Thursday, April 29, 2004
Shell to buy back shares
"Embattled oil firm Royal Dutch/Shell has bowed to investor pressure for a share buyback and jacked up planned capital spending for 2004.
The company also reported adjusted net profit on a current cost of supply basis of $4.251 billion (2.406 billion pounds), up nine percent on a year ago with the previous year's accounts affected by special items."
Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage:
White House Rejects China Trade Sanctions
"The Bush administration bluntly rebuffed critics of trade with China yesterday, turning down requests by labor and industry groups to consider imposing duties on Chinese goods over Beijing's treatment of workers and its currency policy.
Four Cabinet members, appearing at an unusual joint news conference, said the administration would not accept a petition filed last month by the AFL-CIO calling for stiff tariffs on Chinese imports to punish China for allegedly exploiting workers. Nor, they said, would they accept a petition readied by some industry associations that would threaten China with sanctions to force a rise in the value of the Chinese currency.
Asserting that the most effective way to change China is to trade with it and 'engage' it, Robert B. Zoellick, the U.S. trade representative, said: 'Accepting these petitions would take us down the path of economic isolationism. That is a path we will not take.' "
White House Rejects China Trade Sanctions (washingtonpost.com):
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Unilever "disappointed" by sales
"Unilever has said it is to look at some of its big name brands after unveiling disappointing sales figures.
The Anglo-Dutch food group said sales in its 400 top brands rose just 1.3% in the first three months of the year. "
BBC NEWS | Business | Unilever "disappointed" by sales
Shell cuts 2,800 technology jobs
"Royal Dutch Shell has said it will cut up to 2,800 jobs in its technology division over the next three years.
The world's third-largest oil firm said the cutbacks were unrelated to recent problems over how it accounted for its proven oil reserves.
The division affected has sites in Britain, the Netherlands and the US. Some jobs will be outsourced to India and Malaysia, Shell said.
A spokeswoman said the move was 'about developing Shell's IT efficiency'."
BBC NEWS | Business | Shell cuts 2,800 technology jobs:
Prospects again sour for German economy
"Economists cut 2004 growth forecasts
Six leading economic institutes on Tuesday lowered their forecasts for growth in Germany this year, pointing to chronically high unemployment and sluggish demand.
Germany's gross domestic product is expected to expand only 1.5 percent this year, less than the 1.7 percent forecast in October, the institutes said in a joint semiannual report published Tuesday. The revision confirmed the impression of an economy with deep-rooted problems, despite a report Monday by the Ifo institute signaling an unexpected upturn in business confidence this month.
Meanwhile, the French national statistics office said Tuesday that the economy grew at a 0.5 percent pace in 2003, twice the rate it had originally forecast. That growth, though modest, fueled hope the euro-zone's second largest economy would gain momentum this year."
IHT Prospects again sour for German economy
Greenspan sees oil prices as threat to U.S. growth
"Oil and natural gas price futures suggest energy prices will remain persistently high, which is affecting businesses' investment decisions, especially for plants that require large amounts of gas, Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve chairman, said Tuesday."
IHT Greenspan sees oil prices as threat to U.S. growth:
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
France markets its interventionist free market
"As the ink was drying Monday on a $65.5 billion merger deal promoted by the French government between Sanofi-Synthélabo and Aventis, the prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, took to the podium at his residence, where he had just met with a group of international businessmen.
Launching into a discussion of French competitiveness, Raffarin explained that France had become an exciting destination for foreign investment.
France, he said, was only misunderstood - so much so that the government was planning to begin an advertising campaign at the end of May to attract more foreign investors to the home of Bordeaux wine and high-speed trains. "France has changed," was the central message of a nine-page PowerPoint presentation on the advertising strategy."
