Portugal faced increased pressure from investors as they expect the country to be the next to default. The yield on 10-year sovereign bonds soared above 15%, the record high level in the Euro Zone. The country's credit rating was downgraded to selective default by Standard's & Poor's two weeks ago. However, Portugal has started to make progress towards debt crisis
European shares rallied on Thursday as investors anticipated news that Federal Reserve will freeze borrowing costs by the end of 2014. Stoxx 600 index gained 1.1% and finished at 257.86, while German DAX index climbed 1.8% and settled at 6,539.85. UK FTSE 100 index jumped 1.3% to 5,795.20 and French CAC 40 added 1.5%, closing at 3,363.23. Greek ASE Composite
The core durable goods orders in the US increased essentially more than initially projected last month, rising for third month in line. The orders of core durables surged by 2.1% last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the US Census Bureau. Experts predicted the orders to climb 0.9% in December.
Samsung Electronics Co. reported its 4th quarter profit added 17% on accelerating sales of smartphone. The company posted net income of $3.6 bn compared to a $3.42 bn a year before. Sales revenue grew 13%, reaching 47.3 trillion Won. Samsung Electronics shipped more smarthphones than did Apple. The popularity of Galaxy smartphone helped company to sell around 300 million devices.
BP has to cover only a part of liabilities of Transocean, the owner of oil rig, for oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, US judge announced. Under the contract terms, Transocean is shielded from paying many pollution claims; however, the company must to cover legal fees and it is not free from obligation to pay civil penalties
New home sales in the US declined by 2.2% in December, reported US Census Bureau. The new home sales declined to 307,000 units on a seasonally adjusted basis while analysts expected the sales to rise by 2% to 320,000 units. Following the data release, the US Dollar inched lower against the Euro and the pair EUR/USD gained 0.44% to 1.3165.
The EU may need more money to reduce the public debt of Greece to about 120% of the GDP by 2020, said Olli Rehn, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner. He also expects Greece to reach a consensus with private bondholders on the debt swap before the end of January. At the same time, the EU and IMF have to
The trade balance of New Zealand increased unexpectedly in December, reported Statistics New Zealand. The trade balance soared to NZD 338 million from November's reading of NZD 308 deficit. Experts projected a deficit of NZD 50 million. Exports hit the record of NZD 4.38 billion from NZD 3.91 billion in November, while imports declined from a record high NZD 4.22
In the US, the number of initial jobless claims increased more than expected last week after hitting almost four-year low a week before, reported the US Labor Department. The number of people applying for jobless benefits added 21,000 to 377,000 as compared to prior week reading of 352,000. Experts predicted the number of jobless claims to increase by 14,000 to
New Zealand's Dollar maintained 6-week gains against most of its peers on Friday, after national statistics showed the country unexpectedly faced a trade surplus for the first time in 5 months. Kiwi traded $0.8217 in Sydney evening trade, adding 1.9% on weekly basis. Aussie slipped 0.1% to $1.0617. Currently NZD/USD is trading at $0.8222 while AUD/USD is trading at $1.0627.
Canadian Dollar climbed against its US peer on Thursday, reaching parity first time in 3 months as commodities advanced on Fed announcement about freezing US borrowing costs. Loonie appreciated 0.3% against US Dollar to C$1.0018 in Toronto, reaching the highest value since November 1. USD/CAD currently is trading at C$1.0031.
The US economy probably grew in the 4th quarter at the highest velocity in 2011 as national consumption and employment accelerated. Economists questioned by Bloomberg predict the US GDP added 3% in the last three months of 2011, compared to 1.8% increase in the 3rd quarter. The report will be issued today by the Commerce Department.
The confidence of South Korean manufacturers declined, reaching 30-month low, as producers cut their Europe exports outlook. A gauge measuring predictions for February fell to 81, which is the lowest reading since July 2009, said Bank of Korea. Index measuring expectations for non-manufacturing goods was flat at 79. Any reading below 100 means that pessimists offset optimists.
Japanese retail sales expanded at the quickest pace since 2010, said Trade ministry. Nation's retail sales added annual 2.5% in December 2011, posting the biggest gain since August 2010 and signalling the consumers may start to recover from the earthquake. Economists questioned by Bloomberg previously predicted an increase of 2.1%. Clothes and food contributed most to the increase in Japan's retail sales.
German DAX Index retreated on Thursday on the positive news from Federal Reserve and on investor hopes Greek debt talks will soon resume. German benchmark added 1.5% to 6,516.48 and extended upward trend later in the day. All 9 sectors within the index posted gains, driven by consumer services and utilities. Industrial component producer Thyssenkrupp AG rallied 4.9%, while trading
UK FTSE 100 Index recovered from two day losses on Thursday as Federal Reserve said it will keep its key interest rates low for longer time period amid signalling about possible additional asset purchases. UK benchmark index rallied 1.1% to 5,788.11 in London day trade, led by resource and financial stocks. Vedanta Resource jumped 7.7%, Rio Tinto gained 5% while
Industrial metals soared amid depreciating US Dollar and decreasing inventories at the LME warehouses. Moreover, ABN AMRO expects nickel, zinc and aluminum to edge up in the Q1 of 2011. Base metals also continued to feel strong backup from the inspiring industry data from the US and the EU. However, the positive trend may be impacted by the growing concerns
Energy markets, except for Brent oil, advanced on Wednesday on the softer US Dollar after Fed's decision on the further monetary policy in the US. Crude oil inched up 0.28% even despite pressure from increasing oil stockpiles in the US. Natural gas was the top performer soaring 6.85% over the day as the commodity continued to get strong support from
Agricultural commodities faced mixed performance on Wednesday, with grain rallying and coffee and sugar falling. Grain commodities found support on the broadly weaker US Dollar and fears over possible exports curbs by the major producers as Russia and Argentina. Coffee lost 1.22% on Wednesday on the surging coffee stockpiles at ICE Futures Exchange and improved weather conditions in Brazil. Moreover,
Precious metals advanced on Wednesday, following Fed's announcement of holding the interest rate at the low level till the end of 2014. Broadly weaker US Dollar and expected increase in physical demand from India ahead of wedding season both lifted precious metals' price. However, uncertainty over Greek debt swap may cap the upswing. ABN AMRO contributed to the increase in
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average opened higher on Thursday but erased gains later and closed into negative area, dropping 0.41% or 36.52 points to 8,847.17. Exporters experienced the biggest losses as Toshiba Corp. declined 1.7%, Sharp Corp. edged down 0.6% and Hitachi Ltd. gave up 0.9%. Nintendo Co and NEC Corp. lost 0.9% and 1.2% respectively ahead of their earnings reports.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced rapidly on Thursday, as investors returned from 5-day Lunar New Year holidays and appreciated the Fed decision of extending period for low interest rates. Hang Seng Index rallied 1.64% or 328.77 points and closed at 20,439.14, supported by financial, resource and logistics stocks. Aluminum Corp. of China added 3.3%, Sino Land Co. surged 4.8%,
European shares closed lower on Wednesday, weighted by Novartis and Ericsson as both companies reported sharp declines in profits. Stoxx 600 index lost 0.4% and closed at 254.95 and CAC 40 index ended 0.3% down at 3,312.48. FTSE 100 gave up 0.5% and finished at 5,723.00. Only German DAX performed better and traded flat at 6,421.85.
Natural gas continued to advance for the third consecutive day on Wednesday following Chesapeake Energy's announcement on energy output reduction and expected fall in the US stockpiles. Natural gas February contract traded at USD2.787 per million British thermal units at the late US session, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, soaring 7.15%.