WASHINGTON (Reuters) – World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday he will step down in June, raising questions as to whether the United States will for the first time throw open the job it has always claimed as its own.

“I’m honored to have led such a world class institution with so many talented and exceptional people,” Zoellick said in a statement announcing his plans. Earlier, he had met with the World Bank’s 25-member board to inform them of his decision.

Speculation has been rife in recent months over who might take the job when Zoellick departs. Possible U.S. candidates include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former White House economic adviser Larry Summers.

Zoellick, a Republican, would potentially be a strong candidate for a senior position if a Republican takes the White House in presidential elections in November.

While the Obama administration has said it supports an open and transparent selection process to fill lead positions in global institutions, it is unlikely to forfeit the top job at the World Bank in an election year, development experts said.

Emerging market and developing countries have campaigned hard in recent years to break Europe’s grip on the International Monetary Fund and the United States’s hold on the World Bank top positions.

Officials from large emerging economies like Brazil said on Wednesday the selection process for Zoellick’s successor should be based on qualifications and not nationality. However, they acknowledged that given U.S. congressional pressure the job will probably remain in the hands of an American.

Last year, emerging market economies made an aggressive push to fill the IMF top job in a bitter contest won by France’s Christine Lagarde.

“I do not know whether the president has spoken with Mr Zoellick and I don’t have any information for you regarding possible successors,” White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters travelling with President Barack Obama on Air Force One.

“Asked specifically about Hillary Clinton or Larry Summers as possible candidates, Carney said, “There is a lot of speculation in the press about this and other jobs…I am not going to confirm any of it.”

Nancy Birsdall, who heads the Center for Global Development in Washington, said on paper the United States is committed to opening up the selection process to all, but political pressure from U.S. congressional leaders will keep the job in U.S. hands.

“The election year timing puts the White House in an especially unenviable position. There is a risk that the World Bank could become a highly partisan, U.S. hot-button issue, as the UN has too often been,” Birdsall wrote in a recent blog.

Development groups said it was time to open the job to other countries.

“The way the World Bank picks its president needs to change,” said Elizabeth Stuart, policy adviser for Oxfam, the global development group. “The Bank only operates in developing countries, so any candidate not supported by a majority of these countries would plainly lack legitimacy.”

STEADY AT THE HELM

Zoellick, a former U.S. chief trade negotiator and Deputy Secretary of State, became World Bank president in July 2007 amid a staff revolt against then president Paul Wolfowitz after revelations he had a role in giving his companion, a bank employee, a raise.

He immediately turned the bank’s attention on its development agenda, warning of a brewing food and energy price crisis, which was stirring social unrest in the poorest parts of the world.

As the bank looked for ways to help countries cushion the impact of skyrocketing food prices, a global financial crisis threatened to undermine more than a decade of strong growth in emerging and developing countries.

Under Zoellick, World Bank lending increased sharply to $44 billion in fiscal year 2010 from $13.5 billion in 2008, reflecting increased needs by fast-rising emerging and developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

Zoellick also secured approval for an $86.2 billion capital package, the first in over 20 years. He championed more voting power for emerging economies and convincing countries as China, Brazil and others to contribute more funding to the World Bank.

Despite budget strains in developed world, Zoellick secured over $90 billion in pledges during tough negotiations to replenish the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries.

In speeches he has pointed to the rise of emerging economies as new poles of growth, outlined the need for a new approach to aid, while emphasizing the need for better governance in regions such as the Middle East where street protests that toppled dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

(Additional reporting by Glenn Somerville and Laura MacInnis; editing by James Dalgleish and Jeffrey Benkoe)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he had seen “hopeful signs” that Congress would pass a payroll tax cut extension for the full year, as he kept pressure on lawmakers to take action he said was needed to keep the U.S. recovery on track.

“When a plane has finally lifted off the ground, you don’t ease up on the throttle,” Obama said at an event intended to showcase how urgently ordinary Americans need the $40 per paycheck that the payroll tax cut is worth.

Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives dropped their demand on Monday that the tax break be paid for by cuts elsewhere in federal spending, paving a way for a deal with Obama’s Democrats.

“The good news is, over the last couple of days we’ve seen some hopeful signs in Congress that they realize that they’ve got to get this done, and you’re starting to hear voices talk about how can we go ahead make this happen,” Obama said.

He cautioned that “you can’t take anything for granted in Washington until my signature is actually on it,” and urged the public to keep up the political pressure to cushion the U.S. recovery from the likely shock of higher gas prices.

“When gas prices are on the rise again, because as the economy strengthens, global demand for oil increases, and if we start seeing significant increases in gas prices, losing that $40 could not come at a worse time,” Obama said.

Seeking a repeat of the public backlash that helped push Republicans to agree to a temporary extension of the tax break, which expires on February 29, Obama said keep the stories coming.

“Tell us what $40 means to you. If you tweet it, use the hash tag #$40. Call, tweet, write your congressman, write your senators, tell them do not let up until this thing gets done.”

(Reporting By Alister Bull and Caren Bohan; editing by Christopher Wilson)

(Reuters) – Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open for equities on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 down 0.1 to 0.2 percent.

Boeing Co (BA.N) said it has signed its largest ever commercial airplane order with Indonesia’s Lion Air in a deal worth $22.4 billion.

ICSC/Goldman Sachs release chain store sales for the week ended February 11 at 1245 GMT. In the previous week, sales rose 1.8 percent.

President Barack Obama and Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will hold talks on Tuesday that could help boost the international stature of Beijing’s leader-in-waiting while testing Obama’s ability to balance thorny U.S.-China diplomacy with election-year pressures.

The Commerce Department releases January retail sales at 1330 GMT. Economists expect a 0.7 percent rise compared with a 0.1 percent rise in December. Excluding automobiles, sales are expected to rise 0.5 percent versus a 0.2 percent drop in December.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) plans to announce a fourth-generation (4G) version of its iPad in the first week of March, a Wall Street Journal report said, citing a person briefed on the matter. Apple was unavailable for comment outside regular business hours.

The Labor Department releases import-export prices for January at 1330 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a 0.2 percent rise in both imports and exports. In the prior month, import prices dropped 0.1 percent and export prices fell 0.5 percent.

At 1355 GMT, Redbook releases its Retail Sales Index of department and chain store sales for February versus January. In the prior period, sales rose 1.2 percent.

India’s government is investigating whether local units of U.S. Internet giants Google Inc (GOOG.O) and Yahoo Inc (YHOO.N) may have violated the country’s foreign exchange laws, the Wall Street Journal reported.

U.S. Commerce Department issues Business Inventories for December at 1500 GMT. Economists expect a rise of 0.5 percent versus a 0.3 percent rise in the prior month.

U.S. and European regulators approved Google Inc’s (GOOG.O) $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc (MMI.N) and said they would keep a sharp eye on the web search giant to ensure patents critical to the telecommunications industry would be licensed at fair prices.

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN.O) has hired Advanced Technology Resource Group to advise on its sale of factories in Japan and the United States, ATREG said.

Avon Products (AVP.N) will report quarterly earnings. The market has priced in a profit of 51 cents per share, down from 59 cents per share.

MetLife (MET.N), the largest life insurance company in the U.S., reports quarterly results, and the market is expecting profits to rise to $1.24 per share from $1.14 per share.

Greece has admitted it still faces a tough job in persuading the European Union and IMF to save it from bankruptcy even after parliament approved savage extra budget cuts, provoking a night of looting and burning in central Athens.

European shares (.FTEU3) fell 0.2 percent after ratings agency Moody’s put the United Kingdom’s triple-A rating in jeopardy for the first time and warned it may cut France and Austria as well, while downgrading six euro zone nations including Spain and Italy.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, with the S&P 500 near seven-month highs. The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 72.81 points, or 0.57 percent, to 12,874.04. The S&P 500 Index (.INX) gained 9.12 points, or 0.68 percent, to 1,351.76. The Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) rose 27.51 points, or 0.95 percent, to 2,931.39.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)

(Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Tuesday it signed its largest ever commercial airplane order with Indonesia’s Lion Air in a deal worth $22.4 billion.

