Brent Crude Oil Prices Increase, Dollar Plunge

On Monday, Brent crude oil prices increase, lifted by a drop in the greenback that could shoot demand just as assaults on Nigerian oil structure tighten up supplies, but indications of improving U.S. production capped increases.

Brent crude futures increase as peak as $50.10 but withdrew to be up 38 cents or 0.7% at $50.02 a barrel at 0700 GMT. U.S. crude futures were  increased  41 cents or 0.8%at $49.03 a barrel.

Traders stated oil prices increase on a sharp decline in the dollar on Friday after sluggish U.S. jobs data generated worries over the state of the world’s largest economy, reducing anticipations of a short term reduction in U.S. interest rates.

In the rest of the world, a weaker greenback supports fuel request, as it makes dollar-traded oil imports inexpensive.

On Monday,  ANZ bank stated, “The weaker U.S.-dollar drove commodity prices higher.”

On Monday,  the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins and is seen as helpful of prices as motivating request gather in most Muslim dominated countries.

Traders stated prices were also strengthened by attacks on oil infrastructure in Nigeria, that has already dragged the country’s production to more than  20-year decline and which rebels stated could drop to zero rapidly.

Thus far, supply reduces like those in Nigeria or Libya, have been seen by increasing production in the Middle East, particularly Iran, which has been increasing its production after the end of international sanctions against it in January.

However,  Iran’s is returning to international oil markets more rapidly than anticipated, including by means of international tanker operators to transport its crude  and is fast hitting its maximum volume.

Which means that additional interruptions in worldwide supplies might not be rewarded by increasing Iranian production.

The price recovers, however, was covered for indications of increased production.

This week, U.S. energy companies added rigs drilling for oil for the 2^nd  time this year, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc  stated  on Friday, as producers carefully upped activity after months of increasing prices.

Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report, “Drillers added nine oil rigs in the week to June 3, bringing the total rig count up to 325, compared with 642 a year ago.”

Morgan Stanley stated “While not enough to materially change the outlook for U.S. production … there are some early signs that rigs may be returning in the best acreage, namely the Permian Basin,”

U.S. crude oil output has dropped by 5.4% since January and by nearly 10%  since mid-2015 to 8.74 million bpd.

 

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Oil Prices Edge Lower Due To Stronger Dollar

On Monday, Oil prices were lower in quiet European trade, as a generally tougher U.S. greenback encouraged market players to lock in gains from a latest rally that took prices beyond the key $50-level.

Both Brent and WTI oil futures,  broken $50 late last week for the 1^st time since October as traders watched supply interruptions in Nigeria, Venezuela, France and Canada.

On Monday, the U.S. dollar increased to its peak level in over two months compared to a basket of main currencies after remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen upsurge the likelihood of a short term U.S. interest rate increase.

In statement made in the presence at Harvard University Friday afternoon, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen stated a rate increase in the coming months “ would be appropriate,”  if the economy and labor market continue to progress.

A stronger dollar makes dollar-priced commodities extra costly for owners of other currencies.

Delivery of crude oil in July on the NYMEX shed 14 cents, or 0.28 percent, to trade at $49.19 a barrel by 07:52GMT, or 3:52AM ET.

Trading capacities are anticipated to be thin as the London and New York markets are shut down for a public holiday.

Lats Thursday, New York Mercantile Exchange prices rallied to $50.21, the peak since October 9. U.S. crude futures increase approximately 80 percent since dropping to 13-year lows at $26.05 on February 11 as a plunge in U.S. shale output increased sentiment.

According to Baker Hughes, oilfield services provider, the amount of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. drop by two to 316 in the current reporting week, keeping up a broad trend of declines.

Somewhere else, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, delivery of Brent oil in August  dropped 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, to trade at $49.70 a barrel.

Brent prices increased to $50.96 last Thursday , a level not met since October 12, as unintended supply interruptions in Africa and North America reduced worries over a worldwide surplus.

Brent futures prices have increased by approximately 85 percent since momentarily declining lower $30 a barrel in mid-February.

There will be OPEC meeting in Vienna on Thursday and market players will be looking forward to that. Most market experts anticipate the oil cartel to keep their output share unmoved amid increasing prices.

