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Through the dark days of the financial crisis, and the grey days of the halting recovery that have followed, investors have always been able to count on backing from two sources - Ben Bernanke and Beijing. They have provided stimulus, mainly by pumping funds into the U.S. and Chinese economies in various ways, when other pillars of support had become unreliable.   That helps to explain why global financial markets took such a beating last week when both signaled that they are getting tired of being leant on so heavily. Bernanke, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, set a timetable at last week's Fed meeting for the central bank to reduce the size of its bond buying program with a view to ending it by the middle of next year. Meanwhile, his counterparts at the People's Bank of China (PBOC) engineered a cash crunch as a warning to overextended banks - and this from a central bank that has previously always provided liquidity when cash conditions tightened. A lot will

Rio Tinto Ltd ( id="symbol_RIO.AX_0"> RIO.AX ) has scrapped the proposed sale of its $1.3 billion diamonds business, a setback for its plan to sell a swag of mines and company stakes to tighten operations during a global industry downturn. The world no.3 miner has at least half a dozen assets on the block, aiming to pare $19 billion in net debt, cut costs and boost returns to shareholders, but buyers are unwilling to pay up in face of volatile commodity prices and rising debt costs.   "In resource land it's just a little bit tough at the moment," said Paul Xiradis, chief executive of Ausbil Dexia, which owns Rio Tinto shares. "The market would have preferred for Rio to sell (diamonds)....But if you're not going to achieve the right price, there's no point in cutting off your nose to spite your face just to achieve an end." Rio is not alone in struggling to sell assets. Barrick Gold ( id="symbol_ABX.TO_1"> ABX.TO ) was unab

In a country synonymous with larger-than-life mining tycoons and Outback heroes, the geeks are quietly inheriting the earth. As coal magnate Nathan Tinkler, the poster boy for Australia's fading 10-year minerals boom, publicly battles against bankruptcy, software entrepreneurs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are riding high. The former college buddies behind fast-growing software firm Atlassian unceremoniously bumped Tinkler off the top of Australia's "young rich list", leading a charge in the country's blooming technology industries.   The tech start-up and biotech sectors are at the forefront of a push to transform Australia from an exporter of iron ore to an exporter of ideas. "It's a pretty primitive economy," said internet entrepreneur Matt Barrie. "We basically dig stuff up out of the ground, put it on a boat and ship it." As part of ambitious plans to change that, the government has announced millions of dollars in new

Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc ( id="symbol_FCX.N_0"> FCX.N ) was ramping up production at its Indonesian unit on Monday, a company spokeswoman said, six weeks after a deadly tunnel collapse at the world's No.2 copper mine halted operations. Trade union workers at the Grasberg mine in remote West Papua were also returning to production work, while postponed pay talks with the Arizona-based firm have been resumed, a union official added. Freeport Indonesia employs about 24,000 workers, of which three-quarters belong to the union. Freeport stopped production at Grasberg on May 15, a day after a training area in a tunnel caved in, killing 28 people. Planned pay talks were also put on hold last month. On Saturday, the company said it had slowly resumed open-pit mining after receiving approval from the Indonesian government, although underground production remained closed.   "We herewith confirm that we have started to ramp up production since Saturday,&qu

China's cash crunch eased further on Monday after the central bank moved to prevent the money market from seizing up, but bank stocks tanked as the authorities made clear that the days of unlimited cheap official funds are over. Chinese shares suffered their biggest daily loss in nearly four years, with financial stocks dropping more than 7 percent after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said banks needed to do a better job of managing their cash and lending.   Money market rates had soared last week when the central bank, relied on as a source of cheap cash used to finance China's vast "shadow banking" system, stood pat, letting a sharp drop in fund inflows into China and cash hoarding by some banks do the rest. The sudden tightening of cash markets, which saw some banks paying a 25 percent interest rate for cash, fanned fears that Beijing's latest attempt to steer the world's second-biggest economy to more balanced growth less reliant on credit-dr

