Last-chance saloon for world's bond issuers as Fed looms

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHa-QJsrYcoNGRTW76XdZO1AHSmhojtKQwv5wYt9UGq6y_bEJONhpxvmvsbS8FFN1ceTqDU5RtR4cFGjfqN9JeVNTvlwp1HaE3kaAuhi58Tf_JnLxinB0SXGLVrkHVUiVulbdEEzACl4/s1600/45801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Last-chance saloon for world's bond issuers as Fed looms" border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHa-QJsrYcoNGRTW76XdZO1AHSmhojtKQwv5wYt9UGq6y_bEJONhpxvmvsbS8FFN1ceTqDU5RtR4cFGjfqN9JeVNTvlwp1HaE3kaAuhi58Tf_JnLxinB0SXGLVrkHVUiVulbdEEzACl4/s400/45801.jpg" title="Last-chance saloon for world's bond issuers as Fed looms" width="400" /></a></div> <h2 style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://www.newsupdate360.com/2013/09/last-chance-saloon-for-worlds-bond.html">Last-chance saloon for world's bond issuers as Fed looms</a></h2> <div> <br /></div> <div> Companies and countries around the world are rushing to tap global bond markets before borrowing costs hurtle even higher, with many paying big yield premiums to replenish their coffers.</div> <div> <div> With the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield - the risk-free rate against which all assets are benchmarked - a whisker under 3 percent, money is still cheap by historical standards.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> But the U.S. Federal Reserve's preparations to roll back its $85 billion-a-month stimulus mean yields are likely to climb steadily from current levels.</div> <div> A jumbo $49 billion deal from telecoms firm Verizon is grabbing headlines but new deals are flooding into the market from around the globe and across the ratings spectrum.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Those raising funds recently range from triple-A-grade German development bank KfW to junk credits such as Mozambique and in-between sovereigns such as Russia and Indonesia.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Thomson Reuters data shows companies have raised almost $90 billion in 154 deals in the first 10 days of September, which is typically a busy month for issuance after the summer lull. That compares with $155 billion sold in August and is well above a bumper average 10-day issuance rate from January to May.</div> <div> "It feels like people are seeing this as a window that's closing, a last-chance saloon to get the cheap funding through the door," Bill Street, head of investments for EMEA at State Street, said of the spike in primary bond issuance.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Stakes are probably highest for emerging market borrowers, corporate and sovereign, whose funding costs tumbled as cheap liquidity flowed from major central banks.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Some countries need to replenish tens of billions of dollars blown to support currencies which have fallen up to 20 percent against the dollar since May, when the first hints of an end to Fed stimulus sparked huge stock and bond market outflows.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> "With the currency downside and the draw on (central bank) reserves, sovereigns are more in need of issuing," said David Spegel, head of emerging debt research at ING Bank in New York.</div> <div> This explains why Indonesia chose to market an Islamic bond at the height of its currency sell-off in August and why Russia raised $7 billion this week, even paying a 10-20 basis point premium to its existing dollar bond curve. Moscow is estimated to have spent over $6 billion on currency markets last month.</div> </div> </div>

Last-chance saloon for world's bond issuers as Fed looms Companies and countries around the world are rushing to tap global bond...

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U.S. hiring data expected to show modest progress

