Asia Stocks Snap Four-Day Losing Streak on Greece, ECB Rate Cut (Bloomberg)
Asian stocks advanced for the first time in five days as U.S. factory orders increased and the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut interest rates, reducing concern the debt crisis will spur a credit crunch. HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Europe’s No.1 lender by market value, climbed 3.4 percent in Hong Kong. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (386), China’s biggest oil refining company by sales, led the nation’s energy companies higher on speculation the government may allow the mainland’s fuel producers to adjust prices on their own. Komatsu Ltd. (6301), Asia’s largest maker of construction equipment by market value, surged 6.5 percent after a report showed orders at American factories increased in September.
“There’s less risk today because people are little less concerned that Greece will run on its own direction,” Michael Vogelzang, chief investment officer at Boston Advisors LLC, told Bloomberg Television. “It sounds like there is some progress and the markets moved up. We think the ECB moves were helpful. It’s better to aggressively attack these issues than sit idly by.”
China’s Stocks Rise on Policy Outlook, Capping Biggest Weekly Gain in Asia (Bloomberg)
Chinese stocks rose today, capping the biggest gain among major Asian indexes this week, as Greece signaled it won’t hold a referendum on a bailout package and on speculation China will take more measures to boost growth. Jiangxi Copper Co. climbed the most in a week as commodity prices jumped after Greece moved closer to accepting a bailout and the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut interest rates. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (600028) and PetroChina Co. climbed at least 1.5 percent on speculation that the government may allow refiners to adjust prices on their own. China Life Insurance Co., the largest insurer, rose for an 11th day on the prospect improving stock and bond markets will boost investment returns.
“The rate cut and recent progress on the Greek debt problem help local investors psychologically by increasing their appetite for risk assets,” said Zhang Ling, general manager at Shanghai River Fund Management Co. “Domestically, the period for policy over-tightening is over and that’ll help the economy get on a smooth track and is positive for stocks.”
Shares rise on hopes Greece will shelve referendum
TOKYO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose more than 2 percent and the euro steadied on hopes Greece will abandon a proposed referendum on a European Union bailout, but investors remained cautious over a confidence vote scheduled for later in the Greek parliament.
"The market regained some calm but uncertainty remains over the outcome of today's confidence vote," said Yuji Saito, director of the foreign exchange division at Credit Agricole Bank in Tokyo.
FOREX-Euro hits stiff resistance amid doubts on Greece
TOKYO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The euro has run into stiff resistance after a rebound sparked when Greece abandoned plans for a referendum on its bailout package, as market players worry that protracted political instability could bring further flare-ups in the euro zone's debt crisis.
Few market players see an end any time soon to the euro zone's debt and financial crisis, with Italian, Spanish and even French government bonds trading at hefty spreads over their German counterparts.
Chinese may look at MF Global metals business
LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Collapsed futures broker MF Global's metals operations are being dismantled but its traders are likely to be snapped up by new entrants -- such as Chinese banks -- eager to secure a foothold in London's metals market, industry sources said.
But administrators may struggle to sell MF Global's floor seat on the London Metal Exchange (LME) especially now that volume is shifting to electronic trade, they said.
Economy's shifts erode U.S. states' tax bases
Nov 3 (Reuters)- State governments across the United States are just a few months into their fiscal years and already many fear that tax revenues are running short of forecasts.
This is getting to be an annual ritual. Officials in New York, California, Florida and Washington this year have all expressed concerns about the outlook.
U.S. job growth could hint at some improvement
WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. employment growth was likely too weak in October to pull down the nation's lofty jobless rate, though it may have been strong enough to suggest some economic momentum is building.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 95,000 last month, according to a Reuters survey, after expanding by 103,000 in September.
Rio Tinto says China economy should stay resilient
SYDNEY, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto sought on Friday to brush off fears of a global economic slowdown and softening demand for industrial commodities in China, Rio's biggest market, where it said the economy should remain resilient.
Rio Tinto Chairman Jan du Plessis said that China's economic growth is visibly slowing, but it would remain fairly resilient to even quite a sharp correction in developed economies.
Demand outlook for agricultural goods uncertain, says FAO (Reuters)
Demand for agricultural products is extremely uncertain, says Abdolreza Abbassian, senior economist at the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation, after its food price index hit an 11-month low.
U.S. soy exports set for a rebound: Gavin Maguire
--Gavin Maguire is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own. To get his real-time views on the market, please join the Global Ags Forum. --
CHICAGO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean prices have been under pressure lately and plumbed one-year lows below $12 a bushel last month on a combination of harvest sales pressure and subdued end-user demand.
But a change could be brewing for this market as we enter the peak season for U.S. exports to China and U.S. export prices for soybeans become increasingly competitive versus alternative origins for other export destinations.
Wheat falls on US weather, Australian crop outlook
SINGAPORE, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat dipped after the previous session's biggest one-day rally in a week, as the market was pressured by forecasts of crop-friendly weather in the United States and expectations of a near-record output in Australia.
"Before weather events like La Nina result into crop-damaging rains, Australian farmers will try to speed up the harvest, which is a bearish factor for prices," said Ker ChungYang, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
Philippines says sees Q3 rice output above target
MANILA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The Philippines' rice output in the third quarter likely exceeded the government's target, with most of the crop harvested before typhoons hit in late September, the agriculture secretary said on Friday.
Proceso Alcala also said he still expects the farm sector's overall output to grow 4-5 percent this year despite the typhoon damage on crops.
