FeedPosted Oct 28th 2009 10:50AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: International markets, India, Japan, Economic data, Eastern Europe
Consumer confidence ticked upward for the first time since 2007. Around the world, consumers are becoming more comfortable with the prospect of shelling out some cash, even if they're still approaching the notion with caution.
According to a survey conducted by The Nielsen Company between September 28 and October 16, 2009, consumer confidence was highest in India, with Indonesia and Norway following. Japan, Latvia, Portugal, and South Korea were at the other end of the spectrum, though South Korea did show a significant quarterly improvement.
Continue reading Consumer confidence up around the world, a first since 2007
Posted Oct 3rd 2009 1:20PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: India, China, Employees, Mexico, Japan, Economic data, Recession
The United States is not alone. We just saw the unemployment rate creep higher to 9.8% for September, and the rest of the world is coming with us.
The worldwide recession is still circling the globe, it seems, leaving slashed jobs in its wake. While the rise in unemployment is essentially a fact of life, how countries are responding to it differs widely. Some are spending aggressively to protect jobs; for example, by chipping in some extra cash to pay for shorter work weeks.
In the 30 countries comprising the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), unemployment is as low as 3.2% in the Netherlands and as high as 17.6% in Spain, as of July 2009.
Continue reading Ten views of unemployment around the world
Posted Sep 24th 2009 4:40PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: International markets, India, China, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Recession, Financial Crisis
The
G-20 is meeting again, this time in Pittsburgh, and as is so often the case when the world's industrial powers gather, the operative phrase is 'lower your expectations.'
What can investors look for? Well, one thing investors should not look for is any G-20 type of action on banker compensation/bonuses, other than a call for each nation, 'to do more to ensure that constructive incentives are in place' to prevent a repeat of the lending practices/perverse incentives that helped trigger the global financial crisis. There is support for compensation caps in Europe (except Germany); however, the United States and United Kingdom oppose them, so the issue is a non-starter.
Continue reading The G-20 meets in Pittsburgh, and expectations are low
Posted Sep 3rd 2009 1:00PM by Tom Taulli (RSS feed)
Filed under: Deals, Japan
Lately, the Japanese pharma industry has flexed its M&A muscle, trying to find opportunities in global markets. And, the latest deal came this week: Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma agreed to shell out $2.6 billion for Sepracor Inc. (NASDAQ: SEPR). The deal is all-cash.
Why all the interest? There are several drivers. First, the strong yen has made deals fairly cheap. Next, the Japanese market is expected to be slow because of government mandates. And finally, Japanese pharma companies are coming up against expirations of major drugs.
Continue reading Sepracor gets a healthy buyout
Posted Aug 31st 2009 3:00PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, International markets, China, Middle East, Market matters, Money and Finance Today, Japan, Economic data, Oil, Recession, Financial Crisis

Oil traders have been selling off the precious crude Monday, as a
steep sell-off of China's benchmark index raised concerns over the current state of both the Chinese and U.S. economies.
The Chinese Shanghai Composite Index took a beating to start off the week, trading down 6.74%, and raised fresh concerns over a global economic rebound. Today's sell off in the Chinese market was its biggest decline since June of 2008. The sell-off comes on the heels of a near 3% drop in the index last Friday.
Continue reading Chinese sell-off spooks oil traders
Posted May 26th 2009 12:30PM by Brent Archer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, Good news, Industry, Nucor Corp (NUE), Japan, Options, Technical Analysis, Rio Tinto plc ADS (RTP)
Nucor (NYSE:
NUE -
option chain) shares are rising today after iron-ore miner
Rio Tinto (NYSE:
RTP) agreed to
cut its iron ore prices for Japan's Nippon Steel Corp by more than 30%. The steelmakers have already been driven lower as demand for their product has slowed, but now they are less likely to be charged boom-time prices for their raw materials on top of that. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on NUE.
NUE opened this morning at $39.44. So far today the stock has hit a low of $39.14 and a high of $41.41. As of 11:35, NUE is trading at $41.25 up 1.16 (2.9%). The chart for NUE looks bearish and
S&P gives NUE a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.
Continue reading Nucor (NUE) rises on ore price cut
Posted May 8th 2009 8:00AM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, Earnings reports, Forecasts, Bad news, Products and services, Competitive strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Market matters, Japan, Recession, Financial Crisis
Continue reading Toyota posts first annual loss in 59 years
Posted Mar 9th 2009 9:00AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: International markets, Japan, Financial Crisis
What do you look for in this crazy world of finance? When it comes right down to it, it is a country's currency that is the best indicator to the question: "How am I doing?"
Let's see how the currency markets around the world are doing. The dollar is still king. It moved to its highest level since 2006. This is an indication that with all the troubles the U.S. is having, the U.S. is still the strongest economy in the world and the U.S. dollar is still the currency most prized throughout the world.
Continue reading The U.S. dollar is still king
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