Asian stock markets fell Tuesday even as European leaders appeared to have finally clinched a deal for a rescue package to prevent Greece from going belly up.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was down 0.2 percent at 9,464.19. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.5 percent to 21,323.99 and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.8 percent to 2,009.79. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore, mainland China and the Philippines also fell.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7 percent to 4,287.10. New Zealand and Indonesia also rose.
Early Tuesday, a EU diplomat The Associated Press that European leaders had agreed to a rescue package for Greece, which has been teetering on the brink of a major debt default. The rescue money had been delayed because lenders wanted the country to do more cost-cutting first.
The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement was pending.
Greece urgently needs the euro130 billion ($170 billion) package before it can move ahead with yet another deal to sharply reduce the amount of money Greece owes its private investors. Without the money, Greece will default on its debts, starting on March 20 when a bond repayment is due.
But the reported deal didn’t make a dent on markets. Many observers feel it falls far short of what Greece needs to prevent financial collapse.
On top of that: Europe does not have the will or the ability to spend the amount actually required to keep Athens afloat, analysts said.
“Greece is a hopeless case,” said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong.
In Tokyo, a waning yen failed to perk up many of Japan’s big exporters, whose profits increase when the home currency weakens. Panasonic Corp. lost 2.1 percent, Sharp Corp. fell 1.6 percent and Nintendo Co. fell 1.4 percent.
In Australia strong earnings reports helped set a positive tone. OneSteel, the country’s second-biggest steel maker, jumped 11.9 percent after releasing a bullish forecast about growth from its mining interests.
U.S. markets were closed Monday for President’s Day holiday. Traders will be looking for signs of economic recovery in the world’s No. 1 economy on Wednesday, when the National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for January.
Benchmark oil for March delivery was up $1.65 to $105.25 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The euro jumped to $1.3269 from $1.3159 late Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 79.68 yen from 79.46 yen.
Gasoline prices jumped 0.9 percent in January, pushing overall consumer prices up at their fastest clip in four months and offering a reminder of the risks energy costs could pose to the economic recovery.
Still, the 0.2 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index reported by the Labor Department on Friday is unlikely to ring alarm bells at the Federal Reserve, which is trying to decide whether the economy needs another dose of monetary stimulus.
“(The data) doesn’t prevent another round of quantitative easing to stimulate the economy,” said Brian Kim, a currency strategist at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Stamford, Connecticut.
The rise in prices was just below analysts’ expectations of a 0.3 percent increase.
The gain in gasoline prices was the first in four months. Tensions in the Middle East have been pushing oil prices higher, leading to extra costs at the pump for Americans.
After rising throughout January, the national price for regular unleaded gasoline prices rose to $3.58 a gallon in the week through Monday, according to the Energy Information Administration. It had started the year around $3.32 a gallon.
The Labor Department report showed that after stripping out food and energy, the so-called core reading rose 0.2 percent, which was in line with expectations.
However, the report also showed the rate of core price increases in the twelve months through January unexpectedly climbed to 2 online pay day loans.3 percent.
The increase in the 12-month core reading, which is seen as a barometer of inflation trends, might be read as a sign that inflation pressures are not subsiding as quickly as expected.
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Graphic on January U.S. CPI: link.reuters.com/xyr66s
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At the close of its January meeting, the Fed said it would likely keep interest rates at rock-bottom levels until at least late 2014. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke expressed caution about recent improvements in the economy and left the door open to further Fed bond buying to boost growth.
U.S. stock investors shrugged off the inflation data. U.S. Treasury debt prices held at lower levels.
Earlier, world stocks hit a fresh 6-1/2 month high and the euro held above recent lows as hopes Greece will seal a long-awaited bailout deal next week fuelled risk appetite.
Overall consumer prices rose 2.9 percent year-on-year after increasing 3.0 percent in December. That was in line with economists’ expectations.
Moderating the monthly gain in core prices, used car and truck prices fell 1.0 percent and new vehicle prices were flat.
World stock markets rose Wednesday after Greece indicated a willingness to commit to spending cuts to secure its bailout and moves by Japan’s central bank to support the economy lifted its powerhouse export sector.
Benchmark oil rose above $101 per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro and was steady against the yen.
