UPDATE 1-Russia ready in principle to buy Spanish debt

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* Euro zone needs to devise debt strategy first

* Russia the world's third-largest reserve holder

MOSCOW, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Russia is ready in principle to buy Spanish government debt once the euro zone's member states have put in place a strategy to overcome the currency bloc's debt crisis, Arkady Dvorkovich, economic adviser to President Dmitry Medvedev, said on Monday.

Russia is the world's third-largest reserves holder and has over two-fifths of its $517 billion in foreign reserves invested in euro-zone sovereign debt.

"When the European countries announce a concrete and clear strategy to exit the crisis, and if in the framework of this strategy support from Russia and other BRIC countries is necessary, then we would provide such support," Dvorkovich said in response to a question.

Dvorkovich, attending a conference in Moscow with Spanish Economy Minister Elena Salgado, said Salgado had met Russia's former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Salgado left the event without taking questions from reporters.

The BRIC nations -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- are a loose coalition of large emerging economies that together hold the bulk of the world's foreign exchange reserves.

Of Russia's total reserves, $109 billion are held in two sovereign wealth funds whose asset allocation is set by the finance ministry. The central bank decides how the remainder is invested.

Moscow has generally taken a sceptical approach towards offering bilateral financial support to euro-zone countries, saying it would prefer to invest in bonds issued by a common bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).

Officials have also said that they would prefer to support any debt initiative that is put together under the auspices of the Group of 20 nations, which is due to hold a summit in Cannes, France, next month.

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UPDATE 1-China's Citic Securities dips after $1.7bln HK debut

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AppId is over the quota

(Adds details, background)

By Elzio Barreto

HONG KONG Oct 6 (Reuters) - Citic Securities Co Ltd, China's largest listed brokerage, fell as much as 4.5 percent before recovering on its Hong Kong stock market debut on Thursday, after raising a less-than-expected $1.7 billion in its first listing outside the mainland.

Citic Securities is among the few companies to successfully launch a stock offering in Hong Kong during the past months, with a long list of deals pulled or postponed due to the volatile markets.

In early morning trade, Citic Securities shares were trading at HK$12.96 compared with the offer price of HK$13.30 each and recovering from the day's low of HK$12.70. The company sold shares at the bottom of a revised price range of HK$13.30-$15.20 a share last week.

While the shares held close to the offer price, they traded far below the broader market. The benchmark Hong Kong stock exchange index was up 4.4 percent in early trade.

Citic Securities , already listed on Shanghai's stock exchange, is part of China's state-backed conglomerate Citic Group which was formed in 1979 as China's first financial group.

The Hong Kong listing comes at a time when global stock markets have plunged on concerns about European debt crisis, among other factors. The benchmark Hang Seng index tumbled to a 2-1/2 year low on Tuesday, falling eight of the past nine sessions, during which the index lost about 15 percent.

Citic Securities is the biggest Hong Kong listing since the $2.5 billion initial public offering by luxury goods maker Prada in June.

The offering is the first of nearly $35 billion in share sales in Hong Kong and China still planned in the coming months by financial companies, including Haitong Securities, New China Life and China Guangfa Bank.

Investors have been on high alert and remain wary of equity markets because of lingering concerns over Europe's debt troubles and fears of a slowdown in the U.S. and Chinese economies.

Just last month, some $4.5 billion worth of deals were pulled in Hong Kong including Sany Heavy Industry and rival XCMG Construction Machinery Co Ltd , underscoring tepid investor appetite for IPOs

Apart from Citic Securities, only five other companies including shoemaker Hongguo International Holding and tea company Tenfu Holdings sold stock in Hong Kong the past two weeks since offerings resumed after a two-month hiatus.

The five offerings raised a total of $510 million. The slowdown in share sales the past months in Hong Kong, Singapore and other main markets in the region contributed to a 49 percent slump in Asia Pacific equity capital markets in the third quarter from a year earlier.

Securities companies in China are forecast to post annual profit growth of nearly 20 percent between 2011 and 2013, buoyed by an increase in capital markets activity and new businesses such as margin financing and private equity investments, BOC International estimated.

