HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian indexes ended sharply lower Monday, with banking and automotive shares leading decliners as oil stayed near record highs and investors fretted the global economy could be headed into another round of credit market turmoil.
Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (JP:8306: news, chart, profile) (MTU:mitsubishi ufj finl group in sponsored adr
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MTU 10.28, -0.43, -4.0%) led the retreat in the banking sector amid concern of further credit market turmoil after the Wall Street Journal reported Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEH:Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc
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LEH 32.29, -1.56, -4.6%) is set to post a second-quarter loss of more than $2 billion, but is close to raising $5 billion in new capital. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ fell 3.5%
"We have seen a return of risk aversion late last week. To my mind, the reaction to the [U.S.] unemployment rate increase was way overdone, but the oil price increase was a nasty surprise due to geopolitical factors which won't go away soon," wrote Uwe Parpart, chief Asia strategist for Cantor Fitzgerald in Hong Kong, in a research note Monday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Average (JP:1804610: news, chart, profile) and the Topix index both closed 2.1% lower to 14,181.38 and 1,397.54 respectively.
India's Bombay Sensitive Index lead declines among regional market, plummeting 3.1% to 15,082.48.
South Korea's Kospi index shed 1.3%, Singapore's Straits Times index was off 2.2% and Taiwan's Weighted Price Index fell 1.8%.
Markets in Australia, China, Hong Kong and the Philippines were closed for public holidays.
The slump in Asia follows a punishing session for U.S. stocks Friday, as weak employment data and a surge in crude oil prices combined to lead the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst one-day decline in 15 months. Friday's U.S. labor report showed unemployment in May jumped to 5.5% from 5% in April.
In currencies, the yen was exchanged at 105.19 yen against the U.S. dollar, compared to 104.85 in New York late Friday.
In other regional action, New Zealand's NZX-50 gave up 1.4% and Malaysia's KLSE Composite shed 1.6%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite fell 0.9% and Thailand's SET Index fell 1.2%.
Light, sweet crude oil for July delivery fell as much as 76 cents to $137.78 a barrel in electronic trading, after climbing nearly $11 a barrel to close at $138.54 Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Friday's surge in oil prices was driven by heightened concerns that Israel may attack Iran, one of the world's biggest oil producers, and that a conflict could result in a blockade of the Straits of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's crude oil passes each day.
In the auto sector decliners included Toyota Motor Corp. (TM:toyota motor corp sp adr rep2com
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TM 102.64, -4.10, -3.8%) (JP:7203: news, chart, profile) and Nissan Motor Corp. (JP:7201: news, chart, profile) (NSANY:nissan motors sponsored adr
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NSANY 17.71, -0.94, -5.0%) , whose shares fell 2.9% and 3.4% respectively.
Shares of South Korean technology companies traded mixed, with Samsung Electronics (SSNGY:SSNGY
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SSNGY, , ) retreating 3.2%, while Hynix Semiconductor (HXSCL:hynix semiconductor inc spons gdr 144a
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HXSCL 30.58, 0.00, 0.0%) advanced 0.5%
Swimwear maker Goldwin Inc (JP:8111: news, chart, profile) saw its shares surge 21% after Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima set a world record in the men's 200-meter breast stroke in a weekend competition. Kitajima is under contract to the firm as a brand representative and was wearing one of its swimsuits when he set the record.
Shares of battery maker GS Yuasa Corp. (JP:6674: news, chart, profile) (JP:6674: news, chart, profile) jumped 10.8% as investors bet higher oil prices would spur consumer demand for alternative-fuel vehicles. The firm makes lithium-ion batteries for electric cars and hybrids under a joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors Corp (JP:7211: news, chart, profile) .
Mitsui & Co.'s (JP:8031: news, chart, profile) shares fell 0.6% after the Nikkei newspaper reported the firm and Australia's Challenger Financial Services Group will invest 5 billion yen ($47.5 million) each into a fund that will invest in electrical power-generating stations and other infrastructure in emerging-market economies.
Chris Oliver is MarketWatch's Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong.
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Comments: 62
All is going to be OK. First this news and then the important news
quote
The 2008 Bilderberg Meeting is now in full swing at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, Virginia, USA but you wouldn't know it from the media blackout of this event...
- JanPaul
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(62) - View Comments on this storyMore Asia Markets stories
6:40 AM 6/6/08 Hong Kong, Tokyo end higher and tally weekly gains
6:21 AM 6/5/08 Kuala Lumpur leads decline after fuel price hike
7:29 AM 6/4/08 Weaker yen lift Tokyo exports; region ends mixed
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10:05 AM 6/8/08 Average price of gas hits $4 a gallon
12:01 AM 6/8/08 Consumers battle recession, inflation
6:38 AM 6/6/08 Saudi Arabia plans royal treatment for heavy crude
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JesusIsLORD 3 hours ago Even (1 Up / 1 Dn)
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SentYupp folks, we're screwed here! I wish I had better short sale cost basis on my positions. Oh well!
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JesusIsLORD 3 hours ago +3 Votes (4 Up / 1 Dn)
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SentYou're right FDR. The PE is a joke too. Anyone ever notice how a seemingly "cheap" stock just gets more expensive? A-la LUCENT? Remember that little gem? I personally thought it was strange how a languishing AT*T would sell their crown jewel at such a time. Now we know. Cheap stocks get more expensive on the way down, because THERE'S NO STINKING EARNINGS!!!
RealityCheck 3 hours ago
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SentWhat's the correlation between your picture and you handle name?
