U.S. Indexes Struggle to Hold Slim Yearly Gains

Arthi Gupta
30 Dec, 2011
New York City

The U.S. indexes rose after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble expressed confidence that the euro area debt crisis would be under control by the end of 2012. Eaton completed acquisition of E.A. Pedersen.

[R]12:40 PM New York – The U.S. indexes futures rose after the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble expressed confidence that the euro area debt crisis would be under control by the end of 2012. Eaton completed acquisition of E.A. Pedersen.[/R]

World markets declined for the first time since the financial crisis of 2008-2009. Emerging markets and European markets led the global fall as the euro zone worries spread to international markets.

Markets in India plunged 24%, in Shanghai declined 22% and in Brazil dropped 18%. The benchmark index in Japan fell 17% and in France declined 17.8% and in Germany fell 15.3%. The index in Toronto fell 11% and in UK declined 6.2%.

U.S. indexes futures and the European indexes edged higher after the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview to the German newspaper Handelsblatt on Friday that the euro-zone debt crisis can be brought under control in the next twelve months.

He ruled out a breakup of the euro area.

Tensions in Strait of Hormuz increased as Iranian agency said that the country is preparing for “act of war.”

The Spanish Government is expected to approve a program of spending cuts totaling €2.5 billion.

Asian stocks edged higher amid thin holiday trading volume and China reported a slower manufacturing growth.

The contraction in Chinese factory activity eased compared to the previous month, but new orders received by manufacturers continued to decline solidly, the latest survey results from Markit Economics showed today.

The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers' index rose to 48.7 in December from 47.7 in November.

However, the Chinese Xinhua news agency saying Chinese GDP growth will exceed 9% in 2011.

Raytheon Acquires Henggeler Computer

Raytheon Company acquired privately held Henggeler Computer Consultants, Inc., further extending its capabilities to serve the cybersecurity, enterprise architecture and systems engineering needs of customers in the intelligence community as well as in the Department of Defense. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Eaton Completes Acquisition of E.A. Pedersen

Eaton Corporation, the diversified industrial manufacturer announced it has completed its acquisition of E.A. Pedersen Company, a manufacturer of medium voltage switchgear primarily for the electrical utilities industry.