Ahead of the planned del-egates’ conference of the Ni-geria Labour Congress (NLC) scheduled for Abuja from March 1 to 3, the Congress has held an interactive session with the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE).
The session, according to the NLC President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, was to intimate the editors on the Congress’ position on this year’s general elections.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Gold Drops as Economic Recovery Curbs Metal’s Investment Demand
Gold declined on speculation that an economic recovery will curb demand for the metal as an alternative investment.
The dollar gained against the euro after a Labor Department report showed the U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 9 percent in January. Earlier, gold reached a two-week high of $1,361 an ounce as the mounting conflict in the Middle East boosted demand for a haven.
“We’ve seen a slight improvement generally in the economic recovery,” said Bernard Sin, the head of currency and metal trading at MKS Finance SA, a bullion refiner in Geneva. “People are still very concerned about the Middle East and will be comfortable buying on any dips.”
Gold futures for April delivery fell $4.60, or 0.3 percent, to $1,348.40 an ounce at 11:58 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Before today, the price dropped 4.8 percent this year.
An improving labor market “would present a downside risk for metal prices” on the prospect that the Federal Reserve would tighten monetary policy, Tom Pawlicki, an analyst at MF Global Holdings Ltd. in Chicago, said in a report.
Yesterday, gold held in exchange-traded products rose 0.87 metric ton to 2,028.9 tons, snapping an eight-session slide, data compiled by Bloomberg from 10 providers show. Holdings have dropped 3.3 percent this year. They reached a record 2,114.6 tons in December.
Silver futures for March delivery gained 21.2 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $28.94 an ounce. Earlier, the price reached $29.285, the highest since Jan. 19.
Palladium futures for March delivery fell $2.65, or 0.3 percent, to $817.90 an ounce.
Platinum for April delivery advanced $3.90, or 0.2 percent, to $1,848 an ounce.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com
The dollar gained against the euro after a Labor Department report showed the U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 9 percent in January. Earlier, gold reached a two-week high of $1,361 an ounce as the mounting conflict in the Middle East boosted demand for a haven.
“We’ve seen a slight improvement generally in the economic recovery,” said Bernard Sin, the head of currency and metal trading at MKS Finance SA, a bullion refiner in Geneva. “People are still very concerned about the Middle East and will be comfortable buying on any dips.”
Gold futures for April delivery fell $4.60, or 0.3 percent, to $1,348.40 an ounce at 11:58 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Before today, the price dropped 4.8 percent this year.
An improving labor market “would present a downside risk for metal prices” on the prospect that the Federal Reserve would tighten monetary policy, Tom Pawlicki, an analyst at MF Global Holdings Ltd. in Chicago, said in a report.
Yesterday, gold held in exchange-traded products rose 0.87 metric ton to 2,028.9 tons, snapping an eight-session slide, data compiled by Bloomberg from 10 providers show. Holdings have dropped 3.3 percent this year. They reached a record 2,114.6 tons in December.
Silver futures for March delivery gained 21.2 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $28.94 an ounce. Earlier, the price reached $29.285, the highest since Jan. 19.
Palladium futures for March delivery fell $2.65, or 0.3 percent, to $817.90 an ounce.
Platinum for April delivery advanced $3.90, or 0.2 percent, to $1,848 an ounce.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com
Thursday, February 3, 2011
SA set for economic recovery
Bloemfontein - All is set for economic recovery in 2011, but South Africans should not begin thinking the next growth phase has dawned.
This was the view of Economists.co.za economist Mike Schüssler, the compiler of the Sake24 and BoE Private Clients provincial barometers. These indices are compiled from many data series and measure the economic pulse of five of South Africa's provinces.
Schüssler said that provincial economies in the fourth quarter of last year wiped out much of the third quarter’s backlogs. That, together with positive factors like improved international commodity prices, gave him hope for the first quarter of this year.
It was the coastal provinces in particular that performed in December. The indices show that economic activity in the Eastern Cape was 9.9% up on a year ago. The December activity levels of the Western Cape (8%), Gauteng (5.3%), KwaZulu-Natal (4.8%) and the Free State (3.3%) were also considerably higher than in December 2009.
The coastal provinces, he said, had lower economic stress factors, lower inflation and less indebtedness than that to interior provinces.
In December all the provinces showed increases in their transport sub-indices, with the Eastern Cape (11.8%) performing best. The wheels of the economy were turning again. Road transport was increasing substantially, owing in particular to increased exports to the rest of Africa, said Schüssler.
He also forecasted better global resource prices and increased demand could not only strengthen the mining indices of Gauteng and the Free State, but would also ripple outwards to the transport sectors.
