Business leaders from across Missouri today urged lawmakers to pass in its entirety the bundle of economic development incentives they’ll take up in a special session starting next week fast cash now.
Top officials from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the state’s three biggest regional chambers and its biggest labor group said the so-called
Asian stock markets rose Monday after Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s prediction that the U.S. economy will eventually return to full health fueled gains on Wall Street.
Oil prices lingered above $85 a barrel in Asia after Hurricane Irene did little damage to refineries along the U.S. East Coast. The dollar was higher against the yen but lower against the euro.
Market optimism was fueled after a highly anticipated speech by Bernanke at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While he announced no new economic stimulus measures _ as some investors had hoped _ he did leave open the possibility of more action if another recession looks likely. He also emphasized the strengths of the U.S. economy and said the job market will recover in the long run.
“People came to realize that Bernanke is very confident about the economy,” said Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong. “People were reluctant to get into the market. Now they are jumping back in.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.6 percent to 8,846.32. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.9 percent to 4,277.70 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.5 percent to 19,879.51.
Hong Kong-listed Sinopec, Asia’s largest refiner by capacity, jumped 5.7 percent after announcing that first-half profit rose 12 percent as higher oil, gas and chemicals revenues helped offset a loss in its refining business. The results for the company, also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., were better than analysts had forecast.
South Korea’s Kopsi index jumped 2.8 percent to 1,829.09. Leading shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. soared 8.4 percent. Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, jumped 7.5 percent on brighter chip price forecasts, Yonhap News agency said. Refinery SK Innovation rose 6.5 percent.
Gold-related shares rose after prices of the precious metal rebounded Friday after a volatile week instant payday loans. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest gold miner, rose 2.1 percent. Hong Kong-listed Zijin, China’s top gold miner, was 1.7 percent higher. Hong Kong jewelry chain Chow Sang Sang Holdings gained 6.4 percent.
Other Australian metals shares rose on the back of higher commodities prices. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, rose 1.7 percent. Rio Tinto Ltd. gained 2.4 percent.
Mainland Chinese shares dipped, however, amid reports that the central bank is considering further increases to banks’ required reserves. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5 percent to 1,163.99 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index was 1.1 percent down to 2,584.40.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.2 percent to close at 11,284.54. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.5 percent to 1,176.80. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 2.5 percent to 2,479.85.
The Fed has said it plans to keep short-term interest rates low until mid-2013. Low rates on investments like bonds make higher-risk bets such as stocks more attractive.
The U.S. economy is still hobbled by a depressed housing market, high oil prices and fears that the European debt crisis will deteriorate into a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.
Benchmark oil for October delivery was up 18 cents to $85.55 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose 7 cents to settle at $85.37 on Friday.
In London, Brent crude for October delivery was down 33 cents at $111.10 on the ICE Futures exchange.
In currencies, the euro was up at $1.4497 from $1.4484 in late trading in New York. The dollar rose to 76.73 yen from 76.66 yen.
Argentina will raise its minimum wage by 25 percent to keep pace with inflation.
The minimum wage in Argentina is already among the highest in Latin America. The latest increase raises it to $2,300 pesos, or about $550 a month.
Private analysts say that Argentina also has one of the highest inflation rates in Latin America, along with Venezuela. They say official government numbers vastly underestimate consumer price increases.
Unions had wanted a 41 percent increase in the minimum wage, while business groups started the bargaining at 18 percent. President Cristina Fernandez praised both union and business leaders late Friday night for reaching an agreement.
Isle of Capri Corp. said Mississippi River flooding that disrupted operations at its riverside casinos contributed to a first-quarter loss of $2.3 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.7 million, or 8 cents per share in the corresponding period of last year.
The Creve Coeur-based gambling operator said quarterly revenue fell to $245.8 million from $251 no fax cash advance.9 last year. Flooding caused Isle of Capri casinos on the Mississippi to close from six to 41 days during the quarter. Regardless, work is proceeding on the company’s Cape Girardeau, Mo., casino, which is scheduled to open late next year.
President Hugo Chavez signed a decree on Tuesday formalizing the nationalization of Venezuela’s gold mining industry, a move aimed at giving the government total control over gold produced in the South American country.
Speaking during a televised speech, Chavez also announced the repatriation of $11 billion in Venezuelan gold reserves currently held in U.S. and European banks would begin within several weeks.
Chavez did not offer details how the new decree differs from a 1965 law that nationalized gold mining. In 1977, the government granted itself exclusive rights to extract gold. But he suggested it would give authorities increased powers to evict wildcat miners from illegal mines.
The president said that officials have contacted representatives of the company Rusoro Mining Ltd., the one private company with significant mining operations in Venezuela, to continue joint gold mining operations.
Rusoro produces gold both at an open-pit mine and an underground mine that is a joint venture with the government. The company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, has said it has had no indication from the government “of any changes to the company’s operations.”
In February, the government canceled the gold mining concession of a Canadian company, Crystallex International Corp.
In addition to repatriating gold reserves, the president of Venezuela’s Central Bank has said the government plans to move other international assets to buffer the country against economic woes in the United States and European countries payday loan online.
Some analysts have said moving Venezuela’s reserves will make investors see the country as riskier.
The government is looking at the possibility of transferring its non-gold reserves to banks in China, Russia, Brazil and other nations in Asia and Latin America, according to a recent report by Finance Minister Jorge Giordani that was leaked to the local news media.
The report said that about $3.7 billion of those bank reserves are at the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements. It said Britain-based Barclays Bank has about $1.1 billion and smaller amounts are held at France’s BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, the U.S. Federal Reserve and World Bank.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of transferring Venezuela’s non-gold reserves to Russian banks.
“It’s an issue that our government is considering,” Maduro said.
Popular U.S. retailer J. Crew opened its first store in Canada to long line-ups and immediate controversy over its pricing strategy.
Like many other U.S. retailers, the preppy fashion chain is charging higher prices in Canada than in the U.S., on average 15 per cent more before taxes.
The move has annoyed some of its Canadian customers, who believe Canadian prices should be on par with the U.S., given the currencies are roughly equivalent.
J. Crew has responded to customers with a letter signed by President Jenna Lyons that said the retailer is taking the concerns very seriously.
The housing market’s long-awaited recovery waited another month in July.
Sales of previously owned houses in metro St. Louis fell 18 percent compared to June, and were 9 percent of May’s pace, an unusually steep slip for a normally busy month, one reflecting a mix of tight credit, hot weather and a fresh round of economic worry. Prices fell, too, across most of the region.
The news wasn’t all bad, though, as sales soared 16 percent compared to the same month last year
Wells Fargo plans to test a $3 monthly fee for debit cards starting this fall.
The San Francisco-based bank said the fee will be applied to checking accounts opened in certain states starting in October. The fee would be on top of the monthly service fees that Wells Fargo already charges for checking accounts.
Wells Fargo also announced earlier this year that it will end its debit rewards program.
Banks are experimenting with fees and scaling back perks in response to a new regulation that’s expected to sharply reduce their revenue. Starting this fall, a new cap will limit how much banks can collect from merchants whenever customers swipe their debit cards.
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