Rockland Equipment for Crawler Tractors

Fisher Capital News Update: Keep updated on recent events, press releases and latest machineries to avoid scam.

FISHER CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT - Construction Machineries, Suppliers Directory and Others.

Rockland equipment for crawler tractors is specifically designed for special applications. This enables you to get more work done and add more value to the bottom line every day. Rockland Manufacturing Company offers more equipment for crawler tractors than any other attachment manufacturer. There are special dozer blades to increase machine efficiency for such diverse applications as pushing coal, land reclamation, dozing woodchips, and landfill dozing. In addition, special size Angle Blades and Semi U-blades are also available when OEM blades are not the right size for your application.

A Rockland wheel tractor attachment is the Rockland Scoop Dozer. The scoop dozer is ideal for continuous dozing applications such as coal and woodchips. Both Rockland Coal Scoops and Rockland Woodchip Scoops have increased dozer productivity on job sites around the world.

Rockland land clearing equipment for dozers is famous for both productivity and years of trouble free operation. Whether it would be land clearing blades or land clearing rakes, Rockland land clearing equipment gets the job done and has proven itself on every continent. If you are clearing land with a Rockland Dozer Blade, a Rockland land clearing rake, Rockland Shear Blade, or a Rockland V-Blade, we will turn your crawler tractor into a true land clearing machine.

Fisher Capital News Update: Keep updated on recent events, press releases and latest machineries to avoid scam.

FISHER CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT - Construction Machineries, Suppliers Directory and Others.

In the early 60's, Rockland designed and built the world's largest dozer blade. This was a joint venture between Gulf Oil Company, Fiatallis, and Rockland. This sixty foot monster was designed for a reclamation project and was pushed by two powerful HD41 Fiatallis crawler tractors! Click here to see a photo of it leaving our factory.

For over sixty years, we have designed and manufactured construction equipment for dozers, loaders, excavators, and motor graders. Every Rockland product is designed for a specific application and is guaranteed to improve machine productivity.

During those sixty years, Rockland made several unique contributions to the construction equipment industry. We helped prove that wheel loaders could handle shot rock by designing and manufacturing the first spade nose rock bucket ever put in a quarry.

The unique Rockland RF-3 Rake was proven and patented in the late 50's. This was the first land clearing rake to have both reversible and adjustable teeth. We then amazed the construction equipment industry by offering the first lifetime guarantee. We guaranteed the RF-3 for life against any failure from defective design, materials, or workmanship and that even included bent teeth! Click here for a picture of one of our first rakes!

Soon after introducing the RF-3, we introduced lifetime warranties for both HDS and HDV rock buckets with the same powerful lifetime coverage against defective design, material, or workmanship.

In the early 60's, we designed and built the world's largest dozer blade. This was a joint venture between Gulf Oil Company, Fiatallis, and Rockland. This sixty foot monster was designed for a reclamation project and was pushed by two powerful HD41 Fiatallis crawler tractors. Click here to see a picture of it leaving the factory.

We were the very first allied equipment manufacturer to provide a toll free 800 number for our customers. Today, it's accepted practice.

In an industry plagued by broken promises and late deliveries, Rockland was the first, and is still, the only construction equipment manufacturer that puts cash on the line and guarantees ship dates!

During the past decade, Rockland set the standard for excavator thumb design. We were the first to offer narrow thumbs for common sense 3-point pickup. We were the first to offer thumbs ready to install - all that is needed is to weld the mounting plate to the bottom of the stick. We were the first to offer lubricated and sealed pivot points. Then, we were the first to offer a hydraulic thumb with a cylinder rod guard. These were followed by the patented Rockland Thumb Lock that eliminates down drift.

As thumbs for backhoes became more popular, we introduced the Smart Thumb - the world's only rigid strut thumb with hydraulic clamping action that is easily removed or installed in less than a minute.

