Reuters: Stocks & Shares News

Domestic demand and commodities to drive emerging shares

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:39:40 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Emerging market equities, supported by improved fundamentals and firmer commodity prices, should build on outperformance this year to thrive in 2010, while developed markets will struggle with anaemic growth.

Champagne finish or cold turkey for U.S. stocks?

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:18:01 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Savvy equity investors have fattened their returns this year, buying on pullbacks during the U.S. market's rally, and that activity may be enough to buoy prices through the end of the year.

World oil demand growth to outpace supply in 2010

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:42:36 GMT

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Growing world oil use will likely outpace the rate of new supplies in 2010, eroding the huge stockpiles of crude which have mounted around the world since the start of the global economic crisis.

Pressure builds for levy on banks

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:12 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Faced with rising debt and angry taxpayers, governments are edging towards imposing a global tax on banks to make them pay for financial sector bailouts costing hundreds of billions of dollars.

Wall Street "bonus" is disappearing but in name only

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:56:02 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Bonus" has become a dirty word on Wall Street, prompting image consultants to advise the biggest financial firms to use euphemisms that carry less stigma as the season of lavish payouts approaches.

Murdoch courts trouble if he blocks Google on news

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:51:08 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch has spent months complaining that Google is ruining the newspaper business, and now he wants to do something about it.

Financial woes seen limiting U.S. rebound

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:39:14 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. banking industry may have pulled back from the brink, but finance executives say they still face hurdles that will tighten credit and delay an economic rebound.

Dollar no longer a one-way bet

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:38:12 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The one-way bet in the dollar that has lasted several months may be over for now despite distress over its malaise that has stretched from Washington to Paris.

Google phone strategy takes off

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:00:21 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google has won a seat at the smartphone table. Two years after the Web search leader announced its plan to barge into the market, a dozen phones are using Google's Android mobile operating software, including Motorola's heavily promoted Droid phone.

Stocks ripe for defensive switch

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:08:34 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in telecoms and utilities have returned to the top of European equity investors' menu, signalling that a shift away from outperforming financials and automakers may be afoot as the economic recovery matures.

Finland's star fades as economy sputters

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:37:55 GMT

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Once a top European performer, Finland has posted some of the continent's worst economic data this year and, barring the emergence of a breakthrough industry, faces years of slow growth as its population ages.

Playboy's bunny turns more alluring than its playmates

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:26:04 GMT

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Playboy spent 56 years making sure that the world would know it by the sign of its bunny ears. Now that the company is up for sale, Playboy's iconic logo, not the magazine, might be what saves it.

Baltic index misleading as world economy barometer

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:41:34 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which hit a fresh 2009 high this week, should no longer be seen as an accurate gauge of the world economy, but rather a measure of reviving Chinese industrial activity.

Chartists sense golden opportunity for bullion

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:14:43 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - With record-high gold moving further into uncharted territory, analysts who study past chart patterns to predict future behaviour are getting acclimatised and see any correction as an opportunity to lengthen exposure.

Copenhagen still "golden opportunity" for CO2 market

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:08:09 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - A U.N. summit in Copenhagen next month is unlikely to agree on a new global climate treaty, but carbon market players are urging delegates to seize the opportunity to agree reforms to the $33 billion trade in carbon offsets.

Coal stocks pose power plants dilemma

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:21:29 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's power generators face a coal against gas burning dilemma this winter that extends beyond fuel prices, with high coal stocks, limited coal-fired power plant lifespans, and carbon prices blurring decisions.

Yuan move could extend emerging forex gains

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:07:34 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - When China finally heeds the global chorus and loosens its grip on its currency, yuan appreciation could prompt a rare divergence that pushes the dollar further down against other emerging currencies yet up against the euro.

Investors go steady after corporate bond success

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:05:58 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Investors' passionate affair this year with corporate bonds -- described not so long ago as a historic opportunity -- is now settling down into something more placid.

J.P. Morgan seen close to $1.7 billion Cazenove deal

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:57:45 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - J.P. Morgan is close to buying out British stockbroker Cazenove in a deal likely to be worth almost 1 billion pounds and trigger windfalls for dozens of London's top dealmakers.

Green business wary at climate deal delay prospect

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:30:24 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Carbon traders and renewable energy investors had expected a delay for a final climate deal beyond a deadline next month but say a full agreement in 2010 is vital.

Back-end of oil futures curve poised to rally

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:20:51 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Future supply shortages could drive up contracts for oil use in several years' time, as they mimic a market for near-term delivery that has more than doubled since the start of the year.

Rich, and bored with bonds? Buy into a bridge

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:18:59 GMT

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The super rich are fast realising that bets on bridges and wind mills can provide steady long-term returns and offer them an alternative that's safer than equity and often more exciting than government bonds.

Copenhagen deal to help boost climate fund flows

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:27:59 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Agreement in Copenhagen next month on a new pact to fight climate change will encourage long-term investors to move into firms better placed to cope with a likely and eventual rise in the cost of carbon emissions.

HP-3Com deal raises stakes in tech M&A battle

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:34:40 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major technology companies seem to be launching multibillion-dollar acquisitions every other week, and those who don't join the race may be at risk of getting run over.

Institutional investors grow to appreciate wine

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:24:18 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Funds specialising in niche assets such as art and wine, long the preserve of ultra-rich hobbyists, are seeing a spike in interest from more mainstream investors seeking an antidote to the complexity of hedge funds.