Comments by policymakers at Cannes G20

Following are comments on Thursday by policymakers attending the Group of 20 Summit in Cannes, France, and other euro zone officials, as Europe considered the possibility of Greece leaving the euro.

FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY

On talks with Obama on a possible global transaction tax: "I think we have a common analysis on how to have the world of finance contribute to resolving today's crisis."

U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

"The most important aspect of our task over the next two days is to resolve the financial crisis here in Europe.

"I agree with President Sarkozy that the EU has made some important steps toward a comprehensive solution, and that would not have happened without Nicolas' leadership.

"But here at the G20 we're going to have to flesh out more of the details about how the plan will be fully and decisively implemented. And we also discussed the situation in Greece and how we can work to resolve that situation as well. The United States will continue to be a partner with the Europeans to resolve these challenges."

WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER BEN RHODES:

"The IMF still has a substantial amount of resources to deal with a range of challenges in Europe and around the world ... There are no plans for the United States to provide additional resources ... to the IMF ... We can't speak to what other countries may do."

ANDREW MACDOUGALL, CHIEF SPOKESMAN FOR CANADIAN PRIME

MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER:

"Canada does not support the tax (on financial transactions). We have an aid program for (the least developed) nations and we do not need another tax. This is not supported by Canada."

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON

"When the world is in crisis, it's right that you consider boosting the IMF.

"No government has ever lost money by lending money to the IMF. What we wouldn't support is the IMF investing directly in some euro bailout fund. That wouldn't be right and we won't back it."

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV

"Europe should aid itself, the European Union has everything for that today -- the political authority, the financial resources and the backing of many countries.

"Countries with excessive debt burdens should immediately start fiscal consolidation. Countries in the eurozone that are viewed by the markets as safe havens should support demand and thus facilitate the situation for their weaker partners.

"The reward system of shareholders and managers of financial institution should be changed step by step. Otherwise the 'Occupy Wall street' slogan will become fashionable in all developed countries. And thus instead of dealing with economic growth, everyone will be busy with what has been created."

"I think the long-anticipated entry of Russia into the WTO would be a good contribution to our common cause. It is fruitful to both us and our partners."

SOUTH AFRICAN FINANCE MINISTER PRAVIN GORDHAN

Asked whether South Africa and other BRICS nations will take exposure to the euro zone crisis only after issue has been sorted out: "Yes, that's the idea."

TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN

"I welcome decisions taken by EU leaders taken at the recent summit but it is very important to implement them as soon as possible to remove the risks we are faced with.

"We still have serious risks and challenges we need to overcome for the future of the global economy, especially in Europe but also elsewhere with high public debt, unemployment and global imbalances. It is important all G20 countries cooperate even more than before.

"The greatest vulnerability threatening the economy is the sustainability of public debt in developed economies.

"It is very important developed countries have concrete and well planned financial policies and that they are implemented. We have seen the importance of that in context of Europe because there have been inconsistent statements made to the public and some of the budgets did not reflect the realities."

JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER YOSHIHIKO NODA

"I expect Europe to steadily implement measures agreed at the European Union summit meeting in order to help stabilize financial systems in Europe."

CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO

After BRICS meeting: "We have exchanged views on the global economic situation at the BRICS leaders meeting, we discussed the European debt crisis. Now we could exchange opinions on bilateral issues."

On euro zone crisis package: "The existing plan ... demonstrates the EU's determination to solve the European debt problem and we hope that the implementation of the plan will address current difficulties in Europe and boost European economic development.

"Europe is the world's largest economy, and there won't be global economic recovery without European economic recovery.

"We hope Europe will be fine."

KREMLIN ECONOMIC AIDE ARKADY DVORKOVICH

After talks between BRICS countries: "BRICS leaders agreed to maintain close contacts between finance ministers and sherpas to work out a common position of BRICS member states on the eurozone.

"BRICS leaders agreed to carry out regular consultations in IMF and other formats, the proposition was backed by all BRICS leaders."

GREEK FINANCE MINISTER EVANGELOS VENIZELOS

In a statement in Athens, after returning from Cannes: "Greece's position within the euro area is a historic conquest of the country that cannot be put in doubt. This achievement by the Greek people cannot depend on a referendum."

"If we want to protect the country we must, under conditions of national unity and political seriousness and consensus, implement without any delay the decision of October 26... , as soon as possible."

EURO GROUP PRESIDENT JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER

On the prospect of a Greek exit from euro zone, to Germany's ZDF television: "We are working on the subject of how to ensure there is not a disaster for the people in Germany, Luxembourg, the euro zone. We are absolutely prepared for the situation. We are absolutely prepared for the situation which I describe and which I want to be avoided.

"Everything must be done to try to make sure one member of the 17-member group does not fade away but if this were the wish of the Greeks -- and I think that would be wrong -- then we cannot force the Greeks toward their fortune.

"This is not my favored scenario. I would like Greece to stay on board but Greece must fulfill its obligations."

FRANCE'S EUROPE MINISTER JEAN LEONETTI

To RTL radio: "Greece is something we can get over, something we can live without."

(Reporting by Laura MacInnis, Alister Bull, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Gui Qing Koh, Luke Baker, Alexei Anishchuk and Catherine Bremer; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

Journalist Arrested in News Corp. Phone Hacking Scandal: Reuters

A journalist at the British tabloid The Sun was arrested Friday in connection with alleged payments to police as part of the investigation into illegal phone hacking by London-based employees of media giant News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA), according to a report by Reuters.

News Corp. owns The Sun and is also the parent company of FOX Business.

A spokesman for News International, which runs News Corp.’s British newspapers, confirmed to Reuters that an arrest had been made, adding "the company is cooperating fully with the investigation."

The spokesman couldn’t immediately be reached for comment by FOX Business.

