- World Bank cut its growth forecast for developing East Asia to 6.9% for 2014 and 2015 from 7.1% (forecasted in April).
- US unemployment slipped to its 6-year low of 5.9% in September from 6.1% in August. Meanwhile, US non-farm payrolls increased by 248,000 in September, exceeding the market consensus of 210,000. As a result, the Dollar was close to its 4-year high.
- The US Fed in its FOMC minutes (September 16-17) said that the current stance is appropriate amid concerns of global growth and the possibility of a stronger Dollar weighing on the US economy.
- European Central Bank (ECB) maintained status quo with key policy rate unchanged at 0.05%. It unveiled the details of its purchases of asset-backed securities and covered bonds, scheduled to commence from mid-October.
Category Archives: US Stock Market
Stay away from Alibaba – Mark Mobius
This video covers the concerns that Mark Mobius has about the Alibaba shareholding structure, i.e, dual shareholding with promoters having significant control and little recourse for minority shareholders. Its not considered proper in the USA and NYSE should not have accepted such a listing. But commercial considerations have dictated the current situation.
Dr. Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman, Templeton Emerging Markets Group. He earned Bachelors and Masters degrees from Boston University, and Ph.D. in economics and political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Global Markets Review -16May2014
The US markets opened on a strong footing after a mixed performance the previous week. The strength on Wall Street was partly due to news of Chinese market reforms designed to increase liquidity, which helped offset concerns about the situation in Ukraine where Pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine claim nearly 90 percent of voters in the region were in favor of self rule in a referendum held on Sunday, although the vote has been condemned as illegal by Kiev and Western governments. However, weaker than expected retail sales growth for the month of April and higher than expected increase in producers price index. The US markets closed the week (till Thursday) on a negative note ahead of the housing starts and consumer confidence data releases even as the jobless claims data came below estimates. Continue reading Global Markets Review -16May2014