World important news by Gita

* G20 set to stop short of mandatory commodities position limits* G20 discuss strengthening FSBBy Francesca Landini and Huw JonesPARIS/LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s top economies are set to back a mandatory capital surcharge on big lenders of up to 2.5 percent to be phased in from 2016.A draft communique from a meeting of G20 finance chiefs endorses a 1-2.5 percent capital surcharge on top banks like Goldman Sachs , HSBC , Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase .The aim is to make sure they have enough capital to withstand market turbulence so that taxpayers won’t have to rescue banks again in the next crisis.A summit of the G20 leaders in Cannes, France in early November is set to give final approval to the surcharge plan and name the banks affected, known as global systemically important financial institution or G-SIFIs, G20 sources said.”Now that the framework applicable to G-SIFIs is agreed, we urge the Financial Stability Board to define the modalities to extend expeditiously the framework to all SIFIs,” the draft communique obtained by Reuters said.Insurers are battling against a surcharge as second tier banks.The charge — which will be in addition to a 7 percent minimum core capital buffer being phased in for all banks from 2013 — is part of a wider package the G20 ministers are set to endorse on Saturday.The other elements include common “tools” for supervisors to wind up ailing banks, compulsory “living wills” or resolution plans for every big bank, and more intensive supervision for large lenders, the communique said.The FSB, which formulates and coordinates financial regulation on behalf of the G20, has already drawn up criteria to determine which banks face a surcharge.It has said 28 banks would be affected if the regime was introduced immediately but G20 sources said the Cannes summit may name up to 50 lenders.POSITION LIMITSThe FSB is also expected to update ministers on its work to define the so-called shadow banking sector before thrashing out recommendations next year to regulate it.Supervisors fear that as banks face tougher rules, risky activities could migrate to other parts of the financial system such as money market funds and special vehicles.G20 presidency France appears to have lost its battle to introduce tough curbs on what it sees as speculation in food and energy commodity markets by imposing limits on the size of positions a trader can hold at any given time.G20 sources said the group was expected to approve a report from the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, which groups national market watchdogs, on the benefit of imposing trading limits but it would remain “optional”.The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is set to discuss fixed limits on Tuesday but in Europe there is no consensus, with Britain opposed to such permanent curbs.STRONGER FSBBank of Italy Governor Mario Draghi is expected to propose strengthening the FSB, which he chairs, in order to ensure proper implementation of a welter of new rules the G20 has pledged to introduce, including the bank capital surcharge.Draghi, who steps down as chairman this month to become president of the European Central Bank, is expected to propose more members from emerging markets and developing countries on the FSB’s agenda-setting steering committee.Some Asian and Latin American countries feel the regulatory measures now being finalised plug supervisory holes in European and U.S markets and want their circumstances to shape future G20 regulatory work.Draghi also wants representatives of finance ministries on the steering committee to add political clout.”Draghi will also discuss the possibility to give FSB a legal personality and to allow it to receive resources from more diversified sources,” a G20 source said.Saturday’s meeting will also touch on who will replace Draghi. Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney is seen by some G20 officials as the main contender so far that the Cannes summit will endorse.G20 ministers are also expected to look at proposals to reinforce non-binding draft principles on financial consumer protection authored by the OECD which have been criticised for being too weak.

