With less than two weeks left before the end of the year, all kinds of market participants, from economists at multinational banks to stock bloggers in their bedrooms, have begun to give their predictions for 2012. Here is a lucky set of seven predictions that could benefit investors next year.
Standard & Poor's on Tuesday said there is a greater number of sovereign and banking bonds at risk of ratings downgrades as a result of its recent warning that it might cut the credit ratings on 15 euro zone nations.
As unprecedented conditions continue to buffet the U.S. equities, and investors pull tens of billions out, investment managers are increasingly counseling their clients on what could be the most basic of stock market strategies: put your cash in mature high-dividend shares of mature companies, and stop fussing.
But skepticism crept in as investors are unconvinced apparently that the Eurozone has solved its problems and finally has it right in the attempt to solve Europe's sovereign debt crisis. Credit rating agency Moody's summed it up best in a weekly credit report, perhaps, saying last week's summit and plan offers few new measures.
World stocks and demand for German government bonds rose on Monday as confidence grew European leaders would make big strides in solving the euro zone's debt crisis at a crucial summit this week.
Annual compensation for employees at big Wall Street firms could fall 27-30 percent from a year earlier to the lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a compensation study conducted by the Options Group.
Spain's Treasury paid the highest yields in 14 years to issue short-term bills on Tuesday, in a sign that a resounding election victory for the center-right People's Party on Sunday has done little to soothe investor nerves.
The members of the super committee officially announced a failure to reach a deal on cutting at least a $1.2 trillion hole in the federal budget deficit, ahead of its official Nov. 23 deadline. The move has sent lawmakers searching for a new plan and ways to dodge blame.
When some bankers arrived late for work at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch's Asia headquarters in Hong Kong earlier this year, they found a Post-It note on their computer screens.
When some bankers arrived late for work at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch's Asia headquarters in Hong Kong earlier this year, they found a Post-It note on their computer screens.
Rising sovereign yields in Europe added to negative pressure for global equities during the week
A brutal year for global investors may get even worse next week should the U.S. Congress prove yet again it is too bitterly divided to deliver on its promise to cut the gaping federal budget deficit.
Canada's annual inflation rate moderated in October from a near three-year high in September but was still higher than expected, scaling back market bets for a central bank interest rate cut.
South Africa's rand reversed its earlier losses against the dollar on Wednesday and government bond yields pulled back from the previous day's multi-week highs as local assets took a breather from a hammering brought on by global risk aversion.
The Kenyan shilling reversed early gains to close weaker against the dollar for the second straight session on Tuesday, hurt by telecom sector demand for dollars, while stocks extended losses to a fifth day.
The yield on Spain’s 10-year sovereign bonds rose just above the dangerous 6 percent level from 5.85 percent on Friday
India's headline inflation was unchanged in October, worse than forecast and above the 9 percent mark for the eleventh straight month.
South Africa's government bonds weakened on Thursday, erasing earlier gains as the Reserve Bank said the inflation outlook had deteriorated, a hint that the chances of another rate cut had diminished.
Is the U.S. job market on the mend? Initial jobless claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. dropped for the second week in a row, to 390,000 -- their lowest level in seven months, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
The Kenyan shilling gained against the dollar on Tuesday aided largely by banks selling greenbacks as high interest rates squeezed shillings out of the market, while stocks edged lower in thin volumes.
Societe Generale , France's second-biggest listed bankon, scrapped its 2011 dividend on Tuesday to help bolster capital when reporting quarterly profit fell sharply, hit by charges including Greek debt writedowns.
Credit Suisse will cut another 1,500 jobs and scale back its capital-guzzling investment banking business as it seeks to meet tough new regulations ahead of other banks after the unit reported disappointing third-quarter results.
