Singapore: Gold hit an 11-month high on Friday in its fifth day of gains as stimulus measures from major central banks continued to increase its appeal as an inflation hedge, while investors awaited more trading direction from key US jobs data due later in the day. The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday and said it was ready to buy government bonds of debt-laden nations, triggering a rally in the euro and pushing gold closer to $1,800 - a level that has not been breached since November, 2011.
And gold is likely to gain further as other central banks, including that of China, are expected to ease policy following similar moves by the ECB, Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan to help stalled growth, analysts and traders said. Monetary easing drives investors who fear depreciation of their currencies and future inflation to gold.
"There doesn't seem to be anything else they can do besides pumping more money into the economy," said Ronald Leung, a dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. "Dollar weakness, more easing, as well as the tension in the Middle East, will all benefit gold." The dollar index wallowed near a two-week low, making commodities priced in the greenback cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Rising tensions in the Middle East as Turkey stepped up retaliatory artillery strikes on a Syrian border town on Thursday also supported gold's safe-haven appeal. But Leung noted that much of the buying has
10:46 AM, Oct 05, 2012
New York: The US government's debt rating could be heading for the "fiscal cliff" along with the federal budget. Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday said it would likely cut its "Aaa" rating on US government debt, probably by one notch, if budget negotiations fail. If Congress and the White House don't reach a budget deal, about $1.2 trillion in spending cuts and tax increases will automatically kick in starting January...
08:16 AM, Sep 12, 2012
Moscow: If Vladimir Putin is to face a Russian rebellion, its spiritual leader may be a 35-year-old blogger named Alexei Navalny. At Saturday's protests, the biggest of Putin's 12-year rule, some of the loudest cheers were for the anti-corruption campaigner, who has warned Russia's paramount leader he could face an Arab Spring-style revolt. Though he was absent from the rallies, sitting in jail since a protest last week against vote-rigging...
08:23 PM, Dec 11, 2011
Washington: US President Barack Obama said on Thursday the United States faces a "national crisis" and pressed Congress to urgently pass a jobs package of tax cuts and government spending he is proposing to revive the stalled economy. The cost of Obama's plan would be $447 billion, a Senate Democratic aide told. With his poll numbers at new lows amid voter frustration with 9.1 per cent unemployment, Obama was poised...
08:19 AM, Sep 09, 2011
Singapore: Asian stocks turned positive on Monday, recovering a small portion of last week's steep losses, while gold shot to new highs as investors worried about the sluggish US economic outlook and Europe's debt crisis. Spot gold prices hit a record high of $1,878.39 per ounce as the shaky global outlook prompted investors to move more money into the safe haven, while oil prices tumbled on hopes Libya may resume...
09:23 AM, Aug 22, 2011
New York: In early summer, before layoffs began sweeping across Wall Street, billboard-sized photos of employees were plastered on the walls, pillars and elevator banks of Credit Suisse Group AG's offices in the United States and abroad. The museum-quality prints, depicting workers from administrative assistants to senior executives, were emblazoned with motivational words like "Proactive" and "Partner." By mid-July, however, the photos disappeared and the Swiss banking giant began laying...
12:14 AM, Aug 22, 2011
Vineyard Haven: US President Barack Obama said on Sunday he expects to be judged in the 2012 election over his governance of the American economy, which he said was still not growing fast enough. "For me to argue, look, we've actually made the right decisions, things would have been much worse has we not made those decisions that's not that satisfying if you don't have a job right now," Obama...
10:37 PM, Aug 21, 2011
New Delhi: The Indian stock markets have been affected by the US market sentiments in the short term, even though the country's economy is robust and its growth story is intact, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement released after market hours on Friday. Indian shares fell nearly 2 per cent on Friday to log their fourth straight weekly loss, their longest weekly losing streak since the Lehman collapse,...
09:58 PM, Aug 19, 2011
London/Bangalore: The United States and euro zone are "dangerously close to recession," Morgan Stanley said on Thursday, criticising policymakers and predicting the European Central Bank will have to reverse its rates policy. The Morgan Stanley research note, which cut global growth forecasts, was cited by stocks traders as adding to market nervousness over the US and euro zone debt crises and the economic drag of austerity measures in debt-burdened countries....
