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Sunday, September 26, 2010

[cpsnewswire] [CPS NewsWire, Thursday - Sunday, September 23-26, 2010]

CPS International is a marketing arm of CPS Securities in Mongolia. CPS Securities is a Perth, Western Australia based AFSL License Holder. To trade ASX and international stocks, feel free to contact me at mogi@cpsinternational.mn or +976-99996779.

 

 

EBRD Subscribes to Petro Matad Offer

September 24 (Petro Matad) Following Petro Matad's announcement of 16 September 2010, the Company is pleased to announce that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the "EBRD") has today notified the Company that it will conditionally subscribe for 3,367,003 new ordinary shares of US$0.01 each in the Company ("Share(s)") at a price of 135 pence (US$2.08) per Share (the "EBRD Subscription"). Following the EBRD Subscription of approximately US$7 million, the aggregate amount raised by the Company in its September fundraising is approximately US$54 million.

Timetable

Application has been made for the 8,843,675 Shares issued pursuant to the direct subscriptions set out in the Company's announcement of 16 September (the "Direct Subscription Shares") to be admitted to AIM. It is expected that trading will commence in these Shares at 8.00 am on or around 30 September 2010.  

The issue of Shares pursuant to the EBRD Subscription will take place separately and a further announcement will be made in due course.

Shares in issue

Following the issue of the Direct Subscription Shares and prior to the EBRD Subscription, the Company will have 179,185,324 Shares in issue.  

The new Shares will, following allotment, rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued Shares.  

Changes to notifiable holdings following the Placing  

In so far as Petro Matad is aware, the following change has occurred to the following significant shareholder's holding as a result of its participation in the direct subscription:

 

Previous Shareholding

New Shareholding

Percentage of Matad’s Issue Share Capital1

Petrovis LLC

34,040,03

36,684,262

20.47%

1 Calculated prior to the issue of the Shares pursuant to the EBRD Subscription

 

Following the EBRD Subscription, the EBRD will hold 31,741,110 Shares representing 17.4% of the Company's enlarged issued share capital.

John Robertson, a director of the Company, subscribed for 50,000 new Shares in the Placing and not 103,950 new Shares as previously announced on 16 September 2010. His holding is, therefore, following the issue of new Shares pursuant to the Direct Subscriptions, as follows:

Previous Shareholding

New Shareholding

Percentage of Matad’s Issue Share Capital1

300,000   

350,000   

0.20%1

1 Calculated prior to the issue of the Shares pursuant to the EBRD Subscription

Link to announcement

(Mogi: MATD shares closed little changed at 184p. Link to share chart)

 

 

There's Oil in Them Thar Mongolian Hills (video interview with Doug McGay, CEO of Petro Matad)

September 24 (Marketwatch) Mongolia's known for its copper, gold and coal reserves. But Petro Matad CEO Douglas McGay discusses with Gregory J. Millman the company's recent discovery of what may be 120 million barrels of recoverable oil and how it plans to fund exploration and development.

Link to video

 

 

GE and Newcom Sign MOU for Strategic Cooperation in Mongolia

NEW YORK, Sep 24, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- General Electric Company (GE) and Newcom Group (Newcom) announced to jointly explore business opportunities in Mongolia, one of the fastest growing and resource-rich markets in Asia. Newcom is a leading privately owned investment company in Mongolia with interests in telecommunications and information technology, real estate, clean energy and aviation. GE will be the largest multi-national company to operate in the Mongolian market.

Mr. Boldbaatar Tserenpuntsag, Chairman of Newcom Group and Mr. Mark Norbom, the President and CEO of GE Greater China signed today a memorandum of understanding in New York in presence of H.E. Mr. Batbold Sukhbaatar, Prime Minister of Mongolia and Mr. John G. Rice, Vice Chairman of GE and President and CEO of GE Technology Infrastructure.

The two companies agreed on the principles and basis to explore a sustained partnership in key sectors of the economy, including power, civil aviation, healthcare, railways, water, mining, lighting and financial services.

"GE is very excited to explore growth opportunities in Mongolia with a strong partner like Newcom. Each company brings strengths that are well-aligned with Mongolia's growth needs -- GE brings technologies and expertise in infrastructure and financial services and Newcom brings established relationships and operations in the market," said Mr. Norbom.

"Newcom is happy to be GE's partner of choice in Mongolia. Indeed, we are a perfect match -- it is imagination and innovation that drives our two companies. As GE has stood at the forefront of imagination and progress in the world for over a century, Newcom has been a pioneer in new and innovative technologies in democratic Mongolia. Together we are set to team for growth and take on big development challenges in emerging Mongolia," said Mr. Bold Baatar, the CEO of Newcom Group.

Link to article

 

 

Lauderdale judge awards $67.6 million in Bank of Mongolia suit

September 24 (Miami Herald) A judge in Fort Lauderdale District Court awarded a $67.6 million judgment to Bank of Mongolia this week in a lawsuit alleging fraud, civil theft, racketeering and conspiracy.

Lauderhill-based M&P Global Financial Services, M&P Global Financial Services Europe, Burton D. Greenberg and son Joel E. Greenberg were found liable to the bank by District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas.

Bank of Mongolia, the Asian country's central bank, had been trying to build an affordable housing project and M&P and the Greenbergs had agreed to raise the funding.

We're very pleased with the outcome,” said David Mankuta, Fort Lauderdale-based attorney with Atkinson, Diner, Stone, Mankuta & Ploucha, who represents the Bank of Mongolia. “The bank and the country suffered a great deal as a result of these people.”

Link to article

 

 

Human Rights Commission finds Oyutolgoi LLC questions violate labor law

September 24 (news.mn) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has concluded that several questions Oyutolgoi LLC is asking those who wish to join its vocational training program are in violation of the labor law.  An applicant has to mention if he/she is member of a political party, and if yes, which party; and also to give details of any close relative who works for a State organization, or a fully or partly State-owned economic entity, or an international organization such as the UN, The Asian Development Bank or The World Bank. 

The NHRC feels this allows Oyutolgoi LLC access to data that even the Central Intelligence Service does not have. About 3,000 of the trainees are expected to be offered employment at the mine project, and their families would include 15,000 people, and relatives a much larger number. Is there any reason a company owned by a Canadian citizen should posses such personal data about its Mongolian employees?

The issue came to light when some Oyutolgoi LLC employees drew the attention of the Parliamentary Human Rights Sub Council to the question about a month ago. The MPs referred the matter to the NHRC which has now concluded that the company’s questions violate the human rights of citizens guaranteed in several provisions and has recommended steps against the company.

Link to article

 

 

Erdene Initiates Exploration on New Copper-Gold Discovery

Provides Update on Mongolian Coal and Metals Exploration Programs

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, Sep 22, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Erdene Resource Development Corp. (CA:ERD) today provided an update on its ongoing exploration programs for coal and metals in Mongolia.

Highlights:

--  New Copper-Gold Discovery - Detailed Nomin Exploration Program Initiated

--  Regional Coal Targets Being Tested - Zarman Coal Drilling Initiated

--  Galshar Coal Royalty - Xanadu Acquires Galshar Project

--  Zuun Mod Molybdenum-Copper Deposit - Scoping Study Level Work Underway

--  Zuun Mod Exploration - Geophysical Program Commences

Link to article

(Mogi: ERD rose as high as 30% during trading on Thursday after the news. ERD closed at 48c in Toronto on Friday. Link to chart)

 

 

OYU TOLGOI AND 3,300 VACANCIES

September 24, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, /MONTSAME/ A Memorandum of mutual understanding has been signed between Minister of Education, Science and Culture Yo.Otgonbayar, Minister of Social Welfare and Labour T. Gandi and Mr. Keith Marshall, a president and executive director of Oyutolgoi LLC. 

