We need to find a fairer way of providing Goods and Services to the rest of the people on Earth.Cryptocurrencies and/or Gold Standard of money....maybe the answer to fight hyperinflation caused by too much printing of paper/fiat currencies by Governments and Central Banks all over the World. (https://nomorefiatmoneyplease.blogspot.com)
Dow chemical to cut 3% of workforce following Chlorine deal
Dow Chemical Chief Executive Andrew Liveris speaks during the CERAWEEK energy conference in Houston, Texas, United States, in this file photo taken on March 8, 2012. Dow Chemical Co said it would cut 1,500 to 1,750 jobs, or as much as 3 percent of its global workforce, as part of a broader plan to reduce costs by $1 billion over three years.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[HOUSTON] Dow Chemical Co plans to cut about 3 per cent of its global workforce and close some facilities following the US$5 billion deal it struck last month to separate its chlorine business.
Dow will eliminate 1,500 to 1,750 jobs as a result of the chlorine deal, the Midland, Michigan-based company said Monday in a statement. In addition, less than 1 per cent of company assets by value will be consolidated or shut. Second-quarter earnings will be reduced by US$330 million to US$380 million for writedowns, severance and other costs related to the measures.
The company, which had 53,000 employees at the end of last year, has come under pressure from an activist shareholder to cut costs and streamline its business. Dow, the largest US chemical maker by revenue, said the actions will be completed over two years and are expected to save about US$300 million in annual operating costs.
In November, Dow agreed to give Third Point two board seats after the hedge fund criticised the company's performance and called for a spinoff of Dow's petrochemical business to improve profitability.
The company has announced plans to sell almost all of its chlorine business to Olin Corp, with Dow shareholders gaining a majority stake in what will become the world's largest producer of the chemical used to sanitize water and produce vinyl. Dow is focusing on value-added products such a plastics used in autos and genetically modified corn seed.
Dow fell 0.1 per cent to US$51.65 in New York. The shares have gained 13 per cent this year.
Buffett and Gross agree: slump in 30-year bonds makes good sense
Warren Buffett and Bill Gross signaled the end is at hand for Treasury market bulls as 30-year bond yields rose to a four-month high.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
[NEW YORK] Warren Buffett and Bill Gross signaled the end is at hand for Treasury market bulls as 30-year bond yields rose to a four-month high.
Longer-maturity Treasuries led losses after Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, said long-term bonds are overvalued. Touting bearish bets after yields climbed last week by the most in almost two months, Gross said the bull market "supercycle" for both bonds and stocks is ending.
The calls for an end to bond rally come amid concern that gains triggered by unprecedented European Central Bank bond purchases were overdone. German 10-year yields, which recently hit record lows, reached the highest level since January.
"The markets have been under pressure," said Sean Murphy, a trader at Societe General SA in New York, one of the 22 primary dealers that trade with the Federal Reserve.
The 30-year bond yield rose five basis points, or 0.05 percentage point, to 2.88 per cent at 5 pm New York time. The price of the 2.5 per cent security maturing in February 2045 fell 30/32, or US$9.38 per US$1,000 face amount, to 92 1/2, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The yield reached the highest level since Dec. 24.
Benchmark 10-year yields rose 21 basis points last week, nearly matching the 22 basis point move in German bunds of comparable maturity, the most since January 2013.
Mr Buffett reiterated his belief that it's not worth buying long-term bonds at current interest rates. In an interview Monday on CNBC, he said he expects the value of the securities to fall.
"Credit-based oxygen is running out," Mr Gross wrote an investment outlook, titled "A Sense of an Ending," in which he compared the final stages of the market cycle with his own mortality. "I merely have a sense of an ending, a secular bull market ending with a whimper, not a bang."
MrGross, the manager of the US$1.5 billion Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund, acknowledged that his calls for the end of the bond rally in both February and April of 2013 were too early. He was chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co. until his sudden departure in September.
The US payrolls report on May 8 is forecast to show the US economy added 230,000 jobs last month after a smaller-than- expected 126,000 increase in March - the worst result since December 2013.
"The most important thing is to watch is wages, which a lot of people are talking about," said Dan Mulholland, a trader at Credit Agricole SA in New York. "We think the labour market hasn't really skipped a beat." The gap between yields on Treasuries maturing in five- and 30-years, known as the yield curve, widened to 1.37 percentage points, the most since December.
"It wouldn't surprise me to see that curve sell off and steepen, and we'll probably do a little of that here," Mr Mulholland said.
US debt fell after data, including the University of Michigan consumer confidence on May 1, showed a rebound in economic sentiment and activity. That followed a series of weak first-quarter economic readings that the Fed blamed on "transitory" factors including brutal winter weather in much of the US.
Most economists project the US central bank will wait until at least September before raising rates from near zero, according to the latest Bloomberg survey, after earlier projecting a June liftoff.
Gold futures rebound from six-week low amid China stimulus bets
Gold futures recovered from a six-week low amid speculation that weaker economic growth will prompt officials to add to stimulus in China, which rivals India as the world's top bullion buyer.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
[NEW YORK] Gold futures recovered from a six-week low amid speculation that weaker economic growth will prompt officials to add to stimulus in China, which rivals India as the world's top bullion buyer.
China's central bank has already loosened monetary policy, and the manufacturing gauge published Monday that signaled contraction for April fuelled anticipation that more measures will come. Revived growth prospects can help buoy physical demand for precious metals, according to Bart Melek, the head of commodity strategy at TD Securities.
Futures are rebounding after three weeks of declines. The Federal Reserve has dampened speculation that it will delay boosting interest rates. Traders are awaiting the April US payrolls report on Friday for more signals on the timing of increases for borrowing costs. Higher rates drive investors to favour assets that pay interest, such as bonds, curbing gold's appeal as a store of value, since it generally offers returns only through price gains.
"Expectations of Chinese stimulus are helping the market," Toronto-based Melek said in a telephone interview. "The next few days will be all about the US data and the big employment number."
On the Comex in New York, gold futures for June delivery rose 1 per cent to settle at US$1,186.80 an ounce at 1:47 pm. On May 1, the price touched US$1,168.40, the lowest for a most-active contract since March 20.
Employers in the US added 225,000 workers last month, up from 126,000 in March, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists before the Labor Department report on May 8. The unemployment rate may decline to 5.4 per cent from 5.5 per cent.
"Payrolls is the thing that people are lining up for," Wayne Gordon, an analyst at UBS Group in Singapore, said by telephone. "If this number is under 200,000, gold will be at US$1,250. If the number is above 225,000, the consensus estimate, gold will be at US$1,150." Two Fed officials - Cleveland President Loretta Mester and San Francisco President John Williams - said last week the central bank is ready to raise interest rates at any meeting as the US economy picks up after a harsh winter. Williams, who votes on policy this year, said he would be scrutinizing employment reports for April and May, as well as data revisions for earlier months in the year.
Silver futures for July delivery jumped 1.9 per cent to US$16.441 an ounce on the Comex, the biggest gain in a week.
Platinum futures for July delivery advanced 1.9 per cent to US$1,150.90 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Palladium futures for June delivery rose 1.2 per cent to US$782.65 an ounce.
