In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.13 percent higher to 1,218.06, its highest level at the close of a session since May of 2002.

The automobile manufacturing sector was up as analysts said the sector would grow by 22 percent in 2005, well ahead of its prediction at the beginning of the year that it would grow by 10 percent.

Porsche gained 2.3 percent to €685, Volkswagen was up 3.1 percent to €47.22, and BMW advanced by 2.5 percent to €37.89 after Goldman Sachs upgraded it on Monday from “in line” to “outperform”.

DaimlerChrysler gained 2 percent to €41.95 after it announced that it has averted a strike with Canadian workers by coming to agreement on a three-year deal on wages.

French insurer AGF gained 1.9 percent to €78.55 while it’s German parent company, Allianz, was up 0.8 percent to €106.19.

Meanwhile Danish company Moller Maersk, the largest container shipping company in the world, lost 3.1 percent to DKr65,400 on a ratings cut from “buy” to “reduce” from UBS. UBS also lowered the company’s target price from DKr70,000 to DKr60,000, warning that freight flows were slowing down even as capacity was rising.

Meanwhile in Germany, the Xetra Dax gained 0.8 percent on the day to 4,962.86 after sharp losses on Monday in the wake of the outcome of Sunday’s elections there.

Results were mixed in the New York equities markets on Monday, but with not much movement in either direction by the end of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up a fraction to 10,682.94 and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3 percent to 2,182.83, but the S&P 500 fell fractionally to 1,240.57.

The lackluster performance followed gains last week that came on optimism that the huge reconstruction job after Hurricane Katrina would benefit the economy.

Two airlines trying to avoid bankruptcy saw declines. Shares in Northwest Airlines dropped by 3.3 percent to $3.31 after discussions with striking mechanics broke down, and Delta Air Lines fell by 22.7 percent to 85 cents as rumors circulated that a bankruptcy filing could come at any time.

In the oil and gas sectors, retreats were also abundant. Oil refiner Sunoco dropped 4.5 percent to $76.09, while Exxon Mobil lost 1.1 percent to $62.52 as crude oil prices fell. Meanwhile, natural gas producer Dynergy lost 1.9 percent to $4.66 after it announced that two of its facilities were damaged by Katrina.

Elsewhere, eBay was up by 0.8 percent to $38.94 after it announced that it will purchase internet telephone group Skype for $2.6 billion. Contractor Halliburton dropped by 3.8 percent to $63.60.

Crude oil prices once again were a major reason that Tokyo equities markets ended the day lower on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.3 percent to 12,413.60, while the Topix index fell 0.2 percent to 1,271.29.

Airlines, shippers and automobile manufacturers all fell, as did the transport equipment sector, which was down 0.8 percent as a whole. Toyota lost 1.1 percent to ¥4,500 as investors worried that the export-dependent carmaker could be harmed if demand in the US goes down due to high oil prices.

Japan Airlines, which said it was considering raising domestic fares, was down 1.3 percent to ¥311, as the air transport sector fell 0.6 percent. Shipper Mitsui OSK declined by 0.7 percent to ¥808.

In addition Japan’s second largest travel agency, Kinki Nippon Tourist, lost 3.7 percent to ¥315 on worries that travel costs will increase.

Oil refiner and shipper Cosmo Oil decreased by 4.7 percent to ¥549 on the announcement that it would issue ¥39 billion in new bonds and shares as it tries to raise money to expand its refining capacity.

The effects of Hurricane Katrina began to be felt on the New York equities markets on Tuesday, a combination of soaring oil prices, news of damage to the infrastructure in the areas affected that will cost insurers billions of dollars, and closures of retailers in the region hit by the storm.

Not even a report of increased consumer confidence in August helped much. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 percent on the day to close at 10,412.82, the Nasdaq composite lost 0.4 percent to 2,129, and the S&P 500 closed down 0.3 percent to 1,208.41.

All areas of the transport sector felt the effect of high oil prices. Delta Airlines, which was already near bankruptcy, lost 5.5 percent to $1.20 as the Amex airline index fell 3 percent to 46.75.

