Shareswatch Australia

Business and finance news from across the Asia Pacific region.



Financial Times – Asia homepage

Morgan Stanley subpoenaed over IPO
An investigation is being launched into whether Morgan Stanley analysts communicated revisions of Facebook’s revenue forecasts to all clients before the initial public offering.

Stocks slide as EU summit hopes fade
Equities retreat and euro slips as hopes of fresh steps to tackle Europe’s debt crisis fade before leaders meet

Germany borrowing costs fall to zero
Two-year ‘Schatz’ sale, with a zero-coupon for the first time, underscores strong demand for safer assets and fears of a Greek eurozone exit

Germany rules out common euro bonds
Jitters over how Europe’s banks would be affected by a Greek exit from eurozone have lent urgency to latest discussions on sovereign debt crisis

PTT swoops with higher bid for Cove
Cove Energy switched its backing for a recommended bid from Shell to a new offer from Thailand’s PTT, valuing the Africa-focused exploration company at £1.22bn

Fiat and Mazda team up to build roadster
Two carmakers sign deal to develop a new model based on Mazda’s MX-5 that will be tailored to the individual brands of the two carmakers

Australian dollar sinks to six-month lows
Beset by worries about Greece, the Aussie is down 4.4% against the US dollar this year, the worst performance of any major currency

China’s factories look closer to home
Many exporters in southern China are looking to the domestic market as overseas orders plummet and costs rise

Talks open on Tehran nuclear ambitions
Reaching agreement with Iran on slowing its nuclear programme proves more difficult than expected

Egypt in first free presidential poll
Election marks the beginning of what many hope to be a new democratic era in the Arab world’s largest country, with its result far from certain