World stocks rose and oil prices hit a 2009 high on Wednesday, while government bonds and the yen fell, after a jump in U.S. consumer morale reinforced expectations that the global economy is starting to recover. Wall Street rallied on Tuesday after data showed U.S. consumer confidence posted its biggest monthly jump in six years.
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A Russian Internet investment firm has invested $200 million in Facebook, giving the social networking company a cash buffer during the recession and pegging its value at $10 billion. Digital Sky Technologies, which has invested in leading Russian web properties like Mail.ru and Vkontakte.ru, will take a nearly 2 percent stake in Facebook in exchange
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The U.S. recession is set to end "soon," but continued job losses and plunging house prices point to an economic recovery that will be more moderate than those experienced in previous downturns, a survey showed. The survey of 45 professional forecasters released by the National Association of Business Economists (NABE) on Wednesday found almost three-quarters
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General Motors on Wednesday prepared to face the fallout from a failed debt exchange that sends the largest U.S. automaker closer to a bankruptcy filing expected by the end of the month. GM bondholders had until midnight to trade $27 billion in debt for a 10-percent ownership stake in the reorganized company that U.S. officials
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Muskita Aluminium Industries Public Company Ltd (MAI) reported its first quarter 2009 results with profit after tax declining 67% Year-on-Year to EUR1.01mln compared to EUR3.03mln in the corresponding period of 2008. Revenue was down 35% to EUR10.98mln, mainly driven by the decrease in revenue from the Company’s exports in Europe. According to Management, profitability for
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The global market for carbon emissions trading doubled in value last year, despite the global economic slow down in the second half of 2008, but actual realised emissions cuts fell, the World Bank said on Wednesday. The market grew to $126 billion last year, up from $63 billion in 2007 and nearly 12 times the
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Signs of modest recovery in Japanese exports and a jump in U.S. consumer confidence boosted hopes the world is emerging from its worst financial crisis in decades, reigniting a rally in stocks and other riskier assets. But the news was far from universally rosy, with General Motors Corp moving a step closer to the largest-ever
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Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the European Investment Bank on Wednesday to play a larger role in helping east European economies deal with the recession brought about by the financial crisis. Writing in the Financial Times, Brown said both the EIB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development needed to make emergency funds
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The global economy has strengthened enough to cope with oil at $75-$80 a barrel and that level will be hit soon as fuel demand picks up, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Wednesday. Oil has already climbed from a low of $32.40 last December to six-month highs well above $60 a barrel this week.
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Asian shares rose to a seven-month peak on Wednesday and oil prices hovered near their highest since November after a jump in U.S. consumer confidence reinforced a view that the global economy has bottomed, even if recovery appears fragile. Major European stocks were expected to open up as much as 0.5 percent higher following gains
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