Competition for bank deposits among local banks is set to intensify amid a slowing economy and a consumer base that already has a high household debt to GDP ratio. Recent banking data has pointed to a slowing inc radit and money supply growth, consistent with the slowing pace of economic growth. However loan growth has outpaced deposits, a trend attributed to the growing indebtedness of Malaysian households. (Financial Daily)
China: Yuan bulls at 33-month low as Dim Sum yields jump
Traders’ expectations for gains in China’s renminbi in the coming year are evaporating as economic-growth prospects worsen, a decade after the nation joined the World Trade Organization. The 12-month non-deliverable forward contracts on the yuan touched 6.4455 per dollar yesterday, the lowest level since 29 March. That’s 1.1% weaker than the onshore spot rate, the biggest discount since March 2009. The contracts, settled in dollars, allow investors to bet on the exchange rate in a year. (Bloomberg)
In China, banks gave out Rmb562.2bn (US$88.24bn) in new loans last month, compared with Rmb586.8bn in Oct. Economists were expecting bank lending to total Rmb550bn in Nov. (AFP, Bloomberg)
China’s money supply, M2, was up 12.7% yoy, slightly lower than the 12.9% in Oct. This was in line with consensus expectations of a 12.8% yoy increase. Other measures M0 and M1 rose 12.0% yoy (11.9% in Oct), and 7.8% (8.4% in Oct) respectively. (AFP, Bloomberg)
China's top economic policy-setting conference closed its annual meeting on Wednesday with a commitment to maintain "prudent" monetary and "proactive" fiscal policies in 2012. No aggressive policies were forecast to be used to stimulate the economy unless there was a sharp slowdown in GDP growth below 8%. "The country will ensure that macro-economic regulation policies and overall consumer prices remain 'basically stable', and will guarantee the steady growth of the economy and maintain social stability" (Reuters)
China's banking watchdog has decided to indefinitely postpone new bank capital adequacy rules amid increasing concerns about a slowing economy. It was previously due to introduce strict banking capital and liquidity rules, stricter than Basel III recommendations, on a gradual scale beginning on 1 Jan 12. (Reuters)
Indonesia: Poised to pass land law for boosting growth plans
Indonesia’s parliament may approve this week a land-acquisition law that will allow the government to accelerate infrastructure projects, bolstering President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s efforts to boost growth. Lawmakers will probably approve the bill on 16 Dec, Taufik Hidayat, vice chairman of the Land Procurement Parliamentary Special Committee, said in a telephone interview. After Yudhoyono signs it into law, the government will be empowered to take over land for development, while owners will be guaranteed adequate compensation, he said. (Bloomberg)
India’s inflation rate declined to 9.11% yoy from 9.73% in Oct. This is slightly higher than the 9.02% that was forecast. (Financial Times)
Japan's industrial output rose 2.2% mom in Oct (-3.3% in Sep) in a sign the impact of flooding in Thailand was less than feared, revised data showed, but Europe's debt crisis and global growth worries may dampen production ahead. (Bloomberg)
Japan’s capacity utilisation index rose 4.1% mom in Oct (-3.6% in Sep) to 89.3. (Bloomberg)
Japan: Bond risk rises most on debt burden twice Italy’s
The cost of insuring Japan’s bonds against losses is poised to rise this year by the most on record amid concern a shrinking current-account surplus may push the world’s most indebted nation toward a crisis like Europe’s. Five-year credit-default swaps tied to Japanese government bonds have jumped 62bpts to 134bpts this year through 13 Dec, heading for the biggest annual increase since at least 2005. Germany’s contracts have climbed 45 to 104 as European leaders struggle to contain borrowing costs and bolster investor confidence in the region’s biggest economies. (Bloomberg)
Australia: Kangaroo bond sales drop 88% as spread widens
Bond sales by foreign issuers in Australia are headed for the slowest quarter since 2009 as the debt crisis that started in Greece drives relative yields for Europe-based borrowers to record highs. Offerings of so-called kangaroo bonds have plunged to AUD675 million (USD675 million) since 30 Sept, down 88% from AUD5.7 billion last quarter, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The notes are Australia’s worst-performers this quarter, losing 0.4%, compared with a 2.9% gain for government securities, indexes compiled by Standard & Poor’s show. (Bloomberg)
UK: Unemployment rises as Europe darkens world outlook
U.K. unemployment rose to a 17-year high in the three months through October, deepening concerns Britain is heading for another recession as turmoil in the euro area damps the global economic outlook. Unemployment as measured by International Labor Organization standards rose by 128,000 to 2.64m, the most since 1994, the Office for National Statistics said in London. The jobless rate climbed to 8.3% from 7.9% between May and July, the highest since 1996. (Bloomberg)
Eurozone: ECB buying may grow in tandem with funding needs
The European Central Bank’s bond- buying efforts will need to accelerate to match a torrent of Spanish and Italian debt sales early next year. The central bank’s purchases have been worth about the same as Spain and Italy’s borrowing needs during the past 12 weeks, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Italy’s 10-year funding cost has increased by two percentage points in the past year, and rose to 6.79% at 4.08 pm London time, after the nation sold EUR3bn (USD3.9bn) of five-year notes at the highest rate since 1997. (Bloomberg)
Eurozone industrial production fell 0.1% mom in Oct (-2.0% in Sep), Eurostat said. Economists expected a 0.3% decline. On a yoy basis, industrial production increased by 1.3% (+2.2% in Sep). (Reuters, Eurostat)
US: Import prices climb less than forecast as metals drop
Prices of goods imported into the US rose less than forecast in November, reflecting lower costs for metals and food, indicating inflation will remain contained. The import-price index climbed 0.7%, the first increase in four months and followed a 0.5% drop in October, Labor Department figures showed in Washington. Economists projected the gauge would increase 1%, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Prices, excluding fuel, decreased 0.2% for a second month, the first back-to-back drop in more than a year. (Bloomberg)
US mortgage applications increased 4.1% from one week earlier, driven by a surge in refinance applications, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey for the week ended 9 Dec. The Refinance Index increased 9.3% from the previous week to its highest level since 4 Nov. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 8.2% from one week earlier. (MBA)
US stocks fall on concern Europe struggling to contain crisis
US stocks retreated, sending the S&P 500 Index lower for a third straight day, as growing funding stress in Europe fuelled concerns that the region is struggling to contain its sovereign debt crisis. The S&P 500 declined 1.1% to 1,211.82 at 4 p.m. New York time. The benchmark measure for American equities fell 3.5% in three days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 131.46 points, or 1.1%, to 11,823.48. (Bloomberg)
No comments:
Post a Comment