Swiss stocks rose on Tuesday for a fifth continuous day as Actelion Ltd., Switzerland’s largest biotechnology company, and Givaudan SA, the producer of the fragrances, rallied. The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies, rose 0.24%, or 13.63 points, to 5,732.19. The broader Swiss Performance Index edged higher 0.21%, or 10.71 points, to
Manufacturing output in the U.K. contracted 0.3% in August, compared to July, when it slid a revised 0.2%, said the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday. Economists expected the decline of 0.1%. The British Chambers of Commerce said on Tuesday the new round of QE launched by the Bank of England last week may not be enough to prevent the
Securities industry in New York could lose approximately 10,000 jobs by the end of 2012 and pay out smaller bonuses for the second con-tinuous year amid the debt crisis in Europe, said New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.“The securities industry had a strong start to 2011, but its prospects have cooled considerably for the second half,” DiNapoli said. “It now seems
International Monetary Fund and European Union officials hinted Greece will receive next tranche of financial aid of 8 billion euros in early November. Troika also said “it is essential that the authorities put more emphasis on structural reforms in the public sector and the economy more broadly.”“Continuing funding to Greece is the least worst option available,” said Peter Dixon, an
The Eurozone economy has emerged from its longest-ever recession and it seems the crisis is calming.
"This is a short-covering rally, as and it was not led by any buying on fundamental hopes that stocks will rise"- Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co.Japanese stocks climbed for the first time in five days in anticipation for the European policy to take serious action on the spreading so-vereign debt.The Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average
"A more expansionist policy is not a problem for the SNB so long as inflation stays low. Although [CPI] has risen, it is still very low”- Henrik Gullberg, Deutsche currency strategistSMI, the Switzerland's blue-chip stock market index, flipped 1.54% or 84.54 points, to 5,589.53. Swiss Performance Index, the most closely followed performance index, jumped 1.64%, or 81.49 points, to 5,055.36.The
“The Treasury is exploring further policy options. Such interventions should complement the MPC's asset purchases”- George Osborne, UK Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Bank of England kept interest rates at 0.5 percent, which is a record-low for more than 2 years. The stock of asset purchases at 200 billion pounds was held by the BoE since February 2010, when the UK
“The economic indicators suggest that the U.S. isn’t in such bad shape. The market has become too pessimistic about the economy”- Mitsushige Akino, Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co.U.S. Labor Department figures showed the rally for unemployment claims to 410,000 from 395,000 in the previous month. The monthly average plunged to the lowest level since August.Sean Incremona, a senior economist at 4Cast
“We consider that governments have all capacity to leverage the EFSF themselves”- Jean-Claude Trichet, Chair of the European Central BankAt his final press conference as Chair of ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet announced the resuming of buying of covered bank bonds in November. He said that two separate tenders of year-long refinancing to euro-zone banks will be held.It was mentioned during
“The larger-than-expected decline in initial claims appears too good to be true”- Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's AnalyticsImpact: HighNumber of Americans, claiming for unemployment benefits, tumbled to 391 thousand last week, down from 428 thousand the week be-fore, said the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday. The reading is much better than expected figure of 420 thousand.“Apart from what
“The most pressing problem at the moment is Greece”- Benno Galliker, a trader at Luzerner KantonalbankImpact: MediumSwiss stocks advanced for the fourth day in five on Thursday, as the German Parliament voted for increase of the European Financial Stability Facility. The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies, rose 1.03%, or 56.95 points,
“Sentiment towards major purchases is depressed”- Robert Gardner, chief economist at NationwideImpact: HighHouse prices in U.K. edged higher 0.1% to £166,256 in September, while quarter on quarter figures have remained static, said the Nationwide Building Society on Thursday. "Providing the UK recovery gradually gathers momentum in the months ahead, we continue to expect house prices to move sideways or to
“I’m not convinced that this bailout package [bigger EFSF] is going to be remotely enough for the euro zone itself”- Wilbur Ross, chairman of WL Ross & Co.Impact: HighAn absolute majority of German parliament members, 523 in favor versus 85 opposing, voted for increase of the European Financial Stability Facility from €123 billion to €211 billion on Thursday, providing an
“Consumer spending was recovering after the quake, but that rebound is pretty much over”- Yoshiki Shinke, a senior economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research InstituteImpact: MediumYear on year retail sales in Japan plummeted 2.6% in August, after 0.6% increase in July, said the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Indus-try on Thursday. Economists expected the reading to decline moderate 0.6%.“Consumer spending was