| Investors look to sustain Wall St gusto
NEW YORK: US stock investors will look to a slew of economic data next week to sustain Wall Street's recovery, but lingering worries about the economy and the subprime mortgage market could create more jitters.
Critical among next week's data will be two reports on consumer sentiment, which could shed light on how the recent turmoil in the subprime lending market is affecting the view of the economy.
There will also be reports on new-home sales, US durable goods orders and gross domestic product.
Investors also will keep an eye on further developments in the Middle East after news on Friday that Iranian forces seized 15 British sailors and marines. The news sent US crude oil prices above $62 a barrel.
“I think the bigger concern on investors' minds other than earnings growth at this time is actually economic growth, whether subprime issues are going to spread through the rest of the economy, and if it does, what impact is that going to have on the economy," said Michael Malone, trading analyst at Cowen & Co in New York.
High impact cost, m-cap fall saw Jet, OBC out of Nifty
MUMBAI: Jet Airways and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) are out of the Nifty Index from April 4, 2007. This has been a welcome change for the markets, and analysts are more than happy. Jet Airways and OBC accounted for 0.29% and 0.24% in the index and are now replaced by Reliance Petroleum (RPL) and Sterlite Industries which have 1.67% and 1.35% share, respectively, in the benchmark index. The Nifty has four Reliance companies, between both Ambani brothers, accounting for 16.34% of the total index. Before RPL came into the picture this share was at 14.7%. It was in September 2006 that Reliance Communication replaced Tata Tea in the Nifty Fifty index. The recent change has been a welcome one because both Jet Airways and OBC were losing ground, and market capitalisation of these companies were down by 34% and 17% over the past year.
Financial innovations: key to commercial banks' expansion
One of the Central Finance Conference's requirements on finance is "to make efforts to upgrade the innovative capability and the service level in finance". Why should so much importance be attached to financial innovations? How should commercial banks carry out financial innovations so as to satisfy requirements of the ever-developing economy and society? With such questions, Zhao Xiaoqiang, a reporter of Economic Daily, had an interview with Ma Weihua, President of China Merchants Bank.
Reporter: One of the Central Finance Conference's requirements on finance is "to make efforts to upgrade the innovative capability and the service level in finance". Why should so much importance be attached to financial innovations?
Ma Weihua: On last December 11, China began to fulfill its commitment to the WTO; the Chinese banking industry began to competed against the international banking industry, and it became faced with impacts and challenges from various aspects in terms of conception, system, institution, technology, product, profit generation and thoughts for supervision.
|
