Feb 05, 2008 9:29 AM EST
Stocks in Hong Kong edged lower on a shorter trading session ahead a week of holiday for Lunar New Year. Hang Seng fell 0.9% or 223.38 to close at 24,808.70 and China Enterprises index of H-shares slumped 0.57% to 14,040.68.ICBC Bank has gained approval of shareholders and South African regulators for its stake in Standard Bank. >>

Feb 05, 2008 7:47 AM EST
Stocks in Japan closed lower after a string of weak earnings. Toyota reported sales rise of 9.2% and earnings gain of 7.5% in the third quarter and forecasted that the profit may decline in the current quarter on weak sales in the U.S. Toyota fell 1.8%. Mitsubishi Estate declined 4% after it reported third quarter revenue decline of 26% and income fall of 18%. Camera company Nikon reported third quarter sales increase of 14% and net income gain of 13%. >>

Feb 04, 2008 12:13 PM EST
Stocks in Hong Kong rebounded after a surge of 8.1% in Shanghai market. Financials, metals, and banks rallied. In Hong Kong trading Hang Seng Index rose 3.8% or 908.50 to 25,032.08, and China Enterprises Index gained 6.29% to 14,120.84. The indexes gained after China Composite rebounded to 8.13% or 351.4 to 4,672.17. The World Bank lowered its growth estimate for China to 9.6% from its previous forecast of 10.8%. >>

Feb 04, 2008 7:58 AM EST
Asian markets rallied across the region led by a sharp rebound in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Japan. Japanese stocks advanced after the offer of $45 billion from Microsoft for Yahoo. Softbank soared 18% on the news. Softbank owns 52 million shares in Yahoo and owns 41% of Yahoo Japan. Financial stocks in Japan closed higher on the news that a group of eight large banks are working on a plan to provide financing to MBIA and Ambac, two large bond insurers in the U.S. >>

Feb 01, 2008 9:49 AM EST
Chinalco and Alcoa have teamed to acquire 12% stake in UK mining company Rio Tinto. The surprise investment appears to have been made to prevent BHP from acquiring Rio Tinto. Chinalco will control 9% and Alcoa will control 3% in Rio Tinto. The 12% stake was acquired with an investment of $14 billion and purchased at 60 pounds per share, a 21% premium from closing price on yesterday. Alcoa contributed $1.2 billion in the stake purchase. >>

Feb 01, 2008 8:11 AM EST
Stocks in Hong Kong recovered ahead of the holiday season. Snowfall in China has disrupted transportation network stranding hundreds of thousands of people. Several mining facilities and commodities facilities are likely close down. Jiangxa Copper will shutdown 43% or 300,000 tons of smelting capacity as a result of power outages until mid-February. >>

Feb 01, 2008 8:15 AM EST
In Friday trading, Japanese shares declined as investors continued to worry about the loan losses news from Japanese banks. Japan''s second-biggest bank Mizuho fell 5% after reporting a subprime loss of 275 billion yen and cutting its outlook for 2008 by 26%. Concerns over the U.S. jobs data and an 8% decline in Sony shares to a 14-month low also hurt trading sentiment. >>