SF: Copper Extends Gains to Record in London Trading: LME Preview
Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Copper extended gains to a record in London.
Market News:
-- Asian stocks rose to a two-week high, led by the Nikkei 225 Stock Average's best rally since November, as higher sales and earnings pointed to faster economic growth. Cotton climbed to a record while corn and soybeans advanced. {NSN LFZ7QB1A1I4H }
-- The yen fell against all its major counterparts as a gain in Asian stocks and signs global growth is accelerating cut demand for the safety of Japan's currency. {NSN LFZ9OO0YHQ0X }
-- Treasuries snapped a two-day slide on speculation industry and government reports this week will show the U.S. economic recovery hasn't been strong enough to improve the labor market. {NSN LFZ41N6TTDS3 }
-- European leaders are preparing a pledge to stamp out the debt crisis and defend the euro, seeking to keep markets at bay until a late-March deadline to bridge differences over budget rules, rescue-loan rates and buybacks. {NSN LFYBML0YHQ0X }
-- Freight rates are poised to rise after tumbling to a two-year low as owners of ships hauling coal and iron ore scrap the most vessels in at least 28 years. {NSN LFYE6Y1A74E9 }
-- The British government is pursuing "excessive austerity" measures to curb its budget deficit, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said at an investor conference in Moscow today. {NSN LFZA4T6TTDSI }
Metals News:
-- Carlos Slim's Mexican holdings from mining to communications helped him beat Bill Gates and Warren Buffett on the stock market for the second straight year, and gains in 2011 may widen his lead atop the global wealth list. {NSN LFYV5K1A1I4I }
-- Investors should buy wheat and sell copper, Societe Generale's cross-asset research team said in their "Seven Key Calls" report today. {NSN LFZ9I66JTSED }
-- Coal and zinc mines are shut and at least 32 coal ships are steaming out to sea, as sugarcane and banana farmers in northeastern Australia brace for the forecast landfall today of Tropical Cyclone Yasi. {NSN LFZA2J0UQVI9 }
-- Nickel will likely outperform zinc as a price ratio of the two metals heads higher after breaking above the April 2010 high at 11.50, according to a technical analysis report on Jan. 31 by Credit Suisse Group AG. {NSN LFYUZG0D9L35 }
-- Johnson Matthey Plc's underlying fiscal third-quarter operating profit rose 31 percent from a year earlier as "robust" demand in its main markets helped sales rise, the company said today in a statement. {NSN LFZAA46JIJUO }
