German economy grounds to a halt

Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, saw a near stalling in 2Q11 as its GDP grew by just 0.1 percent between April and June, according to the country’s Federal Statistics Office. The figure, which was below market expectations of 0.5 percent, marks a substantial drop from the downwardly amended 1Q11 increase of 1.3 percent and raises concerns…

EU imposes short selling ban

Amid heightened international market volatility, ESMA, the EU’s regulator, announced late on Thursday that France, Belgium, Spain and Italy have banned short selling in an attempt to curb rumours and halt the precipitous fall in value of troubled EU banks. In Spain and France the ban will last 15 days and is only applicable to stocks…

Shares drop on rumours of French credit downgrade

The Paris stock exchange lost over five percent of value and French financials were hammered late on Wednesday amid rumours that French banks were in serious difficulty. France’s second-largest bank, Société Générale, which holds significant amounts in Greek and Italian debt, saw its shares drop by 21 percent before closing down 14.7 percent late on Wednesday. The…

Stock markets higher after US Fed pledge



Asian stocks have rallied in early trading on Wednesday from their downward trend earlier in the week after the US Federal Reserve promised to keep interest rates near the zero level “at least through to mid-2013.”
 Europe’s stock markets also opened higher after overnight increases on Wall Street and Asian markets, which saw the Hong…

China inflation hits 6.5%

China’s PPI increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year while the inflation rate rose 6.5 percent to a 37-month high in July. Inflation was driven by a14.8 percent spike in food costs, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. The data comes amid European sovereign debt concerns and worries of a ‘double-dip’ US recession, and…

Global stocks plummet

European stock markets plummeted further on Tuesday following a sharp rise in Chinese inflation, adding to woes over debt contagion across the eurozone and fears of another US recession. Market volatility reached its peak when Britain’s FTSE 100 index, which traded 20 percent below its February peak of 6091 points, plunged officially into bear territory…

US to raise debt limit

President Obama has announced that senior Republican and Democrat party members have agreed a proposal to limit US debt by $2.4bn in order to avoid deault or downgrading from the nation’s triple A rating. Making the announcement on Sunday, Obama said the agreement will cut spending by about $1trn over the next decade. Votes in…

How to Use a Stock Loan or Securities Based Credit Line to Buy Re

A pledged asset mortgage is nothing more than a non-purpose securities-backed loan or credit line used to facilitate a real estate transaction. The securities asset can be used as the collateral alone, or in combination with the real property.  When used in combination, we call it “pledged asset combo” or “asset integrated” financing.There are several…