Asian stocks rose for a third day after Japan reported economic growth that beat estimates and U.S. unemployment unexpectedly fell.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
Sunday, March 11, 2007
European Stocks Have Biggest Weekly Gain This Year; E.ON Rises
European stocks posted the biggest weekly advance since December after companies in the region including E.ON AG and Suez SA reported better-than-expected earnings.
E.ON, Europe's largest power company, climbed after it said fourth-quarter profit more than doubled. Suez, the world's second-biggest water utility, rose after posting a 54 percent jump in second-half profit. Alliance Boots Plc soared 17 percent after it received a buyout offer.
Stocks in the region have recouped more than a third of what they lost in a five-day global rout triggered on Feb. 27 by a sell-off in Chinese equities and disappointing U.S. economic reports.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
E.ON, Europe's largest power company, climbed after it said fourth-quarter profit more than doubled. Suez, the world's second-biggest water utility, rose after posting a 54 percent jump in second-half profit. Alliance Boots Plc soared 17 percent after it received a buyout offer.
Stocks in the region have recouped more than a third of what they lost in a five-day global rout triggered on Feb. 27 by a sell-off in Chinese equities and disappointing U.S. economic reports.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
U.S. Stocks Rebound This Week, Recouping Some of Rout's Losses
U.S. stocks rebounded from their steepest weekly drop in four years after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and government employment data eased concern that the economy will stall.
Energy, raw-material and industrial companies led this week's climb by the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which recovered almost a quarter of the prior week's retreat, on optimism that economic growth will keep fueling their profits.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
Energy, raw-material and industrial companies led this week's climb by the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which recovered almost a quarter of the prior week's retreat, on optimism that economic growth will keep fueling their profits.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
Google's Schmidt Says Media Companies Need YouTube
Google Inc. Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt says media companies will someday see the light. To attract viewers, they have no choice but to put their TV shows and movies on video sites such as his company's YouTube.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
Read more at Bloomberg.com
Warren Buffett Turns Tables on PetroChina Dissident
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Warren Buffett turned the tables on a shareholder who called on him to sell shares of PetroChina Co. because its government-owned parent operates in a nation accused of genocide.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
Read more at Bloomberg.com
Bernanke, Greenspan Disagree on Impact of Corporate-Profit Peak
The disagreement between Alan Greenspan and Ben S. Bernanke about where the U.S. economy is headed boils down to just one word: profits.
For the 81-year-old former Federal Reserve chairman, a peak in profit margins is a sign the economic expansion may be past its prime and the risks of recession are growing. For his 53- year-old successor, the topping out of margins may instead herald better times for U.S. workers as wage increases start to catch up with the five-year boom in corporate profits.
Many economists -- including some who worked with Greenspan at the Fed -- side with Bernanke. If companies are accepting lower profit margins instead of raising prices to help offset increasing wages, that helps contain inflation. It also helps forestall the kind of Fed-engineered interest-rate rises that have often triggered recessions in the past.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
For the 81-year-old former Federal Reserve chairman, a peak in profit margins is a sign the economic expansion may be past its prime and the risks of recession are growing. For his 53- year-old successor, the topping out of margins may instead herald better times for U.S. workers as wage increases start to catch up with the five-year boom in corporate profits.
Many economists -- including some who worked with Greenspan at the Fed -- side with Bernanke. If companies are accepting lower profit margins instead of raising prices to help offset increasing wages, that helps contain inflation. It also helps forestall the kind of Fed-engineered interest-rate rises that have often triggered recessions in the past.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
Emerging debt to watch yen, U.S. mortgage market
The strength of the yen and possible turbulence in the U.S. mortgage market will likely be the main concerns of emerging debt investors this week, as high-yielding bonds try to consolidate their recent recovery.
The Japanese currency is right now the main source of uncertainty: should it keep erasing recent gains, short-term investors who take advantage of the carry trade may feel comfortable to fully return to the market, analysts say.
If the yen starts strengthening again, however, it could become too expensive for investors to keep borrowing on the safe currency in order to invest in high-yielding assets.
Read more at Reuters.com
The Japanese currency is right now the main source of uncertainty: should it keep erasing recent gains, short-term investors who take advantage of the carry trade may feel comfortable to fully return to the market, analysts say.
If the yen starts strengthening again, however, it could become too expensive for investors to keep borrowing on the safe currency in order to invest in high-yielding assets.
Read more at Reuters.com
Stocks to watch bad home loans, CPI
Troubles in the subprime mortgage sector could put Wall Street on edge this week just as investors look for key economic data, including the Consumer Price Index, to shore up the market's nascent recovery after its recent plunge.
Fanning concerns about the sector that lends to home buyers with poor credit is this last week's precipitous slide in the stock of New Century Financial Corp. amid fears that the lender could file for bankruptcy protection.
Read more at Reuters.com
Fanning concerns about the sector that lends to home buyers with poor credit is this last week's precipitous slide in the stock of New Century Financial Corp. amid fears that the lender could file for bankruptcy protection.
Read more at Reuters.com
Asian stocks rise as dollar gains boost exporters
Asian share markets rose on Monday, continuing a recovery from a recent slide, as a stronger dollar boosted exporters and after U.S. jobs data reassured investors about the health of the world's biggest economy.
