Australia's central bank kept its benchmark cash rate unchanged at 3.25 percent

Australia's central bank kept its benchmark cash rate unchanged at 3.25 percent, defying expectations for a rate cut, and said the impact of previous rate cuts would continue to stimulate activityfor some time and the outlook for the global economy was looking a bit more positive. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which has cut rates by 100 basis pointsthis year, also said inflation was "slightly higher than expected" though still consistent with the bank's medium-term target of 2 to 3 percent. "With prices data slightly higher than expected and recent information on the world economy slightly more positive, the Board judged that the stance of monetary policy was appropriate for the time being," the RBA said in statement, quoting its governor, Glenn Stevens. Consumer prices in Australia rose 1.4 percent inthe three months that ended in September from the June quarter, for a rise of 2.0 percent through the year, up from a rise of 1.2 percent through the year tothe end of the June quarter. Referring to this year's rate cuts, the most recent in October and September, the RBA said interest rates for borrowers were now below their medium-term average, savers were facing increased incentives to look for assets with higher returns, business demand for external funding had risen, the housing market had strengthened and share prices had risen. "Further effects of actionsalready taken to ease monetary policy can be expected over time," the RBA said, adding that the exchange rate remains higher than expected, given lower export prices and the weaker global outlook. Australia's Gross DomesticProduct expanded by an annual 3.7 pct in the second quarter, down from 4.3 percent in the first quarter. A return to "very strong growth in consumption is unlikely" though there are signs of ongoing growth, the RBA said, adding that overall economic growth had been running close to trend in the past year, helped by large increases in capital spending in the resource sector. However, the investment in resources is expected to peak next year, at a lower level than expected six months ago. The RBA said global economic growth is forecast to be a little below average for a time and risks to the outlook remain to the downside, mainly due to Europe where economic activity is still contracting. "Risks elsewhere seem more balanced," the RBA said, noting the U.S. was growing moderately while"recent data from China suggest growth there has stabilized."

JPMorgan loses bid totoss FHFA's mortgage debt lawsuit

JPMorgan Chase & Co lost abid on Monday to win the dismissal of a lawsuit by a U.S. regulator accusing the bank of misleading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in buying billions of dollars worth of risky mortgage securities. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan pared down parts of the lawsuit filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency but allowed other claims to stand. The case was one of 17 lawsuits that the agency, as conservator for Fannie and Freddie, filed in September2011 against banks including Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc.

Stifel Financial agreesfor strategic merger with KBW

St Louis based brokerage firm Stifel Financial has agreed to acquire KBW in a cash and stock transaction estimated at $575m, to build its middle-market investment bank, with focus on the financial services industry. As per terms of the merger deal, approved by both boards of directors, KBW shareholders will receive$17.50 per share, comprised of $10 per share in cash and$7.50 per share in acquirer's common stock. Immediately on completion of the transaction, nearly$250m in excess capital on KBW's balance sheet is expected to be available to Stifel, the company said. The integrated entity will offer investment banking, sales and trading, and financial research through KBW's Keefe, Bruyette & Woods broker-dealer subsidiary, which will continue to trade as an independent subsidiary of Stifel. Thomas Michaud will join Stifel's board and management team upon completion of the merger and will remain as chief executive officer of the KBW business unit. Headquartered in New York,KBW trades through its broker dealer subsidiaries, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Asia in the US, Europe and Asia.

MF Global customers sue PricewaterhouseCoopers in amended lawsuit

Global Holdings Ltd's broker-dealer have added accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as a defendant in a lawsuit stemming from the collapse of the brokerage. In an amended complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday, the customers of MF Global Inc accused PwC of failing to adequately audit MF Global's internal controls over customer funds. The complaint also repeated prior accusations against former officials at MF Global, including former Chief Executive Jon Corzine, who isaccused of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, which restricts the use of customer funds. Caroline Nolan, a spokeswoman for PwC, said itconducted its last audit of MF Global in March 2011 "inaccordance with professional standards." The audit at the time confirmed that MF Global had maintained its customer accounts in accordance with federal regulations, she said. "We will defend this lawsuit vigorously," Nolan said. The lawsuit also named as a defendant CME Group Inc ( CME ), the exchange that oversaw MF Global. Neither a lawyer for Corzine nor spokesperson for CME Group immediately responded to requests for comment on the case. An estimated $1.6 billion in customer funds went missingfollowing MF Global's collapse. MF Global filed for bankruptcy in October 2011. Investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are ongoing. PwC had served as independent auditor of MF Global in 2010 and 2011, according to the complaint. The lawsuit, which is seekingclass action status, contends that PwC failed to examine MF Global's controls over customer funds. This amounted to professional malpractice and a breach of the auditors duties to the company and customers, the lawsuit said. "If PwC had properly executed its duties and evaluated and reported on 's control problems in March 2011, there would have been ample time for management to institute proper controls over customer funds," the complaint said. Lawyers for the plaintiffs are cooperating with James Giddens, the trustee for the liquidation of MF Global Inc.Under the deal, the plaintiffs' lawyers say Giddens has assigned to them certain claims against MF Global's directors and officers and PwC.

