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World Business Quick Take

■ FINANCE

US banks appeal, fund says

US financial services companies, including insurers, banks and mortgage providers, make "attractive" investments after their shares declined as a result of the subprime crisis, an official at Qatar's US$40 billion sovereign investment fund said. "This makes financial services an interesting space to investors," Kenneth Shen, head of strategic and private equity at the Qatar Investment Authority, told reporters at a conference in Dubai yesterday. "Valuations have come down, something that was attractive but pricey six months ago, is now more attractive."



■ BANKING

UK banks trump US: report

The UK is a bigger and more prestigious magnet for international bank deposits than the US, according to the Bank for International Settlements. British lenders attracted 23 percent of all international deposits in the second quarter, compared with 13 percent for the US, the bank said. "Banks in the United Kingdom take deposits from 382 locations in the world," or 90 percent of the globe, BIS economist Goetz von Peter wrote in a report. That compares with 44 percent for the US. UK banks also are the most active intermediaries, and the chance of a dollar transferred between two countries also passing through the UK is 20 percent, the report said. Von Peter calculated the prestige of international banking centers by measuring the importance of other countries they lend to and borrow from. The US ranks second, his report said.



■ FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Dollar up on speculation

The US dollar traded near a one-month high against the yen yesterday on speculation the Federal Reserve would limit the reduction in its benchmark interest rate to a quarter percentage point today. The US currency gained against the New Zealand dollar and the South African rand as traders pared bets the Fed would cut the target for the overnight lending rate between banks to 4 percent from 4.5 percent. The dollar rose against 12 of the world's 16 most active currencies before a US government report this week that is expected to show retail sales weathered a housing slump.



■ OIL

Prices fall in Asian trading

World oil traded lower in Asia yesterday as the market entered a traditional year-end cooling off period and concerns persisted over slower US economic growth, dealers said. In morning trade in Singapore, New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, was US$0.49 lower at US$87.79 per barrel, from US$88.28 in New York on Friday. Brent North Sea crude for January delivery was US$0.24 lower at US$88.40 a barrel from US$88.64 in London on Friday.



■ MEDIA

`IHT,' Reuters ink deal

News and financial information provider Reuters and the International Herald Tribune (IHT) said yesterday they would launch a co-branded daily online and print business report for the newspaper starting next month. From Jan. 7, business sections of the IHT and the newspaper's online site will be rebranded and carry content written and edited by Reuters staff, the two companies said. The collaboration replaces an agreement the newspaper has with Bloomberg LP that finishes at the end of the month, they said.
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