China: China may overtake US as Pakistan’s top provider of FDI
China may overtake the U.S. as the biggest foreign direct investor in Pakistan in the next five years, said Saleem H. Mandviwalla, the chairman of the South Asian nation’s Board of Investment. Pakistan’s relations with the U.S. have frayed since Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden near Islamabad in May in a unilateral raid. China has emerged as a key ally, Mandviwalla said, as the government strives to overcome declining overseas investment and terrorism that have hobbled growth. (Bloomberg)
New Zealand: New Zealand economic growth slowed to 0.1% in second quarter
New Zealand’s economic growth almost stalled in the second quarter, adding to the case for central bank Governor Alan Bollard to hold interest rates at a record low until next year. Gross domestic product rose 0.1 percent in the three months ended June 30 from the previous quarter, when it increased a revised 0.9 percent, Statistics New Zealand said in a report released today in Wellington. Growth was less than the 0.5 percent median expectation in a Bloomberg News survey of 15 economists. (Bloomberg)
Gold: Surge vexes Asian officials as inflation numbers sent awry
The surging price of gold is fueling inflation from India to Indonesia and forcing statisticians to decide whether jewelry made of the metal still belongs in consumer-price indexes. Gold has climbed 27 percent this year as turbulence in equities and currencies, money printing by central banks, and a decade-long bull market in the metal lure investors to an alternative store of value. Bullion vaults such as the Swiss Precious Metals facility in Singapore are nearing capacity, and Tiberius Asset Management AG warns that gold is in the final, overheated phase of an upswing. (Bloomberg)
US: Fed will shift treasury holdings to longer-term securities
Federal Reserve policy makers will replace much of the short-term debt in their portfolio with longer-term Treasuries in an effort to further reduce borrowing costs and keep the economy from relapsing into a recession. The central bank will buy $400 billion of bonds with maturities of six to 30 years through June while selling an equal amount of debt maturing in three years or less, the Federal Open Market Committee said today in Washington after a two-day meeting. (Bloomberg)
US stocks fall as Fed plans bond purchases, sees economic risk
US stocks slumped, giving the S&P’s 500 Index its biggest decline in a month, as the Federal Reserve announced plans to buy USD400bn of long- term debt and cited risks to the economic outlook. Caterpillar Inc. and Dow Chemical Co. fell more than 5.1%, pacing losses among companies most-tied to the economy. Financial shares in the S&P 500 slid 4.9% as a group, to a two-year low, as Moody’s Investors Service cut its ratings on Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo & Co. The Dow Jones Transportation Average slid 5.3% as railroad shares tumbled after two coal companies cut their forecasts. The benchmark gauge for American equities has dropped 4.1% in three days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 283.82 points to 11,124.84.. (Bloomberg)
Greece: Greece accelerates cuts to wages, pensions to ensure aid payment
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s government said it will accelerate budget cuts, targeting civil servants’ wages and pensioners to keep emergency loans flowing and avoid default. Measures announced yesterday following two rounds of talks with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund include: a 20 percent cut in pensions of more than 1,200 euros ($1,650) a month, according to a government statement; pensions paid to those younger than 55 will be shaved by 40 percent for the amount exceeding 1,000 euros and wages will be lowered for 30,000 state employees. (Bloomberg)
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