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Australia’s Job Growth Accelerates, Diminishing Economy’s Slack
By Jacob Greber
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Australia’s job growth accelerated in April, propelled by full-time employment, indicating diminished slack in an economy fueled by resource shipments to China.
Employment rolls rose for the second straight month, by 33,700, exceeding the median estimate of 22,500 in a Bloomberg News survey, a statistics bureau report showed in Sydney today. The unemployment rate held at 5.4 percent. Jobs gains were led by Queensland, source of much of the coal shipments to China.
Australia’s dollar extended gains after the report signaled the central bank may need to keep raising interest rates even after it signaled a pause last week. Demand is pushing against the economy’s capacity, Assistant Governor Philip Lowe said today, adding that he’s “optimistic” about growth in China -- Australia’s biggest export destination.
“The Australian economy is looking very healthy and this puts the spotlight back onto the Reserve Bank of Australia about when and how far they’ll increase interest rates,” said Brian Redican, a senior economist at Macquarie Group Ltd. in Sydney.
The Australian currency gained 0.6 percent to 89.88 U.S. cents as of 12:27 p.m. in Sydney. The currency suffered its biggest weekly loss since January 2009 last week on concern Europe’s debt crisis will hamper the global economic recovery and crimp Australia’s exports.
Interest-rate futures indicate traders are betting the central bank is certain to raise the benchmark rate to 4.75 percent by December, from 4.5 percent now. The contracts show a 54 percent chance of a move by early September, according to Bloomberg calculations based on interbank futures on the Sydney Futures Exchange at 10:07 a.m.
Leading G-20
Governor Glenn Stevens has led Group of 20 central bankers in boosting benchmark interest rates this year to stop a mining boom from stoking inflation as demand for skilled workers jumps at companies such as BHP Billiton Ltd. Low inflation has been “critical” to Australia’s economy, forecast to double its pace of growth by late 2012, Lowe said in a speech today in Sydney.
Stevens last week said lending costs are back to their “average” levels for most borrowers, stoking speculation policy makers will slow the pace of future increases in the benchmark rate. The bank’s moves since October also represent a “significant adjustment,” he said on May 4.
The number of full-time jobs gained 37,500 in April and part-time employment decreased 3,900, today’s report showed.
Stevens has increased the overnight cash rate target six times since early October as evidence mounts that Australia’s economy will strengthen this year after skirting the global recession in 2009. The moves have taken the Reserve Bank’s benchmark up from a half-century low of 3 percent.
Wage Pressure
Inflation is forecast to accelerate to the top of the central bank’s target range of 2 percent to 3 percent in 2012, partly because of “some pick-up in wage growth as the labor market tightens,” policy makers said in their quarterly monetary policy statement on May 7.
In contrast to Australia, the unemployment rate in the U.S. was 9.9 percent in April, and 10 percent in March among European Union countries, the highest rate since August 1998.
Australia’s participation rate, which measures the labor force as a percentage of the population aged over 15, was unchanged in April from a revised 65.2 percent in the previous month, today’s report showed.
To contact the reporter for this story: Jacob Greber in Sydney at jgreber@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: May 12, 2010 23:03 EDT
cramming for my last final before graduation...10 patient histories/case studies...a little bored with blood serum, etc....thought I would take a break and visit
European Stocks Gain as Sainsbury, BT Climb; Asian Shares Rally
By Sarah Jones
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose for a second day after companies from J Sainsbury Plc to BT Group Plc reported better-than-estimated earnings and Vallourec SA boosted its profit outlook. Asian shares advanced.
Sainsbury rose 2.8 percent after the supermarket chain more than doubled profit. BT, the U.K.’s largest phone company, surged the most since July. Vallourec SA, a French producer of steel pipes, jumped to a 20-month high. SAP AG lost 2.2 percent after the world’s biggest maker of business-management software agreed to buy Sybase Inc. for $5.8 billion.
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.4 percent to 257.51 at 12:01 p.m. in London. The gauge pared earlier gains of as much as 0.8 percent as the euro fell against the dollar on concern governments may not cut their budget deficits fast enough after the European Union unveiled a near $1 trillion bailout for the region’s most indebted nations.
