The dollar hit five-month lows against a basket of currencies on Friday and the yen also dropped as investors sought higher-yielding and riskier assets, believing the worst of the global recession may have passed. World stocks posted new 2009 highs, encouraging investors to dump the greenback, which they had hoarded due to its liquidity and
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Oil rose to a six-month high above $66 per barrel on Friday, on track for its largest monthly percentage gain in more than a decade, after Japanese and U.S. data suggested the economic downturn may be moderating. Oil prices have jumped around 30 percent this month, buoyed by expectations of a global economic recovery later
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Europe's banks are ready to pull the plug on faltering UK commercial mortgages to limit losses on a 225 billion pound ($358 billion) loan book in a bid to prevent a dramatic next turn of the banking crisis. More than 10 billion pounds of commercial mortgages have so far breached their terms, a recent study
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The exploration and the exploitation of Cyprus’ wealth is the state’s sovereign right, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou has stressed. Invited Friday to comment on Turkish threats to block hydrocarbon exploration in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone, Stephanou pointed out that ''the entire international community should look into the issue, because there are international laws, agreements, there
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European shares rose by midday on Friday as firmer metals prices on the back of reassuring output numbers from Japan boosted miners, while investors awaited more economic data from the U.S. later in the day. At 1034 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.1 percent at 869.36 points. It closed
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Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes rose 0.3-0.5 percent on Friday, pointing to a higher start on Wall Street. * U.S. Commerce Department is due to release its preliminary (second) Q1 estimate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 8:30 p.m. EDT. Economists in a Reuters
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The biggest monthly oil rally in a decade stoked OPEC confidence higher prices would be reached before the year was out, although ministers said on Friday they were still monitoring bloated fuel stocks. Oil rose to a six-month peak above $66 on Friday and was on course for its highest gains in a month since
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Britain's car scrappage scheme has boosted orders of new cars by 35,000 vehicles since it was announced in the April Budget, the government said on Friday. British car sales have been falling sharply this year as the recession has cut into household and business budgets, but the government hopes the scrappage scheme will cause an
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World stocks closed in on a new high for the year and the dollar sank towards a five-month low against major currencies on Friday on hopes that the global economy has seen the worst days of its downturn. Commodity prices also were gaining, with oil at a six-month high above $65 a barrel. "We're back
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Palm Inc's (PALM.O) iPhone competitor Pre got an unexpected boost on Thursday as No. 1 U.S. mobile service Verizon Wireless said Pre would be part of its upcoming device line-up, sending Palm shares up 8.8 percent. Palm is depending heavily on Pre to revamp its own business and regain market share from rivals such as
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