Geldof Africa fund raises $200 million

JOHANNESBURG - Irish rock star Bob Geldof has raised $200 million for his "8 Mile" African private equity fund, cementing a shift in his global anti-poverty crusade from rich world debt forgiveness to promoting private enterprise.

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World’s first yuan-denominated gold ETF makes weak debut

- The world's first yuan-denominated gold exchange-traded fund made a weak debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, but analysts said demand would likely pick up as investors became more familiar with the product.

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Japan equity funds see longest outflow in 15 years

TOKYO - Equity mutual funds based in Japan suffered net outflows for a fourth straight-month in January, the longest such spell in 15 years, though a recovery in global share prices pushed up asset values by nearly 3 percent.

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China CIC says wary of European govt bond investments

BEIJING - China Investment Corp remains wary about investing in European government bonds despite a plea from Germany's chancellor, but will look for opportunities in infrastructure and real industrial projects, the head of the country's $410 billion sovereign wealth fund said on Monday.

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Gold not a reliable inflation hedge – study

LONDON - Gold prices have been too volatile to play a reliable role as a hedge against inflation, a study of financial assets over the past 112 years showed on Tuesday.

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ING to sell Asia fund unit in separate deal

HONG KONG - ING has decided to split the sale of its Asian insurance business by auctioning its investment management business separately, in a move that allows a focused group of suitors to bid for the unit.

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Brewin Dolphin commission income slows

LONDON - Investment manager Brewin Dolphin suffered a slow first quarter as the global financial stresses of late 2011 spooked clients and translated into a 24.4 percent drop in commission income.

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FSA slaps record fine on ex-JC Flowers boss for fraud

LONDON - The Financial Services Authority has slapped a record fine on leading City financier Ravi Sinha for an invoicing scam when he was in charge of the European operations of U.S. buyout giant JC Flowers.

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Sovereign wealth fund assets to hit $5.2 trillion – report

LONDON - Assets managed by sovereign wealth funds are likely to grow 8 percent this year to $5.2 trillion after a 9 percent increase in 2011, a new report showed on Wednesday.

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Bond benchmarks put investors in undue danger

LONDON - Investors are needlessly exposing themselves to huge potential losses by defying two golden rules for making money through bonds - lend more to those who will pay on time in full and less to those already saturated in debt.

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