Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Wed morning, stocks higher

Stock markets in Asia/Australia are having very strong sessions (up 1-2+%) following the lead in the US. Once again banks in Japan, Korea, Australia & Hong Kong are leading the charge, some up 4-8%. What seems to have brought out buyers for US bank stocks is that they said it will not be necessary to raise more capital (following guidance by Washington Mutual). This has been a scary concept, banks do not want to have to compete with Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac when they sell stock. Moody's is considering cutting the credit rating for Washington Mutual to "junk."

Record high oil prices has Asian contractors hoping to get contracts to build nuclear plants in southeast Asia (Vietnam, etc.). Also, Asian analysts are also trying to evaluate Yahoo's earnings & how it will affect Asian businesses.

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