Stocks | Asian Stocks Cap Record Weekly Win Streak On U.S. Data, Greece

February 25, 2012 – 8:24 am

Asian stocks rose this week, sendingthe regional benchmark index to its longest-ever streak ofweekly gains, as U.S. economic reports and signs of policyeasing in China buoyed the outlook for Asian earnings.

Shui On Land Ltd. (272) led Chinese developers higher onspeculation more cities will attempt to lower restrictions onthe property market amid signs the economy is gaining strength.Alibaba.com Ltd., China’s biggest e-commerce website, jumped 43percent after its parent offered to privatize the company. The TSE Second Section Price Index (TSE2) of smaller Tokyo listed companiescompleted its longest streak of advances since 1961, led byKagetsuenkanko Co., a hotel and resort manager, which soared 174percent this week.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) rose 0.8 percent to 127.97,capping its 10th week of advance, the longest such streak sinceits inception in 1988. The rally, which has taken the gauge towithin 1 percent of entering a so-called bull market, waspowered by optimism Europe will contain its sovereign-debtcrisis, bets China will ease monetary policy and signs the U.S.economy is improving.

“If you can get better data on employment and housing, Ithink investors will be comfortable the recovery in the U.S.this time around has a better chance of surviving andthriving,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1billion at Platypus Asset Management Ltd. in Sydney. “Improvedrisk appetite and improving economic fundamentals will create acatalyst that’s been lacking despite attractive valuationsacross a number of risk assets.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) rose 2.8 percent, for athird week of gains. South Korea’s Kospi Index slipped 0.2percent.

Australia’s SP/ASX 200 Index gained 2.6 percent, led byOneSteel Ltd., which jumped 38 percent after saying it willrefocus its business toward iron ore. Casino operator EchoEntertainment Group Ltd. (EGP) , which climbed 19 percent, had theAustralian gauge’s third-biggest advance after Crown Ltd.doubled its stake in the company to 10 percent and soughtregulatory approval to buy more.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) rose 3.5 percent. Chinesedevelopers advanced after the Conference Board’s gauge ofleading indicators for the world’s second-largest economy gained1.6 percent last month after rising 0.8 percent in December. Thenation’s central bank on Feb. 18 announced the second cut inbank reserve requirements in three months as policy makers stepup efforts to boost liquidity and sustain growth.

Shui On climbed 16 percent to HK$3.45. China Vanke Co. (000002) , thecountry’s largest-listed developer, jumped 9.2 percent in thesouthern city of Shenzhen. Agile Property Holdings Ltd. (3383) surged15 percent in Hong Kong . Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) slipped 0.4percent, snapping a seven-week streak of gains. percent to 8.87yuan.

Shanghai, China’s biggest commercial city, will implementdifferentiated taxation and mortgage policies for home buyersand will have increased affordable housing by 1 million units by2015, according to a five-year housing plan posted on the citygovernment’s website on Feb. 22. The Shanghai government alsosaid this week it will allow some residence permit holders tobuy second homes by loosening the definition of locals.

“The rally carried on as property easing signals fromlocal governments loomed,” said Dai Fang, a Shanghai-basedanalyst at Zheshang Securities.

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest carrierslipped 7.7 percent to HK$14.72. Cosco Pacific Ltd. (1199) a portoperator which own Greece’s Piraeus Port, dropped 8.1 percent toHK$11.58 as oil prices at a 9-month high tempered optimism froma deal to help the European country avoid default.

Crude oil for April delivery gained 6.3 percent to $109.77a barrel this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange , touchingthe highest level since May 3. The rally propelled energycompanies higher but dragged transport-related shares lower.

Inpex Corp. (1605) gained 9.4 percent to 603,000 yen in Tokyo,while Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL) , Australia’s No. 2 oil producer,climbed 8.4 percent to A$37.86.

Applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits wereunchanged in the week ended Feb. 18 at 351,000, the fewest sinceMarch 2008, Labor Department figures showed Feb. 23. TheBloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 38.4 in the weekto Feb. 19, the strongest reading since April 2008.

