The euro rebounded from a 10-month low against the dollar after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said he welcomed the European Union agreement on an aid plan for Greece. Pacific Investment Management Co., the manager of the world’s biggest bond fund, says bank securities are the best investments in credit markets....
Saturday, March 27, 2010
The yen rose from a 10-week low against the dollar
The yen rose from a 10-week low against the dollar on speculation Japanese exporters took advantage of its biggest slide this year to buy the currency before the nation’s fiscal year ends next week. Stocks closed lower Wednesday as the dollar strengthened on fears tied to the growing fiscal crisis in Europe and a dour report on...
The Democratic-controlled Congress approved historic legislation.
The Democratic-controlled Congress approved historic legislation, extending health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and cracking down on insurance company abuses, a climactic chapter in the century-long quest for near universal coverage. Widely viewed as dead two months ago, the Senate-passed bill cleared the House...
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Federal Reserve may raise the discount rate.
The Federal Reserve may raise the discount rate, charged on direct loans to banks, before the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on April 28, economists said. Google Inc. may pull out of China on April 10, China Business News reported today, citing an unidentified Chinese sales agent for the company. Asian stocks...
Stocks rose, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a 17-month high.
The Senate passed a $17.6 billion jobs bill Wednesday and sent it to President Obama to sign it into law. The measure, which includes tax breaks and funding for highway projects, has been much debated in both houses of Congress over the last few weeks. It is seen as being the first in a series of bills designed to help bring unemployment...
US new home construction fell 5.9% to an annual rate of 575,000 in February.
Federal Reserve officials repeated their pledge to keep the main interest rate near zero for an “extended period” and confirmed that emergency measures to prop up the housing market will end as planned this month. Stocks were also supported by news that ratings agency Standard & Poor's did not cut Greece's credit rating after...
China and Japan, the two biggest foreign holders of Treasuries.
China and Japan, the two biggest foreign holders of Treasuries, reduced their positions of U.S. government debt in January as a measure of demand for American financial assets fell to a six-month low. China remained the biggest owner abroad of Treasuries, even as its holdings dropped by a net $5.8 billion to $889 billion, according...
Monday, March 15, 2010
• Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao rebuffed calls for the yuan to appreciate.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao rebuffed calls for the yuan to appreciate, risking a further downturn in relations with the U.S. where lawmakers and economists say his stance is hampering a global recovery. Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil explorer, said its proposed acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Argentine producer Bridas...
o The US Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment.
The US Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment fell to 462,000 from a revised 468,000 the previous week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would fall to 460,000. US continuing claims, a measure of Americans who have been receiving unemployment checks for a week or more,...
China’s inflation reached a 16- month high.
China’s inflation reached a 16- month high, industrial output climbed and new loans exceeded forecasts, adding to the case for the government to pare back stimulus measures. Consumer prices rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing today, compared with the 2.5 percent median estimate...
o European officials urged the U.S. to join in a crackdown on speculators.
European officials urged the U.S. to join in a crackdown on speculators who bet against Europe's currency union, warning they might ban some credit default swaps, opaque financial instruments blamed for worsening the world financial crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that "quick action is needed," calling on the...
American International Group Inc.
China’s yuan is facing increasing pressure to appreciate because of a widening interest-rate differential, the country’s top currency regulator said in a statement. American International Group Inc. said Monday that it will sell its American Life Insurance Co. division for $15.5 billion to MetLife Inc. The government-approved deal,...
China plans to nullify all guarantees.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the euro region is ready to rescue Greece should the government struggle to fund its budget deficit, arguing that the country is “under attack” from so-called speculators. China plans to nullify all guarantees local governments have provided for loans taken by their financing vehicles as concerns...
Greece’s pledge to ramp up planned budget-deficit cuts
Greece’s pledge to ramp up planned budget-deficit cuts by half failed to yield commitments of financial assistance from Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, to help solve its financial crisis. Reliance Industries Ltd. has no plans to increase its bid for bankrupt chemicals maker LyondellBasell Industries AF after creditors rejected...
