Malaysia: Slower 2Q GDP growth seen
The country’s GDP growth is expected to decelerate to 6% or even lower, compared with 8.9% in the preceding quarter, due to lower exports amidst the weak recovery in the developed nations, economists said. The slower growth in the second half of the year is generally expected by most economists. One reason is the ease of the low-base effect, which was more prominent in the first six months of 2010. Nonetheless, the pace of the slowdown in the domestic economy will reveal the real picture of the recovery without the low-base effect. (Financial Daily)
China: Yuan’s Hong Kong premium shrinks 77% on HKMA swap
The premium paid for Yuan in Hong Kong shrank 77% in the past month as monetary authorities made more of the currency available to ease a shortage. Yuan traded in Hong Kong closed yesterday at 6.6025 per USD, 0.6% stronger than the rate in Shanghai, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The premium reached 2.6% on 19 Oct, the most since offshore trading began in July, and has been as little as 0.3% in the past week. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said 28 Oct, it drew down RMB 10bn (USD1.5bn) via a swap with the People’s Bank of China. (Bloomberg)
China: May impose temporary price controls as inflation surges
China may impose temporary price controls to counter the fastest inflation in two years, the cabinet said. Price caps on “important daily necessities” and production materials will be used if necessary, the State Council said after a meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao. China’s accelerating inflation has sent stocks and commodities sliding on speculation that efforts to curb prices will cool the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The State Council’s announcement came after the Shanghai Composite Index extended to 10% decline from an almost seven-month high on 8 Nov. (Bloomberg)
Australia: Wage growth accelerates by most in almost two years
Australian wages rose in the third quarter by the most in almost two years, as the growth of salaries in private industry outpaced government pay gains for the first time since the start of the global financial crisis. The wage price index, measuring hourly pay rates excluding bonuses, climbed 1.1% from the second quarter, when it rose 0.8%, the statistics bureau said. The index advanced 3.5% from a year earlier. (Bloomberg)
UK:Jobless claims unexpectedly fell in October
UK jobless claims unexpectedly fell in October, suggesting the labor market is recovering momentum as the prospect of a record budget squeeze looms. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits declined by 3,700 from September to 1.47m, the first drop since July, the Office for National Statistics said. The median of 23 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey was for a rise of 6,000. Unemployment measured by International Labour Organization methods fell 9,000 to 2.45m people in the quarter through September. (Bloomberg)
EU: Crisis causes retreat from dollar bonds: credit markets
European companies’ sales of USD bonds fell to the lowest in almost a decade on concern the region’s budget deficit crisis will spiral out of control as Ireland comes closer to following Greece in getting a bailout. Borrowers in Europe have raised USD 1.4bn this month selling debt in the US, only 2.7% of all investment- grade issuance, the smallest share since February 2001 and down from USD9.3bn, or 32%, in the same period of October, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Until this month, US bond sales by companies in Europe made up an average of 29% of issuance in 2010, the data show. (Bloomberg)
US: Economy prices cool, backing fed inflation view
The cost of living rose less than forecast in October and housing starts dropped, validating Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s decision to give the US economy another dose of monetary stimulus. Consumer prices excluding food and fuel, the gauge followed by central bankers, increased 0.6% from October 2009, the smallest gain in y-o-y data going back to 1958, the Labor Department said. Builders began work last month on the fewest homes since a record low reached in April 2009, according to figures from the Commerce Department. (Bloomberg)
US: Consumer prices in US probably rose in October on gasoline
The cost of living in the US probably rose for a fourth month in October, led by higher gasoline and food prices that aren’t filtering through to other goods and services, economists said. The consumer-price index increased 0.3% after a 0.1% gain the prior month, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before the Labor Department report. Excluding food and fuel, so-called core costs may have increased 0.7% from October 2009, matching a record low. Another report may show housing starts last month fell to the lowest level since July. (Bloomberg)
U.S: Housing starts drop 12% in October, more than forecast . Housing starts fell to a 519,000 annual rate, the fewest since a record low reached in April 2009 and down from a revised 588,000 in September that was less than previously estimated. Work on multifamily units, which is often volatile, plunged 44%, swamping a 1.1% drop in single-family homes. (Source: Bloomberg)
E.U: Construction output fell for third month in September as declines in Spain and France offset increasing production in Germany. Construction in the 16-nation euro region dropped 2.1% MoM from August, when it slipped 0.4% MoM. From a year earlier, output fell 8.1% YoY. (Source: Bloomberg)
China: Consumer confidence drops on higher inflation . The measure dropped to 104 in the third quarter from 109 in the previous three months, according to a statement from Nielsen Co. and the Chinese statistics bureau's Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center. (Source: Bloomberg)
S. Korea: Department store sales in October rise most in eight months as unusually cold weather boosted demand for clothes. Outlays at the three biggest chains climbed 13.3 % YoY after rising 6.4% YoY in September. (Source: Bloomberg)
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