| Asian stocks up on rate cut hopes; commodities hot
SINGAPORE: Stocks rallied on Thursday as solid earnings and expectations of further US interest rate cuts outweighed worries about inflation even as oil hit a record high above $101 a barrel. Gold also hit a record above $945 an ounce, and silver touched a 27-year high, as funds poured into a wide range of commodities, betting they will outperform in an environment where growth is slowing and prices are rising.
Data on Wednesday showed a faster-than-expected rise in US consumer prices last month and further weakness in the housing market there.
"The US is entirely focused on the economic data that is coming out and we're getting revised forecasts for their economic growth in the downward trend," said Savanth Sebastian, equities economist at CommSec in Sydney.
American Stock Exchange Lists GreenHaven Continuous Commodity Index ...
NEW YORK, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) announced today that it has launched trading in the GreenHaven Continuous Commodity Index Fund (AMEX: GCC) , managed by GreenHaven Commodity Services, LLC. GCC aims to track the performance of the Continuous Commodity Total Return Index, an equal weighted basket of 17 commodities (corn, wheat, soybeans, live cattle, lean hogs, gold, platinum, silver, copper, cocoa, coffee, sugar, cotton, orange juice, crude oil, heating oil and natural gas). Reuters America, LLC owns and calculates the Index. "The American Stock Exchange is pleased to welcome and support GreenHaven as they enter the ETF marketplace," said Scott Ebner, Senior Vice President of the Amex's ETF marketplace. "GCC reflects a growing investor interest in commodity linked products." Ashmead Pringle, President of GreenHaven Commodity Services, LLC, stated, "Increasingly, many investors have concluded that commodities are an asset class that should be represented in a balanced portfolio.
MCX to support Microsoft's rural technology training programme
MUMBAI: Multi Commodity Exchange of India on Thursday announced its support to an ongoing computer literacy programme of Microsoft and Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals in rural Maharashtra.
This marks the launch of MCX's Corporate Social Responsibility initiative aimed at empowering the youth and women of rural areas of the state with technology skills.
Till now over 15,500 people have been trained and more than 24,000 people are using this service across 16 districts by the means of understanding the futures markets prices of the area specific commodities.
MCX's support will help in increasing deployment of laptop and desktop computers and thereby strengthen the ongoing technology training and adoption efforts through the project.
Asian Stocks Rebound Fizzles Out
Forex: Carry trades continued at the start of the Asian session, as stock markets rebounded in a knee-jerk reaction to the Fed's emergency rate cut. But the rebound in Asian stocks lacked conviction, and carry trades reversed in the afternoon. "The very crux of the reason we didn't have a snapback (stocks) rally is that the market was calling for this already," said Peter McCorry at Keefe Bruyette & Woods, referring to the market's reaction to the Fed's 75bps interest rate cut. The NZD/JPY erased early gains despite talk of Uridashi issues later this week. The AUD failed to hold on to data-related gains after the stronger than expected Q4 inflation data, with AUD/JPY selling dragging down AUD/USD. AUD/USD is currently trading below the 60% retracement of its recent drop from 0.9021 to 0.8504.
Nasdaq Ekes Out a Gain; Dow Slides
Stocks finished mixed Friday amid heavy selling in financial and retail stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index declined following news of more turmoil for bond insurers and a statement from a Federal Reserve official that a recession may be unavoidable. The Nasdaq received a boost from an Amazon stock-and-debt buyback announcement and from bargain hunters scooping up undervalued techs. .
Zimbabwe: Industry Needs U.S.$2 Billion to Recover From Price Blitz
ZIMBABWE'S battered industries need a staggering US$2 billion to recapitalise after last year's price blitz, a business leader said last week. Callisto Jokonya, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president told Standardbusiness the massive injection, coupled with supportive policies, would provide a lasting solution to the crisis confronting industries. .
Canadian convoy hit; 37 Afghan civilians dead
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Daily Blabber Celebrity Gossip Blog from iVillage Entertainment
That was the question surrounding this twosome all year. In January at the Golden Globes, the Lost costars dismissed talk of a relationship. By September, they were openly canoodling. Hawaii seems like the perfect backdrop for young love -- and they're certainly taking advantage of it. Eva Longoria &...: Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria found her celeb dating groove this year. The divorcee was linked to JC Chasez, Sean Faris and Tony Parker. The thing with Tony Parker stuck and she got serious with him by summer. They just spent Christmas together in Texas, where they cussed out a cop and Eva, who is Mexican, reportedly made a derogatory comment about the cop being Mexican. Oh, those crazy kids. Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban: Tom Cruise, Q-Tip, Lenny Kravitz...
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