Sony Corp. (6758) , Japan’s leading exporter of consumerelectronics, increased 7.2 percent to 1,740 yen. Li Fung Ltd. (494) ,the biggest supplier to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., climbed 1.2percent to HK$18. Man Wah Holdings Ltd., the Hong Kong sofamaker that gets 54 percent of sales in the U.S. surged 11percent to HK$5.70.

Kagetsuenkanko surged 174 percent this week to 115 yen, thebiggest increase on Tokyo’s second-section gauge. The stock hasrisen 311 percent since Jan. 16.

The smaller companies index has climbed 11 percent duringthe streak. Still, stocks in the measure trade at about 0.7times the value of their net assets compared with 1.2 times forthe Topix Index (TPX) of Tokyo ‘s biggest companies.

Four stimulus packages totaling 21 trillion yen have fueleddemand and lifted shares of companies that rely on the domesticeconomy, such as regional lender Kirayaka Bank Ltd. and DelicaFoods Co. Japan’s retail sales rose in December by the most in16 months, boosting prospects for second section firms, morethan a third of which cater to consumers.

“The biggest factor supporting domestic-focused shares isreconstruction demand,” said Masaru Hamasaki , who helps overseethe equivalent $24 billion as chief strategist at Toyota AssetManagement Co. in Tokyo. “Recent gains are mainly driven by anadjustment in valuations as investors recognize how cheap theseshares are.”

To contact the reporters on this story:Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net ;Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net

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Stocks | Canadian Markets: Canadian Stocks Slip, But Notch Weekly Gain

February 25, 2012 – 8:51 am

By Carla Mozee , Marketwatch

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) ” Energy stocks traded in Toronto gained ground Friday as crude-oil futures jumped above $109 a barrel, but the moves couldn’t prevent the equity market’s benchmark from ending slightly lower.

The SP/TSX Composite Index CA:$ISPTX -0.04% turned lower, closing down 6 points at 12,725.77, with consumer staples and materials stocks closing in the red. The loss was the index’s first in four sessions.

But the index finished the week up 2.2%.

The SP/TSX Capped Energy Index XX:TTEN +0.19% picked up 0.2% on Friday, counting Suncor Energy Inc. CA:SU +1.59% and Husky Energy Inc. CA:HSE +1.17% among the companies whose shares rose alongside a 1.8% jump in April crude CLJ2 +1.66% to $109.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude has climbed to a nine-month high on continued worries that Iran may stop oil exports to some European nations after the European Union imposed an oil embargo on Iran last month.

An International Monetary Fund official said Thursday that a halt of Iranian oil exports to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries could produce a rise in prices between 20% and 30%. about Friday’s surge in crude-oil futures.

Also higher were March gasoline RBH2 +1.10% and heating oil futures, but March natural gas futures NGH12 -3.09% declined nearly 3%.

Elsewhere in the energy group, Nexen Inc. CA:NXY +1.53% shares climbed 1.5% to C$21.18 after the company said first oil has been produced from the Usan field offshore West Africa. Nexen, which has a 20% working interest in Usan, expects the project “to deliver significant cash flow and long-term value” to the company.

Also moving higher on the benchmark were shares of Magna International Inc. CA:MG +5.36% , up 5.4% to C$47.36 as the auto-parts manufacturer lifted its dividend by 10% following growth in fourth-quarter results. Magna also hiked its sales forecast for the year.

Magna said its new dividend of 27.5 cents a share is payable on March 23 to shareholders as of March 12.

Meanwhile, shares of Iamgold Corp. CA:IMG -9.14% slumped 9.1% to C$15.90 after the gold miner’s fourth-quarter results came in lower than anticipated, and as its gold reserves declined by 5%.

In the futures market, investors booked gains in gold and silver. Gold for April delivery GCJ2 -0.63% fell 0.6% to $1,776.40 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold rose 2.9% for the week, with the rise stemming from a weaker U.S. dollar and inflation worries set off by higher oil futures and retail gas prices.

March silver SIH2 -0.51% shed 0.6% to $35.34 an ounce, but logged a weekly gain of 6.4%.

Among mining stocks that lost ground in Toronto trading, Kinross Gold Corp. CA:K -2.10% declined 2.1% and Yamana Gold Inc. CA:YRI -1.01% fell 1%.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.01% lost nearly 2 points to 12,982.95. The SP 500 Index SPX +0.17% rose 2 points to 1,365.74 and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP +0.23% gained 7 points, 0.2%, to 2,963.75.

