Nouriel Roubini, economist, predicts Greece to leave the Euro Zone in one or two years, citing record high unemployment of 22% in Greece. Moreover, the country still is insolvent despite recent agreement on the second bailout package and debt restructuring. Meanwhile, Portugal potentially remains the weakest nation in the region and may be the second after Greece to swap its
Japan's consumer sentiment deteriorated slightly last month as compared to January, according to a survey conducted by Cabinet Office. The sentiment index for households fell to 39.5 on February as compared to 40.0 in the preceding month. People were uncertain over whether country's labour market will manage to improve after earthquake last year.
Crude oil futures eased down during the Asian session on Monday as traders started to cash out from the market after crude oil moved higher on the positive US labour data. Light, sweet crude oil futures for April delivery traded at 106.92 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, tumbling by 0.44%.
Gold futures were lower during the Asian trade on Monday after tumbling last week on the stronger dollar amid improving employment reports in the US. COMEX gold April contract eased down to trade at 1,710.59 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, falling by 0.05%.
Fitch Ratings has cut Greek long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) to "Restricted Default" from "C" after announcement that Greece and the Euro Zone confirmed that exchange of the Greece's sovereign bonds will begin. The move follows cut of the Greece credit rating from "CCC" to "C". Fitch cited that the bond exchange indicates the country's default
European markets mostly posted gains on Friday as US Labor Department reported increase in payrolls in February and said the unemployment level stayed unchanged at 8.3%. Stoxx Europe 600 index and FTSE 100 index each added 0.5% while German DAX index climbed 0.7%. French CAC 40 index advanced 0.3% but Athens General index fell 2.2%.
China announced the largest trade gap in more than a decade last month amid soaring commodity imports. The trade deficit jumped to 31.5 billion US Dollars as imports surged by 39.6% on a yearly basis while exports posted 18.4% gain in the period. Experts consider that widening of the deficit is a sign that China is facing more challenges that
Euro region finance ministers are gathering today in Brussels to sign the approval of EUR 130 billion (USD 170 billion) bailout package after private creditors agreed to write off part of nation's debt. 17-nation currency slipped 1.2% and traded at USD 1.3123 on Friday after Greece completed the swap agreement and claimed it will force some creditors to to take
Vietnam lowered its key interest rates in order to back slowing economy despite highest inflation in the region. The refinancing rate was decreased from 15% to 14% while the discount rate was lowered from 13% to 12%. The inflation rate in India reached 16.44% in February compared to 17.27% in January.
Iceland is likely to introduce the Euro after becoming a member state of the EU or adopt other currency, said the Johanna Sigurdardottir, PM. The situation in the country cannot stay the same, he added. Joining the EU would allow Iceland to cooperate closely with EU member states. Iceland started negotiations for entering the EU in 2010 and is expected
India's production output accelerated in January making the sharpest growth in 7 months. The output at mines, factories and utilities climbed 6.8% when compared on annual basis after a 2.5% surge in December, reported Central Statistics Office on Monday. The reading outperformed analysts' expectations.
The unemployment rate in Canada dropped from 7.6% in January to 7.4% in February reported Statistics Canada on Friday. In contrast workforce slumped by 37,900 which is the biggest fall since January 2009. Analysts questioned by Bloomberg predicted a surge of 15 000 payrolls and unchanged jobless rate at 7.6%.
The number of new hirings climbed by 227 000 in February while the unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 8.3% matching economists expectations, reported Labor Department on Friday. The main gains in payrolls came from new jobs in food services, computer systems design and drinking establishments. Nevada, Florida, Arizona and California were the best performing states in labour expansion.
US trade gap expanded 4.3% in January reaching USD 52.6 billion which is the largest trade shortfall since October 2008, said Commerce Department on Friday. Economists predicted January gap to attain USD 49.0 billion. The deficit with China rose to USD 26.0 billion compared to USD 23.3 billion in January 2011. Wider US trade gap may change estimates of 4th
Rural commodities except for wheat jumped on Thursday as weaker US Dollar and solid equities lent support for the group. Sugar gained 0.17% during the day, showing its resilience to the improved weather conditions in South America and expectations of ample global supplies Wheat was the only loser as the UN upgraded its wheat harvest forecast thus increasing probability of
Energy commodities apart from natural gas rallied after sufficient number of private lenders opted for debt swap deal. Moreover, strong equities and considerable weakness of the US Dollar created additional support for the commodity group. Expectations for further RRR reduction in China and strong German industry data both inspired energy prices to top higher. Lingering supply concerns after controversial announcements
Base metals were mixed on Thursday along with firmer Euro and stronger equities. Moreover, industry metals caught a spree after Greece announced it managed to secure its bailout package as more than 80% of private creditors sign up for the debt swap deal. The Eastern part of the world also stimulated metals' price growth as China is expected to reduce
Precious metals were higher on Thursday amid depreciating US Dollar and boosted optimism as Greece managed to agree on the debt swap with required number of creditors. Moreover, the commodity group gained momentum after Mario Draghi announced that inflation in the Euro Zone is likely to remain above the target of 2%. Further, expectations that global banks will continue to
German DAX index climbed on Friday as Greece completed its debt swap agreement and data showed US economy created 227 000 jobs in February. Engineering company Linde AG surged 5.2% after posting a 3.6% increase in 4th quarter profit and predicting better revenue and profit this year. Merck KGaA gained 2% after Deutsche Bank raised share's rating from hold to
FTSE 100 index faced a choppy session on Friday despite successful outcome of Greek debt swap deal and optimistic employment data from US. Miner and energy stocks put most negative pressure on the index. Kazakhmys PLC slipped 1.6%after UBS downgraded mining sector to neutral citing weaker steel demand from China. Tullow Oil lost 0.8% after Societe Generale cut stock's rating
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded higher on Friday as Chinese inflation slowed in February. Hang Seng index gained 0.89% or 185.27 points and closed at 21,086.00 with eight of nine sectors posting gains. Property and financial shares rallied on positive Greek debt swap outcome. China Resources Ent. accelerated 2.8% while China Merchant surged 2.5%. Cosco Pac made the biggest
UK manufacturing output grew at slower pace than expected in January as inflation harmed demand. Plant output climbed 0.1% compared to December said Office of National Statistics. Economists questioned by Bloomberg forecast an increase of 0.3%. Total industrial output fell 0.4%. Weaker output may curb UK attempts to recover from 0.2% decline in 4th quarter GDP.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average led the gains on Friday Asian trade as Yen depreciated to nine month record low versus greenback on speculation Bank of Japan may implement a further quantitative easing. Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.65% or 160.78 points and closed at 9,929.74 reaching record high since August driven by exporters. Sony Corp rallied 4.3%, Mazda Motor Corp accelerated
Dow Jones Industrial Average index climbed for second straight day despite increase in jobless claims last week as investors awaited positive monthly employment report due Friday. Blue chip index added 0.55% or 70.61 points and finished at 12,907.94 with growth depended shares posting most notable gains. Alcoa surged 2.3% and Caterpillar advanced 1.9%. McDonalds Corp curbed index on the downside