Malaysia may allow Asean banks to open more branches
Malaysia may allow South-East Asian banks to open more branches as it liberalises its finance industry, central bank governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said. Bank Negara is drafting a new financial sector master plan aimed at boosting the country’s international links and reinforce its position as an Islamic finance hub. It currently restricts the number of branches licensed foreign lenders can open. Bank Negara last allowed foreign banks operating in Malaysia to open additional branches in 2005. (Malaysian Reserve)
China: New home prices quicken in Shanghai, Beijing
New home prices rose in 67 Chinese cities in June, with growth in Beijing and Shanghai accelerating for the first time since the government stepped up efforts this year to curb growth. In Beijing, new home prices rose 2.2% last month from a year earlier, compared with 2.1% in May, while in Shanghai they climbed 2.2%, compared with 1.4% growth the previous month, the statistics bureau said. China’s cabinet said last week it will expand measures to rein in residential prices to smaller cities after limiting home purchases in metropolitan areas including Beijing and Shanghai. (Bloomberg)
Japan: Stocks top world as factory output gains with Toyota
Equities in Japan are rising more than any other developed country on speculation earnings will improve as the country recovers from its strongest earthquake. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 2.9% since the start of June, posting the biggest increase among 24 developed countries in the MSCI World Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Toyota Motor Corp. climbed 4.9 % since 17 June after saying production is rebounding faster than forecast. A measure of transport-equipment makers in the broader Topix index rose 3.6% as the government said 29 June that May industrial production expanded the most in 50 years. Companies from Renesas Electronics Corp. to Seven & I Holdings Co. are reopening factories and stores faster than they initially planned. (Bloomberg)
EU: ECB says it didn’t settle any bond purchases for a 16th week
The European Central Bank refrained from buying government bonds for a 16th week even as the sovereign debt crisis threatened to spread to Italy. The Frankfurt-based ECB said today it didn’t settle any bond purchases last week, when yields on Italian government bonds jumped. The ECB will take seven-day term deposits tomorrow to mop up EUR74bn (USD104bn) of liquidity created by its purchase program, which began on 10 May last year. (Bloomberg)
US: Egan Jones lowers US rating to AA+ on spending-cut concern
Egan-Jones Ratings Co. cut its rating on the US by one step to AA+ from AAA, citing the high level of debt outstanding relative to other countries and concern that politicians may fail to reduce spending. “The major factor driving credit quality is the relatively high level of debt and the difficulty in significantly cutting spending,” the firm said 16 July in a report. Egan-Jones placed the U.S. on negative watch on 1 March.(Bloomberg)
US: Global demand for assets rose USD23.6bn in May
Global demand for US stocks, bonds and other financial assets rose in May from a month earlier as China and Japan added to their holdings of government securities, the Treasury Department reported. Net buying of long-term equities, notes and bonds totaled USD23.6bn during the month, compared with net buying of USD30.6bn in April, according to statistics issued. Including short-term securities such as stock swaps, foreigners sold a net USD67.5bn compared with net buying of USD66.6bn the previous month. (Bloomberg)
US stocks fall amid debt limit concerns
US stocks fell, pushing the S&P 500 Index to its worst seven-day period in more than a month, amid concern lawmakers will fail to reach a deal on the nation’s debt limit two weeks before a deadline. The S&P 500 lost 0.8% to 1,305.44, the lowest level since 28 June. During the past seven trading sessions, the index has dropped 3.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 94.57 pts, or 0.8%, to 12,385.16. Financial shares slumped the most among 10 S&P 500 industry groups, with European leaders planning a summit this week as they seek to contain the region’s debt crisis. (Bloomberg)
Singapore Exports Rise Less Than Estimated on Electronics Shipment Slump (Source: Bloomberg)
Singapore’s exports climbed in June at less than a third the pace estimated by economists as manufacturers shipped fewer electronics goods and sales of pharmaceuticals eased. Non-oil domestic exports rose 1.1 percent from a year earlier.
EU Bank Stress Tests Missing Sovereign Defaults Fail to Convince Analysts (Source: Bloomberg)
European banks may have to raise as much as 80 billion euros ($113 billion) of additional capital as the stress tests failed to allay investor concern about a Greek default and governments’ ability to bail out their lenders. The eight banks that failed out of the 90 tested on July 15 had only a combined capital shortfall of 2.5 billion euros.
IBM Sales Beat Estimates as Companies Spend (Source: Bloomberg)
International Business Machines Corp., the world’s biggest computer-services company, reported revenue that beat analysts’ estimates and boosted its full-year profit forecast as companies bought more software and equipment. Second-quarter revenue rose 12 percent to $26.7 billion. That topped $25.4 billion, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. IBM raised its full-year earnings forecast to at least $13.25 a share, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $13.21.
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