Below are the 10 most recent journal entries recorded in youyi's InsaneJournal:

Friday, October 7th, 2011
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Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
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Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
5:29 pm	Special Report: Bad weather a boon for private forecasters MIAMI (Reuters) - Heat and drought are parching the southern U.S. plains, floods and tornadoes have shattered long-standing records, and the tropical Atlantic is steaming into the traditionally busiest part of the hurricane season. With commodity markets across the globe in the thrall of extreme weather, private-sector meteorologists are increasingly providing custom-tailored weather intelligence to the financial world. This time of year their services are in high demand. "It grows quiet down here from 11 to 12 and it's because they're waiting for the midday weather update, waiting for the next piece of information," said Matt Pierce, analyst for GrainAnalyst.com who has been on the trading floor at the Chicago Board of Trade for more than 10 years. While government forecasters provide broad public advisories, traders, hedge funds and corporations are employing their own staff meteorologists or relying on the 300 U.S. commercial weather vendors for forecasts targeting specific locations and industries. "We let our customers know so they can hedge their risks long in advance, before many in the market are even aware a weather-related event is on the horizon," said Matt Rogers, a long-range forecaster at Commodity Weather Group LLC. Airlines need to know where the winds might carry a cloud of volcanic ash and construction firms want to avoid pouring concrete when it could be weakened by rain. Utilities rely on bespoke forecasts to predict the load on the electric grid at any given moment. "Those are easily million-dollar decisions," said Peter Neilley, vice president of global forecasting services for The Weather Channel Companies. Business is booming for those able to transform millions of bits of data -- ranging from the strength and path of a hurricane to hourly temperature readings -- into simple, understandable trading points. While one-third of the nation's 9,400 meteorologists work for the federal government, the private sector is driving growth. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment in this specialty rising by 15 percent to 10,800 by 2018, with virtually all the increase coming privately. THE TRAIN WRECK THAT WASN'T Companies find that money spent to hire a meteorologist or contract a specialized forecasting firm can pay off many times over in targeting markets or avoiding peril, Keith Seitter, American Meteorological Society executive director, said. He cites the now-legendary example of the train wreck that didn't happen when a monster tornado leveled Greensburg, Kansas, in May 2007 and killed 11 people. Forecasters from the private firm WeatherData, which is part of AccuWeather, alerted their client, Union Pacific, that a tornado was about to hit as two of its trains approached the town on separate tracks from opposite sides. Dispatchers were able to halt them two miles apart and the tornado passed between without damaging either. "It certainly would have not only wrecked the train but potentially would have caused more loss of life," Seitter said. Such specific warnings have become possible only in the last decade or two as technological advances have steadily improved the accuracy of weather forecasting. Modern radar can show how fast a storm is moving. Increasingly powerful computers and computer models allow forecasters to quickly receive and analyze vast amounts of data that pours in from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites, ground monitoring stations, planes and ships and sea buoys. Most commercial meteorologists use data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the computer models developed by U.S., European and Canadian government forecasters as a foundation for their work, then build on it to develop proprietary models and algorithms for client-specific products. Choosing which model to rely on is still the forecaster's job. "There's never a perfect computer model forecast," said Sharan Majumder, assistant professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. "The human is still a very central player in the forecasting process." SHRINKING "CONE OF UNCERTAINTY" Forecasters say they've improved by "a day a decade" -- today's five-day forecast is as accurate as the four-day forecast issued 10 years ago and the three-day forecast issued 20 years ago. "Twenty years ago you couldn't get a really good three- or four-day forecast and now you can," Seitter said. At the National Hurricane Center in 2000, forecasters predicted within an average of 150 miles where a storm would be two days later. By 2010, they narrowed that to 100 miles at the two-day mark, the crucial period when evacuation decisions are made. Shrinking that "cone of uncertainty" has enormous impact. Emergency managers peg the cost of hurricane evacuations at $1 million per mile of coastline. For the offshore oil platforms spread across the Gulf of Mexico, an extra 50 miles can make the difference between a precautionary evacuation and a multi-year salvage operation. That, in turn, can move oil prices by dollars a barrel as traders factor in more or less available crude. Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, tried to calculate just how much the weather affects the U.S. economy by comparing 70 years of temperature and precipitation records against 24 years worth of economic output data. They concluded in a study published in May that U.S. economic output varies by up to $485 billion a year of 2008 GDP, or about 3.4 percent, because of weather extremes. That is enough to turn rebound into recession. "Even if it's only a couple percent, we're still talking hundreds of billions of dollars of impact on the United States economy," said Jeff Lazo, one of the study's authors. Much of the risk can be mitigated by weather awareness, he said. Advances in forecasting have given rapid rise to a market for weather derivatives, contracts in which one side pays the other if the weather is warmer, cooler, wetter, windier or snowier than expected. Utilities and agriculture companies use them as a hedge against losses that fall short of those covered by catastrophe insurance. The market for those derivatives is barely 15 years old and grew by 20 percent last year, to $11.8 billion, according to the Weather Risk Management Association. (Additional reporting by K.T. Arasu and Samuel Nelson in Chicago and David Sheppard and Jeanine Prezioso in New York) (Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Philip Barbara) (Comment on this)
5:27 pm	Special Report: Bad weather a boon for private forecasters MIAMI (Reuters) - Heat and drought are parching the southern U.S. plains, floods and tornadoes have shattered long-standing records, and the tropical Atlantic is steaming into the traditionally busiest part of the hurricane season. With commodity markets across the globe in the thrall of extreme weather, private-sector meteorologists are increasingly providing custom-tailored weather intelligence to the financial world. This time of year their services are in high demand. "It grows quiet down here from 11 to 12 and it's because they're waiting for the midday weather update, waiting for the next piece of information," said Matt Pierce, analyst for GrainAnalyst.com who has been on the trading floor at the Chicago Board of Trade for more than 10 years. While government forecasters provide broad public advisories, traders, hedge funds and corporations are employing their own staff meteorologists or relying on the 300 U.S. commercial weather vendors for forecasts targeting specific locations and industries. "We let our customers know so they can hedge their risks long in advance, before many in the market are even aware a weather-related event is on the horizon," said Matt Rogers, a long-range forecaster at Commodity Weather Group LLC. Airlines need to know where the winds might carry a cloud of volcanic ash and construction firms want to avoid pouring concrete when it could be weakened by rain. Utilities rely on bespoke forecasts to predict the load on the electric grid at any given moment. "Those are easily million-dollar decisions," said Peter Neilley, vice president of global forecasting services for The Weather Channel Companies. Business is booming for those able to transform millions of bits of data -- ranging from the strength and path of a hurricane to hourly temperature readings -- into simple, understandable trading points. While one-third of the nation's 9,400 meteorologists work for the federal government, the private sector is driving growth. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment in this specialty rising by 15 percent to 10,800 by 2018, with virtually all the increase coming privately. THE TRAIN WRECK THAT WASN'T Companies find that money spent to hire a meteorologist or contract a specialized forecasting firm can pay off many times over in targeting markets or avoiding peril, Keith Seitter, American Meteorological Society executive director, said. He cites the now-legendary example of the train wreck that didn't happen when a monster tornado leveled Greensburg, Kansas, in May 2007 and killed 11 people. Forecasters from the private firm WeatherData, which is part of AccuWeather, alerted their client, Union Pacific, that a tornado was about to hit as two of its trains approached the town on separate tracks from opposite sides. Dispatchers were able to halt them two miles apart and the tornado passed between without damaging either. "It certainly would have not only wrecked the train but potentially would have caused more loss of life," Seitter said. Such specific warnings have become possible only in the last decade or two as technological advances have steadily improved the accuracy of weather forecasting. Modern radar can show how fast a storm is moving. Increasingly powerful computers and computer models allow forecasters to quickly receive and analyze vast amounts of data that pours in from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites, ground monitoring stations, planes and ships and sea buoys. Most commercial meteorologists use