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PETREL Resources, the Irish oil and gas explorer, is confident of winning the first drilling contracts in Iraq since the war. Staff from Petrel are visiting Baghdad this week to […]

EUROMONEY Institutional Investor, the international information, publishing, and events organiser group, is buying Information Management Network (IMN), a New York-based financial conferences company, in a profits-related deal worth up to […]

CREDIT Lyonnais is in negotiations to sell its private broking unit Laing & Cruickshank to Swiss bank UBS. Talks are thought to have begun in November, with UBS ready to […]

Australia's Labor Party, under Prime Minister Julia Gillard, was denied a majority win after a strong showing by Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party of Australia in a coalition with the National Party. The coalition won 72 seats in the parliament, and the Labor Party won 73.

The article discusses proposed changes to Hong Kong's local election laws for 2017 by the central government in China, focusing on concerns for Hong Kong's status in the global financial sector. It details reactions by Hong Kong democracy advocates, the Hong Kong legislature, and other Asian financial centers including Tokyo, Japan.

The article discusses suspected fraud in China related to aluminum and copper. Suspicions that the same metals were used as collateral for multiple bank loans have prompted investigations by banks as well as Chinese authorities. Chen Jihong, the owner of Decheng Mining Ltd., has been detailed in the matter. Additional information is presented about an increase in commodity-backed lending in China.

The article reports that several banks including Standard Chartered PLC and Citigroup Inc. are inquiring into whether metals that served as collateral for loans they made to commodity-trading firms were illegally used by an unnamed Chinese company to secure additional loans for itself. Recipients of the original loans include commodity traders Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. and Glencore PLC.

The article reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expanded its investigation into the hiring practices in China of large banks to include several more banking firms including Credit Suisse Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Morgan Stanley. At issue is whether the banks secured business in China by hiring relatives of important officials there, in violation of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The article discusses commentary in March 2014 from Charles Li of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange following his exchange's failure to secure the initial public offering (IPO) for Chinese electronic-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Li said that the Hong Kong exchange could lose out on future IPOs unless China's Securities and Futures Commission changed its rules to allow IPOs by firms with alternative shareholder structures.

The article discusses increased lending by Asian banks in Western markets. Bank of China Ltd. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. were among banks that provided financing in 2013 for telecommunications firm Verizon Communications Inc.'s buyout of a wireless partner. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. of Japan, DBS Group Holdings Ltd. of Singapore, and several other Asian banks have risen in the global rankings of bank lenders.

The article reports that as of October 2013 investment banking firms lending to Asian firms are facing decreased revenue and earnings. It is said that basic transaction banking is more likely to grow in Asia than investment banking, which is affecting by such firms as Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings PLC, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The article discusses the automobile industry's heightened focus on locating production in fast-growing emerging markets such as China and Russia. During 2012-2013 Ford Motor Co. has announced it will close production facilities in Great Britain, Belgium, and Australia, and invest $5 billion in new plants in China. Other car makers including General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG are also increasing their Chinese production capacity.

The article reports that Rolls-Royce Group PLC is nearing a determination of what caused one of its engines on a Quantas Airways flight from Singapore to blow apart. Rolls-Royce said the problem affects only its Trent 900 engines in use on Airbus A380 aircraft. Quantas has grounded its fleet of A380s pending the investigation's outcome.

The article reports on Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting with provincial bosses of the Communist Party to discuss several issues including the five-year plan which include a challenge on how to deliver on promises to ease state control over the economy.

The article focuses on the use by life insurance agents of internal gatherings to sing songs they have written to reaffirm their dedication to selling their companies' policies.

The article discusses the cancellation of a planned merger between three Malaysian banks, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd., RHB Capital Bhd., and Malaysia Building Society Bhd., reportedly as a result of falling share prices and a lack of potential cost savings, focusing on Malaysia's economic conditions.

The article reports that banking company Standard Chartered PLC is planning to close its stock-trading, cash equities, and equities capital markets business, with details on the effects on the loss of jobs.

The article reports on the statement issued by Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd., a Chinese property developer, that it has defaulted on a loan from HSBC Holdings PLC and that it may have difficulty paying off other debt in 2015.

The article discusses the risks posed to airplane pilots flying routes over Indonesia during December and January, including heavy turbulence, lightning, and icing, focusing on the likelihood that the disappearance of AirAsia Flight 8501 in the region was caused by inclement weather.

The article offers finance news briefs on topics including the National Credit Union Administration's lawsuit against Wells Fargo & Co. bank over its alleged involvement in faulty mortgage-backed securities, an enforcement action by the Hong Kong, China, Securities and Futures Commission against Citron Research related to Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd., and assets in exchange-traded funds.

The article reports that Chinese banks, including the Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. increased their funds in 2014, with activities dominated by the sale of bonds including a preference-share option.

The article offers details on the work of life insurance sales agent Joe Sun of Manulife Financial Corp., his work in the industry in Hong Kong, competition among large insurance companies for regional business due to increased demand, and insurers including AIA Group Ltd and Sun Life Financial Inc.

The article offers world news briefs on topics including the government of Catalonia's allowance of a symbolic vote on independence in defiance of a decision by Spain's Constitutional Court to block the vote and the Chinese Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) cancellation of a securities trading permit held by Rurik Jutting on October 27, 2014, who is charged with the murder of two women.

The article announces that the police in Hong Kong, China have charged British banker Rurik George Caton Jutting with murder after two women were found dead in an apartment in the city's Wan Chai district, focusing on one body which was discovered in a suitcase on the balcony of an apartment.

The article discusses a delay in implementation of a program that would let international investors buy stocks on China's Shanghai stock exchange and investors in mainland China buy stocks on the Hong Kong exchange, with commentary on the delay presented by Charles Li of the Hong Kong exchange.

The article discusses instances of alleged fraud and corruption in China that have alarmed Western banks with financial links to the suspected wrongdoers, with information presented about circumstances surrounding developer Agile Property Holdings Ltd., whose chairman was arrested by Chinese authorities in October 2014.

The article discusses the pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, focusing on the efforts of the Hong Kong police to remove the protesters from high traffic areas near the government's headquarters.

The article discusses talks between the Hong Kong government and student leaders of the pro-democracy demonstrations, focusing on the plans to start formal negotiations on Friday October 10, as well as the gap between what protesters want and what the government is willing to offer.