The New York equities markets found themselves at the end of the week almost exactly where they had started on Monday, losing early gains despite a group of positive reports on the US economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6 percent on Friday to close the week at 10,640.91, the Nadsaq also lost 0.6 percent to end at 2,184.83, and the S&P 500 declined by 0.8 percent to 1,234.18.

Amazon led the gainers on the week, with an advance of 19 percent to close at $45.15. Wendy’s International did very well, too, with a gain of 14.2 percent to $51.70, as it said Friday it would sell as much as 18 percent of its Tim Horton chain of coffee and donut shops in an initial public offering.

On the down side, Delta Airlines lost nearly 15 percent during the week to $2.96 after a warning that the air carrier is fighting to keep its head above water.

In the oil sector, Chevron reported a 10 percent decline in income as it tries to fight off CNOOC to purchase Unocal. The value of Chevron’s shares declined by 1.6 percent to $58.01.

Exxon Mobil was about even for the week but has gained nearly 15 percent since the beginning of the year, closing at $58.75. Royal Dutch Shell reported earnings above expectations and saw its shares rise by 1.5 percent to $61.28 on Friday.

In the aerospace sector, Boeing reported better than expected earnings in the second quarter, and even though profits fell 7 percent the airplane manufacturer upped its earnings outlook for the year.

While Boeing’s shares were flat at its close at $66.01, share value is up by more than 27 percent since the beginning of the year.

In European equities markets, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed at 1,179.31 on Friday, down just slightly on the day but up by 1.2 percent for the week.

Automobile manufacturer DaimlerChrysler was one of the big winners of the week, based on a positive quarterly report and the resignation of its unpopular chief executive. The company’s shares were up 12 percent on the week to €40.04.

Elsewhere in the automobile manufacturing sector, Fiat announced on Thursday that its profits had nearly doubled in the second quarter, gaining 2.9 percent on the week to close on Friday at €7.01.

Volkswagen also had a better-than-anticipated quarterly result, sending its shares up 2.2 percent on the day and up 6.2 percent for the week, for a closing quote on Friday of €44.82.

Daimler’s 9 percent rise on Thursday spurred Deutsche Bank to sell its 3.5 percent share of the company on the same day it released its own quarterly report and announced a huge share buyback. Deutsche Bank ended the week at €71.02, up 0.6 percent.

Less successful on the week were the chipmakers. STMicroelectronics released their second-quarter report on Wednesday, showing net profits down by 82 percent because of slow sales and restructuring costs and losing 3.3 percent for the week to €14.22.

Infineon reported disappointing results as well this week, sending shares down 3.8 percent to €8.11 and earning downgrades from several ratings agencies.

In Tokyo on Friday the Nikkei 225 found itself at yet another four month high at the close on a combination of hopeful economic data, including the best jobs-to-applicants figures in over 10 years, good quarterly earnings reports, and strong results on the day from several companies.

Even so, the market’s overall rise was held back by other earnings results that were not as strong as others. The Nikkei was up 0.35 on the day to 11,899.60, while the Topix index gained 0.3 percent to 1,204.98.

Matsushita Electrical Industrial was up 5 percent to ¥1,832 on a more positive quarterly earnings report than had been expected.

Sony, however, fell 3.6 percent on a weak quarterly report and a full-year forecast that was cut by over 80 percent. Sony blamed weak sales and price declines in its television division for the unfavorable report.

Electronic parts manufacturer Kyocera lost 3.4 percent to ¥7,930 on a report of a 61 percent decline in quarterly profits. UBS subsequently downgraded Kyocera to “Neutral 2”.

Cosmetics manufacturer Shiseido, Japan’s largest, gained 8.3 percent to ¥1,532 on a quarterly report that showed the company returning to profits.

The company gave credit for the improvement to good sales in Japan and China and upgraded its full-year profit forecast by 35 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.5 percent to 1,179.08 on Thursday. Daimler Chrysler was up, initially gaining on speculation that its chief executive, Jurgen Schremmp would step down.

Confirmation of those rumors, coupled with better-than-expected profits, had shares up 9 percent at the close to €39.59.

Shares had traded as high as €40.40 earlier in the day, their highest level in almost three years. Fiat was up 4.1 percent to €7.165 on a much better than anticipated quarterly report, in which the Italian carmaker said it had cut losses to €88 million, down from €238 in the same quarter last year.

Alcatel, the telecommunications equipment maker, gained 4.3 percent to €10.09 on the report that its second quarter profits had more than doubled to €196 million and that it was getting ready to pay its first dividend. Despite all of this, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein did not remove its recommendation to sell shares in Fiat.

Syngenta, the Swiss chemicals group that is second in the world in agricultural chemicals, gained 5.4 percent to SF4135.20 after it reported a net profit of 17 percent in the first half of the year. It up most of that gain to demand for its new crop protection products.

In London on Thursday, the FTSE 100 gained 1 percent to 5,270.30 and the FTSE 250 was up 0.3 percent to 5,270.30 on a volume 0f 2.9 billion shares traded.

Engine maker Rolls Royce gained 9.6 percent to 342p on record orders and plans to raise its dividend for the first time since 2001, as well as on a number of upgrades by analysts.

Elsewhere in the aerospace sector, BAE Systems gained 2.2 percent to 308 ¼p, Smiths Group was up 1.1 percent to 957 ½p, and Meggitt advanced by 5.1 percent to 310 ½p.