We also proved to the world that stump splitters don't need to be expensive - we proved that you can split stumps without an expensive auxiliary cylinder, and that all it takes is to use the tremendous force of the curl cylinder to split wood.

This all adds up to the fact that we are a can-do company that has been "doing" for over sixty years. We built our business with an old fashioned commitment to quality and customer service. These comments sum it up:

"We have over forty years experience with Rockland. Their pricing is fair. We've always been amazed at their consistency and dependability. Their after sales support and warranty policies are excellent." - Alabama Dealer

"We insist on Rockland log grapples. We've been using them for over twenty-five years. We tried a few others and found out real quick that low price is really a caution light. We know that Rockland grapples work and if something goes wrong, we can depend on Rockland to give us the support we deserve." - Tennessee Logger

"We've sold Rockland rock buckets for the past several years. We've never had a weld fail or a bucket problem because of poor fit or misalignment. Rockland buckets prove themselves, our customers are well satisfied." - Pennsylvania Dealer

"If a Rockland product doesn't fit, there is something wrong with the machine! - South Carolina Distributor

Fisher Capital Management: Market Performance – US Economy

Fisher Capital Management Report, Part 1 - Output growth exceeded what were once considered lofty expectations during the third quarter, as real GDP (inflation adjusted Gross Domestic Product) rose by a 3.5% annual pace from the previous quarter. To be sure, this was the first gain in economic activity after four consecutive quarterly declines in GDP. While technically this indicates an end to the recession, we point out that on a year-over-year (YOY) basis, economic activity has still declined 2.3%, yet it represents an improvement from the -3.8% YOY in the second quarter, the worst annual drop in seven decades.  The components of GDP were led by growth in personal consumption, which increased 3.4% as stimulus programs such as “Cash for Clunkers” allowed consumer spending to increase by the largest amount in two years. Home construction surged at an annual rate of 23%, spurred on by the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers. Another decline in business inventories also added to output, as did the growth in government spending (2.3%). Though businesses increased spending on equipment and software, fixed investment remained weak.

Market Performance, US Economy: Fisher Capital Management Report - As the positive effects of federal stimuli diminish, we continue to project an economic recovery that is “less spectacular” than in previous experiences. While output growth has improved as government programs spurred consumption relative to housing and autos, our concern rests on the economy¹s ability to sustain these rates of growth as government programs wane. Indeed, personal spending fell 0.5% in September after the “Cash for Clunkers” program concluded in August. Consumer confidence also weakened in October as the unemployment rate approached 10%. Until we experience a sustainable floor in housing and a ceiling on the unemployment rate, we suspect output growth will rely on exports, inventories, and government outlays, areas that we characterize as “cushions” for growth.

Market Performance, US Economy: Fisher Capital Management Report - As the unemployment rate lingers within the range of 10% and Fed policymakers remain committed to keeping interest rates low for an “extended period,” we look for real GDP to expand at an average rate of approximately 2.5% in 2010.

Fisher Capital Management, Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world.

As a full service company Fisher Capital Management, Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none.

Market Overview December 2009: Fisher Capital Management

Market Overview December 2009: Fisher Capital Management - Stocks closed lower in October for the first time in seven months, as investors questioned whether the huge rally off the March lows had exceeded the economy’s ability to generate growth in output and profits.

Indeed, equities capped off a volatile month (the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) experienced triple-digit moves in ten trading sessions!) with a volatile week, as the S&P 500 Index experienced its worst five-day span since early July.

For the month, the DJIA eked out a fractional gain, while all the other major equity market indices suffered losses. Small cap stocks, which had been among the performance leaders of the seven-month rally, experienced the worst hit, with the Russell 2000® Index falling by almost 7%. In another sign that the market may be growing skeptical of the “higher risk, higher reward” strategy, the NASDAQ Composite Index, dominated by technology holdings, declined 3.6% for the month.

