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CA-BUSINESS Summary

05/10/08

Key German bank rescued, Italy revives bailout talks

BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Germany offered a blanket bank deposit guarantee on Sunday in a bid to contain the spreading credit crisis as officials clinched deals to rescue Germany's Hypo Real Estate and recapitalize two other European banks. From Iceland to Italy, officials scrambled to contain the fallout from the deepest financial crisis since the 1930s amid a continued debate about whether a fragmented European response could keep pace with a fear-driven market.

Wachovia pursues Wells Fargo deal; Citi setback

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wachovia Corp cleared a legal hurdle in its effort to sell itself to Wells Fargo & Co on Sunday when a New York appeals court ruled Wachovia cannot be forced to negotiate with Citigroup alone beyond Monday. Citigroup and Wells Fargo are fighting over the right to buy Wachovia assets, a bank hobbled by the credit crisis but which has a desirable branch network. The legal battles Sunday come as the U.S. Federal Reserve is pushing the two banks to reach a compromise, perhaps by carving up Wachovia between them, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

BNP clinches Fortis' Belgian bank arm

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - BNP Paribas took control of the Belgian and Luxembourg businesses of troubled financial group Fortis on Sunday in a complex rescue that will make Belgium the French bank's biggest shareholder. The deal was the most spectacular cross-border rescue since the U.S.-born credit crisis swept into Europe last month, upending banks and rattling savers' confidence.

UBS chairman to earn less than $8.8 million: report

ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS AG's chairman, Peter Kurer, will earn less than 10 million Swiss francs ($8.83 million) this year, he told Swiss newspaper Sonntag on Sunday. That would compare to a reported salary of 26 million francs for Kurer's predecessor, Marcel Ospel, who announced his departure this year as UBS's subprime-related asset writedowns built.

Junior mining sector to be trimmed, analysts say

TORONTO (Reuters) - The number of publicly-traded junior mining companies should fall as tight credit conditions and plunging commodity prices force explorers to either find deep-pocketed partners or disappear, a Canadian mining conference was told on Saturday. Speaking at the Toronto Resource Investment Conference, equity analyst and "Bottom Fish Report" publisher John Kaiser said smaller mining players with proven resources or production have the best chance to survive the recent shift in market conditions.

Vietnam casino developer eyes $1 bln HK IPO: paper

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Canadian firm developing an ocean-front casino complex in Vietnam hopes to raise $1 billion in a Hong Kong IPO in the next two years, a local newspaper reported, despite signs of weakening Asian gambling revenue. Asian Coast Development and investor Harbinger Capital began work on their $4.2 billion Ho Tram Strip project in May, hoping to open in two years and target mainly Chinese gamblers.

Honeywell sees '09 bizjet sales up, but peak looms

BOSTON (Reuters) - Worldwide business jet deliveries will rise 8 to 17 percent next year to what may be a peak as high fuel costs and global economic worries depress demand, according to a forecast by Honeywell International Inc released on Saturday. The world's largest maker of cockpit electronics said a survey of 1,866 corporate jet users showed early signs of slackening demand in the form of fewer flying hours and more used jets going on the market, said T.K. Kallenbach, vice president of marketing and product management at Honeywell.

Ain't nowhere to hide, baby

TORONTO (Reuters) - "Nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide," Martha and the Vandellas sang in their 1965 Motown megahit. It's a tune that Bay Street investors can probably relate to, faced with a market that seems to be sliding across the board. Almost everyone in global equity markets has felt the pain, led by a teetering financial sector and cooling commodities. But even the so-called defensive issues are nowhere to hide these days.

Oil falls 2 pct to $92, demand loss feared

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slumped 2 percent on Monday, falling for a fourth day as traders feared efforts to contain the spreading credit crisis would fail to stave off a deeper decline in oil demand. It was a relatively quiet weekend in the U.S. financial sector after Friday's passage of the landmark $700 billion bailout bill, but in Europe officials scrambled to save three banks, underscoring the creeping effect of the credit crisis.

Potash Corp says open to talks with striking miners

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Potash Corp of Saskatchewan , the world's biggest fertilizer maker, said on Friday it was willing to resume talks with striking miners, but not about a proposed commodity-based bonus. "The union has requested that we come back to bargaining and we certainly agreed to go back to bargaining," said Rhonda Speiss, a company spokeswoman, noting no talks were currently scheduled.

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