The U.S. central bank's plans to scale back its stimulus and fears Chinese policy may be tightening sent the dollar sharply higher on Monday, while world shares extended last week's dismal performance. The sell-off in stocks, bonds and commodities since the Federal Reserve signaled an end to the era of cheap money that has fuelled record rises in asset prices is seen having further to run. "The prospect for a disorderly transition is there," said Josh Raymond, market strategist for City Index. Fears of further market turmoil have been exacerbated by worries over China's growth outlook and the health of its banks after the country's central bank said liquidity in its financial system is "reasonable", despite high short term rates. Amid the selling, yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes, a benchmark for global rates, hit a two-year high of 2.57 percent on Monday, supporting the dollar which added 0.4 percent against a basket major currencies to

Japan's Suntory Beverage and Food Ltd will raise 388 billion yen ($4 billion) after it set its IPO price near the bottom of its marketing range, hurt by concerns about its valuation and weak appetite amid market volatility. The food and soft drinks unit of Suntory Holdings Ltd set the price of its initial public offering at 3,100 yen per share, compared with its 3,000-3,800 yen indicative range, it said in a regulatory filing on Monday.   The maker of Boss canned coffee had been seeking as much as 470 billion yen in Asia's biggest IPO so far this year, to bolster its war chest for acquisitions in emerging markets like Southeast Asia and boost its competitiveness against rivals like Kirin Holdings Co Ltd ( id="symbol_2503.T_0"> 2503.T ). "It's obviously a sign that the stock is not popular among institutional investors," said a hedge fund manager based in Singapore, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. "Given its valuation

Vodafone ( id="symbol_VOD.L_0"> VOD.L ) has agreed to buy Germany's largest cable operator Kabel Deutschland ( id="symbol_KD8Gn.DE KD8Gn.DE ) for 7.7 billion euros ($10 billion), betting on TV and fixed-line services in its biggest deal since 2007. _1"> Announcing its second major acquisition for a European fixed-line network in 12 months, Vodafone said it would pay 87 euros ($110) per share for the group to enable it to offer more competitive packages with TV, fixed-line and broadband services to its mobile customers. The world's second-largest mobile operator, following up its acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide, is however paying a rich price for the German firm and its 8.5 million homes, which it considered buying before it went public in March 2010 at 22 euros per share. One trader who asked not to be named said the offer, Vodafone's biggest since a 2007 Indian acquisition, valued Kabel Deutschland at 12 times enterprise value a

They're a familiar sight around the world, whether in northern Japan or southern Argentina : a pair of men in dark suits, with nameplates, often riding bicycles as they go about their job preaching the Mormon religion. "Elders", Ryan McIlvain's debut novel, illuminates the lives of one such pair, American Elder McLeod and his Brazilian counterpart Elder Passos, through their frustrating daily round of knocking on doors and missionary work, the service that all adult Mormons must perform.   McIlvain, a former Mormon who went to Brazil on his mission, spoke about his book and basing fiction on his own life. Q: How did this book get going? A: It's something I know a lot about just by virtue of the fact that I was a Mormon missionary. More broadly, I thought it would be interesting to pay very close attention to the interior lives of two Mormon missionaries, people that we see almost exclusively from the outside ... They're so lonely, the pressures they fac

Chancellor Angela Merkel told President Vladimir Putin on Friday that German art seized by the Soviets in the wake of World War Two should be repatriated to Germany , a claim the Russian leader swiftly rejected. The tense exchange took place as they opened an exhibition at the Hermitage museum in St Petersburg during a trip by Merkel to Russia . The exhibition about the Bronze Age includes 600 items carried off by the Soviet Union as war reparations, according to the German government.   Merkel said it was an important step that the works were now going on public display for the first time. "It's our opinion that these exhibition pieces should be returned to Germany," she said. Putin replied that it was time to stop making repatriation claims against each other, otherwise Turkey could also demand the return of art from Germany. He said it didn't matter to the average citizen if art is displayed in Berlin, St Petersburg, Moscow or in Turkey. According to Berlin

