ΗΠΑ: Ανώτερος των εκτιμήσεων ο πληθωρισμός Μαϊου
Μεγαλύτερη από το αναμενόμενο ήταν η αύξηση του πληθωρισμού το Μάιο στις ΗΠΑ, υπογραμμίζοντας ότι τις ανησυχίες της Ομοσπονδιακής Τράπεζας των ΗΠΑ ότι οι πληθωριστικές πιέσεις είναι ιδιαιτέρως ασφυκτικές. Ειδικότερα, οι τιμές καταναλωτή στις ΗΠΑ αυξήθηκαν με τον ταχύτερο ρυθμό των τελευταίων έξι μηνών οι το Μάιο κατά 0,6%, εξαιτίας της αλματώδους αύξησης των τιμών ενέργειας, όπως ανακοινώθηκε σήμερα από το αμερικανικό υπουργείο Εργασίας. Οι αναλυτές προέβλεπαν ανοδο 0,5%. Τον Απρίλιο είχαν ενισχυθεί κατά 0,2%. Σε ετήσια βάση οι τιμές καταναλωτή κατέγραψαν ανοδο 4,2% το Μάιο από 3,9% τον προηγούμενο μήνα.
Οι τιμές ενέργειας σημείωσαν άνοδο 4,4% τον περασμένο μήνα -τη μεγαλύτερη από το Νοέμβριο του 2007 -ενώ οι τιμές των τροφίμων αυξήθηκαν κατά 0,3%, σύμφωνα με το αμερικανικό υπουργείο.
Ο δομικός δείκτης, που δεν περιλαμβάνει είδη τροφίμων και ενέργειας αυξήθηκε κατά 0,2% και διαμορφώθηκε σύμφωνα με τις εκτιμήσεις των αναλυτών.
REPORTER.GR
Economy | Business | Social | Leaked | Opinions
Monday, June 16, 2008
Bear Stearns Subprime Funds May Draw U.S. Charges, People Say
Bear Stearns Subprime Funds May Draw U.S. Charges, People Say
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Federal prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may bring criminal and civil charges in a probe of Bear Stearns Cos. hedge funds whose collapse ignited the subprime mortgage crisis last year, people familiar with the investigations said.
The U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn and the Washington-based SEC may announce the actions as soon as this week, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the case isn't public. Prosecutors told a New York state judge last month they would decide by mid-July whether to bring a criminal case against former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi, 52, and Matthew Tannin, 46, a lawyer at the proceeding said.
``It was always a question of when the indictments would start rolling out, it was not a question of if,'' said Jacob Frenkel, a former federal prosecutor in private practice in Maryland. Indictments are inevitable ``because of the clamoring for accountability for anyone of note with what would be perceived as a substantial role in the mortgage-driven economic crisis.''
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Casey in Brooklyn asked a judge on May 13 to stay a civil lawsuit against Bear Stearns Asset Management, Cioffi and Tannin, according to a lawyer at the hearing who declined to be identified because he wasn't authorized to discuss the case. Prosecutors don't want the men to get access to documents that may complicate a criminal trial, Casey said, according to the attorney.
Securities fraud charges may be filed against Cioffi and Tannin within the next week, the Wall Street Journal said today, citing a person familiar with the situation.
Failed Bets
Bear Stearns spokeswoman Elizabeth Ventura didn't return a call seeking comment. Cioffi's attorney, Edward Little of Hughes Hubbard & Reed, and Tannin's lawyer, Nina Beattie of Brune & Richard, declined to comment. Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell, and SEC spokesman John Heine also declined to comment.
Johnston Whitman Jr., a lawyer for Navigator Capital Partners LP, the plaintiff in the New York state court suit, didn't return calls seeking comment about the hearing.
Cioffi managed the two funds that collapsed and Tannin served as his deputy. The funds invested almost all of their assets in subprime-mortgage-related securities. The bets failed last June when prices for collateralized debt obligations linked to loans plummeted amid rising late payments by borrowers with poor credit histories or heavy debts.
Fund Withdrawals
CDOs are created by packaging assets including bonds and loans and using their income to pay investors. The securities are divided into different portions of varying risk and can offer higher returns than the debt on which they are based.
As the securities dropped in value, the funds' creditors demanded more collateral. Bear Stearns extended $1.6 billion in credit to one of the funds before seizing its assets in July. Both funds filed for bankruptcy protection two weeks after the firm told investors they would get little if any money back.