Citic Securities was the sole global coordinator of the offer, with a group of banks including BOC International, CCB International, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Agricole's CLSA unit helping to underwrite the deal. (Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Denny Thomas and Michael Flaherty)

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UPDATE 1-Australia competition body to scrutinise Woolworths, Coles

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n" readability="45">Oct 10 (Reuters) - Australia's competition watchdog said on Monday it would pay close attention to the market power of top supermarkets Woolworths and Coles , which hold a duopoly.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's new chairman, Rod Sims, said many suppliers felt they had no ability to negotiate with the powerful supermarket chains.

"The two major supermarkets have significant market power, with many smaller suppliers feeling they lack a real ability to negotiate supply arrangements. The ACCC can and will watch closely to ensure any such dealings do not involve unconscionable conduct by the supermarkets," Sims told a business lunch.

Many local and international food suppliers, including Kraft Foods and Goodman Fielder , have said they have little ability to negotiate as the two supermarket chains dominate the industry and have also increased their share of home-label goods.

Sims said the supermarkets would need close scrutiny to ensure they did not misuse market power by selling both branded and private-label products.

In 2008, the consumer watchdog held an inquiry into the supermarket industry and concluded it was "workably competitive".

Sims said the ACCC would also watch dominant telecoms firm Telstra during the rollout phase of the new high-speed broadband network, when rivals will still depend on Telstra's copper network.

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UPDATE 1-Finland's Elcoteq files for bankruptcy

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AppId is over the quota

(Adds CEO comments, details from statement)

HELSINKI, OCT 6 - Once an example of Finland's success in technology innovation, electronics manufacturer Elcoteq filed for bankruptcy on Thursday after failing to reverse a fall in sales and restructure its debt.

The assembler of cellphones and set-top boxes struggled after Nokia Oyj switched to cheaper Asian suppliers a few years ago.

It also worked for Research In Motion , LG Electronics and others, but was unable to replace the lost business.

Elcoteq had said in June that it would not be able to repay the remainder of a revolving credit facility, and entered talks with an outside investor.

On Thursday, Elcoteq said lenders, which include Danske Bank , froze its bank accounts and prevented payment transactions, forcing it to file for bankruptcy earlier in the day.

"Despite the company's continuous cost reduction measures and thorough efforts to restructure the company's debt, Elcoteq was unfortunately not able to find a solution that would have been acceptable to the revolving credit facility lenders," the company said. Chief Executive Jouni Hartikainen resigned in August.

Approximately 15 percent of the original 230 million euro ($306 mln) revolving credit facility remains outstanding , it said.

Trading in the company's shares was suspended earlier. ($1 = 0.751 Euros) (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Erica Billingham)

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UPDATE 1-China's Citic Securities dips after $1.7bln HK debut

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AppId is over the quota

(Adds details, background)

By Elzio Barreto

HONG KONG Oct 6 (Reuters) - Citic Securities Co Ltd, China's largest listed brokerage, fell as much as 4.5 percent before recovering on its Hong Kong stock market debut on Thursday, after raising a less-than-expected $1.7 billion in its first listing outside the mainland.

Citic Securities is among the few companies to successfully launch a stock offering in Hong Kong during the past months, with a long list of deals pulled or postponed due to the volatile markets.

In early morning trade, Citic Securities shares were trading at HK$12.96 compared with the offer price of HK$13.30 each and recovering from the day's low of HK$12.70. The company sold shares at the bottom of a revised price range of HK$13.30-$15.20 a share last week.

While the shares held close to the offer price, they traded far below the broader market. The benchmark Hong Kong stock exchange index was up 4.4 percent in early trade.

Citic Securities , already listed on Shanghai's stock exchange, is part of China's state-backed conglomerate Citic Group which was formed in 1979 as China's first financial group.

The Hong Kong listing comes at a time when global stock markets have plunged on concerns about European debt crisis, among other factors. The benchmark Hang Seng index tumbled to a 2-1/2 year low on Tuesday, falling eight of the past nine sessions, during which the index lost about 15 percent.

Citic Securities is the biggest Hong Kong listing since the $2.5 billion initial public offering by luxury goods maker Prada in June.

The offering is the first of nearly $35 billion in share sales in Hong Kong and China still planned in the coming months by financial companies, including Haitong Securities, New China Life and China Guangfa Bank.

Investors have been on high alert and remain wary of equity markets because of lingering concerns over Europe's debt troubles and fears of a slowdown in the U.S. and Chinese economies.

