By www.thetrader.se [55]
Thetrader.se
Follow up on Golem’s piece from yesterday on that “forgotten” 1 Trillion Euro hidden German problem. From Golem XIV. More questions about the stability and probity of German banking this morning following on from the rumour of the €1 Trillion hole in German banks.http://www.thetrader.se/2012/03/22/should-we-worry-about-german-banks-now/ [56]
Ft.com
Spain’s borrowing costs rose above 5.5 per cent for the first time since January as investors fretted about another escalation of the eurozone crisis [57]amid signs of further economic weakening even in Germany. Investors, already nervous about Madrid’s deficit and weak growth prospects, pushed Spain’s benchmark 10-year bond yields up 14 basis points to as high as 5.53 per cent. Italy’s borrowing costs also rose with the yield on its 10-year bond breaking through 5 per cent. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/575cf306-7405-11e1-bcec-00144feab49a.html#axzz1puqH1SsQ [58]
India’s coalition government was rocked by a fresh corruption scandal on Thursday after it was accused of forgoing $210bn in potential revenues by selling coal assets too cheaply to some of the country’s top industrialists. The accusations – contained in a leaked 110-page draft report by India’s comptroller and auditor general – prompted an uproar from the opposition Bharatiya Janata party, which attacked the government led by Manmohan Singh, prime minister, for mounting a “very serious scam”. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/aa9d2684-73f2-11e1-bcec-00144feab49a.html#axzz1puqH1SsQ [59]
The European Central Bank is falling behind on a €40bn asset purchase programme launched at the height of eurozone crisis, in a sign it could be dropped as a first step towards unwinding huge emergency support for the region’s financial system. Purchases of “covered bonds [60]” – debt backed by pools of assets favoured by some institutional investors – have so far totalled less than €9bn. The scheme started last November and was originally intended to run until October at the latest. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/bdb2c1ec-7367-11e1-9014-00144feab49a.html#axzz1puqH1SsQ [61]
Real Madrid has lent its name to a $1bn theme park being planned on an artificial sand island in the United Arab Emirates in the latest brand extension by a football club. Unveiled at a presentation featuring manager José Mourinho and director of football Zinedine Zidane, the Real Madrid Resort Island will be opened in 2015 as part of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah’s efforts to boost tourism. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e8218990-7443-11e1-9e4d-00144feab49a.html#axzz1puqH1SsQ [62]
Investors are losing their enthusiasm for gold [63] as signs of improvement in the US economy tempt them away from the traditional haven. Interest in gold has surged in the past ten years, as prices have risen more than sevenfold from just $253 in 2001 to a peak of nearly $2,000 last year. But investors have become more wary about putting fresh money into the metal as they have been at any point during the last decade’s rally, according to some bankers. Gold prices have already dropped 9 per cent since late February, on Thursday hitting a 10-week low of $1,627.68.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9b019fe8-7438-11e1-9e4d-00144feab49a.html#axzz1puqH1SsQ [64]
Wsj.com
Asian stock markets were mostly lower Friday with resource and exporter stocks underperforming across the region amid fresh concerns about the global growth outlook, while the Tokyo market struggled due to the yen’s recent strength. The regional mood was dimmed by losses on Wall Street and European stock markets Thursday, after poor Chinese manufacturing data were followed by disappointing euro-zone manufacturing activity. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.1%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat and South Korea’s Kospi Composite lost 0.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.0%, while China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.7%. India’s Sensex was 0.8% Higher. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 15 points in screen trade.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304724404577298310088698428.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews [65]
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne faced a public backlash on Thursday as his U.K. budget—pitched as a determined move to fix the economy through austerity—instead was assailed as pandering to the rich while hitting pensioners with what was quickly dubbed a “granny tax.” The resulting political mess was a setback to Mr. Osborne’s Conservative Party, which has worked hard to rebrand itself. In 2002, then-Tory Chairwoman Theresa May lamented that some people called the Conservatives the “Nasty Party.” The budget spat began Wednesday, when Mr. Osborne included a provision dropping the country’s top personal income-tax rate to 45%http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304724404577297762084715748.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews [66]
A permanent €940 billion ($1.24 trillion) fund—created by combining the euro-zone’s temporary and permanent bailout funds—would be the most convincing and efficient way to boost the bloc’s anticrisis firewall, according to a paper prepared for national governments by the European Union’s executive arm. Boosting the firewall has been regarded as an essential step in increasing the euro zone’s immunity to further financial turmoil. It will be the main topic at a meeting of finance ministers at the end of this month in Copenhagen, where the European Commission paper, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, will be debated. Senior finance officials from euro-zone governments are discussing the options at meetings in Brussels this week.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304636404577297231729073766.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews [67]
Euro-zone business activity weakened further in March, according to a closely watched survey, raising concerns that improved financial-market sentiment about Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis isn’t leading to economic growth. The unexpected drop in the purchasing managers’ index survey suggests more stimulus from the European Central Bank through interest-rate cuts or additional bank lending may be required to protect the economy from a more severe downturn. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304636404577296960265339098.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews [68]
