RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks recover from Italy downgrade hit

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By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent

LONDON, Sept 20 | Tue Sep 20, 2011 5:49am EDT

LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Negative reaction to Standard & Poor's downgrading of Italian debt was short-lived on financial markets on Tuesday, as European stocks pushed higher and the euro recovered from earlier losses.

Markets remain on edge, however, about Greece's rickety finances, French banking stress and the next step by the U.S. Federal Reserve to try to ignite the U.S. economy.

World stocks as measured by MSCI were flat, but the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 gained more than half a percent.

Traders said the relative strength in Europe was a reaction to falls in the previous session in markets marked by substantial volatility. The European index has lost more than 18 percent this year, mainly because of concern over euro zone finances.

The euro was flat after earlier falling on the news about Italy's downgrade. The ZEW Institute's German economic sentiment index fell, but had little impact on markets.

S&P downgraded its rating on Italy by one notch to A/A-1 and kept its outlook negative, surprising markets which have been speculating on a downgrade from rival Moody's but not S&P.

It said the outlook for growth was worsening and there was little sign that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's fractious centre-right government could respond effectively.

Under mounting pressure to cut its 1.9 trillion euro debt pile, Italy's government pushed a 59.8 billion euro austerity plan through parliament last week, pledging a balanced budget by 2013.

The downgrade underlined the poor state of euro zone finances and the fragility of attempts to fix it.

French banking stocks were among the worst performers in Europe after sources said that Bank of China had stopped foreign exchange forwards and swaps trading with several European banks due to the region's debt crisis.

Focus was also on Greece, which must shrink its public sector to avoid running out of money within weeks.

"Once again we do seem to be peering into the abyss here," said Cameron Peacock, analyst at IG Markets.

Core euro zone bonds were in demand as a safety play.

FED AHEAD

Other than euro zone worries, investors were bracing for a two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, with an eye on what policymakers will do to ignite the faltering U.S. economy.

With one eye on the euro zone debt turmoil and another on a stubbornly high 9.1 percent U.S. unemployment rate, the Fed, is expected to begin shifting the composition of its balance sheet to weight it more heavily with longer-term securities.

"Operation Twist", as it has been dubbed, implies selling shorter-term debt or letting it mature and reinvesting in long-term bonds.

Ten-year U.S. Treasuries were flat. (Editing by Patrick Graham)

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US probing 8 offshore banks for aiding tax evasion

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Sept 20 | Tue Sep 20, 2011 5:37am EDT

Sept 20 (Reuters) - Eight offshore banks around the world are under federal grand jury investigations for assisting U.S. citizens in tax evasion, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on its website.

"Put simply, the word is out that placing assets in foreign accounts no longer provides the protection from disclosure it once did," the DOJ said.

So far, prosecutors have said about 150 grand jury investigations of offshore-banking clients have been initiated, of which 30 cases have been charged, leading to 24 guilty pleas plus two convictions after trial, with four awaiting trial.

Switzerland has faced an international campaign against tax evasion in recent years as cash-strapped governments seek to bolster state coffers.

UBS AG paid $780 million in 2009 and consented last year to hand over information about nearly 5,000 U.S. accounts to settle government cases against the Swiss bank.

Credit Suisse bankers and clients have also come under scrutiny by U.S. authorities. (Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Will Waterman)

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RPT-Chip inventories too high, Gartner sees correction

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(Repeats to format text)

* Moderate inventory correction in coming quarters -Gartner

* Inventories too high in slowing economic conditions

Sept 20 (Reuters) - Semiconductor inventories are at worryingly high levels given current economic conditions and the likelihood that consumer and business spending will be weaker than expected, research firm Gartner said on Tuesday.

Gartner said it expects the semiconductor industry to go through a moderate inventory correction during next few quarters with production and sell-through expected to return roughly to balance by the second quarter of 2012.

"Current levels are too high given the weakening economic sentiment, and the industry must rein in production growth and take action to reduce accumulated inventory," Gartner analyst Gerald Van Hoy said in a statement.

