Hong Kong’s financial system grew a less than expected 3 percent in the fourth quarter from a year previous as Europe’s debt crisis hampered exports. The development was the least in two years and compared with the 3.1 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 12 economists. Financial Secretary John Tsang gave the number in his budget speech today. For the full year, growth was 5 percent.

Hong Kong can give focus this year on supporting growth rather than limiting the risk of real-estate bubbles as property prices fall and exports weaken. Chief Executive Donald Tsang said last week in Davos, Switzerland, that he has never been as scared about the global economic outlook, and UBS AG says the city may have a “superficial” depression in the first half. A budget surplus will “help to shore up Hong Kong’s defenses in an increasingly unstable global financial environment,” .UBS sees Hong Kong’s economy growing 1.6 percent this year, while Standard Chartered Plc predicts increase of 2.9 percent.

Citigroup Inc. (C), the third major U.S. lender by assets, slash 2011 bonuses in its investment banking division by about 30 percent on average amid slumping revenue, according to a person saying on the subject.  A number of trades within the securities and finance unit had bonuses concentrated by as much as seventy percent compared with the earlier year, said the person, who asked to stay unidentified because the decisions aren’t public. The unit, led by James “Jamie” Forese, includes bond and stock trading as well as debt and equity underwriting.

Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit, 55, is firing workers and shrinking costs in the unit as he grapples with declining revenue. The bank said this month that it will cut about 1,200 workers from the division to save $600 million this year and more reductions may pursue. The unit’s income dipped 21 percent ever since 2009, while reimbursement and other operating costs jumped 15 percent.

Friedlands Ivanplats which is a mining company run by Billionaire Ivanhoe Mines Ltd its founder Robert Friedland can have as much as one billion dollar in the initial public offering in the second quarter. This has been said by the sources with good knowledge of the plan. Ivanplats which has got metal deposits in South Africa and the democratic Republic of Congo can be priced at 5 billion US dollars after the selling of the stocks.

The IPO can take place in Toronto after the second listing in London according to the people. If the plan works out successfully then the Ivanplats IPO can be the largest in Canada since Athabasca Oil sands Corporation increased 1.3 US billion dollars in the share sales from March 2010. The company is looking forward to bring out a prospectus as early as next month.

Citigroup Inc joined hands with JP Morgan Chase & Co in giving its lowest cost revenue since 2008’s economic slowdown happened. Another company Wells Fargo & Co revenue shares also dipped as the core lending businesses and companies also improved a lot. Citigroup announced that the fourth quarter revenue results fell by more than seven percent as compared to one year earlier. The total income reduced by eleven percent to 1.17 US billion dollars.

There is a growing concern that the European debt crisis has contributed to the worldwide economic slowdown and it is the reason why trading volume and bank investment deals have dropped considerably in the second half of the year. Citigroup fell almost 6.8 percent to the figure of $28.66 which is its worst showing in the KBW bank Index. The New York based company JP Morgan dropped 2.2 percent to 35.12 US dollars.

Eastman Kodak Co is having advanced talks and discussions with the Citigroup Inc for providing the bankruptcy financing solutions as the photography company starts to file lawsuits according to the related people in this matter. The Kodak Company is now facing losses at the moment. Kodak can seek security from the creditors in some weeks and after that hold an auction for selling the patent portfolio. It has been said by the people who has claimed not to be identified because the talks are been kept private.

The financial advisors of the Kodak Company are lining up for a bidder which can either be the leader or the bidder required for the patent portfolio. Kodak‘s cash savings and the equities dropped to 862 million US dollars in the end of the third quarter from the 1.4 billion US dollars before a year earlier. The company can declare the next scheduled report of the fourth quarter in the later January.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company TEPCO shares hit all time low by approximately twelve percent just after the news came on Nikkei newspaper that the Japanese government will look out for buying the common shares for taking the maximum control of the utilization. The stocks fell surprisingly by twelve percent which is the lowest fall in the price in a single day. It was at the one seventy yen mark at the beginning of the day in the Tokyo stock exchange.

