August 18, 2005

Foreign investors confident in Japanese economic reform

by Brian Turner
Strong investment from foreign sources helped send Japanese equity markets back to near record levels on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.3 percent to close at 12,307.37 and the Topix ended the day up by 0.2 percent to 1,252.94. Foreigners purchased ¥721.9bn ($6.58bn) worth of shares in Japanese companies last week, the ninth week in a row that foreigners ...

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August 17, 2005

Oil prices down sharp on profit-taking

by Brian Turner
Profit-taking and higher than expected gains in crude oil inventories in the US sent crude oil prices down sharply during the day on Wednesday, although a much larger decrease than expected in gasoline inventories sent gasoline prices into record territory before retreating later. October contracts for Brent crude on the International Petroleum Exchange fell $2.52 to $62.56 per barrel by ...

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August 16, 2005

Falling industrial production numbers raises prices on US treasury bonds

by Brian Turner
Prices were up and yields were down on US Treasury bonds on Tuesday on falling industrial production numbers. Production grew by only 0.1 percent in July and capacity utilization was down by 0.1 percent to 79.8 percent. The 10-year Treasury bond was down to a yield of 4.211 percent at late morning, but had been ...

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August 15, 2005

Eurozone bonds see lower yields on slow trading

by Brian Turner
Prices were higher and yields lower on eurozone government bonds on Monday as trade was slow while equities markets in several countries were closed for holidays. Oil prices were a factor, as recent record high prices spurred concerns about economic growth. The 2-year Schatz fell by 1.7 basis points to yield 2.236 percent and the 10-year Bund ...

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Brent deliveries reach new highs after WTI record prices

by Brian Turner
Crude oil prices fell from last weeks highs but remained high on Monday. Before falling, however, Brent crude for September delivery hit a new record high of $66.85 on the International Petroleum Exchange, while it ended the day 87 cents lower at $65.58 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude September contracts lost 59 cents to close ...

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European company fortunes mixed on ADR index

by Brian Turner
Shares of foreign companies trading in New York were mixed on Monday as European companies did not do as well as did Latin American companies trading in the US. The Bank of New York’s index of leading European shares fell 0.3 percent to 132.58, while the Latin American index gained 1.7 percent to 171.23. The bank’s index ...

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August 12, 2005

Auctions helps US bond market

by Brian Turner
The US market in government bonds might have had a bad week this week if not for the auction Thursday of $13 billion worth of 10-year bonds. Auctions of 3-year and 5-year bonds earlier in the week had attracted much smaller than usual interest from institutional and foreign investors, but Thursday’s sale was much more successful on that account, as measured ...

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August 11, 2005

Yields on Japanese government bonds high on optimism

by Brian Turner
Yields on Japanese government bonds jumped to a five-month high yield of 1.475 percent on Thursday as a result of continuing optimism about the Asian nation’s economic recovery and on speculation that the Bank of Japan’s zero interest rate policy might end early in 2006. The two-year government bond yield rose to a one-year high. Yields fell, ...

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Tokyo equities close at four year highs

by Brian Turner
In Tokyo on Thursday, the equities markets closed at four-year highs on continuing indications that the economy was continuing its recovery. The Nikkei and Topix indexes were both higher for the fourth day in a row as the Nikkei 225 ended the session up 1.37 percent at 12,226.32 and the Topix added 1.29 percent to 1,243.74. Insurance, ...

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August 10, 2005

Asian equities sees heavy foreign buying after turmoil

by Brian Turner
The Japanese equities markets were up on Wednesday on heavy foreign buying as the Asian nation’s political turmoil began to ease. The Nikkei 225 gained 1.7 percent to 12,098.08, its highest close since April 2004, while the Topix index closed 1.8 percent higher at 1,227,85, its highest close in four years. Foreign buyers seemed to be accepting analysts’ opinions that ...

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China reveal renminbi basket of currencies

by Brian Turner
For the first time since China revalued its currency in July, it has announced which currencies are in the basket it uses to determine the value of the renminbi. The biggest surprise is that the Taiwan dollar is not one of those currencies. The major world currencies used to value the renminbi include the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese ...

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August 9, 2005

Investor confidence strong in Japan despite political upheaval

by Brian Turner
Political upheaval did not seem to dampen investors’ confidence in Tokyo on Tuesday after post office privatization was voted down by the upper house of parliament on Monday. The Nikkei 225 closed up 1 percent to 11,900.32 and the Topix index gained 1.2 percent to end the session at 1,206.27. Most analysts seemed to minimize the impact ...

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US raises interest rates

by Brian Turner
As had been expected, the US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee has raised its benchmark interest rate to 3.5 percent as it said it would continue to raise rates at “a measured pace.” Most analysts take that phrase to mean three more increases before the end of the year, which they expect to take the rate to 4.25 percent. The Fed ...

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August 8, 2005

Oil futures continue to make record prices

by Brian Turner
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil for September delivery gained $1.63 to $63.94 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while September contracts for Brent crude on the International Petroleum Exchange were also up $1.63 to $62.70 per barrel on Monday. WTI closed 1 cent short of a new record high of $63.95 per barrel, reached ...

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US Treasury begins bond auction

by Brian Turner
The United States Treasury auctioned $18 billion in 3-year paper on Monday in the first of its quarterly refunding sales. Bids were at 2.31 times the supply, but analysts believe that this was primarily due to a reduction in the size of the auction. Five-year bonds will be auctioned on Wednesday and 10-year bonds will go on Thursday. At ...

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Raw material costs show strengthening UK inflation

by Brian Turner
The rising cost of crude oil was cited as the biggest factor in the rise of raw materials prices that is adversely affecting industry in the UK. Producer input prices went up 1.8 percent from June to July, showing an annual increase of 13.4 percent, the National Office of Statistics said on Monday. It was the largest annual ...

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August 4, 2005

Bank of England cuts interest rates

by Brian Turner
The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee cut the UK interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday to 4.5 percent. It was the first rate cut in two years and exactly one year since the rate has moved at all. Although it made the rate cut, the Bank was careful to ...

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Bond yields fall as Bank of England cuts interest rates

by Brian Turner
In the UK on Thursday, bond yields fell after the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee cut interest rates a expected. It was the first rate cut in two years. Reaction to the cut was minimal because the cut had been expected, but some analysts said that the market could be affected more as the ...

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August 3, 2005

European equities strong on sports sector purchase

by Brian Turner
In Europe on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.3 percent to close at 1,187.1, after Tuesday’s three-year high close. The biggest news in European equities as the 7.4 percent gain by Adidas Salomon as it closed at €158.45 on its announced intention to purchase US company Reebok for €3.1bn. The acquisition would give Adidas access to rival ...

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Crude inventories contain mixed surprises

by Brian Turner
The weekly US crude oil inventory data from the Department of Energy held at least a couple of surprises Wednesday, as crude oil stockpiles were up by 200,000 barrels in the week ending July 29 and gasoline stockpiles were down more than had been expected. The rise in crude oil inventories came mostly on an increase of 11 million barrels per ...

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