The oil cartel’s most current meeting in Qatar in April finished without a  contract to freeze production at recent levels because of Saudi Arabia’s persistence that Iran be part of the deal.

Temporarily, Brent’s premium to the West Texas Intermediate crude deal positioned at 51 cents a barrel, compared to a gap of 62 cents by the close of trade on Friday.

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Norway’s Oil Fund to Sue Volkswagen

Norway’s $850 billion oil fund is meaning to sue Volkswagen AG over its emission-cheating scandal that caused a recall of 11 million cars in the previous year.

The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund stated on Sunday that it plans to join the class-action lawsuits in Germany against the automaker, anticipated to be filed in the coming weeks.

Marthe Skaar, the fund’s spokeswoman said: “Norges Bank Investment Management intends to join a legal action against Volkswagen arising out of that the company provided incorrect emissions data.” The NBIM is assessed to have suffered big losses on its stake on VW after the scandal—a total of 4.9 billion crowns in the fund’s second quarter.

Skaar also added, “We have been advised by our lawyers that the company’s conduct gives rise to legal claims under German law. As an investor it is our responsibility to safeguard the fund’s holding in Volkswagen.”

The Norwegian wealth fund recently urged U.S. oil companies Exxon Mobile and Chevron to do more to report on climate change risks as well.

VW confessed that it had used sophisticated secret software in its cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests. This scandal led to the biggest earnings lost in VW history in 2015, prompting the company to set aside $18.2 billion to cover the costs.

“Something this big doesn’t just go away quickly and the costs are spiraling,” Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, mentioned in a note. “And if the Norwegian fund is suing VW because the company’s actions led to losses on its investment, then it could open to door for other shareholders to seek redress.”

VW reached an almost $10 billion contract with the U.S. government in April to buy back or repair about a half million of its diesel cars and establish environmental and consumer compensation funds.

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The Dollar Move Higher Compared to Yen

On Monday,  the dollar pushes higher compared to the yen, although the euro stayed firm as markets processed Friday’s U.S jobs post and unsatisfactory trade statistics from China within a weekend. USD/JPY hit peaks of 107.70 and was previously at 107.53, up 0.4 percent for the day.

The U.S. dollar index, that measures the greenback’s strong point compared to a trade-weighted basket of six main currencies, increased 0.11 percent to 93.92, off Friday’s declines of 93.08. EUR/USD  slightly changed at 1.1399.

After data on Friday, the greenback  initially declined presenting that the U.S. economy additional occupations at the sluggish rate in seven months in April.

However,  the report also presented that one year monthly wage development increased the previous month.

The greenback was also supported after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley stated on Friday that it was sensible to anticipate  two rate increase this year.

The yen display slight reaction when Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso stated on Monday that executives stayed prepared to mediate in the currency market if extreme changes in the yen are sufficient to move Japan’s trade or economy.

Compared to the yen last week,  the greenback decline to 18-month lows of 105.05 and the U.S. added Japan to a list of countries it was watching over foreign exchange rules.

Investors stayed watchful after record on Sunday displayed that China’s export and imports decline over the prediction in April.

The weak statistic highlighted worries over reducing domestic and overseas claim touching the world’s second biggest economy.

In the wake of the report, the Australian dollar was lesser, with  AUD/USD declines 0.38 percent  to 0.7340. China is Australia’s biggest trading companion.

The Aussie had already dropped over  3 percent the previous week when the country’s central bank reduces interest rates for the 1^st time in more than a year and reduced its inflation predictions in reaction to falling commodity rates.

On Additional News

On Monday, the Canadian currency hit three-week lows compared to the U.S. dollar as a massive wildfire in Alberta and a short domestic job post on Friday affected on the economic viewpoint. As the wildfire raging through Canada’s oil sands region in northeast Alberta since last Sunday continued, the loonie stayed stressed.

USD/CAD touches peaks of 1.2984, the best since April 18 and was last at 1.2978, increase 0.55 percent  for the day.

Economists have stated the interruption to production in the oil rich province could transport Canadian economic development to a halt  in the 2nd quarter.

After record on Friday, the Canadian currency had now declined  presenting that the county’s labor market caught up in April.

