US stocks tumble as dollar gains amid rate concerns |
- US stocks tumble as dollar gains amid rate concerns
- Israel foreign minister dismisses Palestinian threat over behead remark
- Penang Opt-To-Adopt a dog event meant for non-Muslims, organiser says
- Will the Apple Watch help work productivity? (VIDEO)
- Asian stocks track US slump after dollar gains amid rate concerns
- Bloomberg Video: Will the Apple Watch help work productivity?
| US stocks tumble as dollar gains amid rate concerns Posted: 10 Mar 2015 05:52 PM PDT
Intel Corp and Cisco Systems Inc. lost at least 2.4 per cent as technology companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index led declines. United Technologies Corp, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Home Depot Inc. dropped more than 1.8 per cent to pace losses among the biggest companies. The S&P 500 retreated 1.7 per cent to 2,044.16 at the close in New York, falling below its average price for the past 50 days for the first time since February 9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 332.78 points, or 1.9 per cent, to 17,662.94. Both indexes erased gains for the year. The Nasdaq 100 Index fell 1.9 per cent. About 7.1 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, 2.8 per cent above the three-month average. "A continuation of dollar strength and euro destruction is certainly raising some concerns," Michael James, a Los Angeles— based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said in a phone interview. "I don't think there was any one specific event or item that caused this, but the fact that it's a trend that's been going on for the last several weeks is concerning given the levels we're at now." Concern the Fed may start raising interest rates this year amid a strengthening economy has weighed on equities and helped boost the dollar. In his last speech as president of the Fed Bank of Dallas, Richard Fisher said the central bank should begin to gradually raise rates before the economy reaches full employment to avoid triggering a recession. Dollar strength The S&P 500 fell 1.6 per cent last week, the most since January, as data showed the jobless rate reached the central bank's range for what it considers full employment. Policy makers next meet on March 17-18. The Fed stands out among major central banks in accepting a higher exchange rate as a sign of economic strength. Peers from Sydney to Tokyo, Zurich and Frankfurt are cutting rates and buying government bonds to stimulate growth, in the process, sometimes weakening their currencies. The dollar has rallied this year versus 14 of 16 major currencies, including the yen, pound, euro and Brazilian real. "The dollar's going up so much so fast you wonder what it does to US economic growth down the road, to profitability," Jim Paulsen, the Minneapolis-based chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, which oversees US$338 billion (RM1.2 trillion), said by telephone. Broad declines The S&P 500 has entered the seventh year of a bull market, pushing valuations near a five-year high. The index has more than tripled from its bear-market low on March 9, 2009, buoyed by three rounds of Federal Reserve bond-buying and low interest rates. Yesterday's drop was broad-based as all of the S&P 500's 10 main groups retreated, and four out of five stocks fell. All but three of the 24 developed-nation indexes declined while the MSCI All-Country World Index sank 1.7 per cent, the most in two months. Technology, financial and industrial companies paced declines in the US, down at least 1.8 per cent, with financials falling the most since April. Apple Inc. slid 2.1 per cent. The company dropped 0.4 per cent yesterday after presenting new products and services at an event in San Francisco, including a smartwatch. Micron Technology Inc. and Intel fell more than 3.1 per cent, while hard-disk maker Seagate Technology Plc lost 4.5 per cent to its lowest since October. Semiconductor companies in the S&P 500 have lost 6.3 per cent since March 2, and reached their lowest level in a month. Banks drop Banks and insurers dropped at least 2.5 per cent as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield retreated the most in two weeks. Wells Fargo & Co slipped 2.5 per cent, Citigroup Inc. lost 3.3 per cent and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. fell 2 per cent. MetLife Inc., the largest US life insurer, has been pressured by low bond yields, which limit investment income on a portfolio valued at more than US$500 billion, mostly in fixed— income holdings, Chief Executive Officer Steve Kandarian said in a conference call last month. United Technologies sank 3.6 per cent, the most since 2011, and 3M Co dropped 2.5 per cent as industrial companies in the benchmark index lost 1.8 per cent. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumped 11 per cent to 16.69. The gauge, know as the VIX, rose 14 per cent last week, its biggest jump in five weeks. US lagging The S&P 500 is down 0.7 per cent for the year, after rallying 11 per cent in 2014 and 30 per cent in 2013. The equity benchmark trails all but one of 24 developed markets in 2015, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Dollar General Corp and Oracle Corp are among the final companies to post quarterly results over the next week as the earnings season comes to a close. Around 74 per cent of companies that have already reported beat profit projections, while 56 per cent topped sales estimates. Analysts predict profit at S&P 500 companies will drop 5.1 per cent in the current quarter after a 4.4 per cent increase in the final three months of 2014, data compiled by Bloomberg show. — Bloomberg  |
| Israel foreign minister dismisses Palestinian threat over behead remark Posted: 10 Mar 2015 05:52 PM PDT
"I saw the Palestinian Authority will go to the International Criminal Court in Haag over my remarks that we must act forcefully against our enemies and those who act against the State of Israel," he wrote on Facebook. The ICC is based in The Hague in the Netherlands. "They will get an answer to that from me as defence minister," he said, reflecting his aspirations for the powerful post after the March 17 general election. Lieberman on Sunday attended an elections panel at a college, with media reports quoting him as saying of Israeli Arabs that "those who are with us should get everything." However "those who are against us... one must take an axe and chop their heads off, otherwise we won't survive here." Lieberman has for years called for the revocation of citizenship of Arab citizens not sufficiently "loyal" to Israel and its symbols. During the current election campaign he also said that imposing the death penalty for "terrorists" would be a prerequisite to his joining a coalition. The Palestinian Authority in a statement denounced his "barbarism" and demanded his arrest and prosecution before the ICC. The Palestinians will be eligible to file complaints to the ICC from April 1. Lieberman yesterday also denounced remarks by a spokesman of the Arab Joint List, in which he compared the Islamic State group and the Zionist movement. "Where did IS learn these crimes? Look what the Zionist movement did in 1948. Rapes, pillaging, murders, massacres, committed here in these parts as well," Raja Zaatry said at an elections discussion at a university in central Israel. Lieberman said he would act to revoke Zaatry's citizenship "after the elections." Polls predict Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu will win no more than five seats in the 120-member parliament, which would make it difficult for him to receive a significant ministerial position, were he to join a coalition. — AFP |