Several semiconductor firms have signaled a weak market, cutting their forecasts for the current quarter as an economic slowdown is stifling demand for products that use chips.

On Sept. 8 Texas Instruments said demand had weakened across "a wide range of products, markets and customers," but ruled out any inventory adjustments as a reason for slowing demand. (Reporting by Tarmo Virki in Helsinki; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

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European shares rise on back of short-covering

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* FTSEurofirst 300 index rises 0.7 percent

* Defensive stocks leading rally

By Joanne Frearson

LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Tuesday in a short-covering rally following the previous session's sharp losses, led by defensives such as utilities.

German utilities RWE and E.ON (EONGn.DE) rose 3.3 percent and 2.9 percent respectively to top the German DAX after a German court suspended the enforcement of nuclear fuel taxation at E.ON's Grafenrheinfeld plant.

By 0819 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 0.7 percent at 922.73 points after being as low as 910.04. It had fallen 2.3 percent in the previous session.

Traders said that the gains could be short-lived after a surprise downgrade of Italy's credit rating by Standard & Poor's, which showed that euro zone debt issues had not gone away.

"It is not a huge move up and probably just a bit of short covering," said Louise Cooper, Markets analyst at BGC Partners.

"It is not an environment where people are going in and taking hugely aggressive positions, volatility is so scary it is not like people are piling in."

There were still concerns the region's debt crisis could be spreading to other countries after S&P cut Italy's credit rating by one notch. There is also still uncertainty over Greece's next aid tranche.

French banks were among the worst performers, with Societe Generale and BNP Paribas down 2.2 percent and 2.6 percent respectively.

The Bank of China has stopped foreign exchange forwards and swaps trading with several European banks -- including some French banks -- due to the euro zone debt crisis.

German engineering firm Siemens (SIEGn.DE) withdrew deposits from Societe Generale in July but the withdrawal was unrelated to the French bank's financial health, a Paris-based source told Reuters. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson) ============================================================ For rolling updates on what is moving European shares please click on ============================================================ For pan-Europeanmarket data and news, click on codes in brackets: European Equities speed guide................... FTSEurofirst 300 index.............................. STOXX Europe index.................................. Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors...................... Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors................... Top 25 European pct gainers....................... Top 25 European pct losers........................

Main stock markets: Dow Jones............... Wall Street report ..... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. CAC-40............... World Indices.....................................<0#.INDEX> Reuters survey of world bourse outlook......... Western European IPO diary......................... European Asset Allocation........................ Reuters News at a Glance: Equities................. Main currency report:.................................

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Rivals circle UBS star bankers

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* UBS staff set for low bonuses after rogue scandal

* Shaky team morale could also spark departures

* Rivals circling top dealmakers, equity research staff

By Sarah White

LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Rivals are circling Switzerland's UBS AG to poach its star deal advisers and equity specialists, as a $2.3 billion rogue trading scandal and the prospect of low or non-existent bonuses dents morale.

UBS, already raided this year after a disappointing bonus round, is a target again for competitors and up-and-coming investment banks looking to bolster their company relationship teams and research desks -- two areas the bank is traditionally good at -- industry and headhunting sources said.

"Peers are certainly circling. There has been a big cut in profits and that will affect bonuses. People will leave, there's no doubt about it," said one headhunter who has dealt with UBS before.

Though the alleged rogue trades revealed by UBS last week emanated from its equities division this is unlikely to put the poachers off. The bank's equities research team has ranked number one for 11 years in a row in the Thomson Reuters Extel industry survey.

Two industry sources in London told Reuters their firms were likely to approach UBS bankers.

UBS investment bank head Carsten Kengeter has tried to bolster morale since the scandal hit, assuring staff that "clients are inundating us with messages of support."

"We all share a sense of anger and frustration," Kengeter said in an internal memo over the weekend in which he asked staff to act "with resolve, creativity and energy" and to "work hard to maintain our momentum."

"I am confident that we will turn adversity into strength," he said.

