N. Korea May Adopt China-Style Reforms: Mobius (Source: Bloomberg)
North Korea’s leadership transition will probably be smooth and its new rulers may be willing to embrace economic reforms similar to those in China, said Franklin Templeton Investments’ Mark Mobius. A regime change in the communist nation is unlikely to have “immediate substantive impact” on other North Asian financial markets, Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, wrote in his blog. The company is still holding on to South Korean equities, he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. South Korea’s Kospi (KOSPI) slumped 3.4 percent on Dec. 19 after the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il sparked concerns over succession in the totalitarian nation. The gauge has risen 5.1 percent since then. The focus now is on his son Kim Jong Un, who is thought to be in his late 20s and was named to senior military and party posts last year.
Yen Weakens as Signs of U.S. Economic Recovery Damp Demand for Havens (Source: Bloomberg)
The yen was set to fall against all of its 16 major peers this week before U.S. reports forecast to show consumer spending and new-home sales increased in the world’s largest economy. Australia’s dollar climbed to the highest in two weeks versus the Japanese currency as Asian shares extended a global rally, boosting demand for higher-yielding assets. The euro was within 1 percent of an 11-month low against the dollar as Italy prepares to sell debt next week. South Korea’s won strengthened after the central bank and Finance Ministry said they will try to reduce the currency’s volatility. “You may see a bit of optimism in the early part of January,” said Thomas Averill, managing director at Rochford Capital, a currency and interest-rate risk management company in Sydney. “For me, there’s no intrinsic value holding the yen over the long term.”
GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares up as U.S. data drives year-end gains
SINGAPORE, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged up on Friday, as signs of a strengthening economy in the United States encouraged a modest year-end rally in riskier assets.
Wall Street stocks had risen for a third straight day on Thursday, leaving the S&P 500 index virtually flat for the year, after data showed new claims for unemployment benefit dropped to their lowest in 3-1/2 years.
Oil up on supply worry, supportive U.S. data
NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Oil rose for a fourth straight day on Thursday in thin, choppy trading on fears of potential supply disruptions from Iraq and Iran and supportive U.S. economic data.
"Iran and the broader Middle East, including Iraq now that the United States is gone, will continue to act on the oil market with exposure for price spikes at any time. The geopolitics of the region are once again on the radar," he said.
S.Korea Nov crude oil imports down 5.2 pct y/y
SEOUL, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Crude imports by South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude buyer, fell 5.2 percent in November from a year earlier, as refining margins eased and domestic demand for oil products declined, state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) said on Friday.
South Korea imported 73.17 million barrels of crude oil last month compared with 77.2 million barrels imported a year ago, after marking the highest import growth in October since July, the KNOC data showed.
NYMEX-Natgas ends up slightly for 3rd day after seesaw session
NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures ended a seesaw session slightly higher on Thursday, with short covering ahead of the long holiday weekend countered by concerns about record-high supplies and mild weather forecasts that should slow demand.
"Aside from those that may be short covering ahead of the long holiday period I am not sure why anyone would want to go long natural gas at this point in time based on the outlook or the weather," Energy Management Institute's Dominick Chirichella said in a report, which said fundamentals for gas, like weather and storage, were still bearish.
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