Sovereign Funds, Foreign Leaders Sitting Out Bailout

Citigroup, SunTrust among those that failed

(NEWSER) - The Federal Reserve released the results of its latest round of stress tests at the nation's biggest banks, and they're generally being received as good news. Fifteen of the 19 banks passed, which is what outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post are highlighting in the the first paragraph. But the AP and Bloomberg opt to focus on the four that failed, and each singles out Citigroup in the opening paragraph. (The three other banks that failed to impress were SunTrust, MetLife, and Ally Financial.) More»

But avoids major US holdings in hunt for healthy returns

(NEWSER) - China's colossal sovereign wealth fund has steered clear of buying large chunks of US firms as it seeks better returns on its portion of the country's $2.4 trillion in foreign reserves. An SEC filing released yesterday shows that the $300 billion fund holds a relatively low $9.63 billion in equity US-listed companies, AP reports. More»

Sovereign-wealth fund to ramp up spending after quiet 2008

(NEWSER) - China’s sovereign-wealth fund has its eyes on US real estate, the Wall Street Journal reports. China Investment Corp. laid low throughout 2008 as the global economy teetered but is now opening its coffers. And depressed US commercial property values—off 35% from their peak—coupled with cheap government financing, could lead to widespread purchasing by the fund. CIC already has met with US private-equity firms. More»

(NEWSER) - In the wake of reports that complaining banks cajoled the Federal Reserve into sweetening some stress test results, the Wall Street Journal looks at the hard numbers. Citigroup, for example, was originally supposed to raise $35 billion; the number eventually released was $5.5 billion. The total for Bank of America, meanwhile, shrank from more than $50 billion to $33.9 billion. More»

Fed delays release of results as banks haggle over initial findings

(NEWSER) - Citigroup may have to scrape together as much as $10 billion in fresh capital to pass the Fed's stress tests for big banks, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal. The release of the tests—which assess how a bank could weather various dire scenarios—has been pushed back from Monday to Thursday as Citi and others haggle with the Fed over its early findings. More»