Stock markets across Europe showed promising results on close of trade yesterday, after what has been a rough week for markets worldwide.

Stock markets around the world performed poorly over the last week or so, driving down indexes and resulting in panic share offloading.

After upset in the US markets from further lending problems in the sub-prime market, and the overarching concern as world economies tighten interest rates and bring in their growth forecasts, the trading comes as somewhat of a relief, with the stock market regaining power on last week.

All major European markets, from the FTSE to the Dax have shown strong trading performance over the course of yesterday, despite a downturn in trade early this morning.

The relief came partially as a result of the poor trading through last week, in which bargain price shares were snapped up by eager investors blinded by the worldwide economic problems.

Particularly given beneficial news about the US housing market launched today by the National Association of Realtors, trading over today is forecast to remain strong throughout Europe as the markets pick up momentum from their sluggish performance last week.

The Dax in Germany saw a 1.6% jump at close yesterday, while the Cac grew by around 1.4% by the finishing bell. The value of the Euro remained strong against the dollar at just above $1.37, showing consistent strength in the Eurozone against the US.

The impact of the US housing market and the perceived turnaround announced today has led to strong trading on Wall Street, which will more than likely continue throughout today given the effect of housing on the economy as a whole.

The effect of this positive trading is likely to be felt throughout Europe over the rest of today, and hopefully the remainder of the week.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News by stewart
No Comments »

Stock markets across Europe today wavered nervously as trading struggled to recover from the downturn sustained last week in global stock exchanges.

Trading indexes across Europe were largely marginally up on close yesterday, or fairly consistent by the close of play today after a day of inconsistent trading.

The news comes after last week’s international stock market struggle, in which bad trading figures and widespread share sales from the US has a knock-on effect on the rest of the world’s markets.

It appears that even several days after the event, stock markets across Europe are still wobbling under the pressures of rising interest rates and the potential impact on consumer spending over the coming weeks.

It is feared that the increase in interest rates across Europe and further afield, fuelled by almost universal inflationary pressures, could have a negative impact on company profits with the increased cost of borrowing and apparent direct link with consumer spending.

With consumers paying more for their mortgages, it is thought that spending on the high streets of Europe will begin to decline over the coming weeks and months, fuelling the lack of interest in share purchasing and market confidence.

As such, share trading has been comparatively timid on markets across Europe, reflect the adversity to risk of the investment market in the current economic climate.

Both the Dax and Cac increased marginally on yesterday, while the FTSE 100 in London was the only major stock market to post a drop in value of the course of trading.

The European Central Bank is thought to be on the verge of announcing a change in interest rates, with news to come this Thursday.

However experts are currently predicting that the rate will remain stable throughout the Eurozone over the course of next month.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News by stewart
No Comments »

If you find yourself having to move home suddenly and need to sell your house quickly, an interesting new set of options have become available for property seller.

A new breed of property cash buyers has entered the UK property market, helping those who need to sell house quick and avoid the potential delays of a traditional public property sale.

A main reason for being able to acclerate the property buying process is that these property cash buyers, usually private or public propertry investment companies, are able to offer cash for houses. The result is usually a quicker, cleaner sale, that allows the house seller to move more quickly to liquidate their home equity for whatever required reasons.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

Prices were up on Friday and for the week on German government bonds, the benchmark bonds for the eurozone.

Continuing low yields there are seen as yet another indication that the European Central Bank will not be cutting interest rates anytime soon.

Some analysts said that the reason for the rise in German bond prices was that China’s currency revaluation could increase investor demand for European government debt.

Yields on the 10-year Bund were down nearly 6 basis points on the week to a yield of 3.23 percent, leaving the margin between yields on 10-year US and German bonds at 1 percentage point.

This was the biggest gap between the two in five years.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, Interest Rates News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

The euro fell to its lowest point in relation to the US dollar in fourteen months as it reached $1.1869 against the greenback.

The European parliament has added to pressure on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates there by turning down a report that praised the ECB’s monetary policy by saying that central bank is too focused on stability while not taking into consideration the importance of economic growth.

The ECB has not raised interest rates in two years.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, ECB: European Central Bank News, European Economy News, European Union News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

The euro reacted badly to the news of a larger than expected interest cut from Sweden, and to the increased talk the rate cut triggered that the European Central Bank might follow suit and cut eurozone interest rates soon.

Bad consumer purchasing data from France added to the speculation.