Scotland Yard initially announced the arrest, according to Reuters. Scotland Yard has been investigating whether journalists bribed police officials in an effort to obtain stories on British celebrities and politicians.

News Corp. shut down its weekly tabloid News of the World in July after the phone hacking scandal erupted.

Greek Parliament Leader to Head New Coalition Government

Greek party leaders have agreed on house speaker Filippos Petsalnikos to head the country's new coalition government, barring any last-minute changes, sources from the two major parties said on Wednesday.

"We have agreed on Petsalnikos but things can change between now and when the prime minister sees the president," a source close to the discussions between the ruling Socialists and the conservative opposition New Democracy told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras had been locked in talks since Sunday on who will lead a new government to take the country to elections in February.

Expected Price Gains in Uranium Mining and Nuclear Energy (CCJ, DNN, URRE, URZ, UEC, URG, USU, GE, SHAW, ARVCF, TOSBF)

The outlook for uranium miners and nuclear power plant builders has dimmed considerably following the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant last spring. The Japanese government is considering building non-nuclear plants to replace the ruined reactors, and Germany has begun the process of de-commissioning all its nuclear generation by 2022. The US has not adopted a no-nukes plan yet, but when old plants come up for license renewal or a new plant gets approval to begin construction, it’s not a stretch to think that opposition will appear as if by magic.

The impact on uranium mining companies large and small could be dramatic if more countries follow Germany’s lead and reject nuclear generation completely. Even China has adopted a more ‘slow-go’ approach to nuclear generation. Mining companies include Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ), Denison Mines Corp. (AMEX: DNN), Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE), Uranerz Energy Corp. (AMEX: URZ), Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC), UR-Energy, Inc. and (AMEX: URG). USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) processes uranium into a low-enriched form, and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Shaw Group, Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) are leading builders and servicers of nuclear power plants. France’s Areva (OTC: ARVCY), and Japan’s Toshiba Corp. (OTC: TOSBF) are also among the world’s leading builders of nuclear power plants but are excluded because comparable information for the companies is not available.

One interesting sideshow that could impact all the uranium miners is the current bidding war between Cameco and Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) for Canadian junior mining company Hathor Exploration Ltd. Hathor is expected to take the Rio Tinto offer, leaving Cameco to shop for other uranium assets, most likely among the small miners we’re looked at here.

All data from Yahoo! Finance and MarketWatch, and current price quotes were gathered just before noon today.

Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) has a median target price of $31.10 from 8 brokers. Shares are trading today at $20.34, for an implied gain of $10.76, or 53%. Cameco’s forward P/E is 14.97 and the company pays a dividend yield of 1.8%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $16.68-$44.81, and at today’s price that’s about 22% above its 52-week low and 55% below the 52-week high. Cameco is the world’s largest uranium miner, and falling uranium prices have hit the company hard since prices hit a peak in January of around $72/pound. Uranium now sells for about $52/pound, a drop of -28%, and that drop has been exacerbated by lower demand. Falling demand and price have had even harsher impacts on the smaller uranium miners. At this time, Cameco does not expect the rest of the world to follow the Japanese and German governments’ restrictions on nuclear energy.

Denison Mines Corp. (AMEX: DNN) has a median target price of $2.21 from 7 brokers. Shares are trading today at $1.49, for an implied gain of $0.72, or 48%. Denison’s forward P/E is negative and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $0.81-$4.52, and at today’s price that’s about 84% above its 52-week low and 67% below the 52-week high. Denison sold just 167,000 pounds of uranium in the third quarter, compared with 706,000 pounds in the same period a year ago. That cost the company nearly $3 million in revenues, and total revenues were less than half those of a year ago.

Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) has a median target price of $5.00 from a single broker. Shares are trading today at $1.10, for an implied gain of $3.90, or 355%. Uranium Resources’ forward P/E is negative and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $0.52-$3.98, and at today’s price that’s about 112% above its 52-week low and 72% below the 52-week high. The company reports earnings on Monday, but even the single broker with a target price can’t be bothered to offer estimated results for the company. The implied gains here are strictly fantasy.

Uranerz Energy Corp. (AMEX: URZ) has a median target price of $5.49 from 3 brokers. Shares are trading today at $2.04, for an implied gain of $3.45, or 169%. Uranerz’s forward P/E is 12.22 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $1.17-$5.93, and at today’s price that’s about 74% above its 52-week low and 66% below the 52-week high. Uranerz, like Uranium Resources, sports a stupendously high implied gain because it is so weak. These two might be prime candidates for the loser in the bidding war over Hathor.

Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC) has a median target price of $4.98 from 6 brokers. Shares are trading today at $3.14, for an implied gain of $1.84, or 59%. Uranium Energy’s forward P/E is 2.78 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $2.20-$7.48, and at today’s price that’s about 43% above its 52-week low and 58% below the 52-week high. Uranium Energy just committed to pay about $85,000 in cash and about $940,000 in restricted stock at today’s price for a uranium mining project in Arizona. That sent the share price down slightly, which is probably less than should have happened.

UR-Energy, Inc. and (AMEX: URG) has a median target price of $2.37 from a single broker. Shares are trading today at $1.10, for an implied gain of $1.27, or 115%. UR-Energy’s forward P/E is negative and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $0.75-$3.37, and at today’s price that’s about 47% above its 52-week low and 67% below the 52-week high. UR-Energy does not yet produce anything, as its Wyoming mine is still in development. The company has spent a total of about $116 million since 2004, and is looking to begin production in the second quarter of 2013. It’s anyone’s guess what the price of uranium will be then.

USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) has a median target price of $3.38 from 2 brokers. Shares are trading today at $1.91, for an implied gain of $1.47, or 77%. USEC’s forward P/E is 10.11 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $1.17-$6.35, and at today’s price that’s about 63% above its 52-week low and 70% below the 52-week high. USEC mailed notices to its 450 centrifuge workers in late October informing them that the company may begin laying off workers in the first two weeks of November. When it released third-quarter earnings last week, the company posted a smaller-than-expected EPS loss, but missed revenues by a mile.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has a median target price of $20.00 from 14 brokers. Shares are trading today at $16.32, for an implied gain of $3.68, or 23%. GE’s forward P/E is 10.39 and the company pays a dividend yield of 3.7%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $14.02-$21.65, and at today’s price that’s about 16% above its 52-week low and 25% below the 52-week high. GE doesn’t specify exactly what part of its revenues come from nuclear plants, but it maintains partnerships with Japan’s Hitachi and Toshiba for building and servicing nuclear plants around the world.

Shaw Group, Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) has a median target price of $27.00 from 13 brokers. Shares are trading today at $24.21, for an implied gain of $2.79, or 12%. Shaw’s forward P/E is 9.46 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $18.98-$41.62, and at today’s price that’s about 28% above its 52-week low and 42% below the 52-week high. Known primarily as a heavy construction company, Shaw owns a piece of Toshiba’s nuclear operations in both the US and the UK, as well as a 20% stake in Toshiba’s Westinghouse nuclear operations. The company is building four nuclear units in the US and holds a services contract on four more new plants in China. For the fiscal year ended in October, Shaw’s nuclear work helped cover revenue shortfalls in coal plants.

Paul Ausick

MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Wavers As Worries Shift To Italy

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Monday veered between gains and losses as Wall Street trained its European-focused gaze to Italy, where borrowing costs surged to their highest since the country took up the euro.

"From confidence votes in Greece to threats of being kicked from the Union, European drama remains as captivating as any of the 'reality' shows on television," noted Paul Nolte, managing director at Dearborn Partners.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 23.88 points to 12,007.12, with 21 of its 30 components gaining ground.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) add 1.4 points to 1,254.63, with telecom companies up the most and industrials falling hardest among its 10 industry groups.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 3.91 points to 2,682.28.

Decliners remained ahead of advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, where 485 million shares traded as of 2:50 p.m. Eastern.

"With Italy's benchmark yields rising, speculation began to mount that Prime Minister Berlusconi would resign in the days ahead. Italian stocks rallied as the rumors intensified, only to reverse when Berlusconi went on the record to tell the world -- on Facebook, no less -- that he wasn't planning on going anywhere," noted Kevin Giddis, a fixed-income strategist at Morgan Keegan & Co.

"With his support fading ahead of a key parliamentary vote [Tuesday], there is still a decent chance that Berlusconi will step down in the near future, but that would only be a first step in a long and painful process toward putting Italy on a firmer economic foundation," Giddis added.

In Greece, Prime Minister George Papandreou on Sunday agreed to step down, clearing the path for a new government.

In Brussels, European finance ministers planned to meet Monday to work on the details of a strategy for hiking the region's rescue fund.

Amgen Inc.'s (AMGN) shares jumped 5.3% after the biotech-drug developer said it would repurchase up to $5 billion of its stock and Dish Network Corp. (DISH) shares gained 4.7% after the satellite-television provider said it would pay a $2 a share dividend.

Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires

Xstrata Chile Lomas Bayas Copper Workers Reach Contract Deal

SANTIAGO -(Dow Jones)- Workers at Chilean copper mine Lomas Bayas, owned by diversified global miner Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN), signed a contract agreement which went into effect on Tuesday, the company said Friday.

The agreement, which was negotiated ahead of the legally-mandated schedule, was reached with 555 workers, averting the possibility of a strike.

Of the workers, 458 were members of a union whose contract was due to expire in April and the other 97 workers weren't unionized and had contracts expiring in December. They represent 54% of the mine's total workforce.

Last year, Lomas Bayas produced 71,800 metric tons of copper in the form of cathodes, or large sheets of 99.99% pure copper. Xstrata is evaluating a $1.6 billion investment to increase annual output to 140,000 tons.

Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires

British American Tobacco Buys Back 50,000 Shares

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- British American Tobacco PLC (BATS.LN) Friday said it purchased 50,000 of its ordinary shares on Nov. 4.

MAIN FACTS:

-Average price was 2,912.0427 pence per share.

-Highest price paid was 2,933.5 pence per share and the lowest price paid was 2,888.5 pence per share.

-Company intends to hold these shares in Treasury.

-Shares on Friday closed at GBP29.21.

Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires

Week Ahead: Step Aside, Greece?

Reuters

Investors’ attention may shift away next week from the drama in Greece toward Italy, which has sizable debt woes of its own and has sought help from the International Monetary Fund to put in place austerity measures.

Italy, with a much larger economy than Greece, has emerged as possibly the next domino in the ongoing European debt crisis.

Plenty of earnings reports from U.S. companies are due next week as well. A handful of big retailers lead the pack, including Macy's (M) and Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) on Wednesday, and Kohl's (KSS) and Nordstrom (JWN) on Thursday.

Retailers have struggled during the recession and its aftermath as consumers have closed their pocketbooks to all but the most necessary items. The upcoming holiday season will be a big test of consumers’ willingness to part with cash.

Also due next week are earnings from tech giant Cisco Systems (CSCO), car maker General Motors (GM), and media conglomerate Walt Disney Co. (DIS).

On the economic front, in what’s shaping up as a relatively slow week, a consumer sentiment index will likely shed the most light on the state of the economy. The Thomson-Reuters University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment for early November is due Friday and it’s not expected to move much from October.

For months consumer sentiment has been trending lower toward levels not seen since the worst of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. Political gridlock, stagnant incomes, plunging home values and rising food prices have all made for a sour mood.

Also due next week is data on the September trade balance and the October import and export price indexes, both due Thursday.

A report on consumer credit is due Monday and the trend has been that credit is on the rise. Many tapped out consumers have been turning to credit cards to cover their monthly living expenses.

