Search engine giant Google recently announced it is purchasing Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc., the former Mobile Devices Division of Motorola, for $12.5 billion. According to Google, the move was meant to protect its Android operating software from intellectual property lawsuits.
But was it a good move?
Is the “Ghost Month” to blame for the recent rollercoaster ride in stock markets around the world?
During the first two weeks of August, stock markets worldwide had a freefall, went back up again, slid again, then back up once more. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), for example:
And it’s probably just starting.
Philippine stocks took a heavy beating yesterday, with the index dropping for the 3rd straight day to close at 4,157.03.
On Tuesday, August 10, the 30-company benchmark index Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) tumbled 4.02% from Monday’s trading, the biggest drop since March 16, 2009 when the index nosedived 4.66% to 1,769.67.
Stocks are already down 9.5% from the peak registered on August 1 this year, and the bourse’s performance is crawling back to negative territory year-to-date with the PSEi dropping 1% from the start of 2011.
For the past three nights since August 6, London has been besieged by a series of riots and public disturbances. Described by the UK newspaper Guardian as “the worst disturbances of their kind since the 1995 Brixton riots,” the unrest has resulted to burning of cars and buildings, lootings in shops and commercial establishments, and violent clashes between rioters and police.
Below are pictures of the London riots from The Telegraph and BBC News websites.
On August 4, Thursday, US stocks suffered the worst one-day sell-off in two years, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) falling 4.31% and the Nasdaq Composite Index losing 5.08% of its value.
A few hours after US stock markets closed, Philippine stocks followed suit and the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) tumbled 1.4% on Friday, August 5.
My friends and I, together with other investors around the world, were surprised to see such panic and sell-off. A fall is generally expected, given the lingering uncertainty in the US economy partly brought about by the eleventh-hour sealing of the deal regarding the US debt ceiling crisis. But a steep 4%+ decline in the US is unprecedented, considering there were no other major financial news spreading in the market.
Apparently, we were wrong. It looked like several investors already got the leak that credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) was about to downgrade the United States’ credit rating.
What are Credit Ratings?
Credit Ratings are a measure of the credit worthiness of an organization such as a government or a public or private corporation. It is also an assessment of the quality of debt (loan) instruments issued by these institutions. In layman’s terms, a credit rating is a score that shows the capacity of the borrowing entity to meet its financial obligations to investors.
Who are the major credit rating agencies in the world?
There are several credit rating agencies but the three major players in the world, accounting for at least 90% of the market, are Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch Ratings. Moody’s and S&P are based in the United States while Fitch Ratings has two headquarters, one in London and another in New York. The “Big Three” issue short-term and long-term ratings of debt papers of governments and companies worldwide and also an outlook on the assessed entity, such as positive, negative or stable.
How are credit ratings useful?
Apple Inc., maker of the iconic iPod and iPad, has more available cash than the United States government.
As of June 25, 2011, Apple boasts of cash reserves totaling $75.876 billion.
The Treasury Department of the U.S. government, on the other hand, reports a total operating balance of only $73.768 billion — around $2 billion less than what Apple owns.
One of the most highly controversial topics in the United States right now is the Debt Ceiling issue. Basically, U.S. lawmakers are debating whether they should increase the country’s debt ceiling and, if yes, by how much. Much of their disagreement and discussion focus on the policy implications once the limit is raised.
Background of the Debt Ceiling Issue
Like any regular sovereign state, the United States relies on borrowings to finance its spending. In fact, the United States is the #1 borrower in the world, with total external debt amounting to $14.3 trillion as of May 2011.
That’s where the problem lies. The United States is limited by law to borrow a certain amount. This limit, or debt ceiling, is currently pegged at $14.3 trillion. However, according to the U.S. Treasury, this limit was reached in May 16, 2011 and the country only has enough money to spend until August 2, 2011 — a few days from today.
