الدورة التدريبة المجانية بالاسكندرية لتعليم الفوركس - فوركس - تجارة العملات - مجموعة البورصة المصرية
China approves Yanzhou bid for Felix Resources
China regulators approve Yanzhou Coal's bid for Australian coal miner Felix Resources
BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese regulators have approved a bid by state-owned Yanzhou Coal to take over Australian miner Felix Resources Ltd., the company said in a statement.
The statement, posted Friday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, said China's National Development and Reform Commission issued an approval letter Thursday.
The offer values Felix at 3.5 billion Australian dollars ($3.2 billion), making the deal China's biggest investment yet in the Australian minerals sector.
Felix shareholders approved the deal in August and the Australian government gave it the green light in October.
The A$16.95-a-share offer is the latest bid by a Chinese state-owned company to buy a chunk of Australia's raw materials to guarantee its steel-making and other construction industries can meet the demands of China's booming economy.
The progress of similar acquisition attempts by other Chinese state-owned companies has been rocky.
Debt-laden Rio Tinto in June abandoned a $19.5 billion bid from China's Chinalco to increase its stake in the Anglo-Australian miner to 18 percent, a deal that met investor resistance and opposition from some politicians who said it was against Australia's national interest.
China Minmetals Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd. had to amend its bid for Oz Minerals after the Australian government said the Chinese company could not buy a mine located inside an Australian military area. The company eventually bought all of Oz Minerals apart from that mine for A$1.7 billion.
Is the Economy Really Getting Better?
Are Things Really Getting Better?
Friday, December 4, 2009provided by
Last quarter, the economy grew by the largest amount since the summer of 2007, but there are signs that things are still getting worse.
Jobs: Losses Slowing
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What it is: Each month, the government calculates how many people are on private and government payrolls across every sector to determine how many jobs the economy is creating or losing.
Why it's important: The economy is still shedding jobs by the hundreds of thousands each month. Even though the number has decreased substantially from the recession's peak, economists say a true recovery cannot take place until a good number of jobs are created each month.
Where we're headed: The labor market has historically dragged its feet at the beginning of an economic rebound, as businesses wait for sure signs of a recovery before hiring. And the trend needs to continue in the right direction before we can reasonably talk about job creation.
Best: Sept. 1983, +1,114. Coming out of the deepest recessions of all time, the economy and job creation roared back in 1983.
Worst: Sept. 1945, -1,966. As the war wound down in late 1945, war machinery makers laid off unneeded workers by the thousands.
GDP: Strong Return to Growth
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What it is: Gross domestic product is the broadest measure of the nation's economy. GDP measures what individuals, businesses and the government spend as well as the net impact of the nation's imports and exports.
Why it's important: Economists use GDP as one of several data points to determine whether the economy is in a period of recession or expansion. The 2008-2009 recession was one of the deepest ever -- it was the first time in history in which the economy retreated for four straight quarters.
Where we're headed: The economy returned to positive growth in the last three months after contracting by 3.7% since the recession began. But experts warn that government stimulus programs like Cash for Clunkers contributed strongly to the economic expansion and that the economic recovery is more fragile than the GDP numbers may suggest.
Best: 1950, 1st quarter, +17.2%. GDP soared in the early 1950s as the post-war business cycle reached its peak with unemployment at 4%.
Worst: 1958, 1st quarter, -10.4%. GDP hit its worst point during the Great Depression, with a decline of 29%. Since WWII it hasn't gone below 10%.
Housing: Slow Improvement
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What it is: Home values affect all property owners, so the change in prices of homes sold by homeowners is one of the more informative readings on the health of the housing market.
Why it's important: Home prices serve as a key measure of consumers' wealth and the financial sector's overall stability. When home prices rise, consumers have more funds to borrow and spend. Rising prices also means the value of financial institutions' large real estate portfolios increase, which, in theory, gives banks more of a cushion to lend.
Where we're headed: Home prices have begun to stabilize, as sales have risen on the back of the Recovery Act's homebuyer tax credit. Home foreclosures, which have totaled 6.3 million during the recession, have fallen slightly in the past two months but have trended sharply higher over the past two years.
Best: Oct. 2005, +16.6%. The housing bubble of the mid-2000s hit its peak in late 2005.
Worst: Jan. 2009, -18.1%. When the bubble burst, prices fell by a record amount.
Inflation: Okay for Now
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What it is: Inflation measures the rise of prices and the value of money. When inflation is high, money is worth less over time. Deflation, the opposite of inflation, occurs when prices fall over time.
Why it's important: Moderate inflation (between 1% and 2% annual rise in prices) is good for the economy, as it typically contributes to job and wage growth. Out-of-control inflation is dangerous, as money loses its value. Deflation is equally dangerous, because it typically leads to job loss and declining salaries.
Where we're headed: The Federal Reserve has said there is no immediate risk of high inflation, and they are watching prices carefully for hints of a deflationary period. But economists say the massive amounts of government spending from the bailouts and stimulus package mean inflation could spiral out of control next year if the economy recovers without reining in the spending.
Best: March 1980, +14.6%. Inflation soared despite a recession - giving rise to the term "stagflation." The FED hiked interest rates to combat it.
Worst: Aug. 1949, -3%. A deep recession dragged prices way down in the summer of 1949.
Manufacturing: Tepid Growth
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What it is: Industrial production is a broad measure of the nation's manufacturing sector. The index measures the output of factories that make consumer goods, business equipment and raw materials. It also measures output from the construction, mining and utilities industries.
Why it's important: When there is a strong demand for goods, the manufacturing sector increases jobs, makes more products and adds to business' inventories. All of those items factor directly into GDP and the health of the overall economy.
Where we're headed: The manufacturing sector has grown for the last three months after contracting in 17 of the previous 18 months. Business' inventories are currently at bare bones, suggesting the manufacturing bounceback will continue. But factories are currently operating at only 70% capacity, about 11 percentage points below average. Economists say that manufacturers will have to utilize their own dormant capacity before they start hiring new factory workers.
Best: May 1933, +16.6%. The country came out of the Great Depression in an enormous recovery, but fell into another depression shortly after.
Worst: Aug. 1945, -10.4%. As World War II wound down in the late 1945, manufacturers stopped producing weapons and vehicles for the armed forces.