SINGAPORE: Brent crude held steady above $ 113 on Thursday, as news that Greece will receive its latest debt bailout payment eased concerns that Europe’s woes could affect oil demand. But gains were kept in check by signs of rising US crude inventories, although this was tempered by falling refined fuel stocks at the world’s [...]
Oil prices edged lower in Asian trade Wednesday, weighed down by concerns over the eurozone’s political and economic problems but bargain-hunting limited the losses, analysts said. Crude futures also faced downside pressure following indications by the world’s key oil producers they may boost output to bring prices down to sustainable levels. New York’s main contract, [...]
There will be no speculative attack against French bonds on Monday morning
because François Hollande has been elected president, the first socialist to
take the Élysée since the Mitterrand debacle of 1981.The phantom army waiting to pounce is …
After falling 1.3% yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI ) closed the week down 1.4%. The red ink was thickest for these three names:
Caterpillar and Bank of America plunged after yesterday’s mediocre jobs report. When jobs are scarce and employers stingy on wages, it becomes harder to pay off household and consumer debt. Two-thirds of B of A’s loans — $600 billion — fall into these categories, so the bank should have a strong interest in full employment. Though JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM ) , which plunged 3.7% this week, has more extensive trading and investment banking operations than B of A, it of course has quite a bit of exposure to household and consumer debt, too.
It’s a similar worry for Caterpillar. It’s hard to get construction unless we see paychecks that allow consumers to buy things, or government spending picks up.
Unfortunately for Cat, unprecedented budget cutbacks — particularly at the state and local level — continue to decimate transportation construction. Transportation was one of the only sectors of the economy to actually lose jobs after state and local spending cuts subtracted 0.14 points from GDP. And you don’t ordinarily associate tech stocks with economic cyclicality, but Cicso does depend on government contracts for a big part of its business. The company reports quarterly earnings next Wednesday, so we’ll find out soon enough.
One mediocre jobs report doesn’t spell doom, but investors are clearly afraid of a three-peat to the past couple of years, where the recovery seemed strong but ultimately failed to pick up enough steam.
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Nirmal Bang is bearish on Hindustan Construction Company …
NEW YORK/LONDON: Gold rose for a fourth consecutive session o n Friday, on track for its biggest weekly gain since late February, as disappointing US growth and European debt jitters triggered investment demand for the precious metal. Bullion buyin…
Foreign Currency Market Update – GBP / EUR Update
The Pound has given the Euro a battering over the past week following news that further UK central bank stimulus now seems unlikely. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted …
European share markets have taken another tumble after the eurozone debt crisis returned to haunt investors on three fronts.The sell-off was led by dire performance indicators for the single currency bloc, which heightened fears the economic contractio…
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global equities and the euro sank on Monday as political uncertainties in Europe raised fears the euro zone debt crisis could spread to countries that had been thought to be safe and European economic data rattled nerves.
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TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan has agreed to forgive Myanmar 303.5 billion yen ($3.72 billion) in debt and overdue charges, and resume development loans to the Southeast Asian country, the two nations said on Saturday, in a move to help foster the nascent dem…