Ground transport was not immune either, as United Parcel Service fell 1.1 percent to $70.42 and rail freight company CSX declined by 1.7 percent to $44.85.

Insurers and reinsures dropped as damage estimates in the hurricane zone rose. Hartford Financial Services lost nearly 0.3 percent to $73.15, while American International Group declined by 0.4 percent to $59.28. Retailers and restaurants were down on the day, with many of them suffering closures in the storm-affected areas.

Wal-Mart lost 1 percent to $45.19 after it said that 123 of its stores had been closed due to the hurricane. Jewelry retailer Tiffany lost 2.6 percent to $33.31. Office supply chain Staples lost 2.9 percent to $21.85.

The oil sector, on the other hand saw substantial gains. Refiner ConocoPhillips was up 2.1 percent to $64.41, while oilfield services company Halliburton saw the value of its shares rise 3.5 percent to $59.84.

The Tokyo equities markets did better on Tuesday as they gained back the ground that they lost on Monday. The Nikkei 225 gained 1.2 percent to 12,453.14 and the Topix index was up by 1.2 percent as well, to 1,273.60.

The iron and steel sector did well, gaining 3.9 percent, while the shipping sector gained 1.5 percent. Nippon Steel gained 5.2 percent to ¥321, while JFE added 4.6 percent to ¥3,200. Shipper Nippon Yusen was up 1.5 percent to ¥696.

The transport equipment sector as a whole gained 1.3 percent, and Toyota, one of Japan’s biggest exporters and the second largest automobile manufacturer in the world, was up by 2.2 percent to ¥4,550.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Eisai was up 1.2 percent to ¥4,160 after an announcement on Monday that it was ready to take its experimental drug aimed at treating sepsis to the next level of testing.

The financial sector also did well. Banking group Mizuho gained 4 percent to ¥619,000, while securities house Nomura added 2.2 percent to ¥1,521.

On the losing side, supermarket chain Eco lost 5.7 percent to ¥1,084 when it said it would probably take losses in the first half of the 2005-2006 fiscal year due to low sales, which it blamed on heavy competition.

The Tokyo equities markets were down substantially on Monday as crude oil prices rose to new highs yet again, peaking at over $70 per barrel.

The Nikkei 225 lost 1 percent to 12,309.83, while the Topix index declined by 1.1 percent to 1,258.64.

Stocks were down almost across the board as it was believed by investors that high oil prices would hit exports only marginally more than they would hit companies that depend on domestic demand.

Energy-dependent sectors did especially badly, with the sea transport sector down 2 percent as a whole, while the air transport sector was down an even larger 2.2 percent, due to a bomb scare on a Japan Airlines plane as well as to the surge in oil prices.

Information and communications stocks were down 1.4 percent, while the transport equipment sector fell 1.3 percent, and precision machinery as a whole lost 1.2 percent.

In the airlines sector, Japan Airlines lost 3.1 percent to ¥313 and All Nippon Airways fell by 1.4 percent to ¥362. Japan’s largest automobile manufacturer lost 2 percent to ¥4,450, and it’s biggest shipper, Nippon Yusen, declined by 1.7 percent to ¥686.

Japan’s largest brokerage house, Nomura, lost 1.6 percent to ¥1,488 as the securities sector as a whole fell by 1.5 percent.

In European equities markets on Monday, stocks rose after a full week of losses last week as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the day up 0.3 percent to 1,167.43, in the absence of trading of 76 UK stocks because of the UK bank holiday.

The oil sector was mixed on the day, with Hurricane Katrina to blame. Smaller oil companies were mainly up, with Austrian company OMV up 2.7 percent to €43.70, while Saipem of Italy added 1.7 percent to €13.17.

However some larger oil companies, and especially those with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, sustained losses due to production halts and the uncertainty over whether or not their facilities would sustain damage from the storm. Royal Dutch Shell lost 0.1 percent to €26.79. Despite the storm Total, the French oil company, managed to gain 0.4 percent to €206.60.