data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the computer models developed by U.S., European and Canadian government forecasters as a foundation for their work, then build on it to develop proprietary models and algorithms for client-specific products. Choosing which model to rely on is still the forecaster's job. "There's never a perfect computer model forecast," said Sharan Majumder, assistant professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. "The human is still a very central player in the forecasting process." SHRINKING "CONE OF UNCERTAINTY" Forecasters say they've improved by "a day a decade" -- today's five-day forecast is as accurate as the four-day forecast issued 10 years ago and the three-day forecast issued 20 years ago. "Twenty years ago you couldn't get a really good three- or four-day forecast and now you can," Seitter said. At the National Hurricane Center in 2000, forecasters predicted within an average of 150 miles where a storm would be two days later. By 2010, they narrowed that to 100 miles at the two-day mark, the crucial period when evacuation decisions are made. Shrinking that "cone of uncertainty" has enormous impact. Emergency managers peg the cost of hurricane evacuations at $1 million per mile of coastline. For the offshore oil platforms spread across the Gulf of Mexico, an extra 50 miles can make the difference between a precautionary evacuation and a multi-year salvage operation. That, in turn, can move oil prices by dollars a barrel as traders factor in more or less available crude. Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, tried to calculate just how much the weather affects the U.S. economy by comparing 70 years of temperature and precipitation records against 24 years worth of economic output data. They concluded in a study published in May that U.S. economic output varies by up to $485 billion a year of 2008 GDP, or about 3.4 percent, because of weather extremes. That is enough to turn rebound into recession. "Even if it's only a couple percent, we're still talking hundreds of billions of dollars of impact on the United States economy," said Jeff Lazo, one of the study's authors. Much of the risk can be mitigated by weather awareness, he said. Advances in forecasting have given rapid rise to a market for weather derivatives, contracts in which one side pays the other if the weather is warmer, cooler, wetter, windier or snowier than expected. Utilities and agriculture companies use them as a hedge against losses that fall short of those covered by catastrophe insurance. The market for those derivatives is barely 15 years old and grew by 20 percent last year, to $11.8 billion, according to the Weather Risk Management Association. (Additional reporting by K.T. Arasu and Samuel Nelson in Chicago and David Sheppard and Jeanine Prezioso in New York) (Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Philip Barbara) (Comment on this)
5:27 pm	Senate's Baucus in deficit super committee trio WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Max Baucus, the Senate's top tax legislator, was named Tuesday to serve on a deficit reduction super committee, possibly boosting prospects for serious tax and entitlement reform. Known for his ability to work across party lines, Baucus was tapped, along with fellow Democrats John Kerry and Patty Murray, to serve on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, which markets are hoping will do more than kick tough tax and entitlement reform issues down the road. The three were named by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. Nine more appointees are still to be chosen by the Republican Senate leader and House leaders of both parties, with the selections crucial to setting the panel's direction. The appointment of party loyalists on both sides had been expected, prompting predictions that the committee would be unable to do more than the bare minimum required of it. Reid's trio of appointees sends "a mixed message," said Keefe Bruyette & Woods policy analyst Brian Gardner. "The choice of Baucus represents hope for some sort of compromise on entitlement and tax reform," he said. "But Murray being the head of the (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) and Kerry not being known as a moderate Democrat doesn't necessarily signal a willingness to compromise." Murray, a key member of the Senate Democratic leadership, was named co-chair of the panel. She is a close Reid ally. "I have appointed three senators who each possess an expertise in budget matters, a commitment to a balanced approach and a track record of forging bipartisan consensus," Reid said in a statement. "I have great faith in Senator Murray as the co-chair ... Senators Baucus and Kerry are two of the Senate's most respected and experienced legislators," Reid said. "As the events of the past week have made clear, the world is watching the work of this committee," he added. Shaken by an historic U.S. debt downgrade last week and exhausted from months of rancorous debate over the debt ceiling, markets are looking for signs that the super committee might produce a fiscal policy breakthrough. The panel is specifically tasked, under the debt ceiling deal, with finding an