Cioffi left the firm in December amid government inquiries. Prosecutors and the SEC were examining whether he withdrew money from two funds before their collapse, three people with knowledge of the matter said at the time.
Since the failure of the two hedge funds in July, investors and government entities have said banks and financial companies such as Bear Stearns knew their underlying investments weren't worth what they were telling shareholders.
Barclays Plc, an investor in one of the funds, sued the New York-based bank last year in Manhattan federal court. London- based Barclays claimed it was misled about the health of the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Master Fund Ltd.
Countrywide, American Home
That fund, together with the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Master Fund Ltd., held as much as $20 billion at one time, according to the Barclay's complaint.
The credit crunch led to lawsuits against other lenders including Countrywide Financial Corp., American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Investors have claimed that former officers of Melville, New York-based American Home concealed the increasing number of high-risk mortgages issued before that company's bankruptcy in August, according to court papers filed in Central Islip, New York, federal court. They also sued seven underwriters, including Citigroup and JPMorgan, claiming they were negligent in handling American Home's stock offerings.
Bear Stearns agreed to sell itself to New York-based JPMorgan in March after a run by clients and lenders threatened it with bankruptcy. The collapse ranked along with Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. as one of the biggest in Wall Street history.
Cayman Islands
The funds tried to liquidate in the Cayman Islands before a U.S. judge held that New York was a more appropriate jurisdiction, ruling they can't shield their U.S. assets from lawsuits.
Bear Stearns, Cioffi and Tannin are named as defendants in the Barclays lawsuit. The British bank accused Cioffi of withdrawing his personal $2 million investment in the fund in March 2007, at the same time Bear Stearns persuaded Barclays to double its investment by hiding performance problems that were revealed later, according to the complaint.
Barclays said it lost ``hundreds of millions of dollars.''
Cioffi, Tannin and others at Bear Stearns hid the fund's true performance, reporting it as ``positive'' or ``slightly negative'' when it had diminished by as much as 38 percent, according to court papers. Internally the two men discussed the ``wipe out'' of the fund, according to the complaint.
Tannin had direct contact with Barclays about the investment, the bank said in the complaint.
`Working Beautifully'
``You will be happy to know that we are having our best month ever this February,'' Tannin wrote in an e-mail to Barclays risk manager Angus McIsaac last year, according to court documents. ``Our hedges are working beautifully. We were up 1.6 percent in January and are up 2 percent so far in February.''
Bear Stearns deceived Barclays from March 2006 until at least mid-June 2007, Barclays said in its amended complaint.
Indictments against Cioffi and Tannin may be just the start of a U.S. probe of the credit crisis, Frenkel said.
``We're likely to see cases from the top all the way down to the mortgage brokers,'' he said.
``It was a very high-profile failure,'' Christopher Clark, a securities law attorney Dewey & LeBoeuf, said of the collapse of Bear Stearns. ``There's always going to be scrutiny after a well-publicized failure.''
The bankruptcy cases in the U.S. are Bear Stearns High- Grade Structured Credit Strategies Master Fund Ltd., 07-12383, and Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Master Fund Ltd., 07-12384, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
BLOOMBERG
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Federal prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may bring criminal and civil charges in a probe of Bear Stearns Cos. hedge funds whose collapse ignited the subprime mortgage crisis last year, people familiar with the investigations said.
The U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn and the Washington-based SEC may announce the actions as soon as this week, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the case isn't public. Prosecutors told a New York state judge last month they would decide by mid-July whether to bring a criminal case against former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi, 52, and Matthew Tannin, 46, a lawyer at the proceeding said.
``It was always a question of when the indictments would start rolling out, it was not a question of if,'' said Jacob Frenkel, a former federal prosecutor in private practice in Maryland. Indictments are inevitable ``because of the clamoring for accountability for anyone of note with what would be perceived as a substantial role in the mortgage-driven economic crisis.''
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Casey in Brooklyn asked a judge on May 13 to stay a civil lawsuit against Bear Stearns Asset Management, Cioffi and Tannin, according to a lawyer at the hearing who declined to be identified because he wasn't authorized to discuss the case. Prosecutors don't want the men to get access to documents that may complicate a criminal trial, Casey said, according to the attorney.
Securities fraud charges may be filed against Cioffi and Tannin within the next week, the Wall Street Journal said today, citing a person familiar with the situation.
