Canada's manufacturing sales decreased more than previously projected after increasing for three consecutive months, according to the official data. The indicator declined by 0.8% in October on a seasonally adjusted basis as compared to 2.6% gain in September. However, manufacturing sales in October achieved CAD48.7 billion being the second highest after September.
Industrial production in Euro zone decreased in October declining for the second month in a row, according to the official data. Industrial production decreased by 0.1% in October on a seasonally adjusted basis as compared to 0.1% expected increase, reported Eurostat. Following the data, USD climbed higher against the Euro and the pair EUR/USD is currently traded at 1.2959.
Cotton futures fell to 16-month low as the growing concerns over the euro-zone put investors off risky assets. On the ICE Futures U.S. Exchange, cotton futures for delivery in March traded at USD0.8624 a pound at the European afternoon trade, declining by 1.23% since opening.
The Euro continued to tumble against the US Dollar even after crossing a $1.30 border. The euro fell to $1.2978 from $1.3026 in the late US trading yesterday. The Euro started to tumble after Italy sold 3 billion euros of bonds maturing in five years with record high yields of 6.47%. During the year the Euro decreased by 3% against the USD.
Corn futures increased on the poor weather conditions in South America which in turn increased worriers over the commodity supplies from the second and third biggest corn producers. On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, corn futures for delivery in March traded at USD5.9662 a bushel at the early European trade, adding 0.41% since opening.
Copper futures have declined for the third day in a line after Fed's decision not to start the next round of QE and signs of the difficulties in China's economy. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for delivery in March traded at USD3.401 a pound at the early European trade, losing 1.15% since opening.
E*Trade Financial Corp. announced the average volume of trades decreased by 11% on a yearly basis in November. The daily revenue trades in November totaled 141,361, losing 10% from the previous month. The company added 24,541 new accounts while it added 30,355 new accounts a year ago. The share price of the company lost 46% during 2011.
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, said that despite not signing the EU summit agreement, the UK remains close EU partner. She also expressed regret that David Cameron, UK PM, was not able to join other EU members in creating closer fiscal ties. The announcement followed the decline of the Euro below $1.30 and ВЈ0.84 on the uncertainty over the euro-zone crisis.
The Reserve Bank of India is expected to ease its prudent monetary policy in view of slower growth and spreading debt crisis in the euro-zone. However, the falling Rupee weights on the continuation of the tight monetary policy with unchanged interest rates. There are fears that economic growth decelerates faster than expected and taken exorbitant 9% inflation the economic perspectives for India remain bleak, said
Airline shares surged following Delta Air Lines announcement of the higher-than-expected profit for this year. NYSE Arca Airline Index almost advanced by 1% to 33.38 points. Stock price of Delta gained 3% while US Airways added 2.4% and United Continental jumped by 2.4%. JetBlue Airways gained 2.3% and Southwest Airlines added 1.6%.
Credit Agricole SA plans to make redundant about 2,500 employees due to spreading debt crisis in the euro-zone. The majority of layoffs will be abroad, said the company representative. Credit Agricole's corporate and investment bank will suffer the most as 600 positions are planned to be cut there.
Gold futures fell below the key support levels to the lowest price since October as stronger US dollar and concerns over the euro-zone forced investors to sell gold holdings to increase liquidity. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for delivery in February traded at USD1,613.15 a troy ounce at the U.S. morning trade, tumbling 3% since opening.
After closing 1.1% higher on Tuesday UK's FTSE 100 sharply retreated during Wednesday after Italy faced record high borrowing costs and Federal Reserve rejected prolonging quantitative easing. UK benchmark lost 0.9% falling to 5,441.99 during afternoon. On the downside were banking and resource stocks. Barclays PLC dropped 2.91% while RBS lost 1.76%. Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BP PLC each declined around 1%. Metal producer Rio Tinto
German DAX 30 index lost about 1% reaching 5,723.65 on Wednesday led by car makers after news that Fed will not provide additional quantitative easing. Volkswagen AG and BMW AG dropped 2% and 4% respectively, while Daimler AG tumbled 2.3%. Retailer Metro AG declined 2.3%. German markets took little relief from debt auction where 2-year bills produced record low yield of 0.29%. German benchmark index
S&P 500 Index dropped 0.87% or 10.74 points reaching 1,225.73 on Tuesday after Fed decided to leave its key interest rate unchanged and retail sales rose at slower pace than predicted. 9 out of 10 S&P 500 industries experienced a decline led by economic growth dependent companies. Sears Holdings Corp., Alcoa Inc. and Bank of America Corp. each tumbled about 2.3% while leading consumer electronics
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.39% or 33.68 points to 8,519.13 as markets anticipated Fed report it will not apply expansionary monetary policy to stimulate growth. On the downside were resource companies with Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co tumbling 1.4% and JFE Holdings Inc dropping 0.9% Export dependent Japanese car producers also extended their loss: Honda Motor Co declined 2.2% and Suzuki Motor gave up 1.1%. On the upside were energy
On Wednesday Hang Seng Index lost 0.5% or 92.74 points and finished at 18,354.43 after Federal Reserve said it will not promote growth by new asset purchases. Resource stocks mostly deteriorated as Chalco lost 3.1% and HK & China Gas gave up 0.57%. Banks provided mixed contribution to the index. Bank of China Ltd. appreciated 0.4% while HSBC Holdings PLC dropped 1.8%. Clothing trader Esprit
The European common currency fell below $1.30 level against US dollar on Wednesday as Italy faced record high borrowing costs on is 5-year debt. Euro lost 0.3% touching $1.2995 in afternoon trade. Kathleen Brooks, Forex.com director admitted $1.30 is a psychological level that hasn't been violated for 11 months and the break signals worsening investor sentiments.
US stock index futures climbed higher after investors absorbed the results from German and Italian bond auctions. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 3.9 points at 1,224.1, while those on Nasdaq 100 traded almost flat at 2,268.2. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 24 points reaching 11,919.
On Wednesday Italy and Germany sold bonds with sharply contrasting yields for same maturity bills. While Germany sold 2-year bills worth €4.18 bn at an average cost of 0.29%, Italian central bank had to pay 6.47% on €3 bn five-year notes, a new euro era record high. To compare, in November Italian borrowing cost for same maturity papers was 6.29%.
Germany's borrowing costs traded 5 b.p. from a record low on Wednesday before bond auction. Borrowing cost on 2-year German bonds was 0.29% in London market trade, while 10-year yield was flat at 2.02%. Analysts predict that German bond auction results will be highly dependent on Italian notes auction.
Ben S. Bernake, Fed chairman pointed out his worried European crisis may halt US expansion in two years and therefore further intervention from Fed might be needed. Bernake said Federal Reserve policy makers may consider stimulating growth measures during their next meeting due January 25. Some analysts expects new program of asset purchases next year.
Inditex, the world's leading clothes retailer, reported unexpected increase in profits by 10% supported by rise in Asian online sales. The total net profit for the first three quarters of 2011 jumped to 1.3bn euros as compared to 1.17bn euros for the same period in 2010 with increase is sales by 10% to 9.7bn euros. The company claimed it would not raise prices but will increase the
In the UK, the number of residents applied for unemployment benefits increased much less than analysts expected while the unemployment rate remained the highest since 1996, according to official data. The number of claimants increased by 3,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis in November compared to 17,000 previously expected. The unemployment rate stays at 8.3% with 2.64 million people being unemployed.