Tag Archives: AHN
Stocks open higher Tuesday as investors wait for Apple’s earnings
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – U.S. stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors await earnings from Apple, the world’s most valuable company, after the close.
Just after 10 a.m. on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 102 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 6 points and the NASDAQ was up 5.
In addition to corporate earnings, investors were also weighing data that revealed that the housing market recovery is still ailing.
Tuesday kicks off one of the busiest weeks for corporate earnings, which have been coming in better than expectations.
The week began on shaky ground with all three major U.S. indexes falling on Monday as market participants grew anxious over European political uncertainty and signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
In world markets, with some political concerns abetting, European stocks were mixed in afternoon trading. Asia finished the day slightly lower.
In currencies and commodities, the dollar fell against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Oil for June delivery tacked on 89 cents to $104 a barrel, and gold futures added $11 to $1,643.60 a troy ounce.
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Germany sees retail sales fall
Berlin, Germany (AHN) – Consumer spending fell in February, with retail sales registering a 1.1 percent drop compared to January, according to the Federal Statistics Office.
Sales figures seem to be a bit volatile. Economists had expected growth. However, heavy snowfall during the first part of the month kept shoppers at home and rising energy costs pinched consumer budgets.
However, with the help of an extra day because of Leap Year, February retail sales on an annual basis were up by 1.7 percent.
Expectations for Europe’s largest economy are brighter for 2012 as a whole with analysts anticipating that growth will increase this year.
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Gold gains ground Thursday after steep sell-off Wednesday
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Gold gained ground Thursday after a steep sell-off Wednesday in which the yellow metal tumbled some $50 as the “risk-on” trade entered the picture, and market participants moved into equities.
Gold lost some of its luster over the previous trading sessions as a strong U.S. dollar pressured the commodity, and on growing investor optimism for the U.S. economy.
In early afternoon trading Thursday, gold rose $16 to $1659.80 a troy ounce, taking back some of the near 4 percent lost earlier in the week.
Other metals rose in concert. Platinum rose $4.10 to $1,685, and palladium was up $5.30 to $705. Silver added $0.30 cents to close at $32.71.
A weaker dollar and bargain hunting were behind the advances.
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U.S. Senate okays penalty duties to prevent Chinese unfair trade practices
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The United States Senate has passed legislation to apply penalty duties to products from China when its communist government subsidizes production of those items.
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) said the bill protects U.S. companies and workers from China’s unfair trade practices.
The application of countervailing duties allows the U.S. to stop China from undercutting American manufacturers and dumping products at less than cost here.
Supporters say the legislation protects thousands of American jobs by leveling the playing field for U.S. companies and workers.
The imposition of penalty duties helps to offset the subsidies that China’s government often provides for products manufactured in that country that allow Chinese companies to sell products below their true cost to the U.S.
Senators approved the legislation for the nonmarket economy nations of China and Vietnam.
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China sees its exports and imports fall
Beijing, China (AHN) – China’s exports fell in January by 0.5 percent compared to a year earlier marking the first decline in two years, data showed Friday
Exports dropped to $149.94 billion while imports dived by 15.3 percent to $122.66 billion.
Despite the declines China’s trade surplus grew to $27.28 billion in January up from $16.52 billion the prior month.
Part of the decline was because many factories cut back production or close their doors for the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, also known as the Spring Festival, which fell in January this year. Workers generally want to travel home to celebrate the holiday with family.
However, analysts say the slowdown is further evidence that China’s economy is taking a hit from continued weakness of demand from the struggling U.S. and eurozone economies.
 
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Wall Street opens higher Friday fueled by a strong jobs report
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Stocks opened sharply higher Friday after the Labor Department reported the U.S. economy created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months.
Shortly after the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 113 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 12 points and the NASDAQ jumped 28 points.
Oil was up 64 cents to $97.13, and gold was lower by $7, last trading at $1,752.50 a troy ounce.
The Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls jumped by 243,000 in January, the most since April, and far exceeding economists’ expectations of a gain of just 150,000.
The strong jobs reports put the unemployment rate to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent and buoyed investor sentiment.
Market watchers will also be watching the big game Sunday. For the past 36 of 45 Super Bowls, the stock market has gone up after a win by an original National Football League team, one that traces its roots to before the merger with the American Football League, and gone down when the AFL (or newer team) is victorious.
So, Wall Street wants the Giants to win the Super Bowl.
The measure has an 80 percent accuracy rate based on the Dow Jones Industrial Averages’ annual performance.
There is not any science to it, but it is still as reliable as it gets for stock forecasting.
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U.S. stocks fall as GDP trails forecast
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Wall Street opened lower Friday after a report showed that the U.S. economy expanded less than forecast..
Just after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 33 points, the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index was flat and the NASDAQ was up by about 6 points.
