Tens of Thousands Protest in Brussels over Government Austerity Measures

Posted on December 18, 2010 by ronyl

protesters Alot of people from Europe, particularly in Belgium were very anxious with the new austerity moves that the European Union government is implementing. The citizens fear that this will slowly worsen the economy of the country. Thousands of people from Brussels, nay, tens of thousands had a strike march along the streets of Brussels to show their protest against such a move by the government.

Aside from slowing the economic recovery, the citizens fear that this will also be a punishment to the poor. This protest does not only reverberate across the Belgian capital, but 13 other cities have called for protests against the measure. For example, Spain also held a strike. Several Spanish and Warsaw Unions staged protests to go against this measure and consequent measures, including labour and pension market reforms and spending cuts.

The organizers of the rally at Brussels claimed that they were successful in bringing over 100,000 people into the rally, but the police said their official count is around 56,000, where 218 of those were arrested for minor criminal offenses. In other places the rallies are much smaller.

This is just the beginning, according to John Monks, who is the head of the European Union Trade Conference. Their ultimate goal is for the government to hear their voices; they want growth and jobs, and they are against austerity measures.

Global Gold Prices Reduces to $1225 an Ounce

Posted on June 10, 2010 by wahnews

Gold Prices Go Down Globally The price of gold reduced to $1,225 per ounce last Thursday in Europe. This is largely due to the rise of Euro against the dollar, implying that many consider that it’s highly risky to have a strong appetite for assets at the expense of bullion. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, located in China, stated in their report that market for gold is not as suitable for allocation of assets because of its innate properties, including volatility, being illiquid and being small.

In New York, last Wednesday, gold was priced at $1,230.35. Now it’s price reduced to $1,223.20. Furthermore, future deliveries for the U.S., particularly in August, are now priced at $1,224.70. The Spanish debt auction in particular caused the rise of Euro, because this returned the confidence on how Spain will deal with its huge debt. The policy decisions of the European Central Bank also contributed.

Previously, when the euro was losing considerably, many investors demanded for gold because they wanted to diversify from the currency, according to many analysts. Now that the euro has increased, this buying of gold has been reduced. There is in fact an interim consolidation, and the future is most likely to be that the euro will fall down again, and that means that the gold will rise, but certainly, the situation can go both ways again in the future.

Oil Price Around $71 Due to Euro Zone Crisis Concerns

Posted on June 8, 2010 by wahnews

Oil Prices Stand at 71 Dollars Euro Zone Crisis The cost of oil is around $71 per barrel on Tuesday. This is primarily due to the concerns regarding the euro zone crisis. This concern outweighs the optimism regarding U.S. demand. Data has shown that the crude stocks will fall for the largest user of fuel in the world. As a result, the stock markets in Europe fell, and it didn’t help that Hungary has debt problems.

For the second week in a row, the crude inventories of the U.S. have fallen. There is a decline in import volumes. By Tuesday at 2030 Greenwich Mean Time, the American Petroleum Institute will show the inventory figures, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration will follow suit in Wednesday.

These data will be really important and will determine the level of demand of gasoline in the U.S. and the condition of the driving season. For now, prices for oil will stay at around $70 – $75 per barrel, which is an acceptable price for OPEC and everyone else concerned.

However, the Euro debt crisis and the U.S. jobs weakness may result in fewer demands for oil, which will pressure their prices. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico also affected Britain and the U.S. in making tighter legislation after the incident.

US Optimistic about Economy and Commodities and Stock Rally

Posted on June 3, 2010 by wahnews

US Optimistic about Economy and Commodities and Stock Rally Rallying commodities and stocks, along with the predictions that factories and jobs will get a lot of orders are indications that the United States of America is enjoying a boost in economic terms. In contrast, the yen is getting weaker.

As mentioned, the economic strengthening is most apparent at the US industries incorporated more measures to improve the working conditions of their workers. This includes reduction in number of firings, advancements in private payrolls, and an increase in orders from the factories. In fact, the increase in payroll has been the highest in nearly 17 years.

In fact, this is not only happening in the US, but through most parts of the world. Some people were concerned that the debt crisis in Europe would stunt the economic growth around the world, but in fact, the opposite is predicted to happen. In the words of Tobias Merath from Credit Suisse Group AG, “the global economic recovery is continuing and most economic indicators are surprising to the upside.”

This economic booth is also evident in the fact that 70,000 jobs have been added for May, and that the number of jobless is significantly reduced. Advancement in commodities is also an indication for good economic health for the US. This includes increase in crude oil and General Motors Company and Ford Motor Company sales, among others.

Yen Goes Down After Japanese Prime Minister Resigns

Posted on June 2, 2010 by wahnews

Japanese Yen Falls After Prime Minister Steps Down A downward trend has been seen on the Japanese yen following the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on June 2 (Wednesday). Business analysts has been skeptical about this trend because the successor might be in a dilemma with the weaker currency in his lap.

It’s been two weeks that the yen has suffered against the dollar after Hatoyama and his deputy left their posts in their attempt to improve the winnability of Japan’s ruling party in the elections next month. The uncertain political conditions in Japan raised doubts that the yen can recover after Hotayoma became the fourth prime minister to resign in four years.

Although Hatoyama’s possible replacement Finance Minister Naoto Kan has positive vibes with the weaker yen, business analysts are not convinced about his idea. Kan has been vocal about this as earlier this year he mentioned he wanted the yen to become weak a lot more because most businesses preferred a dollar/yen rate around 95 yen, which would boost their income. Subsequently, Kan has mostly supported the finance ministry line that stable currencies are appealing as well as markets ought to fix foreign exchange levels.

Some investors might just see this in a positive light as the yen losses were limited. They can benefit through risk aversion by taking advantage of the European debt crisis. Simon Derrick, head of currency research at BNYM, suggested that: “Almost anything you throw at the yen these days is negative and yet here we are at these levels. That tells you demand for yen is for reasons other than what’s going on in Japan.”

Unemployment in Germany Falls Much Better than Predicted

Posted on June 1, 2010 by wahnews

Photo Source: AP

Economists predicted that unemployment in Germany will fall, and they were right. However, they were wrong about how much unemployment would fall, and it was a little better than they predicted. Unemployment is reduced to more than two times as predicted in May and that really helped Germany’s recuperation.

Unemployment reduced by 45,000 people, far more than the expected 17,000. This is due to the quick turn of the labor market, and if this goes on, it won’t be long before unemployment rate goes back to the level of pre-crisis.

One of the reasons attributed to this good turnout is the increase in demand for goods from China and other emerging companies. The euro may have fallen this year, but this complemented an enhancement for exporters. German exports increased 10.7 percent last March; this is in fact the highest in 18 years.

Germany’s organization for economic cooperation foresees that German economic expansion will be 1.9 percent for this year and 2.1 percent next year. Ironically, this success did not translate to increase in business confidence, primarily because of the debt crisis experienced by Europe.

This really marks a significant improved to Germany’s economy. Last year, the country’s economy reduced to 4.9 percent. Companies are given incentives to keep their workers and with the improvement of earnings due to exports, Germany is well on its way to recovery.

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