There is a “good fundamental backdrop that is producing the earnings that we are now seeing,” Mike Lenhoff, who helps oversee about $35.5 billion as chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd. in London, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “It’s coming through in terms of top-line growth and it is one of the reasons that markets are now responding as they are.”
Asian, U.S. Shares
In Asia, the benchmark MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 1.9 percent, led by computer-related companies after earnings from Tokyo Electron Ltd. to Tencent Holdings Ltd. boosted confidence in the industry. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed before a report on U.S. jobless claims.
Markets are closed in Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg today for the Ascension Day holiday.
Sainsbury climbed 2.8 percent to 337.1 pence after the U.K.’s third-largest supermarket chain said profit more than doubled to 585 million pounds ($870 million) as it added convenience stores to win shoppers and attributed a higher value to its property assets.
Pretax profit, excluding one-time gains and losses, increased 18 percent to 610 million pounds, beating the median 598 million-pound estimate in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
BT soared 10 percent to 132.5 pence, the biggest intraday jump since July 30. The phone company said fourth-quarter operating profit rose 16 percent to 1.53 billion pounds, boosted by job cuts. Operating profit had been estimated at 1.44 billion pounds on revenue of 5.17 billion pounds, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Vallourec Gains
Vallourec rallied 6.1 percent to 161.05 euros, on course for the highest close since September 2008. The company said first-half sales and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization would be “slightly below” the result for the second half of 2009 after previously saying they would be “significantly lower.”
The company is indicating “a strong rebound in the second quarter due to high activity in the U.S. oil and gas and non- energy markets,” Jeffrey Largey, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., wrote in a research report to investors today. The outlook is a “positive revision to the previous guidance,” he said.
SAP dropped 2.2 percent to 35.25 euros after agreeing to acquire Sybase to help it fend off competition from Oracle Corp.
Sybase shareholders will receive $65 a share, 56 percent higher than the closing price of $41.57 on May 11, before the deal discussions became public. Sybase, the maker of the Sybase IQ database management software, soared 35 percent yesterday in New York.
DSG, 3i
DSG International Plc advanced 6.7 percent to 30.2 pence, the most since November, after the owner of Currys and PC World stores reported an 8 percent gain in underlying group sales. The company also said it has a new revolving credit facility.
3i Group Plc soared 7.2 percent to 287.6 pence after Europe’s largest publicly traded private-equity firm reported a greater-than-estimated increase in value of its holdings. Net asset value per share climbed to 321 pence at the end of March from 279 pence a year earlier.
Credit Agricole SA declined 2.4 percent to 10.41 euros. France’s largest bank by branches reported first-quarter net income of 470 million euros, missing the median estimate of 511 million euros in a Bloomberg survey.
A U.S. Labor Department report at 8:30 a.m. in Washington may show initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 4,000 last week to 440,000, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: May 13, 2010 07:03 EDT
I think so much has bounced; less plays that are below a 1$ left...
