Worldwide
Financial News
Stocks in U.S. Tumble, Sending S&P 500 Index Below Lowest Close Since 1997 U.S. stocks declined, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index below its lowest close in 11 years, after economic reports signaled a deeper recession and lawmakers postponed voting on a plan to rescue the auto industry.
Auto-Rescue Plan to Be Taken Up in Special Session of Congress Next Month Democratic congressional leaders blocked immediate action on a bailout for cash-strapped domestic automakers and told the industry to come up with a workable plan to submit to lawmakers in December.
U.S. Jobless Claims Approach Highest Level Since 1982 as Recession Deepens The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits approached a 26-year high, and a gauge of the economy's future performance dropped, sending yields on benchmark Treasuries to record lows.
JPMorgan Will Fire 3,000 in Investment Banking, Freeze Some Base Salaries JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest U.S. bank, plans to fire about 10 percent of its investment banking staff, or about 3,000 people, as the global economy slides into recession, a person familiar with the bank said.
Citigroup Falls for a Fourth Day as Outlook Dims; Alwaleed to Boost Stake Citigroup Inc. fell as much as 25 percent in New York trading, after losing almost a quarter of its value yesterday, as concern intensified that the U.S. recession will generate losses and weaken demand for financial services.
Treasury to Buy Reserve Government Fund Assets, Enabling Investors to Exit The U.S. Treasury has agreed to buy Reserve U.S. Government Fund's remaining assets on Jan. 3, allowing the fund to make whole shareholders whose assets have been frozen since September.
U.S. Financial Firms Need at Least $1.2 Trillion in Federal Aid, FBR Says The U.S. may need to spend another $1.2 trillion to recapitalize the eight largest financial institutions and stabilize the markets because private investors won't take the risk, an FBR Capital Markets analyst said.
Australia & New Zealand
Financial News
Australian Power Investment Picking Up, Ending Period of `Sluggish' Growth Australia's investment in new power stations to meet rising demand and replace ageing plants is ``finally picking up'' after a ``sluggish'' past few years, the country's national energy regulator said.
APEC Trade Ministers Reject `Protectionism' Amid Global Financial Crisis Ministers representing the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum warned against ``protectionism'' amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Tower Annual Profit Rises 17% on Improved Health, Life Insurance Earnings Tower Ltd., a New Zealand insurer and fund manager, said first-half profit rose 17 percent, led by gains in its health and life insurance units.
CRB Commodity Index Tumbles 50% From July Record as Recession Saps Demand Tumbling prices for oil, copper and natural gas sent the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials down more than 50 percent from a record in July as the global recession sapped demand.
Crude Oil Declines Below $50 for First Time in 22 Months on Demand Slump Crude oil fell below $49 a barrel in New York for the first time since May 2005 as a recession in the U.S., Europe and Japan cut global energy demand.
BHP, Santos Among Winners of 44 Exploration Permits Off India's West Coast India rejected a bid by the U.K.'s Cairn Energy Plc. and its local unit to explore an oil and gas area off the nation's west coast and awarded 44 fields that were auctioned to bidders this year.
Shenhua Energy to Pay $187 Million for Gunnedah Coal Exploration License China Shenhua Energy Co., the nation's biggest coal producer, said it paid A$299.9 million ($187 million) for an exploration license for as it expands overseas to gain supplies.
General News
Stocks
Americas
Stocks in U.S. Tumble, Sending S&P 500 Index Below Lowest Close Since 1997 U.S. stocks declined, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index below its lowest close in 11 years, after economic reports signaled a deeper recession and lawmakers postponed voting on a plan to rescue the auto industry.
Baidu.com, GameStop, JPMorgan, PetSmart, Wet Seal, XTO: U.S. Equity Movers The following companies are having unusual price changes in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and share prices are as of 2:50 p.m. in New York.
Brazilian Stocks Trading in U.S. Fall on Commodities; Vale, Petrobras Drop Brazilian stocks trading in the U.S. fell to the lowest in three years, led by miner Cia. Vale do Rio Doce and oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, on speculation that earnings may contract because of the slump in commodity prices.
Canada Stocks Plunge, Led by EnCana, Toronto-Dominion, on Oil, Debt Losses Canadian stocks fell the most since Black Monday 1987, led by banks and energy producers, after Toronto-Dominion Bank reported trading losses and oil prices fell below $50 a barrel for the first time in two years.
Record Options Trading Dries Up as Hedge Funds Fold, Volatility Skyrockets U.S. options trading slowed this month from a record pace after hedge funds collapsed and the biggest market swings since 1929 made equity derivatives too expensive to be used as insurance against stock losses.
