Financial markets were upbeat on the first trading day of 2010 on Monday, with Asian stocks hitting a 17-month high and the U.S. dollar up against major currencies on hopes U.S. job figures this week will reflect a sustained economic recovery.
The dollar edged down from a four-month high against the yen but held firm against other majors on Monday, the first trading day of 2010, as investors focus on U.S. data this week that could add to optimism about the economy. Investors are set to take cues from the U.S. December employment report on Friday as well as figures from the manufacturing and service sectors.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange launched an accelerated trading system on Monday to better compete with major global rivals in the growing field of high-speed trading.
Shares of Japan Airlines Corp jumped 36 percent to bounce back from a plunge last week after the government sought to boost the amount of funds available to the struggling carrier.
EUR/USD opened lower trading in a limited range during the shortened holiday week. The pair made a weekly high on Tuesday trading up to 1.4457 after release of U.S. housing data from S&P/Case-Shiller showed a 0.4% rise to a seasonally-adjusted 145.36 in October. The index was off 7.3% versus October of last year, slightly worse that the market's -7% Y/Y consensus. Also on Tuesday, European Central Bank Governing Council member and Luxembourg Central Bank head Yves Mersch wrote in a New Year's me...
Human resources consulting company Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc completed its merger with rival Towers Perrin Forster & Crosby to form a combined company called Towers Watson & Co that will make its U.S. trading debut on Monday.
The Australian Dollar opens slightly higher on Monday at 0.8980. Traders squaring up for the New Year kept the Aussie in a tight range last Thursday against its U.S. counterpart.
Former Citigroup Chief Executive Sanford Weill blamed the bank's problems on personnel decisions and faulted his successor, Chuck Prince, for letting its balance sheet balloon and taking on large risks, according to the New York Times, citing a series of recent interviews.
National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr, the country's first and second biggest banks by assets, said they had agreed to accept real estate in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in public sector debt.
U.S. stocks closed out 2009 with the best performance in six years, but monthly employment figures in the first week of the new year will keep investors focused on what is likely to be 2010's reality -- the economy's struggle to recover.
The U.S. economy and job market will rebound only gradually because of ongoing constraints on lending, Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said on Sunday.
The president of Japan Airlines Corp said he is against a bankruptcy proceeding under a state restructuring plan and has no plans to completely withdraw the carrier from overseas flights, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
Shinsei Bank and Aozora Bank may have their planned merger delayed, due to difficulty integrating systems and depending on the outcome of an inspection by Japan's financial regulator, the Nikkei newspaper said.
China's economic growth looks set to accelerate into the new year, with booming factories driving a December manufacturing survey to a 20-month high while South Korea's exports to the country surged on strong demand.
Italian confectioner Ferrero has met with private equity firms as well as Hershey Co to discuss a possible bid for Britain's Cadbury Plc , Il Sole 24 Ore daily reported on Saturday.
Taiwan netbook PC pioneer Asustek has approved plans to simplify cutting investment in its subsidiary Pegatron, which could be listed in June, a newspaper said on Saturday.
Kohlberg Capital Corp has been sued by a Michigan investor who said the investment company taken public in 2006 by a firm affiliated with buyout specialist Jerome Kohlberg fraudulently misstated the value of its portfolio.
The attorney general for Washington, D.C. has filed a lawsuit against an AT&T Inc unit, seeking to recover consumers' unused balances on prepaid calling cards.
U.S. stocks ended 2009 on Thursday with their best gains since 2003, driven by optimism about the economy's recovery and a brighter outlook for profits.
The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week to the lowest level in about 17 months, suggesting the economy might be on the cusp of creating jobs.
U.S. stocks ended 2009 on Thursday with their best gains since 2003, with optimism about the economy's recovery pushing the benchmark Standard & Poor's index up 23.5 percent for the year.
For hedge funds, 2009 will be remembered as one of the industry's best ever -- a year when managers delivered strong gains after 2008's drubbing and investors returned to the fray with new money.
For hedge funds, 2009 will be remembered as one of the industry's best ever -- a year when managers delivered strong gains after 2008's drubbing and investors returned to the fray with new money.
U.S. stocks closed out 2009 on Thursday with their first annual advance in two years, underpinned by strength in technology and natural resource shares on bets that the recovery will brighten the profit outlook.
Washington Mutual Inc said it could receive an additional $2.6 billion in tax refunds due to a recently enacted law, sending shares of the bankrupt bank holding company soaring on Thursday.
Wells Fargo & Co said on Thursday it gave Chief Executive John Stumpf and three other top executives stock payouts worth a total of about $25 million, but it said none of these executives will receive a cash bonus for 2009.
An industry association revised downward its December reading on expansion in business activity in the U.S. Midwest on Thursday and said employment in the region failed to enter growth territory as it originally reported.
U.S. trucking giant YRC Worldwide said it averted bankruptcy by finally negotiating a critical debt-for-equity exchange that wipes out $470 million in debt and gives the struggling company access to needed credit as it restructures.
Oil rose toward $80 a barrel in thin holiday trade on Thursday, poised for the biggest annual climb in a decade, a year after posting huge falls as the global economic crisis sapped demand.
Stocks fell on Thursday, extending earlier losses after a reading on Midwest business growth was revised downward, though it remained in expansionary territory.