Tepco touched all time low before the March 11 earthquake and when the Tsunami struck the vast Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear power plant which caused the nuclear radiation to leak and as a result there were mass evacuations from there. The Government backed programs such as the nuclear damage Liability fund are there to inject the amount of one trillion yen into the Power Company so that it can stand again. Sources say that without this amount the company can go bankrupt in a couple of years.

The euro (EUR) fingered an 11-year low in opposition to the yen and traded 0.3 percent from the least in just about 16 months in opposition to the dollar earlier than the German and French leaders gathers amid signs the province’s sovereign-debt crisis is damping enlargement outlooks.

The 17-nation euro slid in opposition to the majority of major counterparts to the front of a report today predict to demonstrate industrial production in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, refused in the month of November. The dollar gained subsequent to statistics last week showed the U.S. labor souk is increasing. Australia’s currency dropped subsequent to a report showed retail sales unpredictably stagnated in the month of November. The Philippine peso fell for a third day previous to a report on exports.

The euro chopped down 0.2 percent to 97.74 yen as of 1:49 p.m. in Singapore subsequent to earlier dropping to 97.28, the least since December 2000.

Asian currencies weakened, led by Indonesia’s rupiah and the Philippine peso, as apprehension Europe’s debt crisis will worsen damped insist for emerging-market possessions.

The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index (ADXY) chopped down for a second day subsequent to UniCredit SpA, Italy’s largest bank, said it will sell shares at a 43 percent reduction to the Jan. 3 closing price to hoist capital. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said the recent past the financial system could fall down as early as March if the country doesn’t accept profits cuts desirable to secure more international aid. The MSCI Asia Pacific (MXAP) Index of shares mislaid 0.4 percent.

“Europe’s debt apprehension turns around the risk-on mood and makes the dollar stronger,” said Norawit Suparinayok, a foreign- exchange trader at Bangkok Bank Pcl. “Asian currencies may be weaker in opposition to the dollar.”

The rupiah chopped down for a fourth day, slipping 0.3 percent to 9,166 per dollar as of 9:49 a.m. in Jakarta, according to costs from local banks accumulated by Bloomberg.

Japan is poised to make public a currency-swap line with India in its subsequent international financial conformity with top Asian powers current week.

Finance Minister Jun Azumi told reporters in the present day in Tokyo that Japan is conferring conformity with India, the third- largest financial system in Asia in the rear China and Japan. The deal is probable to be unveiled for the duration of a trip by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to India that starts in the present day, with the amount of the exchange line concerning $10 billion, a Japanese government administrator said on circumstance of anonymity.

Japan decided with China two days previously to promote direct trading of the yen and yuan devoid of using dollars and begin purchases of Chinese bonds for its foreign-exchange reserves. The agreement with India would enlarge the capability to respond to financial shocks as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s administration challenges with a fall in the rupee that risks stoking inflation.

The Australian dollar rose, enlarge its increases this week, previous to U.S. reports that may show enhancements in home sales and consumer spending, improving insist for higher-yielding currencies.

The so-called Aussie reinforced to a two-week elevated in opposition to the yen as Asian stocks extensive a rally in worldwide equities. The New Zealand currency, recognized as the kiwi, briefly pared a weekly proceed after an earthquake smacked near the city of Christchurch. Demand for the South Pacific nations’ currencies was incomplete as Italy organizes to vend bonds next week among concern Europe’s debt crisis will weigh on worldwide economic enlargement.

The Australian dollar boosted 0.4 percent to $1.0174 at 2:17 p.m. in Sydney from the close in New York former times. It is place for a 1.9 percent increase this week. The currency rose as much as 0.4 percent to 79.51 yen, the uppermost stage since Dec. 8, before trading at 79.45.