The European stocks rose for the fifth consecutive day thanks to some better-than-expected corporate profits, police Bloomberg. The Shares of Ahold chain stores reported the strongest growth since May – with 5 percent after the company announced an increase its dividend by 28 percent. At the opposite pole were shares of shipping company Maersk, which sank 4 percent after the group announced its first annual loss since World War II. Pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index ended trading with a growth of 0,1 per cent to 252.93 points after a highly volatile session. Growth was limited by the end of the planned report on housing sales in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in January. Major national indexes advanced on 9 of the 18 western European markets. The UK’s FTSE 100 lost 0.1 percent to 5527.16 points while France’s CAC 40 and German DAX retreated with 0.4 per cent respectively to 3828.41 and 5795.32 points.
(more…)

The U.S. economy has a serious request to exit the severe economic crisis, it became clear from data on gross domestic product in the last quarter of 2009. It grew by 5,7 per cent in seasonally adjusted and aligned on an annual basis. This is the sharp rise in U.S. GDP by the end of 2003 onwards. The increase comes after the U.S. economic growth of 2,2 per cent in the third quarter of 2009. Analysts’ estimates were for growth of 5.4 per cent. Despite the high score, however it is too early for definitive evaluations Since several revisions to the data. Although over the last two quarters of 2009 to the U.S. economy grew for the whole last year reported a decline of 2,4 per cent. This is the worst performance of the U.S. economy from 1942 onwards, when it was registered a decline of 10.9 percent. Among the positive data make a bad impression with business investment, which suffered its biggest decline from 1942 to date, writes Market Watch. About two-thirds achieved in the last quarter of the year growth was due to selling of stocks in the economy. If they are removed from the calculations, the estimated growth of 2,2 per cent annually, which is a signal of continued weakness in the U.S.
(more…)

The Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.4 percent in the euro area (EU-16) and by 0.3% across the EU in the third quarter of 2009, said the community’s statistical office Eurostat. In the second quarter of 2009 growth was -0.2% in the euro area and -0.3% in the EU27. Compared with the third quarter of 2008, GDP declined by 4.1% in the Eurozone and 4.3% in the EU27, after -4.8% and -5.0% respectively for the previous quarter a year ago. In the third quarter of 2009, consumer spending fell by 0.2%, at 0% and -0.1% respectively for the previous quarter. Investments decreased by 0.4% in the eurozone and by 0.5% in the EU27 (-1.7% in reported and -2.5% the previous quarter). Exports increased by 2.9% in the Eurozone and 2.4% in the EU27 (-1.3% respectively at -1.4 percent and the previous three months). Imports increased by 2.6% in the eurozone and by 2.4% in the EU27 (in-2, respectively, 9% in both zones). To compare the U.S. GDP increased by 0.7% in the third quarter of 2009, after -0.2% in the second quarter of 2009.
(more…)

After a painful downturn last week, most stock indexes in Asia and the Pacific region began this week with significant increases. Optimism prevailed among investors after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said they would support their banks, which fell into difficulty because of the insolvency of the investment fund Dubai World. Most local currencies rose, and risk premiums on corporate bonds fell. The regional index MSCI Asia Pacific, which monitors the securities markets in ten Asian countries plus Australia and New Zealand, rose 3.5 percent to 117.85 points. This is the strongest measure of stock market growth since the beginning of April this year. Today, the UAE central bank said it stands behind the credit companies in the seven Arab Emirates, and the government of China confirmed that it will not hurry to withdraw its measures to support the economy. The financial companies in the composition of the MSCI Asia Pacific contributed most to the strong increase of the index today after last week suffered the most along the news about the financial problems of Dubai. The main stock index fell in Dubai with a record 7.2 percent last year, and the Abu Dhabi stock slid more than 8%. Today was the first business day of the exchanges in the UAE, which closed late last week because of holidays in the Arab world. The Japanese Nikkei 225 rose by 2.9 percent to 9345.6 points. Shares of exporting companies rose, although the rate of the yen against the dollar increased by 0.7 percent today. This increases the cost of Japanese goods companies abroad. In India, the BSE Sensex 30 rose 1.7 percent to 914.1 points to 16 after the country’s economy grew more than expected by 7.9 percent for the period July-September compared to last year.
(more…)