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Markets News Afternoon: Shares rebound in Europe and US after US GDP data; Oil price back above $80 in New York
By Finfacts Team
Oct 29, 2009 - 5:26:31 PM
Ireland's only global company, building materials giant, CRH, said today it is contesting a move by Semapa, its joint venture partner in Portuguese cement maker Secil, who is trying to buy CRH's shares in the business.
In June 2004, CRH acquired a 49% stake in Secil for €429m, giving it joint management control.
Semapa has 51% of the voting rights in the company and it said on Wednesday that it had begun the process of valuing Secil with a view to buying all of CRH's shares.
However, CRH said today that it did not accept that the two companies' shareholders' agreement gave Semapa the right to start these procedures.
It has decided to refer the issue to the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris for arbitration.
The US Census Bureau said today that about 18.8 million homes stood empty in the U.S. during the third quarter as banks seized properties from delinquent borrowers and new home sales fell in September.
The number of vacant properties, including foreclosures, residences for sale and vacation homes, rose from 18.4 million a year earlier and 18.7 million in the second quarter, the Bureau said. The record high was in the first quarter, when 18.95 million homes were vacant. The homeownership rate, meaning households that own their own residence, stood at 67.6%.
The GDP grew 3.5%, with Mike Englund, Action Economics; Diane Swonk, Mesirow Financial; and CNBC's Rick Santelli:
US GDP
The US economy returned to growth in the third quarter with an annualized increase in GDP of 3.5%.
Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JP Morgan, sees the US growing at about a 3.5% pace for most of next year. That appears optimistic compared to Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs, who sees gross domestic product growth of 2% or so at the start of the year tapering off to just 1.5% by year-end.
The US House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing on its sweeping financial reform proposals, with CNBC's Hampton Pearson; Peter Flaherty, National Legal & Policy Center; Christopher Hayes, The Nation; and CNBC's Steve Liesman:
After Wednesday's sell-off, shares in Europe rallied Thursday and the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 rose 1.9%.
In London, shares in UK government controlled Lloyds Banking Group, surged over 7% after it said it is in advanced talks with the UK government on plans to escape an expensive asset-protection scheme, and it said any remedies imposed by the European Commission won't be material to the bank.
In Paris, Société Générale rose over 6% after it said its rights issue, which is being used to repay state aid and buy outstanding shares in its Credit du Nord unit, was subscribed 1.72 times.
In Frankfurt, Commerzbank advanced 6.3%.
In Dublin, the ISEQ rose by 2.7%.
The markets biggest company CRH jumped 3.2% after losing almost 7% on Wednesday.
BoI rose 10% after losing 25% on Wednesday and AIB has recovered 4% after an 11.9% loss yesterday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil for December delivery is trading at $80.01, up $2.55 from Wednesday's close. In London, Brent crude for December delivery is trading at $76.14 a barrel.
Currencies
The euro is trading at $1.4840 and at £0.8972.
For live currency updates, check the right-hand column of the Finfacts home page.The dollar traded at a record low $1.6038 per euro on July 15, 2008.
