market news and analysis

All major indices closed higher on Friday with the Nasdaq outperforming.  Traders bought the dips on Friday to end the week well off the lows. With this move, investors are hoping to prevent a correction to the long uptrend.  The earlier sell-off during the week was attributed to the worries concerning the Fed’s tapering, the coronavirus, and supply chain issues.  However, the realization – or […]

WORLDWIDE: HEADLINES    China’s economy could grow 8-9% in 2021 under ‘usual circumstances’: central bank adviser  BEIJING – China’s gross domestic product (GDP) could grow 8-9% in 2021 under “usual circumstances”, and by over 15% year-on-year in the first quarter, Liu Shijin, a policy adviser to the People’s Bank of China, said on Friday.   […]

WORLDWIDE: HEADLINES     Exxon Mobil’s total reserves drop by a third after COVID-19 oil price drop  Exxon Mobil Corp’s global oil and gas reserves tumbled by a third last year as the COVID-19 pandemic slammed global oil prices and demand, the company said on Wednesday.   The largest U.S. oil producer is reeling from the […]

WORLDWIDE: HEADLINES     Sovereign wealth funds pull $16.3 billion from market strategies in fourth quarter  LONDON  – Sovereign wealth funds pulled $16.3 billion from public market investment strategies, largely equities, in the fourth quarter, the most in almost four years, driven largely by redemptions, according to data and research firm eVestment.   The move followed […]

WORLDWIDE: HEADLINES     U.S. shale producers reveal extent of hit from Texas freeze  Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N), Diamondback Energy Inc (FANG.O) and a host of smaller Permian-focused U.S. shale producers on Monday forecast lower oil output in the first quarter, giving the first indications of the hit to the industry caused by last week’s winter […]

WORLDWIDE: HEADLINES    Global dividend payouts forecast to revive in 2021    LONDON – Global dividend payments could rebound by as much as 5% this year, a new report estimated on Monday, after the coronavirus caused the biggest slump in payouts since the financial crisis more than a decade ago.   Companies’ payouts to shareholders […]

WORLDWIDE: HEADLINES    Japan’s consumer price decline slows, weak demand keeps outlook murky  TOKYO – Japan’s core consumer prices marked the sixth straight month of annual declines in January but the pace of falls slowed, offering some relief for policymakers worried about deflationary pressures the economy face from the coronavirus pandemic.   Still, soft domestic […]

WORLDWIDE: HEADLINES     Amid Texas freeze, oil producers still shut; natural gas shipments out of state banned  HOUSTON – Texas oil producers and refiners remained shut for a fifth day on Wednesday after several days of blistering cold, and the state’s governor ordered a ban on natural gas shipments out of state to try to […]

WORLDWIDE: HEADLINES    U.S. Treasury’s Yellen vows to boost transatlantic cooperation  WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed the importance of cooperation with the European Union in a call with the European Commission’s vice president for the economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, on Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department said.   Earlier on Tuesday, Yellen in a conversation […]

WORLDWIDE: HEADLINES    BOJ’s Kuroda says stock boom reflects economic optimism, defends ETF scheme  TOKYO – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday the recent stock price rally reflected market optimism over the global economic outlook, brushing aside views its ultra-loose monetary policy was fuelling an asset price bubble.   Kuroda said the […]