Inland Community Bank bought by American West Bank

AmericanWest Bank has purchased ICB Financial, theparent company of Inland Community Bank based in Ontario, California, to boost its presence in the region. Immediately after the completion of the deal, approved by ICB Financial shareholders in September 2012, Inland Community Bank merged and became part of AmericanWest Bank. Commenting on the acquisition, AmericanWest Bank chairman and CEO Scott Kisting said, "Now that we are one company, our toppriority is to get to know our new customers, employees and communities and to build on the legacy of providing each with outstanding service." The acquirer has now expanded its reach in five cities including Ontario, Duarte, Rialto, Pasadena and Los Angeles, bringing the bank's total number of branches to 80. FIG Partners served as financial advisor and Horgan,Rosen, Beckham & Coren, acted as legal counselor to ICB Financial, while AmericanWest Bank was advised by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. AmericanWest Bank is a community bank, which provides commercial and small business banking, mortgage lending, treasury management products as well as a full line of consumer products and services.

ECB board nomination delayed by spain

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union's member states have failed to name Luxembourg' top central banker to the executive board of the European Central Bank after Spain raised objections to his appointment. The member states were expected to approve Yves Mersch joining the six-person board over the objections of the European Parliament on Monday, but officials said Spain unexpectedly voiced concerns. The issue will now be left the EU leaders at their Nov. 22-23 summit, or a later one in December. The EU Parliament voted against Mersch's appointment last month to protest the lack of women among the ECB's top echelons

Bank of Virginia Announces Extension of Rights Offering

(www.bankofva.com), (the Bank) today announced that it has extended its rights offering deadline to 5:00 pmEastern time on November 13, 2012 from the original expiration date of November6, 2012. The Bank decided to extend the rights offering because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy and the impediments that the storm may have caused for stockholders seeking to submit their rights offering documents in a timely manner. The Bank's majority shareholder, Cordia Bancorp Inc., previously announced its investment of $3 million inthe Bank's common stock on the same terms being offered to the Bank's minority shareholders in the rights offering. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or asolicitation of an offer to buy the securities, nor shall therebe any offer, solicitation or sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification ofthe securities under the securities laws of such state. The rights offering will be made only by means of the offering circular dated October 12, 2012, copies of which were mailed to all stockholders of record as of September 20, 2012. Stockholders may request a copy of the offering circular by contacting the informationagent for the rights offering, Eagle Rock Proxy Advisors, LLC at 855-706-2375(toll free).

Time Warner Cable Q3 Earnings Miss On Video Losses

Time Warner Cable ( TWC ) reported Monday morning third-quarter profit and salesthat missed expectations as video subscriber losses swelled and broadband customer growth cooled. The cable operator said Q3 earnings rose 27% vs. a yearearlier to $1.41 a share, excluding items. Revenue rose 9.2% to $5.36 billion. Analysts had estimated EPS of $1.43 with revenue climbing 9.6% to $5.38 billion. Shares gapped down at the open, falling 6.3% as of 10:29 a.m. ET. Several other cable and satellite rivals also retreated. Time Warner cable said it lost140,000 video customers in the three months ended Sept. 30, more than the 128,000 it lost in the year-earlier period. Comcast ( CMCSA ), which reported Q3 earnings last week, had narrowed its video subscriber losses. Time Warner Cable said it added 85,000 customers for high-speed video services compared to 89,000 a year earlier. "Our third-quarter results were good, with most trendssimilar to the preceding quarter. Our operating results were driven by continued strong performance in residential high-speed data and business services, an acceleration in high-margin political advertising and the contributions from our Insight systems," said CEO Glenn Britt in a statement."During the quarter, we remained focused on investing in growing our business, while at the same time ramping capital returns to our shareholders." Bryan Kraft, analyst at Evercore Partners said in an analyst note, "Overall, the quarter was a slight miss relative to our expectations, with video revenue and broadband net adds comingin light, but partially offset by lower operating expensesand a smaller residential video subscriber decline. Kraft added, "Revenue was slightly lower than we forecasted at $5.36B vs. our$5.39B estimate, driven by lower video ARPU. The softness in video ARPU was due to both lower VOD and subscription ARPU. Business services revenue was slightlyhigher than we estimated." Capital spending came in$100 million higher than expected, said ISI Group analyst Vijay Jayant. The company had rescheduled earnings from Oct. 31 after hurricane Sandy hit the East coast. Analysts had lowered EPS estimates from $1.49 to $1.43a week ago

