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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Hang Seng Index Went Down Amid Hong Kong protests

Hang Seng Index, business, finance, stocks

The Hang Seng index went down 1.3%, after the 1.9% decline on Monday. The total accumulated loss in September is now to more than 7%. There are fears that the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong spread to China that may disrupt business and trading.

The ongoing political problems in Hong Kong and wariness over the potential extent of monetary policy divergence in the United States and Europe are making markets nervous and trading is cautious as the third quarter nears to a close. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 struggled to have gains and US index futures are flat. Eurozone inflation had fallen to 0.3% in September which is its weakest in five years.

Europe inflation went down to a 5-year low that raised expectations of more stimulus from the European Central Bank ECB as a result the Euro went down and stocks gain.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

World stocks Slipped to one-month low Ahead of Fed Meeting

Global stock markets closed mostly lower Tuesday September 16, 2014 as investors played it safe in preparation for the Fed Meeting. U.S. central bank may raise interest rates sooner than previously expected

Germany's DAX fell 0.3 percent to 9,620.59 and France's CAC-40 declined 0.5 percent to 4,404.69. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.2 percent to 6,791.57. Wall Street appeared set for more losses. Standard & Poor's 500 futures were down 0.1 percent and Dow futures fell 0.2 percent.

The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS, which tracks shares in 45 countries, was down 0.2 percent after hitting its lowest level since mid-August earlier in the session. In Europe, the benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 was down 0.4 percent.

Asian shares also slipped. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS shed 0.7 percent to its lowest since late June, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 snapped a five-session winning streak to close down 0.2 percent.

The euro held steady at $1.2937 EUR=, hemmed in a $1.2859-$1.2980 range after a sell-off sparked by the European Central Bank's interest rate cut early this month faded.

The British pound has turned volatile in recent weeks as opinion polls narrowed ahead of Thursday's independence referendum in Scotland, which could spark a sizeable panic in U.K. markets. On Monday, the pound was 0.2 percent lower at $1.6231.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

France Failed to Meet its EU budget deficit target

France announced that they will not make the EU-designated budget deficit target next year, they can only aim for 3% of national output only in 2017.

French finance minister Michel Sapin said on Wednesday the budget deficit would only be reduced to 4.3% of gross domestic product in 2015 after a level of 4.4% this year, the latter also a big overshoot of earlier estimates and the first annual rise in the deficit for four years.

He blamed the slow rate of economic growth and low inflation, saying France demanded that the EU “collectively take into account” an economic situation “unprecedented in recent European history”.

Sapin insisted France was not seeking to change or suspend the rules but wanted the deteriorating outlook for growth and inflation this year and next to be taken into account.

Paris has led calls for a more flexible interpretation of EU budget regulations along with Italy, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected any bending of the rules and said on Wednesday euro zone countries should stick to their commitments.