Canada's national currency hit its six-week high against its US counterpart on the 3rd of July. The current trading rate is CAD 1.0161 per USD whereas on 29.06.2012 the rate was CAD 1.0181 per USD. Canadian government bonds also gained in price. Two-year government bonds advanced by 5 Canadian cents, leading to drop of yields to 1.006%, while ten-year bonds
Monthly income per one employee in Japan decreased by 0.8% in May 2012 after a slight rise of 0.2% in April. The main reason for drop was annual fall of 39.9% in bonuses and one-off payments. Meanwhile base wage rose by 0.4% in May, whereas overtime payments increased by 6.4% through the year. Moreover total working hours expanded 3.2% year-on-year
Rural commodities extended previous rally on Monday amid unfavorable weather conditions in the main growing regions.Wheat advanced after the International Grains Council reported that global output is likely to be 4.3% lower than initial estimate in 2012-13 crop year because of large fall in Russia's production.Corn soared to three-month high as US crop conditions have continued to deteriorated for the
Energy markets plunged on Monday on global demand worries. However, potential supply disruptions from Iran curbed losses of the commodity group. Iranian National Security Committee is drafting a bill to call the country to block oil transportation via the Strait of Hormuz.Crude oil was the top-loser after the US, Europe and China reported weak manufacturing sector's state in June. Brent
Industrial metals apart from nickel tumbled on Monday after disanointing China's and US PMI data. Strong Dollar and lingering demand concerns continued to weight on the commodity group.Aluminum eased down after PMI data; however, falling inventories at the main exchange warehouses limited losses of the light metal. Copper was the top-loser amid global growth concerns on dismal manufacturing data and
Uncertainty across Eurozone persists as Italy and Spain are facing high borrowing costs and there is still risks on Greece. These factors may stimulate the growth of the Pound. Most of the currency strategists forecast that the trading rate can reach 80 GBP pence per EUR, however the highest possible value is considered 75 GBP pence per EUR. Quantitative Easing
Global inflation is expected to weaken. US economists predict consumer price inflation will fall by 2.1% by the end of the year. The accelerator for such slowdown down could be falling oil prices. Crude oil prices declined 27% from 106.16 USD per barrel in May to 83.66 USD in the beginning of July. Tumbling inflation was also accompanied by two-year
Finland and Holland - countries that opposed most EU summit decision, expressed their distrust to the deal of the last week's summit. The Finnish and Dutch governments officials promised to block the set bailout of Eurozone in secondary markets. According to the Finnish government, the decision undertaken could be deteriorating as falling Euro and German Bunds, which were regarded as safe
Charles Dallara, the managing director of IIF, reported that the Greek government needs to focus on privatization, opening businesses and lower its impact on the economy. Greece still needs to return more than 6 billion Euros to their suppliers before they can focus on restoring economy. The country needs to gain access to monetary funds to aid the economy, because
Precious metals were flat on Monday after previous week's jump on the EU summit optimism. Weak US and China's PMI data, which boosted hopes for additional stimulus from the Fed, provided slight support for the commodity group.Gold was almost unchanged after previous rally as traders await fresh US data releases due on Tuesday. Weaker than expected economic news are likely
The Central Bank of Brazil predicts the country's economy too grow by 2.05% in 2012 compared to 2.18% initially projected. The reasons for growth forecast cut are high labor expenses and weaker global demand, which impacted investments in the country's economy. In view of softer economic expansion, experts expect the central bank to lower interest rates to all-time low of
Mining and drug stocks rallied, sending European stocks into positive area on Tuesday, whilst the departure of Bob Diamond, Barlays PLC Chief Executive Officer, put banks in focus. The Stoxx Europe 600 index increased by 0.5% with support of 1.7% Novo Nordisk AS benefit and 1.5% Rio Tinto PLC boost. Barclays' shares fluctuated but later finally gained 0.6%. The FTSE