Royal Dutch Shell missed second quarter expectations despite a profit of over $5 billion. It’s “B” shares were down 1.7 percent to £17.59. Telecommunications group BT lost 2.6 percent to 229p on a mixed second quarter report.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Shire Pharmaceuticals all issued quarterly reports. On the results, AstraZeneca gained 5.6 percent to £24.80 and GlaxoSmithKline was up 0.9 percent to £13.40, but Shire Pharmaceuticals ended even at 655p.

Among mid-cap stocks, CSR gained 14.3 percent to 512p on a better-than-expected earnings guidance and acquisition of the software component of UbiNetics Holdings.

EasyJet lost 3.1 percent to 247p on a downgrade by ABN Amro, which used the threat of terrorism as one reason for the drop in the budget air carrier’s rating.

In Tokyo on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.20 percent to 11,858.31, while the Topix index gained 0.23 percent to 1,201.72.

The steel and metals sectors were up for the second day in a row on the expectation of rising exports to China after the termini’s revaluation. Aichi Steel gained 3.4 percent to ¥640, Nakayama Steel Works was up 3.4 percent as well, to ¥515, and Kobe Steel advanced by 0.9 percent to ¥225, as the sector sub index gained 0.3 percent.

The nonferrous metals sub index was up even more, by 0.4 percent, helped by Sumitomo Electric’s gain of 4.6 percent to ¥1,241 after it reported an 81.5 percent jump in quarterly profits, to ¥13.5 billion.

The banking sector was helped by a comment from the governor of the Bank of Japan, who said on Wednesday that Japan’s economy could rise out of deflation within the next six months.

Also helping the sector was data showing an 0.1 percent month-on-month rise in retails sales in June. Mizuho Financial Group gained 2.4 percent to ¥505,000, MTFG was up 1.2 percent to ¥936,000, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group advanced by 1.9 percent to ¥734,000.

Canon and Seiko both reported quarterly earnings that did not rise to expectations, sending their shares down on the day. Canon lost 4.7 percent to ¥5,660, while Seiko was down 5.3 percent to ¥3,320. Sony and Hitachi also reported quarterly losses.

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.3 percent to 11,835.08 and the Topix index was up 0.8 percent to 1,198.97 on Wednesday in Tokyo, reaching 15-week highs due to the yen once again weakening in relation to the dollar.

Carmakers did exceptionally well. Toyota gained 1.4 percent to ¥4,230, Nissan was up 1.4 percent to ¥1,165, and Honda gained 2 percent to ¥5,720. Some analysts are saying that revaluation will help the Japanese automobile manufacturing sector because the revaluation will increase purchasing power in China and so boost demand there for Japanese cars.

In the pharmaceuticals sector Tsumura, which makes Chinese medicines, gained 2.2 percent to ¥2,090 when Credit Suisse First Boston rated it at “outperform”, citing the growing Japanese demand for Chinese herbal medicines. Chugai Pharmaceutical, the Japanese component of Roche, advanced by 3.1 percent to ¥1,845 on its announcement that the health ministry had requested that it proceed more quickly on filing for an approval of Avastin, its colon cancer drug. Demand for the drug is very high.

In London on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 gained 0.1 percent to 5,263.6, while the FTSE 250 was up 0.8 percent to 7,554.3 on a volume of 3.5 billion shares traded.

Shire Pharmaceuticals gained 1.7 percent to 655p on approval of its acquisition of Transkaryotic Therapies by shareholders of both companies.

Water company Kelda gained 2.1 percent to 710p as it was elevated to the FTSE 100 and upgraded to “buy” by Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, which called Kelda’s efficiency and service the best in the sector. Dresdner also upgraded several other smaller water companies, which helped them see gains on the day as well. Northumbrian Water gained 2.6 percent to 220 ¼p, Pennon was up 1.1 percent to £10.57, and United Utilities added 0.7 percent to 638 ½p.

Reuters was up 1.5 percent to 387 ½p as ABN Amra upgraded the company to “buy” and advised investors to look at more than recent higher restructuring costs.

Tour operator MyTravel group lost 3 percent to 195p on a warning that it had already lost £2 million in cancellations and reparations due to disruptions caused by hurricanes and bombings.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.3 percent to 1,173.83 on a group of new quarterly results after having risen to 1,174.86 earlier in the day.

UCB, the Belgian pharmaceutical company, reported positive results from trials of the drug Cimzia in the treatment of Crohn’s disease, a disorder of the digestive tract. This result sent shares in UCB up 7 percent to €44.30.

In the technology sector, STMicroelectronics reported that its second quarter profits were down by 82 percent on weak sales and high restructuring costs. The report sent shares in the company down 2.6 percent to €14.38.

Others in the sector didn’t do any better on the day as Infineon was down 2.9 percent to €8.11 and ASML Holding lost 1.7 percent to €14.38. Nokia had a good day, however, gaining 1.6 percent to €13.10.

European aerospace and defense group EADS reported €1.54 billion in first-half core earnings, a jump of 57 percent. Shares were up 3.3 percent to €27.65. EADS also raised its per share earnings target for the year from €1.36 to €1.5.

Also reporting quarterly earnings was DSM, the Dutch chemicals group. It said its quarterly profits rose 43 percent to €217 million on lower costs, higher margins, and a strategic acquisition. Shares in DSM were up 2.5 percent on the day to €62.35.

Equities markets in New York were up on Wednesday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.54 percent to 10,637.09, the Nasdaq composite was up 0.47 percent to 2,186.22, and the S&P 500 advanced by 0.46 percent to 1,236.79.