The death of Mohamed Merah, the suspected French killer who met his end Thursday in a barrage of special-forces gunfire, left officials piecing together how he became the alleged homegrown terrorist behind the most violent attacks on French soil in almost two decades. On Thursday, a more-complete picture emerged of Mr. Merah, who police say conducted seven point-blank killings in and around Toulouse over the previous 11 days.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304636404577297823476347652.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories [69]
As global banks slim down to satisfy regulators, a new wave of Asian buyers keen to be players on the regional stage is stepping up. Roughly $96 billion in assets ranging from entire businesses to portfolios of loans, have been put up for sale, a banker who has been pitched the deals in Asia said. The sellers are mainly European banks that are under orders to shrink their balance sheets but feeling pressure to hold onto assets in their home markets, even as they see potential for faster growth elsewhere. Potential buyers are pressing for low prices, knowing thehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304724404577297471570191672.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories [70]
Banks in some of Europe’s most troubled economies have been steadily raising the rates they charge for mortgages, making it more expensive for citizens to buy homes or keep up their payments at a time when such countries desperately need people to spend. Banks in Italy, Spain and Portugal have raised rates on new mortgages by between one and two percentage points over the past year, as they continue to face high funding costs and concerns over borrowers’ ability to pay. In the U.K., several major lenders earlier this month announced rate increases on some existing mortgages, also blaming higher costs of funding due to the fallout from their continental neighbors’ sovereign-debt crisishttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304724404577297793133291090.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories [71]
The collapse of Swedish car maker Saab Automobile AB last year put the Scandinavian country’s once-proud automotive industry in the spotlight, and as the sector struggles, firms in neighboring Norway are seeing a chance to snap up staff. Saab’s bankruptcy and repeated cutbacks by its Chinese-controlled peer Volvo Car Corp. have released thousands of workers into the labor market in Western Sweden— workers Norway now hopes to lure to its booming petroleum industry. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304636404577297203990759914.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_MIDDLEThirdNews [72]
The world’s leading central bankers have spent much of the past few months putting out financial fires and launching measures aimed at recharging the global economy. On Friday, they will gather here to gauge the impact of their easy-money policies—including whether the controversial bond-buying strategy known as “quantitative easing” is a good weapon to keep in their monetary arsenals. A number of researchers say it is, despite nagging doubts.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577297821210889302.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews [73]
Japan’s decision to join an international trade action last week against China over rare-earth minerals marks a shift by Tokyo to more openly questioning Beijing and joining hands with allies to counter its influence. The rare-earth complaint with the World Trade Organization, spearheaded by the U.S., and joined by both Japan and the European Union, is the first time Japan has taken its neighbor and largest trading partner to the international arbiter, a stark contrast with the multiple matters raised by the U.S. and the EU since China joined the WTO in 2001.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577296653843183184.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews [74]
Marketwatch.com
China is studying a system that would allow its three major oil companies to independently set the prices of refined oil products when global oil prices are below $130 a barrel, the Shanghai Securities News reported Friday, citing a government researcher. China may also incorporate “relatively cheaper” West Texas Intermediate–the U.S. light, sweet benchmark, which is traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange–into the crude basket it tracks, the newspaper said, citing Jiang Xinmin, deputy director at the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-may-let-oil-majors-set-prices-report-2012-03-22 [75]
The deputy governor of India’s central bank said Friday the bank is moving toward a looser monetary policy, though the timing of any easing will depend on the state of the nation’s economy. “The future action will be easing,” Subir Gokarn said at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong. “But when will that happen and at what pace? It’s a matter of judgment.” Gokarn also said higher oil prices continue to weigh on the country’s fiscal deficit. At its rate-setting meeting on March 15, the Reserve Bank of India left its key lending rate unchanged, saying that risks to inflation have increased due to a recent rise in crude oil prices, a wide fiscal deficit and a weakening rupeehttp://www.marketwatch.com/story/india-central-bank-indicates-policy-to-ease-2012-03-23 [76]
Greece has a chance to escape its current “downward spiral” if it implements the “important reforms” that its Parliament has approved, Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, told German newspaper Bild-Zeitung in an interview published Friday. “In order for Greece to overcome the crisis, it needs stable political conditions,” Draghi said to the newspaper. He said many of the reforms in Greece, such as tax reform and tax collection to more justly distribute the burden, can have a quick effect in bringing the economy back. Draghi said Greece would face even more trouble were it on its own and with its own currency, with high inflation and instability and no one to come to its financial rescue.http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ecbs-draghi-says-greece-must-implement-reforms-2012-03-22 [77]
