WASHINGTON - The US trade deficit soared in July to the highest level in 16 months, as oil imports hit an all-time high, offsetting strong export growth.
WASHINGTON - New applications for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week, the US government said Thursday, as the struggling economy continues to take a toll on workers.
NEW YORK - The US dollar rose to its highest level in nearly a year against the euro today, even as the US trade deficit for July soared. Falling oil prices helped support the battered buck.
MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the Government and central bank to boost funds flowing into financial markets to curb a four-month slump which has seen stock prices fall by nearly half.
NICE - EU finance ministers will try to figure out ways to lift a European economy flirting with a recession when they meet for two days of talks starting Friday, even though some won’t even mention the word “recession”.
NEW DELHI - India’s inflation rate has slowed for a third consecutive week, official data showed Thursday, but remained above the 12 per cent mark.
WELLINGTON - Dual-listed shopkeeper The Warehouse Group has posted a 21 per cent fall in annual net profit to $NZ90.8 million ($A74.63 million), hit by economic slowdown and pressure on household budgets.
WELLINGTON - The New Zealand dollar dropped to a two-year low against the greenback in the aftershocks from yesterday’s half a percentage point cut in official interest rates.
WASHINGTON - The US Treasury has moved to quash rumours that Congress could overturn the Fed’s pledge to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
DETROIT - Ford Motor Co said it wants to cut its blue-collar work force by another 4,200 employees, as the struggling automaker offers redundancy packages at manufacturing operations in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Indiana.
TOKYO - The world’s largest financial institutions are getting healthier, with credit-related losses expected to ease over the next year, the head of an international banking group said Thursday.
FRANKFURT - Deutsche Bank AG, confirming market rumours and conjecture, said it is advanced talks with Deutsche Post about taking a stake in Postbank, Germany’s biggest consumer retail bank.
WASHINGTON - Federal regulators said they were unable to quantify the number speculators in oil markets, as the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission released a much-anticipated report calling for new rules to curtail swap dealers.
PARIS - French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA says it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media giant News Corp.
LOCAL NEWS
BRISBANE - About 500 workers on a large Gold Coast construction site now in the hands of receivers are concerned their entitlements will not be fully met. The Raptis Group’s Southport Central project, which is about eight storeys from completion, was placed into receivership on Wednesday.
MELBOURNE - Packer-controlled Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) pays rent of just $1 a year for its Crown casino complex in Melbourne, according to a Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation report tabled in parliament yesterday, Fairfax newspapers said.
PERTH - Perilya Ltd will take a 73 per cent interest in Chalice Gold Mines Ltd, after the junior gold explorer agreed to issue the lead and zinc miner with 200 million new shares as consideration for Perilya’s Mount Oxide copper and cobalt project in Queensland.
STOCKS TO WATCH ON THE AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE TODAY:
RPG - RAPTIS GROUP LTD - in trading halt at 40 cents
About 500 workers on a major Gold Coast construction site now in the hands of receivers are concerned their entitlements will not be fully met.
WHS - THE WAREHOUSE GROUP LTD - opens at $2.62
Retailer The Warehouse Group has posted a 21 per cent fall in annual net profit to $NZ90.8 million ($A74.63 million), hit by economic slowdown and pressure on household budgets.
CWN - CROWN LTD - opens at $8.81
The Packer-controlled Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) - pays rent of just $1 a year for its Crown casino complex in Melbourne.
NWS - NEWS CORPORATION - opens at $17.50
NWSLV - NEWS CORPORATION NON-VOTING - opens at $17.03
French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA says it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media giant News Corp.
CHN - CHALICE GOLD MINES LTD - opens at eleven cents
PEM - PERILYA LTD - opens at 20.5 cents
Perilya is to gain a 73 per cent interest in Chalice Gold Mines after the junior gold explorer agreed to issue the lead and zinc miner with 200 million new shares as consideration for Perilya’s Mount Oxide copper and cobalt project in Queensland.
LNC - LINC ENERGY LTD - up one cent to $4.15
Linc Energy has signed a deal with Xinwen Mining Group to develop underground-coal-gasification (UCG) and gas-to-liquids (GTL) projects in China.
OZL - OZ MINERALS LTD - down eight cents to $1.27
Oz Minerals has temporarily shut down its Prominent Hill site in South Australia after a contracting firm employee was killed.
PMM - PORTMAN LTD - up $3.40, or 19.21 per cent to $21.10
Cleveland Cliffs Inc, the largest iron ore producer in the US, has launched a bid to buy the 14.81 per cent of Portman that the company doesn’t already own.
RIO - RIO TINTO LTD - down 48 cents to $101.55
Rio Tinto Ltd, the world’s second-largest iron ore producer, has agreed to further discussions with the Guinea government to resolve issues threatening its Simandou mining concession.
AWB - AWB LTD - down four cents to $2.95
Agribusiness AWB has been accredited to export bulk wheat.
AHI - ALLCO HIT LTD - down 0.5 cents to 1.6 cents
Strategic Finance investors are going to have to wait for interest and dividend payments as the company works on a capital restructure proposal.
