2008-04-07 09:06:10 Japan Financial Corp.'s JFM 60 bln yen bonds rated 'AA' - S&P

BANGALORE (Thomson Financial) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has assigned its 'AA' senior unsecured local currency long-term debt rating to Japan Finance Corp. for Municipal Enterprises' (JFM) 60 billion yen 2.29 percent series 24 non-guaranteed bonds due April 2028, reflecting the corporation's robust public policy role as the primary government financial institution supplying long-term and low-cost financing for public projects.

2008-04-07 08:47:02 Pimco's Erian sees crisis prompting further asset writedowns, dollar declines

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Mohamed El-Erian, co-CEO of Allianz SE bond manager Pacific Investments Management Company (Pimco), expects the credit crisis to trigger further asset writedowns as well as corporate victims, and sees the dollar declining further over the next five years.

2008-04-07 08:36:45 Pardus, Centaurus seek sale of 20.67 pct Atos Origin stake - report

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Pardus and Centaurus are seeking to sell their 20.67 percent stake in IT services company Atos Origin, La Tribune reported, citing a document presented to the company's board last November.

2008-04-07 08:21:15 Sagicor Financial says full year net income up

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Sagicor Financial Corp. reported an increased full-year net income, adding the 2007 results have been augmented by a gain on the acquisition of the Sagicor at Lloyd's insurance syndicate.

2008-04-07 08:14:52 Belgium's Praet says IMF pessimistic on US recession, Europe coping better

BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - Belgian National Bank executive director Peter Praet said the International Monetary Fund may be overly pessimistic on the U.S. recession and that the European banking sector is coping better with the current "unbelievably difficult" situation.

2008-04-07 07:59:34 Greek shares TFN at a glance outlook

ATHENS (Thomson Financial) - The market is expected to open slightly higher after Asian bourses made gains and investors will be watching whether the index will be able to hold the psychological 4,100 general index point level.

2008-04-07 07:20:45 NRW's Linssen calls on German govt to back consolidation of state-owned banks

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - North Rhine-Westphalia state finance minister Helmut Linssen has called on the Federal government to back the consolidation of state-owned banks, he told Handelsblatt in an interview.

2008-04-07 07:04:23 Fremont Investment servicer quality rating cut to 'SQ4-' from 'SQ4' - Moody's

BANGALORE (Thomson Financial) - Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded the servicer quality rating of Fremont Investment & Loan to 'SQ4-' from 'SQ4' and that it maintains the rating on review for possible further downgrade.

2008-04-07 06:48:44 Turquoise to launch share trading platform in Amsterdam in Sept - report

AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) - London-based share trading platform Turquoise will start trading in Amsterdam in September, CEO Eli Lederman told Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad in an interview.

2008-04-07 06:29:19 European power cos to reap 71 bln windfall profits from emissions trading - WWF

BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - Power companies in just five EU nations could reap windfall profits of up to 71 billion euros over five years thanks to Europe's emissions trading scheme, the green group WWF claimed on Monday.

2008-04-07 06:25:25 Minnesota Life's IFS rating affirmed at 'AA', outlook stable - Fitch

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Fitch Ratings said it affirmed its insurer financial strength (IFS) rating on U.S.-based Minnesota Life Insurance Co. and its unit Securian Life Insurance Co. at 'AA' with a stable outlook.

2008-04-07 06:17:02 Sul America counterparty credit rating raised to 'B+'; outlook positive - S&P

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its long-term counterparty credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Brazil-based insurance holding company Sul America S.A. (SASA) to 'B+' from 'B' with a positive outlook.

2008-04-07 05:33:47 GasNet Australia's MBIA-wrapped bond rating cut to 'AA' from 'AAA' - Fitch

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Fitch Ratings said it cut GasNet Australia (Operations) Pty Ltd.'s MBIA-wrapped bonds to 'AA' from 'AAA' and removed the rating on the bond's from negative watch, following the downgrade of MBIA Insurance Corp.'s insurer financial strength rating to 'AA' from 'AAA' and its removal from negative watch.

2008-04-07 04:59:24 China 7-day repo rate set at 3.1789 pct vs 2.7839 pct

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - The China Foreign Exchange Trading System (CFETS) set the reference rate this morning for seven-day repurchase agreements at 3.1789 pct against 2.7839 pct last Thursday.

2008-04-07 03:58:13 US insurer Liberty Mutual China unit raises capital to 220 mln yuan

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Liberty Mutual Insurance (China) has raised its capital to 220 mln yuan from 200 mln previously, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said in a statement approving the deal.

2008-04-07 01:09:41 Australia's ASX probes director disclosure as Opes fallout spreads

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is reviewing whether companies have breached continuous disclosure obligations following requests for trading halts as directors faced losing shareholdings because of last month's collapse of stockbroking firm Opes Prime Group, The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday.

2008-04-07 00:01:14 UK's Darling may be too optimistic on GDP growth - Treasury Committee

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The British Treasury may have over-estimated the UK economy's capacity to deal with the credit crisis, an influential group of MPs said today.

2008-04-06 23:58:47 China Investment Corp plans 4 bln usd fund for US financial assets - report

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) has signed a deal with JC Flowers & Co to launch a 4 bln private equity fund focused on US financial assets, the official China Daily reported, citing sources close to the matter.