STOCK MARKET

Pakistan's Fauji Bin Qasim Profit Increases 88% to $10.7 Million on Prices

2010-07-27T03:56:00.001-07:00

Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Ltd., Pakistan’s only producer of di-ammonium phosphate, reported an increase in second-quarter profit because of higher prices.

Net income rose to 913.4 million rupees ($10.7 million), or 0.98 rupee a share, in the three months ended June 30, from 485.3 million rupees, or 0.52 rupee, a year ago, the Rawalpindi- based company said in a statement to the Karachi Stock Exchange today. Revenue fell to 5.4 billion rupees from 9.1 billion rupees.

The price of di-ammonium phosphate rose to 2,600 rupees for a 50-kilogram bag, from 2,000 rupees in the previous quarter, according to Invest Capital & Securities Ltd. in Karachi.

The company also booked a profit of 122 million rupees from a joint venture compared with a loss of 315.2 million rupees a year ago, according to the statement. Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim has a joint venture with a Moroccan phosphate company.

Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim, which has risen 15 percent this year, rose 1.4 percent to 30 rupees as of 1:42 p.m. local time, on the Karachi Stock Exchange. It plans to pay a mid-year cash dividend of 1.30 rupees a share.

Fauji’s profit in the six months ended June 30 rose to 1.72 billion rupees from 497.9 million rupees a year ago, according to the statement. Sales fell to 11.9 billion rupees from 14.9 billion rupees a year ago.

To contact the reporter on this story: Khurrum Anis in Karachi at Kkhan14@bloomberg.net

Top Sectors in Karachi Stock Market on 27-07-2010

2010-07-27T03:44:00.000-07:00

Chinese stimulus cash is inflating new stock market bubble, officials warn

2009-06-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

Half of the 5.8 trillion yuan (£522bn) of stimulus loans issued by Chinese banks have flowed into the country's stock and property markets, inflating new bubbles, according to senior Communist officials.

Under orders from the government, China's banks have flooded the economy with new credit this year, advancing more money in the first six months than the total for 2008.

It is the biggest wave of money since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. The loans are part of a stimulus package to spur domestic investment and consumption and help the economy through the financial crisis.

However, a significant proportion has been diverted into shares and property, with the Shanghai Stock Exchange rising 60pc since January.

Several economists believe a large part of the government's 4 trillion yuan state aid package has also failed to reach the "real" economy.

Wei Jianing, an economist at the Development Research Center of the State Council, said 20pc of the new bank loans had reached the stock market, and 30pc had been invested in property.

According to the Chinese state media, Wei said the huge flow of money could fuel further asset bubbles. However, he was careful to note that this was not yet the view of the State Council, China's ministerial cabinet.

“When funds are circulating and swelling inside the financial system, instead of servicing the real economy, we see this as a sign of bubble formation,” said Wei. “Now the rapidly circulating funds can easily boost the stock market and produce new financial bubbles, and lift real estate prices as well.”

Another official, Cheng Siwei, the vice-chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, said around 2.4 trillion yuan of the 4.58 trillion lent in the first three months of the year had been used for "real" investment, while the remainder was used for speculation.

However, Cheng also predicted that the Chinese economy will grow by 8pc this year and by more than 9pc next year.

The lack of supervision over the enormous sums being advanced has started to trouble the Communist Party, which issued a stern commentary through the People's Daily, its official mouthpiece.

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures," said the commentary. "However we must at the same time improve the lending structure and guard against risks to ensure that lending supports good quality economic development".

China's bank regulator has already urged commercial banks to scrutinize borrowers to ensure loans aren't misused.

One factor that might inspire a rout in the market is the 3.2 trillion yuan of shares that will emerge from lock-up periods this year, a 53.1pc increase in value terms on the sum last year, according to the Chinese central bank. The People's Bank of China cautioned that the market would have to be watched closely for any impact.

Market opens positive on global cues

2009-06-26T01:20:00.000-07:00

The Sensex opened positive on global cues and continued to trade higher. Realty, oil & gas, capital goods and IT stocks moved up marginally, whereas healthcare declined.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap index rose 1.11% and 1.21% respectively.

Asian stocks rose as commodity prices jumped amid optimism the US recession may ease after the economy shrank less than expected in the first quarter. Japanese benchmark index Nikkei gained 65.18 points, or 0.67%, to trade at 9,861.10. Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index rose 216.77 points, or 1.16%, to trade at 18,488.96 and China`s Shanghai Composite declined 7.29 points, or 0.25%, to trade at 2,917.76. (10.05 a.m, IST).

European stocks declined led by banks, as the Federal Reserve disappointed investors by refraining from increasing bond purchases. UK`s benchmark index FTSE 100 fell 27.41 points, or 0.64%, to settle at 4,252.57. French benchmark index CAC 40 declined 21.66 points, or 0.68%, to end 3,163.10 and Germany`s benchmark index DAX lost 35.45 points, or 0.73%, to close at 4,800.56.

Indian stock market begun the day on a positive note after a fall of 0.53% on the previous working day. The 30-share index, BSE Sensex opened with a gain of 27.95 points, at 14,373.57 on Friday.

In the previous day session, the Sensex ended with a loss of 77.11 points, or 0.53%, while the NSE Nifty declined by 51.10 points, or 1.19%. The 30-share index, Sensex after losing 51.10 yesterday, opened on a flat note on Friday. It begun the day at 14,373.57 up 27.95 points from the previous day`s close

Currently, the 30-share index Sensex is trading up 164.19 points, or 1.14%, at 14,509.81, after touching a high of 14,515.55 and a low of 14,373.57. Meanwhile the broad based Nifty is trading higher by 47.80 points, or 1.13%, at 4,289.65, after hitting a high of 4,296.35 and a low of 4,243.95. (10.00 a.m.)

Overall market breadth is positive. Out of the total 939 stocks traded at BSE, 778 advanced, 140 declined while 21 remained unchanged.

Major gainers in the 30-share index were ICICI Bank (2.43%), DLF (2.31%), Wipro (2.26%), Sterlite Industries (India) (2.18%), Larsen & Toubro (2.13%), and NTPC (2.11%).

On the other hand, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (15.75%), Housing Development Finance Corporation (0.98%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (0.92%), Tata Steel (0.79%), Mahindra & Mahindra (0.37%), and Hindustan Unilever (0.10%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

KSE amends rules for OTC market

2009-06-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) has introduced amendments in its regulations governing “over the counter (OTC)” market.

KSE made the amendments with the prior approval of Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) under the sub-section (1) of Section 34 of the Securities & Exchange Ordinance 1969.

The amendments are as follows

i) the securities listed should be traded through KATS under T+2 settlement system or any other counter subject to the clearing and settlement procedures.

ii) The chairman of a listed company shall ensure that minutes of the meeting of the board of directors are appropriately recorded. The minutes of the meeting shall be circulated to directors and officers entitled to attend board meetings within 14 days of the date of the meeting.

iii) All listed companies shall ensure that second quarterly financial settlements are subjected to a limited scope review by the statutory auditors in such a manner and according to such terms and conditions as may be determined by Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan and approved by SECP.

iv) All listed companies shall in the form and manner specified by the commission ensure that annual audited financial statements are sent to every member of the company at least twenty-one days before the annual general meeting is to held to consider the same.

v) No listed company shall circulate its financial statements unless the CEO present the financial statements, duly endorsed under his respective signatures for consideration and approval of the board of directors and board after consideration and approval, authorize the signing of financial statements for the issuance and circulation. staff report

Oil higher in Asian trade, trading above 50 dollars

2009-04-09T00:08:00.000-07:00

SINGAPORE ( 2009-04-09 09:15:57 ) :Oil prices were higher in Asian trade Thursday, pushed up by a smaller-than-expected rise in US crude reserves, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for May delivery gained 70 cents to 50.08 dollars.