11:15 PM, Aug 18, 2011
In an interview US President Barack Obama said that from Syria to the US he is accountable for the present financial crisis - but doesn't want the people to forget that he's trying to tackle a decade-old 'mess'. ...
07:33 AM, Aug 17, 2011
New York: Fitch on Tuesday confirmed its coveted 'AAA' sovereign rating on the US and maintained a stable outlook on the country's long-term prospects, less than two weeks after rival S&P downgraded the world's largest economy. Underlining that America's "exceptional creditworthiness" remains intact, global rating agency Fitch affirmed its 'AAA' sovereign rating. The latest move comes about 10 days after Standard and Poor's (S&P) stripped the US of its 'AAA'...
08:42 PM, Aug 16, 2011
New York: Stocks rose for a third straight day on Monday after Google and other companies announced acquisitions totaling more than $19 billion. The return of "Merger Monday" on Wall Street made investors more optimistic about the future. So did a report that showed Japan's economy shrank less than feared following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. That helped temporarily ease worries about the US economy. The Dow Jones industrial...
08:24 PM, Aug 15, 2011
New York: Reflecting the uncertain economic conditions in the world's largest economy, as many as eight US banks on an average are going out of business every month. A whopping 64 American banks have closed down so far this year, translating into an average of eight closures every month, according to official data. This month alone has seen the shutting down of three banks, after 13 entities went belly up...
10:40 AM, Aug 14, 2011
Washington: A spree of bad news, market gyrations, fears of a double-dip recession, stubborn unemployment and fallout from a debt deal has shaken confidence in US President Barack Obama's leadership and could cloud his chances for winning re-election. Obama is seeking a second term in office in an election that is still far off November 2012. But a persistently weak economy coupled with rising perception of political dysfunction in Washington...
08:21 PM, Aug 13, 2011
New York: Shell-shocked stock investors will search next week for calm to return to markets after the worst three weeks for stocks in 2 1/2 years. With the blow from the August 5 US credit rating downgrade behind them, investors will focus on the outlook for the US economy as well as signs that European policymakers may be able to contain the euro zone debt crisis. Widespread investor panic put...
09:44 AM, Aug 13, 2011
Washington: Global financial upheaval was on the agenda on Friday when President Barack Obama met with top executives from the US business community, the White House said. Chief executives from Johnson & Johnson, Wells Fargo & Co, US Bank, Xerox Corp, BlackRock Inc, Silver Lake Partners, American Express and US Steel all met with Obama to discuss the economy and the president's plans to create jobs. Obama held his latest...
07:15 AM, Aug 13, 2011
Singapore: Asian stocks edged up on Friday, as investors hunted for value after an intense week of volatility, though the festering European financial crisis may mean that havens like gold and the Swiss franc may still draw buyers. Wall Street rose 4 per cent overnight on high trading volume, with relatively low valuations and short-term oversold conditions attracting buyers, though a slide in US stock futures in early Asian trade...
07:57 AM, Aug 12, 2011
New York: US stocks rose 4 per cent on Thursday as the market bounced back from its recent pummeling and investors cheered results from Cisco and US jobless claims data. Financials shares bounced back sharply after leading losses on Wednesday, with the S&P financial sector up 7 per cent. Labor Department data showed new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a four-month low last week, a dose of good news...
02:01 AM, Aug 12, 2011
Mumbai: ICICI Bank, India's second-largest lender, said on Thursday it would raise its benchmark lending rate, or base rate, by 50 basis points to 10 per cent with effect from Saturday. State Bank of India , the country's top lender, also announced an increase of 50 basis points in base rate earlier on Thursday. The Reserve Bank of India had in July raised its policy rates by a larger-than-expected 50...
01:29 AM, Aug 12, 2011
Paris/London: A new crisis of confidence gripped Europe's banking industry on Thursday as its borrowing costs soared, lenders sought emergency funding, and some institutions reviewed exposure to French banks in particular. Shares in Societe Generale, whose shares dropped 15 per cent on Wednesday, yo-yoed for most of the day in heavy trading, carrying other big French names in their wake this time. Attempts to reassure the market by the bank's...
01:09 AM, Aug 12, 2011
