Hong Kong will spend nearly HK$80 billion ($10.3 billion) to bolster growth as the government forecasts the weakest expansion since 2009 on a
100% Online payday loans. No Fax. Instant Approval. Bad Credit OK!
Spain’s Banco Santander saw its fourth-quarter profits plunged 98 percent after it took a euro1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) charge to protect its Spanish real estate portfolio, and as it set aside cash to cover bad loans.
Europe’s largest bank by market capitalization said Tuesday it earned euro47 million for the quarter that ended in December, down from euro2.1 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Without the provision, the bank said it would have had profit of euro1.7 billion in the fourth quarter.
Spain’s banks are under heavy pressure from the government to disclose additional losses on overvalued real estate including land and apartment buildings in their holdings.
Spain is mired in an economic morass and has the highest unemployment rate in the whole 17-nation eurozone, largely because of a big construction sector crash.
A more detailed look at the quarterly earnings figures showed that the bank’s revenue rose modestly to euro11 billion from euro10.6 billion a year earlier.
For the whole of 2011, Santander’s profit totaled euro5.4 billion, down from euro8.2 billion in 2010. The bank said profits from Latin America made up the bulk of its profits during the year. It said 51 percent of the total came from its operations there.
The growing importance of Latin America was evident in the bank’s loan book during the year. Total loans during the year were up 4 percent as Banco Santander SA boosted business in Latin America that helped buffer decreasing European operations.
Santander shares rose 1.1 percent to euro6.05 each in Tuesday morning trading after the results were released.
Therefore, the best way for you on how to get free credit reports online is to go to the AnnualCreditReport.com; this is the official web site.
China is allowing the nation
French President Nicolas Sarkozy bluntly declared Monday that a harsh downgrade by Standard & Poor’s of France’s formerly top-rung debt rating “changes nothing” for the eurozone’s No. 2 economy.
Sarkozy, in a testy exchange with a journalist at a Madrid news conference, suggested that a solid investor demand for a French debt auction Monday and a reaffirmation from rival ratings agency Moody’s of France’s triple-A sovereign debt had offset S&P’s much-publicized downgrade.
“We have to react to this with calm, by taking a step back,” he told reporters during a visit with Spain’s new prime minister, Mariano Rajoy. “At the core, my conviction is that it changes nothing.”
The S&P downgrade Friday _ which Sarkozy’s own finance minister called “bad news” _ came just 100 days before the president faces what is expected to be a tough re-election campaign.
The news conference began combatively when Sarkozy refused to answer a question about whether France’s downgrade would affect its ability to lead Europe out of the crisis _ and if the move prompted the postponement of a crisis summit for him and the leaders of Germany and Italy next week.
Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have taken the lead in proposing solutions to the crisis and major decisions are often hashed out at their meetings ahead of European summits.
“You don’t have the latest information,” Sarkozy retorted to a reporter who asked about the downgrade and the summit. Sarkozy refused to answer even after the reporter rephrased his question twice.
The French leader later confirmed that the three-way summit would take place in February and downplayed the S&P downgrade, but never gave a clear answer as to why the summit was rescheduled.
Sarkozy did manage to win much-needed political support from Rajoy _ notably for his pet project for a financial transaction tax that could help ailing European state coffers get out of the red.
France, which has long enjoyed relatively low borrowing costs and had S&P’s top-tier AAA rating uninterrupted since the mid-1970s, on Friday was the largest of nine eurozone members hit by S&P downgrades _ dropping one notch to AA+. The agency also kept a negative outlook on French state debt.
Analysts said Sarkozy’s denial that the downgrade meant much was wishful thinking guaranteed payday loan.
“The fact that there is a negative outlook, it means that there is a probability _ a quite high probability _ of further downgrade in 2012, 2013,” said French economist Norbert Gaillard. “So it’s bad news for France.”
But in a vindication of sorts for Sarkozy, France sold euro8.6 billion ($10.9 billion) in short-term debt on Monday. The yields _ or the interest rates charged by investors on the debt _ fell, a sign investors still see the country as a good bet.
