Exxon is the world’s biggest firm again October 7, 2009 ENERGY giant Exxon Mobil has snatched back its crown as the world’s most valuable company after overtaking rival PetroChina, according to the latest Bloomberg data. Exxon’s market capitalisation rose to $330bn (£207.4bn) in the period between 2 September and yesterday, the group said, as PetroChina’s has dropped by 2.2 per cent to $325bn. PetroChina has [...]
Hike in interest rates boosts prospects for Aussie dollar October 6, 2009 THE hike in rates to 3.25 per cent yesterday by the central bank of Australia should have come as little surprise to most market participants. Over the past couple of months, there have been growing indications, not least from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) itself, that a rise in the cost of borrowing was [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 28, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading stock index closed 1.6 per cent higher yesterday, with heavyweight banks, miners and energy stocks reversing early losses, helped by a strong opening for the US market. The FTSE 100 rose 83.5 points, or 1.6 per cent, to close at 5,165.70, after rising 0.1 per cent on Friday. “It wasn’t until the US [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 28, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESEDF JOB CREATES A HEADACHE FOR VEOLIAThe board of Veolia Environnement was meeting yesterday evening to weigh up the consequence of the nomination of Henri Proglio, long-time boss of the world’s largest water and waste group as the head of EDF, the French state controlled nuclear operator. Directors have been asked not only to [...]
Dollar’s days as the world’s only reserve currency could be numbered September 23, 2009 OVER the next two days, world leaders gathered at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh will attempt to address the issue of the persistent global imbalances that have been cited as a long-term cause of the recent economic downturn. Integral to this debate has been the long-standing issue of the US dollar’s hegemonic status as the [...]
Everything is pointing to a bumper year for the Aussie September 22, 2009 ALTHOUGH recent concerns of a Chinese asset bubble and fears of a double dip recession have had some effect on Australia, the country has been outshining the other advanced economies throughout the financial crisis. Similarly, the Australian dollar has been among the best performing currencies this year. The Australian dollar is up 22.3 per cent [...]
OECD warns on eurozone ahead of G20 September 21, 2009 European countries need to do more to rid their banking systems of bad debts, a leading economic body warned yesterday, ahead of the G20 summit later this week. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in its annual survey of the European Union that the economies of many nations would continue to suffer [...]
Baltic Dry is signalling new pullback in the stock market September 21, 2009 GLOBAL trade volumes have dried up since the start of the financial crisis as Western demand for East Asian goods languished, depressing shipping activity as measured by the Baltic Dry Index. Although a well-known leading economic indicator, market strategists such as Societe Generale’s Albert Edwards and Gluskin Sheff’s David Rosenberg have recently been drawing their [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 17, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES UK RAISES OPEL ‘SUBSIDY WAR’ FEARLord Mandelson called on Brussels last night to ensure that Germany’s offer of multibillion-euro subsidies to smooth the sale of General Motors’ European arm does not begin a “subsidy war”, with governments using state aid to protect jobs. The UK business secretary’s intervention in the political row over [...]
Markets in Emerging Asia showing Eastern promise for UK investors September 16, 2009 EMERGING markets will, so the optimistic growth story goes, lead the rest of the world out of recession. They sprang back from the Asian crisis of 2007-8, the dot com crash of 2001 and are now, if quarterly GDP data and stock market indices are anything to go by, doing the same again. Asian tigers [...]