Malaysia: Malacca halal hub aims for RM155m investment, says CM
The Melaka Halal Hub in Serkam, Jasin, aims to woo RM155m investment by year-end, says Chief Minister
Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam. Currently, the 53.6 hectare hub has received RM125m investments, he said. 48 of the 58 factories at the hub were already owned by the investors. (BT)
Singapore: Economic expansion may spur inflation
Singapore, which had a record first-half expansion, said economic activity will probably remain at “high levels” for the rest of the year, adding pressure on business costs and spurring inflation. Growth is supported by a broad range of industries that will remain “largely intact” in 2010, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said. The central bank said it will issue as much as SGD20bn (USD15bn) in bills starting next year as a new instrument in money-market operations to help lenders manage liquidity. (Bloomberg)
China: People’s Bank of China sees ‘less need’ to lift rates, IMF says
China sees little need for an imminent increase in interest rates, standing apart from Asian counterparts that are
raising borrowing costs as the region shrug offs risks from advanced economies. People’s Bank of China officials said “that with a benign inflation outlook there was less need for higher nominal interest rates at this
point,” the International Monetary Fund said in a statement after annual consultations with the Chinese government. “Also, they were concerned that higher interest rates could risk fueling capital inflows.” (Bloomberg)
Russia: Debt risk drops most in four months as growth picks up
The cost of protecting Russian government bonds from non-payment fell the most in four months in July, helped by rising oil prices, accelerating economic growth and a declining budget deficit. Russia’s five-year credit-default swaps dropped 32 basis points, or 0.32% point, the biggest monthly decline since March, to 164 as of July. The move was more than the 18 basis-point retreat for Brazil contracts, 14 for Mexico and 12 for China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)
EU: Europe economic confidence rises as exports improve
European confidence in the economic outlook rose to the highest in more than two years in July and German
unemployment declined for a 13th month as exports sustained a recovery in the region. An index of executive
and consumer sentiment in the 16 euro nations increased to 101.3 from 99 in June, the European Commission
said. That’s the highest since March 2008. (Bloomberg)
US: Jobless claims in US declined by 11,000 to 457,000
The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell to 457,000, a figure that signals the labor market will be slow to improve even as the economy grows. Initial jobless claims dropped by 11,000 in the week ended July from a revised 468,000, Labor Department figures showed. Applications were in line with the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. (Bloomberg)
US: Deficit panel eyes reining in tax breaks
A US presidential commission charged with cutting the budget deficit discussed the politically charged issue of
scrapping or changing tax breaks that cost about USD1trn a year. Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent
Conrad suggested ending some of the tax breaks as part of a broader effort to streamline the US tax code to
make the economy more competitive globally and generate revenue without raising tax rates. (Financial Daily)
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