| RBC takes $160M subprime charge
Two of Canada's biggest banks took big charges Tuesday reflecting troubles in the U.S. mortgage business and corporate credit markets, but also booked gains from their stake in the restructuring Visa credit card company. Royal Bank of Canada (TSX: RY) said it will record a $360-million charge related to losses in the U.S. subprime mortgage market, but will also post a $325-million gain for Visa credit card restructuring. Canada's largest bank said Tuesday it "expects its fourth-quarter earnings to be only modestly affected by these items due to largely offsetting impacts." Meanwhile, Scotiabank disclosed it will book writedowns totalling $190 million on non-bank asset-backed commercial paper and structured credit instruments. The writedowns amount to about $135 million after tax.
Expo on the money for Latinos
PASSAIC -- Latino small business owners from around the state convened in Newark Saturday for the first Latino Economic Growth Expo, all to provide them with information on how to obtain state grants and government contracts and promote their growth. .
Central bank unveils trans-bank system
The People's Bank of China launched a trans-bank system for small-amount payment on Monday. The first batch of 14 banks in Beijing will apply this system in succession, according to the Beijing Morning Post.
After signing contracts with account banks in advance, with a 12-digit payment bank code, clients can deposit, withdraw or transfer small sums of money amongst outlets of banks participating in this program.
Clients also need to pay certain fees for small-amount transactions. However, the charge varies among banks.
For instance, China Construction Bank (CCB) and Bank of China (BOC) will both charge the clients one percent of the transacted amount of money, but the minimum charge for a single transaction is 10 yuan in CCB and 1 yuan in BOC, and maximum is 200 yuan in CCB and 100 yuan in BOC.
Howard faces Press Club grilling
CANBERRA - Prime Minister John Howard will today make a last-minute appeal for re-election in a televised address to the National Press Club. Labor leader Kevin Rudd faced a grilling from the national media in Canberra yesterday, and today it is Mr Howard's turn. With just two days before the federal election, both leaders have sharpened their pitch to voters. Mr Rudd, who starts his day in Brisbane after flying in last night, pledged to shift Australia up a gear if elected, and nominated climate change, education and health as priorities for his first year in office. The prime minister said growing the economy and pushing unemployment lower was his number one priority. But he also promised to focus on maintaining national security, implementing election promises, tackling climate change and working on Aboriginal reconciliation.
Russian stocks falling
RBC, 21.11.2007, Moscow 16:28:00.Most securities were down by no more than 1.5 percent on the Russian market in afternoon trade. Among the heaviest decliners on MICEX, VTB tumbled 3 percent, Sberbank sank 2 percent, and Gazprom slid 1.9 percent, dragging the MICEX index 1.4 percent down to 1,789 points as of 3:40 p.m. The RTS index dropped 1.16 percent to 2,155 points. Following an upsurge on the heels of news of a share purchase offer from Interros to Mikhail Prokhorov, Norilsk Nickel retreated into negative territory. Nevertheless, the nickel producer is believed to have retained growth potential due to strong fundamentals. The Russian stock market has been slipping on the back of a downtrend on the global market, experts told RBC TV, adding that Russian stocks were meanwhile likely to start rising once again.
It's good for home-based business to give as well as receive
Sometimes the best businesses are ones that give it away - to charity, that is. If you make charitable giving a priority, you may find it can benefit your reputation, your soul and, ultimately, your bottom line. Goodwill giving is good for business. Donating to charity - either your money or your time - on behalf of your home-based business can improve your financial performance, enhance brand image and reputation, increase sales and customer loyalty, and improve your ability to attract and retain employees. Here are 10 smart ways to make charitable giving a priority in your home-based business: -- Set a budget. U.S. citizens contribute an average of 2.5 percent of their personal income to charitable causes. Some businesses with giving programs set aside up to 5 percent of their pretax income for contributions.
UPDATE: Shares Of U.K. Banks Barclays, RBS Hammered Amid Silence
LONDON (Dow Jones) -- Shares of Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland have both dropped about a quarter in value during November alone, but the banks are continuing to maintain their stoic posture as market rumors swirl of potential massive write-downs. Barclays (BCS) on Friday said there was "no substance" to talk it would have to write down $10 billion of subprime-related exposures, but otherwise didn't elaborate on its positions. The Royal Bank of Scotland also has kept estimates of its losses to itself. On Friday, Barclays shares dropped 6.2%, having briefly fallen as much as 9% to their lowest level since July 2004. RBS shares fell 3.7%, having lost as much as 6.6% to hit their lowest level in over five years. "An already nervous market is on red alert for any mention of credit losses and this rumor has proved particularly unnerving at the end of a very difficult and volatile trading week," said Martin Slaney, head of spread betting at GFT Global Markets.
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