The airlines and automobile manufacturing sectors saw losses due to rising oil prices. Lufthansa fell 0.1 percent to €10.74 and Ryanair declined by 0.6 percent to €6.55.

Tui, out of Germany, managed to overcome the news of higher oil prices to gain 1.2 percent to €19.28 on its announcement that it was thinking about raising fuel surcharges this winter.

In the auto sector Volkswagen was one of the few stocks to avoid losses, avoiding movement at all to stay at €42.91. Elsewhere, Renault lost 0.6 percent to €71.55, while Peugeot and Porsche each fell by 0.2 percent, to €50.60 and €637.63 respectively.

Insurers also had a bad day as losses due to Hurricane Katrina were being projected to possibly rise as high as $25 billion if it hit major population centers.

Primary insurers did badly enough, with Zurich Financial falling as far as SFr215.20 before ending the day up by only 0.1 percent to SFr220.70 and ING losing 0.3 percent to €23.18. Reinsurers did even worse. Swiss Re fell 0.4 percent to SFr81.65, Munich Re lost 0.5 percent to €90.73, and Hannover Re declined by 0.8 percent to €29.70.

The results of high oil prices ran the results on European equities markets on Thursday, even though crude oil prices retreated some from record high prices as the day progressed.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.7 percent to 1,172.57, its lowest close in three weeks.

Oil stocks were up early but gave up their gains later in the day, and shares in companies highly dependent on oil and oil products were down on the prospect of having to pay higher prices for those products.

In the oil sector, Total lost 1 percent to €207.30, while Repsol fell by 1.4 percent to €23.52 and Eni declined by 1.5 percent to €23.49.

Oil service group Saipem, however, gained 1.8 percent to €13.14 on an upgraded rating to “buy” from “neutral” from UBS.

Among oil-dependent companies, chemical group BASF lost 1.2 percent to €57.28.

In the automobile sector, Renault dropped 1.8 percent to €72.30, while Volkswagen was down 1.5 percent to €43.29.

The airlines were down as well, with Lufthansa losing 0.8 percent to €10.89 and Air France-KLM closing down 2.8 percent at €13.25.

Technology were also down on worries that higher energy costs would mean less money to spend elsewhere. Infineon lost 0.6 percent to €7.90, while STMicroelectronics was down 0.9 percent to €13.55 and ASML dropped 1.6 percent to €13.69.

Ericsson fell 2.3 percent to SKr25.60, and Nokia was down 1 percent to €12.67.

In London equities markets on Thursday, the indexes were lower as crude oil prices rose once again.

The FTSE 200 dropped 0.4 percent to 5,255.7 and the FTSE 250 was down by 0.3 percent to 7,679.1 on a volume of 2.5 billion shares traded. Shares in companies that rely heavily on oil products were down.

British Airways fell 1.8 percent to 279 ½ p, while cruise operator Carnival lost 1 percent to £29.40.

Lloyds TSB traded nearly 70 million shares and was up by 4 percent at one point on the day as rumors floated that US bank Wells Fargo would acquire Lloyds, although Wells Fargo has not shown any inclination to acquire European banks. Lloyds ended the day up by 0.9 percent to 458¼p.

Also in the banking sector, the Royal Bank of Scotland lost 1.4 percent to £16.21 after ABN Amro repeated its rating of “reduce” on the bank.

In the leisure sector, Hilton declined by 2.3 percent to 298½p on the news that its Ladbrokes betting shops had sustained a recent series of bad results. In addition, Hilton reported that its hotels have seen falling demand, largely as a result of the July terrorist bombings in London. Still, the company’s interim profits were up.

Steelmaker Corus Group lost 1 percent to 44¼p despite higher interim profits, as it warned that third-quarter profits would be impacted by higher costs for raw materials and lower prices on its products.

The London equities markets were lower on Wednesday as the mining sector
declined and merger rumors swirled around a utility.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.5 percent to 5,275.2, while the FTSE 250 fell a fraction to 7,704.5 on a volume of 2.6 billion shares traded.

In the mining sector, BHP Billiton lost 3.7 percent to 804p despite reporting record profits for the full year.

