By Daniela Silberstein
Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks declined, led by commodities producers as metals dropped and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended selling Rio Tinto Group and Norsk Hydro ASA. Asian shares rose, while U.S. index futures fluctuated.
Rio Tinto, the world’s third-biggest mining company, and Norsk Hydro, the fifth-largest aluminum producer, retreated more than 2 percent. Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. added 2.7 percent as people familiar with the matter said the U.S. will require Citigroup Inc. to raise private capital to strengthen the bank. Citigroup was little changed in Germany.
Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell for the fifth time in six days, decreasing 2 percent to 172.63 at 8:11 a.m. in London. The regional gauge has lost 13 percent this year as companies from Anglo American Plc to Cie. de Saint-Gobain SA posted disappointing result and the economic crisis in eastern Europe deepened.
The World Bank, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank will provide $31 billion over two years to bolster banks and businesses in central and eastern Europe, the Washington Post reported. The aid will come in the form of equity and debt financing, credit lines and political risk insurance, the newspaper said.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1 percent today, helping the regional gauge pare its worst start to a year since 1990, as brokerages upgraded technology companies and a weaker yen boosted Japanese exporters’ earnings prospects.
U.S. GDP
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fluctuated between gains and losses before a report that may show the economy shrank in the fourth quarter at a faster pace than previously estimated as companies trimmed inventories.
Rio Tinto slipped 2.9 percent to 1,819 pence, while Norsk Hydro slid 3 percent to 24.1 kroner. Goldman Sachs downgraded the shares to “sell” from “neutral,” citing a reduction in its base metals price forecasts. Copper, lead and nickel fell today.
The Obama administration will require Citigroup to raise private capital and make changes to its board of directors as part of an effort to strengthen the bank, according to people familiar with the matter.
The plan, which may be announced today, will involve the Treasury Department converting preferred shares into common stock. The government doesn’t immediately intend to provide additional money after channeling $45 billion to the bank last year, the people said. Citigroup added 2 cents to $2.48 in Germany.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Japan’s biggest bank, climbed 2.7 percent to 454 yen, rallying from an earlier drop of 1.1 percent. Westpac Banking Corp., Australia’s largest bank by value, gained 1.4 percent to A$16.89.
Lloyds Earnings
Lloyds Banking Group Plc slipped 11 percent to 66.4 pence. The lender’s full-year net income dropped 75 percent to 819 million pounds ($1.2 billion). Lloyds’ HBOS unit posted a 7.5 billion-pound loss for 2008 after bad loans at the bank’s corporate lending arm increased.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 has tumbled 53 percent since the start of last year as credit-related losses at financial firms worldwide climbed to $1.1 trillion and Europe, the U.S. and Japan fell into the first simultaneous recessions since World War II.
Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany wants the European Union to arrange a package of as much as 180 billion euros ($230 billion) to help east European economies, banks and companies weather the financial crisis.
A “European Stabilization and Integration Program” would include short-term financing for governments, coordinated restructuring for private debt, the recapitalization of banks and liquidity for companies in as many as 12 countries, Gyurcsany, 47, said in an interview in Budapest yesterday. He will present the plan at a March 1 EU summit in Brussels.
Hungary’s Budapest Stock Exchange Index dropped 0.6 percent today, while Poland’s WIG20 Index declined 0.3 percent.
Source www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJyRkERf91hA&refer=home#
Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks declined, led by commodities producers as metals dropped and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended selling Rio Tinto Group and Norsk Hydro ASA. Asian shares rose, while U.S. index futures fluctuated.
Rio Tinto, the world’s third-biggest mining company, and Norsk Hydro, the fifth-largest aluminum producer, retreated more than 2 percent. Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. added 2.7 percent as people familiar with the matter said the U.S. will require Citigroup Inc. to raise private capital to strengthen the bank. Citigroup was little changed in Germany.
Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell for the fifth time in six days, decreasing 2 percent to 172.63 at 8:11 a.m. in London. The regional gauge has lost 13 percent this year as companies from Anglo American Plc to Cie. de Saint-Gobain SA posted disappointing result and the economic crisis in eastern Europe deepened.
The World Bank, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank will provide $31 billion over two years to bolster banks and businesses in central and eastern Europe, the Washington Post reported. The aid will come in the form of equity and debt financing, credit lines and political risk insurance, the newspaper said.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1 percent today, helping the regional gauge pare its worst start to a year since 1990, as brokerages upgraded technology companies and a weaker yen boosted Japanese exporters’ earnings prospects.
U.S. GDP
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fluctuated between gains and losses before a report that may show the economy shrank in the fourth quarter at a faster pace than previously estimated as companies trimmed inventories.
Rio Tinto slipped 2.9 percent to 1,819 pence, while Norsk Hydro slid 3 percent to 24.1 kroner. Goldman Sachs downgraded the shares to “sell” from “neutral,” citing a reduction in its base metals price forecasts. Copper, lead and nickel fell today.
The Obama administration will require Citigroup to raise private capital and make changes to its board of directors as part of an effort to strengthen the bank, according to people familiar with the matter.
The plan, which may be announced today, will involve the Treasury Department converting preferred shares into common stock. The government doesn’t immediately intend to provide additional money after channeling $45 billion to the bank last year, the people said. Citigroup added 2 cents to $2.48 in Germany.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Japan’s biggest bank, climbed 2.7 percent to 454 yen, rallying from an earlier drop of 1.1 percent. Westpac Banking Corp., Australia’s largest bank by value, gained 1.4 percent to A$16.89.
Lloyds Earnings
Lloyds Banking Group Plc slipped 11 percent to 66.4 pence. The lender’s full-year net income dropped 75 percent to 819 million pounds ($1.2 billion). Lloyds’ HBOS unit posted a 7.5 billion-pound loss for 2008 after bad loans at the bank’s corporate lending arm increased.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 has tumbled 53 percent since the start of last year as credit-related losses at financial firms worldwide climbed to $1.1 trillion and Europe, the U.S. and Japan fell into the first simultaneous recessions since World War II.
Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany wants the European Union to arrange a package of as much as 180 billion euros ($230 billion) to help east European economies, banks and companies weather the financial crisis.
A “European Stabilization and Integration Program” would include short-term financing for governments, coordinated restructuring for private debt, the recapitalization of banks and liquidity for companies in as many as 12 countries, Gyurcsany, 47, said in an interview in Budapest yesterday. He will present the plan at a March 1 EU summit in Brussels.
Hungary’s Budapest Stock Exchange Index dropped 0.6 percent today, while Poland’s WIG20 Index declined 0.3 percent.
Source www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJyRkERf91hA&refer=home#
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