China IPOs in U.S. Slump Even as Sales Rise to Record

At a time when China’s government is trying to keep the economy from overheating, a record number of its companies are selling stock in U.S. initial public offerings.

Youku.com Inc., the online video provider whose name means “excellent and cool,” E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc., the country’s largest online book retailer, and three other mainland companies plan to raise a total of $703 million this week, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The sales would bring the number of Chinese IPOs in New York to 39 this year, surpassing the 37 in 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

While four of the ten best performing U.S. IPOs of 2010 have come from China, shares of the last four mainland companies that completed sales fell after the government raised interest rates and bank reserve requirements and said it may impose price controls. Youku.com and China Dangdang are offering stock at as much as five times the median valuation of their U.S.-traded rivals, data compiled by IPOdesktop.com and Bloomberg show.

“The market wants emerging market stocks,” said Timothy Cunningham, a money manager at Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Thornburg Investment Management, which oversees about $70 billion. “If they had come a month ago, these would have been incredibly hot, up a huge amount. They’re going to get a little more investor scrutiny.”

Youku.com, Tudou

Youku.com will offer 15.4 million American depositary receipts at $9 to $11 each today, the filing said. The midpoint values the Beijing-based company at 15 times projected annual sales, compared to the median of 3 times estimated 2011 revenue for 12 U.S.-traded Internet-content providers, data compiled by Marina del Rey, California-based IPOdesktop.com and Bloomberg show. It hasn’t posted a profit in the last three years.

China’s online-video market more than doubled to 621 million yuan ($93 million) last quarter, according to Beijing- based research company Analysys International. Youku.com had the largest share at 23 percent, followed by 19 percent for Shanghai-based Tudou Holdings Ltd., which filed for a $120 million U.S. IPO last month. Tudou means potato in Chinese and refers to a couch potato, Chief Executive Officer Gary Wang said in an interview in September.

‘Without Question’

Google Inc.’s YouTube, the world’s most popular video- sharing site, is inaccessible in China. The country had 420 million Internet users as of June, according to data from the government-sponsored China Internet Network Information Center. The U.S. population in 2010 ranged from 305.7 million to 312.7 million, Census Bureau data show.

“With China and the Internet, you have two areas that are getting a lot of interest,” said Scott Billeadeau, who helps oversee $18 billion at Fifth Third Asset Management in Minneapolis. “Without question you’ll have pretty good response” from investors, he said.

China Dangdang is offering 17 million ADRs at $13 to $15 each today after increasing the price range from $11 to $13, an SEC filing showed.

The original midpoint valued the Beijing-based operator of dangdang.com at 48 times annual earnings, based on third-quarter results, data compiled by IPOdesktop.com show. That’s 64 percent higher than the median of 29.3 for 11 U.S.-traded Internet retailers. Bloomberg data show. Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc., the biggest online merchant, trades at 38.8 times profit.

ChinaCache, SinoTech

The four Chinese Internet companies that completed U.S. IPOs this year surged an average of 57 percent in their first day of trading, the data show. ChinaCache International Holdings Ltd., a Beijing-based provider of content for business websites, posted the biggest first-day rally on U.S. exchanges in three years, jumping 95 percent on Oct. 1.

SinoTech Energy Ltd. which provides equipment to boost oil field production, posted the steepest drop among Chinese IPOs since the People’s Bank of China raised lending and deposit rates in October for the first time since 2007. The Beijing- based company slid 19 percent Nov. 3, the largest first-day fall for a U.S. offering this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The PBOC increased banks’ reserve requirements five times in 2010, while the government said on Nov. 17 it may impose price controls to combat the fastest inflation in two years. China’s economy will grow 9 percent next year, three times as fast as the U.S., according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

‘The Driver’

Bona Film Group Ltd. of Beijing, China’s largest privately owned movie distributor, will offer 11.7 million ADRs at $7 to $9 each tomorrow, according to SEC filings. Sky-mobi Ltd., which provides applications for mobile devices from Hangzhou, China, is selling 7.25 million ADRs at $8 to $10 the next day. Lentuo International Inc., the largest privately-owned automobile retailer in Beijing, also plans to sell 7.5 million ADRs at $11.50 to $13.50 on Dec. 9, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

“Chinese companies are really going to be the driver of the IPO market,” said Michael Yoshikami, who oversees $1 billion at YCMNet Advisors in Walnut Creek, California. “Investors are buying the thematic trend of emerging markets, and they’re overlooking fundamentals.”

source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-06/recent-chinese-ipos-in-u-s-slump-even-as-offerings-climb-to-annual-record.html

What a defense

Bernanke Defends Bond Purchases, Predicts Stronger Growth

By Steve Matthews and Timothy R. Homan - Nov 5, 2010 10:25 PM GMT+0000
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-05/bernanke-says-goal-of-federal-reserve-asset-purchases-is-faster-recovery-.html

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the central bank’s decision this week to buy an additional $600 billion in Treasuries, saying the unconventional policy will spur the U.S. recovery.

