BANGKOK (AP) - Asian markets rose today as investors grew more comfortable with riskier assets such as stocks after the release of surprisingly strong U.S. housing figures and a pledge by the IMF to help stave off a financial crisis.
Analysts said investors were becoming more comfortable with taking on risk despite multiple headwinds. Those include a likely recession in Europe, a possible debt default by Greece and a warning from the World Bank on Wednesday of a possible slump in global economic growth.
Fears that the euro common currency might implode amid a mountain of sovereign debt eased Wednesday after the International Monetary Fund said it was looking at ways to raise another $500 billion for loans to struggling countries.
Benchmark crude oil rose above $101 per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.
OIL PIPELINE
Obama: No on oil pipeline, more review needed
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says he's denying an application for a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline because a GOP-mandated deadline didn't allow time for a full review.
Obama says his decision isn't a judgment on the merits of the proposed $7 billion pipeline. Rather, he's citing the "arbitrary nature" of the Feb. 21 deadline that was set by a GOP-written provision in a recent tax bill that Obama signed.
The president says in a statement that he's disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced the decision. Obama had until late next month to decide whether the pipeline was in the national interest.
Administration officials says the looming deadline cut short the time needed to conduct environmental reviews after the State Department ordered the project developer to find an alternate route to avoid environmentally sensitive areas of Nebraska.
The 1,700-mile pipeline would carry oil from tar sands in western Canada to refineries in Texas. It would pass through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.