True Religion 3rd-quarter net income edges up

VERNON, Calif. (AP) -- Clothing company True Religion Inc. said Monday itsthird quarter net income rose ahead of expectations, helped by its wholesale business. The company, which is exploring strategic options, including putting itself up for sale, said net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose 2 percent to$12.3 million, or 49 cents pershare. That compares with$12.1 million, or 48 cents pershare, last year. Analysts, on average, expected 45 cents per share, according to FactSet. True Religion makes premium jeans that retail for around $200, and other clothing. Revenue rose 9 percent to $118.5 million from $108.4 million a year ago. Analysts expected$113.2 million. Revenue in stores open at least one year fell 4.7 percent. The measure is a key gauge of a retailer's financial health because it excludes stores that open or close during the year. Net sales for its U.S. wholesale segment, which means clothing sold via stores not owned by True Religion, rose 35 percent to$29.8 million. Sales at off-price and specialty stores drove the increase. International revenue fell 3 percent to 22.7 million, hurt by a slowdown in Korea and Germany. The company now expects net income or the year of$1.80 to $1.86 per share, on revenue of $458 million to$463 million. Previously it had forecast revenue of $450million to $455 million. Analysts, on average, expect$1.83 per share, with estimates ranging from $1.82to $1.86. Wall Street's average revenue projection is $453.3 million, with estimates ranging from$446.3 million to $456.2 million. For the fourth quarter, True Religion expects net income of 52 cents to 58 cents per share, on revenue of $128 million to $133 million. Analysts, on average, expect net income of 58 cents per share on revenue of $128 million. Susan Anderson, an analyst with Citi Investment Research, saw reason to be concerned in the decline in sales at stores open at least a year and the weakening of the company's U.S. retail business. She noted it was the first time that figure had turned negative since the company began reporting it in the fourth quarter of 2009. "Additionally, while wholesale sales were up significantly, a primary driverof the increase was lower margin off-price sales," Anderson wrote in a note to clients. "We continue to be concerned about slowing U.S. sales, which has been driving earnings per share, and topline/profitability issues in international." She kept a "Neutral" rating on the stock, with a $27 price target. True Religion shares fell 95 cents, or 3.6 percent, to$25.61 during morning trading. The stock started thesession down 23 percent so far this year.

HSBC Sets Aside Extra $800Million for U.S. Money Laundering Case

LONDON -- HSBC Holdings said on Monday that it had set aside a further $800 million connected to a money-laundering investigation in the United States as the bank's net profit halved in the third quarter of the year. The bank, which is based inLondon, said it had made the new provision to cover potential fines, settlements and other expenses related to the money-laundering inquiry as the firm continued to negotiate with U.S. authorities. In total, HSBC has now earmarked a combined $1.5 billion for expenses related to the case. The figure does not include legal costs. The announcement follows a U.S. government report earlier this year that accused HSBC of helping clients to illegally bring money into the U.S. that waslinked to drug trafficking activities and from Middle Eastern banks with ties to terrorists. "We deeply regret what took place took place in the United States and Mexico," HSBC's chief executive, Stuart Gulliver, told reporters on a conference call on Monday. "A numberof people have left the bank and have had clawbacks against their compensation," related to the case. The bank added that a resolution to the matter would probably include corporate criminal and civil charges, as well as sizeable fines against the bank. HSBC said some of the charges could be offset through a potential settlement agreement. The firm did not say when a settlement with U.S. authorities could be announced. The new provisions related to the money-laundering case and additional $353 million set aside to compensate British customers who were inappropriately sold insurance weighed on HSBC's third quarter net results. The bank said its net profit halved, to $2.8 billion, in the three months through Sept. 30, compared with thesame period last year. The British firm also said it had incurred a quarterly chargeof $1.7 billion on the value of its own debt. Without the adjustments, HSBC's pretax profit in the third quarter more than doubled, to $5 billion. The unadjusted figure was slightly below many analysts' estimates.