LONDON – Stocks and the euro fell Monday amid mounting political turmoil in Ireland following the government's request for a massive bailout package and worries that Europe's debt crisis could spread to other countries, most notably Portugal and Spain.In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 52 points, or 0.9 percent, at 5,680.83, while France's CAC-40 fell 41.27 points, or 1.1 percent, to 3,818.89. Germany's DAX ended 21.50 points, or 0.3 percent, lower at 6,822.05.In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 75.07 points, or 0.7 percent, at 11,128.48 around midday New York time while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.79 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,192.94.And in the currency markets, the euro was trading 0.8 percent lower on the day at $1.36.Stocks and the euro had been in far better shape earlier Monday — Asian markets closed mostly higher and the euro had traded as high as $1.3786 — as investors breathed a sigh of relief that some sort of aid package for Ireland was finally being cobbled together. The Irish government confirmed Sunday it was formally requesting financial aid to shore up its debt-laden banking sector.The actual details of the package, something short of euro100 billion ($137 billion), are not expected for a few days yet as Irish officials sit down with counterparts from both the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The country will likely be forced to make further massive spending cuts and might have to raise its very low rate of corporate tax.The relief rally following the Irish government's request didn't last long, as investors worried about whether another Irish austerity program will pass, especially after a junior partner in Ireland's shaky government threatened Monday to withdraw from the coalition unless early elections are held in January."The relief ... (about) the coordinated rescue package has vanished following the onset of political turmoil," said Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers.And overarching everything is the worry that another troubled euro country will be targeted by the bond markets in the same way that Ireland and Greece have been.The hope among EU policymakers is that the response to Ireland's crisis has been far clearer than the prevarication that surrounding Greece's similar woes earlier this year and that as a result, the risk of contagion will be minimized.Whether they have managed to corral the problems will become evident in the days and weeks to come, but the early signs are not particularly positive.The clearest guide will come from the bond markets — specifically whether yields on Portuguese or Spanish debt start rising towards levels — about 8 or 9 percent — that forced both Greece and Ireland to seek financial support.At the moment, the yield on ten-year Portuguese government bonds stands at 6.70 percent while Spain's is 4.75 percent.Both rates are manageable, when put in the context of Irish and Greek debt, but analysts warned that it wouldn't take much of an increase for Portugal, in particular, to stoke bailout concerns.Portugal's government insisted Monday that it wasn't in the same boat as Ireland. Prime Minister Jose Socrates said Portugal "doesn't need anybody's help" and claimed his government's planned spending cuts and labor reforms will ensure debt reduction and growth.Socrates added he hoped assistance for Ireland would halt the spread of market fears to other euro members.The stakes are not just massive for the countries involved but for the whole 16-nation euro currency project."Now Ireland has fallen, we suspect that the markets will quickly turn their attention to the other embattled peripheral countries, particularly Portugal and Spain," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, head of private client research at Charles Stanley stockbrokers. "It hardly needs saying, but if Spain were to fall, the eurozone crisis would have ratcheted up to such a degree that the region's continued existence as an economic area could be called into serious question."Even if there are no more bailouts, the scale of austerity being pursued in a number of eurozone countries will highlight the divisions in the single currency bloc. While Ireland and Greece, and possibly others, face years of retrenchment, the eurozone's No. 1 economy — Germany — will likely continue to prosper due to its exporting prowess."Even assuming the best case scenario of no further bailouts, the necessary adjustments required to rectify internal imbalances in the eurozone are deeply deflationary and will quickly become evident by the underperformance of the eurozone economy," said Derek Halpenny, European head of global currency research at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubish UFJ.Earlier in Asia, investors had been cheered by Sunday's aid request from Dublin.Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average closed 0.9 percent higher, or 92.80 points, at 10,115.19 while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 percent to 1,944.34. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3 percent to 4,643.5.But Hong Kong bucked the trend, with the Hang Seng index falling 0.4 percent to 23,524.02 amid losses in property stocks after new measures to stem speculation. Singapore's benchmark also fell.Chinese shares closed mixed in weak trading, as investors awaited further policy moves from the government after inflation last month hit a 25-month high.The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2 percent to 2,884.37. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller, second exchange climbed 1.2 percent to 1,313.57.In the oil markets, benchmark crude for January delivery was down 57 cents to $81.41 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.___Associated Press writer Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.Sinister EP (KKLAP002) mp3 albums.A State of Trance (21 january 2007) mp3.Get Donked mp3 albums downloads.Just Another Day mp3 albums.Unknown Title mp3 downloads