“We are showing insufficient stimulus,” Bernanke said today in remarks to college students in Jacksonville, Florida. Asset purchases have “the goal of reducing interest rates, providing more stimulus to the economy and, we hope, creating a faster recovery and an inflation rate consistent with long-run stability,” Bernanke said to students.

Bernanke came under fire today from officials in Germany, China, and Brazil, who said his plan to pump cash into the banking system may jar other economies and fail to fuel U.S. growth. Critics including Michael Burry, the former hedge-fund manager who predicted the housing market’s plunge, have said Fed policy is encouraging investors to take on too much risk and threatens to undermine the dollar.

“It’s our problem as well if the U.S. is no longer certain that the old recipes don’t work anymore,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said today in Berlin. The Fed’s injection of $600 billion was “clueless” and won’t revive growth, he said.

Brazil’s central bank president, Henrique Meirelles, said “excess liquidity” in the U.S. economy is creating “risks for everyone.” In China, Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said “many countries are worried about the impact of the policy on their economies.” He also said the U.S. “owes us some explanation on their decision on quantitative easing.”

What a market

Stocks Rebound on Earnings; Dollar Slumps

By Rita Nazareth and Nikolaj Gammeltoft - Oct 20, 2010 9:11 PM GMT+0100

The dollar slid the most against the euro since July and reached a 15-year low versus the yen amid speculation the Federal Reserve will pump more cash into the economy. Boeing Co. and Yahoo! Inc. helped lead stocks higher after earnings beat estimates, while energy shares and oil rose.

The dollar snapped a three-day rally against the euro, losing 1.6 percent to $1.3950 versus the common currency, and sank to as low as 80.85 yen. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 1.1 percent to 1,178.17 at 4 p.m. in New York after slumping 1.6 percent yesterday for its biggest drop in two months. Oil rebounded from its largest drop since February, returning above $81 a barrel. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slipped three basis points to 3.89 percent.

The Fed’s Beige Book business survey today said the U.S. economy grew at a “modest pace” with little sign of acceleration last month, fueling speculation central bankers may undertake further measures to support growth. Boeing and Yahoo joined 84 percent of S&P 500 companies that have topped analyst earnings estimates since Oct. 7, boosting optimism that profits are improving even as the economic recovery slows.

“The tenor of the Beige Book confirms that the economy remains stuck in a low gear, while the good news is that there’s only limited downside,” said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management in Richmond, Virginia, which oversees $63 billion. “With U.S. growth already weak and the Fed poised to pump more money into the system, there’s additional downward pressure on the dollar.”

Dollar Slides

The dollar weakened against 15 of 16 major peers, losing at least 1.5 percent versus currencies including the Australian dollar and Swedish krona. The U.S. currency has depreciated more than 3 percent versus all 16 major counterparts since the end of August, falling more than 10 percent versus the euro and Australian dollar, as speculation grows that the Fed will buy more Treasuries in a tactic known as quantitative easing.

“It’s quantitative easing and the dollar debasement that’s the predominant story,” said Jeremy Stretch, executive director of foreign-exchange strategy at CIBC World Markets in London.

U.S. stocks advanced following yesterday’s slide triggered by China’s interest-rate increase and concern banks will need to buy back more bad mortgages.

‘Sky Is Not Falling’

Boeing rallied 3.4 percent after reporting profit of $1.12 a share, more than the average estimate of $1.07 in a Bloomberg survey. Yahoo rose 2 percent after the most-visited U.S. Web portal late yesterday said third-quarter net income more than doubled to $396.1 million, or 29 cents a share. Wells Fargo & Co., the largest U.S. home lender, climbed 4.3 percent after saying it’s “eager” to return cash to shareholders following a record quarterly profit.