France markets its interventionist free market
Deutschland verletzt auch 2005 Stabilitätspakt
"Der gebremste Aufschwung in Deutschland programmiert neuen Streit zwischen der Bundesregierung und der EU-Kommission: Deutschland wird auch im nächsten Jahr, und damit zum vierten Mal in Folge, gegen den europäischen Stabilitäts- und Wachstumspakt verstoßen. Laut Frühjahrsgutachten der sechs führenden deutschen Wirtschaftsforschungsinstitute wird die Neuverschuldung im Jahr 2005 etwa 3,5 Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts erreichen. Damit wird die Drei-Prozent-Defizit- Marke des Maastricht-Vertrags deutlich gerissen. "
Handelsblatt.com: Politik: Konjunkturdaten:
Monday, April 26, 2004
New Home Sales See Best Rise in 9 Months
"Sales of new homes surged by 8.9 percent in March, the largest monthly increase in nine months, as mortgage rates bottomed out before starting to ascend. "
Yahoo! News - New Home Sales See Best Rise in 9 Months:
The World According to Galbraith
"The U.S. has 'no choice' but to quit Iraq, says the venerable economist, who believes staying on will only make the conflict worse
Few economists have had a more diverse or distinguished career than John Kenneth Galbraith. In addition to teaching at Harvard and writing prolifically, Galbraith also organized and ran the price-control system during World War II, and served as Ambassador to India during the Kennedy Administration.
Today, at age 95, Galbraith is still railing against conventional wisdom. In his new book, published on Apr. 26 -- The Economics of Innocent Fraud -- Galbraith argues that many of the terms and ideas that permeate discussion of economics are in fact terribly misleading. He contends, for instance, that the distinction between the "public" and "private" sectors is more rhetoric than reality; that the idea that shareholders and directors play major roles in modern corporations is equally specious; and that the role of the Federal Reserve Board has been greatly exaggerated. He's also sharply critical of many current polices, including the war in Iraq and the Bush tax cuts. "
BW Online | April 26, 2004 | The World According to Galbraith:
Friday, April 23, 2004
Durable Goods Orders Up Sharply in March
"Orders for long-lasting durable goods surged again in March, as U.S. factories sought to keep up with unexpectedly strong demand for a broad array of products, a Commerce Department report on Friday showed.
The department said orders for big-ticket items meant to last at least three years jumped 3.4 percent, well above the 0.8 percent gain that Wall Street analysts had been expecting."
Yahoo! News - Durable Goods Orders Up Sharply in March
Treasury Secretary: Economy Has Improved
"The soaring U.S. budget deficit is not a threat to the global economy, Treasury Secretary John Snow said as finance ministers and central bankers from the major industrialized nations gathered for weekend meetings.
Sounding an optimistic note before he and Federal Reserve (news - web sites) Chairman Alan Greenspan (news - web sites) hosted a meeting of the Group of Seven major industrial nations, Snow said Thursday that the U.S. economy is in far better shape than it was last spring. Analysts then were worried that anemic growth would plunge the United States into another recession. "
Yahoo! News - Treasury Secretary: Economy Has Improved:
Thursday, April 22, 2004
World Economy Is Starting to Bloom, IMF Says, Projecting Strong Growth
"The world economy is making a strong comeback from recession and war jitters, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday as it released a semiannual forecast projecting global growth at 4.6 percent this year and 4.4 percent in 2005.
'The tentative buds that we saw six months ago are now blooming in many parts of the world,' Raghuram Rajan, the IMF's chief economist, said at a news conference. He noted that the forecast for global growth in the World Economic Outlook released yesterday was about half a percentage point higher than the one issued last September. 'If all goes as expected, we are in for the best two years in over a decade.' "
World Economy Is Starting to Bloom, IMF Says, Projecting Strong Growth (washingtonpost.com):
Russian shelves Corus board move
"A Russian mining and steel tycoon has backed down from his plans to confront the board of Corus at the company's annual meeting on Thursday.
Alisher Usmanov, who owns a 13.4% stake in Corus, had been planning to try and have his own representative voted onto the board of the Anglo-Dutch group.
The Russian has now withdrawn his nomination in the face of opposition from the board and other shareholders."
BBC NEWS | Business | Russian shelves Corus board move:
German bank boss pleases all sides
"The German government has moved to defuse the political row with the Bundesbank through the appointment of an outside academic as the central bank's new president.