Stocks, euro hit by Irish bailout, gov't turmoil
LONDON – Stocks and the euro fell Monday amid mounting political turmoil in Ireland following the government's request for a massive bailout package and worries that Europe's debt crisis could spread to other countries, most notably Portugal and Spain.In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 52 points, or 0.9 percent, at 5,680.83, while France's CAC-40 fell 41.27 points, or 1.1 percent, to 3,818.89. Germany's DAX ended 21.50 points, or 0.3 percent, lower at 6,822.05.In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 75.07 points, or 0.7 percent, at 11,128.48 around midday New York time while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.79 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,192.94.And in the currency markets, the euro was trading 0.8 percent lower on the day at $1.36.Stocks and the euro had been in far better shape earlier Monday — Asian markets closed mostly higher and the euro had traded as high as $1.3786 — as investors breathed a sigh of relief that some sort of aid package for Ireland was finally being cobbled together. The Irish government confirmed Sunday it was formally requesting financial aid to shore up its debt-laden banking sector.The actual details of the package, something short of euro100 billion ($137 billion), are not expected for a few days yet as Irish officials sit down with counterparts from both the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The country will likely be forced to make further massive spending cuts and might have to raise its very low rate of corporate tax.The relief rally following the Irish government's request didn't last long, as investors worried about whether another Irish austerity program will pass, especially after a junior partner in Ireland's shaky government threatened Monday to withdraw from the coalition unless early elections are held in January."The relief ... (about) the coordinated rescue package has vanished following the onset of political turmoil," said Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers.And overarching everything is the worry that another troubled euro country will be targeted by the bond markets in the same way that Ireland and Greece have been.The hope among EU policymakers is that the response to Ireland's crisis has been far clearer than the prevarication that surrounding Greece's similar woes earlier this year and that as a result, the risk of contagion will be minimized.Whether they have managed to corral the problems will become evident in the days and weeks to come, but the early signs are not particularly positive.The clearest guide will come from the bond markets — specifically whether yields on Portuguese or Spanish debt start rising towards levels — about 8 or 9 percent — that forced both Greece and Ireland to seek financial support.At the moment, the yield on ten-year Portuguese government bonds stands at 6.70 percent while Spain's is 4.75 percent.Both rates are manageable, when put in the context of Irish and Greek debt, but analysts warned that it wouldn't take much of an increase for Portugal, in particular, to stoke bailout concerns.Portugal's government insisted Monday that it wasn't in the same boat as Ireland. Prime Minister Jose Socrates said Portugal "doesn't need anybody's help" and claimed his government's planned spending cuts and labor reforms will ensure debt reduction and growth.Socrates added he hoped assistance for Ireland would halt the spread of market fears to other euro members.The stakes are not just massive for the countries involved but for the whole 16-nation euro currency project."Now Ireland has fallen, we suspect that the markets will quickly turn their attention to the other embattled peripheral countries, particularly Portugal and Spain," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, head of private client research at Charles Stanley stockbrokers. "It hardly needs saying, but if Spain were to fall, the eurozone crisis would have ratcheted up to such a degree that the region's continued existence as an economic area could be called into serious question."Even if there are no more bailouts, the scale of austerity being pursued in a number of eurozone countries will highlight the divisions in the single currency bloc. While Ireland and Greece, and possibly others, face years of retrenchment, the eurozone's No. 1 economy — Germany — will likely continue to prosper due to its exporting prowess."Even assuming the best case scenario of no further bailouts, the necessary adjustments required to rectify internal imbalances in the eurozone are deeply deflationary and will quickly become evident by the underperformance of the eurozone economy," said Derek Halpenny, European head of global currency research at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubish UFJ.Earlier in Asia, investors had been cheered by Sunday's aid request from Dublin.Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average closed 0.9 percent higher, or 92.80 points, at 10,115.19 while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 percent to 1,944.34. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3 percent to 4,643.5.But Hong Kong bucked the trend, with the Hang Seng index falling 0.4 percent to 23,524.02 amid losses in property stocks after new measures to stem speculation. Singapore's benchmark also fell.Chinese shares closed mixed in weak trading, as investors awaited further policy moves from the government after inflation last month hit a 25-month high.The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2 percent to 2,884.37. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller, second exchange climbed 1.2 percent to 1,313.57.In the oil markets, benchmark crude for January delivery was down 57 cents to $81.41 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.___Associated Press writer Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.Sinister EP (KKLAP002) mp3 albums.A State of Trance (21 january 2007) mp3.Get Donked mp3 albums downloads.Just Another Day mp3 albums.Unknown Title mp3 downloads