Service sector growth slows, factory orders up

U.S. service sector activity growth eased in October to its slowest level in three months, but new orders for good from factories unexpectedly rose, suggesting economic growth remains patchy.

In other U.S. data reported on Thursday, new claims for unemployment benefits fell below 400,000 last week for the first time in five weeks, suggesting a modest improvement in the labor market, but chain store retailers reported disappointing October sales.

"Based on the ISM manufacturing and services data, the economy is still crawling at a pace that is so anemic," said Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist, at The Economic Outlook Group LLC, in Princeton, New Jersey.

"For most Americans, it makes no difference whether the economy is stuck at this pace or we are in recession. This is very lackluster growth that will not lead to a pick-up in hiring.

US SERVICE SECTOR GROWTH SLIPS

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management said its services index eased to 52.9 last month from 53.0 the month before. The reading fell shy of economists' forecasts for 53.5, according to a Reuters survey, and was the lowest level since July.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. A gauge of new orders fell to 52.4 from 56.5, but the employment component improved to its highest level since June at 53.3 from 48.7.

New orders for U.S. factory goods unexpectedly rose in September and capital spending plans by businesses surged, according to a government report on Thursday that showed underlying strength in manufacturing.

The Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods increased 0.3 percent after a revised 0.1 percent gain in August, previously reported as a 0.2 percent fall. Economists had expected orders to slip 0.1 percent.

Orders excluding transportation rose 1.3 percent in September after edging down 0.1 percent the prior month.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft -- seen as a measure of business confidence and spending plans - jumped 2.9 percent in September after advancing 0.9 percent the prior month. The increase in this category was the largest in six months.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell below 400,000 last week for the first time in five weeks, suggesting a modest improvement in the still-moribund labor market, but retailers reported disappointing October sales.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 9,000 in the week ending October 29 to a seasonally adjusted 397,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

"The labor market continues to stabilize in terms of the amount of people losing their jobs but ... the pace of adding new ones still remains underwhelming," said Peter Boockvar, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak and Co. in New York.

The level of weekly claims remains well above pre-recession levels and has dipped below 400,000 only on brief occasions this year, suggesting no fast turnaround is imminent for the jobs market.

The claims data will not impact Friday's report on payroll levels during October, which are expected to show employers added 95,000 new jobs during the month. That is not considered a fast enough pace over time to bring down the unemployment rate much, if at all.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, fell 2,000 to 404,500.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said U.S. nonfarm productivity increased during the third quarter while growth in wages and benefits slowed sharply, showing that some inflation pressures were easing even as the economy picked up pace.

Productivity rose at a 3.1 percent annual rate, the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2010. Unit labor costs fell 2.4 percent, a much bigger decline than the 0.8 percent rate forecast by analysts.

He said that could help the U.S. Federal Reserve build a case to do more to help the economy.

Compensation per hour rose 0.6 percent during the period, down from growth of 2.7 percent during the previous quarter and 5.6 percent in the first three months of the year.

Productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, had fallen during the first two quarters of this year.

Economists had expected the government's report would show productivity increased at a 2.8 percent rate. The rebound in productivity was in a line with the return to stronger economic growth during the third quarter following a sharp slowdown early in the year.

US CHAIN STORES REPORT WEAK OCT SALES

Many top U.S. store chains reported disappointing October sales on Thursday.

Major retailers ranging from Macy's Inc and Saks Inc to those catering to more frugal shoppers like Target Corp and J.C. Penney Co Inc all reported lower-than-expected sales at stores open at least a year.

Overall, 23 major U.S.-based retailers that report monthly results were expected to post a composite same-store sales gain of 4.5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

(Reporting by Jason Lange, Leah Schnurr)

Wall St. on edge over Greece but Bernanke soothes

By Edward Krudy

Stocks rebounded from two days of sharp losses on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it is prepared to do more for the economy if conditions warrant, helping to stanch the panicky reaction to Europe's debt crisis.

Trading volume was light, however, possibly signaling that worries about Greece hold greater sway than the Fed at this time. Investors sold heavily this week after Greece said it would hold a referendum on an EU bailout crucial to stabilizing the euro zone's financial system.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank was closely monitoring developments in Europe and left open the possibility that the Fed could expand its holdings of mortgage debt if U.S. economic conditions worsened.

"Bernanke was clear that they were prepared to do more, that they have the tools to do more," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills, New York. "We remain in a very volatile situation."

The energy and financial sectors were among the strongest performers on Wednesday after having led the market lower in the previous two sessions.

Some 7.4 billion shares were traded on the NYSE, the Amex and Nasdaq, which was more than 10 percent below the 20-day moving average and well below Tuesday's high volume selloff when over 10 billion shares changed hands.

"There's no volume, which means there's no conviction in the move; the market remains 100 percent "macro" driven, and any news out of Europe could still shift markets," said Eric Lichtenstein, managing director at Knight Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey,

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 178.08 points, or 1.53 percent, at 11,836.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 19.62 points, or 1.61 percent, at 1,237.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 33.02 points, or 1.27 percent, at 2,639.98.

Also helping Wednesday's market gains, data showed U.S. private employers added more jobs than expected last month, continuing a recent pattern of better-than-expected economic data.

Conditions in Europe remained a wildcard as sources told Reuters the EU and IMF will not release an 8 billion euro payment to Greece until after the country has held its referendum, which could happen in December.

Among advancing stocks, Citigroup Inc gained 2.3 percent to $29.83 and JPMorgan Chase & Co added 2.8 percent to $33.64. The KBW Bank index climbed 3.3 percent.

MasterCard Inc shares jumped 7 percent to $357.66 after the credit card processor reported its quarterly profit easily beat estimates on double-digit increases in volumes.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

JPMorgan, UBS AG win dismissal in Madoff case

JPMorgan Chase & Co and UBS AG won dismissal of dozens of claims made against the banks by the trustee seeking money for victims of epic swindler Bernard Madoff's fraud.