“We’ve had a variety of company earnings reports which indicate that the sky is not falling,” said Lawrence Creatura, a Rochester, New York-based fund manager at Federated Investors Inc., which oversees about $350 billion. “Yesterday was a dark day for the market because of macro factors. Today it will be company management teams’ turn to lead the way again.”

The pound lost 0.8 percent against the euro and weakened against 10 of its 16 most-traded peers after the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Mervyn King, voted 7-1-1 to keep the benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent and the bond-purchase plan at 200 billion pounds ($314 billion). Andrew Sentance pushed for an increase in the rate to 0.75 percent, while Adam Posen voted to boost the asset-purchase plan by 50 billion pounds.

‘Potent Weapon’

King said in a speech yesterday that some gauges of U.K. inflation are “extremely subdued,” signaling that he may be open to stepping up bond purchases. He also said that monetary policy remains a “potent weapon.” Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne detailed the deepest budget cuts ever in Britain, eliminating 500,000 public-sector jobs and imposing a levy on banks to extract the “maximum sustainable” revenue, outlining plans in Parliament today to virtually eliminate the 156 billion-pound deficit.

Three stocks rose for every two that fell in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, which increased 0.3 percent. Peugeot climbed 0.9 percent as the carmaker said quarterly revenue grew and raised its full-year outlook. BASF rose 2.6 percent in Germany after the world’s biggest chemicals maker said recovering markets helped lift its third-quarter profit beyond analysts’ estimates.

The yield on Ireland’s 10-year bond increased seven basis points to 6.31 percent. The difference in yield, or spread, between Portuguese and German 10-year bonds increased 11 basis points to 3.29 percentage points, while the Greek-German yield gap was one basis points narrower at 6.58 percentage points.

Commodities Rally

Corn futures rose for the first time in six sessions as a weaker dollar improved prospects for grain exports from the U.S., the world’s largest grower and shipper. Corn for December delivery rose 5 percent to $5.735 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, after falling 5.7 percent during the prior five sessions.

Oil advanced 2.9 percent to $81.77 a barrel after falling 4.3 percent yesterday, the biggest decline since Feb. 4.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $8.20, or 0.6 percent, to settle at $1,344.20 on the Comex in New York. Copper rebounded from the biggest drop in three months, with December futures climbing 3.6 cents, or 1 percent, to settle at $3.7935 a pound in New York.

To contact the reporters on this story: Rita Nazareth in New York at rnazareth@bloomberg.net; Nikolaj Gammeltoft in New York at ngammeltoft@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net

Bad news to HK? (2010-10-20)

China Raises Benchmark Rates for First Time Since 2007

By Bloomberg News - Oct 19, 2010 4:18 PM GMT+0100

China unexpectedly raised its benchmark lending and deposit rates for the first time since 2007 ahead of data that may show inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in almost two years. Stocks and commodities fell.

The one-year lending rate will increase to 5.56 percent from 5.31 percent, effective tomorrow, the People’s Bank of China said on its website today. The deposit rate will increase to 2.5 percent from 2.25 percent.

Crude oil, stocks in Europe and U.S. index futures dropped on concern the engine of the global recovery will slow as China’s policy makers seek to curb lending and prevent a property bubble. Higher interest rates may encourage inflows of speculative capital from abroad, complicating management of the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

“The interest rate hike is beyond my expectation,” said Wang Tao, UBS AG’s Beijing-based economist. “It shows the government is increasingly worried about inflation. This is the beginning of a series of interest-rate hikes next year.’’

Inflation may have climbed to 3.6 percent in September even as growth in the world’s fastest-growing major economy slowed, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.

Officials have in recent weeks extended curbs on property, including tougher down-payment requirements and more restrictions on home loans, in a clampdown after record price gains this year. The central bank raised the reserve requirements for six banks for a two-month period, three people with knowledge of the matter said last week.

Well I guess it is a bad news to me

Morgan Stanley Said to Freeze Investment-Bank Hiring for 2010

By Michael J. Moore - Sep 27, 2010 9:48 PM GMT+0100 Mon Sep 27 20:48:03 GMT

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- James Gorman, chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley, John Mack, chairman, and Parker Gilbert, former chairman, talk about the outlook for the company, Wall Street and the U.S. economy. They speak with Erik Schatzker on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)

Morgan Stanley, the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets, froze hiring at its investment-banking division for the rest of 2010, a person briefed on the decision said.