The U.S. currency was steady, holding most of the gains made last week, when a report showing growth in job creation eased speculation about a possible interest rate cut, while the upward revision of Japanese GDP data had little impact on the yen.
Read more at Reuters.com
The U.S. currency was steady, holding most of the gains made last week, when a report showing growth in job creation eased speculation about a possible interest rate cut, while the upward revision of Japanese GDP data had little impact on the yen.
Read more at Reuters.com
Oil falls below $60 on Q2 excess supply worries
Oil fell below $60 on Monday, extending the previous session's decline, as investors saw OPEC keeping output steady at its meeting this week despite a seasonal dip in demand in the second quarter.
U.S. crude fell 32 cents to $59.73 a barrel by 0024 GMT, marking the third consecutive session of decline after sliding $1.59 or 2.6 percent on Friday. London Brent crude was down 13 cents at $61.00.
Read more at Reuters.com
U.S. crude fell 32 cents to $59.73 a barrel by 0024 GMT, marking the third consecutive session of decline after sliding $1.59 or 2.6 percent on Friday. London Brent crude was down 13 cents at $61.00.
Read more at Reuters.com
Are you paying too much rent?
Rents in Johannesburg increasing the fastest
Tenants worrying about big increases in the rent they pay each month should move to Pretoria.
According to the latest Rode Report, flat rentals in a few of Pretoria's suburbs hardly moved and in some cases, even decreased - great news for tenants but not for property investors.
The report lists flat rentals for standard- and upmarket-quality units, for the third quarter of 2006. The rentals are exclusive of amenities and are for unfurnished units.
Compared to the year before, the average monthly rental paid for an upmarket two-bedroom flat in Pretoria dropped 9%.
On average, it was R100 cheaper per month, to rent a bachelor flat in Pretoria in 2005 than in 2006.
Read more at MoneyWeb.co.za
Tenants worrying about big increases in the rent they pay each month should move to Pretoria.
According to the latest Rode Report, flat rentals in a few of Pretoria's suburbs hardly moved and in some cases, even decreased - great news for tenants but not for property investors.
The report lists flat rentals for standard- and upmarket-quality units, for the third quarter of 2006. The rentals are exclusive of amenities and are for unfurnished units.
Compared to the year before, the average monthly rental paid for an upmarket two-bedroom flat in Pretoria dropped 9%.
On average, it was R100 cheaper per month, to rent a bachelor flat in Pretoria in 2005 than in 2006.
Read more at MoneyWeb.co.za
Vodacom catches up, slashes data rates
Long-awaited move means consumers pay as little as 19c per megabyte.
South Africa's biggest cellular network, Vodacom, has cut its 3G/HSDPA broadband data rates by up to 61%. In most cases, it has more than halved the cost of its various packages, bringing them in line with competitors.
The most drastic price cuts for an average user are on its 2GB options. On the bundled 24-month contract (including a data card or USB modem), Vodacom subscribers will now pay R449 per month (22c/MB), while the bolt-on data variation (without the modem), will cost R389 per month (19c/MB). These packages previously cost R1 098 and R998 per month, respectively. Also, there is no longer any distinction between 3G and HSDPA charges with Vodacom's new pricing.
Read more at MoneyWeb.co.za
South Africa's biggest cellular network, Vodacom, has cut its 3G/HSDPA broadband data rates by up to 61%. In most cases, it has more than halved the cost of its various packages, bringing them in line with competitors.
The most drastic price cuts for an average user are on its 2GB options. On the bundled 24-month contract (including a data card or USB modem), Vodacom subscribers will now pay R449 per month (22c/MB), while the bolt-on data variation (without the modem), will cost R389 per month (19c/MB). These packages previously cost R1 098 and R998 per month, respectively. Also, there is no longer any distinction between 3G and HSDPA charges with Vodacom's new pricing.
Read more at MoneyWeb.co.za
What Are You Teaching Your Kids About Money?
Children are the most potent receivers in the world - they are also notorious mimics. A child can read the unconscious signals in how you react to certain events and at once surmise and integrate your attitude into their personalities.
If you show a negative attitude toward things of a financial nature, chances are, your child will too. So how do you know that you're sending the wrong financial messages to your kids? Read on for some tell-tale signs that you need to put your financial household in order.
Read the full article at investopedia.com
If you show a negative attitude toward things of a financial nature, chances are, your child will too. So how do you know that you're sending the wrong financial messages to your kids? Read on for some tell-tale signs that you need to put your financial household in order.
Read the full article at investopedia.com
Vodacom workers set to strike
Vodacom workers will take industrial action this week in an attempt to bring the company to recognise the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the union said.
Workers would picket in the morning and lunchtime on Monday and Tuesday, said union spokesperson Mfanafuthi Sithebe.
On Wednesday, strike action would be taken when workers would march to Vodacom headquarters in Midrand to hand over a memorandum.
Read more at FIN24.co.za
Workers would picket in the morning and lunchtime on Monday and Tuesday, said union spokesperson Mfanafuthi Sithebe.
On Wednesday, strike action would be taken when workers would march to Vodacom headquarters in Midrand to hand over a memorandum.
Read more at FIN24.co.za
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