Percent Compound Growth

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks and the euro edged lower on Thursday as data suggested Europe's debt woes were spreading and worsening a global economic slowdown. In a volatile session, investors looking for bargains earlier bought equities, oil and gold which have been battered this week by worries Greece would leave the euro zone. But the buying of growth-oriented assets faded as worries about the euro zone's drag on the world economy returned. Stocks and other riskier assets turned negative as disappointing data from Europe, China and the United States compounded concerns about the economic contraction moving across Europe. Amid speculation of more coordinated efforts from major central banks to stem further deterioration of the euro zone debt crisis, bond yields of Spanish, Italian and ...

(Reuters) - Gold rose 1 percent on Thursday, snapping three days of losses to climb towards $1,580 an ounce, as the dollar swung back into negative territory versus the euro after a softer-than-expected U.S. manufacturing report. Confidence in the single currency remains fragile after it earlier hit a near two-year low against the dollar. Dire German manufacturing and business climate data spooked investors already weighing up the risk of Greece leaving the euro zone. But gold got a lift from International Monetary Fund data showing another rise in central bank gold holdings in April, after the largest purchase in over four years by the Philippines. Spot gold rose as high as $1,577.50 an ounce and was up 0.8 percent to $1,573.11 an ounce by 9:50 a.m. EDT (1350 GMT), while U.S. gold ...

(Reuters) - Gold rose on Thursday, after three days of losses, although the drag of the euro near two-year lows tempered the bullion price and eclipsed data that showed another rise in central bank purchases of the metal last month. The euro edged higher, having hit a near two-year low against the dollar earlier on Thursday after dire German economic data suggested no country in the region was immune from crisis, spooking investors already weighing the risk of Greece leaving the euro zone. This offset a potentially bullish lift from International Monetary Fund data that showed another rise in central bank holdings in April, after the largest purchase in over four years by the Philippines and further additions by the likes of Mexico, Ukraine and Russia to their reserves. Spot gold rose 0. ...

(Reuters) - Markets extended gains in Asia on Tuesday with investors hunting for bargains in shares beaten down to 2012 lows late last week, as hopes grew that Europe could agree on fresh action to tackle its debt crisis while promoting growth. A Chinese media report saying Beijing will accelerate infrastructure investments to combat slowing growth lifted Hong Kong and Chinese shares by 1.2 percent .HSI and 0.6 percent .SSEC respectively. European shares looked likely to extend gains, with financial spreadbetters predicting that major European markets .FTSE .FCHI .GDAXI would open as much as 1.0 percent higher. U.S. stock futures were up 0.1 percent. .EU .L .N MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS climbed 1.4 percent, having recovered on Monday from a ...

Asian shares on Thursday recovered a bit of the ground lost in the previous day's sell-off, but investors found no reason to bet on risk amid deepening turmoil in Greece and fears of contagion to other stressed euro zone economies. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.5 percent on short covering, after sliding more than 3 percent - its biggest one-day drop in six months - on Wednesday. The index hit a new 4-month low on Wednesday, and has shed 9.6 percent since May 2. Gold and the euro recovered from Wednesday's lows as a recovery in shares helped improve sentiment slightly. Bucking the general trend of recovery in Asia-Pacific, Australian shares .AXJO bucked the general recovery, falling 0.6 percent to a four-month low, with banks easing on ...

The euro hit another four-month low against the dollar on Wednesday and was likely to extend hefty losses sustained so far this month after Greece said it would hold new elections, boosting the risk Athens could exit the euro. The prospect of prolonged political instability in the debt-ridden country, compounded by skittish sovereign bond markets sent Asian bourses sharply lower, with analysts saying the euro and other risk-sensitive currencies would remain under severe pressure. A Greek departure from the euro zone would also have a potentially huge knock-on effect on struggling economies such as Italy and Spain, whose bond yields climbed above the crucial 6 percent mark the day before. "An entry to the euro zone was supposed to be irrevocable. They tore down the bridge so people ...

The Weekly Bottom Line HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK United States - U.S. job creation may have weakened in the last few months, but the grounds for sustaining stronger employment growth are more fertile now than have been since the economic recovery began. Europe's labor market, by contrast, is likely to deteriorate further before it gets better. - Europe's (nonfinancial) corporate sector is highly leveraged. As balance sheet adjustments are made, Europe risks further decreases in investment, higher layoffs, and lower economic growth. These effects are compounded by deleveraging in the public sector. - U.S. corporations, by contrast, are more profitable and liquid than they have ever been. At some point some of these funds will be unleashed towards new investment, creating a positive ...

(Reuters) - The dollar slipped against the yen in volatile trading on Friday after a key U.S. April jobs report painted a mixed picture about the health of the economy. U.S. employers added 115,000 workers last month, well below expectations of 170,000, but the unemployment rate still fell to 8.1 percent and jobs growth data in previous months was revised upwards. The disappointing headline reading will likely compound fears that the U.S. economy is losing momentum and fuel expectations of a third round of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve. "While certainly disappointing, today's employment report does have a silver lining - a drop in the unemployment rate with upward historical revisions," said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in New York. " ...

(Reuters) - Quarterly reports from some of Europe's top banks showed the scars of the euro zone crisis on Thursday, with big losses on Spanish property, and fragile markets casting a shadow over the rest of the year despite an early investment banking rebound. Spanish bank Santander said first quarter net profit dropped 24 percent after it took a 3.1 billion euro ($4.1 billion) provision to cover rising loan defaults, as the effects of Spain's property market crash were compounded by economic recession and joblessness afflicting nearly one in four workers. Although results from Barclays and Deutsche Bank showed investment banking income bounced back strongly after a torrid end to last year, the sickly euro zone economy continues to dog the industry. Barclays beat analysts' forecasts ...