By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Airline shares rose Thursday with the major U.S. carriers joining broad-based gains across the rest of the equities market.
The NYSE Arca Airline Index (XAL 27.56, +0.57, +2.11%) rose 2.1% to close at 27.56 with all but three of its components rising higher. In the past 52 weeks, the benchmark index has moved in a range of 30.94 to 12.62 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU 9,787, +61.37, +0.63%) jumped 61 points to 9,786. See related story.
Source : www.marketwatch.com
Markets
By Dave Shellock
There was no stopping Australian stocks on Thursday as a stunning set of domestic jobs data heightened the mood of confidence in the market and fuelled talk of further interest rate rises in the months to come.
The S&P/ASX 200 index jumped 1.6 per cent to a fresh one-year high of 4,768.6, taking its advance to more than 4 per cent since the close on Monday – the day before the Reserve Bank of Australia’s surprise decision to raise rates by a quarter-point from a record low of 3 per cent.
Source : www.ft.com
Markets
We’re a month into 2009 and I’m already tired of the good vs. evil, black vs. white mentality that seems to dominate every discussion on finances. Can we get into some gray area? Maybe venture into the world of nuance?
While I’ve been hearing some nuance on newscasts and reading some illuminating pieces — like this post from Brian Sullivan’s blog on FoxBusiness.com regarding Wall Street bonuses and an article in last Sunday’s New York Times called “The Mile-High Office” that talks about the amount of jobs linked to corporate jet maintenance — for the most part the national discussion is dominated by simplistic declarations of right vs. wrong.
( Source : www.foxbusiness.com )
Markets
Thousands of homeowners face the prospect of paying no interest on their mortgages after the Bank of England cut the cost of borrowing for the fifth month in a row.
Interest rates were cut by 0.5 percentage points to 1 per cent today in a bid to boost the economy, which has sunk into recession amid a collapse in consumer confidence and a freeze on new lending.
About 1,500 customers who took out a tracker mortgages pegged at 1.01 points below the base rate with Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G), owned by Lloyds Banking Group, will be paying no interest at all on their home loans from next month.
( Source : www.timesonline.co.uk )
Banking
Research by Abbey has shown that first-time house buyers are increasing the rate at which they make deposits into their savings accounts, in the hope of having enough money to put down a payment on a house while prices are still low.
The bank conducted a poll which reveals that 38 per cent of those already saving towards buying a house had started to increase the rate at which they put money away in 2009.
Buyers with a deposit said that they intended to try and save on average an extra £203 each month this year in order to get on to the property ladder.
( Source : www.moneynews.co.uk )
Banking
by Richard Kilner
Story link: ABI survey: most people lose confidence in saving
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published research which reveals a worrying picture of public opinion towards saving.
The Savings and Protection survey, conducted by YouGov, showed that almost three-quarters (73%) of Britons think that the benefits of saving have fallen during the course of the last year.
Only 7% of respondents felt the opposite, that saving had become more attractive over the last 12 months.
The trend is perhaps unsurprising, given the record low interest rate of 1.5%, whilst helpful to borrowers, has hit savings-based income hard.
In addition, general consumer confidence remains low with 70% believing the economy will continue to worsen into 2009.
( Source : www.bankingtimes.co.uk )
Banking
Pfizer (PFE) is negotiating to acquire rival drug maker Wyeth (WYE) in a blockbuster deal potentially worth more than $60 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports early Friday. The article, citing unnamed sources, said the two companies have been in talks for months and a deal is not imminent. In fact, the economic environment makes the negotiations especially fragile. Pfizer, the world’s largest drug maker by revenue, would likely use a combination of cash and stock for the acquisition, according to the WSJ.
( Source : www.individual.com )
Corporate News
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) today announced a wide range of legal, operational and financial actions that will keep the Company on track to fulfill the transformational corporate strategy Dow has pursued since 2005.
Dow’s strategy will continue to involve aggressive steps to establish Dow as a high-performance, earnings growth company organized around a strong portfolio of joint ventures and market-facing performance business divisions. Central to Dow’s strategy is its commitment to retain a strong investment grade rating and to maximize shareholder return.
According to Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris, the recent decision by Dow’s partners in Kuwait to abandon the terms of its Joint Venture Formation Agreement (JVFA) will not deter the Company from pursuing the transformational strategy that has been Dow’s roadmap for future growth and profitability.
( Source : news.dow.com )
Corporate News
AFP
Tokyo: Japan’s Panasonic Corp. said Friday it will slash investment in flat screen televisions and withdraw from unprofitable businesses to cope with the economic downturn.
The company, which has enjoyed brisk sales of plasma televisions, mobile telephones and digital cameras in recent years, said it would undertake “drastic structural reforms” to streamline its operations.
It plans to close down overseas operations that are losing money, although details of the overhaul have not yet been decided.
“The current situation is not just a simple economic slump. Global demand is shrinking and shifting to the emerging markets,” Panasonic president Fumio Ohtsubo told a media conference.
Corporate News
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Bank of America says the former president of Merrill Lynch is leaving, following the completion of the Charlotte-based bank’s takeover of the Wall Street investment firm.
The Charlotte Observer reported Friday that Greg Fleming had been in line to lead the corporate and investment banking unit at Bank of America, but instead is taking a teaching job at Yale University.
His departure comes a week after Bank of America closed its $50 billion acquisition of New York-based Merrill Lynch, and follows the departure of another former Merrill Lynch leader, Bob McCann.
( Source : www.findlaw.com )
Banking