Credit Suisse has announced a sell-off of its US$2.8 billion property portfolio.

The Wall Street Journal has reported it will be one of the largest bank sales of distressed loans since the financial crisis hit in 2008.

The portfolio, to be sold to Apollo Management LP, consists of loans for apartment buildings in Germany and hotels in a number of European countries.

The bank may share in any gains realised by Apollo as it is taking an equity stake in the company.

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American GE Money, the financial services division of giant General Electric, has decided to leave Romania after five years during which it invested over 100 million euros, but without visible results. The exit amounted to selling a 30% stake in GE Garanti Bank to Turkish partners Garanti plus similar stakes in non-bank financial companies Motoractive (leasing), Ralfi (consumer finance) and Domenia (mortgage loans). "Our withdrawing from this partnership is part of GE's global strategy," said Dmitri Stockton, president of GE Capital Global Banking.This consolidation brings the Turks to 1.5 billion euros in assets on the Romanian market, strengthening their position as a medium-sized player, after they started out as a small player four years ago."There will be no change as far as our strategy and development perspective are concerned," said Ergun Ozen, president and CEO of Turkish group Garanti.There are no data available on the value of the transaction, but GE entered the market via a triple acquisition made in 2005 worth 140 million euros and then announced plans to invest 50 million dollars. This is the biggest withdrawal from the market of a financial services player since the outbreak of the crisis more than two years ago, with the move being all the more relevant considering the weight of the GE name. The American financial industry will therefore only be represented by Citi. Last year Belgium's KBC Consumer Finance also left the Romanian market.GE Money came onto the Romanian market in 2005, when lending was starting to take off, and bought from the Romanian-American Equity Fund (RAEF) the stakes it held in leasing company Motoractive, in Ralfi (which sold consumer loans under the Estima Finance brand) and in mortgage loan company Domenia Credit. They also bought the 20% stake held by DoMo retailer in Ralfi, with the overall value of the transaction being estimated at 140 million euros.BNR, Banca Mondiala, Emil Boc, FMI, Guvern, INS,Ministerul Economiei, PIB, Prima Pagina, Romania,agenda de business, bugetul de stat, economie, revista presei, salarii, salariu minim

The value of assets managed by mandatory private pension funds, pillar II, reached 4.15bn RON (967m euros) in late November, only 3% up from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Private Pension System Supervision Commission (CSSPP). Thus, reaching the 1bn-euro mark in terms of assets by yearend, which the entire market had expected, is still uncertain as the sum of contributions transferred from the state budget, plus the yields generated from investments must hit 33m euros in December.
In November, the value of assets rose by 30m euros."I had expected the 1bn - euro mark to be reached by yearend. However, the situation is on edge after November data reporting. Should December be a typical month, I do not believe we will hit this threshold, but we may have an atypical month because there are companies granting the 13th salary or various bonuses and thus the value of collected contributions is likely to be higher," believes Radu C. an investment manager with Eureko Pensii. In late November, mandatory funds had 5.1 million participants, 5% more than at the end of 2009.(ZF)BCE, Citigroup, Comisia Europeana, FMI, Federal Reserve, Germania, Grecia, Irlanda, Marea Britanie, PIB, Rusia, SUA, Spania, Standard and Poor's, Ungaria, Uniunea Europeana, economie, obligatiuni, zona euro

In short - 2010

High levels of public debt among countries in the euro zone turned into a full-blown crisis for the currency block. As markets began to lose confidence in the ability of a few countries to finance their debt, and rapidly pushed up their borrowing costs, the European Union and the IMF eventually resolved to bail out Greece and, later, Ireland. Investors also fretted over Spain and Portugal. Measures to tackle budget deficits were met with protests, especially in Greece, which endured strikes and riots. In France 1m people demonstrated against pension reforms in a single day.
As Europe tightened its fiscal belt, America passed more stimulus measures. Barack Obama also signed into law the most sweeping changes to America’s financial-regulatory system since the 1930s and a health-care reform act that was hailed by many as America’s most significant piece of social legislation since the 1960s. Conservatives challenged the act in the courts.
Unease about deficits and the “jobless recovery” were factors behind the increasing clout of tea-partiers in America. With their support the Republicans scored a sensational win in a special election for Ted Kennedy’s former Senate seat in Massachusetts. November’s mid-term elections saw the Democrats swept from power in the House by the biggest swing to the Republicans in decades. Congress ended the year on its lowest-ever Gallup approval rating—13%.
In China the main worry was of an overheating economy. The central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates for the first time in three years amid concerns about inflation. Official trade statistics showed China had overtaken Germany as the world’s biggest exporter. Tensions over currency policy were at the forefront during summits of the G20 and IMF.BNR, Banca Mondiala, Emil Boc, FMI, Guvern, INS,Ministerul Economiei, PIB, Prima Pagina, Romania,agenda de business, bugetul de stat, economie, revista presei, salarii, salariu minim

Europe's central bankers appeared to calm jittery markets despite refusing to accelerate measures to support ailing eurozone economies in the aftermath of the Irish bailout.
The European Central Bank president, Jean-Claude Trichet, said he would keep giving banks unlimited liquidity well into next year but made no guarantee to step up the bond-buying to combat investor panic surrounding Portugal and Spain.
Investors initially sold the euro and increased the cost of insuring eurozone debts after Trichet's comments, but a closer reading of his remarks and analysis of market activity later showed that the ECB was involved in large-scale behind-the-scenes support to bond markets.If you ever played Monopoly, you learned that by managing your cash flow wisely, you could buy a bunch of houses and hotels -- and win. If you didn't manage it well, you might wind up in jail or penniless.
Small wonder that aside from bankruptcy and audit, the term cash flow is probably the most terrifying in an entrepreneur's dictionary. According to a survey by Intuit, 22 million of the nation's smallest business are waiting for approximately $1,500 in overdue payments every month, creating a $33 billion logjam on their cash flow. In the same survey, 42 percent of business owners said they stay up nights worrying about how quickly they will be paid.
Obviously, the money your customers give you is cash flowing "into" your business, and the checks you're writing to pay salaries, suppliers, utilities and others constitutes the cash flowing "out" of your business. And as entrepreneurs know, a positive cash flow is the holy grail for all business owners.BCE, Citigroup, Comisia Europeana, FMI, Federal Reserve, Germania, Grecia, Irlanda, Marea Britanie, PIB, Rusia, SUA, Spania, Standard & Poor's, Ungaria, Uniunea Europeana, economie, obligatiuni, zona euro