Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) Financial News - Asia stocks up and euro firm
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)
Asia stocks up and euro firm
2010-07-23 04:53:14
Keywords: Asia stocks up and euro firm, ^n225,cat,mmm, international
Quote: By Vikram S.SubhedarHONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Friday as strong earnings from economic bellwethers such as Caterpillar tempered concerns about a global slowdown, while the euro steadied ahead of European bank stress test results later in the day.^FTEU3News) were expected to open little changed as investors awaited the test results. Worries about the health of the region's banks have driven up funding costs and weighed on share prices since Greece's debt crisis triggered fears that the euro zone could unravel.The euro jumped more than 1 percent against the dollar on Thursday to around $1.29 and European bank stocks rose across the board in a sign that investors are starting to hope the worst is behind the region's financial industry.But a lack of details about the terms of the tests and earlier divisions among European Union members over how much information will be made public has made investors wonder if the assessments would be tough or transparent enough.^MIAPJ0000PUSNews) rose 1.6 percent despite wariness over the European tests. They looked set to post a 2.5 percent gain on the week, with Asia ex-Japan equity funds seeing strong inflows.^N225News) rose 2.6 percent."There is obviously the risk that if too many banks pass and do so with a comfortable margin, the test may be judged as too easy to have actually been informative about the strength of the banking system," said Goldman Sachs analyst Nick Kojucharov wrote in a note.Ironically, word of a few small failures in fiscally weaker countries such as Portugal or Spain could actually boost confidence in the vigorousness of the testing process. The results are expected around 1600 GMT, though some sources said they could be released earlier.Analysts say the most concern is over how the banks' holdings of European sovereign debt will be treated and whether the assumed "haircuts" or expected losses on the debt are stringent enough...Open whole article (external link)