Politicians and economists welcomed the decision to name Axel Weber to replace Ernst Welteke who resigned last week after running into a barrage of criticism for allowing a commercial bank to pay a hotel bill for him and his family.
There had been concerns that relations between the central bank and the government, already frosty after rows over a range of issues including gold sales, interest rates and the need for economic reform, could be strained further if Berlin appointed a political ally.
However, the choice of Mr Weber, an economics professor who is also a member of an independent panel of economic advisers to the government known as the 'wise men', has headed off such criticism."
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | German bank boss pleases all sides:
Greenspan Sees Increase in Interest Rates
"Federal Reserve (news - web sites) Chairman Alan Greenspan (news - web sites) said Wednesday extra-low interest rates 'must rise at some point' now that the economy is hitting its stride, an assessment reinforcing some economists' beliefs that rates will climb this summer. "
Yahoo! News - Greenspan Sees Increase in Interest Rates:
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Dollar gains on Greenspan comment
"The dollar has risen against the euro and yen after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan stoked fears of an interest rate hike.
Shares also came under pressure in Asia after US markets had slumped in the final hour of trading on the comments.
Speaking before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, he said the US economy seemed to have turned a corner and the threat of deflation is gone.
He added that US banks were in shape to deal with rising interest rates.
Some investors thought Mr Greenspan's comments were a sign inflationary pressures were picking up in the economy.
Mr Greenspan said he would expand on his views when he appears before the Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday."
BBC NEWS | Business | Dollar gains on Greenspan comment:
Greenspan's warning on inflation sends stock markets sharply lower
"US financial markets registered a strong reaction to comments from Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, suggesting that deflation is no longer a threat and that pricing power is gradually returning to US businesses.
Although Mr Greenspan attempted to defer questions on the US economic outlook until his testimony before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress today , his comments on inflation were enough to trigger a sharp market reaction.
Wall Street took the comments as a sign that a rate increase was likely to come before the November elections, perhaps as early as June. The yield on the two-year Treasury note rose to 2.16 per cent, the highest in 18 months. "
Yahoo! News - Greenspan's warning on inflation sends stock markets sharply lower:
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Where the oil is
"The Middle East remains the biggest player in oil – especially when it comes to reserves.
Dominated by those of Saudi Arabia and Iraq, it dwarfs the rest of the world, ensuring the region’s prominence on the global political stage."
BBC News | At-a-glance
Shell bosses 'fooled the market'
"Shell executives knowingly hid the company's oil and gas shortfalls as far back as 2001, an independent review has revealed.
In its most damning piece of evidence it quotes one of the firm's former executives writing about 'lying' and how the firm had 'fooled' the market. "
BBC NEWS | Business | Shell bosses 'fooled the market':
Shell's Report on Its Troubles Cites Discord at Top
"A tense and at times hostile relationship between the two most powerful executives of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group caused the company to wait almost two years before addressing problems with overstated oil and gas reserves, according to a summary of an internal inquiry made public by the company yesterday.
The summary describes pressure that Sir Philip Watts, the chairman of the company from 2001 until last month, exerted on the man who succeeded him as head of exploration and production, Walter van de Vijver, to 'leave no stone unturned' to meet the goal of reporting that the company was replacing every barrel pumped out of the ground with a new barrel of reserves."
The New York Times > Business > Shell's Report on Its Troubles Cites Discord at Top:
IMF says Fed must prepare world for interest rate hike
"The United States Federal Reserve must prepare the global economy for an interest rate hike to 'avoid financial market disruption both domestically and abroad', the IMF is to warn this week according to the Financial Times. "
Yahoo! News - IMF says Fed must prepare world for interest rate hike:
Monday, April 19, 2004
Ahold Near Break-Even After Tough 2003
"Dutch Ahold, recovering from a billion-euro accounting scandal, came close to break-even in 2003 despite sluggish consumer spending, the world's number-three food retailer said on Monday. "
Ahold Near Break-Even After Tough 2003 (washingtonpost.com):
Shell finance chief is forced out
"Shell's chief financial officer Judy Boynton has resigned, becoming the third casualty of its reserves crisis. "
BBC NEWS | Business | Shell finance chief is forced out:
Friday, April 16, 2004
Corus to resist Russian approach
"Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus has vowed to oppose a Russian shareholder's plans to install a nominee on its board.
