USA

After the Bell with Paul Ebeling

After the Bells in the Global Markets: Stocks flat as Rally stalls…
 
Players and Investors alike are getting selective about risk. A rally in shares ran out of steam late in the Global session, but the Euro keeps rising as fears of a looming crisis in Europe continue to decline.

The FTSE All-World stock index is up a fraction, with shares in Europe paring gains at the end of their session. The world index reached its highest point in eleven weeks on Tuesday,

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Volatility Leaves Goldman Sachs and Berkshire Hathaway Short

Goldman Sachs said its bets that stock swings would narrow lost money in the second quarter, according to its earnings statement. While the firm didn’t break out the loss, Goldman …

Shayne Heffernan on XLY The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund, whose members include Home Depot and Lowe’s, fell 1.3 percent at 12:29 p.m. today and has lost 6.4 percent since June 15. The …

ASIA

Can Aquino Build the Philippines Economy?

Time really is not running out for the $US160 billion Philippines economy but Aquino’s presidency may be the nation’s last hope of avoiding more years of underperforming, and it is very important that he gets it right.

It has extensive natural resources, a growing and largely English-speaking population, an ideal location to ride Asia’s boom and a physical beauty that should be the envy of tourism officials the world over.

Yet the Philippines underperforms year after year. That cycle played out during Gloria Arroyo’s 2001-10 tenure as president. She …

Aston Resources Coal IPO

Aston Resources is confident of pulling off its $1.5 billion float plans, shrugging aside choppy market conditions and the recent failure of the Valemus public offering.

Next week the company will …

ASEAN Markets to Reflect USA Fall

Over Night trading in the USA will bring some pressure to regional exchanges today however, the trend of late in ASEAN has been to consolidate during soft periods on the …

EUROPE

European Giants results are impressive: VW, BASF +++

Europe’s leading companies Thursday reported stronger-than-expected earnings, underlining the strength of the corporate recovery across the continent.

Heavyweight names such as Siemens, Royal Dutch Shell, Volkswagen and BASF all saw their Q-2 profits beat analysts’ forecasts considerably.

Analysts are expecting European earnings to rise about 25-35% this year before tapering off and increasing 10-15% next year.

Industrial companies have led the recovery after a crushing fall in earnings last year. VW and BASF, Europe’s largest carmaker and the world’s biggest chemicals group, respectively, both saw their operating profits double as …

Uncertain Crude Oil supply may become new risk for the World Economy

The uncertainty of energy supplies, in particular Crude Oil, might become a new risk for the World Economy, a leading economist said Thursday.

“We think there is enough strength to …

Sanofi to make offer for Genzyme

Chris Viehbacher, the chief executive of Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) is will move ahead with a formal offer for Genzyme (GENZ) that could value the US biotech company at close to …

BRIC

The Chinese economy strong despite expected slowdown

The Senior resident representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to China, Il Houng Lee, said the Chinese economy was fundamentally “still very strong” and the IMF has maintained its projection of China’s economic growth in Y 2010 at 10.5%.

In an interview in Hong Kong, where Lee was delivering a speech on economic outlook on Asia and China for Y 2010 at the invitation of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Lee said China’s economic slowdown in the second quarter this year was widely expected …

China stocks hit 2-month high, led by steel and cement makers

Chinese shares continued to advance Thursday, sending the benchmark index to the highest level in 2 months, led by strong gains in steel and cement makers.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite …

Soros to Buy Stake in Indian Exchange

George Soros is in advanced talks to buy a 4% stake in India’s Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for US$35-US$40mil, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said yesterday.

Soros Fund …