As oil slides, Singapore oilfield service firms struggle to refinance debt

Two Singapore oilfield service firms are finding it tough to refinance debt maturing later this year as the slump in crude prices has made investors and lenders hesitant, banking sources said.


Far-left victory in Greece bruises European markets

European shares fell and borrowing costs for the euro zone's most indebted states rose on Monday as the leftist Syriza party looked set to take on Greece's international lenders after a crushing victory in early elections.

Italy economy minister eyes "bad bank" to clean up risky loans

Italy is considering setting up a state-backed "bad bank" to help clean up its banking sector, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said in a newspaper interview on Sunday.

Oil prices fall on market relief over Saudi policy

Oil prices declined on Monday, with U.S. crude falling close to a nearly six-year low, as Saudi Arabia's new King Salman moved to assuage fears of an unstable transition and any policy change in the world's largest oil exporter.


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A top U.S. Republican lawmaker will revisit a plan to reduce government involvement in the country's housing finance system, and expects Senate colleagues to be receptive to potential changes, according to an interview aired on C-SPAN on Sunday.
U.S. President Barack Obama will call on Congress to expand protection of Alaska's Arctic refuge where oil and gas drilling is prohibited to 12 million acres (5 million hectares), an area that includes 1.4 million oil-rich acres along the coast.
After the surprises from central banks which rocked markets at the start of the year, the U.S. Federal Reserve will be watched as closely as ever this week to see that it doesn't stray from its own policy path.
Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said Greece, where an anti-bailout party looks set to win a snap election, would continue to need aid and would only get this by sticking to agreements, adding he hoped the new government would not make promises the country could not afford.
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States fell 13.3 cents in the past two weeks, falling to its lowest level since late April 2009, but the end of a months-long slide may be near, according to the Lundberg survey released Sunday.
Europe's oil majors will strike a sober note in their fourth-quarter results and investors will focus on companies' plans to maintain cherished dividends and their strategies to cope with the oil prices collapse that caught many unawares.
Internet services that allow people to freely access blocked websites and apps from within China have seen more severe disruptions this week, said three providers, moves that Chinese state media said were justified.
The president of Goldman Sachs has urged Britain to stay within the European Union, warning, ahead of a May general election, that an exit would put the capital's status as a major financial center at risk.
Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, an unabashed critic of the European Central Bank's quantitative easing (QE), told a German newspaper on Sunday he had doubts about the effectiveness of the ECB bond-buying plan.
Madagascar will not achieve the 5 percent growth the International Monetary Fund has projected for it this year unless it introduces reforms to boost tax revenue and improve the business climate, an IMF official told Reuters.