Survey: Banks tighten lending

The majority of banks in the United States have tightened their lending standards, ranging from consumer credit account limits to business loans, according to the Federal Reserve’s quarterly survey of senior loan officers.

Approximately 60 percent of banks have decreased credit limits on commercial construction; 30 percent have reduced the account limit on business credit cards; and 50 percent have reduced credit lines to financial firms.

Approximately 65 percent of banks said they are tightening lending standards and reducing the size and maturity of credit on commercial and industrial loans to middle- to large-market companies.

Part of the reason for the drop is a reduction in demand for commercial and industrial-related funding.

Banks that noted an increase in business said their customers had left other sources of funding in favor of banks, according to the Federal Reserve’s survey.

Oil up above $41 after OPEC hints of cuts

Oil rose to over $41 a barrel on Wednesday despite expectations that weekly U.S. data would show a build in crude stockpiles as demand for energy in the world's biggest oil consumer declines.

The move was supported by signals from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that it may cut oil production further in an attempt to bolster the market.

U.S. light crude for March delivery jumped more than a dollar at one point, trading at a high of $41.79, up $1.01, before slipping back to trade around $41.45 at 1113 GMT.

Brent crude was 72 cents up at $44.80 a barrel.

Despite the rally, the market is still down more than 50 percent from a year ago. Oil has plummeted by more than $100 since hitting a record near $150 a barrel in July last year as the global downturn has weighed on demand for fuel.

OPEC is deeply worried by the impact the global economic downturn is having on oil demand and has promised to reduce oil production by a total of 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from levels seen in September.

OPEC President Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos, who is also Angola's oil minister, told Reuters on Tuesday the 12-member group could remove more oil from the market if needed to boost prices.

OPEC in January met only two thirds of its pledge to lower oil output as several members of the producer group continued to pump above target levels, a Reuters survey showed.

There is little sign of an improvement in oil demand.

SEVERE, SYNCHRONISED RECESSION

On Tuesday, weak retail sales in the United States and Germany, as well as a jump in Spanish unemployment, provided the latest evidence of a severe, synchronized global recession.

"The economic context remains very weak and the market is waiting for U.S. oil data later today," said Harry Tchilinguirian, oil analyst at BNP Paribas in London.

"Surprise builds in product inventories will only validate assessments of underlying weak oil demand."

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its oil data at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT).

A Reuters poll of analysts forecast the report would show that U.S. inventories of crude oil rose for the sixth straight time last week as refinery utilization was curbed by seasonal maintenance, rising imports and falling demand.

Ryder profit beats Wall St view

Truck leasing and logistics company Ryder System Inc (R.N) forecast quarterly and full-year profit well below analysts' forecasts and said it expected no economic recovery in 2009, sending its shares down nearly 5 percent.

The downbeat outlook came as the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.

"Clearly we face challenging headwinds that are directly related to global economic and market conditions," Chief Executive Greg Swienton said in a statement. "Chief among them is a significant increase in pension expense driven by poor performance in the overall stock market in 2008."

Ryder posted a fourth-quarter net profit of $10.6 million, or 19 cents per share, down from $71.9 million, or $1.24 a share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, Ryder earned $1.09 per share, 6 cents ahead of analysts' forecasts, according to Reuters Estimates.

Sales fell 18 percent to $1.37 billion. Analysts had expected $1.55 billion.

Miami-based Ryder said it expected lower commercial rental and used vehicle sales this year and that lower auto production would also hurt results, partly offset by cost and job reductions.

In a presentation to analysts, the company said further contraction of the U.S. economy was possible. It expects total revenue for 2009 to be down 10 percent to 16 percent.

For the first quarter, Ryder said it expected to earn 40 cents to 50 cents per share. Analysts were expecting 57 cents.

Ryder also said higher pension expenses would reduce 2009 profit. Its 2009 earnings-per-share forecast of $2.60 to $3.30 includes a pension expense of 69 cents and restructuring costs of about 10 cents. The analysts' average outlook was $4.06.

Shares of Ryder were down 5.2 percent at $32.72 in early New York Stock Exchange trade.

Jonas Brothers visiting CW with concert film peek

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Love them or not, the Jonas Brothers just keep popping up.

The CW network says the singers will host a night of programming Feb. 10 that includes the dramas "90210" and "Privileged." They'll provide a sneak peek of their new 3-D concert film based on their "Burning Up" tour.

Fans looking for a musical performance will get a clip of the group performing the hit song "Tonight."

Last month, the Jonas Brothers performed at the White House for presidential daughters Malia and Sasha Obama and at a children's inaugural concert.

The CW is a joint venture between Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. unit and CBS Corp.

Britain's Brown in depression slip of the tongue

LONDON (AP) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a slip of the tongue Wednesday when suggesting the world is in the midst of a depression, his spokesman said.

