SGX CEO says no more concessions on $7.7 billion ASX bid (Reuters)

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) – The head of the Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGXL.SI) drew a line under his $7.7 billion bid for Australian bourse operator ASX Ltd (ASX.AX), saying on Tuesday he did not plan any further concessions to win approval for the deal.

Magnus Bocker's bid for ASX last year was the first salvo in a spate of merger and acquisitions that has since erupted in the global exchanges industry, but has run into mounting opposition from Australian politicians and regulators.

SGX relaxed its terms for the takeover last month and Bocker heads to Australia later on Tuesday to campaign for the deal, but he signaled the offer would not be changed.

"We are not considering further concessions," Bocker, the chief executive of SGX, said at the Reuters Future Face of Finance Summit.

SGX and ASX want to team up to cut costs, fight growing pressure from alternative trading platforms and avoid being left behind as rivals in North America and Europe get together.

In less than three weeks, Deutsche Boerse announced a bid for NYSE Euronext, London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) unveiled plans to take over Toronto Stock Exchange parent TMX Group Inc (X.TO), and BATS Global Markets said it would buy fellow privately-owned venue operator Chi-X Europe.

To try to overcome opposition to its deal, SGX agreed last month to allow ASX to have an equal number of directors in the merged company as it seeks an agreement to lift a 15 percent cap on foreign ownership and counter calls for the merger to be scrapped. Yet, under the agreement, SGX will still own a 64 percent share after the merger.

Bocker, a 49-year-old Swede who made his mark bringing together seven Nordic bourses to form OMX AB, said he was not contemplating any other mergers or acquisitions.

"I don't see myself as a dealmaker. I see myself as an operator. I like building, changing and growing exchanges," he said, before heading to Australia to campaign for the ASX deal.

HONG KONG LIKES ICE

The surge of merger activity has shone a spotlight on the role SGX's larger Asian rival, Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing Ltd (0388.HK), will play in the consolidation.

HKEx Chairman Ronald Arculli told the Reuters Summit in Hong Kong he was watching moves closer and would love to replicate IntercontinentalExchange's (ICE.N) model of buying up businesses focused on commodities futures.

"If I could replicate the ICE model from the old international petroleum exchange, I would do it tomorrow, today, or now," Arculli said.

"If you look at the ICE model, it really is an amazing achievement. They have a lot of components and started out small, but now it's got a market cap of $8-9 billion."

The Hong Kong Exchange, the world's largest exchange operator by market value, has been seen as a possible buyer in any acquisition, although the company has previously said it does not have any targets currently.

U.S-based ICE started off as a physical commodities exchange trading energy products such as oil, and later expanded into the derivatives, options and futures businesses through a series of acquisitions.

It has been reported as looking at a rival bid with Nasdaq OMX (NDAQ.O) for NYSE Euronext (NYX.N), in an attempt to break up the Big Board's deal with Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE).

CHINA EYED

The HKEx, with its $23 billion market capitalization and $5 billion in cash, is also looking to neighboring Shanghai and Shenzhen for closer co-operation, where some of China's top companies such as the world's most valuable lender ICBC (1398.HK)(601398.SS) have a dual listing.

However, current restrictions on China's yuan currency, its closed capital account and hefty valuations on Shenzhen's Nasdaq-style technology board makes any such tie-up difficult, Arculli said.

"I think the situation is a bit more complex than that, neither Shanghai or Shenzhen are listed," he said.

"Clearly we would keep our ears and eyes open, we would look at developments that are going on in other markets - we do not rule out doing joint ventures or strategic alliances, but we don't see that equity is necessary a component of any possible co-operation," he said.

Seemingly unruffled by the merger mania hitting the exchanges space, he confidently argued his bourse's greatest weakness right now is being so successful.

Riding on China's coattails, HKEx has been the world's biggest IPO market for the past two years.

