The U.S. has supplanted China and Brazil as the most attractive market for investors as confidence in the global economic recovery wanes in the wake of the Greek debt crisis. Investors are putting their money on President Barack Obama’s stewardship of the U.S. economy even as his job-approval rating has declined, according to a global quarterly [...]

bonds, China, Euro, investments, oil, stock market, US Hide

Asian stocks and the won plunged to 10-month lows after a report that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ordered his military to prepare for combat last week. The euro weakened and commodities declined on concern Europe’s debt crisis will spread. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 3.1 percent to 109.24 a 1:30 p.m. in Tokyo, set for [...]

Asia, australia, China, commodity, currency, Euro Zone, global markets, stock market Hide

Investor Jim Rogers said Europe’s bailout of indebted nations to overcome the sovereign-debt crisis is just “another nail in the coffin” for the euro as higher spending increases the region’s debt. The 16-nation currency weakened for a second day against the dollar after rallying as much as 2.7 percent on May 10, when the governments of [...]

China, currency, debt, economic growth, Euro, forex, global markets, inflation, stock market Hide

European policy makers unveiled an unprecedented loan package worth almost $1 trillion and a program of bond purchases as they spearheaded a global drive to stop a sovereign-debt crisis that threatened to shatter confidence in the euro. Jolted into action by last week’s slide in the currency and soaring bond yields in Portugal and Spain, [...]

bonds, Euro, global markets, stock market Hide

Greek demonstrations against government austerity measures turned deadly when three people were killed after protesters set fire to a bank in central Athens. Fire officials at the scene said they discovered three bodies in the building, according to a fire-department statement sent by text message today. The building, located near the Greek parliament, housed a branch [...]

credit, Euro, global markets, greece, recovery, stock market, taxes, unemployment Hide

Europe’s spreading debt crisis—combined with an overdue stock pullback and the prospect of the Federal Reserve withdrawing its economic support—added up to one thing Tuesday: Fear. As the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled more than 200 points and safe-haven moves for US Treasurys escalated, investors sought protection with the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Volatility Index[VIX  23.84   3.65  (+18.08%)   ], which [...]

China, Euro, forex, stock market, US Hide

Investor Marc Faber said China’s economy will slow and possibly “crash” within a year as declines in stock and commodity prices signal the nation’s property bubble is set to burst. The Shanghai Composite Index has failed to regain its 2009 high while industrial commodities and shares of Australian resource exporters are acting “heavy,” Faber said. The opening [...]

bubble, China, housing, Interest rates, investments, reserves, stock market Hide

Directors at Continental and United Airlines have approved a deal that would combine them into the world’s largest airline, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Sunday. The stock-swap deal values Continental at some $3.2 billion. The Sunday board actions were described by a person with knowledge of the votes, who declined to be identified [...]

M&A, stock market, US Hide

The political consensus may be that President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy has been weak. The judgment of money in all its forms has been overwhelmingly positive, and that may be the more lasting appraisal. One year after U.S stocks hit their post-financial-crisis low on March 9, 2009, the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has [...]

dollar, recovery, stock market, US Hide

Australia’s economy grew last quarter at the fastest pace in almost two years, underscoring the central bank’s decision yesterday to boost borrowing costs for the fourth time in five meetings. Gross domestic product climbed 0.9 percent from the third quarter, when it gained a revised 0.3 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. That [...]

australia, commodity, economic growth, forex, stock market Hide