According to the treaty, an implementation has started to prepare a 3,300 Mongolian work force

Oyu Tolgoi LLC will issue 36 billion togrog training some 3,300 people in Vocational training centers in the next three years. 

After having graduating the centers, the people are to be examined and selected for the Oyu Tolgoi project. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture will register trainees and deliver information to the public.

For the time being, thousand people have been registered to study in the Vocational training centers starting from October. 

According to the Prime Minister's resolution, the remaining 2,300 will be registered in November in aimags. 

Link to article

 

 

Rio’s sights fixed on Ivanhoe and Mongolian mine

September 22 (FT) Rio Tinto is creeping its way towards control of Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines at a slow but relentless pace, drawing investors’ attentions away from a multi-billion dollar mining transaction that could be as significant for Rio as Canada’s PotashCorp looks to be for BHP Billiton.

Oyu-Tolgoi-graphicOver the past six months a conflict has erupted between Rio and Ivanhoe, developers of a new copper project in Mongolia that many analysts consider to be one of the best in the world. With a stake in Ivanhoe that rose to 35 per cent last week, Rio can feel confident that it is best placed for an eventual takeover. It has invested more than $1bn in Ivanhoe and its Oyu Tolgoi mine since 2006.

The markets are giving credit to Ivanhoe’s manoeuvres. One London-based analyst ascribed the performance of its share price, which hit a 12-month high above C$22 on Wednesday, to investors’ intrinsic faith in Mr Friedland’s “wiliness” and record of coming out ahead.

Rio’s rigid agreements with Ivanhoe, which owns 66 per cent of Oyu Tolgoi, may give the Canadian miner less flexibility than is appreciated. In 2006, when its Mongolian project carried heavy political risk, it agreed a financing deal with Rio that essentially gave the Anglo-Australian miner a path to ownership that it could exercise in 2011. Over the years Rio has released project financing in return for tranches of equity. Over the past year it has raised its stake from 19.7 per cent to 34.9 per cent. In Canadian law there is no level above which an shareholder must make a bid for the full company.

Rio’s agreements with Ivanhoe, however, stipulate a maximum stake of 47 per cent until October 2011, when a “standstill agreement” preventing takeover moves lapses.

It is toward that October 2011 date that both companies are hurtling, amid attempts to outmanoeuvre each other. Ivanhoe has pushed back the date of the standstill agreement by adopting a poison pill. So far the companies have not yet agreed on a Canadian arbitrator to hear Rio’s request that the defence be struck down.

But the 2006 agreement gives Rio right of first refusal over any offer made from a third party. This places Ivanhoe in the dangerous position of offering its shares to a bidder, only to see Rio pre-empt and possibly move to immediate control of the company. Ivanhoe’s best tactic, said one person involved in the 2006 deal, may be to find a bidder whose offer is so high that Rio cannot follow.

“Whether all this momentum is leading to anything all depends on if Robert Friedland finds his $40 [per share] man,” the person said, referring to an offer of C$40 per share compared with Thursday’s price of about C$20 per share.

Chinalco, the Chinese state-owned aluminium producer, is one potential bidder for Ivanhoe, as it is attempting to diversify out of aluminium. Chinalco, however, is also Rio’s largest shareholder. That raises the possibility that Chinalco would be more likely to join with Rio to take control of the group than pay a high premium to buy Ivanhoe on its own.

There aren’t that many players who can play,” said one Canadian banker familiar with both companies. “This project is about the big boy miners and governments. It’s about countries as big as China and companies as big as Rio or BHP. The permutations are very small.”

