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May 26, 2005
by Brian Turner
US equities markets were up on Thursday on an upward revision of first-quarter growth figures for the US gross domestic product.
The new figures show that the US economy grew by 3.5 percent last quarter, up from the previously reported 3.1
percent.
This was still a bit below the expected figure of 3.6 percent, but at least one analyst said ...
by Brian Turner
The first auction in forty years of 50-year gilts in the UK on Thursday, worth £2.5 billion, received 1.6 times the bids for the amount offered, considered to be a reasonable demand.
However, one analyst called the average yield at which it sold, 4.21 percent, “expensive” and not a good value.
Prices fell as the day progressed and the yield ...
by Brian Turner
Japan’s parliament began on Thursday to debate a bill that would privatize their post office, the world’s largest financial institution.
The plan, supported by prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, would split the post office into four units - savings, insurance, mail delivery, and counter services - beginning in 2007.
Mr. Koizumi holds that privatizing would cut the public sector and ...
May 25, 2005
by Brian Turner
The yen spent most of the day alternatively rising and falling on Wednesday before settling in to a slightly lower level at mid-session in New York.
Its troubles stemmed from data on export growth that seemed to have that growth rising from 6.1 percent in March to 7.8 percent in April, but when adjusted on a seasonal basis it ...
by Brian Turner
Falling business confidence in Germany had more influence on investors than did good earnings reports as the European equities market dropped slightly Wednesday even though averages were up at one point in the day.
German economics institute Ifo reported that business sentiment was down for the fourth straight month on higher unemployment and lower consumer confidence. The ...
by Brian Turner
Eurozone bond prices were up and yields fell to a record low at one point on Wednesday amid more bad economic news for the region.
In Germany, the Ifo business climate index was down to 92.9 in May from 93.3 in April. It was the fourth month in a row that the index ...
by Brian Turner
A surprise decline in US crude oil stockpiles sent crude oil futures up more than a dollar on Wednesday.
Data released by the US Department of Energy showed that crude oil inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels in the week ending on May 20, to 332.4 million barrels.
It was only the second ...
by Brian Turner
Recent trends in Europe have made the success of Turkey’s efforts to gain membership in the European Union look increasingly uncertain.
Talks toward that goal between Turkey and the EU are scheduled to begin on October 3 and could last 10 years or more.
One factor that might make Turkey’s bid to join the EU more difficult ...
by Brian Turner
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development on Tuesday called for an 0.5 percent reduction in interest rates in the eurozone.
The OECD came to the conclusion that outside influences, such as the Iraq war and high oil prices, were not enough to explain the lack of recovery in eurozone economies and that what is needed is sustained ...
May 24, 2005
by Brian Turner
Bertelsmann, the media and publishing group, has announced that it has entered into a joint venture with Liaoning Publishing Group in China.
The purpose of the venture is to distribute books to retailers around China.
Initially, the venture will focus on the distribution of Chinese-language books, but it may eventually enter into the distribution of English-language books as well. ...
by Brian Turner
The equities markets were mixed on Tuesday, with Asian markets generally up with the exception of Tokyo, London and US markets mixed, and the eurozone down a bit.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index was up 0.1 percent to 2,175.20 as technology stocks rose. However, at one point in the day the index had been up 0.7 percent, which was a ...
by Brian Turner
Worries about the weakness of European economies sent the prices of US Treasury bonds up while yields neared three-month lows on Tuesday.
Yields on 2-year bonds fell 2.5 basis points to 3.599 in late trading. 10-year bonds lost over 3 basis points to yield 4.029 percent, and 30-year bonds were down 2.5 basis points to 4.358.
Investors ...
by Brian Turner
The US dollar was down in relation to the euro and the yen and up against sterling on Tuesday, but its movement was fractional at best against the three currencies.
The dollar stood at $1.2582 in relation to the euro at mid-day in New York, was trading at ¥against the yen, and sat at $1.8274 as opposed to sterling. ...
by Brian Turner
In the face of worries about a potential flu pandemic that authorities believe could kill millions of people worldwide, Swiss pharmaceuticals group Roche is in talks with the World Health Organization to donate up to one million treatments of its antiviral drug Tamiflu for use in less developed countries, primarily in Asia where bird flu is showing signs of transmission ...
by Brian Turner
The controversy over China’s currency has heated up, with the United States telling China that if they do not revalue the renminbi by at least 10 percent in relation to the dollar, they face legislation that would impose trade sanctions.
Such a bill, that would impose sanctions if China does not act within six months, has already been introduced by Senator ...
May 23, 2005
by Brian Turner
The price of oil rebounded on Monday after early losses sustained when the president of OPEC said over the weekend that there was no reason to reduce output because the organization would be “happy” for prices to fall into the $40 to $45 per barrel range.
Some experts have said that there is some internal debate within OPEC over ...
by Brian Turner
Eight Japanese companies have been charged with bid-rigging in 2003 and 2004 in order to spread construction orders for steel bridges among themselves while denying contracts to other firms.
The move in charging the companies is an effort to crack down on an institutional practice, called dango, which serves to allocate public works contracts among a select group and excludes many ...
by Brian Turner
Trade was light on Monday morning in US Treasury bonds as investors anticipated the afternoon release of the minutes from the May 3 meeting of the Federal Reserve to see if there were any further clues into the Fed’s view of issues surrounding inflation.
Prices on bonds were sent up on news that the US government would auction only $22 ...
by Brian Turner
South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai, the top car seller in China and India, has opened its first US facility, a $1.1 billion plant in Montgomery, Alabama.
The company claims that it is the most advanced in the world. Hyundai is the third foreign carmaker - after Honda and Mercedes - to move into Alabama, where until 1997 no vehicles ...
by Brian Turner
Equities markets in Tokyo were up on Monday under the influence of a better-than-expected earnings report form Mizuho Financial Group, Japan’s biggest bank when ranked by assets, as well as by Friday’s good performance by Nasdaq in New York.
The Nikkei 225 closed at 11,158.65, up 1.1 percent, while the Topix index rose 0.7 percent to 1,137.69.
Mizuho’s shares rose ...
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US equities markets were up on Thursday on an upward revision of first-quarter growth figures for the US gross domestic product.
The new figures show that the US economy grew by 3.5 percent last quarter, up from the previously reported 3.1
percent.
This was still a bit below the expected figure of 3.6 percent, but at least one analyst said ...
The yen spent most of the day alternatively rising and falling on Wednesday before settling in to a slightly lower level at mid-session in New York.
Its troubles stemmed from data on export growth that seemed to have that growth rising from 6.1 percent in March to 7.8 percent in April, but when adjusted on a seasonal basis it ...
Bertelsmann, the media and publishing group, has announced that it has entered into a joint venture with Liaoning Publishing Group in China.
The purpose of the venture is to distribute books to retailers around China.
Initially, the venture will focus on the distribution of Chinese-language books, but it may eventually enter into the distribution of English-language books as well. ...
The price of oil rebounded on Monday after early losses sustained when the president of OPEC said over the weekend that there was no reason to reduce output because the organization would be “happy” for prices to fall into the $40 to $45 per barrel range.
Some experts have said that there is some internal debate within OPEC over ...