Failed Bets
Bear Stearns spokeswoman Elizabeth Ventura didn't return a call seeking comment. Cioffi's attorney, Edward Little of Hughes Hubbard & Reed, and Tannin's lawyer, Nina Beattie of Brune & Richard, declined to comment. Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell, and SEC spokesman John Heine also declined to comment.
Johnston Whitman Jr., a lawyer for Navigator Capital Partners LP, the plaintiff in the New York state court suit, didn't return calls seeking comment about the hearing.
Cioffi managed the two funds that collapsed and Tannin served as his deputy. The funds invested almost all of their assets in subprime-mortgage-related securities. The bets failed last June when prices for collateralized debt obligations linked to loans plummeted amid rising late payments by borrowers with poor credit histories or heavy debts.
Fund Withdrawals
CDOs are created by packaging assets including bonds and loans and using their income to pay investors. The securities are divided into different portions of varying risk and can offer higher returns than the debt on which they are based.
As the securities dropped in value, the funds' creditors demanded more collateral. Bear Stearns extended $1.6 billion in credit to one of the funds before seizing its assets in July. Both funds filed for bankruptcy protection two weeks after the firm told investors they would get little if any money back.
Cioffi left the firm in December amid government inquiries. Prosecutors and the SEC were examining whether he withdrew money from two funds before their collapse, three people with knowledge of the matter said at the time.
Since the failure of the two hedge funds in July, investors and government entities have said banks and financial companies such as Bear Stearns knew their underlying investments weren't worth what they were telling shareholders.
Barclays Plc, an investor in one of the funds, sued the New York-based bank last year in Manhattan federal court. London- based Barclays claimed it was misled about the health of the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Master Fund Ltd.
Countrywide, American Home
That fund, together with the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Master Fund Ltd., held as much as $20 billion at one time, according to the Barclay's complaint.
The credit crunch led to lawsuits against other lenders including Countrywide Financial Corp., American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Investors have claimed that former officers of Melville, New York-based American Home concealed the increasing number of high-risk mortgages issued before that company's bankruptcy in August, according to court papers filed in Central Islip, New York, federal court. They also sued seven underwriters, including Citigroup and JPMorgan, claiming they were negligent in handling American Home's stock offerings.
Bear Stearns agreed to sell itself to New York-based JPMorgan in March after a run by clients and lenders threatened it with bankruptcy. The collapse ranked along with Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. as one of the biggest in Wall Street history.
Cayman Islands
The funds tried to liquidate in the Cayman Islands before a U.S. judge held that New York was a more appropriate jurisdiction, ruling they can't shield their U.S. assets from lawsuits.
Bear Stearns, Cioffi and Tannin are named as defendants in the Barclays lawsuit. The British bank accused Cioffi of withdrawing his personal $2 million investment in the fund in March 2007, at the same time Bear Stearns persuaded Barclays to double its investment by hiding performance problems that were revealed later, according to the complaint.
Barclays said it lost ``hundreds of millions of dollars.''
Cioffi, Tannin and others at Bear Stearns hid the fund's true performance, reporting it as ``positive'' or ``slightly negative'' when it had diminished by as much as 38 percent, according to court papers. Internally the two men discussed the ``wipe out'' of the fund, according to the complaint.
Tannin had direct contact with Barclays about the investment, the bank said in the complaint.
`Working Beautifully'
``You will be happy to know that we are having our best month ever this February,'' Tannin wrote in an e-mail to Barclays risk manager Angus McIsaac last year, according to court documents. ``Our hedges are working beautifully. We were up 1.6 percent in January and are up 2 percent so far in February.''
Bear Stearns deceived Barclays from March 2006 until at least mid-June 2007, Barclays said in its amended complaint.
Indictments against Cioffi and Tannin may be just the start of a U.S. probe of the credit crisis, Frenkel said.
``We're likely to see cases from the top all the way down to the mortgage brokers,'' he said.
``It was a very high-profile failure,'' Christopher Clark, a securities law attorney Dewey & LeBoeuf, said of the collapse of Bear Stearns. ``There's always going to be scrutiny after a well-publicized failure.''
The bankruptcy cases in the U.S. are Bear Stearns High- Grade Structured Credit Strategies Master Fund Ltd., 07-12383, and Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Master Fund Ltd., 07-12384, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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Lehman Reduced Mortgage Assets 20% in Second Quarter
Lehman Reduced Mortgage Assets 20% in Second Quarter
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. securities firm, reduced its mortgage holdings in the second quarter by 20 percent to curb further losses from the credit-market collapse.