Link to article

(Mogi: IVN broke its all time high yet again during Friday trading. IVN intraday highs were C$24.29, US$23.69 in Toronto, New York respectively. Links to IVN’s charts in Toronto, NY)

 

 

Erdenet likely to have first copper smelter

September 24 (news.mn) The Ministry of Minerals and Energy began studies on setting up a copper smelter following the Parliament resolution in its Spring session that Mongolia would have one by 2012. Its report, to be submitted to a working group of MPs, suggests Erdenet as the most suitable site for a smelter with a capacity of 90,000-130,000 tons. B. Batkhuu, Director General of a department in the Ministry, has said the cost would be around USD500 million.

The Ministry has started formulating a draft law that would exempt technology and equipment to be used in coal processing and copper smelting from paying Customs tax and VAT when they are imported, on the ground that they will be used to generate value addition. The proposed smelter will be using ore produced in the Erdenet mines, but many in the Ministry feel that a larger one will be needed when copper begins to be mined at Oyutolgoi and Tsagaan Suvarga.

Link to article

 

 

Kan Reaffirms Mineral Cooperation

September 25 (Mainichi) –

Earlier in the day, the Japanese leader also met with his Mongolian counterpart Sukhbaatar Batbold and reaffirmed cooperation in mineral resource development in Mongolia, Japanese officials said.

The Mongolian premier told Kan that his country encourages investment from Japan in resource development projects including those concerning rare metals.

Kan welcomed the Mongolian policy and expressed expectations that Japanese companies will take part in joint development of such resources as coal, copper, uranium and rare metals. He urged Mongolia to improve the business environment to spur economic exchanges between the two countries, the officials said.

Link to article

 

 

China imported 107 mt Moly from Mongolia in August.

Singapore (Platts)--24Sep2010/909 am EDT/1309 GMT -- 

China imported a total 1,982 mt of molybdenum ores and concentrates in August, which was down 67.62% year on year, the latest figures from the General Administration of Customs of China showed.

Of this amount, 1,839 mt consisted of roasted moly ores and concentrates, while 143 mt was for those other than roasted.

The majority of the roasted supply was imported from Chile (600 mt) and the US (499 mt). The remaining came from mainly Mexico, Belgium, South Korea, Thailand and the Netherlands. Mongolia was the top supplying country for ores that were other than roasted. China imported 107 mt from Mongolia in August.

Link to article

 

 

PM urges more help for landlocked countries

September 25 (news.mn) Speaking at a round table meeting on September 22 on "Ensuring special needs of the most vulnerable countries", organized as part of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly in New York,  Prime Minister S.Batbold  said Mongolia’s total expenses for transit transportation had grown to an amount equivalent to 8-10 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. He cited this as an example of the severe problems a developing country faced if it was landlocked. Batbold said that the seaport nearest to Mongolia was 1,500 km away, in China. 

Link to article

 

 

Taiwan eyes direct charter flights with Mongolia

A senior MOFA official said both sides are eager to boost trade exchanges and tourism, which would be helped by direct air links 

September 22 (CNA) The government is contemplating setting up direct charter flights with Mongolia to promote tourism and trade relations, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday.

“Both sides are keen to develop closer exchanges and boost tourism. We are currently in talks on possible charter flights, which would benefit tourists from both sides if the deal goes through,” said Lin Jinn-jong, the director-general of the ministry’s Department of West Asian Affairs.

The direct charters would lower airfares from the current US$1,000 to about US$500, Lin said. 

Lin said that although bilateral trade is small, the US$8.02 million in trade in the first half of the year represented a 207 percent increase compared with the same period last year. 

Taiwan is Mongolia’s 15th largest trade partner.

Taiwanese companies invested US$19.65 million there last year.

Taiwan does not have official diplomatic ties with Mongolia, which declared independence from the Qing empire in 1911, the year that the Qing Dynasty fell. 

However, Mongolia is intent on improving its economy through tourism and attracting investment from abroad, including Taiwan, Lin said.

That was why the charter flight issue was raised during the Ninth Taiwan-Mongolia Joint Economic Meeting, which was held in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator on Sept. 9, he said.

