MARKETS / FINANCE

The world's top countries face more wrangling over a global bank tax next week and crunch time over beefing up capital and cutting risks at big banks.

Federal Reserve Bank directors say a Senate plan to kick bankers off the boards of regional Fed banks is an overreaction to one headline-grabbing incident and could harm the U.S. central bank.

The first step in an ambitious project to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines in Lake Erie was taken this week with an order to General Electric for five massive turbines. The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., a Cleveland-based nonprofit, said the direct-drive turbines will provide 4 MW each of electricity and would be operational by the end of 2012, generating enough electricity to power 6,000 homes.

Stocks were set for a flat open on Friday as upbeat news from Apple, a technology and retail bellwether, was offset by unexpectedly flat April consumer spending data.

Consumer spending was unexpectedly flat in April, but real disposable incomes recorded their biggest increase in nearly a year as the labor market improved and inflation remained muted, a government report showed on Friday.

European Central Bank policymaker Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said on Friday the euro zone's problems were an early warning to the rest of the world and took a swipe at Germany for fanning the flames of the crisis.

Stock index futures rose on Friday ahead of data on business conditions and consumer sentiment as investors steered toward a three-day holiday weekend.

The Philippines is considering a five year moratorium on exports of iron ore till the completion of its two integrated steel processing plants. According to country's Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the proposed ban comes from the need to conserve the resource for the possible establishment of iron or steel plants as well as the rights of the companies producing iron.

Growing demand for petroleum products in the tiny south-eastern nation of Brunei forced it to import some of its required fuel products for the first time to avoid shortage. Country's only oil refinery, which was built in 1983, can no longer keep up with the increase in domestic demand for petroleum products, making it necessary for the Sultanate to import some of its required fuel products to avoid shortage.

China on Thursday inaugurated Asia's largest solar power plant with a designed installed capacity totalling 166 megawatts. The power plant located at Kunming, capital of Yunnan province went into operation in the first stage with installed capacity of 20 MW.

Stock index futures edged higher on Friday, tracking global stocks, as beaten-down shares continued to entice investors and fears about euro-zone debt receded.

Prudential said it was trying to negotiate a cut in the $35.5 billion it has agreed to pay for AIG's Asian unit, AIA, amid fears its shareholders might block the deal as too expensive.

The euro dipped versus the dollar on Friday, paring hefty gains made the previous day, as investors squared positions ahead of the month-end while worries over the impact of the euro zone debt crisis capped rallies.

Global platinum production is set to face some crisis in the coming month as the world watches one of the biggest sports festivals in the world, the FIFA World Cup Soccer. It is strange that a sports event will help lift the prices of precious metals in the global markets. But this is not the first time sports events helped lift the prices of commodities. During the Beijing Olympics, several commodities witnessed a surge due to the increased demand from China for construction and other purposes....

After raiding iron ore mines across the world to make investments, China is now scouting for platinum producers in South Africa. Recently, China has decided to pump in $877 million into South Africa's platinum sector. In a deal backed by the China-Africa Development Bank, Chinese state-owned mining firm Jinchuan will acquire a 51 per cent stake in the small platinum developer and develop its Frischgewaagd-Ledig mine.

Global oil prices advanced past $75 a barrel mark in Asian trade Friday mainly after China denied reports of its Eurozone disinvestments. Light sweet crude for July delivery was seen trading at $75.01 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while in London, the Brent crude July contact was up 8 cents to $74.74 on the ICE futures exchange.

India's wholesale price based food inflation eased to 16.23 per cent for the week ended May 15. According to official figure, Inflation declined by 0.26 percentage point from 16.49 per cent in the previous week mainly on price drops of masur, fruits and vegetables.

Gold prices eased in Asian trade Friday despite a recovery by the euro after China assured investors it was not losing confidence in euro zone assets. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1208.95 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for June delivery was at $1208.01 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Prudential Plc halted trading in its Hong Kong listed shares on Friday as the British insurer sought to cut the $35.5 billion price tag it originally negotiated for AIG Inc's main Asian assets.

Asian stocks bolted on Friday posting their third straight day of gains after China's pledge to remain invested in Europe boosted confidence, but the euro dipped after rebounding from near four-year lows the previous day.

Wall Street has long seen sense in Walt Disney Co selling or spinning off ABC, the low-rated TV network and the one piece that does not seem to fit well with the entire entertainment empire.

Kenneth Starr, an investment adviser to celebrities and other wealthy New Yorkers, was coaxed from a darkened suit closet by U.S. agents at his apartment on Thursday to face charges of running a fraud of at least $30 million, prosecutors said.

Congressional Democrats floated more cuts on Thursday to a package of tax increases and safety-net spending as final passage of the measure looked likely to slip into June.

Congressional Democrats on Thursday floated more cuts to a package of tax increases and safety-net spending as final passage of the measure looked likely to slip into June.

Cellphone maker Nokia and browser firm Opera Software pledged on Thursday to support Adobe Systems' Flash software in its bitter row with Apple.

The Australian Dollar has had a strong run overnight to be trading just below USD0.8500 following a positive lead on equity markets.

The Australian Dollar opens sharply higher today at 0.8510. Despite a surprise drop in new capital spending, which fell 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, the Aussie rallied from an intraday low of 0.8220.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney hired a pair of top financial advisers from UBS, and also added advisers from Barclays Wealth to focus on Latin American markets.

Kenneth Starr, a New York investment adviser to celebrities such as movie director Martin Scorsese and actor Uma Thurman, was arrested by U.S. agents on Thursday on charges of running an alleged investment fraud of as much as $30 million, prosecutors said.