Brent North Sea crude for May delivery advanced 59 cents to 52.18 dollars.

Prices received a mild boost from the latest US energy report released Wednesday, which showed the country's crude stocks increased by a smaller margin than the industry had forecast, analysts said.

The weekly Department of Energy report showed crude reserves rose by 1.6 million barrels in the week ending April 3, lower than the gain of 1.9 million barrels that analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted.

"The increase in US crude oil inventories was less than some had feared," said David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

Oil prices are down significantly from record peaks of above 147 dollars reached in July last year, pulled down by worries about the global crisis, but Algeria's energy minister had an upbeat outlook.

"The global economy is starting to pick up, especially in the United States," Algeria's energy minister Chakib Khelil told AFP on Wednesday.

"A barrel could hover around 70 dollars between the end of 2009 and early 2010 and then rise to 80 dollars," he said.

ECC allows Indo-Pak trade though Wagah-Attari

2009-03-20T02:18:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Thursday allowed the Ministry of Commerce to start bilateral trade with India through the Wagah-Attari road link, a proposal that had been backed by President Asif Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a meeting in New York last September.

The ECC also permitted the Ministry of Commerce to increase the number of items traded between the two countries from the present 1938 in a phased manner commensurate with parallel development of infrastructure on both sides of the border.

Sources told Dawn the ECC, which met under the Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin here, also directed the Ministry of Petroleum to cut by half its demand of gas from the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline project.

Pakistan’s share from the project is 1.05billion cubic feet a day (bcfd), which would now be reduced to 500 million cubic feet a day because of the refusal of Iranian authorities to reduce the rate of gas.

The meeting was told Iran was not willing to bring down its demanded price of gas that is 80 per cent of the crude oil price in the international market to 68-70 per cent of crude as requested by Pakistan.

The Iranian authorities had clearly told their Pakistani counterparts that Iran had been selling the same gas to Turkey at 85 per cent of the crude oil prices and that they had brought down their demand by 5 per cent after getting special approval from their Parliament. But, the price could not be slashed further.

Sources said Mr Tarin came hard on the petroleum ministry’s official for showing sluggishness in harnessing the country’s coal potential for power generation and waiting only for imported gas and furnace oil. They said the advisor asked the officials to reduce their demand of gas from IPI, which would be too expensive to be afforded by domestic or industrial sectors. The gas can only be used for power generation.

The ECC allowed the petroleum ministry to import used refineries which are not old beyond 15 years and have the capacity of purifying 110,000 barrel of oil a day to be installed in Balochistan. The ECC also allowed a tax holiday of seven years on such refineries.

The committee authorised the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) to waive regulatory duty at the rate of 20 per cent on fried potato chips to be imported by international franchise food chains (IFFC) operating in the country.

A surveillance committee was constituted under the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture comprising representatives from relevant federal and provincial government organisations, local governments and concerned district coordination officers (DCOs) to control price hike at provincial and district levels.

The ECC reviewed key economic indicators (KEI) and overall price situation in the country and noted that overall consumer price index-based inflation has declined by 0.4 per cent during July 2008-February 2009. Foreign exchange reserves stood at $10.2 billion as on March 16 that included impact of the first tranche of the International Monitory Fund (IMF)’s approved financial package and other positive inflows. Inflationary pressures, the meeting was told, were likely to ease down in the next few months owing to sharp decline in commodity prices particularly petroleum products and palm oil.

Overall workers’ remittances during July 2008-February 2009 amounted to $4.918 billion showing an increase of 19.2 per cent. The ECC was informed that FBR had collected Rs702.5 billion during first eight months of the current financial year, posting an increase of 20 per cent over the same period of last year. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during (July-January, 2008-09) amounted to $2.587billion registering a healthy growth of 1.3 per cent compared with the same period of last year.

The committee also directed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to complete provision of required wheat tock to Sindh. It noted that existing sugar stock was reported to be around 2.553 million tones to supplement open market needs. It said 76 per cent of planned quantity of urea (570,007 million tones) had arrived whereas 24 per cent was due to reach at ports.

While reviewing the Ministry of Communication summary proposing leasing of right of way by the National Highways Authority (NHA) according to an approved leasing policy, the meeting directed the Communication Division to revisit the draft leasing policy, and constituted a Committee comprising Ministers for Information, Privatisation and representatives of Communication Division to technically/commercially examine the proposal and resubmit its recommendations to ECC for approval.

It deliberated on the Ministry of Petroleum’s summary seeking extension in Uch Gas Field Development and Production Lease earlier granted to the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) for a period of 25 years, and approved Uch-II Expansion Project for commitment of gas supply for 25 years from the start-up date in relaxation of Rule – 32 of Pakistan Petroleum Exploration and Production Rules – 1986. However, it advised the Petroleum and Natural Resources Division to seek prime minister’s approval for it as per the law.

The ECC considered the Ministry of Water and Power proposal for power transmission enhancement multi tranche facility project, based on an earlier agreement between the government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) seeking financing for a power transmission enhancement investment programme and approved ADB loans re-lending proposal to National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) at an interest rate of 12 per cent including exchange risk coverage.

A proposal of the Ministry of Finance for equity based investment abroad by resident Pakistanis comprising a request of M/s Educational Services Pvt Limited (ESL) to remit an amount of $17.5 million to its wholly-owned UK based subsidiary (ESL) titled New Silk Route UK was also approved.

The committee approval a food ministry proposal seeking government’s collaboration with M/s Monsanto USA in Bt Cotton Technology Transfer along with an action plan mutually agreed by all stakeholders. The food ministry was allowed enter into agreement Monsanto for implementation of a collaboration-based action plan that would lead to Bt. Cotton technology transfer.

ASEAN exchanges to develop electronic trading link

2009-02-25T10:37:00.001-08:00

MANILA: Five ASEAN exchanges, namely Bursa Malaysia Berhad, Indonesia Stock Exchange, Philippine Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange and The Stock Exchange of Thailand have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form an ASEAN electronic trading link to enhance the competitiveness of their capital markets.

This e-trading link, through one single access point, allows intra-ASEAN cross-border trading and will attract more international funds into ASEAN.

This initiative is clearly another important milestone for the ASEAN nations. Korn Chatikavanij, Thailand’s Finance Minister said, “This project will strengthen our regional financial stability by deepening regional capital markets and facilitating progressive liberalisation of our financial sector. A stronger, integrated and more competitive ASEAN is necessary to respond to the changing global landscape. Offering a single platform is a starting point to achieve our 2015 vision of a more integrated ASEAN capital market with harmonised rules, regulations and practices.”

Swiss banks deposits plummet in 2008

2009-02-25T10:31:00.000-08:00

GENEVA: The amount of money deposited in Swiss banks shrank by more than a quarter last year as the global financial crisis hit asset values and customers withdrew large sums amid concerns about probes into the offshore banking industry.

Figures released by the Swiss National Bank showed total deposits fell 27 per cent, or 1.41 trillion Swiss francs, to 3.82 trillion francs, their lowest since August 2005.

Deposits from foreign customers shrank by 882 billion francs, while Swiss customers had 531 billion francs deposited in their country's banks, according to the SNB's monthly statistical bulletin.

Foreign private customers saw the highest proportional drop in assets, 36 per cent or 371 billion francs, leaving only 671 billion francs worth of deposits in Swiss vaults.

That is the lowest deposit amount from foreign private customers since the end of 1998.

Deposits by foreign institutional customers dropped 23 per cent to 1,386 billion francs.

