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September 16, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices fell steeply again Tuesday on continuing demand worries after yesterday’s bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH), today’s credit downgrade of American International Group (NYSE: AIG), and the decision by the Federal Reserve to hold US interest rates steady rather than cutting them as some had expected.
October contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down $4.37 to $91.34 per ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were mostly lower Tuesday on continuing fallout from the Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) bankruptcy and after Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service both cut their credit ratings on US insurer American International Group (NYSE: AIG).
This downgrade will likely make it more difficult for AIG to raise the money it needs to remain in business.
In London, ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound weakened Tuesday after the Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, said in a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that inflation in the UK will peak soon and then slow down in 2009, spurring speculation that the Bank will cut interest rates soon.
Mr. King wrote the letter, as required by law, to explain why inflation in ...
September 15, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices dropped more than five dollar per barrel Monday after Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) was forced to declare bankruptcy and as it began to look as if Hurricane Ike had not done nearly as much damage to oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Texas Gulf Coast as had been feared.
West Texas Intermediate crude for October ...
by Kay Murchie
Ford Motor Company has announced plans to slash production of the Transit van. The company currently produces 75,000 transit vans a year but this will be more than halved to 35,000 a year.
There are fears that the plans could result in the closure of its plant in Southampton which will undoubtedly lead to job losses. The plant ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets saw substantial declines Monday as Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) declared bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) allowed Bank of America (NYSE: BAC; TYO: 8648) to take it over.
The Lehman bankruptcy was forced after takeover talks with Bank of America and Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642) fell through and the US government refused to ...
by Elaine Frei
The yen and the Swiss franc both strengthened Monday after Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) was forced to declare bankruptcy after takeover talks failed and the US government wouldn’t step in to help, sending investors away from risky investments in higher-yielding currencies, while the also benefited from US insurer American International Group’s lack of success in seeking more capital that would allow it ...
by Kay Murchie
As the economy continues to slow and fuel prices continue to soar, Alaska Airlines has announced it is to axe up to 1,000 jobs and reduce capacity by 15%.
The job losses represent around 10% of the workforce and will affect pilots, cabin crew, technicians and service staff.
During the first six months of the year, ...
September 14, 2008
by Kay Murchie
The Japanese economy contracted at an annual rate of 3% between April and June. The fall is the first in over a year and the largest since the third quarter of 2001.
The country, whose economy is the second largest, appears to be on the brink of recession as analysts said demand for Japanese goods and services had fallen both at home and ...
by Kay Murchie
Fears are mounting over the state of the world’s largest economy after the Commerce Department revealed that US retail sales fell 0.3% in August.
This is the second consecutive month that sales have declined after July’s figure was revised from 0.1% to 0.5%.
The weak August figure was a shock to analysts who had forecast a rise of 0.3%. One ...
September 12, 2008
by Elaine Frei
October contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped to $99.99 per barrel briefly on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, the first time it has been below $100 per barrel since 2 April, before returning to slight gains on the session in afternoon trade as Hurricane Ike approached landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast, shuttering most of the oil and natural ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were higher Friday.
In London, the FTSE 100 added 1.85 percent to 5,416.7 while the FTSE 250 gained 1.15 percent to 8,976.7, with the 100 led by miners.
Gains in the prices of industrial metals sent Eurasian (LSE: ENRC) up 9.06 percent while Anglo American (LSE: AAL) was 8.4 percent higher, Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) added 7.98 percent and BHP ...
by Elaine Frei
The yen was weaker Friday on a return to popularity of higher-yielding currencies as the possibility of a sale of Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) was rumored.
At late morning trade in New York, the yen traded at ¥152.941 to the euro, at ¥107.7050 to the US dollar, at ¥193.018 to the pound, and at ¥16.047 to the Swedish krona.
The return ...
September 11, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices fell again Thursday, but wholesale prices for gasoline along the US Gulf Coast soared as Hurricane Ike approached Texas and the three million barrel per day in refining capacity possibly in the storm’s path, rising to between $4 and $5 per gallon, up from around $3 to $3.50 per gallon on Wednesday
Retail prices for gasoline, ...
by Elaine Frei
Equities markets in Europe declined Thursday on concerns about earnings in the retail and financial sectors.
In London the FTSE 100 was down 0.89 percent to 5,318.4 while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.03 percent to 8,874.9.
Most retailers were lower, with DIY retailers down on declines in sales as Kingfisher (LSE: KFG) dropped 5.38 percent and Home Retail Group (LSE: HOME) ...
by Elaine Frei
The New Zealand dollar weakened Thursday after the central bank there cut interest rates to 7.5 percent, half a percentage point, with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand saying that the economy there is now in recession.
At late morning in New York, the kiwi was worth 64.68 cents US while it took ¥68.858 to buy a New Zealand dollar.
The ...
September 10, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices slipped Wednesday after early gains on an announcement from OPEC that it will cut production but will leave production quotas intact.
West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery traded 36 cents lower to $102.90 per barrel around the close of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude remained below $100 per barrel for a second session in ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were lower Wednesday after the European Commission forecast that the Eurozone economy will grow by only 1.3 percent this year, down from an earlier prediction of 1.7 percent growth and a separate report from the National Institute for Economic and Social Research said that the UK economy will see its first contraction this year in at ...
by Elaine Frei
The Canadian dollar saw early gains Wednesday on OPEC’s announcement that it will cut oil production, but those gains disappeared on new data that showed US oil and gasoline inventories dropped more than anticipated in the week ending 5 September, with the loonie trading at C$1.0734 to its US counterpart at just past noon in New York.
Meanwhile, the yen was ...
September 9, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices were lower Tuesday as Hurricane Ike weakened and shifted course, making it less likely that it will hit key Gulf of Mexico oil and gas facilities even though forecasters warned that the storm could still regain strength and shift course.
October contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down $3.19 to $103.15 per barrel at around the close ...
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