The firm ruled out layoffs through the end of the year, the person said, speaking anonymously because the matter hasn’t been publicly disclosed. Jim Wiggins, a spokesman for Morgan Stanley, declined to comment on the hiring freeze. He said the company intends to hire brokers for the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney unit, a joint venture with Citigroup Inc.

The freeze, which includes the New York-based firm’s sales and trading units, comes as weak trading and equity underwriting volume may lead the five largest Wall Street banks to post their lowest revenue from investment banking and trading since the fourth quarter of 2008. Bank of America Corp. is firing as many as 400 employees in its global banking and markets division, a person briefed on the matter said last week.

Fox Business Network reported Morgan Stanley’s decision to freeze hiring earlier today.

Companies including Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse Group AG also have started reducing staff in Europe. Securities firms around the world will cut as many as 80,000 jobs in the next 18 months as revenue growth begins to slow, bank analyst Meredith Whitney of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group LLC said in a report dated Aug. 31.

Seven analysts including Richard Staite at Atlantic Equities LLP in London cut third-quarter earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley in the last two weeks, citing weak trading in the quarter. The average estimate is 43 cents a share, down from 57 cents, according to 20 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Morgan Stanley added about 400 employees to its sales and trading business since June 2009. The firm’s headcount was 62,926 at the end of June, up 3 percent from a year earlier.

Morgan Stanley declined 28 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $24.87 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares are down 16 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael J. Moore in New York at mmoore55@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alec McCabe at amccabe@bloomberg.net.

Rise in Capital Goods Orders

Capital Goods Orders in U.S. Climb, Signaling Investment Pickup

By Timothy R. Homan - Jul 28, 2010 8:57 PM GMT+0800
url: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-28/capital-goods-orders-in-u-s-climb-signaling-investment-pickup.html

Orders and shipments for non-military capital goods excluding aircraft climbed in June, signaling investment by U.S. businesses picked up heading into the second half of the year.

Such bookings increased 0.6 percent after jumping 4.6 percent in May, more than previously reported, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Total orders for durable goods, those meant to last at least three years, unexpectedly dropped 1 percent, depressed by a decrease in demand for aircraft which is often volatile.

Eaton Corp. is among manufacturers benefiting from a pickup in demand as companies in the U.S. and abroad update equipment that is helping to support the recovery. The gains will partially compensate for a slowdown in consumer spending that is causing the world’s largest economy to cool heading into the second half of the year.

“Businesses are, in general, still investing,” said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit, who projected a decline in durable goods orders excluding transportation. “If they want to compete, they have to invest. The recovery is continuing.”

Stock-index futures dropped after the report showed weakness in overall orders. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.2 percent to 1,108.6 at 8:56 a.m. Treasury securities rose, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year note down to 3.04 percent from 3.05 percent late yesterday.

Take a rest

I have lost on the Aussie short position posted this morning. Let's take a rest now.

Euro's Gain Hurts Exports as Spain Sweats Biggest Rally in Year

By Matthew Brown and Paul Dobson - Jul 19, 2010
url: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-19/euro-strength-undermining-exports-as-spain-sweats-biggest-rally-in-a-year.html

The euro’s biggest rally in a year is threatening exporters in Europe’s weakest economies as they grow more reliant on international sales for growth.

The 9.5 percent gain to $1.3008 from a four-year low on June 7 reduced speculation that the region’s debt crisis would break up the single currency. At the same time, the head of Spain’s Exporters Club says the stronger euro will make it harder to counter a “paralyzed” domestic market. European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., the maker of Airbus planes, says at $1.20, the currency still wouldn’t be weak. Salvatore Ferragamo SpA says it’s counting on exports to boost sales as austerity measures crimp demand from France to Italy.

Even after declining 14 percent during the past eight months as mounting deficits threatened the region’s economic recovery, the euro remains stronger than the $1.184 average since its introduction in 1999. The currency is overvalued by 14 percent, according to purchasing power data compiled by Bloomberg. Foreign-exchange strategists say the result will be a weaker euro.

“If the euro continues to appreciate it would be a disaster for the euro zone,” said Ken Wattret, chief euro-area economist at BNP Paribas SA in London. “The worst-case scenario for the euro area is you have a sustained exchange-rate appreciation because it would snuff out the recovery.”