Lehman rose in New York trading after reporting a loss of $2.8 billion, or $5.14 per share, in line with preliminary figures the company released last week, the New York-based firm said today in a statement. Leveraged buyout loans were cut 37 percent to $18 billion.
``We have begun to take the necessary steps to restore the credibility of our great franchise and ensure that this quarter's unacceptable performance is not repeated,'' Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld said in the statement. The loss was Lehman's first since it was spun off from American Express Co. in 1994.
Lehman has lost more than 60 percent of its value on the New York Stock Exchange this year amid speculation mortgage-related writedowns will continue to depress earnings. After disclosing the wider-than-estimated second-quarter loss last week, the firm replaced its president and finance chief. Fuld, the longest- serving chief executive officer on Wall Street, is trying to convince investors Lehman can weather the credit contraction.
The firm shed $147 billion of assets during the quarter, more than the $130 billion it estimated last week. Net assets declined by $70 billion, the bank said today.
Mortgage Assets
Its mortgage-backed holdings dropped to $64.7 billion from $80.8 billion in the first quarter. Residential mortgages and related securities dropped 22 percent to $24.9 billion. Commercial mortgages and related bonds declined 19 percent to $29.4 billion. Real estate holdings fell 19 percent to $10.4 billion.
Shares of the company rose 12 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $25.93 in composite trading at 9:37 a.m.
Writedowns wiped out revenue for the firm, which said fixed- income revenue was a negative $3 billion. Equity trading dropped 65 percent to $601 million due to writedowns on private-equity stakes. Investment-banking revenue fell 25 percent to $858 million, and asset management rose 10 percent to $848 million.
Compensation costs declined 14 percent to $2.33 billion in the quarter from a year earlier. Severance pay of $140 million was included in compensation costs, the firm said. Lehman has announced some 4,000 job cuts this year. Lehman's headcount fell by almost 2,000 in the second quarter to 26,189, according to figures released today.
BlackRock, Greenberg
BlackRock Inc., the largest publicly traded fund manager in the U.S., and Maurice ``Hank'' Greenberg, the former CEO of American International Group Inc., the world's biggest insurer, bought stakes in Lehman earlier this month and said they remain optimistic about its businesses. Putnam Investments LLC, the mutual fund firm that oversees about $173 billion, invoked the ``strong franchise'' Fuld has built in his four-decade career.
Fuld, 62, stunned Wall Street on June 12 by replacing Chief Financial Officer Erin Callan and President Joseph Gregory in an effort to reassure investors amid speculation that mortgage- market losses will continue to drag down earnings. The demotions capped a 42 percent drop in Lehman's shares on the heels of a $6 billion cash infusion. Fuld snapped a four-day losing streak Friday, when the stock gained 14 percent in New York trading, the biggest rise since April 1.
ΒLOOMBERG
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. securities firm, reduced its mortgage holdings in the second quarter by 20 percent to curb further losses from the credit-market collapse.
Lehman rose in New York trading after reporting a loss of $2.8 billion, or $5.14 per share, in line with preliminary figures the company released last week, the New York-based firm said today in a statement. Leveraged buyout loans were cut 37 percent to $18 billion.
``We have begun to take the necessary steps to restore the credibility of our great franchise and ensure that this quarter's unacceptable performance is not repeated,'' Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld said in the statement. The loss was Lehman's first since it was spun off from American Express Co. in 1994.
Lehman has lost more than 60 percent of its value on the New York Stock Exchange this year amid speculation mortgage-related writedowns will continue to depress earnings. After disclosing the wider-than-estimated second-quarter loss last week, the firm replaced its president and finance chief. Fuld, the longest- serving chief executive officer on Wall Street, is trying to convince investors Lehman can weather the credit contraction.
The firm shed $147 billion of assets during the quarter, more than the $130 billion it estimated last week. Net assets declined by $70 billion, the bank said today.
Mortgage Assets
Its mortgage-backed holdings dropped to $64.7 billion from $80.8 billion in the first quarter. Residential mortgages and related securities dropped 22 percent to $24.9 billion. Commercial mortgages and related bonds declined 19 percent to $29.4 billion. Real estate holdings fell 19 percent to $10.4 billion.
