Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Search
Search:
RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar, oil drop on weak outlook; stocks slip
Reuters - 2 hours 57 minutes ago
* Bank of Japan rate decision on tap
* Government bond yields edge up but maybe not for long
* Asia stocks fall, oil languishes near $36
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Dec 19 - The U.S. dollar fell on Friday, on track for the biggest weekly decline since 1985, while oil was pinned near 4-1/2-year lows under $40 after plunging overnight on a dismal outlook for energy demand.
Tokyo stocks fell 1 percent <.N225> ahead of a policy decision by the Bank of Japan, which could follow the Federal Reserve this week in cutting its benchmark rates closer to zero and taking more unconventional action to make commercial banks lend to each other.
However, the financial sector still looked shaky, with HSBC shares <0005.HK> down 7 percent on fears about whether Europe's largest lender will raise capital or cut its dividend. [ID:nLI140387 ]
The dollar also remained under pressure after the Fed indicated this week it has embarked on quantitative easing, the final option of any central bank in which the financial system is immersed with cheap funds in an effort to revive lending.
Prospects of an oversupply of dollars on the market and the belt-busting U.S. fiscal deficit has made dealers dump the currency.
"A BOJ rate cut with additional steps may slow down the yen's appreciation against the dollar but the general trend of dollar weakness is likely to continue," said Masato Mori, senior manager at NTT Smarttrade in Tokyo.
The dollar, still the world's foremost reserve currency, had served as a haven for investors during the bloodiest months of the financial crisis. A persistent decline could have a big impact on Asian central banks, exporters and companies with dollar-based revenues.
The euro was up 0.3 percent at $1.4255 <EUR=>, after having surged overnight to a near three-month high of $1.4720 on trading platform EBS. The euro has gained a stunning 20 cents in the last month as the euro zone's interest rate advantage was expected to hold for a while longer.
The dollar was down 0.2 percent to 89.25 yen <JPY=> and fell as low as 87.13 yen, its weakest in more than 13 years, on Wednesday. An overnight bounce frayed the nerves of traders who are anxious the Bank of Japan could intervene to cap the yen's rise, but no evidence was found to support such a move.
The trade weighted dollar <.DXY> is down 4.5 percent this week, heading for its biggest weekly fall since September 1985, according to Reuters data.
CRUDE, COPPER UNDER PRESSURE
A synchronised deep recession spanning developed economies around the world has hit emerging markets hard as well, sharply reducing raw material needs and dragging down prices of everything from copper to crude. Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange sank to the lowest in four years on Thursday.
U.S. crude for January delivery fell as low as $35.98 a barrel on Thursday and recovered some to $36.40 <CLc1>. In the last few months, oil has crumbled and is down 62 percent this year.
Asian stocks were set to end of the last full trading week of 2008 with a whimper.
The MSCI index of stocks in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell 1.4 percent. The index plunged 53 percent in 2008, easily the biggest annual decline since the gauge was launched in 1988.
The region was not able to escape a global slowdown that accelerated following a shakeup in the structure of Wall Street banks and a sudden pullback in China's economic growth.
However, some big investors still believe the long-term outlook of corporate Asia is bright. Battermarch, a unit of Legg Mason, said it favours Asian stocks related to domestic demand and infrastructure development.
"Despite the larger Asian economies tending to be more susceptible than other emerging markets to the global economic slowdown, due to their trading partnerships, the outlook for Asia remains positive," said Ray Prasad, a senior portfolio manager with the firm who helps to oversee $5.2 billion in emerging markets equities.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index <.HSI> led the region lower, down 2.3 percent. In addition to HSBC, stocks of Chinese oil refineries also weighed on the broad market after Beijing slashed domestic fuel prices.
PetroChina <0857.HK> fell 3 percent and Sinopec <0386.HK> slipped 1.7 percent.
Longer-dated U.S. government bonds edged lower, as dealers squeezed what profits they could from a treacherous year for trading. However, the Fed's plan to buy late maturity Treasuries and government-sponsored agency securities to lower borrowing costs will likely support prices in the near term.
The benchmark 10-year yield <US10YT=RR>, which moves inversely to the price, was at 2.07 percent after falling as low as 2.04 percent overnight, the lowest since the 1950s.
The yield has slumped around 200 basis points in 2008, with the lion's share happening in the last month. (Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko in TOKYO; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Asia Pacific
Thai PM: PAD protesters must face rule of lawAFP - 25 minutes ago
Internet witch hunt instigator ordered to payAP - 34 minutes ago
Oil price just above 36 dollars, lowest in four yearsAFP - 46 minutes ago
Standard Chartered says Temasek retains 18.8 pct stakeAFP - 1 hour 36 minutes ago
SKorea brings last remaining troops home from IraqAP - 1 hour 41 minutes ago
Most Popular – Asia Pacific
Viewed
Actress Jennifer Aniston appears naked in GQ magazine
Oil prices slump to more than four-year lows under 38 dollars
US doctors hail near-total face transplant
Ageing L'Oreal heiress defends billion-dollar giveaway
Chrysler halts manufacturing as clock ticks on gov't bailout
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular