| ASIA MARKETS: Hong Kong, Shanghai Soar On Wall Street Boost
Asian markets surged Wednesday, with gains in Tokyo led by financials such as Mizuho Financial Group as well as exporters such as Nintendo Co., while Hong Kong soared on a heavy rush to buy China Mobile and other China-related stocks. The region was boosted by a strong rebound on Wall Street overnight, which came after a strong earnings report from Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and comments from Goldman Sachs's (GS) chief executive that the investment bank won't be taking any significant charges to write off losses related to the subprime mortgage market. "Last night has certainly made people think that now the U.S. will probably have a soft landing, rather than a hard, hard crunch," said Tony Russell, a senior client adviser at ABN Amro Morgans in Brisbane. "I would still expect the volatility to persist.
Suspected credit card thief arrested with four others
BARSTOW � A couple calls from the community, some follow-up detective work and a newspaper article led to the arrest of a suspected credit card thief and her accomplices. Sgt. Rob Ciolli and Lt. Don Riser from the Barstow Sheriff�s Station arrested Tammy Lynn Gollner, 42, on Friday for suspicion of burglary, theft and vandalism after finding a 32-inch flat screen television and pawn slip for a DVD player the sheriff�s department contends were purchased with a stolen credit card. �I had three people calling me right off that bat,� Ciolli said. �I�ve never dealt with her. I have never seen her, but obviously local business owners were familiar with her.� Friday�s Desert Dispatch included a photograph of Gollner obtained from a Wal-Mart surveillance camera and an accompanying article about a string of recent transactions made with a stolen credit card.
Together, municipalities can upgrade equipment
Twenty municipalities are acquiring police vehicles or attending to other equipment needs � Bradley Beach, for example, is getting computers and system upgrades � under a pooled capital equipment lease program organized by the Monmouth County Improvement Authority. The authority recently completed the sale of $19.9 million in revenue bonds on behalf of the 20 towns and three school districts. The money also will be used for lease-purchases of ambulances, firefighting vehicles, office furniture and playground equipment. Authority Chairman Al Rosenthal said on Thursday that the authority actually owns the equipment and leases it to the towns and school districts. The lease payments are structured to match the debt service on the bonds, Rosenthal said, and each participant takes ownership of the equipment as the bonds are paid off.
Investors alert to more rises
INVESTORS will start their week scouring the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy statement tomorrow for clues of further interest rate rises. Competing for attention will be the BHP Billiton's hot pursuit of its smaller rival Rio Tinto, six years after its last push for a merger fell through. But neither of the two headline issues will sharpen shareholders' focus quite as much as the expected dive on the local bourse as the fall-out from the US sub-prime crisis continues. While Australian stocks ended last week higher, fuelled in part by investors piling into Rio Tinto, continuing volatility on Wall Street is expected to be felt locally. After a second week of significant losses in US share markets, the Australian market may open up to 80 points down, MFS chief executive Guy Hutchings says.
Moody's Reviews BorgWarner for Upgrade
Moody's Investors Service said Thursday it has placed BorgWarner Inc.'s senior unsecured debt rating under review for a possible upgrade. Moody's said the review was prompted by BorgWarner's reduction of debt with stronger earnings and better free cash flow over the last nine months, as well as its affirmation of 2007 guidance at the higher end of earlier ranges. Moody's now has an investment-grade rating of "Baa2" on BorgWarner's senior unsecured debt. It also placed the company's "Baa3" subordinate shelf rating, its "Ba1" preferred shelf rating, its "Baa3" trust preferred rating and its Capital Trusts I, II and III ratings on review for upgrades. Shares of BorgWarner, a maker of power train systems and components, rose $1.78 to $101.33. .
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