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Austrlian Stocks Rise
Feb 26, 11:28 PM EST |
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| BlueScope reports a sharp fall in profit but forecasts higher profit in the current period. Allegiance Mining directors recommended revised offer. |
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| ASX 200 index rose 1.1% or 61.7 to close at 5,621.60. Zinifex Limited and Allegiance Mining NL today jointly announced a revised takeover offer for Allegiance, priced at $1.10 cash per share. Zinifex delivered a record half-year profit of $1,309.7 million for the period ended 31 December 2007, 74% increase from a year ago on the sale of smelting assets. BlueScope Steel share gained 6.3% after the company hinted that profit in the current half is likely to rise on higher steel prices. |
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Stan Chart, Persimmons Earnings Lift Stocks
Feb 26, 10:09 PM EST |
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| CII February survey of retailers showed a broadest price increase since August 1996. More respondents reported a decline in sales. |
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| UK stocks rallied after financial stocks recovered. Standard Chartered rose after reporting second half net income increased 23% to £1.44 billion from £1.18 billion a year earlier. In the period, Standard Chartered wrote down £300 million in losses. Royal Bank of Scotland gained 4.16% and HBOS Plc surged 4%. U.K largest homebuilder Persimmon Plc reported today second half profit was flat at £216.9 million from £217.3 million a year earlier on steady home buyer traffic. |
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German GDP Slows, European Stocks Up
Feb 26, 9:14 PM EST |
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| U.S. dollar came under fresh weakness against euro as investors speculated that the Fed will lower rates again to combat weakening economy. |
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| Lufthansa AG reported 2007 sales rise of 13% to 22.4 billion euros and operating profit increase of 63% to 1.4 billion euros. For the year number of passengers increased 5.6% to 56.4 million and at Lufthansa and at Swiss International increased 18% to 63 million. Suez in France 2007 profit increased 8.6% to 3.9 billion euros on higher electricity prices. Areva second half profit rose 11% to 448 million euros on higher uranium prices. |
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Stocks, Inflation Up; Home Prices Down
Feb 26, 8:01 PM EST |
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| U.S. stocks jumped higher after IBM board authorized a purchase of $15 billion. Home Depot fell after the earnings. |
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| U.S. stocks closed higher after IBM authorized $15 billion stock buyback and talks of Abu Dhabi controlled fund investing in Lennar. Investors also faced difficult news including rising wholesale inflation, falling consumer confidence, and sharp rise in foreclosure in January. Home price index showed a sharp decline in prices in the top 20 metro areas. Prices in eight cities fell in double digits. Macy''''s Target, Nordstrom, and AutoZone rose but Home Depot fell after the release of earnings. |
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Strong Railway Budget Lifts Metal Stocks
Feb 26, 2:07 PM EST |
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| Railway budget reflected strong general economic condition, rising industrial production, and people on the move. |
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| Railway Minister Lalu Prasad presented a budget to parliament that showed rising revenue, improving operation efficiency, and strong financial surplus. The general strength in the economy helped the minster to lower petrol and diesel freight duty and project rising capital expenditure in the next fiscal year. Steel and other metal stocks rallied on the higher outlays from the budget. Railway ministry expect the surplus fund at the end of the current fiscal year to be near 21,000 crore rupees. |
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U.S. Stocks Rise, IBM Repurchase
Feb 26, 12:11 PM EST |
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| Consumer confidence declined, home prices in top 20 metro fell sharply, and wholesale price index showed a resurgent inflation. |
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| U.S. stocks edged higher in a cautious trading as investors digested several economic news and earnings. Home prices index measuring home prices in top 20 metropolitan areas registered a sharp fall of 9% across the nation. The sharpest decline in years suggested that housing market reovery may take longer than anticipated. Consumer confidence fell in February and a measure of wholesale price index rose more than expected in January. Earnings from Home Depot missed analysts projections. |
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Metro Home Price Index Declines
Feb 26, 11:21 AM EST |
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| Metropolitan home price index fell in the last quarter and in 2007 at record pace. The home prices are expected to decline more in coastal cities. |
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| Home prices fell across top 10 and 20 metro areas according to S&P-Case Shiller index. Home prices in Charlotte and Portland increased and in Seattle were nearly flat. Miami led the decliners with a plunge of 17.5% and prices in Las Vegas and Phoenix fell 15.3%. The controversial index does not track prices in smaller towns where price declines have not been severe. coastal cities experienced one of the largest home price rise in the last six years. |
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Metal Stocks Decline After Steel Price Hike
Feb 26, 8:40 AM EST |
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| Shanghai markets closed lower for the fifth session in a row after worries related to stock oversupply kept investors on the sideline. |
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| The worries related to new stock offerings on Shanghai exchange kept investors on the edge again. The CSI index in Shanghai trading rose as much as 3% but closed only a fraction higher. Hong Kong stocks took its lead from Shahghai trading but managed to close higher. Hang Semg added 1.9% and China Enterprise Index increased 1%. Steel companies fell after raising prices of most of its products. Baoshan raised prices by 20%. Yunnan Copper, Wuhan Iron, and Zhongjin gold fel. |
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Central Tokyo Office Demand Rises
Feb 26, 7:56 AM EST |
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| Property stocks rallied after a market trend report from Mori Building indicated a sharp decline in availability of new office space in Central Tokyo. |
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| Rising demand for office space in Central Tokyo will lead to a decline in available new space by 45% in 2008, for the second year in a row. Honda, Toyota, and Nissan raised their automobiles production in Japan to meet demands in emerging markets. Sony and Sharp are in an alliance to build LCD panel related manufacturing facility in Osaka. |
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