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%.
The wellbeing of the global economy is under threat because of the spreading risk from the Euro Zone, said the IMF. The organization expects the world's economy to expand by 3.25% this year as compared to 4% initially projected. Considering the Euro Zone, the GDP growth is predicted to contract by 0.5% in 2012 while previously the IMF projected 1.1%.
Belgian business climate improved in January, but remained in the negative territory since May 2011. The business climate index added 1.1 point to minus 9.5 this month on a seasonally adjusted basis from minus 10.6 in the preceding month, reported the Bank of Belgium. Experts predicted the index to inch up 0.5 points approaching minus 10.1 this month.
Debts owed by a typical UK family surged 48% since January last year as increasing inflation rate impacted households' incomes, reported Aviva Family Finances. Average UK family owes about 7,944 Pounds in unsecured borrowings on loans, credit cards and overdrafts as compared to 5,360 Pounds in January last year. The debts represent over 32% of the overall net annual income
US stocks traded mixed on Tuesday amid investor concern about earnings reports and uncertainty in Greek debt talks. S&P 500 Index gave up 0.1% or 1.35 points and closed at 1,314.65 while Dow Jones Industrial Average Index fell 0.26% or 33.07 points to 12,675.75. Only Nasdaq Composite managed to end up in positive area, gaining 0.1% or 2.47 points and
European stock markets closed lower on Tuesday as EU finance ministers attempted to persuade Greek private lenders to accept lower borrowing costs on restructured Greece sovereign debt. Stoxx 600 lost 0.4% to 256.04, FTSE 100 fell 0.5% and finished at 5,751.90. German DAX edged down 0.3% to 6,419.22 and French CAC 40 index slipped 0.5%, ending at 3,322.65. Greek ASE
Japanese Yen weakened against its main counterparts on Tuesday after nation's statistics reported Japan in 2011 faced the first trade deficit in 30 years, fuelling concerns about country's economic outlook. Japanese currency lost 0.4% against US Dollar to ¥77.95. Currently USD/JPY is trading at ¥77.91.
Australia's annual core inflation, which exclude the biggest swings in prices, quickened in the last three months of 2011, climbing to 3%, compared to central bank's target of 2%. An increase in inflation reduced probability that the Reserve Bank of Australia might cut its benchmark interest rate further. The overall price index in 4th quarter was unchanged as banana price
Natural gas bounced, finding support in the production cuts as Chesapeake Energy reported it plans to decrease the output level due to low prices of the natural gas. Natural gas futures for delivery in February traded at USD2.596 per million British thermal units during the late US trade on Tuesday, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, soaring by 0.64%.
Japan reported the first yearly trade deficit in 30 years. The trade deficit of the country for 2011 amounted 2.49 million Yen, with imports adding 12% and exports decreasing by 2.7%, according to finance ministry. Experts blamed recent earthquake and tsunami as many factories and supply chains were damaged.
German business confidence may have increased in January to 5-month record high, as the European largest economy indicated recovery. According to economists questioned by Bloomberg, the business climate index, estimated by the Ifo institute, probably rose from 107.2 to 107.6. Economists also predict the measure of current situation to increase from 116.7 to 116.8. The report is due today.
Apple Inc. posted a 4th quarter's profit, more than two times higher than in corresponding period last year due to successful sales of Iphone and Ipad. Apple managed to sell 37 million Iphones and reach a net profit of $13.1bn in the last quarter of 2011. The profit per share for the particular quarter was $13.87. Apple shares jumped 12% on the earnings