| Penang Opt-To-Adopt a dog event meant for non-Muslims, organiser says Posted: 10 Mar 2015 05:46 PM PDT
The event, jointly organised by Han Chiang College, Save Our Strays and Penang Times Square, courted controversy after a picture of a tudung-clad Muslim woman holding a puppy at the event went viral on social media, attracting criticism from several Muslim groups. In response, Han Chiang College Chief Executive Dr Chow Yong Neng said in a statement that the event was organised by Han Chiang event management students who are all non-Muslims. He stressed that the event, held in a public area at the mall in George Town between March 4 and 8, was to encourage non-Muslims to adopt strays as a way to reduce their numbers on the streets. He added that the event was part of a co-curriculum activity for the non-Muslim students and that they are aware of the repercussions when organising such an activity. "We can confirm that we do not know the woman in the controversial picture and she is not one of our students," he said. The event also resulted in 10 dogs being adopted by non-Muslims, he said. The controversial picture was shared on social media yesterday and quickly became viral. Penang Umno Youth chief Rafizal Abd Rahim likened the event to the controversial "I Want to Touch A Dog" event in Kuala Lumpur last year, and subsequently called on the Penang religious affairs department (JAIPP) to take action against the organisers. When contacted, state religious affairs committee chairman Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said JAIPP will not take action against the organiser or the person seen carrying the dog. "Islam is universal and it preaches love to not only mankind but to all including animals, environment and everything," he said. He pointed out that Islam is clear with this guideline as a complete way of life and that in the Quran, it is known as Islam Rahmatan Lil'Alamin. The controversial "I Want to Touch a Dog" event organised by young activist Syed Azmi Alhabshi was held at the Central Park in Bandar Utama, Selangor, in October last year and drew nearly 200 volunteers and dog owners. Many Malay Muslims showed up and participated in the non-profit activity, using it as a chance to get up close to pet the pooches, an animal regarded as culturally taboo. However, the activity drew widespread backlash from conservative Muslims who argued that touching dogs is clearly prohibited in Islam as the animal is considered unclean and comparable to excrement, but many more progressive ones rose up to defend Syed Azmi. Some Islamic religious scholars including former Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin counter-argued that if touching a dog is "haram" due to the comparison to excrement, Muslim veterinarians, toilet cleaners and parents too should be deemed "haram" for coming in contact with faeces while working on cleaning up their charges. Following pressure from hardline Muslims, Syed Azmi issued a public apology soon after. |
| Will the Apple Watch help work productivity? (VIDEO) Posted: 10 Mar 2015 05:41 PM PDT NEW YORK, March 11 — Salesforce Senior Vice President Daniel Debow and Invoice2Go CEO Greg Waldorf discuss the impact of Apple Watch on the workplace. They speak on "Bloomberg West." — Bloomberg
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| Asian stocks track US slump after dollar gains amid rate concerns Posted: 10 Mar 2015 05:34 PM PDT
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated 0.4 per cent to 142.17 as of 9:02 am in Tokyo, with materials companies leading declines as all 10 industry groups fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 1.7 per cent yesterday, the biggest drop in two months, as the dollar surged to near a 12-year high versus the euro. China releases data from retail sales to factory output today. "Rates are moving soon," said Evan Lucas, Melbourne-based market strategist at IG Ltd, a provider of trading services in equities, currencies and commodities. "The jobs report on Friday has awoken the currency markets to this fact and the equity market is now feeling the early effects of what to come." Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said the central bank should begin to raise rates as the labor market improves. While policy makers from Sydney to Frankfurt are moving toward looser monetary policy, the Fed stands out in accepting a higher exchange rate as a sign of economic strength. Friday's jobs report showed US employers added 295,000 workers last month, beating the median prediction in a Bloomberg survey of economists, while the jobless rate fell to the lowest in almost seven years, to within the range the Fed considers full employment. Regional markets Japan's Topix index dropped 0.5 per cent, heading for a third straight day of losses since the US employment report. South Korea's Kospi index retreated 0.7 per cent. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index declined 0.5 per cent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.1 per cent. Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Christopher Kent said the nation's currency is still "relatively high" given the economy's state even after the recent lowering of the exchange rate. He spoke in Hobart today. The economic data from China come a day after producer prices fell 4.8 per cent in February, extending a record run of declines to 36 months. While consumer prices beat estimates with a 1.4 per cent rise, it may be too early to conclude deflation risks have abated because last month's Lunar New Year holiday festivities boosted costs. The central bank cut interest rates for the second time in three months from March 1, after earlier reducing banks' reserve requirements. China's "fixed-asset investment, industrial production and retail sales are all expected to slide," said IG's Lucas. "If the US markets finally exit the six-year bull market and China does indeed slow faster than expected, Asian markets are in for a rude shock." — Bloomberg |
| Bloomberg Video: Will the Apple Watch help work productivity? Posted: 10 Mar 2015 05:32 PM PDT Duration: 4:52, Published 11 Mar 2015 Salesforce Senior Vice President Daniel Debow and Invoice2Go CEO Greg Waldorf discuss the impact of Apple Watch on the workplace. They speak on "Bloomberg West." — Bloomberg |
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