Today's Reuters Business News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Nedbank posts 24 pct rise in H1 earnings
Tue,31 Jul 2012 11:39 PM PDT
Reuters - JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Nedbank Group reported an expected 24 percent jump in first-half profit on Wednesday, helped by a surge in fees and commissions and said it was on track to meet full-year targets. Diluted headline earnings per share rose to 741 cents in the six months to end-June, up from a total 600 cents a year earlier. Headline EPS, which exclude certain one-time items, are the main gauge of profit in South Africa. Nedbank said last month it expected first-half profit growth of up to 26 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
US STOCKS-Wall St dips as traders gear up for Fed; ends July up
Tue,31 Jul 2012 11:36 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday with traders' sights set again on Wednesday's Federal Reserve statement on the economy and a possible new round of stimulus. The Nasdaq Composite, which underperformed on Monday, was the smallest decliner among the three major U.S. stock indexes in Tuesday's session, thanks in part to Apple shares' gain of 2.6 percent after a source said a new product will makes its debut at an event in September. Apple closed at $610.76. ... Full Story | Top |
Shares fall as stimulus hopes fade, China PMI
Tue,31 Jul 2012 11:30 PM PDT
Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Wednesday as soft Chinese manufacturing data further undermined investor confidence and as hopes faded for bold stimulus action this week by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to underpin faltering economies. European stocks were set to open lower, and a 0.1 percent drop in U.S. stock futures signalled a sluggish Wall Street start. Financial spreadbetters called the main indexes in London, Paris and Frankfurt to open down 0.1 percent. China's official factory purchasing managers' index fell to an eight-month low of 50.1 in July from ... Full Story | Top |
Exxaro H1 profits up 11 pct, sees stable H2
Tue,31 Jul 2012 11:06 PM PDT
Reuters -  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African diversified miner Exxaro on Wednesday posted an 11 percent rise in first-half earnings, boosted by higher mineral sands prices, and said results for the remainder of the year are likely to be relatively stable. Exxaro said headline earnings per share for the six months to end-June rose 11 percent to 11.62 rand. Headline EPS is the main profit gauge in South Africa and strip out certain one-time items, such as the 5 billion rand impact from the sale of Exxaro's mineral sands and base metals units. Revenue was up 3 percent to 9. ...
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Kumba, ArcelorMittal yet to agree on interim iron deal
Tue,31 Jul 2012 11:06 PM PDT
Reuters -  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African iron ore miner Kumba Iron Ore said on Wednesday it had yet to agree with ArcelorMittal South Africa on extending a pricing deal that expired this week. Kumba, a unit of global miner Anglo American, said it would continue to supply ArcelorMittal's South African arm with iron ore on terms currently being discussed between the two, without disclosing the terms. Kumba in 2010 suspended its agreement to supply the unit of the world's top steelmaker with iron ore at a discount. ...
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House prices suffer biggest drop since 2009 - Nationwide
Tue,31 Jul 2012 11:04 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters)- British house prices fell at their fastest annual pace in nearly three years last month, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Wednesday, as the effects of nine months of recession spread further across the economy. Nationwide reported a 0.7 percent decline in house prices in July, a much bigger drop than that forecast by any economist polled by Reuters. Prices are now 2.6 percent lower than a year ago - their biggest annual fall since August 2009. Britain's economy entered recession at the end of last year, and shrank a bigger-than-expected 0. ...
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S.Africa's policy options constrained: cbank's Marcus
Tue,31 Jul 2012 10:58 PM PDT
Reuters -  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa is feeling the effects of the global downturn but is constrained in the policy options it has to deal with their impact, Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus said on Tuesday. The central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate to a 40-year low of 5 percent earlier this month, citing a weaker economic outlook, but warned monetary easing on its own would not solve the country's challenges. ...
