Malaysia: OPR likely to stay at 2.75%
Bank Negara is likely to keep the country’s benchmark overnight policy rate (OPR) at 2.75% when its monetary policy committee meets on 2 Sept as focus shifts to stimulating economic activities rather than price pressures. The central bank has raised the OPR by 75 basis points this year as the pace of the economic recovery accelerated in the first half of the year. (Starbiz)
Malaysia: Sugar, fuel may raise July inflation level
Inflation in Malaysia is expected to rise 1.92% in July due to slightly higher prices of sugar and fuel, but it is likely to stay low this year, economists said. The Statistics Department will release the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the official barometer of inflation, tomorrow. The CPI was up 1.7% in June. (BT)
China: GDP surpasses Japan, capping three-decade rise
China surpassed Japan as the world’s second-largest economy last quarter, capping the nation’s three- decade rise from Communist isolation to emerging superpower. Japan’s nominal gross domestic product for the second quarter totaled USD1.288trn, less than China’s USD1.33 trn, the Japanese Cabinet Office said. Japan remained bigger in the first half of 2010, the government agency said. Japan’s annual GDP is USD5.07trn, while China’s is more than USD4.9trn. (Bloomberg)
India: Inflation rate cooled to six-month low in July
India’s inflation cooled to a six-month low in July, providing Governor Duvvuri Subbarao room to temper the pace of monetary tightening after four interest-rate increases in five months. The benchmark wholesale-price index rose 9.97% from a year earlier, after a 10.55% gain in June, the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement in New Delhi. (Bloomberg)
Euro: Inflation accelerates to fastest since 2008
European inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in 20 months in July on rising energy prices. Consumer prices in the 16 nations that use the euro increased 1.7% from a year earlier after rising 1.4% in June, the European Union statistics office in Luxembourg said, confirming a flash estimate on 30 July. That’s the fastest inflation since November 2008. (Bloomberg)
Philippines: Remittances sent home rose in June at the fastest pace in five months, helping sustain demand for cars, homes and mobile phones. Money sent home from abroad rose to USD1.62b, the central bank said in a statement in Manila. (Source: Bloomberg)
US: Fed says banks eased standards; demand little changed
Banks in the US eased standards and terms on loans in the second quarter, even as demand for business and consumer credit was little changed at the majority of lenders, according to a Federal Reserve survey. Respondents to the Fed’s quarterly survey of senior loan officers, released in Washington, reported easing standards and most terms on lending to businesses of all sizes. (Bloomberg)
U.S: Homebuilder confidence unexpectedly drops in August , a sign the expiration of a government tax credit will keep depressing home construction. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index dropped to 13 this month, the lowest level since March 2009, from 14 in July. Readings lower than 50 mean more respondents said conditions were poor. (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S: Demand for long-term financial assets increased in June as investors abroad bought Treasuries and agency debt and sold stocks. Net buying of long-term equities, notes and bonds totaled USD 44.4b for the month, compared with net purchases of USD 35.3b in May. Including short-term securities such as stock swaps, foreigners sold a net USD 6.7b, the first decrease since January, after buying a net USD 17.1b the previous month. (Source: Bloomberg)
US: Factory demand, builder confidence fall Orders and sales at New York manufacturers decreased in August for the first time in more than a year and US homebuilders turned more pessimistic, indicating the economic slowdown is becoming broad-based. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s so-called Empire State factory index today showed bookings dropped for the first time since June 2009, while sales fell at the fastest pace since March 2009. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index unexpectedly declined to a 17-month low. (Bloomberg)
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