Shares of the company rose 12 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $25.93 in composite trading at 9:37 a.m.
Writedowns wiped out revenue for the firm, which said fixed- income revenue was a negative $3 billion. Equity trading dropped 65 percent to $601 million due to writedowns on private-equity stakes. Investment-banking revenue fell 25 percent to $858 million, and asset management rose 10 percent to $848 million.
Compensation costs declined 14 percent to $2.33 billion in the quarter from a year earlier. Severance pay of $140 million was included in compensation costs, the firm said. Lehman has announced some 4,000 job cuts this year. Lehman's headcount fell by almost 2,000 in the second quarter to 26,189, according to figures released today.
BlackRock, Greenberg
BlackRock Inc., the largest publicly traded fund manager in the U.S., and Maurice ``Hank'' Greenberg, the former CEO of American International Group Inc., the world's biggest insurer, bought stakes in Lehman earlier this month and said they remain optimistic about its businesses. Putnam Investments LLC, the mutual fund firm that oversees about $173 billion, invoked the ``strong franchise'' Fuld has built in his four-decade career.
Fuld, 62, stunned Wall Street on June 12 by replacing Chief Financial Officer Erin Callan and President Joseph Gregory in an effort to reassure investors amid speculation that mortgage- market losses will continue to drag down earnings. The demotions capped a 42 percent drop in Lehman's shares on the heels of a $6 billion cash infusion. Fuld snapped a four-day losing streak Friday, when the stock gained 14 percent in New York trading, the biggest rise since April 1.
ΒLOOMBERG
New York Fed June Manufacturing Index Falls to -8.7
New York Fed June Manufacturing Index Falls to -8.7
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Manufacturing in New York shrank in June at a faster pace than forecast, led by declines in orders and sales.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's general economic index dropped to minus 8.7 from minus 3.2 a month earlier, the bank said today. Readings less than zero signal contraction.
Manufacturers are limiting production and investments as the persistent housing slump, surge in raw-material costs and slowdown in consumer spending hurt profits. Export demand has been one of the few bright spots for factories, preventing an even bigger slump.
``Unfortunately, further declines are likely in the months ahead,'' said Steven Wood, president of Insight Economics LLC in Danville, California. ``Demand was moribund even with robust exports.''
Economists forecast the Empire State index would rise to minus 2 this month, according to the median of 51 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from minus 10 to 7. The New York Fed began its Empire State gauge in 2001.
The central bank's New York branch initially issued two sets of data, each with different readings. The correct figures were later confirmed on its Web site.
The measure of new orders declined to minus 5.5 from minus 0.5 and shipments dropped to minus 6.5 from 4.6. A gauge of unfilled orders decreased to minus 10.5 from minus 4.4.
The index of inventories improved to minus 2.3 from minus 6.5.
Costs Jump
The report showed raw-material costs continue to hamper business. The index of prices paid eased to 66.3 from a record 69.6. The gauge of prices received increased to 26.7, the highest since January 27.4, from 15.2.
Eastman Kodak Co. said May 31 it is raising prices on film and paper by as much as 20 percent to cover higher costs for silver, aluminum, plastics and resin.
The measure of employment improved to 1.2 from 1.1 in May.
Companies were more upbeat about their prospects. The index measuring the outlook for six months from now increased to 32.2, the highest this year, from 23.9 in May. Area factories were optimistic the slump in orders and sales wouldn't persist.
Today's report provides one of the month's earliest pictures of the state of manufacturing. New York's economy often is considered less vulnerable to some of the domestic issues that have been affecting factories, including the auto slump, and more exposed to exports and financial services.
The region's general economic index averaged 17.2 in 2007.
Fed's Survey
Manufacturers in the New York region ``report that business activity remained sluggish in May, while cost pressures have been increasingly widespread,'' the Fed said last week in its regional economic survey, known as the Beige Book. Nationwide, economic growth was ``generally weak.''
The Beige Book is part of a package of analysis and data central bank policy makers will use as they decide the direction of interest rates at their meeting June 24-25. Fed officials cut the benchmark interest rate 2.25 percentage points over the first four months of this year and futures traders project no change at this month's meeting.
The Philadelphia Fed is scheduled to release its regional report on manufacturing on June 19. Economists forecast that measure would improve to minus 10 this month from minus 15.6 in May.