Statistics Canada reported that the economy suddenly lost 2,100 works the previous month as Alberta shed additional jobs in its natural resources sector because of the lower commodity rates.

Statistics on Monday, presented that Canadian housing beginning to drop beyond anticipated in April.

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp stated the periodically adjusted yearly rate of housing begin to drop to 191,512 units in April from a downwardly reviewed 202,375 units in March.

The U.S. dollar  index, that gauge the greenback’s strong point compared to a trade-weighted basket of six main greenback’s, was increased 0.28 percent to 94.08, off Friday’s declines of 93.08.

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Facebook shares down, to perform like Apple

Facebook was down 1.59  percent or $1.70 when it changed hands at $105.46 in the session earlier. The stock has a market capitalization of 300.17 billion and one year target estimate of 133.49. It has gained a consensus rating of Buy from 45 analysts and a consensus average price objective of $133.49.

In its recent quarterly earnings report, the firm has reported $5.84 billion revenue beating the estimated $5.36 of the analysts. The revenue of the firm  significantly increased by 51.7 percent on a year-over-year basis.  Similarly, the stock surpassed the consensus earnings per share of $0.68 when it disclosed $0.79 EPS.

On its coming earnings report on April, most of the investment analyst expects its EPS to increase by 91.30 percent and price earnings ratio 59.92 and a revenue of $1.28 billion for the period.

Recently, Director Jan Koum disposed 1,672,776 shares at an average price of $106.78and worth $178,619,021.28 in total last February 22. Prior to that, the director sold 647,057 shares of the stock at an average price of $101.80 on February 16 followed by another 933, 963 shares worth $96,011, 396.40 on February 17. All the information of the selling activities of the director was taken from the filing with the Securities and Exchange.

Zacks Investment Research shared that the Facebook Platform is a set of tools and application programming interfaces that developers can use to build social apps on Facebook or to integrate their Websites with Facebook. It offers products that enable advertisers and marketers to engage with its users.

In other news, Facebook is expected to follow the trend of Apple in terms of the performance of the stock in the market. The stock is perceived to post further gains in the long run just like how apple attained its position.

Despite the current fall of the stock, market experts believed that the social networking site has been showing positive figures since the start of 2016. To support the perception of the experts, the firm has outperformed the S&P 500 Index around 6.46 percent. The stock was also labeled as high beta wherein it moves more than the market.

 

Even though the market has been experiencing struggle in general, Facebook managed to survive which was a firm indication of stability. Some of the prominent social media stocks such as Twitter marked a -1.48 percent.

Furthermore, Facebook has been quietly competing with Google and Twitter in terms of new search algorithms. We really want to basically make Facebook the best place to find what people are saying about something right now,” Tom Stocky, Facebook Vice President of Search.

The vice president revealed that they want to make Facebook a place where you could tap into the global conversation of what was happening in the world.

“If they get it right and they’re able to monetize against searches, it’s extremely lucrative for Facebook—billions in revenue,” Victor Anthony, an analyst at Axiom Capital Management said.

The price/earnings to growth ratio of Facebook is at 1.03 for the next five years, analyst say.  The social media giant is already considered as an extremely expensive  stock and can  possibly retain in this state just the same with the direction Apple had followed.

Mark Zuckerberg announced his plans to use unmanned drones to connect the people from cut-off rural regions around the world to the internet at the Mobile World Congress.

According to Yael Maguire, engineering director and head of Facebook Connectivity Laboratory, the firm  will bring internet connection through these regions via a network of solar-powered internet drones. The drones will have the liberty to fly at high altitude. The firm doesn’t guarantee the effectivity of the plan soon. The company is aware of the immense time needed and the regulatory rules that it needs to comply with.

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Gold prices recover, investors keep an eye on U.S. interest rate

Gold prices bounced back after the consecutive fall as market players kept their eyes on the projected interest rate hike of the Federal Reserve in the first quarter of 2016.

The yellow metal made a significant come back with an increase of 0.5 percent at $1,074.39 per ounce and finally traded at $1,074.05.

A strategist believed that the Fed is projecting four hikes, while the market is pricing in two. He also said that the difference of two hikes is a big gap and at some point it will narrow. “How it will converge would be the focus for market sentiments, and by extension for gold” he ended.