Argentine soy-crushing workers end strike
BUENOS AIRES, Nov 3 (Reuters) - A short-lived strike by Argentine soy-processing workers ended by government order on Thursday, after slowing activity at plants around the main grains hub of Rosario, a union leader said on Thursday.
"They decreed a mandatory conciliation for 15 days," Edgardo Quiroga, an official with the CGT labor union, told Reuters, meaning that workers have a bit more than two weeks to negotiate the year-end bonuses at the heart of the dispute.
Colombia unlikely to hit 2011 coffee target
CARTAGENA, Colombia, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Colombia may miss the 2011 coffee production target of 9 million 60-kg bags after being hit by roya fungus and heavy rains, Agriculture Minister Juan Camilo Restrepo said on Thursday.
The world's top producer of high-quality Arabica beans has fallen short of output targets for the past two years due to bad weather and tree renovation, while this year rains have kept some trees from getting enough sun to flower properly.
Argentine 2011/12 soy planting flows easily-exchange
BUENOS AIRES, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The planting of 2011/12 soy in Argentina, expected eventually to cover 18.6 million hectares, progressed rapidly over the last seven days, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said in a report on Thursday.
Growers had sown 12.5 percent of the soy expected to go into the ground this season, marking an advance of 8.1 percentage points over the seven days through Thursday, the exchange said in its weekly crop report.
German grain trader Toepfer expands in Canada
HAMBURG, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Germany's largest grain trading house, Alfred C. Toepfer International, said on Thursday it is taking over two Canadian trading companies, giving it its first processing facilities in Canada.
Toepfer, whose majority shareholder is Archer Daniels Midland , said it has bought Western Grain Trade Ltd and Western Grain Cleaning & Processing Ltd, which are Saskatchewan-based processors and exporters of peas, lentils, mustards, flaxseed and various special crops.
BG to import spot LNG cargoes into Singapore from 2013
SINGAPORE, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Britain's BG Group will import additional spot cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) into Singapore from 2013 on top of the 3 million tonnes of term supply it is contracted to sell to power and industrial users in the city-state, a company executive said on Friday.
The cargoes will first be offered to BG's existing term customers, primarily power generation companies, before being opened up to smaller users of LNG, Anthony Barker, General Manager of BG Gas Marketing Singapore, told reporters at the Singapore International Energy Week.
Indian oil firms to raise gasoline prices from Friday
Nov 3 (Reuters) - India's state-run fuel retailers will raise gasoline prices by about 2.7 percent from Friday, a company executive said, a move that will help them cut revenue losses but adds pressure to stubbornly high inflation in Asia's third-largest economy.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) , the biggest fuel retailer in the country, will raise gasoline prices by 1.82 rupees a litre from Friday, its head of finance P.K. Goyal said on Thursday.
China oil firms to conditionally set fuel prices -paper
BEIJING, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Chinese oil firms may be allowed to adjust refined oil products prices by themselves in line with a government-set pricing formula when crude oil prices fluctuate within a certain price range, the China Securities Journal reported on Friday.
The newspaper report did not specify the range.
Brent steady above $110 on hopes Europe crisis will ease
SINGAPORE, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Brent crude held steady above $110, after rising more than a $1 in the previous session as Greece backed away from a referendum and a rate cut by the European Central Bank raised hopes for an easing of the region's debt crisis.
"The economic uncertainty is weighing on oil prices, and will continue to do so till the time the markets see some clarity," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager with Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp. "Prices are able to find a floor due to supply concerns and seasonal factors with the winter coming in."
ArcelorMittal says steel demand dip deepening
BRUSSELS, Nov 3 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal SA , the world's largest steelmaker, said a summer dip in demand is deepening into a second-half slump, with even lower steel shipments and prices in the fourth quarter than the third leading it to scrap some investment plans.
ArcelorMittal, which makes between 6 and 7 percent of global steel, said on Thursday customers were increasingly cautious due to economic uncertainties, such as the risk of recession in developed markets and policy tightening in China leading to slower growth.
Copper rises on ECB rate cut, Greek bailout hopes
SHANGHAI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Copper rose, cheered by the European Central Bank's interest rate cut and news that Greece is likely to forego plans to hold a referendum on its bailout package, easing worries that the country could face a disorderly default.
"The rate cut by the ECB gave base metals a short-term boost today, and investors are comforted that the Greece referendum turned out to be a bit of Greek drama," said Dongzheng Futures trader Du Xiaohua.
METALS-Copper rises on ECB rate cut, Greek bailout hopes
SHANGHAI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Copper rose on Friday, cheered by the European Central Bank's interest rate cut and news that Greece is likely to forego plans to hold a referendum on its bailout package, easing worries that the country could face a disorderly default.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.9 percent to $7,981 a tonne by 0354 after rising 0.4 percent in the previous session.
PRECIOUS-Gold eases after rally, holds near 6-wk top
SINGAPORE, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Gold ticked lower on Friday after rising more than 1 percent in the previous session, but prices held near their highest in six weeks due to the uncertainty surrounding the euro zone debt crisis and the prospect of a Greek exit from the euro.
Greece's abrupt call for a referendum, just days after a deal was struck to save the debt-stricken country from defaulting, ignited panic in global financial markets.
Gold eases after rally, holds near 6-wk top
SINGAPORE, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Gold ticked lower after rising more than 1 percent in the previous session, but prices held near their highest in six weeks due to the uncertainty surrounding the euro zone debt crisis and the prospect of a Greek exit from the euro.
"It's not all plain sailing in the Aegean," said Nicholas Trevethan, a senior metals analyst at ANZ Bank in Singapore.
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