The jump in commodity prices is a boon to some companies. Pall Corp., the East Hills, New York-based maker of oil filters for refineries and drugmakers, said June 9 that profit may be higher than its previous forecast.
BLOOMBERG
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Manufacturing in New York shrank in June at a faster pace than forecast, led by declines in orders and sales.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's general economic index dropped to minus 8.7 from minus 3.2 a month earlier, the bank said today. Readings less than zero signal contraction.
Manufacturers are limiting production and investments as the persistent housing slump, surge in raw-material costs and slowdown in consumer spending hurt profits. Export demand has been one of the few bright spots for factories, preventing an even bigger slump.
``Unfortunately, further declines are likely in the months ahead,'' said Steven Wood, president of Insight Economics LLC in Danville, California. ``Demand was moribund even with robust exports.''
Economists forecast the Empire State index would rise to minus 2 this month, according to the median of 51 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from minus 10 to 7. The New York Fed began its Empire State gauge in 2001.
The central bank's New York branch initially issued two sets of data, each with different readings. The correct figures were later confirmed on its Web site.
The measure of new orders declined to minus 5.5 from minus 0.5 and shipments dropped to minus 6.5 from 4.6. A gauge of unfilled orders decreased to minus 10.5 from minus 4.4.
The index of inventories improved to minus 2.3 from minus 6.5.
Costs Jump
The report showed raw-material costs continue to hamper business. The index of prices paid eased to 66.3 from a record 69.6. The gauge of prices received increased to 26.7, the highest since January 27.4, from 15.2.
Eastman Kodak Co. said May 31 it is raising prices on film and paper by as much as 20 percent to cover higher costs for silver, aluminum, plastics and resin.
The measure of employment improved to 1.2 from 1.1 in May.
Companies were more upbeat about their prospects. The index measuring the outlook for six months from now increased to 32.2, the highest this year, from 23.9 in May. Area factories were optimistic the slump in orders and sales wouldn't persist.
Today's report provides one of the month's earliest pictures of the state of manufacturing. New York's economy often is considered less vulnerable to some of the domestic issues that have been affecting factories, including the auto slump, and more exposed to exports and financial services.
The region's general economic index averaged 17.2 in 2007.
Fed's Survey
Manufacturers in the New York region ``report that business activity remained sluggish in May, while cost pressures have been increasingly widespread,'' the Fed said last week in its regional economic survey, known as the Beige Book. Nationwide, economic growth was ``generally weak.''
The Beige Book is part of a package of analysis and data central bank policy makers will use as they decide the direction of interest rates at their meeting June 24-25. Fed officials cut the benchmark interest rate 2.25 percentage points over the first four months of this year and futures traders project no change at this month's meeting.
The Philadelphia Fed is scheduled to release its regional report on manufacturing on June 19. Economists forecast that measure would improve to minus 10 this month from minus 15.6 in May.
The jump in commodity prices is a boon to some companies. Pall Corp., the East Hills, New York-based maker of oil filters for refineries and drugmakers, said June 9 that profit may be higher than its previous forecast.
BLOOMBERG
Crude Oil Rises to Record $139.89 as Dollar Drops Against Euro
Crude Oil Rises to Record $139.89 as Dollar Drops Against Euro
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record $139.89 a barrel in New York as a weaker dollar bolstered the appeal of commodities as a hedge, and a fire cut North Sea output.
The U.S. currency fell as much as 0.8 percent against the euro, making commodity purchases cheaper to foreign investors. StatoilHydro ASA's 150,000 barrel-a-day Oseberg oil and gas field off the Norwegian coast was shut after a fire broke out in a high-voltage room on a platform yesterday.
``When there is any sign of dollar weakness, the money runs to safe harbors such as oil,'' said Rick Mueller, director of oil practice at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. ``The fire at Oseberg, which is a very important field, is getting an outsized reaction because the market is so nervous.''
Crude oil for July delivery rose $4.10, or 3 percent, to $138.96 a barrel at 9:06 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached the previous record of $139.12 a barrel on June 6.
Brent crude oil for August settlement climbed $3.40, or 2.5 percent, to $138.51 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices climbed to a record $139.32 today.
BLOOMBERG
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record $139.89 a barrel in New York as a weaker dollar bolstered the appeal of commodities as a hedge, and a fire cut North Sea output.