Market Overview December 2009: Fisher Capital Management - Yet perhaps emblematic of the struggles experienced in the markets recently, growth stocks outperformed value in October, contradicting the idea that the pursuit of “risk” had become out of favor over the past several weeks. Moreover, the weakness in U.S. markets failed to extend beyond our borders last month, as developed markets (MSCI EAFE) experienced just a fractional loss, while the emerging markets (MSCI EM) managed to rise by up to 1%, adding to their impressive year-to-date (YTD) returns.

From a sector perspective, two of the three leading performers off the March lows (financials and materials) declined by the largest amounts in October, as investors appeared to lock in gains of approximately 150% for the financials sector and 75% for the materials sector. Despite the weakness in the technologyladen NASDAQ Composite last month, the higher-quality and larger-cap tech names comprising the S&P 500 Index’s information technology sector simply dropped fractionally. Rising oil prices pushed the energy sector higher by 3%, and the “defensive trade” was still evident within the consumer staples sector, which held on for a 1% gain.

Market Overview December 2009: Fisher Capital Management - In other asset classes, fixed-income was mixed last month. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note backed up by seven basis points, as traders likely moved funds elsewhere as the Federal Reserve concluded its $300 billion Treasury purchase program. The dollar continued to weaken, hovering near 14-month lows, which helped drive up the prices for oil, gold, and most commodities.

Fisher Capital Management Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world. As a full service company Fisher Capital Management Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none.

Fisher Capital Management Reports: International Equities

The third quarter saw double-digit returns for the world¹s equity markets. U.S. large-cap stocks, as measured by the Russell 1000 Index, rose 16.07%, bringing that index’s year-to-date return to 21.08%. Mid-cap stocks were the best performers overall, with the Russell Mid-Cap Index gaining 20.62% for the third quarter and 32.63% for the year. Value stocks bounced back during the quarter, outperforming growth stocks across the full range of market capitalizations. Small-cap value stocks were the best performers for the quarter but still lagged their small growth counterparts by almost 13 percentage points for the year.

International Equities: Fisher Capital management, Korea reports: International equities posted double-digit gains for the third quarter as well. The MSCI EAFE IMI Index gained 19.82% in the third quarter, with local-currency average market returns of 15.10% boosted by the weak performance of the U.S. dollar.

Emerging markets produced another strong quarter, but one that was more in line with developed market returns than was the case during the second quarter of 2009, as the MSCI Emerging Market IMI Index rose 21.30% for the third quarter. Both developed and emerging markets were driven higher by the strong performance of European equity markets, while Asian markets, particularly in Japan, lagged.

Fisher Capital Management Outlook: At the end of the quarter, markets reacted negatively to mixed economic news, signaling a potential correction off the recent highs. The strong rally since the market’s low of March 9, 2009 has left observers wondering whether rapidly-rising stock valuations have become prematurely rich and earnings expectations somewhat stretched.

While we are cautious about the performance of the market in the short term, we continue to expect a slower, but more robust and sustained, “smile-shaped” economic recovery in the long run.

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Fisher Capital Management, Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world.

As a full service company Fisher Capital Management, Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none.

Fisher Capital Management: Market Performance

Market Performance: Fisher Capital Management - Stocks closed lower in October for the first time in seven months, as investors questioned whether the huge rally off the March lows had exceeded the economy’s ability to generate growth in output and profits.

Indeed, equities capped off a volatile month (the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) experienced triple-digit moves in ten trading sessions!) with a volatile week, as the S&P 500 Index experienced its worst five-day span since early July.

For the month, the DJIA eked out a fractional gain, while all the other major equity market indices suffered losses. Small cap stocks, which had been among the performance leaders of the seven-month rally, experienced the worst hit, with the Russell 2000® Index falling by almost 7%. In another sign that the market may be growing skeptical of the “higher risk, higher reward” strategy, the NASDAQ Composite Index, dominated by technology holdings, declined 3.6% for the month.

