| | |
| UK house prices inch up in February, as forecast - Nationwide Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 11:05 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices ticked up in February compared to January as expected but registered little change from a year earlier, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Friday. Nationwide said that house prices rose 0.2 percent on the month after a 0.5 percent increase in January. On the year, prices were flat in a trend started this year, after declining for most of 2012. "While activity in the housing market remains subdued by historic standards, there have been tentative signs of a pick-up in recent months," said Nationwide's chief economist Robert Gardner. ... Full Story | Top |
| S.Africa's rand breaches key 9.0 level Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:46 PM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand was trading near a one-month low against the dollar on Friday after breaking the key 9.0 barrier overnight, weighed down by data showing a record high trade deficit. The rand was at 9.0200 to the dollar at 0556 GMT, in line with its close in New York on Thursday. The currency, which had previously struggled to break out of the 8.80-9.0 band, began to slide after figures released on Thursday showed that the trade deficit widened to a record 24.53 billion rand in January from 2.7 billion rand in December. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sibanye says FY production down 15 pct to 1.22 mln oz Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:35 PM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Sibanye Gold said on Friday that full-year production fell 15 percent to 1.22 million ounces in the year to end-December due to an illegal strike and a fire at its operations. The company, a spin-off from Gold Fields, also said that net earnings for the year were up 16 percent to 2.98 billion rand. Full Story | Top |
| Nadal eases through to Mexican Open last four Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:16 PM PST ACAPULCO (Reuters) - Former world number one Rafa Nadal breezed through to the semi-finals of the Mexican Open on Thursday, dispatching Argentine Leonardo Mayer in straight sets 6-1, 7-5. The second-seeded Nadal will face fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro on Friday. Nadal, an 11-time Grand Slam champion, is in the midst of a three tournament comeback after a knee injury forced him to take a seven-month hiatus from the tour. Earlier this month Nadal made the final of the VTR Open in Chile, and followed that up by claiming the Brazil Open title. Full Story | Top |
| As Washington frets, markets take spending cuts in stride Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:14 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Broad spending cuts designed to slam most U.S. government programs with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer were set to begin taking effect on Friday, yet investors have so far barely batted an eyelash. The $85 billion in across-the-board "sequestration" cuts were expected to cause airport delays, disrupt public services and result in lower pay or layoffs for millions of government workers. What they were not likely to do, at least as far as financial markets were concerned, was cause enough damage to derail a U.S. economy that has lately been gaining momentum. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Glencore bartered with firm linked to Iran nuclear program Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:08 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Commodities giant Glencore supplied thousands of tons of alumina to an Iranian firm that has provided aluminum to Iran's nuclear program, intelligence and diplomatic sources told Reuters. The previously undisclosed barter arrangement between Glencore, the world's biggest commodities trader, and the Iranian Aluminum Company (Iralco) illustrates how difficult it is for Western powers to curb Iran's ability to trade with the rest of the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares capped by China PMI slip, US budget worry Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:03 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares were capped on Friday, with sentiment dented by lacklustre manufacturing data from China and worries over the economic fallout from Italy's political confusion as well as possible U.S. spending cuts. European markets are seen narrowly mixed, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100, Paris's CAC-40 and Frankfurt's DAX would open between a 0.1 percent rise and a 0.2 percent fall. Italy's main FTSE MIB stock market index is expected to open down 0.2 percent. A 0.1 percent drop in U.S. stock futures also hinted at a weak Wall Street start. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brent slips towards $111 on uncertainty over China recovery Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:02 PM PST  SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude slipped toward $111 a barrel on Friday, weighed down by concerns that oil demand will be hurt if China's economy continues to sputter, the euro zone remains weak and automatic spending cuts are enacted in the United States. China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was 50.1 in February, the government said on Friday, missing market expectations for a reading of 50.2 as overseas demand for Chinese goods remained tepid. It was the lowest reading for the index since September 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gold heads for 3rd week of loss; physical buying supports Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:02 PM PST  SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold traded little changed on Friday and was headed for a third straight week of loss, as a strong dollar and waning investor interest weighed on sentiment, although physical buying from Asia lent some support. The dollar index hovered near a six-month high hit in the previous session as risk appetite was hurt by political uncertainty in Italy and U.S. government spending cuts due to kick in later in the day. The U.S. dollar attracted safe-haven inflows, but that weighed on dollar-priced commodities. ... Full Story | Top |
| ICCO forecasts global cocoa deficit in 2012/13 Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 09:54 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - The International Cocoa Organization on Thursday forecast a global cocoa deficit of 45,000 tonnes for the 2012/13 season with production set to decline and grindings expand. In the prior season there had been a surplus of 86,000 tonnes, the ICCO said in a statement. A Reuters poll of analysts and traders issued in January had produced a median estimate of a larger deficit of 100,000 tonnes for the 2012/13 season. The ICCO forecast gross production would fall by 1.8 percent in 2012/13 to 4.00 million tonnes while grindings would climb 1.5 percent to 4.01 million tonnes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya's Bamburi Cement says year pretax profit down 15 pct Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 09:54 PM PST NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Bamburi Cement posted a 15 percent drop in pretax profit last year to 7.17 billion shillings, hurt by lower gains on its foreign currency holdings, it said on Thursday. Controlled by French firm Lafarge SA, Bamburi is the biggest cement maker in Kenya, where demand for cement has been high in recent years on the back of a construction boom. The Kenyan shilling was stable against the dollar during the year under review, having weakened sharply in the previous period, thus accounting for the lower gains on foreign exchange holdings by the firm. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt trying to dissuade Orascom from delisting from local bourse Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 09:51 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - The Egyptian government is holding talks with the country's biggest listed company, Orascom Construction Industries, to dissuade it from delisting from the local stock exchange, Investment Minister Osama Saleh told the state news MENA agency on Thursday. Last January, the Dutch-listed parent OCI NV announced an offer to acquire the ordinary shares of its Egyptian-listed subsidiary. The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) asked last week for more information on the offer. The company was not available for comment. Full Story | Top |
| BAT Kenya's year profit rises, pays record high dividend Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 09:50 PM PST NAIROBI (Reuters) - British American Tobacco Kenya posted a 6 percent jump in pretax profits for last year to 4.75 billion shillings, thanks to lower operating costs. The firm, majority owned by British-based group BAT Plc which also reported results on Thursday, raised its final dividend to 29 shillings a share to bring the total for the year to 32.50 shillings, up from the 30.50 shillings it paid the previous year. Earnings per share rose to 32.71 shillings from 30.98 shillings in 2011, the company said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares capped by China PMI slip, U.S. budget worry Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 09:39 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares were capped on Friday, with sentiment dented by lackluster manufacturing data from China and worries over the economic fallout from Italy's political confusion as well as possible U.S. spending cuts. European markets are seen narrowly mixed, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100 , Paris's CAC-40 and Frankfurt's DAX would open between a 0.1 percent rise and a 0.2 percent fall. Italy's main FTSE MIB stock market index is expected to open down 0.2 percent. A 0.1 percent drop in U.S. stock futures also hinted at a weak Wall Street start. ... Full Story | Top |
| D.C. law firm Patton Boggs lays off lawyers, sources say Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 09:15 PM PST (Reuters) - The Washington, D.C., law firm Patton Boggs has laid off an unknown number of lawyers and administrative staff, according to two sources inside the firm with direct knowledge of the matter and two sources outside the firm. The firm, which has more than 550 attorneys in nine offices worldwide, is known best for its lobbying and public policy work in Washington and is expected to have a firm-wide meeting early on Friday to discuss its current situation, according to a Patton Boggs partner. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment