FRAGILE Exuberance at the end of the US recession was tainted by a slowing recovery and rising unemployment claims, although manufacturing data offered some hope
Wall Street wrapped up its fourth straight week of gains on Friday, reaching its highest levels in four months, despite jittery trade marked by a cautioning by the Federal Reserve. The week ended with its strongest rally this month, even though trade volume remained low compared to previous years as investors still faced uncertainty over the US recovery. “This is a very difficult period of time, it is open question as to how long it lasts,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief economist strategist at Miller Tabak. Traders opened the week on a cheery note, with markets jumping after a report said the US economy
Asian stocks gained, pushing the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index to a fourth consecutive weekly advance, as signs of economic growth in Hong Kong and Taiwan boosted investor confidence. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd (新鴻基地產), the world’s largest developer by market value, had the biggest advance since February after it said leasing demand is rising. Healthcare stocks rallied the most among the 10 industries in the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index after Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, India’s biggest drugmaker by sales, won exclusive rights to sell an Alzheimer’s treatment. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index climbed 1.01 percent to 125.51 this week, and reached its highest level in almost five
The New Taiwan dollar completed its fourth straight weekly advance on signs the economy is improving and speculation policymakers will raise borrowing costs this week. Global funds bought US$389 million more Taiwanese shares than they sold this week, exchange data showed. Government reports this week showed a pickup in export orders and industrial output for last month, as well as a drop in the jobless rate. The central bank will boost its benchmark interest rate by 12.5 basis points to 1.50 percent on Thursday, according to economists in a Bloomberg survey. “Data released this week show Taiwan is enjoying strong growth and
Gold prices shot above US$1,300 for the first time and silver nailed a 30-year high this week as traders exited the US currency for safe-haven investments on worries about fragile economic recovery. PRECIOUS METALS: Gold and silver rallied as investment demand propelled precious metals higher. Gold prices struck a record-high US$1,300.07 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, helping to drag sister metal silver to US$21.44 an ounce — its highest level since October 1980. “The underlying bullish trend in the gold market continues to be fueled by the high level of uncertainty regarding the United States and European economies,” SEB Commodity Research
European stocks advanced this week on optimism that the economic recovery will continue, while central banks said they stand ready to act should growth falter. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.4 percent this week, paring last week’s 0.7 percent slide. It has rallied 14 percent from its low this year on May 25 as investors speculated that the economy will continue to grow even as European nations slash spending to control their budget deficits. German business confidence unexpectedly rose to the highest level in more than three years this month. The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on
■ EQUITIES Apple’s market value soars Apple, maker of the Macintosh computer, the iPod, iPhone and iPad, surpassed Chinese oil giant PetroChina (中石油) during trading on Thursday to become the world’s second-largest company in terms of market value. Apple shares hit a record US$292.76 during trading on Wall Street, giving the California gadget-maker a market capitalization of US$266 billion, more than PetroChina’s US$265 billion. Apple shares eventually closed at US$288.92, putting PetroChina back on top at the end of the day. ExxonMobile is the largest company in the world with a market capitalization of US$310 billion. ■ CONGLOMERATES Branson eyeing hotels After venturing into
VAST OIL RESERVES The proceeds will be used to develop 5 billion barrels of oil in one of the world’s most promising energy prospects, off Brazil’s southern coast
Brazilian state oil company Petrobras raised US$70 billion on Thursday in the world’s biggest share offering, giving the company the financial muscle it needs to tap vast offshore oil reserves. The Rio de Janeiro-based company sold 1.87 billion new preferred shares at 26.30 reais each, the company said in a regulatory filing. It also sold 2.4 billion new common shares at 29.65 reais each. The cash will help fund the world’s largest oil exploration plan, which at US$224 billion from this year through 2014 aims to turn Brazil into a major energy exporter. The record-setting stock offering, which was larger than what the
DOUBTS Traders said the yen’s sudden drop could be attributed to corporate orders, or rumors — later denied — that the Bank of Japan chief was resigning
A sudden slide in the yen against the dollar yesterday stirred suspicions Japanese authorities intervened for a second time this month to try to prevent the currency’s strength from worsening a faltering recovery. Traders in Tokyo reckoned a sharp yen drop was likely due to intervention, though the fall happened at levels where authorities were not expected to act. Some blamed corporate orders for triggering the move and others a rumor — later denied — that Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa planned to resign. “At first, people thought that was intervention, but it seems like the market was driven one-way by Shirakawa’s
HSBC chief executive Michael Geoghegan is to step down at the end of the year as part of a major shake-up of the bank’s top management, reports said yesterday. He will be replaced by Stuart Gulliver, head of the group’s investment bank, the Financial Times (FT) and BBC reported. Finance director Douglas Flint will take over as chairman from Stephen Green, who announced this month he was leaving to become the British minister of state for trade and investment at the start of next year, the reports said. An HSBC spokesman said that “no decision has been made.” However, a person close to