additional $1.5 trillion in budget savings over 10 years by November 23. Its recommendations must be voted on by Congress by December 23. If either deadline goes unmet, automatic spending cuts are triggered in 2013. Appointing Baucus, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, to the 12-member panel may give a lift to its prospects for tackling tax reform, according to analysts. "They are reasonable people. Baucus gives weight to the idea of talking about taxes within the context of the committee," said MF Global policy analyst Anne Mathias. Republicans are talking up Senator Rob Portman, who was a top Bush administration budget official, as an appointee. None of the Reid appointees was part of the so-called "Gang of Six," a bipartisan Senate group that in mid-July offered an ambitious but failed $3.75 trillion deficit reduction plan. Republican lobbyists and aides have said the GOP senators who were part of the gang are unlikely to be named to the super committee. Tax measures proposed by that group were seen as unacceptable by Republican no-new-taxes hard-liners. "An appointment of a (Gang of Six) member would be a very positive sign for the prospects of tax reform," Gardner said. House Speaker John Boehner will name three House Republicans to the panel. One will be Murray's co-chair. "I will be announcing our picks for the joint committee in the coming days," Boehner said Tuesday, according to excerpts from a conference call with fellow Republicans disclosed by an aide. "You can be confident the people I select ... will be people of courage who understand the gravity of this situation and are committed to doing what needs to be done." (Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Howard Goller and Carol Bishopric) (Comment on this)
5:24 pm	Senate's Baucus in deficit super committee trio WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Max Baucus, the Senate's top tax legislator, was named Tuesday to serve on a deficit reduction super committee, possibly boosting prospects for serious tax and entitlement reform. Known for his ability to work across party lines, Baucus was tapped, along with fellow Democrats John Kerry and Patty Murray, to serve on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, which markets are hoping will do more than kick tough tax and entitlement reform issues down the road. The three were named by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. Nine more appointees are still to be chosen by the Republican Senate leader and House leaders of both parties, with the selections crucial to setting the panel's direction. The appointment of party loyalists on both sides had been expected, prompting predictions that the committee would be unable to do more than the bare minimum required of it. Reid's trio of appointees sends "a mixed message," said Keefe Bruyette & Woods policy analyst Brian Gardner. "The choice of Baucus represents hope for some sort of compromise on entitlement and tax reform," he said. "But Murray being the head of the (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) and Kerry not being known as a moderate Democrat doesn't necessarily signal a willingness to compromise." Murray, a key member of the Senate Democratic leadership, was named co-chair of the panel. She is a close Reid ally. "I have appointed three senators who each possess an expertise in budget matters, a commitment to a balanced approach and a track record of forging bipartisan consensus," Reid said in a statement. "I have great faith in Senator Murray as the co-chair ... Senators Baucus and Kerry are two of the Senate's most respected and experienced legislators," Reid said. "As the events of the past week have made clear, the world is watching the work of this committee," he added. Shaken by an historic U.S. debt downgrade last week and exhausted from months of rancorous debate over the debt ceiling, markets are looking for signs that the super committee might produce a fiscal policy breakthrough. The panel is specifically tasked, under the debt ceiling deal, with finding an additional $1.5 trillion in budget savings over 10 years by November 23. Its recommendations must be voted on by Congress by December 23. If either deadline goes unmet, automatic spending cuts are triggered in 2013. Appointing Baucus, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, to the 12-member panel may give a lift to its prospects for tackling tax reform, according to analysts. "They are reasonable people. Baucus gives weight to the idea of talking about taxes within the context of the committee," said MF Global policy analyst Anne Mathias. Republicans are talking up Senator Rob Portman, who was a top Bush administration budget official, as an appointee. None of the Reid appointees was part of the so-called "Gang of Six," a bipartisan Senate group that in mid-July offered an ambitious but failed $3.75 trillion deficit reduction plan. Republican lobbyists and aides have said the GOP senators who were part of the gang are unlikely to be named to the super committee. Tax measures proposed by that group were seen as unacceptable by Republican no-new-taxes hard-liners. "An appointment of a (Gang of Six) member would be a very positive sign for the prospects of tax reform," Gardner said. House Speaker John Boehner will name three House Republicans to the panel. One will be Murray's co-chair. "I will be announcing our picks for the joint committee in the coming days," Boehner said Tuesday, according to excerpts from a conference call with fellow Republicans disclosed by an aide. "You can be confident the people I select ... will be people of courage who understand the gravity of this situation and are committed to doing what needs to be done." (Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Howard Goller and Carol Bishopric) (Comment on this)
