World important news by Charisse

NEW YORK Oct 18 (Reuters) - Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday cut Egypt’s credit ratings deeper into junk territory, saying the transition to a new government has increased risks to macroeconomic stability.It warned another downgrade is possible if the political transition is less smooth than expected, making it more difficult to finance the government’s borrowing requirements or the country’s external needs.S&P cut Egypt’s foreign-currency rating to BB-minus from BB. The local-currency rating was cut by two notches, to BB-minus from BB-plus. All the ratings have a negative outlook.Clashes between protesters and the army left 25 people dead earlier this month in Cairo, in the worst outbreak of violence since the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in February.S&P sees a risk that street protests may continue until parliamentary elections take place in the next few months, a constitution is agreed by August 2012, and a president is elected, probably in early 2013.In the meantime the government will likely run high general deficits to appease the population, mainly through food and fuel subsidies. Government revenues are also expected to be low.”Risks to macroeconomic stability have risen during the transition period for Egyptian political reform, which we expect to evolve over the next two years,” S&P’s analyst Trevor Cullinan wrote in a report.”These risks center on the government’s fiscal stance but also encompass price stability and balance of payments pressure,” he said.The ratings agency noted that Egypt’s net international reserves have fallen by $12 billion to $24 billion since the uprising to September — a result of current account deficits and capital outflows.”The pace of reserve loss has slowed of late, although the recent violence could create new pressures,” S&P warned.

Back in May, Matthew Goldstein wrote about commodities trader and hip-hop promoter Tyrone Gilliams in the special report “A fame-seeking Philly trader’s rap falls flat.” Today Gilliams was arrested on charges of running a $4 million investment scam. Time to re-read the original story, which detailed allegations by Ohio businessman David Parlin that Gilliams used some of Parlin’s money to sponsor a glitzy black-tie charitable event in Philadelphia attended by rappers and local politicians. Federal authorities began investigating Gilliams soon after the Reuters story was published, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be identified. Matt will be keeping track of the case as it plays out.

The Olympic torch relay just got bigger, much bigger. At 106 days, the pre-Vancouver Winter Games run weighs in as the longest domestic relay in Olympic history and to help get it across the finish line… Arnie is back. Famous for his ‘I’ll be back’ and ‘Hasta la vista, baby’ catchphrases in the Terminator films, Arnold Schwarzenegger, now Governor of California, is nipping over to Canada to flex his pecs with a torch run through Vancouver’s famous Stanley Park. The former Mr Universe and Mr Olympia champion is the only heavyweight on a list you could describe as more Kindergarten Cop than Conan the Barbarian. Singer Michael Buble and retired professional hockey player Richard “King Richard, Kermit” Brodeur are among the names, which arguably lack a bit of A list grandeur. Who would you like to see bringing it home ahead of the start of the Games on Feb. 12?

* Shares up 3 percent in premarket tradingOct 13 (Reuters) - Safeway Inc , the second-largest U.S. supermarket chain, reported a higher quarterly profit on cost controls and sales that held up despite renewed worries about a double-dip U.S. recession.Shares of the Pleasanton, California-based operator of stores including Safeway, Vons and Dominick’s rose 3 percent in premarket trading after it said third-quarter net income was $130.2 million, or 38 cents per share. That was was up from $122.8 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier.Safeway’s total revenue rose a bit more than 7 percent to $10.06 billion, primarily boosted by higher fuel sales.Shares rose to $18.51 in premarket trading from their New York Stock Exchange close of $17.97.

Shares of global miner BHP Billiton fell 2 percent to $73.66 in New York while shares of South Africa’s Gold Fields dropped 1 percent to $15.16 and shares of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd , also of South Africa, dipped 1.2 percent to $40.68.Spot gold was down 0.5 percent at $1,665.80 an ounce, while benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $7,290 a tonne, down from Monday’s close of $7,495 a tonne.Upcoming results from Slovakia, the last member of the 17-member euro zone bloc which has not yet ratified a pact to boost the size and powers of the European Financial Stability Facility, kept investors on edge.Worries about how the euro zone debt problems could affect the global economy have plagued markets for months, with investors waiting for a long-term solution to the crisis.European bank ADRs were mixed near flat. Shares of Barclays were down 0.1 percent at $10.91 while shares of Deutsche Bank were up 0.8 percent at $38.01.The BNY Mellon index of leading American Depositary Receipts was down 0.6 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 0.1 percent.The BNY Mellon index of leading European ADRs fell 0.8 percent, while the BNY Mellon index of leading Asian ADRs slipped 0.5 percent and the BNY Mellon index of leading Latin American ADRs was up 0.6 percent.