Market Performance: Fisher Capital Management - Yet perhaps emblematic of the struggles experienced in the markets recently, growth stocks outperformed value in October, contradicting the idea that the pursuit of “risk” had become out of favor over the past several weeks. Moreover, the weakness in U.S. markets failed to extend beyond our borders last month, as developed markets (MSCI EAFE) experienced just a fractional loss, while the emerging markets (MSCI EM) managed to rise by up to 1%, adding to their impressive year-to-date (YTD) returns.

From a sector perspective, two of the three leading performers off the March lows (financials and materials) declined by the largest amounts in October, as investors appeared to lock in gains of approximately 150% for the financials sector and 75% for the materials sector. Despite the weakness in the technologyladen NASDAQ Composite last month, the higher-quality and larger-cap tech names comprising the S&P 500 Index’s information technology sector simply dropped fractionally. Rising oil prices pushed the energy sector higher by 3%, and the “defensive trade” was still evident within the consumer staples sector, which held on for a 1% gain.

Market Performance: Fisher Capital Management - In other asset classes, fixed-income was mixed last month. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note backed up by seven basis points, as traders likely moved funds elsewhere as the Federal Reserve concluded its $300 billion Treasury purchase program. The dollar continued to weaken, hovering near 14-month lows, which helped drive up the prices for oil, gold, and most commodities.

Fisher Capital Management, Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world.

As a full service company Fisher Capital Management, Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none.

U.S. Equities: Fisher Capital Management Reports

As mentioned previously, stocks finished a volatile month in October with a volatile final week of trading, as investors began to question whether the market¹s impressive rally had surpassed the economy¹s ability to generate growth in output and profits.

To be sure, throughout the market’s impressive rebound, the technical picture for stocks gathered steam, as excess liquidity helped drive the market higher.

Fisher Capital Management, US Equities Reports: As one technical achievement passed another, we began to postulate that the market’s technicals appeared significantly better than its fundamentals.

Some of these concerns may be coming to fruition over the near term, as a few technical strengths appear to have softened in recent weeks. Indeed, as the S&P 500 Index approached the 1,100 level during the middle of October, the market ran into strong resistance, falling by approximately 5% from that high by month-end.

Fisher Capital Management, US Equities Reports: This may prove to be an important development because at 1,100, the S&P 500 was within about 20 points of achieving a 50% retracement, whereby the market could have recouped 50% of the loss from the October 2007 high of 1565 to the March 2009 low of 666. Given all the cash parked in money markets and shortterm Treasury bills, another surge or two above 1,100 is certainly possible. Yet 1,121 is a number that should be on the radar for all investors, because if it is achieved, very little technical resistance exists on the path to 1200.

In addition to the strong resistance, stocks failed to hold a key support level on the last day of October. The market’s 50-day moving average (DMA) was 1,052 heading into Halloween weekend, but investors were spooked by poor readings on personal spending and consumer confidence, resulting in a close (1,036) below the important 50- DMA level. An important test will be in the first several trading days of November to see whether or not the market can sustain its rally above this key support level.

Fisher Capital Management, US Equities Reports: This weakness was exacerbated by a surge in the market’s “fear gauge” toward the end of October. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, or VIX, which measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the S&P 500 Index, surged in the final few days of trading last month.

While the VIX had been at a 14-month low in the middle of October, the 25% jump at the end of the month suggests investor skittishness about market direction over the next several weeks, particularly as the catalyst of earnings season draws to a close.

Fisher Capital Management, US Equities Reports: Fortunately, the fundamental picture has brightened. Better than expected economic data suggests the possibilities for an improvement in corporate performance. Interest rates and inflation remain low, providing a healthy backdrop for corporations that have been very aggressive cutting costs from their expense structures.

Indeed, recent earnings news has been somewhat positive, with 70% of the companies in the S&P 500 Index having reported an average decline in earnings per share (EPS) of 12% for the

third quarter, exceeding expectations.

