O segundo maior banco privado português em activos, tinha um rácio de core-capital de 8,2 pct no final de Junho último.”Esta operação poderá gerar um efeito positivo no rácio de core-tier I do banco até 147 pontos base, considerando os activos ponderados pelo risco de 66,4 mil ME em 30 de Junho de 2011”, referiu o BES, em comunicado.Acrescentou que o BES “proporá também o acréscimo do montante máximo de autorização para deliberar aumentar o capital social de 5 mil ME para 7,5 mil ME”.”(Esta) proposta visa conceder-lhe (BES) uma maior flexibilidade para deliberar eventuais aumentos de capital que se afigurem necessários no futuro”, explicou o BES.Destacou que estes aumentos de capitais estarão sujeitos ao direito legal de preferência dos accionistas, salvo nos casos em que a AG expressamente limitar ou suprimir tal direito de preferência.Os termos do ‘bailout’ de Portugal obrigam os bancos portugueses, não só a atingir aqueles 9 pct de core-Tier 1 em 2011, mas também a reforçá-lo para 10 pct em 2012, face à exigência anterior de um mínimo de 8 pct até ao fim de 2011.Este resgate externo de 78.000 ME da União Europeia (UE) e do Fundo Monetário Internacional (FMI) contém uma linha de recapitalização da banca nacional no montante de 12.000 ME e prevê uma linha de 35.000 ME de garantias do Estado para os bancos emitirem dívida.BES PEDE GARANTIAS ESTADO EMITIR ATÉ 3,5 MIL ME OBRIGAÇÕESO BES destacou que, por forma a reforçar a sua posição de liquidez, “pretende solicitar a concessão de garantias do Estado Português para três emissões de obrigações não subordinadas, com maturidade de até 3 anos, no montante máximo global de 3,5 mil ME.Assim, o ‘board’ do BES apresentará Ã  AG propostas para a supressão dos direitos de preferência dos accionistas em caso de aumento de capital decorrente do eventual accionamento daquelas garantias.Os bancos portugueses passaram os ‘stress tests’ das autoridades europeias em Julho de 2011, mas o Banco de Portugal (BP) ter urgido a banca a reforçar os seus capitais e a fazerem um processo “gradual e ordenado” de desalavancagem, vendendo carteiras de crédito e activos, diminuindo assim a sua dependência de financiamento do Banco Central Europeu (BCE).O banco central tem destacado que uma das vulnerabilidades do sector financeiro português é o risco de liquidez e de financiamento dado que, com o agravar da crise financeira, os mercados ‘wholesale’ se fecharam e os bancos estão muito dependentes do ‘funding’ do BCE.Em Setembro de 2011, o BCE cedeu 45.620 ME em liquidez aos bancos portugueses, face aos 46.019 ME em Agosto de 2011 e contra o recorde histórico de 49.100 ME em Agosto de 2010. (Por Sérgio Gonçalves)

S&P 500 futures rose 15.3 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 122 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 25.5 points.

