Brazilian equities markets and its currency both saw losses on Friday as
investors engaged in profit-taking and as they braced for the possibility of more revelations in the country’s current political scandal. The real lost 0.96 percent to 2.422 to the US dollar, after a 1.68 percent gain on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Bovespa index in Sao Paulo was down 0.52 percent to 27,258 on the heels of a 2.58 percent gain on Thursday. Almost all stocks fell on Friday, with mobile phone company TIM Participacoes falling an especially steep 3.91 percent to 4.42 reais. One of the few exceptions was Telemar, which gained 0.28 percent to 35.60 reais.

Thursday’s gains came after the ex-aide who had accused Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci of accepting bribes when he was a mayor said that he had no proof of his accusations. Investors had been worried that if proof of wrongdoing on the finance minister’s part has been produced,
Mr. Palocci might have been forced to resign, bringing on a period of
uncertainty concerning economic policy.

But some analysts were not convinced that Mr. Palocci is completely in the clear, and urged caution until it is seen whether the weekend brought any new revelations or proof of the ex-aide’s allegations.

At mid-day on Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX index had gained 0.8 percent to sit at 10,670.30 on a trading volume of 122.1 million shares.

The gains were primarily due to strength in the energy and financial sectors. Eight of the 10 groups on the TSX showed advances, with the energy group leading the way with a gain of 1.1 percent, followed by financials group at 0.7 percent higher.

The materials group also was showing a gain of 1.1 percent, with its gold subgroup gaining 1.5 percent.

Shares in energy companies were up despite a surprise report showing oil supplies in the US up last week. Suncor Energy was up 2.7 percent to C$69.03, while EnCana Corp. gained 2.4 percent to C$53.64. EnCana was helped by US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval of a 328-mile pipeline that will ship natural gas from the Rocky Mountains to eastern US markets. An EnCana affiliate will operate the pipeline.

In the financials sector, banks were up as they recovered from the news that Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will have to pay out over $2 billion to settle claims related to their involvement with collapsed US energy company Enron. CIBC gained 1.8 percent to C$72.06. Bank of Nova Scotia was up 0.9 percent to C$41.86.

The equities markets in Australia saw new record highs on Wednesday, but New Zealand stocks were down on the day.

The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia closed up by 0.18 percent to 4.425.6 to set a new high for the third straight day on the strength of strong quarterly earnings reports from Stockland Group, a property trust, and Coca-Cola Amatil.

Stockland gained 1.7 percent to A$6.03 as it reported a 13.5 percent gain in annual its operating profits. Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. Was up 3.2 percent to A$8.13. It reported that first-half earnings were up by 16.8 percent on strong sales in Australia. However, Commonwealth Bank lost 2.7 percent on the day after reporting second-half earnings that were below expectations.

Woodside Petroleum was also down on the day on profit-taking after advancing nearly 10 percent in the previous two trading sessions. Meanwhile in New Zealand, the top-50 index there fell 0.5 percent to 3,324.3.

Among the blue-chips, Fletcher Building held flat at NZ$7.18 despite reporting an earnings jump of 31 percent in the second half. Telecom lost 1 percent to NZ$6.16 as investors anticipated the launch of rival company Vodafone’s 3G mobile network.

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.

Proposed cuts in sugar subsidies paid by the European Union have Caribbean nations that have traditionally exported sugar to Europe wondering why they were not consulted about the new proposal in any meaningful way and why they are being given such a short time to adjust to the changes the cuts will bring.

The EU proposed this week to cut guaranteed sugar prices by 39 percent. The proposed plan gives the sugar producers only two years to make needed changes in their operations in order to compensate for lost revenues. Even though the prices the EU would pay under the plan are still over twice free market prices, the cuts will still be a burden on the nations affected.

In Guyana, which along with Jamaica will be most heavily hit by the cuts, 750,000 people make their living working in the sugar industry. The proposed EU cuts will cost the country $40 million (£22 million) in export revenues, over six times the $8 million in relief that the nation expects to receive from the recent G-8 debt relief program.

Jamaica has plans to develop alternate uses for sugar such as ethanol production and Gagasse-based generation of electricity, but officials say they will need more time than they would have under the EU proposal to put those plans into use.

The stock exchange in São Paulo, Brazil, had lost at least three percentage points in early trade on Wednesday as a political corruption scandal involving the ruling Worker’s party (PT) flared up again.

The PT has been accused of bribing some legislators as a way of securing their votes.