Fisher Capital Management, US Equities Reports: Given our projections for a “less spectacular” economic recovery in 2010, though, we continue to believe that consensus estimates for corporate profit growth of up to 35% next year are too high. Consequently, our operating EPS projections remain more than 12% below consensus expectations ($75.00) for 2010.

Businesses can’t cut costs forever, and at some point we believe revenue growth is a necessity to help justify valuations for a market that is already trading at a price/earnings (P/E) ratio of 16 to 17 times our $65.00 estimate for next year. Until we begin to see an improvement in the longer-term trends for housing, employment, credit, sales, and profits, we suspect the market will be unwilling to pay anything more than historically average P/E multiples (16 to 17 times) for a dollar of earnings. Therefore, we continue to believe the market, as defined by the S&P 500 Index, will likely be fairly valued within the current range of 1,050 to 1,100 over the next six months.

Fisher Capital Management, Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world. As a full service company Fisher Capital Management, Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none.

Major Equity Markets 2010: Fisher Capital Management Part 1

Sentiment in the equity markets has been steady over the past month.

Markets in Europe have been unable to resist downward pressure. The

Japanese market is also lower; but there has been resistance amongst

the emerging markets in South East Asia that are supported by more

favourable economic conditions.

The Chinese authorities are obviously determined to prevent their

economy from overheating. The global recovery will therefore only

proceed at a very slow pace, and there may well be setbacks along the

way, although a move into a “double-dip” recession still seems unlikely.

There is also an increased danger of a sovereign debt default by Greece,

and possibly even by Ireland. But the swing in sentiment should not go

too far. So long as monetary policy remains supportive, the global

economic recovery is likely to continue, and this will eventually produce

a sustainable improvement in equity prices. Patience will therefore be

the most important requirement amongst investors until some of the

uncertainties have been resolved.

The Fed is in a very difficult position. The statement after its latest OMC

meeting was cautious about economic prospects, conceding that “the

pace of recovery in output and in employment has slowed in recent

months” and was likely to be “more modest” than anticipated in the

near-term. But monetary policy was left basically unchanged at the

meeting, perhaps because of the “unusual uncertainty” about prospects,

and this caused some disappointment. However there is little doubt

that further monetary easing will be introduced if the position continues

to deteriorate, because the bank’s main priority is to try to maintain

some momentum in the economy. And fiscal policy is also likely to

remain supportive, despite the massive size of the existing deficit.

Congress has been reluctant to authorise additional spending

programmes; but there is intense political pressure ahead of the elections

in November, and further programmes seem likely.

The critical question for investors therefore is whether the continued

monetary and fiscal support will be enough. They have been prepared

to adopt a bullish attitude to the situation, and this mood has been

helped by an encouraging flow of corporate earnings results that have

often exceeded expectations, and confirmed that the corporate sector

has been coping well so far with a difficult situation.

The gloom should not be overdone. So long as monetary policy remains

supportive, we believe that the odds favour the continuation of the

slow recovery, and that this will eventually produce better market

conditions.

Mainland European markets have fallen back sharply over the past

month, after the strong rally. There has been evidence of a further

improvement in the economic background in the euro-zone, and second

quarter corporate results have generally been encouraging; but the

signs of weakness in the US economy and the slowdown in China has

raised doubts about whether the German export performance that has

been providing most of the momentum for the recovery can be

maintained; and there have also been renewed concerns about the

possibility of debt defaults amongst the weaker member countries of

the zone. The markets have therefore been unable to resist downward

pressure.

