Big rethink is necessary in the Euro Zone within world's economy, said Angela Merkel at the World Economic Forum. Structural reforms aimed at creating new jobs are crucial, she added. Indebted Euro Zone is the most discussed issue at the forum. Many consider Germany and other strong economies have to inject more money into rescue fund.
New Zealand's central bank decided to keep its benchmark interest rate at record low level on worries that Europe debt turmoil may harm overseas demand for country's commodity exports. Central bank's governor Alan Bollard also pointed out that inflation in New Zealand has slowed and therefore bank should stick to its record low key rate of 2.5%.
Federal Reserve is preparing for the third large asset purchase program to support economy expansion as unemployment is higher than acceptable, said Ben Bernake. Fed representatives also claimed the interest rate will remain low until by the end of 2014 and lowered the predictions for economic growth and inflation for upcoming two years. Stocks climbed after the announcement about keeping
Agricultural commodities rallied on Tuesday amid concerns over lower global crops. Unfavorable weather conditions in South America impacted severally the crops of grain commodities and coffee. At the same time, sugar remained resilient to the expected ample supplies. Corn futures extended the gains of the previous sessions on the speculation that the largest producers like Russia and Argentina plan to
Energy markets faced mixed performance on Tuesday with rallying natural gas and heating oil and falling crude oil and Brent oil. Concerns over the spreading Euro Zone crisis and rising DOE inventories of oil both created downward pressure on the oil prices. Potential loses in oil price may be prevented by the expected Fed's decision to hold low interest rates
Agricultural commodities rallied on Tuesday amid concerns over lower global crops. Unfavorable weather conditions in South America impacted severally the crops of grain commodities and coffee. At the same time, sugar remained resilient to the expected ample supplies. Corn futures extended the gains of the previous sessions on the speculation that the largest producers like Russia and Argentina plan to
Energy markets faced mixed performance on Tuesday with rallying natural gas and heating oil and falling crude oil and Brent oil. Concerns over the spreading Euro Zone crisis and rising DOE inventories of oil both created downward pressure on the oil prices. Potential loses in oil price may be prevented by the expected Fed's decision to hold low interest rates
Industrial metals, except for copper, advanced on Tuesday, showing noncompliance with usual trend of following copper's lead. Base metals mainly found support on better than expected PMI releases from the Euro Zone and the US. However, growing concerns over failure to agree on the debt restructuring in Greece limited gains of the commodity group. Nickel advanced 1.58% over the day
After giving up 0.3% on yesterday trade, German DAX Index maintained downward path on Wednesday, as drug producer Novartis and telecommunication giant Ericsson reported a sharp drop in profits. Better than expected Ifo business climate index also did not manage to offset losses. Main losers were Siemens AG and Deutsche Post, each giving up 4.7% and 2.4% respectively. At the
Precious metals tumbled on Tuesday amid stronger US Dollar and increased risk-aversion among investors after failure to agree on the Greek debt swap. Investors also await Fed decision on the monetary policy in the US. Physical demand for precious metals remains weak due to Chinese New Year. However, traders from India and Thailand may take advantage of lower prices and
After dropping 0.5% on Tuesday, UK FTSE 100 Index extended losses on Wednesday, giving up 0.7% to 5,714.8, pushed down by banking shares amid report showing country's GDP contracted 0.2% in 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and Lloyds Banking Group PLC each dropped 3%, while Barclays PLC slipped 1.7%. On the upside were property stocks with Land
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped on Wednesday, lifted by weaker Yen which depreciated remarkably on country's first annual trade deficit since 1980. Nikkei 225 rallied 1.12% or 98.36 points and finished at 8,883.69, fuelled by gains in export shares. Honda Motor Co. added 3.8%, Mazda Motor Corp. gained 4.6%, while Sony Corp. jumped 4.8%. Toyota Motor Corp. surged 3% and
Australian S&P/ASX 200 index rallied on Wednesday, inspired by Apple profits and positive Euro Zone economic statistics. Australian benchmark index gained 1.12% or 47.10 points and closed at 4,271.30, supported by the financial and property stocks on the upside. Westpac Banking Corp. climbed 3.5%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia surged 2.4% and National Australia Bank Ltd. improved by 2%. Real estate
UK Gross Domestic Product contracted in the last quarter of 2011, reported National Statistics office. According to data, British GDP slipped 0.2% compared to third quarter last year. Analysts earlier predicted a drop equal to 0.1%. Construction output lost 0.5%, hotels restaurants and distribution gained 0.7%, while finance and business services added 2.1%. State and other service sector advanced 2.5%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average Index prolonged its downward trend on Tuesday session weighted by Travelers earnings report and Greek debt struggle. Blue chip index fell 0.26% or 33.07 points to 12,675.75. Travelers Cos. provided the main negative contribution to the index edging down 3.8% after the insurer reported 4th quarter earnings below Wall Street forecasts. Financials performed mixed, as Bank
S&P 500 Index slightly declined on Tuesday, pressed down by Zions and Travelers Cos disappointing earnings reports. US benchmark gauge gave up 0.1% or 1.35 points and closed at 1,314.65. Zions Bancorporation lost 7.6%, as it posted 4th quarter earnings $0.24 per share, compared to expected $0.33 per share. Peabody Energy lost 1.7% after reporting lower than expected forecast for
Aluminium output in Latin America and India was disappointing in 2011, reported Harbor Intelligence. Latin America announced 0.12 million drop in aluminium production while India reported no expansion of output. At the same time, production of aluminium rose in China and Middle East that account 80% of the world's aluminium output. Worldwide production inched up 7.4% over 2011.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley both were downgraded at J.P. Morgan Cazenove to neutral on Wednesday. J.P Morgan explains the cut by citing proposed rules for banking institutions that may lead to higher capital requirements. The proposal implies assigning risk weights without using credit rating agencies ratings. In effect, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs may face from 10%
Gold prices remained steady during the Asian session as investors started to put more attention to the Fed's decision on further quantitative easing in the US rather than wait for results of negotiations on the Greece's debt restructuring. COMEX gold futures for delivery in February traded at USD1,667.25 a troy ounce, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, easing up 0.17%.
Canadian Dollar traded close to flat against its US peer on Tuesday as the growth of country's retail sales slowed in November indicating declining public demand. Retail sales added 0.3% in November compared to 0.9% surge in October. Canadian currency depreciated 0.01% to C$1.0090 in Toronto evening session. Currently USD/CAD is trading at C$1.0104.
Greece will default on the exorbitant amount of its debts even in case the country agrees with private bondholders on debt restructuring, said an expert panel. The deal with private investors implies reduction of the country's debt load by 40% from 160% to 120%. But even 120% is a very high level that would hold down Greece's credit rating at
Google reviewed its privacy policy across various services as email, search and social network sites. About 60 different policies are planned to be combined into only one that will came in force 1 March, Google announced. The new policy was designed after the company came in for criticism for misusing the private information of the users and shut down its
Canada's core retail sales increased more than expected in November, soaring for the firth month line. Core retail sale that exclude sales of automobiles advanced by 0.3% in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, while experts predicted the sales to add 0.2%. After the data release, the Canadian Dollar stayed lower against the US counterpart and the paid USD/CAD traded
Crude oil futures added to gains during the Asian trade as Iran renewed its treats to block Strait Hormuz after the EU approved total Iranian oil imports ban. Light, sweet crude oil March contract traded at USD99.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, advancing 0.22%.