Shares drop on rumours of French credit downgrade
The Paris stock exchange lost over five percent of value and French financials were hammered late on Wednesday amid rumours that French banks were in serious difficulty. France’s second-largest bank, Société Générale, which holds significant amounts in Greek and Italian debt, saw its shares drop by 21 percent before closing down 14.7 percent late on Wednesday. The […]
Stock markets higher after US Fed pledge
Asian stocks have rallied in early trading on Wednesday from their downward trend earlier in the week after the US Federal Reserve promised to keep interest rates near the zero level “at least through to mid-2013.”
Europe’s stock markets also opened higher after overnight increases on Wall Street and Asian markets, which saw the Hong […]
Global stocks plummet
European stock markets plummeted further on Tuesday following a sharp rise in Chinese inflation, adding to woes over debt contagion across the eurozone and fears of another US recession. Market volatility reached its peak when Britain’s FTSE 100 index, which traded 20 percent below its February peak of 6091 points, plunged officially into bear territory […]
China inflation hits 6.5%
China’s PPI increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year while the inflation rate rose 6.5 percent to a 37-month high in July. Inflation was driven by a14.8 percent spike in food costs, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. The data comes amid European sovereign debt concerns and worries of a ‘double-dip’ US recession, and […]
ECB to help Rome and Madrid with bond purchases
As European markets opened on Monday yields on Spanish and Italian bonds saw a sharp fall to 83 and 79 basis points respectively following an intervention by the European Central Bank. The ECB backed up its promise to expand its purchases of sovereign debt to support Madrid and Rome by entering into European bond markets […]
US to raise debt limit
President Obama has announced that senior Republican and Democrat party members have agreed a proposal to limit US debt by $2.4bn in order to avoid deault or downgrading from the nation’s triple A rating. Making the announcement on Sunday, Obama said the agreement will cut spending by about $1trn over the next decade. Votes in […]
Credit Suisse to cut 2,000 jobs after 52% profit drop
Swiss banking group Credit Suisse on Thursday announced a 2Q11 net earnings drop of 52 percent year-on-year to SFr768m amid weak trading activity and currency exchange effects of the Swiss franc. The group’s wealth management division reported a pre-tax profit of SFr843m, down four per cent from 2Q10 due to “challenging” market conditions, a statement […]
Bank results worry markets
Swiss bank UBS said on Tuesday it plans major job cuts to reduce costs of up to $2.5bn over the next two to three years. The announcement came as it reported a 49 percent 2Q11 decrease in net profit to CHF1.01bn from CHF2bn during the same period in 2010. Group revenues were down 14 percent […]
Moody’s downgrades Greece to near default
Moody’s Investors Service on Monday cut Greece’s sovereign debt by three notches to Ca from Caa1, warning the second bailout of Greece is likely to result in a default and weaken the credit ratings of the stronger European nations. The rating agency warned in a statement that it is inevitable that Greece will be deemed […]
EU leaders agree €109bn Greek bailout
European heads of state at the emergency summit in Brussels agreed late on Thursday a new €109bn bailout package for Greece. The deal includes a reduced interest rate of 3.5 percent and a time extension to between 15 and 30 years from the previous 7.5 years. “The new programme is designed, notably through lower interest […]