The indexes finished higher for the week. Read about U.S. stocks in Market Snapshot.

Carla Mozee is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in Los Angeles.

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Stock Broker | Knick Exploration Inc. $501,000 Private Placement To Accredited Investors

February 22, 2012 – 7:53 am

Val-D’Or, Quebec, February 21, 2012. Knick Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: KNX) is pleased to announce a proposed private placement of a maximumof up to 334 units at a price of $1,500 per unit for an aggregateamount of $501,000. Each unit will be comprised of 8,000 flow-throughcommon shares, 2,000 common shares and 10,000 common share purchasewarrants. All the shares, included in the units, will be issued at aprice of $0.15 per share.

Common share purchase warrants will entitle the holder thereof topurchase, for a period of 24 months following the closing date of theplacement, one additional common share at a price of $0.25 for thefirst period of 12 months at at the price of $0.35 for the following12 month period.

Knick Exploration Inc . (“Knick”) will use the proceeds fromthe placement of common flow-through shares to incur CanadianExploration Expenses on its mining properties while the net proceedsfrom the common shares will be use as working capital of Knick.

Knick do not intend to pay any finder’s fees or commission. However,should an accredited investor be introduced by a stock broker, Knickmay then decide to pay a commission in accordance with the terms ofPolicy 5.1 of the TSX Venture Exchange .

All the shares to be issued will be subject to a four month and oneday “hold period” calculated from the closing date of theprivate placement.

This placement will be effected pursuant to prospectus exemptionsunder applicable securities legislation and regulations and isexpected to cease on or before March 31, 2012. The placement issubject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, includingthat of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Jacques BRUNELLE

President and CEO

Knick Exploration Inc.

536, 3e Avenue

Val-D’Or (Quebec) J9P 1S4

Tel : – 819 874-5252

This new release does not constitute an offer to sell or asolicitation of an offer to buy and of the securities in the UnitedShares. The securities have not been and will not be registered underthe United Shares Securities Act of 1933, as amended or any statesecurities laws and will not be offered or sold within theUnited-States of to United States Persons. This new release is notfor distribution to United-States newswire services or fordissemination in the United-States.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (asthat term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Jacques Brunelle

President CEO

Knick Exploration

536 3rd Avenue

Val-d’Or, Quebec

J9P 1S4

Gordon N. Henriksen

Vice President

Knick Exploration

536 3rd Avenue

Val-d’Or, Quebec

J9P 1S4

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Stocks | Asia Stocks Equal Record Win Streak As China Pledges Europe Help

February 19, 2012 – 4:01 am

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) — Asian stocks rose this week, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index equaling its longest streak of advances, as China pledged to do more to help Europe cope with the debt crisis and Japan boosted asset purchases.

Cosco Pacific Ltd., the Hong Kong-listed operator of Greece’s Piraeus port, climbed 4.1 percent. Chipmakers outside Japan rallied after debt-laden Elpida Memory Inc. said it may not survive. Reliance Power Ltd. jumped 19.7 percent, leading Indian companies higher. Billabong International Ltd., an Australian surfwear maker, jumped 42 percent after receiving a takeover bid from TPG Capital.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.7 percent to 126.95 this week, extending its winning streak to the longest since December 2005. The gauge has advanced for nine consecutive weeks only three previous times since 1988.

“It’s a distinct improvement from the fourth quarter last year from the perspective of investor confidence and risk appetite,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1 billion at Platypus Asset Management Ltd. in Sydney. “The European news flow still seems to be determining the direction of the markets. So, when there’s a bit of relief from the European front, the markets can focus on fundamentals, which seem to be improving by the day.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 4.9 percent, heading for the biggest weekly gain since Dec. 2, as the yen fell against all of its 16 major counterparts. A weaker yen boosts the earnings of Japanese exporters overseas when repatriated. The Bank of Japan surprised the market on Feb. 14, when it expanded its government bond purchases.

