Finance Blog number 1

When disasters strike, scam artists and opportunists often come out in full force instant payday loan lenders.

It’s an unfortunate combination

A published report says that the telephone numbers of relatives of dead military personnel have been found in files amassed by a detective employed by a Sunday tabloid newspaper.

The Daily Telegraph’s report in Thursday’s edition could not be independently verified, and the newspaper did not identify the source of its information. There was no indication whether any of those telephones had been hacked.

The BBC reported that relatives of some soldiers say they have not been contacted by police, but that a newspaper had asked them about possible hacking absolutely free credit score.

The News of the World, the newspaper which is the focus of a criminal investigation, issued a statement saying it would be “absolutely appalled and horrified” if there was any truth in the allegation.

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The banks that are most important to global financial stability will be required to hold extra capital on their balance sheets to protect them _ and the global economy _ from financial crises under new rules proposed Saturday.

Global central bank heads have proposed rules that would require the world’s biggest banks to hold an extra 1 percent to 2.5 percent of capital on their balance sheets, depending on their size. The goal of requiring larger cash buffers is to prevent another shock to the global financial system like the one that occurred in 2008 when Lehman Brothers collapsed.

The rules were proposed by the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision, the oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The committee is part of the Bank for International Settlements, an umbrella organization for the world’s central banks.

The cash buffers that giant global banks would have to hold would be in addition to an existing requirement that all banks hold 7 percent of their assets in reserve.

The Group of Governors said in a statement Saturday that the proposed requirements would discourage banks from becoming so big that their failure could destabilize the global financial system.

“This will contribute to enhancing the resiliency of the banking system and help mitigate the wider spill-over risks of global systemically important banks,” Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank and chairman of the Group of Governors, said in a statement.

Banks would have three years, from the beginning of 2016 until the end of 2018, to meet the new requirements.

The Group of Governors also agreed on a method for determining banks’ importance to the banking system, though it did not disclose details. The group said its package of recommendations would be announced near the end of July.

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That time of the year is upon us.

A time of caps, gowns and

Vietnam’s inflation accelerated to the fastest pace since 2008, putting pressure on the government to tighten policy further after almost doubling a key interest rate in less than six months.

Consumer prices climbed 17.51 percent in April from a year earlier, according to figures released by the General Statistics Office in Hanoi today. The rate is the highest since December 2008 and compares with the 13.89 percent pace last month. Prices rose 3.32 percent in April from March.

Policy makers have boosted the repurchase rate to 13 percent from 7 percent in November and cut the target for 2011 credit growth to tame inflation and regain investor confidence in the government’s ability to prevent the economy from overheating. Still, food and commodities make up a large share of household spending and increases in gasoline and power costs will fuel inflation, Standard & Poor’s said this month.

“Inflation shows little signs of responding to monetary and fiscal austerity just yet,” said Bill Stoops, chief investment officer at Ho Chi Minh City-based fund manager Dragon Capital. “Government policies to slow inflation operate with a lag effect.”

The inflation rate may peak at almost 20 percent before easing to about 13 percent by year-end, according to U.K.-listed Vietnam Property Fund Ltd. (VPF), which is managed by Dragon Capital.

The repurchase rate at which the central bank performs open market operations is Vietnam’s key policy rate, according to Santitarn Sathirathai, a Singapore-based economist at Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN), which expects an increase to 14 percent by the end of the year.

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Japan’s top automakers helped lead the Nikkei 225 index out of negative territory Friday after a key auto parts supplier announced the early resumption of some operations that had been halted after last month’s devastating earthquake.

Renesas Electronics Corp., a key provider of microprocessors that control brakes, engines and transmissions, said operations would resume early at its Naka factory in Ibaraki prefecture, where production was temporarily halted after the March 11 quake and tsunami that wreaked havoc along Japan’s northeastern coast.

Renesas had earlier said it intended to restart partial manufacturing at the Naka factory in July. The company said it is working “with more than 2,000 additional support workers dispatched from outside Renesas Electronics companies to help speed up the resumption of production as much as possible.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3 percent to 9,713.94, with automakers posting major gains. Toyota Motor Corp. rose 3 percent, Honda Motor Corp. bumped up by 2.3 percent and Nissan Motor Corp. jumped 3.6 percent.

However, some major Japanese exporters slipped as the yen gained against the U.S. dollar. Canon Inc. dropped 1.3 percent and Sony Corp no fax pay day loan. was down 0.6 percent.

The Nikkei was one of a handful of exchanges open in Asia on the Good Friday holiday.

South Korea’s Kospi index was flat at 2,198.30, and mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.6 percent to 3,007.63 as investors booked profits following a week of gains. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index was down 0.7 percent to 1,273.01. Taiwan’s TAIEX rose 0.1 percent to 8,969.43.

Markets in Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore were closed.

On Wall Street, strong earnings from large companies like Apple Inc. and UnitedHealth lifted stocks broadly higher Thursday. Gains were spread across the market, with all 10 company groups that make up the S&P 500 index closing the day with gains.

The Dow rose 52 points to close at 12,506. The S&P 500 rose 7 points to 1,337. The Nasdaq rose 18 points to 2,820.

The euro rose $1.4577 from $1.4544 late Thursday in New York. The dollar dropped to 81.85 yen from 81.90 yen.

Oil was untraded in Asia due to the holiday.