Elsewhere in the sector, Rio Tinto lost 3.4 percent to £19.67, Anglo American dropped 2.7 percent to £13.74, and Antofagasta fell by 2.4 percent to £14.56.

Electric and gas utility Centrica was the focus of merger rumors, with several companies said to be interested in acquiring the company.

Most of the talk focused on Norwegian company Norsk Hydro after it admitted to having engaged in talks with Centrica earlier in the year.

Other names that were raised as possible suitors were Russian company Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell, Gaz de France, and BG Group.

Analysts debated which companies might actually be thinking about buying Centrica and whether there were even any talks going on. Centrica would not comment, but its shares gained 3.8 percent to 252 ¾p.

Trade in the utility was heavy at 106 million shares traded on the day.

The Tokyo equities exchanges were down Wednesday morning amid profit-taking after earlier gains.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.24 percent to 12,441.31, while the Topix index lost 0.35 percent to 1,267.59.

The steel sector as a whole lost 0.9 percent, and Nippon Steel lost 1.3 percent to ¥310.

Other sectors that saw losses included the insurance sector, down by 1.5 percent, the securities sector, which lost 1.2 percent, and the real estate sector, which declined by 1.1 percent.

The banking sector, which was a victim of profit taking before the other sectors, only fell by 0.3 percent.

There were sectors that saw gains, including retailers, which gained 0.1 percent, and the sea transport sector, which was up by 0.7 percent.

In the shipping sector, Mitsui OSK Lines gained 1 percent to ¥822 on a positive share outlook from UBS.

Camera maker Nikon lost 2.1 percent to ¥1,340 when Merrill Lynch lowered its rating from “buy” to “neutral”, saying that the company has neared its share price target and it cannot see any reason to raise that target.

Meanwhile, discount chain retailer Aoyama Trading gained 0.2 percent to ¥2,940 on the Osaka equities exchange.

The London equity markets were mixed on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 falling by 0.3 percent at the close to 5,300.2 even as the FTSE 250 added 0.2 percent to end the session at 7,707.4 on a volume of 2.4 billion shares traded.

British Airways lost 1.6 percent to 285 ¼p as analysts began to assess the damages to the air carrier incurred by the caterer’s walkout at Heathrow airport. One analyst said that BA could have its profits for the year cut by as much as £40 million.

Rolls Royce lost 0.1 percent to 341 ¼p after the announcement that it had won a joint contract worth $2.4 billion in conjunction with General Electric to develop new engines for the joint strike fighter, becoming part of the costliest military project in history.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Acambis gained 4.1 percent to 255p on the announcement that it has successfully concluded phase II trials on a treatment for Japanese Encephalitis.

In the mining sector, Antofagasta added 1.5 percent to £14.91 on the possibility of more merger and acquisition activity involving the Chilean miner in the wake of the death last week of its former chairman and largest shareholder. Another factor in the company’s advance was the raised interim profits forecasts for 2006, up 43 percent to $341 million due to record copper prices.

Volumes were light on European equities markets on Tuesday as many investors took summer holidays and as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.6 percent to 1,186.73.

The pharmaceuticals sector was still feeling the fallout from last Friday’s jury verdict against Merck in the first Vioxx case to reach the US courts. Novo Nordisk lost 1.5 percent to DKr323.50 after a US rival reported success in clinical trials of a diabetes drug, which caused concerns that Novo Nordisk’s development of a similar product might be undermined.

Elsewhere in the sector, Sanofi-Aventis lost 1.6 percent to €70.65 and Novartis and Roche each declined by 1.1 percent. Novartis ended the session at SFr61.65, while Roche settled at SFr173.60.

Oil prices caused declines in both the oil sector and in sectors which use a great deal of oil products. In the oil sector, Eni dropped 2.1 percent to €23.47, Total lost 1.2 percent to €208.30, and Repsol YPF declined by
1 percent to €23.86.

Most companies in the automobile manufacturing sector were also down on the day. The exception was Fiat, which closed up 2.8 percent to €7.446 on the heels of Monday’s 3.3 percent gain. Elsewhere in the sector, Peugeot lost 1.2 percent to €51.80, DaimlerChrysler fell 1.3 percent to €42.14, Porsche closed 1.9 percent lower at €643.22.