Despite the insistence of ECB officials that there is no consideration being made to change interest rates in either direction and that the current rate of 2 percent is “appropriate”, the euro fell in relation to the US dollar, sterling and the yen.

The shared currency fell 0.1 percent to $1.2137 in relation to the dollar, lost 0.2 percent to sterling, to £0.6640, and declined 0.9 percent to ¥131.70 against the yen.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, Interest Rates News, ECB: European Central Bank News, European Economy News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

The euro continued to decline against other currencies on Friday, falling 0.8 percent for the week to $1.2130 in relation to the US dollar, a nine-month low.

It also declined 0.1 percent for the week to a one-year low of ¥131.51 against the yen. The euro also fell 0.8 percent on the week in relation to sterling, to £0.6690, a ten-month low, and it was down 0.8 percent to NKr7.8358 against the Norwegian krone.

That was a two year low. The euro was affected by new French data showing industrial production down 0.3 percent in April, a larger than expected drop and the third consecutive month of decline.

Also, the French trade deficit rose from €2.34 billion in March to €3.22 billion in April as a result of record imports.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, Exchange Rates News, European Economy News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

While new economic figures showing a decline in Italy’s service sector even as the sector grew in the wider eurozone were released Friday, Roberto Maroni, Italy’s welfare minister called for a vote to bring back the lira as Italy’s currency.

He did not call for his country to abandon the euro altogether, but instead for dual circulation of the two currencies. He referred to the example of Britain to justify his idea. Mr. Maroni said that the euro and those who support it are at fault in the weak economic conditions Italy is currently suffering, echoing the Italian prime minister’s accusations that the high exchange rate of the euro in relation to the dollar is to blame for Italy’s recession.

However, economists are of the opinion that Italy’s economy would only suffer further damage should the country abandon the euro because interest payments on its national debt would skyrocket, canceling out any advantage that would be given by a competitive devaluation. Mr. Maroni’s statements do not represent government policy, but they do point out issues that the European Union will be dealing with now that both France and the Netherlands have voted down the EU constitution.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, European Union News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

Rumors ran rife on Wednesday that the European Monetary Union might be headed for a breakup. One manifestation of the rumor was that the German Bundestag had ordered a report to look at what the consequences would be for a country that wanted to leave the EMU.

The German finance ministry called the rumors “absurd”, but the talk still affected currency trade even though most analysts believe that a breakup of the eurozone is not very likely at all. One analyst quantified the possibility of such a breakup at 5 percent or less.

Still, many analysts feel that the possibility cannot be entirely ignored. Amid the rumors, the euro lost another 0.6 percent in relation to the US dollar on Wednesday to $1.2234, an 8-month low. The euro also reached a 9-month low against the yen, falling 0.7 percent to ¥132.59.

The shared currency fell against sterling as well, 0.3 percent to £0.6749, a four week low. It hit a 2-year low against the Norwegian krone, falling 0.5 percent to NKr7.9053.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, Exchange Rates News, European Economy News, European Union News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

The euro continued its slide on Tuesday on the consequences of France’s rejection of the European Union constitution.

One of those consequences was the naming of a new French prime minister, Dominique de Villepin.

Villepin, a less-than-popular choice, is seen as against economic reform and has a reputation as being “confrontational”. In addition, he is an opponent of the Iraq war.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, European Union News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

Despite an increase in political upheaval in the eurozone, the euro held its own on Monday as it rose a fraction in relation to the US dollar, up to $1.2568. The euro held the status quo against sterling at £0.6868, and it fell in relation to the yen, but only 0.3 percent to ¥135.36.

Among the factors influencing the political climate were a call for early elections in Germany and polls showing that both France and the Netherlands look likely to reject the EU constitution in upcoming votes. However German equities rose on the belief that the early election will drive chancellor Gerhard Schröder from office and speed economic reforms.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

Farmers in the European Union are facing a time when they will not have subsidies and prices supports in place to protect them from variations in demand for their products.

The Common Agricultural Policy is being phased out and farmers will have to face free market fluctuations without help.

This is being seen by financial experts as a good opportunity to set the stage for an expansion of the farm derivatives market in Europe.

These advocates of expanding the market in farm derivatives are engaged in teaching the European farming community how to use the market to their advantage in improving their financial position.

While European exchanges do make derivatives contracts available, the are underutilized at present.

Many European farmers are hesitantto test the market due to several factors including affordability, the fact that they are used to having help from the Common Agricultural Policy and subsidies, and their perception of derivatives as unacceptably speculative.