Europe
European Stocks Tumble on Economy Concern; Mining Shares, Banks Lead Drop European stocks slumped, sending the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index to the lowest level since 2003, after the highest U.S. jobless claims since 1992 heightened concern corporate profits will crumble as the global recession deepens.
U.K. FTSE 100 Index Declines For a Second Day; Shell, Rio Tinto Lead Drop U.K. stocks fell for a second day, led by raw-materials companies, after the most U.S. jobless claims since 1992 heightened concern the global recession is deepening.
Deutsche Boerse to Start `Dark Pool' Next Week, Doesn't Plan Separate MTF Deutsche Boerse AG will start a service for investors to trade large orders of stocks through an internal electronic matching system that won't display prices, without setting up a separate trading platform like some rivals.
Sarkozy to Create $7.6 Billion Sovereign Fund to Protect French Companies French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the government and a state-owned lender will raise 6 billion euros ($7.6 billion) to create a sovereign fund aimed at protecting and developing the country's ``strategic companies.''
Asia
Asian Stocks Slump, Extending Global Rout, as Exports Fall; Nintendo Drops Asian stocks fell, driving the region's benchmark index to its lowest level since August 2003, as Japan's exports declined the most in almost seven years and U.S. consumer prices sank by a record.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Slumps Below 8,000 on Exports, Recession; Insurers Sink Japanese stocks slumped, sending the Nikkei 225 Stock Average below 8,000 for the first time in four weeks, as the deepening global recession eroded earnings at insurers and prompted the fastest drop in exports in seven years.
Australia's Benchmark Stock Index Closes 51% Below Last Year's Record High Australian stocks fell, dragging the benchmark index 51 percent below last year’s record high, as commodity prices and U.S. equities sank amid concern the global economic recession will deepen.
`SET in the City' Offers Gold, Prizes to Lure Thais Back Into Stock Market Thailand’s stock exchange is offering 1 million baht ($28,478) of prizes, from gold to shares, to lure investors to Asia’s second-cheapest equity market.
Bonds
Americas
Treasury Yields Drop to Record Lows as Investors Seek Safety of U.S. Debt Treasury yields declined to record lows, with two-year notes dropping below 1 percent for the first time, as global stocks slumped and a deepening recession drove investors to the safest assets.
Macy's Debt Trades Like Junk as Bloomingdale's Joins Kmart in Bond Spreads Macy's Inc., the second-biggest U.S. department-store company, is headed into the holidays facing the possibility of losing its 11-year-old investment-grade rating.
Dinallo Shelves Plan for New York State Regulation of Credit-Default Swaps New York State Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo shelved plans to regulate some credit-default swaps because of progress by federal regulators on broader oversight of the market.
Fannie Mae Debt Spreads Hit Records as GMAC Seeks Status as Bank Company Yields on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s $1.7 trillion of corporate debt rose to records relative to benchmarks, as GMAC LLC’s application for status as a bank holding company potentially creates more competition from issuers of U.S.-backed debt.
Europe
European Government Bonds Advance as German Producer-Price Inflation Slows European 10-year government bonds rose for a fifth day after German producer-price inflation slowed, fueling speculation policy makers will keep cutting interest rates to revive the recession-mired economy.
Allied Irish Banks to Sell 2 Billion Euros of Government-Guaranteed Bonds Allied Irish Banks Plc, the nation's biggest lender by value, plans to sell 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) of two-year government-guaranteed bonds at a yield of 55 basis points over the benchmark mid-swap rate, a banker involved in the issue said.
Money-Market Rates Decline on Bets Interest-Rate Reductions to Accelerate The cost of borrowing in dollars for three months in London fell on speculation policy makers will accelerate interest rate cuts and provide more cash amid signs the deepening global recession is thwarting lending by banks.
Northern Rock Mortgage-Backed Bond Risk Jumps on Repayment Delay Concern The cost of protecting Northern Rock Plc’s mortgage-backed bonds from default jumped after the U.K. lender breached terms governing the debt, delaying repayments to some noteholders.
Asia
Japan's Government Bonds Advance on Stock Drop, Global Deflation Concerns Japan's 10-year government bonds advanced for a second day as the Nikkei 225 Stock Average slumped, extending a global stock rout that has erased more than $12 trillion of value in equities this quarter.
Asia Money Costs Fall as Australia, Hong Kong Pump In Cash to Spur Lending Australia and Hong Kong policy makers pumped cash into money markets, helping to bring down funding costs that had risen to records last month amid an international lending freeze.