U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon in New York sided with another judge's opinion earlier this year in trustee Irving Picard's common law claims against HSBC Holdings PLC and several affiliates for lack of standing.

"I am persuaded as well," McMahon wrote in an opinion dated October 31 and released on Tuesday. She sent what remains of the cases back to U.S. Bankruptcy Court for further proceedings.

Banks have taken the offensive after U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan, in a case against HSBC Holdings Plc and others in July said Picard exceeded his power in suing third parties on behalf of former customers of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

The cases are Irving H. Picard v. JPMorgan Chase & Co and Picard v. UBS AG in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 11-913 and No. 11-4212.

(Reporting by Grant McCool; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Wall St down, MF Global falls victim to Europe

By Edward Krudy

Wall Street closed its best month in 20 years on a down note on Monday as the failure of trading firm MF Global Holdings Ltd and new worries about Europe's debt crisis hammered financial shares.

In a sign that Europe's woes were far from over, Italian and Spanish bond yields soared, prompting the European Central Bank to buy the debt, while shares of European banks came under heavy selling pressure.

MF Global Holdings Ltd, the futures broker that made big bets on European sovereign debt, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, making it the biggest U.S. casualty of the euro zone crisis. Trading in MF Global shares was halted.

Financial shares fell sharply. Morgan Stanley, which has tended to do poorly when fears over Europe rise, dropped nearly 9 percent to $17.64. Monday's losses marked a reversal of last week's euphoria over European leaders' deal aimed at containing the debt crisis.

"We started the day with more questions about the European Union," said Mark Grant, Southwest Securities managing director in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

"Serious questions were raised, and then MF Global came along. MF is involved in all kinds of markets, and the fallout from them going bankrupt is unknown."

As the selloff accelerated at the market's close, the CBOE volatility index jumped over 22 percent, its biggest daily gain since mid-August.

Contributing to the downward pressure, the U.S. dollar shot up to a three-month high against the yen as the government of Japan intervened to curb its currency's appreciation, which hurt the export-based economy.

The jump in the dollar caused shares in energy and natural resources companies to fall sharply. The S&P energy index fell 4.4 percent and was the worst hit sector.

Despite the declines, the benchmark S&P 500 index was up nearly 11 percent for the month and posted its best monthly percentage gain since December 1991.

Most of that run came as European leaders moved to beef up the region's bailout fund and recapitalize its banks. But despite October's gains the S&P 500 index is flat for the year so far.

Still, many analysts believe that with a worst case scenario in Europe seemingly off the cards -- at least for the time being -- stocks could gain further as investors turn their attention to stronger-than-expected economic data in the United States and China.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 276.10 points, or 2.26 percent, to 11,955.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 31.79 points, or 2.47 percent, to 1,253.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 52.74 points, or 1.93 percent, to 2,684.41.

Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Nashville, said the market's strong advance over the past month was leading to some selling but said the market would likely rise further, provided the S&P 500 held the top end of its recent trading range at around 1,250.

"The market had a huge run in October, so the market was overbought coming into today," he said.

Banks stocks were among the worst performing, with the KBW bank index down 4 percent, although analysts said MF Global was unlikely to be big enough to spark a systemic failure in the banking sector.

JP Morgan Chase, which, according to an MF Global court filing, has about $1.2 billion worth of claims on the brokerage, fell 5.2 percent to $34.76.

The higher greenback pressured commodity prices, with copper off 2 percent and Brent crude 0.3 percent lower. Many commodities are priced in the greenback, making a spike in dollar prices more expensive for traders in other currencies and sapping demand.

The S&P materials sector dropped 4.2 percent. Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc lost 5.9 percent to $40.26. Aluminum company Alcoa Inc dropped 7 percent to $10.76.

"After a solid month of gains, the (higher) dollar is giving traders a reason to shy from the risk trade and take some profits," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

Volume was moderate, with about 7.5 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq. Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE and the Nasdaq by about four-to-one.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Germany, France back SNB chief to lead FSB: report

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are backing the candidacy of the head of Switzerland's central bank to lead the Financial Stability Board, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The FSB, the G20's regulatory task force, is charged with making sure bank regulations are strong enough to prevent another financial crisis.

Heading the FSB would not require the incumbent to give up his central bank governorship. An announcement is expected at the November 3-4 G20 summit.

Hildebrand has been a vocal proponent of tougher bank regulation after the Swiss government had to bail out flagship bank UBS during the financial crisis. His credentials to chair the FSB have been boosted by Switzerland's enacting of bank regulation stiffer than the new Basel III global rules.

Hildebrand and Carney are good friends and studied together at Oxford.

The Swiss government is quietly backing Hildebrand's candidature for the FSB, though some right-wing politicians oppose it, the paper also said.

"Of course the federal council supports SNB Chairman Philipp Hildebrand's candidature for the top job at the FSB," Finance Minister Eveline-Widmer Schlumpf told the SonntagsZeitung.

But the government was doing this via diplomatic channels and not publicly, the paper also quoted her as saying.

Hildebrand has come into the crosshairs of the SVP before.

Party mastermind Christoph Blocher has called on Hildebrand to resign after the SNB posted its biggest annual loss ever last year due to currency interventions to weaken the Swiss franc.

(Reporting by Catherine Bosley; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

WTO largely backs China over EU in shoe dumping case

By Tom Miles

A World Trade Organization panel largely backed China on Friday in a complaint about European Union import duties on Chinese footwear, dealing a partial victory also to European importers and retailers.

In a ruling, the panel told the European Union to bring its method on calculating anti-dumping duties into conformity with WTO rules and said the bloc had acted inconsistently with WTO law.

But it said there was no need for the EU to change the disputed tariffs because they had already expired. It also rejected the bulk of China's claims on behalf of individual Chinese shoe makers and some of its more specific complaints.

