Pain must always come before gain January 27, 2011 CREDIT rating agencies have come in for a lot of flak, not least in this newspaper, but yesterday they proved that they can still tell the Emperor it has no clothes. The downgrade of Japan’s credit came as a stark reminder that government debt will be the new sub-prime. It certainly ought to serve as [...]
German facing accelerating inflation January 27, 2011 German consumer prices have risen at their fastest pace since October 2008 this month, data has shown, offering early signs that inflation in the eurozone may be high enough to concern the European Central Bank. EU-harmonised prices (HICP) grew two per cent year on year in January compared with 1.9 per cent in December. The [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 25, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES RUSSIANS PREPARE FOR LISTING SPREE IN LONDON Four industrial and mining companies from Russia are set to list in London within the next few weeks, the first in a string of companies from the country rushing to raise an estimated $15bn-$20bn (£9.5bn-£12.7bn) this year. The companies are taking advantage of a narrow window [...]
Wall Street finishes flat after late buying January 25, 2011 US stocks erased losses in a late flurry of buying to end little changed yesterday as overall optimism about earnings offset disappointing results from blue chips 3M and Johnson & Johnson. About 70 per cent of S&P companies so far have beaten estimates, but worries about inflation cutting into profits have caused investors to jump [...]
US retail sales back to annual growth January 14, 2011 SALES at US retailers in 2010 reversed two years of contraction and posted the biggest gain in more than a decade, a government report showed. Retail sales rose 0.6 per cent in December, slightly less than expected, but the growth was still the sixth straight month of growth, the Commerce Department said. And total sales [...]
Fallback in US data shakes faith in recovery January 13, 2011 US JOBLESS claims jumped to their highest level since October last week while food and energy costs lifted producer prices in December. However, a surge in exports to their highest level in two years helped narrow the US trade deficit in November, an encouraging sign for fourth-quarter economic growth. Despite a string of recent data [...]
Coal prices to soar as floods reach a peak January 12, 2011 TRADERS expect coal prices to rise further after the devastating floods in Australia saw prices jump $10 (£6.40) a tonne earlier in the week. Both thermal and coking coal prices have risen sharply this year due to the impact of the Australian floods, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said yesterday. Australian coal is used abundantly to [...]
World Forum: Economies face big risks January 12, 2011 WORLD governments have been drained of resources after the financial crisis and are poorly-equipped to handle 21st-century global risks, a new study reported yesterday. Governments are less able to tackle emerging global risks such as shortages of natural resources, an ageing world population and fragile states dominated by illegal activity. But the macroeconomic trends that [...]
Energy shares help drive Wall St higher January 11, 2011 ENERGY shares helped the Dow and S&P 500 end a three-day losing streak yesterday, even as investors worried rising fuel costs will undercut economic growth. Earnings reports from smaller companies, including homebuilder Lennar and store chain Sears Holdings, also supported stocks, but volume was low for a second day, raising questions about the sustainability of [...]
Eurozone factory output rebounded in October January 5, 2011 Industrial orders in the eurozone rebounded from a slump in September to rise 1.4 per cent month-on-month in October, generating a 14.8 per cent year-on-year gain. The monthly rise in orders was largely due to a five per cent jump in demand for durable consumer goods, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said. In a [...]