The U.S. currency fell as much as 0.8 percent against the euro, making commodity purchases cheaper to foreign investors. StatoilHydro ASA's 150,000 barrel-a-day Oseberg oil and gas field off the Norwegian coast was shut after a fire broke out in a high-voltage room on a platform yesterday.
``When there is any sign of dollar weakness, the money runs to safe harbors such as oil,'' said Rick Mueller, director of oil practice at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. ``The fire at Oseberg, which is a very important field, is getting an outsized reaction because the market is so nervous.''
Crude oil for July delivery rose $4.10, or 3 percent, to $138.96 a barrel at 9:06 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached the previous record of $139.12 a barrel on June 6.
Brent crude oil for August settlement climbed $3.40, or 2.5 percent, to $138.51 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices climbed to a record $139.32 today.
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Πετρέλαιο: Αύξηση 697% σε επτά χρόνια
Πετρέλαιο: Αύξηση 697% σε επτά χρόνια
ΤΟ ΡΑΛΙ που απογείωσε τις τιμές του πετρελαίου στο υψηλό ρεκόρ των 139,12 δολαρίων το βαρέλι την προηγούμενη εβδομάδα, ξεπέρασε τα κέρδη των μετοχών του Διαδικτύου που προηγήθηκε από το «σκάσιμο» της τεχνολογικής «φούσκας» το 2000, από κερδοσκοπική μανία.
Οι τιμές του αργού αυξήθηκαν κατά 697% από την τιμή διαπραγμάτευσης των 17,45 δολαρίων το βαρέλι στο χρηματιστήριο της Ν. Υόρκης (NYMEX) το Νοέμβριο του 2001 και κατέρριψαν 28 υψηλά ρεκόρ το τρέχον έτος. Η τελευταία φορά ενός ανάλογου φαινομένου στις μετοχές ήταν πριν από οκτώ χρόνια, όταν οι μετοχές του τεχνολογικού τομέα κυρίως εταιρειών του Διαδικτύου, οδήγησαν το Nasdaq [.IXIC] υψηλότερα κατά 640%, στο ανώτερο επίπεδο στην ιστορία του, σύμφωνα με στοιχεία του Bloomberg και της Bespoke Investment Group LLC.
O Nasdaq υποχώρησε κατά 78% από το υψηλό του Μαρτίου 2000, χάνοντας περίπου 6 τρισ. δολάρια της χρηματιστηριακής αξίας του, καθώς οι επενδυτές συμπέραναν ότι οι τιμές δεν υποστηρίχθηκαν από τα κέρδη των εταιρειών. Ο δισεκατομμυριούχος επενδυτής Τζορτζ Σόρος και ο Στέφεν Σορκ, πρόεδρος της Schork Group Inc. δηλώνουν ότι οι τιμές του πετρελαίου είναι έτοιμες να υποχωρήσουν διότι η άνοδος δεν βασίζεται στα θεμελιώδη προσφοράς και ζήτησης.
Σε πτωτική τροχιά πάνω από τα 134 δολάρια το βαρέλι κινήθηκαν ενδοσυνεδριακά χθες οι τιμές του αργού στις διεθνείς αγορές εμπορευμάτων, καθώς ο υπουργός Ενέργειας της Σαουδικής Αραβίας, Αλί αλ Ναϊμι εμφανίστηκε σίγουρος ότι μια διάσκεψη κορυφής αυτό το μήνα θα βρει λύση για τις «αδικαιολόγητες» τιμές- ρεκόρ. Στην αποκλιμάκωση των τιμών του αργού συνέβαλε και η ενίσχυση δολαρίου έναντι του ευρώ ενώ για πρόταση της Σ. Αραβίας για σημαντική αύξηση της παραγωγής κάνει λόγο οικονομική επιθεώρηση της Μ. Ανατολής.
Ο ΟΠΕΚ προέβη, παράλληλα, σε αναθεώρηση προς τα κάτω των εκτιμήσεών του για την παγκόσμια ζήτηση φέτος. «Η παγκόσμια ζήτηση θα αυξηθεί φέτος κατά 1,1 εκατομμύρια βαρέλια ημερησίως στα 86,9 εκατομμύρια βαρέλια κατά μέσον όρο το 2008, δηλαδή 60.000 βαρέλια την ημέρα λιγότερα εκτιμήσεων του Μαΐου, αναφέρεται στην έκθεση του Ιουνίου.