The case is the second brought by China against the EU at the WTO. In July, China won a similar victory against EU duties on what Europe said were unfairly cheap Chinese screws and bolts.

In that case, a panel condemned the way Europe assesses duties against countries it deems not to be market economies, such as China, Vietnam and Cuba.

The EU's controversial launch of duties on Chinese and Vietnamese-made leather shoes in 2006 marked deep divisions between Europe's manufacturing South and retail-heavy North. Spanish and Italian shoemakers said they could not compete against cheap Asian shoes while importers and retailers argued high-street shoppers would end up paying more for shoes.

On Friday, the European Footwear Alliance, which represents sporting goods giants such as Adidas , Puma Ecco and Hush Puppies, hailed what it called China's success and demanded EU compensation payments.

"The EU calculated and imposed the anti-dumping duties in a way which impermissibly discriminated against the vast majority of Chinese suppliers solely because they were Chinese, thus violating the cornerstone non-discrimination provision of the WTO Agreement," the alliance said in a statement.

"The report highlights ... the EU's general lack of transparency," it said. "EFA requests that the EU implement the WTO panel findings and reimburse importers those anti-dumping duties which the EU impermissibly collected over the past five years."

Both China and the EU claimed victory in the WTO's ruling on Friday.

China welcomed as a vindication the panel's rebuke of the way Europe effectively applies a single anti-dumping duty to a country rather than to individual firms if it doesn't consider that country to be a market economy -- unless the firms can prove that they are independent of the state.

"China considers the panel report to be a contribution toward consolidating the rules-based system that all WTO Members have pledged to foster," it said.

"In this spirit China looks forward to the full compliance of the Panel's recommendation by the European Union with regard to the IT (individual treatment) practice. ... China expects that the European Union will not repeat the violations of the Anti-Dumping Agreement found by the Panel."

An EU spokesman said the panel "rejected almost all of the procedural and substantive claims advanced by China."

"The panel considered the original and the review investigations conducted by the EU in the footwear case to be legal under WTO law, with the exception of few issues. And even with respect to these issues, the EU faces no implementation obligations, as the anti-dumping duties on Chinese footwear expired on 31 March 2011," EU trade spokesman John Clancy said in a statement.

Either side can appeal the ruling within 60 days.

(Reporting by Tom Miles and Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck in Brussels; editing by Stephanie Nebehay and Myra MacDonald)

Chile Copec Raises Indirect Controlling Stake In Colombia's Terpel

SANTIAGO -(Dow Jones)- Chilean fuel-and-forestry conglomerate Empresas Copec SA (COPEC.SN) increased its indirect controlling stake in Colombian fuel company Terpel to 39.1% from 26.4%, Copec said Friday.

Copec purchased a 14.4% stake in Colombian holding company Sociedad de Inversiones en Energia SA (SIE.BO), which controls Terpel, for $181 million.

Last year, Copec paid $285.5 million for a 56.2% indirect stake in Proenergia Internacional SA (PROENERGI.BO), which in turn holds a majority stake in Sociedad de Inversiones en Energia.

With the indirect stake in Terpel, Copec expanded outside Chile's borders into Colombia, Ecuador and Panama.

To comply with Chilean antitrust regulations, Copec sold Terpel's assets in Chile to the local Luksic family, through its Quinenco SA (QUINENCO.SN) holding company, for $320 million.

Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires

Greece vows to build on EU deal, people skeptical

By Renee Maltezou and Daniel Flynn

Greece vowed on Thursday to press ahead with economic reforms to capitalize on an EU deal to slash the country's debt, despite widespread anger among citizens at the prospect of years of painful belt-tightening demanded by foreign lenders.

In a bid to calm fears among Greece's 11 million people, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos promised there would not be further cuts to wages and pensions as a result of the agreement sealed in Brussels to halve the 200 billion euros of Greek debt in the hands of private bondholders.

The minister said that negotiations now needed to take place with banks to determine their participation in the bond swap to slash Greece's debt mountain, forecast to top 160 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year.

Prime Minister George Papandreou said the EU deal would help ease the burden on Greece's middle class and turn the page for the country, racked by its worst recession in four decades.

"We must continue to work intensively to change everything that offends us," Papandreou said in a televised address to the nation. "The crisis gives us the opportunity and the deal gives us the time to decide what is important for Greece."

But on the streets of Athens, Greeks tired of record unemployment and falling wages poured scorn on the EU bailout, saying that it heralded a long period of more austerity.

"What rescue? Europe has betrayed us. Can't they see we've nothing left to give?" said 85-year old George Kapsokalyvas, a public sector pensioner. "Only God can save us."

NOTHING TO CELEBRATE

Papandreou's Socialist party was reduced to just 153 members in the 300-seat parliament last week after expelling an MP who voted against labor reforms, raising expectations that further belt-tightening could trigger snap elections.

Papandreou acknowledged the deal might force Greece to temporarily nationalize some of its banks because of the writedown on their bond holdings. The chairman of Greece's sixth largest lender ATEbank, Theodoros Pantalakis, estimated Greek banks would need some 27 billion euros in fresh capital.

Without the reduction in its debt and the 130 billion euros in fresh EU/IMF funding under the Brussels agreement, Greece risked becoming the first euro zone country to go bankrupt -- sending shockwaves around global markets which threatened to swamp larger euro zone neighbors, such as Italy.

After the last-minute suspension of talks with inspectors from the EU/IMF troika in August sowed panic in financial markets, Venizelos said they would henceforth maintain a continuous presence in Greece to allow faster decision making.

The leader of the main conservative opposition party New Democracy, who has consistently refused to back Papandreou's efforts to tackle the crisis, condemned the government for relinquishing control over policy to international lenders.

"Our priority should be reestablishing economic growth...to regain our national sovereignty," said Antonis Samaras. "We have absolutely no right and no reason to give it up to anyone."

