Despite scanty media coverage of positive developments in Iraq, a new IBD/TIPP Poll suggests that improvements in security, planned troop withdrawals and reports of a weakened al-Qaida have Americans believing once again that their
Business Times - 25 Aug 2008 Home seizures by UK lenders hit 12-year high Repossession orders in H1 jump 48% as price slide continues By JANE MOIR IN LONDON HOME repossessions have surged to a 12-year high in the UK, as lenders take a tough line on debt-ridden owners. And the outlook for the rest of the year looks bleak, as house prices continue to fall. Figures released by the Council of Mortgage
Australia 's total fertility rate reached its highest point in 25 years in 2007, according to a report released Tuesday by the Productivity Commission, a government agency, Reuters reports. There were 285,000 births in the country last year, up from 261,400 in 2005 (Reuters, 8/6). The country's total fertility rate for 2007 is 1.93 infants per woman, Australia's Advertiser reports (Moscaritolo,
According to Wal-Mart's Chief Financial Officer, Wal-Mart is dedicated to maintain low prices despite growing pressures from its suppliers. Wal-Mart suppliers are now facing the steepest inflation in the U.S. in over 17 years as rising costs have now stretched beyond oil and food. Wal-Mart stated that they are not only trying to maintain prices, but also increase the number of price cuts in its
July 24, 2008 Home loan rates at five-year high A DEAL to save the United States housing market cannot come too soon: The troubles of mortgage finance giants are pushing up home loan rates to their highest levels in five years. The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 6.71per cent on Tuesday, from 6.44per cent last Friday, according to HSH Associates, a publisher of consu
New Delhi: India's annual rate of inflation shot up to a 14-year high of 11.42 percent for the week ended June 14 - against the 11.05 percent the week before - due to higher prices of primary articles.The index for primary articles moved up by 0.2 percent during the week even as the index of non-food articles declined 0.5 percent. Prices of fuels also rose 0.1 percent, while rice and bran oil beca
The inflation numbers which were released last friday served as the final nail in the coffin, for the Indian stock markets. With Inflation jumping by about 2% to over 11%, the markets are going in only one direction - DOWN. The markets crashed by over 4% as soon as the inflation numbers were out on Friday. There [...]
What is Inflation?Simply, Inflation is an increase in the price of a basket of goods and services that is representative of the economy as a whole.Inflation is defined as the change in the level of prices. This is the change in the price "shopping basket" of consumer goods for a country that the national statistics agency has sampled over time on a monthly/weekly basis.Opposite of inflation is def
Inflation was the data that market was waiting for today anything below 10 would have cheered up the market as it was expected around 10 , but the percent that thwy have released for week ending 7 June 2008 was 11.05 percent. The reading was the highest in 13 years since 6 May 1995, when [...]
A lethal combination of rising prices and falling sales has hit Britain's shops, according to the latest evidence from business leaders on the state of retailing.Activity in the high street fell for a second consecutive month in May, according to the Confederation of British Industry, while retailers put up their prices at the fastest rate since 1992. Retail confidence and the employment outlook h
Inflation for week ended May 3 at 7.83% Vs 7.61%.Inflation for week ended March 8 revised to 7.78% Vs 5.92% (Prov).Food Articles index is up 0.5% while Fuel, Power index up 0.8%. Manufactured Products index is up 0.3%.When Mr P.Chidambaram was asked on this he was saying government is doing all the best to get [...]
Indian annual inflation rose to a 3-½ year high of 7.61 percent in late April, prompting the finance minister to pledge that the government would take more action to tame prices if needed. Wholesale inflation (WPI), the country's most closely followed measure of price trends, has more than doubled since November as India, like other countries globally, saw its import bill for oil and food prices
CURRENCY TRADING SUMMARYU.S. Dollar Trading (USD) strengthened against the bulk of the majors on Wednesday as poor economic data coming out of the Euro Zone and slightly more dovish comments from ECB officials pushed the greenback higher, causing a flow on effect against other currencies. The U.S dollar gained further ground after Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker expressed concern over the pace of the greenback’s decline suggesting it wll hurt Euro economic growth. U.S stocks gained on Wednesday following a number of companies bettering expected earnings. This saw the Dow Jones rise by 43 points (0.3%) and the NASDAQ increase 28 points (1.2%). Oil prices remained strong, seeing only marginal gains as a weekly U.S inventory report showed an increase in stock by 2.4 mill
Singapore CPI up by 6.7%, a 26-year high
By EMILYN YAP
THE rise in the consumer price index (CPI) hit 6.7 per cent in March from a year ago, with economists reckoning that the climb may still have a little way to go.