Reuters.com
The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits dropped to a four-year low last week, bolstering hopes a recent pick-up in job growth will prove lasting. Initial claims for state jobless benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, the lowest level since February 2008, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 354,000 last week. A separate report showed a gauge aimed at predicting future U.S. economic activity rose sharply in February, pointing to strengthening growth. The data suggests a firming of U.S. economic activity even as China slows and the euro zone slumps. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/22/us-usa-economy-idUSBRE82L0LF20120322 [78]
Crude futures were steady above $105 a barrel on Friday, rebounding from sharp falls in the previous session, as better-than-expected jobs data offset fears that weak manufacturing data from China and Europe would hit oil demand. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude rose 36 cents a barrel to $105.71 as of 8.38 p.m. EDT after settling down 1.8 percent at $105.35 a barrel.In London, ICE May Brent crude edged up 33 cents to $123.47 a barrel. In the previous session, it closed at $123.14, down 0.9 percent. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/23/us-markets-oil-idUSBRE82B04920120323 [79]
Bloomberg.com
Canada [80]’s biggest banks are tightening lending standards for condominium builders at the urging of regulators, requesting higher pre-sales and deposits as policy makers warn the Toronto and Vancouver [81] markets are overheating. Some banks have been asking construction firms to put more equity into new projects in recent weeks, according to developers. Lenders have also been raising the percentage of condo units that must be pre-sold and are demanding higher deposits as conditions for financing, they said. “Several of the banks have tightened up” after the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions “told the banks to be a little bit more careful on who they are lending to and how they are lending,” said Barry Fenton, chief executive officer of Toronto-based Lanterra Developments, whose condos include WaterParkCity [82] and Ice Condominiums at York Centre [83].http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-23/canada-banks-tighten-condo-lending-amid-bubble-fear-mortgages.html [84]
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard [85] said U.S. monetary policy may be at a turning point and the Fed’s first interest-rate [86]increase since the global financial crisis could come as soon as late 2013. With policy currently “on pause, it may be a good time to take stock of whether we may be at a turning point,” Bullard said in a speech in Hong Kong today. “As the U.S. economy continues to rebound and repair,” further action “may create an overcommitment to ultra-easy monetary policy.” Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday that public expectations that inflation will remain low give the Fed leeway to maintain record monetary easing. He and other policy makers said last week in a statement that economic slack and subdued inflation will probably warrant keeping the main interest rate at close to zero at least through late 2014. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-23/fed-s-bullard-says-monetary-policy-may-be-at-a-turning-point.html [87]
Cnbc.com
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is right to be worried about a false dawn for the U.S. economy, Randall S. Kroszner, a former governor of the Federal Reserve told CNBC on Friday. Earlier this week, Bernanke told CNBC the economy remained challenging despite signs of improvement in the economy and the rise in yields on Treasurys. “I would agree with Chairman Bernanke that we don’t want to start popping the champagne corks yet,” said Kroszner, who’s now Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. “We’ve seen some very important false dawns in the U.S. labor market. In early 2010, we created more than 800,000 jobs in one month alone, then, it started to fall to a contraction. In early 2011, we started to see very strong job creation, more than 200,000 a month, for three months, then things fell again.”http://www.cnbc.com/id/46829520 [88]
Nytimes.com
Goldman Sachs upgraded Indian stocks to “marketweight” from “underweight” in its latest Asia-Pacific Quarterly Outlook report dated March 22, saying domestic growth will pick up, while stock valuations remain “relatively attractive.” Goldman set a March 2013 target of 6,100 for the Nifty index, with Yes Bank and cigarette maker ITC among the bank’s “top stock ideas” for the region. Global risk factors that had hit Indian equities late last year had largely abated, while the uncertainty behind the regional elections in Uttar Pradesh and the unveiling of the 2012/13 federal budget [89] had dissipated, Goldman said.http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/03/23/business/23reuters-india-marketeye-goldman.html?_r=1&src=busln [90]
USAtoday.com
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has topped 4% for the first time since late October but the increase isn’t expected to derail budding signs of strengthening in the U.S. [91] housing market. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac [92] said Thursday that the average rate on 30-year loans jumped to 4.08% this week, up from 3.88% two weeks ago. Mortgage rates, which have been at or near record lows for months, are rising with higher yields on 10-year Treasury notes and the improving economy. They may go higher. Freddie Mac expects 30-year fixed-rate loans to be nearer to 4.25% to 4.5% by the end of the year, says Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft. http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/story/2012-03-22/mortgage-rates-national-average/53702570/1 [93]
BBC.co.uk
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has said the worst of the eurozone crisis is over. In an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper, he said the situation in Europe was “stabilising”. Mr Draghi also said that some economic data, including inflation and budget deficits, showed that Europe was doing better than the United States. But the latest surveys of purchasing managers, released on Thursday, suggest European economies could be flagging.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17471617 [94]