Earlier in the week, it looked as if the scandal was dying down after Roberto Jefferson, head of the PTB party, which is a member of the ruling coalition, could only provide circumstantial evidence that the PT had bribed legislators when he testified before a congressional panel on the issue.

However, an interview was published on Wednesday in which the former secretary of a PT aide said she had witnessed repeated deliveries of cash to government officials.

Some analysts now say that the accusations being made in the controversy have as much to do with the upcoming general election, set for October, as it does with trying to root out corruption in the government.

Especially if this is true, the scandal and the crisis that it has caused will not be over any time soon.

Equities markets in Shanghai and Seoul were up on Thursday, while Taipei, Manila, and Tokyo fell on the day.

The composite index in Shanghai rose 1.4 percent to 1,131.052, after advance of 8.4 percent on Wednesday; that was the largest 1-day advance in Taipei in 3 years.

The market in Seoul, meanwhile, was up, by 1.2 percent to 987.58 as the shipping sector advanced on lower oil prices.

On the losing side, the market was down in Taipei as the weighted index fell 0.3 percent to 6,145.92 on profit taking in the technology sector.

In Manila, worries about government corruption led the composite index down 2.8 percent to 1,898.24, after the market there had its largest weekly advance in two years just last week. Additionally, the peso fell to a 2-month low against the US dollar.

The latest scandal involves allegations that individuals in the Philippine president’s family have been accepting gambling payoffs.

In Tokyo, the markets fell to a 2-week low as the technology and automobile manufacturing sectors were down and export-oriented stocks generally were down on data showing that export volumes have dropped on a year-to-year basis in three of the past four months.

The Nikkei 225 fell 1.1 percent to 11,160 while the Topix index was down 0.9 percent to 1,138.7.

Japanese investors were also influenced by higher estimates of inflation and lowered economic growth forecasts in the US as well as by anticipation over Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s upcoming remarks in front of a Congressional committee.

The KSE-100 average in Karachi, Pakistan fell more than 4 percent, to just above the 6900 level, in the first hour of trade on Monday morning after investors learned of the delay of the sale of as much as 26 percent of shares in state-owned Pakistan Telecommunications (PTCL).

The sale, which was to privatize the company, was expected to raise between US$1.5 - 1.6 billion.

The delay in the sale was announced late Friday night, ahead of a strike deadline of Monday set by the PTCL labour unions in case the privatization went ahead.

The sale, if and when it does occur, is planned to be accompanied by a transfer of management responsibilities to the new purchaser. The new management is then expected to cut many of the company’s 61,000 jobs.

A government minister said that the delay was a temporary measure to avert the strike and that a new date for the sale would be announced, perhaps as soon as this week.

An analyst, however, said that the delay had destroyed any confidence investors had in the sale and that any newly announced date would be met with skepticism.

Both Australian air carrier Qantas and Singapore Airlines have said that they were informed by Airbus that there will be a delay of at least six months before the two airlines will begin to receive their orders for the new A380 superjumbo jet.

Singapore Airlines said that they were told that their first plane would be delivered in the last quarter of 2006 rather than in the second quarter, and Qantas will have to wait until April of 2007 to receive the first of the 12 planes they have ordered instead of getting it in autumn of 2006.

The delay comes at an unfortunate time for Airbus. Its majority parent company, EADS, has been contending with conflicts among some shareholders concerning management structure. Additionally, the US and European Union are continuing to contend over issues related to government subsidies for civil aircraft development.

The delays will also affect cash flow to Airbus, EADS and minority shareholder BAE Systems.

A spokeswoman for Airbus said that the delays are being caused by “industrial issues” revealed by the initial test flights of the aircraft, necessary modifications, and issues over customizations that some airlines had requested for their planes.

Also a factor was the effort to keep the weight of the aircraft down. The spokeswoman also clamed that no new aircraft had ever been delivered on time. Qantas has said that it will be asking for compensation for the delivery delays, as outlined in its contract with Airbus.

Equities markets in Taipei, Sydney, and Singapore were up on Thursday but Hong
Kong and Tokyo markets were down in a mixed day for Asian stocks.

The weighted index in Taipei was up 1.1 percent to 6,039.48 on gains in shares of smaller technology companies, but larger technology firms saw losses on the day. In Sydney the advances in the energy and mining sectors helped the S&P/ASX 200 to rise 0.8 percent to 4,180.7. In Singapore, the Strait Times index rose 0.7 percent to close to a five year high of 2,191.55.

