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April 20, 2005
by Brian Turner
The Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday: oil prices had a negative impact, as did concerns about strong economic growth in China, while a positive quarterly earnings report from Intel didn’t have much impact at all.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average rose 0.2 percent to 11,088.58 and the Topix index rose 0.4 percent to 1,131.53.
In the technology sector ...
by Brian Turner
In its quarterly earnings report Wednesday, Altria Group, the conglomerate that owns Philip Morris tobacco group and 85 percent of Kraft Foods, said that they saw an 18.3 percent increase in first quarter profits.
Net revenue rose 8.7 percent, to $23.6 billion. Much of this gain was due to strong cigarette sales in the U.S. and abroad.
Both ...
by Brian Turner
Crude oil futures were up again on Wednesday as investors waited for the weekly U.S. inventory data, which was scheduled to be released later in the day and was expected to show another rise in stockpiles.
IPE Brent June deliveries were up 65 cents to $53.59 per barrel by early afternoon after an advance of $2.07 on Tuesday. ...
by Brian Turner
Trading was mixed in London on Wednesday. At mid-day the FTSE 100 had fallen 0.2 percent to 4845.1, but the more broad-based FTSE 250 was up 0.2 percent to 7,012.5.
Mining stocks posted gains, with Antofagasta rose 1.6 percent when UBS raised its rating to “buy” from “neutral.” Xstrata was up 2.2 percent, and BHP Billiton advanced by 1 percent. ...
by Brian Turner
Gains in the technology sector and good earnings reports from Intel and Yahoo in the U.S. did not help the European markets, which were lower at mid-afternoon on Wednesday.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.4 percent to 1,066.39. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax fell 0.5 percent to 4,182.90. The CAC-40 in Paris was down 0.3 percent to 3,975.07.
In the ...
April 19, 2005
by Brian Turner
A rebound in US technology stocks helped the Tokyo markets Tuesday to take back some of the ground it has lost recently.
Still, gains were small in comparison to the losses posted since the beginning of last week, as worries continue over economic growth in the U.S. as well as over continuing tensions between Japan and China.
The Nikkei 225 ...
by Brian Turner
In their weekend meeting, the G7 nations - the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Canada - sent a clear message to China that it has to convert to a more flexible currency system.
The group called for “more flexibility in exchange rates,” which it said was necessary in order to achieve more balanced growth around the world. ...
by Brian Turner
Prices for crude oil were up Tuesday on news of refinery problems and in anticipation of weekly reports from the U.S. that are expected to show yet another rise in inventories of crude oil.
It is believed that Wednesday’s data will show that another 1.8 million barrels of crude oil have been added to inventories, that gasoline inventories are up by 200,000 ...
by Brian Turner
Viacom posted a 7 percent rise in first-quarter operating profits on strong growth in its cable networks and despite less than stellar performance in its television and radio divisions.
This report highlights Viacom’s previously announced intention to split into two separate groups on cable/broadcast lines. This split could come as early as the first quarter of 2006.
Viacom’s cable ...
by Brian Turner
The European markets seemed to be making back some of their recent losses in mid-afternoon trading on Tuesday.
By mid-afternoon, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.9 percent to 1,072.7. In Frankfurt, the Xetra Dax was at 4,218.70, up by 0.4 percent. In Paris, the CAC-40 was up 0.5 percent to 3,971.05.
These gains were spurred by better news ...
April 18, 2005
by Brian Turner
The Tokyo markets suffered their worst one-day losses in nearly a year as investors worried about the worsening relations between Japan and China.
A wide range of sectors were down, taking the Nikkei 225 down 3.8 percent to 10,938.44, a four-month low. The Topix index was off 3.6 percent, closing at 1,109.49.
Travel businesses especially felt the effect of ...
by Brian Turner
Asian markets were lower Monday on worries about global growth and the dismal first-quarter earnings reports coming out of some of the world’s largest corporations.