During rowdy exchanges in the weekly Prime Minister's questions, Brown told lawmakers that "we should agree, as a world, on a monetary and fiscal stimulus that will take the world out of depression."

A Downing Street spokeswoman said that the slip "was not deliberate, and is not what he thinks."

Though there is no standard definition of what a depression is, most economists think that a recession — a normal downturn in the business cycle — becomes a depression when output contracts over a long period of time and by over 10 percent.

The Conservative Party's spokesman for economic matters George Osborne swiftly demanded clarification of the Prime Minister's comment.

"The Prime Minister must personally and urgently clarify whether his statement today that the world is in 'depression' was a slip of the tongue, or whether he knows something that we don't know," he said outside Parliament.

"For the sake of confidence he should clear up this confusion. Prime Ministers in particular need to be very careful about their use of language to ensure they don't undermine confidence," Osborne said.

Official statistics have already shown that Britain is confronting its worst recession since 1980, with the economy shrinking 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter. Forecasters, such as the IMF, have also indicated that Britain will likely contract more than any other leading industrialized country in 2009.

Elton John to close Las Vegas Caesars Palace show

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Elton John is playing his final notes on the red piano in Las Vegas.

Promoters say the pop singer will close his Las Vegas Strip show, "The Red Piano," on April 22.

The show made its debut in February 2004 at The Colosseum theater at Caesars Palace. After initially signing on for 75 shows, John's engagement was extended.

The casino says the closing show will be the 241st performance.

The offbeat production blends the singer's top hits with elaborate video montages created by photographer and director David LaChappelle.

Tickets for the final engagement go on sale Thursday. John's show alternates with other Colosseum headline acts, including Bette Midler and Cher.

A casino spokeswoman said there was no word on a replacement.

Caesars Palace is owned by Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

Restoring Texas governor's mansion put at $27M

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The State Preservation Board is asking Texas lawmakers for $25 million to restore the Governor's Mansion after an arson fire, add a building wing and update security.

Republican Sen. Robert Duncan questioned how the project could be justified in tough times and said it seemed to involve more than restoration.

The board Tuesday estimated the overall cost at $27 million, with $2 million already raised in private funds.

Project manager Dealey Herndon said the restoration was complicated and the fire last summer damaged every part of the two-story Greek Revival house. No one has been charged for setting the fire.

The mansion has been the official home of every Texas governor, including Sam Houston and George W. Bush, since 1856.

Abu Dhabi to inject $4.36 billion into banks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Abu Dhabi says it will pump $4.36 billion into its banks to shore up confidence in the oil-rich Gulf emirate's financial sector.

In a statement released Wednesday to state news agency WAM, the government says it is injecting the 16 billion dirhams into five local banks as a strategic and proactive response to global economic conditions.

The funds are being provided to Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, First Gulf Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Union National Bank.

The arrangement gives the government nonvoting securities known as Tier I capital notes in each of the banks.

Abu Dhabi is the capital as well as the largest and richest of the seven United Arab Emirates.

Japan to send 2 destroyers for anti-piracy mission

Japan will dispatch two destroyers to waters off Somalia for a mission protecting its commercial vessels against pirates, joining a growing number of countries patrolling those waters, an official said Wednesday.

The government will also send a fact-finding mission to the region ahead of the deployment of the 4,650-ton Sazanami and the 4,550-ton Samidare, a spokeswoman for the Defense Ministry said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy. Each ship has a helicopter aboard.

Japan previously has said it will join the fight against piracy, but the details confirmed by the ministry official Wednesday were the first mention of how many ships would be sent.

Somalia is located along the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest waterways, where pirates made more 100 attacks on ships last year and took away millions of dollars in ransom.

Somali waters are now patrolled by more than a dozen warships from countries including Britain, France, Germany, Iran, the United States and China. South Korea has also ordered warships sent to the region to protect its vessels and crews from pirates.

Tokyo has said its ships will be sent only to protect Japanese commercial vessels — though the government says none have thus far been hijacked. Pirates have fired at three Japanese vessels. No one was injured.

Japan has yet to say when its ships will depart, but media reports say the dispatch could come as early as March.

Opposition lawmakers have criticized the plans, saying it could draw the country into military operations prohibited by its pacifist constitution.

Japan's post-World War II charter limits its military to conducting defensive operations. However, its navy has been increasingly operating far away from the country's shores. It began a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean since 2001 to support U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.

The government has argued that the battle against piracy is more a crime-fighting operation than a military one. The defense ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday that Japanese coast guard officials vested with rights to arrest and investigate suspected pirates will be on board.

Somalia, a nation of about 8 million people, has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 and then turned on each other. Its lawless coastline is a haven for pirates.

The U.N. Security Council has authorized countries to enter Somalia's territorial waters, with advance notice, and use "all necessary means" to stop piracy and armed robbery at sea.