The euro-zone economy improved much faster than expected in the

second quarter of the year. Growth is estimated to have been around

the 1% level, the fastest quarterly level for three years; and this has

eased the fears about a move into a “double-dip” recession, at least for

the moment. But it is a two-speed recovery, with the German economy

estimated to have grown by 2.2% during the quarter, the Netherlands

economy by 0.9%, and the French economy by 0.6%, but with Spain

and Portugal basically unchanged and the Greek economy falling further

into recession. With domestic demand weak, it is therefore essential

that overseas demand remains buoyant if German exports are going

to continue to drive the overall economy forward; but this is now very

uncertain, and so growth projections for the rest of this year and for

2011 are still fairly cautious.

However the European Central Bank is maintaining its optimistic view

of prospects. Speaking before the latest figures were announced, the

chairman, Jean Claude Trichet, argued that the second quarter outturn

would be better than expected, that there would also be an encouraging

result in the third quarter, and that there was no prospect of a move

into a “double-dip” recession.

Fisher Capital Management Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world. As a full service company Fisher Capital Management Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none.

World Trade 2010: Fisher Capital Management

One of the more encouraging developments has been the rapid recovery

in the level of world trade. The recession in 2009 had a dramatic effect,

and the volume of world exports dropped by around 12%.

But largely because large parts of the global economy, and especially

China and other countries in South East Asia, were relatively unaffected

by the recession, the rebound in trading volumes had been very

impressive. There is already talk of reviving the Doha round of trade

liberalisation talks that collapsed in 2008. However it will be necessary

for relations between the US and China to improve substantially before

any real progress can be made, and present disagreements suggest that

progress will only be possible at a very slow pace, even if the global

economic recovery remains on track.

Major Equity Markets

Sentiment in the equity markets has been steady over the past month.

Markets in Europe have been unable to resist downward pressure. The

Japanese market is also lower; but there has been resistance amongst

the emerging markets in South East Asia that are supported by more

favourable economic conditions.

The Chinese authorities are obviously determined to prevent their

economy from overheating. The global recovery will therefore only

proceed at a very slow pace, and there may well be setbacks along the

way, although a move into a “double-dip” recession still seems unlikely.

There is also an increased danger of a sovereign debt default by Greece,

and possibly even by Ireland. But the swing in sentiment should not go

too far. So long as monetary policy remains supportive, the global

economic recovery is likely to continue, and this will eventually produce

a sustainable improvement in equity prices. Patience will therefore be

the most important requirement amongst investors until some of the

uncertainties have been resolved.

The Fed is in a very difficult position. The statement after its latest OMC

meeting was cautious about economic prospects, conceding that “the

pace of recovery in output and in employment has slowed in recent

months” and was likely to be “more modest” than anticipated in the

near-term. But monetary policy was left basically unchanged at the

meeting, perhaps because of the “unusual uncertainty” about prospects,

and this caused some disappointment. However there is little doubt

that further monetary easing will be introduced if the position continues

to deteriorate, because the bank’s main priority is to try to maintain

some momentum in the economy. And fiscal policy is also likely to

remain supportive, despite the massive size of the existing deficit.

Congress has been reluctant to authorise additional spending

programmes; but there is intense political pressure ahead of the elections

in November, and further programmes seem likely

Fisher Capital Management Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world. As a full service company Fisher Capital Management Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none.

Major Equity Markets 2010: Fisher Capital Management Part 2

The euro-zone economy improved much faster than expected in the

second quarter of the year. Growth is estimated to have been around

the 1% level, the fastest quarterly level for three years; and this has

eased the fears about a move into a “double-dip” recession, at least for

the moment. But it is a two-speed recovery, with the German economy

estimated to have grown by 2.2% during the quarter, the Netherlands

economy by 0.9%, and the French economy by 0.6%, but with Spain

and Portugal basically unchanged and the Greek economy falling further

into recession. With domestic demand weak, it is therefore essential

that overseas demand remains buoyant if German exports are going

to continue to drive the overall economy forward; but this is now very

uncertain, and so growth projections for the rest of this year and for

2011 are still fairly cautious.