Shares in banks went higher as optimism over the future of Singapore’s economy reigned. Technology shares also gained in value. On the negative side, investors were showing caution
ahead of several upcoming Chinese initial public offerings scheduled for Hong Kong, and worries over next year’s real estate prices sent property stocks lower.

These circumstances combined to send the Hang Seng index down 0.4 percent to 13,814.58. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent to 11,280.05 and the Topix was down 0.1 percent to 1,148.85.

Equities markets in the eurozone were down on Tuesday, while London and New York were mixed and Asia, with the exception of the Tokyo markets, had a positive day.

Profit-taking ruled in the eurozone as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.1 percent to 1,095.92. Advances in the oil and pharmaceuticals sectors were not enough to balance losses in telecommunications.

In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to close at 4982.5, while the FTSE 250 did better, climbing 0.21 percent to 7001.7. The mining sector did well, but Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile phone operator had its worst day in a year.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 percent to close at 10,503.68. However, the S&P 500 was up slightly to close at 1,194.08, while the Nasdaq was up 0.2 percent to 2,061.612 on a rising semiconductor sector.

The Tokyo markets were lower on weakness in the steel sector. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 percent to close at 11,133.65 and the Topix index was down 0.1 percent to 1,136.32. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was 0.2 percent higher to close at 13,719.32, but volume was very low as investors awaited the results of several upcoming Chinese initial public offerings.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index rose 0.1 percent to close at 2,175.20 as technology stocks went higher. However, at one point in the day the index was up 0.7 percent, which was a 9-week high. The technology sector helped Taipei as well, as the weighted index there closed up 0.4 percent to 5,909.10. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6 percent to close at 4,102.0.

The Asian markets saw mixed fortunes on Monday.

The Kospi index in Seoul was down 0.6 percent, to 935.2, mostly over concerns that North Korea would carry out threatened nuclear testing.

Additionally, Hyundai Motors was fell 0.9 percent to Won52,500 and Kia Motors declined by 1.5 percent to Won12,750.

The Taiex index in Taiwan closed even at 4,966.85. In India, the Sensex index in Mumbai rose 0.7 percent to 6,430.67. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.2 percent to 11,171.32 even as the Topix was up 0.2 percent to close at 1,152.48.

Profit-taking caused Japan Airlines, Asia’s largest airline, to fall 1 percent to ¥297 even though it reported higher than expected profits for the fiscal year 2004/5 and a projected a positive outcome for 2005/6.

The air carrier had warned that profits could be affected by high fuel costs. The fact that the airline’s chairman resigned early amid safety criticisms also had an effect on its performance on Monday.

Other airlines in the region seemed not to be affected by Japan Airlines’ performance and either remained at earlier levels or closed higher.

Investors in Brazil seemed to approve Wednesday of the announcement that Casino, the French supermarket chain, will increase its stake in CBD, Brazil’s largest retailer.

Casino will also take joint control of CBD. Preferred shares of the company on the Sao Paulo stock exchange gained 5.7 percent after the news was announced.

The deal, which is costing Casino €407 million ($527 million), will buy Casino a 50 percent share of voting rights in the company as well as a 68.8 percent stake of the capital in the holding company that now controls CBD.

The family of Abilio Diniz, which is the current principal shareholder in CBD, will keep the remaining 50 percent of voting shares. Mr. Diniz will remain chairman of the board of CBO. He will also become chairman of its holding company.

Casino will have equal representation on the two boards and will increase its operational management involvement in the company. It’s direct economic state in CBD will rise from 27.4 percent to 34.4 percent.

Claiming difficulty in dealing with expenses connected to adhering with Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, TV Azteca has announced that it will delist from the New York Stock Exchange.

The announcement Tuesday caused the value of its shares to fall 7 percent in early trading on Tuesday.

The company said that it cost too much to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, which requires all companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges, foreign and domestic, to provide proof that they have in place internal controls to prevent accounting fraud.

TV Azteca called the legislation “excessive regulation” that was spurred by recent scandals such as those that hit Enron and Adelphia in recent years.

Two other companies controlled by Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the chairman of TV Azteca, will soon hold shareholders’ meetings to decide on delisting those companies as well. One of those companies is the largest electronics retailer in Mexico.

Some analysts believe that Sarbanes-Oxley is not the real issue for TV Azteca and other companies that have delisted from the NYSE in light of the fact that disclosure provisions in Mexican securities laws are moving in the same direction as U.S. law.

The move by Salinas Pliego’s companies come as Salinas Pliego and TV Azteca stand accused of securities fraud in both the United States and Mexico.

A libel writ was filed Thursday against TV Azteca’s chairman, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, over allegations made in a documentary aired by the Mexican network Tuesday night.