China’s Economy

Australia’s SP/ASX 200 fell 1.2 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi Index advanced 1.5 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 3.4 percent. India’s BSE Sensitive Index climbed 3.1 percent.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges, trailed major regional gauges as slumping foreign direct investment and trade data pointed to further weakness in the world’s second-largest economy.

“The fundamentals of the economy aren’t good and monetary policy will still be kept relatively tight this year,” said Wang Zheng, Shanghai-based chief investment officer at Jingxi Investment Management Co., which manages about $120 million. “But investors anticipate the government will have measures to support equities. Stocks will be volatile for the moment.”

Europe Assistance

Asian stocks extended gains as People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said on Feb. 15 that China is ready to be more involved in resolving the European crisis through the European Financial Stability Facility and European Stability Mechanism. Premier Wen Jiabao said on Feb. 14 that the nation is willing to get “more deeply” involved.

Financial companies gained amid optimism Europe’s debt crisis won’t throw the global financial system into disarray.

Germany, the biggest country contributor to euro-area rescues, signaled yesterday that finance ministers may be ready to back Greece’s second bailout in two years when they meet Feb. 20 in Brussels.

“The sense of worry is weakening slightly in markets across the board,” said Hisakazu Amano, who helps oversee the equivalent of $29 billion at TD Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “Expectations for a U.S. economic recovery are increasing and the uncertainties on the European debt issues are subsiding.”

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group advanced 5.5 percent to 406 yen. Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan’s biggest brokerage by market value, rose 10 percent to 345 yen. HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s No. 1 lender, climbed 2 percent to HK$70.50.

Cosco, Esprit

Cosco Pacific rose 4.1 percent to HK$12.60. Esprit Holdings Ltd., a clothier that gets more than 80 percent of revenue from Europe, climbed 5 percent to HK$15.02. Canon Inc., the Japanese camera maker for whom Europe is the biggest market by sales, added 4 percent.

Elpida touched its lowest price since listing in November 2004. The chipmaker slumped 16 percent to 310 yen after saying it sees “uncertainty” over remaining in business because it hasn’t secured financing. The company, which reported 311.7 billion yen ($3.97 billion) revenue in the 12 months to Dec. 31, has 210.8 billion yen of debt maturing this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea’s biggest exporter of consumer electronics, rose 11 percent to 1.176 million won. Samsung may separate its liquid-crystal-display business, the Electronics Times reported Feb. 15. Hynix Semiconductor Inc., a maker of semiconductors such as dynamic random access memory, gained 6.9 percent to 28,850 won.

Billabong Buyout Bid

Billabong International jumped 42 percent to A$2.62 after it received a takeover approach from buyout firm TPG Capital valuing the company at A$765 million ($825 million). The approach comes less than two months after the company started a review of its capital structure amid a slump in earnings and looming debt payments.

Reliance Power Ltd., the Indian utility controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, led a rally among power and related companies this week on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered additional supplies of coal to the nation’s utilities.

Reliance Power rallied 19.7 percent this week, boosted by a 42 percent increase in third-quarter profit, the company said on Feb. 13.

The government ordered Coal India Ltd., the world’s largest producer of the commodity, on Feb. 15 to sign agreements to supply power projects due to be completed by March 2015 and import the fuel to overcome a shortfall in local production, failing which it needs to pay fines. The move is expected to ease a shortage of coal for generation plants.

Indian Companies Surge

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., the biggest power-equipment maker, jumped 16.5 percent to 303.55 this week, the second-best performer on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

Axis Bank Ltd., India’s fourth-largest lender by market value, soared 14.3 percent this week. Reliance Communications Ltd., the nation’s second-largest mobile-phone operator, climbed 10.7 percent.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 11.5 percent this year through yesterday, compared with an 8.2 percent advance by the SP 500 and an 8.8 percent increase by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 14.5 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 13.1 times for the SP 500 and 10.99 times for the Stoxx 600.

More than half of the companies listed in the Asia Pacific index that have reported earnings since Jan. 9 missed analysts’ estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

–With assistance from Rajhkumar K Shaaw in Mumbai. Editors: Nick Gentle, Paul Tighe

To contact the reporters on this story: Nick Gentle in Hong Kong at ngentle2@bloomberg.net; Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net

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