Just last month, some $4.5 billion worth of deals were pulled in Hong Kong including Sany Heavy Industry and rival XCMG Construction Machinery Co Ltd , underscoring tepid investor appetite for IPOs

Apart from Citic Securities, only five other companies including shoemaker Hongguo International Holding and tea company Tenfu Holdings sold stock in Hong Kong the past two weeks since offerings resumed after a two-month hiatus.

The five offerings raised a total of $510 million. The slowdown in share sales the past months in Hong Kong, Singapore and other main markets in the region contributed to a 49 percent slump in Asia Pacific equity capital markets in the third quarter from a year earlier.

Securities companies in China are forecast to post annual profit growth of nearly 20 percent between 2011 and 2013, buoyed by an increase in capital markets activity and new businesses such as margin financing and private equity investments, BOC International estimated.

Citic Securities was the sole global coordinator of the offer, with a group of banks including BOC International, CCB International, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Agricole's CLSA unit helping to underwrite the deal. (Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Denny Thomas and Michael Flaherty)

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UPDATE 1-Sbarro files amended bankruptcy plan

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AppId is over the quota
n" readability="55">Oct 7 (Reuters) - Bankrupt pizza chain Sbarro Inc filed an amended restructuring plan in which its lenders agreed to provide about $35 million of new capital, reduce its total debt and emerge from bankruptcy protection before the end of the year.
Under the plan, Sbarro's senior lenders would fund a $110 million exit loan comprising $35 million in outstanding debt under Sbarro's current bankruptcy loan and $75 million of debt from its pre-bankruptcy credit facility.
Another $100 million owed to the lenders would be converted to equity in the reorganized company. The lenders are led by collateral agent Cantor Fitzgerald Securities.
Sbarro said it expects to generate "positive cash flow before year-end".
The company also said the plan has the support of all its key stakeholders, including the unsecured creditors committee.
Melville, New York-based Sbarro, which filed bankruptcy in April, is seeking to get rid of the bulk of its $395 million debt load. The restaurant, which sells pizza, pastas and other Italian foods, has said in court filings that it has had discussions with an unnamed foreign investor it hopes will make a play for its assets.
The Sbarro family started their company as a salumeria, or Italian grocery store, in Brooklyn in 1956 soon after immigrating to the United States from Naples, Italy. Its ubiquitous green, white and red banner is a familiar sight in malls, rest stops and airports.
The case is In re: Sbarro Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-11527.
View the original article here

UPDATE 1-Erste to take Romania, Hungary hit, sees FY loss

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AppId is over the quota

* Sees 2010 net loss of 700-800 mln euros

* To delay repayment of state capital, skip dividend

* Shares fall more than 10 pct

VIENNA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Erste Group Bank said on Monday it expects to report a 700-800 million euro 2011 net loss after writing down goodwill in Romania and Hungary and scaling back euro zone exposure.

Emerging Europe's second-biggest lender said it would delay repayment of state capital to Austria and omit a 2011 dividend.

Erste said Hungarian legislation that lets customers repay foreign-currency loans at below market rates meant that it would suffer a 500 million euro ($675 million) loss at its unit there, which will now get about 600 million euros of new equity.

In Romania, it said a slower-than-expected economic recovery meant that it would have a 700 million euro pretax writedown of goodwill.

Erste said it had cuts its sovereign exposure to Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy to 0.6 billion euros as of the end of September and marked 95 percent of its exposure to market.

It said its core tier 1 ratio would remain unchanged at around 9.2 percent as operating profit helps offset the one-off charges.

It shares fell more than 10 percent by 0718 GMT.

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UPDATE 1-Glori Energy files for IPO of up to $115 mln

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AppId is over the quota

* Credit Suisse, UBS, Piper Jaffray lead underwriters

* Intends to list under "GLRI" on NASDAQ (Follows alerts)

Oct 5 - Glori Energy Inc, which uses biotechnology to release oil trapped in reservoirs, filed with U.S. regulators on Wednesday to raise up to $115 million in an initial public offering of its common stock.

The company said it planned to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include the acquisition, restoration and operation of low-producing oil fields.

The Houston-based company told the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission in a preliminary prospectus that Credit Suisse, UBS investment bank, Piper Jaffray and Robert Baird & Co were underwriting the IPO.