Japan, China and South Korea have moved closer to signing a trilateral investment agreement that could pave the way for a free-trade deal. If signed it would be the first economic agreement that is backed by law between three of Asia’s largest economies. The countries have been working on an agreement since 2008. Many Asian nations have been trying to improve ties as growth has slowed in markets such as the US and Europe.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17484392 [95]
China’s manufacturing activity contracted in March, a preliminary HSBC survey showed, raising fears the global slowdown is harming its economy. The HSBC Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) fell to 48.1 from 49.6 in February, the fifth monthly fall. The data comes just days after China said it expected growth of 7.5% in 2012, the lowest target since 2004. The official PMI data is expected to be released on 1 April. Growth momentum could slow down further amid a combination of sluggish export new orders and softening domestic demand. This calls for further easing steps,” Qu Hongbin, HSBC’s chief economist for China said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17471087 [96]
Telegraph.co.uk
North Sea oil and gas tax breaks designed to boost investment are set to hand windfalls totalling hundreds of millions of pounds to companies that would have been prepared to pay the tax anyway. Lobbying from the oil and gas industry saw the Chancellor use the Budget to reveal a doubling of tax breaks on certain small oil and gas fields. The new field allowances “should lead to exploration that would not otherwise have happened”, the Treasury said. Less than 24 hours after the Budget, however, Premier Oil said it could now save up to $100m (£63m) in tax on fields it was likely to have proceeded with anyway.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/9161585/Budget-2012-Oil-companies-enjoy-unintended-North-Sea-tax-windfall.html [97]
Rating agencies found to be falling short according to EU regulator. Credit rating agencies Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch have been told to improve internal processes or face possible enforcement from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). A hard hitting report flowing from the first examination of the credit rating market by the regulator found the companies were deficient in seven areas. These included staffing levels, transparency, internal control functions and the length of time dedicated to making ratings decision.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9161520/Rating-agencies-found-to-be-falling-short-according-to-EU-regulator.html [98]
Eurozone ‘poster child’ Ireland slumps back into recession. Ireland tumbled back into recession at the end of last year, dousing political claims that the “Celtic Tiger” has benefited from its tough austerity programme. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said that Irish gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.2pc in the fourth quarter after a contraction of 1.1pc in the third quarter, putting the country back into a technical recession. Worse, the Irish gross national product (GNP) plunged 2.2pc in the fourth quarter after a 1.9pc decline in the previous three months. GNP is regarded by the Irish government as a more accurate barometer of the country’s economic performance as it strips out substantial profits earned by multi-national companies in Ireland that are then taken out of the country. The CSO said the Irish economy grew by 0.7pc for the whole of 2011. But it shrank by 2.2pc in GNP terms.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9161155/Eurozone-poster-child-Ireland-slumps-back-into-recession.html [99]
Goldman Sachs has started scanning emails for the term “muppet” as the Wall Street bank investigates allegations made in an explosive public resignation letter by a former employee last week. Greg Smith, who sold European equity derivatives for the bank in London, last week used theNew York Timesnewspaper to publish a resignation letter in which he alleged he had seen managing directors refer to clients as “muppets” five times on internal email. The letter, which was published on the newspaper’s opinion pages, also branded the bank’s culture as “toxic”. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s chief executive, and Gary Cohn, Goldman’s president, rejected the characterisation of the bank in a memo to Goldman’s 30,000 staff last week, adding that when employees make complaints “we examine them carefully and we will be doing so in this case.” The review of internal emails was disclosed to the bank’s partners in a conference call this week. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/gsdo/9161423/Goldman-Sachs-in-hunt-for-muppet-email.html [100]
Theglobeandmail.com
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. has signalled it will dramatically curtail its growth in the mortgage market in the coming years in an effort to cool Canada’s sizzling housing sector. Documents released by the Crown corporation this week show CMHC expects to increase mortgage insurance over the next few years at only a fraction of the pace seen recently. The change comes because the federal government has set $600-billion as the limit for the amount of mortgage insurance CMHC can have outstanding. The move is a sign Ottawa is trying to engineer a soft landing for Canada’s $1.1-trillion housing market by restraining the credit available for homebuyers to rack up mortgage debt.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/housing/canadas-mortgage-body-moves-to-slow-booming-housing-market/article2378722/ [101]
Cs.com.cn
China aims to boost its coal production capacity to 4.1 billion tonnes annually by 2015, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said on Thursday. The country plans to form 10 coal companies with an annual capacity of 100 million tonnes each, and another 10 with a capacity of 50 million tonnes each by 2015, according to a coal industry development plan for the 2011-2015 period released by the NEA. The 20 companies are expected to account for over 60 percent of the nation’s total coal output, the NEA said.