European shares rose in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.2 percent to 5,912.27 and Germany’s DAX added 1.1 percent to 6,799.65. France’s CAC-40 gained 0.7 percent to 3,399.91.
Wall Street was set to head higher, with Dow Jones industrial futures rising 0.4 percent to 23,893 and S&P 500 futures adding 0.4 percent to 1,353.30.
The gains followed strong advances in Asia. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo soared 2.3 percent to close at 9,260.34, its highest close since Aug. 5. The surge comes a day after the Bank of Japan announced a further loosening of monetary policy through increased purchases of government bonds, raising hopes the yen’s strength could abate.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.1 percent to 2,025.32. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.1 percent to 21,365.23, its highest finish since Aug. 4. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 0.3 percent at 4,253.40. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia also rose while Indonesia and New Zealand fell.
Markets found hope in reports quoting Greek government officials as saying party leaders would promise by Wednesday to implement deep spending cuts and other reforms.
That came after talks to extricate Greece from a two-year debt crisis appeared to unravel late Tuesday after European finance chiefs canceled a meeting to discuss a second international bailout for the country.
The meeting was called off after Athens failed to deliver on several demands made by its partners in the euro currency union. Greece needs a $171 billion (euro130 billion) bailout by March 20 to avoid a default that could rattle the world financial system.
The country has already passed some of the deep spending cuts its lenders were demanding but hasn’t really satisfied anyone. Greeks have rioted, saying the cuts are too harsh, and Greece’s neighbors have expressed concern that the cuts are not enough.
Greece also said its economy shrank drastically at the end of last year, and Europe is expected to report Wednesday that the economies of the 17 countries that use the euro shrank 0.4 percent after growing 0.1 percent the quarter before.
Late Monday, Moody’s also downgraded its debt ratings on six European countries, including Italy, Portugal and Spain. Moody’s also said it might cut France, Austria and the U.K. as well.
Japanese exporters rose sharply as the persistently strong yen showing signs of abating on the heels of the central bank’s surprise announcement Tuesday. Mazda Motor Corp. jumped 8.3 percent and Toyota Motor Corp. surged 4.7 percent. Sony Corp. was 5.7 percent higher. Nintendo Co. added 4.5 percent.
But shares of Japanese computer chip maker Elpida Memory Inc. plunged 14.4 percent, after the company said Tuesday that talks were not going well with other companies on investments, loans and partnerships to improve its dire financial conditions.
South Korean technology shares jumped. Samsung Electronics Co. added 5.1 percent while Hynix Semiconductor Inc. gained 5.3 percent.
Mainland Chinese shares advanced with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbing 0.9 percent to 2,366.70, its highest close this year. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1.5 percent to 925.99.
A pledge by China’s central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, for China to continue investing in crisis-stricken Europe helped fuel the rally, said Peng Yunliang, an analyst based in Shanghai.
“Trading volume was about 30 percent more than yesterday and investors expect the authorities to boost liquidity,” he added.
Shenzhen-based Dongfang Electronics Co. and Gohigh Data Networks Technology Co. both hit the daily upside limit of 10 percent on expectations that authorities will promote further development of the Internet as a national strategy.
Benchmark oil for March delivery was up 74 cents to $101.48 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 17 cents to finish at $100.74 per barrel on the Nymex on Tuesday.
In currency trading, the euro strengthened to $1.3158 from $1.3095 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar slipped slightly to 78.43 yen from 78.45 yen.
Shares of Apple reached $500 for the first time on Monday, setting yet another high-water mark for the tech giant.
Apple’s (, Fortune 500) stock has been soaring lately, boosted by record sales of the iPhone and iPad. Even the 28-year old Macintosh line continues to set new sales records.
Shares closed at a record $502.60, up 2% from Friday’s close.
But this rise isn’t a recent development. Apple shares have been rising at a consistent trajectory for the past three years.
It was just six months ago that Apple cracked the $400 level for the first time, and it’s been 16 months since it passed $300. Shares traded above $200 for the first time in October 2009. At this time three years ago, shares traded at just $78.20.
Despite Apple’s stunning rise in share price, the company’s stock gains haven’t even kept pace with its earnings.
The stock has grown 40% over the past year, but Apple’s profit has grown 117% since the fiscal first quarter of 2011. Over the past two years, Apple’s stock has grown 150% and profits have soared 286%.
The stock has risen 539% in the past three years, but profits have grown 711% over the same time period.
