FDI: Mida eyes RM5b US investments. Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) expects to secure RM5b worth of new investments from the United States when a delegation headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hold a roundtable business meeting in New York next week. (Source: The Star)
Malaysia: Production growth slowed in March on mining, utilities
Malaysia’s industrial production growth slowed in March as mining and power companies decreased output and Japan’s record earthquake disrupted trade in Asia. Production at factories, utilities and mines rose 2.4% y-o-y after gaining a revised 5.2% in February. (Bloomberg)
South Korea: Unemployment rate declines to a 3-month low
South Korea’s unemployment rate fell to a 3-month low as an economic recovery spurred hiring at manufacturers and health and social welfare service providers. The jobless rate fell to 3.6% in April from 4% in March. (Bloomberg)
Australia: Cuts spending to cool inflation, projects surplus
Australia’s government will end 23 years of spending growth to ease inflation from a mining boom and support the return to a budget surplus, even as it plans measures to help companies hurt by a record-high currency. The underlying cash deficit will narrow to AUD22.6bn in the 12 months to 30 June 2012, less than half the AUD49.4bn gap this fiscal year. (Bloomberg)
China: Inflation spreading beyond food adds tightening pressure
China’s inflation is spreading beyond food, signaling Premier Wen Jiabao’s strategy of quarter point interest rate increases every 2 months has yet to contain consumer prices. Clothing costs climbed 1.4% in April from a year earlier, the biggest gain since 1997 while non-food inflation held at 2.7%, the fastest pace in at least 6 years. Overall consumer prices rose 5.3%. (Bloomberg)
Germany: April inflation accelerated
Inflation in Germany accelerated more than initially estimated in April after energy costs surged. The inflation rate jumped 2.7% from 2.3% in March. Consumer prices also rose 0.3% from March. (Bloomberg)
UK: King says inflation may reach 5% as BOE cuts growth forecast
Bank of England (BOE) Governor Mervyn King said that inflation remains “uncomfortably high” and officials signaled they may need to raise interest rates later this year even as the economy struggles to build momentum. King highlighted that “inflation remains uncomfortably high and well above the 2% target. And there is a good chance that, if utility prices rise further later in the year, inflation will reach 5%.”(Bloomberg)
US: Job openings increase to highest level since 2008
Job openings in the US increased in March to the highest level in more than 2 years, an indication employers are becoming more optimistic about bringing on new workers. The number of positions waiting to be filled rose by 99k to 3.1m, the most since Sept 2008. (Bloomberg)
US: Budget deficit shrank in April as tax revenue climbed
The US government’s monthly budget deficit narrowed to USD40.5bn in April from USD82.7bn a year earlier as tax revenue climbed. The White House and Congress are struggling to rein in the budget deficit and agree to terms to raise a legal limit on the national debt. (Bloomberg)
U.S: Trade deficit widened in March on oil imports. The trade gap rose 6% MoM to USD 48.2b, the biggest since June, from USD 45.4b in February. Sales abroad climbed by the most in 17 years. (Source: Bloomberg)
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