The telecommunications sector was the most successful on the day, advancing as a while by 1.2 percent on Sprint’s better-than-expected quarterly report, which showed earnings more than doubling on wireless growth. Shares in Sprint gained 3.7 percent to $25.90.

Amazon reported that second quarter net income was down 32 percent due to tax charges that overtook higher sales. However, because investors had been expecting worse news and because profit margins were up, the company’s shares were up by 12.4 percent in early trade to $42.32.

Boeing also reported it’s quarterly earnings, which topped expectations even though profits fell by 7 percent in the quarter. The aerospace company raised its outlook for the third quarter and by early afternoon shares were up 1.5 percent to $67.35.

Restructuring costs caused household goods group Colgate-Palmolive’s earnings to fall in the second quarter. Even through earnings were at 62 cents per share, down from 66 cents per share a year earlier, C-P’s shares advanced 0.6 percent to $52.05.

Positive earnings reports failed to produce much movement on Wall Street Tuesday as investors chose to wait for several key economic reports due to be released later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 percent to 10,579.77, but the Nasdaq composite gained 0.4 percent to 2,175.99 and the S&P 500 was up 0.4 percent to 1,231.16.

Texas Instruments reported greater than expected second quarter earnings, up 32 cents per share as opposed to a forecast of a 29 cent per share charge advance. TI also raised its quarterly dividend by 20 percent to 3 cents per share and announced that it would buy back $2 billion more in shares. That sent shares in TI up by 5.6 percent on the day.

Advanced technology and phone service provider Avaya also reported positive quarterly results, saying that earnings had more than tripled to 40 cents per share, much better than the 13 cents per share it had achieved last year at the same time. Shares in Avaya gained 16.4 percent on the day to $10.74.

McGraw Hill reported that second quarter earnings were up 18 percent to 51 cents per share, mostly on the success of its financial services component, which provided over 80 percent of operating profits. Shares gained 4.7 percent on the day to $46.53.

DuPont, a division of Dow, announced that net income in the second quarter had more than doubled compared to last year at the same time, but the news did not prevent DuPont’s shares from losing 6.6 percent to $41.15.

The equity markets in Tokyo were down slightly on Tuesday as investors were uncertain of the outcome of six-party talks with North Korea and as there were few new quarterly reports to respond to.

The Nikkei 225 was down 0.21 percent to 11,737.96, while the Topix index fell 0.11 percent to 1,189.01 as gains in the automobile and microchips sectors were overcome by declines in the financial sector and in other parts of the technology sector.

Strong quarterly earnings by US company Texas Instruments sent shares in the semiconductor sector up as Goldman Sachs hiked its ratings for major chipmakers.

Advantest, which is the largest manufacturer of semiconductor testing devices in the world, was up 2.9 percent to ¥8,490, while the world’s second largest manufacturer of chip-making equipment, Tokyo Electron, gained 2.6 percent to ¥5,950.

In the automobile sector, Toyota was up 0.2 percent to ¥4,170 and Honda gained 0.2 percent as well, to ¥5,610 as the chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said that the industry would realize benefits from China’s revaluation of the renminbi.

In the technology sector, Canon was down 0.8 percent to ¥5,980, Sony fell 0.5 percent to ¥3,820, and Toshiba declined by 0.2 percent to ¥437. Sony’s shares especially were hit by the results of a survey of brand perception that had it falling from first to fourth place since last year. It was replaced by Microsoft.

Meanwhile, Oki Electric, a telecommunications equipment maker, was off by 4.5 percent to ¥359 on the news that it would post an operating loss of ¥3 billion in the six-month period ending in September. Shares in securities firms were anywhere from 0.3 percent to 1 percent lower on the day.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.5 percent on Monday to 1,170.62, chiefly on gains in the oil and telecommunications sectors.

The oil sector saw gains after losses had been seen due to concerns that recent terrorist activity, on top of high oil prices, might decrease demand.

Repsol gained 1.5 percent to €23.15, Neste Oil was up 0.6 percent to €21.80, Eni added 2.1 percent to €23.36, Total gained 2.2 percent to €208.50, and Statoil advanced by 2.4 percent to NKr141.00.

In the telecommunications sector, Telenor was up 1.4 percent to NKr55.25 after JPMorgan raised its rating to “overweight”.

Elsewhere in the sector, France Telecom gained 0.3 percent to €23.90 and Telecom Italia added 0.9 percent to €2.618.

In the motor vehicle manufacturing sector, Volvo lost 8.1 percent to SKr325.50 even though its pre-tax profit in the second quarter was its highest ever and it raised its outlook for market growth in North America to 20 percent as demand was down in the European market. Fiat, however, gained 4.3 percent to €7.11.

The banking sector was generally lower. German bank Commerzbank lost 1.2 percent to €18.44 after the news that it is cooperating with an investigation into money-laundering linked to a Russian telecommunications company.

In Italy, meanwhile, Mediobanca lost 2.4 percent to €16.164, while Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena lost 3.2 percent to €*3.3090.

In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.6 percent to 11,762.65 and the Topix gained 0.3 percent to 1,190.27 on the strength of sectors that stand to gain by the revaluation of the Chinese renminbi.

Nippon Steel gained 0.7 percent to ¥277, while JFE Holdings, was up 0.5 percent to ¥2,915, taking the iron and steel sector as a whole up by 0.8 percent.