In the airlines sector, Air France lost 2.4 percent to €13.62 and Lufthansa closed even at €11.09 after recovering from a decline earlier in the day.

In London on Wednesday, the equities markets saw their fifth day in a row of negative figures at the close of trade as the Bank of England released the minutes from the most recent meeting of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee.

The banking and insurance sectors took the implication of the report, that there would not be another interest rate cut soon, especially badly. Overall, the FTSE 100 lost 0.6 percent to close at 5,292.7, while the FTSE 250 declined by 0.6 percent as well, to 7,654.5 at the close. In banking and insurance, Royal Sun Alliance was down 2.3 percent to 94 ¼p, Barclays lost 2.1 percent to 563p, Aviva declined by 2.4 percent to 621 ½p, and Prudential fell 1.7 percent to 514 ½p.

The telecommunications sector did somewhat better as Vodafone gained 0.7 percent to 151 p, BT added 1.8 percent to 220 ¾p, O2 added 2.8 percent to 146 ¾p, and Colt-Telecom gained 3.7 percent to 62 ½p.

The airline sector was mixed. British Airways fell 2 percent to 385 ¾p as its labor dispute continued. EasyJet, however, was up 1.3 percent to 299p after it announced it would save £10 million for the year as a result of a 10-year maintenance deal with Swiss firm SR Technics worth $1 billion.

Mining companies were down for the second day in a row as copper prices continued to fall. BHP Billiton lost 2.9 percent to 813p, Anglo American declined by 2.8 percent to £14.11, Rio Tinto fell 2.6 percent to £19.85, while Antofagasta dropped 1.8 percent to £14.04.

New York equities markets were down substantially on Tuesday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.14 percent to 10,513.45, the Nasdaq composite fell by 1.38 percent to 2,137.06, and the S&P 500 lost 1.18 percent to 1,219.34.

Shares in Wal-Mart were down by more than 3.3 percent at mid-afternoon to $47.50 on the news that while second quarter earnings had risen by 6 percent , the third-quarter outlook was not as good. The world’s largest retailer blamed this assessment on rising oil prices.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, Home Depot and Staples both reported much higher sales in the second quarter. Home Depot said it experienced a 20 percent rise in sales and a same-store sales increase of 4 percent. Office goods retailer Staples also said their sales were up 20 percent in the quarter, 1 percent better than analysts thought they would do. Still, shares in both companies were down. Home Depot lost 1.4 percent to $41.04, while Staples declined by 2.1 percent to $21.85.

In the airline sector, the Amex airline index gained 3.4 percent, its first increase after 11 straight declining sessions. Delta Air Lines gained 9.4 percent to $1.52, Northwest Airlines added 10.6 percent to $4.61, and SkyWest was up 11 percent to $24.46.

New York equities markets were up on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite, and the S&P 500 all saw gains by the end of the day.

The Dow ended the day up 0.3 percent to 10,634.38, while the Nasdaq was up 0.5 percent to close at 2,167.04 and the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 1,233.87. Oil prices that fell slightly helped the gains.

In the media sector, there were rumors that Dow Jones, the owner of the Wall Street Journal, might be for sale. Shares in Dow Jones were up by as much as 15 percent during the day, but closed lower than that but at a gain for the day of 11 percent to $41.14. Time Warner added 1.4 percent to $18.50 on the news that four investors are planning to pressure the company’s board of directors to buy back $20 billion in stock and spin off its cable business.

In the airlines sector, unconfirmed reports in the New York Times that Delta Air Lines was arranging financing for bankruptcy protection sent the air carrier’s stocks plummeting 13.7 percent.

The New York equities markets ended the day higher on Thursday despite crude oil prices that hit record levels Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day ahead by 0.9 percent at 10,685.89, the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8 percent to 2,174.55, and the S&P 500 was up 0.7 percent at 1,237.81.

