SMFG to acquire 9.9% stake in Bank ofEast Asia

Japan based Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation are set to acquireup to 9.9% of the shares of Hong Kong based Bank of East Asia (BEA). Acquisition in the bank, which has also been approved by the US Federal Reserve System, is a part of Sumitomo Mitsui's strategy toboost its presence in Beijing, as reported by The Financial Times. The banking group already held 4.5% stake in the HongKong based bank and the increase in percent of the voting shares will not enablethem to exercise a controlling influence over BEA or any of its subsidiaries. Japanese banks are trying to recover from the effect of natural disaster, which struckthe country last year by strengthening their presenceand streamlining their operations in other Asian countries. Bank of East Asia had Rmb1.3bn in net profit and assets of Rmb153bn ($24.5bn) as of the end of 2011, according to KPMG. Bank of China currently holds a small stake in BEA, which recently sold its Canadian and US branches to ICBC. The Hong Kong bank engages primarily in retail and commercial banking, wealth management, and insurance services in People's Republic of China, North America, the UK, and Southeast Asia.

Chevron profit drops on lower oil output, maintenance

(Reuters) - Chevron Corp posted a 33 percent drop in quarterly earnings as maintenance exacerbated a steady decline in output from oil and natural gas wells over the past year and as a huge fire at one of the company's California plants hit the refining business. The second-largest U.S. oil company said on Friday that third-quarter net income had fallen to $5.25 billion, or$2.69 per share, from $7.83 billion, or $3.92 per share, a year earlier. Increasing output has been astruggle for many big oil companies , including Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc . With oil and gas assets tightly controlled by the countries where they arelocated, the majors are left todrill in pricier regions on land and offshore. Chevron's third-quarter oil and gas production fell to 2.52 million barrels of oil equivalent per day from 2.60million bpd a year earlier. On quarter-to-quarter basis, the production number fell for the third period in a row. Earnings dropped 17 percent to $5.1 billion in the oil and gas production business and plunged 65 percent to $689 million in the refining, or downstream, operation. " Crude oil prices were down, and we had a heavy period of planned oil field maintenance which temporarily reduced oil and gas production in several locations," Chief Executive Officer John Watson said in astatement. A storm cut into Gulf of Mexico production, while planned maintenance in Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom caused the majorityof the decline in production outside the United States, Chevron has said. The company had already warned last month that the crude unit at its oldest refinery in Richmond, California, would remain offline through the fourth quarter after it was badly damaged in an August 6 fire. Shares of Chevron were down 0.6 percent at $110.75in trading before the market opened.

Income bond

Income bond – Generally income bonds promise to repay principal but to pay interest only when earned. In some cases unpaid interest on an income bond may accumulate as a claim against the corporation whenthe bond becomes due. An income bond may also be issued in lieu of preferred stock

Indenture

Indenture – A written agreement under which bonds and debentures are issued, setting forth maturity date, interest rate and other terms

Hypothecation

Hypothecation – The pledging of securities as collateral - for example, to secure the debit balance in amargin account

ndex

Index – A statistical yardstickexpressed in terms of percentages of a base year oryears. For instance, the NYSE Composite Index of all NYSEcommon stocks is based on 1965 as 50. An index is not an average

Holding company

Holding company – A corporation that owns the securities of another, in most cases with voting control.

Institutional investor

Institutional investor – An organization whose primary purpose is to invest its own assets or those held in trust by it for others. Includes pension funds, investment companies, insurance companies, universities and banks

Good 'til canceled (GTC)

Good 'til canceled (GTC) or open order - An order to buy or sell that remains in effect until it is either executed or canceled.

Intermarket Trading System (ITS)

Intermarket Trading System (ITS) – An electronic communications network now linking the trading floorof seven registered exchanges and FINRA to foster competition among them in stocks listed on either the NYSE or AMEX and one or more regional exchanges. Through ITS, anybroker or market maker on the floor of any participating market can reach out to other participants for an execution whenever the nationwide quote shows a better price is available