Positive US lead may trickle to Asian shares
Asian stocks are expected to open mixed today after positive offshore leads from the U.S. and Europe. Ahead of the Asian open, Luxembourg Finance Minister […]
Asian stocks are expected to open mixed today after positive offshore leads from the U.S. and Europe. Ahead of the Asian open, Luxembourg Finance Minister Luc Frieden told reporters that a plan put together last month to expand the European Financial Stability Facility’s (EFSF) fire power to 1 trillion Euros would be very difficult to reach, forcing some to re-evaluate the immediacy of a practical outcome to the ongoing debt crisis.
The EUR/USD remains stuck in a range between 1.33-1.34, with stiff resistance at levels above that. The AUD/USD has also fallen back, now testing parity again, before the Australian market open.
In corporate news, American Airlines’ parent AMR Corp has filed for bankruptcy after failing to reach a desired outcome from recent labor negotiations. The Texas-based company listed US$24.7 billion in assets and US$29.6 billion in debt in Chapter 11 papers filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. The news comes as Australian airliner Qantas is stuck in a compulsory arbitration process after much publicised staffing issues.
In other Australian corporate news, food distributor Metcash reported an uninspiring 1.4% rise in underlying earnings. The rate of growth has slowed from a recent strong run of profits, mainly at the expense of a lagging Coles operation over the past decade, but all that has now changed. The earnings result is a good read into the health of Australian retailers, particularly in the staples space, where the pace of earnings growth has recently dried up.
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