Australia faced a surplus in the trade balance of goods and services in December. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the surplus widened in December by USD 366 million from November, attaining USD 1,709 million. Meanwhile, goods and services credits increased by 2% to USD 27,792 million last month.
Deutsche Bank AG, German biggest lender posted a 76% drop in 4th quarter profit as European debt turmoil harmed trading. Net revenue declined to EUR 147 million compared to EUR 601 million in previous year. Analysts predicted the net income to be at EUR 556 million. Deutsche Bank had a EUR 422 million pretax loss.
Crude oil contracts edged down during the Asian session on Thursday, following the report on the essential increase in the US oil inventories over the last week. However, inspiring PMI data from all over the world limited the losses. Light, sweet crude oil March contract traded at USD 97.54 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, easing down 0.07%.
China's authorities plan to enhance subsidies and investment in the agricultural sector to stabilize production of grain. The country will expand fiscal budget to direct more fixed-asset investments to the agricultural technology and science. Moreover, China will provide more subsidies for farming cooperatives involved in grain production.
The Euro Zone's CPI eased in compliance with expectations on January, reported Eurostat. The CPI hit 2.7% on January on a seasonally adjusted basis as compared to 2.8% in the preceding month. However, the rate still remained above the ECB target of 2%. After the data release, the Euro stayed higher against the US Dollar and the pair EUR/USD added
Tobacco firms provided investors with best volatility adjusted profits in last 10 years. MSCI World Tobacco Index delivered the largest gain out of 67 indexes over last decade. Tobacco stocks rebuffed soaring volatility both through Dot Com bubble and financial crisis because smokers did not quit when tobacco prices climbed. Analysts expect cigarettes' producers' success to prolong also over current global
Aussie and Kiwi extended two day appreciation on global stock rally. Australian currency climbed 0.1% to USD 1.0713, reaching 5-month record high after investors anticipated news the Australia's trade surplus surpassed analysts forecasts. New Zealand Dollar also added 0.1% and advanced to USD 0.8334. Currently, AUD/USD is trading at USD 1.0725 and NZD/USD is trading at USD 0.8338.
American Airlines announced it would cut 15% of its payroll, or 13,000 jobs. The AMR plans to reduce staffing costs by 20% to cut spending by USD 2 billion and increase revenue by USD 1 billion per year. The company that filed to protection against bankruptcy is ready to provide all due payments to its staff. The company is going
US non-farm private payrolls advanced less than initially expected last month, reported ADP. The non-farm employment increased by 170,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, confronting the expectations of a 190,000 rise. The non-farm payrolls increased by 292,000 in the preceding month.
The light vehicles and truck sales soared in January, reaching the fastest growth since 2009. The annual turnover for cars accelerated to 14.2 million compared to 13.4 million predicted by industry analysts. The leading car maker was General Motors (GM), followed by Ford Motors and Toyota Motors. GM remained the leading seller in 2011 despite the fact that its market
Facebook Inc. filed to obtain USD 5 billion in the biggest internet IPO. Menlo Park is estimating the value of company to be between USD 75 billion to USD 100 billion. Yesterday, Facebook appointed Morgan Stanley as the main underwriter of the IPO. The social network company reported an 24 times increase in sales during last four years, reaching USD 3.7
Honda Motors posted an unexpected expansion in US markets, ending 8 months of contraction in sales. The Japanese car maker reported an 8.8% annual growth on rebounded vehicle demand. Analysts previously predicted a 1.2% decline. Other Japanese auto producers including Toyota Motors and Nissan Motors also faced growth in sales in US markets.
The ECB is expected to reject helping to lessen Greek debt load until private creditors and government reach an agreement. Greek investors are boosting pressure on ECB to support the debt swap, however, the bank's officials are awaiting for the final agreement before disclosing ECB strategy which may contain sacrificing profits from Greece's bonds.
German DAX 30 index extended gains on Wednesday as European and Chinese manufacturing data boosted investor sentiment. DAX 30 index climbed 1.9% with all nine sectors posting gains. Infineon Technologies AG jumped 5% after reporting better than expected first quarter sales. RWE AG climbed as Morgan Stanley included the share in the list of its best ideas. Car makers BMW
FTSE 100 Index climbed on Wednesday, supported by financials and oil providers on better than expected data from UK, Germany, China and Euro Zone. British benchmark index rallied 1.4% during session, lifted by broking company ICAP PLC which added 6.6% after making optimistic forecasts for 2012. BP Plc. climbed 3% after the court decided that company don't have to cover
After a sharp appreciation yesterday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index retreated on Wednesday, pushed down by investor worries that positive manufacturing data will curb Chinese government from implementing monetary easing. Hang Seng index slipped 0.28% or 57.12 points and settled at 20,333.37. Food producer and distributor Cosco Pac surged 4.5% and Belle Internatio climbed 3%. On the downside were property
Grain commodities advanced while sugar and coffee futures edged down. Grain commodities continued to drew support from the expected supply cuts in South America after unfavorable weather conditions that harmed the plants. At the same time, coffee was the top loser despite 30 year low Arabica coffee crop in Colombia. Sugar started Tuesday on the opposite note as drought harmed
Energy markets faced mixed performance on Tuesday despite stronger Asian equities and negative economic data from the US. Investors also await a report on the US oil inventory stockpiles that is expected to indicate a decline. Natural gas was the top loser, dropping 7.24% on the mild weather forecasts in 48 states of the US. Moreover, US official data showed
Industry metals fell on Tuesday as German retail sales dropped and consumer confidence in the US has worsened. At the same time, LME inventories of base metals faced a decline. Moreover, cancelled warrants for copper and nickel inched up, reflecting stronger spot demand. Aluminium was one of the top losers, falling by 1.8%. Aluminium faced weaker spot demand as cancelled
Precious metals, excluding gold, dropped on Tuesday despite gathering momentum on the depreciating US Dollar after disappointing US consumer confidence and Chicago PMI data. Gold, the only gainer, found additional support on the Fed's decision about keeping low interest rates till mid-2014. At the same time, ETF silver purchases increased due to lower price. Value of the US Dollar and
Clothing retailer Esprit Holdings plans to close all its North American stores as the company failed to sell the unprofitable unit. Esprit is attempting to cut costs and recover from 98% earnings drop last year. Representatives of company admitted, Esprit did not manage to get and maintain the market share in North America. Following the announcement Esprit shares lost 1.4%.
Indonesia's Rupiah and South Korean Won depreciated sharply this week as statistics showed economic outlook is worsening in the region. South Korea's exports declined first time since 2010 while several Asian countries including India and Thailand were forced to cut benchmark rates to support growth. The Rupiah lost 0.4% and traded 9,035 per Dollar while South Korea's Won weakened 0.3% to
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed slightly higher on Wednesday, lifted by financial stocks. Nikkei 225 index gained 0.08% or 7.28 points and finished at 8,809.79. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings jumped 3.4% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 2.9%. All Nippon Airways surged 6.8% after company expanded its expectations for operating profit. Shipping companies also supported the index on the upside,
Dow Jones Industrial Average Index maintained its downward trend on Tuesday as US consumer confidence index dropped to 61.1 instead of predicted increase to 68.2. Blue chip index fell 0.16% or 20.81 points and finished at 12,632.91, weighted down by Exxon Mobil. The oil giant lost 2.1% on its worse than expected production report. Financials supported the index on the