The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (cleancookstoves.org), headed by the United Nations Foundation and championed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, seeks to cut down on indoor air pollution in some of the globe’s poorest countries, where the most common way to cook is on an open fire inside the home.These household cooking fires contribute to 2 million deaths annually, more than are caused by malaria, according to the World Health Organization, which makes this the leading environmental cause of death.To help change this, some $150 million to $200 million worth of research needs to be done over the next decade to see that clean cookstoves get into the homes of the women most vulnerable to the hazards of indoor pollution, the scientists wrote in the journal Science.The research should include examinations of respiratory, cardiovascular and cancer risks as well as such life-cycle concerns as maternal, neonatal and child health, said Dr. William Martin II of the U.S. government’s National Institutes of Health, one of the report’s authors.”The role of women in reducing the health risks associated with household air pollution is critical,” Martin wrote from Moscow in response to emailed questions. “They are almost always the end users of the new stove of fuel technology. If it does not meet their needs, it will not be used, end of story.”The cookstoves are barely stoves at all, frequently just three flat stones to sit a pot on over a fire of twigs, without a chimney to get the smoke out of the house.WOMEN AND CHILDREN AT HIGHEST RISKWomen and children living in extreme poverty are at the highest risk of health problems from household smoke, because they tend to stay home during the day, while men are away and less exposed to indoor air pollution, the report said.Women and girls often are the fuel-gatherers, a time-consuming and hazardous task that can put them at risk of attacks when they venture far from their villages. The cooking fire is frequently just three flat stones to sit a pot on over a fire of twigs, without a chimney to get the smoke out of the house.More efficient stoves could cut the amount of fuel needed, and the risk to those who gather it.The idea of getting safer cookstoves into the homes of nearly 3 billion of the world’s poorest people has been tried for decades, but with limited success, the scientists wrote.There has been a lack of awareness of the problem, limited research into the health risks, a lack of affordable stoves and fuels and the logistical hurdle of distribution in poor areas.Research could also address just how much emissions of smoke and soot must be reduced by cleaner cookstoves to produce substantial health benefits.Giving the stoves away does not work, since that devalues them in the eyes of users, but making them too costly is another drawback, the scientists found.Men are often concerned about the price of the stoves, but if they are shown to save money on fuel and if the stoves can be paid for in a matter of months, they see long-term savings and become more enthusiastic, Miller wrote.There is no one-size-fits-all solution, he wrote, because “cooking is one of the most unique cultural practices around the world.” This means the design must be adaptable even if the inner workings are quite similar.

* Steepest 7-day rally by the S&P 500 since March 2009* Euro gains against U.S. dollar, yenBy Barani Krishnan and Rodrigo CamposNEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - World stocks advanced for a sixth straight day on Wednesday and the euro rose against the U.S. dollar after the final nation in the euro zone reached a deal to strengthen a regional bailout fund, boosting investor confidence.On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 stock index compiled a gain of 9.8 percent over the past seven sessions, its steepest advance since mid-March 2009.”It feels as though the market is experiencing the possibility of a melt-up,” said Hank Smith, chief investment officer of Haverford Trust Co in Philadelphia.”A lot of people who have been afraid of some of these big, macro risks are thinking: maybe we should get back in because this has been a rough year and it would be really rough if we missed a big fourth quarter,” he said.Another market moving up was oil where Brent crude rose for a sixth session to $110.82 a barrel, extending its gain to more than 11 percent in that period.Investor appetite for risk heightened after lawmakers in Slovakia struck a deal to ratify more powers for the euro zone’s rescue fund, effectively ending for now a crisis for the euro which also weighed on equities and other risky assets.Slovakia is the last country in the 17-member currency zone left to approve the revamped European Financial Stability Facility.”Europeans feel very comfortable that a plan has been put in place with respect to their banks and Greece, and the EFSF is going to solve the problem for now,” said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.Investors are also looking to the European Union to announce a bank recapitalization plan designed to cushion the impact any default by Greece could have on the region’s banks.The Dow Jones industrial average added 102.55 points, or 0.90 percent, to 11,518.85. The S&P 500 was up 11.71 points, or 0.98 percent, to 1,207.25. The Nasdaq Composite rose 21.70 points, or 0.84 percent, to 2,604.73.The euro’s strong gains also were helped by data showing strong industrial output in the region during August.The single currency rose 1.1 percent against the dollar to $1.37869. It touched a high of $1.38340 on the EBS trading platform, its strongest since Sept. 16.The euro also rallied against the yen , up 1.9 percent, peaking at 107.04 yen.Rising for the sixth session in a row, the MSCI world equity index gained 1.4 percent. U.S. dollar-denominated Nikkei futures gained 0.6 percent.Government bond prices fell, with 10-year U.S. Treasury notes in a dismal auction, as fewer investors sought safe haven and appetite for risk grew. Gold also lost its safety appeal, trading around $1,679 an ounce, off its intraday high above $1,691.U.S. bonds extended losses after the Treasury auctioned $21 billion in 10-year notes. The benchmark Treasury note fell 15/32 in price, to yield 2.22 percent, up from 2.208 percent at Tuesday’s close.