The rise in oil prices didn’t help Delta Air Lines, which has been trying to avoid entering bankruptcy. Despite announcing that it will add larger aircraft on it’s New York to Boston and Washington shuttle routes, Delta lost 6.8 percent on the day to $1.79 amid expectations that it will file for bankruptcy soon.

Tivo fell 6.2 percent to $5.62 on the announcement by DirecTV Group that it will quit marketing Tivo digital video recorders this year and replace them with alternate technology from News Corp, which owns 34 percent of DirecTV. DirecTV’s shares fell slightly on the news, to $16.18.

News Corp itself gained 3.4 percent on the day to $18.03 after it announced a jump of 67 percent in its quarterly profits. Yahoo gained 2.2 percent to $34.94 after it said it would pay $1 billion in cash and trade its operations in China in exchange for 40 percent of Alibaba.com, the second-biggest internet auctioneer in China.

Semiconductor manufacturer Intel dropped 0.2 percent on a downgrade to “in-line” by Goldman Sachs.

The London equities markets were down on Thursday as insurance companies fell on warnings weak margins. The FTSE 100 fell 0.4 percent to 5,358.6, while the FTSE 250 lost 0.5 percent to 7,695.3 on a volume of 2.7 billion shares traded.

Aviva, the UK’s biggest insurance company, was down by 2 percent to 644p even though it reported results at the high end of expectations, as it issued a warning that margins in the UK life insurance sector were weak and as analysts said that the company was feeling some pressure to increase volume.

Royal & Sun Alliance fell even more, by 2.1 percent, to 92p as profit taking followed interim earnings results that met expectations. Elsewhere in the sector, Prudential lost 2.2 percent to 525p and Legal & General declined by 1.1 percent to 110 ½p.

In other sectors, British Airways was down 1.3 percent to 292 ¼p after it had to suspend check-ins at Heathrow in a dispute between the air carrier and a caterer.

Defense group BAE Systems gained 1 percent to 332p on an upgrade to “buy” from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. More than 81 million shares in BAE were traded when Morgan Stanley placed over 30 million shares at 325 per share.

The mobile phone sector was higher after Morgan Stanley advised investors to put their money in Vodafone and O2 rather than in fixed-line company BT Group. O2 gained 0.9 percent to 145 ½p and Vodafone was up 0.5 percent to 147 ¾p.

In Europe on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.9 percent to 1,199.87.

The banking sector was especially active on the day. Commerzbank was up 8.3 percent to €21.70 on talk that it could become the target of a foreign takeover bid.

Among those seen as contenders for the German bank are France’s BNP Paribas and Spain’s Santander Central Hispano. Santander denied the reports, while Paribas said that it never comments on such rumors. BNP gained 1.2 percent to €61.05 and Santander was up 0.5 percent to €10.14.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, Unicredito added 2.5 percent to €4.615, while HVB was up 3 percent to €23.10.

In the airlines sector, Lufthansa gained 5.1 percent to €11.29 after it reported its full first-half data on earnings and WestLB confirmed their “outperform” rating for the air carrier.

In utilities, French company Suez added 5.8 percent to €24.90 after a rise of 7 percent on Tuesday on positive analyst sentiment regarding the news that Suez will buy the portion of Belgian electricity supplier Electrabel. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein rated Suez at “buy” and increased its price target from €20 to €26.

Decliners on the day included Bayer, which lost 1.2 percent to *30.09. Its quarterly report showed earnings up less than expected. Even so, the drugs and chemicals group raised its annual earnings forecast. Danish drugmaker Novo Norsk was also down, by 2.7 percent to DKr326, ahead of its quarterly report.

Investors on the New York equities markets didn’t seem bothered by the rise in interest rates introduced by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.

This attitude, along with slightly lower crude oil prices and a report that labor costs in the US were being held to reasonable levels, helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite, and the S&P 500 to gains on the day.

The Dow closed up by 0.8 percent to 10, 615.67, the Nasdaq added 0.4 percent to 2,174.19, and the S&P was up 0.7 percent to 1,231.39.