The euro advanced 2.29 percent last week, the biggest gain since May 2009, to $1.2930. It traded 0.4 percent stronger at $1.2979 as of 3:28 p.m. in London.

Stocks Rise

Yen Weakens Against Euro on Kan's Elections Loss; Most Asian Stocks Rise
By Shiyin Chen - Jul 12, 2010
url: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-12/yen-weakens-against-euro-on-japan-elections-asian-exporter-stocks-advance.html

The yen weakened on concern efforts to cut Japan’s government debt will slow after the ruling party lost control of the upper house. Most Asian stocks rose, led by Japanese exporters and commodity producers.

The yen weakened against all 16 of its most-active counterparts at 2:17 p.m. in Tokyo, to 112.16 per euro from 112.01 in New York on July 9. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 0.3 percent. Copper retreated following a 5.5 percent gain last week.

The Democratic Party of Japan won 44 seats in the upper house, less than the main opposition’s 51 seats, making it unlikely Prime Minister Naoto Kan will be able to reduce the world’s largest public debt. Most Asian stocks rose ahead of the start of the U.S. second-quarter earnings season, with S&P 500 companies projected to post profit gains of 34 percent, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

“Earnings are the key but it’s going to be very company specific,” Curtis Freeze, chairman of Honolulu-based Prospect Asset Management Inc. with about $1 billion in assets, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “The yen could actually weaken because there’s going to continued spending by the government and there’s going to be a delay in the consumption tax hike.”

Almost five stocks rose for every four that fell among the MSCI index’s 985 members, with a measure tracking materials stocks accounting for the biggest advance among 10 industry groups. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fluctuated between gains and losses. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7 percent as speculation the government will relax curbs on mortgage lending amid a slowdown in property prices drove gains in developers.

No Good... (2010-07-01)

Jobless Claims in U.S. Increased 13,000 Last Week to 472,000

By Bob Willis - Jul 1, 2010
url: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-01/jobless-claims-in-u-s-unexpectedly-increased-13-000-last-week-to-472-000.html

More Americans unexpectedly applied for jobless benefits last week, a sign the labor market recovery may be slowing.

Initial jobless claims increased by 13,000 to 472,000 in the week ended June 26, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The number of people receiving unemployment insurance rose, while those getting emergency benefits dropped after Congress failed to act on extending the legislation.

The jump in applications raises the risk that the turmoil in financial markets brought onby the European debt crisis is leading to additional cutbacks in staff. The Labor Department tomorrow may report the U.S. lost jobs in June for the first month this year, reflecting a drop in temporary federal workers who helped to conduct the decennial census.

“The labor market is not generating employment for anyone, even for people who have been out a long time,” said Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in New York, who forecast claims at 470,000. “What we’re seeing in the backup of claims is not a particularly healthy story, showing we can’t generate upside momentum in the labor market.”

Economists forecast jobless applications would fall to 455,000 from an initially reported 457,000 for the prior week, according to the median of 46 projections in a Bloomberg survey. Estimates ranged from 440,000 to 475,000.

Bloomberg News (2010-06-29)

Stocks Slide, Treasuries Jump on Concern Over China, Confidence

By Rita Nazareth and Stephen Kirkland - Jun 29, 2010
url: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/asian-stocks-fall-to-two-week-low-yen-strengthens-on-china-growth-concern.html

Stocks plunged from Shanghai to New York, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index sinking below its lowest closing level of the year, and Treasury two-year note yields dropped to a record low on concern over weakening growth in China and lower-than-estimated U.S. consumer confidence.

The S&P 500 slid 2.5 percent to 1,047.45 at 11:53 a.m. in New York, its lowest on a closing basis since November 2009. The MSCI World Index of 24 developed nations lost 2.9 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 4.3 percent. The benchmark 2012 Treasury note yield slid as low as 0.5857 percent and the 10-year yield dipped below 3 percent for the first time in 14 months. Oil and copper slumped at least 3.4 percent.

“It’s ugly out there,” said James Paulsen, who helps oversee about $375 billion as chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis. “Consumers are pulling back. There’s concern about a China slowdown. We’re close to important technical levels on the S&P 500, with 1,040 being closely watched. It’s end of quarter, investors have to close their books and they are selling the stocks that did poorly.”

The tumble in global stocks started after the Conference Board said its leading economic index for China rose 0.3 percent in April, less than the 1.7 percent reported June 15. Losses accelerated after the same research group’s gauge of U.S. consumer confidence slumped to 52.9 in June, less than all 71 projections in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.