5:23 pm	S&P balks at SEC proposal to reveal rating errors WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's, whose unprecedented downgrade of U.S. debt triggered a worldwide stocks sell-off, is pushing back against a U.S. government proposal that would require credit raters to disclose "significant errors" in how they calculate their ratings. S&P, which was accused by the Obama administration of making an error in its calculations leading to Friday's downgrade, raised concern about the proposed new corrections policy and other issues in an 84-page letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, dated August 8. The SEC is weighing sweeping new rules designed to improve the quality of ratings after their poor performance in the financial crisis. The 517-page proposal includes a requirement that ratings agencies post on their websites when a "significant error" is identified in their methodology for a credit rating action. The letter was sent three days after the U.S. Treasury Department accused S&P of miscalculating -- by some $2 trillion -- the U.S. debt in the next 10 years. That calculation was in a draft press release announcing a downgrade in the government's credit rating from AAA to AA-plus. S&P vehemently denied it had made an error, but acknowledged that it changed its long-term economic assumptions after discussions with the Treasury Department. It switched to another economic scenario that resulted in a debt load $2 trillion smaller by 2021. But it said that did not affect its decision to downgrade the U.S. debt. S&P's criticism of the "significant error" proposal is part of a broader concern that the SEC's reforms prompted by the Dodd-Frank financial oversight law could give the U.S. government undue influence over its ratings decisions. S&P in particular is facing a tense relationship with Washington. Its downgrade sparked a backlash from Administration officials and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. A Senate Banking Committee aide on Monday said the panel has begun looking into S&P's decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating. WHAT'S AN ERROR? The SEC's proposal, issued in May, contains a wide range of provisions, including requiring credit raters to disclose more about their internal controls, to protect against conflicts of interest, and to reveal more about their rating methods. But one issue that really rubbed Standard & Poor's the wrong way was the proposed requirement that raters disclose when a "significant error" is identified in a procedure or methodology -- and especially, who should define what that is. The SEC's proposal asks questions about whether the SEC should define the term "significant error." "If the commission were to define the term significant error ... we believe it would effectively be substituting its judgment" for the credit-rating agencies, S&P President Deven Sharma said in the letter. He said S&P's own error correction policy "has proven to be effective and, where errors have occurred, our practice of reacting swiftly and transparently has benefited the market." Barbara Roper, director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America, said that policy has proven inadequate. "What was their correction policy on their Enron rating? What was their correction policy on their Lehman rating? What was their correction policy on their Bear Stearns rating? They don't have an error correction policy -- they have an error denial policy, and the SEC is absolutely right to step in," Roper said. McGraw Hill's Standard & Poor identifies numerous issues with the SEC's proposal, including concerns about competition and that rules are consistent globally. Of the big three raters -- S&P, Moody's Corp and Fimalac SA's Fitch Ratings -- S&P was the only one to raise major concerns in its letter to the SEC about the "significant error" provision. The measure was tucked into Dodd-Frank after the rating firms gave glowing ratings to toxic subprime mortgage-backed securities and then were slow to downgrade them. A Senate investigations panel issued a report earlier this year faulting S&P and Moody's for triggering the financial crisis with their flawed ratings and subsequent decision to downgrade them en masse. The big three ratings agencies have spent well over $1 million lobbying Congress and federal agencies since January as they press for changes to the regulations, according to data from OpenSecrets.org. Roper said S&P's pushback to the "significant error" proposal underscores the need for tougher reforms. "If anything, their letter suggests it is absolutely essential that the SEC define it because absent a definition, these guys will obfuscate," she said. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, with additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Karey Wutkowski, Gary Hill) (Comment on this)
