Brokerage expects rally for China's government bonds
Shenyin & Wanguo Securities predicted a rally for Chinese government bonds as the economic downturn ends the "superficial exuberance" that bank lenders have experienced during the past two months, soaking up much of the capital that otherwise would have gone into bonds. Qu Qing, chief of bond research at the Shanghai firm, estimated that the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond will decline to 3% this year, after a drop of 17 basis points during the past week. Bloomberg (17 Feb.)
German investor confidence likely up again for February
The ZEW Center for European Economic Research is scheduled to release a report indicating that investment confidence in Germany rose for a fourth consecutive month. The index, based on the views of analysts and investors, is expected to rise to minus-25 this month from minus-31 in January. Bloomberg (17 Feb.)
Gold spikes to highest in 7 months
The price of spot gold hit $957.20 per ounce in early trading Tuesday, marking a seven-month high. Joining the trend, gold futures reached their highest point since July. "Chart-based buying and persistent demand for investment purposes have been the fundamental triggers for such accelerated gains when almost all other asset classes are heading further south," said Pradeep Unni, an analyst with Richcomm Global Services. Reuters (17 Feb.)
Asian shares down on concerns about deepening recession
Asian stocks tumbled Tuesday, and U.S. futures dropped on worries about the global recession. The MSCI Asia-Pacific index fell 2.6%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave up 3% by its midday break and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 declined 1.4%. "Investors are selling stocks not only in Japan but in other Asian markets as they wait for restructuring plans from [General Motors] and Chrysler," Soichiro Monji of Daiwa SB Investments said. International Herald Tribune/Reuters (17 Feb.)
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