All five provinces' trade indices improved in December. This sub-index measures economic activity at both retailers and wholesalers, as well as leisure and tourism enterprises.
The South African consumer had become stronger over the year, but Schüssler did not believe that consumers would spend much more than they did currently. Levels of indebtedness were still too high.
A sector in which economic recovery was still filtering through slowly was manufacturing. Only the Eastern Cape index (7.5%) indicated a surge while the rest of the country's indices had all improved by less than 2.6% year on year.
The Free State (4%) still had the highest stress index of all the provinces – owing to high indebtedness and unemployment in the province. The lowest level of economic stress (-1%) was seen for the Western Cape.
Source: http://www.fin24.com
This was the view of Economists.co.za economist Mike Schüssler, the compiler of the Sake24 and BoE Private Clients provincial barometers. These indices are compiled from many data series and measure the economic pulse of five of South Africa's provinces.
Schüssler said that provincial economies in the fourth quarter of last year wiped out much of the third quarter’s backlogs. That, together with positive factors like improved international commodity prices, gave him hope for the first quarter of this year.
It was the coastal provinces in particular that performed in December. The indices show that economic activity in the Eastern Cape was 9.9% up on a year ago. The December activity levels of the Western Cape (8%), Gauteng (5.3%), KwaZulu-Natal (4.8%) and the Free State (3.3%) were also considerably higher than in December 2009.
The coastal provinces, he said, had lower economic stress factors, lower inflation and less indebtedness than that to interior provinces.
In December all the provinces showed increases in their transport sub-indices, with the Eastern Cape (11.8%) performing best. The wheels of the economy were turning again. Road transport was increasing substantially, owing in particular to increased exports to the rest of Africa, said Schüssler.
He also forecasted better global resource prices and increased demand could not only strengthen the mining indices of Gauteng and the Free State, but would also ripple outwards to the transport sectors.
All five provinces' trade indices improved in December. This sub-index measures economic activity at both retailers and wholesalers, as well as leisure and tourism enterprises.
The South African consumer had become stronger over the year, but Schüssler did not believe that consumers would spend much more than they did currently. Levels of indebtedness were still too high.
A sector in which economic recovery was still filtering through slowly was manufacturing. Only the Eastern Cape index (7.5%) indicated a surge while the rest of the country's indices had all improved by less than 2.6% year on year.
The Free State (4%) still had the highest stress index of all the provinces – owing to high indebtedness and unemployment in the province. The lowest level of economic stress (-1%) was seen for the Western Cape.
Source: http://www.fin24.com
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
UK stocks extend gains as investors back economic recovery
Imperial Tobacco Group and Eurasian Natural Resources Corp (ENRC) both posted gains in trading today (Wednesday), with their strong performances reassuring investors that the UK's economic recovery is on track.
Those involved in online trading saw Imperial Tobacco rise by 4.7 per cent following news that it plans to pay more in dividends as a result of higher sales, Bloomberg reports.
ENRC climbed by 2.6 per cent after revealing that fourth-quarter ferroalloy output increased by 5.6 per cent.
Graham Bishop, an equity strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group, said the economic recovery in the US also bolstered the FTSE 100, which advanced by 0.6 per cent to 5,993.72.
"We maintain our view that European equities are the leveraged play on a broadening in global growth. The momentum in the US economy looks consistent with stronger job creation over the coming months," he told the news agency.
Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets, told Reuters that an improvement in risk appetite since the start of the week has contributed to the positive performance of the FSTE 100.
Source: http://www.onefinancialmarkets.com
Those involved in online trading saw Imperial Tobacco rise by 4.7 per cent following news that it plans to pay more in dividends as a result of higher sales, Bloomberg reports.
ENRC climbed by 2.6 per cent after revealing that fourth-quarter ferroalloy output increased by 5.6 per cent.
Graham Bishop, an equity strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group, said the economic recovery in the US also bolstered the FTSE 100, which advanced by 0.6 per cent to 5,993.72.
"We maintain our view that European equities are the leveraged play on a broadening in global growth. The momentum in the US economy looks consistent with stronger job creation over the coming months," he told the news agency.
Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets, told Reuters that an improvement in risk appetite since the start of the week has contributed to the positive performance of the FSTE 100.
Source: http://www.onefinancialmarkets.com
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Global economic recovery 'beset by tensions and strains' warns IMF chief
The head of the world's main economic watchdog warned politicians today that while the recovery was under way, "it is not the recovery we wanted".
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said the recovery was "beset by tensions and strains which could even sow the seeds of the next crisis".