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghuJRxzBxiwRvjzmN305O3yZgb5-ZTIYNx4FTbbpkQC91_DHMkNMQOMIplG5M_fjPbwQPi7uodpr6fsdF9EIO1nRxTL9bhsl9uMX_qpX9dj7yY1KHK2QNltz4ic1ESoe2W1fBJBAi5IXo/s1600/news.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="U.S. hiring data expected to show modest progress" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghuJRxzBxiwRvjzmN305O3yZgb5-ZTIYNx4FTbbpkQC91_DHMkNMQOMIplG5M_fjPbwQPi7uodpr6fsdF9EIO1nRxTL9bhsl9uMX_qpX9dj7yY1KHK2QNltz4ic1ESoe2W1fBJBAi5IXo/s400/news.jpg" title="U.S. hiring data expected to show modest progress" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S. hiring data expected to show modest progress</td></tr> </tbody></table> <h2 style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://www.newsupdate360.com/2013/08/us-hiring-data-expected-to-show-modest.html">U.S. hiring data expected to show modest progress</a></h2> <br />  U.S. employers likely hired enough workers in July to push the jobless rate to a near four-year low, which could bolster expectations the Federal Reserve will start drawing down its<br /> huge economic stimulus program later this year.<br /> <br /> The number of jobs outside the farming sector could increase by 184,000, with the unemployment rate ticking down a tenth of a point to 7.5 percent, according to a Reuters poll of economists.<br /> <br /> While the U.S. economy has appeared stuck in low gear since exiting the 2007-09 recession, the job market has inched toward recovery at a steady pace.<br /> <br /> July's expected growth in payrolls, while a slight downshift from the pace in June, would essentially match the average monthly gain clocked since 2011.<br /> <br /> "The U.S. economy is grinding along for the better, but it's going to be a long and slow grind," said Tanweer Akram, an economist at ING U.S. Investment Management in Atlanta.<br /> <br /> The Labor Department will release its monthly employment report at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Friday. The expected drop in the jobless rate would take it back to April's level, which was the lowest since December 2008.<br /> <br /> The data could reinforce the view that the U.S. recovery has advanced enough to get by with less help from the Fed, which currently buys $85 billion a month in bonds to keep borrowing costs low.<br /> <br /> The stimulus program has lowered interest rates, spurring growth in the country's beleaguered housing market and boosting car sales. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month the U.S. central bank would likely reduce the level of monthly purchases by the end of the year, and end them by mid-2014.<br /> <br /> The Fed's policymaking committee wrapped up a two-day meeting on Wednesday without any change to the program. The panel's statement, however, referenced new factors that could be seen as risks to growth: a recent rise in mortgage rates and persistently low inflation. Central bank policymakers next meet in September.<br /> <br /> STRUCTURAL CONCERNS<br /> <br /> Many economists believe another month of trend-rate hiring would lead the Fed to trim its bond buying in September.<br /> <br /> But Friday's jobs report could also entertain darker views on the economy.<br /> <br /> For one, analysts wonder if the pace of job creation can be sustained given slower-than-expected economic growth.<br /> <br /> Gross domestic product, a measure of the nation's economic output, grew at a mere 1.4 percent annual rate in the first half of the year, down from 2.5 percent in the same period of 2012.</div>

U.S. hiring data expected to show modest progress U.S. hiring data expected to show modest progress  U.S. employers likely hired eno...

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Asian shares buoyed by U.S. data, accommodative central banks

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIzTaFTTanwJ5w7fafEFH-xl5-cfjre7XYRFKChCD7N_QfPeLMPeStIvSkvuMIN9U7YJKCiJ6Eys660RmBkwsFeLPVqgAGAWt5tjuX8-Z-RgFMk_6POcqJ140lM04OXMao1UPgIgJSoiI/s1600/market.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Asian shares buoyed by U.S. data, accommodative central banks" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIzTaFTTanwJ5w7fafEFH-xl5-cfjre7XYRFKChCD7N_QfPeLMPeStIvSkvuMIN9U7YJKCiJ6Eys660RmBkwsFeLPVqgAGAWt5tjuX8-Z-RgFMk_6POcqJ140lM04OXMao1UPgIgJSoiI/s400/market.jpg" title="Asian shares buoyed by U.S. data, accommodative central banks" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asian shares buoyed by U.S. data, accommodative central banks</td></tr> </tbody></table> <h2 style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://www.newsupdate360.com/2013/08/asian-shares-buoyed-by-u.html">Asian shares buoyed by U.S. data, accommodative central banks</a></h2> <div> Asian shares advanced on Friday after brisk U.S. factory activity data and a commitment to easy monetary policy by European central banks and the Federal Reserve buoyed Wall Street to record highs overnight.</div> Stirred by optimism on the U.S. economic recovery, the yield on benchmark U.S. Treasuries edged closer to a two-year high and triggered a sharp rebound in the dollar from a six-week low hit against a basket of currencies on Wednesday.<br /> <br /> European shares look set to reach highs not seen for more than two months, with Germany's Dax (.GDAXI) seen rising as much as 0.5 percent, the France's CAC 40 (.FCHI) 0.3 percent, and Britain's FTSE (.FTSE) 0.2 percent.<br /> <br /> U.S. stock futures pointed to further gains later in the day.<br /> <br /> A strong reading in U.S. payrolls data, due at 1230 GMT (8.30 a.m. ET), would likely to stoke momentum in markets, possibly pushing the 10-year U.S. yield to new two-year highs.<br /> "Essentially, the market is waiting for a global economic recovery in the latter half of this year," said Tohru Yamamoto, chief fixed income strategist at Daiwa Securities.<br /> <br /> "We had a decent Chinese manufacturing data yesterday. Periphery European countries are also improving recently. And central banks have confirmed that easy policy will be in place. These are the reasons why a rise in bond yields are not destabilizing share prices today, unlike in June," he added.<br /> <br /> The European Central Bank and the Bank of England both ended policy meetings by leaving interest rates at record lows on Thursday, a day after the Fed said the U.S. economy still needed its support and avoided any mention of a change to its stimulus measures.<br /> <br /> Japan's Nikkei share average (NIK:^9452) rose 2.7 percent, while ex-Japan Asian shares gained 0.3 percent <.miapj0000pus>.<br /> <br /> Shares in South Korea (.KS11) and Hong Kong (.HSI) hit two-month peaks while Australian stocks (.AXJO) rose to a 2 1/2-month highs.<br /> <br /> On Thursday, the Dow Jones index (.DJI) rose 0.8 percent and S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 1.3 percent to end above 1,700 for the first time ever.<br /> <br /> The dollar index held onto Thursday's gains of 1.1 percent, its biggest one-day rally in a month, to stand at 82.318 (.DXY), extending its rebound from six-week low of 81.407 hit on Wednesday.<br /> <br /> The broad rally in the dollar saw the euro ease to $1.3206, flat on the day but off Wednesday's six-week high of $1.3345, while the yen fell towards 100 per dollar, well off this week's high around 97.58.<br /> The Australian dollar hit a three-year low as the currency was still smarting from dovish comments by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday.</div>