JesusIsLORD 2 hours ago
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SentWell, Jesus is Lord of all. I refer you to : Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
I just used this image to take advantage of the red color and the visual. If you really knew me, you would understand better.
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ch1 1 hour ago +1 Vote (1 Up / 0 Dn)
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Sentehm.. not lord of *all* at all, i'd rather not see religious preferences displayed here, but maybe that's the atheist in me taking over again!
Chainsaw 1 hour ago
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Sentch1: On the other hand, as one who in fact does understand and submit to Luke 6:46, I also do join you in one aspect and cringe when I read certain things on these boards. The responsibility that one takes upon himself and the damage that he can unwittingly and inadvertently do to the cause of Christ by using His name inappropriately is rather frightening. I cease this discussion now and will not revisit it and I hope it will fade. I simply had to voice my great concern about how this Name is handled. For an atheist (and I once was a militant one myself), I thought you handled this with restraint.
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JesusIsLORD 3 hours ago +1 Vote (1 Up / 0 Dn)
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Sentnotice how MW doesn't comment about the other markets which are currently open? I should toggle over to BLOOMBERG to see the carnage.
AmericanPatriot 2 hours ago +2 Votes (2 Up / 0 Dn)
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SentFor some reason Bloomberg has substantial lag in reporting numbers on the foreign stock exchanges. Also their futures reporting is rather sketchy also with huge lags. One of the better futures sources (but which also has major lags) is:
http://www2.barchart.com/mktcom.asp?section=indices
CBOT used to have an excellent real-time futures market index up, but they took it down a few months ago. Does anyone have a real-time futures reporting link?
Bloomberg Futures (http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks/futures.html) is reporting the DJIA will open up 21 and BarChart is reporting the DJIA will open up 16 points in the morning. If the futures numbers hold, the DJIA will likely open up on Monday.
law 1 hour ago +1 Vote (1 Up / 0 Dn)
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Senti warch tradestation and barchart and get calls from pals on globex and using mann
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leftcoastfool 1 hour ago +2 Votes (2 Up / 0 Dn)
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SentHoly Cr@p! thinkorswim is showing the DOW futures up 40 and the eMini S+P 500 futures up 6.00! Is this just a "relief rally" because Iran wasn't bombed over the weekend? It's been a gradual rise overnight, so NOT characteristic of the PPT which usually comes in hard between 2 and 3 eastern (had that happened I would have attributed it to pending bad news about Lehman). So WHO's so Bullish on the markets? And WHY???
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robberbaron 3 hours ago +3 Votes (4 Up / 1 Dn)
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SentThank you, and great advice.
JesusIsLORD 2 hours ago
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Sentgreat stuff there! LOL
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AmericanPatriot 2 hours ago +2 Votes (2 Up / 0 Dn)
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SentThe Nikkei 225 closed today (Monday) at 14,181.38 which was down - 308.06.
The official real-time source for Nikkei reporting is the Nikkei Net Interactive - Market Japan at http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/CF/FR/MKJ/ and they update by the minute for those wishing to follow Japan's moves without data lag.
oilnwater 2 hours ago
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Sentmeh, it's been up insanely for weeks now, so no big deal really.
AmericanPatriot 1 hour ago
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SentYep, it was all the way down to 11,750 earlier this year and now it closed at almost 14,200. The long term perspective is that it hit around 38,000 in the early 1990s and is now around one-third of its highest value. This is leaving aside the issue of inflation and the decline has spanned almost 20 years during which it has never even approached the prior highs.
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law 1 hour ago
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Sentwhat a rigged market in Japan........
AmericanPatriot 1 hour ago
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SentWhy do you say that?
At least to me the US markets seem far more manipulated than Japan overall. One interesting note to support your view is that every day the Nikkei Net Interactive sets a trading range on their chart and the market virtually never defies their bars. Some days the trading range is very narrow and some days it is very wide, but virtually never does the market move above or below the bars set on their chart at http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/CF/FR/MKJ/. Perhaps it is just that the power of suggestion works in most persuasive ways in Japan!
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angelsprite 13 minutes ago
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SentHas anyone else noticed that there seems to be some "important news" every Thursday or Friday regarding the oil supply, so that on the weekends it costs more to drive and on the weekdays the price drops a bit? It's intentional. It's worse than obvious. It happened last year too.
Also, anyone who has ANYTHING in this market right now is playing Russian roulette with 5 chambers loaded.
Good luck all.
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Wakeupamerica 9 minutes ago
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SentAll of the markets are rigged AND run by the MEGA rich and flow whatever way they want to sell or buy on a given day. So, unless you are a mind reader, you will only occasionally hit one out of the park.
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Monday, June 9, 2008
European shares weaken behind banks, airlines
LONDON (MarketWatch) - European shares weakened on Monday, as shares of banks such as Barclays fell and airlines again took the brunt of crude prices trading near record highs.
The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index (ST:SXXP: news, chart, profile) fell 0.6% to 308.34, with the banking sector showing the sharpest decline in percentage terms. It was down 1.8% at last check.
Of banks posting losses, shares in Barclays (BCS:Barclays PLC
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BCS 26.43, -2.52, -8.7%) (UK:BARC: news, chart, profile) fell 1.3%.
The U.K. banking giant, which has faced pressure over its capital position, is seeking to raise cash from overseas sovereign wealth funds, the Sunday Telegraph reported. See full story.
In a similar vein, investors will be paying close attention to Lehman Brothers at the start of the week after reports the company may announce its second-quarter results ahead of schedule and unveil a plan to raise additional capital. See full story.
Other banks under pressure included UBS (UBS:UBS Ag
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UBS 23.91, -1.49, -5.9%) (CH:002489948: news, chart, profile) , down 3.6%, and Commerzbank (DE:803200: news, chart, profile) , down 1.6%.
Of national indexes, the German DAX 30 index (DX:1876534: news, chart, profile) fell 0.5% to 6,773.61, the French CAC-40 index (FR:1804546: news, chart, profile) declined 0.3% to 4,782.51 and the U.K. FTSE 100 (UK:UKX: news, chart, profile) index lost 0.2% to 5,896.50.
Lehman Brothers on Monday shifted its stance on European stocks to underweight from overweight and increased its exposure to U.S. equities, which it upgraded to overweight from underweight.
Lehman said the changes were due to the European Central Bank's hawkish stance on rates and the implications of that on stocks for the region, and the contrast in approach with the stance of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
As in Europe, shares in the U.S. posted heavy losses on Friday, after some weaker-than-expected jobs data spooked the market and contributed to a sharp spike in oil prices. See U.S. Market Snapshot.
On Monday, light sweet crude prices were off a touch from Friday's record high but were still trading over $138 a barrel. The contract was last down 30 cents at $138.23.
Crude at this level usually pressures airlines and at last check shares in British Airways (UK:BAY: news, chart, profile) were down 3.6% and shares in easyJet (UK:EZJ: news, chart, profile) fell 4.6%.
Also in the airline sector, Air France-KLM (FR:003112: news, chart, profile) shares lost 2.6%. Europe's largest airline said passenger traffic rose 6% in May, as public holidays in France boosted leisure traffic in the first half of the month and business underpinned demand in the second half.
Still, higher crude prices generally support the commodity price-sensitive sectors and shares in oil major BP (BP:BP p.l.c.
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BP 68.89, -0.52, -0.7%) (UK:BP: news, chart, profile) rose 1.9%, while shares in Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A:royal dutch shell plc spons adr a
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RDS.A 82.79, -0.23, -0.3%) (UK:RDSA: news, chart, profile) rose 1.5%.
The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index (ST:SXXP: news, chart, profile) fell 0.6% to 308.34, with the banking sector showing the sharpest decline in percentage terms. It was down 1.8% at last check.
Of banks posting losses, shares in Barclays (BCS:Barclays PLC
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BCS 26.43, -2.52, -8.7%) (UK:BARC: news, chart, profile) fell 1.3%.
The U.K. banking giant, which has faced pressure over its capital position, is seeking to raise cash from overseas sovereign wealth funds, the Sunday Telegraph reported. See full story.
In a similar vein, investors will be paying close attention to Lehman Brothers at the start of the week after reports the company may announce its second-quarter results ahead of schedule and unveil a plan to raise additional capital. See full story.
Other banks under pressure included UBS (UBS:UBS Ag
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UBS 23.91, -1.49, -5.9%) (CH:002489948: news, chart, profile) , down 3.6%, and Commerzbank (DE:803200: news, chart, profile) , down 1.6%.
Of national indexes, the German DAX 30 index (DX:1876534: news, chart, profile) fell 0.5% to 6,773.61, the French CAC-40 index (FR:1804546: news, chart, profile) declined 0.3% to 4,782.51 and the U.K. FTSE 100 (UK:UKX: news, chart, profile) index lost 0.2% to 5,896.50.
Lehman Brothers on Monday shifted its stance on European stocks to underweight from overweight and increased its exposure to U.S. equities, which it upgraded to overweight from underweight.
Lehman said the changes were due to the European Central Bank's hawkish stance on rates and the implications of that on stocks for the region, and the contrast in approach with the stance of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
As in Europe, shares in the U.S. posted heavy losses on Friday, after some weaker-than-expected jobs data spooked the market and contributed to a sharp spike in oil prices. See U.S. Market Snapshot.
On Monday, light sweet crude prices were off a touch from Friday's record high but were still trading over $138 a barrel. The contract was last down 30 cents at $138.23.
Crude at this level usually pressures airlines and at last check shares in British Airways (UK:BAY: news, chart, profile) were down 3.6% and shares in easyJet (UK:EZJ: news, chart, profile) fell 4.6%.
Also in the airline sector, Air France-KLM (FR:003112: news, chart, profile) shares lost 2.6%. Europe's largest airline said passenger traffic rose 6% in May, as public holidays in France boosted leisure traffic in the first half of the month and business underpinned demand in the second half.
Still, higher crude prices generally support the commodity price-sensitive sectors and shares in oil major BP (BP:BP p.l.c.
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BP 68.89, -0.52, -0.7%) (UK:BP: news, chart, profile) rose 1.9%, while shares in Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A:royal dutch shell plc spons adr a
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RDS.A 82.79, -0.23, -0.3%) (UK:RDSA: news, chart, profile) rose 1.5%.
Flood waters, death toll rise after weekend storms
Severe storms packing heavy rains, high winds and powerful lightning swept across the American Midwest to the East Coast on Sunday, flooding towns from Iowa to Michigan, threatening levees and leaving at least eight people dead.
Flooding from a levee break in Iowa shut down portions of three interstate highways.
1 of 3more photos » Six of the deaths were in Michigan, where several storms plowed from western Michigan eastward.
Two delivery workers for The Grand Rapids Press were killed Sunday morning after their car fell into a deep ravine created when a rain-swollen creek washed out a road, the newspaper reported on its Web site.