Buoyed by that growth, HKEx shares have risen about 60 percent from their May 2010 low, giving it the top ranking among exchanges by market value.

"I think in some ways our strength may be our weakness - in the sense that people think of Hong Kong Exchange as a must go-to place in Asia," Arculli said.

"I get a little worried because you want them to come for all the right reasons and not just because we're flavor of the month."

Arculli doesn't seem to be fazed by much. Before the interview, he accidentally knocked over a freshly poured cup of coffee near his lap.

In less than a minute, he was leaning back in the chair again, mess cleaned up, not an drop of coffee showing on his tailored suit, white shirt, or yellow tie.

He also brushed aside talk of competition from alternative trading platforms such as dark pools, which match stock orders by institutions that are not visible to regular retail investors.

"Their business model doesn't seem to propel them to great financial success," he said. "While they have been able to gain a modest market share, their impact in Asia hasn't been as significant as the impact in North America and in Europe."

For his part, Ned Phillips, the chief executive of CHi-East, the "dark pool" joint venture between Singapore Exchange and Nomura's (9716.T) Chi-X, said the consolidation in the exchanges sector was positive.

"I think it's good because exchanges are looking at platforms like us and saying we have to be more like those guys - exchanges know they have to be leaner and realize that the trading community wants to have more efficiency at a lower cost," Phillips told the summit in Hong Kong.

Chi-East completed the roll-out of its trading platform for securities listed in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore in January. (Additional reporting by Alison Leung, Charlie Zhu, Michael Flaherty, Elzio Barreto and Rachel Armstrong in HONG KONG and Raju Gopalakrishnan in SINGAPORE; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Neil Fullick)

View the original article here

Canada freezes C$2.3 billion in Gaddafi assets (Reuters)

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada has frozen C$2.3 billion ($2.4 billion) worth of assets belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, a government official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The official did not give details.

Ottawa announced a clampdown on doing business with Libyan institutions on Sunday and later said it had blocked unspecified financial dealings the Libyan government had planned to carry out in Canada.

The United States, Austria and Britain have also frozen Gaddafi assets over the last few days.

($1=$0.97 Canadian)

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)

View the original article here

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah promises $10.7 billion in benefits (The Christian Science Monitor)

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – After three months away, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz promised his subjects benefits worth $10.7 billion as he returned home today to a region roiled by revolt.

The measures, which come as other leaders across the Middle East scurry to appease discontented citizens, included a 15 percent raise for state employees, funds to curb inflation, and more money for housing loans and studying abroad, according to a royal decree read on Saudi television.

King Abdullah's nation is seemingly moored in the eye of the epic storm howling around it. But it is also clear that the octogenarian king, who went to New York in late November for back surgery and then to Morocco to convalesce, is returning to a realm touched in significant ways by the youth rebellions roiling the Middle East.

Countries in the Middle East where the 'winds of change' are blowing

More than ever before, Saudis are openly calling for change, including political reforms. The most vociferous are tech-savvy youths who have obsessively followed their peers’ historic movements, especially in Egypt, on Twitter and Facebook.

True, King Abdullah – whose oil-rich coffers provide the country with generous benefits and material development – is genuinely liked by most of his subjects. And the government is shielded by a religious culture in which rebellion is deemed illicit and public street protest considered gauche.

But those agitating for change have made the Internet their virtual Tahrir Square, with locations like #EgyEffectSA on Twitter acting as a public forum for how they see Egypt affecting Saudi Arabia.

Demands include women's vote, younger leadersIn a move timed to the king’s return Wednesday, a group of 40 young Saudis, mostly journalists and rights activists, signed an open “Letter to the King.”

The signers say they were inspired by Arab youth elsewhere, and by the king’s encouragement of national dialogue. They asked for elections for the advisory Shura Council, the right of women to vote and run as candidates, strong anticorruption measures, and greater fiscal transparency and accountability.