The textile sector, which could receive a competitive advantage from the revaluation, gained 0.6 percent as a whole as Japan’s largest general textile manufacturer, Unitika, was up 1.4 percent to ¥148.

Meanwhile, Matsui Securities lost 3.8 percent to ¥1,054 after announcing on Friday that its quarterly profits were down by 15 percent.

Takeda Pharmaceutical, on the other hand, gained 1.1 percent to ¥5,600 on the news that the US has approved the sale there of Takeda’s prescription sleeping pill Rozerem.

In the oil sector, AOC Holdings gained 6 percent to ¥1,697 at least partly on a report that it’s oil producing unit will begin pumping crude oil at two locations in Egypt in the second half of 2007.

Nippon Oil, however, lost 0.1 percent to ¥741. Nippon is Japan’s biggest oil distributor.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained just less than 0.1 percent to close at 1,164.53 on Friday to end a week that saw more attacks on London’s transport system and the revaluation, albeit slight, of China’s currency.

In reporting its second quarter results on Thursday, Finnish telecommunications company Nokia said that its market share had increased from 32 percent to 33 percent, but that profit margins had shrunk due to the higher cost of manufacturing and lower average selling prices.

Following a series of downgrades, including a change to “underweight” by JPMorgan and a cut in target price from €17 to €16 by UBS, the value of Nokia’s shares lost 12.7 percent on the week to €12.90, to be the index’s largest decliner for the week.

On the other hand, Swedish company Ericsson reported strong results, but managed to gain only 0.6 percent for the week to close at SKr26.60 on Friday.

French food group Danone remained one of the weeks best performers on the strength of speculation that US company PepsiCo was ready to make a bid for the company, even though by the end of the week Danone’s chief executive had said he would oppose the bid.

Despite this negative news, Danone kept much of the 16 percent gain it had achieved at the beginning of the week to close at €3.42 on Friday, a gain of 10.7 for the week.

In Tokyo on Friday, equities markets saw declines as the yen appreciated sharply in relation to the US dollar in consequence of the revaluation of China’s currency on Thursday.

Share prices were especially hard hit among export-dependent companies. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent to 11,695.05 and the Topix lost 0.7 percent to close at 1,186.76.

The automobile manufacturing sector was hard-hit, as Toyota lost 0.9 percent to ¥4,190 and Nissan was down 1.5 percent to ¥1,145.

Additionally Sony, one of Japan’s largest exporters, lost 1.5 percent to ¥3,840.

Another factor in Sony’s decline is worry over game development for the PlayStation 3.

The troubles within export companies did nothing to help companies oriented toward the domestic market, as the retail sector declined by 0.9 percent on the day and the banking and services sectors each lost 0.5 percent.

One drag on the retail sector was supermarket chain Seiyu, which had announced earlier that it will have a net loss this year. Seiyu lost 4.3 percent to ¥202 on Friday.

Investors in Europe were little affected by new attacks in London after it became clear that the incidents were much smaller in scale than the deadly bombings of two weeks ago.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.2 percent to 1,164.80. Gainers on the Eurofirst were led by Essilor International, which were up by 4.7 percent to €60.80.

The optical lenses manufacturer reported that its first-half sales were up by 6.7 percent on recovery in its European business and on continuing growth in Asia and Latin America.

Although German business software maker SAP announced that it had surpassed expectations on license sales and operating income, investors were disappointed that the company only reaffirmed its full-year revenue growth forecast at 10 to 12 percent. Shares in SAP were down 1.4 percent to €145.50.

French dairy and food group Danone was also down despite good news from the first half as analysts said that the company was showing signs of a slowdown and as the company’s chairman made remarks that investors took to indicate that the would oppose a rumored takeover bid by PepsiCo. Danone lost 5.2 percent on the day to €87.85.

It was a roller coaster day on London’s equities markets on Thursday as new reports of terrorist activity erased early gains and sent the FTSE down by 75.8 points, only to make up the losses once it was understood that compared to the bombings two weeks ago, these attacks had caused minimal damage and injury.

Also having an effect on the day’s trade was China’s decision to revalue the renminbi. The FTSE 100 closed the day 0.1 percent higher at 5,221.6, while the FTSE 250 was up 0.4 percent to 7,467.4.

The mining sector was higher as copper prices hit a new peak. Anglo American gained 2.6 percent to £13.73, Antofagasta was up 1.2 percent to £12.93, and Rio Tinto rose by 1.3 percent to £18.62.

BHP Billiton added 1.3 percent to 782p on the news that it has entered into a joint venture with Japan’s biggest steel producer, JFE, in a deal expected to be worth $4.3 billion.

In the power sector, Centrica, the UK’s biggest gas and electricity supplier, saw its shares rise on the news that its rival Powergen has raised rates to residential users by 12 percent for gas and 7 percent for electricity. Shares in Centrica gained 2.6 percent to 230 ¾p.

European equity markets were down slightly on Wednesday as the telecommunications and oil sectors ran into some trouble.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.3 percent to 1,163.02. Oil stocks fell, largely on the move of Royal Dutch Shell to a single listing and a larger index weighting.

Also a factor were the US oil inventories report that were released in time to affect afternoon trade. Royal Dutch “A” shares in Amsterdam fell 1.2 percent to €25.40 and “B” shares in London lost 1.7 percent to £18.08. Cespa was down 2.9 percent to €39.90, while Norway’s Statoil lost 1.6 percent to NKr136.50.

Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker lost 2.2 percent to €14.70 and Ericsson was down by 1.5 percent to SKr26.30 on the report that US mobile maker Motorola only met but did not exceed quarterly expectations.

