SINGAPORE, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Singapore shares are likely to open higher on Monday, buoyed by data showing U.S. unemployment fell to a 2-1/2-year low and as Italy unveiled a package of austerity measures to shore up its strained finances and stave off a euro zone crisis. Singapore-based container shipping group Neptune Orient Lines NOL) may be in focus after a German paper Die Welt reported on Saturday the firm has resumed talks about buying German rival Hapag-Lloyd , without identifying its sources.
W Buffett owns a wide range of biz in US and recently said that they are all doing well except the housing biz which still has high unsold stocks. If this bill goes through , it may help fix the problem as USD500K can buy 2 or 3 homes, depending on the region.
www.cnbc.com/id/45554173
LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - European shares were set to extend the previous session's gains on Friday, mirroring advances on Wall Street and in Asia, with signs of some strength in the U.S. economy improving sentiment and higher metals prices seen supporting miners.
Financial spreadbetters predicted Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> to open 27 to 34 points higher, or as much as 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> to gain 17 to 31 points, or as much as 0.5 percent, and France's CAC-40 <.FCHI> to open 6 to 11 points, or as much as 0.4 percent.
An European icon is dead -- the Saab car, which I once thought was real cool.
STOCKHOLM — After six decades of building cars renowned for their teardrop designs and quirky features, cash-strapped Saab Automobile gave up its desperate struggle for a lifeline Monday and filed for bankruptcy.
Saab CEO Victor Muller said "the last nail in the coffin" was previous owner General Motors' rejection of a Chinese company's attempts to gain control of the ailing Swedish brand.
Muller personally handed over the bankruptcy petition to a Swedish court, which approved it late Monday.
US stock index futures (
www.cnbc.com/id/17689937/
) pointed to a strong gain for Wall Street as new developments in Europe gave investors' hope and the housing market continued to show signs of recovery.
Housing starts and building permits both rose sharply in November, data that reinforced recent numbers showing gains in builder sentiment and increases in sale prices.
The news came after a report showing German business optimism rising unexpectedly and as Spanish short-term financing costs fell sharply
We started 2011 in recovery mode, admittedly weak and unbalanced, but nevertheless there was hope. The issues appeared more tractable: how to deal with excessive housing debt in the United States, how to deal with adjustment in countries at the periphery of the Euro area, how to handle volatile capital inflows to emerging economies, and how to improve financial sector regulation.
It was a long agenda, but one that appeared within reach.
Yet, as the year draws to a close, the recovery in many advanced economies is at a standstill, with some investors even exploring the implications of a potential breakup of the euro zone, and the real possibility that conditions may be worse than we saw in 2008.
I draw four main lessons from what has happened
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