That means Apple’s shares are relatively cheap.
The tech giant’s stock trades at just 12 times its expected earnings for 2012, which makes it cheaper than the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, which trades at about 18 times forecast earnings no fax cash advances. And Apple is wildly cheaper than some of the other tech companies out there with far less predictable futures, like Netflix (), Zynga (), LinkedIn () and Facebook.
Apple had $127.8 billion in sales during the 2011 calendar year, putting it neck-and-neck with Hewlett-Packard (, Fortune 500), the nation’s largest tech company by revenue. Yet Apple continues to grow like it’s a startup. This year, Apple is on pace to become the biggest technology company in the world, measured by revenue, outpacing current global No. 1 Samsung.
Last quarter, Apple posted $13 billion in sales. It was one of the most profitable quarters ever for any U.S. company, trailing only ExxonMobil’s (, Fortune 500) record-setting $14.8 billion quarter from the fall of 2008, when oil prices were at an all-time high.
Apple recently surpassed Exxon’s market capitalization to become the most valuable company on any American stock market. Apple’s market cap is nearing $500 billion, which would put it in elite territory. That’s a threshold only reached by Microsoft (, Fortune 500), Cisco (, Fortune 500), General Electric (, Fortune 500) and Exxon for brief moments over the past decade and a half.
Asian stock markets rose Monday, just hours after Greece’s parliament approved a new set of austerity measures that were required by international lenders in exchange for an emergency bailout.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.2 percent to 8,963.48. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.3 percent to 20,837.46. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5 percent to 2,002.72.
Drastic cuts in civil service jobs, minimum wages and pensions were among the measures approved by lawmakers in Athens in order to collect a second, urgently needed rescue loan.
Without the $170 billion (euro130 billion) financial lifeline, Greece will default on a mountain of national debt next month and likely be pressed into a disruptive exit from the euro common currency.
Investors in Asia greeted the Greek vote with relief. But Greeks, who have been struggling to cope with a 20 percent unemployment rate and five years of recession, took to the streets to protest the measures. Riots and fires continued all weekend.
Attention now shifts to a meeting Wednesday of European finance ministers, who will discuss additional bailout funds for Greece.
Analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in an email that the parliament vote “did not come without major cost in the form of escalating protests and violence within Greece.”
“At least for today the market tone will be a positive one as attention shifts to a meeting of EU finance ministers on Wednesday.”
Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 91 cents at $99.58 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.17 to settle at $98.67 on the Nymex on Friday.
In currency trading, the euro jumped to $1.3235 from $1.3170 late Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 77.62 yen from 77.60 Japanese yen.
For anyone who loves a good steak, a juicy burger or a nice Sunday roast, these are anxious times.
Prices for beef, which have been climbing for months, hit a record high in December - an average of $5 a pound — and analysts predict they could climb 5 to 8 percent higher this year.
“Prices have gone up quite a bit. That usually happens around the holidays, but we expect them to come down,” said Pam Neal, owner of Al’s Steakhouse, north of Laclede’s Landing. “Not this time. They’re going to be jumping even higher. It’s hard to handle.”
Beef prices are soaring for a number of reasons. Producers, who struggled with high feed costs and diminishing profits, began shrinking their herds roughly five years ago. Since then demand from overseas markets has shot up - roughly 11 percent of American beef went overseas last year, another record — claiming more American beef.
In July of last year, the US beef herd had dropped to its lowest point since1958. Also last year, a drought in Texas and Oklahoma, the top two cattle-producing states, forced producers to cull herds. That means that the 2012 cattle numbers, due out this week, will be even lower. Some estimates predict the country’s cattle herd could shrink by 600,000 head this year. Last year’s cow inventory was 30.9 million, while the total number of cattle was 92.6 million.
“There’s not enough beef out there,” said Ron Plain, an agricultural economist with the University of Missouri. “This year, there’s going to be less beef, more people, the supply is going to be tighter, and that means more records.”
Compounding matters for beef lovers are soaring feed, fuel and production costs, which are forcing price increases all along the production chain.
“Look at our fertilizer costs, our grain costs. Any piece of machinery we buy has just gone up,” said Tom Sachs, who raises cattle in St. Charles County. “Our input costs are just really high..”
