ECONOMY & MARKETS

China's A-share total net profit in 2007 reached 949.7 billion Yuan (135.7 US dollar), 49.86 percent higher than the prior year; the average earnings per share reached 0.42 Yuan, up 49.71 percent, according to the report of China Securities News Press on Tuesday.

Over 222 small and medium-sized public companies listed in China's Shenzhen Stock Exchange gained an average operating income by 308 million Yuan (44 US dollar) in the first quarter, up 35.32 percent than the same period of last year, Xinhua news agency reported on April 30.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HSI) Wednesday opened slightly higher by 84.12 points, or 0.32 percent, to reach 25998.27. The financial shares led the rise, such as the local banking stocks and Chinese-funded insurance stocks.

Shares of pharmaceutical giant Merck put pressure on the Dow, after losing 10 percent as the Food and Drug Administration rejected its cholesterol drug Cordaptive, one of the key drugs in its pipeline.

Treasuries rose on Monday in light trading as bond investors expected a Federal Reserve cut in the benchmark interest rate later in the week.

The dollar rose slightly against the euro and yen on Tuesday in Tokyo ahead of Wednesday's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday for the fourth day after billionaire Warren Buffett financed the $23 billion takeover of Wm. Wrigley Jr. by privately held mars, and investor Kirk Kerkorian bought a stake in Ford Motor Co.

Tokyo stocks closed higher Monday, briefly lifting Japan's benchmark Nikkei index above the 14,000 line for the first time in about two months, as optimism prevailed among market participants that the worst of the credit crunch is over.

Treasuries fell on Friday as bets grew that the Federal Reserve will end it string or rate cuts at its next policy meeting.

U.S. stocks fell for the first time in three days on Friday after data reported the biggest drop in consumer confidence in 26 years, a drop in Microsoft Corp.'s sales and crude oil price soared on reports of unrest in the Gulf.

The FTSE 100 share index fell 32.9 points to 6,050.7 on Thursday (down 0.5 per cent).

U.S. stocks gained on Thursday for a second day, with the Dow at its highest since January, after financial shares reversed losses and Merrill Lynch & Co. said it has enough capital to maintain its dividend, while retailers got a boost from lower oil prices.

Technology stocks rose on Wednesday, driven by gains in information technology firm EMC Corp., VMware Inc., and Apple Corp.

The State Council of China said on beginning tomorrow, the securities trading tax will decline to 0.1 percent from current 0.3 percent.

Both of China's two stock markets opened lower on Wednesday morning. Then the stocks rose rapidly after a slight fall.

U.S. stocks took a slow upturn on Wednesday, on better-than-expected profits airplane manufacturer Boeing Co., while technology and industrial companies also raised investors optimism by releasing positive earning results. The Standard & Poor's index took a downturn at midday trading.

U.S. stocks fell for a second day on Tuesday, after a batch of disappointing results was released, including microchip maker Texas Instruments Inc, health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc and Coach Inc., which increased concerns about the health of the economy.

The FTSE 100 share index was almost unchanged as Monday came to an end, with the index going down only 3.5 points to 6,053.0 (down 0.06 per cent).

China's stock market closed slightly higher on Monday as the China market watchdog issued new policy for share trading.

Treasuries fell on Monday on concerns that investors will move away from buying government debt as expectations for additional interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve diminish.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex remained bullish on Monday, gaining 1.57 percent or 258 points, riding on strong market sentiments as investors looked forward to a robust earning season.

U.S. stocks declined for the first time in five days on Monday after Bank of America Corp. and National City Corp. reported earnings that fell short of expectations and added to concern that banks are being hard hit by the subprime mortgage crisis.

China's stock slipped to a nearly 13-months closing low on Friday.PetroChina breaks its initial public offer (IPO) price for the first time since the stock issued in Shanghai last October.Th...

Two year treasuries fell on Thursday on expectations that the Federal Reserve will be slowing rate cuts to avoid stoking further inflation.The two-year treasury note fell 2/32 in price to yield 2.1...

The FTSE 100 share index inched up 24.3 points to 6,004.7 on Friday morning (up 0.4 per cent).Banks saw their fortunes decline with Barclays, HBOS, Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland all down 1....

Japan stocks continued to rise for fourth-straight-day Friday due to weaker yen against dollar. Investors eased fears over the U.S. economic situation but are still waiting for a number of companies ...

U.S. stocks rallied on Friday after results at Google Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. were above analyst' expectations and investors were relived Citigroup Inc.'s writedowns were not as bad as ex...

The FTSE 100 share index fell 65.8 points to 5,980.4 on Thursday (down 1.1 per cent).Banks had mixed fortunes with HSBC down 1.1 per cent, Standard Chartered down 1.2 per cent. Alliance & Leice...

U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday on upbeat earnings results from Intel Corp. and financial giant J.P. Morgan Chase gave new hopes that companies are still making money while the U.S. economy takes a downturn.