Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
US reports indicating the US economy is cooling down caused Japanese stocks to fall. Exporters were most affected due to the decline in exports to the United States. The European Union has also reported a drop in exports to the US. Although a recession is not likely, the US economy is not in a good shape. Nintendo saw its stock price drop by 3.6%, Matsushita’s stocks were down 3%.
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Japanese stocks fell, led by exporters, after U.S. reports added to evidence the world’s largest economy is cooling. Nintendo Co. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. paced the declines.
“The U.S. economy is not looking strong, even though a recession seems unlikely,” said Masaru Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co., which oversees $3.3 billion in Tokyo. “We’re going to see a performance gap develop in terms of exporters who rely on the U.S. and those who make money elsewhere.”
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Monday, December 10th, 2007
Swiss investment bank UBS took another financial hit today from investments in the US sub-prime market, worth $10 billion dollars. Add that to the previous write-down of $3.5 billion dollars, and UBS ranks top of the list of banks worst hit by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis. The bank indicated it may make an overall loss in 2007. UBS is one of the world’s biggest investment banks with assets worth $2.6 trillion dollars. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts that losses due to the crisis could top $300 billion dollars in total.
Swiss investment bank UBS has reported a further $10bn (£4.9bn) in write-downs from its exposure to bad debt in the sub-prime US mortgage sector.
It had already said in October that the crisis had cost it about 4bn Swiss francs ($3.5bn; £1.8bn).
The firm said that the hit meant it may now make an overall loss in 2007.
UBS also revealed that it had received a 11bn Swiss francs ($9.7bn; £4.8bn) injection from the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.
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Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
With concern easing over a possible recession in the US, a positive report on employment and increased productivity - US stock exchanges added about 1% on average. A rebound in memory chip prices, and the possibility of continued interest in computer hardware from developing economies, pushed Intel Corp. and Micron Technology Inc. stocks up. Asian and European stock exchanges were also up. US productivity grew by an annual rate of 6.3 percent.
U.S. stocks rose the most in a week after signs of increased productivity and a closely watched private report on employment suggested the economy will avoid a recession.
Intel Corp. and Micron Technology Inc. climbed on a rebound in memory chip prices and a Thomas Weisel Partners report saying emerging markets will stoke demand for computers. Countrywide Financial Corp. led mortgage lenders higher on speculation the Treasury will reach an agreement to stem subprime defaults. American International Group Inc. jumped after saying its investments linked to the housing market are “manageable.” Benchmark indexes in Asia and Europe also rose.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 13.29, or 0.9 percent, to 1,476.08 at 2:54 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 137.13, or 1 percent, to 13,385.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 33.92, or 1.3 percent, to 2,653.75. Almost five stocks advanced for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
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