Friday, March 30th, 2007
The ongoing crisis between Britain and Iran, and a strike at an important European oil terminal pushed oil prices above 66 dollars. Iran has been holding 15 British marines and sailors hostage after they allegedly trespassed into Iranian territory while performing an inspection of a merchant ship. The strike at the oil terminal has been going on for 17 days and no solution is yet in sight.
Oil climbed away from $66 (U.S.) on Friday on global supply worries caused by tension centred on OPEC member Iran and a strike in France that threatens to crimp summer fuel supplies in the United States.
U.S. crude was up 18 cents at $66.21 a barrel by 10:29 GMT, having jumped 3 per cent to a six-month closing high the previous day. London Brent rose 46 cents to $68.34, its eighth day of gains.
A week after Iran detained 15 British sailors and marines in the Gulf, Britain is still trying to secure their release. It plans to urge the European Union to help isolate Iran at a meeting of EU ministers starting on Friday.
On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council expressed “grave concern” at the situation and supported calls for the crew’s release.
Source : GlobeandMail.com
Posted in News | Comments Off
Tuesday, March 20th, 2007
Stocks in Japan increased in value for a second session on Tuesday. Positive real estate news pushed stocks up. Japan’s government is planning to release land prices. The Nikkei 225 index gained 153.65 points or 0.9%, finishing at 17,163.20 points.
Japanese stocks advanced for a second straight session Tuesday, led by real estate and retail issues.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 153.65 points, or 0.90 percent, to finish at 17,163.20 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. On Monday, the index added 1.59 percent.
Traders said real estate stocks led the way ahead of a planned release of Japan’s land prices by the government later this week.
“Compared with the previous year, I think it’s very likely we’ll see land prices rise in nearly all of Japan’s major cities, not just in the main metropolitan areas,” said Akio Yoshino, market economist with Societe Generale Asset Management in Tokyo.
Source : Chron.com
Posted in News | Comments Off
Thursday, March 15th, 2007
Stocks on European stock exchanges rallied for the first time in 4 days. Concerns about the possible effects of US mortgage delinquencies on US demand eased. Bayer AG and Prudential Plc advanced after news that their earnings exceeded analysts’ projections. Experts say now is a good time to buy stocks.
“The sell-off was a bull market correction,” said Gerhard Schwarz, an equity strategist at UniCredit Markets & Investment Banking (HVB) in Munich. “We are getting close to extremely attractive buy-in levels.”
Cadbury Schweppes, the U.K. maker of Dairy Milk chocolate and Dr Pepper soda, said it will split into two businesses focusing on confectionery and beverages. The shares surged 3.9 percent to 625.5 pence.
Separately, the London-based Times reported Lion Capital and Blackstone Group LP may consider bidding for Cadbury’s beverage unit, without saying where it got the information. Cadbury Schweppes declined to comment, the Times said.
Source : BloomBerg.com
Posted in News | Comments Off
Tuesday, March 6th, 2007
Stock markets in Europe and Asia have recovered slightly from 5 days of losses. The London FTSE 100 was up 22 points in the first half hour of trading, other European stock indexes opened with a plus as well. Japan’s Nikkei index climbed 1.2% after losing 8% of it’s total value in 5 days. The Bombay Stock Exchange rose 2%.
Asian and European stock markets regained some ground on Tuesday following five days of losses.
London’s FTSE 100 index rose slightly in early morning trading, climbing 22.2 points to 6,079.9 in the first half hour of trading.
Other European markets also opened slightly higher.
Japan’s Nikkei index, which had lost 8% of its value in the past five sessions, climbed 1.2%, while the Bombay Stock Exchange put on more than 2%.
Source : BBC.CO.UK
Posted in News | Comments Off