A woman was killed Sunday afternoon when winds picked up a travel trailer from her driveway and dropped it on her in Michigan's Delta Township, about five miles west of Lansing, according to Sgt. Mark Wriggelsworth of the Eaton County Sheriff's Department.
Two people died when trees fell on them during Michigan thunderstorms Sunday afternoon, including a man in Spring Lake who was riding in a car and a woman who was walking in her yard in Conklin, officials said.
A man drowned in Robinson Township, west of Grand Rapids, an official said. Rising waters overtook him while he was tending a dam, the official said.
Meanwhile, a fast-moving lightning storm killed one person and injured four others on a beach at a state park in Madison, Connecticut Sunday afternoon, according to Dwayne Gardner, spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
"They were just out enjoying the nice summer day," Gardner said. "Lifeguards ordered people off the beach and the lightning strike occurred as the people were exiting the beach."
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One person was killed when rising waters swept a car away in Columbus, Indiana early Sunday, a police spokesman said.
As many as 11 inches of rain fell in a few central Indiana communities over the weekend, testing levees and forcing many to find safety atop rooftops.
The worst-hit areas were communities about 25 miles south of Indianapolis and further west in Terre Haute, with most towns receiving 6-10 inches of rainfall, said John Hendrickson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
He said some affected areas hadn't seen a such flooding for 100 years.
Elsewhere in Indiana, officials cast a wary eye at two levees in Johnson County, one of the hardest hit areas. Water spilled over them, but they still held up. A small community downstream from the levee at Princess Lake was trapped as roadways leading out remained submerged Saturday afternoon, Hendrickson said. A hospital in Johnson County was also flooded.
A levee burst in the Iowa town of Parkersburg, still reeling from a deadly tornado that struck two weeks ago, according to the National Weather Service. Flooding from the levee break shut down portions of three interstate highways.
In nearby New Hartford -- which also sustained severe tornado damage last month -- water gushed over a levee, forcing the evacuation of about 650 people who fled 10 miles east to Cedar Falls, said Bret Voorhees, spokesman for Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
In Mason City, Iowa, people were left without clean drinking water after a floods severely damaged a water treatment plant, he said.
Flood waters continued to rise throughout Iowa on Sunday, with the northern part of the state receiving up to five inches of rain from a single afternoon storms, said Voorhees.
Waters were expected to crest mid-week at the earliest, he said, adding that at least 1,000 people were displaced across the state.
Meanwhile, storms in Nebraska spun out an early-morning Omaha tornado -- a quarter-mile wide -- that moved northeast.
Jeff Leanna, a member of the fire department's community response team, submitted photos to CNN showing houses pushed off their foundations, a flattened trailer and several businesses with their roofs blown off and windows blown out.
"The damage is spotty," he said, but power outages were widespread. "It sort of came out of nowhere. The tornado touched down before the sirens went off."
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CNN's Shelby Lin and Brendan Gage contributed to this report.
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Flooding from a levee break in Iowa shut down portions of three interstate highways.
1 of 3more photos » Six of the deaths were in Michigan, where several storms plowed from western Michigan eastward.
Two delivery workers for The Grand Rapids Press were killed Sunday morning after their car fell into a deep ravine created when a rain-swollen creek washed out a road, the newspaper reported on its Web site.
A woman was killed Sunday afternoon when winds picked up a travel trailer from her driveway and dropped it on her in Michigan's Delta Township, about five miles west of Lansing, according to Sgt. Mark Wriggelsworth of the Eaton County Sheriff's Department.
Two people died when trees fell on them during Michigan thunderstorms Sunday afternoon, including a man in Spring Lake who was riding in a car and a woman who was walking in her yard in Conklin, officials said.
A man drowned in Robinson Township, west of Grand Rapids, an official said. Rising waters overtook him while he was tending a dam, the official said.
Meanwhile, a fast-moving lightning storm killed one person and injured four others on a beach at a state park in Madison, Connecticut Sunday afternoon, according to Dwayne Gardner, spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
"They were just out enjoying the nice summer day," Gardner said. "Lifeguards ordered people off the beach and the lightning strike occurred as the people were exiting the beach."
Don't Miss
Midwestern storms bring flooding, tornadoes
iReport.com: Severe weather news and video
One person was killed when rising waters swept a car away in Columbus, Indiana early Sunday, a police spokesman said.
As many as 11 inches of rain fell in a few central Indiana communities over the weekend, testing levees and forcing many to find safety atop rooftops.
The worst-hit areas were communities about 25 miles south of Indianapolis and further west in Terre Haute, with most towns receiving 6-10 inches of rainfall, said John Hendrickson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
He said some affected areas hadn't seen a such flooding for 100 years.
Elsewhere in Indiana, officials cast a wary eye at two levees in Johnson County, one of the hardest hit areas. Water spilled over them, but they still held up. A small community downstream from the levee at Princess Lake was trapped as roadways leading out remained submerged Saturday afternoon, Hendrickson said. A hospital in Johnson County was also flooded.
A levee burst in the Iowa town of Parkersburg, still reeling from a deadly tornado that struck two weeks ago, according to the National Weather Service. Flooding from the levee break shut down portions of three interstate highways.
In nearby New Hartford -- which also sustained severe tornado damage last month -- water gushed over a levee, forcing the evacuation of about 650 people who fled 10 miles east to Cedar Falls, said Bret Voorhees, spokesman for Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
In Mason City, Iowa, people were left without clean drinking water after a floods severely damaged a water treatment plant, he said.
