Eurozone chief plays down bank crisis fears

• Danny Kemp, AFP

• 18h
• 138

© AFP Thierry MonasseEurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem addresses a press conference at the European Council headquarters in Brussels on February 11, 2016

Brussels (AFP) - Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Thursday played down fears of a new banking crisis that have spooked global markets, insisting that eurozone banks are stronger than a few years ago.

Dijsselbloem added that bailed-out Greece and Portugal, whose progress is also being nervously watched by the markets, were working on their problems but had to take further action.

His comments came after European bank stocks were the catalyst for bruising declines in US and European equity markets this week, amid fears of another banking crisis and a global recession.

"I believe that in the eurozone, structurally, we are in a much better place than we were a few years ago. That also goes for our banks," Dijsselbloem said at a meeting of finance ministers from the 19 countries that use the euro.

Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister, insisted that the EU would push on with controversial rules on how to deal with failing banks as part of its "banking union" plan.

Concerns over a "bail-in" element of the plan which could see creditors suffer to protect taxpayers when banks need rescuing have contributed to the sell-off in banking stocks.

"Let me be quite clear, markets and investors can deal with (the effects of) bail-in rules," Dijsselbloem told a press conference after the meeting.

"The implementation of everything in banking union is now crucial, and if there are legacy issues in some banks I think they should be dealt with, and that's good," he said.

European bank stocks rebounded on Wednesday following unconfirmed reports that embattled Deutsche Bank may launch a bond buyback to assuage concerns about its financial strength, before plunging again on Thursday.

Italy's banking sector has also been causing concerns, with ongoing worries over consolidation and last month's European Union proposal to create a "bad bank" vehicle to help Italian lenders sell their bad loans.

The eurozone has been trying to bring in a form of "banking union" to match its single currency for years in a bid to avoid a repeat of the global financial crisis and eurozone debt crisis.

- Greece, Portugal worries -

Eurozone officials meeting on Thursday also did their best to play down talk of fresh problems that could cause contagion on the global markets.

Germany's powerful finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said there was a "bit of exaggeration on the part of the markets."

But the single currency still confronts problems in bailed-out Greece and Portugal.

Greece and its creditors could complete the first review of the country's latest bailout by the end of March, EU economic affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici said at the press conference with Dijsselbloem.

"We always knew it is still possible to conclude the review before Easter," he said.

The leftist Greek government is hoping to conclude the review so it can move ahead with talks on renegotiating its debt, but must first save 1.8 billion euros from state spending on pensions under the 84 billion euro ($91.6 billion) deal agreed in July.

But Dijsselbloem said that EU-IMF creditor representatives who visited Athens last week for talks with Greek officials said Athens had more to do to win approval.

"Progress has been achieved on important issues but further work is needed on number of areas," Dijsselbloem said.

As part of the bailout terms, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras plans to reduce Greek state spending on retirement schemes, which is the highest in the 28-member European Union.

Portugal meanwhile had agreed to prepare "as of now additional measures to be implemented when needed" to abide by the eurozone's strict budgetary rules, Dijsselbloem said.

Portugal's new socialist-led government said on Friday it had cut its budget deficit target for 2016 to 2.2 percent of GDP from a previously announced target of 2.6 percent to meet the EU's demands.

But Germany's Schaeuble issued a stern warning.

"Portugal would be well advised ... to stop worrying the markets by allowing them to think that it is turning back on the path that it has already taken," he told reporters. "That would be very dangerous for Portugal."

Meanwhile, government bond prices fell sharply across the eurozone's southern flank Thursday, pushing yields higher, as investors demanded higher returns given the Greek and Portuguese risks.

MORE FROM AFP:

• Deutsche Bank to buy back 4.8 bn euros in bonds
• Eddie Jones makes three changes for Italy Six Nations clash
• Volkswagen global sales climb 3.7% in January
• Greek farmers clash with police during mass protest in Athens
• Rolls-Royce cuts dividend for first time in 25 years

More: AFP

This tweet just sent markets spiking higher

• Myles Udland
 
•  

• 19h
• 11,200
 
• 9

Stocks are getting crushed. Near 2:30 p.m. EST, the Dow was down more than 400 points and oil broke to a new 12-year low around $26.07 a barrel.