Spain was also hit by an S&P downgrade, from AA- to A+, but Rajoy said that blow and downgrades for other European nations shouldn’t be seen as a sign they will have trouble emerging from the financial crisis.
Rajoy’s Socialist predecessor also supported the financial transaction tax, but Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was ousted from office by Spaniards angry about the country’s hurting economy and high unemployment.
The European Commission has estimated that the tax could raise as much as euro57 billion ($72.2 billion) a year, funds that could be used to help reduce the substantial budget deficits crippling European economies.
Moody’s cited France’s economic strength as a reason for affirming its top rating, but said bleak growth prospects in France and the region present “risks to the French government’s fiscal consolidation plans.”
Moody’s said it would again review French debt later in the first quarter as part of a broader look at sovereign debt within the EU _ meaning a decision is likely close to France’s two-round presidential vote in April and May.
Sarkozy’s challengers for the presidency _ including Socialist nominee Francois Hollande _ have seized on the S&P downgrade as evidence that his policies are wrong-headed and ineffective.
It will be a bruising election battle for Sarkozy, a dynamic leader who has a strong international profile but is widely disliked at home. Leftists say he has coddled the rich, while many of those who supported him in his 2007 campaign say he hasn’t fulfilled his promises.
And Hollande is currently leading in the polls.
China’s premier has pledged to tighten risk controls on its banks and see that they do more to help entrepreneurs to sustain economic growth in the face of a possible global slowdown.
Premier Wen Jiabao said at a weekend financial planning conference Saturday that China’s financial industries are sound but still face risks. He vows to press ahead with reforms aimed at giving market forces more influence over lending, but no details have been announced no checking account payday advance.
China’s state-owned banks avoided the financial turmoil that battered Western institutions, but a slump in global demand and exports is fueling concern its relatively robust economic growth might slow dangerously.
Industrial orders in Germany dropped sharply in November as demand from abroad dropped _ nearly erasing a strong gain from the previous month.
Orders were down 4.8 percent compared to the previous month, the Economy Ministry reported Friday. In October, orders rose 5 percent _ a figure that was revised downward from the initial reading of 5.2 percent.
The decline was the largest monthly drop since January 2009 but UniCredit economist Andreas Rees said it was less a “harbinger of a nasty recession” than giving back some ground after October’s “tremendous rise.”
“There is no reason to get overly concerned about the state of the German economy, or even to become panicky,” Rees said. “As a matter of fact, exactly the opposite is true for German industrial companies as indicated by forward-looking sentiment indicators in the last few weeks overnight pay day loans.”
According to the report, foreign orders were down 7.8 percent on the month in November while orders from inside Germany _ Europe’s biggest economy _ declined 1.1 percent.
The sharpest month-on-month drop was in orders for investment goods such as factory machinery, which fell 6.5 percent.
On a less volatile quarter-on-quarter basis, the ministry says figures so far show orders in 2011’s final three months were “slightly under” the level of the third quarter.
Greece’s government warned Tuesday that the debt-crippled country will have to ditch the euro if it fails to finalize a second, euro130 billion ($169 billion) international bailout.
Spokesman Pantelis Kapsis said negotiations in the next three or four months with international debt monitors will “determine everything,” including whether Greece escapes a disastrous bankruptcy.
Greece is being kept afloat by a first, euro110 billion ($142 billion) international bailout agreed in May 2010, after investors shocked by the country’s huge budget deficit and debt mountain demanded sky-high interest rates to continue buying Greek bonds.
An additional bailout was agreed in October, when it became clear that the first batch of funds would not suffice, but that deal has yet to be finalized.
Sorting out the details of the bailout, which also foresees a euro100 billion writedown of Greece’s privately held debt, is the main task of the coalition government headed by former central banker Lucas Papademos, whose short mandate is expected to expire in early April.
“This famous loan agreement must be signed, otherwise we are outside the markets, out of the euro and things will become much worse,” Kapsis told private Skai TV.
In return for its first batch of rescue loans from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund, Greece imposed deeply resented austerity measures to contain its budget deficit _ set to hit at least 9 percent of GDP last year despite repeated spending cuts and tax hikes.