An analyst explained that over the short-term, the precious metal would likely trend sideways as funds look to close out the year and contemplate heading into next year with a fresh slate.

In other news, the assets of SPDR Gold Trust decline of 0.18 percent to 643.56 last Monday. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for February delivery declined at $1,070.50 per troy ounce.

“December has been a sideways move for the metal with a series of lower tops. Risk remains lower, we do not see stop loss buying of the metal until a break of $1,081 and $1,088,” a bank expert shared.

Gold and the greenback

Gold is perceived to move within a relatively tight range in the coming days due to lack of trading cues and liquidity.

Futhermore, gold is on set to post an annual reduction of around 10 percent in 2015 as stricter monetary policy controls the demand for the yellow metal.

The U.S. dollar index went down 0.1 percent at 97.90. Dollar weakness usually benefits gold, as it boosts the metal’s appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.

“One of the key variables for markets next year will be the extent of what happens to the U.S. dollar and whether it strengthens or not, that’s going to be very much about the outlook for how quick the Fed moves,” a chief analyst said.

Other metals

On the other hand, Copper edged higher for 3.4 cents to $2.110 per pound amid the anticipation that China would remain on cutting its demand for the red metal due to economic slowdown. Asia is responsible for the 45 percent consumption of the red metal globally.

Meanwhile, Silver futures for March delivery surged 14.1 cents to $14.02 per troy ounce despite the projected declaration of 10 percent annual reduction for this year.

Platinum increased 0.6 percent and palladium rose 1.2 percent.

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Alibaba: Yes to Australia Post, No to Yahoo

The partnership between Alibaba 1688.com and Australia Post has been confirmed earlier today.

Australia Post aims to extend their business in China. The agreement will open doors for the Australian retailers to trade in bulk to Chinese businesses and expand their e-commerce market influence.

Alibaba 1688.com is one of the three main services of Alibaba and a domestic business-to-business trade in China.

“Our world-first partnership with 1688.com is a one-stop e-commerce, logistics and delivery solution that streamlines labeling, packaging, pallet consolidation, sea and air transport, customs clearance, warehousing and distribution,” Ahmed Fahour, Australia Post’s Managing Director and CEO, said.

“International expansion can be a daunting prospect for many Australian companies, but Alibaba’s B2B platform, 1688.com, offers the perfect solution for small and medium businesses to drive more sales in China,” he added.

No to Yahoo

Although the projected spin-off of Alibaba to Yahoo was dropped last November, experts think Yahoo’s future still depends on Alibaba.

The tax concerns and Yahoo’s plan to sell its core search and display advertising business were one of the reasons why the spin-off was cancelled last month.

In the news, United States Internal Revenue Service rejected Yahoo’s request to let the transaction to pass as a tax-free deal. Prior to this, Yahoo has failed to make products breakthrough and continue to fall compared to its major rivals such as Google and Facebook.

“If Yahoo decides to sell its core business, it will be left with stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. They still haven’t resolved the long-term issue of what Yahoo will be going forward,” a representative of Henessy Technology fund revealed.

Yahoo’s 15 percent stake in Alibaba is around $32 billion while its stake in Yahoo Japan is about $8.5 billion. More than $30 billion is expected to complete the spin-off.

However, some investors think that the spin-off can possibly end in a huge tax bill, opposite to what Yahoo expects. Alibaba hasn’t released an official statement regarding the matter.

Alibaba’s shares surge

For the past week, the shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited increased by 4.26 percent and 1.48 percent for the past month. Its 50-day moving average price was at $79.83 and the 200-day moving average price was $77.31.

The shares gained 2.76 percent or 2.26 points when it traded at 84.85 at the session last Friday. The trading volume reached 15,554,984 shares; its market capitalization is $211, 743 million. The 52-week low of the share price is $57.2 while the 52-week high is $111.2.

The Analyst at MKM Partners recommended $85 per share to $105 per share as the target price of the e-commerce giant. The Brokerage firm MKM Partners reiterated its Buy rating on the shares of the company.

Alibaba is China’s biggest online commerce company. It has hundreds of millions of users, and hosts millions of merchants and businesses. Alibaba handles more business than any other e-commerce company. The transactions on its online sites totaled $248 billion last year, more than those of eBay and Amazon.com combined.