Flood waters continued to rise throughout Iowa on Sunday, with the northern part of the state receiving up to five inches of rain from a single afternoon storms, said Voorhees.
Waters were expected to crest mid-week at the earliest, he said, adding that at least 1,000 people were displaced across the state.
Meanwhile, storms in Nebraska spun out an early-morning Omaha tornado -- a quarter-mile wide -- that moved northeast.
Jeff Leanna, a member of the fire department's community response team, submitted photos to CNN showing houses pushed off their foundations, a flattened trailer and several businesses with their roofs blown off and windows blown out.
"The damage is spotty," he said, but power outages were widespread. "It sort of came out of nowhere. The tornado touched down before the sirens went off."
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CNN's Shelby Lin and Brendan Gage contributed to this report.
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Sunday, June 8, 2008
Aftershock hits quake lake, setting off landslides
"relatively strong" aftershock shook a massive quake-formed lake Sunday that had been threatening to flood more than a million people, sending landslides tumbling down surrounding mountains, a state news agency reported.
Engineers and soldiers are still trying to safely drain a lake created by the earthquake.
more photos » The effect of the 20-second quake on the Tangjiashan lake was not immediately known, Xinhua News Agency said. The dam of unstable mud and rocks was under surveillance following the aftershock.
Its magnitude was not immediately known, Xinhua said.
Though water had been draining from a hastily dug diversion channel for nearly two days, the lake continued to swell.
Soldiers blew up wooden houses, boulders and other debris Sunday to speed the flow of water into the spillway. Other troops were deepening the channel and digging on a second spillway on the other side of the dam.
The Tangjiashan lake, created when a landslide dammed the Tongkou River, has become a priority for a government working to head off another catastrophe even as it cares for millions left homeless from the May 12 quake that killed nearly 70,000 people.
More than 1.3 million people live down river from Tangjiashan, and 250,000 of them have been evacuated.
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Government experts, quoted by state media, had played down the threat of imminent flooding, saying Tangjiashan's landslide-created dam should hold. But state media and officials estimated it would be a week before the evacuees could return home, even if all goes well.
The rising water levels of the Tangjiashan lake underscored the persisting threat to quake survivors, even before the aftershock. Though water began draining from the diversion channel early Saturday, the effect was hardly noticeable in some downstream communities.
The turquoise waters of the Tongkou flowed placidly past the village of Jiuling, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) downstream.
"I wish they'd hurry, look at us here," said rice farmer Cai Yuhua, gesturing at a cluster of mostly homemade tents built on a nearby hillside, where she and hundreds of others waited out the flooding threat.
"The last time we could go back to our homes was May 22. I want to go home and look at my things," said Cai, who was living under a striped plastic tarp cast over bamboo poles.
The official death toll from the quake crept up Sunday to 69,136 people, with 17,686 still missing.
Meanwhile, a cargo train derailed in northeastern Sichuan province early Sunday after being struck by rocks falling from a mountain, Xinhua said. One railway worker was killed and another was seriously injured.
It was not known if the falling rocks were related to the May 12 quake or its aftershocks. The rocks may have been loosened by recent heavy rains, Xinhua reported, citing a Chengdu railway administration official.
Rail traffic was suspended or rerouted until the damaged line was repaired Sunday evening.
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Engineers and soldiers are still trying to safely drain a lake created by the earthquake.
more photos » The effect of the 20-second quake on the Tangjiashan lake was not immediately known, Xinhua News Agency said. The dam of unstable mud and rocks was under surveillance following the aftershock.
Its magnitude was not immediately known, Xinhua said.
Though water had been draining from a hastily dug diversion channel for nearly two days, the lake continued to swell.
Soldiers blew up wooden houses, boulders and other debris Sunday to speed the flow of water into the spillway. Other troops were deepening the channel and digging on a second spillway on the other side of the dam.
The Tangjiashan lake, created when a landslide dammed the Tongkou River, has become a priority for a government working to head off another catastrophe even as it cares for millions left homeless from the May 12 quake that killed nearly 70,000 people.
More than 1.3 million people live down river from Tangjiashan, and 250,000 of them have been evacuated.
Don't Miss
China hopes quake lake plan will save city
China works to prevent 'epidemic'
Blog: The trek to quake lake
Special report: China earthquake
iReport.com: Send photos, videos of relief effort
Government experts, quoted by state media, had played down the threat of imminent flooding, saying Tangjiashan's landslide-created dam should hold. But state media and officials estimated it would be a week before the evacuees could return home, even if all goes well.
The rising water levels of the Tangjiashan lake underscored the persisting threat to quake survivors, even before the aftershock. Though water began draining from the diversion channel early Saturday, the effect was hardly noticeable in some downstream communities.
The turquoise waters of the Tongkou flowed placidly past the village of Jiuling, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) downstream.
"I wish they'd hurry, look at us here," said rice farmer Cai Yuhua, gesturing at a cluster of mostly homemade tents built on a nearby hillside, where she and hundreds of others waited out the flooding threat.
"The last time we could go back to our homes was May 22. I want to go home and look at my things," said Cai, who was living under a striped plastic tarp cast over bamboo poles.
The official death toll from the quake crept up Sunday to 69,136 people, with 17,686 still missing.
Meanwhile, a cargo train derailed in northeastern Sichuan province early Sunday after being struck by rocks falling from a mountain, Xinhua said. One railway worker was killed and another was seriously injured.