Link to article

 

 

A gift Mongolians must handle with care

Ulaanbaatar, September 23 (bne) Once one of the poorest nations on earth, the biggest problem Mongolia will have to face in the near term is coping with too much money arriving all at once. 

A raft of mining projects are expected to bring billions of dollars into the $5bn economy over the next decade, with $4.6bn arriving in the next three years alone from the Oyu Tolgoi (OT) copper-gold mine being developed by Ivanhoe mines. 

Wonder wall 

The major problem facing Mongolia is how to manage the wall of money that will hit once OT starts producing. The fiscal stability law, adopted on June 24, aims to constrain fiscal spending to sustainable levels, as well as keep expenditure under the rate at which the economy is growing. It also demands that a portion of the OT revenue is invested overseas to offset the possibility of rising exchange rates and an increasingly uncompetitive manufacturing sector, a condition commonly known as Dutch Disease. 

Even so, inflation will get a kick as the foreign firms developing OT have promised to grant a 1.5m tugrik ($1,145) "gift" next year to each and every Mongolian as part of the mine’s investment deal. The government says it will attempt to soften the blow to the economy by dribbling the money out in the run-up to next year's elections, but the gift is still worrying economists. 

Link to article

 

 

Russia winning the Mongolian "Great Rail Game"

September 23 (bne) Analogies to the 19th century's "Great Game" are becoming a bit tired as they get applied to almost all projects in Central Asia, but another one has been playing out close to the hills where Rudyard Kipling's characters Kim and his horse-trading friend Mahbub Ali roamed. Except this time the Russians are winning. 

For companies developing Mongolia's raft of mining projects that will start coming on line next year, the biggest problem is not finding the coal and other minerals, but getting them to the markets of Russia and China, as Mongolia is about as far away from anywhere in the world as it's possible to be. 

Currently, the only major rail route that runs through the country is the Irkutsk-Beijing spur of the legendary Trans-Siberian express. Even so, Mongolians, terrified of becoming little more than a raw materials appendage to China, have been resisting Chinese proposals to build a rail line straight south over the border to China's underdeveloped northeast districts. Instead, they have plumped for a longer route across the country towards Russia's Vladivostok in the Far East, which has a spur that turns back into China from Russia.

In June, Mongolia's parliament said priority would be given to a rail link from the 40-year-old Tavan Tolgoi coalmine to an as-yet uncompleted industrial park in Sainshand, where the coal can be processed before being shipped north to Russia. The proposed route makes little economic sense, as the direct route south to China's hungry markets is far cheaper. However, the longer route hands Mongolia invaluable geopolitical choices: like building expensive oil and gas pipelines, rail links suffer from the same problem that once they are finished, you can only cut off your customers by cutting off your revenues. The Russian route allows the government in Ulaanbaatar to play the two emerging superpowers off against each other. 

Railroaded 

And the rail link is a big project. Mongolia's vice-minister of transport, Amarjargal Gansukh, told Reuters in an interview in September that the country would need to spend $8.8bn to build 5,600 kilometres of critical railway infrastructure over the next few years to deliver its surging mineral output to foreign markets, instead of the shorter 1,500 km route to the nearest Chinese port. 

Still, some critics say that Mongolia is sacrificing too much to improve its political hand in the game. Graeme Hancock, senior mining specialist with the World Bank, told reporters that the margins on exports of raw materials could be slashed by a 10th if goods are sent out via Chinese ports instead of Russian ports. According to a World Bank report, coal shipment costs via a rail link to the Chinese city of Baotou cost $33 per tonne, whereas the same cost to transport it to the Russian border is $95. To ease the pain (and to get the job), Russian Railways have already offered a 65% discount on transport tariffs. 

Still, parliament is not totally unmindful of commerce: a direct route to China is still on the cards, but only once the Russian route has been built. 