UBS staff are unlikely to jump until early next year -- though they may be first approached in the coming weeks -- as other banks will try to avoid having to compensate for forfeited bonus payments, the headhunter added.

Current estimates suggest that banks globally are driving through more than 100,000 job cuts to cope with the tough economic and regulatory environment, so they are unlikely to want hundreds of new recruits.

But a chance to again lure rainmakers from UBS may be hard to pass up. Several heads of investment banking at rival firms told Reuters in recent weeks, before the scandal hit, that they still had room for 'selective hires.'

"(UBS was) brutally raided by other banks, even though they do still have a strong culture. People sensed their weakness," said another recruitment consultant that also knows UBS well, referring to earlier departures.

U.S. rivals such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citi , which is just finalising a rebuild of its advisory business after losing staff in the financial crisis, are among those that took bankers from UBS this year.

In March BofA ML poached Matthew Koder, UBS's head of global capital markets to its Asia Pacific corporate and investment banking division, signalling the start of a raft of high profile departures.

UBS has felt a huge upheaval in its mergers and acquisitions division, particularly in the United States, where more than 15 senior bankers left, including the head of Americas investment banking Kevin Cox.

The bank also lost two recently-promoted global heads of M&A, Liam Beere -- who went to merger and acquisition boutique Moelis -- and Cary Kochman -- who left for Citi -- in June.

Japan's Nomura , which is particularly looking for top bankers in the United States, is another firm that will likely try to attract UBS staff.

Some of the recently-promoted division heads at UBS are among possible targets.

They include James Hartop and Nick Reid, two top dealmakers who are now joint heads of investment banking for EMEA, and Simon Warshaw, a well-known media banker who is now co-global head of investment banking.

In the United States, Aryeh Bourkoff, a telecoms, media and technology specialist, was tasked with rebuilding morale in the Americas investment banking division, hit badly by defections.

On the equities front, Francois Gouws is one of the top global division heads and a former head of the renowned research group.

But long-serving UBS bankers such as Gouws and Warshaw, who joined from university in 1986, could be hard to sway.

"The investment banking franchise isn't destroyed, and some of the veterans, even if they have a price, are very committed to UBS," said the first headhunter. (Editing by Sophie Walker)

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REFILE-UPDATE 1-SEC asks U.S. companies to disclose offshore cash-FT

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(Changes dateline to Sept 20 from 19)

Sept 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked companies such as Dow Chemical Co , Fortune Brands Inc , Caterpillar Inc and CIT Group Inc to disclose the amount of cash they hold offshore, the Financial Times reported.

The move comes amid increased attention towards the impact of tax rules that encourage U.S. companies to keep earnings overseas, the paper said.

The SEC decided to focus on the issue of overseas cash more broadly after disclosures at Microsoft Corp and Google Inc earlier this year prompted interest in the subject, people familiar with the matter told the FT.

The U.S. government taxes U.S. businesses on income earned worldwide, but allows them to defer taxes on the money until it is brought back to the United States. As a result, American corporations like to keep the money abroad, particularly as they increase investment overseas.

U.S. companies do not have to break out earnings in foreign subsidiaries, making it difficult to determine from financial filings the amount of tax they save through each jurisdiction.

The SEC, however, raises questions through its public comment letters when it believes further information may be relevant and material to understanding a company's liquidity, the paper said.

"Generating cash outside of the U.S. is the result of being a global company operating in a global economy," Jim Dugan, Caterpillar's chief corporate spokesman, said.

About 70 percent of Caterpillar's business last year came from outside the United States, Dugan said, adding that the cash generated offshore reflected normal business activities.