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General Motors shares surge 45%

The decline of gasoline prices and the marginal economic growth have caused in the United States have resulted an increase of demand for cars. General Motors is one of the companies who benefit from this. On the latest report, General Motors (GM) experienced an increase on its shares by 45 percent recovering from their fall last August.

General motors gained strong monthly sales for November. According to its report, truck sales increased by 10 percent and its SUV sales jumped by 35 percent.

Earlier today, the shares of General Motors Company opened at 35.73. It has a 52-week high of $38.99 and a 52-week low of $24.62. GM has a market capitalization of $55.60 billion. Its 50-day moving average is 35.30 and its 200-day moving average is $33.00.

Presently, GM owns the top market share spot when it comes to U.S. auto sales, an advantage for the company since auto sales continue to surge.

General Motor’s average transaction price went up to $35,800 last month. It was $740 higher than the average price in October and a new record for GM. The company’s third quarter earnings edged higher to 11 percent.

The growth rate of 57% in 2015 is expected to decline to 12.7 percent only; however, it might not affect the company since its annual revenue is around $150 billion.

The consensus estimate of the company’s revenue for the quarter is $38.61 billion but it gained $38.80 billion.

The multinational corporation pays $0.36 for their dividend per quarter, therefore an annual dividend of $1.44. Its 4 percent annual yield is twice the yield of the Standard and Poor (S&P) 500.

Expectations and Ratings

A stock strategist fears that autosales will be affected by the anticipated Fed increase rate, however, if won’t be implemented, the yield of 4 percent is an optimistic sign to draw attention from the investors in 2016.

Other claims that General Motors shares are less expensive with an estimated price to earnings of only 7.5. Analysts expect that its earnings will increase again next year although some investors assume an “auto bubble” might happen.

The Securities & Exchange Commission announced the sold shares of the company. About 20,535 shares of the business stock were sold at an average price of $35.65, last November by Thomas S. Timko, General Motor’s vice president. Meanwhile, the executive vice president of the firm sold 10.153 shares with a total value of $366,523.30 last November 23.

On the other hand, General Motors received “BBB” credit rating which means the company is a moderate default risk.

In the news

General Motors recently has joined United Nations Global Compact to support and promote the compact’s ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. The sustainability report regarding its accountability and transparency will be released in May 2016.

Furthermore, the Canadian Engineering Centre in Oshawa of General Motors is set to lead in building autonomous vehicles. Report says that the 2016 model of Chevrolet will be replaced by the 2017 Chevrolet Volt.

“Our Engineering Centre in Oshawa was a logical place to locate this important work and it is the next step in growing the new mandate of the Centre to focus on work related to the Connected Car. The Province of Ontario’s leadership in allowing autonomous vehicle testing was a helpful support in securing this advanced technology work for our Canadian facility,” revealed by Steve Carlisle, GM Canada president and managing director.

“The opportunity to realize fully autonomous vehicles has recently become a high profile issue for governments as billions of dollars are expected to be invested in new infrastructure. The Conference Board of Canada has suggested that autonomous cars could save Canadians $65 billion per year through less congestion, less fuel and fewer collisions and fatalities,” he added

General Motors Company designs, builds, and sells cars, crossovers, trucks, and automobile parts worldwide. It is also the home of Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet. It also sells cars and trucks to dealers for consumer retail sales, as well as to fleet customers, including daily rental car companies, commercial fleet customers, leasing companies, and governments. In addition, the company offers connected safety, security and mobility solutions, and information technology services.

 

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Merck shares climb 2% after the overweight rating

After the drug makers were all upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays, Merck & Co. gained 2 percent. From the price target of $64 it increased to $66.

An analyst thought that the political scrutiny over drug pricing is more election season rhetoric than a push toward structural changes, and demand for innovative therapies will continue to support premium pricing at the expense of older, less effective drugs.

Experts remain positive over the pipelines of drugs.

Merck’s previous fall

Recently, the company had a decline in the market capitalization when its shares slipped 1.76 percent. Merck has a market capitalization of $150.74 billion and outstanding shares of 2,793,543,100.