Delta Air Lines had a bad day when Merrill Lynch issued a warning that climbing oil prices could be the factor that tips Delta into bankruptcy. Delta lost 12.6 percent on the day to close at $1.95.

Video and games rental company Blockbuster didn’t have an especially good day either after it reported quarterly losses that more than doubled expectations after trying to challenge competitor Netflix in the online-order DVD rental market. Blockbuster fell 11.5 percent on the day to $7.09, 75 percent lower than its highest price of $29.51, reached in May 2002. Netflix, meanwhile, saw a gain of 1.9 percent on the day to $21.34.

Cisco Systems, the internet equipment maker, did better, gaining 1.9 percent to $19.61 on anticipation of a good quarterly report which was due to be released after the close of trade.

Walt Disney, which was also set to report after trade closed on Tuesday, was up by 2.9 percent to $26.14.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.6 percent to 1,181.34 after reaching up to 1,183.52 earlier in the day.

The telecommunications sector was mixed. Nokia gained 1.1 percent to €13.06 on rumors that US company Cisco Systems could be getting ready to bid for the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer. Nokia denied any knowledge of the reports.

Alcatel was up by 0.3 percent to €9.90, but Ericsson lost 0.4 percent to SKr26.20.

The oil sector was up substantially on new record high crude oil prices. Repsol was up by 1.8 percent to €23.42, total gained 1.3 percent to €208.70, and Eni advanced by 1.7 percent to €23.66. Norsk Hydro gained 2.5 percent to NKr643 and Statoil added 2.3 percent to NKr147.50 as the two companies announced that they would develop the Troll oil and gas field off Norway at a possible cost of $8 billion.

The airlines sector was up despite rises in oil prices. Air France-KLM gained 3.6 percent to €13.68 on a rise of 9.2 percent in passengers in July, while they filled 85.2 percent of their available seats, a record. Meanwhile, Germany’s Lufthansa was up 2.1 percent to €10.70 as it announced that July traffic was 6.8 percent higher than last year in July.

In other sectors, French luxury goods company Hermes lost 1.9 percent to €162.80 although it said its half-year sales were up. Adidas-Salomon fell by 2.4 percent to €151.40 on profit-taking after its large advance last week on news that it would purchase Reebok.

The stock markets in New York ended the day mixed as crude oil prices rode a roller coaster, more quarterly results rolled in, and one company shook everything up.

The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 0.1 percent to 10,697.59 and the S&P 500 also was up 0.1 percent to 1,245.03, but the Nasdaq composite lost 0.1 percent to 2,216.81.

The shake-up came as German company Adidas agreed to purchase Reebok, which sent shares in Reebok up by 30 percent to $57.14. When joined the two companies will form the world’s second-largest sporting goods company, smaller than only Nike. Nike gained 1.3 percent to $86.92 on the news.

The airline sector did not do nearly as well, with the Amex airline index falling 1.5 percent to close at 50.83. Delta Airlines fell 8.3 percent to $2.32, its lowest share value in 43 years, as investors worried that the carrier was getting closer to bankruptcy. Northwest Airlines declined nearly 8.6 percent to $4.37 on the news that union representatives had walked out on contract negotiations. Skywest lost 1.3 percent to $20.82.

Time Warner lost 0.9 percent to $17.27 on a quarterly report that showed its quarterly earnings falling on a $321 million loss that came in the wake of a $2.5 billion settlement in a securities fraud case filed by shareholders.

London’s equities markets were up on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 reached its highest level in 44 months to close at 5,327.5, a gain of 36.7 points on the day. The FTSE 250 was up as well, closing at 7,636.6. 2.6 billion shares were traded on the day.

The FTSE 100’s gains were helped by advances in mining stocks and on the expectation that the Bank of England will lower UK interest rates when its monetary policy committee meets later in the week.

Shares in mining companies were higher on new record high prices for copper brought about by production interruptions in Zambia and Chile that raised the possibility of tight supplies becoming even tighter. BHP Billiton was up 2.5 percent to 810p, Antofagasta gained 1.6 percent to £13.46, Rio Tinto added 2.1 percent to £19.15, and Xstrata rose by 1.7 percent to £12.13.