The remaining parties could not be reached immediately for comment outside regular business hours in the United States. (Reporting by Gowri Jayakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Matt Driskill and David Holmes)

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UPDATE 6-Japan tells arms supplier to probe cyber attack

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* Defence ministry tells Mitsubishi Heavy to conduct probe

* Mitsubishi Heavy shares drop 3.7 pct vs 1.6 pct Nikkei fall

* China dismisses suggestion hacking originated there (Adds analyst comment, detail, China denial)

By Mayumi Negishi and James Topham

TOKYO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Japan told its biggest weapons supplier, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries , to investigate a cyber attack on its computers on Tuesday, warning it may have breached contracts to supply billions of dollars of equipment by keeping quiet about the online assault.

Under the terms of an agreement the government imposes on all contractors, companies are obliged to inform it promptly of any breach of sensitive or classified information, a defence official said. Defence officials learnt of the August attack from local press reports Monday.

"It's up to the defence ministry to decide whether or not the information is important. That is not for Mitsubishi Heavy to decide. A report should have been made," a spokesman for the ministry told Reuters.

Professor Yoshiyasu Takefuji, a cyber-security expert at Keio University, said this was the first example of defence-related cyber attack in Japan and had to be taken seriously.

"This happened a month ago, and it's just in the last few days they realized how bad it was," he said. "They've been dozing for the past month."

There was no clue as to who was responsible. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed suggestions the hacking could have originated in China.

"The Chinese government has consistently opposed hacking attack activities. Relevant laws strictly prohibit this," spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

"China is one of the main victims of hacking ... Criticizing China as being the source of hacking attacks not only is baseless, it is also not beneficial for promoting international cooperation for internet security."

The hacking furore may widen after a second military contractor, IHI Corp , which supplies engine parts for fighter planes, said its employees had been subject to a growing number of suspicious e-mails.

PUNITIVE ACTION

A spokesman didn't elaborate on the nature of the e-mails. The Nikkei business daily had said earlier the company had also been the victim of a cyber attack.

Mitsubishi Heavy, which has built the U.S.-designed F-15 fighter jet and missile systems including Patriot batteries under licence, said on Monday that computer systems had been accessed and some network information, such as IP addresses, may have been leaked.

Should Mitsubishi's probe reveal the loss of sensitive data, the defence ministry could impose penalties on its main domestic arms supplier, a business that accounts for a tenth of Mitsubishi Heavy's revenue.

As much of that equipment is built in partnership with U.S. companies including Raytheon Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. , the impact of any punitive action could spread.

Mitsubishi Heavy won 215 deals worth 260 billion yen ($3.4 billion) from the Defence Ministry in the year to last March, or nearly a quarter of the ministry's spending that year.

Besides surface-to-air Patriot missiles the weapons included and AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles.

Defence Minister Yasuo Ichikawa said he had so far received no reports of classified information being stolen. He did not say what information was at risk.

An investigation by a computer security company revealed connections were made to 14 overseas sites, including at least 20 servers in China, Hong Kong, the United States and India, the Yomiuri newspaper reported earlier, citing unidentified sources.

Overall 83 computers and servers at 11 locations including its head office, factories and R&D center were accessed in the attack, a Mitsubishi spokesman confirmed.

If Mitsubishi's probe reveals the loss of classified data, it would represent the third major breach in security at the company in less than a decade following the loss of nuclear reactor test data in 2006 and the leak of information on its fighter jets in 2003, local media reported

The Mitsubishi spokesman declined to comment further on the August cyber attack, saying it aims to conclude its investigation by the end of September. He declined to discuss the company's supply contract with the government.

A Japanese defence white paper released last month urged better protection against cyber attacks after a spate of high-profile online assaults this year that included Lockheed Martin and other U.S. defence contractors.

That call for vigilance came after the United States revealed in July that 24,000 files had been stolen by a foreign intelligence entity from a U.S. defence contractor in March.

"No country takes this seriously until something bad happens. But if they don't take it seriously this time, there will be another big incident," Keio University's Takefuji said.

Mitsubishi Heavy shares fell 3.7 percent to 317 yen in Tokyo, compared with a 1.6 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average . ($1 = 76.405 Japanese Yen) (Additional reporting by Isabel Reynolds, Lisa Twaronite and Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Nathan Layne and Nick Macfie)

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