In other parts of the technology sector, news that Intel and Yahoo both had reported disappointed quarterly results sent stocks down for most of the day.

Some stocks managed to recoup losses by the end of the day, however, as Infineon and STMicroelectronics both closed 0.1 percent higher.

Infineon closed at €8.54, while STMicroelectronics finished the day at €14.92. Dutch chip making equipment manufacturer ASML gained 3.5 percent to €14.70 on the possibility of increased orders after Intel increased its 2005 capital expenditure budget once more.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Roche gained 3.8 percent to SFr171.60 on its report that first half net profits were up 4 percent, beating expectations, and on reports that 25 nations have ordered Roche’s Tamiflu influenza drug on the recommendation of the World Health Organization.

In the eurozone on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.5 percent to close at 1,165.92.

French food group Danone was up 10.2 percent to €87.60 after hitting an all-time high of €90.55 earlier in the day.

Danone is expected to announce a first-half gain of about 6 percent in like-for-like sales, but the thing that drove its gains were rumors that PepsiCo is getting ready to mount a takeover bid for the company.

On the coattails of these rumors Dutch food company Numico gained 3.5 percent to €34.25 on rumors that if PepsiCo does buy the French company, Numico might acquire Danone’s baby food division.

In the steel sector, high prices sent shares higher, with Arcelor up 3.8 percent to €17.29, ThyssenKrupp 1.6 percent higher at €14.88, and Corus Group gained 3 percent to €0.68.

In the meantime, Greece did better than the rest of Europe as the Athens General index finished the day up 2.5 percent at 3,252.13, a 50-month high. The index has risen 4.3 percent in the first two days of the week.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.3 percent to 1,160.62. The electronics sector had a bad day as Infineon was down 1 percent to €8.33 on news that one of its executives had been forced to resign amid accusations of corruption.

STMicroelectronics fell 1.6 percent to *14.53. Dutch firm Philips declined by 2.6 percent to €22.07 on a report that its second quarter profits were down by over one-half.

The automobile sector saw gains, however, as Fiat gained 1.1 percent to €6.50, while Porsche advanced by 2.4 percent to €673.50 as it announced its best first-half results ever. The Greek Athens General Index had a much better day, rising 1.7 percent to 3,171.55.

Gaming group Opap was up 4.8 percent to €22.50 after the government announced a sale of 52.45 million shares, 16.44 percent of the company, at €24.14 each.

Meanwhile, telecommunications company OTE gained 2.5 percent to €16.26 on news that the company, which is mostly owned by the Greek government, is getting ready to sell 13 percent of its shares, 9 percent of which will be publicly offered, with the remaining 4 percent being placed with OTE’s pension fund.

The New York equities markets closed on an up note Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.11 percent for the day to 10,640.83, the Nasdaq composite added 0.18 percent to 2,156.78, and the S&P 500 rose by 0.12 percent to 1,227.92.

Stocks were helped during the week by strong reports on the state of the economy as well as by good quarterly earnings reports from several companies.

Oil prices did not seem to upset the market, one analyst said, because investors knew that the price of crude oil was heavily weather-related in nature, rising when storms threaten Gulf of Mexico oil facilities and falling when the threats subside.

Among the economic data released during the week was a report of a slightly smaller US trade deficit, higher retail sales in the US, and inflation that remained under control in June.

Apple and Advanced Micro Devices were the stars of the week, but at least one other company also released a good quarterly report.

PepsiCo, the second-biggest soft-drink manufacturer in the world, reported that strong growth in its international business resulted in better-than-expected quarterly profits, which translated into a 4.1 percent rise to $55.71 on the week.

In Europe on Thursday, the Eurofirst 300 reached yet another 3-year high at the close, led by the technology, steel, and automobile sectors.

The pan-European index closed 0.51 percent higher at 1.165.43, having reached 1,170.34 earlier in the day.

Meanwhile in France, the CAC-40, open despite the Bastille Day holiday reached a 38-month closing high, finishing the day up 0.63 percent at 4,370.88.

Steelmakers, which suffered from a series of downgrades on Tuesday, recovered on Thursday as the sector hoped that the worst was over.

Arcelor gained 2.4 percent to €16.86, and ThyssenKrupp advanced 2.8 percent to €14.71.

Technology stocks gained on better-than-expected quarterly earnings reports from American companies AMD and Apple Computer.

Infineon was up 3.6 percent to €8.39, Phillips Electronics gained 1.4 percent to €22.68, and ASML advanced 1.7 percent to €14.24.

STMicroelectronics was up 2.9 percent to €14.80, also benefiting from rumors of joint venture talks with South Korea’s Hynix Semiconductor.

In the auto sector, Daimler Chrysler gained 1.7 percent to €34.64, while Renault was up 2 percent to €75.55.

Blue-chip stocks in Chile set a new record on Thursday as the initial public offering of local retailer Ripley’s helped other retailers rise on the day.

The second-largest department store chain in Chile, Ripley’s IPO raised $219 toward its expansion ambitions.

The IPO comes after two years of consolidations and share offers by other Chilean retailers.

Last year, Ripley’s reported sales of $1.22 billion and net profits of more than $60 million.

By midafternoon, shares in the retailer were trading at 518.30 pesos, well above their 480 peso auction price.

The Ripley’s IPO triggered sales in other retailers on the Santiago exchange.