U.S. municipal bond funds reported $2.22 billion of net outflows in the week ended June 19, up from outflows of $1.6 billion in the previous week, according to data released by Lipper on Thursday. The funds have had net outflows for four straight weeks, with the latest week the biggest since mid-December. For the four weeks outflows amounted to $5.4 billion. The four-week moving average remained negative at $1.36 billion, said Lipper, a unit of Thomson Reuters. Investors pulled out of high-yield funds for a fifth consecutive week, with net outflows of nearly $850 million, which was also the highest since the week of Dec. 19. In the week ended June 12, the funds reported outflows of $657 million.   Exchange-traded muni funds saw outflows of $54 million in the latest week, up from $7 million in the prior week, according to Lipper. Meanwhile, retail investors bought 1.8 muni bonds for every one they sold in the week ended June 19, up slightly from a ratio of 1.7 the week before, acc

Greece's coalition leaders failed to agree to on how to resume state television broadcasts during their third round of talks this week, deepening a nine-day impasse that has renewed fears of political instability in the country. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had appeared close to a compromise earlier this week with his two leftist coalition partners over the sudden closure of the ERT state broadcaster, until the three-party talks collapsed again on Thursday. The leader of the smallest party in the coalition, Fotis Kouvelis of the Democratic Left, attacked Samaras for failing to comply with a court ruling ordering ERT back on air and rejecting his proposal for a reformed broadcaster.   "No common ground was reached at the political leaders' meeting with regards to the issue of ERT," Kouvelis said. Democratic Left party officials were due to meet on Friday morning to discuss their stance on the issue, officials said. The leader of the other junior coalition partn

Global equity markets, bond prices and commodities fell sharply on Thursday in a deep selloff, a day after the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy was growing strongly enough for it to begin slowing its unprecedented stimulus. The Fed's bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing, has lifted both the U.S. economy and world financial markets by pushing interest rates to historic lows. But comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday, when he laid out a likely end to the program by next year if the economy strengthens further, brought a dose of finality to the markets. "The market has had its safety blanket taken away," said Chris Wyllie, chief investment officer at wealth manager Iveagh Ltd in London. Andrew Szczurowski, a portfolio manager at Eaton Vance in Boston, said he viewed the U.S. economy as a person lost at sea to whom Bernanke had thrown a life vest. "And now all of a sudden Bernanke is talking about poking a hole in the life vest, perha

Maine's Republican Governor, Paul LePage, touched off a firestorm of criticism on Thursday when he made a vulgar remark about a Democratic state senator. LePage said during a television interview that Senator Troy Jackson, with whom he has sparred recently over budget issues, "claims to be for the people, but he's the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline."   The remarks followed LePage's promise, at an Americans for Prosperity rally in Augusta, the state capital, to veto a $6.3 billion, two-year budget. Democrats criticized LePage's unwillingness to compromise on the bipartisan budget, which last week passed with two-thirds majorities in both the Maine House and Senate. The Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives immediately blasted the remark "LePage's language today crosses a new line - even for him," House Speaker Mark Eves said. "I would not want my children to hear these vulgar comments from the

The Ontario Superior Court on Thursday granted Molson Coors a temporary injunction that prevents Miller Brewing Co from ending a license agreement with Molson's Canadian arm before a trial scheduled for December. _0"> In February, Miller, a subsidiary of SABMiller Plc, had announced that it planned to end the deal with Molson Coors Canadian arm as it believed its partner was not doing enough to promote Miller brands in Canada. Molson Coors in turn filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the termination of the license agreement. Miller had provided Molson with a notice of termination in January, and it had been aiming to end the agreement on July 22.   Miller said on Thursday it was disappointed with the court's decision, but said it remains confident in its position ahead of the trial. A spokesman for Molson was not immediately reachable for comment. "We remain firm in our expectation that the Court will agree that we adhered to the terms of our Canadian license

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Friday called on the small Democratic Left party in his ruling coalition to back him after talks to resume state television broadcasts collapsed, leaving the government in disarray. _0"> Samaras said he had compromised by offering to re-hire 2,000 out of the 2,600 ERT workers who were fired when it was yanked off air last week, which was accepted by the Socialist PASOK party but rejected by the Democratic Left.   "I want us to continue together as we started but I will move on either way," Samaras said in a televised statement. "Our aim is to conclude our effort to save the country, always with a four-year term in the horizon. We hope for the Democratic Left's support."