Boeing said Lion Air, Indonesia’s largest carrier by passenger volume, has ordered 230 airplanes, including 201 737 MAXs and 29 next-generation 737-900 ERs.

Lion Air will also acquire purchase rights for an additional 150 airplanes, Boeing said.

The announcement was made in a statement at the Singapore airshow.

In November, Lion Air announced the original massive order during U.S. President Barack Obama’s Asia-Pacific tour. Europe’s Airbus had accused the United States of applying political pressure to secure the deal.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad; Editing by Matt Driskill)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. trade deficit widened slightly more than expected in December, as stronger U.S. economic growth lifted imports to the highest level in three-and-a-half years.

The same Commerce Department report on Friday showed the closely watched deficit with China last year soared to a record high $295.5 billion, underscoring a continuing irritant in the U.S.-China relationship ahead of top level talks next week.

The monthly U.S. trade gap swelled to $48.8 billion as goods imports climbed to the highest level since July 2008, just before the financial crisis caused world trade to plunge.

Analysts surveyed before the report had expected the December trade deficit at $48.0 billion, up from a revised estimate of $47.1 billion in November.

U.S. exports grew slightly in December, with records set for petroleum, services and advance technology goods.

Omer Esiner, chief market strategist at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington, said the meager growth in exports in December could be due to “somewhat soft global demand,” raising longer-term concerns.

“Continued improvement in economic growth here will cause imports to improve. But it would be more concerning to see exports coming off the boil. That was a big part of the improvement we saw last year,” Esiner said.

Traders shrugged off the report, remaining focused on developments in Europe. U.S. stock index futures fell on news of a setback in Greek debt bailout talks, while U.S. Treasury bond prices rose. The dollar rose against the euro.

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Graphic on U.S. trade balance data:

http://link.reuters.com/var56s

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For the year, the U.S. trade gap rose 11.6 percent to $558.0 billion, the highest since 2008.

Exports last year rose 14.5 percent to a record $2.1 trillion, keeping the United States on pace to meet President Barack Obama’s goal of doubling exports in five years.

Imports grew 13.8 percent to a record $2.7 trillion, with records set in several categories.

Auto imports rose to the highest level since 2007 and petroleum was highest since 2008. The average price for imported oil in 2011 was a record high $99.78 per barrel

The record trade deficit last year with China is certain to reinforce concerns in Congress about Beijing’s currency and trade practices ahead of a meeting next week between Obama and the Asian giant’s expected next leader, Vice President Xi Jinping.

U.S. exports to China jumped 13.1 percent to $103.9 billion. But that was overwhelmed by a 9.4 percent increase in imports from China, which pushed the tally to a record $399.3 billion.

Even as the U.S. trade shortfall with China grew, other data on Friday showed China’s overall current account surplus shrank in 2011, offering Beijing fresh evidence to show critics of its currency policy that it is relying less on external demand.

However, a big import drop in January combined with a smaller export decline left China with the biggest trade surplus in six months, confounding expectations of a further narrowing.

Last year, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed legislation to pressure China to raise the value of its currency, but that bill hit a dead end in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Many lawmakers believe that China deliberately undervalues its currency to give its companies an unfair price advantage, contributing to the huge bilateral deficit.

The U.S. trade deficits with the European Union and Canada also expanded in 2011.

(Reporting By Doug Palmer; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Five big U.S. banks accused of abusive mortgage practices have agreed to a $25 billion government settlement that may help roughly one million borrowers but is no magic bullet for the ailing housing market.

The record state-federal settlement will spread relief widely in the form of mortgage relief and $2,000 payments to borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure.

