Japan: To keep rate near zero till prices stabilize
The Bank of Japan refrained from additional easing steps, saying the yen’s rise did not pose an immediate downside risk to the economy, but it pledged to keep its 0%-0.1% policy rate unchanged “until it judges that price stability is in sight.” It added that quake-related supply disruptions had mostly been resolved and that production and exports had nearly recovered to levels prior to the natural disasters in March. The central bank made no change to its steady buying of financial assets after increasing the size of its asset-purchase program by about USD130bn at its previous meeting. (Marketwatch)
Germany: Merkel stands firm on eurozone bailouts after backing from court
Chancellor Angela Merkel brushed aside opposition to her government's support for eurozone bailouts yesterday, claiming that Europe would "fail" without the single currency and insisted that Germany's highest court fully vindicated her position. Merkel's attempt to defend her government's unpopular backing for rescue packages for Greece, Portugal and Ireland came only hours after the Federal Constitutional Court threw out a challenge to eurozone bailouts and ruled that they were legal. (Marketwatch)
Germany: Industrial production surged most in more than a year
Industrial production in Germany surged the most in more than a year in July as late school holidays boosted factory output. Production jumped 4% from June, when it dropped 1%, marking the biggest gain since March 2010. (Bloomberg)
Italy: Berlusconi austerity plan passes Senate to fend off contagion
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s revised EUR54bn austerity plan was approved by the Senate as the government seeks to convince investors and the ECB that it is serious about cutting the deficit. The Senate backed the measure in a confidence vote last night after the government beefed up the package with an increase in sales tax and changes to pension rules. (Bloomberg)
US: Job openings increased in July, hiring slowed
Job openings in the US rose in July for a third month, while a slowdown in hiring showed businesses lacked the confidence to take on new staff. The number of positions waiting to be filled climbed by 59,000 to 3.2m while hiring decreased by 74,000 to 4.0m. (Bloomberg)
US: Fed says economy grew at a slower pace in some regions
The Federal Reserve said the economy grew at a slower pace in some regions of the country as shoppers limited their spending and factories curbed production. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke noted last month that the economy was weaker than anticipated and said policy makers will review ways to bolster growth and reduce unemployment at their 20-21 Sept meeting. (Bloomberg)
US: Obama said to seek more than USD300bn job growth package
President Barack Obama plans to propose sparking job growth by injecting more than USD300bn into the economy next year, mostly through tax cuts, infrastructure spending and direct aid to state and local governments. Obama will call on Congress to offset the cost of the short-term job measures by raising tax revenue in later years. This will be part of a long-term deficit reduction package, including spending and entitlement cuts as well as revenue increases, that he will present next week to the congressional panel charged with finding ways to reduce the nation’s debt. (Bloomberg)
US stocks rise on speculation about Obama’s job growth plan
US stocks rose, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index its biggest rally in two weeks, as investors speculated President Barack Obama’s plan to inject more than USD300bn into the economy will bolster growth. All 10 groups in the S&P 500 advanced as gains were led by financial, energy and industrial shares. Bank of America Corp. added 7% after a shake-up in management. Yahoo! Inc. climbed 5.4% as the most-visited US web portal ousted CEO Carol Bartz and announced a strategic review to boost growth. Nvidia Corp. jumped 8.1% as the maker of graphics chips forecast sales that beat estimates. The S&P 500 rallied 2.9% to 1,198.62 at 4 pm in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 275.56 pts, or 2.5%, to 11,414.86. (Bloomberg)
No comments:
Post a Comment