In addition, they want the Cabinet reshuffled so that ministers’ average age, now 65, is reduced to 40.

In another effort – albeit one that did not get very far – 10 moderate Islamists, including university professors and lawyers, defied the ban on political parties and announced they were forming the Islamic Umma Party.

“We think the royal family is not the only one who has the right to be leader of the country,” Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Wohaibi, one of the party’s founders, said in an interview. “We should treat the royal family like any other group.... No special treatment.”

Asked if the group had been launched because of events in Egypt, Al Wohaibi replied that they “had created an environment for a movement like this.â€

And last week, the king’s half-brother Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz said in a BBC TV interview that unless the king made further reforms the kingdom risked future revolution. Although Talal is a maverick with little support within the royal family, his remarks are being widely discussed by Saudis.

Significantly, these calls for change do not include an end to the monarchy, which most Saudis believe would spell disaster.

“Most people, including the young, really do believe in the monarchy, especially King Abdullah – everybody adores him,” says Eman al Nafjan, a prominent Riyadh-based blogger. “It’s just a matter of pushing for reforms” such as an elected parliament and “more transparency and accountability when it comes to the country’s budget.”

Chief concerns: Unemployment, corruption, detention without trialThere have been some fleeting demonstrations: By college graduates who want the Education Ministry to give them jobs; by Jeddah residents angry about flood damage, and by about 50 women demanding the release of male relatives held for years without trial for alleged terrorist-related activities.

Unemployment, corruption, and these long-term detentions are the issues fueling the most discontent here.

“We need a total reform regarding the dignity of the citizen,” says Mohammad al-Hodaif, who has three male relatives detained for long periods without charges.

A religious conservative, Mr. Hodaif took his daughters to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate the fall of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. Egypt, he said, was “a revolution of freedom and democracy. People are eager for freedom and democracy. Not just in Egypt. In all Arab countries.”

Riyadh attorney Abdulaziz al-Gasim also avidly followed Egypt’s gripping transformation on Twitter and on TV. Its affect on his own government, he says, is clear.

“It has put them in the most difficult situation in their lives because this is a clear battle," Mr. Gasim says. "The goal now is very clear.... It is for good governance and guarantees of that by a constitutional state.”

No sign that government will listenThere is no sign, however, that the government is ready to listen to any political demands. Founders of the Umma Party were arrested and several remain in detention.

In a meeting last week with Saudi newspaper editors, Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, another half-brother to the king and a likely heir to the throne, said that events in Egypt were the work of outsiders and would have no effect on Saudi Arabia, according to a participant and others who got reports on the seven-hour gathering.

Prince Nayef also warned his audience about liberals trying to make Saudi Arabia like the West, they said.

Many Saudis agree with Nayef. They are deeply conservative and leery of change that would dilute their religious identity. And even those who want some reforms are worried about jeopardizing their domestic stability.

“I’m afraid of chaos, like in Iraq,” says Suliman Aljimaie, a Jeddah attorney who thinks change is coming too fast in the Arab world. “The United States said it would move Iraq to democracy and now you see what happened there…. Change should be [introduced] slowly, not with this speed.”

Countries in the Middle East where the 'winds of change' are blowing

View the original article here

Stanford suing SEC, prosecutors for $7.2 billion (Reuters)

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Jailed financier Allen Stanford, accused of running a massive Ponzi scheme, filed a $7.2 billion lawsuit accusing federal prosecutors and regulators of depriving him of his constitutional rights.

The government agents "undertook illegal tactics" to prosecute Stanford and "engaged in unfair, abusive law enforcement methods and tactics" that left him broke and unable to properly defend himself, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Houston late on Wednesday.

The lawsuit seeking return of his assets comes two years after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges against the former jet-setting Texas financier.

Stanford is accused of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme centered on fraudulent certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank in Antigua. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges in a 21-count indictment.