5:21 pm	China says price pressures peaking, risks remain BEIJING (Reuters) - China's price rises may have peaked but the country still faces inflationary risks, including the possibility of a new round of monetary easing by the United States, China's top economic planner said on Wednesday. Reiterating recent comments about China's inflation, the National Development and Reform Commission also noted that the U.S. Federal Reserve may buy more U.S. Treasuries, but it did not say why it thought that is likely. "Overall prices are expected to ease in coming months," the agency said in a statement. Still, it noted that inflation dangers remained, including possible U.S. policy easing. "The United States has approved the plan to raise its debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion. To repay debts and to drive economic growth, there is a high possibility that the Fed may launch a third round of quantitative easing," the agency said. "If the United States implements further easing, it may push up commodity prices and that translates into higher imported inflation (for China)," it said. The comments came just hours after the Fed took the unprecedented step of vowing to keep interest rates near zero for at least two more years. It also said it would consider further steps to help foster U.S. economic growth, adding to market speculation the central bank may buy more U.S. government bonds or launch a new round of quantitative easing, also known as "QE III." Beijing has never suggested that it is privy to the Fed's internal discussions or plans. But it made plain its unhappiness when the Fed unveiled QE II in November, accusing the United States of exporting inflationary pressures around the world, a line it repeated on Wednesday. "(A new round of easing) may also trigger more hot money inflows into developing countries, including China. The increase in speculative funds would make it more difficult to control our prices," the commission said. The Fed's rationale for its last round of bond purchases was to ward off the risk of deflation, which does not appear to pose a serious threat now. That argues against another round of bond-buying now. But a Reuters poll of dealers found that 37.5 percent of respondents polled on Tuesday expected the Fed to resume bond-buying within the next six months, up from 27.5 percent who had expected the move when they were polled on Friday. (Reporting by Zhou Xin and Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Ken Wills and Ramya Venugopal) (Comment on this)
5:20 pm	HSBC sells U.S. card unit to Capital One HONG KONG (Reuters) - HSBC is selling its $30 billion U.S. credit card arm to Capital One Financial Corp for a premium of $2.6 billion, as Europe's top bank streamlines its mammoth operations by getting rid of unwanted businesses. The sale of the unit is part of a radical overhaul designed to save about $3.5 billion by new Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver. "This sale frees up capital and it shows that Stuart Gulliver is executing on the priorities that he's laid out," said John Wadle, an analyst with Mirae Asset Management. "The price the business fetched was somewhat disappointing, but it shows that it was a buyer's market. All in, it is still progress because at least they completed this, and it didn't take too long," he added. Credit card portfolios are valued at a discount or premium on top of the loans the buyer takes on. Before the financial crisis portfolios could be sold at hefty premiums of over 20 percent, but more recent sales have been at slim premiums, discounts or have been scrapped. HSBC's U.S. credit card unit has total assets of about $30.4 billion, primarily its loans to customers which will transfer to Capital One's books. Including the $2.6 billion premium, about 8.5 percent of the assets, the total value of the deal is $32.7 billion, the companies said. HSBC will book a post-tax gain of around $2.4 billion on the sale. The business earned $600 million in after-tax profit for the half year ended June 30, 2011. HSBC said the deal would boost its consolidated core Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio by 60 basis points to 11.4 percent at the end of June. Capital One will pay the consideration in cash and stock, with HSBC agreeing to accept up to $750 million of Capital One shares as part of the deal. MOTIVATED BUYER The deal marks the second time Capital One has swooped for unwanted U.S. assets from a retreating European bank in recent months. The McLean, Virginia-based firm said in June it was buying ING's U.S. online bank for $9 billion in cash and stock. Wells Fargo & Co had also been interested in buying the portfolio, sources have said previously. "This transaction continues the execution of the strategy we announced at our investor day ... to focus our U.S. business on the international needs of customers in commercial banking, global banking & markets," Gulliver said