NEXT WEEK'S EVENTS
MONDAY
Earnings: Before - DISH, SF, LPX, NRG, WPI ; After - FLR, LDK, LM, PCLN, WINN
Other: China PMI, World Economic Forum on Europe, Tanker Bid Deadline, Fed’s Kocherlakota Speaks, McDonald’s Same Store Sales, CNCB Premiere: American Titans
TUESDAY
Earnings: Before - ABK., JASO ; After - DIS, ERTS
Other: Treasury Action $38B in 3-Year Notes, Intel Investor Meeting, UBS Global Financials Conference, Sprint Shareholders Meeting, Christie’s Auction
WEDNESDAY
Earnings: Before - M, RTP ; After - CSCO, DRYS, JACK, WFMI
Other: Trade Balance, Crude Inventories, Treasury Budget, MBA Mortgage Apps, Treasury Auction $24b in 10-Yr Notes Other: BOE Quarterly Inflation Report, NBC Universal Anniversary, Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Auction, Fed’s Bullard Speaks
THURSDAY
Earnings: Before- AMSC, CHU, KSS, URBN ; After - BBI, JWN, NVDA, GGP
Other: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims, Continuing Claims, Import Prices, Treasury Auction $16B In 30-Yr Bonds, Charles Schwab Shareholder Meeting, CNBC Premiere: Total Recall, the Toyota Story, FT/Starmine Analyst Awards, Ford Shareholder Meeting, Google Shareholder Meeting
FRIDAY
Earnings: Before - JCP
Other: US RETAIL SALES,INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, MICHIGAN SENTIMENT, BUSINESS INVENTORIES, NRA Annual Meeting, Shuttle Launch
NEXT WEEK'S EVENTS
MONDAY
Earnings: Before - DISH, SF, LPX, NRG, WPI ; After - FLR, LDK, LM, PCLN, WINN
Other: China PMI, World Economic Forum on Europe, Tanker Bid Deadline, Fed’s Kocherlakota Speaks, McDonald’s Same Store Sales, CNCB Premiere: American Titans
TUESDAY
Earnings: Before - ABK., JASO ; After - DIS, ERTS
Other: Treasury Action $38B in 3-Year Notes, Intel Investor Meeting, UBS Global Financials Conference, Sprint Shareholders Meeting, Christie’s Auction
WEDNESDAY
Earnings: Before - M, RTP ; After - CSCO, DRYS, JACK, WFMI
Other: Trade Balance, Crude Inventories, Treasury Budget, MBA Mortgage Apps, Treasury Auction $24b in 10-Yr Notes Other: BOE Quarterly Inflation Report, NBC Universal Anniversary, Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Auction, Fed’s Bullard Speaks
THURSDAY
Earnings: Before- AMSC, CHU, KSS, URBN ; After - BBI, JWN, NVDA, GGP
Other: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims, Continuing Claims, Import Prices, Treasury Auction $16B In 30-Yr Bonds, Charles Schwab Shareholder Meeting, CNBC Premiere: Total Recall, the Toyota Story, FT/Starmine Analyst Awards, Ford Shareholder Meeting, Google Shareholder Meeting
FRIDAY
Earnings: Before - JCP
Other: US RETAIL SALES,INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, MICHIGAN SENTIMENT, BUSINESS INVENTORIES, NRA Annual Meeting, Shuttle Launch
Thx....you have a good sunday as well....I haven't been around much to trade as its my final semester and I'm also working at Johns Hopkins....but that will change in 3 weeks when I graduate....it will be a welcome relief to have school over with and to make some money....at 34 I begin to feel useless without having a paying job.........lol
NEXT WEEK'S EVENTS
MONDAY
Earnings: Before- CLX, L, SYY, ; After - APC, AUY, CAR, EOG, EXPD, HOLX, MCK, PBI, PFG, VMC, VVUS
Other: Personal Income, Personal Spending, Construction Spending, ISM Index, Auto Sales, Global Hedge Fund Summitt, Aflac Shareholder Meeting, Motorola Shareholder Meeting, UK Holiday No FTSE,German cabinet may meet in Berlin today to discuss aid for Greece
TUESDAY
Earnings: Before - ADM, AMT, BHI, BYD, BZH, CVS, DPZ, DUK, EMR, FE, MA, MRK, MRO, NYX, OZM, PFE, SIRI, SRE, SUN, TAP, TEVA, THC, TRI, UBS, VNO, YRCW, ; After - CEPH, CHK, ESLR, HK, IPI, NWSA, PEET, PXD, TE
