JPMorgan Chase is facing criminal and civil investigations by the Justice Department involving its sales of mortgage-backed securities in 2005 to 2007, the bank said in a regulatory filing Wednesday. Investigators from Justice’s civil division have “preliminarily concluded” the nation’s largest bank broke the law, JPMorgan said in the filing. The disclosure is tucked into a single paragraph on page …

in hits near-4-month peak; lead at highest since June * China copper imports up 8.1 pct at 410,680 T * Euro rises against dollar * U.S. weekly jobless claims edge up, but still at low levels By Harpreet Bhal and Eric Onstad LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Copper hit its highest in almost two months on Thursday as upbeat trade data and …

A liquidity squeeze in the second half of June is refocusing attention on China’s banks, and not a moment too soon. Much recent discussion has surrounded the broader macroeconomic transformation China needs, away from export- and investment-led growth and toward greater reliance on domestic consumption. But the effect of such a transformation on the country’s financial system remains poorly understood. …

TOKYO: Asia-Pacific leaders are scrambling to reverse a decline in their currencies as an expected tapering of the US Federal Reserve’s stimulus and Chinese economic slowdown send waves of foreign capital flowing outside their borders. Fears of a cash flight have sparked a warning from South Korea’s finance minister about possible “spillover effects” from the Fed’s wind down, ahead of …

S Vice President Joe Biden will deliver a US foreign policy speech today reflecting India’s growing role in the Asia-Pacific region before leaving for his maiden visit to India. “The Vice President will focus on the United States’ enduring commitment to the rebalance toward Asia, India’s growing role in the Asia-Pacific region, and the critical importance of deepening US trade …

Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday China’s economy was on course to grow 7.75% this year — higher than the government’s own 7.5% target and actual growth of 7.6% in the first half of the year. Prospects for the world’s second-largest economy were “clouded by mounting domestic vulnerabilities in the financial, fiscal and real estate sectors”, the IMF said. But the …

Back in March this year the Asian Development Bank (ADB) produced a report showing how fast the local currency (LCY) bond markets were developing across Asia. By the end of 2012 East Asia’s LCY bond market had reached $6.5 trillion, with the corporate sector bond market growing from 4.2% by value, quarter over quarter, in the third quarter of 2012, …

A British executive heading the mainland financial operations of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been barred from leaving China as the government ratchets up the pressure on the pharmaceutical sector with a new campaign. Steve Nechelput, who is based in Shanghai, was asked not to leave the country late last month but was not formally detained or arrested, as part of the …