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Renren, China’s largest social-networking service, filed for a U.S. initial public offering late Friday in a bid to fund expansion.

The so-called Facebook of China plans to sell shares for $9 to $11 each, according to Renren’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Renren said in its filing that it is the leading social networking site as measured by total page views, total number of visits and total user time spent on its websites as of February. Renren cited data from iResearch.

The company’s platform — which also features an online games site, a social commerce site and a professional networking service — had about 117 million activated users as of March 31, 2011.

Renren said it plans to use proceeds from the IPO to expand its technology, development and marketing. It will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "RENN."

China Internet stocks have been hot on the U.S. market in recent months. Back in December, shares of Dangdang (DANG) and Youku (YOKU) — China’s Amazon and YouTube respectively — soared after making their U.S. debuts.

Experts have said Renren competitor Kaixin001 could also go public in the U payday loans.S. this year.

Meanwhile Baidu (BIDU), China’s top online search company in China, has reported stellar earnings — as has Internet media company Sohu.com (SOHU).

Stateside, the tech IPO market is showing signs of thaw. LinkedIn filed in January, while Demand Media went public the same month. Pandora filed for an IPO in February. And online real estate company Zillow filed to go public Monday.

But everyone’s waiting for Facebook — and the golden child hasn’t shown much interest in going public soon.

Still, the social network said earlier this year that it will begin filing public financial statements by April 2012. That’s a move likely to coincide with an IPO, as regulatory rules are forcing Facebook’s hand.

When companies have more than 499 shareholders, they’re required to publicly disclose their financial results and file quarterly reports to the SEC. Facebook has said it expects to pass the 500 shareholder mark sometime this year. 

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Pitching the promise of energy independence, President Barack Obama cautioned Wednesday that it’s going to be tough to transition from America’s oil-dependent economy and acknowledged there’s little he can do to lower gas prices over the short term.

“I’m just going to be honest with you. There’s not much we can do next week or two weeks from now,” the president told workers at a wind turbine plant. It’s a theme Obama’s struck before as he tries to show voters he’s attuned to a top economic concern with gas prices pushing toward $4 a gallon.

Obama said he wants to move toward “a future where America is less dependent on foreign oil, more reliant on clean energy produced by workers like you.” That will happen by reducing oil imports, tapping domestic energy sources and shifting the nation to renewable and less polluting sources of energy, such as wind, the president says. He has set a goal of reducing oil imports by one-third by 2025.

But the president said it won’t happen overnight and if any politician says it’s easy, “they’re not telling the truth.”

“Gas prices? They’re going to still fluctuate until we can start making these broader changes, and that’s going to take a couple of years to have serious effect,” Obama said.

Obama needled one questioner who asked about gas prices, now averaging close to $3.70 a gallon nationwide, and suggested that the gentleman consider getting rid of his gas-guzzling vehicle.

“If you’re complaining about the price of gas and you’re only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know,” Obama said laughingly. “You might want to think about a trade-in.”

The president spoke at a town hall meeting at Gamesa Technology Corp., a Spanish company that makes giant turbines that use wind to generate electricity. According to the White House, it is the first overseas company of its kind to set up shop in the U.S.

Back in Washington, negotiations continued on a budget deal to avert a government shutdown Friday and Obama urged lawmakers to get it done. The president said he wants to cut spending, but not at the expense of cutting priorities like energy and education.

As fuel prices rise because of growing demand worldwide and political unrest in oil-producing nations in North Africa and the Middle East, drivers are feeling pinched at the pump. Republicans blame Obama and his policies and he, in turn, is striving to show the public that he gets it.

Gasoline prices rose another 2 cents Tuesday to a new national average of just over $3.68 a gallon, according to AAA and other sources. Obama’s visit to Gamesa was his fourth energy event since March 11. He’s scheduled a fifth for Friday in Indianapolis.

Obama argues that shifting to cleaner and domestic energy sources will help create jobs and boost U.S. competitiveness.

Education is another item on Obama’s competitiveness agenda. That issue was to be the focus of a speech he was giving later Wednesday to the Rev. Al Sharpton’s civil rights group in New York City. Obama’s appearance keeps a promise he made to the National Action Network when he spoke there as a presidential candidate in 2007. Obama pledged to return, win or lose.

He returns just two days after launching his re-election bid. He is facing a key constituency that at times has scolded him for not being attentive enough to certain issues, such as double-digit black unemployment, but continues to hold him in high regard.

Obama deflects such criticism by arguing that his polices to expand the economy, create jobs and improve the education system, among other goals, will help the country as a whole, blacks included.

Ninety-five percent of blacks who voted, opted for Obama in 2008. A Gallup poll released last week showed his job approval among blacks holding at 84 percent, about the same as six months earlier.

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Stomach churning fairground rides are nothing compared to the nausea caused by receiving a brown Canada Revenue Agency envelope in the mail. Even the colour of those CRA missives seems somehow accusatory. Almost 3 million returns are reviewed annually with millions of the dreaded brown envelopes sent out with a request (demand) for additional information from taxpayers.

The best way to avoid panic-filled evenings scrambling for receipts and other documents is to know some of the agency

Bell Canada has backed off a unpopular plan to make small, independent Internet service providers, which lease space on its network, apply caps on individual Internet use.

The unit of BCE Inc. said Monday it will propose an alternative scheme for the imposition of usage fees on independent ISPs, a move observers say could help keep a lid on Internet costs for consumers.

Bell