Shanghai soars on hopes of stimulus plan
Shanghai equities made their biggest daily gain in four months as optimism rose that the Chinese authorities would implement a stimulus plan to help the economy and support capital and property markets
Oil rises ahead of inventories
Crude oil prices rose, ahead of the latest US weekly inventories data, while gold continued to recover with bullion making further advances beyond the $800 level.
European resource stocks lead bounce
European equity markets bounced on Wednesday after firmer commodity prices lifted shares in mineral and energy stocks
Dovish central bank stance hits pound
Sterling slid against the dollar on Wednesday, on expectations of UK interest rate cuts by the end of the year
FTSE 100 up on rate cut hopes
Shares in London extended gains following the release of the latest minutes from the Bank of England which showed the committee was split three ways for the second month in a row
Hewlett-Packard lifts mood on Wall Street
US stocks were set to open higher as solid earnings from Hewlett-Packard gave investors hope in spite of continuing worries about the health of the financial sector
Price Comparison Websites Slammed
Price comparison websites may not be as brilliant at comparing the market as they seem, a watchdog has claimed.
Bank Chiefs Split Again On Rates
Bank of England policymakers were split three ways on what to do with interest rates for the second month in a row.
EBay Ups Bid For Fixed-Price Sales
E-commerce giant eBay has announced moves to make it easier to buy and sell fixed-price goods on its site.
Government picks up construction slack
U.S. government spending on construction is booming, while private spending has dropped, the U.S. Commerce Department said.
NASA plans lunar communication, navigation
The U.S. space agency says it is seeking ideas from companies that might provide communications and navigation services related to lunar exploration.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Crude-oil futures rose Wednesday for a second session as forecasts showed that U.S. gasoline supplies have dropped last week for a third consecutive time. Crude for September delivery rose $1.79, or 1.6%, to $116.33 a barrel in early electronic trading. Analysts surveyed by energy information provider Platts expected gasoline inventories to show a three million-barrel drop when the Energy Information Administration reports weekly data later in the morning. If realized, gasoline inventories will fall to 199.8 million barrels, the lowest since Nov. 23, 2007.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- American Airlines on Wednesday launched an Internet connection service for passengers who want to check their email, access their company's intranet or simply surf the Web through their Wi-Fi enabled devices while flying. The service, called GoGo and provided by Aircell, will charge customers $12.95 for full access to the Internet on flights longer than three hours. American didn't provide a revenue estimate for the service. "With today's launch, American Airlines makes history as the first and only U.S. airline to offer customers full in-flight Internet connectivity, demonstrating once again our industry leadership and focus on our customers," said Dan Garton, American's executive vice president of marketing.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasurys maturing in 10 years were slightly higher Wednesday, following European debt markets after the Bank of England. Ten-year note yields fell 3 basis points to 3.80%. England's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee voted on Aug. 6-7 to keep its benchmark rate steady at 5%, with one vote each in favor of raising and cutting the rate. In minutes of the meeting released Wednesday, policy makers leaned towards a future rate cut, furthering speculation that a global slowdown is in the works to the benefit of government debt, said Treasury analysts. There is no U.S. data or Federal Reserve speakers expected today.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Ross Stores Inc. said its second-quarter profit rose to $71.3 million, or 54 cents a share, from $50.9 million, or 37 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose to $1.64 billion from $1.44 billion. The company said it kept its forecast of comparable-store sales gains of 2% to 3% for both the third and fourth quarters as it said it's prudent to be conservative in its outlook especially with the end of the U.S. government's stimulus checks. Per-share profit for the year is forecast to rise to $2.33 to $2.38 from $1.90 last year, Ross Stores said. Ross was forecast to earn 52 cents a share in the second quarter and $2.37 for the year, according to FactSet Research.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Eaton Vance Corp. said Wednesday its fiscal third-quarter earnings slipped to $49.6 million, or 40 cents a share, from $55.2 million, or 41 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The Boston financial services provider said revenue declined to $282.8 million from $286.9 million. Assets under management increased 2% to $155.8 billion.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Allstate Corp. said Wednesday it has appointed Don Civgin as its chief financial officer effective September 8. Civgin, who is currently chief financial officer of office supply provider OfficeMax , will be responsible for aligning Allstate's finance and capital structures to the company's business strategies. Civgin will report to Thomas Wilson, Allstate's chairman, president and chief executive officer, and replaces acting chief financial officer Sam Pilch, the company's group vice president and controller. The Northbrook, Illinois-based auto and homeowner insurer last month reported a 98% drop in second-quarter net income.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Monsanto Co. said Wednesday it will sell its bovine-drug unit to Eli Lilly and Co. for an upfront payment of $300 million plus "additional contingent consideration." The St. Louis agricultural company said the POSILAC brand unit will become part of Eli's Elanco animal health division. "Elanco is fully focused on animal health and productivity and is committed to the importance of POSILAC in both the domestic and the international marketplace," said Carl Casale, executive VP of strategy and operations. POSILAC bovine somatotropin is an FDA-approved animal pharmaceutical used by U.S. dairy farmers to increase productivity.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Airlines were under pressure early Wednesday after a jump in the price of oil. At last check, the Amex Airline Index fell 1.5% to 24.11 with all but two of its 14 components in the red. Oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.60 to $116.15, as traders waited for the latest data on U.S. crude inventories due later in the session. All the network carriers were down, with United parent UAL Corp. , Northwest and US Airways each off more than 6%. Bucking the trend were shares of SkyWest and Tam SA , each up a fraction.
