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Phil
April 5th, 2010 at 10:51 am

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the world’s large economies are close to agreeing on a "global responsibility levy" on banks that would cost the financial sector billions of pounds a year, but he played down expectations that a deal could be struck at the next G-20 meeting in June.

The probe into the role of AIG’s (AIG) executives in the insurer’s collapse has "hit a brick wall" and likely will end without a single criminal charge, sources say. Investigators are unable to uncover evidence that exec Joseph Cassano lied to his bosses or shareholders about the company’s financial problems.

Buybacks could fuel the equities rally, with companies holding a record cash pile after spending the lowest percentage of profits on repurchases since 2003 – just before a four-year climb for stocks began. Mizuho expects repurchase spending to nearly double to $235B this year on surging earnings.

Tesoro (TSO -6.3%) shares tumble after Friday’s chemical explosion that killed five workers at its Anacortes, Wash., plant. The blast triggered the second federal investigation in six months of Tesoro, the west coast’s biggest refiner. Not quite the way a new CEO wants to start.

Feb. Pending Home Sales: +8.2% to 97.6, vs. -0.5% expected, and compared with the prior month’s -7.6% to 90.4. Sales +17.3% Y/Y. "Anecdotally, we’re hearing about a rise of activity in recent weeks with ongoing reports of multiple offers in more markets," says NAR’s Lawrence Yun.

Mar. Employment Trends Index: 94.4 vs. revised 93.7 in Feb., the seventh straight month of increase. "The solid rise in the ETI and the widespread improvement across its components suggest that the March increase in employment was not a fluke," Conference Board says.

March ISM Non-Manufacturing Index: 55.4 vs. 53.5 expected and 53 prior (>50 denotes expansion). Prices rose to 62.9 from 60.4. Employment rose to 49.8 from 48.6. New orders rose to 62.3 from 55.