Domestic private customers had 417 billion francs deposited by the end of the year, 28 per cent less than in 2007.

Oil prices hold firm

2009-02-25T10:30:00.000-08:00

LONDON: Oil prices rose slightly on Tuesday after losses the previous day, but gains were capped by lingering demand concerns and sliding equity markets, analysts said.

Brent North Sea crude for April delivery added 52 cents to 41.51 dollars per barrel.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, gained 45 cents to 38.89 dollars a barrel.

"Demand concerns remain prevalent on the energy markets, so the upside continues to be limited and we could be in for more sideways trading," said VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.

Asian and European markets spiralled lower Tuesday after Wall Street had struck a near 12-year low overnight, as investors were unconvinced by Washington's bank rescue strategy, analysts said.

Tokyo shares dived to within striking distance of a 26-year trough after the rout in New York as investor worries grew over the banking sector. However, US stocks opened higher Tuesday on bargain hunting.

Crude futures had fallen Monday in tandem with global stocks amid gathering economic gloom and despite hints that oil cartel OPEC could cut output next month in a bid to boost prices.

"Oil prices weakened further yesterday due to renewed concerns over the health of the global economy," said analysts at energy consultancy John Hall Associates.

"Contracts moved downwards in line with equities -- a factor often cited as a secondary price driver -- given that they are a barometer of economic sentiment."

KSE plunges down after Sharif Brothers case verdict

2009-02-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

KARACHI: After Supreme Court’s verdict of declarating Sharif brothers ineligible, Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) witnessed bearish trend on Wednesday as benchmark 100-Index shed more than 200 points to plunged down to below 5800 points.

Intel's market share rises on AMD's problems

2009-02-05T12:14:00.001-08:00

Intel gained back some chip market share on the heels of Advanced Micro Devices' abysmal first quarter.

JP Morgan released a research note Tuesday containing market share data compiled by Mercury Research. Dean McCarron of Mercury confirmed the basic numbers, which had Intel's share soaring to 80.5 percent in the first quarter, from 74.4 percent in the previous quarter. AMD's share fell in similar proportions to 18.7 percent, compared with an all-time high of 25.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

But the numbers look worse than usual because AMD was forced to get rid of excess inventory in the fourth quarter, which provided plenty of chips for its customers in the first quarter that they would have otherwise had to buy directly from AMD during the quarter, McCarron said. Throw out the inventory problems and AMD's market share still declined, but probably only by 2 percentage points or so, he said.

That's not much comfort for AMD, however. The company is reeling from an awful quarter in which it posted a $611 million loss. AMD made huge strides against its much larger competitor from 2003 until last year, picking up share and winning new customers on the strength of its Opteron and Athlon 64 processors. But Intel is much more competitive these days with its Core 2 Duo processors, and has a significant lead in manufacturing technology as well.

AMD lost share in all the categories measured by Mercury's report: desktop, notebook and server processors based on the x86 instruction set. McCarron declined to confirm the exact numbers, but JP Morgan said that AMD lost eight points of desktop market share, seven points of server market share, and four points of notebook share. Mercury usually only provides that level of detail for its private subscribers, and its numbers reflect the number of processors sold into the distribution channel, not necessarily the number of systems sold using Intel or AMD chips.

The market as a whole declined a bit more from the fourth quarter to the first than the industry would normally expect, McCarron said. There's almost always a dip in shipments coming off the fourth quarter, which is the busiest period of the year. But this year it looks like server and PC sales are slowing down from the rapid growth posted over the last couple of years.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/Intels-market-share-rises-on-AMDs-problems/2100-1006_3-6178921.html

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2009-01-30T12:09:00.000-08:00

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Equities open lower, Sensex down 187 points

2008-12-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

Mumbai (IANS): Indian equities markets opened marginally lower on Friday and then slid into negative territory on weak global cues with a key index down 187 points some two hours into trading.

Two hours into trading, the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was ruling at 9,042.61, down 187.14 points or 2.03 per cent from its previous close on Thursday at 9,229.75 points.

The Sensex opened some 25 points lower at 9,204.69 points, hit a high of 9,340.69 before slipping to its current value.

The broader-based 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), also showed a similar trend and was ruling at 2740.50, down 47.5 points or 1.70 per cent from its previous close Thursday at 2788.00 points.

The BSE midcap index was ruling at 2,909.65, down 13.15 points or 0.45 per cent from its previous close Thursday at 2,922.80 points.

The BSE smallcap index was, however, still in the green and was ruling at 3,333.27, up 1.47 points or 0.04 per cent from its previous close Thursday at 3,331.80 points.

Overnight U.S. markets closed in the red with a key index of the New York Stock Exchange finishing 3.21 per cent lower. The Nasdaq index closed 3.14 per cent lower than its previous close Wednesday.

Asian markets were mixed with the Nikkei, key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange ruling 0.08 per cent lower but the Hang Seng, key index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was showing gains of 1.93 per cent.

The underlying sentiment is still very much negative and so despite the surge Thursday, markets are again in a bear grip, analysts said.

SOurce: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200812051213.htm

Global Stocks Slide On Jobs Data; Oil Slides

2008-12-05T11:53:00.000-08:00

Investors in Europe dumped stocks and dove into less risky fixed income securities, pushing a pan-European stock index down 4 percent.

U.S. and European stocks fell on Friday after steep losses in the U.S. labor market sent bond prices higher in Europe and pushed the price of crude below $41 a barrel as the outlook for the global economy darkened.
Investors in Europe dumped stocks and dove into less risky fixed income securities, pushing a pan-European stock index down 4 percent, as investors reeled from data showing 533,000 Americans lost jobs in November, the biggest drop in 34 years.

Oil prices slid more than 5 percent to a four-year low while the dollar climbed against European currencies and the yen rallied on another flight to quality in the face of a U.S. recession that looms as the deepest since 1981.

"Just when you thought that the U.S. economic outlook couldn't get any uglier, it goes ahead and does," said Meny Grauman, an economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto.

Stocks sold off broadly as investors feared the job losses will cause consumers to cut back spending and sharply reduce corporate earnings.

The energy sector was the biggest casualty on both sides of the Atlantic. Exxon Mobil fell 3.8 percent and Chevron dropped 2.4 percent, the Nos 1 and 3 drags on the Dow. Total slumped 8.9 percent and BP 6.6 percent, the biggest drags on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index.

Banks also were among the biggest drags in Europe, with BNP Paribas falling 7.5 percent and Credit Suisse dropping 5.5 percent.

"When you see such a shocking employment number, you realize the devastating effect that can have on household demand," said Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Stockbrokers in London.

In early afternoon New York trade, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 88.01 points, or 1.05 percent, at 8,288.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 7.67 points, or 0.91 percent, at 837.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 7.36 points, or 0.51 percent, at 1,438.20.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index closed down 4 percent at 793.94 points, and has lost about half its value so far this year.

Euro zone government bond futures rose, pushing the 10-year cash yield below 3 percent and near Thursday's trough of 2.939 percent, the lowest in over 30 years.

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent in November -- dramatic news that would normally touch off a flurry of safe-haven buying of debt.

But with 10-year euro zone and U.S. yields -- which move in the opposite direction to their prices -- near historic lows, analysts said the near term risk was for market momentum to run out of steam, as a fall in U.S. bonds would suggest.

Investors are reluctant to buy U.S. government debt with yields hovering off their the lowest level in over 50 years.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 11/32 in price to yield 2.59 percent. The 2-year U.S. Treasury note was off 4/32 to yield 0.87 percent.

"We're already at (yield) levels we've never seen before. It's just difficult to continue buying Treasuries at these prices," said Kim Rupert, managing director of global fixed income analysis at Action Economics in San Francisco.

