Bloomberg:
- China's stocks plunged, extending an 18-month low, on concern the government will avoid introducing measures to boost the world's worst-performing market this year. Shanxi Lu'an Environmental Energy Development Co. and Shandong Gold Mining Co. led coal and metal companies lower on speculation the bear market in commodities will deepen. ``There is no confidence in the market,'' said Wu Kan, a fund manager in Shanghai at Dazhong Insurance Co., which oversees the equivalent of $285 million. ``Everyone is disappointed that the regulator hasn't done anything concrete to stem the decline.'' The CSI 300 Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares listed on China's two exchanges, declined 134.21, or 5.5 percent, to 2,313.40 at the close, the lowest since Feb. 5, 2007. About 60 of the gauge's 300 companies fell by the maximum daily limit. The measure, which is at its cheapest in relation to earnings since March 2006, has tumbled 57 percent this year, the most among 88 global measures tracked by Bloomberg, on concern measures to cool inflation will damp earnings.
- Fisherman Cao Jianzhou may abandon the job his family has done for more than half a century because rising fuel costs mean he loses money every time he sets out to sea from his home northeast of Shanghai. ``About 70 percent of the fishermen in our village lost money in the first half of this year,'' said Cao, 44, who catches crab and shrimp with his eight-man crew off Chongming Island. ``Some have quit and survive on the fee from selling their boats for scrap.'' Cao is one of 750 million Chinese fishermen, farmers and their families who are being squeezed after the government in June joined India, Malaysia and Indonesia in raising state- controlled fuel prices to cut losses for refiners. The 17 percent increase in gasoline prices and 18 percent jump in diesel fall disproportionately on rural China, where household incomes average 315 yuan ($46) a month.
- The cost of default protection on mortgage-backed securities sold by
- Diapason Commodities Management SA, the Switzerland-based manager of $8.5 billion in commodities, said investors withdrew 5 percent to 10 percent of their holdings from its index funds after a drop in prices. The Diapason Commodities Index has lost 20 percent from its July 3 peak as crude oil, gold and agricultural products fell. Commodities as measured by the CRB index advanced for six consecutive years, bolstered by record prices for everything from oil to gold. Assets linked to commodity indexes totaled $297 billion as of June, from about $76.7 billion at the beginning of 2006, according to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Money has also been withdrawn from structured commodity products, customized investments for those unwilling or unable to invest through indexes or derivatives, Lausanne-based Corrigan said.
- Gold held in exchange-traded funds managed by ETF Securities Ltd. climbed to a record last week while platinum holdings plunged 8.2 percent. Gold assets rose 2.1 percent to 1.853 million ounces on Aug. 15, according to data posted on the company's Web site today. Platinum assets fell to 232,073 ounces.
- U.S. and Georgian officials disputed Russia's assertion that it began withdrawing its forces to the separatist region of South Ossetia, leaving the fate of a two- day old cease-fire agreement in doubt.
- Lowe's Cos.(LOW), the world's second- largest home-improvement retailer, reported profit that fell less than some analysts estimated after consumers spent their tax-rebate checks.
- Fannie Mae(FNM) and Freddie Mac(FRE) tumbled to about 18-year lows in New York trading on concern the government will be forced to bail out the mortgage-finance companies, wiping out common stockholders.
- Companies have sold $9.1 billion of high-yield, high-risk bonds since the end of May, the slowest
- Tropical Storm Fay is poised to hit Florida as a hurricane in the next day after killing about a dozen people on its path through the Caribbean. The storm may approach the Florida Keys later today, then make landfall on the state's west coast between Naples and Tampa Bay tomorrow, packing winds of at least 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour.
- Brazil is drawing U.S. celebrities at an unprecedented clip, contributing to a record current account deficit that is leading Wall Street firms from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Morgan Stanley to predict an end to the four-year, 83 percent rally in the real.
- Russian industrial production grew at a slower pace than economists forecast in July. ``The softening may not be as temporary as we thought,'' said Yevgeny Nadorshin, an economist at Trust Investment Bank in
- Last week, the Government Accountability Office released a report showing that 60 percent to 70 percent of companies in the U.S. pay no taxes. That led to an Associated Press story with the startling headline, ``Most Companies in U.S. Avoid Federal Income Taxes.'' First, while it is true that 60 percent to 70 percent of companies in the study paid no tax in a given year, there was a big qualification. The study focused on an Internal Revenue Service tax database that included millions and millions of companies. The vast majority of firms in the study were tiny mom- and-pop enterprises. Why did the tiny mom-and-pop enterprises pay no taxes? Because they didn't make any money! In other words, there was virtually no news in the study. The truth is, of course, that we are all in it together. Workers will have better jobs if the U.S. is a more attractive climate for corporations. That means we need to reduce corporate taxes, not increase them.
Wall Street Journal:
- Michael Phelps, the
Vedomosti:
- OAO VimpelCom,
Xinhua News:
- The
Arab News:
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Emirates Business 24/7:
- A shortage of qualified bankers in the
- The majority of
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