On the rise: Food prices rose 7.6%, driven by costlier rice, cereals and other foodstuff
The [...]
NEW YORK — More Americans have fallen behind on consumer loans than at any time in nearly 16 years, as credit problems once concentrated in mortgages spread into other forms of debt.In a quarterly study, the American Bankers Association said the percentage of loans at least 30 days past due rose to 2.65% in the fourth quarter from 2.44% in the third quarter, and from 2.23% a year earlier.The rate of delinquencies was the highest since a 2.75% rate in the first quarter of 1992. It provides a fresh sign the nation's economy is slowing, and may be in recession."There's no question that the economy is weakening beyond housing, resulting in the loss of household purchasing power," said John Lonski, chief economist at Moody's Investors Service."Deterioration of household credit should continue
NEW YORK — More Americans have fallen behind on consumer loans than at any time in nearly 16 years, as credit problems once concentrated in mortgages spread into other forms of debt.In a quarterly study, the American Bankers Association said the percentage of loans at least 30 days past due rose to 2.65% in the fourth quarter from 2.44% in the third quarter, and from 2.23% a year earlier.The rate of delinquencies was the highest since a 2.75% rate in the first quarter of 1992. It provides a fresh sign the nation's economy is slowing, and may be in recession."There's no question that the economy is weakening beyond housing, resulting in the loss of household purchasing power," said John Lonski, chief economist at Moody's Investors Service."Deterioration of household credit should continue
India’s annual inflation rose to a three year high at 7 per cent, 2 percent more than the 5 percent comfort level. The wholesale prices index for the week to March 22 increased more than the market estimate of 6.62 per cent and the previous week’s 6.68 per cent.Market is down by 3 percent.
[...]
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON - The number of new people signing up for unemployment benefits last week shot up to the highest level in more than two years, fresh evidence of the damage to a national economy clobbered by housing, credit and financial crises.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for [...]
Blog District tagged me with this kind of a trip down to memory lane meme. It is really fun remembering the good ole days. Thanks Gracie!Think back to 4th Year H.S. Let's see how much you remember and how much you regret.What section were you?- Newton (Science Class)Who were your seat mates?- Aiko, Lotski, MarleneStill remember your English teacher?- Yes, it was our School Principal, Ma'am GloWhat was your first class?- T.H.E.- ComputerMade friends to the lower years?- YesHow was your class schedule?- It was great! I love going to school everyday :)Made any enemies?- No, I make friends with everyone.Who was your favorite teacher?- Ma'am C, our Class AdviserWhat sport did you play?- BasketballWere you a party animal?- NoWere you well known in your school?- Yes, because I am one of the talle
By Lewa PardomuanMarch 03, ReutersSINGAPORE - Gold edged closer to the $1,000 an ounce mark on Monday, setting a record high for the fourth straight day after the dollar tumbled and crude oil held near an all-time high.Silver jumped to $20 an ounce for the first time since November 1980 to track gold. Platinum and palladium held near their recent highs, while a firming yen ignited selling in yen-denominated Japanese precious metals futures.Gold jumped as high as $984.60 an ounce, partly driven by purchases from Japanese speculators who took advantage of the dollar's drop to a three-year low against the yen. Gold was last quoted at $973.30/973.75 in New York on Friday.Gold has gained around 18 percent in 2008 as investors shift some of their money into the precious metal on expectations of
Another bank fell under the subprime gong tao... This time round Temasek got vested. I saw Dr Tony Tan sitting at the press conference...it got me excited for a while because I thought SPH was the one whom injected the funds...keke needless to say as a die hard fan of SPH, it will be good news... but alas.. not to be. Speaking of SPH, it is now trading near it's 2 year high!!! $5 ? Akan datang. If Livermore is alive, he will be looking at this for sure. I shall look for CWs in anticipation keke... this is what I call pivotal point. Break, long, gostan we can go short. Definitely worth investigation. Using XPertTrader to screen, there are still no buy signals and at least 48 sell signals. This is where market condition takes precedence. We are now waiting for FOMC meeting and that leaves little incentive for market to move up. Tomorrow will offer great opportunity! I be watching Nikkei and HSI's closing to get into position. It has shown in the past, market seems to know
The detached home has long been the dream of home ownership for many Canadians.But higher interest rates and a steep rise in home prices over the last decade mean Canadians are increasingly turning to more affordable condominium housing. Thanks to condo building, housing starts hit a 29-year high of 278,200 annualized units in September, up almost 20 per cent from August, according to figures released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. yesterday."The steaming hot condo market powered the volatile multiple units construction in all regions of the country," BMO Nesbitt Burns economist Robert Hogue said yesterday.