'We believe board members should be working in the interests of all shareholders rather than individuals,' the company said.
Russian metals entrepreneur Alisher Usmanov, who owns 13.4% of the company, has made no secret of his ambitions to influence Corus' strategy.
He has been especially critical of the company's two-country structure.
The Dutch arm of the business is profitable, but is dragged down by persistent losses on the British side."
BBC NEWS | Business | Corus to resist Russian approach
Shell Officer Said to Have Ordered Report Destroyed
"A senior executive at the Royal Dutch/Shell Group told a subordinate in an e-mail message in December that the employee's preliminary analysis of the company's oil and gas reserves problems was 'dynamite' and 'needs to be destroyed' because it was incomplete, a person involved in the company's internal inquiry said on Thursday.
The senior executive, Walter van de Vijver, the head of Shell's exploration and production unit at the time, was dismissed on March 3, along with the company's chairman, Sir Philip Watts."
The New York Times > Business > World Business > Shell Officer Said to Have Ordered Report Destroyed:
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Risks remain for South Africa's economy
"When apartheid ended in 1994, there were fears that South Africa's then Marxist-influenced ANC would take the country on a path of nationalisation and centralisation.
The country would soon sink into the economic abyss of many other African nations, the pessimists feared.
But this did not happen. "
BBC NEWS | Business | Risks remain for South Africa's economy:
Risky business in Iraq
"A full year after US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, the country appears no safer for the men and women who live and work there.
As a showdown between US forces and supporters of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr looms, many armed Iraqi groups have started targeting foreign contractors and investors.
Two businessmen with interests in Iraq told the BBC's World Business Report about their recent experiences there. "
BBC NEWS | Business | Risky business in Iraq:
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Shell executive was 'forced out'
"A former top executive at Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell says he was ousted from his post 'without credible explanation' after the firm downgraded its reserves.
Walter van de Vijver, formerly Shell's exploration and production chief, said he found problems with the classifying of reserves when he took up the post.
He added he was cooperating fully with investigations into the matter."
BBC NEWS | Business | Shell executive was 'forced out':
In China, Signs of an Overheating Economy
"There were more worrisome signs of inflationary pressure in China, as Beijing announced that bank lending climbed briskly in March and the central bank failed to sell all the treasury bills that it tried to auction at current interest rates.
It was the fourth week in a row that the People's Bank of China was unable to sell all its bills, indicating that investors expect inflation or interest rates - or both - to rise markedly.Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of China's central bank, gave on Tuesday one of the grimmest assessments yet by a Chinese official of the risks that the economy might overheat.
'There are problems in economic activity, with investment demand expanding too fast, money and credit growing too quickly, and inflationary pressures rising,' he said in a statement published in the Financial News, the bank's newspaper."
The New York Times > Business > World Business > In China, Signs of an Overheating Economy
US Retail Sales Rise by 1.8 Percent in March
"America's shoppers, buoyed by an improved job climate and tax refunds, indulged themselves in March and boosted sales at the nation's retailers by the largest amount in a year, a promising sign the economy is back in the groove.
The stunning 1.8 percent gain in retail sales reported Tuesday by the Commerce Department added to evidence that the economy has closed out the January-March quarter of this year on a strong note and was entering the current quarter with good momentum, analysts said."
Yahoo! News - Retail Sales Rise by 1.8 Percent in March:
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Intel Profit Surges on Worldwide Spending
"Intel Corp. reported an 89 percent rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday as the world's largest producer of microchips benefited from stronger demand for computers. "
Yahoo! News - Intel Profit Surges on Worldwide Spending:
Consumer Confidence Plummets in U.S.
"Consumer confidence sank during the past month, weighed down by worries about job security and concerns about local economic conditions in the months ahead. The AP-Ipsos consumer confidence index dropped to 84.8 this week, from a reading of 97.7 in early March, when Americans' feelings about the economy had shown an improvement from the previous month."
