CPI in Germany remains stable in November, according to official preliminary data. Analysts expected CPI to increase by 0.1% in November. Yearly CPI rose to 2.4%, mainly in compliance with forecast after increasing to 2.5% in October, the German Federal Statistics Bureau reported.
Electronic Arts Inc. shares advanced 6% in morning trading after Citigroup increased company's rating to buy from neutral. EA shares currently have high appeal after losing 17%; it seems to be a promising start for the company in pre-Christmas time, said Neil Doshi, Citigroup analyst. The target share price remained at $26 a share.
The Euro experienced gains against the yen hitting 9-day high as hopes for combating with the crisis in the Eurozone increased demand for the Euro. EUR/JPY achieved 104.23 at the European afternoon trading, the pair consolidated at 104.37 with euro gaining 1.42%.
Sales of new US homes edged up 1.3% in the previous month to an annual rate of 307,000, according to the government report. Experts expected sales to reach an annual rate of 320,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The sales gained 8.9% as compared to the previous year but the market remains in the worst condition in modern times.
Energy stocks have followed the trend of mainly growing stock prices on more optimistic outlook on the Eurozone developments. The NYSe Arca Oil Index increased by 3.7%, the NYSe Arca Natural Gas Index gained 3.5%. Top performers among energy companies were Alpha Natural Resources Inc. gaining 8% and Peabody Energy Corp. adding 5.6%.
Experts of bankrupt MF Global UK Ltd. announced a timeline when clients of the company can get their funds back. The clients have to submit claims from December 8 to March 30 with the purpose to get back their funds back in 14 days after the claim was accepted by administrators. A timeline creates more certainty about the number and scale of claims thus allowing
Consumer credit risk fell for seventh consecutive quarter as consumers try to strengthen financial position, reported TransUnion, a credit data firm. The company's risk index declined by 4.9% in the Q3 to 120.62. However, the decrease in credit risk seems to ease as there is slight increase in the usage of credit cards and applications for credit, said Chet Wiermanski, global chief scientist at TransUnion.
Daimler, German industrial group, plans to eliminate production of its luxurious Maybach marque. The decision was caused by the unsuccessful attempts to compete with Rolls Royce and Bentley over the last 10 years. Instead of Maybach the company is planning to produce new, more luxurious types of Mercedes.
OECD indicated the EU crisis as the major risk to the global economy. A firm action is needed to rectify the situation; for example, essential boost of the capacity of EFSF and more support from the ECB is required. The OECD projects the GDP growth in the EU to fall from 1.9% in 2011 to 1.6% in 2012 and an increase by 2.3%
The government of Belgium sold over 2 billion euros of bonds hitting the expected range despite recent downgrade of its rating by Standard & Poor Rating Services. Bids surpassed supply 2.6 times. The Belgian Debt Agency expected to sell from 1.5 billion to 2 billion euros of bonds in total. The yield on 10-year government bonds decreased by 9 basis points to 5.69%, reported FactSet
The Euro increased against USD after the successful Belgian auction where the sales exceeded the expected level causing a decline in the Belgium cost of borrowing. The success of the auction signals improving situation in the Eurozone and thus strengthens the Euro. EUR/USD hit 1.3398 during the European afternoon trade gaining 0.90%.
Qantas, the flag carrier of Australia, announced net income to be between A$140 m and A$190 m in 2011 as compared to A$417 m in 2010. The profit was impacted by the increased fuel prices and strikes of the company's employees demanding better working conditions and higher salary. The strikes affected over 70,000 passengers and cost A$19 m for the company .
Soybean futures increased on the more positive economic perspective for the EU caused by hopes that the EU leaders will put more efforts in struggling with the debt crisis. Soybean futures for January delivery rose by 1.4% on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange after 13-month low and approached USD 11.2312 a bushel at the early European trade.
Greek banks today are expected to reveal 3rd quarter losses. Banks are predicted also to disclose the write-downs of bonds. According to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, Alpha Bank SA, Greek third biggest bank may report a loss of €14 m, while National Bank of Greece SA, the largest nation's lender is expected to report loss of €99 m. Banks also will be required to
Crude oil futures hit the six-week high being traded over USD 99 a barrel. Analysts claim that the increase in oil demand was caused by more positive outlook on the Eurozone economy. On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude oil futures for January delivery were traded at USD 99.72 at early European trade, surging by 3.05%.
Germany announced that the country does not support issuance of common bonds among triple-A-rated euro-zone members aimed at stabilizing their credit rating and establishing a barrier from spreading euro-zone crisis. Instead Germany suggested adopting stricter budget control among the members and rejecting budgets in case they break the limit.
On Monday trade German DAX 30 index advanced rapidly on growing investors' confidence that German and French politicians have agreed on a new stability treaty to restrain crisis. DAX index surged 3.6% reaching 5,690.93. Major winners in the index were Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank AG, each added about 7%. Auto producers Daimler AG and BMW gained 7.5% and 4.92% respectively.
Silver and Copper futures increased on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange showing a positive correlation with the gold futures that increased on the weaker USD against Euro. Silver for March delivery surged by 2.95% to USD 32.01 a troy ounce while copper futures for March delivery gained 3% to USD 3.382 a pound.
The factory output of Thailand decreased by 35.8% in October after the most severe flooding in the last 50 years. The floods impacted seventh largest industrial regions of the country. The output of disk drives declined by 52.45% in October with the overall fall in electronics production of 45.5%. Car manufacturing tumbled by 61.3%.
FTSE 100 surged after weekend reports suggesting that EU officials have made progress in taming region's debt crisis. The index is experiencing the first rebound since November 11. At the moment of writing FTSE 100 is 2.3% up at 5,283.48. Similar to Asia, banks and mining companies contributed positively to the index. Lloyds Banking Group PLC edged up 5.0% while shares of Antofagasta PLC increased 4.3%
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average added 1.56% on Monday trade partly recovering from last week losses. Index closed at 8,287.49 or 127.48 points up as European leaders declared they have agreed on way how to finance EFSF salvage fund. Commodity sector companies and banks were the major gainers in Japanese markets. Nomura Holdings Inc. surged 4.4%, JX Holdings Inc. gained 3.1% whereas Sumitomo Metal Industries Inc. jumped
Yandex, Russian search engine company, buys SPB Software, a mobile software firm, in order to increase its mobile offerings. Yandex sees a mobile industry as a crucial part of its expansion strategy; the takeover of SPB Software creates new possibilities for Yandex to penetrate mobile industry, said Arkady Volozh, CEO at Yandex. Yandex company also reported about successful performance this year; earnings for the Q3
Italy's cost of borrowing increased after the country sold 567 million euros of inflation-indexed government bonds that mature in 2023. The gross yield of bonds is 7.30% as compared to 2.90% in previous auction in March 2010. The rapid increase in the bond yields raise fears that the third-largest economy in Europe will seek another bailout. More significant test will be on Tuesday when Italy
On Monday Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index experienced first appreciation since November 22 and closed at 18,037.81, gaining 348.33 points or 1.97%. Financial stocks added on growing investor confidence that European officials have moved closer to tackling sovereign debt trouble. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. jumped 3.4% while Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. soared 3.6%. Energy and mining stocks also recovered: Jiangxi Copper Co. ascended