Japanese Bond Risk Soars to Record on Concern Banks Weakening, Swaps Show Default protection costs on Japanese corporate bonds soared to a record on concern a global recession and stock market slumps are damaging company earnings and weakening financial institutions.
Commodities
Gold Rises a 2nd Day on Speculation Interest Rates Will Fall; Silver Drops Gold climbed for a second straight day on speculation the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates to stimulate the U.S. economy, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative asset.
Copper Tumbles to Lowest Since July 2005 as Recession Erodes Metal Demand Copper prices tumbled to the lowest since July 2005 on signs that the global recession is deepening, eroding demand for industrial metals.
Corn, Soybeans, Wheat Fall as Demand May Drop With Weakening World Economy Corn, soybeans and wheat plunged as global stocks tumbled to a five-year low, increasing speculation that a weakening world economy will curb demand for food, animal feed and alternative fuels made from crops.
White Sugar Falls for Second Day as Crude Oil Drops, Dollar Strengthens White sugar fell for a second session as the dollar strengthened, diminishing the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment, and crude oil weakened.
Cocoa Drops for First Time in a Week as Slowing Economy May Eroded Demand Cocoa prices fell in New York, ending a five-session rally, on speculation that a deepening recession will erode demand for the chocolate ingredient and other commodities. Orange juice gained.
Hog Prices Gain Most Since August as U.S. Shipments Slow; Cattle Rebound Hog futures rose the most since August on signs that animal deliveries to U.S. pork processors are slowing, easing concern that output gains may leave a glut. Cattle prices rebounded from a two-year low.
Currencies
Japan's Yen Trades Near Three-Week High on Evidence U.S. Recession Deepens The yen touched a three-week high against the dollar as reports showing a surge in U.S. jobless claims and a drop in manufacturing prompted bets investors will sell higher-yielding assets funded by low-cost loans in Japan.
Dollar Gain Bets Reduced by Equity Fund Managers, Merrill Survey Shows Equity fund managers are reducing bets for a strengthening U.S. dollar and say Japan’s yen is overvalued for the first time in five years, according to Merrill Lynch & Co.
Americas
Canada's Dollar Falls to Lowest in 3 Weeks as Stocks, Crude Oil Decline Canada's currency fell to the lowest in more than three weeks as pessimism over the outlook for the global economy drove oil below $50 a barrel and stocks tumbled.
Latin America Currencies: Chilean Peso Drops a Fourth Day as Copper Falls Chile's peso declined for a fourth day as the price of copper dropped to a three-year low on flagging demand from carmakers and homebuilders amid the global economic slowdown.
Bernanke May Find Deflation `Back on the Table' as Threat to U.S. Economy Five years after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke helped stamp out the risk of deflation, the threat is returning as the financial crisis and a worsening economic slump pull inflation lower.
Europe
British Pound Slides Against Dollar, Gilts Surge as Retail Sales Decline The U.K. pound dropped and government bonds surged after retail sales fell for a second month, increasing the likelihood policy makers will cut borrowing costs again to revive Britain's faltering economy.
Putin Pledges Tax Cuts, Ruble Defense to Prevent Repeat of Russian Crisis Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed to do ``everything'' to prevent the kind of financial crises that shook the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Swiss Franc Declines Against Dollar, Euro on Unexpected Interest-Rate Cut The Swiss franc dropped to the lowest level against the dollar since August 2007 after the central bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate.
Asia
Australian, New Zealand Dollars Slide Most in Week as Risk Aversion Grows The Australian and New Zealand dollars fell the most in a week on speculation a slump in regional stocks and the prospect of more interest-rate cuts prompted investors to pare holdings of the two nations' assets.
Korean Won Weakens to a Decade-Low, Kospi Slides as Risk Appetite Wanes South Korea's won slid below 1,500 per dollar for the first time in a decade and stocks fell for an eighth day, the longest losing streak since 2003, as a global recession prompted investors to pull funds from emerging markets.
Indian Rupee Declines to Record Low as Investors Sell Stocks, Reduce Risk India's rupee slid to a record low against the dollar as a rout in global equities added to speculation investors will increase sales of riskier emerging- market assets amid a deepening global economic slump.
Emerging Markets
Ecuador Debt Audit Finds Illegality, Giving Correa Legal Basis for Default Ecuador's debt audit commission said it uncovered ``illegality and illegitimacy'' in the country's foreign obligations, findings that may give President Rafael Correa the legal basis he's sought to halt bond payments.
