DJIA chart reading : pullback correction downside biased.
Hang Seng chart reading : pullback correction downside biased.
Asia Stocks Swing Between Gains, Losses After U.S. Retail Sales (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks swung between gains and losses after a report showed U.S. retail sales were better than forecast, boosting the outlook for exporters. QBE Insurance Group Ltd. slumped after issuing a profit forecast.
Debt Limit ‘Wrong Tool’ to Force Cuts: Bernanke (Source: Bloomberg)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the U.S. debt ceiling shouldn’t be used as a bargaining chip to force budget cuts, and failing to raise it could cause “severe disruptions” in financial markets. Using the debt limit deadline to force some “necessary and difficult fiscal-policy adjustments” is “the wrong tool for that important job,” he said. “We should avoid unnecessary actions or threats that risk shaking the confidence of investors in the ability and willingness of the U.S. government to pay its bills,” Bernanke said today in the text of remarks in Washington.
Retail Sales in U.S. Fall Less Than Estimated; Demand for Autos Declines (Source: Bloomberg)
Sales at U.S. retailers fell less than projected in May, showing consumers were weathering elevated gasoline costs. The 0.2 percent decrease reported by the Commerce Department in Washington today compared with the median forecast for a 0.5 percent drop in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Excluding the biggest slide in auto sales in more than a year, purchases climbed 0.3 percent. Another report showed wholesale costs rose last month.
Optimism Among U.S. Chief Executives Fell in Second Quarter (Source: Bloomberg)
Optimism among U.S. chief executive officers fell in the second quarter from a record high as fewer business leaders projected sales will climb, a survey showed. The Business Roundtable’s economic outlook index decreased to 109.9 for the April through June period from a 113 reading in the previous three months that was the highest in data going back to 2002, the Washington-based group said today. Figures greater than 50 coincide with an economic expansion.
Treasuries Advance on Speculation Second Bailout for Greece to Be Delayed (Source: Bloomberg)
Treasuries advanced for the first time in three days on concern a European rescue plan for debt- saddled Greece will take longer to craft, boosting demand for the relative safety of government debt. Luxembourg Finance Minister Luc Frieden said yesterday that an agreement on a second bailout package for Greece may be delayed until July. U.S. bonds have returned 2.5 percent to investors this year, the best performer among government debt issued by the Group-of-Seven countries, according to indexes compiled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
China Raises Reserve Ratio After Industrial Production Outpaces Estimates (Source: Bloomberg)
China ordered lenders to set aside more cash as reserves after inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in almost three years in May and industrial production rose more than estimates. A half percentage point increase announced by the central bank today and effective June 20 will take the ratio to a record 21.5 percent for the biggest lenders. The move was hours after data showing the inflation rate climbed to 5.5 percent.
China Inflation Shows Danger of Pause on Rates (Source: Bloomberg)
China’s inflation pressures have yet to be contained by four interest-rate increases since September, underscoring the danger of any extended policy pause as bad weather threatens to further drive up food costs. The central bank yesterday increased banks’ reserve requirements to drain cash from the economy after consumer prices rose 5.5 percent in May, the biggest gain since 2008. Inflation may reach 6 percent this month, according to banks from Societe Generale SA to UBS AG.
China data lifts stocks, Greek crisis bubbles
LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Evidence that China may avoid a hard landing for its high-flying economy lifted riskier assets such as stocks although investors remained on edge about the deepening Greek debt crisis.
Fresh from being downgraded by S&P to just above default, Greece was set to sell six-month treasury bills later in the day in what will be a clear test of investors' view of the country's short-term prospects.
China ups bank reserves again in inflation fight
BEIJING, June 14 (Reuters) - China ordered its banks to lock up more deposits at the central bank for the sixth time this year, making clear that taming near three-year-high inflation remains a priority even as its vast economy eases.
The increase, announced on Tuesday and effective as of June 20, comes just hours after official data showed China's inflation had accelerated to a 34-month high of 5.5 percent in May, well above its 2011 target of 4 percent.