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Ghana central bank head named vice president
Tue,31 Jul 2012 10:57 PM PDT
Reuters - ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama has chosen Central Bank Governor Kwesi Amissah-Arthur as his vice-president, a spokesman for Mahama told a local radio station on Tuesday. The nomination will now go before parliament's appointment committee for approval but the process is seen as a formality. The decision means Amissah-Arthur is likely to line up alongside Mahama as his running mate after the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) party said that it will name him as its candidate in an election due at the end of the year. ... Full Story | Top |
Nigerian state oil firm buys Shell onshore block
Tue,31 Jul 2012 10:54 PM PDT
Reuters -  LAGOS (Reuters) - State oil company Nigerian National Petroleum Corp and a local company bought an onshore oil block operated Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday, NNPC said in a statement. The OML 34 is amongst three onshore blocks that the Anglo-Dutch major has been trying to divest this year as part of a rejig of its portfolio in Nigeria. NNPC said it and a company called ND Western will now run the oil block, saying in the statement that it is "a major milestone in the oil and gas sector". ...
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Brent slips toward $104 after China data; Fed eyed
Tue,31 Jul 2012 10:46 PM PDT
Reuters - SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude slipped toward $104 per barrel on Wednesday after softer official manufacturing data from top energy consumer China chipped away at a fragile market sentiment, while fading hopes for U.S. stimulus measures also weighed on prices. China's official factory purchasing managers' index dropped to an eight-month low in July, reviving concerns the world's second-biggest economy was losing steam, along with other major Asian exporters Japan, South Korea and Taiwan who reported worsening economic stress on Tuesday. Brent crude fell 51 cents to $104. ... Full Story | Top |
Eni makes new discovery in Mozambique
Tue,31 Jul 2012 10:45 PM PDT
Reuters -  MILAN (Reuters) - Italian oil and gas group Eni said on Wednesday it had made a "new and important" natural gas discovery offshore Mozambique. The new discovery adds at least 282 billion cubic metres of gas to Eni's discoveries already in place in Area 4 of the Mamba North East 2 exploration field.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary calls for action from EU leaders: Bloomberg TV
Tue,31 Jul 2012 10:42 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has called on European leaders to do more to solve the region's debt crisis, including lowering interest rates for those countries that are undertaking painful reforms. Interviewed on Bloomberg Television in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Geithner said the euro zone had to take steps including "bringing down interest rates in the countries that are reforming and making sure those banking systems can provide the credit those economies need. ... Full Story | Top |
Shares fall as stimulus hopes fade, China PMI softens
Tue,31 Jul 2012 10:15 PM PDT
Reuters -  TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Wednesday as soft Chinese manufacturing data further undermined investor confidence and as hopes faded for bold stimulus action this week by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to underpin faltering economies. European stocks were set to open lower, and a 0.1 percent drop in U.S. stock futures signaled a sluggish Wall Street start. Financial spreadbetters called the main indexes in London , Paris and Frankfurt to open down 0.1 percent. China's official factory purchasing managers' index fell to an eight-month low of 50.1 in July from ...
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Record joblessness in euro zone; hope fades for quick ECB cure
Tue,31 Jul 2012 10:12 PM PDT
Reuters -  ROME/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Joblessness in the euro zone hit on Tuesday its highest level since the single currency was born, a further sign of economic desperation as hopes erode that the bloc will be saved by its central bank this week. An additional 123,000 people were out of work in the euro zone in June, figures from Eurostat showed, bringing the unemployment rate to a record high 11.2 percent across the 17 countries that use the single currency. The rate hides wide divergences, with unemployment as low as 4.5 percent in Austria and as high as 24. ...
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Fed to signal more easing but stop short of big steps
Tue,31 Jul 2012 10:06 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is likely to show on Wednesday that it is ready to act against a weakening U.S. economy but stop short of aggressive measures for now. Economists say the central bank could well push back its guidance for when it sees the need for an eventual rate hike into 2015 from the current Fed consensus of late-2014, a move that could signal the depth of the central bank's concerns about the economy and hint at new measures ahead. Wall Street is braced for another round of Fed bond purchases, and some see an off chance that it might even come this afternoon. ...
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