10 Things You Need To Know This Morning
Mar 18, 2013, 16:51 IST
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- Concerns over Cyprus have sent markets tumbling around the world. Asian markets sold off in overnight trading, with the Nikkei down 2.71 percent, falling from its 4.5 year high. Europe is lower and U.S. futures are lower as well.
- This weekend Europe agreed to give Cyprus a €10 billion bailout.The first version of the plan (which may be revised) is to tax depositors in Cypriot banks 10 percent on deposits of over €100,000, and 6.75 percent for deposits lower than that. The agreement also requires the government to raise its corporate tax rate to 12.5 percent, and sell state assets. See why broke the cardinal rule with the breakout of Cyprus >
- But the outcry over the levy was has reportedly prompted Cyprus' government to renegotiate the terms of the bailout. Matina Stevis of Dow Jones now reports that depositors with under €100K will be taxed 3 percent, those between €100 - €500K will be taxed 10 percent, and those with over €500K will be taxed 15 percent. Cyprus is now expected to delay voting on the bailout till Tuesday.
- Prices of newly built homes increased in 66 of 70 Chinese cities tracked by the National Bureau of Statistics in February. This is up from 53 the previous month. Home prices were up 1.01 percent on average, after China announced that it would implement a 20 percent tax on sales of second homes. 29 crazy things that only happen in China >
- Google is experimenting with a note-taking service called Google Keep. Meanwhile, over 500,000 people have joined Feedly after Google said it was scrapping Google Reader.
- The NAHB housing market index for March is out at 10 a.m. ET. Consensus is for the NAHB housing market index to rise to 47. Follow the release at Business Insider >
- Airbus signed an €18.4 billion deal with Lion Air, to provide it with 234 single-aisle planes, according to Reuters. Lion Air had been one of Boeing's fastest growing customers, according to the report.
- The Republican National Committee task force has published a critical report on the GOP in an effort to return the party "to a winning track after its election losses", according to the WSJ. The report describes the party as being "ideologically ossified" and "as representing the rich and the old."
- Singapore's exports plunged 30.6 percent year-over-year in February, compared with a 0.4 percent rise the previous month. This was bigger than expectations for a 17.7 percent decline.
- China's newly appointed premier Li Keqiang has said the role of the government needs to be reduced if the country hopes to post 7.5 percent annual growth over the next seven years.
- Bonus - In an interview with You magazine, Gwyneth Paltrow said she had a "really bad experience" when she was pregnant with her third child. She said "it didn’t work out and I nearly died."