"Mr. Stanford was literally left with only the suit he was wearing at the time of the SEC Agents and U.S. Marshals seizure of property ..." the lawsuit said.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney in Houston declined to comment on the lawsuit, as did a spokesman for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who ruled that Stanford is incompetent to stand trial in his current mental state, has also declared the former billionaire indigent.

Stanford, 60, is in the process of being transferred to a prison hospital for treatment of addiction to a powerful anti-anxiety medication he was prescribed while jailed.

The Bureau of Prisons website lists his current location as a federal transfer center in Oklahoma.

He may end up at a U.S. prison hospital in Butner, North Carolina. That is the same federal facility where Bernie Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence for conducting the largest financial fraud in history.

The case is R. Allen Stanford v Stephen Korotosh et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, No. 11-00582.

(Reporting by Anna Driver, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

View the original article here

Intel plans $5 billion Arizona chip plant by 2013 (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Intel Corp plans to build a $5 billion, cutting-edge microchip factory in Arizona by 2013, sharply ramping up its U.S. manufacturing capacity as part of a major global expansion.

The state-of-the-art plant, which will crank out microchips with next-generation 14 nanometer line-widths, is expected to bring thousands of jobs to the cash-strapped western U.S. state, which is offering more incentives to lure businesses.

The announcement came after the White House announced it had appointed Intel chief executive Paul Otellini to a panel of experts advising President Barack Obama on jobs. Obama will tour Intel's Oregon manufacturing base on Friday.

Obama met with Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs and other technology industry leaders in Northern California on Thursday as part of a campaign to promote technological innovation as a means of boosting the struggling economy and reducing the 9 percent unemployment rate.

Construction on Intel's plant should kick off in the middle of this year, it said in a statement. When completed, the plant will churn out next-generation 14-nanometer line-width transistors and microchip wafers of 300 millimeters.

Intel said in October it plans to spend $6 billion to $8 billion on high-tech manufacturing facilities in Arizona and Oregon, creating as many as 8,000 construction jobs.

In January, the world's largest chip maker unveiled its next-generation microchip, code-named Sandy Bridge, which it said will yield about a third of its corporate revenue in 2011.

About three-quarters of Intel's manufacturing takes place in the United States. But it is expanding capacity around the world, including in Israel and China.

Intel shares rose 0.5 percent to $22.07 on Nasdaq late Friday afternoon.

(Reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Richard Chang)

View the original article here

Baghdad wants U.S. to pay $1 billion for damage to city (Reuters)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq's capital wants the United States to apologize and pay $1 billion for the damage done to the city not by bombs but by blast walls and Humvees since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The city's government issued its demands in a statement on Wednesday that said Baghdad's infrastructure and aesthetics have been seriously damaged by the American military.

"The U.S. forces changed this beautiful city to a camp in an ugly and destructive way, which reflected deliberate ignorance and carelessness about the simplest forms of public taste," the statement said.

"Due to the huge damage, leading to a loss the Baghdad municipality cannot afford...we demand the American side apologize to Baghdad's people and pay back these expenses."

The statement made no mention of damage caused by bombing.

Baghdad's neighborhoods have been sealed off by miles of concrete blast walls, transforming the city into a tangled maze that contributes to massive traffic jams. Despite a sharp reduction in overall violence in recent years only 5 percent of the walls have been removed, officials said.

The heavy blast walls have damaged sewer and water systems, pavement and parks, said Hakeem Abdul Zahra, the city spokesman.

U.S. military Humvees, driven on street medians and through gardens, have also caused major damage, he said.

"The city of Baghdad feels these violations, which have taken place for years, have caused economic and moral damage," he said.

U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq's cities in June 2009 before formally ending combat operations last August. Around 50,000 remain in Iraq but they are scheduled to withdraw by year end.

Baghdad is badly in need of a facelift. Electricity and trash collection are sporadic, streets are potholed and sewage treatment plants and pipes have not been renovated for years.

Iraq has seen growing protests in recent weeks over poor government services.