Samaras said there was nothing to celebrate in the agreement, which would reduce Greece's debt to 120 percent of GDP by 2020 -- the same level it stood at in 2009.

Ordinary Greeks also voiced resentment at the power wielded by the troika, which is demanding liberalization of Greece's highly regulated economy in return for the funds needed to stave off default.

"If these inspectors come here permanently, it will be an occupation without weapons," said Panagiotis Papadopoulos, 46, a worker at the state power corporation. "This government has succumbed."

(Additional reporting by Dina Kyriakidou, Lefteris Papadimas and Ingrid Melander in Athens and Harry Papachristou in Brussels; Writing by Daniel Flynn)

EU Calls For Medium-term Bank Debt Guarantees

FRANKFURT -- European Union leaders on Wednesday called for the creation of medium-term debt guarantees in order to avoid a credit crunch. In the joint statement issued after a meeting of all 27 EU leaders in Brussels, the heads of state said measures for restoring confidence in the banking sector are "urgently needed." The statement said guarantees "on bank liabilities would be required to provide more direct support for banks in accessing term funding (short-term funding being available at the ECB and relevant national central banks), where appropriate. This is also an essential part of the strategy to limit deleveraging actions." A repeat of 2008, when national governemnts set up liquidity programs, may not be adequate under current market conditions, the statement said. The EU leaders urged a "truly coordinated" approach, encouraging the European Commission to work with the European Banking Authority, European Central Bank and other bodies.

Copyright © 2011 MarketWatch, Inc.

U.S. restores benefits for Ivory Coast, Guinea, Niger

President Barack Obama said Tuesday the United States would once again waive import duties on goods made in the Ivory Coast, Guinea and Niger after the countries held free and fair democratic elections.

Obama issued a proclamation restoring benefits for the three countries under African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which was signed into law in 2000.

"Today's announcement is the result of rigorous review by the Obama Administration to determine whether Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Guinea, and Niger have made progress in meeting AGOA's eligibility criteria," Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement.

"We have seen progress in each of these countries, in conducting free and fair elections and taking other actions to promote democratic government and market-based economies."

Congress established AGOA with the goal of expanding U.S. trade and investment with sub-Saharan Africa and stimulating economic growth in the region.

The program, along with the Generalized System of Preferences, allows most goods produced in the AGOA region to enter the United States without duties imposed at the border.

Ivory Coast lost its eligibility in 2005 following five years of political unrest and armed conflict.

The suspension was still in place late last year when former President Laurent Gbagbo lost an election to challenger Alassane Ouattara but refused to cede power.

The five-month crisis ended when Gbagbo was ousted by forces loyal to Ouattara, who was then sworn into office.

Guinea lost its AGOA eligibility in 2010 as a result of a coup and other abuses, but later that year held its first democratic presidential elections since 1958.

Niger lost its benefits in 2009 after President Mamadou Tanja attempted to hold onto power following the end of his second term in office by dissolving the national government and changing Niger's constitution.

A military junta deposed Tanja and he committed to leaving power following democratic presidential elections.

Those elections took place, and President Mahamadou Issoufou was inaugurated in April 2011.

Last year, the United States imported about $163 million worth of goods from the Ivory Coast, $85 million from Guinea and $50 million from Niger.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Paul Simao)

GRAIN HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories Of The Day

TOP STORIES: Rice Futures Climb Daily 50c Limit On Thailand Flood Damage

CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- U.S. rice futures surged Monday on increasing fears that severe flooding will cause significant crop losses in Thailand, the world's top exporter of the grain.

STORIES OF INTEREST: Moroccan Rainfall To Boost Wheat Plantings

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Morocco's main wheat planting areas have started to receive rainfall Monday, which should boost cultivation of the winter crops, Jim Dale, a senior risk meteorologist at the British Weather Services (BWS), told Dow Jones Newswires Monday.

UK Crop Body Welcomes Chinese Government Crackdown On Fake Pesticides

LONDON (Dow Jones)--The U.K. Crop Protection Association Monday welcomed the recent pledge by the Chinese government to stamp out illegal manufacturing and trade in counterfeit pesticides.

Commodities Market Impact Weather: Mixed Midwest Harvest Pattern

OMAHA (Dow Jones)--A mixed Midwest harvest pattern, light rain in the southwestern Plains, improving trends in the southeastern U.S., favorable moisture in Argentina, variable showers in Brazil, showers across central China, additional cold in Ukraine, and late-season rain forming in Western Australia are the main weather items for the commodity trade's attention Monday.

THE MARKETS: US GRAIN AND SOY REVIEW: Climb On Broad Based Rally

CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--U.S. grain and soybean futures ended mostly higher Monday on broad based buying of commodities and equities.

US CASH GRAIN: Soy Basis Stay Firm; Light Farm Sales

CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Cash basis levels for soybeans in the U.S. stayed strong Monday on a continued lack of selling by farmers.

ICE Canada Review: Canola Narrowly Mixed, Lags Beans

WINNIPEG (Dow Jones)--ICE Futures Canada canola contracts closed narrowly mixed Monday, lagging the CBOT soy complex to the upside as early buying interest backed away.

Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires

Canada's Carney ready for FSB regulator limelight

By Louise Egan

As a young hockey player with dreams of making it big, Mark Carney liked to get revved up before a big game by listening to AC/DC's "Hell's Bells."

The still-athletic, 46-year-old is certain to get the job, according to sources who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, although he must wait for G20 leaders to give him their formal blessing at a Nov 3-4 summit in Cannes, France.

Carney, fondly described as "un-Canadian" by one Ottawa official because of a blunt and confrontational style, will replace the Bank of Italy's Mario Draghi, who takes over as president of the European Central Bank on November 1.