Εν τω μεταξύ το βασίλειο θα ξεκινήσει άντληση 500.000 βαρελιών από τη νέα πετρελαιοπηγή στο Khursaniyah μέσα στον επόμενο μήνα, επεσήμανε μέλος του δ.σ. της εταιρείας Saudi Aramco. Η Σαουδική Αραβία έχει προσκαλέσει στη συνάντηση και τις ΗΠΑ, Κίνα, Γερμανία, Ινδία και Ιαπωνία.
NAFTEMPORIKI
ΤΟ ΡΑΛΙ που απογείωσε τις τιμές του πετρελαίου στο υψηλό ρεκόρ των 139,12 δολαρίων το βαρέλι την προηγούμενη εβδομάδα, ξεπέρασε τα κέρδη των μετοχών του Διαδικτύου που προηγήθηκε από το «σκάσιμο» της τεχνολογικής «φούσκας» το 2000, από κερδοσκοπική μανία.
Οι τιμές του αργού αυξήθηκαν κατά 697% από την τιμή διαπραγμάτευσης των 17,45 δολαρίων το βαρέλι στο χρηματιστήριο της Ν. Υόρκης (NYMEX) το Νοέμβριο του 2001 και κατέρριψαν 28 υψηλά ρεκόρ το τρέχον έτος. Η τελευταία φορά ενός ανάλογου φαινομένου στις μετοχές ήταν πριν από οκτώ χρόνια, όταν οι μετοχές του τεχνολογικού τομέα κυρίως εταιρειών του Διαδικτύου, οδήγησαν το Nasdaq [.IXIC] υψηλότερα κατά 640%, στο ανώτερο επίπεδο στην ιστορία του, σύμφωνα με στοιχεία του Bloomberg και της Bespoke Investment Group LLC.
O Nasdaq υποχώρησε κατά 78% από το υψηλό του Μαρτίου 2000, χάνοντας περίπου 6 τρισ. δολάρια της χρηματιστηριακής αξίας του, καθώς οι επενδυτές συμπέραναν ότι οι τιμές δεν υποστηρίχθηκαν από τα κέρδη των εταιρειών. Ο δισεκατομμυριούχος επενδυτής Τζορτζ Σόρος και ο Στέφεν Σορκ, πρόεδρος της Schork Group Inc. δηλώνουν ότι οι τιμές του πετρελαίου είναι έτοιμες να υποχωρήσουν διότι η άνοδος δεν βασίζεται στα θεμελιώδη προσφοράς και ζήτησης.
Σε πτωτική τροχιά πάνω από τα 134 δολάρια το βαρέλι κινήθηκαν ενδοσυνεδριακά χθες οι τιμές του αργού στις διεθνείς αγορές εμπορευμάτων, καθώς ο υπουργός Ενέργειας της Σαουδικής Αραβίας, Αλί αλ Ναϊμι εμφανίστηκε σίγουρος ότι μια διάσκεψη κορυφής αυτό το μήνα θα βρει λύση για τις «αδικαιολόγητες» τιμές- ρεκόρ. Στην αποκλιμάκωση των τιμών του αργού συνέβαλε και η ενίσχυση δολαρίου έναντι του ευρώ ενώ για πρόταση της Σ. Αραβίας για σημαντική αύξηση της παραγωγής κάνει λόγο οικονομική επιθεώρηση της Μ. Ανατολής.
Ο ΟΠΕΚ προέβη, παράλληλα, σε αναθεώρηση προς τα κάτω των εκτιμήσεών του για την παγκόσμια ζήτηση φέτος. «Η παγκόσμια ζήτηση θα αυξηθεί φέτος κατά 1,1 εκατομμύρια βαρέλια ημερησίως στα 86,9 εκατομμύρια βαρέλια κατά μέσον όρο το 2008, δηλαδή 60.000 βαρέλια την ημέρα λιγότερα εκτιμήσεων του Μαΐου, αναφέρεται στην έκθεση του Ιουνίου.
Εν τω μεταξύ το βασίλειο θα ξεκινήσει άντληση 500.000 βαρελιών από τη νέα πετρελαιοπηγή στο Khursaniyah μέσα στον επόμενο μήνα, επεσήμανε μέλος του δ.σ. της εταιρείας Saudi Aramco. Η Σαουδική Αραβία έχει προσκαλέσει στη συνάντηση και τις ΗΠΑ, Κίνα, Γερμανία, Ινδία και Ιαπωνία.
NAFTEMPORIKI
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