It was not known if the falling rocks were related to the May 12 quake or its aftershocks. The rocks may have been loosened by recent heavy rains, Xinhua reported, citing a Chengdu railway administration official.
Rail traffic was suspended or rerouted until the damaged line was repaired Sunday evening.
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BBVA's Indian MF foray may happen only in next fiscal
The Indian mutual funds foray of Spanish financial services major, BBVA, is likely to get delayed till next fiscal as the company is yet to find a suitable domestic partner for the venture.
BBVA, amongst the largest in the world, has approached a few leading public sector banks in the country for a possible tie-up for its MF business.
However, the bank is yet to receive any favourable response from them, a BBVA official told PTI here on strict condition of anonymity.
"We are yet to find a suitable partner here (for the MF business). Though big in size and present pan-India, Indian banks are lacking in product knowledge, effective risk managment tools and international market knowledge," the official said.
The Spanish lender had entered India in April last year by opening a liaison office in Mumbai and already has an exposure of over USD 1-billion to Indian corporates.
Though BBVA had approached leading public sector lender, Union Bank of India for a potential partnership, UBI is understood to have zeroed in on Beligium-based KBC as its partner.
BBVA's Asia General Manager, Manuel Galatas, during an interaction with PTI sometime ago, had said that the bank had initiated talks with two more state-run banks for the mutual funds business.
Though Galatas declined to identify them, the banks are understood to be Bank of India and Corporation Bank.
BBVA, amongst the largest in the world, has approached a few leading public sector banks in the country for a possible tie-up for its MF business.
However, the bank is yet to receive any favourable response from them, a BBVA official told PTI here on strict condition of anonymity.
"We are yet to find a suitable partner here (for the MF business). Though big in size and present pan-India, Indian banks are lacking in product knowledge, effective risk managment tools and international market knowledge," the official said.
The Spanish lender had entered India in April last year by opening a liaison office in Mumbai and already has an exposure of over USD 1-billion to Indian corporates.
Though BBVA had approached leading public sector lender, Union Bank of India for a potential partnership, UBI is understood to have zeroed in on Beligium-based KBC as its partner.
BBVA's Asia General Manager, Manuel Galatas, during an interaction with PTI sometime ago, had said that the bank had initiated talks with two more state-run banks for the mutual funds business.
Though Galatas declined to identify them, the banks are understood to be Bank of India and Corporation Bank.
G8 plus three agree to promote energy efficiency for stable market, climate
The Group of Eight developed member nations and China, India, South Korea agreed on Sunday to step up efforts for energy efficiency so as to lower global market demands and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy ministers from the G8 and the three Asian countries, which were invited to take part in broader discussion over energy-related issues, jointly issued a declaration on concluding their meeting in northeastern Japan's energy capital of Aomori, announcing the establishment of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, a new framework aimed at facilitating energy-saving measures and transfer of related technologies.
The ministers believed that energy saving and efficiency is one of the quickest, greenest, and most cost-effective way to address energy security, climate change, and ensuring economic growth, according to the declaration.
Under the new framework, which provide a forum while setting no goals for the participants, the G8 plus three nations and potential participants will enhance cooperation and exchange information on environment-friendly technologies for united efforts over cut in oil demands and emissions.
From this point of consideration, energy efficiency is in the common interests of both developed and developing nations, the ministers said.
During discussion for the final version of the document, developing countries including China strongly called on rich nations to facilitate the transfer of environment-friendly technologies and help developing countries reform their traditional way of production.
"Blocks remain high for developing countries to have access to the updated technologies they long for," said Zhang Guobao, vice chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission.
Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari described the issues of climate change and energy as two sides of the same coin and proposed united solutions.
"We believe that addressing energy security, climate change and economic growth can be achieved in a mutually conducive manner," said a statement.
The ministers said promotion of energy efficiency both in supply and demand chain is a necessary prerequisite for enhancing energy security and mitigation of climate change while supporting economic growth in a cost-effective manner. They agree to work together on green and renewable energy, innovative energy technologies and the development of nuclear energy.
In addition to energy efficiency, high oil prices also dominated agenda of the one-day meeting.
In his opening address, host minister Amari said the current unprecedented and abnormally high oil prices could lead to a recession of the world economy if no action were taken.
As all the ministers agreed that the current level of oil prices are out of normal range and shared serious concern over it, their explanation for reasons behind it diversified.
While the United States insisted that the current record high level of oil prices was a mere result of unbalanced demands and supply, caused somewhat by rising countries' mounting energy needs, China's Zhang pointed out that speculation on the international oil trade market was one of the major reasons behind the abnormal price, which doubled in the past 18 months.
"If we fail to grasp the sticking point, we can never effectively bring the oil price back into normal," Zhang said at a joint news conference held following the meeting.
The United States and some leading economies have been calling on producing countries to expand output and urging developing countries such as China and India to cut subsidies on petroleum products.
"All countries take energy subsidy measures at different development stages, and China's control of oil price is necessary to keep social and political stabilities," said Zhang, who is also director-general of China's newly-established energy department.
"For instance, rocketing energy cost may lead to agricultural problems, and such problems in China may pose danger to the world," Zhang added.
Organizers said that discussions at the meeting will be reflected on the upcoming G8 summit, whose major topics include energy and climate change.
The G8, which groups France, Britain, Germany, Canada, Italy, Russia, Japan, and the United States, together with China, South Korea and India, consume over 50 percent of world energy and are accountable for the same proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy ministers from the G8 and the three Asian countries, which were invited to take part in broader discussion over energy-related issues, jointly issued a declaration on concluding their meeting in northeastern Japan's energy capital of Aomori, announcing the establishment of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, a new framework aimed at facilitating energy-saving measures and transfer of related technologies.