Asian shares buoyed by U.S. data, accommodative central banks Asian shares buoyed by U.S. data, accommodative central banks Asian sh...

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CIT cuts off credit to some J.C. Penney vendors: source

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCQt5qqhedqjTWa7UFPpMOfn07bYf0uV2cLQPA0HgC1Oi7wjCSzDW_jb-fphfYN88UhM-nF2hcCCQC5fieBC0RtLktlUZDIwtkJwLa9Jn4YyFoRn1q8bmMG7kvAqz7ln6YF9sAadHalQ/s1600/jpeny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="CIT cuts off credit to some J.C. Penney vendors: source" border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCQt5qqhedqjTWa7UFPpMOfn07bYf0uV2cLQPA0HgC1Oi7wjCSzDW_jb-fphfYN88UhM-nF2hcCCQC5fieBC0RtLktlUZDIwtkJwLa9Jn4YyFoRn1q8bmMG7kvAqz7ln6YF9sAadHalQ/s400/jpeny.jpg" title="CIT cuts off credit to some J.C. Penney vendors: source" width="400" /></a></div> <h2 style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://www.newsupdate360.com/2013/07/cit-cuts-off-credit-to-some-jc-penney.html">CIT cuts off credit to some J.C. Penney vendors: source</a></h2> <div> <br /></div> <div> <div> Commercial lender CIT Group (CIT) abruptly stopped funding some future shipments to J.C. Penney Co (JCP), a source familiar with the situation said Wednesday, in a move that could disrupt the retailer's holiday shipments and hamper sales</div> <div> .</div> <div> CIT met with Penney officials on Tuesday and is in talks with the department store chain to resolve the issue, the source said.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Finance companies such as CIT, known in the industry as factors, provide short-term loans to suppliers while they are waiting to be paid by those receiving their goods or services.</div> <div> The news sent Penney shares down more than 10 percent on Wednesday and created another setback for Chief Executive Mike Ullman, who has been trying to rebuild the company since returning in April.</div> <div> His predecessor, Ron Johnson, had tried to remake Penney into a more fashionable department store, but shoppers rejected the concept and sales fell 25 percent last fiscal year.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Ullman, who was brought back to succeed Johnson, has largely restored Penney's original strategy focused on deep discounts and coupons.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Penney recently lined up a five-year $2.25 billion financing package to shore up its liquidity, but analysts had said sales growth was likely to return only at the end of the year.</div> <div> Penney did not respond to several requests for comment about Wednesday's news, and CIT declined to comment.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> CIT, which months ago added a 1 percent surcharge on invoices to Penney vendors, may want detailed financial data ahead of the department store chain's quarterly earnings on August 20, said the industry source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and declined to be named.</div> <div> Wall Street analysts expect Penney to report that same-store sales declined 6.7 percent in the second quarter, while the larger sector is expected to report a 3.1 percent average increase, according to Thomson Reuters.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> CIT's move could disrupt holiday deliveries if Penney suppliers end up sending smaller shipments, or less merchandise, said Mark Cohen, former chief executive of Sears Canada who is a professor of marketing at Columbia University in New York.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Penney will inevitably take a hit at a time its gross profit margin is already under enormous pressure since it reverted to its original pricing strategy in April, Cohen said.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> "They may have to pay substantially more for the merchandise one way or another," Cohen said.</div> <div> CIT, run by Wall Street executive John Thain, temporarily halted loans to Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD) suppliers in January 2012 after the company posted dismal holiday results. It resumed funding a few months later after Sears provided assurances about its finances.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The decline in Penney's stock on Wednesday is the latest blow to activist investor William Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management owns an 18 percent stake in Penney.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Ackman's fund took another hit on Wednesday when Herbalife Ltd (HLF) shares rose 9.1 percent. Ackman has made a $1 billion bet that the nutritional supplements company is a pyramid scheme and that its shares would fall.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The investor unveiled on Wednesday a $2.2 billion stake, his biggest bet ever, on Air Products & Chemicals Inc (APD).</div> </div> </div>

