http://www.rttnews.comGlobal financial news, market analysis, economics and forex newsen-usMon, 20 May 2013 07:15:01 GMTThailand lowered its full-year growth outlook after weaker domestic demand and exports weighed on economic activity in the first three months of the year. Gross domestic product expanded 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2013 compared to an upwardly revised 19.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2012, the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) said Monday.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2121022Mon, 20 May 2013 07:01:17 GMTThe fifth consecutive monthly increase in the U.K. house prices amid limited supply took average asking prices to a record, a survey by Rightmove showed Monday. House prices hit a record GBP 249,841 in May, as new sellers raised their prices by 2.1 percent from the prior month. Prices were up by the same magniture in April.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120965Mon, 20 May 2013 06:07:25 GMTEuropean stocks are seen opening higher on Monday after improving consumer sentiment data helped to assure investors of the recovery in the world's largest economy. http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120962Mon, 20 May 2013 06:05:27 GMTThe Japanese government on Monday upgraded its assessment of the economy for the first time in two months, as a weak yen helped revive the country's exports and factory output. "The Japanese economy is picking up slowly," the Cabinet Office said in its May monthly report. This was an upgrade from previous month's assessment when it said that economy was showing signs of picking up.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120952Mon, 20 May 2013 05:28:17 GMTInternet giant Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) is close to announcing a deal to acquire micro-blogging and social-networking site Tumblr, Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at about $1.1. billion, according to media reports on Sunday. The proposed deal has reportedly been unanimously approved by the Yahoo board on Sunday. Yahoo could announce the deal as early as Monday evening at its press conference.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120931Mon, 20 May 2013 03:19:54 GMTIn recent years there have been a number of studies examining the association between coffee and its health benefits. Drinking coffee in moderation is said to offer protection against Parkinson disease, type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and Alzheimer's. And now, you can add one more to that list.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120870Sat, 18 May 2013 16:26:54 GMTStocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Friday, more than offsetting the weakness seen on Thursday. In a reversal from the previous session, the markets benefited from some upbeat U.S. economic data as well as comments from a Federal Reserve official. The major averages saw further upside going into the close, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new record highs.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120748Fri, 17 May 2013 20:18:14 GMTU.S. crude oil ended sharply higher for a third straight session Friday, tracking rising global equity markets after some upbeat macroeconomic data out of the U.S. raised hopes of an economic recovery, even as the dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120728Fri, 17 May 2013 19:03:40 GMTAs the IRS targeting scandal continues to make headlines, animal-protection charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, claims that conservative groups are not the only ones that have faced increased scrutiny from the agency.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120695Fri, 17 May 2013 17:43:34 GMTAfter moving higher at the start of trading on Friday, stocks have continued to perform well throughout the session. The markets have benefited from some upbeat economic data after a disappointing batch of data helped drag stocks lower on Thursday. The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering firmly in positive territory.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120657Fri, 17 May 2013 16:07:06 GMTA conservative advocacy group has urged House Republican leaders to refrain from bringing controversial legislation to the House floor and risk distracting Americans from the recent scandals causing headaches for the White House.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120643Fri, 17 May 2013 15:33:22 GMTWhile the IRS targeting scandal has taken center stage on Capitol Hill on Friday, the results of a new Gallup poll showed that the American public's interest in the story is comparatively low based on historical measures. The poll showed that 54 percent of Americans are following the news that the IRS targeted conservative groups for greater scrutiny "very" or "somewhat" closely.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120615Fri, 17 May 2013 14:57:47 GMTLed by building permits and the interest rate spread, leading economic indicators in the U.S. rose by more than anticipated in the month of April, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Friday. The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.6 percent in April following a revised 0.2 percent decrease in March.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120601Fri, 17 May 2013 14:36:56 GMTConsumer sentiment in the U.S. has seen a substantial improvement in the month of May, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan on Friday, with the consumer sentiment index rising to its highest level in nearly six years.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120588Fri, 17 May 2013 14:26:31 GMTStocks moved notably higher at the start of trading on Friday, partly offsetting the weakness that was seen in the previous session. The major averages have all moved back to the upside after ending Thursday's trading in the red. The major averages have recently pulled back off their highs for the young session but are currently holding on to modest gains.