- 123jump.com Staff
- 21 Dec, 2007
- New York City
Asian markets closed higher after four days of sell-off and weak financial sector in the region. Infrastructure, metals, and energy sectors advanced in the region. Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo added 1.5% but lost 1.7% for the week. Sumitomo Metals and China Steel are in joint venture to build a steel plant in Vietnam. India and Indonesia were closed to observe local holiday. Singapore based sovereign fund Temasek is likely to invest $5 billion in Merrill Lynch.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 21 Dec, 2007
- New York City
Stocks in Japan rose for the second day in a row but declined for the week. Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.5% to 15,257 today but lost 1.7% for the week. The Bank of Japan said in its monthly report that slow-down in construction industry has hurt the economic growth. Toshiba gained after Sharp was reported to buy more digital chips from Mitsumi Electric Company. Sumitomo Metal and China Steel joint venture will build a steel plant in Vietnam.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 20 Dec, 2007
- New York City
UK economy in the third quarter expanded by 0.7% lower than 0.8% expansion in the second quarter. The UK economy has expande at 3.3% from the third quarter of the last year on steady growth in business and financial services. Household expenditures and construction were the contributors to the economic expansion. Johnson Matthey soared as high as 19% on the speculation that Dow Chemical will make a bid for the company. UK anti-trust regulator said that BSkyB should reduce its stake in ITV.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 20 Dec, 2007
- New York City
UK led the European markets after the release of third quarter economic growth of 3.3%, higher than estimated by the most economists. FTSE 100 gained nearly 1%. Johnson Matthey soared nearly 20% but settled at 5% higher after rumors that Dow Chemical is likely to make a bid fr the company. Sogecable jumped 4% after Prisa, largest media company in Spain, offered 2 billion euros for 53% of the company it does not own. SFR controlled by Vivendi offers 4.5 billion euros for Neuf Cegetel.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 20 Dec, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stocks managed to close higher after a day of volatile tradig. Nasdaq led the gainers with a rise of 1.5%. U.S. third quarter GDP was unrevised at 4.9%, higher than 3.8% in the second quarter. Jobless claims at the end of the last week rose 12,000. Inventories of crude oil and distillate fuel fell at the end of the last week. The bond insurance company MBIA plunged 25% after it reported surprise exposure of $8 billion of CDO debts. Oracle, Accenture, and Nike rose after earnings.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 20 Dec, 2007
- New York City
The bond insurer MBIA plunged 25% after the company released its exposure to risky loans that few fear the company may not have sufficient capital to withstand. The bond insurers'' AAA rating was affirmed by S&P and Moody''s but outlook on the company and its insurance subsidiary was turned negative from stable by both rating agencies.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 20 Dec, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stocks traded sideways as the credit market worries dominated the earnings news in the morning. Bear Stearns reported its first quarterly loss in nine decades on higher mortgage market related lossed. The earnings report also suggested that other business divisions at the brokerage are suffering fromt the current weakness in the market. FedEx earnings declined by 6% on higher fuel cost and weak domestic shipments. Accenture, Oracle, and Nike reported better than expected earnings.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 20 Dec, 2007
- New York City
Takeover activities in the mining and building industries heated up in Australia. BlueScope Steel agreed to purchase IMSA Steel from Ternium S.A. for $730 million. Herald Resources is in preliminary talks with Indonesia based PT Bumi Resources. Herald is looking to develop zinc mine in Indonesia. Western Plains and OneSteel remain deadlocked in their discussions to export iron ore from a port controlled by OneSteel. Australian stocks fell today on the weakness in mining and financials
- 123jump.com Staff
- 20 Dec, 2007
- New York City
Japan exports in November rose 9.7% but imports jumped 13.5%, lowering the trade surplus by 12% to 797 billion yen. Shipments to China increased but to the U.S. declined, and to the EU region rose at a slower pace. Ministry of Finance estimated that the fiscal 2008 budget expenditure will rise by 0.2% and 25.3 trillion of new debt will be issued by the government in the period. Stocks in the morning trading in Japan rose but lost most of the gains at close.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 19 Dec, 2007
- New York City
The Bank of England committe members were unanimous in their decison to lower rates this month in the wake of credit market malaise. The pound fell below $2 level on the growing consensus that the BoE will keep lowering rates in the coming weeks to calm nervous credit markets. FTSE 100 Index inched higher led by a rise in Royal Dutch Shell, Northern Rock, 3i Group, and Johnson Matthey. Banks declined.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 19 Dec, 2007
- New York City
European markets closed lower for the third day in a row and a day after the ECB conducted its largest ever 348 billion debt auction. Th emergency measure to pump liquidity in the credit market helped to lower rates in euro zone. The comments from the ECB president Trichet suggested that rising inflation may limit future interest rate cuts. German business confidence dropped to a new low in November. Mining, banking, and property stocks declined across the region.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 19 Dec, 2007
- New York City
The U.S. Federal Reserve received bids three times the $20 billion of term loan it auctioned today at a rate 4.65%, below the discount rate of 4.75%. The Fed auction was conducted to ease the credit market crunch but most analysts believe that problems in the market will persist. Yesterday ECB pumped $500 billion of liquidity in the market. Morgan Stanley reported higher losses from its sub-prime lending and attracted $5 billion in investment from China. Oralce earnings jumped 35%.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 19 Dec, 2007
- New York City
Stocks in India traded in a wide range but changed very little at close. Sensex traded in 600 point range. Prime Minister Singh said that India can sustain 9% economic growth for the next four years. He also said that the growth can also accelerate above 10% but in the near term can not remain immune to the global credit market malaise. Larsen & Toubro received contract to build flyover road leading to Mumbai international airport.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 19 Dec, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stocks tunred negative in the afternoon trading after scaling higher in the morning. Morgan Stanley reported wider than expected loss on the account of more losses in the sub-prime lending business. The brokerage firm also reported an investment of $5 billion from sovereign fund controlled by China. The European Commission ruled that MasterCard should stop its interbank fees within six months for the cross border transactions.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 19 Dec, 2007
- New York City
ASX 200 index close at 6,216.40. Exxon Mobil Corporation approves $1.1 billion project. Centro Properties Group struggles to refinance $3.9 billion debt. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission started civil cases against six former directors and officers of AWB Ltd. Australian dollar edged higher.