The Wall Street Journal reports, one of Wall Street’s most important profit engines is revving back up. Rising appetites for borrowing and investing are fueling a bond market revival, lifting revenue at Wall Street firms that took a beating last year. For the first time in a year, traders and bankers are optimistic about the future, following a dark second half of 2011. Gains in the financial firms’ fixed-income businesses, which can account for as much as half of revenue, are putting companies including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan on track to report their strongest numbers since the first quarter of 2011.
Reuters reports, The European Union, United States and Japan formally asked the World Trade Organization on Tuesday to settle a dispute with China over Beijing’s restriction on exports of raw materials, including rare earth elements, critical to major industries. China accounts for about 97 percent of the world’s output of the 17 rare earth metals, which are crucial for global electronics production and the defense and renewable-energy industries. They are also used in a wide range of consumer products, from mobile phones to electric cars. The dispute is one of several between Beijing and the world’s other three largest economic powers, as China’s rise changes the world economic order. It is the first case to be jointly filed by the EU, United States and Japan with the WTO.
Bloomberg reports, BMW, the world’s largest maker of luxury vehicles, plans to surpass last year’s record profit in 2012 as a new generation of the 3-Series sedan boosts demand. Pretax profit this year will probably beat 2011’s 7.38 billion euros ($9.72 billion), the Munich-based company said today. The outlook exceeds the 7.06 billion-euro average estimate of 20 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. BMW will add a second plant in China this year and is in talks with the Brazilian government to build a factory in the country as the luxury-car maker seeks to fend off efforts by Volkswagen AG’s Audi and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz to nab the segment’s lead spot. The world’s top three upscale carmakers are all projecting sales records this year on growth in China and recovering spending in the U.S.
For the local New York City News, The Wall Street Journal also reports, alleged Madam For the Wealthy Pleads Poverty. The mother of four accused of running a high-end and highly profitable Manhattan brothel doesn’t “have two nickels to rub together,” one of her attorneys told a judge on Monday. Ms. Gristina, 44 years old, has been charged with one count of promoting prostitution. She is being held on a $2 million bond. The criminal case has become a fixture in media headlines, amid speculation that the names of the brothel’s high-rolling clients could be revealed. The claim that Ms. Gristina lacks the money to hire a lawyer marked another twist in the narrative. Last week, her attorney described the accused madam as a suburban mother who was active in pig-rescue operations and wanted to set up a dating website for wealthy people.
The Wall Street Journal reports, one of Wall Street’s most important profit engines is revving back up. Rising appetites for borrowing and investing are fueling a bond market revival, lifting revenue at Wall Street firms that took a beating last year. For the first time in a year, traders and bankers are optimistic about the future, following a dark second half of 2011. Gains in the financial firms’ fixed-income businesses, which can account for as much as half of revenue, are putting companies including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan on track to report their strongest numbers since the first quarter of 2011.
Reuters reports, The European Union, United States and Japan formally asked the World Trade Organization on Tuesday to settle a dispute with China over Beijing’s restriction on exports of raw materials, including rare earth elements, critical to major industries. China accounts for about 97 percent of the world’s output of the 17 rare earth metals, which are crucial for global electronics production and the defense and renewable-energy industries. They are also used in a wide range of consumer products, from mobile phones to electric cars. The dispute is one of several between Beijing and the world’s other three largest economic powers, as China’s rise changes the world economic order. It is the first case to be jointly filed by the EU, United States and Japan with the WTO.
Bloomberg reports, BMW, the world’s largest maker of luxury vehicles, plans to surpass last year’s record profit in 2012 as a new generation of the 3-Series sedan boosts demand. Pretax profit this year will probably beat 2011’s 7.38 billion euros ($9.72 billion), the Munich-based company said today. The outlook exceeds the 7.06 billion-euro average estimate of 20 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. BMW will add a second plant in China this year and is in talks with the Brazilian government to build a factory in the country as the luxury-car maker seeks to fend off efforts by Volkswagen AG’s Audi and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz to nab the segment’s lead spot. The world’s top three upscale carmakers are all projecting sales records this year on growth in China and recovering spending in the U.S.
For the local New York City News, The Wall Street Journal also reports, alleged Madam For the Wealthy Pleads Poverty. The mother of four accused of running a high-end and highly profitable Manhattan brothel doesn’t “have two nickels to rub together,” one of her attorneys told a judge on Monday. Ms. Gristina, 44 years old, has been charged with one count of promoting prostitution. She is being held on a $2 million bond. The criminal case has become a fixture in media headlines, amid speculation that the names of the brothel’s high-rolling clients could be revealed. The claim that Ms. Gristina lacks the money to hire a lawyer marked another twist in the narrative. Last week, her attorney described the accused madam as a suburban mother who was active in pig-rescue operations and wanted to set up a dating website for wealthy people.