Europe

More

• UPDATE 2-Barclays finance director Lucas, top counsel to retire

  *Lucas under investigation for 2008 Qatar fundraising. LONDON, Feb 3- Barclays said its finance director Chris Lucas and its top legal expert are to retire, adding to change at the top of the British bank as it struggles to put a series of scandals behind it.

• GLOBAL ECONOMY-Watch what central bankers say, not what they do

  LONDON, Feb 3- Central banking is in a state of flux as policymakers from Tokyo to Washington ditch prevailing orthodoxies to try to grab a bigger share of a slow-growing global economic pie.

• Higher US Bond Yields Could Impede Economic Recovery

  Housing sector most vulnerable if yields keep rising

• Dutch FinMin wants management of rescued bank held accountable

  AMSTERDAM, Feb 3- The Dutch finance minister said on Sunday he will look at whether those responsible for the mismanagement of SNS Reaal can be held accountable following last week's 10 billion euro rescue of the country's No. 4 bank.

• Spain's PM Mariano Rajoy Denies Corruption Charges

  

  The Spanish PM has strongly denied claims that he and other members of the governing party received secret payments. "I have never received or distributed 'black money', it's false," he said, stressing that he would not resign.

• France On Track for Growth Target: Minister

  

  French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici on Sunday said the government believed it could reach its 2013 economic growth target of 0.8 percent.

• Barclays finance director Chris Lucas to step down-Sky

  LONDON, Feb 3- Barclays Plc's Finance Director Chris Lucas will step down, likely as soon as Monday, Sky News reported on Sunday, citing sources close to the company. Lucas is the only member of Barclays' top management still in his post after the bank was implicated in a rate fixing scandal last year.

• Hedge Funds Up Bets Against Italy's Monte Paschi

  London hedge funds Odey Asset Management and Egerton Capital are among those upping their bets against Monte dei Paschi di Siena in recent days, after revelations the troubled Italian bank faces heavy losses.

• Hedge funds up bets against Italy's Monte Paschi

  LONDON, Feb 3- Big-name London hedge funds Odey Asset Management and Egerton Capital are among those upping their bets against Monte dei Paschi di Siena in recent days, after revelations the troubled Italian bank faces heavy losses.

• New Measures to Lift Veil on Banks' Capital Ratios

  The game may soon be up for banks that have made themselves look healthier by understating how risky their businesses are, which should help pension funds, savers and companies to decide which institutions to invest in.

• New measures to lift veil on banks' capital ratios

  *Initiative promises greater transparency on capital ratios. LONDON, Feb 3- The game may soon be up for banks that have made themselves look healthier by understating how risky their businesses are, which should help pension funds, savers and companies to decide which institutions to invest in.

• U.S. shale gas revolution throws down the gauntlet to Europe

  MUNICH, Feb 3- The United States is enjoying an energy bonanza thanks to shale gas, making it a magnet for industry, reducing import dependence and challenging Europe as it battles to dig itself out of recession, energy officials say. As Europe continues to debate it, North America is reaping the advantages, "said Jorma Ollila, Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell.

• Japan finmin Aso: weak yen result, not goal of anti-deflation policies

  TOKYO, Feb 3- Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso on Sunday said it was not Tokyo's goal to weaken the yen and its policies were purely aimed at beating deflation, brushing off foreign concerns about currency wars ahead of a G20 meeting in Moscow.

• US Pension Funds Sue BlackRock

  

  BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has systematically "looted" securities lending revenues from investors, according to a lawsuit filed by two US pension funds.

• European Banks Face 20% Cut in Bonuses

  

  European investment banks are set to cut their bonus pools in the coming weeks by 20 percent in a move that will exacerbate the pay gap with their U.S. rivals. The Financial Times reports.

• ANA in Talks With Boeing to Speed Up 777 Jet Deliveries

  

  Japan's All Nippon Airways is in talks with U.S. aircraft maker Boeing to speed up the delivery of three 777 jetliners as its fleet of 787 Dreamliner airplanes remains grounded with undiagnosed battery problems, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday.

• ANA in talks with Boeing to speed up 777 jet deliveries-Nikkei

  TOKYO, Feb 3- Japan's All Nippon Airways is in talks with U.S. aircraft maker Boeing Co to speed up the delivery of three 777 jetliners as its fleet of 787 Dreamliner airplanes remains grounded with undiagnosed battery problems, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday.

• Iceland: Meager Returns on Fervent Prosecutions

  

  As chief of police in a tiny fishing town for 11 years, Olafur Hauksson developed what he thought was a basic understanding of the criminal mind. The typical lawbreaker, he said, recalling his many encounters with small-time criminals, “clearly knows that he crossed the line” and generally sees “the difference between right and wrong.” The New York Times reports.

• Weak yen yet to reach corporate Japan's bottom line

  TOKYO, Feb 3- Currency hedging cost Japanese companies such as Honda Motor Co the chance to fully cash in on a weak yen last quarter, raising the risk that investor expectations could outrun earnings. "The rally is completely driven by hopes rather than facts," said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments.

• Politics of pollution: China's oil giants take a choke-hold on power

  *Pressure on Communist Party chief Xi to check oil companies' power. BEIJING, Feb 3- The search for culprits behind the rancid haze enveloping China's capital has turned a spotlight on the country's two largest oil companies and their resistance to tougher fuel standards.