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), Intel Corp’s main competitor in computer processors, said third-quarter sales would be lower than it had predicted, citing weak demand for notebook computers in Europe and North America. Sales will decline between 1 percent and 4 percent from the US$1.65 billion recorded in the second quarter, Sunnyvale, California-based AMD said on Thursday in a statement. In July, the company said that sales would rise “seasonally” in the third quarter from the preceding three months. The announcement follows a similar reduction by Intel, which cited weaker consumer demand in developed markets. The outlook also mirrors warnings from other
Oracle Corp, building on a run of more than 65 acquisitions during the past five years, is looking to purchase semiconductor companies and makers of industry-specific software, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said. “You’re going to see us buying chip companies,” Ellison, 66, said on Thursday at Oracle’s annual meeting in San Francisco. Acquiring chipmakers would further Oracle’s push into computer hardware, initiated in January with its purchase of Sun Microsystems Inc, a server manufacturer. Ellison said he wanted to follow the approach of Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs by owning more of the intellectual property that underpins computer chips. Apple has bought
Singapore’s industrial output unexpectedly rose at the slowest pace in nine months, heralding slower economic growth after a record expansion in the first half of the year. Manufacturing, which accounts for about a quarter of the economy, climbed 8.1 percent last month from a year earlier, after a 9.9 percent gain in July, the Singapore Economic Development Board said in a statement yesterday. The median estimate of 10 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for an 11.7 percent gain. Industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 6.3 percent last month from July, when it rose 1.5 percent from the previous month,the report showed. Electronics
■ MEDIA Blockbuster could go bust Troubled video-rental chain Blockbuster Inc could file for bankruptcy protection, a Wall Street Journal article reported. Citing unnamed sources, the Journal said Blockbuster is working with creditors to develop a bankruptcy restructuring plan that would free it of debt and allow the company to keep some stores open and focus more on digital distribution. If Blockbuster misses an interest payment on Sept. 30, more than US$900 million in debt will be due in full. ■ COMPUTERS Dell to release second tablet Dell chief executive Michael Dell said on Wednesday the firm would release a second tablet computer to
NOT BUDGING Wen Jiabao was speaking in the US before a congressional panel was to vote on legislation that would punish China for alleged currency manipulation
China’s premier sought to ease tensions with the US ahead of a speech yesterday in which he is expected to defend the Asian giant’s currency policy, as US lawmakers prepare to vote on punishing Beijing. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) is expected to rule out drastic appreciation of the yuan in his address, but ahead of his speech and a meeting with US President Barack Obama at the UN General Assembly, he stressed that the world’s two largest economies had more common interests than they had differences. US lawmakers, meanwhile, prepared to vote on whether to punish China for allegedly manipulating its
Thailand’s bid to catch up with neighboring countries on advanced telecommunications technology has stalled after a court ruled to suspend a bidding process for 3G licenses yesterday. The ruling means more delays for bringing the fastest Internet technology to Thailand, which is one of the only countries in Southeast Asia without third-generation capabilities. Poorer neighbors, such as Cambodia and Laos, already have 3G, which allows faster upload and download speeds. The Supreme Administrative Court upheld a lower court’s injunction against a much-awaited 3G mobile licence auction organized by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), saying the agency did not have the authority to
WEB WEALTH Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz joined the ‘Forbes’ 400 list this year and with a fortune of US$1.4 billion, he is the world’s youngest billionaire
Things are on the up for US billionaires, with more than half of them adding to their net worth in a year that once again saw Bill Gates as the richest of them all, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday. Gates, founder of Microsoft, was the richest person in the US for the 17th year in a row with an estimated US$54 billion, up US$4 billion from last year. Second on the list was investor Warren Buffett with US$45 billion, up US$5 billion. Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s net worth was unchanged, in third place, at US$27 billion, while Christy Walton, heir to Walmart
Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, the world’s largest fertilizer maker, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in an effort to block a hostile US$38.6 billion takeover offer from mining company BHP Billiton. In its request for an injunction against the takeover, Potash claimed that BHP’s offer was “built upon false and misleading statements and omissions” as well as BHP’s “manipulation of the perceived value” of the firm’s shares. The management of Potash has opposed the BHP offer, arguing that it significantly undervalues its shares. Potash executives have said that they expect another bidder to materialize, although none has appeared. The aggressive legal action by the
Facebook Inc is working with mobile-handset manufacturer INQ Mobile Ltd on two smartphones that may be carried by AT&T Inc, three people familiar with the matter said. The devices, which will feature Facebook social-networking services, are scheduled to be introduced in Europe in the first half of next year and the US in the second half, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans have not been made public. AT&T, the second-largest US wireless service provider, is still considering whether to carry the devices and has not done a deal, another of the people said. Facebook, the
■ MINING BHP hires top lobbyists BHP Billiton Ltd hired advisers to three Canadian prime ministers to lobby for its US$40 billion hostile bid for Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc. Michael Coates, an adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the last three election campaigns, registered for BHP, according to the Web site of the country’s lobbyist registry. William Pristanski, an aide in the 1980s to former Conservative leader Brian Mulroney, and Bruce Hartley, former assistant to the Liberals’ Jean Chretien, also registered on behalf of BHP. BHP may face competition for the world’s largest fertilizer maker from China, with Sinochem
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