Monday, March 8, 2010
The yen declined against the dollar and euro.
Premier Wen Jiabao warned of “latent risk” in China’s banks and pledged to crack down on property speculation as the government faces the consequences of flooding the economy with money to drive growth. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet pressed Greece to halt its flirtation with International Monetary Fund aid...
The Obama administration is weighing the merits of taking China’s censorship of Google Inc.
The Obama administration is weighing the merits of taking China’s censorship of Google Inc. to the World Trade Organization as an unfair barrier to trade.Australia’s economy grew last quarter at the fastest pace in almost two years, underscoring the central bank’s decision yesterday to boost borrowing costs for the fourth time...
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., tapping demand that’s driven borrowing costs near the lowest in almost five years, issued $2 billion of bonds at a yield premium 44 percent less than the last time it sold similar-maturity debt. AIG said on Monday that it was selling its Asian life insurance business to Britain's Prudential PLC in a deal...
Greece has said it will raise the retirement age.
Greece has said it will raise the retirement age and have civil servants take bonus cuts, among other measures. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Senators on Thursday that the central bank is looking into whether Goldman Sachs and other big banks worsened Greece's debt crisis. The number of Americans filing new claims...
Sales of new homes tumbled to the lowest level on record in January.
In his first day on Capitol Hill, Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee that while the economic recovery is moving along, the job market remains weak. Against this backdrop, the Fed is unlikely to lift the fed funds rate, the key overnight bank lending rate, anytime soon. Sales of new homes tumbled to the lowest...
• Asian stocks declined for the first time in three days
Asian stocks declined for the first time in three days, led by materials companies and carmakers, after a drop in U.S. consumer confidence to a 10-month low spurred concern that the economic recovery will slow. Japan’s exports climbed at the fastest pace in almost 30 years in January, supporting the nation’s economic recovery as...
President Obama presented his outline for health care reform on Monday.
President Obama presented his outline for health care reform on Monday, ahead of the bipartisan health care summit later this week. The 10-year, nearly $1 trillion plan would purportedly cover more than 31 million Americans currently not insured without adding to the budget deficit. The National Association for Business Economics...
Asian stocks gained.
Asian stocks gained, driving the MSCI Asia Pacific Index up the most since November, after a smaller-than-estimated increase in U.S. consumer prices eased concern the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates. Consumer prices rose 0.2 per cent in January, less than expected. Excluding food and energy, prices actually declined...
Reserve Board raised the discount rate charged to banks
The Federal Reserve Board raised the discount rate charged to banks for direct loans by a quarter point to 0.75 percent and said the move will encourage financial institutions to rely more on money markets rather than the central bank for short-term liquidity needs. Asian stocks and U.S. equity futures fell, while the dollar rose...
European Union leaders are failing to persuade bond investors that Greece can fix its budget.
European Union leaders are failing to persuade bond investors that Greece can fix its budget. The yield on Greece two-year notes have remained above 5 percent, the highest in the euro zone, even after officials urged the nation this week to reduce its deficit. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. managed $15 billion of bond sales for Greece...
China’s ownership of U.S. government debt fell in December.
China’s ownership of U.S. government debt fell in December by the most since 2000, allowing Japan to regain the position as the largest foreign holder of Treasury securities. Japan’s holdings rose 1.5 percent in December to $768.8 billion while China’s dropped 4.3 percent to $755.4 billion, Treasury Department figures showed. President...
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second- biggest U.S. lender
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second- biggest U.S. lender, is close to a deal to buy the non-North American units of RBS Sempra Commodities LLP for about $1.7 billion to expand its energy and metals trading units. The Australian central bank said its decision to unexpectedly keep interest rates unchanged this month was “finely...
Japan’s economic growth accelerated.
Japan’s economic growth accelerated last quarter as a global trade revival fueled demand for the nation’s exports. Gross domestic product rose at an annual 4.6 percent pace in the three months ended Dec. 31. The dollar rose for a fourth day against the Euro as debt problems in Greece and Dubai spurred speculation that the global...
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