Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos announced that further cuts of spending are the only possibility to stay in Euro Zone and to obtain financing from abroad. Papademos emphasized Greece has to give something up in order not to lose a lot. Later in January Papademos will continue talks with IMF and ECB about economic plan for 2012-2015.
Australia's and New Zealand Dollars weakened against most of their counterparts on Thursday after Italian biggest bank UniCredit SpA announced large discount on its shares prompting fears European banks may face difficulties to raise funds. Aussie lost 0.3% against Greenback reaching $1.0339 in Sydney wile Kiwi tumbled 0.2% against its US peer to $0.7862. Currently AUD/USD is trading at $1.0326 and
17-nation currency moved towards 11-year record low against Japanese Yen on Thursday before French bond auction due today as investors express anxiety if Euro Zone banks and governments will manage to attract enough funds. The Euro lost 0.2% against Japanese Yen reaching ВҐ 99.13 in London trade. Common currency also slipped 0.2% against US Dollar hitting $1.2916. Currently EUR/JPY is trading at ВҐ 99.16.
One of biggest Italian lender UniCredit SpA faced biggest decline in stock price since 1988 after the bank announced it is preparing to sell €7.5 bn ($9.7bn) of shares at 43% discount of from yesterday's last price. Shareholders will be able to buy two new-issued stocks for €1.943 each for every old share they already hold. UniCredit is attempting to raise funds
European markets faced a decline on Wednesday as investors began to sell Spanish and Italian bank stocks extensively amid reintroduced worries about region's debt turmoil. Stoxx 600 lost 0.6% and closed at 249.62, German DAX 30 slipped 0.9% reaching 6,111.55, while French CAC 40 index fell 1.6% 3,193.65. UK FTSE 100 index gave up 0.6% and finished at 5,668.45.
Shares on China and Shanghai recovered on Thursday as investors anticipated news that China may cut reserve requirement ratio for lenders. Japanese markets experienced a decline as technology stocks made a weak performance. Hong Hong's Hang Seng index gained 0.4%, while South Korea's Kospi and Shanghai Composite each gained 0.3%. On the downside were Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.7% and
US shares mostly gained on Wednesday as data on robust post Christmas shopping and car sales in previous month helped to offset worries about European debt woe. Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% or 21.04 points and finished at 12,418.42 while S&P 500 Index advanced 0.02% or 0.24 points, at 1,277.30. Nasdaq Composite, however, ended modestly down 0.01% or 0.4
Hungarian currency, the Forint tumbled to a record low against the Euro on worries that country will not be capable to secure the bailout package from the IMF and the EU because of recently approved government's policies. The Forint fell to 319.35 per euro, reported FactSet. The deterioration of the country's economic conditions made Hungary more vulnerable to recession in the Euro Zone, said Benoit
The annual rate of inflation in the Euro Zone was 2.8% in December as compared to 3% in November, according Eurostat. The inflation rate basically was in compliance with expectations. However, the rate remains above the target of the ECB of 2%. After the release of data, the Euro depreciated against the USD and the pair EUR/USD was trading at 1.3043, down 0.05%.
Crude oil futures fell after approaching seven-week high as investors' confidence was dampened by fresh worries over the Euro Zone's recession. The ECB deposit facility's use hit a new record high of EUR453.1 billion on Tuesday, indicating banks' unwillingness for interbank lending. Light, sweet crude oil futures for February delivery traded at USD102.59 a barrel at the early European trade, on the New York Mercantile
Crude oil and gold prices are likely to surge soon on the US-Iran war, claims Jim Rickards. He says the war has been started as tensions and sabotage between two countries reached a peak. The price for crude oil is likely to soar to above $200 a barrel while gold will jump to a range between $3000/oz and $5000/oz in 2012. Hedge funds as
The contraction of the service sector in the Euro Zone slowed last month. The Markit Euro Zone purchasing managers' index approached 48.8 in December, being a three-month high. Analysts expected the figure to hit 46.9 in December after being 46.4 in November. However, the results still show there is a high risk of new recession in the region.
China's National Audit Office has found $84bn of irregularities in the government debts. The irregularities include irregular collateral and credit guarantees. The incident raised worries over the amount of bad debts held by the government. Figures showed bad debts totaled $1.7tn in 2010. Currently, the State Council plans to review the debt management practices to reduce the fiscal risks.
German DIW Institute cut Germany's growth forecast on Wednesday. The institute expects the GDP to expand by 0.6% this year as compared to 1% initially projected. The GDP is likely to accelerate the pace of growth in 2013 to 2.2%. The forecast is based on assumption that the Euro Zone leaders will manage to control the debt crisis in the area.
France's household expenditure on goods declined by 0.1% seasonally adjusted in November after 0.1% rise in October. The demand for durables increased by 1.5% mostly due to 3.2% increase in car purchases while the consumption of textile goods and energy products tumbled 2.1% and 0.5%, respectively.
Copper futures declined after hitting three-week high on the increasing worries over the Euro Zone's crisis and weaker demand for the commodity in China. COMEX copper March contracts traded at USD3.490 a pound at the early European session, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, losing 1.1%.
The Germany's government sold about 4.1 billion euros of debt during today's auction. The Bundesbank got the bids amounting 5.14 billion euros; bids surpassed the supply 1.3 times. The yield on the bonds declined to 1.93% from 1.98% in November, reported the Bundesbank.
Ecuador's court supports the claim that Chevron has to pay $18.2bn instead of $8.6bn previously agreed as compensation for Amazon oil pollution. The company denies accusations. Initially, Texaco was charged for dumping toxic waste in Ecuadorean Amazon but in 2011 Chevron took over Texaco.
Ireland's real estate prices fell to the lowest level since 2000. Home prices in Dublin lost 65% in the last five years with 60% price decline across country over the period. The house price index indicates the net worth of property nationally declined by about 58.8% since 2006. The market is in the freefall with accelerating deflation pace and lack of mortgage availability, said Marian
Qingdao Kingking Group will provide $100 million to develop copper and gold mines worldwide over the next three years. The company plans to purchase 100 square kilometers mine in Mozambique. The company's CEO explains that many European companies, which invest heavily in African energy projects, have faced difficulties due to recession thus providing China with an opportunity to invest in natural resources there.
US Fed announced it plans to publish interest rates projections to improve transparency in the central bank. The move will allow the public to see how the Fed expects the rates to fluctuate in future. The Fed will include the data on the projected interest rates into the economic outlooks with the first release on 25 January.
Gulf airlines faced less optimistic growth in 2011 due to global slowdown that made the expansion of the industry more complicated and caused delays in deliveries. Surging oil prices and tensions in the Middle-East weighted on the companies' income. Despite challenges, carriers managed to expand last year but taken cooling demand in 2012 the companies' wellbeing is likely to suffer. The industry growth pace slowed
China is likely to experience power shortfalls in 2012 with coal prices increasing after expiration of the government control. Experts predict energy shortage to vary in a range between 8 million kW and 14 million kW. Some analysts claim the increase of the government's coal price ceiling will cause a surge in coal prices while some believe further intervention in the market by continuation of
Natural gas prices dropped below USD3.00 per million British thermal units as increasing inventory level persists to impact market sentiment. Natural gas futures for February delivery traded at USD2.968 per million British thermal units at the early US trade on Tuesday, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, losing 0.15%.