trimming market gains made earlier this week on a Federal Reserve-induced rally,
as oil prices again hit a record high and stoked inflation concerns. Euro Stoxx50 futures (STXEc1: Quote, Profile, Research) shed 0.4 percent, DAX futures (FDXU7: Quote, Profile, Research) 0.3
percent and CAC futures (FCEU7: Quote, Profile, Research) 0.5 percent. Asian stocks were mostly steady. On the corporate front, Belgian-Dutch financial services group Fortis
(FOR.BR: Quote, Profile, Research) unveiled terms of its rights issue, and top paper and board maker Stora
Enso (STERV.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) sold its North American unit for $2.52 billion. Oil prices held near $82 a barrel, after hitting a record $84 the previous
day as a tropical depression forced the shutdown of Gulf of Mexico output and
sparked supply fears ahead of peak winter fuel demand. U.S. shares ended lower as a weakened dollar and a surge in oil prices
kindled fresh concerns about inflation. Fed chief Ben Bernanke said the central
bank cut interest rates to brace the U.S. economy against damage from financial
turmoil but warned the outlook remained uncertain. Technology shares might be in focus after Oracle (ORCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) beat quarterly
estimates but forecast slower growth in sales of new software. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0627 GMT---------------------- LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 (.SPX: Quote, Profile, Research) 1,518.75 -0.67 % -10.28 NIKKEI (.N225: Quote, Profile, Research) 16,312.61 -0.62 % -101.18 MSCI ASIA EX-JP (.MIASJ0000PUS: Quote, Profile, Research) 587.19 0.14 % 0.80 EUR/USD
COMPANY NEWS:
FORTIS (FOR.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) (FOR.BR: Quote, Profile, Research) Fortis said it had set a price of 15 euros per share for its rights issue to
fund its buy of parts of Dutch rival ABN AMRO. Fortis, which has bid for the Dutch bank together with Royal Bank of
Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Spain's Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research), said in a statement it expected
to raise 13.2 billion euros from the rights issue. Fortis also said it saw no material impact from the credit market turmoil. For more, double click on [FOR.BR-RTRS]
STORA ENSO (STERV.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) Stora Enso, the world's top paper and board maker, said it has agreed to
sell its North American business unit to NewPage Holding Corp (NWP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) for $2.52
billion. The transaction will not generate a gain or loss when recognised in the
third quarter of 2007, Stora said. For more, double click on [STERV.HE-RTRS]
INFINEON (IFXGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) German chipmaker Infineon set an issue price for its planned secondary
offering of 25 million American Depository Shares in memory chip unit Qimonda
(QI.N: Quote, Profile, Research). For more, double click on [ID:nL21721640]
UNICREDIT (CRDI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) Italy's UniCredit is sticking to targets, a spokesman said, rejecting
rumours that it might lower its earnings guidance that had pushed shares 2.0
percent lower at the close. For more, double click on [ID:nMAT007274]
SANTANDER (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) General Electric (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has offered about 4 billion euros ($5.6 billion) to
buy real estate assets Santander has put up for sale, Expansion and el
Economista newspapers reported. In June, Santander said it would sell property assets for 4 billion euros to
help fund its part in a three-way bid for Dutch bank ABN AMRO (AAH.AS: Quote, Profile, Research). Bids are
due by Friday, Expansion said.
FIAT (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) CNH (CNH.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the U.S. unit of Italian industrial group Fiat has enough
business outside the United States to outweigh any impact on it from the
subprime crisis, Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said. For more, double click on [ID:nL20445565] or for stories on Fiat, double
click on [FIA.MI]
NORTHERN ROCK (NRK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) The troubled mortgage lender turned down an offer of emergency funding from
JPMorgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shortly after it first issued a profits warning on June 27, the
Daily Telegraph said. JPMorgan offered around 500 million pounds ($1 billion), a loan believed to
have been part of a wider funding solution it devised, it said.
PORSCHE (PSHG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), VOLKSWAGEN (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) German trade union IG Metall on Thursday criticised a deal struck between
Porsche Chairman Wendelin Wiedeking and Porsche's works council head Uwe Hueck. Volkswagen workers worry that labour agreements for Porsche's planned
European holding company, which follow European labour law, will impair their
representation. Sports car maker Porsche currently holds about 31 percent of VW
and wants to raise its stake significantly.
No comments:
Post a Comment