The ministers believed that energy saving and efficiency is one of the quickest, greenest, and most cost-effective way to address energy security, climate change, and ensuring economic growth, according to the declaration.
Under the new framework, which provide a forum while setting no goals for the participants, the G8 plus three nations and potential participants will enhance cooperation and exchange information on environment-friendly technologies for united efforts over cut in oil demands and emissions.
From this point of consideration, energy efficiency is in the common interests of both developed and developing nations, the ministers said.
During discussion for the final version of the document, developing countries including China strongly called on rich nations to facilitate the transfer of environment-friendly technologies and help developing countries reform their traditional way of production.
"Blocks remain high for developing countries to have access to the updated technologies they long for," said Zhang Guobao, vice chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission.
Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari described the issues of climate change and energy as two sides of the same coin and proposed united solutions.
"We believe that addressing energy security, climate change and economic growth can be achieved in a mutually conducive manner," said a statement.
The ministers said promotion of energy efficiency both in supply and demand chain is a necessary prerequisite for enhancing energy security and mitigation of climate change while supporting economic growth in a cost-effective manner. They agree to work together on green and renewable energy, innovative energy technologies and the development of nuclear energy.
In addition to energy efficiency, high oil prices also dominated agenda of the one-day meeting.
In his opening address, host minister Amari said the current unprecedented and abnormally high oil prices could lead to a recession of the world economy if no action were taken.
As all the ministers agreed that the current level of oil prices are out of normal range and shared serious concern over it, their explanation for reasons behind it diversified.
While the United States insisted that the current record high level of oil prices was a mere result of unbalanced demands and supply, caused somewhat by rising countries' mounting energy needs, China's Zhang pointed out that speculation on the international oil trade market was one of the major reasons behind the abnormal price, which doubled in the past 18 months.
"If we fail to grasp the sticking point, we can never effectively bring the oil price back into normal," Zhang said at a joint news conference held following the meeting.
The United States and some leading economies have been calling on producing countries to expand output and urging developing countries such as China and India to cut subsidies on petroleum products.
"All countries take energy subsidy measures at different development stages, and China's control of oil price is necessary to keep social and political stabilities," said Zhang, who is also director-general of China's newly-established energy department.
"For instance, rocketing energy cost may lead to agricultural problems, and such problems in China may pose danger to the world," Zhang added.
Organizers said that discussions at the meeting will be reflected on the upcoming G8 summit, whose major topics include energy and climate change.
The G8, which groups France, Britain, Germany, Canada, Italy, Russia, Japan, and the United States, together with China, South Korea and India, consume over 50 percent of world energy and are accountable for the same proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Stocks: Wall Street Hits the Panic Button
frightened Wall Street flooded the stock market with sell orders June 6, sending major indexes plunging 3% and giving investors plenty to ponder over a warm summer weekend.
The big question: Is this a temporary mood swing for a nervous market? If so, fear may dissipate, and the market has a chance to quickly bounce back when better news headlines come along next week.
Or, did something fundamental change on June 6, a day when oil prices spiked $11 per gallon and a jobs report showed the unemployment rate jumping from 5% to 5.5%, the largest rise in 22 years?
Waking Up to a New Reality
Many market observers believe it is the latter: The stock market is catching on to a new, scary reality.
Yes, the worst fears about financial crisis are fading three months after the collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns. But now the focus is on the economy, which remains fragile, and especially inflation, which appears to be heating up.
Making the day's news all the more surprising, the outlook for the economy and inflation seemed to improve in recent weeks. Many pieces of data for May looked better than expected, like retail sales figures and the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index, suggesting the economy—while weak—was not in a recession. And, after rapidly rising to a record $135 per barrel, crude oil prices backed off recently, raising hopes that the speculative fever in the commodity markets was cooling off.
What Does the Jobs Report Really Mean?
Both reasons for optimism collapsed June 6, as the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 394.64 points, or 3.13%, to 12,209.81, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 fell 43.37 points, or 3.09%, to 1,360.68.
Economists debated the true meaning of the May jobs report, as pieces of data gave different pictures of the U.S. economy. But for many, the headlines told the story: The unemployment rate rose by 0.5%, the biggest monthly jump since 1986.
First American Funds (FAF) Chief Economist Keith Hembre warned that such a big jump in the unemployment rate is very troubling. "It's pretty hard evidence that this is a recessionary environment, albeit pretty mild," Hembre says.
Defying the Laws of Supply and Demand
Even if the economy continues to grow slowly in 2008, the rising jobless rate suggests it could be a tough year for many Americans. Michael Strauss, chief economist at Commonfund, expects a "growth recession. It looks, feels, and acts like a recession, but [economic growth] is above zero," he says.
For all the concern about the economy, investors seemed even more unnerved by the surge in oil. After oil backed off recently, "most people thought the pressure was off," says Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management (PNC).
On the Nymex June 6, crude oil for July delivery hit a record of $139.12 before ending the day at $138.54, a $10.75 increase. There were several explanations for the big move, including a Morgan Stanley (MS) analyst's prediction that crude would hit $150 by July, and tough talk toward Iran by an Israeli cabinet member, which raised tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.
