Asian Stocks Rise, Led by CLP and Nippon Steel; Toshiba Gains

Asian stocks rose, led by steelmakers and power producers as investors favor companies with solid earnings growth and generous dividend policies. CLP Holdings Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp. advanced.

Read more at Bloomberg.com

European Stocks Rise for Second Day; Debenhams, E.ON Advance

European stocks advanced for a second day as investors bet takeovers will increase in the retail and gaming industries.

Debenhams Plc, the U.K.'s second-biggest department store chain, jumped the most in almost two weeks on speculation it may be bought, while Sportingbet Plc surged after the gaming company said it received an approach. E.ON AG reached a one-week high after Germany's largest utility reported earnings that topped analysts' estimates.

Read more at Bloomberg

Latin Stocks Slide as `Beige Book' Fans U.S. Growth Concerns

Latin stocks fell on concern that demand for the region's exports will decline, after the Federal Reserve said parts of the U.S. economy were slowing.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International index of Latin American shares fell for the fourth day in five, declining 0.3 percent to 2901.26. Mexico's Bolsa index fell 171.25, or 0.7 percent, to 26,184.39.

Read more at Bloomberg.com

Canadian Stocks Rise a 2nd Day, Led by Materials, Energy Shares

Canadian stocks rose for a second day, led by materials producers including Teck Cominco Ltd., on speculation they will increase profits on demand for commodities even as economic growth moderates in the U.S. Energy companies rose as crude oil prices notched their biggest gain in two weeks.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index rose 121.42, or 0.9 percent, to 12,989.61 in Toronto. The benchmark has gained 2.2 percent in two days after it snapped a week-long selloff led by shares of raw-materials companies.

Read more at Bloomberg.com

Wall Street sags on bleak housing view

Stocks slipped on Wednesday following a negative assessment of the housing market from a large home builder and a Federal Reserve report indicated some U.S. regions were seeing slowing economic growth.

Stocks gave up gains in the last hour of trading after the chief executive of D.R. Horton Inc. delivered an unusually blunt evaluation of the residential real estate market.

Energy stocks, including Exxon Mobil Corp. rose after a jump in crude oil prices, and investors snapped up some beaten-down shares of mortgage lenders, including Fremont General Corp. on a report that it has several suitors interested in its mortgage unit.

Read more at Reuters.com

Nikkei slips but chip stocks gain ground

The Nikkei share average slipped 0.23 percent on Thursday as some exporters such as auto parts maker Denso Corp. were hit again by concern about slowing economic growth in the key U.S. market.

But chip-related stocks gained ground after brokerage Goldman Sachs raised its rating on Toshiba Corp. to "buy", saying prices of NAND flash memory will likely bottom out in the current quarter.

Read more at Reuters.com

Rand slightly weaker in nervous market

South Africa's rand weakened slightly against the dollar on Wednesday, but held onto most of Tuesday's gains in a market still on edge following the global stocks sell-off of the past week.

The local currency was trading at 7.4040 versus the dollar at 1530 GMT, about 0.3 percent softer than its previous New York close of 7.3850/dollar.

Read more at Reuters South Africa

S.Africa '06 gold output falls to lowest since 1922

Gold output in South Africa, the world's largest producer of the precious metal, slid 7.5 percent last year to 8.845 million ounces (275,119 kg), the lowest since 1922, the Chamber of Mines said on Wednesday.

Fourth quarter output fell 3.1 percent to 2.19 million ounces (68,118 kg) compared to the previous quarter, the chamber added in a statement.

During both the quarter and the year, a slight increase in the amount of ore mined was not enough to offset a fall in grades.

Read more at Reuters South Africa

The True Economics Of Refinancing A Mortgage

A mortgage is more than a monthly payment. It is a debt instrument used to finance an asset.

On a household's balance sheet, a mortgage is a liability and, as such, is subtracted from a household's assets, which include the value of the home, to determine a household's net worth. Too many consumers fall into the trap of refinancing a mortgage in order to lower their monthly payments without considering how that refinancing affects their total net worth.

Read full article at investopedia.com

Vodacom sells stake in Moz unit

Cell phone operator Vodacom has sold a stake in its struggling Mozambique unit to a local firm to help it do business there, the company said on Wednesday.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

Lesotho diamond goes for R61m

A 215 carat white diamond - uncovered at the large stone producing Letseng mine in Lesotho in January - has been sold for $8.3m (R61m), according to a company statement.

The sale follows the $12.4m (R91m) sale of a 603-carat stone, The Lesotho Promise, rated the fifteenth largest ever found, in the second half of last year.

The latest sale works out to a per carat selling price of $38 418 for the D colour white diamond.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

Oil jumps back above $62

World oil prices jumped back above $62/barrel in London on Wednesday following news that energy stockpiles in the United States tumbled across the board last week, traders said.

The price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery rose $1.14 to $62.53/barrel in electronic deals.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, gained $1.18 to R61.87/barrel in pit trading.

Read more at FIN24.co.za