Citigroup downgrades PetroChina from Hold to Sell, saying an earnings disappointment is coming. Citi reduced PetroChina's earnings per share estimate for 2008 by 15.4 percent and for 2009 by 5.5 percent.
Wall Street rose for the first time in three days on Thursday as investors bought back into stocks after two days of losses, after reports showed a drop in unemployment claims and a better-than-expected sales performance by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The International Monetary Fund lowered its outlook for global growth in 2008 and predicted a modest U.S. recession on Tuesday, citing pressure to housing and financial markets.
Shares of Citigroup rose in early trading on Monday after reports yesterday said the largest U.S. bank by assets was close to selling about $12 billion in leveraged loans and bonds to a group of private equity companies.
Citigroup is close to concluding a deal to sell off $12 billion of leveraged loans and bonds at a discount rate to a group of private equity firms, as it moves towards clearing off soaring company debt.
The total losses from the worldwide financial crisis affecting credit markets could reach nearly $1 trillion over the next two years, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.
Savings and loan bank Washington Mutual, Inc is on the verge of securing a $5 billion investment from private equity buyout group TPG and other investors after suffering big losses in recent months due to the current credit crisis.
Total global write-offs at financial institutions are expected to reach $400 billion by the end of the year according to one researcher.
U.S. stocks gained for a third day Wednesday as investors' mood brighten after Best Buy Co released earning results, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank will not need to save another financial firm.
U.S. stocks fell in New York, failing to rebound from consecutive triple-digit losses on the Dow and extending the worst quarterly slump since 2002, as J.C. Penney Co. forecast weaker sales and concerns that further write downs may destabilize banks' access to capital.
U.S. stocks dropped for the first time Wednesday in four days as an unexpected tumble in February factory orders sparked concerns over the economy while the outlook for bank profits worsened.
Microsoft may sweeten its bid to acquire Internet-giant Yahoo, according to one analyst, sending shares of the firm higher in Tuesday trading.
U.S. stocks dropped to an 18-month low on Tuesday , after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged banks to write down more mortgage debts. Financial shares led indexes to fall while oil and gold dropped from previous records.
Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank, may need more capital from outside investors despite raising billions of dollars after reporting large write-downs related to bad investments in the U.S. subprime mortgage market, the CEO of Gulf state firm Dubai International Capital LLC said Tuesday, according to a report.
China's securities regulator has approved to launch three new mutual funds on Friday.
Treasury officials have met executives from two of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds to discuss embracing a set of promises not to use their wealth for political advantage, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Dresdner Bank AG is bailing out an $18.8 billion K2 structured investment.
Shareholders in Seven Bank Ltd, which operates ATMs in convenience stores owned by Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd, raised $481 million after its IPO was priced at the top of its projected range, as investors rattled by the subprime crisis embraced its low-risk business model.
Wall Street investment banks, stung by debt losses, have cut tens of thousands of jobs, but even more significant cuts are coming in the months ahead amid a bleaker earnings outlook.
Swiss bank UBS could face billions of dollars more in subprime-related write-downs in 2008, which could tip it into a second year of losses, analysts warned investors, sending its shares tumbling again. Some said UBS might be only halfway through clearing the debris from the subprime loan disaster that has already saddled it with $18 billion in charges in 2007.
Yahoo Inc's second-biggest investor urged Microsoft Corp to raise its $42 billion bid for the Web pioneer and warned Yahoo it has few options left, raising the pressure on them to seal a deal.
Shares of Apple rallied on Monday as the consumer electronics makers reductions to iPod and iPhone manufacturing were already reflected in its stock price, analysts said.
