Obama to speak out; Republicans rage
Markets remained stable on Thursday as investors await President Obama’s speech on job proposals detailing plans of boosting employment before a joint session of Congress. President Obama is said to put forward a jobs package of an estimated $300bn amid US voter frustration over the country’s 9.1 percent unemployment. The plan will outline measures to […]
Saab files for bankruptcy protection
Swedish car manufacturer Saab on Wednesday filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors amid mounting debt and production stoppages in a last minute attempt to save the brand. The filing at the Swedish court includes its subsidiaries Saab Powertrain and Saab Tools but excludes overseas subsidiaries and Saab Parts. The car maker signed a financing agreement […]
Labor Day welcomes volatility amid growth fears
European and Asian stocks slumped on Labor Day after US growth fears hit the markets late on Friday following weak employment data that showed the US economy had added no jobs at all in August. Stocks in Europe on Monday traded lower on the news with the FTSE 100 down 1.7 percent to 5,201, the […]
Lawsuits over mortgage debt rattle bank shares
European banking shares on Friday dropped sharply in anticipation of US jobs data and a published report that the Federal Housing Finance agency is planning to file a lawsuit against “more than a dozen” banks over alleged misrepresentation in mortgage backed securities. Alleged targets of the planned lawsuit are said to include JP Morgan Chase, […]
Asian manufacturing heralds jittery September start
As increasing prices continue to aggravate Asia’s governments moving into September, manufacturing activity slowed in August within Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, according to data released on Thursday. Investors in the US worried ahead of Labor Day – America’s annual holiday to welcome in September – that it would have adverse affects across the water. […]
Rosneft ExxonMobil buddy up; Daryl Hannah arrested
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin late on Tuesday announced an agreement between US oil conglomerate ExxonMobil and Russia’s Rosneft to explore the country’s oil-rich Arctic continental shelf. The deal replaces a comparable but failed agreement with BP that differs in that Exxon offers Rosneft assets in Texas and in the Gulf of Mexico in exchange […]
BofA sells Construction stake to raise $8.3bn
Bank of America late on Monday announced it is to sell around half of its ten percent stake in China Construction Bank to a group of investors in an effort to increase capital and shed assets. The sale of around 13.1 billion shares is expected to generate an estimated $8.3bn in cash proceeds and an […]
Markets lower ahead of Bernanke speech and Germany rumours
Markets showed signs of caution and the dollar declined against its counterparts as traders await a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke which is expected to show a slowing US economy. Following Japan’s downgrade on Wednesday wild rumours emerged that Germany could face a credit rating cut and unnerved German markets in early trading […]
Greek exposure affects Credit Agricole profits
Credit Agricole, France’s third largest bank by market value, published in its 2Q11 net profit results on Thursday a 10.6 percent decrease at €339m compared to €379m in the same period last year. The decline was mainly attributed to a pre-tax impairment on its Greek bond exposure of €202m, the bank said in a statement. In Paris […]
Markets vague as Moody’s downgrades Japan
Asian highs were short-lived on Wednesday when regional markets failed to hold on to Tuesday’s gains after sentiment dampened following Moody’s decision to downgrade Japan’s credit rating to Aa3.
The ratings agency said that the nuclear accident coupled with the earthquake disaster had aggravated its economy and deferred Japan’s recovery.
The Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng […]
