The government is considering disbursing in Jan 12 the RM500 one-off cash aid to households earning RM3,000 and below a month, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said yesterday. While there was no fixed timeframe for the payment, the disbursement would be made in stages from Jan onwards, he said. The government had identified the probable agencies to be entrusted with the payment, with the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) being the lead agency. Other agencies listed are BNM, BSN and Pos Malaysia. IRB was picked because they have the income tax returns files of active and non-active taxpayers while it would also use the e-Kasih database to obtain information of the people who are really eligible for the aid. IRB CEO Datuk Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar said the eligibility income level would be calculated based on the total monthly income per household and not an individual's income. (Bernama)
Construction of the Klang Valley MY Rapid Transit (KVMRT) is expected to begin in 2Q12 or 3Q12, MRT Co CEO Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid said yesterday. Currently, some advanced work is being done for the project, he said. (Bernama)
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will amend the Strata Title Act 1985 and the Building and Common Property Act 2007 to protect the interests of strata property owners. Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said the amendment to the existing housing act was to compel developers to apply for building strata titles within six months after the sales and purchase (S&P) agreement was signed. The amendment also enables the strata title to be obtained by the house purchaser together with all the purchase documents including the certificate of fitness for occupation (CFO). (Bernama)
Bank Negara Malaysia yesterday unveiled a newly developed financial education website called "Islamicfinanceinfo" that will complement the current "Bankinginfo" and "Insuranceinfo" websites. The website features information distinctive to Islamic finance to facilitate consumer understanding of Islamic finance, it said. (Bernama)
Malaysia has dropped one place to rank 78th on economic freedom in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2011 Annual Report, in line with the decline worldwide and mainly due to the size of the government. The report by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) was launched yesterday at the Economic Freedom Asia Conference 2011. “Actually, Malaysia's ranking has been falling for several years and this is a worrying trend," the chief executive of IDEAS, Wan Saiful Wan Jan said. From 2006 up to 2011, Malaysia ranked 53rd, 60th, 72nd, 66th, 77th and 78th, respectively. He pointed out that the country had scored zero under the sub-category of "Government Enterprises and Investments". However, Malaysia did well in the field of "Regulation of Credit, Labour and Business" and it had been improving in this area since 1980. (Bernama)
US mortgage applications increased 1.3% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey for the week ended 7 Oct. The Refinance Index increased 1.3% percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1.1% from one week earlier. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 4.06% from 4.05%. (MBA)
US job openings fell in Aug for the first time in four months, signaling a sustained labor market recovery will take time to unfold. The number of positions waiting to be filled dropped by 157,000 to 3.06m in Aug (3.21m in Jul), according to Labor Department figures issued. (Bloomberg)
US Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said European leaders must go beyond a planned recapitalization of banks to resolve the continent’s sovereign- debt crisis. “The most important problem is they have to make sure that the major economies of Europe that are under pressure now are able to borrow at affordable rates,” Geithner said. (Bloomberg)
US: Fed tempted by QE3 at latest meeting
The US Federal Reserve considered a new round of quantitative easing as an option at its September monetary policy meeting, suggesting that QE3 is still possible if the economy weakens further. “A number of participants saw large-scale asset purchases as potentially a more potent tool that should be retained as an option in the event that further policy action to support a stronger economic recovery was warranted,” say minutes of the meeting. (Bloomberg)
The US manufacturing industry rebounded in Sep from its lowest level since Dec 09, helping to defy concerns about a double-dip recession. The Credit Managers’ Manufacturing Index rose last month to 53.3 in Sep (52.1 in Aug), as its gauge of sales jumped to the highest since Apr, according to the National Association of Credit Management’s monthly survey of 600 executives. (Bloomberg)