CIT cuts off credit to some J.C. Penney vendors: source Commercial lender CIT Group (CIT) abruptly stopped funding some future ship...

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S&P 500 ends flat as Fed sticks with easy money script

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIHIOguStdNmCnqOJKhm3HwvoCw5035-6k8HtCi8L_vnwxa5DLF7wPySFM9NJ1Yd8KDWqVmrqcLDZ8GBG9aOc-hVag6lJS_aNFo-PsK8ZROVEDk_0WLkZTeMvAuQzsvEHdYaNITkWM_I/s1600/bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="S&P 500 ends flat as Fed sticks with easy money script" border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIHIOguStdNmCnqOJKhm3HwvoCw5035-6k8HtCi8L_vnwxa5DLF7wPySFM9NJ1Yd8KDWqVmrqcLDZ8GBG9aOc-hVag6lJS_aNFo-PsK8ZROVEDk_0WLkZTeMvAuQzsvEHdYaNITkWM_I/s400/bus.jpg" title="S&P 500 ends flat as Fed sticks with easy money script" width="400" /></a></div> <h2 style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://www.newsupdate360.com/2013/07/s-500-ends-flat-as-fed-sticks-with-easy.html">S&P 500 ends flat as Fed sticks with easy money script</a></h2> <div> <div> The S&P 500 finished a volatile session nearly flat on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve gave no hint that a reduction in the pace of its bond-buying program is imminent.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The benchmark index pulled back just before the close after rising within 2 points of 1,700, a key resistance level that the S&P 500 has struggled to break.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> All three major stock indexes posted sharp gains for July, however, with the S&P 500's 5 percent increase its best monthly percentage gain since January.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> In a statement following its two-day policy meeting, the Fed said the economy continues to recover but still needs support. The central bank said it would keep buying $85 billion per month in Treasury and mortgage securities in an effort to strengthen the economy.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Most growth-oriented sector indexes finished the session higher, with the S&P consumer discretionary index (.SPLRCD) up 0.5 percent.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> At the same time, dividend-paying stocks such as utilities slipped. The S&P utility index (.SPLRCU) slid 0.7 percent.</div> <div> "The statement was clearly more well received than the last. The Fed continues to try to talk down the concerns of kind of a premature taper," said Burt White, chief investment officer of LPL Financial in Boston.</div> <div> The Fed's stimulus has been credited by many as central to the S&P 500's gain of 18.2 percent so far this year.</div> <div> Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke jolted markets in late May by saying the central bank planned to ease back on its stimulus efforts once the economy improves. Many economists expect the Fed to reduce its bond-buying pace in September.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Late in the session, shares of J.C. Penney (JCP.N) sank 10.2 percent to $14.60 after commercial lender CIT Group (CIT.N) stopped supporting deliveries from smaller manufacturers to the department store chain, according to a New York Post report. The stock was the S&P 500's biggest percentage loser.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) slipped 21.05 points, or 0.14 percent, to end at 15,499.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^GSPC) dipped 0.23 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to finish at 1,685.73.</div> <div> In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) rose 9.90 points, or 0.27 percent, to close at 3,626.37.</div> <div> For the month of July, the Dow rose 4 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 5 percent and the Nasdaq gained 6.6 percent.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Stocks opened modestly higher on Wednesday after data showed the U.S. economy gained momentum in the second quarter and private-sector employers added more jobs than expected. Gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 1.7 percent in the second quarter, exceeding the forecast for growth at a 1 percent pace. Payrolls processor ADP reported that private-sector employers added 200,000 jobs in July - an encouraging sign ahead of the U.S. Labor Department's release on Friday of the nonfarm payrolls data for July.</div> <div> The Dow set an all-time intraday high of 15,634.32 at about 10:38 a.m., a Thomson Reuters chart showed.</div> <div> Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reached their session highs shortly before 3 p.m. The S&P 500 climbed as high as 1,698.43 in the wake of the Fed's statement, while the Nasdaq reached a session high of 3,649.35, its highest since late 2000.</div> <div> It was the 10th straight session where the S&P 500 traded within 10 points of the 1,700 level. A rise above that level could signal that stocks have more room to rise.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The late-day pullback was "technicals more than anything else," said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners in New York.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> After the bell, shares of Whole Foods (WFM) declined 1.6 percent to $54.68 following the release of its quarterly results.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> In Wednesday's session, the shares of credit card companies ranked among the biggest losers. Shares of Visa (NYS:V) dropped 7.5 percent to $177.01 and had the biggest negative impact on the S&P 500. Shares of American Express (AXP), a Dow component, slid 1.9 percent to $73.77.</div> <div> In another milestone set earlier in the session, Facebook Inc's (FB.O) stock traded above its initial public offering price of $38 for the first time since its market debut in May 2012. The stock rose as high as $38.31. Facebook closed at $36.80, down 2.2 percent.</div> </div> <div> <br /></div> </div>

