China's IFM Investments Ltd's initial public offering could suffer because of mounting fears about a slowdown in China's booming real estate market.

IFM has an exclusive franchise agreement to sell residential property in China under the Century 21 brand. It said in a regulatory filing it plans to sell 16.65 million American Depositary Shares priced for between $8.75 and $10.75, each.

At the midpoint, the IPO would raise about $162 million.

But Eric Guja, a research analyst with Connecticut-based investment firm Renaissance Capital, said the IPO may price below the company's forecast range, both because of concerns about the Chinese real estate market and because two private equity investors are selling part of their stakes.

Private equity firms are often good at selling assets at the top of the market, and in 2009 stock investors grew increasingly wary of IPOs where private equity funds were selling.

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private equity investors   private equity firms   private equity funds   renaissance capital   stock investors   

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to win confirmation to a second four-year term as head of the U.S. central bank but the road to winning the Senate's backing has been bumpy.

Bernanke's first term expires Jan. 31, and a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Sunday the body could vote on his confirmation this week.

Here are a few questions and answers about hurdles facing his confirmation:

WHAT ARE OBSTACLES TO BERNANKE'S CONFIRMATION?

At least four senators have sought to delay Bernanke's confirmation by placing formal 'holds' on the nomination.

After filing for a vote, which Democrats likely won't do until they believe they have secured enough votes to win confirmation, there is a two-day waiting period before the Senate can vote to clear the procedural roadblock.

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federal reserve chairman ben bernanke   senate majority leader harry reid   senate majority leader   federal reserve chairman   senate majority leader harry   

It wasn't a good week for the Aussie last week. The Aussie lost almost two percent last week and broke its 100-day moving average around $0.9028. Next major support is around $0.8960/65, the 61.8 percent retracement of $0.8735 to $0.9331.

* Today the Aussie is steady at $0.9036 but still under pressure as investor appetite for risk and higher-yielding currencies took a beating last week from concerns ranging from Chinese policy tightening to Greek fiscal woes and sliding U.S. bank shares. Aussie offshore trading range $0.8995-0.9039.

* Aussie also stuck at 81.64 yen after hitting a one-month low last week as the Japanese currency benefited from its safe haven status. It dropped to as low as 80.76 yen, more than 5 yen lower than a recent peak of 85.75 yen.

* The S&P 500 dropped 2.21 percent while the Dow fell 2.09 percent, keeping U.S. 10-year yields down at 3.60 percent.

* Local bonds followed with three-year bond futures indicated up 0.030 points at 95.010, while the ten-year contract gained 0.005 points to 94.505.

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fiscal woes   bond futures   japanese currency   offshore trading   chinese policy   

Japanese manufacturers' confidence has recovered to its highest level since the global financial crisis hit, but remains weak overall due to concerns about deflation and sluggish domestic demand, a Reuters poll showed.

Sentiment in the service sector improved for the first time in three months, although service companies are still much more pessimistic than manufacturers due to weak consumption at home.

Many manufacturers have been helped by brisk demand from China and other fast-growing Asian economies. China's economy booked its fastest quarterly growth in two years, data showed last week, and Japanese exporters have been keen to target that rapid expansion.

But not all manufacturers were upbeat. Some leading exporters, such as automakers, became more pessimistic due to the strong yen, which eats into the value of overseas earnings.

'The Japanese economy is on a recovery trend but there are worries about impact from deflation and the yen's rise,' said one respondent, an executive at a transport equipment maker.

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reuters poll   global financial crisis   overseas earnings   sluggish domestic demand   japanese exporters   

Global infrastructure fundraising dropped by more than half in 2009 from the year before as investors moved to more liquid assets, according to data sent to Reuters on Sunday by placement agent Probitas Partners.

Just $10.7 billion was raised by infrastructure funds in 2009, 57 percent less than the $24.7 billion raised in 2008, according to figures compiled by Probitas. The contrast is even greater when compared to the $34.3 billon raised in 2007.

There are currently 119 funds on the road worldwide seeking an aggregate $115 billion according to market research and consultancy firm Prequin, making this a very competitive environment for fundraising.

Infrastructure assets such as roads, airports and power grids are notoriously illiquid, making them less appealing to investors during a liquidity crunch. This is exacerbated by the scarcity of debt to support projects, Probitas said.

'Investors began to come back to the market in the fourth quarter, with fundraising topping $10 billion for the full year after only hitting $6 billion over the first nine months,' said Kelly DePonte, a partner at Probitas.


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infrastructure assets   power grids   infrastructure funds   first nine months   global infrastructure