Stories Report on Business is following today :
SEC charges Goldman, rattles markets
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs Group Inc., accussing the Wall Street giant of failing to disclose crucial information as it sold a security linked to subprime mortgages just as the U.S. housing market was beginning to melt down.
Goldman denied the allegations, which have not been proven, and said it will fight the charges that it described as "completely unfounded in law and in fact."
The SEC's move on Goldman jolted financial markets, driving down stocks and Treasury yields. Bank shares in particular took a beating in New York, pulling down the Dow Jones industrial average and the TSX after the regulator's announcement prompted an exodus from assets deemed risky. The Canadian dollar also took a big hit.
"The Goldman news has people riveted," Firas Askari, head currency trader in Toronto at Bank of Montreal, told Bloomberg News. "Risk off."
The fallout also spread to commodities such as gold and oil .
"Anybody who has anything to do with, touches, feels, smells Goldman, they're getting out," said Ron Lawson, a managing director at Logic Advisors, told the news agency.
Added Jay Suskind, senior vice-president of Duncan-Williams, in an interview with Dow Jones: "That word 'fraud' is the key. When you throw that word fraud in there, all bets are off then."
Read
SEC charges Goldman Sachs with fraud
David Berman's Market Blog on the Goldman shock
Canadian dollar sinks a cent on Goldman
Euro zone finance ministers meet
Finance ministers from the 16 countries that use the euro - those who could make it, given the flight restrictions in Europe - are meeting in Madrid today as debt troubles spread like the cloud of volcanic ash moving across the continent. They're discussing ways to ease the debt crisis that has dogged the common currency and sent jitters through global markets. The two-day meeting comes after Greece yesterday asked the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF to begin talks on a promised aid package, should it be needed. Arriving at the meeting today, officials said there was no indication the Greek government would actually ask today to tap the bailout plan.
Monday's meeting is crucial because, no matter how many times European governments pledge their support and Greece stresses that it hasn't asked for any money, international investors still fear a sovereign debt default, in turn worsening the situation by shunning Greek bonds and driving up the country's cost of borrowing.
Euro zone members have pledged about €30-billion, with some €15-billion more expected from the IMF, but markets worry about what it take to trigger a bailout. Parliaments must vote on their part of the package, and in Germany, for example, the public is overwhelmingly against a bailout just as the country heads into key state elections.
"Additional downside pressure [on the euro]is being seen as ECB President [Jean-Claude]Trichet has highlighted the negative liquidity developments at Greek banks," said Scotia Capital currency strategist Sacha Tihanyi.
"With it obvious that locals are seeking to move their funds offshore, the Greek government is being pushed further towards seeking a bailout as the risk of bank failure adds to the negative sovereign picture."
Read
Euro zone seeks ways to stem debt crisis
Greece seeks aid talks with IMF
Eric Reguly on why bailouts invite moral hazard
Portugal next on watch list
Greece is not alone, though it is the poster child for countries struggling under the weight of massive debts. Portugal is also in the spotlight, and, The New York Times report, speculators are now beginning to turn their attention there. Seen as the next vulnerable country, the newspaper said, Portugal's debt is almost 90 per cent of gross domestic product and its savings rate is just 7.5 per cent of GDP, one of the worst among developed countries. It needs to borrow €24-billion this year, and it has been able to raise money. And, like others in Europe, it has introduced austerity measures. In Madrid today, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said the central bank has urged Portugal, and others, to get their fiscal houses in order.
Earnings point to U.S. recovery
General Electric Inc. and Bank of America Corp. each reported a dip in profit this morning, but beat forecasts with quarterly results that signal the U.S. economy is recovery, though slowly. GE is a manufacturing bellwether while Bank of America, like others in the sector, provides a picture of the state of U.S. consumers. Their earnings today follow others that have also been encouraging, including results and forecasts yesterday from UPS Inc.
GE posted a first-quarter profit of $1.95-billion (U.S.) or 17 cents a share, a drop of more than 30 per cent from $2.83-billion or 26 cents a year earlier, though the latest results included a loss related to its sale of GE Money Japan. Revenue fell almost 5 per cent to $36.61-billion.
"We saw encouraging economic signs, including increases in airline passenger miles and freight loadings, declines in receivables delinquencies, and growth in local advertising markets," said chief executive officer Jeffrey Immelt as the conglomerate easily topped the earnings forecasts of analysts.
Bank of America profit dipped to $3.18-billion, or 28 cents a share, in the first quarter from $4.25-billion or 44 cents a year earlier. Still, it was the bank's first profit in three quarters and it topped analysts' estimates by a wide margin. Bank of America's card services operations posted a profit of $952-billion, a turnaround from last year's heft loss, as provisions for bad credit card debts fell by about half.
Even toymaker Mattel Inc. surprised investors today with better-than-expected results, posting a surprise profit for the quarter. Citing better sales of Barbie dolls, the toy company, the biggest in the United States, said it earned $24.8 million or 7 cents a share, compared to last year's loss of $51-million or 14 cents. Revenue rose 12 per cent. Analysts had expected a loss.
Read
GE tops profit outlook, sees 2010 'upside'
Bank of America profit beats expectations
Video: Wishful thinking in earnings season
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U.S. construction picks up
Home construction continues to gain strength in the United States, the government reporting this morning that housing starts jumped 1.6 per cent in March, the third consecutive increase, while permits also increased sharply. Housing starts in the U.S. are now at their best level in 16 months, though all of the gains last month came in multi-unit constructions such as condos. The strong showing on the permits side is also a good sign as signals where builders believe the market is headed, though no one doubts the U.S. housing market will still climb back only slowly from the meltdown.
Manufacturing sales stall
In Canada, gains in the manufacturing sector reported this morning by Statistics Canada disappointed economists. Sales in February rose just 0.1 per cent, while January's reading was revised lower. Still, February marked the sixth month in a row of rising sales. And, noted TD Securities senior macro strategist Millan Mulraine, manufacturing sales are up 6.4 per cent from where they stood a year ago, though just 12 of 21 industries surveyed by the federal statistics gathering agency showed gains. Despite the February showing, Mr. Mulraine said, "the rebound in the Canadian manufacturing sector activity has been nothing short of spectacular, and it is an indication that the Canadian economy has continued to be a net beneficiary from the recovery in global demand." Read the story
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From today's Report on Business
Busiest March ever for Canadian housing listings
Ontario targets new Volkswagen engine plant
Athabasca price slide puts chill into IPOs