Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Nikkei was up 17.95 points at 10,542.21, while the Hang
Seng ended the morning ahead 86.34 points at 21,015.86.

Crude oil traded at $70.66 a barrel on Nymex.

Happy trading!

G.

Morning all. Market reports:

Telegraph
The Times
The Times (Need to know)
FT
The Guardian
The Independent
This is Money

Hopes for a recovery in Britains housing market are rising again, according to a leading survey that predicts that property prices will rise over the next three months. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) will today say the balance of its members who expect prices to rise rather than fall in the next three months has climbed to 8 per cent, the highest reading since April last year.
House prices expected to rise amid shortage of properties

Britains financial markets regulator is ready to resist American-led pressure for tighter controls on trading in the London oil market. It is understood that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) invited up to 30 market participants, including traders, banks and funds, to a private meeting last Wednesday to discuss transparency and regulation in the oil market.
FSA ready to resist tougher controls on oil trading

Yesterday, the price breached the 21 US cents per pound mark for the first time since 1981. It is up 80 per cent this year alone, and many believe it is set to go way higher. The legendary investor Jim Rogers has suggested it might reach the all-time peaks it hit in the 1970s 70 per cent higher than it is now. Speculation has also started to play a part.
Chasing a sugar rush: global deficit drives price rises

That 5 per cent delinquency statistic comes from Fitchs latest assessment of the US CMBS market, which also found that loan delinquencies - as measured by its proprietary index - gained nearly a half-point to end the month of July at 3.04 per cent. But it is the absolute numbers that are truly eyebrow-raising. For the past several months, delinquencies have increased at a rate of over $2bn per month.
US CMBS delinquencies could exceed 5% by year end

With market players questioning when the stockmarket rally will run out of steam - or if it already has - equity strategists at Morgan Stanley have produced some timely research.
Morgan Stanley's lessons from bear market history books

The sovereign debt of Latvia and Estonia have been downgraded as the brutal slump plays havoc with public finances and tests commitment to euro currency pegs across the Baltic states.
S&P downgrades Baltic states' debt ratings

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