Word: indexing
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Baltic Dry Index is the worldwide benchmark for shipping rates of raw materials, and it has registered some eye-popping gains over the past month. The London-based index registered its 23rd straight daily gain on Wednesday, closing at 4,291, its highest mark since September and the longest streak of gains since July 2006. Daily rates for the largest Capesize ships, which typically carry iron ore, rose 6.8% on Wednesday to $93,197. Just five months ago, daily ship-rental rates were hovering just above $2,000, about the price of a great seat on opening...
...Baltic Index president Jeremy Penn cautions that shipping rates can sometimes fluctuate dramatically, and are often driven by specific factors such as carrier availability in key locations. Indeed the current boost is best explained by Chinese steel production demand and a shortage of the Capesize vessels to haul the iron ore. Penn notes that it is not yet clear whether the core manufacturing that is turning again in China is linked to coming export demand or domestic infrastructure investment. "There are always quirks in the pricing," he notes. "And at the moment it seems a very China-centric market." (Read...
...insurers in question also sell mutual funds and other retirement products alongside their insurance businesses. That means at least some of their exposure to tobacco stocks stems from client assets in index funds, such as those pegged to the S&P 500, which, of course, includes firms like Philip Morris and Lorillard. Many of the insurers contacted by TIME declined to outline the specifics of their investment portfolios, but a Prudential spokesman, Darrell Oliver, noted that as a policy, Prudential does not invest in tobacco stocks for its own portfolios: "Some Prudential entities hold tobacco stocks. Those stocks are primarily...
Purely from an investor's standpoint, however, buying tobacco stocks is a solid long-term bet that historically pays regular dividends. "We ultimately have a fiduciary responsibility to our clients," says Towell, who puts about 5% of Northwestern's tobacco equities in index funds...
...just yesterday - fortuitous timing for Geithner - both the U.S. and China reported economic data that buoyed equity markets on both sides of the Pacific. In China, the monthly purchasing manager's index for manufacturing was stronger than expected, showing "for the first time that policy is really gaining traction [in China]," says Eric Fishwick, head of economic research at CLSA Asia Pacific Markets in Hong Kong. At the same time, in the U.S., data showed that personal income in April rose 0.5%, an encouraging number. On a day when General Motors, once the world's largest industrial corporation, declared bankruptcy...