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    Results confusion causes Google stocks to plummet

    An accidental email containing Google’s incomplete financial report was sent to the US stock market ahead of scheduled revealing that the internet giant missed growth forecasts. It caused a wave of stunned investors to rush to sell their Google stocks at up to eight percent lower prices, until trading was suspended on the stocks. Larry Page, Google’s chief executive, has said of the incident: “I’m sorry for the scramble earlier today. Our printers said they pressed send on the release a bit early.” Google then asked Nasdaq to halt trading on its shares while the company finalised and released the correct document. The document revea...
    On October 19, 2012 / By
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    New home construction surge in US

    Data released by the US Department of Commerce has revealed that new home construction has surged in September, growing at its fastest in four years. Housing starts were up 15 percent from August, with a seasonably adjusted annual rate of 872,000. The figure is well above analysts’ expectations of 765,000 new units starting construction. Building permits, an indicator for future construction, was also on the up, rising 11.6 percent in September from the month before; a 45.1 percent year-on-year increase from 2011. Major banks in the US have been hailing a housing market construction. “Importantly, we believe the housing market has turned ...
    On October 18, 2012 / By
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    Moody’s reinforces Spain’s low investment grade rating

    Moody’s has confirmed it is keeping Spain’s credit rating at Baa3 with a negative outlook, the lowest level of investment grade, based partly on the prospect of the European Central Bank will make a move to buy Spanish bonds in order to contain the volatility afflicting the market. The agency opted against lowering the country’s rating to junk level, based on a variety of positive indicators including the diminishing chance that Spain will lose access to the bond market. The euro started to rally against the dollar after investors’ fears that Spain would be lowered to junk status were quashed by Moody’s reports. However the decision...
    On October 17, 2012 / By
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    Singapore clamps down on foreign tax dodgers

    A deal between Germany and Singapore will help Berlin track down potential tax evaders, using Singaporean banks to hide away assets. It was announced by Germany’s finance minister Wolgang Schäuble, who is visiting Singapore, and local authorities. The deal follows another announcement in early October by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) which plans to heavily penalise banks that ‘facilitate tax evasion’ by dealing with tax crimes as money laundering ‘predicate offences’. The new laws will apply to both new and existing accounts. The MAS said the new measures will “discourage the entry of tax evasion monies into our finan...
    On October 15, 2012 / By
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    India ends infrastructure investment draught

    The Indian government has announced plans to award $2.3bn worth of state-sponsored highway contracts in the next six months in a bid to boost the quality of infrastructure in the country. The country has previously operated under a system that saw private investors fund the construction of highways through bank loans, and recouped their investment over time from income generated from the roads, including toll fees. However the recent credit crunch has made it difficult for private builders to obtain loans, forcing a rethink of the strategy. In the first six months of this financial year the government put 1,297km of highways up for auction, t...
    On October 12, 2012 / By
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    Brazil and South Korea cut interest rates to record low

    Brazil’s central bank lowered their benchmark Selic interest rate by 25 basis points, driving it to a historic low. Interest rates have been slashed nearly in just over one year, and now rest at 7.25 percent. Hours later, Seoul mimicked the decision by lowering the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate, again by 25 basis points, to 2.75 percent. Both countries acted in response to the IMF announcement that it believes the world economy is doing worse than originally anticipated. Emerging market like Brazil and South Korea are slowing down even faster, according to the IMF review. Both countries also lowered their growth rate forecasts in dome...
    On October 11, 2012 / By
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    Toyota to recall 7.4 million vehicles

    Toyota has announced another wave of recalls following concerns that faulty window switches could get jammed or break down in the driver’s and passenger’s side. The Japanese car manufacturer has also warned that owners should not attempt to resolve the situation with commercial lubricants because they can potentially “lead to overheating and/or melting of the switch assembly”. The recall will affect around 1.39 million vehicles in Europe, 2.47 million in the US and 1.4 million in China. Toyota claims there have been no accidents as a result of the switch problem. The new wave of recalls comes two months after the company announced the...
    On October 10, 2012 / By
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    Draught cow culling leads to increase in milk prices

    The US department of Agriculture has estimated that the American milk output for 2013 will drop around 0.5 percent to 198.9bn pounds as the number of milk producing cows drops to an eight year low. Corn crops, an essential component of cattle feed, have soared to record high prices in August after a summer of draught and pestilence afflicted the US and destroyed much of the harvest. According to the UN, global dairy prices rose 6.9 percent last month alone. The supply of feed is likely to remain low for the next 12 months, slowing the output in the US and Europe considerably. American cows produced an average of 1,776 pounds of milk each in A...
    On October 9, 2012 / By
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    China growth forecast lowered by World Bank

    The World Bank has cut its forecast for China’s growth rate this year citing concerns over the weak demand for its exports, and slow investment growth. The global lender cut its prediction to 7.7 percent, down from the 8.2 percent growth estimate it made in May. In a report on the state of East Asia and Pacific economies the World Bank said there are fears that China might slow down even further. “The risk remains of a more pronounced slowdown in China than currently expected,” said the report. China has been hit particularly hard this year by slow international demand for exports to the eurozone and the US, two of its biggest markets. ...
    On October 8, 2012 / By
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    Credit Suisse sued in US over securities

    The US credit union regulator has filed a lawsuit against the American arm of Credit Suisse Securities, accusing it of selling faulty or misrepresented mortgage-backed securities to three credit unions, which later collapsed. The suit was filed in a federal court in Kansas City, Kansas. It was revealed in a statement by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) that the three credit unions bought over $715m of the faulty securities after allegedly being led to believe that there was little chance of losing money from the investment. The securities were sold to US Central Federal Credit Union, Western Corporate Federal Credit Union and S...
    On October 5, 2012 / By