A Quick Glance at News (29/08/2012)

The euro, Asian shares and commodities held steady on Wednesday as investors awaited US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech to international central bankers gathering in Jackson Hole on Friday and a European Central Bank meeting next week.

"We don't believe that Bernanke will pre-commit the Fed at the JH conference (especially given the important upcoming Payrolls release on 7 September)," Societe Generale said in a research note. In fact, Bernanke may use the opportunity to highlight the limitations of what central banks can do. Thus, there is a risk that markets (especially the equity markets) will react with disappointment," it added

U.S. 10-year Treasuries dipped in Asia on Wednesday but their losses were limited, with investors cautious about putting on bets ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday.

Stocks ended little changed in another day of scarce activity on Tuesday after mixed economic data gave investors little reason to shift their focus from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on Friday.

Japanese shares edged higher on Wednesday, with Renesas Electronics Corp surging 31 percent after sources said U.S. private equity fund KKR & Co (KKR.N) plans to invest around $1.27 billion in the struggling chipmaker.

Gold held near the highest in more than four months on Wednesday as investors await U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech later this week for any hints of further stimulus measures.

Brent crude futures slipped towards $112 per barrel on Wednesday on expectations Hurricane Isaac, which hit land in Louisiana, would spare Gulf Coast oil production facilities from significant damage.

China's official manufacturing managers' index (PMI) may have eased to a 9-month low of 50 in August, supporting the case for fresh easing measures by the central bank as the world's second-largest economy struggles against stiff global headwinds.

Australian Dollar near One-Month Low amid Growth Concerns in china, a purchasing managers’ index of manufacturing activity in China, Australia’s biggest trading partner, probably fell to 50 in August from 50.1 the previous month, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg before the data are published on Sept. 1. The 50 level is the dividing line between expansion and contraction. 

China’s retailers from clothing to computers are reporting weaker sales growth, undermining Premier Wen Jiabao’s goal of relying more on consumer spending for expansion as the economy cools.

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) spent more than $1 billion over four years to develop a new mainframe computer, betting it can keep up with businesses shifting to cloud-based software and storage.

Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) Chief Creative Officer Mike Verdu is departing to found a new company, adding to the list of top managers who have exited the social-game maker amid a stock-price decline and sales-growth slowdown. 

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)’s Zappos online store has created a service that recommends purchases based on what users post on Pinterest, a move to parlay the popularity of the social-sharing site into e-commerce sales.

 

 Asad Khan
Financial Analyst  (CFB)
050-8774861
asad@cfb.ae