Cencosud was up 2 percent to 1,003 pesos, while supermarket D&S gained 1.31 percent to 193.50 pesos.

Department store Falabella rose 3.4 percent to 1,380 pesos. By mid-afternoon local time, the ISPA blue-chip index was up 0.50 percent to 2,094.84, a new record.

The IGPA index was also up, by 0.52 percent to 9,584.91.

The banking sector on Wednesday helped the FTSE 100 post a gain of 28.7 points to close at 5,245.9, while the FTSE 250 gained 4.5 points to 7,541.7 on a volume of 2.9 billion shares traded.

The gains in the banking sector came as Goldman Sachs touted the stocks to its clients for reasons ranging from good volume growth to high dividend yields. HBOS gained 1.9 percent to 891 p, while Northern Rock was up 1.3 percent to 823 ½p.

In addition, Royal Bank of Scotland gained 1.2 percent to £17.38, HSBC was up 1.5 percent to 911 ½p, and Barclays added 1.3 percent to 571p.

The FTSE Eurofirst 500 closed at another three-year high on Wednesday as it rose 0.6 percent to 1,159.54.

The information technology sector and oil stocks were both up on the day. The success of the information technology sector, which was up 1.6 percent on the day, helped chip making equipment manufacturer ASML win back losses that had come with the news that its order’s have been below predictions. AMSL gained 2.2 percent to €14. In oil stocks, Spain’s Cepsa gained 3.5 percent to €41.09, while Statoil gained 1.2 percent to NKr146.

Results from the retail sector were not as positive. Shares in Carrefour, the world’s second-biggest retailer, were down 2.4 percent to €39.05 on a report of slow sales in the second quarter. UBS cut its price target on the retailer’s stock from €42 to €38, explaining its action by saying that there is no evidence that sales will recover. Morgan Stanley, however, kept its rating for Carrefour at “overweight”.

Other retailers also lost ground, with Casino Guichard losing 2.6 percent to €57.05, while PPR was down 1.4 percent to €83.60.

In Tokyo, equities markets hit a four-month high, as export-dependent stocks did well once again on good employment news from the United States. Sony rose 1.3 percent to ¥3,940.

Office equipment maker Canon gained 0.5 percent to ¥5,920. Carmakers were also up, as Honda gained 0.6 percent to ¥5,520, Toyota was up 0.7 percent to ¥4,130, and Nissan added 0.5 percent to ¥1,124.

Nippon Television Network was up 3.5 percent to Y15,940 on a report that it will begin paid internet broadcasting in October.

Weakness in the insurance and oil sectors in the eurozone overcame advances in the technology and personal care sectors to send the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 0.4 percent to 1,152.84 on Tuesday.

In France, telecommunications equipment supplier Alcatel released second-quarter earnings figures two weeks ahead of schedule. It said that its second-quarter revenues were 8 percent higher than the same period last year at €3.15 billion. The company also predicted double digit earnings growth for the full year as well as an operating margin of 10 percent for the year. Some analysts, however, were skeptical of that prediction.

Meanwhile, cosmetics maker L’Oreal gained 3.6 percent to €62.30 after the announcement that its first half sales rose 4.1 percent to €7.163 billion.

On this report, UBS upgraded L’Oreal from “neutral” to “buy” and raised its price target per share to €70, up from €62.

Shares in oil companies were down even though crude oil prices were up above $60 per barrel again. Norsk Hydro fell 0.9 percent to NKr630, Royal Dutch was down 1.1 percent to €53.40, and Finland’s Neste Oil also lost 1.1 percent to €23.05.

The approach of another tropical storm send oil prices up, forcing US equities markets down early on Tuesday.

By the close, however, the markets were mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down but the S&P and Nasdaq indexes up.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6 percent to close at 10,513.89, the S&P 500 had gained 0.23 percent to 1,222.21, and the Nasdaq composite advanced 0.36 percent to 2,143.15.

PepsiCo gained 1.9 percent to $54.91 on the news that quarterly profits were up more than expected.

Biotechnology company Genentech gained 1 percent to $84.96, also on news of better-than-expected quarterly results. Walt Disney gained 1.8 percent to $25.62 amid reports that it will sell its radio stations.

The Tokyo equities markets closed at a 13-week high on Monday on investor optimism produced by strong US employment data published Friday.

The Nikkei 225 was up 0.9 percent to 11,674.79 and the Topix gained 0.6 percent to 1,185.02.

Companies with significant overseas involvement and export-oriented businesses were helped by the new US Labor Department figures showing that 146,000 new jobs had been created in the US in June.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was up 0.7 percent to ¥289 after it’s announcement that it is in talks to purchase US nuclear reactor maker Westinghouse for around ¥200 billion.

The negotiations come as sales of strategic US companies to non-US firms are being looked at closely in the wake of CNOOC’s controversial US$18.5 billion bid for Unocal.

If the purchase of Westinghouse by MHI goes forward, it would be MHI’s biggest overseas acquisition to date. Shares in Kao added 1.1 percent to ¥2,715 as the cosmetics and household goods maker came closer to buying Molton Brown, the luxury consumer products manufacturer that sells its goods in upscale stores in over 70 countries. The deal is worth £170 million.

Among exporters, Sony gained 0.8 percent to ¥3,890, Toshiba added 1.4 percent to ¥438, Canon rose by 0.5 percent to ¥5,940, and Fujitsu was up 0.9 percent to ¥575.

