Markets edged forward to close the week on Friday. The Dow Jones lagged behind the other indexes, posting just 0.04 percent (4.23 points) for the day. The NASDAQ (0.18 percent, 4.04 points) and S&P 500 (0.14 percent, 1.56 points) were much stronger relative to the Dow, but overall gains were still only slight.
Analysts expected a higher open this morning as markets rebound from an up and down week. Optimism about the month ahead may be driving some momentum as investors look forward to leaving a seesaw winter behind them. Around the globe markets are up across the board.
In other news, last week after posting a fourth-quarter loss of nearly $9 billion, American International Group is set to sell a huge part of its operations in another effort to raise cash.
According to Reuters, the insurance titan has agreed to shed its Asian life insurance branch for $35.5 billion to Great Britain’s Prudential. The deal will make Prudential the largest foreign insurer in Asia, boosting its future profit outlook and establishing a firm foothold in a booming marketplace. Meanwhile, the sale leaves AIG with far fewer assets than it had before the collapse.
The deal between Prudential and AIG has acted as a boost for European markets, but all is not well in that region. Britain’s largest bank posted lower-than-expected net earnings in 2009.
According to Bloomberg News, HSBC – one of the world’s largest banking entities – actualized just $5.83 billion in 2009 after posting $5.73 billion in 2008. This signals that the flood of bad loans and hidden debts, which set off the global financial crisis more than two years ago, has yet to run its course.
Back in the United States, consumer spending increased more than forecast during January 2010. According to Bloomberg News, this is a sign that the largest part of our economy is beginning to rev up once again. However, the increase in spending is not necessarily a perfect solution. With so much profit flowing overseas consumer spending is still a leak in the overall economy.