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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. led the tech sector north in early trading Wednesday, as the tech giant's shares rose $1.52, or 3.5%, to $45.21. H-P benefited from a strong third-quarter report and fouth-quarter outlook that it gave late Tuesday. Other tech stocks on the rise included Apple Inc. , IBM Corp. , Microsoft Corp. and Dell Inc. . The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 9.4 points to 2,393.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell 5% at the open Wednesday, headlining losers among financial sector stocks as the broader sector opened marginally lower. Lehman Brothers fell 3.4% as the New York Post reported that the investment bank failed to reach a deal with South Korean wealth funds and insitutions to raise capital. The top gainer in early action was Wachovia Corp. , whose shares rose 1% at the open. The Financial Select Sector SPDR , an ETF which tracks financials in the S&P 500, lost 0.5%, while the Amex Securities Broker/Dealer Index also shed 0.7% in early morning trading.
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Poll: Economy Forces Coloradans To Change Habits
The latest CBS4/Rocky Mountain News poll shows 75 percent of registered voters in Colorado are making at least some lifestyle changes because of the economy.
India story intact but 'moderation' in short-term: Edelweiss
Moderation in the economy in the short-term could be because of high inflation, rising commodity prices, high oil prices, increasing fiscal deficits and global uncertainties, Edelweiss said in its annual report. Despite the BSE Sensex swinging between 12,500 in March 2007 and 21,000 in March 2008, fund mobilisation through the primary and secondary markets is preferred, it said.
Barclays sees potential in US
Barclays would consider buying a US wealth management company but is 'highly unlikely' to bid for an investment bank, even with the depressed share prices of many Wall Street firms, Bob Diamond, the bank's president, said on Tuesday
Investors slam shares of Babcock satellites
Investors punished shares of the satellite groups of Babcock & Brown a day after the parent company's decision to halt trading ahead of a review of the future of its board and management
Macquarie fund to sell airport stakes
Macquarie Airports, a fund managed by Australian investment bank Macquarie Group, posted a first-half loss and said it would reduce its stakes in two airports to cut debt, sending its shares up sharply
Ferrovial objects to BAA break-up plan
Spain's Ferrovial said a proposal by UK regulators to break up its subsidiary BAA would lead to poorer standards of services and a delay in the delivery of new runways. But investors were initial cheered by the prospect of a lighter debt load
Fed mortgage bailout soon, analysts say
Investors say a U.S. Treasury move to bail out two huge government-sponsored mortgage lenders is only a matter of time.
Crude oil prices up slightly
Crude oil prices rose Wednesday to about $115 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, following Tuesday's gain prompted by the depreciating U.S. dollar.
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Mobile phone giant Nokia Corp. said Wednesday that it will cut around 200 jobs in its services and software division as part of a revamp of its global research and development activities. The group said it aims to find alternative work for as many of the employees as possible within Nokia. The company added its Internet services strategy will continue unchanged, with a focus on music, games, messaging and location-based services.
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LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Germany's Cabinet on Wednesday approved legislation that would let the government block foreign investors from taking large stakes in German companies if it decides such moves would endanger German interests, news reports said. The measure requires approval by parliament, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition has a large majority. Under the law, the government would be able to examine plans to purchase 25% or more of a German firm's voting shares by investors based outside the European Union or the European Free Trade Association, the Associated Press reported.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures edged higher early Wednesday, boosted by rising oil prices, but strength in the U.S. dollar capped the metal's gains. Gold for December delivery rose $1.60 to $818.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Worries about growth outside the United States allowed the dollar to rebound Wednesday, sending the euro back toward six-month lows against the greenback and lifting the U.S. unit against most major counterparts.
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Nedbank boosts Mvela's prospects
Nedbank Capital will provide more than half of the funding for Mvelaphanda Resources' purchase of a bigger stake in Northam Platinum.
Paulson says Americans should not fear Chinese economic clout
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says Americans should not fear China's growing economic clout, but rather see it as an opportunity that can benefit both China and the United States, if the two countries forge a successful strategic economic relationship in the years ahead.
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