For Missouri’s $3 to $4-billion cattle industry, which currently raises the third-highest number of calves in the nation, and for the nation’s cattle industry in general, the numbers come as good news. Prices, per pound for a steer, were $1.75 on Tuesday, compared to about 95 cents 5 years ago. For the average 1,300-pound steer, that adds up.
“Times are good,” said Mike Miller, of Cattlefax, a Colorado-based cattle industry research firm. “Our expectation is it’s going to be good for some time.”
But the good times for the industry have not come without effort.
Since 1980, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, per capita beef consumption has plummeted 25 percent. In 2011, the average American consumed 57.6 pounds of beef, down 13 percent from a decade prior. This year the number is predicted to decline again to 54.1 pounds.
The reasons for the decline are difficult to isolate. But they include health concerns over the higher fat content in red meat, worries about humane treatment and links to environmental problems, including greenhouse gasses, all of which have gotten a lot of attention in recent years. Some people point to public health campaigns, such as “Meatless Mondays,” for the shrinking numbers.
The industry insists the American appetite for beef is still strong, while some analysts and researchers suggest the decline, at least in recent years, is simply due to the recession.
“These non-economic factors are really tough to talk about,” said Scott Brown, a livestock economist with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Center at the University of Missouri. “Frankly, when the consumer goes to the store or restaurant, it’s the relative price that’s driving their decision.”
Whatever the reason for the decline, the country’s cattle producers have helped compensated for it by making inroads into overseas markets, particularly in Asia.
“Worldwide consumption of meat and demand has increased,” said Jeff Windett, who heads the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. “I think it’s just good business sense to expand market opportunities for producers.”
Overseas markets also embrace pieces of the animal that American’s typically don’t consume, bringing more dollars to American beef producers.
“Tripe, ox tail, tongue — some of those kinds of meat sell for a lot of money,” Windett explained. “It’s really creating a market for some of those variety meats and adding value to the carcass overall.”
Japan, a major beef importer, restricted US beef in 2003 after an outbreak of Mad Cow disease, but has since eased the barriers. With Japan a major trade destination again, American beef exports are poised to hit another record this year - nearly $5 billion. China, which does not officially import US beef, could be on the horizon.
“It spells a very bright spot for the US beef industry,” Brown said. “There are just a lot of things on the trade front that look to be very positive.”.
That will, inevitably, put more pressure on prices in American supermarkets, at least in the short term. Because cattle herds take years to rebuild and require huge amounts of capital, it could be some time before the American cattle inventory can help even out costs to consumers.
In the meantime, retailers, restaurants, butchers and shoppers are all getting creative.
Recently, for example, Dierbergs gave away free potatoes, onions and carrots to customers who bought ground beef.
“Customers are almost by default moving toward value cuts,” said Michael Cornelius, the chain’s meat director. “We’re trying to make sure there are items out there that address the value-consciousness of the customers.”
At Kenrick’s Meat and Catering, in south city, the meat counter has seen more customers looking for sales.
“People are eating more pork, but overall they’re just being more economical,” said manager Steven Weinmann. “They’re buying on sale. When everything was cheaper, people just bought by taste.”
At Kreis Steakhouse, on TK, owner George Tompras has been keeping an eye out for good values, too, but says he’s just managing to cover his costs.
“When tenderloins started going up in November, I bought 50 cases at $8 a pound,” he said. “Now it’s 11. That’s the kind of thing you have to do.”
Al’s, which just celebrated it’s 87th year in business, recently made a change to a long-standing tradition. Responding to customers’ concerns, the restaurant decided that instead of just displaying the beef cuts to diners on a tray, it would offer paper menus, with prices.
“We wanted to keep the elegance, the tradition,” Neal explained. “But we wanted to make sure people knew how much something was going to cost.”
The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped three-and-a-half cents over the past two weeks.
That’s according to the Lundberg Survey of fuel prices, released Sunday, which puts the price of a gallon of regular at $3.39.
Midgrade costs an average of $3.54 a gallon, and premium is at $3.66.
Diesel was up about two cents, at $3.91 a gallon.
Of the cities surveyed, Salt Lake City, Utah, has the nation’s lowest average price for gas at $2.94. Los Angeles has the highest at $3.71.
In California, the lowest average price was $3.59 in Fresno. The average statewide for a gallon of regular was $3.67, up about three cents.