Speaking in Singapore he argued that allowing emerging markets to grab the lion's share of global growth at a time when developed nations are weighed down by debts would create unsustainable imbalances. He also said growing inequalities in both developed and developing nations could trigger social unrest and undermine future growth.
The hard-hitting speech follows hard on the heels of uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and the threat of further strikes in Greece and Spain..
Strauss-Kahn, a former French finance minister, said: "Without jobs and income security, there can be no rebound in domestic demand – and ultimately, no sustainable recovery."
IMF officials are visiting Greece this week to broker a deal with the country's left-leaning government after figures showed it was struggling to make cuts in line with an IMF and EU bailout.
The IMF has come under strong criticism for forcing debtor nations in need of bailout funds to sack thousands of public sector workers and impose stiff austerity measures, including higher taxes.
But in a pointed message to countries like Britain, Strauss-Kahn said it was up to individual states to limit their budget deficits, but without widening income inequalities or putting up barriers to growth.
"In the advanced economies, the key is to promote growth and job creation. While structural reforms are essential to make these economies more competitive, these reforms are only likely to pay off over time. So what can be done to improve the short term? The most urgent task is to repair and reform the financial sector, to reduce risk and pave the way for healthy credit growth," he said.
A report yesterday by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research found that more than 90% of the 200,000 jobs created in Britain over the last two years were part-time.
The report said employers were reluctant to commit themselves to full-time staff while the economic outlook remained uncertain.
Strauss-Kahn said: "Looking more closely, we see a worrying development: the pre-crisis pattern of global imbalances is re-emerging. Growth in economies with large external deficits, like the US, is still being driven by domestic demand. And growth in economies with large external surpluses, like China and Germany, is still being powered by exports. As the IMF warned in the years leading up to the crisis – and as the G20 has emphasised – these global imbalances put the sustainability of the recovery at risk.
"The 'global growth gap' is also straining the recovery in other ways. Energy prices are rising swiftly, reflecting rapid growth in the emerging economies. Food prices are rising too – though here supply shocks are the main reason – with potentially devastating consequences for low-income countries. Together, these price increases are beginning to feed into headline inflation. Large and volatile capital flows to emerging economies is another challenging development. They are complicating macroeconomic management and in some cases raising concerns about financial stability."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said the recovery was "beset by tensions and strains which could even sow the seeds of the next crisis".
Speaking in Singapore he argued that allowing emerging markets to grab the lion's share of global growth at a time when developed nations are weighed down by debts would create unsustainable imbalances. He also said growing inequalities in both developed and developing nations could trigger social unrest and undermine future growth.
The hard-hitting speech follows hard on the heels of uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and the threat of further strikes in Greece and Spain..
Strauss-Kahn, a former French finance minister, said: "Without jobs and income security, there can be no rebound in domestic demand – and ultimately, no sustainable recovery."
IMF officials are visiting Greece this week to broker a deal with the country's left-leaning government after figures showed it was struggling to make cuts in line with an IMF and EU bailout.
The IMF has come under strong criticism for forcing debtor nations in need of bailout funds to sack thousands of public sector workers and impose stiff austerity measures, including higher taxes.
But in a pointed message to countries like Britain, Strauss-Kahn said it was up to individual states to limit their budget deficits, but without widening income inequalities or putting up barriers to growth.
"In the advanced economies, the key is to promote growth and job creation. While structural reforms are essential to make these economies more competitive, these reforms are only likely to pay off over time. So what can be done to improve the short term? The most urgent task is to repair and reform the financial sector, to reduce risk and pave the way for healthy credit growth," he said.
A report yesterday by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research found that more than 90% of the 200,000 jobs created in Britain over the last two years were part-time.
The report said employers were reluctant to commit themselves to full-time staff while the economic outlook remained uncertain.
Strauss-Kahn said: "Looking more closely, we see a worrying development: the pre-crisis pattern of global imbalances is re-emerging. Growth in economies with large external deficits, like the US, is still being driven by domestic demand. And growth in economies with large external surpluses, like China and Germany, is still being powered by exports. As the IMF warned in the years leading up to the crisis – and as the G20 has emphasised – these global imbalances put the sustainability of the recovery at risk.
"The 'global growth gap' is also straining the recovery in other ways. Energy prices are rising swiftly, reflecting rapid growth in the emerging economies. Food prices are rising too – though here supply shocks are the main reason – with potentially devastating consequences for low-income countries. Together, these price increases are beginning to feed into headline inflation. Large and volatile capital flows to emerging economies is another challenging development. They are complicating macroeconomic management and in some cases raising concerns about financial stability."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)