| ROUNDUP Rio Tinto FY results overshadowed by acquisition defence
LONDON, Feb. 13, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Rio Tinto posted better-than-expected results for the full year as the world's third-biggest mining company continued to promote its future expansion programme as part of ongoing defence against BHP Billiton's (NYSE:BHP) takeover approach. Rio Tinto's 2007 net profit fell 2 pct to 7.312 bln usd, but beat the 7.1 bln usd consensus forecast, as a result of rising costs and adverse exchange rates. It also incurred costs associated with last year's takeover of Canadian aluminium giant Alcan Inc. (TSX:AL.E) The group's chief economist, Vivek Tulpule, said almost all commodity prices remain significantly above historical trends and anticipates that some commodity prices have yet to reach their cyclical peaks. 'The outlook statement was relentlessly positive, underlining emerging markets growth and reiterating that the underlying trends in China and India are largely insulated from any potential near-term weakness in western economies,' said Martin Potts, an analyst at Landsbanki.
The best investments of 2007
A weak dollar helped gold gain in value as well as concerns over geo-political strife between the US and Iran. Interestingly, it even benefitted from the retail tastes of shoppers in China and India. Graham Spooner from stockbrokers The Share Centre explains: 'Whenever the dollar weakens or if there are turbulent times in international politics, gold does well. Not only that, but a growing middle class in the powerhouses of China and India has led to a rise demand for gold jewellery, meaning supplies become more valuable.' .
Strong Session Ends Near Highs
The 7% stumble drove shares well-below their 200-day moving average. CVS Caremark (CVS) staged a powerful gap up, adding 2.60 to 38.62 in fast trade. The pharmacy chain reported Q4 earnings above views, boosted by widening margins on both its pharmacy and retail sides. The company also cited benefits of scale from its acquisition last year of heavyweight Caremark. Management also halved its original estimates for a $2 billion loss in government contracts in 2008 related to the Caremark acquisition. The 7% jump pushed the stock above its 200-day line, and now is trying to regain its 50-day line. 11:15 a.m. Update: Stocks Rise Off Lows After Early Sled Ride By ALAN R. ELLIOTT Stocks climbed off their early lows as investors digested a heavy dose of earnings reports and economic data.
July 2007
The report shows that the majority of U.S. estuaries assessed are highly influenced by human-related activities and points out that eutrophication is a widespread problem globally. "Observations have confirmed that our nation’s coastal waters are stressed," said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "One thing we have learned from this study is that while the accumulation of nutrients in our estuaries has been stable in most of our estuaries, conditions are likely to worsen. The potential for serious degradation in most of our estuaries necessitates that we reinvigorate efforts to address nutrient pollution, and this study helps to confirm that an ecosystem approach is required for improving the health of our estuaries." (Click NOAA image for a larger view of the grapic showing the current status of estuarine eutrophication in the United Statest.
Sensex dips 612 points
Indian markets opened positive and after first two hours of volatile trade came crashing down and the benchmark BSE Sensex closed the day with 612.56 points loss at 17,526.93. The broader 50 share Nifty closed 3.56 per cent lower at 5133.25 amidst talk of a large chunk of selling in the Nifty Futures. Though domestic market sentiment could have been affected by the warning that India would grow slower at the rate of 8.7 in 2007/2008, market participants said it was basket selling in frontline, large cap stocks that triggered the crash. The situation in the primary markets too worsened as Wockhardt Hospitals had received only 20 per cent of subscriptions to its IPO by 5 pm on the closing day, even after cutting its issue price once and extending the subscription date. The provisional figures from the National Stock Exchange indicated foreign institutional investors were net sellers to the extent of 860 crore while domestic funds net buyers of Rs 230 crore.
Ludacris - War With God (T.I. Diss)
Anybody who thinks that down south rappers can't rap, i can't even put into words of how wrong you are. I reppin south cak and the rest of the south to the fullest. Get use to my name because i'm new to this, but i'm going to have a lot to say about different songs later. .
Survival strategies: Recession-proof your life
In the 1970s, the trap was stagflation, a combination of high inflation and low growth. The U.S. was already burdened by Vietnam War-related inflation when the Arab oil embargo sprung the snare. The economy jerked to a stop, but energy costs kept the inflation rate up and made recovery painfully hard to come by. The 1973-75 recession lasted 16 months, about double the typical one. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 40% from its pre-recession high, or more than triple the decline we've seen since October's top. Unemployment peaked after the recession ended, at 9.1%. Before you reach for the medicine cabinet, take comfort in some important then-vs.-now differences. The Fed, and the feds, today act earlier in a downturn. The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates 2.25 percentage points since August.
European Indexes Move Higher
Heineken and Carlsberg plan to offer 8.00/sh. 3i [+4.28%] said it is facing market conditions from a position of confidence. C&W [+1.66%] said it is well on its way to delivering EBITDA targets. RANK [+3.82%] is said to be in exclusive talks to sell its 700 million pension scheme to Goldman Sachs. BIFFA [-2.0%] sank after saying it is prepared to accept an offer at 3.50/sh. On the reporting front, SSL [+2.81%] said is confident of meeting operating profit growth of at least 10% this year. QINETIQ [-0.81%] reported robust third quarter trading. CARPHONE WAREHOUSE [-1.46%] fell on reports that Goldman is placing 12 million shares. PARIS .
Couric Praises Media for Predicting Recession
Couric cited the "R-word index," a running count of how many times the media mention recession, as evidence of its inevitability. It has spiked lately, although it remains well below levels seen ahead of previous recessions. When I was a kid, my parents watched the Jeopardy quiz show every night. A participatory youth, I would guess at every turn. My answer was always, "What is robot?" One time I was right. The media have been saying "recession" for a long time. In fact throughout 2006, the media kept suggesting recession was on the horizon, but 2007 didn't see one. In a cyclical economy recession is a given every now and then, and media predictions will occasionally be right. But that doesn't make those media claims reliable barometers of state of the economy. Couric also failed to mention the media's role in creating a recession.
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