November's job losses were the steepest since December 1974, when 602,000 jobs were shed, Labor Department data showed, and were much worse than forecast by analysts polled by Reuters who had predicted a reduction of 340,000 jobs.

The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.77 percent at 87.282. Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.05 percent to 92.12.

The euro fell 0.80 percent at $1.2668.

U.S. light sweet crude oil fell $1.96 to $41.71 a barrel.

Many dealers and analysts expect oil prices to soon test the psychologically important $40 level as evidence mounts of a significant decline in oil demand in developed economies.

Spot gold prices fell $15.15 to $750.50 an ounce.

Asian shares edged higher overnight, with the MSCI index of Asian shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rising 0.2 percent, but trimmed gains to trade lower after the U.S. employment report. The Nikkei average <.N225> fell 0.1 percent.

Source: http://www.javno.com/en/economy/clanak.php?id=211595

Closing Stock Market Indices Outside The U.S.

2008-12-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

Here is how major stock markets outside the United States ended on Friday.

LONDON - Britain's top share index closed 2.7 percent lower, with energy stocks and miners the heaviest losers as the sharpest monthly jobs fall in the U.S. since 1974 highlighted the bleak demand outlook for commodities.

The FTSE 100 closed 114.24 points lower at 4,049.37. The index is down 238.64 points or 5.6 percent this week, and 37.3 percent this year.

EUROPE - European stocks slid more than 4 percent, as investors on both sides of the Atlantic reeled at grim U.S. unemployment data, and with oils and bank stocks leading the decline.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 3.96 percent at 793.94 points, dropping 68.13 points in the week.

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 4381.47 points, down 182.76 or 4.00 percent on the day, and dropping 287.97 over the week.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 2988.01 points, down 173.15 or 5.48 percent, shedding 274.67 points since last week.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 5530.84 points, down 118.3 or 2.09 percent, dumping 285.76 points since Monday.

MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 14123 points, down 702 or 4.74 percent, losing 1,401 points in the week.

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average edged down 0.1 percent as Mizuho Financial and other banks fell on fears about the potential fallout if big U.S. automakers file for bankruptcy, while investors were cautious before key U.S. jobs data.

The Nikkei fell 7 percent, or 594.76 points, on the week and has lost some 48 percent on the year. It shed 6.73 points to close at 7,917.51.

HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares rose 2.5 percent, as Chinese property and financial stocks rallied on talk Beijing may further ease key interest rates and cut reserve requirements on bank deposits to spur the economy.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 336.31 points at 13,846.09. For the week, the index was down 0.3 percent, or 42.15 points.

SYDNEY - Australian shares fell 1.2 percent as sharp falls in oil and metals prices weighed down on commodity stocks such as BHP Billiton, but coal miner Felix Resources jumped on a possible takeover offer.

The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 42.5 points to close at 3,489.9, The index lost 6.8 percent, or 252.6 points, over the week, after logging its biggest weekly gain ever last week.

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand weakened against the dollar as negative U.S. jobs data raised risk aversion and local stocks also took hammering, shaken by weaker mining shares and lower global equities.

The All-share index fell 2.63 percent to 19,279.79 points, shedding 521.14 points on the day and a total of 1,929.70 over the week. The All Gold index closed at 1951.11 points, down 31.26 or 1.58 percent, and worse off by 40.72 points since last weekend. The Industrial index closed at 15387.33 points, down 323.64 or 2.06 percent, and 911.15 points down on the week.

Source: http://www.javno.com/en/economy/clanak.php?id=211579

For IRA Investors, a Stock-Market Alternative: High-Yielding Notes Secured by Real Estate

2008-11-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

DENVER, CO, Nov 19, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Real estate investing in Individual Retirement Accounts will be the focus of a friendly, live Web event, open to all, as two Colorado companies collaborate to shed light on a safe and high-yielding alternative to the rollercoaster ride of financial markets.
The IRA-Real Estate Investing Webinar is set for Nov. 20 from 4-5 p.m. MST. Individual questions will be answered. Register in advance at www.newdirectionira.com or www.cmyatescapital.com.
Denver real estate entrepreneur Christopher Yates, president of CM Yates, Inc., will explain how to invest in notes secured by the deeds of trust of income properties throughout Denver. Credit partners in the firm's Private Lender program get an initial upfront bonus of 1 to 4 percent, followed by expected annual gains ranging from 12 to 15 percent. The minimum investment is $10,000.
Real estate represents a way for people to invest safely in their self-directed IRAs and diversify their holdings, said Bill Humphrey, principal officer at Entrust New Direction IRA. The Lafayette, Colo.-based firm will co-host and record the Nov. 20 Web event with Yates. An Entrust expert will outline a wide range of legally permissible IRA investing options that go beyond traditional stocks and bonds.
"It surprises a lot of people, but we have IRA clients who invest in all kinds of real estate including golf courses, motels, and marinas," said Humphrey. Also common are financial instruments secured by real estate such as those offered by CM Yates.
Entrust New Direction IRA is one of 30 affiliates of The Entrust Group, founded by tax expert and author Hubert Bromma. The firm assists clients in establishing self-directed IRAs and company-wide 401(k) plans. It provides education in investment alternatives but it does not sell specific investments or investment advice.
CM Yates, led by Christopher Yates, offers investments not only in high-yielding notes, but in individual residential properties. The company buys about 10 Denver properties per month. It specializes in acquiring foreclosure homes at steep discounts to prevailing market values. While some are offered for sale, most become part of the company's growing, incoming-producing portfolio.
Yates has been featured in national and international media. Personal Real Estate Investor magazine (November/December 2008 issue) praises his creative financing strategies in a feature titled "Assured Returns by the Numbers." A recent interview at MSNBC.com reports his views on the U.S. real estate market ( www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27518326). His expertise was sought and recently published by a prominent Russian real estate journal ( www.prodevelopment.ru/news/2321).
"Home values seem to have stabilized in certain parts of the country including Denver," said Yates. "But investing in individual properties is too tricky and time-consuming for most people. Our Private Lender program gives them a way to participate in the upside of an improving market with none of the hassles."
"That program offers exceptional out-of-the-box simplicity," said Humphrey, who has handled hundreds of real estate transactions in his Entrust office. Others are often much more complicated. To avoid losing the tax advantages of an IRA, investors must do a lot of things by the book. For example, a purchase offer must be submitted formally by the IRA, not personally by the account owner.
A self-directed IRA must be opened and administered properly by an IRS-approved custodian such as Entrust New Direction IRA. The company strives to simplify a process fraught with perilous legal and tax consequences, according to Humphrey. Like its Webinar co-sponsor, CM Yates, Inc., he said, Entrust aims ultimately to empower individual investors to succeed.
The IRA-Real Estate Investing Webinar is set for Nov. 20 from 4-5 p.m. MST. Individual questions will be answered. Register in advance at www.newdirectionIRA.com or www.cmyatescapital.com.
Disclaimer: This investment is not a security. Information provided herein is not for the purpose of soliciting a security under State or Federal regulations. This information is intended to provide alternatives to stock market investments to private investors, but it is not intended to be a solicitation of a security under SEC rules and definitions. This is intended to be a private borrowing transaction.
CONTACTS:

Bill Humphrey
Entrust New Direction IRA, Inc.
303-546-7930

Christopher Yates
CM Yates, Inc.
720-279-1260

SOURCE: CM Yates, Inc.
Copyright 2008 Market Wire, All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/For-IRA-Investors-a-Stock/story.aspx?guid=%7BC6B3B132-70EA-4102-B5E2-4089A6F42B00%7D

MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Fall Steeply As Financial Sector Weighs

2008-11-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

U.S. stocks declined Wednesday after the biggest-ever drop in consumer prices and another gloomy housing report offered little cheer to investors already fretting about the fate of the Big Three automakers.