They differ in this from United States farmers, where agricultural derivatives trading has been conducted since the mid-1860s when the Chicago Board of Trade opened its doors.

Even Australia is ahead Europe in the use of derivatives. While experts realize that an active farm derivatives market is years away in Europe, the move to develop such a market is already in process.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, European Union News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

Bad economic news out of both the eurozone and the United States last week sent the yields on 10-year German Bund to the lowest level in nearly 4 decades.

Business confidence in Italy and France were reported to be lower in April. The European Commission on Thursday said that economic sentiment in the eurozone fell to 96.5 in April, the lowest since August since 2003 and down from 97.5 in March, indicating slower growth in the second quarter.

And on Friday, the German government announced that it was lowering its estimate for growth in 2005 due to reports of falling business and consumer confidence. Additionally, news from the United States showed that inflation was up while consumption and employment rose only slightly in the first quarter, and that the U.S. economy in general had not grown as much as expected in that period.

All of this combined to send 10-year German Bund yields below the 3.4 percent mark on Wednesday, while on Friday they reached a low of 3.377 percent. This fall in yields were all the more notable in light of expected gains in eurozone yields this year.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

The FTSE Eurofirst fell 1.3 percent, Xetra Dax in Frankfurt was down 1.9 percent, and in Paris the CAC-40 lost 1.6 percent, as European markets were down in mid-afternoon trading on Friday.

Technology stocks were down on bad news from IBM and Samsung and steelmakers were also down. European chipmakers and related companies were down across the board. Infineon was down 1.6 percent, STMichroelectronics fell 3.8 percent, and ASML, which makes chipmaking equipment, was down 1.4 percent, while Phillips was down 1.9 percent.

Ericsson, Sony’s Swedish partner, was down 2.9 percent and Nokia was down by 3 percent. The French company Alcatel fell 2.8 percent and Siemens was down by 2.6 percent.

In the steel making sector, Arcelor, the world’s biggest steel producer, fell 3.1 percent. Pharmaceuticals seemed to be the only sector to buck the downward trend and were generally up.

The European markets seemed to be following a trend established in New York after its markets fell over 1 percent each day on Wednesday and Thursday.

The New York markets had not recovered by early on Friday.

After a further loss of 1.2 percent in the overnight markets, the Dow Jones was down another 0.6 percent in Friday’s early trading, and the Nasdaq was down 0.8 percent.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has released its annual report for 2005, and underlines the contribution new member states will make to the European economy.

Growth in Europe has already slowed, with the German economy threatened with recession, after reporting no economic growth since July 2004.

Growth in the UK is also expected to slow, from 3.2% last year to 2.5% this year. And although France enjoyed brsk growth of 2.3% in the last quarter of 2004, there is no expectation of that being maintained into 2005 due to lack of consumer savings.

The high value of the euro is also a concern, as that impacts exports, when Europe is already an export-driven economy.

In 2005 UNECE expects eurozone countries to achieve only around 1.9% growth, but overall growth in Europe of 2.2% due to the strength of growth in new economies. Slovenia and the Czech Republic have especially been indicated as strong economies that will help push European economic growth over 2005.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has rejected a second bid by German company Deutsche Boerse.

Despite offering 530p on the share, the LSE declared that the offer had failed to realise the “inherent value” of the LSE.

Talks continue with Euronext, who have yet to make any formal declaration on the move.

There is an expectation on markets that the LSE will try and hold out to £6 on the share, unless significant saving offers are introduced to provide alternative investor benefits.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, European Economy News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

The Financial Times reported today that the euro was becoming the choice of currency in the face of a weak dollar.

Despite earlier rallies, the value of the dollar continues to fall, and there are concerns at central banks that converting USD back to local currencies will incur real losses.

Added to that, the euro as a currency has moved from strngth to strength, so any moves towards further euro speculation are a continuation of practice, rather than a sudden new move. Many banks for nations built on oil exports have been moving away from the devalued US dollar for the past three years.

The general rise in the strnegth of the euro should not be seen as nothing but an indicator of lack of faith in the USD, but instead as a growing vote of confidence in a currency used by 12 European nations.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, European Economy News by Brian Turner
No Comments »

Gemerany company Deutsche Boerse is believed to be increasing its bid for the London Stock Exchange (LSE), with a possible bid of £1.5bn ($2.88bn) for LSE share-holders.

Speculation is rife that if Deutsche Boerse’s new offer is rejected, then the company may attempt a hostile takeover before rival firm Euronext completes negotiations.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News by Brian Turner
No Comments »