Jobs, Europe Concerns

Today’s data damaged investor confidence amid concern a Labor Department report July 2 will show the U.S. lost jobs for the first time this year, while European bank balance sheets come under heightened scrutiny as a lending facility from the region’s central bank expires.

The rate banks say they charge each other for three-month loans in euros rose to 0.688 percent in London, the highest in eight months, as institutions hoarded cash before a 12-month European Central Bank lending facility expires later this week.

European banks need to repay 442 billion euros ($540 billion) in 12-month loans to the ECB by July 1, the biggest amount ever awarded by the central bank. Demand for three-month cash from the ECB tomorrow will expose how much banks still rely on the central bank for funding, investors and economists said. The ECB will announce how much money banks have asked for at about 11:15 a.m. in Frankfurt.

‘Funding Pressures’

“Concerns about funding pressures are creeping in again,” said Alexander Titsch-Rivero, head of derivatives and structured products in Frankfurt at BHF-Bank AG, a German private bank. “Some banks seem to be concerned about the ECB’s 12-month loans expiring. Definitely some banks seem to have built up huge bond positions financed with this one-year ECB tender. Now you have a roll-over gap and that seems to make people nervous.”

The S&P 500, the benchmark gauge for U.S. stocks, retreated for the sixth time in seven days even after a report showed home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in April from a year earlier as sales got a boost from a tax credit. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values climbed 3.8 percent from April 2009, the biggest year-over-year gain since September 2006. The gain topped the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Four hundred ninety-seven stocks in the S&P 500 fell, while 99 companies in the Nasdaq 100 Index were lower. Among 24 industry groups in the S&P 500, none had an average loss smaller than 0.8 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Boeing Co., Caterpillar Inc. and General Electric Co. tumbled more than 4 percent to lead losses in all 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average companies as the 30-stock gauge slid 235.95 points to 9,902.57, its first trip below 10,000 in more than two weeks.

Global Retreat

All 10 industry groups in the MSCI World Index declined at least 1.6 percent, led by basic-materials producers and financial companies. The gauge has lost 9.9 percent this year. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.5 percent today as Japan’s unemployment rate unexpectedly increased.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury security slid as much as 7 basis points to 2.95 percent, the lowest since April 2009. Treasuries have climbed 5.7 percent this year, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. The 10-year Australian bond yield dropped nine basis points to 5.13 percent, and the yield on the German bund retreated two basis points to 2.56 percent.

Yen, Dollar

The yen appreciated against all 16 major currencies and the dollar strengthened against 14 on demand for assets perceived to be the safest.

Metals declined for the first time in four sessions on the London Metal Exchange, led by a 5.5 percent drop in zinc and 5.9 percent plunge in lead. Copper fell 4.5 percent to $2.9515 a pound in New York, extending its decline this year to 13 percent. Gold slipped 0.2 percent to $1,236.97 an ounce, trimming this year’s gain to less than 13 percent. Oil for August delivery slumped 3.4 percent to $75.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 2.8 percent, the most since May 25, extending this year’s drop to 6.5 percent. Benchmark indexes in Russia, the world’s largest energy supplier, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Indonesia and Egypt lost more than 2 percent.

The New York-based Conference Board cited a calculation error for the revision in its Chinese index. The research group’s outlook for the nation’s economy hasn’t been affected by the correction, said William Adams, the group’s resident economist in Beijing.

‘Moderation is Possible’

“Growth was not likely to accelerate in China, and in fact, a moderation is possible,” Adams said in a telephone interview. “This correction also supports the same view.”

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index tumbled 2.8 percent as Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-biggest mining company, plunged 6.4 percent on concern demand from China may weaken. BP Plc slid 1.7 percent in London, bringing its decline since an April explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig to more than 50 percent.

The cost of insuring BP’s debt approached a record, with credit-default swaps increasing 3.5 basis points to 587.4, according to CMA DataVision, a London-based credit information provider. The contracts closed at an all-time high of 588.6 on June 25.

----With assistance from Liz Capo McCormick in New York and Bryan Keogh, Claudia Carpenter, Lukanyo Mnyanda Andrew Rummer, Michael Shanahan and Daniel Tilles in London. Editors: Michael P. Regan, Chris Nagi

To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Nazareth in New York at rnazareth@bloomberg.net.