The Traderszone Network

Brent fell towards $58 a barrel on Tuesday, extending the 2-percent loss in the previous session, as oversupply fears lingered, overshadowing any optimism on the outlook for the global economy. Brent (LCOc1) fell 41 cents to $58.49 a barrel by 0140 ET, while U.S. crude (CLc1) was down 51 cents at $48.94. “The spreads for crude oil are becoming severely altered by the refinery strikes. For the WTI-Brent spread, with a lower capacity to refine crude oil, WTI remains in excess in the market compared to Brent.

HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) has set aside $550 million more to cover potential fines for alleged manipulation of foreign exchange markets and warned it could face a $500 million bill to compensate U.S. customers sold debt protection products. HSBC said in its annual report on Monday it had paid restitution to some U.S. customers in connection to debt protection and other products offered before May 2012. HSBC paid $611 million to U.S. and UK authorities in November when it was one of six banks fined for alleged manipulation of FX markets.

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TORONTO/GATINEAU, Quebec (Reuters) – Canada’s biggest railway reached a last-minute tentative agreement with one of its unions on Monday, averting a lockout that threatened to delay imports from Asia and compound a U.S. West Coast port logjam. Canadian National Railway Co (CNR.TO) and Unifor, the union representing its 4,800 mechanical, clerical and trucking workers, struck a deal just before the railway’s 11 p.m. EST Monday deadline to lock out the workers.

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U.S. home resales fell sharply to their lowest level in nine months in January amid a shortage of properties on the market, a setback that could temper expectations for an acceleration in housing activity this year. The National Association of Realtors said on Monday existing home sales declined 4.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.82 million units, the lowest level since last April. “Existing home sales are taking a bumpy road towards recovery,” said Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.

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Google Inc has partnered with several large U.S. wireless carriers to pre-install its electronic payment service on phones, as the companies seek to counter Apple Inc’s recent entry into the nascent market for mobile payments. AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless will include the Google Wallet app later this year on Android smartphones sold in the United States, Google said in a post on its official blog on Monday. Google also said it has acquired technology from Softcard, a mobile payment initiative that was created by many of the wireless carriers several years ago.

China’s most popular television event of the year draws criticism for staging skits seen as sexist, including questioning the value of unmarried women.
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Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Tuesday’s session are Comcast, Hewlett-Packard, Macy’s, and First Solar.
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