South Korea has lifted an eight-year ban on imports of Canadian beef.
Seoul imposed the ban after mad cow disease was found in a Canadian cow in 2003. Canada has since been recognized as a “controlled risk” country for beef by the World Organization for Animal Health. Canada filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the South Korean ban in 2009.
South Korea’s Agriculture Ministry says the ban was lifted on Friday. But it says Seoul will only allow imports of Canadian beef from cattle younger than 30 months old. Younger cows are deemed less susceptible to mad cow disease.
The ministry also said the imports must exclude riskier parts such as the brain, skull and eyes.
South Korea was Canada’s fourth-largest beef export market before the ban.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said the drop in the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent may be partially reversed in coming months.
BRIDGETON • Officials at the new 60-bed SSM Rehabilitation Hospital hope that it will become a regional center for the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries.
Doug Brewer, president and chief executive of SSM-Select Rehabilitation, says the hospital brings together several services that previously were provided at other SSM sites, and the hospital also has all new equipment to help improve the rehab services offered by SSM.
Brewer said the hospital would focus particularly on helping those with brain or spinal cord injuries, in addition to providing a variety of other rehab services.
The $23 million Rehabilitation Hospital on the campus of DePaul Health Center, 12380 DePaul Drive in Bridgeton, began accepting its first patients this week. The three-story, 66,914-square-foot hospital was built over the past 18 months and has opened on schedule.
“I think we can all agree that this building has exceeded our expectations,” Brewer said at a dedication ceremony last week.
“Yes,” he added, “it’s a beautiful building, but exceptional, compassionate care for patients cannot be faked, and that’s what we’ll strive to provide here.”
The new hospital features these amenities:
• Therapy gyms on the third and fourth floors with ceiling-to-floor windows that provide a panoramic view of nearby interstates 70 and 270 and St. Charles Rock Road. Brewer said viewing the hustle and bustle outside can help stimulate those with certain types of brain injuries and hasten their recovery.
• Private, windowless therapy and consultation rooms for those whose injuries respond best to very little outside stimulation.
• Brightly lit patient rooms and hallways designed to look more like a hotel than a hospital. Large photos of St. Louis-area attractions hang in each patient’s room. Brewer said most patients will be at the hospital for at least two weeks or much longer, so designers tried to make the rooms as inviting as possible without forgetting the facility’s medical mission.
• A large dining area with both indoor and outdoor seating.
• An outdoor ambulation course for patient therapies.
• A courtyard for use by patients and their families.
• Nurses’ stations facing large windows on the nearby therapy gyms and therapy rooms, giving workers a good view and allowing them to respond quickly to any emergencies credit reports free.
The new hospital also houses the SSM Day Institute, a specialized outpatient program for people who are recovering from a traumatic injury or illness but who no longer require 24-hour nursing or acute rehabilitation care.
The hospital opened with about 150 employees and will employ 250 when it reaches full occupancy. SSM Rehabilitation Hospital is operated by SSM-Select Rehab LLC, a joint venture of SSM Health Care-St. Louis and Select Medical, which is based in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
David Chernow, Select Medical’s president and chief development and strategy officer, said he was excited about the new hospital and all of its new equipment and technology.
“But it will be the patients’ experience itself that they and their family members will remember the most after they go home,” he said.
“Our mission is to help them regain their independence. Truly, we will improve their quality of life.”
Chris Gonzalez, the hospital’s director of rehabilitation, said, “One area that will differentiate us is our care of people who have dual diagnoses — a spinal cord injury and a brain injury. Many times when there are traumatic injuries, especially in car accidents, both of these injuries occur.”
The brain injury rehab program is being relocated from St. Mary’s Health Center in Richmond Heights to the new hospital. The SSM Rehabilitation network will continue to operate general inpatient rehab programs at both St. Mary’s and St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles.
Dan Blaker, vice president of design and construction for Select Medical, said the new hospital looks in many ways like other medical facilities Select Medical has helped build in recent years.
“We basically incorporated rehab design features that we have incorporated over a number of years at other facilities,” he said.
He said the SSM Rehabilitation Hospital site was somewhat unusual in that it is long and narrow and on a hilltop. So the hospital was built with long hallways to fit the terrain.
Alberici Constructors Inc. was the general contractor on the project, and Stock and Associates were consulting engineers.
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