S&P 500 ends flat as Fed sticks with easy money script The S&P 500 finished a volatile session nearly flat on Wednesday as th...

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NSA chief: agency programs prevented over 50 potential terrorist acts

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <h1 class="headline" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; line-height: 1.21em; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEIga9WUhJaBCAX5AznXw48yqzU5vqsZm0Ow4DpjJ4U2RSN8rDJcmkuGY1A-wgx2LHxMmxZg4x_vCfNEll_Vsq6GTAJE5kkprwfHVjFynVRiGDan_1Xs76xXZLEsRtmnBst6-pFEywls/s1600/2013-06-18T151727Z_3_CBRE95H15YC00_RTROPTP_2_USA-SECURITY.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="NSA chief: agency programs prevented over 50 potential terrorist acts" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEIga9WUhJaBCAX5AznXw48yqzU5vqsZm0Ow4DpjJ4U2RSN8rDJcmkuGY1A-wgx2LHxMmxZg4x_vCfNEll_Vsq6GTAJE5kkprwfHVjFynVRiGDan_1Xs76xXZLEsRtmnBst6-pFEywls/s400/2013-06-18T151727Z_3_CBRE95H15YC00_RTROPTP_2_USA-SECURITY.JPG" title="NSA chief: agency programs prevented over 50 potential terrorist acts" width="400" /></a></h1> <div> <h2 style="text-align: left;"> NSA chief: agency programs prevented over 50 potential terrorist acts</h2> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Keith Alexander, the director of the U.S. National Security Agency, said on Tuesday that the NSA's data gathering programs had prevented potential terrorist attacks more than 50 times since September 11, 2001.<br /> "In recent years these programs, together with other intelligence, have protected the U.S. and our allies from terrorist threats across the globe to include helping prevent ... potential terrorist events over 50 times since 9/11," he said in testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee.<br /> Alexander said the intelligence agencies would give documents about those cases to the committee in a classified setting on Wednesday for its review and that he would discuss two thwarted plots during his testimony on Tuesday.</div> </div>

NSA chief: agency programs prevented over 50 potential terrorist acts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Keith Alexander, the director of ...

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