According to Reis Inc., US office property market, which started to regain strength 1.5 year ago, decelerated its speed of recovery in the last three months. Increased unemployment and uncertain economic outlook both weighted down on the office market . As a result, there was no change in vacancy rate and slight lift in prices. Businesses seem to be skeptical
Four most rapidly developing markets are enriching the world's economy more than ever before, creating the biggest valuation opportunities for investors in the last seven years. In the meantime, the stock-market value of BRICs' has declined by 16% according to Bloomberg. O'Neill, who helps oversee USD824 billion, said the stock markets of BRIC are likely to double by 2020 creating
Microsoft declared that its biggest acquisition in the Internet sector was totally ineffective and "did not accelerate growth to the degree anticipated, contributing to the write-down". The company purchased aQuantive for USD6.3 billion in cash attempting to surpass Google in search-related advertising. Despite the announcement, shares of Microsoft in after-hours trading slightly changed dropping to USD30.28 after standing at USD30.56
The Euro fell against the US Dollar on Monday, after a decrease in the Treasury yields and sharp drop of the ISM manufacturing index below 50%. EUR/USD declined to USD1.2583 from USD1.2658. The US Dollar index increased to USD81.888 from USD81.658 on June 29. Weak manufacturing data and record high jobless rate in the single currency union both contributed to
In May, unemployment in Eurozone jumped to the record high level of 11.1 %. The total number of unemployed approached 17.56 million. Taken that the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index currently is below 50 at 45.1, indicating rapid fall in manufacturing activity. Companies are cutting labor expenses due to the ongoing debt crisis, provoking a 14-month long increase in unemployment.
US treasury prices increased on July 2, sending the interest rates lower. Yields of 10-year bonds dropped to 1.58%. Meanwhile interest rates of 30- and 5-year bonds both declined to 2.69% and 0.67% after the Institute for Supply Management reported that their index fell below 50%. The decrease in the yields influenced the US stocks; Dow Jones Industry Average plunged
Hong Kong shares rose on Tuesday as investors returned from three-day weekend and anticipated news about official Chinese manufacturing data. Moreover another report showed country's non-manufacturing PMI expanded at faster pace than forecast in June as the real estate market and new orders advanced. Hang Seng index added 1.55% or 300.49 points and finished at 19,738.89 helped by financial and
Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher on Monday but retreated and ended slightly lower as strongly lower than expected ISM manufacturing data weighed on production companies. Blue chip index shed 0.07% or 8.70 points and settled at 12,871.39. Manufacturers slipped on worries about the first contraction in three years. General Electric declined 1.7% while Boeing Co and Caterpillar each dropped
S&P 500 managed to breach morning losses from weaker ISM manufacturing index on Monday and finished 0.25% or 3.35 points higher at 1,365.51 after several takeovers were announced. Micron Technology Inc. gained 3.8% after reporting it will acquire an Apple Inc. supplier Elpida Memory Inc. Best Buy jumped rallied 5.9%, on news its founder is considering buying the company and
The Sterling appreciated versus the 17-nation currency on Monday as traders perceived UK national currency as a safe haven asset amid Eurozone inner conflicts regarding ESM bond purchases. The Pound gained 0.5% versus Euro to GBP 0.8023 and slipped 0.2% against the Greenback to USD 1.5682. Currently EUR/GBP is trading at GBP 0.8025.
China non-manufacturing PMI grew at faster pace than predicted last month as the real estate market and new orders advanced. The service PMI climbed from 55.2 in May to 56.7 in June, reaching a three-month record high. Nation's official production PMI was 50.2 in June compared to 48.2 estimated by HSBC Holdings.
Japanese Yen weakened against most of its counterparts on Tuesday as Asian shares rallied for a fifth consecutive week on hopes the central bank will intervene more to promote growth. Yen slid 0.6% versus Euro to JPY 100.56 and gave up 0.3% against the US Dollar to JPY 79.78.