Indonesia: Kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low even after consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in 20 months, betting measures such as higher bank reserve requirements will keep inflation in check. The central bank maintained its reference rate at 6.5% for a 17th meeting, it said in Jakarta. (Source: Bloomberg)
Philippines: Inflation held steady in December as the peso's gains helped counter the effect of rising crude oil prices. Consumer prices rose 3% YoY, the National Statistics Office said in Manila. Average inflation for the year was 3.8%, within the bank's 3.5% to 5.5% target. (Source: Bloomberg)
Taiwan: Inflation unexpectedly slowed in December
Taiwan’s consumer price growth unexpectedly slowed in December for the first time in four months as the gain in food prices moderated. The consumer price index increased 1.25% from a year earlier, compared with a revised 1.52% climb in November, the statistics bureau said. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 12 economists was for a 1.75% gain. (Bloomberg)
EU: Industrial orders increase 1.4%, powered by Germany
European industrial orders increased in October as Germany helped offset declining demand in countries ranging from Italy to Ireland and Spain. Orders in the euro area rose 1.4% from September, when they dropped 4.2%, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said. Economists had forecast a gain of 1.5%, the median of 10 estimates showed. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has powered the euro region’s expansion as governments were forced to step up austerity measures, undermining consumer spending and restraining hiring. German manufacturing growth accelerated in December and business confidence surged to a record. (Bloomberg)
EU: French consumer confidence unexpectedly declines
French household confidence unexpectedly fell for the first time in five months in December as consumers turned pessimistic about their personal finances. Sentiment declined to minus 36, its worst reading since August, from a revised minus 33 in November, national statistics office said. Economists expected a reading of minus 31, the median of five estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. The government has made reducing its deficit a priority for this year, potentially cutting into household-disposable income. (Bloomberg)
US: Firms added 297000 jobs in December
Companies in the United States boosted payrolls in December by the most since records began in 2001, showing a stronger labor market recovery at the end of last year, data from a private report showed. Employment increased by 297000 exceeding the highest projection in a Bloomberg News survey, after a revised 92000 rise in November, according to ADP Employer Services. The median estimate in the Bloomberg survey called for a 100000 gain last month. (StarBiz)
US:Fed may keep easing at ‘full throttle’ until jobless rate falls
Federal Reserve officials signaled they’ll probably push ahead with unprecedented stimulus until the recovery strengthens and many of the 15 million unemployed Americans find work. The jobless rate hasn’t fallen below 9.4% since May 2009 and will probably average that figure this year, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Unemployment probably declined to 9.7% last month from 9.8% in November, according to the average estimate of a Bloomberg poll prior to a Labor Department employment report on 7 Jan. (Bloomberg)
U.S. factory orders rebound, brighten growth view
WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - New orders received by U.S. factories unexpectedly rose in November, and orders excluding transportation recorded their largest gain in eight months, providing more signs the economic recovery was on sustainable path.
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday orders for manufactured goods increased 0.7 percent after dropping a revised 0.7 percent in October.
China c.bank chief warns of inflation risk
BEIJING, Jan 5 (Reuters) - China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan warned that inflation was mounting and that more could be done to guide the growth of money, an indication that price pressures still top the list of official concerns.
In an interview with a magazine run by the People's Bank of China, Zhou spoke confidently of the country's economic growth prospects, but sounded a more cautious note on inflation, which is running at its fastest in over two years.
US auto sales jump, upswing seen for 2011
DETROIT, Jan 4 (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales rose to the highest rate in 16 months in December, and major automakers forecast the recovery would gather momentum in 2011 as the industry distances itself from one of its deepest slumps ever.
Auto sales are one of the first snapshots of U.S. consumer demand. The 11 percent rise in December auto sales stands as the latest in a string of indicators including unexpectedly strong factory orders for November pointing toward growing confidence in the recovery. U.S. auto sales rose more than 11 percent in 2010 to almost 11.6 million vehicles, snapping a four-year slide that forced the Detroit automakers into a wrenching restructuring that included government-directed bankruptcies for GM and Chrysler.
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