Tag: Market

Tokyo stocks open lower as yen jumps

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday after the yen rose to five-month highs against the dollar on concern over tensions in the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula. Investors were subdued as they watched developments following last week’s US strike on Syria and intensifying sabre-rattling by the United States and North Korea. Nervous investors often plough into the yen at times of instability as it is seen as a safe […]

Tesla overtakes General Motors in market value

by John BIERS Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Tesla Motors overtook General Motors to become the biggest US automaker by market capitalization Monday, a sign of how Silicon Valley has captured investor excitement at Detroit’s expense. Tesla shares were up 3.0 percent to $311.74 near 1720 GMT, for a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, more than $1 billion above GM, a 109-year-old company that sold almost 120 times as many cars […]

Tokyo shares down; Toshiba jumps on chip sale approval

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo shares slipped Thursday, though Toshiba jumped after shareholders agreed to the sale of its memory chip unit to cover huge losses stemming from the company’s troubled nuclear business. Investors had few strong leads with Britain’s formal move to exit the EU on Wednesday already priced into the market, analysts said. Investors are also taking a cautious approach to US President Donald Trump’s economic policies after a humiliating setback on his […]

Tokyo stocks down at break; eyes on G20 meeting

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks eased Friday morning with focus turning to a weekend G20 finance ministers’ meeting, but Toshiba rebounded on reports the government may help fund the embattled firm’s turnaround. Automakers dragged the main indexes down with investors retreating to the sidelines ahead of a long holiday weekend in Japan. Markets are also awaiting news from the G20 gathering in Germany that brings together finance ministers from the world’s most powerful economies, […]

EU: Western Balkan common market could create over 80,000 jobs

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFP) — The European Union on Thursday encouraged Western Balkan countries to create a common market which it estimated could create over 80,000 jobs in an area of high unemployment. “On a very short and medium-term perspective, this could allow.. more than 80,000 jobs in the region,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn told reporters in Sarajevo. He spoke after a meeting of six Western Balkan countries’ prime ministers — Albania, Bosnia, […]

Saudi says it is ‘committed’ to oil market stability

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia is committed to stabilizing the global oil market, the energy ministry of the world’s biggest oil exporter said on Tuesday, as prices fell below $48 a barrel. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC countries last year pledged to reduce output by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) as part of a concerted effort to curb a global oil glut. Saudi Arabia “is committed and […]

Toshiba shares tumble after reports of delayed announcement of earnings

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Toshiba shares tumbled in early trading Tuesday after news reports that the troubled industrial giant would again delay announcing its financial results. The stock lost 6.1 percent to 201.8 yen in the first few minutes before rebounding slightly to 204.8 yen, still down 4.69 percent from the previous day. Toshiba, reeling from huge losses at its United States nuclear power unit, was to issue its April-December financial results on Tuesday, one […]

Tokyo stocks open lower as yen picks up

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday as the yen picked up against the dollar after US jobs data beat expectations. Wall Street and most European equity markets traded firmly Friday in response to the American economy generating 235,000 new jobs in February, well above forecasts. And even though the robust reading confirmed views of a looming interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, the dollar slipped after having risen ahead of […]

Jackie Chan: foreign ‘pressure’ good for Chinese films

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Action star Jackie Chan said opening up China’s heavily-restricted film market to more foreign works would put positive pressure on local filmmakers, as rumors swirl Beijing will expand its quota on imported movies. Since 2012, China has permitted 34 films to be imported from overseas each year, but the state-run Global Times newspaper reported last month that Chinese and US officials are renegotiating the limit. A shakeup in domestic movie offerings […]

Observers: Trump more presidential in Congress with toned-down rhetoric

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets surged Thursday, picking up the baton from record performances in New York and Europe where traders cheered upbeat United States economic data and Donald Trump’s conciliatory speech to Congress. The US president’s much-anticipated address on Tuesday, while lacking details, was broadly welcomed as he promised a trillion-dollar infrastructure splurge and tax cuts — music to bullish investors’ ears. Global equity markets have thundered along since Trump’s November election […]

Tokyo shares fall as investors await Trump speech before Congress

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks fell Monday morning as a stronger yen discouraged investors already cautious ahead of United States President Donald Trump’s policy speech to Congress. Markets are keen to see details of Trump’s spending plans as well as proposals for tax reform, with uncertainty over their timing and size of his plans weighing on the greenback in recent weeks. Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. “We are not […]

Wall Street ekes out positive finish

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street slouched to a positive finish on Friday with all three major stock indices making last-minute moves into positive territory after spending most of the session in the red. Though it finished essentially flat, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average also extended its streak of fresh all-time highs with an 11th consecutive record close. The Dow gained less than a tenth of a percentage point to close at […]