Link to article

 

 

Mongolia: The Saudi Arabia of Central Asia

Meeting the Mongolian PM in NYC

By Christian A. DeHaemer
Friday, September 24th, 2010

I was lucky enough to attend a small gathering put on by Firebird Management, the largest investor in Mongolia, featuring Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold.

The setting was a posh Broadway condo. The food was excellent and the waitresses looked like they'd just stepped off a fashion runway. The architecture was sleek, modern, and understated.

Without using an interpreter, PM Batbold outlined points I’ve been writing about for a year now...

He mentioned the IMF has projected that Mongolia will be the best performing economy in terms of GDP growth over the next five years. He hammered home this point by saying that itwon’t be China, India, Brazil, or any of the other countries you often hear about...

PM Batbold pointed out that Mongolia has very few restrictions on the movement of investment into and out of Mongolia. Foreigners can own 100% of a business, and the government does not prescreen; however, foreigners are not allowed to own land.

Strategic mineral and oil resources are subject to a 34% percent equity stake by the government.

The Mongolian Stock Exchange is seeking a major exchange to act as a partner and take over management. The London Stock Exchange is rumored to be battling NASDAQ. If the MSE is run by a major exchange, it will boost credibility and increase liquidity...

There are 12 suitors among major exchanges seeking this partnership. This is a huge catalyst for future share price appreciation.

The King of Cashmere

PM Batbold was the former Minister of Foreign Affairs. He studied politics in Moscow and business in London, and is rumored to be one of the richest men in Mongolia, with interests in Cashmere trading and mining.

He struck me as a smart, serious, pro-capitalist leader.

Link to article

 

 

New draft health insurance law prepared

September 24 (news.mn) The Standing Committee on Social Policy, Education, Culture and Science, the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), and the United Federation of Employers (UFE) have jointly prepared a new draft health insurance law. This comes after both unions expressed their dissatisfaction with the contents of a Government draft on the issue that had been hurriedly reviewed and approved in June, and that Parliament is expected to discuss in its ensuing Autumn session. The unions felt the Government had acted unilaterally and gone against the provisions of the existing tripartite agreement.

Link to article

 

 

Mongol Bank Exchange Rates

Link to site

 

 

Australia

 

Close: Mongolia Related ASX Listed Companies, September 23, 2010

Code

Last https://myasx.asx.com.au/images/price_unchanged.gif

$ +/-

Bid

Offer

Open

High

Low

Volume

HUN

 0.895  Down

 -0.005

 0.880

 0.900

 0.900

 0.900

 0.885

 86,102

VOR

 0.014  Down

 -0.001

 0.014

 0.015

 0.015

 0.015

 0.014

 5,029,001

LRL

 0.195  Up

 0.010

 0.190

 0.200

 0.185

 0.195

 0.185

 375,924

AKM

 0.135  Down

 -0.010

 0.135

 0.140

 0.150

 0.150

 0.130

 718,311

GMM

 0.165  Up

 0.005

 0.155

 0.165

 0.155

 0.165

 0.155

 52,813

LEI  *

 33.200  Up

 0.250

 33.160

 33.200

 32.850

 33.200

 32.460

 564,220

RIO  *

 76.040  Up

 1.140

 76.030

 76.040

 75.150

 76.040

 75.150

 3,077,093

BHP

 39.220  Up

 0.320

 39.190

 39.220

 39.000

 39.240

 38.980

 9,673,973

 