Yahoo! News - Consumer Confidence Plummets in U.S.:
Thursday, April 08, 2004
The cost of the Iraq war: One year on
"By the end of this year, the US Government will have spent $150bn on invading and then rebuilding Iraq. That sounds like a lot - but the real question should be whether it is anywhere near enough. "
BBC NEWS | Business | The cost of the Iraq war: One year on:
Euronext cuts Dutch fees by 30%
"Euronext, the pan-European stock market, has said it plans to cut trading fees on Dutch shares by 30%.
Euronext said it would backdate the fee cuts to 1 April, and would look again at their impact on trading at the end of the year. "
BBC NEWS | Business | Euronext cuts Dutch fees by 30%
Oman's Oil Yield Long in Decline, Shell Data Show
"The Royal Dutch/Shell Group's oil production in Oman has been declining for years, belying the company's optimistic reports and raising doubts about a vital question in the Middle East: whether new technology can extend the life of huge but mature oil fields.
Internal company documents and technical papers show that the Yibal field, Oman's largest, began to decline rapidly in 1997. Yet Sir Philip Watts, Shell's former chairman, said in an upbeat public report in 2000 that 'major advances in drilling' were enabling the company 'to extract more from such mature fields.' The internal Shell documents suggest that the figure for proven oil reserves in Oman was mistakenly increased in 2000, resulting in a 40 percent overstatement."
The New York Times - Oman's Oil Yield Long in Decline, Shell Data Show
Yahoo Reports Surge in Quarterly Earnings and Plans a Stock Split
"When Yahoo, the Internet portal company, announced first-quarter financial results yesterday that were far stronger than expected, the canyons of Wall Street seemed to echo with the yodel the company uses in its advertising campaign.
Shares of Yahoo rose more than 10 percent in after-hours trading, reaching as high as $53.40 after ending regular trading at $48.35. The company also announced a two-for-one stock split, payable May 11 to shareholders of record as of April 26."
The New York Times > Technology > Market Place: Yahoo Reports Surge in Quarterly Earnings and Plans a Stock Split
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Nokia left out in mobile phone boom
"Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile phones, shocked investors yesterday by warning that sales had dropped over the first three months of the year despite a boom in the overall market. "
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Nokia left out in mobile phone boom:
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Surprise rise in German jobless
"The number of jobless Germans has risen by 44,000 to 4.3 million, a bigger than expected increase.
Many economists had predicted the rise to be half that amount, especially as employment is usually up in spring.
The disappointing news comes as the United States reports signs of strong employment growth.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has introduced reforms to quicken job placement and encourage the unemployed to take up self-employment or training. "
BBC NEWS | Business | Surprise rise in German jobless
Buoyant US economy boosts dollar
"Signs of renewed strength in the US economy are pushing the dollar higher, reversing the trend of recent months.
Figures released on Monday indicated that the massive US services industry was growing rapidly.
On top of a rise in US payrolls of more than 300,000 in March, announced on Friday, the news was enough to lift the dollar to two-week highs.
The US currency rose 1.2% to 106.4 yen, with the euro barely above a four-month low at $1.20, and the pound down 0.5%.
The pound, meanwhile, slipped more than half a percentage point to $1.82. "
BBC NEWS | Business | Buoyant US economy boosts dollar:
Monday, April 05, 2004
Services Growth Hits Record in March
"Growth in the U.S. services sector hit a record high in March, well above expectations, a report showed on Monday.
The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index surged to 65.8 in March from 60.8 in February. Wall Street economists had forecast a rise to 61.5. A number above 50 indicates growth."
Yahoo! News - Services Growth Hits Record in March
Air France opens offer to buy KLM
"Air France has opened its offer to buy Dutch airline KLM, in a bid to form the world's biggest airline.
The French firm will swap 11 Air France shares and 10 warrants - rights to buy shares in the future - for every 10 shares in KLM.
The bid was given the go-ahead by the European Commission in February, and was originally unveiled in September.
The two flag carriers had combined sales in 2002-03 of 19.2bn euros ($24.5bn; £13bn)."