Carney's past as a Goldman Sachs investment banker has been a double-edged sword, as he fought to prove his loyalties lie with ordinary citizens, not his high-flying banker buddies. He clashed memorably with JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon in Washington last month as the banker argued against new regulations for the financial sector.

At the same time, the financial markets savvy Carney won over 13 years at Goldman's offices in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto has propelled his meteoric rise from the finance ministry to his current job.

The regulators say the new standards will help prevent another crippling crisis, or at least minimize the damage, and they insist the global economy itself is at risk if they get things wrong.

Bankers say the crackdown will crimp their lending and hit economic growth. They particularly oppose a capital surcharge on the biggest 28 cross-border banks, including Carney's former employer Goldman, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase, the institutions that are considered too big to fail in today's interconnected financial world.

Carney's challenge will be to keep reforms moving on even as cracks and slippages appear, and to "name and shame" countries that don't deliver on their promises.

FIGHTER WITH A HALO

In Reuters interviews, several people who interacted with Carney during his public service career stressed two traits that will help him: he's a fighter who does not back down and he speaks the bankers' language.

Carney has the "chutzpah" needed, agrees Chris Ragan, a former special advisor at the Bank of Canada who has overlapped with Carney at the central bank and in government. "If he has a view that he holds strongly, he's absolutely prepared to fight for that. He's not a wallflower."

The FSB brings together G20 central bankers, finance ministers and regulators to craft and coordinate financial regulation in what has so far been a pretty unglamorous job.

But that could change if, as expected, the G20 gives the board additional resources and independence from the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, boosting its clout and making it more like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

"It needs to move beyond a very Mickey Mouse operation of just 20 people," said Bessma Momani, a research fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation at Waterloo, Ontario and a panelist on FSB governance for the Washington-based Brookings Institution.

"With the systemic problems we're dealing with we need something bigger and more substantial. We need a full-time person that is devoted and focused on the FSB mandate."

Carney intends to stay on as Bank of Canada governor, but if the revamped FSB requires a full-time chair he may have to abandon the bank before his seven-year mandate ends in 2015.

The only other serious contender for the job was Swiss National Bank's Philipp Hildebrand, a friend of Carney's from their Oxford student days. But a European official told Reuters he was certain Carney would win over his former classmate.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and banking regulator Julie Dickson, who sits on the FSB Steering Committee, have gone on the record saying Carney's chances are good.

Formally, it is up to the FSB plenary to choose the chairman by consensus. But sources say the negotiations are largely done behind closed doors with little transparency.

NOT JUST SOME EGGHEAD

Of all his speeches, the ones to banker audiences on financial reform have been the most sharply worded.

A few months after becoming governor in February 2008, Carney earned the wrath of Canadian bank CEOs by suggesting they were hoarding cash and not lending enough to businesses.

And while bankers often disagree with him, they respect his mettle and intellect.

A source who witnessed how Carney handled the confrontation confirmed Ragan's hunch. "He comes across very well because he is a former private sector financial guy. He understands their perspective," the source said.

Gordon Nixon, the chief executive of Canada's biggest bank, the Royal Bank of Canada, is also a fan.

"I'm very fond of him," Nixon told Reuters. "He's not just respected and admired but he's well liked as an individual... In these roles part of your responsibility is to build consensus and I think Mark brings a real personal strength to that requirement."

Other central bank governors liked Carney enough to appoint him as chair of the very influential Basel committee on global financial stability, notes David Longworth, a deputy governor under Carney until May 2010.

THE DOWNSIDE

But Carney's investment banker hustle and dominant personality have not gone over so well with some at the Bank of Canada, creating friction and bitterness.

Carney completely overhauled the senior ranks of the bank when he took the job, replacing four of five deputy governors who decide interest rates with him. On paper, decisions are made by consensus but privately, officials have reportedly joked that they always "agree" with their boss.

Carney does not suffer fools gladly and finds it hard to hide his annoyance if he dislikes a question. He has a reputation for losing his temper with bank staff, and has been known to yell at employees in front of others for minor missteps in outbursts that may include the "f" word.

In February 2009 when the bank's growth projections were far more upbeat than those of any other forecasters, Liberal legislator John McCallum asked if his outlook went "out on something of an optimistic limb."

"We don't do optimism, we don't do pessimism," Carney snapped in reply. "We do realism at the Bank of Canada. We don't do spin."

Paul Masson, a University of Toronto economist who was special advisor at the bank as Carney took over observed that Carney was "less lenient" with long-winded staff meetings. Carney is focused and informed, so "doesn't need to be told things several times," Masson said.

His communication skills proved less than ideal when in June 2008 a surprise freeze on interest rates exposed a rare disconnect with a market that had unanimously expected a rate cut. Bank economists and traders were perplexed by the sudden reticence to hint at intentions and put it down to Carney's inexperience in central banking.

His personal life, by comparison, appears simple. He is married with four young daughters and rushes home from international meetings to see the girls before bedtime or attend their soccer matches.

He still has time to run most mornings and last May finished the Ottawa marathon in three hours and 48 minutes.

IT'S AN ASSET, EH?

Being from Canada is an asset for Carney at the FSB, says Canada's banking regulator Julie Dickson, noting that international organizations often look to politically neutral countries to broker deals between the Americans and Europeans. Canada has the added bonus of getting regulation right.

"We don't go in with a lot of baggage, we've had time to reflect as well. When you're in the middle of the crisis as Europe is right now, I think it's a little harder to step back," Dickson said.

Nixon agrees, "Given the way the world has unfolded, I would say that being from Canada is not a negative. I think the world looks at the Canadian marketplace and the governance within the Canadian marketplace in a very positive vein."

Canadian bankers, who have long complained that tougher domestic rules put them at a disadvantage, also welcome the idea of one of their own at the top.

(With additional reporting Cameron French in Toronto and Emma Thomasson in Zurich; Editing by Janet Guttsman, William Schomberg and Jeffrey Hodgson)