Germany should put more effort to contain region's debt crisis instead of just requiring additional money from outside, announced the Group of 20 nations. G-20 suggested Europe to expand its own financial firewall before borrowing from other countries or organizations. During Mexico meeting Germany attempted to persuade G-20 countries to inject extra capital in IMF to tackle crisis.
Australia's premier Julia Gillard won her predecessor Kevin Rudd in a leadership vote and remained the head of ruling Labour party. Gillard gained 71 votes compared to 31 in favour of Rudd's, said party representative Chris Hayes. Rudd claimed he accepts the outcome and will support current PM.
Rural commodities were mostly higher on Thursday amid broadly weaker US Dollar and adverse weather conditions in South America. Sugar, the top performer, approached almost three-month high on the lingering concerns over the Brazilian crop. Moreover, institutional investors and hedge funds showed increased interest in sugar buying. At the same time, wheat lost momentum created due to stronger China's demand
Energy pack, excluding natural gas, continued to post strong gains amid escalated supply disruption concerns due to geopolitical tensions between Iran and Western economies. Weaker US Dollar and stronger equities also contributed to gains of the commodity group. Crude oil edged up even despite buildup in the US and dismal economic perspectives for the Euro Zone. Following crude oil jump,
Base metals tumbled on Thursday after the EC cut its growth forecast for the Euro Zone. Further, weak China's demand coupled with choppiness in the US Dollar both dampened the market sentiment. Aluminium futures dropped even despite increased cancelled warrants at LME. At the same time, supply concerns for copper from the renewed strike in Freeport's Grasberg mine and falling
Precious metals were mixed on Thursday amid broadly stronger Euro and indications of the global easing of monetary policies. Silver and gold were mainly bolstered by firm equities as well as stronger demand for alternative assets in view of geopolitical tensions in Mideast. At the same time, platinum ended the day on the negative note as recently announced decrease in
German DAX index traded higher on Friday, supported by oil firms and earnings reports. SAP AG jumped 1.5% after the producer of business management software announced plans to increase its dividend by 83%, adding a special premium for 40th anniversary. SAP AG also posted a 4th quarter profit and predicted positive earnings outlook for 2012. BASF SE also supported index
British FTSE 100 index fluctuated between gains and losses on Friday on different corporate news. Oil shares surged along with a crude price. BT Group climbed 0.8% and BP added 0.9%. RSA Insurance Group jumped 1.9% after BoA upgraded its stock from neutral to buy. On downside Lloyds Banking Group dropped 1.7% after lender announced bigger than expected loss of
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average extended gains on Friday on positive US housing and employment data. Nikkei 225 surged 0.43% or 41.38 points to 9,636.95 with energy sector leading the gains as oil price climbed to 9-month record high. Japan's leading oil provider Inpex Corp jumped 5%. J. Front Retailing climbed 1.5% after retailer said it is planning to acquire its
S&P 500 index retreated on Thursday, after Labor Deparment said the unemployment claims remained unchanged last week. US index advanced 0.43% or 5.80 points and settled at 1,363.46. Sears Holdings rallied 19%. Although company reported worse than expected earnings, its share price was boosted by plans to derive some stores and sell others. Hewlett Packard plunged 6.5%, most in 6
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slightly advanced on Friday lifted by overall global optimism as German business confidence surged and US jobless claims stayed steady. Hang Seng index gained 0.12% or 25.87 points and finished at 21,406.86. HSBC Holdings added 0.4% as experts predicted the company may report a 24% gain in its annual earnings next week. Gains were limited by property
Dow Jones Industrial Average index traded higher on Thursday as investors digested news about US employment and 0.7% price increase for US homes in December. Blue chip index climbed 0.36% or 46.02 points and closed at 12,984.69 with eight of nine industries posting gains. Procter& Gamble rallied 3% after company said it identified $10 billion in costs it can reduce
Lloyds Banking Group Plc, one of the UK largest lenders, announced its annual loss for 2011 was worse than expected. The total yearly loss amounted to GBP 2.8 billion (USD 4.4 billion) compared to a GBP 320 million loss in 2010, said Lloyds in its statement. Analysts questioned by Bloomberg earlier predicted a loss of GBP 2.41 billion.
Fitch Ratings downgraded three major Australian banks: Commonwealth Bank of Australia's, National Australia Bank Limited's and Westpac Banking Corporation's. Meanwhile, rating of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group was affirmed at aa-. The rating agency cited increased vulnerability of the banks to swings in confidence and weak funding profile.
Iraqi Grain Board has reduced the standards of grain quality its purchases from abroad thus enabling Iraq to buy on price from such countries as India and China. Iraq used to be one of the major importers of the US rice and the halt in imports coupled with unfavorable weather forecasts and growing production prices disappointed US farmers. Experts expect
AIG announced essential increase in profit for Q4 amid 17.7 billion US Dollars tax benefit. The net income for the period approached 19.8 billion US Dollars as compared to 11.2 billion US Dollars for the same quarter in the preceding year. The company is allowed not to pay taxes on large among of future profits due to benefits provided after
EIA reported that average four-week demand for the refined products in the US tumbled to the 15-year low. The demand for such products as distillates and gasoline declined to 18.05 million barrels per day, indicating a 6.7% annual fall. Gasoline demand decreased by 6.1% while consumption of distillates fell by 5.9% on a yearly basis. At the same time, crude
EIA reported that average four-week demand for the refined products in the US tumbled to the 15-year low. The demand for such products as distillates and gasoline declined to 18.05 million barrels per day, indicating a 6.7% annual fall. Gasoline demand decreased by 6.1% while consumption of distillates fell by 5.9% on a yearly basis. At the same time, crude
Greece's parliament ratified the law allowing debt swap deal with private bondholders that is the main requirement for receiving bailout package from the EU and IMF. Private creditors will have to write down 53.5% for the bonds thus reducing Greek debt by 107 billion Euros. After approving debt swap deal the parliament will embark on designing the austerity measures further
Gold and silver futures posted losses during the Asian trading hours on Friday on the lack of fresh stimulus to Thursday's momentum that pushed the precious metals price to several-month highs. COMEX gold futures for April delivery traded at 1,780.70 an ounce, falling by 5.60 US Dollars while silver futures for delivery in March traded at 35.40 US Dollars per
The Euro Zone's economy is likely to shrink by 0.3% this year, reported the European Commission. Previous forecasts predicted the region's economy to expand by 0.5% this year. The EC added that unexpected slowdown in recovery in the end of 2011 may impact the common currency union further. At the same time, the recession will be 'mild' as the signs
Germany's business climate improved more than initially expected in February, gaining for the fourth month in line. Ifo Business Climate Index added 1.3 points to 109.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis this month as compared to 108.3 in January. Experts predicted the figure to advance by 0.5 points approaching 108.8.
Japanese Yen kept depreciating on Friday as 3-year record low volatility bolstered investor demand for riskier currencies. Japan's currency weakened 0.4% versus Euro to JPY 107.42 and slid 0.5% against greenback to JPY 80.40. Currently USD/JPY is trading at JPY 80.52 and EUR/JPY is trading at JPY 107.65.
Shanghai court has rejected the request to ban the sales of iPad in Shanghai. The case was brought to court by the Shenzhen unit of Proview International Holdings Ltd. on February 22. The company accused Apple Inc. of violating IPR as two companies had a dispute on who is the owner of iPad tablet brand on the territory of China.