Wednesday, 15 August 2012

A Quick Glance at News



v  Asian shares fell on Wednesday as investors booked gains from recent rallies after data showing strong U.S. retail sales and Germany and France avoiding a contraction last quarter calmed sentiment, with weak euro zone growth sustaining stimulus hopes.
v  Stocks ended little changed on Tuesday in what investors described as a fatigued market after the S&P 500 rose in seven of the past eight sessions.
v  Japan's Nikkei share average slipped on Wednesday as bank and steel shares slid, offsetting gains in exporters from a weaker yen against the dollar and the euro on the back of stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales and German economic growth.
v  China’s stocks fell, dragging down the benchmark index to the lowest in two weeks, on concern the nation’s economic slowdown is curbing demand for products from copper to household appliances.
v  The dollar held firm near a one-month high against the yen on Wednesday, after surprisingly upbeat U.S. retail sales data the previous day dampened talk of monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

v  Brent crude futures slipped below $114 on Wednesday after settling at a three-month high as supply disruption worries eased after the United States said it did not believe Israel had made a decision whether to attack Iran.
v  Gold edged up on Wednesday, after dropping to a 1-1/2-week low in the previous session on promising U.S. retail sales data that dampened hopes for further stimulus measures from the Federal Reserve.
v  Benchmark U.S. Treasuries steadied in Asia on Wednesday after falling in the previous session as investors bet that upbeat U.S. retail sales data could delay stimulus steps by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
v  Standard Chartered Plc (STAN), having settled a New York money laundering probe for $340 million the day before it was to defend its right to operate in the state, still faces federal inquiries over claims it helped sanctioned nations including Iran illegally funnel money through the U.S.


v  China’s slower-than-forecast cuts in banks’ reserve requirements show authorities are reluctant to shake their concern inflation will quicken, three months after Premier Wen Jiabao shifted priorities to boosting growth.
v  The cost of living in the U.S. probably rose in July for the first time in four months, showing inflation is in check, economists said before a report today.
v  Australian shares rose on Wednesday, with bank-sector earnings providing a boost for the market.
v  Groupon Inc lost more than a quarter of its value as its shares sank to a record low on Tuesday, after dismal results drove more investors away from the once-red-hot company and raised questions about its main business.
v  Soros fund exits Goldman adds Face book. Billionaire investor George Soros's Soros Fund Management LLC exited its stakes in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.  and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., while it significantly boosted its stake in the SPDR Gold Trust  , the gold exchange-traded fund, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
v  Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc disclosed late Tuesday that it sold all shares of Intel Corp. and bought into Phillips 66  and National Oil well Varco Inc.  in the second quarter. It added to existing stakes in Wells Fargo & Co.  WFC and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. significantly while unwinding some shares of U.S. Bancorp  . Berkshire also reported lower stakes in Johnson & Johnson  , Procter & Gamble Co. and Kraft Foods 

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