And then: BOOM! Near 2:50 p.m. EST, the Dow was down just 220, the S&P 500 was off 18 points, and the Nasdaq was down 13.

Google Finance

And it looks like it all comes from this tweet from Wall Street Journal OPEC correspondent Summer Said:

Right now, financial markets are all about oil prices. And any sign that OPEC — the 13-state cartel led by Saudi Arabia that has been a big part of flooding the market with oil — is going to pull back production to balance the market has the chance to make everything go nuts.

And so here we are.

SEE ALSO: Stocks are getting crushed

NOW WATCH: Donald Trump tweeted a wildly inaccurate chart from a fake source

More: Oil Crude Oil

IT'S OFFICIAL: Global stocks are in a bear market

• Akin Oyedele
 
•  

• 17h
• 3,244
 
• 2

Flickr/John Vetterli

That's it: Global stocks are officially in a bear market.

On Thursday, the MSCI all-country world index closed down 20% from its recent high to meet that technical definition.

The index tracks large and mid-cap stock performance across 23 developed and 23 emerging countries. It peaked last May but fell about 1% on Thursday.

We'd note that the index had touched bear-market territory, but it has now closed down more than 20% from its peak.

Earlier on Thursday, global markets continued to sell off, with the Dow falling by as many as 400 points during the trading session. European stocks fell to their lowest level since September 2013.

The collapse into a bear market was accelerated in August and September, and then again in the first six weeks of 2016. There are many reasons investors could give for freaking out and dumping stocks, including the oil crash and turbulence in China's economy.

Also, central banks worldwide spooked investors as they cut interest rates, some into negative territory, and announced more stimulus measures to boost domestic demand, indicating that pockets of the global economy are in distress.

Wrote Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network:

Given the very real challenges around the world, we can probably expect more damage to the markets. What we likely won't see is continued economic damage or a U.S. economic crisis. The very factors that are battering the markets are, in large part, positive for the real economy.

US stocks had the worst start to a year ever in 2016 and remain in correction — a 10% drop from recent highs, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq less than 2% away from a bear market.

McMillan continued:

In 2008, the real economy was broken, with consumers borrowing money they did not have to buy assets they could not afford at prices that made no sense. Today, we have jobs, savings, and rational prices in the real economy. A downward adjustment in financial values won't change that, and that same solid foundation will eventually allow the market to recover as well.

SEE ALSO: Chaos on Wall Street

DON'T MISS: Investors are incredibly pessimistic about the stock market

NOW WATCH: How hackers are using email to steal money from investors

More: Stock Market

Investors are incredibly pessimistic about the stock market

Investors are incredibly pessimistic about the stock market  The stock market is down over 10% this year and investors are freaked out. The team over at Bespoke Investment Group highlighted the percent of investors surveyed by the American Association of Individual Investors who described themselves as "bullish" in its latest survey. And only one other time — back in mid-January — since the financial crisis has sentiment been this poor. In this week's reading just 19.2% of investors were upbeat on the market, down from 27.6% last week. This is the largest one-week decline in the measure since the summer. "As recent market returns suggest, there's not a whole lot for investors to get excited about lately," Bespoke writes. And on the flip side of things the number of pessimistic investors is spiking. "In this week's survey, negative sentiment spiked 14 percentage points from 34.7% up to 48.7%," wrote Bespoke. "Back in late January we saw a similarly high reading, but before that the last time bearish sentiment was higher was in April 2013." But, it may not be all bad news. Meb Faber of Cambria Investment Management pointed out in January, that in the 12 months following readings in the survey's bottom 10% since 1987 the average S&P 500 return was 13.2%.Read »

TRADING SCREENS ARE FLASHING RED: What you need to know

• Matt Turner
 
•  

• 13h
• 23,805
 
• 1

Finviz

Finance Insider is Business Insider's midday summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours.

To sign up, scroll to the bottom of this page and click "Get updates in your inbox," or click here.

Screens are flashing red.