Close: Mongolia Related ASX Listed Companies, September 24, 2010

Code

Last https://myasx.asx.com.au/images/price_unchanged.gif

$ +/-

Bid

Offer

Open

High

Low

Volume

HUN

 0.900  Up

 0.005

 0.870

 0.900

 0.880

 0.900

 0.870

 143,345

VOR

 0.014  No change

 0.000

 0.014

 0.015

 0.014

 0.014

 0.014

 504,999

LRL

 0.190  Down

 -0.005

 0.190

 0.195

 0.190

 0.195

 0.190

 347,501

AKM

 0.135  No change

 0.000

 0.130

 0.135

 0.135

 0.135

 0.130

 621,882

GMM

 0.165  No change

 0.000

 0.155

 0.165

 0.000

 0.000

 0.000

 0

LEI

 32.820  Down

 -0.380

 32.820

 32.870

 32.980

 33.480

 32.780

 887,085

RIO  *

 75.600  Down

 -0.440

 75.600

 75.610

 75.290

 76.010

 75.190

 6,543,743

BHP  *

 39.040  Down

 -0.180

 39.000

 39.040

 38.790

 39.190

 38.760

 18,106,354

 

 

Global

U.S. Stocks Rise for Fourth Week as Economic Concerns Ease

Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to a fourth straight weekly gain, as signs of improving demand for capital goods, technology products and consumer items tempered concern the economic rebound is slowing.

Apple Inc. surged to a record as an analyst boosted sales estimates for the iPad tablet computer, while Google Inc. climbed to an almost five-month high. Nike Inc. surged to the highest price since its initial public offering in 1980 after earnings topped estimates on growing demand in North America and China. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erased three days of losses yesterday as capital-goods orders exceeded forecasts.

The S&P 500 rose 2.1 percent this week to 1,148.67 to cap its longest weekly rally since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 252.41 points, or 2.4 percent, to 10,860.26. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies increased 3 percent. All three ended the week at their highest levels since mid-May.

There’s a lot of momentum behind digital media,” said Michael Shinnick, a South Bend, Indiana-based money manager at Wasatch Advisors Inc., which oversees $7.5 billion. “In the past we had excessive consumption in housing and autos. Those sectors continue to be weak, and the American consumer continues to reset their spending priorities. That doesn’t mean they don’t have the wherewithal to spend in other categories.”

The S&P 500 is up 9.5 percent in September, historically the worst month for stocks. The main benchmark for American equities has fallen 0.7 percent on average in September since 1950, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. It hasn’t gained more than 8.3 percent in September since 1939. The index is up 3 percent in 2010 after recouping about two-thirds of its decline from a 19-month high in April.

Stocks Rally

Stocks rallied yesterday after a government report showed orders for durable goods excluding transportation equipment rose in August at twice the pace forecast by economists. Next week brings September gauges of consumer confidence and business activity.

Tech Boom

Google gained 7.6 percent to $527.29 for its best weekly gain since February 2009. Technology companies in the S&P 500 increased 2.8 percent as a group, the second-biggest advance among 10 industries after consumer-discretionary companies. An 18 percent drop by Adobe Systems Inc., which made a sales forecast on Sept. 21 that trailed analyst estimates, limited the advance.

Nvidia Corp. surged 16 percent to $12.26 for the biggest advance in the S&P 500. The second-largest maker of graphics chips led gains in semiconductor companies after Oracle Corp.’s chief executive officer said it plans to make acquisitions in the industry.

Amazon jumped 8.4 percent to $160.73. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its 2011 profit forecast and predicted the shares will reach $198. Digital sales of media products will benefit Amazon’s margin, analysts led by Imran Khan said in a report.

Nike, Banks

Nike added 3 percent to a $79.57. Per-share profit excluding some items beat the average analyst estimate for a 17th straight quarter, as orders in North America and China surged.

Banking shares declined as earnings estimates were lowered by Bank of America Corp. and Deutsche Bank AG. Banking companies fell 0.7 percent as a group, one of only two industries to decline among 24 groups in the S&P 500. Real-estate companies slipped 0.2 percent.

‘Muddling Along’

“We’re in a situation where the global economy is muddling along,” said Ron Holt, Chief Executive Officer of Hansberger Global Investors Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which manages $8 billion. “When you get companies that can demonstrate they can grow in this kind of environment, investors will flock to those companies.”