* Says plant capacity expansion scheduled to come on stream in late-2013Oct 14 (Reuters) - Encana Corp , Canada’s largest gas producer, has entered into an agreement with Pembina Pipeline Corp as it looks to triple liquids-rich natural gas production in the Alberta deep basin.Pembina, which operates several conduits that transport crude oil and gas liquids to major pipeline hubs, will invest about C$230 million to expand the processing and liquids extraction capacity of the Resthaven plant.The Resthaven area, located in west central Alberta, is known for its prolific liquids rich natural gas supply.In the first of the two-phase expansion, Encana expects to boost extraction of natural gas liquids (NGLs) at Resthaven to about 8,000 barrels per day (bpd) from about 1,000 bpd.The second phase is expected to add another 4,000 barrels per day of extracted NGLs from Encana’s liquids-rich natural gas production in the region.Encana, which has been looking to divest $1-$2 billion worth of non-core assets, sold some natural gas midstream assets in Colorado and its Barnett Shale natural gas assets in North Texas to cut back on spending and cope with weak natural gas prices.”Over the next number of years, we expect our NGLs extraction to triple from about 10,000 barrels per day to about 30,000 barrels per day,” said Renee Zemljak, Encana’s executive vice-president, marketing, midstream & fundamentals.Encana is looking at production of 12,000 bpd at Resthaven, about 5,000 bpd at Musreau and more than 3,000 bpd at Gordondale, representing an incremental growth of about 20,000 bpd of NGLs.The plant capacity expansion is scheduled to come on stream in late-2013.While Encana shares closed at C$20.77 on Thursday, Pembina closed at C$25.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The two engine makers also said they will form a partnership to develop engines for mid-size aircraft that in future years will replace new, revamped versions of the Airbus A320 and Boeing (BA.N) 737 narrow-body jets.Pratt, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) and Britain’s Rolls Royce will hold an equal share in this new venture, which will focus on geared turbofan technology and study open rotor technology and other engine configurations.”The buyout of Rolls-Royce is not unexpected; the stunning part of this announcement is the creation of a new joint venture to go for the heart of the market with an initial focus on the geared turbofan,” said Seattle-based aerospace analyst Scott Hamilton.The move crystallizes a spat between the two leading members of one of two transatlantic alliances that have quietly dominated the market for aircraft engines for more than a quarter of a century.International Aero Engines, founded in 1983 and based in Glastonbury, Connecticut, brought together Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney and German and Japanese partners to provide a four-nation alternative to CFM International, a French-American joint venture between General Electric Co (GE.N) and Snecma, now part of French state-controlled group Safran (SAF.PA).The two alliances compete to power Airbus A320 passenger jets, while CFM has a monopoly on Boeing’s rival 737, the world’s most-sold aircraft. Such aircraft are the backbone of most airline fleets, generating many thousands of engine sales and a thriving long-term spare parts business.But Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce disagreed over the next step as Pratt took a gamble on a new engine known as the Geared Turbofan.Airbus’s decision to offer the new Pratt geared turbofan engine and a competing CFM model on a revamped version of its A320, called the neo, produced a surge of sales and prompted Boeing this year to announce plans to sell a “re-engined” version of its 737 called the MAX. But Rolls vetoed the engine being sold through IAE.NO DIVORCEBoth companies, however, denied that IAE, which has more than 4,500 engines in service and about 2,000 on order, had ended in divorce.”IAE has not resulted in divorce. Rolls-Royce is going to remain a very full partner of IAE for the next 15 years at least,” said Mark King, president of civil aerospace at the U.K. company.”The two companies are saying we want to work together in the future despite the fact that we are not participating in the (A320) neo,” he told reporters on a conference call.As part of the IAE restructuring, Rolls-Royce will continue to make engine parts and assemble 50 percent of the V2500 engine that powers the A320 family. Rolls will also get payment for each hour flown by the current fleet of V2500-powered aircraft for 15 years.”We have found a way to continue working together currently and then plan for the future,” said Todd Kallman, president for commercial engines and global services at Pratt & Whitney.Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney have set out different visions of what the next generation of engines to be seen from the middle of next decade might look like, with the U.S. company expressing little interest in the Open Rotor or unducted fan concept favored by Rolls-Royce. This would see engines with twin rows of visible fan blades rather than powerplants that are fully encased inside engine housings.Rolls and CFM both believe such engines will mark a clean break from current technology and will be far more efficient, but they say about a decade of work is needed to develop the required technology and overcome problems like noise.Though the buyout makes Pratt the majority shareholder in IAE, the company said it intends to offer a portion of the Rolls shares it is buying to its other IAE partners: Germany’s MTU Aero Engines and Japanese Aero Engines Corp.”This looks like a good deal for both parties, allowing them to focus on their current engine priorities (the Geared Turbofan for Pratt, and the Trent for Rolls), whilst laying the groundwork for the successor to the V2500 on the next generation of narrow bodies in the middle of the next decade,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Stallard wrote to clients.Rolls-Royce will also make a “modest financial investment” in the Pratt geared turbofan that is an option for the Airbus A320 neo narrowbody.Pratt’s geared turbofan engine, which also powers the all-new Bombardier (BBDb.TO) CSeries jet, has secured more than 1,000 orders.