The Mexican state of Veracruz was hit by heavy rains on Thursday after Tropical Storm Barry moved away from Mexico's major oil installations and weakened to a Tropical Depression. Only one of Mexico's three major oil-exporting ports - Dos Bocas - remained closed, but state oil monopoly Pemex said it was unaffected by the storm. Almost all of Mexico's crude oil exports, which totaled 1.275 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, are shipped to refineries on the Gulf Coast of the United States from the ports of Coatzacoalcos, Dos Bocas and Cayo Arcas.   The rains falling in the town of Actopan in Veracruz were more severe than those during Hurricane Karl, a Category 3 storm that battered the state in 2010, said town spokesman Rafael Alberto Moreno. There is a risk that the Actopan River, one of the biggest in the state, might overflow and townspeople were being evacuated from their homes, he said. Barry is expected to lose strength during the course of Thursday, and th

Greece's Democratic Left, the smallest party in the ruling coalition, will decide on Friday whether to continue in the government after a row over the closure of state broadcaster ERT, two party officials said on Friday. _0"> The party's lawmakers will meet at 0730 GMT on Friday to discuss their position, the officials told Reuters. "The Democratic Left will decide whether it will continue to back the government or not," one official said.   Another party official, Dimitris Hatzisokratis, said it was not the party's intention to push the country to early elections.

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ has agreed to pay New York state $250 million for deleting information from $100 billion in wire transfers that authorities could have used to police transactions with sanctioned countries like Iran . The settlement, announced on Thursday, is the latest example of New York state's chief financial regulator, Benjamin Lawsky, flexing the agency's muscle. Lawsky extracted a much bigger sum than the U.S. Treasury Department, which settled with the bank over sanctions violations in December 2012 for $8.57 million.   Lawsky has gone his own way before, drawing criticism from other regulators. Last year, when a group of government authorities were investigating Standard Chartered Plc, the New York regulator threatened to revoke the bank's state license, and stopped working with other agencies. In August, Standard Chartered agreed to pay the state $340 million over transactions linked to Iran and other countries. Four months later, the bank set

The European Union will seek on Friday to forge rules to force losses on large savers when banks fail, a sensitive reform that could shape how the euro zone deals with its sickly banks. Finance ministers in Luxembourg will try to resolve one of the most difficult questions posed by Europe's banking crisis - how to shut failed banks without sowing panic or burdening taxpayers.   "The costs of future restructurings can't be wished away," said a senior EU official involved in the talks. "We need a mechanism to shift the burden away from taxpayers." The European Union spent the equivalent of a third of its economic output on saving its banks between 2008 and 2011, plundering taxpayer cash but struggling to contain the crisis and in the case of Ireland , almost bankrupting the country. But France and Germany are divided over how strict the new rules should be, with Paris worried that imposing losses on depositors could prompt a bank run. A draft EU law th

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday urged Greece to speedily deliver on its bailout program, adding that doing so would ensure the country encounters "no financing problems." There is an ongoing review of the Greek bailout program, the IMF said on Thursday. "If the review is concluded by the end of July, as expected, no financing problems will arise because the program is financed till end-July 2014," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in a brief statement.   The Financial Times reported on Thursday the IMF might suspend aid to Greece next month unless euro zone leaders plugged a funding gap in the Greek rescue program. Reuters reported on Wednesday that European foot-dragging could leave Greece some 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion) short this year as some euro zone creditors were reluctant to roll over their Greek debt holdings. Greece's creditors - euro zone countries, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - agreed last Decembe