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Woolworths and Westfield Earnings Rise
Feb 27, 7:39 PM EST |
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| GrainCorp stock surged 7% after shareholders approved a plan to remove directors appointed by farmers. |
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| Australia''s biggest retailer, Woolworths Ltd posted first-half net income rise of 28% to $891.3 million in the six months ended Dec. 30 on the back of an 8.6% growth in sales, growth in sales declined from 15.9% in fiscal 2007. Westfield, largest mall operator reported 2007 earnings rose 11.6% on steady rise in retail sales at its locations. NAB hinted that it is pursuing acquisition in the Northwest region of the U.S. |
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HBOS Earnings, UK GDP Growth
Feb 27, 5:50 PM EST |
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| UK GDP growth slowed in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 0.6% from 0.7% in the third quarter. In 2007 growth picked up to 3.1% from 2.9% in 2006. |
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| Largest mortgage lender in the UK, HBOS, reported 2007 profit edged higher but failed to meet expectations. For the year 2007, the bank reported impairment losses on loans and advances of £1.3 billion compared to £1.1 billion in 2006. HBOS led the decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a fall of 6.8% on the worries related to subprime losses. Separately commodities and metals related stocks rallied. |
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Euro Strength Worries European Markets
Feb 27, 4:59 PM EST |
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| Central bank in Poland raised interest rate by 0.25% to 5.5%. HBOS, UK mortgage lender, profit edged 3.8% to £3.9 billion in 2007. |
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| European Union levied a fine of 899 million for the failure to comply with its 2004 antitrust ruling. With this total fine for Microsoft will be 1.68 billion. Investment Corp of Dubai offered 1.85 per share of Immobiliaria Colonia SA or 2.98 billion for the company. Largest construction company, Vinci SA reported 12% rise in earnings in the second half to 847 million and for the year 2007 profit rose 14% to 1.46 billion. |
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Records in Dollar and Gold on Fed Talk
Feb 27, 4:40 PM EST |
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| Gold reached a new three decade high after it closed up $12.10 to $961.00 per ounce. New homes sales fell in January, third monthly decline in a row. |
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| U.S. dollar reached a record low against euro after the comments from the Fed Chairman Bernanke. Investors now believe that the Fed is more likely to lower rates in the coming weeks. The dollar fell on the news and base and precious metals rose. Oil fell but traded at elevated levels. In earnings news, Autodesk reported 20% rise in sales and flat earnings on sharply lower margins as woes of construction industry hurt higher margin software sales. Dollar traded at record low to $1.5134 per euro. |
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Record Budget Surplus, Stan Chart Earnings
Feb 27, 1:07 PM EST |
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| Hong Kong stocks rebounded on better than expected earnings from Standard Chartered. HK reported GDP growth of 6.3% in 2007, proposed a tax rebate. |
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| Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Tsang told the Legislative Council today that budget surplus for the fiscal 2007-2008 will jump to a record HK$115.6 billion, which is about 7.2% of Hong Kongs gross domestic product.Tsang added that economic growth leapt 6.3% in 2007. By the end of the fiscal year, fiscal reserves are likely to reach HK$84.9 billion.Exports in 2007 surged 7.9%, while domestic private consumption rose 7.8%. |
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Bernanke Talks; Nortel Plunges
Feb 27, 11:36 AM EST |
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| The Fed Chairman comments to the House Finance Committee were interpreted supporting economic growth. Stocks edged higher after soothing comments. |
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| U.S. stocks edged higher as the Fed Chairman gave his assessment to U.S. lawmakers. The comments appear to support growth and less concerned about inflation and support for the currency. Dollar traded at another low against the Euro as investors worried that the Fed will lower rates in the coming weeks. Nortel plans to reduce 2,100 staff and relocated 1,000 jobs to lower cost regions. Nortel fell 10% after reporting larger than expected loss. |
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Oil and Metals Seek New Highs
Feb 27, 8:33 AM EST |
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| The BOJ postponed its nomination of Governor after politicalparies failed to agree on a consensus candidate. |
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| Tokyo stocks gained for the third day in a row, nearly 5% gain, on the back of improving sentiment in the international markets. Tech stocks in Japan closed higher on the $15 billion stock buyback from IBM. Commodities, metals, and crude oil closed near record level on falling dollar. Crude oil reached $101.35 a barrel and the U.S. dollar fel to a record low against euro. Gold closed at a new high and silver added 3.5%. |
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