After climbing in and out of positive and negative turf, the major stock indexes fell decisively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) slid 210.43 points, or 2.5%, to 8,214.32, with 28 of its 30 components trading lower.

Shares of General Motors Corp. (GM) paced the blue chips' decline, down 17.5%.

The chief executives of GM, Ford Motor Co. (F) and Chrysler returned to Capitol Hill for a second day to make their case for the government extending a bridge loan to their ailing industry.

"If one or more of the auto manufacturers were allowed to fail, it would likely bring additional volatility to credit, equity and foreign-exchange markets," said Alex Meister, currency analyst at Wachovia Corp.

The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 28.99 points, or 3.4%, to 830.13, and the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) dropped 50.88 points, or 3.4%, to 1,432.39.

Financial shares fronted the losses, with shares of some of the nation's top life insurers shedding value on worries about their capital conditions as well as the status of their applications for investment from the federal government. .

Rivals Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) and Hartford Financial Services (HIG) were both slammed, with Lincoln National off 34.5% and Hartford Financial off 28.6%.

Both insurers have applied to the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision to acquire individual S&Ls as a way of getting large capital infusions from the Treasury Department's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 557 million, and for every stock on the rise, nine were declining. On the Nasdaq, nearly 390 million shares traded, and decliners topped advancers more than 5 to 1.

The dollar gained, with an index (DXY) comparing the greenback against other major currencies up to 87.38 from 87.114 in late Tuesday trade. .

Oil dropped as U.S. inventory supplies increased, with crude for December delivery falling 37 cents to $54.02 a barrel. .

In other trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures climbed, with the contract for December up $3.2 to $735.9 an ounce. .

Demand for gold coins and bars increased in recent months, even as gold futures fell far from record highs above $1,000 an ounce hit in March, according to a industry report. .

Data clouds

Earlier in the day, the Labor Department reported consumer prices dipped a record 1% in October, driven by an 8.6% drop in energy costs. .

"There's no relief in the beleaguered housing market," analysts at Action Economics said of the Commerce Department's estimate that new home construction fell to a record low in October.

And in a related report, the Mortgage Bankers Association said mortgage applications fell a seasonally adjusted 6.2% last week from the prior one, as lower interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages failed to stir prospective home buyers.

In comments early Wednesday, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said regulation is the best means of preventing another financial crisis.

At 2 p.m. EST, the Fed is slated to release the minutes from its last meeting at which the central bank cut rates by half a percentage point, with futures pricing in another cut of this size in December.

European stocks also fell, with banks getting hit for a third straight session.

In Asia, stocks closed mostly lower. .

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks ended higher after a run-up in the final hour of trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average striking its third advance in 10 sessions.

At Tuesday's close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9.65% in November, according to a preliminary report from the Dow Jones Indexes. Year-to- date, the blue-chip index was down 36.49%.

Source: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djhighlights/200811191245DOWJONESDJONLINE000750.htm

Oil falls below $54 a barrel

2008-11-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Oil prices slipped further Wednesday, dipping below $54 on fears of global economic weakness that have sent crude down more than 60 percent in four months.

But analysts suggested that prices might be bottoming out as they moved closer to the psychologically significant $50 mark.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery was down 77 cents at $53.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by the afternoon in Europe. The contract Tuesday fell 56 cents to settle at $54.39, the lowest since January 2007.

"Market sentiment is still bearish, but not as bearish as a week ago," said Clarence Chu, a trader with market maker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. "Volatility has come down and the market is consolidating a bit."

Stock markets have served for the past few months as a barometer of investor perceptions about the health of the global economy. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.8 percent Tuesday as Hewlett-Packard Co. said fourth quarter and 2009 results will exceed analyst expectations.

Most Asian stocks, however, fell Wednesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index fell 0.7 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.5 percent and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 1.9 percent. European markets also opened lower.

Oil investors have already priced in a recession in developed countries and only evidence of an especially severe or prolonged slowdown may push prices down further, Chu said.

Prices have fallen 63 percent since reaching a record $147.27 a barrel in mid-July.

"I don't see oil falling below $50," Chu said. "It should be above $60 in a couple weeks."

Investors will be watching for signs of slowing U.S. demand in the weekly oil inventories report to be released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.

The report is expected to show that oil stocks rose 1.2 million barrels last week, according to the average of estimates in a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

The Platts survey also projects that gasoline inventories rose 700,000 million barrels and distillates increased 900,000 barrels last week.

Trader and analyst Stephen Schork noted that past report patterns reflected supply outstripping demand.

"Over the last six reports stocks have bounced back by 7 1/2 percent," he wrote in his Schork Report. "Meanwhile, year-on-year demand for total oil products fell for the 41st week (out of 45) this year, i.e. 10 out of every 11 weeks."

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is holding an informal meeting later this month ahead of an official meeting next month. OPEC President Chakib Khelil has signaled the group may announce production cuts at the December meeting, but some members, such as Iran, have called for earlier cuts.

"Expect crude to nudge near $50 with moves below sure to inspire strong statements and calls for an early meeting by the hawkish OPEC members," brokerage Kim Eng said in a report.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures were slipped 1.51 cents to $1.1217 a gallon. Heating oil was unchanged at $1.7579, a gallon while natural gas for December delivery rose 2.8 cents to $6.544 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, January Brent crude fell 56 cents to $51.28 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i5TtajgUpSm7KY5jf-lCJGHBB-tAD94I20M00

Suzuki to buy back GM's 3 percent stake for $230 million

2008-11-17T12:14:00.000-08:00

TOKYO, Nov 17, 2008 (Kyodo News International - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- SZKMF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Suzuki Motor Corp. said Monday it has agreed to buy back General Motors Corp.'s 3.02 percent stake in the Japanese automaker for 22.37 billion yen ($230 million) as the struggling U.S. auto giant is seeking to raise cash.

With the sale, GM, which used to own shares in Isuzu Motors Ltd.

and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. in addition to Suzuki, will break all of its capital ties with Japanese automakers.

GM will sell the whole stake, equivalent to 16.41 million shares, on the stock market Tuesday and the Shizuoka Prefecture-based automaker will buy back all of the shares the same day, Suzuki said.

Suzuki's purchase, to be made through the Tokyo Stock Exchange's ToSTNeT-2 system for purchasing treasury stock, will be implemented at 1,363 yen per share, the closing quote for Suzuki stock on the TSE's First Section on Monday, it said.

Suzuki Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Osamu Suzuki said in a press release that the automaker decided to agree to GM's request because "this particular step to sell the shares it owns as a step toward strengthening its balance sheet is very understandable." Suzuki said he agreed in a telephone conversation with GM Chairman Rick Wagoner that the two automakers will continue a range of joint projects they have been implementing.

Suzuki said he and Wagoner confirmed "that all individual initiatives will be pursued as they are today." On Nov. 7, GM said in a statement that it had suffered a net loss of $2,542 million (250 billion yen) in the July-September quarter, attributing the poor performance to the impact of the "unprecedented economic and credit market turmoil." A Suzuki official said that "all individual initiatives" that the automaker's president referred to include joint development of hybrid vehicles and fuel cells as well as development of power trains.

Suzuki and GM have been cooperating under tie-up arrangements entered in 1981.

The Japanese automaker said the planned sale by GM of the Suzuki shares has been approved by the carmakers' respective boards.

Major U.S. automakers including GM and Ford Motor Co. have reported huge net losses, prompting President-elect Barack Obama to pledge to do all he can to turn around the ailing U.S. auto industry.