in a statement. He said the transaction was dilutive in the short term, but will cut group risk-weighted assets by up to $40 billion. The proceeds from the sale will be used for repayment of debt among others. HSBC last week said it will shed nearly half of its underperforming U.S. branch network, selling 195 branches to First Niagara Financial Group Inc for $1 billion and closing 13 more. Earlier this month, it also announced it will axe 30,000 jobs as it slashes costs and retreats from countries such as Russia, Poland and the United States, where it is struggling to compete. HSBC has been criticized for spreading itself too widely, gathering roughly 95 million customers across 87 markets, and Gulliver is aiming to put focus back on profitability. He wants to slash annual costs by up to $3.5 billion, sell assets and retreat from countries where HSBC is sub-scale. The revamp, aimed at sharpening its focus on Asia, reverses a strategy that has been criticised for "planting flags" around the world. HSBC's Hong Kong-listed shares rose 3.9 percent in morning trade, ahead of the announcement, in line with the broader market. The shares are down 18 percent in 2011, compared with a 13 percent fall in the benchmark Hong Kong share index. (Additional reporting by Kelvin Soh in HONG KONG and Steve Slater in LONDON; Reporting by Denny Thomas; Editing by Ken Wills and Lincoln Feast) (Comment on this)
5:19 pm	HSBC sells U.S. card unit to Capital One HONG KONG (Reuters) - HSBC is selling its $30 billion U.S. credit card arm to Capital One Financial Corp for a premium of $2.6 billion, as Europe's top bank streamlines its mammoth operations by getting rid of unwanted businesses. The sale of the unit is part of a radical overhaul designed to save about $3.5 billion by new Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver. "This sale frees up capital and it shows that Stuart Gulliver is executing on the priorities that he's laid out," said John Wadle, an analyst with Mirae Asset Management. "The price the business fetched was somewhat disappointing, but it shows that it was a buyer's market. All in, it is still progress because at least they completed this, and it didn't take too long," he added. Credit card portfolios are valued at a discount or premium on top of the loans the buyer takes on. Before the financial crisis portfolios could be sold at hefty premiums of over 20 percent, but more recent sales have been at slim premiums, discounts or have been scrapped. HSBC's U.S. credit card unit has total assets of about $30.4 billion, primarily its loans to customers which will transfer to Capital One's books. Including the $2.6 billion premium, about 8.5 percent of the assets, the total value of the deal is $32.7 billion, the companies said. HSBC will book a post-tax gain of around $2.4 billion on the sale. The business earned $600 million in after-tax profit for the half year ended June 30, 2011. HSBC said the deal would boost its consolidated core Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio by 60 basis points to 11.4 percent at the end of June. Capital One will pay the consideration in cash and stock, with HSBC agreeing to accept up to $750 million of Capital One shares as part of the deal. MOTIVATED BUYER The deal marks the second time Capital One has swooped for unwanted U.S. assets from a retreating European bank in recent months. The McLean, Virginia-based firm said in June it was buying ING's U.S. online bank for $9 billion in cash and stock. Wells Fargo & Co had also been interested in buying the portfolio, sources have said previously. "This transaction continues the execution of the strategy we announced at our investor day ... to focus our U.S. business on the international needs of customers in commercial banking, global banking & markets," Gulliver said in a statement. He said the transaction was dilutive in the short term, but will cut group risk-weighted assets by up to $40 billion. The proceeds from the sale will be used for repayment of debt among others. HSBC last week said it will shed nearly half of its underperforming U.S. branch network, selling 195 branches to First Niagara Financial Group Inc for $1 billion and closing 13 more. Earlier this month, it also announced it will axe 30,000 jobs as it slashes costs and retreats from countries such as Russia, Poland and the United States, where it is struggling to compete. HSBC has been criticized for spreading itself too widely, gathering roughly 95 million customers across 87 markets, and Gulliver is aiming to put focus back on profitability. He wants to slash annual costs by up to $3.5 billion, sell assets and retreat from countries where HSBC is sub-scale. The revamp, aimed at sharpening its focus on Asia, reverses a strategy that has been criticised for "planting flags" around the world. HSBC's Hong Kong-listed shares rose 3.9 percent in morning trade, ahead of the announcement, in line with the broader market. The shares are down 18 percent in 2011, compared with a 13 percent fall in the benchmark Hong Kong share index. (Additional reporting by Kelvin Soh in HONG KONG and Steve Slater in LONDON; Reporting by Denny Thomas; Editing by Ken Wills and Lincoln Feast) (Comment on this)