Asia stocks up; yen eases, eyes on govt, BOJ
TOKYO, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose as investors hunted for bargains among recently beaten-down shares, while the yen pulled further away from 15-year highs as investors wondered whether Japanese officials would take fresh steps to curb the currency's strength and spur economic growth.
"There are increasing signs of a slowing global economy, and on top of that you have Japan's situation where it really isn't providing policy to deal with its economic issues," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
OIL: Crude rises second day on short-covering
SINGAPORE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - U.S. crude rose for a second day on Thursday as bargain-hunting and short-covering in equities spread to the oil market, where investors ignored reports showing slower U.S. economic activity and rising record-high inventories to take advantage of prices near 11-week lows.
Tropical Depression Seven in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean strengthened into Tropical Storm Earl late Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.
COMMODITY MARKETS: Weak data hits markets; oil, copper bounce late
NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Another round of gloomy U.S. economic data sank most commodity markets on Wednesday as investors fretted about the demand outlook for raw materials, although oil and copper repaired steep early losses by the end, rebounding with Wall Street.
"They (data) are obviously lousy. It's very disappointing. The strength of second quarter GDP was business spending. It looks like businesses are pulling back from this commitment in a very big way in July. It's an indication of how sentiment is deteriorating," said Christopher Low, chief economist ay FTN Financial in New York.
GLOBAL MARKETS: US stocks rise on bargain hunting; yen eases
NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks staged a comeback on bargain hunting after suffering steep early losses on disappointing economic data on Wednesday, while the yen pulled back from a 15-year high on mounting speculation Japanese authorities may intervene to stem the currency's rise.
"Overall, this is still a very careful market," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. "Until we see a package of decidedly positive data, this market is going to be vulnerable."
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist who predicted the global financial crisis, said U.S. growth will be “well below” 1 percent in the third quarter and put the odds of a renewed recession at 40 percent. Roubini, chairman of Roubini Global Economics LLC, said his forecast assumes the government will lower its estimate for growth in the second quarter to an annual rate of 1.2 percent “at best.” “All the growth tailwinds of the first half of the year become headwinds in the second half,” he said in an e-mail message, including the government’s $814-billion stimulus plan, hiring for the census, and incentives such the cash-for-clunkers program and tax credits for first-time home buyers.
US home sales at 15-year lows, stoke recovery fears
WASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes took a record plunge in July to their slowest pace in 15 years, underlining the housing market's struggle to find its footing without government aid. Tuesday's report from the National Association of Realtors, which was much worse than market expectations, was the latest data that indicated economic activity continued to slacken into the third quarter.
FOREX-Yen dips, rally pauses on intervention jitters
LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The yen pulled back from 15-year highs against the dollar and a nine-year peak versus the euro on Wednesday on speculation Japanese authorities may take action to stem the currency's rise. "The yen has come quite far quite quickly ... so we're seeing some consolidation," said Daragh Maher, currency strategist at Credit Agricole CIB.
Yen dips from 15-yr high; stocks off for 5th day
LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - World stocks fell for a fifth day as worries about a double dip recession persisted, while the yen eased from a 15-year high on speculation that Tokyo was considering intervening to weaken its currency.
"The Ireland downgrade was not too much of a surprise but it is still weighing on sentiment," said Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index in London.
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