Bank of America Corp (BofA) has turned positive on Russia's economy as it started seeing signs of recovery in near future though on a weaker note. The drastic slowdown in capital investment is gradually easing off. Russian economy seems to have bottomed out. Russian gross domestic product (GDP) shrunk 4.6 percent during the second quarter.
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Lack of clarity over US data put pressure on Asian stocks
The lack of clarity about the US data and timing of interest rate hike have put further pressure on Asian stock markets. Several Asian stocks slipped into pressure on Friday trading ahead of the US data jobs report. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.7 percent for the week. The long holiday stretch for Chinese markets also resulted in sluggishness in the Asian market.
Alibaba Group Holding stock drops for 4 months now
Chinese e-Commerce major Alibaba Group Holding's stock (NYSE: BABA) continued to ease on Wall Street for the fourth consecutive month following the reduction in revenue forecast for the next quarter of the year. Alibaba shares fell 13 percent in September and this continuous skid since May brought down the market value to $75billion. The economy sluggishness is impacting the e-commerce sales. Of late, Alibaba Group is facing cut-throat competition in online sales. Analysts hold the view that lot of uncertainty in store for Alibaba Group in the days to come.
Yahoo to spin off Alibaba stake even without tax-free guarantee
Yahoo Inc. is proceeding with the spinoff of its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba even without guarantee that it won't be taxed. In a regulatory filing, Yahoo says its board has authorized the transaction despite lacking an approval from the Internal Revenue Service. On news of the decision, Yahoo's shares rose Monday by as much as 4% in extended trading.
Asia shares trade at three weeks low after new data from China was released
The Asian market open lower on Tuesday as investors start to weigh in again the possibilities of a weak economy sign in China. The market fell to its three-week low and is raising concern in the U.S too causing a substantial loss in the Wall Street.
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Nielsen reported last Thursday that American marketers and media companies should set their eyes on wealthy black American consumers. CNN Money writes that the report is focused on black American, which includes African-Americans and black immigrants, with at least $75,000 annual income. Nielsen's Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, said black in the US has a collective $1.1 trillion in buying power. "You can't ignore that," she said.
Dividend stocks are investors favourite during the economic uncertainty. Dividends signal a strong performance by the company and it also allows investors to make some return on investment during the tough time.
British Multinational Beverage Company Diageo Plc is planning to increase its majority stake in the Lagos, Nigeria-based brewer Guinness Nigeria Plc to 70 percent, which is worth $200 million. Diageo, the biggest distiller in the world and maker of Johnnie Walker, plans to offer 175 naira a share to raise its shareholdings in Guinness Nigeria to 70% from 54.3%. According to the report published at Bloomberg, that deal would cost about 41.38 billion naira, or $208 million. Guinness shares spiked 5 percent to 131.48 naira Wednesday after it announced Diageo's plans. This valued the Nigerian brewery at 198 billion naira.
The closure of the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) charter is forcing the US companies to explore business options overseas. Major aerospace companies, which have been benefiting from export financing and other encouraging schemes from EXIM, are in favor of shifting out of the US. General Electric (GE) has already firmed up to its plan to set up $400-million turboprop engine in Europe. Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the largest US aerospace trade group, expresses concerns that many aviation companies are losing their competitiveness in the absence of support from EXIM. However, conservative Republicans are against EXIM charter as it's confined to only three major companies.
Falling in lines of Bank of America (BoA) and Citigroup Inc, the US banking major JPMogran Chase & Co has also indicated the possible drop in the revenues for the third quarter ending September. The high volatile trading during August shrunk the trading volume of the investment banking arm of JPMorgan Chase. Since the bank's strategy of not to lose money restricted the bank from speculative trading during the August crash. JPMorgan Chase also sees China's economic slowdown as a speed breaker, but not a devastating thing if the world's second largest economy is growing at five percent. JPMorgan has decided to implement an expansion plan for strengthening retail operations.
Most financial markets in Asia ended the week higher after the US Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged. China's Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.4% Friday. Despite that, the bourse was still down 3.2% for the week as investors worried over the Fed decision as well as weakness in economic data.
The current Asia-Pacific Wealth Report 2015 showed Asia Pacific has a larger number of high net worth individuals compared to North America. A recent study indicates Asia Pacific region had exceeded North America with the number of high net worth individuals.
The global markets witnessed major crash in August following the China's economy slow down, Yuan devaluation, discouraging manufacturing numbers, etc, Now, the markets are recovering. But, economists, fund managers caution that the party is not over. China may slip in recession in next quarter or six quarters later.
Being faced with several odds in Russia, Deutsche Bank has decided to withdraw some of its services from Russia. The alleged share trading by Russian unit of Deutsche Bank has become subject to investigation in the US. The German bank may stop 90 percent of its banking services in Russia soon.