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120553Fri, 17 May 2013 13:48:24 GMTAfter moving mostly lower over the course of the previous session, stocks are likely to move back to the upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 50 points.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120491Fri, 17 May 2013 12:55:50 GMTA new study of glaciers worldwide using observations from two NASA satellites has helped resolve differences in estimates of how fast glaciers are disappearing and contributing to sea level rise. The new research found glaciers outside the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, repositories of one percent of all land ice, lost an average of 571 trillion pounds (259 trillion kilograms) of mass everhttp://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120488Fri, 17 May 2013 12:52:16 GMTStage Stores, Inc. Friday reported a wider loss for its first quarter, reflecting mainly a charge related to consolidation of its South Hill, Virginia operations. Sales increased 3.5 percent from last year. The company maintained its adjusted earnings per share outlook for fiscal 2013, while lifted its sales view.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120469Fri, 17 May 2013 12:34:27 GMTFiltration systems provider Donaldson Company, Inc. (DCI) Friday cut its earnings and sales forecast for the year, after reporting a marginal drop in third-quarter profit as sales growth continued to be challenged by the global economic environment.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120435Fri, 17 May 2013 12:04:02 GMTAfter yesterday's nervous run, Wall Street seems to be striving to regain the momentum that has helped the averages scale new record highs in recent sessions. The U.S. index futures point to a modestly higher opening on Friday. A few key earnings reports released after the markets closed yesterday have largely been negative. Meanwhile, on the economic front, traders could react to a consumer sentiment reading and the Conference Board's data on the leading economic indicators index for the U.S. Risk appetite is on the wane, with the dollar gaining strength on the back of expectations that the Fed's stimulus measures may be rolled back earlier than anticipated. At the same time, oil is trading modestly higher.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120350Fri, 17 May 2013 10:29:51 GMTAsian stocks ended mostly higher on Friday despite concerns about the state of the U.S. economy and uncertainty over the prospects of the Fed winding down its bond-buying program. Trading volumes, however, remained thin due to holidays in Hong Kong and Seoul. The dollar held firm near a 10-month against the other major currencies, keeping commodity prices in check. http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120300Fri, 17 May 2013 09:03:53 GMTDanish container shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S Friday reported a decline in the first-quarter profit, reflecting mainly higher income tax expense and lower revenues. For full-year 2013, the Group still expects a profit below the 2012 levels of $4.0 billion. The net result is expected to be in line with 2012 of $2.9 billion, excluding...http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120252Fri, 17 May 2013 08:09:28 GMTEuropean stocks are seen opening largely unchanged on Friday, as a slew of data released overnight raised concerns about the strength of the U.S. economy. Banks could be in focus after the European Banking Authority recommended asset quality reviews on major EU banks, which will delay the next stress tests until 2014.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120170Fri, 17 May 2013 06:12:31 GMTDecline in Singapore's non-oil exports eased in April amid an improvement in overseas demand for the country's non-electronic products, a report from International Enterprise (IE) Singapore showed Friday. On a year-on-year basis, non-oil domestic exports fell 1 percent in April following a 4.8 percent fall in the previous month. The rate of decrease was weaker than the 1.9 percent drop expected.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120143Fri, 17 May 2013 04:47:33 GMTCore machine orders in Japan surged a seasonally adjusted 14.2 percent on month in March to 793.1 billion yen, the Cabinet Office said on Friday rising for the fifth time in six months. The headline figure shattered forecasts for an increase of 3.5 percent following the downwardly revised 4.2 percent increase in February.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120084Fri, 17 May 2013 00:45:29 GMTDesign software maker Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK) Thursday reported a 30 percent decline in earnings from last year, hurt by lower revenue and weaker margins.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120040Thu, 16 May 2013 22:20:59 GMTJ.C. Penney Co. Inc. Thursday reported a first-quarter loss that widened from a year ago, hurt by a 16 percent drop in sales, as well on lower margins. Results came in below Wall Street estimates.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120039Thu, 16 May 2013 22:18:30 GMTStruggling PC maker Dell Inc. said Thursday after the markets closed that its first quarter profit dropped 79% from last year, as revenue declined and margins deteriorated amid sluggish demand for personal computers. The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in way below analysts' expectations, but its quarterly revenue beat analysts' forecast.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2119998Thu, 16 May 2013 21:34:30 GMTApplied Materials Inc. (AMAT) Thursday reported a swing to loss in the second quarter, as the semiconductor equipment maker's sales continued to decline in a weak economy. The bottom line was also impacted by impairment charges. http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2119976Thu, 16 May 2013 21:11:46 GMTNordstrom Inc. Thursday posted a lower first-quarter profit, hurt by reduced margins that offset a near five percent growth in sales. Earnings for the quarter fell short of Wall Street estimates, as did revenues on lesser than planned volumes and weak demand for seasonal merchandise.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2119959Thu, 16 May 2013 21:00:29 GMT