UK house prices increased by 0.2% from April, but fell 0.6% in comparison to the same period last year. Prices in London alone surged by 0.6% from April. Supply of real estate increased 2.2% from April when it expanded by almost 5%. Amount of buyers registering with brokers grew by 0.4% from April. Specialists state that rallying mortgage rates and possible influence
German DAX index rose in the first half of session on Greece's poll results which showed Greeks supported pro-austerity parties. Nevertheless index retreated and traded into red prior to the close on lingering Spain worries. Financials posted substantial losses with Deutsche Bank falling 1% and Commerzbank tumbling 3.8%. Electricity provider RWE AG dropped 2% and power company E.ON AG lost
UK FTSE 100 index traded notably higher on Monday supported by miners and energy shares as Greek polls showed pro-austerity parties lead ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections in June. Rio Tinto surged 2.8% and Antofagasta gained 3.2%. Financials also climbed with Barclays adding 0.5% and RBS advancing 1.4%. Recruitment company Capita Plc jumped 3.1% after UBS upgraded the stock from
Rural commodities soared on Friday as crop conditions are deteriorating in the major growing-regions while demand is expected to remain strong.Wheat surged as dry and hot weather forecasts in Russia, Ukraine and the Great Plants bolstered grain's price. Moreover, solid demand for US wheat provided fresh stimulus for price increase.Corn was unchanged on Friday but the commodity is likely to
Energy markets apart from natural gas moved higher on Friday as lack of resolution of Middle East tensions and indications of the US economic recovery created favorable conditions for the price increase.Crude oil futures were bolstered by failure to reach a compromise on the Iranian nuclear program while positive data on US consumer confidence boosted demand prospects. Brent oil was
Industrial metals balanced on Friday between signs of robust US economic recovery and uncertainty in the Euro Zone and Asia.Aluminum was marginally lower as rising energy costs and weakening China's demand both created pressure on the light metal.Copper was among gainers due to falling stocks at the LME and Shanghai warehouses. However, high risk-aversion in the markets continued to cap
Precious metals rallied on Friday despite economic uncertainties in the Euro Zone and Asia. Stronger greenback also continued to weight on the commodity pack.Gold was the top-performer despite lingering worries in the single currency union after Catalonia, Spain's region, announced it needs additional funds for refinancing its banking system.Silver followed bullish trend amid mixed equities and better than expected US
With supplementary RMB 2.5B (USD 395M), the overall injected funds by JPMorgan total at CNY6.5 billion in three years. JPMorgan China's chairman and CEO Zili Shao stated that the be investment will be utilized for new product development, hiring new personnel, boosting lending possibilities as well as ensuring a wider network for the subsidiary. Consequently, this should allow the bank
Despite a rapid increase in the employment in the beginning of 2012, the current figures show a less positive situation. To ensure that the labor market may revive itself from the impacts of the recession, the government should provide 250 000 places monthly; however, the according to the data provided by Sam Bullard, Wells Fargo, the actual rate maintains at
Thomas Jordan, president of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), announced that bank considers introducing control of capital inflows in order to prevent further strengthening of the Swiss Franc. This would be continuous effort of the SNB to stop Frac's appreciation against the Euro since mid 2010. Recently, for the first time since 1970's, the SNB had to use self-imposed limit of the Franc versus other
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average traded in narrow range on Monday as investors remained cautious towards more positive news from Greece. Nikkei 225 index gained 0.15% or 12.76 points and finished at 8,593.15. MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings fell 1.5% on news Lloyd's expect euro collapse in case Greece exits the common currency area. Furukawa Co surged 3.1% after announcing it will
Hong Kong's stocks rose on Monday on investor speculation Chinese government will provide additional measures to stimulate economic expansion. Moreover worries of Greece's exit from Euro Zone eased. Hang Seng index gained 0.47% or 87.58 points and closed at 18,800.99. Property shares supported the index with China Overseas Land & Investment adding 2.8% and China Resources Land rallied 3.4%. Some
Tokyo Stock Price Index, which includes all companies listed in the first section of Tokyo's stock exchange, fell to four month low on Monday after Bank of Japan stated it won't automatically increase asset purchases. Index closed at 721.11 losing 0.1% today and posing for a monthly dip of 8.7%. Renesas Electronics, one of worlds largest automotive electronic producers, retired
Great Britain's pound weakened against 13 out of 16 major pairs today. It depreciated against euro for the first time in five trading days after Greece's pro-bailout parties received grater support in polls. By 8:30 GMT today, cable lost 0.5% of its value and dropped to 80.32 pence per Euro, but gained 0.2% against USD and was USD 1.5699 per pound after
Spain's intentions to recapitalize Bankia using sovereign debt triggered investors doubts and drove demand for Spanish bonds down. For the first time after May 15 the Spain-German 10 year maturity bond yield spread exceeded 500 basis points. At 8:00 GMT yield for Spanish securities reached 6.4% in comparison to 1.38% of German.