Other: Factory Orders, Value Investing Congress (Pasadena), Bank of Australia Monetary Policy Meeting, General Growth Bankruptcy Rescheduled for Today, Christie's Impressionist & Modern Auction
WEDNESDAY
Earnings: Before - ABV, AYE, DVN, FWLT, GRMN, ICE, OWW, PGN, PHM, Q, TWX, XTO ; After - CBS, FLS, JDSU, KIM, LVS (NOT CONFIRMED), MUR, PRU, RIG
Other: ADP Employment Change, ISM Services, Crude Inventories, Bernanke Speaks (9:30am), BoE Monetary Policy Meeting, Christie's Impressionist & Modern Auction, New Money Market Fund Rules Take Effect
THURSDAY
Earnings: Before - ARG, BID, CI, DPS, DTV, FTO, GFI, H, HOC, LEA, MGM, PCP, PCS, SLE, WNR ; After - AIG (NOT CONFIRMED), ATVI, CPKI, CROX, ED, KFT, MIL, NILE, NVDA (NOT CONFIRMED)
Other: Continuing Claims, Retailers Report April Sales, UK Election Day, GE's Immelt Speask, Nokia Shareholder Meeting, Verizon Shareholder Meeting, UPS Shareholder Meeting
FRIDAY
Earnings: Before - CF, EIX, PCG, WPO
Other: JOBS REPORT, UK Election Results,Colgate-Palmolive Shareholder Meeting, Goldman Sachs Shareholder Meeting
NEXT WEEK'S EVENTS
MONDAY
Earnings: Before- CLX, L, SYY, ; After - APC, AUY, CAR, EOG, EXPD, HOLX, MCK, PBI, PFG, VMC, VVUS
Other: Personal Income, Personal Spending, Construction Spending, ISM Index, Auto Sales, Global Hedge Fund Summitt, Aflac Shareholder Meeting, Motorola Shareholder Meeting, UK Holiday No FTSE,German cabinet may meet in Berlin today to discuss aid for Greece
TUESDAY
Earnings: Before - ADM, AMT, BHI, BYD, BZH, CVS, DPZ, DUK, EMR, FE, MA, MRK, MRO, NYX, OZM, PFE, SIRI, SRE, SUN, TAP, TEVA, THC, TRI, UBS, VNO, YRCW, ; After - CEPH, CHK, ESLR, HK, IPI, NWSA, PEET, PXD, TE
Other: Factory Orders, Value Investing Congress (Pasadena), Bank of Australia Monetary Policy Meeting, General Growth Bankruptcy Rescheduled for Today, Christie's Impressionist & Modern Auction
WEDNESDAY
Earnings: Before - ABV, AYE, DVN, FWLT, GRMN, ICE, OWW, PGN, PHM, Q, TWX, XTO ; After - CBS, FLS, JDSU, KIM, LVS (NOT CONFIRMED), MUR, PRU, RIG
Other: ADP Employment Change, ISM Services, Crude Inventories, Bernanke Speaks (9:30am), BoE Monetary Policy Meeting, Christie's Impressionist & Modern Auction, New Money Market Fund Rules Take Effect
THURSDAY
Earnings: Before - ARG, BID, CI, DPS, DTV, FTO, GFI, H, HOC, LEA, MGM, PCP, PCS, SLE, WNR ; After - AIG (NOT CONFIRMED), ATVI, CPKI, CROX, ED, KFT, MIL, NILE, NVDA (NOT CONFIRMED)
Other: Continuing Claims, Retailers Report April Sales, UK Election Day, GE's Immelt Speask, Nokia Shareholder Meeting, Verizon Shareholder Meeting, UPS Shareholder Meeting
FRIDAY
Earnings: Before - CF, EIX, PCG, WPO
Other: JOBS REPORT, UK Election Results,Colgate-Palmolive Shareholder Meeting, Goldman Sachs Shareholder Meeting
thx
busy here at the hospital today
GL to you
This week's events:
TUESDAY
Earnings: Before - ADP, ASH, BEAV, BP, BSX, CCE, CMI, CRDN, DAI, DB, DD, ECL, EL, ENR, F, HSP, LAZ, LXK, MHP, MMM, NEM, NOV, NVO, ODP, SWK, UA, UAUA, UPS, VLO, WAT, WHR, WI, X ; After - AFL, BRCM, BWLD, BXP, CBI, FLEX, JDAS, NSC, PNRA
Other: FOMC Meeting Begins, Case-Shiller, Consumer Confidence, 3-G iPads to ship today, Anheuser-Bush Inbev Shareholder Meeting, BB&T Shareholder Meeting, IBM Shareholder Meeting, Suntrust Shareholder Meeting, Blankfein Testifies to Senate, BoJ Policy Meeting/Outlook Report
WEDNESDAY
Earnings: Before - ABX, AOL, ATI, BEN, CMCSA, DOW, DTG, ETH, FLWS, GLW, GSK, GT, HES, HMC, IACI, JBLU, MHS, MSO, NOC, RCL, ROK, S, SAP, TMO, WLP, WYN ; After - AKAM, ALL, AVB, BIDU, CLF, COG, ESRX, FSLR, GMCR, OI, ORLY, V, VRSN, WLT
Other: Crude Inventories, FOMC Rate Decision, Bank of America Shareholder Meeting, GE Shareholder Meeting, iTunes 7th Anniversary
THURSDAY
