Obama pledges tough enforcement of Wall Street reforms

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on
Saturday called on the U.S. Congress to back his efforts for
tough new financial industry oversight, saying a $2 billion
trading loss at JPMorgan underscored the need for such
regulation.

Written on May 19, 2012 | Posted in Financial News | No comment

CORRECTED-Aramco launches Jizan, bidders revise Rabigh offer

(Corrects paragraph 5 to make clear packages linked to Jizan
refinery)

Written on May 18, 2012 | Posted in Financial News | No comment

UPDATE 2-Manulife, Metlife submit bids for ING Asia sale -sources

* Shortlisted bidders will be notified by end-May – sources

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UPDATE 1-CFTC opens probe into JPMorgan trading loss – source

* CFTC may reveal probe in Senate testimony on Tuesday-NYT

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CFTC opens probe into JPMorgan trading loss -NYT

* CFTC may reveal probe in Senate testimony on Tuesday -NYT

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Morgan Stanley made big bet on Facebook

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) – Lead Facebook Inc
underwriter Morgan Stanley took a bet earlier this week
when it increased the size of the social networking firm’s $16
billion initial public offering and it boosted the price.

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UPDATE 1-Arizona towns at risk as wildfires hit U.S. Southwest

PHOENIX, May 18 (Reuters) – An Arizona wildfire threatened
two more towns on Friday, with high winds on the way, even as
firefighters made progress against the largest of a string of
blazes spreading across the U.S. Southwest.

Written on May 18, 2012 | Posted in Financial News | No comment

UPDATE 7-Historic Facebook debut falls flat

* Analysts blame large float, advertising revenue concerns

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UPDATE 3-PJM secures capacity at base price of $136 per MW

May 18 (Reuters) – U.S. power grid operator PJM said Friday
its capacity auction secured a record amount of new generation,
demand response and energy efficiency resources for the
2015/2016 delivery year to keep the grid reliable as dozens of
coal plan…

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Solow lawsuit over Citigroup disclosures dismissed

* Investor said Citigroup hid risk during 2008 financial
crisis

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UK’s Cameron, France’s Hollande clash on Tobin tax

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David
Cameron and new French President Francois Hollande clashed on
Friday over the need for a financial transactions tax to fund
growth but played down other differences over how to respond to
the …

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UPDATE 2-S&P upgrades Bolivia to BB-minus from B-plus

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) – Standard & Poor’s upgraded
Bolivia’s long-term sovereign credit rating on Friday to
BB-minus from B-plus, citing improved government finances and
stronger external indicators.

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UPDATE 5-Troubled Brazil economy shrinks again in March

* March IBC-Br activity index down 0.35 percent, below
forecast

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Investors flee to bonds again on Greece fears -EPFR

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) – Investors sought safe-haven
U.S. bonds in the latest week on fears of a chaotic exit by
Greece from the euro zone and a possible unraveling of the
currency union, data from EPFR Global showed on Friday.

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Alabama Trust Bank closes-FDIC

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – U.S. regulators closed
Alabama Trust Bank of Sylacauga, Alabama on Friday, bringing the
total number of closures this year to 24.

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UPDATE 3-After protest, CME grains set for nearly non-stop trade

* Grains join ranks of oil, currencies in extended trading

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NYMEX-Crude down, hits biggest 3-wk loss since Aug ’11

* Big specs cut bullish oil bets to lowest since 2010-CFTC
* Crude to start flow from reversed Seaway pipeline this
weekend
* Coming up: API weekly inventory data, Tuesday

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) – U.S. crude oil futures fell
more than …

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UPDATE 2-Intelsat Global files for $1.75 bln IPO

May 18 (Reuters) – Intelsat Global Holdings S.A., the
world’s biggest operator of satellite services, filed with U.S.
regulators on Friday to raise up to $1.75 billion in an initial
public offering of its common stock.

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REFILE-US CFTC to ease commodity position limits rule

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. futures regulator
moved o n F riday to relax one provision in the highly contentious
position limits rule aimed at curbing speculation in commodity
markets.

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UPDATE 2-Thousands protest in Chicago before NATO summit

* Mood at downtown rally mostly festive, few arrests

(Adds scuffle between police, protesters)

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