After Bankia's request for rescue funding last week, government announced it might recapitalize the bank using government bonds. Rescue funding required is around EUR 19b. Bankia could use government debt papers as collateral getting money from European central Bank forcing ECB to get involved in restructurisation of Span's banking sector. This would be the biggest bank rescue in Spain's history.
UK housing prices surged for a third consecutive month in May, fuelled by value increase in London, Hometrack reported on Monday. Home value for the UK soared 0.2% compared to previous month while prices in London climbed 0.6%. Nevertheless, Hometrack predicts the price increase in nation's property market for the year will be limited due to persisting Euro Zone debt crisis.
European stock markets rebounded on Friday lifted by drug manufacturers and improved consumer confidence in Germany. Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.2%, British FTSE 100 index traded almost flat and German DAX added 0.4%. French CAC advanced 0.3% but Spanish IBEX 35 posted only a small gain of 0.1% as worries over country's debt trouble lingered. Meanwhile Athens General index extended
Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell on Friday amid rising worries about Spain as the next troubled country after Greece. Blue chip index fell 0.6% or 74.92 points and closed at 12,454.83 with only 7 stocks ending on positive note. Standard & Poor's rating agency lowered on Friday its credit-worthiness assessment on 5 Spain's banks and warned about the nation's
S&P 500 index edged down on Friday, reflecting growing concerns over Spain. US benchmark dropped 0.22% or 2.86 points and closed at 1,317.82. Spanish borrowing costs surged to almost 6.3% after Spain's autonomous region Catalonia asked for a government financial aid. Nevertheless index managed to recover on weekly basis and reported a 1.7% gain, the first weekly advance since April.
China manufacturing companies' profits fell 2.2% to USD 64.2 billion in April, National Statistics reported on Sunday. In March companies net earnings advanced by 4.5%. The drop in profit fuels concerns the Chinese economy is slowing to larger extent than expected. Annual manufacturing profit growth for 2012 might be somewhere between 10%-20%, Lu Zhengwei, analyst at Industrial Bank predicted.
China has granted private investors the same rights as state firms possess while investing in China's banks. The move is aimed at boosting economic growth via attracting more overseas investors who were put off by inefficient banking sector in the country. Recently, China also opened its telecommunications and energy sectors for foreign investors.
US Dollar was broadly lower in Asian session on Monday as recent polls indicated that parties favoring bailout measures are becoming more popular in Greece. Hence, the country is likely to stay in the single currency union. EUR/USD added 0.53%, approaching 1.2583 while GBP/USD gained 0.18% to trade at 1.5954. At the same time, the greenback moved down versus the
Gold futures went up in Asian session on Monday, being bolstered by indications that more pro-bailout parties are likely to gain power while dip buying opportunities also supported the price increase. COMEX gold June contract traded at 1,575.85 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, easing up by 0.30%. Meanwhile, COMEX silver for delivery in July