Topic: Market Outlook

Earlier this month, I asked the leaders of a group of U.S-based companies what – if anything – they were doing to prepare for “Grexit”, or a possible exit of Greece from the euro zone. The responses from the manufacturers were rather vague. The FT reports.

Some of Europe’s biggest fund managers have confirmed they are dumping euro assets amid rising fears over a possible Greek exit from the eurozone and single currency turmoil, the Financial Times reports.

Asian shares inched higher on Friday, helped by a slight uptick in U.S. shares overnight that encouraged investors to return cautiously to buy up bargains after recent slides, but weak global data and Europe's fiscal woes limited the gains.

China stocks are set for more rangebound trading on Friday, as investors continued to grapple with global and domestic economic uncertainties.

Asian shares eased on Thursday as markets were vulnerable to faltering factory orders in China and lack of concrete measures shown by European leaders to tackle the risk of Greece leaving the currency bloc.

China stocks may trade lower on Thursday, weighed down by uncertainties about the global economy and China's own fiscal policy response.

China is rolling out sweeping brokerage reforms to nurture future global investment banks that officials hope could eventually compete with the likes of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, a regulatory document showed. 

When Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy in September 2008, investors rushed to buy gold. When the eurozone crisis erupted in 2010, they bought more.' But this year the buying has fizzled out, reports the Financial Times.

I sympathize with the Germans. This is not because I agree with their prevailing view of how the crisis occurred or what to do about it. I sympathize because the German elite were the ones who understood what creating the euro implied. They realized that a currency union could not work without a political union. The FT reports.

Asian shares retreated on Wednesday as hopes for fresh measures to tackle euro zone debt faded and caution set in ahead of a meeting of European leaders, with renewed fears Greece would leave the euro bloc dampening appetite for riskier assets.

Analysts say China stocks can only extend gains on Wednesday if volume can increase to match.

European stocks are likely to remain under pressure, and the euro is seen breaking technical support levels, as Greece's inconclusive election results look increasingly likely to push it out of the euro zone, according to market experts and analysts.

Banks are braced for a fresh attack on their profit margins, if Moody’s presses ahead shortly with plans to downgrade short-term funding ratings sectorwide. The FT reports.

Asian markets kept gains on Tuesday after reclaiming some ground to move off lows for the year the day before, as hopes grew that Europe would embark on fresh action to address its debt crisis while promoting growth.