In case the US impose sanctions against Iranian oil, the level of oil exports of the country will not fall, the US and Europe hope, said Barclays Capital. The demand for crude oil is too strong to be significantly affected by such measures. The sanctions will result only in oil supply disruptions while Iranian exports will go to Asian countries with constantly growing oil consumption,
After straight four day gain, S&P 500 experienced a sharp decline on Thursday, as Dow Jones presented details of preliminary proposal however US benchmark index plunged even further after Reuters reported that Germany opposed several measures in draft proposal. S&P 500 Index lost 2.11% or 26.66 points and closed at 1,234.35 led by financial companies. Hartford Financial Services Group Inc sank 8.2% when the insurer
On Friday Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 2.73% or 521.58 points and closed at 18,586.23 on news from European summit indicating that leaders did not manage to agree on tighter fiscal union. On the downside were Chinese banks listed in Hong Kong that pushed heavily on the index. Bank of Communications Co. traded down 3.8%, while Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and HSBC Holdings
European officials rejected earlier proposal which implied that investors must share the charge of bailouts. Restraining private sector engagement was a part of a bundle agreed upon in today's summit. The decision was a defeat for Chancellor Angela Merkel who was willing to expose bond-holders to losses in debt reforms as her voters resisted expanding bailout program.
UK PM David Cameron announced he had chosen not to take part in an agreement offered by France and Germany to alter existing treaty and bind EU countries into tighter fiscal alliance. The offer is not in Great Britain's interests, said Cameron during a press conference after overnight discussions in Brussels. British prime insisted that UK support joint approach in solving debt crisis, however without
On Friday morning trade European shares opened lower led by financials. Investors were monitoring EU summit where leaders did not manage to get support from all 27 EU nations for rewriting treaty, though they found a consensus regarding additional rescue funds. Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.6% at 236.38 while German DAX 30 index declined 1% to 5,820.34. FTSE 100 index gave up 0.4% at 5,451.54
Japanese stocks declined sharply on Friday pushing Nikkei 225 Stock Average to its biggest loss in two weeks after ECB rejected speculation it would buy more debt from troubled EU nations. Japanese benchmark index lost 1.48% or 128.12 points and closed at 8,536.46. Export-dependent companies were among main decliners on Friday. Electronics producer Sony Corp. dropped 3.3%, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd fell 5.4% as Mitsubishi
Chinese manufacturing production and fixed asset investment growth slowed down more than predicted in November, said National Bureau of Statistics. Factory production for November added annual 12.4% compared with expected figure between 12.8% and 12.5%. Fixed asset investment gained 24.5% from January to November. Analysts expect the data may stimulate Chinese officials to raise a question of further policy easing.
Moody's Investors Service cut the credit ratings Societe Generale SA, BNP Paribas SA and Groupe Credit Agricole. Moody's claimed there is a very high probability the financials will get government support if needed. Agency cut credit rating for Societe Generale to A1 while ratings for BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole were reduced one level down to Aa3. The downgrading proposes threat to France's AAA debt
Italy's notes fell amid concern European leaders will not be able to provide solution how to solve region's debt crisis. 10-year bonds dropped for a third consecutive day after officials said European Stability Mechanism will not receive a banking certificate that would permit to bolster its firepower. Italian 10-year borrowing costs added 13 b.p. t0 6.59% in London morning trade.
Malaysian exports developed at a faster pace than was previously estimated by economists as sales of energy products and sales of commodities surged. Foreign shipments climbed 15.8% reaching a record $20 bn on a yearly basis, after adding 16.6% in September. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg previously predicted growth of 7.3%. Nevertheless, analysts foreseen slowdown in country's growth in the nearest future due to strengthening debt crisis
On Friday Toyota Motor Corp. cut its current fiscal year profit outlook by 54% as company's production output was seriously harmed by immense flooding in Thailand. Japanese leading car producer estimates its annual net profit to reach Y180 billion, revised down from Y390 billion. Global sales outlook has been reduced to 7.38 million cars.
In November UK housing value was unchanged, reported Acadametrics Ltd. The average value of a house in Wales and England was ВЈ220,043 ($343,800). The number of deals added 4.5%. On a yearly basis, however, property prices were down 0.7%. Acadametrics explain the increase in transactions by relatively low interest rates in market.
New Zealand and Australian home currencies dropped to one-week record lows on investor speculation EU summit will not provide a tangible solution for debt crisis, hampering demand for upward yielding assets. Australia's dollar lost 0.6% against the Greenback reaching $1.0102 in Sydney trade while New Zealand Dollar gave up 0.8% to $0.7668. The AUD/USD currently is trading at $1.0065 and NZD/USD is trading at $0.7646.
On Friday Asian trade Euro moved close to one-week record low against the greenback after European officials failed to reach unanimous agreement for halting debt crisis. 17-nation currency fell from $1.3341 yesterday to $1.3334 in Tokyo morning trade and in total has lost 0.4% since December 2. Euro has lost 0.9% against Japanese Yen this week. EUR/USD currently is trading at $ 1.3313 and EUR/JPY
1. On Thursday night European leaders worked on plan how to stop debt crisis that has been extending for more than two years and created much doubt on the stability of Euro. Officials discussed the fiscal impact aimed at restoring bondholder confidence and allowing ECB and IMF to provide contributions to the rescue fund. However, no consensus has yet been reached.
European watchdogs advised banks to avoid reducing lending or artificially inflating capital. European financials are required to strengthen their core capital ratios at 9% of risk weighted assets by the summer 2012. However, European Banking Authority said the money should be raised from retained earnings, lower bonuses and investors.
US shares started to decline in afternoon trade after Dow Jones disclosed details of draft plan, however, stock indexes plunged even further as Reuters reported that Germany opposed several measures in draft proposal. Standard & Poor's 500 sank 2.1% or 26.66 points at 1,234.35 whereas Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.6% or 198.67 points to 11,997.70. Nasdaq Composite traded down 2% or 52.38 points to 2,596.38.
Asian equities dropped sharply on Friday as EU summit failed to ensure full support from the 27 region's countries on tighter fiscal policy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.5% and Shanghai Composite index gave up 0.6%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index plunged 2.2%, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 1.6% and South Korea's Kospi edged down 1.7%.
Financial resources are going to be increased in order to support members in handling the recession, said Herman van Rompuy, European Council President. The euro-area and other countries will attempt to raise additional resources for the IMF up by 200 billion euros. The EFSF will also be expanded, he added.
China's CPI, the main indicator of inflation, increased by 4.2% last month on a yearly basis easing down from 5.5% increase in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The inflation in November was the 13-month low, showed NBS data. Cost of living decreased by 2.2% last month on monthly basis, the bureau added.
Number of states in Australia has agreed on development of the uniformed law framework for rapidly-developing seam coal gas sector, said Martin Ferguson, federal Environment Minister. Ministers dealing with energy and resources have approved the proposal for creating a "national harmonized framework" for the sector and already organized the program to release these issues publicly, the minister added.
Following the news on the EU leaders could not reach a full agreement on closer fiscal ties, the greenback advanced against its major counterparts; the dollar index increased to 78.848 from 78.789 in late North American trade as investors perceive dollar as safer investment option.
China plans further expansion of its real estate tax initiative to larger number of cities after it assessed the results of test launch in Shanghai and Chongqing, reported Ministry of Finance. Since January Shanghai had a property tax of 0.6% and 0.4% depending on the house price causing a decrease in real estate prices and higher tax contribution to the region's tax revenue. Officials consider