Around midday New York time, the Dow was down 320, S&P 500 off around 35, and the Nasdaq down around 50. That followed on from tough trading conditions in Asia and Europe. 

Boeing fell as much as 10% after reports the SEC is looking into its accounting practices, taking the Dow down with it.  Solar firm SunEdison is getting punished for the second day in a row. 'Risk-off' trades like gold and US Treasuries are going crazy.

And, instead of cheering multi-billion dollar takeovers, investors now seem to find themalarming.

There are some funds delivering returns despite the volatile market, with computer-driven hedge funds outperforming. Bill Ackman, on the other hand, is getting annihilated. 

On Wall Street, Morgan Stanley is paying a $3.2 billion fine for a precrisis 'magic' trick, HSBC has canceled its pay freeze, and Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn has noticed a change in mindset in Silicon Valley. 

In non-finance news, the first discovery of two colliding black holes fundamentally changed our perception of the universe.

So there is that. 

Here are the top Wall Street headlines at midday:

KYLE BASS: There's a 'ticking time bomb' in China - Hedge fund manager J. Kyle Bass, the founder of Dallas-based Hayman Capital, has a warning about a "ticking time bomb" in the Chinese banking system.

Yet another sign the US economy isn't heading for recession ... - On Thursday morning the latest report on initial jobless claims in the US — a weekly survey on how many people have filed for unemployment insurance — fell to 269,000, lower than expected by the markets and a clear sign that the labor market is still strong.

The market for diamonds is totally messed up right now - It's a good time to talk about how messed up the world's diamond supply dynamics are right now.

Musk on the Model X: 'We over-engineered the car' - Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors that the Model X SUV's delays were caused by the vehicle's extreme complexity.

JetBlue wants to invest in startups - JetBlue Airways will launch a Silicon Valley-based venture capital subsidiary. 

Sundar Pichai now gets a shout-out as a person Google can’t afford to lose

• Jillian D'Onfro
 
•  

• 5h
• 3,520
 
• 1

Getty / Steve Jennings

New Google CEO Sundar Pichai just joined Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt in the "too-big-to-lose" club, according to a new filing from parent company Alphabet. 

For the first time, Pichai got a shout-out in the "Risks" section of the 10-K filing. 

"If we were to lose the services of Larry, Sergey, Eric, Sundar, or other key personnel, we may not be able to execute our business strategy," the filing reads. 

Although many subsidiary companies now comprise Alphabet — and each has its own CEO — Google is still very much the only cash cow of the group.

Likely related to his criticalness within the Alphabet, Pichai just got a big payday, receiving roughly $183 million in company stock, which will vest over the next four years. That's quite the incentive to stick around. 

Here's the excerpt from this year's 10-K filing:

GOOG

And it's equivalent in last year's filing: 

GOOG

SEE ALSO: Learn more about the incredible rise of Sundar Pichai, one of the most powerful CEOs in the world

NOW WATCH: Everything Apple will unveil this year

More: Alphabet Google Sundar Picha

5 mistakes you will regret later if you don't put a stop to them now

• Jessica Stillman, Inc.

• 15h
• 110,747

Flickr/Carl LovénPeople approaching the end of their lives have a unique perspective on what younger people should be doing with their time.

What do people regret as they approach the end of their lives? That's what someone wanted to know on question-and-answer site Quora recently. 

The query turned up many of the answers you'd expect — marital infidelities, career opportunities not taken, childlessness. Of course, it's good to know about the big, heart-wrenching mistakes that haunt people as they get older so you can look out for similar missteps in your own life. But a quick online read is unlikely to have much influence on these deeply personal and highly complex aspects of your life.

That doesn't mean that the Quora answers weren't useful, however. Among the dramatic regrets you already know you should avoid (but owing to inevitable human frailty might fall victim to anyway) were several smaller life mistakes that you've probably never thought of as leading to end-of-life regret. Yet answer after answer noted that many of the missteps we look back on with sadness are not only relatively small but also relatively easy to avoid.

