EU steelmakers upbeat on 2008
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Europe's two biggest steelmakers, ArcelorMittal SA and ThyssenKrupp AG, were upbeat about weathering any global downturn this year, saying Wednesday they expected strong steel demand and higher prices to cover soaring costs.
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A gauge of future economic activity rose modestly in January, an industry-backed trade group said Wednesday, suggesting the U.S. economy will continue to post modest gains in the coming months.
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European equities firmed slightly on  Friday while euro zone bond yields slipped after U.S.  second-quarter gross domestic product data, which rose in line  with economists' forecasts.
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Banks and miners helped European equities markets recover on Tuesday, as a combination of strong metals prices and hopes for a US rate cut helped lift the mood.
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International Steel Group Inc. saved the jobs of thousands of US steelworkers when it was formed two years ago. Analysts say its sale last week to a Dutch steelmaker
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A survey shows Japanese companies at their most optimistic in more than two years.
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ThyssenKrupp and Salzgitter, the largest steel makers in Germany, agreed to the highest wage increases for their workers in more than 10 years. Salaries for 85,000 workers at steel makers will increase 3.8 percent from the beginning of 2007, IG Metall, the steel workersÂ union, said. Wages last rose that much in 1995, when they increased 4 percent. IG Metall had been seeking a 7 percent wage increase for 12 months, while employers had offered 3 percent.
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Switzerland's watchmakers and other luxury goods makers are set for further growth in 2008 as strong demand in Asia and the Middle East offsets economic gloom in the US and Europe.
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There was a healthy trade surplus for companies that use the euro, despite worries over the currency's strength.
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Growth in the 25-nation EU was better than the US and Japan in the second quarter of the year, figures show.
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The manufacturing sector grew for the 20th consecutive month in January, though at a moderated pace, a private research group reported Tuesday, affirming the rebound in activity at the nations' factories.
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European industrial growth showed little signs of slowing last month, according to closely watched surveys on Monday that set the scene for further central bank interest rates rises.
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European shares edged higher on Monday bolstered by reassuring comments from UK bank Lloyds TSB on its earnings expectations for this year.
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Bid activity in the steel sector led industrial metals groups higher, but European equity markets remained largely flat on Wednesday as losses for financial stocks weighed.
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A better than expected performance from the U.S. manufacturing sector in February helped calm investors on Thursday, even as economists cautioned that one month's worth of data is not a cause for too much optimism.
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"I hope that 2008 will be a year of growth even if growth is not as positive as in 2007"  Europe's economy faces a rougher time in 2008 than last year in the face of financial market stress and surging oil and food prices, the European Union's Slovenian presidency warned Tuesday. via Raw Story
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European shares hit a fresh 10-week high  on Friday as a positive report on Chinese steel demand boosted  ore producers such as Anglo-American, while French utility  Veolia rose after posting solid first-half earnings.