Japan: Industrial production increases less than expected
Japan’s industrial production increased less than estimated in January, in a slowdown likely to be temporary caused by declining output of mobile phones and flat screen televisions. Factory output climbed 2.4% m-o-m after rising 3.3% the previous month. That’s lower than estimates for a 4% gain. Companies plan to increase output 0.1% this month and 1.9% in March. Retail sales rose 0.1% in January, beating for a 1.5% drop. (Bloomberg)
US: Consumer spending cools
Consumer spending cooled more than forecast in January as rising food and fuel prices caused Americans to cut back on post-holiday visits to malls and restaurants. Purchases rose 0.2%, the smallest gain since June, as winter storms may have also discouraged shoppers. Estimates were for a 0.4% advance. Adjusted for inflation, consumer spending fell 0.1%. Incomes climbed 1% in January while the savings rate increased to 5.8% from 5.4% in December. (Bloomberg)
US: Businesses expand at fastest pace in two decades
Businesses in the US unexpectedly grew in February at the fastest pace in two decades, indicating manufacturing remains at the forefront of the recovery. Institute for Supply Management (ISM)’s business barometer rose to 71.2, the highest level since July 1988, from 68.8 in January. The production gauge rose to 78.2 from January’s reading of 73.7 while the gauge of new orders climbed to 75.9 from 75.7. The employment measure fell to 59.8 from 64.1. (Bloomberg)
U.S: Pending sales of existing homes fell 2.8% in January. The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes fell, a sign the industry that triggered the recession was struggling at the start of 2011. The index of pending home resales dropped 2.8% after a revised 3.2% decrease the prior month that was initially reported as a gain, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed. (Source: Bloomberg)
Canada: Fourth quarter economy accelerated more than forecast from October to December on the biggest jump in exports since 2004 and faster consumer spending. GDP expanded at a 3.3% annual pace in the fourth quarter
following a 1.8% expansion in the previous three months that was higher than initially estimated, Statistics Canada said. (Source: Bloomberg)
E.U: Inflation accelerated less than initially estimated in January, as increases in food and transport prices eased from the previous month. Inflation in the 17-nation euro region quickened to 2.3% from 2.2% in December, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said. (Source: Bloomberg)
Spain: Inflation accelerated in February to the fastest in more than two years as unrest in North Africa prompted a surge in the price of oil. Consumer prices rose 3.4% from a year earlier, based on a European Union measure, after advancing 3% in January, the Madrid-based National Statistics Institute said in a statement. (Source: Bloomberg)
Japan: Industrial production increased less than estimated in January, in a slowdown likely to be temporary caused by declining output of mobile phones and flat screen televisions. Factory output climbed 2.4% from December, when it rose 3.3%, the Trade Ministry said. (Source: Bloomberg)
Japan: Unemployment rate held steady while payrolls raised in January, adding to signs the nation's recovery is gaining pace after a temporary slowdown. The jobless rate remained unchanged from the previous month at 4.9%, the statistics bureau said. (Source: Bloomberg)
S.Korea: Will temporarily scrap or lower tariffs on 24 commodities to ease quickening inflation at home which includes cheese and aluminum ingots starting in early March. The government will also increase tariff-free imports of powdered milk and frozen pork bellies and cut tariffs further on eight other commodities including corn, olives and grapeseed oil this year, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in an emailed statement. (Source: Bloomberg)
Australia: Fourth-quarter business profits unexpectedly dropped in the three months through December as floods in the nation's northeast weakened earnings at mining and construction companies. Gross operating profits fell 2.8% in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, when they also declined a revised 2.8%, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney. (Source: Bloomberg)
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