Singapore's economy is expected to grow by annualized 2.8% in Q2, according to survey conducted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The forecast is slightly higher than initial estimate of 2.5%. Participants also projected the CPI to increase by 5.2% in Q2 and the jobless rate to attain 2.2% by the end of 2012. Moreover, respondents expect USD/SGD to trade
Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to post strong gains on Tuesday despite surging Spanish bond yields and downgraded banks. Analysts explains the Dow's surge via hopes for additional stimulus as global officials won't have any other option. Blue chip index gained 1.31% or 162.57 points and closed at 12,573.80. The main winner for the index was Boeing Company which soared
Crude oil futures were steady in European morning trading on Wednesday as traders are cautious ahead of OPEC meeting due on Thursday coupled with US stockpiles report due later in the day. Moreover, mounting worries over fiscal uncertainty in Spain and Italy continued to dominate market sentiment. Light, sweet crude oil futures for July delivery traded at 83.39 US Dollars
S&P 500 index showed a surprising rally on Tuesday. The news from Europe were so pessimistic that most analysts predicted US markets to tumble. Contrary to forecast S&P 500 surged 1.17% or 15.25 points and finished at 1,324.18. Shares of First Solar accelerated sharply, after the solar power provider said it signed agreement to construct two utility-scale projects for AGL
Gold prices were flat in European morning trade on Wednesday as traders are cautious amid lingering Spanish concerns and looming Greek elections. Investors also await Italy's debt auction later in the day. COMEX gold August contract traded at 1,614.65 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, easing up by 0.05%.
As the new tax on real estate is implemented, Mario Monti, Italian's Prime Minister, is beginning to realize that the tax increase policy has flopped. With the tax rate boost by one percentage point in September 2011, the VAT receipts have dropped significantly to its record low since the year of 2006. The respective decline could potentially reinforce Italy's decision to delay an additional tax
Australian consumer confidence improved in June, despite recent interest rate reduction. The Westpac/Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index posted an increase of 0.3%, approaching 95.6 points this month. The data is disappointing as the RBA cut the cash rate by 25 bps in June while consumer confidence still remains low, said Bill Evans, Westpack chief economist. People were probably influenced by
German CPI gained 1.9% last month, falling below 2% for the first time in 2012, reported the Federal Statistics Office. The data is in line with preliminary result released on May 29. The highest annualized increase faced food prices that grew by 2.4% while marked price decline was recoded for financial services that posted 16.3% price decrease in May.
China's economic expansion may fall below 7% in Q2 in case economic weakness persists in June, said Zheng Xinli, government's adviser. If the situational starts to improve, the GDP growth is likely to attain the lowest expansion pace in Q2, reported Jia Kang, head of the Finance Ministry. Meanwhile, according to Reuter's survey, China's economy is expected to grow by
European stocks faced a choppy session on Tuesday as Spain's yields hit 15-year record high. However, most of stock indices ended into green area as investors bet on stimulus from Fed and European central banks. FTSE 100 index gained 0.5%, German DAX surged 0.9% and Spanish IBEX 35 added 1%. Stoxx Europe 600 ended 0.4% up.
Despite expected plunge on European anxiety, US stock indices rallied on Tuesday as investors bet the overall news are so bad that Federal Reserve and European central banks will be forced to introduce stimulus. S&P 500 index surged 1.17% or 15.25 points and finished at 1,324.18. Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.31% or 162.57 points and closed at 12,573.80. Nasdaq
The outflow of Greek deposits has increased ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections. Investors are worried country may move towards quitting Euro. Daily withdrawals fluctuate in the range between EUR 100 million and EUR 500 million, banker that wanted to remain anonymous said in the interview with Bloomberg. Another banker assumed that withdrawal yesterday may have reached EUR 700 million.
The job vacancies in London's main financial district surged by 25% in May, Astbury Marsden reported. In absolute terms the number of new job vacancies advanced from 3,455 in April to 4,320 in May. Derivatives and foreign exchange businesses were the main new jobs' providers. On yearly basis the vacancies still are 35% down, Astbury Marsden added.
Italy start to face signals that tax increases might be too high, Alberto Alesina, Harvard University professor suggested on Wednesday. VAT tax revenue have dropped, government data showed on June 5. The amount gathered over 12 months is the lowest in 6 years. Former PM Berlusconi lifted VAT by 1% to 21% in September 2011. The fall in tax receipts
Karolina Ekholm, Riksbank Deputy Governor claimed the Sweden's exposure to Greek economy is insignificant. Therefore the Nordic country would not suffer from Greek Euro exit. Sweden a country that refused to introduce Euro currently is a haven for sovereign debt traders. Swedish 10-year notes trade at 1.49% today.
US retail sales are expected to have weakened in May, first time this year. Slower employment growth is likely to have curbed demand for vehicles as well as overall consumer spending, economists predicted on Wednesday. Analysts expect a 0.2% drop compared to a 0.1% advance in April.
German Chancellor Merkel's government reduced the amount of bills and bonds it plans to sell in 2012. Federal government plan to auction EUR 256.9 billion of debt instead of earlier set target at EUR 260.4 billion. Finance Ministry cut sales of notes with a maturity more than one year and added bonds with a shorter maturity of maximum 12 months.
The New Zealand Dollar and Australian Dollar modestly weakened against their major peers on Wednesday fuelled by worries the outcome of Greek elections may deepen European debt turmoil. Economists predict markets to be nervous until elections. Aussie gave up 0.1% to USD 0.9950 while Kiwi traded flat at USD 0.7769. Currently AUD/USD is trading at USD 0.9944 and NZD/USD is trading at USD 0.7767.
Esprit Holdings plunged to 15-year record low in Hong Kong morning trade after its CEO Ronald Van der Vis resigned. He is the second top executive that quits in 6 months. Esprit shares tumbled 21% to HKD 10.64 on Wednesday, the most since 1997. Van der Vis claimed he is resigning due to family and personal reasons.
Spanish borrowing costs for 10-years sovereign bonds reached a 15-year record high on Tuesday after Fitch Ratings forecast that country's PM Mariano Rajoy will fail to meet budget deficit goals that he set earlier. Yield for Spain's benchmark bond hit 6.83% yesterday, the highest level since 1997. Surging yields raise concerns that possible Spanish and Italian bailout would exhaust EU
Japan's core machinery orders, leading indicator of capital spending, increased more than economists expected in April, rising 5.7 % amid the Yen's appreciation and Eurozone's turmoil. Compared with year earlier, core orders grew 6.6% in April. The figures showed that robust domestic demand will stimulate Japan's economic recovery.
The French government officials are revising growth forecasts for the next year. According to the Bank of France, the economy of France is predicted to shrink in the Q2 for the first time since 2009. Cooling growth would build up pressure on French President Francois Hollande to meet budget commitments. Mr. Hollande promised to reduce the budget deficit to 3%
The ECB reiterated that common banking union development is critical to prop up the Eurozone's financial system, even though Germany's central bank said that such a decision might be risky and "premature". Vitor Constancio, the ECB's official, also claimed that the ECB should exercise power of monitoring European banks, as the bank has required knowledge and institutional resources to carry
U.K. markets edged higher during a choppy session this Tuesday on the growth of miners. The FTSE 100 index rose 0.5 per cent to 5,461.78, while Barclays retreated 1.7 per cent and Lloyds Banking Group PLC slumped 1 per cent.