Friday, December 16, 2011

20111216 1037 Global Economic Related News.

Indonesia: Regains investment grade rating as Fitch raises rating
Indonesia regained investment grade rating for its sovereign debt at Fitch Ratings after 14 years, as Southeast Asia’s largest economy withstands faltering global growth and contains borrowings. The country’s long-term foreign and local currency debt was raised to BBB- from BB+, Fitch said in a statement yesterday. The outlook on both ratings is stable. Indonesia lost the investment grade rating in December 1997, during the Asian financial crisis. The rating puts the nation on the same level as India. (Bloomberg)

Singapore: Retail sales rise more than estimated on vehicles
Singapore’s retail sales increased more than economists estimated in October as consumers spent more on vehicles and fuel. The retail sales index rose 8.5% from a year earlier after gaining a revised 0.2% in September, the Statistics Department said in a statement. Jobs growth and visitor arrivals in Singapore are helping boost sales at hotels, restaurants and department stores, with a report today showing the economy added 31,900 jobs last quarter. At the same time, consumer confidence may falter as Europe’s sovereign-debt turmoil hurts Asian exports and threatens to push the world into another recession. (Bloomberg)

UK: Retail sales fall more than forecast as outlook darkens
UK retail sales fell more than economists forecast in November as cash-strapped households shunned a second month of price discounts and chose to save rather than spend amid warnings of a looming recession. Sales including fuel fell 0.4% from October, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday.. Excluding auto fuel, retail sales fell 0.7% on the month. The figures underline the pressure being felt by consumers as wages fail to keep pace with inflation and concern mounts that the economy is following the crisis-stricken euro region into recession. Unemployment hit a 17-year high of 2.64m in the three months through October and is forecast to rise further next year. (Bloomberg)

US: Jobless claims lowest since ’08 as growth picks up
The fewest workers in three years filed claims for US jobless benefits last week, indicating the world’s largest economy is strengthening heading into 2012. The number of applications for unemployment payments dropped by 19,000 to 366,000 in the week ended 10 Dec, less than the lowest forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the least since May 2008, according to Labor Department figures issued yesterday. Other reports showed manufacturing accelerated this month after pausing in November. (Bloomberg)

US: New York manufacturing index rises more than forecast
Manufacturing in the New York region expanded more than forecast to the highest level in seven months in December, as measures of employment and new orders improved. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index rose to 9.5, from 0.6 in November. Readings higher than zero signal expansion among companies in the so-called Empire State Index, which covers New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut. Manufacturers may stay at the forefront of the economic expansion as they boost production to replenish depleted stockpiles and meet household and business demand. At the same time, the financial crisis in Europe and a slowdown in China may limit overseas sales. (Bloomberg)

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