Indian inflation accelerates, Thursday rate hike seen
NEW DELHI, June 14 (Reuters) - Indian inflation accelerated faster than expected in May, with higher manufacturing prices offsetting slower growth in fuel and food costs and adding pressure on the central bank to lift interest rates this week despite signs of economic slowdown.
The wholesale price index , India's main inflation gauge, rose an annual 9.06 percent in May, above the median forecast for an 8.70 percent rise in a Reuters poll and the April figure of 8.66 percent.
India Wholesale Prices Rise Faster-Than-Estimated 9.06% From Year Earlier (Source: Bloomberg)
India’s inflation exceeded analysts estimates, adding pressure on the central bank to extend the fastest round of interest-rate increases among Asia’s major economies. Bond yields and the rupee gained. The wholesale-price index rose 9.06 percent from a year earlier after an 8.66 percent jump in April, the commerce ministry said in a statement in New Delhi today. The median estimate of 22 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for an 8.74 percent increase.
S. Korea Unemployment Rate at 6-Month Low (Source: Bloomberg)
South Korea’s unemployment rate fell to a six-month low as the economic expansion spurred hiring at manufacturers, healthcare and welfare service sectors. The jobless rate dropped to 3.3 percent in May from 3.6 percent in April, Statistics Korea said today in Gwacheon, south of Seoul. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 10 economists was for a rate of 3.7 percent.
Specter of Indonesian Political Interference Looms Over Planned Regulator (Source: Bloomberg)
A tussle between lawmakers and the government over Indonesia’s planned financial regulator has raised the risk of political interference in bank supervision, highlighting the nation’s struggle to eliminate corruption.
Philippines May Increase Interest Rate as Inflation Spurs Asian Tightening (Source: Bloomberg)
The Philippine central bank may raise interest rates for the third time this year after inflation accelerated to a 13-month high, as Asian nations from China to India sustain policy tightening even as growth slows. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will increase the rate it pays lenders for overnight deposits by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 percent, according to 10 of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of a decision tomorrow. The rest expect policy makers to keep the benchmark unchanged at 4.5 percent.
Greek Aid Deal May Be Delayed to July (Source: Bloomberg)
Euro-area finance chiefs struggling to break a deadlock on how to enroll investors in a second Greek rescue without triggering a default said they may need more time to reach a deal. An emergency session of finance ministers in Brussels late yesterday failed to reconcile a German-led push for bondholders to shoulder part of the cost of a new Greek aid package with European Central Bank warnings backed by France that the move might constitute the euro area’s first sovereign default.
Greece falls to S&P's lowest rated, default warned
ATHENS/NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) - Greece became the lowest-rated country in the world according to Standard & Poor's, which downgraded it on Monday and warned that any attempt to restructure the country's debt would be considered a default.
Greece now has a lower credit rating than countries such as Pakistan and Ecuador, which has been shut out of international markets since a 2009 default. The cost of insuring Greek debt is now almost twice as much as the price of insuring Pakistani bonds.
Australian Dollar Falls From One-Week High After Yield Advantage Shrinks (Source: Bloomberg)
The Australian dollar slid from near a one-week high against the greenback as a slump in U.S. Treasuries curbed the yield advantage of the smaller nation’s assets.
Chile Raises Rate to 5.25%, Slowing Pace as GDP Growth, Inflation Moderate (Source: Bloomberg)
Chile’s central bank today slowed the pace of interest-rate increases as economic growth eases and inflation expectations decline. The five-member policy board, led by bank President Jose De Gregorio, raised the overnight rate by a quarter-point to 5.25 percent, matching the forecast of 16 of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Two analysts expected a fourth consecutive half- point increase and one forecast a pause.
FOREX-Euro rises with riskier assets, China move caps
LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - The euro and high-yielding currencies rose on Tuesday, boosted by improved risk appetite after Chinese inflation data eased global growth concerns and quickly absorbing a hike in Chinese banks' reserve requirements.
Market players said the single currency looked a sell on rallies, however, owing to Greece's debt crisis and uncertainty over how much the private sector will be involved in a new aid package for Athens.
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