However the European Central Bank is maintaining its optimistic view

of prospects. Speaking before the latest figures were announced, the

chairman, Jean Claude Trichet, argued that the second quarter outturn

would be better than expected, that there would also be an encouraging

result in the third quarter, and that there was no prospect of a move

into a “double-dip” recession.

He also defended the bank’s actions during the recession, suggested

that the economy has responded well to those actions, and was anxious

to ensure that “perhaps part of the credit could come to the central

bank”.

There is an obvious risk that his comments will prove to be premature.

Since the latest downgrade in Ireland’s credit rating has provided

further evidence that the problems in the European banking system

are far from resolved, and that the threat of sovereign debt defaults

remains. It is not surprising therefore that markets have been unable

to resist the downwards pressure despite the relatively good corporate

results from European companies.

The UK market has also fallen sharply over the past month. The UK

economy is currently performing better than expected, with consumer

spending holding up well so far; and the markets are continuing to

give the latest measures by the new UK government to reduce the fiscal

deficit the benefit of the doubt. But there are fears that those austerity

measures with have a significant effect on growth in the second half

of the year, and into 2011, and that corporate activity will be badly

affected. The mood amongst investors has therefore become much more

cautious.

The latest news on the UK economy has been encouraging. The Office

of National Statistics has recently estimated that retail sales volumes

were 1.1% higher in July than in the previous month, and 1.3% higher

than in July last year, the strongest monthly gain since February;

unemployment remains much lower than might have been expected;

the latest Purchasing Manager’s index for July confirms that

manufacturing activity is continuing to expand; and exports also appear

to strong.

There are weaknesses in the housing sector, and apparently some loss

of momentum in the services sector, and bank lending remains low;

but overall there are hopes that growth in the current quarter will be

at reasonable levels. But there are already indications that the austerity

measures announced by the government are beginning to have an effect

on activity, and so the situation remains very uncertain.

This uncertainty is reflected in the minutes of the latest meeting of the

Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. They state that the

economy is “on a knife-edge”, with “substantial risks” of a relapse

balanced against signs of “gathering momentum” in the recovery. This

uncertainty persuaded the majority of the members of the committee

that policy should remain unchanged for the present; but the minutes

indicated that “the risks were substantial, and that members stood

ready to respond in either direction as the balance of risks evolved”.

The subsequent Inflation Report from the bank was also a cautious

document, with growth forecasts revised lower, primarily because of

the expected effects of the austerity measures, and with the governor

of the bank, Mervyn King, stressing the need for “continuing monetary

stimulus” in the face of the “choppy recovery”. Interest rates are

therefore likely to remain low for some considerable time, despite the

fact that the inflation rate is well above the bank’s target rate, and so

monetary policy will continue to be supportive. But will this be enough

to justify the present market level? Global growing is slowing, and this

will add to the downward pressures on the economy resulting from

the austerity measures as they are introduced. The odds therefore seem

to favour further UK market weakness in the near-term, even though

we believe that the economic recovery will continue, and eventually

lead to higher equity prices.

The Japanese market has also moved lower over the past month. Recent

figures have shown that economic growth in Japan slowed very sharply

in the second quarter of the year because of weak domestic demand

and falling exports; and as a result China has replaced Japan as the

world’s second largest economy for the first time. Growth is estimated

to have been at a 0.4% annualised rate in the second quarter, after a

4.4% rate in the first three months of the year, and this has increased

the fears that the country may once again be slipping back into recession.

The dependence on exports has been an important adverse factor, as

overseas markets have weakened, and this has encouraged speculation

that the Bank of Japan will be forced to intervene in the currency

markets to prevent further appreciation of the yen; but even this might

not be enough to avoid a recession. In this situation, it is particularly

unfortunate that an impasse exists at the political level that is making

it extremely difficult for the government to take effective action. The

background situation therefore remains very disappointing, and the

weakness in the equity market looks set to continue.

Fisher Capital Management Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world. As a full service company Fisher Capital Management Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none.