Zahra said the city's statement issued on Wednesday would be the start of its measures to get the United States to pay for damages but he did not say what other steps might be taken.

(Reporting and writing by Aseel Kami; Editing by Jim Loney)

View the original article here

Baghdad wants U.S. to pay $1 billion for damage to city (Reuters)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq's capital wants the United States to apologize and pay $1 billion for the damage done to the city not by bombs but by blast walls and Humvees since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The city's government issued its demands in a statement on Wednesday that said Baghdad's infrastructure and aesthetics have been seriously damaged by the American military.

"The U.S. forces changed this beautiful city to a camp in an ugly and destructive way, which reflected deliberate ignorance and carelessness about the simplest forms of public taste," the statement said.

"Due to the huge damage, leading to a loss the Baghdad municipality cannot afford...we demand the American side apologize to Baghdad's people and pay back these expenses."

The statement made no mention of damage caused by bombing.

Baghdad's neighborhoods have been sealed off by miles of concrete blast walls, transforming the city into a tangled maze that contributes to massive traffic jams. Despite a sharp reduction in overall violence in recent years only 5 percent of the walls have been removed, officials said.

The heavy blast walls have damaged sewer and water systems, pavement and parks, said Hakeem Abdul Zahra, the city spokesman.

U.S. military Humvees, driven on street medians and through gardens, have also caused major damage, he said.

"The city of Baghdad feels these violations, which have taken place for years, have caused economic and moral damage," he said.

U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq's cities in June 2009 before formally ending combat operations last August. Around 50,000 remain in Iraq but they are scheduled to withdraw by year end.

Baghdad is badly in need of a facelift. Electricity and trash collection are sporadic, streets are potholed and sewage treatment plants and pipes have not been renovated for years.

Iraq has seen growing protests in recent weeks over poor government services.

Zahra said the city's statement issued on Wednesday would be the start of its measures to get the United States to pay for damages but he did not say what other steps might be taken.

(Reporting and writing by Aseel Kami; Editing by Jim Loney)

View the original article here

Baghdad wants U.S. to pay $1 billion for damage to city (Reuters)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq's capital wants the United States to apologize and pay $1 billion for the damage done to the city not by bombs but by blast walls and Humvees since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The city's government issued its demands in a statement on Wednesday that said Baghdad's infrastructure and aesthetics have been seriously damaged by the American military.

"The U.S. forces changed this beautiful city to a camp in an ugly and destructive way, which reflected deliberate ignorance and carelessness about the simplest forms of public taste," the statement said.

"Due to the huge damage, leading to a loss the Baghdad municipality cannot afford...we demand the American side apologize to Baghdad's people and pay back these expenses."

The statement made no mention of damage caused by bombing.

Baghdad's neighborhoods have been sealed off by miles of concrete blast walls, transforming the city into a tangled maze that contributes to massive traffic jams. Despite a sharp reduction in overall violence in recent years only 5 percent of the walls have been removed, officials said.

The heavy blast walls have damaged sewer and water systems, pavement and parks, said Hakeem Abdul Zahra, the city spokesman.

U.S. military Humvees, driven on street medians and through gardens, have also caused major damage, he said.

"The city of Baghdad feels these violations, which have taken place for years, have caused economic and moral damage," he said.

U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq's cities in June 2009 before formally ending combat operations last August. Around 50,000 remain in Iraq but they are scheduled to withdraw by year end.

Baghdad is badly in need of a facelift. Electricity and trash collection are sporadic, streets are potholed and sewage treatment plants and pipes have not been renovated for years.

Iraq has seen growing protests in recent weeks over poor government services.

Zahra said the city's statement issued on Wednesday would be the start of its measures to get the United States to pay for damages but he did not say what other steps might be taken.