Annual coal output will be controlled at around 3.9 billion tonnes during the period, according to the planhttp://www.cs.com.cn/english/ei/201203/t20120323_3291761.html [102]
Yu Bin, a senior economist at the Chinese cabinet’s Development Research Centre think-tank said he expected growth to hit 8.5 percent in the first quarter and expand at the same rate for the full year, provided there was no external economic deterioration and that China’s property market was stable. Yu said, China could control the inflation around 4 percent in 2012. If there is no huge global financial crisis and the property market keeps generally stable, China still have possibility to see the economy grow about 8.5 percent annually.
Concerning the monetary policies, Yu said that China`s monetary policies has room for adjustment in order to ease inflation and keep the economy growing stable. http://www.cs.com.cn/english/ei/201203/t20120323_3291745.html [103]
Thehindu.com
Indian Oil Chairman, Mr R.S. Butola, hinted that the price of petrol may be raised coming April. The company is currently selling petrol at Rs 7.70 a litre lower than the market price. But, a price hike may happen only if the request of the oil marketing companies (OMCs) to the government to reimburse losses on sale of petrol for the current fiscal is not met soon. Mr Butola said that for the first nine months of the fiscal, Indian Oil’s under-recoveries on sale of petrol (which was deregulated in June 2010) were around Rs 1,250 crore. The losses in the current quarter are around Rs 750 crore, taking the company’s full year loss on petrol sales to around Rs 2,000 crore. He said that for the combined losses for all the OMCs would be to the tune of Rs 4,500 crore for FY-12. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/economy/article3186588.ece [104]
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, leaves tomorrow on a four-day visit to South Korea where he will seek to strengthen ties with the Asian economic partner and also participate in the Nuclear Security Summit. During his visit to Seoul, Dr Singh is scheduled to hold talks with the South Korean President, Mr Lee Myung-bak, on Sunday to forge closer economic ties. This will be the second official visit by an Indian Prime Minister to South Korea after the visit of Mr P. V. Narasimha Rao in 1993. The two countries will sign an agreement on simplifying issuance of visas and Dr Singh and Mr Lee would also issue a joint statement. “The Prime Minister’s visit aims to give depth and greater meaning to our Strategic Partnership and to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement,” Foreign Secretary, Mr Ranjan Mathai, said ahead of the visit.http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/economy/article3182124.ece [105]
The US is in touch with several countries, including India and Turkey, on how to “significantly reduce” their dependence on Iranian oil to avoid American sanctions in this regard, a State Department official said. “We are working hard with India to see if we can help with regard to reducing the country’s dependence and the dependence of any of the other countries on Iranian crude, and looking at alternative sources of supply as well,” Ms Victoria Nuland, State Department spokesperson, told presspersons. “Our conversations continue with all the other countries that want to talk to us, who continue to have issues with the amount of Iranian crude they import. India is one of those countries,” she said in reply to a question.http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/economy/article3175518.ece [106]
Fin24.com
Pretoria – South Africa has suspended almost all oil imports from Iran, its biggest crude supplier, in response to US diplomatic pressure, a senior diplomat said on Thursday, adding Pretoria was unhappy about being strong-armed by Washington. Iran accounts for about 29% of oil imports to South Africa, according to the US energy information administration, making it tough to switch suppliers. http://www.fin24.com/Economy/SA-curbs-Iran-oil-imports-on-US-pressure-20120322 [107]
Tehrantimes.com
Khaleejtimes.com