Obama, in his first media appearance in Chicago since the presidential election, said the auto industry's hardship "goes far beyond individual auto companies to the countless suppliers, small businesses and communities throughout our nation who depend on a vibrant American auto industry." Wagoner said in the Nov. 7 statement, "Consumer spending, which represents close to 70 percent of the U.S. economy, fell dramatically, and the abrupt closure of credit markets created a downward spiral in vehicle sales." U.S. congressional efforts to enact legislation to reinvigorate the automakers will shift to top gear in the coming months, industry watchers said.

To see more of Kyodo News International, go to http://www.kyodonews.com Copyright (c) 2008, Kyodo News International, Tokyo Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Source: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2029693/

US Market Update

2008-11-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

US indices opened weaker this morning, weighed down by confirmed large job cuts at Citigroup, a gloomy outlook from the Philly Fed and soft Empire manufacturing data. Traders are fretting over the Philly Fed survey is particular, as it indicates a Q4 GDP figure of -2.9%, well below its prior view of +0.7%. The survey noted that the US recession began last April and was expected to last about 14 months. The dark outlook has kept the pressure on Treasury yields. The 10-year note future has rallied half a point sending the cash yield back below 3.7%. Front-month NYMEX crude traded up towards $59 after reports that a Saudi oil tanker was hijacked off Somalia, but has since drifted back into negative territory. Adding to the uncertainty this morning, Senate Democrats plan to introduce legislation today to direct part of the TARP to help prop up the Big Three automakers.

- Citigroup fulfilled expectations for big job cuts at its company-wide town hall meeting this morning, while rumors are circulating that the board is discussing a plan to break the group into several companies. Reports on Friday and over the weekend anticipating cuts of around 10,000 jobs, while just ahead of the meeting CNBC's Charlie Gasparino bid this figure up to around 50,000 jobs, or 14% of the banking giant's global workforce. In the event, CEO Pandit said that the bank's near-term headcount target is about 300K, down from 352K employees on Sept 30. Pandit reiterated the usual boilerplate, noting that "revenues are strong, the underlying business remains solid" and that Citi has a "very strong capital position." Rival Goldman Sachs's seven top executives, including the CEO, pledged to give up their bonuses for 2008. In the meantime, a Sanford Bernstein analyst lowers his FY08 EPS target for Goldman to $8.92 from $11.65. CIT launched its exchange offers for notes and equity units in connection with its application to become a bank holding company. Citgroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are all trading down 5-6%.

- Retail powerhouses Lowe's and Target released their third-quarter results before the open. LOW came in ahead of earnings and revenue estimates, and guided earnings for the full year in line with consensus. Lowe's CEO expects pressure on the home improvement retailing sector to continue into 2009, although he believes that housing turnover seems to be bottoming. TGT met consensus EPS targets, missed revenue estimates by a hair and suspended its stock buyback program. The company's credit card profitability fell 83% to $35M v $202M y/y, due to a decline in overall portfolio performance, reduced investment in the portfolio, and a decrease in interest rates. LOW+9% is surging while TGT is well off its best levels in negative territory. In other equity news, price targets for smartphone rivals AAPL and RIMM were both cut at Barclays, while Merrill cut its FY09 and FY10 earnings estimates for AAPL on declining Mac and iPod sales growth. Las Vegas Sands said that it believes it has resolved the “substantial doubt about its ability to run as going concern” via its recent $2.1B capital raise.

- It appears that European governments are looking to aid the struggling auto manufacturing industry, including GM, after the White House stressed again that it opposes drawing funds from TARP for US automakers. A German government spokesperson said that Germany would do “everything in its power” to aid GM's European subsidiary Opel. The German state of Hesse raised its OPEL guarantee to €500M. Automakers with operations in the UK said they would ask the government for assistance. Back in the USA, the president of the UAW said the auto industry cannot survive at current sales levels and warned that the bankruptcy of one automaker could bring down others. Speaking of bankruptcy, the New York Times reported overnight that it believes foreign automakers would pick up the slack if a US car maker goes into bankruptcy, noting that if one or more of Detroit's Big Three declared Chapter 11 it would put a huge initial dent in American manufacturing but in time foreign car companies would pick up the slack by stepping up production at plants in the US. All this comes after Nikkei reported that it expects Japanese domestic car production to decline for the first time since 2003 and Toyota told a local Japanese paper that it is set to announce 2009 production cuts of around 7%.

- The greenback was weaker against the European pairs on a combination of recent- profit taking and higher crude prices. GBP/USD rose over 350+ pips as dealers noted good interest from far eastern names from the start of the European session. GBP/JPY is firmer by 400+ pips above 145.00. EUR/GBP surrendered its all-time highs of 0.8660 from last week to move back toward the 0.84 handle. The profit-taking theme was reinforced after ECB's hawk Weber noted that Euro Zone CPI provided leeway for monetary policy easing and added that he did not rule out further interest rate cuts. Other ECB members reiterated that view today, but noted the final decision would not be made until after the receipt of the new ECB staff projection figures. Commodity related currencies firmed up on higher energy prices.

Source: http://forexdistrict.com/node/4570

U.S. Stocks Rise on Rate Speculation; Exxon, Alcoa Shares Rally

2008-11-08T01:22:00.001-08:00

Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose for the first time in three days as investors speculated the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates after unemployment surged, General Motors Corp. warned it is running out of cash and pending home sales dropped.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the biggest oil company, climbed 6.3 percent and Alcoa Inc., the nation's largest aluminum producer, rallied 9.1 percent as traders bet the Fed will cut the benchmark rate to 0.5 percent at its meeting on Dec. 16. GM, the biggest automaker, lost 9.2 percent. U.S. stock indexes briefly pared gains in the final hour of trading after Barack Obama said there is no quick fix for the economy.

``It's definitely to the point where bad news is good news,'' said Robert Morgan, equity strategist for Clermont Wealth Strategies, which oversees $4 billion in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. ``Investors are starting to realize this can't go on forever. From a technical standpoint, stocks have been building a base for several weeks now.''

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 26.11 points, or 2.9 percent, to 930.99. The gauge trimmed its weekly decline to 3.9 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 248.02, or 2.9 percent, to 8,943.81 after losing almost 10 percent in the previous two days. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 2.4 percent to 1,647.4. Three stocks advanced for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Dow and S&P 500 recovered after the steepest two-day declines since 1987 wiped out more than half of the market's rebound from a five-year low on Oct. 27. The S&P 500 slumped 37 percent this year on concern almost $700 billion in credit losses and writedowns at financial firms worldwide will push the global economy into recession.

Rising Unemployment

The U.S. jobless rate climbed in October to 6.5 percent, the highest level since 1994, and payrolls dropped by 240,000 workers, signaling the economic slump inherited by Barack Obama will last well into his first year as president.

``I've seen estimates as high as a loss of 300,000, so anywhere between 200,000 and 300,000'' met projections, Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York, said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

Futures on the Chicago Board of Trade showed an 95 percent chance the Fed will cut its 1 percent target rate for overnight lending between banks in half at its Dec. 16 meeting, compared with 55 percent odds a week ago.

Energy, Utility Gains

Further action is needed to boost the economy because there is no quick fix to restore growth, said Obama, the president elect. Obama said a stimulus package will ``be the first thing I get done'' in office if Congress doesn't act by year end.

``He is speaking practically,'' said Peter Kenny, a managing director for institutional sales at Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City, New Jersey. ``But the buildup around his personality is so great and the expectations are so unreasonable that his biggest issue is going to get people to understand that he not a superhero.''