Earnings: Before- AET, BDX, BG, BMY, BWA, CAH, CELG, CL, CME, COP, CS (NOT COF.), D, EK, FO, HOT, IP, IPG, K, MOT, MYL, NBL, OXY, PG, POT, PRGO, SII, SNY, SWY, TWC, VIA.B, WM, WY, XOM ; After- ATHN, CSTR, ELY, EXPE, GNW, HIG, MET, MFE, MWN, RGC, SWN, TSO
Other: Continuing Claims, Initial Claims, AFL-CIO "March on Wall Street", AOL Shareholder Meeting, Capital One Shareholder Meeting, eBay Shareholder Meeting, Bernie Madoff's Birthday
FRIDAY
Earnings: Before - AGN, AVP, CEG, CVH, CVX, DHI, DISCA, ED, NDAQ, SPG
Other: GDP-Advance, Chicago PMI, Mich. Sentiment, Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, AT&T Shareholder Meeting, BoJ Monetary Policy Meeting, Lutz's Last Day at GM, Steve Cohen Hearing, UK Business Leaders Summit
excuses excuses....
wimp!
back in my day you'd be shot for bringing one of those on the course....we played uphill and the bunkers were made of broken glass
you kids have it easy nowadays
thx
hope you had a good weekend....slow here
they're there...try copying and pasting into a document if you are really curious....
no pinks or otc bb's here....listed stuff only...
exactly wes
lol...yep...but down some now from the peaks...it will be a 3 year hold (50$???)
4 weeks til ft trading again....getting ready here...I called oil at 81 was due for a bounce in stock lobster's chat this week...I'm looking at C too...
GL this week....I'll be back soon
congrats griff on the engagement...
...busy here today..just stopping by....
it is to help stroke victims...you should be happy.....you're so old it is actually pertinent to you
geezer!
nope...but I can make sense of biotech PR's pretty well lol
will be graduating in a month then ft trading for at least a little while...I hope to trade with you guys then but very busy between labwork at hopkins and 2 lecture classes this last semester
just got back from ft lauderdale and tampa these last 4 weeks...interviews for anesthesiology positions there....didn't get the ft lauderdale possition...waiting to hear from tampa...
also working on a paper for Pubmed:
Quantification of mRNA in mice at various time intervals following Stroke episode to determine levels of Cytosolic phospholipase A2 alpha and Cyclooxygenase 2 as relates to the Arachidonic acid pathway of prostaglandins production and post-trauma inflammation
lol
nice to see you too griff
May 11th 12PM
I thought you guys would get a kick out of it
GL today
thx for the emails....good reads...
very busy here tonight
GL
was 70 and cloudy during the days...nights colder...
was the same way in ft lauderdale when I was there two weeks ago...
false advertising?..... lol
hey early...been real busy here lately...hope all is well with you
...actually I'm doing stroke research here at hopkins now...
......to help old fogies like yourself.....
hahaha!!!
I'm out of here...have a good day all
I was there for an anesthesiology interview also...I'm trying to get a florida position...
something about the spring air currents they said...
I was in ft lauderdale last weekend for 3 days...had nothing but turbulence on the plane both ways from Baltimore...
Futures
North/Latin America
INDEX VALUE CHANGE OPEN HIGH LOW TIME
DJIA INDEX 10,670.00 +7.00 10,665.00 10,684.00 10,645.00 08:15
S&P 500 1,160.30 -0.70 1,160.80 1,164.00 1,157.10 08:17
NASDAQ 100 1,934.25 +0.25 1,935.25 1,936.25 1,931.00 08:14
I'm off to Tampa sunday through tuesday for an anesthesiology interview...
European Stocks Fluctuate; Greek Shares Decline, Glaxo Advances
By Adam Haigh
March 18 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks fluctuated between gains and losses as concern Greece won’t get European Union aid next week and may need help from the International Monetary Fund offset a rally by health-care companies.
