Greece rejected German proposal on the EU controlling the country's budget. It is impossible for Greece to give a control over its spending and tax policies to the EU, said Pavlos Yeroulanos, Culture Minister. At the same time, the EU is worried that Greek measures to reduce its budget deficit may prove to be inefficient. Currently, Greece and private bondholders
Crude oil futures traded lower during the early Asian session amid mixed news from Iran where heads threaten to curb oil exports to some EU countries. However, Iran did not mention the exact countries, to which the export will be halted. Light, sweet crude oil futures for March delivery traded at USD 99.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Philippines growth pace slowed last year as world's economic turmoil dampened country's exports. The country's economy expanded by 3.7% in 2011 as compared to 7.6% in the preceding year, reported the National Statistical Coordination Board. Philippines exports have been tumbling for seven months in line. The government expected the economy to grow by 4.5-5.5% last year.
European equities extended a fall on Friday after lower than expected US economic expansion data. Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.95% at 255.40 and French CAC 40 Index was 1.32% down at 3,318.76. UK FTSE 100 Index dropped 1.07% to 5,733.45 and German DAX 30 declined 0.43% and closed at 6,511.98
Spain's GDP contracted by 0.3% in Q4 of 2011, reported the national statistics agency. The slowdown of the growth is attributed to low domestic demand. The figure is basically in line with expectations of the Bank of Spain forecast. Considering yearly changes, the GDP expanded by 0.3% in Q4 of 2011. The Bank of Spain expects the GDP growth to
Gold inched down, losing momentum created by the Fed's decision to keep low interest rates as investors focused on the Greek debt swap deal with private bondholders. COMEX gold April contract traded at USD 1,742.75 a troy ounce, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, easing down 0.01%.
Chinese light vehicle sector faced 4.6% increase in sales in 2011, reflecting the lowest yearly growth rate for the last 10 years. However, the country managed to hold its position as a top vehicle market for the third year. Demand for commercial vehicles declined by 6.7% with sales amounting 4.6 million units while sales of passenger vehicles edged up 9.6%,
The PBOC reported that the loans to the real estate sector slowed in 2011 while proportion in the real estate loans in the overall lending also decreased. The country's banks saw CNY 1.26 trillion new loans last year as compared to CNY 2.03 trillion in the preceding year. New loans to property market amounted 17.5% of the total new loans
US shares ended lower on Friday, as US reported 2.8% growth in GDP instead of expected 3.0%. S&P 500 Index gave up 0.16% or 2.10 points and finished at 1,316.33, while Dow Jones Industrial Average Index lost 0.58% or 74.17 points, settling at 12,660.46. Meanwhile Nasdaq Composite outperformed its peers and traded 0.4% higher at 2,816.55.
Aluminium prices are likely to face modest gains this year and average at USD 2,250 per ton in 2012, reported Natixis Commodity Markets Ltd. However, there may be downward pressure on prices in Q1 of 2012. Despite growing increase in aluminium demand, increasing production kept market in surplus last year, added Natixis. However, taken that many expensive production facilities are
EU heads plan to sign an agreement on the Euro Zone's permanent bailout fund at the Monday's summit. The EFSF will be replaced by ESM, the leaders of which will increase defense against the sovereign debt crisis. Mario Monti, Christine Lagarde and Timothy Geithner also insist on combining funds of the EFSF and ESM to create a fund of one
Iran is prepared to reduce oil exports to the Euro Zone and will curb oil exports to some countries soon, said Iran's Oil Chief. The NIOC head, Ahmad Ghalebani, announced the country has embarked on marketing its oil in the non-European countries since long time ago thus finding new customers is not a problem.
Asian markets closed lower on Monday as investors awaited for EU summit and anticipated news that Beijing will not introduce monetary easing. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.66%, South Korea's Kospi lost 1.24% while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4%. Shanghai Composite Index edged down 1.47% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.19%.
New Zealand and Australian Dollar depreciated against most of their peers on Monday before EU officials meet today in Brussels to debate on debt turmoil. Aussie gave up 0.7% to $1.0588, while Kiwi slipped 0.5%, reaching $0.8209. Analysts see some pessimism returning to markets. AUD/USD currently is trading at $1.0549 and NZD/USD is trading at $0.8182.
TonenGeneral Sekiyu agreed to acquire Exxon Mobil Corp. Japanse division for $3.9bn. TonenGeneral is going to acquire 99% of Exxon Mobil Yugen Kaisha unit which manufactures and sells fuel. The deal will be financed by cash and bank loans. Analysts expect TonenGeneral to seek strategic partner to cover purchasing costs. Japanese refiners are struggling with surging operating costs as government forces them to implement technologies which
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. dropped to 10-month record low after Japanese officials prohibited competitive tendering for State orders as company overcharged for several aerospace and defence contracts. Mitsubishi Electric fell 15% on Monday and traded at ¥666, the lowest value since March 15. Government has banned Mitsubishi Electric from entering bids until the company gives back money and introduces preventive actions.
17-nation currency weakened against the greenback on Monday, breaking five-day gains before EU leaders gather in Brussels to keep struggling with debt crisis. Euro fell 0.3% against US Dollar in Asian trade, reaching $1.3178 and gave up 0.4% against Japanese Yen, dropping to ¥101.03. Currently EUR/USD is trading at $1.3169 while EUR/JPY is trading at ¥101.97.
Despite economists' forecasts China decided to postpone the reduction in lender reserve requirements, indicating caution towards monetary loosening. Barclays Capital Asia and JP Morgan Chase & Co expected the reserve ratio to be cut before the Lunar New Year. Instead the PBOC applied reserve repurchase contracts to flood money in to China's financial system. Asian shares modestly declined on Monday.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index extended gains on Friday, led by telecommunication and banking shares. Hang Seng index climbed 0.31% or 62.53 points and finished at 20,501.67. HSBC Holdings PLC added 0.9% and China Mobile Ltd. surged 1.99%. Banks showed better performance on hopes that year 2012 will be more successful for equity markets. On the downside property shares retreated
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed slightly lower on Friday, pushed down by weaker than expected report from high tech manufacturer NEC Corp amid appreciating Yen. Nikkei 225 index fell 0.09% or 8.25 points to 8,841.22 with technology and financial shares posting the biggest losses. NEC Corp. plunged 7.14%, while JFE Holdings and T&D Holdings each dropped 3.8%. Japanese PM Yoshihiko
After rallying 1.8% on Thursday session, German DAX retreated and gave up 0.3% amid lingering Greek debt negotiations and weaker than expected US housing and economic growth data. Financials and industrials led the decline while utilities supported the index on the upside. Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank AG lost 0.37% and 0.16% respectively, while Deutsch Luft surged 1.7%. At the moment
After climbing 1.3% on Fed announcement yesterday, FTSE 100 index fell back 0.6% on Friday, pushed down by Greek inability to reach agreement on its debt write-off amid weaker US housing sales data. Eight out of ten sectors posted losses during the session, driven by energy and telecom shares. BP Plc. lost 2.2%, after the court said the company cannot
The growth of the European loans owed by businesses and households decreased in December amid worsening economic outlook in the region and credit tightening measures of banks. Private sector loans showed a 1% increase on an annual rate, reported the ECB. Moreover, the pace of growth in M3 money supply tumbled to 1.6% from 2%.
Swiss KOF economic barometer decreased more than expected, announced KOF Economic Research Agency. The economic barometer declined to minus 0.17 in December on a seasonally adjusted basis from 0.01 in November. Experts predicted the indicator to inch down to minus 0.06 in December.