The US Senate passed a bill aimed at punishing China for keeping the yuan undervalued, triggering a backlash from Chinese officials who warned the measure risks damaging trade relations and undermining the global recovery. (Bloomberg)
US President Barack Obama’s drive to enact a US$447bn jobs plan was derailed by the US Senate, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance what he has proposed to revive a faltering economy. (Bloomberg)
Eurozone industrial production unexpectedly rose during Aug, official figures showed, easing concerns that the crisis-torn eurozone was heading back into recession in 3Q. Eurostat said industrial output increased by 1.2% mom in Aug (+1.1% in Jul). Economists called for a 0.8% decline. (AP)
European Commission President Jose Barroso called for a reinforcement of crisis-hit banks, the payout of a sixth loan to Greece and a faster start for a permanent rescue fund to master Europe’s debt woes. (Bloomberg)
Slovakia: Clears road to completing euro bailout fund approval
Slovakia will approve Europe’s enhanced bailout fund today or tomorrow, completing the ratification process across the 17 euro countries as the region’s leaders prepare for a summit this month. Party leaders in Bratislava yesterday secured backing for the European Financial Stability Facility in a second vote, Robert Fico, head of the largest opposition party Smer, said. Prime Minister Iveta Radicova’s SDKU party in exchange agreed to back early elections to be held on March next year. (Bloomberg)
EU: Merkel still confident of EFSF passage
German Chancellor Angela Merkel remains optimistic that eurozone countries will pass an expanded European bailout fund at an EU summit later this month and that a solution to Europe's debt crisis would need more than the EFSF. "I am very certain that by 23 Oct we will have all the signatures of all the member states on the EFSF bill," Merkel said. (Bloomberg)
Japan’s machinery orders rebounded in Aug on demand for electrical products, signaling that companies are willing to invest even as global economic growth slows and the yen stays near post-World War II highs. Bookings rose 11% mom in Aug (-8.2% in Jul), the fastest increase in a year, the Cabinet Office said. Economists projected an increase of 3.9%. (Bloomberg)
Japan’s bank loans increased in Sep for the first time in almost two years as the country’s biggest earthquake and tsunami spurred lending for reconstruction. Lending by 119 local banks rose 0.1% yoy to ¥420tr (US$5.5tr) as of 30 Sep, the Japanese Bankers Association said, the first yoy increase in 23 months. (Bloomberg)
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged food producers not to raise prices as flooding cuts production and residents rush to stock up on staple goods. (Bloomberg)
India’s industrial production rose 4.1% yoy in Aug (+3.8% gain in Jul). Manufacturing grew 4.5% yoy in Aug (+3.1% in Jul), mining fell 3.4%, while electricity rose 9.5%. Economists expected a 4.7% yoy gain in overall industrial output. (Bloomberg)
India’s inflation must ease before the central bank can reduce interest rates, Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said, signaling policy makers may maintain a tight monetary stance for now. (Bloomberg)
The Philippines cut its economic-growth targets for 2011 to 4.5% to 5.5%, from the previous 5% to 6% and for 2012 to 5% to 6%, from the previous 5.5% to 6.5%. Separately, President Benigno Aquino presented a stimulus package to spend PP72bn (US$1.66bn) on certain infrastructure projects and poverty-alleviation programs in 4Q11. (Wall Street Journal)
Indonesia will maintain 2012 subsidized-fuel prices at this year’s level, Melchias Mekeng, head of the parliament’s budget committee, said. The volume of subsidized fuel will be kept at 40m kiloliters, valued at Rp123.6tr (US$13.8bn), as previously proposed. (Bloomberg Business Week)
In a defiant response to US Senate approval of a bill that would pressure China to let its currency rise faster, the nation's central bank set the guideposts for the yuan substantially lower on Wednesday and warned that the bill could imperil further currency reform. (Wall Street Journal)
China unveiled a set of measures to ease a funding squeeze among small businesses, including allowing them to issue more bonds, tapping other sources of financing allowing small banks to continue to implement "relatively" low reserve requirement ratios (RRR) compared with big banks. (Reuters)
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