 

Merck has the price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, the price-to-sales ratio of 3.72 and price-to-book ratio of 3.27.

Merck & Co. traded total volume of 2.98 million shares lower than to its average volume of 9.86 million shares. The 52-week low share price is $45.69 and ended as high as $63.62.

The share is purchased at a higher price of $67.74 million and went down at $60.28 million. The pharmaceutical company has a dividend yield of 3.34 percent.

“There have been several headwinds and risks that make Merck a ‘show me’ story, there appears to be ‘too much underlying value to ignore,’ even under the most potential negative scenarios” shared by a bank analyst.

Seven analysts has given the stock with a Hold rating and while none has rated the stock with a sell rating.

Merck to sell Allergopharma

It has been reported that Merck has plans of selling Allergopharma for 600 million euros. If the deal proceeds it can be use to reduce the debts of the company worth 10 billion euros.

After the takeover of American life sciences and biotech company Sigma-Aldrich, Merck had $17 billion debt.

Allergopharma focuses on diagnosing and treating allergies by teaching the body’s immune system not to react to the substances that usually trigger a reaction, such as pollen or dust.

Merck extends contract with Kuehne + Nagel

Merck & Co., doing business as Merck Sharp & Dohme is extending its partnership with Kuehne + Nagel for another two years.

 

“Kuehne + Nagel has proven to be a reliable partner that is able to meet our challenging requirements thanks to its expertise in the pharma and healthcare industry. We are confident that our collaboration will support our growth ambitions over the next years, “released by a representative from MSD.

MSD and KN has been partners since 2012.

Merck & Co. is an American pharmaceutical company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. It provides health care solutions around the world.

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Citi’s shares slip, partnerships persist

After the significant gain of 1.96 percent on Citigroup shares last month, it fell 0.99 percent last week. The shares has reached $60.95 as its 52-week high of the share price but during the last trading session, the shares ended at $54.21. Citigroup has a market capitalization of $161,491 million and price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23.

The Citigroup have failed the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 1.03 percent, however, the shares beat the index by 1.43 percent for the last month.

Citi group received a term price target of $64.96 from 13 analysts and the standard deviation is at $4.47. The company also obtained $72 as the higher price target estimate and $57 as the lower price target estimate.

The leading global bank received a “sell” rating from Zacks Investment Research.   “Results were aided by lower expenses, partially offset by reduced revenues. Also, the quarter experienced continued improvement in credit quality and exhibited a strong capital position. We believe the company’s streamlining initiatives and attractive core business are impressive. Yet, a low interest-rate environment and regulatory issues, along with litigation risks, remain major near-term headwinds” explained by Zacks.

Citi Expands

In UAE- With the goal of giving their clients state-of-the-art technology, and revolutionizing the card payment space, Citi partners with MasterCard. The partnership launched contactless cards in the UAE last Sunday.

“As a technology company in the payments industry, we continue to drive innovation in payments in order to provide cardholders with a seamless consumer experience. Through this partnership with Citibank UAE, we will be working together to provide cardholders with a safe and secure payment solution and take steps forward in achieving our goal of becoming a world beyond cash,” claimed by Raghu Malhotra, President, Middle East and North Africa, MasterCard.

In Australia – Citi is allegedly having a negotiation with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, an Australian multinational bank which provides a variety of financial services including retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance, investment and broking services.

The said partnership concerns with the institutional equities division of CBA and might an opportunity to have an access to international institutional clients.  On the other hand, Citi has announced its plan to increase its resources in countries like Australia and New Zealand.

Citi’s failed agreement

The joint venture between Citi and Elavon has been rocky since the disagreement over additional funds for the loss making unit occurred. The two companies were involved in a Brazilian credit card processing.

Brazil’s central bank claimed that U.S. bank refused to come up with any additional funds. As far as reports are concern, Citi-Elavon venture primarily needed $52,103,696 in new capital but since Brazil is entangled with recession Citi won’t provide the money easily.

Meanwhile, Citigroup said that the joint project was still “an investment aligned with our strategy of offering a complete product platform to our corporate clients.” Citi and Elavon have been partners for five years already.

Citigroup is an American multinational banking and financial services corporation and the world’s largest financial services network. The company provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

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