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.
123jump.com Staff
19 Dec, 2007
New York City
Japan lowered its economic growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 1.3% from 2.1% on weakness in the construcion industry. The recently enacted building code has substantially slowed down the construction industry and lowered the overall economic growth. Nikkei 225 Index fell sharply by 1.8% or 1,777 to close at 15,031.
123jump.com Staff
18 Dec, 2007
New York City
Stocks in London rise after the Bank of England pumps liquidity in the system. The bank received 10.85 billion pounds for three-month loans at average rate of 5.949%. The interbank rate known as Libor declined 4 basis points after the auction to 6.39%. Inflation in November stayed at 2.1% in the UK, however Retail Price Index rose by 4.3% on higher food and energy cost.
123jump.com Staff
18 Dec, 2007
New York City
The European Central Bank two-week debt auction attracted bids from nearly 400 banks. The pre-announced rate of 4.21% or better, the second sch event ever, and the largest liquidity measure, generated $500 billion or 348 billion euro credit pumping in the market. Nestle fell after a broker downgrade. Copper fell in London trading but gold crossed above $800 oer ounce. Brokerages, banks, and property stocks fell in the region. Switzerland led the decliners in the region.
