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THE WORLD’S stock markets are enjoying a positive start to 2013, fuelled by the deal that will avoid the United States from going over the ‘fiscal cliff’.
Markets in Asia and Europe have all seen good gains on the first full day of trading for 2013, after the House of Representatives followed the Senate in approving a deal to extend tax cuts for middle-class families, though delaying tougher decisions on how to cut back on government spending.
Failure to strike a deal would have meant the single biggest austerity package in US history, with significantly
In London the FTSE 100 index was up by 2.2 per cent as of 11:30am, while in Paris the CAC 40 was up by 2.3 per cent. Frankfurt’s DAX index was up by 2.1 per cent, and the FTSE MIB in Milan was up by 3.3 per cent.
In Dublin, the ISEQ index of Irish shares was up by 1.69 per cent.
The European gains followed more modest rises in Asia, where regional economies are in lesser turmoil and where a US economic collapse would have a slightly less profound effect.
The Nikkei index in Tokyo rose by 0.7 per cent, while Australia’s ASX 200 jumped by 1.2 per cent. Shanghai’s main index rose by 1.6 per cent. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong had a more enthusiastic response, however, closing with a gain of 2.9 per cent.
US markets are set to open strongly too: Dow Jones Futures point to a gain of 1.34 per cent, with both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ indices likely to jump by over 1.5 per cent.
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So Trump! Your new BFF is still playing you….as he has since the beginning. Nice photo opportunities though.
@Paul Furey: He’s not playing him. The fact is DPRK have nuclear weapons with long range now. This puts them automatically in a better bargaining position than they were before. It is a development that is completely independent of who happens to be president of another country. Trump has advisors for every step.
Is this submarine parked in the middle of a forest?
@Martin McFly: Very sneaky. Last place you’d look for it.
Meanwhile Iran‘s revolutionary guards reveal plan to annihilate Israel.
@Qfire: Its unfortunate that this has been largely ignored by the worlds press. You can be sure if Israeli leaders issued a statement promising to wipe an Islamic country off the map ( for the crime of Islamic nationalism) there’d be a media feeding frenzy.
@Clifford Brennan: Maybe it’s largely ignored because it’s not true? Israel wouldn’t be the first to make up a story to justify spending on their war machine.
@Jim Buckley Barrett: It was very decent of the Ayatollah & the commander from the IRGC to agree to appear in the Israeli propaganda video – not to mention the supporting cast of 1000′s of Iranians and all filmed at an Islamic religious venue too. Those Israelis have it sussed. Also: cop on.
North Korea is not going to be told not to have Nuclear Weapons by a leader whose country has had them for many many years, come in and blasted leaders and sent their soldiers to Hassan Hussein [having supplied him with weaponry] and when it did not suit them anymore… raped and pillaged Iraq. When are people going to think US are the good guys ? NKorea just flexing muscles.
That man is actually frightening. He’s like a little boy playing with his toys.
As you do before talks about nuclear arms enrichment.
have your say