Rating agency Fitch has cut its credit outlook for a number of emerging economies in light of their exposure to the global economic crisis.South Korea, Mexico, Russia and South Africa all saw their rating outlooks revised down to "negative" from "stable" by the agency.Credit ratings of Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Hungary and Romania were also lowered.Major shifts in the world economic outlook pose "significant" challenges for such nations, it said.The changes are part of a review Fitch is conducting of 17 emerging economies.The outlooks for Chile and Malaysia were also downgraded, moving to "stable" from "positive".'Profound shift'David Riley, head of Fitch's global Sovereign Ratings group, said there was less scope for emerging nations to tackle the current financial crisis than developed nations."The profound shift in the global economic and financial outlook pose significant real economy and policy challenges for emerging markets," he said.Fitch said problems in advanced economies "triggered extreme volatility in emerging market asset prices" and prompted "liquidity strains".Emerging markets such as Hungary have been hard hit by the lack of credit available in world markets as banks become more reluctant about lending and investors shy away from riskier investments.Hungary is among those that have recently sought help from the International Monetary Fund.The report comes as global finance heads of the world's 20 major economies meet in Sao Paulo in Brazil, to tackle the financial upheaval.Emerging nations have been looking to increase their role, as part of reforms to tackle the current crisis. View More » Comenta la noticia. »
Britain's biggest building society, the Nationwide, has slashed mortgage lending and says it expects house prices to continue to fall in 2009/10.Its comments came as it said underlying pre-tax profits for the six months to 30 September were down 18% to £322m.Its bad debts rose to £74m, up from £62m last year, as borrowers struggled with their repayments.Net residential mortgage lending was under a third of the total of the same period a year ago, it said.Nationwide said it expected the housing market to remain "subdued", with prices continuing to fall in... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
Asian markets have risen sharply, a day after China announced a huge investment plan to kick-start its slowing economy.Stocks leapt in Japan, China and Hong Kong, buoyed by China's efforts to sustain its growth rates, on which many Asian economies depend.About $586bn (£370bn) is to go into housing, infrastructure and post-earthquake reconstruction in China over the next two years.Correspondents say the package is a response to falling growth and exports.There will also be significant cuts in company tax, while banks will be allowed to lend more to projects involving rural development... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
The price of oil has climbed more than $2 a barrel following China's multi-billion dollar stimulus package aimed at boosting its economy.US light sweet crude increased by $2.42 to $63.46 a barrel while Brent crude added $2.45 to $59.80.Prices were also buoyed by the weakening dollar, as traders sought alternative investments.Oil prices are far below their peak of more than $147 a barrel seen in July, before the recent financial turmoil."Oil has been highly correlated to stocks and the dollar" said Clarence Chu, a trader with Hudon Capital Energy in Singapore."The spending plan ... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
Losses at Europe's biggest bank, HSBC, relating to the US housing market crisis reached $4.3bn (£2.7bn) in the third quarter.The unprecedented turbulence in financial markets continued to present "enormous challenges", the bank added.HSBC said it was still unclear whether there were "further risks to be uncovered" in the financial sector.Elsewhere, its battered investment banking business took a $600m hit due to credit crunch losses.The bank recently announced it was cutting 1,100 jobs worldwide because of the current financial turmoil.HSBC said its US losses... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
Christmas shopping online in the UK will peak on 8 December but growth in festive spending on the internet is set to slow, a report has predicted.IMRG and Capgemini estimate £320m will be spent on the internet on 8 December with the peak between 1pm and 2pm.It forecast that UK shoppers will spend £13.16bn online in the final quarter of 2008, some £215 each.This was 15% higher than the same period a year ago, but the growth is down from a 54% rise a year ago."Retailers and suppliers will be under extreme pressure to price competitively this year," said IMRG chief... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
Exxon Mobil made a profit of $14.83bn (£8.97bn) between July and September, smashing its own record for the highest quarterly profit by a US company.In the second quarter this year, when oil prices were still rising, the oil giant made a profit of $11.68bn.The new record represents a 58% rise on profits compared with the same period last year.Profit for the first nine months of this year was $37.4bn, up 29% on the same period last year.The $1.6bn sale of a natural gas transportation business in Germany helped boost profits.Rex W Tillerson, chief executive of the company, said:... View More » Comenta la noticia. »
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