Balance Sheets

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• Could Europe's Banks Ignite Another Crisis? 

  

  Chris Wheeler, bank analyst at Mediobanca, tells CNBC that the big question is what state the balance sheets of European banks are in.

• Will Banks Lead the Market Lower?  

  

  Ashok Shah, CIO at London and Capital, tells CNBC that banks have been given a ¿free lunch¿ borrowing at very low cost in order to boost their profitability.

• UPDATE 4-Deutsche Bank swallows $4 bln of charges for clean up

  *Q4 pretax loss 2.6 bln euros due to charges. FRANKFURT, Jan 31- Deutsche Bank plunged to its worst quarterly loss in four years on Thursday after it took nearly $4 billion in charges to try and draw a line under a slew of scandals and boost its balance sheet without asking shareholders for cash.

• REFILE-UPDATE 3-Deutsche Bank takes $3.5 bln loss to pay for clean up

  *Q4 pretax loss 2.6 bln euros. FRANKFURT, Jan 31- Deutsche Bank plunged to a 2.6- billion-euro quarterly loss after it took charges aimed at drawing a line under a series of scandals and cleaning up its balance sheet without asking shareholders for cash.

• COLUMN-A badly timed euro zone tightening: James Saft

  Jan 30- A bank-led credit crunch, a newly strong euro and the shrinking of the European Central Bank's balance sheet are tightening conditions in the euro zone at just the wrong time. The net result is that Europe is suffering from tighter conditions at just the juncture at which money should become cheaper.

• UPDATE 2-Banks repay ECB crisis funds, toughen lending standards

  FRANKFURT, Jan 30- Banks began early repayment of crisis funds to the European Central Bank on Wednesday, shrinking the ECB's balance sheet while the world's other big central banks are still spending to support their economies.

• PRECIOUS-Gold bounces after U.S. GDP data, eyes Fed outcome

  *Spot gold rises to one-week high of $1,682.90/ oz after U.S. 4 Q GDP. London, Jan 30- Gold rallied to a session high of $1,682.90 an ounce on Wednesday, reasserting its safe-haven properties after U.S. growth data missed expectations and dented appetite for riskier assets. Spot gold rose as much as 1.1 percent to a one-week high of $1,682.90 an ounce.

• UPDATE 1-Repsol LNG sale due in coming weeks - source

  MADRID, Jan 29- Spain's Repsol is negotiating the sale of a block of liquefied natural gas assets with more than one international bidder and expects to finalise a deal in the coming weeks, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

• FED FOCUS-Study underscores political risks from Fed bond buying

  *Study highlights risk bond buying could lead to losses. WASHINGTON, Jan 28- The U.S. Last year, remittances hit a record $89 billion thanks to income from assets on its balance sheet, which has more than tripled to almost $3 trillion since the financial crisis struck in 2007..

• REFILE-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares steady after positive data, yen hits lows

  *MSCI Asia ex- Japan steady, Nikkei opens up 1.7 pct. TOKYO, Jan 25- Asian shares were steady on Friday after solid global economic data boosted investor appetite for riskier assets, while the yen hit fresh lows on expectations Japan will pursue bold policies to beat deflation and stimulate growth.

• MOGI-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian steady after positive factory data, yen hits lows

  *MSCI Asia ex- Japan steady, Nikkei opens up 1.7 pct. TOKYO, Jan 25- Asian shares were steady on Friday after solid global economic data boosted investor appetite for riskier assets, while the yen hit fresh lows on expectations Japan will pursue bold policies to beat deflation and stimulate growth.

• ANALYSIS-Deal with PM buys BOJ time, but probably just few months

  TOKYO, Jan 23- The Bank of Japan appears to have accomplished a tactical masterstroke in giving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe an ambitious inflation target and an "open ended" commitment to buying assets, without expending any of its policy firepower.

• UPDATE 2-Abu Dhabi property firms merge to counter slowdown

  *Abu Dhabi govt, related entities to own 37 pct of new firm. ABU DHABI, Jan 21- Abu Dhabi's two biggest property firms have agreed a state-backed, all-share merger to create a business with $13 billion of assets which the government hopes can stabilise a market hit by oversupply and falling prices.

• UPDATE 1-UAE property firms Aldar, Sorouh agree merger

  *Abu Dhabi govt, related entities to own 37 pct of combined firm. ABU DHABI, Jan 21- Abu Dhabi's two biggest property firms, Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate, have agreed on a state-backed, all-share merger that would create a firm with $15 billion in assets and could help to stabilise the emirate's struggling real estate sector.

• UPDATE 1-Ford doubles dividend to seven-year high

  Jan 10- Ford Motor Co doubled its quarterly dividend to 10 cents per share, its highest in seven years, on the back of strong sales in North America and a healthy balance sheet. Ford last paid a 10- cent dividend in May 2006. "We had thought that a dividend increase was likely but this announcement is larger than we expected," RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak said.

• UPDATE 2-ArcelorMittal fundraising upped to $4 billion

  BRUSSELS, Jan 10- ArcelorMittal has raised a bigger-than-expected $4 billion selling shares and convertible bonds to strengthen its balance sheet, leaving the world's largest steelmaker better placed to cope with tough markets.

• Ten-year JGBs steady after Friday's sell-off

  TOKYO, Jan 7- Benchmark 10- year Japanese government bonds stabilised on Monday after a sell-off in the previous session, as profit-taking in Tokyo shares helped support fixed-income assets.

• UPDATE 1-Brent falls below $112 as Fed minutes weigh

  SINGAPORE, Jan 4- Brent crude fell below $112 a barrel on Friday as growing doubts within the U.S. Federal Reserve about the side effects of its stimulus programme and the prospect of more budget battles in Washington curbed investor appetite for riskier assets.

• Brent falls below $112 as Fed minutes, U.S. budget battles weigh

  SINGAPORE, Jan 4- Brent crude fell below $112 a barrel on Friday as growing doubts within the U.S. Federal Reserve about the side effects of its stimulus programme and the prospect of more budget battles in Washington curbed investor appetite for riskier assets.

• US STOCKS-Fed minutes short-circuit Wall St rally

  *Investors eye congressional- White House battles ahead. The Fed's policy of easy credit has helped push the S&P 500 to a 13.4 percent gain in 2012. Ending that policy would remove an incentive for investors to purchase riskier assets like stocks.