Bear Stearns co-president Spector resigns - WSJ

(Reuters) - Citing a person familiar with the matter, the Journal said directors agreed that Alan D. Schwartz will for now be sole president of Bear.




The article also said that Samuel Molinaro, the firm's longtime chief financial officer, will assume the role of chief operating officer and that Jeffrey Mayer, co-head of fixed income, will take Spector's seat on the executive committee.


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ACA Capital shares could fall on subprime: Barron's

(Reuters) - Should the U.S. subprime troubles prove to be systemic across different geographies, then not only would shares be hammered, but the company could be toast, Barron's said.




If ACA buckles under, Wall Street firms whose securities the company insured would also be hurt. The $61 billion of ACA's insured exposure would come cascading back to balance sheets of the likes of Bear Stearns , Merrill Lynch , Lehman Brothers , and Citigroup along with some 25 other Wall Street counterparties, Barron's said.


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UPDATE 1-IKB owner plays down talk of higher subprime losses

(Reuters) - Responding to an article claiming that the losses could
mount to 5 billion euros, government-owned lender KfW told
Reuters on Sunday that such estimates were guess-work.




"Talk of bigger numbers is complete speculation," said a
spokesman for the bank, which owns 38 percent of IKB.


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CORRECTED: Qatar bank's $6.1 billion Ahli United bid stalls

(Reuters) - DUBAI - International Bank of Qatar said on
Sunday talks to buy a stake in Bahrain's Ahli United Bank
had stalled, spelling a possible end to what
would be the biggest cross border takeover of a Gulf Arab firm.




International Bank, an affiliate of National Bank of Kuwait
, said shareholders were insisting that a third party
and not the Qatari firm have access to the books of Bahrain's
biggest lender, and that due diligence be limited to one month
rather than three.


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Treasuries Posting Best Returns Since 2002 as Subprime Losses Stir Concern

(Bloomberg) -- So much for the bear market in
Treasuries.

Yields on 10-year notes fell below where they started in
January after climbing to a five-year high in June. Government
securities are on track to return 5.3 percent this year, the best
performance since gaining 12 percent in 2002, Merrill Lynch & Co.
index data show.


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BA execs to be named in price fixing probe: report

(Reuters) - "These executives could be prosecuted in the criminal courts in the U.S.," it said.




Two BA executives were identified when they resigned last October -- former commercial director Martin George and former public relations boss Iain Burns -- although no wrongdoing by either has been announced.


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HK financier Francis Leung joins CVC as adviser

(Reuters) - Leung, a long-time banker to Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing with close China ties, was with Citigroup Global Markets as chairman of Asia until last year focusing on developing Citigroup's Greater China investment banking business, CVC said.




CVC, which is a major shareholder in global motor racing business Formula 1, owns interest in Australia's media group PBL Media, Japan's restaurant chain Skylark, Singapore's precision metals stamping firm Amtek, Malaysia's largest paper packaging firm GS Paper and Packaging, and Chinese wood fibreboards maker Plantation Timber Products.


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