Latvia to Begin Talks With IMF on Aid to Ensure Financial-System Stability Latvia said it will open talks with the International Monetary Fund on an aid package to ensure the stability of the Baltic state's financial system.
Taiwan's Economy to Enter Recession; GDP Shrinks for First Time Since 2003 Taiwan’s economy will sink into a recession this year after shrinking in the third quarter for the first time since 2003, the government said.
Turkey May Sign Agreement for IMF Loan of Up to $40 Billion, Gedikli Says Turkey and the International Monetary Fund may sign a loan agreement of $20 billion to $40 billion, a ruling party official said, helping the lira recover from its weakest level in more than a year.
Putin Pledges Tax Cuts, Ruble Defense to Prevent Repeat of Russian Crisis Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed to do ``everything'' to prevent the kind of financial crises that shook the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
South Korean Won Falls to Decade-Low, Kospi Slides as Risk Appetite Wanes South Korea's won slid below 1,500 per dollar for the first time in a decade and stocks fell for an eighth day, the longest losing streak since 2003, as a global recession prompted investors to pull funds from emerging markets.
HDFC Avoids Subprime Folly With $30,000 Mortgages, Plans 20% Loan Increase Housing Development Finance Corp., India's biggest mortgage provider, has dodged the bad loans that plagued banks in the U.S. and Europe and plans to increase lending more than 20 percent this fiscal year, Managing Director Keki Mistry said.
Energy
Oil Falls to Lowest Since May 2005 as Recession Curbs Global Energy Demand Crude oil fell below $49 a barrel in New York for the first time since May 2005 as a recession in the U.S., Europe and Japan cut global energy demand.
Waxman Takes Control of House Energy Panel From Auto-Industry Ally Dingell Representative Henry Waxman, an advocate for pollution controls, won the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, ousting auto-industry ally John Dingell of Michigan.
Pirates Demand $25 Million Ransom for Hijacked Oil-Laden Saudi Supertanker Somali pirates are demanding $25 million in ransom to release an oil-laden Saudi supertanker seized off the East African coast, and called on the ship's owners to pay up ``soon.''
Goldman Cuts 2009 Oil Forecast, Closes All Its Oil Trading Recommendations Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its forecast for the average price of New York-traded crude oil in 2009 to $80 a barrel from $86, adding that it was closing all its trading recommendations for oil.
Nymex Gas Falls After Report of Unexpected U.S. Inventory Gain Last Week Natural gas futures in New York declined after a government report showed that U.S. supplies gained unexpectedly amid weak demand in a slowing economy.
U.S. Carbon Futures Debut as Low as $11.75/Ton, Half European Union Price U.S. carbon dioxide futures, which may be used under a potential mandatory cap-and-trade program as early as 2013, traded as low as $11.75 a metric ton on Nov. 18, their debut on the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange.
Oppenheimer's Gheit Sees 1% Oil Demand Drop, Price Between $40 to $60 Fadel Gheit, director of oil and gas research at Oppenheimer & Co., talks with Bloomberg's Betty Liu about the outlook for oil demand and prices.
Newedge's Halff Sees Crude Oil Price Fall Further on U.S. Demand Drop Antoine Halff, head of energy research at Newedge USA LLC, talks with Bloomberg's Bernard Lo about the possibility of further declines in oil prices.
Goldman, GE, GM Invite Us to Play Rigged Game: Commentary by Jonathan Weil The fleecing knows no end.
China Plans First Fuel-Price Cut in Two Years to Help Stimulate Economy China, the world's second-largest energy user after the U.S., is accelerating plans to cut fuel prices for the first time in two years as the nation's economy slows and oil costs fall, the country's top planner said.
Obama's Climate-Change Plan to Be Introduced in Senate by Boxer Next Year U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer said today she will introduce President-elect Barack Obama’s 10-year $150 billion plan to curb climate change early in the new Congress next year.
Goldman Cuts 2009 Oil Forecast, Closes All Its Oil Trading Recommendations Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its forecast for the average price of New York-traded crude oil in 2009 to $80 a barrel from $86, adding that it was closing all its trading recommendations for oil.
Nymex Gas Falls After Report of Unexpected U.S. Inventory Gain Last Week Natural gas futures in New York declined after a government report showed that U.S. supplies gained unexpectedly amid weak demand in a slowing economy.
U.S. Carbon Futures Debut as Low as $11.75/Ton, Half European Union Price U.S. carbon dioxide futures, whi