A blog post alone probably can't help much when it comes to keeping your marriage together orchoosing your career path, but it can point out these other small but common regrets so you can start taking steps to avoid them today. Here are five:

View As: One Page Slides

1. Trying too hard to please others

Reuters/Michaela Rehle

This one was mentioned in a famous article by a hospice nurse who had ample opportunity to learn about the regrets of the dying. What's the most common of all, according to her? "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."

It was also a frequent response on Quora. "Nobody is more worthy of love in the entire universe than you," writes blogger and investor James Altucher in one such answer. "I wish I had reminded myself of that more. I could've saved all of that time where I was trying to please someone else." "I regret doing what I was told and what I was 'supposed to do,'" agrees author Christopher Page.

2. Too much pointless worry

Flickr/Icare Girard

This one is validated by science. "In our research at Cornell University, I asked hundreds of the oldest Americans [what they regretted]," answered professor Karl Pillemer. "I had expected big-ticket items: an affair, a shady business deal, addictions — that kind of thing. I was therefore unprepared for the answer they often gave: 'I wish I hadn't spent so much of my life worrying.' Over and over, as the 1,200 elders in our Cornell Legacy Project reflected on their lives, I heard versions of 'I would have spent less time worrying' and 'I regret that I worried so much about everything.'"

3. Focusing too much on acquiring stuff

Ken Hodge/flickr

Acquire experiences, not things.

"The discovery that happiness and fulfillment don't come from hedonistic pursuits — such as the acquisition of things, money, or even people — can come too late in life for many people," writes coach Trevor Emdon. Altucher agrees. "Don't buy things," he advises. Instead, "buy experiences. . . An experience is an invitation to meaning." (Note: This one, too, is validated by a whole host of research.)

4. Not taking care of your physical health

Shutterstock

Lifestyle choices that seem like they're too small to worry much about apparently do haunt people in their later years. "I wish I had developed habits of regular vigorous exercise," writes founder Stephanie Vardavas, for example.

"Run," advises Altucher. "You build up your blood vessels. More oxygen gets to the brain. You get smarter. Life is better." Even Kurt Vonnegut got onto this bandwagon. "If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it," wrote one respondent, quoting the author. 

5. Not traveling enough

Facebook/Earlham College

Travel while you're young.

This is another regret that emerged from Professor Pillemer's research. "Travel more when you're young rather than wait until the children are grown or you are retired," suggested a New York Times article summing up his team's findings. "Travel is so rewarding that it should take precedence over other things younger people spend money on," Pillager commented.

Quora respondents agreed you should pay more attention to your travel bucket list early in life. "By far, for me, the most significant regrets I have now are about lost time," writes IT manager Gary Teal. "I have the real sense that it is getting increasingly likely that I will die without having ever seen Machu Picchu. This shocks and disturbs me."

SEE ALSO: 10 things you'll regret doing in your 20s

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

More: Features Inc. Mistakes regrets

Flashy Malaysia financier said to sell Picasso, Basquiat at loss

FEB 12, 201612:31 PM

[NEW YOERK] Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho has attracted attention for his flashy lifestyle and real estate deals, as well as his connections to the prime minister's family and the government's troubled investment fund.

Now Mr Low is once again creating buzz in the art world.

Since Feb 3, he has sold works by Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Jean-Michel Basquiat, according to three people familiar with the matter. 

They fetched about US$54 million, with unusually steep losses on at least two pieces.

The artworks consigned by Mr Low were among the top lots at Sotheby's evening auction of Impressionist, modern and contemporary art in London this month.

All three had been pledged as part of the collateral for a loan of about US$100 million from Sotheby's Financial Services, two of the people said, asking not to be named because the information is private.

Mr Low fielded questions last year over Malaysia's government investment fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), whose advisory board is headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

1MDB has been the subject of overlapping investigations in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong amid allegations of financial irregularities. Mr Low told newspapers that he provided informal consulting to the fund, but didn't break any laws and wasn't being investigated.

Mr Low and his representatives at Hong Kong-based Jynwel Capital, which he co-founded and leads, didn't return calls and e-mails seeking comment on the art sales. Sotheby's declined to comment.