Kapsis said further cutbacks, possibly including new taxes, might be required to address a revenue shortfall,
“We will see what the shortfall is and it is very likely that measures will be required,” he said. “I also don’t believe it is easy to impose new taxes, but what does cutting spending mean? To close down the public sector?”
“There is no easy solution,” Kapsis said.
The details are expected to be determined during talks later this month with debt inspectors from the EU, the European Central bank and the IMF, who will determine whether the country receives its next loan installment.
“We can’t take (approval of the next installment) for granted,” Kapsis warned.
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron pledged more action to deal with
U.S. stocks rose Thursday in a thinly-traded session as investors focused on signs of strength in the economy before calling it a year.
The Dow Jones industrial average () rose 136 points, or 1.1%, to end at 12,287. The S&P 500 () added 13 points, or 1.1%, to 1,263. The Nasdaq () gained 24 points, or 0.9%, to 2,614.
Thursday’s rebound put the S&P 500 back on track for a modest 0.4% gain in 2011, after the broad market index fell sharply Wednesday. The Dow is currently up 6.1% for the year, while the Nasdaq is set for a 1.5% loss.
Stocks were supported by reports on housing, manufacturing and employment that raised hopes about the U.S. economy.
"Today’s last round of major U.S. reports before the weekend New Year’s celebration provided a decidedly positive spin to the outlook," wrote Michael Englund, chief economist at Action Economics, in a note to clients.
Traders said low volume, typical of the holiday week, has led to more pronounced swings, and some of the moves are coming from year-end portfolio rebalancing rather than convictions over the trajectory of the market or particular stocks.
Are you a markets whiz?
"We expect light trading through today and tomorrow, and any noise can create wild swings," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management.
Looking ahead, many investors expect stocks to move higher in the first few months of 2012.
The U.S. economy has shown signs of improvement recently, with economists forecasting a 3.3% increase in gross domestic product in the final three months of 2011. In addition, corporate profits are expected to rise in the fourth quarter, continuing an 11-month streak.
But the outlook for next year remains clouded by the debt crisis in Europe, which continues to weigh on demand for risk assets such as stocks.
On Thursday, an auction of Italian 10-year bonds, which have seen yields continue to flirt with the 7% danger zone, provided muted results. While yields were reported below prior levels, demand was short.
The euro fell to a 17-month low and analysts warn the currency could fall even further in 2012.
"Europe is a powder keg and could explode at any time, and likely will when we are the most complacent," said Keith Springer, president of Springer Financial Advisors in Sacramento cash advance america.
Economy: Jobless claims rose 15,000 to 381,000 in the latest week, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com had expected 368,000 claims.
But the figure remained below 400,000, giving investors hope that the labor market will strengthen in the new year.
The National Association of Realtors index of pending home sales, which measures signed sales contracts but not closed sales, rose 4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million in November from 4.25 million in October.
Economist had expected the a 0.6% increase in pending home sales.
The report boosted shares of homebuilders, including Pulte (, Fortune 500), Masco (, Fortune 500), Lennar () and DR Horton (, Fortune 500).
An index of manufacturing activity in the Chicago area eased slightly in December but held near a 7-month high, according to the Institute for Supply Management.
Companies: Amazon (, Fortune 500) eased after analysts at Goldman Sachs (, Fortune 500) suggested that the online retailer’s sales growth for the holiday period may fall short of expectations.
Shares of Yahoo (, Fortune 500) gained 2.7% after reports that China’s Alibaba Group has hired a lobbying firm to prepare a bid for Yahoo.
BP () edged higher despite reports that employees could face criminal charges in relation to last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
World markets: European stocks closed higher. Britain’s FTSE 100 () added 0.8%, the DAX () in Germany rose 0.9% and France’s CAC 40 () rose 1.1%.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite () edged up 0.2%, the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong fell 0.7% and Japan’s Nikkei () lost 0.3%.
Betting on the dollar in 2012
Currencies and commodities: The dollar gained strength against the euro and the British pound but fell versus the Japanese yen.
Oil for February delivery rose 31 cents to $99.05 a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $23.20 to $1,540.90 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, with the yield easing to 1.89% from late Wednesday.
Powered by WordPress