In London, the FTSE 100 was up 1.4 percent on the week to close at 5,232.2 on Friday, while the FTSE 250 saw a rise 1 percent over the week to reach an all-time high at Friday’s close of 7,518.7. Volume on Friday was 2.8 billion shares, about average for a summer Friday and much lower than Thursday’s activity.

Some investors said the recovery after Thursday’s events shows the market’s ability to bounce back, while others were surprised that the market seemed to be ignoring weak economic data and a slowdown in consumer spending.

Investors seemed to be trying to give the impression that they see the threat of terrorism as merely a normal part of everyday life. Sectors that lost big on news of the bombings on Thursday came back on Friday, including airlines and some but not hotel groups. Life insurers also rebounded.

In Tokyo on Friday, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.2 percent to 11,565.99, while the Topix was down 0.22 percent to close at 1,177.61.

Private sector machinery orders were down 6.7 percent in May compared to April. Exporters, including Sony, Canon, and Toyota were down, but retailers were up.

In the eurozone, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.3 percent on the day and 1 percent on the week to close at 1151.34. The oil sector saw shares gain value on rising crude oil prices, but tire makers were down on high rubber prices.

On a report that high demand from China could send prices to a 9-year high by the end of the year sent shares in Michelin down 6.4 percent to €47.67 while German tire maker Continental lost 2.4 percent to €58.56.

Equities markets in the eurozone were buoyed by advances in the oil and gas sectors as crude oil prices were up again and Credit Suisse First Boston and Merrill Lynch both boosted their outlook for oil stocks.

Total was up 2.2 percent to €202.30, Repsol YPF gained 2.1 percent to €22.41, and Eni advanced by 2.2 percent to €22.46. Neste Oil was up 2.2 percent to €23.50, Statoil rose by 2.1 percent to NKr143.50, and Norsk Hydro advanced to NKr638, up 4.2 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.6 percent on the day to 1,157.21, a new 3-year high. Meanwhile in London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.8 percent to 5,229.6, the fourth day in a row that the index reached a new 3-year high.

The FTSE 250 gained 1.2 percent to reach an all-time high of 7,487.9. Trade was strong at 3.9 billion shares traded.

At least part of the gains in London came after the announcement that the International Olympic Committee had awarded the 2012 Olympic Games to London. Companies from many sectors stand to benefit from the games.

Among those seeing advances today were WS Atkins, the UK’s biggest engineering consultancy, which gained 4.8 percent to 716p. Senco advanced by 2.1 percent to 259 ¼p, Amec rose 0.9 percent to 331p, and Carillion was up 5 percent to 284 p.

Other gainers included Balfour Beatty, which gained 5.2 percent to 347.25p, building materials group Hanson, which advanced 2.1 percent to 545 ½p, and Severfield-Rowen, which rose 9 percent to 707p. Caterer Compass Group was up 2.42 percent to 244p, while Workspace gained 4.3 percent to 248 ¾p.

Four bombs were detonated at four different points in London’s transportation system during the morning rush hour on Thursday, leaving a reported 37 dead and more than 700 wounded. The attacks are being investigated as terrorist acts. A group claiming links to Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks and warned Italy and Denmark to withdraw their military forces from the Middle East. The claim, which one police official said had not been determined to be real, appeared on an Islamist website. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who left the G8 meeting in Scotland to deal with attacks, declared the intent of the British people to preserve their way of life and their values in the wake of the attacks.

The repercussions of the attacks on equities markets ranged far and wide. In London the FTSE 100 ended the day down 1.4 percent at 5,158.3 after a 4 percent drop earlier in the day. The FTSE 250 closed down 1.4 percent at 7,387.9. The volume of shares traded on the day was much higher than average at 4.6 billion shares. The news of the attacks in London prompted a broad-based sell-off, but by afternoon more limited losses in New York and the expectation that the attacks might prompt the Bank of England to cut interest rates helped the equities markets to recover somewhat from what had been a traumatic day. Analysts praised the resilience of the London markets and predicted that within a week they would be higher than current levels.

Almost all stocks on the FTSE 100 were lower on the day. Among those feeling the most effect from the bombings were travel-related sectors. Air carriers and cruise lines were down, as were hotel groups. British Airways lost 4.2 percent to 260 ¾p and EasyJet fell 3.8 percent to 254 ¼p, while airport operator BAA declined by 3.2 percent to 599p. Cruise operator Carnival fell 2.2 percent to £31.59. Hilton lost 3.3 percent to 288 ¼p, while InterContinental Hotels was down 2.8 percent to 701 ½p. Shares in companies touching on bus and train transport were down as well.

National Express, which bought the London bus division of Tellings Golden Miller just last month, lost 3.3 percent to 880p, while bus and train operator Go-Ahead Group was down 2.4 percent to £12.48. First Choice Holidays initially fell by 8.2 percent but recovered by the end of the day to a loss of 2.9 percent at 187 ¼p. Leisure companies with significant holdings in London also fell sharply. Ubrium, the nightclub operator, lost 4.3 percent to 770p, while Caffe Nero, the coffee shop operator, was down 2.9 percent to 187 ¼p.

Another sector seeing significant losses in the London markets was the insurance sector. Those firms had recovered much of their losses by the end of the day, however. Aviva closed down 2.2 percent at 611p after having fallen to 585p earlier. Prudential fell to 482½p before recovering to 502 ¼p at the close of trade, a decline of 1.9 percent. Gainers were few in London, and included pharmaceutical group Shine, which rose 0.2 percent to 620p, and Quadnetics Group, which supplies CCTV and video systems to London Transport. Shares in Quadnetics rose 1 percent to 242 ½p.