It will also release the banks – Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc and Ally Financial Inc – from civil government claims over faulty foreclosures and mishandling of requests for loan modifications.

But the banks still face a host of other potential government enforcement actions and investor lawsuits related to their packaging of home loans into securities, and other mortgage-related activities.

“The bottom line about this settlement, is it’s okay, it’s a step forward, it’s a step in the right direction. But let’s not kid ourselves, there’s a hell of a lot more that needs to be done,” said Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

The housing settlement gives President Barack Obama, as he seeks re-election in November, a chance to show his administration is willing to get tough with big banks to help ordinary Americans survive the pain of the nation’s foreclosure crisis.

“We have reached a landmark settlement with the nation’s largest banks that will speed relief to the hardest hit homeowners in some of the most abusive practices of the mortgage industry and begin to turn the page on an era of recklessness that has left so much damage in its wake,” Obama said in a press conference on Thursday.

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Graphic on foreclosed properties: http://r.reuters.com/vet42s

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RELIEF BREAKDOWN

The deal with 49 states and federal agencies, including the U.S. Justice Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is being billed as the largest federal-state settlement ever obtained.

It follows more than one year of negotiations after evidence emerged late in 2010 that banks robo-signed thousands of foreclosure documents without properly reviewing paperwork as the financial crisis produced a flood of foreclosures.

Home values have dropped 33 percent from their 2006 peak and nearly 11 million Americans now owe more than their homes are worth.

Under the deal, roughly 750,000 borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure between 2008 and 2011 can expect to receive a $2,000 cash payment.

The banks would also provide $17 billion in principal reduction and loan modifications for delinquent borrowers who are facing foreclosure.

The deal would also include $3 billion to help borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments but unable to refinance because they owe more than their homes are worth.

Further, banks agreed to new servicing standards, including stricter oversight of foreclosure processing and a single-point-of-contact for borrowers.

The program is designed to last for three years, but includes incentives for banks to provide relief in the first year.

“The principal reduction helps stabilize the market a little bit, but not significantly,” said Brian Gardner, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. “The monthly savings for those involved will be modest.”

BANK IMPACT

The deal does little to ease investor fears over banks’ mortgage liabilities, industry analysts said.

“We believe any initial euphoria over the deal will quickly fade as investors realize the flood of additional mortgage-related litigation that the major banks face,” said Guggenheim Partners analyst Jaret Seiberg in a note on Thursday.

The settlement resolves allegations of state and federal law including the use of robo-signed affidavits in foreclosure proceedings and deceptive practices in offering loan modifications.

It also covers claims the banks failed to offer alternatives before foreclosing on borrowers with federally insured mortgages, and filed improper documentation in federal bankruptcy court.

In another component of the settlement, Bank of America will pay $1 billion to resolve a separate investigation into “fraudulent and wrongful conduct” by the bank and the Countrywide Financial unit it acquired in 2008.

In addition, the Federal Reserve is imposing $766.5 million in penalties on the five banks as part of the settlement.

The agreement does not prevent the government from pursuing banks for wrongdoing related to the packaging of loans into securities, the target of a task force the Obama administration launched last month, and the subject of many investor lawsuits.

DISSIDENT STATES

The deal came together after negotiators were able to win support from a handful of states, including California and New York, that had criticized earlier terms of the proposed deal as too lenient toward the banks.

The lone holdout, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, declined to sign the settlement and said he was concerned the settlement “greatly overreached” the authority of the states and could be unfair to homeowners who continued to pay their mortgage.

He entered a separate $18.6 million deal with the five banks to receive his portion of funds from the settlement that go directly to the states.

California, one of the hardest-hit states in the foreclosure crisis, signed on after winning assurances of how much relief would go specifically to its homeowners.

(Reporting By Aruna Viswanatha and Rick Rothacker, with additional reporting by David Henry, Jim Vicini, Margaret Chadbourn, Matt Spetalnick, Tim Reid and Dave Clarke; writing by Karey Wutkowski; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Tim Dobbyn)