Dear fellow investors,
Over 13 Jan 2012, Standard & Poor's, U.S.-based ratings agency, downgraded the credit ratings of 9 euro- zone countries. These 9 euro zone countries include Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, France, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria They were stripped of their AAA status either by 1 notch or 2. But Germany is spared from this credit ratings cut.
The agency cited the reasons that the European community had not adequately "address ongoing systemic stresses in the eurozone" - which encompass issues like the tightened credit conditions, rising risks premium, weakened economy growth etc.
The ratings agency mentioned that austerity and budget discipline adopted by the euro zone are insufficient to handle the debt crisis.
But French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said there was no cause for alarm and assured that "This is not a catastrophe. But it's not good news,"
In addition, the fate still hangs in the air for Greece, as Greek negotiators said that debt swap by private creditors remained unresolved. Negotiators were less optimistic and raised doubts over the take-up rate of any voluntary deal.
In Dec 2011, The European Central Bank infuse the banks with cheaper 3 year liquidity that helped ease a worsening credit crunch. This provided funds for the market to buy sovereign bonds.
Chairman of the S & P ratings agency said that preserving the AAA status of France would require the increased commitments from the 4 remaining AAA-rated guarantors, namely Germany, Finland and the Netherlands. But this move could be politically unpopular.
The following video explains the meaning of "Austerity Measures" :
Regards,
Tony Chai
Sunday, January 15, 2012
S & P downgraded 9 Euro-Zone Countries
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Steve Jobs Has Stepped Down As CEO Of Apple, Inc
Dear fellow traders,
*** RIP, Mr Steve Jobs ***
Performed on Ipad using MorphWiz along with the Korg Kronos.
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On 25 Aug 2011, Mr Steve Jobs announced his resignation as Co-Founder & CEO of Apple, Inc. - now the most richest company in the US which currently has more money than the U.S. government.
He will remain with the company as chairman. Tim Cook is promoted from chief operating officer to chief executive officer.
Yours Truly,
Tony Chai
Monday, August 08, 2011
Dow plunges points, touted as the 6th-biggest point loss
Dear fellow traders,
On Monday, 8 Aug 2011, the Dow Jones industrials plunged 634 points (more than 5%) to10,809.85 amidst it's recent debt ratings downgrade by S&P Ratings Agency and the escalating European debt turmoils, now threatening even Italy & Spain. The Asia markets were not spared. Earlier on, the Korea stock market fell 4% while the Japanese market lost 2%. In Europe, Germany's shares market lost 5% and France suffered a 4% drop respectively.
On Monday, the S&P also downgraded the credit ratings of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other government agencies that depend on the creditworthiness of the US federal government.
The S&P 500 fell 79.92 points (6.7%) to 1,119.46 while the technology-laden Nasdaq composite index fell 174.72 points (6.9%) to 2,357.69.
Investors sought refuge in Gold, which has topped US$1,713.20 per ounce. Crude oil, natural gas and other commodities fell sharply on worries that a weaker global economy will mean less demand. Oil fell 6.4% to US$81.31 per barrel, its lowest price for 2011.
Yours Truly,
Tony Chai