In Taipei, a sell-off in the technology sector sent the market there down to close to a six-month low as the weighted index fell 2.9 percent to 5,715.16.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing was down 2 percent. ...
by Brian Turner
The U.S. dollar was down on European markets Monday morning on concerns over global growth.
The dollar fell 0.6 cents to $1.2978 in relation to the euro. It was also down 0.6 cents against sterling, to $1.8987, and fell ¥0.2 to ¥107.49 in relation to the yen.
The yen was also shaky in light of the fact that Japan’s recovery depends on export-reliant ...
by Brian Turner
By mid-day on Monday in London, the FTSE 100 had gone down by 1.7 percent to 4,809.1 and the FTSE 250 had fallen 2.3 percent to 6.922.6.
Every single FTSE 100 stock began the day down and by mid-morning on one, the television group ITV, had managed to post a gain; it was up 0.2 percent.
Technology stocks were ...
by Brian Turner
The European markets started the week even lower than the ended last week. This is seen to be an effect of worries about earnings and economic slowdown.
These worries and the losses attributed to them come after last week’s losses on Wall Street, the worst in two years.
One of the major reasons for ...
April 15, 2005
by Brian Turner
Mobile phone producer Sony Ericsson reported Friday that its sales, profits, and prices all fell in the first quarter of 2005.
Blame for this was put on a consumer preference for cheaper phones and excess inventories built up before Christmas.
The company reported that pre-tax profits fell by 28 percent and that sales had dropped by 4 percent in the ...
by Brian Turner
Samsung Electronics, Asia’s most valuable technology company, has reported that its first-quarter profits were over 50 percent lower compared with the same period last year.
Net profits were down 52 percent and sales revenue was down 4.2 percent.
Operating profits in Samsung’s liquid crystal display division were 97 percent lower and in its semiconductor business they fell by 22 percent ...
by Brian Turner
The Japanese markets continued to fall on Friday as IBM and Samsung Electronics issued disappointing reports on earnings, and worries about rates of growth in the US and China continued to take their toll.
This led to the Nikkei 225 being down 1.7 percent at close, to 11,371, and the Topic index fell 1.5 percent to 1,151.
Analysts did not have hopeful news ...
by Brian Turner
The London markets were down in mid-afternoon trading on Friday, following a trend that affected US and European markets.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.7 percent to 4,910.9 and the FTSE 250 was off by 1.1 percent to 7,083.
The pharmaceuticals sector was a bright spot, with AstraZeneca up 2.5 percent and GlaxoSmithKlein up by 2.3 percent.
Another bit of good news ...
by Brian Turner
European stock markets followed the trend set by Wall Street, falling by mid-afternoon Friday after two straight days of over 1 percent loss in New York on Wednesday and Thursday.
Technology stocks were down on bad news from IBM and Samsung; steel makers were also down. The pharmaceuticals sector seemed to be the only area where substantial gains ...
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The Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday: oil prices had a negative impact, as did concerns about strong economic growth in China, while a positive quarterly earnings report from Intel didn’t have much impact at all.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average rose 0.2 percent to 11,088.58 and the Topix index rose 0.4 percent to 1,131.53.
In the technology sector ...
A rebound in US technology stocks helped the Tokyo markets Tuesday to take back some of the ground it has lost recently.
Still, gains were small in comparison to the losses posted since the beginning of last week, as worries continue over economic growth in the U.S. as well as over continuing tensions between Japan and China.
The Nikkei 225 ...
The Tokyo markets suffered their worst one-day losses in nearly a year as investors worried about the worsening relations between Japan and China.
A wide range of sectors were down, taking the Nikkei 225 down 3.8 percent to 10,938.44, a four-month low. The Topix index was off 3.6 percent, closing at 1,109.49.
Travel businesses especially felt the effect of ...
Mobile phone producer Sony Ericsson reported Friday that its sales, profits, and prices all fell in the first quarter of 2005.
Blame for this was put on a consumer preference for cheaper phones and excess inventories built up before Christmas.
The company reported that pre-tax profits fell by 28 percent and that sales had dropped by 4 percent in the ...