Greece’s ASE Index dropped the most in five weeks as a German official said Greece should turn to the IMF if it requires a bailout. HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS AG led financial shares lower as Citigroup Inc. downgraded its stance on the industry. GlaxoSmithKline Plc jumped the most in eight months after Novartis AG gave up U.S. rights to a potential rival to its best-selling drug.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose less than 0.1 percent to 261.54 at 11:42 a.m. in London, having swung between gains and losses at least nine times. The benchmark gauge closed at a 17- month high yesterday after surging 65 percent since March 9 last year. The measure had retreated for the first two months of the year amid concern that Greece will struggle to rein in Europe’s biggest budget deficit.
“Our long-held fears that there will be very major sovereign problems as far as the eye can see have started to materialise,” Jim Reid, a London-based strategist at Deutsche Bank AG, wrote in a report. “In the near term we would like to keep fairly neutral on European equities.”
‘Daring Experiment’
While Greek government proposals to reduce its deficit led Standard & Poor’s to affirm the nation’s investment-grade credit rating on March 16, the shift in Germany underscored the rift in the European Union as the global economy emerges from the worst slump since World War II. Michael Meister, the chief finance spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, said attempting a Greek rescue without the IMF “would be a very daring experiment.”
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou gave European leaders until next week to spell out what financial aid they are prepared to give him and indicated he may seek help from the IMF if the EU falls short.
National Bank of Greece SA, the nation’s biggest lender, dropped 5.6 percent to 14.75 euros, dragging the ASE Index 3.2 percent lower. EFG Eurobank Ergasias, the second-largest bank, slumped 7.4 percent to 6.03 euros.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 Index expiring in June slipped less than 0.1 percent before reports on jobless claims and the cost of living.
Banks Retreat
Bank stocks posted the steepest decline among all industry groups in the Stoxx 600 after Citigroup cut its stance on global financial shares to “neutral” from “overweight.”
“Those investors who took a brave top-down view and moved overweight financials as they called the 2009 market surge should now be reducing exposure and moving back towards a more stock-picking approach within the sector,” according to a report by Citigroup equity strategist Robert Buckland. Profits at European financial companies are forecast to grow 65 percent in 2010 after a 351 percent jump last year, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, lost 1.2 percent to 684.5 pence and UBS declined 1.5 percent to 16.51 Swiss francs.
Glaxo, the U.K.’s biggest drugmaker, rallied 2.5 percent to 1,254.5 pence, leading a measure of health-care shares to the second-largest gain among 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. Novartis’s partner Vectura Group Plc took full control of the U.S. development and commercialization of the drug, known as VR315, a potential generic version to Glaxo’s Advair asthma treatment.
‘Successful Registration’
“Given Novartis’ decision not to pursue development in the U.S., the market will assume that the probability of a successful registration of a generic product in the U.S. has reduced,” Panmure Gordon & Co. analyst Savvas Neophytou wrote in a report.
SGL Carbon SE, the world’s largest maker of carbon and graphite products, slid 4.9 percent to 21.99 euros after reporting a 2009 loss of 60.3 million euros ($82.5 million), compared with a year-earlier profit of 190.5 million euros.
SIG Plc sank 8.2 percent to 116.9 pence after forecasting first-half pretax profit will be “well below” year-earlier levels. Europe’s biggest supplier of insulation and roofing also reported a full-year loss of 45.6 million pounds ($69.5 million) and said it will skip its final dividend.
Enel SpA slipped 1.3 percent after Italy’s largest utility halved its dividend to reduce debt. The company proposed cutting its dividend by 49 percent to 25 cents and said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization will be little changed this year and next.
Aegis, Nike
Aegis Group Plc, the world’s largest independent buyer of advertising space, fell 5 percent to 121.2 pence, the biggest drop since November. The company announced plans to sell 170 million pounds of convertible bonds.
Nike Inc. advanced 1.6 percent to $72 in pre-market New York trading. The world’s largest maker of athletic shoes said third-quarter profit more than doubled, beating analysts’ estimates, as North America posted a sales increase for the first time in a year.
Adidas AG, the second-biggest sporting-goods maker, climbed 3 percent to 38.54 euros.