Energy companies and utilities led the S&P 500's advance, gaining more than 4.8 percent. Oil, which climbed as much as 3.4 percent today, closed 0.4 percent higher at $61.04 a barrel in New York. It had fallen 13 percent in the previous two days.

Exxon added $4.39 to $73.95. Chevron Corp. rallied 4.8 percent to $73.46. Consol Energy Inc., the No. 3 U.S. coal producer, advanced 10 percent for the biggest gain among S&P 500 energy producers.

AES Corp. jumped 28 percent to $8.48, the most in the benchmark stock index. Merrill Lynch & Co. analysts said shares of the U.S. power producer are cheap and raised their rating to ``neutral'' from ``underperform.''

Alcoa, Nvidia Advance

Alcoa added 93 cents to $11.19, helping lead S&P 500 raw- materials producers to 3.6 percent gain.

Nvidia Corp. increased 14 percent to $8.72. The company reported third-quarter profit and revenue that beat analysts' estimates after job cuts and a new contract with Apple Inc. helped cushion the impact of the economic slowdown.

Fluor Corp. climbed 21 percent to $41.03, the steepest advance in at least eight years. The largest publicly traded U.S. engineering firm reported quarterly profit above the average analyst estimate as it won contracts for work on a solar panel plant in Singapore and refinery in Indiana.

GM sank 9.2 percent to $4.36. The largest U.S. automaker, seeking federal aid to avoid collapse, said it may not have enough cash to keep operating this year and will fall ``significantly short'' of the amount needed by the end of June unless the auto market improves or it raises more capital.

Recession Official

The leader of a National Bureau of Economic Research panel that dates economic cycles said there is now no doubt that a recession is under way following today's jobs report. Robert Hall, a Stanford University economist, said the committee is waiting to determine the exact start date of a contraction. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based bureau is the official arbiter of when U.S. expansions begin and end.

The U.S. economy shrank for the first time since 2001 a year ago and contracted again last quarter after the drop in housing prices froze credit markets globally. President George W. Bush authorized more than $1 trillion in spending to bail out banks.

Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy previously owned homes in September, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors today. The index of signed purchase agreements, or pending home resales, fell 4.6 percent, more than forecast, to 89.2, the industry group said in Washington.

`Priced In'

``A fair amount of the negativity from the economic backdrop has been priced in to the market,'' Michael James, managing director at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles, said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

About $6.9 trillion has been erased from U.S. equity markets this year. Banks led the S&P 500's drop, losing 51 percent as a group, followed by commodities producers and computer companies.

Analysts expect full-year profits at companies in the S&P 500 to drop 8.5 percent, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Wells Fargo & Co. fell 2.5 percent to $29.50 as the biggest bank on the U.S. West Coast raised $11 billion in a stock sale to help pay for its purchase of Wachovia Corp. and signaled banks may be able to tap the public markets for cash.

Yahoo! Inc. lost 13 percent to $12.20 after Microsoft Corp. said it has no interest in buying the search engine operator.

Sprint Nextel Corp. declined 8.4 percent to $3.37. The wireless carrier, whose shares fell 74 percent this year, reported quarterly results below analysts' estimates as customer losses accelerated to the highest level since at least 2005.

The Russell 2000 Index of small U.S. companies rose 2 percent to 505.79. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed markets increased 1.3 percent to 937.47.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2ty08BahcZQ&refer=home

Stocks Higher after Jobs, Inventory Data

2008-11-08T01:19:00.000-08:00

Investors weighed news that the U.S. economy lost 240,000 jobs and the unemployment rate jumped to 6.5% in October, and that wholesale inventories fell 0.1% in September .

US stocks moved solidly higher Friday as a weak jobs report failed to prevent a rebound from steep declines earlier in the week.

Some observers argue that Friday's release of the U.S. employment report for October, which showed nonfarm payrolls falling by a greater than expected 240,000 on the month, suggests the U.S. economy is headed toward a deep recession and will force the Federal Reserve to cut rates again.

Traders also eyed a report on September wholesale inventories, which fell 0.1%.

President-elect Barack Obama met with economic transition team members Friday morning and held a news conference.

Regarding the economic crisis, Obama said, "I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead." He added: "Immediately after I become president I will confront this economic crisis head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity."

Obama, who takes office Jan. 20, made clear that "the United States has only one government and one president at a time."

European stocks were higher, with major indexes in London, Frankfurt, and Paris each posting gains. Asian markets finished mixed, with Tokyo stocks down 3.55%, Hong Kong up 3.29%, and Shanghai higher by 1.75%.

On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average finished higher by 248.02 points, or 2.85%, to 8,943.81. The broader S&P 500 index added 26.11 points, or 2.89%, to 930.99. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 38.7 points, or 2.41%, to 1,647.40.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 21 stocks were higher for every nine that declined. The ratio on the Nasdaq was 17-10 positive. Trading was slow, which "suggests Wall Street [is] not convinced the market has reached bottom," says S&P MarketScope.

Friday's gains followed two steep declines on Wednesday and Thursday. The Dow shed 4.85% Thursday after a 5.05% loss Wednesday. The broader S&P 500 index lost 5.03% Thursday following Wednesday's 5.27% decline. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 5.53% and 4.34% on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls plunged 240,000 in October. The headline figure was below market expectations for a 190,000 drop. However, Wednesday's ADP private payrolls report added downside risk. Moreover, this comes after a big downward net revision of -179,000 the two months prior (September was revised to -284,000 from -159,000, and August was revised to -127,000 from -73,000). The unemployment rate jumped to 6.5% in October from 6.1% in September, which is the highest since March 1994. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2%, the same as in September. The workweek held at 33.6 hours. Goods producing jobs were down 132,000, with construction down 49,000, and manufacturing down 90,000. Service providing jobs lost 108,000. Only health services, mining and the government posted gains.

U.S. wholesale sales fell 1.5% in September, after a revised 1.6% decline in August (-1.0% previously). Inventories dipped 0.1% after rising 0.6% in August (0.8% previously). Petroleum sales declined 3.6%; excluding petroleum, sales were still down 1.1%. Inventories excluding petroleum rose 0.1%. The inventory-sales ratio inched up to 1.12 from 1.10 in August; it was a lean 1.06 in June.

Atlanta Fed President Lockhart spoke on the U.S. economy Friday, warning of trouble ahead. "I foresee substantial weakness at least through the first half of 2009. This weakness will exacerbate the employment picture, he said. Market conditions may have eased recently, but it's too early to declare the financial crisis over, he said.

Reuters reported European leaders will propose a new global financial framework after the IMF warned the world's richest economies face their first year of contraction since World War II. South Korea lowered interest rates by 25 basis points, its third cut in a month, after a deep rate cut by Britain and one by the European Central Bank on Thursday. Central banks around the world have stopped worrying about inflation and are reducing borrowing costs to try to prevent the global financial crisis from turning into a deep downturn.

There was more troubling news from the U.S. auto sector Friday. General Motors (GM) reported a third quarter loss of $7.43 a share, with a $2.8 billion loss for the automotive unit and a $1.7 billion loss for GMAC. GM anticipates weakness through 2009 as the slowdown spreads around the globe, with liquidity also in jeopardy, draining cash at a rate which will approach the minimum to sustain the business even if preventative actions on its liquidity are implemented.

Ford Motor Co. (F) posted a deeper-than-expected $2.98 billion quarterly operating loss and told investors it would take aggressive actions to further cut costs as it faces a severe slump in demand. Weak demand for autos is being felt around the world. Ford said it depleted its cash by $7.7 billion -- almost 30% -- during the quarter as it had to pay costs related to production cuts and make upfront payments to Ford Credit in an effort to spur consumers to buy automobiles. Ford told investors that it would look to cut salary expenses by 10%, a move that follows a 15% cut earlier this year.

