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February 21, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region saw gains on Thursday. The exception was in China, where the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.87 percent to 4,527.18 on losses by refiners and banks. Refiners were down on fears that higher prices for crude oil will erode their earnings. Chinese refiners cannot raise prices to cover their rising costs without permission ...
by Peter Charalambous
Inflation in France has accelerated to 3.2 percent, which is up from 2.8 percent in December. The figures are based on European Union-harmonized methods and published by the National Statistics Bureau in Paris.
This has resulted in higher food and energy costs in the country as consumer prices have climbed by an annual 3.2 percent.
The sharp increases in consumer ...
by Elisha Sanders
According to industry sources, the possible reason for the recent mark-down by Credit Suisse is the over acquiescence of risk managers to successful traders.
After the announcement of the internal review by Credit Suisse to establish exactly what has caused the mark-down, pressure has been building for the results to be made public as to why a few of ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound gained on all major currencies on Thursday after a report from the Office of National Statistics said that UK retail sales grew in January by the most in nearly a year, making it less likely that the Bank of England will cut interest rates again soon.
In late morning trade in New York the pound traded at 75.45p to the euro, ...
by Peter Charalambous
The U.K. retail sales doubled the economist’s estimation of a 0.3 percent rise.
The Office for National Statistics revealed that sales have climbed by 0.8 percent since December that represents the biggest increase in 11 months despite the discounting offered by consumer goods stores and supermarkets.
According to economist Peter Dixon ``Strong discounting helps to support sales volumes and this shows the ...
by Kay Murchie
Cadbury Schweppes, the world’s No.1 confectionery company, announced a 9% fall in half-year pre-tax profits to £670 million and said restructuring costs and higher raw material costs were to blame.
However, UK sales were up 5% and the company was optimistic and said it would ride out the economic slowdown.
Cadury’s sales were increased by the drumming gorilla advert ...
by Kay Murchie
Supermarket giant Asda, owned by US retailer Wal-Mart, has announced plans to create 9,000 jobs in the UK.
Britain’s second biggest supermarket chain said the jobs will be through a mixture of new stores, shop extensions and business expansion.
The company’s plan, its largest jobs programme since it was acquired by Wal-Mart for £6.72 billion in 1999, will include 7,000 positions being created ...
February 20, 2008
by Peter Charalambous
The minutes of the Bank of England’s last meeting has shown the majority of the bank's nine-member panel agreed that they could cut the key rate by speculated levels and still achieve the 2 percent inflation target.
The policy makers at the Bank of England are negotiating the extent to which they can cut rates to boost the economy from falling house prices and global ...
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices rose again to a new record at the close in New York after the Federal Reserve cut economic growth expectations for this year, making investors believe that there are more interest rate cuts on the way.
March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude, which expire at the end of the day, added 73 cents to trade ...
by Elaine Frei
Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region declined on Wednesday on resurgent concerns related to the subprime mortgage crisis as banks are expected to take more writedowns. The Taiex was down 1.62 percent to 7,894.47 in Taiwan while South Korea’s Kospi index was 1.9 percent lower to 1,687.91. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries fell 1.96 percent to 5,577.3 ...
by Elaine Frei
The US dollar gained on the euro, the yen, and most major currencies on Wednesday as inflation was reported to have grown more than expected, to 4.3 percent overall and to 2.5 percent for the core CPI, in January.
At just before noon in New York the dollar traded at $1.4666 to the euro, at $1.9404 to the pound, while ...
by Elisha Sanders
Investment bank JPMorgan is planning to expand operations in the Asia-Pacific region with a bid to take over a Hong Kong based private equity group and designate $750m for the team to invest in the region.
According to sources, the bank plans to double annual investments in the region which was in the area of $200m last year.
The team to be ...
February 19, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices jumped to near-record levels in New York on Tuesday on concerns over what OPEC will do with production quotas and on a continuing dispute between Venezuela and the United States over oil.
March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude added $4.55 to $100.05 per barrel just before the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile ...
by Elaine Frei
Asia-Pacific equities markets saw gains on Tuesday after higher metals prices sent commodities-related shares higher and on fewer concerns about subprime-connected losses by banks. India’s Sensex was up 0.15 percent to 18,075.66. The FTSE Straits Times Index was 0.48 percent higher to 3,098.06 while in Australia the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.97 percent to 5,688.6 and the S&P/ASX200 ...
by Elaine Frei
The euro was helped Tuesday in relation to the dollar and other currencies after the governor of the Bank of France said there is optimism that the economy of the European Union will continue to grow.
The US dollar declined versus the euro on Tuesday amid continuing speculation that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again soon and on expectations ...
by Elisha Sanders
Swiss investment bank, Credit Suisse, announced on Tuesday that due to miscalculations on structured credit pricing, they had $2.85bn (€1.93bn) of losses.
Up to this point, Credit Suisse had seemed one of the least affected banks from the recent credit market collapse, and further, had been the cause of multi-billion dollar losses for many rival banks.
According to a statement released by the ...
by Peter Charalambous
The jobless rate in Hong Kong has remained at the lowest level in nine years, which has resulted in sustained consumer confidence and spending.
Announced by a government website today, the unemployment rate of 3.4 percent is unchanged from December and it remains at the lowest since 1998.
The number of people employed in the city has increased by 18,000 in January to a ...
by Peter Charalambous
Inflation in China has occurred at the quickest rate in over 11 years, due to serve snowstorms affecting food supplies.
In the provinces of Zhejiang and Guangxi 107 people were killed and damage of $15.5 billion was recorded
The price of food has increased by 18 percent as the weather destroyed vital crops and brought the transport system to a complete halt, which has caused unrest ...
February 18, 2008
by Peter Charalambous
U.K. house prices have risen for the first time in four months following the descion by the Bank of England cut interest rates.
The average house price is now £ 237,856 and represented a rise of 3.2 percent. In London values have increased by 0.9 percent.
The capital now has an average asking price of £402,233 and gains of 3.5 percent where seen in Hammersmith and ...
by Elisha Sanders
For the past four months, the investment banking side of UBS has been searching for a new chief executive. At no point was Jerker Johansson ever mentioned as a candidate, and with a 22 year career with rival bank, Morgan Stanley, no one was looking to the Swede to fill the top job, except UBS.
Speculation is swirling around whether Johansson would ...
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