Press Releases

PennyStockMonster.com (DJ Newswires)Yuan trade band expands, US, Europe calls for more

Sunday, 15 April 2012 - staff

-China will allow the yuan to trade in a wider daily range beginning Monday

--Beijing moving gradually toward a more market-determined exchange-rate regime

--Yuan's trading band against U.S. dollar now 1.0% above and below a daily reference exchange rate, from 0.5% now

--White House calls move 'progress.' Will push for more movement with ultimate goal of reaching 'market value.'

By Esther Fung and Shen Hong `Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 

SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--China will allow the yuan to trade in a wider daily range against the U.S. dollar beginning Monday, taking another major but widely-anticipated step to further liberalize its exchange-rate regime and make its currency more market-oriented.

The move received cautious praise by U.S. and international officials, who described the widening as an important step while renewing their calls for further appreciation of the yuan.

The People's Bank of China said Saturday it will widen the yuan's trading band against the U.S. dollar to 1.0% above and below a daily reference exchange rate from 0.5% now. It last expanded the dollar/yuan trading band from 0.3% in May 2007.

The move came at a time when the currency's immediate outlook seems murky and as pressures for the yuan to appreciate have eased substantially after recent data showed that the country's trade has become more balanced, ending a remarkable era of constant, huge trade surpluses as Chinese goods flooded the global market with the help of inexpensive labor and a cheap yuan.

Senior officials, including Premier Wen Jiabao and China's central banker, have hinted strongly on various occasions in recent months that they would let the yuan trade in a wider range as they argued the currency is nearing fair value. The authorities' decision also followed data showing the world's second-largest economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in the first quarter, a development that calls for further policy easing.

The yuan's performance has indeed become significantly more volatile in recent months, suffering waves of heavy selling and on numerous occasions hitting its downside band limit due to concerns about a hard landing for the Chinese economy.

The yuan has depreciated 0.14% against the dollar so far this year and accumulated a gain of 8.3% since Beijing effectively depegged its currency from the greenback in June 2010. The yuan was trading at around 6.3030 to the dollar late Friday.  

Penny Stock Monster (press release) Google splits stock, creates new C shares, A shares retain Voting right

Friday, 13 April 2012 - staff

Penny Stock Monster (press release) Google splits stock, creates new C shares, A shares retain Voting right

NEW YORK (AP) — Google Inc. has announced plans to issue a new class of stock to existing shareholders, effectively splitting shares 2 to 1. It’s an unusual approach that reflects a desire by Google’s founders to preserve the company’s long-term interests.

Here’s an explanation of the plan:

Q. Why is Google doing this?

A. Google’s current stock structure concentrates voting power with Google’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and with Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. Google is afraid of diluting that power as it issues new shares to employees and to companies that it acquires through stock purchases. Google says there’s no immediate danger of that happening, but it sees no need to wait. “It’s important to bear in mind that this proposal will only have an effect on governance over the very long term,” Page and Brin wrote in a letter. “It’s just that since we know what we want to do, there’s no reason to delay the decision.”

Q. What does this mean for existing shareholders?

A. Investors typically have Class A stock now. They will be given an equal number of Class C shares, which won’t have any voting power. The value of the Class A stock will be split between the two, so if the stock is trading at $600 when it happens, a Class A share will be worth $300 and a Class C share will be worth $300. Investors will have twice the number of shares they held before, but the total voting power and stock value won’t change. So if Bob owns 100 shares worth $600 each, he will own 200 shares worth $300 each. Bob will still have 100 votes, and the value of all his shares will still be $60,000. Investors will be free to buy and sell shares in either class independently, and the new class will get its own ticker symbol. If Bob sells his 100 Class C shares, he will have 100 votes through the Class A stock, and the shares will be worth $30,000. But if Bob sells his 100 Class A shares, he will have no vote on the Class C stock worth $30,000.