Markets lower ahead of Bernanke speech and Germany rumours
Aug 26, 2011Jeremy Parkinson0
Markets showed signs of caution and the dollar declined against its counterparts as traders await a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke which is expected to show a slowing US economy. Following Japan’s downgrade on Wednesday wild rumours emerged that Germany could face a credit rating cut and unnerved German markets in early trading […]
Greek exposure affects Credit Agricole profits
Aug 25, 2011Jeremy Parkinson0
Credit Agricole, France’s third largest bank by market value, published in its 2Q11 net profit results on Thursday a 10.6 percent decrease at €339m compared to €379m in the same period last year. The decline was mainly attributed to a pre-tax impairment on its Greek bond exposure of €202m, the bank said in a statement. In Paris […]
Markets vague as Moody’s downgrades Japan
Aug 24, 2011Jeremy Parkinson0
Asian highs were short-lived on Wednesday when regional markets failed to hold on to Tuesday’s gains after sentiment dampened following Moody’s decision to downgrade Japan’s credit rating to Aa3.
The ratings agency said that the nuclear accident coupled with the earthquake disaster had aggravated its economy and deferred Japan’s recovery.
The Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng […]
Asian stocks higher but uncertainty lingers
Aug 23, 2011Jeremy Parkinson0
Asian markets rebounded on Tuesday following a series of losses last week after released data showed improved manufacturing activity in China and buoyancy that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may unveil steps to boost the US economy.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.99 percent to 19,875, Japan’s Nikkey rose 1.2 percent to 8,733 while […]
Merkel rules out Eurobonds as Greek banks rescue small lender
Aug 22, 2011Jeremy Parkinson0
German chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday snubbed Eurobonds as a short-term answer to Europe’s sovereign debt crisis while four of Greece’s largest banks in Athens stepped in to rescue a smaller lender. Merkel continued to oppose a bond guaranteed by all of Europe’s member states, saying the eurozone would turn into an inflation community if […]
Asahi buys Independent Liquor for $1.3bn
Aug 18, 2011Jeremy Parkinson0
Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings said Thursday it has come to an agreement to buy New Zealand’s leading ready-to-drink cocktail company, Independent Liquor, for $1.31bn from Pacific Equity Partners and Unitas Capital Pte.
The brewer hopes to grow a stronger position in New Zealand and Australia, and aims to increase its overseas sales between 20 percent […]
Franco-German talks fail to reassure markets
Aug 17, 2011Jeremy Parkinson0
Stocks in Europe fell on Wednesday after a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel late on Tuesday to discuss the area’s rescue fund and borrowing. The duo had been under pressure to re-establish market confidence after a bout of volatility and uncertainty. Tokyo’s Nikkei and S&P 500 were 0.6 percent and […]
German economy grounds to a halt
Aug 16, 2011Jeremy Parkinson0
Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, saw a near stalling in 2Q11 as its GDP grew by just 0.1 percent between April and June, according to the country’s Federal Statistics Office. The figure, which was below market expectations of 0.5 percent, marks a substantial drop from the downwardly amended 1Q11 increase of 1.3 percent and raises concerns […]
Asian stocks rise as Japan beats GDP estimates
Aug 15, 2011Jeremy Parkinson0
Japan’s economy contracted during 2Q11 at a slower than expected pace by an annualised rate of 0.3 percent in the three months to the end of June, the cabinet office said. Real GDP was down 1.3 percent and showed stronger signs of recovery thanks to consumer spending in the wake of the March earthquake and […]
EU imposes short selling ban
Aug 12, 2011Jeremy Parkinson0
Amid heightened international market volatility, ESMA, the EU’s regulator, announced late on Thursday that France, Belgium, Spain and Italy have banned short selling in an attempt to curb rumours and halt the precipitous fall in value of troubled EU banks. In Spain and France the ban will last 15 days and is only applicable to stocks […]