Gold futures climbed to a record, surpassing $1,300 an ounce, the U.S. dollar weakened and two-year Treasury yields touched a record low after the Federal Reserve signaled it will keep U.S. interest rates near zero and take additional measures to boost economic growth if necessary. The measures may include additional purchases of U.S. government securities to lower long-term interest rates.

Link to article

 

 

Bernanke Says Financial Crisis Damage Inhibiting U.S. Recovery

Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said damage from the financial crisis has left the U.S. economy growing at a slower pace than policy makers want even as the central bank’s more than $1 trillion in bond purchases have reduced interest rates.

“By buying mortgage-backed securities and Treasuries we did, I think, additionally stimulate the economy,” Bernanke said yesterday in response to a question after he spoke at a Princeton University conference.

Link to article

 

 

Shirakawa Says BOJ Ready to Act, Defends BOJ Law 

Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said today the central bank is closely watching the effect on the economy of the yen’s appreciation, and is prepared to take “appropriate action” if needed.

“We are ready to implement appropriate action in a timely manner if judged necessary,” Shirakawa said today at a forum hosted by the Japan Society of Monetary Economics in Kobe, western Japan.

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Misc

A Giant Morin Khuur Tower Designed

September 24 (UB Post) The biggest tower will be built in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia soon. State honored artist D. Erdembilegt initiated the building of this tower. It will have the image of a Morin Khuur or Horse Head-fiddle, which is one of the Mongolian cultural heritages.

Thus, Erdembilegt jointly planed the “Morin Khuur” Tower with architect S. Ochir-Erdene and designer T. Zolbayar.

The Tower will be 208 meters high and the shell of the building will have 21 floors. There will be a service shop, an office, a landing field for airplanes in the tower, a modern road, a square as well as a bridge exit around the tower.

The Mongolian tower will become the biggest tower showcasing a musical instrument if it is built. 

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Luciano Benetton to Open Double Stores in Mongolia

September 24 (India Info Line) –

In Mongolia  the double opening in the shopping area of the capital Ulaanbaatar marks Benetton's official entry into this market. The two inaugurations involve a large United Colors of Benetton store, on one of the main shopping streets, and a Sisley store, opened in the Bishrelt shopping centre on Sambuu Street. The new UCB store, more than 800 m² over three floors, is housed in the centre of Ulaanbaatar in a Benetton building designed by architects Arassociati of Milan, with a rational, modern conception of its spaces that recalls Mongolian history and culture.

Like the “gher”, the traditional nomadic house that adapts to the immensity of the steppe, signalling its presence in the night, the new Benetton retail space stands out for its simplicity amidst the city's chaotic urbanisation, offering an image of lightness and brightness. The Benetton Woman and Man collections are to be found on the ground and lower ground floors respectively; the first floor is dedicated entirely to Kids. The sales space features a range of warm grey tones that bring out the various themes and colours of the autumn-winter 2010 collections. The new Sisley store, situated on the first floor of the Bishrelt Shopping Center on Sambuu Street, presents all the glamour of the Woman and Man collections of the most daring brand in the Benetton Group.

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Sheikh Nasser Honored (by the Mongolian University of Science and Technology)

September 24 (Arab Times) Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah received Thursday from Mongolia’s University of Science and Technology (MUST) an honorary degree for his efforts in promoting relations between Kuwait and Mongolia.

A statement by the Kuwaiti Embassy revealed that the Minister gave a speech during the occasion which highlighted the 35-year strong bilateral relations. In 1995, the late Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah conducted an high-profile visit to Mongolia, said the Minister, adding that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber continued this tradition visiting Mongolia in 2007, 08, 09.

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"Mogi" Munkhdul Badral

Executive Director

CPS International

Email: mogi@cpsinternational.mn

Mobile: +976-99996779

 

CPS International is a marketing arm of CPS Securities in Mongolia. CPS Securities is a Perth, Western Australia based AFSL License Holder. To trade ASX and international stocks, feel free to contact me at mogi@cpsinternational.mn or +976-99996779.

 

 

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