Dire problems in the auto sector are landing squarely in the lap of the President-elect, with remedies mulled from cash infusions from TARP and government stakeholding to outright bankruptcy filings and/or mergers, says Action Economics.

According to a newswire report, Microsoft (MSFT) dismissed speculation that it might still be interested in a takeover of Yahoo (YHOO). "We made an offer, we made another offer... We have moved on," Micfrosoft CEO Steve Balmer reportedly said.

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) posted lower-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter EPS of 43 cents, vs. 42 cents one year earlier (both excluding items), on a 6% revenue rise. The company noted the higher cost of labor and other items. Wall Street Street was looking for EPS of 49 cents.

Genworth Financial (GNW) reported third quarter net operating EPS of 51 cents, vs. 83 cents one year earlier, on a 25% total revenue decline. The company suspended its quarterly dividend. It also suspends 2008 earnings guidance. Genworth says it is evaluating several additional capital flexibility alternatives, including potential asset sales.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/nov2008/pi2008117_295307.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_investing

Asian stock markets rebound from early lows

2008-11-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stock markets turned in a mixed performance Friday, but most recoiled from their lows despite a grim profit forecast from Toyota and sluggish U.S. economic data. European markets opened higher.

Many of Asia's bourses showed surprising resilience — notably in Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore — given the overnight drop on Wall Street, as lower-priced shares attracted buyers and lending markets showed more signs of mending.

"The expectation was to open much lower following the trouncing in the U.S.," said Benjamin Collett, head of hedge fund sales trading Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, down over 3 percent early in the session, came back to end 3.3 percent higher at 14,243.43. Analysts pointed to an interest rate cut by leading bank HSBC Holdings Inc. — the result of recent softening in interbank rates amid persistent liquidity injections from central bankers — as a major catalyst.

South Korea's main stock index rebounded from a 4.9 percent fall to close 3.9 percent higher after the country's central bank cut interest rates by a quarter of a point — the third cut in less than a month — in a bid to boost an economy hammered by the global financial crisis.

The move followed interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England overnight.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average pared its early 7 percent loss to close down 316.14 points, or 3.6 percent, to 8,583. Investor sentiment took a hit after Japan's top automaker Toyota slashed its annual forecast to a third of what it was a year ago. Its shares plunged 9.2 percent.

Early in Europe, benchmarks in Germany, France and Britain were up 1 percent or more in early trading.

In New York on Thursday, Wall Street's stock indexes plunged more than 4 percent on widespread anxiety about the economy after computer gear maker Cisco Systems warned of easing demand and retailers reported weak sales for October. A jump in unemployment benefits aggravated concerns.

"We're seeing data every day that looks really bad," said Nicole Sze, Singapore-based investment analyst at Bank Julius Baer & Co., which manages about $300 billion in assets. "The question is, has all the bad news been factored in? That's what investors are asking themselves."

Markets were likely to see more volatility as along as bad news forced investors to readjust their expectations about the scope of a recession and its impact on company profits, analysts said.

Weakening prices for metals and oil pressured Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index, down 2.4 percent, as resource giants like BHP Billiton Ltd. slumped.

Singapore's index gained 1 percent, recovering from steep early losses trigged in part by worse-than-expected quarterly results from DBS Group Holdings Ltd. The Singapore-based bank, Southeast Asia's largest, also said it would cut some 900 jobs.

In Japan, Toyota Motor Corp. shares sank to 3,460 yen after the company on Thursday afternoon cut its net profit forecast for the fiscal year through March 2009 to 550 billion yen ($5.5 billion). That's half of its earlier projection of 1.25 trillion yen ($12.6 billion), and about a third of the previous year's profit of 1.72 trillion yen. If that projection holds, it would be the smallest annual profit in eight years.

Japan's leading automaker blamed a contracting U.S. auto market, strong yen and higher materials prices. Executive Vice President Mitsuo Kinoshita went so far as to call it "an unprecedented situation."

In Europe on Thursday, the Bank of England slashed its key interest rate by 1.5 percentage points to its lowest in more than 50 years in a dramatic bid to cushion its economy, while the European Central Bank, which sets rate for the 15-nation zone that uses the euro, settled for a more conservative half-point trim.

Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 443.48, or 4.85 percent. The losses combined with another decline Wednesday represent the Dow's worst two-day percentage decline since the October 1987 crash.

U.S. stock index futures were up, suggesting Wall Street would rebound Friday morning. Dow futures were up 167, or 1.9 percent, to 8,868, while S&P futures were up 20.9, or 2.3 percent, to 925.5.

Oil prices rebounded modestly after plummeting overnight, with a barrel of light, sweet crude for December delivery up $1.03to $61.80 in Asian trade. The contract fell 7 percent to settle at $60.77 overnight.

In currencies, the dollar was trading at 97.34 yen from 97.30 late Thursday in New York. The euro rose to $1.2722 from $1.2681 the day before.

In Hong Kong, the interbank lending rate, known as Hibor, for three-month loans ratcheted down to 2.24 percent from 2.44.

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3kgMAkbLwyfxBdjzw8Pc4KZ7DhQD94A0J3O0

FACTBOX: President-elect Obama to face distressed economy

2008-11-08T01:17:00.000-08:00

(Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama will take office at a time when the U.S. economy is struggling, with many analysts warning of the potential for a deep, long recession.

The following is a look at recent economic data that underscore the economy's fragile condition:

* U.S. employers have cut a total 1.2 jobs million this year and the jobless rate hit a 14-1/2-year high of 6.5 percent in October 2008. In the August-October period alone, the economy shed 651,000 jobs, showing labor markets are crumbling faster and heightening the chances of a deep recession. A report on November 5 showed private-sector employers cut 157,000 jobs in October, the deepest in six years.

* U.S. gross domestic product shrank at a 0.3 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the sharpest contraction in seven years. A Reuters poll last month found that economists expect GDP to shrink for three straight quarters, which would be the longest period of contraction since 1974-75.

* The U.S. Treasury, which is ramping up government borrowing to fund efforts to rescue the financial system, said on Monday that a survey of 18 primary bond dealers showed a consensus for a $988 billion federal budget deficit for fiscal 2009, more than doubling the record $455 billion deficit in fiscal 2008, which ended September 30.

* U.S. stock markets tumbled in October. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index had its worst month since the October 1987 stock market crash, while the Dow Jones industrial average logged its biggest monthly drop in a decade.

* Mass layoffs -- involving 50 or more people -- hit their highest level in eight years in September.

* Consumer spending, which fuels two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, fell by 0.3 percent in September, the first drop in two years. U.S. consumer confidence in October suffered its steepest monthly drop on records dating to 1952.

* Existing home prices fell 9 percent from a year ago in September to the lowest level since April 2004. Prices of new homes were down 9.1 percent to their lowest since September 2004.

* U.S. industrial production tumbled by 2.8 percent in September, the biggest drop since December 1974. A report on Monday showed factory activity fell last month to its lowest level in 26 years. U.S. auto sales plunged 32 percent in October to a 25-year low.

* An index gauging activity in the service sector, which accounts for about 80 percent of U.S. output, fell sharply in October, into contractionary territory.

* About 85 percent of domestic banks tightened lending standards on commercial and industrial loans to large and middle-market firms over the past quarter, showing the credit crunch that set in a year ago is worsening.

* The Federal Reserve has cut benchmark interest rates to 1 percent from 5.25 percent in the last 13 months, and has pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into financial markets to try to get credit flowing again. So far, those efforts have had only limited success.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSTRE4A673I20081107