Taiwan: Exports rise more than estimated, reaching a record
Taiwan’s export growth rose faster than estimated in April, taking the monthly value of overseas shipments to a record and bolstering the case for higher borrowing costs. Shipments abroad gained 24.6% from a year earlier, compared with 16.7% in March, the Ministry of Finance said. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 17 economists was for an 18% advance. The value of exports rose to USD27.32bn for the month. Imports rose 25.7% for a trade surplus of USD2.96bn. (Bloomberg)
China: Lowest BRIC inflation shifts policy focus to Yuan
Derivative contracts are signaling that China’s policy makers will slow interest-rate increases as inflation cools and strengthen the Yuan to curb import costs. Interest-rate swaps suggest the deposit rate will rise half a percentage point in the coming year, compared with four quarter-point increases the past seven months. Twelve-month non- deliverable forwards for the Yuan are trading at 6.3520 per USD, a 2.3% premium to the onshore spot rate. The gap was 2% at the end of the last quarter. (Bloomberg)
Australia: To make ‘substantial’ budget cuts, Swan says
Australia will make "substantial" spending cuts in the budget after a rising currency, the nation’s costliest natural disasters and Japan’s earthquake crimped revenue, Treasurer Wayne Swan said. Swan, who delivers the budget to Parliament, said the deficit in the government’s finances will widen in the fiscal year ending 30 June before increased mining revenue and an improving economy help bring about a surplus in 2012-2013. (Bloomberg)
Greece: Debt rating cut to B by S&P on restructuring concerns. Another cut would make Greece the lowest-rated country in Europe as the current reduction, the fourth by S&P since April 2010, left it even with Belarus. The yield on Greek 10-year bonds rose 21 basis points to 15.7%, more than twice the level of a year ago when Greece accepted an international bailout. (Source: Bloomberg)
EU: German exports surged to record in march, boosting growth
German exports surged in March to the highest monthly value ever recorded, boosting growth in Europe’s largest economy. Exports, adjusted for work days and seasonal changes, jumped 7.3% from February, when they gained 2.8%, the Federal Statistics Office said. Economists had forecast a 1.1% increase, according to the median of 10 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Exports were worth EUR 98.3bn (USD 141.4bn) in March, the most since records began in 1950, the statistics office said. (Bloomberg)
EU: Holds No. 1 spot as EU shows resolve on Greece debt
European Union leaders are showing their resolve in keeping the euro region together, agreeing in an unannounced meeting on 6 May to review the terms of the EUR 110bn (USD 158bn) lifeline Greece received last year. The euro tumbled 3.45% in the final two days of last week, the biggest back-to-back loss since 2008, as the European Central Bank signaled it is in no rush to raise interest rates. EU officials denied the report and said Greece will need more aid. Standard & Poor’s reduced the nation’s credit rating by two level today as investors drove yields on its two-year notes to more than 25%. (Bloomberg)
U.K: House prices fell the most in seven months in April as signs of a fading economic recovery and tighter lending conditions dented property demand, Halifax reported. Values fell 1.4% MoM from March to an average GBP160,395 (USD 262,839), Halifax, the mortgage unit of Lloyds Banking Group Plc said in a statement. From a year earlier, prices were down 4.9% YoY. (Source: Bloomberg)
US:Fed says household debt increases 0.3% during first quarter
US households expanded their debt last quarter for the first time in more than two years as mortgage balances rose, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Consumer indebtedness rose 0.3%, or USD 33bn, to USD 11.5trn at the end of March from 31 Dec, according to a quarterly report on household debt and credit released. Households have slashed debt by USD 1.03trn, or 8.2%, since it peaked in the third quarter of 2008 as the financial crisis was unfolding. (Bloomberg)
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