BBC Online - Air France opens offer to buy KLM
Jobs boom ignites US rate rise speculation
"An American jobs boom has ignited speculation that key interest rates -- once thought to be frozen at a 46-year low until 2005 -- may rise within months.
Stunning markets, the Labor Department announced Friday that employers had added a four-year record of 308,000 new workers in March.
The news was a boon for job seekers, and a relief to the administration of President George W. Bush, who has been clobbered over his jobs record by Democratic hopeful John Kerry ahead of November 2 elections. "
Yahoo! News - Jobs boom ignites US rate rise speculation:
Friday, April 02, 2004
March Job Growth Strongest in 4 Years
"U.S. employment rose last month at the fastest pace in nearly four years, easily outstripping expectations, as workers returned after a grocery store strike and construction hiring bounced back on better weather, a government report on Friday showed.
The latest report from the Labor Department offered comfort to President Bush as the jobs market - a hot political issue in the U.S. presidential campaign -- finally made a decisive break to the upside.
Non-farm payrolls climbed 308,000 in March, the Labor Department said, the biggest gain since April 2000 and well above the 103,000 rise expected on Wall Street. "
Yahoo! News - March Job Growth Strongest in 4 Years:
Opec's struggle to keep oil prices high
"So the oil producers' cartel Opec confirmed plans, originally agreed in February, to cut oil supplies with effect from 1 April.
But it is another matter whether they will actually make the full cut they announced.
The group's members do have a long record of failing to abide by their own decisions.
But the intention set out by the decision at Opec headquarters here in Vienna is clear enough: To keep prices around their current, rather high, levels. "
BBC NEWS | Business | Opec's struggle to keep oil prices high
Beyond the Jobs Figure Fixation
"The market's obsession with this one monthly number is obscuring the larger economic outlook, which remains robust -- even for jobs
It's almost silly how much anticipation can build up for the release of one monthly economic report. But the market has focused relentlessly for the past few weeks on what one number -- March nonfarm payrolls -- signals about the state of the economy."
BW Online | April 2, 2004 | Beyond the Jobs Figure Fixation
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Euro interest rate left unchanged
"The borrowing rate in the 12-state eurozone is to stay at 2% for April despite calls for reduced rates to help kick-start economic growth.
The European Central Bank (ECB) revealed its decision following a governing council meeting on Thursday.
Economists expect a rate increase by September, but the latest no-change decision had been widely predicted.
There had been calls from some in the German business community to lower rates in order to stimulate growth."
BBC NEWS | Business | Euro interest rate left unchanged:
Google to launch email service
"Search engine giant Google has fired the latest salvo in a fierce fight for web supremacy by announcing it is to launch a free email service that will provide between 250 and 500 times more storage space than the market leaders, Yahoo and Microsoft.
However, there is a catch to the new service: Google's computers will scan emails to deliver targeted advertising.
The Google service, called Gmail, will offer 1 gigabyte of storage space, which equates to roughly 500,000 pages of email. Gmail users will be able to receive up to 10 megabytes in a single email, more than the free services of Yahoo and Microsoft's Hotmail allow to be stored in an entire mailbox. "
Guardian Unlimited | Online | Google to launch email service:
Turkish economy beats forecasts
"The Turkish economy grew more strongly than expected in 2003.
Beating both official government targets and market forecasts, Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 5.8% last year.
The figure for the fourth quarter - which included the Istanbul bombings - was an even stronger increase of 6.1%."
BBC NEWS | Business | Turkish economy beats forecasts:
OPEC Advances Plan to Cut Oil Production by 1 Million Barrels a Day
"OPEC said on Wednesday that it had decided to press forward with plans to cut its production target by a million barrels a day, in an aggressive display of its strategy to maintain oil prices at their highest levels in more than a decade.
Delegates from the 11 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cited robust demand for crude oil and ample supply as the main reasons for the decision, which comes at a delicate time in energy markets. Pump prices for gasoline are setting record highs in the United States, and crude oil is more expensive than it has been at nearly any time since the first war with Iraq in 1991."
OPEC Advances Plan to Cut Oil Production by 1 Million Barrels a Day
