Malaysia: Malaysia-India trade expected to double by 2015
Trade between Malaysia and India is expected to double by 2015 as a result of many landmark agreements signed between two countries. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said among them were the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, multiple memoranda of understanding in the fields of tourism, information technology and services, traditional medicine as well as in research and development collaboration. (Financial Daily)
Malaysia: Signs MoU with South Korea
Malaysia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Governing Mutual Administrative Assistance and Cooperation in Origin Certification and verification with South Korea to further facilitate exports of goods under the Asean-Korea Trade in Goods Agreement. The MoU will ensure smooth implementation of the Sean- Korea Free Trade Agreement which came into force on 1 Jan this year. (Financial Daily)
Singapore: Forecasts record growth this year
Singapore said its economy will expand by a record 15% this year, the fastest pace in Asia, even as slowing global growth threatens to damp export demand. GDP would grow 4% to 6% in 2011, the Trade Ministry said. The economy, vulnerable to swings in demand for its drug and electronics, shrank less than previously estimated in the 3Q. (StarBiz)
Taiwan: 9.8% growth affirms an Asian expansion stoking inflows
Taiwan’s economy expanded faster than estimated, underscoring the strength of Asia’s recovery and the risk of asset bubbles as more capital flows into the region. GDP rose 9.8% in the three months through September from a year earlier, after climbing a revised 12.86% in the second quarter, the statistics bureau said in Taipei. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 17 economists was for 8.34% expansion. (Bloomberg)
EU: Greece pledges cuts to bring 2011 deficit to 7.4%
Greece’s government plans to cut the budget gap by EUR5bn (USD6.8bn) in 2011 by reducing spending, including wages at state companies, and increasing sales taxes to meet targets under a European Union-led rescue. The deficit will decline to 7.4% of GDP, or EUR17bn, from 9.4% of GDP this year, according to an emailed statement from the Athens-based Finance Ministry. That compares with a target of 7.6% under the May agreement with the EU and the International Monetary Fund to secure EUR110bn in emergency loans. (Bloomberg)
EU: Ireland turns to EU as Trichet says ECB aid limited
Ireland said it may ask for an international bailout as European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet signaled debt-laden nations can’t rely on him to keep their financial systems afloat forever. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said in Dublin he would welcome the creation of “substantial contingency capital funding” for Irish banks, as they became “unmanageable for the state itself.” In Frankfurt, Trichet said in a speech that policies first used to fight the global credit crisis can’t “evolve into a dependency as conditions normalize.” (Bloomberg)
US: Jobless claims in US increase less than forecast
Fewer workers than forecast filed claims for US jobless benefits last week, a sign the labor market is starting to improve. Applications for unemployment insurance payments rose by 2,000 to 439,000 in the week ended 13 Nov, Labor Department figures showed in Washington. The total number of people collecting unemployment insurance dropped to the lowest level in two years, while those receiving extended payments climbed. (Bloomberg)
US: Prime US mortgage foreclosures increase to record
Foreclosures on prime fixed-rate mortgages in the US jumped to a record in the third quarter as unemployment strained household budgets of the most creditworthy borrowers. The inventory of homes in foreclosure financed by prime fixed-rate loans rose to 2.45% from 2.36% in the previous three months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report. New foreclosures rose to 0.93% from 0.71%. Both numbers were the highest in the 12 years since the Washington-based trade group started tracking the categories. (Bloomberg)
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