Investment company GTI Group and Energy Technology Ventures -- a joint venture of General Electric Co GE.N>, ConocoPhillips and NRG Energy Inc -- are some of the biggest stakeholders of Glori.

The company, which did not reveal how many shares it planned to sell or their expected price, intends to list its common stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol "GLRI".

The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different. (Reporting by Aditi Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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UPDATE 1-Icahn's Lions Gate stock offering on hold - source

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AppId is over the quota

n" readability="48">Oct 4 (Reuters) - A secondary offering of shares in Lions Gate Entertainment Corp by affiliates of billionaire investor Carl Icahn has been put on hold due to poor market conditions, a source with direct knowledge of the process said.

Icahn, who waged a lengthy battle for control of the Hollywood studio, agreed in August to sell his stake, and he and his son Brett were due to offload up to 44 million Lions Gate shares.

Under that sale agreement, Lions Gate and MHR Fund Management, controlled by director Mark Rachesky, bought 11 million shares each from Icahn.

The offering, of 19.2 million of the remaining shares, had been expected to price this week, according to a filing with regulators by Lions Gate.

The source asked not to be identified as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

The delay comes at a time when the U.S. IPO market has stalled amid concerns about Europe's debt crisis and a weak domestic economic recovery. Several offerings have been withdrawn in recent months.

Lions Gate shares were flat at $6.84 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Brenton Cordeiro in Bangalore, additional reporting by Jochelle Mendonca, Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

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UPDATE 1-Sbarro files amended bankruptcy plan

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AppId is over the quota

n" readability="55">Oct 7 (Reuters) - Bankrupt pizza chain Sbarro Inc filed an amended restructuring plan in which its lenders agreed to provide about $35 million of new capital, reduce its total debt and emerge from bankruptcy protection before the end of the year.

Under the plan, Sbarro's senior lenders would fund a $110 million exit loan comprising $35 million in outstanding debt under Sbarro's current bankruptcy loan and $75 million of debt from its pre-bankruptcy credit facility.

Another $100 million owed to the lenders would be converted to equity in the reorganized company. The lenders are led by collateral agent Cantor Fitzgerald Securities.

Sbarro said it expects to generate "positive cash flow before year-end".

The company also said the plan has the support of all its key stakeholders, including the unsecured creditors committee.

Melville, New York-based Sbarro, which filed bankruptcy in April, is seeking to get rid of the bulk of its $395 million debt load. The restaurant, which sells pizza, pastas and other Italian foods, has said in court filings that it has had discussions with an unnamed foreign investor it hopes will make a play for its assets.

The Sbarro family started their company as a salumeria, or Italian grocery store, in Brooklyn in 1956 soon after immigrating to the United States from Naples, Italy. Its ubiquitous green, white and red banner is a familiar sight in malls, rest stops and airports.

The case is In re: Sbarro Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-11527.

View the original article here

UPDATE 1-Slovaks in last-ditch talks on euro fund

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* Coalition party SaS wants tighter EFSF mandate, ESM opt-out

* Leaders to hold last-ditch meeting on Monday

* Parliament vote due on Oct. 11, fate of government at stake

By Martin Santa and Michael Winfrey

BRATISLAVA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Slovakian coalition leaders meet on Monday in a last-ditch bid to reach agreement on widening the mandate of the euro zone's bailout fund, under increasing pressure from turmoil in euro zone banks and a shift in public opinion at home.

Only Slovakia and Malta have yet to approve extra powers for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) in its fight against the sovereign debt crisis.

The small liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party argues that, as the zone's second poorest member, Slovakia should not have to bail out other euro zone countries, but it says it is still open to talks.

The coalition parties called a meeting for 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) ahead of a vote on the EFSF in parliament on Tuesday, a spokesman for the SaS said. The party has so far said it will vote against the EFSF expansion.

As Slovakia drags its heels, the crisis has picked up speed. Franco-Belgian bank Dexia agreed early on Monday to the nationalisation of its Belgian division and secured state guarantees, and the Greek central bank effectively nationalised a small bank on Monday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talks late on Sunday that they would unveil new measures in the coming weeks to solve the debt crisis, but gave no details.

An opinion poll by the Polis agency showed on Monday that Slovaks had begun to lean towards approving an expansion of the facility, which may put added pressure on SaS to give in.

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