(Reporting and writing by Aseel Kami; Editing by Jim Loney)

View the original article here

Republicans unveil budget proposal with $100 billion in cuts (Daily Caller)

After weeks of internal debate within the party, House Republicans revealed their proposal for a government funding bill that met demands from party conservatives for no less than $100 billion in cuts to the federal budget.

The intentionally-timed continuing resolution (CR) proposal precedes President Obama’s own budget request, which the White House will release next week.

“The CR contains over $100 billion in cuts compared to the President’s request – fully meeting the spending reduction goal outlined in the Republican ‘Pledge to America’ while providing common sense exceptions for our troops and veterans. These cuts go far and wide, and will affect every community in the nation,” said Appropriations Committee Chair Hal Rogers.

When compared to Obamas budget proposals for fiscal year 2011, the GOP bill includes $18 billion in cuts to the nation’s security budget and $81 billion to discretionary spending levels.

“These were hard decisions,” Rogers said.

Finding the cuts, however, will probably be the easiest part of the process.

Assuming members of the conservative Republican Study Committee do not protest over the fact that the proposal counted $19 billion in security cuts to reach the $100 billion goal, the bill will likely coast through the Republican-majority House. In the Democrat-majority Senate, however, the bill is virtually guaranteed to be gutted and sent back with fewer spending cuts.

Senate Democrats said Friday night that they would not pass a CR with $100 billion in cuts to the president.

“Republicans have taken a meat ax to the initiatives that invest in our economy and create jobs for the sake of appeasing their base,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said shortly after Republicans released the bill. “It’s time for them to stop bowing to the extremists in their party and start working with Democrats to find common-sense solutions to cut government spending and create jobs instead of rolling back the investments that are moving this country forward.”

With funding allocation for the federal government set to expire on March 4, the next three weeks will be a race to finding some sort of agreement between the parties.

To find out what Republicans want to cut, see the complete list of program cuts and a summary of the bill.

Email Chris Moody and follow him on Twitter

Read more stories from The Daily Caller
Republicans unveil budget proposal with $100 billion in cuts
Ron Paul calls for end to foreign aid, applauds House for not extending PATRIOT Act
Animated Perry gets friendly reception from CPAC activists. Also, their cell numbers.
Talking Points Memo takes down story on Ted Stevens buying cocaine
Mark Steyn: 'The guy in charge of U.S. intelligence is an idiot'

View the original article here

Biden announces $53 billion high-speed rail plan

The Obama administration is proposing to spend $53 billion more on high-speed rail The investment would be made over the next six yearsThe proposal may face a cool reception among GOP leaders worried about federal spending

Washington (CNN) -- The Obama administration is proposing to spend $53 billion over the next six years to help promote the construction of a national high-speed, intercity passenger rail network, Vice President Joe Biden announced Tuesday.

The proposal represents a significant expansion of the $10.5 billion already spent on high-speed rail expansion since Obama entered office, including $8 billion in the 2009 economic stimulus package.

U.S. bullet trains: Coming soon?

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters potential funding sources for the plan will be outlined in the president's proposed budget, which is scheduled to be released next week.

President Barack Obama said in last month's State of the Union address that he was setting a goal of giving 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years.

Obama: U.S. infrastructure has "slipped"

The proposed new investment -- including $8 billion in the upcoming fiscal year -- would accompany a streamlined application process for cities, states, and private companies seeking federal grants and loans to develop railway capacity.

"There are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation -- one of which is infrastructure," Biden said in a written statement. There is a pressing need "to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced."

Biden, who commuted regularly by train between Washington and his home state of Delaware during a 36-year Senate tenure, has been a prominent advocate for railway travel and, more specifically, Amtrak.

A new high-speed rail investment, however, may face a cool reception in the new, more Republican Congress.

GOP leaders have called for more spending cuts in the wake of spiraling federal deficits.

Cost derails some U.S. bullet trains

Obama has also called for more fiscal responsibility, proposing in his State of the Union address a five-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending.

View the original article here