A report from the Labor Department due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington may show initial claims for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits dropped to 455,000 last week, the fewest in two months, from 462,000 the prior week, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
A separate report may show U.S. consumer prices climbed 0.1 percent in February, while the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators at 10:00 a.m. may indicate a 0.1 percent gain after increasing 0.3 percent in January.
To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: March 18, 2010 07:44 EDT
maryland....
Japan Commercial Land Prices Slump to Record on Economy, Credit
By Tomoko Yamazaki and Katsuyo Kuwako
March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese commercial land prices fell to the lowest in at least 36 years as developers faced tighter credit markets and the recession discouraged buyers.
Prices declined 6.1 percent in 2009, more than the 4.7 percent drop a year earlier, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said in a report released today. Values are at their lowest since the ministry began collecting comparable data in 1974.
The decline in commercial prices, which are about a third of what they were in 1991 after Japan’s bubble economy peaked, may slow as the nation recovers from recession. Acquisitions by listed property trusts surged 18-fold to 66.4 billion yen ($735 million) in the three months ended December from the previous quarter, according to Urban Research Institute Corp.
“We’re seeing some signs of recovery,” said Hiromichi Iwasa, the head of the Real Estate Companies Association of Japan. “Office vacancy rates are still going up in the office market, but we could see a recovery sometime this year.” Iwasa is also president of Mitsui Fudosan Co., the nation’s biggest developer by sales.
Nationwide prices fell 4.6 percent overall, down for a second year. Residential land values declined 4.2 percent, accelerating from the 3.2 percent drop a year earlier.
Only seven of 27,410 comparable land parcels had price increases, the lowest on record, the ministry said.
Declines in Japan have been less severe than in other markets that have rallied in recent years. U.S. commercial property values in December were down 41 percent from their peak in October 2007, according to the Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index.
Major Cities
Commercial land prices fell in Japan’s three biggest metropolitan areas, with a 7.3 percent decline in Tokyo, 7.4 percent in Osaka and 6.1 percent in Nagoya, home to many of Toyota Motor Corp.’s suppliers.
Property developers and real estate companies accounted for eight of the 10 biggest bankruptcies among listed Japanese firms in last year amid the global tightening in credit markets.
Tokyo’s most expensive patch of commercial land, located in the city’s Ginza luxury shopping area, slumped 26 percent to 28.4 million yen a square meter, marking a second-straight annual decline.
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA abandoned a plan in 2008 for a major store in Ginza, and Seven & I Holdings Co., Japan’s largest retailer, will shut its nearby Seibu department store this year amid a decline in Japanese retail sales.
Property Demand
“In a nutshell, it’s all about the economy,” said Tomoya Nagai, a director of the ministry’s land price research division. “Economic weakness cut demand for residential and commercial properties and led to sluggish investment.”
Economic data in the past month have shown that the nation’s export-led recovery is starting to benefit consumers, with the jobless rate falling to a 10-month low in January and households increasing spending for a sixth month. The Japanese government earlier this week raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in eight months, saying the recovery is beginning to spur profits, home building and consumer spending.
Kenedix Inc., the nation’s biggest publicly traded real estate asset manager, said yesterday it will invest 30 billion yen in Japanese properties this year through two new funds, to take advantage of price declines.
“Investor appetite is returning, so it’s time to aggressively enter the market early for arbitrage opportunities,” President Atsushi Kawashima said in an interview. “Rents will bottom out by summer next year, following a peak in vacancy rates toward the end of this year, leading to a recovery in the overall property market.”
Office Rents
Tokyo’s office vacancy rate rose to a record in February, according to Miki Shoji Co., a privately held office brokerage company. Still, Tokyo replaced Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive office location after rents in the Japanese capital declined at a slower pace, according to broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc.
The ministry’s annual survey is based on appraisals as of Jan. 1. The survey’s results are used as a benchmark for land transactions.
“The market still remains sluggish, but given the stabilizing financial market, conditions for both lenders and investors are getting better,” said Keiji Kimura, chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Estate Co. “I’m hoping for a recovery in the property market by year-end.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Tomoko Yamazaki in Tokyo at tyamazaki@bloomberg.net; Katsuyo Kuwako in Tokyo at kkuwako@bloomberg.ne
Last Updated: March 18, 2010 03:50 EDT