraq will fail to achieve output targets for next year, the chairman of the country’s oil and energy committee said. Global markets are a “little” oversupplied, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Hani Hussain told reporters in the Gulf nation.

“The market has calmed down a bit around Cyprus,” said Thina Saltvedt, an analyst at Nordea Bank AG, who predicts Brent crude will average $110 a barrel in the next quarter. “We expect momentum to pick up in the world economy and support demand for oil.”

WTI for May delivery rose as much as 98 cents to $94.69 a barrel in electronic trading on theNew York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since Feb. 21, and was at $94.48 as of 12:18 p.m. London time. The volume of all futures traded was 27 percent below the 100-day average for the time of day. The contract advanced $1.26 to $93.71 a barrel on March 22, the highest close since March 18.

Cyprus Bailout…”

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“Gold declined below $1,600 an ounce in New York, following a three-week rally, as equities climbed after Cyprus agreed with euro-area finance ministers on a rescue package.

Gold advanced 1 percent last week as Cyprus struggled to secure a support from international creditors. The nation won a 10 billion-euro ($13 billion) bailout after agreeing late yesterday to shrink its banking system, instead of a previous demand to impose a levy on all bank accounts. Global equities reached a one-week high today.

“Firmness in equity markets has reduced its appeal as an alternative asset,” Mumbai-based Kotak Commodity Services Ltd. said today in a report, referring to gold. “The Cyprus issue did give a boost to the gold price. However, there is a lack of factors for a sharp and sustained rally.”

Gold futures for June delivery slipped 0.5 percent to $1,599.70 an ounce by 7:51 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices fell to as low as $1,599.10. Futures trading volume was 49 percent above the average in the past 100 days for this time of day. Gold for immediate delivery declined 0.6 percent to $1,599.50 in London…”

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“Copper declined in New York on speculation China’s government will take steps to slow inflation, curbing metals demand.

China’s swap market is signaling interest-rate increases for the first time since 2011 after inflation accelerated to a 10-month high and the housing market defied government cooling efforts. Hedge funds are making the biggest bet against copper on record, U.S. government figures showed last week.

“The new government seems determined to constrain excessive rallies in real-estate and tackle the potential threat of inflation,” Michael Lewis, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG in London, said in a report dated today. There are “falling expectatations for Chinese economic activity.”

Copper futures for May delivery fell 0.1 percent to $3.4625 a pound at 8:09 a.m. on Comex in New York.

Stockpiles of copper in warehouses monitored by the LME expanded another 0.5 percent 565,350 tons, the highest since October 2003, LME data today showed. Inventories have jumped 77 percent this year….”

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“Cyprus’s plans to tax uninsured deposits amounts to theft, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said after the nation bowed to demands from creditors to shrink its banking system in exchange for a bailout.

“They’re continuing, I think, to plunder the loot,” Medvedev said at a meeting outside Moscow today. Russia is assessing the implications of a deal announced today, he said.

Russia turned away Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris last week after failing to agree on concessions to ease terms of a 2.5 billion-euro ($3.3 billion) loan or provide new assistance. The country’s president, Nicos Anastasiades, agreed to shutter the island nation’s second-biggest bank as part of a 10 billion euro aid package from Europe…”

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“The euro erased a gain versus the dollar after touching the highest level in more than a week on concern political wrangling about the deal to bail out Cyprus has undermined faith in Europe’s financial system.

The 17-nation currency weakened against most of its 16 major peers after the provisional agreement that would make Cyprus the fifth country to tap a rescue since the euro crisis began in 2009. The bailout accord will see Cyprus Popular Bank Pcl wound down, wiping out bondholders, and will impose losses on some depositors at Bank of Cyprus Plc. (BOCY)Japan’s currency weakened against all of its 16 major peers before central bank Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks to lawmakers tomorrow.

“What people are more worried about, which is really deterring people from going back into the euro zone in size, is the fact that a lot of trust has been broken,” Geoffrey Yu, a senior currency strategist at UBS AG in London, said in a telephone interview. “People are wary about the future of the euro at this point because of the precedents that have been established.”

The euro weakened 0.2 percent to $1.2964 as of 8:24 a.m. inNew York, after reaching $1.3048, the strongest level since March 15. Europe’s shared currency rose 0.2 percent to 123.03 yen, paring an advance of as much as 0.9 percent. Japan’s currency depreciated 0.5 percent to 94.92 per dollar.

Cyprus Accord…”

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“The Australian dollar remained higher, maintaining three weeks of gains, as investors speculated the nation’s banks will be untouched by concerns in Europe that bank deposits are under threat.

New Zealand’s currency traded 0.1 percent from its highest this month even as markets awaited a decision on whether Cyprus will receive the bailout needed to avert financial collapse. The Cypriot parliament rejected a tax on all bank accounts on the island last week, forcing the nation to hunt for other sources to contribute to the rescue package.

“You saw a bit of safe-haven buying last week and, given that our bank ratings are still among the highest in the world, investors are looking favorably on Australia and New Zealand,” said Tim Kelleher, ASB Institutional, a unit of Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Auckland. “The likes ofCanada and Australia, and as a result New Zealand, would probably see an influx of deposits if things worsen in Europe and that would be supportive for the currencies.”

The Australian dollar bought $1.0450 as of 9:52 a.m. in Sydney from $1.0444 in New York last week, when it gained 0.3 percent. It rose as high as $1.0460 on March 22, the strongest since Jan. 30. The Aussie fetched 98.83 yen from 98.67 on March 22. New Zealand’s currency bought 83.55 U.S. cents from 83.58 in New York and touched 83.63 cents on March 22, the most since Feb. 25. It bought 79.03 yen from 78.97….”

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