The trade surplus and the stock market are not the only things rising in China at the moment. The FT reports that inflation has hit a 10-year high:
“China’s inflation rate hit a 10-year high of 5.6 per cent in July, raising expectations of further tightening measures and increasing concerns about an eventual knock-on impact on the real economy…
The increase in the consumer price index was mainly caused by higher prices for staple meats, such as pork, after an illness killed millions of pigs late last year. Pig prices have also been hit by rising feed costs, and the shortage has been compounded by a fall in the number of pigs being raised, which started earlier last year when prices were relatively low. China consumes about 600m pigs a year.
Non-food inflation remains low, at 0.9 per cent, year-on-year, but the government is becoming concerned that the break-out cannot be blamed on food alone…
The government fears that raising interest rates will encourage further capital inflo
The Canadian dollar continues to experience record highs as retail sales were reported strong today. The loonie was pushed up 0.88 of a cent to 96.39 US cents today. The dollar has risen 10.8 percent this year, and is currently at its highest levels since May 1977.
The strong dollar, a blowout May retail sales report, and last but not least, weaker commodity prices caused the Toronto Stock Exchange to plummet. The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 400.17 points, or about 2.8%, to 14,068.16. This was the benchmark index’s steepest one-day fall since the burst of the tech bubble in 2001. Canada’s two largest railways also contributed to the downfall today. Canadian National Railway stock fell 5.5 percent after lowering its full-year outlook; Canadian Pacific Railway, the No. 2 railway, slip 3.6 percent after it reported its quarterly profit dropped more than 30 percent. The TSX index hit a record peak last week, but retreated 3.8 percent in the last three sessions.
Regardle
Tin led metals higher Thursday, rising to its highest level since at least 1989, on fears that supply disruptions in Indonesia and Bolivia and increasing demand would cause a shortage. "People are expecting stronger demand in the second half and the same supply issues in Indonesia that drove prices earlier in the year are still impacting," Peter Kettle, manager of statistics and market studies at ITRI, said. "Bolivia is also a concern."
The Indonesian rupiah extended gains to a three-year high against the dollar on speculation overseas investors brought in funds to participate in a bond auction today. Indonesia will sell 3 trillion rupiah ($343 million) of 20- and 30-year bonds to help fund the budget deficit, according to a Finance Ministry announcement on May 15. ``We're seeing fund flows coming in from offshore,'' said Andy Widjaja, head of derivative trading at HSBC Holdings Plc in Jakarta. ``The bond yield is still very attractive, which is pushing the rupiah higher.'' The rupiah gained 0.8 percent to 8,693, the highest since May 2004, as of 9:11 a.m. in Jakarta from 8,760 yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The currency has risen 4.6 percent this month, the best performer of the 15 most-traded Asia-Pacific currencies. ``There's a new 30-year sale and there's a lot of foreign demand for it,'' Widjaja said. The rupiah
The Statesman: Rupee at nine-year high against $Excerpt:"The rupee today came close to breaching the 42 per dollar level as it strengthened further to a nine-year high of Rs 42.0325 against the US currency during mid-session. It was last quoted at this level in June 1998."http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=153754Alex
New foreclosure activity in January hit its highest level since RealtyTrac began issuing a national foreclosure report two years ago, with 130,511 new foreclosure filings reported during the month. That was up 19 percent from the previous month and up 25 percent from January 2006. Texas, California and Florida continued to report the top three monthly foreclosure totals among all the states.
Texas documented the highest foreclosure total of any state for the second month in a row, with 14,728 new foreclosure filings in January — a 4 percent increase from the previous month but an increase of less than 1 percent from January 2006. The state's foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 547 households was sixth highest among the states and 1.6 times the national average.
Read more:Â http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&ItemID=1907&accnt=64847
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Today the Nasdaq closed at a new 6-year high one day
earlier than even I expected, and the bears are in just as
deep of denial as ever. This is a very good thing as their
short sales add to the buying pressure when they are forced
to cover, and eventually their sideline cash will be forced
into longs by the emotional pressure of being left behind
in one of the persistent and powerful bull markets
TOKYO (AP) -- Soaring oil and commodity prices hit Japan's economy with a one-two punch in May, thrusting up inflation and driving consumers to tighten their pocketbooks.Japan's core inflation excluding volatile fresh food prices rose 1.5 percent in May from a year earlier, the quickest pace in more than a decade, the government said Friday.Household spending in May, meanwhile, slid 3.2 percent fr