Turning Heads

The 34-year-old financier has coveted the spotlight, partying with Paris Hilton and appearing on the red carpet with singer Alicia Keys.

He also posed for a photo with Leonardo DiCaprio at the 2013 Paris premiere of 'The Wolf of Wall Street', produced by a company co-founded by Prime Minister Najib's stepson Riza Aziz, a longtime friend of Mr Low's.

Mr Low turned heads in the art world in 2013 and 2014 with a shopping spree for trophy pieces.

While he personally examined the works and negotiated prices, one of the people said, it's unclear whether he used his own money, family money or made investments for clients.

More recently, Mr Low has been a seller. This month, his 1935 painting by Picasso - a portrait of the artist's lover, Marie-Therese Walter - fetched 18.9 million pounds (S$38.5 million).

Sotheby's catalog shows the unidentified seller had bought the piece at Christie's in November 2013, and auction-tracker Artnet lists the price then at 45 per cent higher.

Basquiat's 1982 oilstick drawing 'Untitled (Head of Madman)' garnered 6.2 million pounds. It had last sold for about 33 per cent more in November 2013.

The third work offered by Mr Low, Monet's painting of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, sold for 11.6 million pounds, falling below the bottom end of the presale estimate.

Sotheby's catalog shows the consignor acquired the piece from a Swiss collection. Because that transaction was private, it's hard to determine whether Mr Low made or lost money.

'Unforgiving' Market

The losses on a Picasso and Basquiat show how quickly fortunes can change even at the top-tier of the art market. Prices have been climbing since 2010, helped by the arrival of newly wealthy investors from emerging economies seeking status symbols and more assets to hold their money.

Participants now are questioning whether values will hold up amid this year's global market rout and a drop in art auction sales.

"The auction market is quite unforgiving," said David Nash, co-owner of Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery in New York.

"The buyers don't like to see things come back so quickly. They don't find the works so attractive the second time around. A lot of the resistance has to do with the fact that the work is no longer fresh. A lot of it has to do with the perception that the seller has overpaid."

Questions about Mr Low's ties to the family of Malaysia's prime minister had surfaced in a Feb 2015 New York Times article. Starting in about 2010, the article said, Mr Low used a shell company to buy a Park Laurel condo in Manhattan for about US$24 million, and then resold it to a shell company controlled by Mr Riza, the prime minister's stepson.

Mr Low also snapped up a US$17.5 million Beverly Hills mansion and resold it to Mr Riza. A Low shell company also bought a Time Warner Center condo for about US$31 million.

Mr Low said the transactions were done "on an arm's-length basis" and denied "engaging in any wrongful conduct in relation to the prime minister and his family," according to a statement issued by his spokesman.

Sotheby's Financial Services, which offers different types of art financing, is a rapidly growing business for the company. Works pledged as collateral for loans often make their way into Sotheby's auctions.

In such cases, Sotheby's can recover its principal and interest from the loan and earn a commission from the sale.

Earlier Profit

Mr Low has been selling off art at Sotheby's since at least a year ago, the two people familiar with the matter said.

Last February, his 10-foot-tall Gerhard Richter abstract painting fetched an artist record 30.4 million pounds in London, selling to billionaire Ken Griffin, the founder of hedge fund firm Citadel. Mr Low made money on that painting, according to a person familiar with the sale.

In May, Mr Low's 8-foot-tall yellow and blue Mark Rothko painting sold for US$46.5 million, the top lot of Sotheby's contemporary art sales in New York. The 1954 painting, which was once owned by American socialite Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon, was estimated to attract US$40 million to US$60 million.

In October, Mr Low's black, punctured, egg-shaped canvas by Lucio Fontana fetched 15.9 million pounds in London, leading Sotheby's mid-season contemporary art sales and setting what was then an auction record for the postwar Italian artist.

Mr Low still owns Basquiat's 6-foot-tall and 7-foot-wide painting, 'Dustheads', according to a person familiar with the situation. He bought the 1982 canvas at Christie's in May 2013 for US$48.8 million. That was almost double the presale's minimum target of US$25 million. The price remains a record for the artist at auction.

BLOOMBERG