In addition, it was also announced that TV Azteca and its directors will be fined 27 million pesos ($2.4 million) for eight violations of Mexican securities laws.

The Treasury was also expected to ask the attorney general’s office to charge Salinas Pliego with fraud over charges that the TV Azteca chairman had used a Delaware company he controlled to purchase Azteca’s debt at a huge discount, which was then repurchased at face value for a personal profit to Salinas Pliego of around $109 million.

TV Azteca already has had a fraud suit filed against it by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in that transaction.

Mexico’s finance minister had threatened the sanctions against Salinas Pliego and TV Azteca, according to the network, if it broadcast the documentary, which charged governmental and financial improprieties when Citigroup bought Banamex, Mexico’s largest bank, in 2001.

The finance minister, who had ties to Banamex before he became treasury minister in, denies that he tried to stop the broadcast.

TV Azteca says that he threatened to charge the network with securities laws violations if it showed the documentary.

Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the owner of TV Azteca, the second biggest broadcaster in Mexico, just can’t seem to win.

He is under investigation in Mexico and already charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations of wrongdoing in relation to the mobile phone company that he owns.

Now, his broadcasting operation is trading charges with the Mexican government over a documentary aired by the network.

The documentary in question accuses the government of wrongdoing in the acquisition by Citigroup of Mexican bank Grupo Financiero Banamex.

The documentary claims that the purchase was beset by financial irregularities. Banamex has denied the charges made in the documentary, calling them “baseless.”

Now, TV Azteca is accusing the Mexican finance minister of threatening charges of violation of securities laws against the network if they broadcast the program.

Jorge Mendoza, TV Azteca’s head of news and public affairs, says he was summoned to the finance minister’s office on Tuesday and given a written demand to either refrain from airing the program or face possible charges from the attorney general’s office.

The documentary aired Tuesday night on TV Azteca, and on Wednesday the networks news anchor, accused the finance minister of violating the network’s freedom of speech.

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.

Despite growth in the Indian equities market, there are still problems in getting both small companies and small investors to participate in the market.

In the case of persuading small companies to go public and list on the market, the amount of time and effort required to meet disclosure requirements can be a hindering factor.

A family-owned retailer that recently listed said that it spent nine months gathering information on business differences within the family to meet requirements for full disclosure in the issue prospectus.

That information, which took up a third of the 630-page document, had no real bearing on the operation of the business, according to the company.

Still, Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in the last fiscal year (which ended in March) totaled R214.32 billion, up from R178.21 billion the previous year, and only R10.39 billion the year before that. IPOs this year could be up to as much as R400 billion.

Just as difficult is getting small investors to put their money in the market. Small investors are required to make a full down payment on stock purchases, something that is not required of large investors.

This is not likely to substantially increase the current figure of only 1.5 percent of $1,500 billion in Indian household savings invested in equities.

The Tokyo markets were still feeling the effects of recent tensions between Japan and China.

In addition, technology stocks were lower due to concerns that weak retail sales figures from the U.S. would slow down consumer spending.

Technology losses included a 1.4 percent drop for Sony.

The banking sector was also down, as was the retail sector.

Retailer Takashimaya was down 5.6 percent, for example. One exception to retail losses was Lawson, Japan’s second-largest retail chain.

Lawson’s shares rose 2.2 percent following reports of record profits and predictions of more growth in the offing.

Additionally, Kanebo, the household goods manufacturer that has been crippled by an accounting scandal, was down an additional 15.5 percent on Thursday after a 13.4 percent loss on Wednesday.

In other Asian markets Thursday, stocks were also generally down. Taipei was down 0.4 percent due to technology sell-offs.

Sydney’s markets hit their lowest point in almost three months when the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.3 percent to 4082.3.

Seoul had its biggest one-day loss in nearly six months when its composite index fell 2.8 percent.

Japanese markets ended the week with both the Nikkei and Topix indices up on Friday. Rising crude oil prices were able to counterbalance the unexpected drop in an important quarterly survey that reports business confidence.

London financial markets, on the other hand, ended the week on an up note amid the news that 24 percent of reporting companies had higher than average earnings and another 71 percent had met their predicted earnings in the most recent reports.

Also reported to be a factor were several vigorous takeover attempts. The New York markets ended the week and began the second quarter on the downturn after better results earlier in the week.

Reported reasons for the late-week decline included new concerns over inflation, the uncertain state of oil prices, and a report that fewer than expected jobs had been created outside the farm sector.