Weighing on stocks was a report that showed the U.S. economy expanded at 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter, less than the 3 percent that had been projected.
In Europe the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.7 percent as investors await word on developments on the region’s sovereign debt crisis. European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said authorities are “very close” to reaching an agreement on private-sector involvement in a Greek debt swap.
Despite those words of optimism, the dismal growth of GDP in the U.S. was keeping investors cautious. The health and growth of the U.S. economy is a very important and leading indicator of economic growth worldwide. As analysts like to say, “when the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold.”
In corporate news, Ford fell after reporting numbers that missed estimates. Starbucks shares slipped despite reporting better than expected numbers, and Juniper Networks plunged after the second biggest maker of computer networking equipment forecast sales and profits that missed estimates.
In commodities, oil was unchanged at $$99.60 a barrel, gold rose $4.70 to $1,725 a troy ounce and silver was up a few pennies at $33.63.
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Let the returns and exchanges begin
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The season for giving and receiving gifts is now Christmas Past. Now, it is the season for returning unwanted presents.
Dubbed “Mega Monday,” Dec. 26 is expected to be the third busiest shopping day of 2011, with scores of people heading to stores in droves in search of after-Christmas bargains and to return items.
Stores are forecast to ring up $469.1 billion over this holiday season, which extends from Nov.1 through New Year’s Eve. The final week before Christmas accounts for up to 20 percent of those sales, with the week after the holiday also being very brisk.
Some retailers underestimated the resilience of the American shopper, believing they weren’t ready to spend during the still-weak economy. However, the National Retail Federation reports that the two-month period has been busy, and it upgraded its overall sales growth forecast a full percentage point, to 3.8 percent.
Some shoppers are just getting started, putting off buying big ticket items until after Christmas, looking for blockbuster year-end specials.
Stores are also preparing for the rush to exchange and return gifts. Many stores have changed their return policy, shortening the number of days customers can return an item and requiring a receipt for cash back.
For those that find they can’t return, there is an option. We promise not to tell if you save that unwanted present and re-gift it next year.
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Obama supports payroll tax bill; Keystone pipeline in limbo
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The White House has thrown its support behind the end-of-year legislative package that included an extension of the reduction in payroll taxes for Americans for two months, according to a senior administration official.
In a statement issued Friday night, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said, “The President said that Congress cannot go home without preventing a tax increase on 160 million hardworking Americans, and the deal announced tonight meets that test.”
Pfeiffer quoted the President as urging “Congress now to finish up their business for the American people.”
“This is an important step towards enacting a key provision of the President’s American Jobs Act and a significant victory for the American people and the economy, because as independent analysts have said, failing to extend this tax cut would have had a damaging effect on our recovery and job growth,” Pfeiffer added.
The statement from the White House came after Senate negotiators reached a deal on a two-month extension of the payroll tax holiday, among other benefits, but also imposed a requirement for President Obama to decide within 60 days whether to permit the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transfer oil from Canada oil sands to Gulf of Mexico refineries.
Earlier, Sen. Dick Lugar announced inclusion of his Lugar-Hoeven-Vitter legislation that would “compel the Obama Administration to act on a construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline in 60 days,” in the payroll tax reduction bill.
“The President will no longer be able to duck his responsibility to American workers. He must now make a decision,” said Lugar, adding, “It is absolutely incredible that President Obama wants to delay a decision until after the 2012 elections apparently in fear of offending a part of his political base and even risking the ire of construction unions who strongly support the project.”
Energy specialists were not so sure of the outcome. One, speaking on condition of anonymity, commented in Washington, “One can be sure the pipeline project is dead as the president will not move before elections as it concerns his vote base of environmentalists.”
Moreover, the two-month extension of the payroll tax would definitely raise hiccups in both parties, according to political pundits, as this looked like a face-saving measure by lawmakers, who are suffering their worst ratings in recent years.
The tax paid by employees, now 4.2 percent, was scheduled to revert to its 2010 level of 6.2 percent on Jan. 1 if legislators did not renew the cuts, but President Obama had called on Congress not to go on vacation without final action.
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Toyota adding 1,500 jobs in United Kingdom
Derbyshire, United Kingdom (AHN) – Toyota has announced plans to add up to 1,500 new jobs at its Burnaston factory in Derbyshire in the United Kingdom.
Company officials say that Toyota will invest more than $155 million into making the factory its sole European plant for the next hatchback it introduces.
Prime Minister David Cameron was touring the factory when news of the new production was announced and he hailed it as a vote of confidence for UK manufacturing. He also noted that it would be a huge boost for the economy.
The new hatchback will be a small family vehicle similar in size to Toyota’s existing Auris model and cars by other manufacturers such as the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf.
The Burnaston factory is one of four Toyota vehicle-building factories across Europe and Russia. The plant currently employs more than 3,100 people and manufactures the Auris and Avensis models.
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