In the eurozone, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw an up and down day much like that in the London markets. The Eurofirst was down by 1.9 percent to 1,135.6 late in the trading day, but it had fallen as far as 1,107.49 earlier, down 4.3 percent. Again, the leisure and insurance sectors were the hardest hit, especially airline and travel stocks.

Tui, the world’s biggest travel agency, lost 2.3 percent to €20.59 even though a company officials said that it does not believe Thursday’s terrorist attacks in London will have a long-term effect on travel bookings. In the air travel sector, Lufthansa lost 2.3 percent to €9.95, Air France-KLM was down 1.3 percent to *12.42, Sweden’s SAS fell 1.5 percent to SKr64.25, and RyanAir lost 2.3 percent to *6.32.

European insurers were also down, with life insurers Aegon dropping 1.8 percent to €10.76 and Alleanza falling 2.7 percent to €8.77. Reinsurers did even worse, with Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, lost 2.4 percent to €87, even though it said it was not affected by the attacks in London. Other reinsures were down between 1.9 percent and 4.1 percent.

Energy stocks in the eurozone were down after the price of crude oil initially hit record highs after the attacks but subsequently fell by more than $5 per barrel on concerns about the impact of the attacks on air travel and economic growth. Royal Dutch was down 2.7 percent to €54.90, Norsk Hydro lost 2.9 percent to NKr619.50, and Statoil fell 2.1 percent to NKr140.50. Crude oil prices recovered most of those losses later in the day but still ended the day down.

US stocks initially dropped on the news of the London bombings, but then recovered as European stocks recovered some of their early losses as the day progressed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all ended the trading day in positive territory. The DIJA gained 0.3 percent to close at 10,302.29, the S&P 500 was up fractionally to 1,197.86, while the Nasdaq composite also gained 0.3 percent to close at 2,075.66. Early declines on the New York exchanges were about half of those experienced after the March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid.

Another factor in the late recovery in New York involved the weekly report on first-time jobless claims in the US, which came in at just about the level expected. Still, as in London and in Europe, airlines and other travel-related stocks fell on the day. Delta Air Lines closed down 2.9 percent at $3.38, after recovering from a 10 percent drop in pre-opening trade. Meanwhile, Marriott International was off by 0.4 percent to $68.59.

The price of government bonds around the world surged, and yields fell, as investors looked for safe places to put their money after the events in London on Thursday morning.

In the UK, the 10-year gilt lost 8.3 basis points to yield 4.199percent at the close of trade. Earlier, yields on the 10-year gilt had fallen to a two-year low of 4.12 percent.

In the US, the 10-year Treasury bond was down, although not as much, losing 2.5 basis points to yield 4.049 percent, after falling to a yield of 3.96 percent earlier in the day. In the eurozone, the 10-year German Bund registered a loss of 3.6 basis points to yield 3.175 percent after bouncing back from an all-time low of 3.08 percent.

Trade was heaving at 1.4 million contracts in the eurozone. Some analysts said that as long as confidence remains high in Europe, the London attacks will not have an effect on the overall economic outlook for Europe.

The head of Malaysia-based AirAsia, Asia’s most successful discount air carrier, has forecast that other low-cost airlines will begin to move toward consolidation in an effort to save money.

Tony Fernandes said that some of the operators of these air carriers got into the industry because they thought it was an easy way to make money, but in the current climate they are finding that it is much more difficult to turn a profit than it looked.

And there are signs that Fernandes may be correct in his assessment. Just last week Valuair, which has been flying since May of 2004, and Jetstar Asia, two Singapore-based no-frills air carriers, announced that they were in talks that could lead to a merger.

Among the reasons that carriers such as Jet Star and Valuair, which has been branching out into offering longer routes and in-flight meals, are looking to merge are higher oil prices and leasing costs.

Rates for leasing the sorts of aircraft used on short- and medium-haul routes have climbed by as much as 40 percent in the past year due to demand that is exceeding supply.

Oil prices are going up on high demand, processing bottlenecks, and limited refining capacity. Last week in Singapore, for example, jet fuel was trading at $70.47 per barrel.

In Tokyo on Friday, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 percent to 11,630.13, while the Topix advanced by 0.39 percent to 1,181.80, aided by better-than-expected corporate sentiment.

Export-dependent companies gained value on the weakness of the yen.

In other equities markets, results were either positive or neutral for the day and mostly up for the quarter and the first half of the year.

The one exception was the S&P 500 in New York, which finished the day up 0.3 percent at 1,194.44 and up 0.2 percent for the week, but down 0.9 percent for the second quarter.

In other New York indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3 percent for the day to close at 10,303.44, but it’s weekly gain just 0.1 percent, while it was up 2.2 percent in the second quarter.

The Nasdaq was unchanged at 2,057.37 on Friday, but gained 0.2 percent for the week and 2.9 percent in the second quarter.

In Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 advanced 0.7 percent on Friday to close at 1,149.75 while gaining 4 percent in the second quarter and 9.6 percent in the first half of the year.

The telecommunications sector was up, but technology stocks were mixed. Meanwhile in London, the FTSE 100 gained 1.6 percent this week to 5,161.0, it’s highest level since May of 2002. It was up 6.2 for the first half of the year.

The FTSE 250, meanwhile, closed at an all-time high of 7,446.2 on Friday, a gain of 1.6 percent for the week. The week’s advances in London were driven by the telecommunications and oil sectors.