George Soros Blames Speculators
Whatever the reason, oil doesn't seem to be obeying the usual laws of supply and demand, Strauss says. Americans are cutting back on driving and other energy use, for example, but oil continues to rise. "We don't appear to be trading on supply-and-demand relationships," Strauss says. "We seem to be trading on supply-and-demand fears."
Billionaire trader George Soros told the U.S. Senate on June 3 that the price of oil was a "bubble" driven mostly by speculation. Others seemed to agree, as the oil markets calmed earlier in the week. If there was a ray of hope that speculative fever might leave energy markets, that faded June 6. "Whatever is driving oil prices, it's not going away," says Dan Genter, president of RNC Genter.
High energy costs would slow the economy even further. "If [oil] sticks at this level, you've got to be concerned about future economic growth," Stone says.
Hoping for a Blowoff
Rising commodity prices also add to inflation worries. Inflation, in turn, could prompt the Federal Reserve to quickly raise interest rates later this year. "That will shock the market," Genter says.
One hope for the stock market is that oil's runup is a "blowoff rally." That is Morgan Keegan Chief Technical Strategist John Wilson's term for one last rally before oil prices quickly collapse and speculators flee the market all at once. "I think crude could drop $20 or $30 in a heartbeat," Wilson says.
Another hope for stock investors is that the market is simply overreacting. "I don't think the world changed today," says John Merrill of Tanglewood Capital Management. Oil's surge may be temporary, and plenty of other economic data suggests the economy is holding up O.K., he says.
Investors must hope that the market is focusing far too much on a couple of nasty news headlines—news that will be soon forgotten. But the fear is that those headlines are merely a harbinger of worse things to come.
The big question: Is this a temporary mood swing for a nervous market? If so, fear may dissipate, and the market has a chance to quickly bounce back when better news headlines come along next week.
Or, did something fundamental change on June 6, a day when oil prices spiked $11 per gallon and a jobs report showed the unemployment rate jumping from 5% to 5.5%, the largest rise in 22 years?
Waking Up to a New Reality
Many market observers believe it is the latter: The stock market is catching on to a new, scary reality.
Yes, the worst fears about financial crisis are fading three months after the collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns. But now the focus is on the economy, which remains fragile, and especially inflation, which appears to be heating up.
Making the day's news all the more surprising, the outlook for the economy and inflation seemed to improve in recent weeks. Many pieces of data for May looked better than expected, like retail sales figures and the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index, suggesting the economy—while weak—was not in a recession. And, after rapidly rising to a record $135 per barrel, crude oil prices backed off recently, raising hopes that the speculative fever in the commodity markets was cooling off.
What Does the Jobs Report Really Mean?
Both reasons for optimism collapsed June 6, as the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 394.64 points, or 3.13%, to 12,209.81, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 fell 43.37 points, or 3.09%, to 1,360.68.
Economists debated the true meaning of the May jobs report, as pieces of data gave different pictures of the U.S. economy. But for many, the headlines told the story: The unemployment rate rose by 0.5%, the biggest monthly jump since 1986.
First American Funds (FAF) Chief Economist Keith Hembre warned that such a big jump in the unemployment rate is very troubling. "It's pretty hard evidence that this is a recessionary environment, albeit pretty mild," Hembre says.
Defying the Laws of Supply and Demand
Even if the economy continues to grow slowly in 2008, the rising jobless rate suggests it could be a tough year for many Americans. Michael Strauss, chief economist at Commonfund, expects a "growth recession. It looks, feels, and acts like a recession, but [economic growth] is above zero," he says.
For all the concern about the economy, investors seemed even more unnerved by the surge in oil. After oil backed off recently, "most people thought the pressure was off," says Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management (PNC).
On the Nymex June 6, crude oil for July delivery hit a record of $139.12 before ending the day at $138.54, a $10.75 increase. There were several explanations for the big move, including a Morgan Stanley (MS) analyst's prediction that crude would hit $150 by July, and tough talk toward Iran by an Israeli cabinet member, which raised tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.
George Soros Blames Speculators
Whatever the reason, oil doesn't seem to be obeying the usual laws of supply and demand, Strauss says. Americans are cutting back on driving and other energy use, for example, but oil continues to rise. "We don't appear to be trading on supply-and-demand relationships," Strauss says. "We seem to be trading on supply-and-demand fears."
Billionaire trader George Soros told the U.S. Senate on June 3 that the price of oil was a "bubble" driven mostly by speculation. Others seemed to agree, as the oil markets calmed earlier in the week. If there was a ray of hope that speculative fever might leave energy markets, that faded June 6. "Whatever is driving oil prices, it's not going away," says Dan Genter, president of RNC Genter.
High energy costs would slow the economy even further. "If [oil] sticks at this level, you've got to be concerned about future economic growth," Stone says.
Hoping for a Blowoff
Rising commodity prices also add to inflation worries. Inflation, in turn, could prompt the Federal Reserve to quickly raise interest rates later this year. "That will shock the market," Genter says.
One hope for the stock market is that oil's runup is a "blowoff rally." That is Morgan Keegan Chief Technical Strategist John Wilson's term for one last rally before oil prices quickly collapse and speculators flee the market all at once. "I think crude could drop $20 or $30 in a heartbeat," Wilson says.
Another hope for stock investors is that the market is simply overreacting. "I don't think the world changed today," says John Merrill of Tanglewood Capital Management. Oil's surge may be temporary, and plenty of other economic data suggests the economy is holding up O.K., he says.
Investors must hope that the market is focusing far too much on a couple of nasty news headlines—news that will be soon forgotten. But the fear is that those headlines are merely a harbinger of worse things to come.
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