In the air transportation sector, Ryanair gained 1.8 percent to *6.87 on record high quarterly earnings, even though it raised cautions about results for the rest of the year due to high fuel costs. Fund manager Amvescap lost 1.6 percent to 420p on results that were a bit below predictions.

Other fund managers saw gains on the day after rumors that CI Financial might be readying a hostile takeover of Amvescap. Henderson Group gained 3.1 percent to 67 ½p, Rathbone Brothers was up 1.3 percent to 847 ½p, and Schroders added 1.2 percent to 869 ½p.

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.

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.

In New York on Tuesday, the equities markets all finished in positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1 percent to 10,405.63, the S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent to 1,201.57, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.2 percent to 2,069.89.

Factors spurring the advances included a decline in crude oil prices, news that the consumer confidence index and reached a 3-year high, and improvements in the labor market.

Airlines tended to show gains on the news that oil prices were declining. Delta Air Lines advanced 12.8 percent to $3.97, AMR gained 9.3 percent to $12.3, and Air Tran Holdings was up 6.1 percent to $9.47.

Some energy stocks fell as investors interpreted lower oil prices as a threat to profits. Amerada Hess was down 3.8 percent to $106.26, while Marathon Oil lost 2.9 percent to $53.96.

The technology sector got more than its share of attention on the equities markets on Tuesday as Advanced Micro Devices announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Intel.

The suit charges that Intel forced clients to buy their chips rather than AMD’s product.

While two investigations by the US Federal Trade Commission have been closed without finding any wrongdoing on Intel‘s part, AMD has filed a complaint of anti-competitive practices by Intel to the European Commission.

A ruling by the Fair Trade Commission in Japan found that Intel had violated anti-trust laws when it offered rebates to five Japanese companies if they would limit purchases of chips made by AMD.

After news of the lawsuit was released, AMD’s shares gained 6.3 percent to $17.70, and Intel’s stock were up by 1.8 percent to $26.33.

Higher crude oil prices were hard on European equities on Monday.

Among the sectors seeing losses were airlines and automobile manufacturers. Technology stocks were also down.

Among airlines, Lufthansa was down by 1.8 percent to €9.98, Air France-KLM declined by 2.7 percent to €12.29, and Ryanair lost 1.2 percent to €6.39.

Among car makers, Peugeot was down 0.7 percent to €48.05, Daimler-Chrysler lost 1.2 percent to €33.51, Fiat fell 3.4 percent to €5.834, and Renault declined by 1.3 percent to €70.50.

Porsche, however, managed to gain 0.4 percent to €611.39 as Merrill Lynch raised the automaker’s share price target to €700 from €615.

In the technology sector, Siemens was down 1.7 percent to €60.80 on suggestions that even though it has sold its loss-plagued mobile phones unit, it was still not approaching profit targets.

Infineon, a supplier for Siemens, also declined on the news, losing 0.9 percent to €7.58.

STMicrolectronics was down 2.2 percent to €12.93, Philips lost 1.6 percent to €20.92, and ASML fell 1.3 percent to €13.30.

All this combined to send the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 1 percent to 1,130.

In Frankfurt, meanwhile, even the first increase in German business confidence in four months could not lift the Xetra Dax into positive territory as it fell 0.9 percent to 4,523.82.

Emirates, the airline owned by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, reported its seventeenth successive profitable year despite having to cope with higher fuel prices, the aftermath of the Asian tsunami, and stiff competition.

The report shows that full-year net profits were $637 million, up 49 percent. One board member said that the rise in fuel prices the biggest obstacle to future profits.

In the year just reported, fuel costs were 21 percent of total operating costs, up from 14 percent the year before.

These higher fuel prices mean that Emirates has postponed plans to schedule direct flights from Dubai to Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco.

It is also looking at the idea of launching an IPO, as it insists that it has to deal with rising fuel prices just like all airlines. It denies that it is subsidized by Dubai or the

UAE. Emirates carried 12.5 million passengers in the year just reported, an increase of 2.1 million passengers from the previous year.