South Africa's government would act to shield the local economy against the impact of a new global recession, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Thursday, as data pointed to a slowdown in factory output in the second quarter.
Physical gold is the ultimate collateral because it has no credit risk, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch?s Global Commodity Research team.
The Dow registered another volatile day Wednesday, plunging 520 points to 10,720 on chatter of additional banking sector concerns in Europe. Further, until investors can sort out which debt concerns are real, and which are not, look for choppy trading conditions to continue.
Crude oil historically trades at about 8 times the price of natural gas. Currently, it's trading at about 20 times natural gas. Is oil overpriced, natural gas underpriced, or is it a combination?
The International Energy Agency says threats to the U.S. and global economies may cut oil demand growth next year by more than 60 percent; however, the group still sees global oil demand little changed this year and in 2012.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy ended his vacation early to deal with France's debt problem. He's challenged government leaders to come up with new measures to reduce France's deficit. They would be wise to listen, taking a lesson from the mistake the U.S. made, resulting in a credit downgrade from S&P.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch?s Global Commodity Research team announced that they?ve rebalanced their actively managed commodity indices in favor of non-cyclical commodities such as gold.
To say it's been an unsettling time for U.S. stock investors would be an understatement. The Dow has been on a wild ride, with plunges followed by sudden reversals. Look for market choppiness to continue until investors determine whether the Fed's latest monetary policy decision -- low interest rates for two years -- will be enough to rev-up U.S. GDP growth.
Wall Street economists see odds of around one-in-three the United States will slip back into recession, heightening expectations the Federal Reserve will launch another round of unconventional credit easing.
In response to a slowing economy, the U.S. Federal Reserve, despite some internal dissent, announced Tuesday that it plans to keep monetary policy stimulus in place, noting that it will keep short-term interests rates exceptionally low through at least mid-2013. The Fed will also continue to reinvest bond proceeds maturing in its portfolio.
Ivory Coast's finances are in much better shape than authorities were predicting when it emerged from civil war in April, and with tax revenues beating forecasts, there is no doubting it can pay defaulted external debt by early next year.
The S&P downgrade is already old news for U.S. markets. All eyes are on the Fed, and concerns about slow growth and the real threat of a new recession.
U.S. markets were poised to open higher Tuesday as futures rose based on anticipated action from the Fed.
Canada took a decade to win back its prized AAA rating after debt downgrades in the early 1990s that were prompted by concern that its budget deficit was billowing out of control.
Canada has some lessons for the United States in terms of slashing deficits and winning top tier ratings back, but there are deep differences between the two countries in terms of what might work.
In a White House address Monday, President Barack Obama said Standard & Poor's credit downgrade of the United States represented a statement on the nation's political will. Underscoring that "the U.S. is still an AAA country," Obama again called on congressional officials to make the tough decisions necessary to balance the budget long-term.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has an unspoken pact with the Turkish electorate: he delivers rapid economic growth, jobs and money, and voters let him shape what kind of democracy this Muslim nation of 74 million people becomes.
South Africa's ruling ANC put off discussions planned for Monday to bring its Youth League leader Julius Malema to heel after the populist politician angered the party by calling for nationalisation of mines and meddling in foreign affairs.
In 1986, Moody?s and Standard & Poor?s cut Australia?s debt rating, prompting the Canberra government to impose strict budget cuts.
The former labor secretary described S&P?s downgrade maneuver as an ?ironic? intrusion into American politics.
Moody's says a future downgrade of the U.S. credit rating from AAA is possible. Also, global markets reacted harshly overnight to S&P's U.S. credit rating downgrade announced late Friday.
Auriga USA has upgraded the shares of EMC Corp (NYSE:EMC) to 'buy' from 'hold', saying that the company would increase its margins and profits by gaining market share in the storage space.
