AUSTRALIA WILL NOT RAISE RATES August 18, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT OVER the past several months, the Australian dollar has been the most appealing currency for the recovery trade. Unlike its G20 counterparts, the Australian economy barely felt the blows of the global recession, registering only one negative quarter of growth before rebounding in the second quarter to record a [...]
World markets tumble due to fears over economic recovery August 17, 2009 GLOBAL markets stumbled yesterday, prompting fears that the recent stock market rally could be over. In London, the FTSE 100 shed 68.96 points, or 1.5 per cent, closing at 4,645.01. Across the Atlantic, the Dow Jones Industrial Average also shed 186 points, or two per cent. Sterling fell against the dollar while the price of [...]
Poor Japanese data hits US stocks August 17, 2009 US stocks suffered their worst loss in seven weeks yesterday as weak data from Japan and a disappointing outlook from retailer Lowe’s dampened hopes about the economy’s growth. Japan’s gross domestic product showed its economy pulled out of recession in the second quarter, but at a slower pace than expected, prompting a sell-off in major [...]
Bears forecast another slump in the market August 16, 2009 FOR the past two months, the bulls have been back in force, pushing the markets higher than anybody had thought possible. But last week, some of the City’s biggest bears struck back, predicting a second slump in global equities between now and the end of the year. While many analysts have thought that the most [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 13, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES YANZHOU DIGS DEEP IN BID FOR FELIXChina’s largest takeover bid for an Australian company was formally launched yesterday when Yanzhou Coal Mining made a recommended cash offer for Felix Resources worth just over A$3.5bn (£1.78bn). The offer is pitched at A$16.95 a share, valuing Felix at A$3.33bn, but shareholders will also receive A$1 [...]
Facebook tries to climb the great firewall of China August 13, 2009 WHEN a screenshot of Facebook Lite was leaked earlier this week, the blogosphere went crazy, proving that Web 2.0 scribblers have a silly season too. Most bloggers were convinced the slimmed-down version of the social network was an attempt to take on Twitter, something Facebook emphatically denies. Instead, it forms part of the firm’s attempt [...]
ONLY A WEAK YEN POINTS TO REAL GROWTH August 2, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR,FOREX.COM President Obama last week claimed that the US may be seeing the “beginning of the end” of the recession and his words coincided with subtle improvements in the tone of some central banks, whose rhetoric provides a useful gauge as to how the world is moving on in the wake of the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 30, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES VW BRACED FOR “ZERO GROWTH” IN CAR MARKETVolkswagen warned yesterday that it could face flat sales in 2010 as Europe’s largest carmaker reported a sharp profit drop in the second quarter. The third-biggest carmaker behind General Motors and Toyota said it expected “zero growth” in the car market next year. PRIVATE EQUITY SUFFERED [...]
China’s banks weigh heavily on Wall St July 29, 2009 US STOCKS fell yesterday as investors worried that China’s banks could hit the brakes on lending to stem market excesses, a move that could curb the global economic recovery. Concerns about China hurt commodity prices and hit shares in the energy and raw materials sectors, while a steep drop in US durable goods orders in [...]
Cost cutting at carmakers boosts profit July 29, 2009 CARMAKERS Honda and Nissan reported surprise profits for the last quarter yesterday, as cost-cutting at the firms started to pay off, while Peugeot Citroen blamed a drop in sales for heavy losses. Honda’s executive vice president Koichi Kondo said sales in the US, its key market, were falling short of expectations, and that it planned [...]